Serious Eats |
- NYC Food Events for the Weekend and Beyond
- The Interactive Big Mac Index, a Currency-Comparison Tool
- Chicago Food Events for the Weekend and Beyond
- Chicken Dinners: Grilled Chicken and Spinach Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
- Gadgets: OXO Batter Dispenser
- San Diego: Sausage Burger Bust at Coronado Brewing Company
- Ribolla Gialla: The Rest of A Rare Grape's Story
- Win Two VIP Tickets to the Vendy Awards, September 7th
- A Sandwich a Day: Croque Madame at Chez Moi
- Behind the Scenes: Back Door Donuts in Martha's Vineyard
- Ask the Food Lab: Does Resting Under Foil Ruin Meat?
- First Look: Mixing with Maotai at Lao 18 in Chicago
- Good Bread: Free Bread's Gluten-Free Rolls and Loaves
- Reality Check: McDonald's New Quarter Pounders
- We Try the New Lemonade & Key Lime Doughnuts from Dunkin' Donuts
| NYC Food Events for the Weekend and Beyond Posted: 17 Jul 2013 05:46 PM PDT [Photograph: Max Falkowitz] Thursday (July 18)Free Beer & Cheese Sampling Yum's the Word Friday (July 19)Queens Farm BBQ & Campout Saturday (July 20)Hog Days of Summer NYC Craft Beer Festival: Summer Jazz Sunday (July 21)Danish Food Day by Revolving Dansk Tuesday (July 23)The 31 Days of German Riesling Concert Cruise Wednesday (July 24)Supper Club ft. Chef Danny Mena at Haven's Kitchen Thursday (July 25)Epic Urban Cookout Presented by Tasting Table Middle Eastern Shabbat Dinner with NYShuk        |
| The Interactive Big Mac Index, a Currency-Comparison Tool Posted: 18 Jul 2013 12:53 PM PDT The Economist has been publishing the Big Mac Index since 1986 as an informal way to calculate the values of currencies around the world against the US dollar using the theory of purchasing power parity—as they explain, "the notion that in the long run exchange rates should move towards the rate that would equalise the prices of an identical basket of goods and services (in this case, a burger) in any two countries." The Big Mac Index isn't meant to be a serious currency-comparison tool, but if you're interested in comparing Big Mac prices around the world and how much those prices undervalue or overvalue a country's currency against another, check out The Economist's nifty interactive Big Mac Index, which was updated last week. For a quick explanation of the Big Mac index, check out the animated video below. [The Big Mac Index Explained via Travelex] About the author: Robyn Lee is the editor of A Hamburger Today and takes many of the photos for Serious Eats. She'll also doodle cute stuff when necessary. Read more from Robyn at her personal food blog, The Girl Who Ate Everything. Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter and Pinterest while you're at it!    |
| Chicago Food Events for the Weekend and Beyond Posted: 18 Jul 2013 01:01 PM PDT Friday (July 19)Taste of River North Saturday (July 20)Event Name Sunday (July 21)Chinatown Summer Fair Monday (July 22)Preview of Nathan Sears' D.A.S. Trenchermen and Arami Kyuoucho Dinner BeyondJames Beard Foundation's Journey Through the Great Lakes    |
| Chicken Dinners: Grilled Chicken and Spinach Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:50 PM PDT [Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti] Summer is all about grilling and making salads. Combine the two into one big hearty dish and you've got the makings for a terrific main course salad that's perfect for a light but satisfying dinner. Chicken is a great choice to bulk up greens with because it's quick to grill and goes with everything. If you decide to use leftover chicken instead of cooking on the grill, the dish is even easier to assemble. Here, I started with fresh chicken, cooked on the grill (an indoor grill pan is also an option) to develop crispy charred edges and then sliced into strips. I had a big, juicy mango, a bag of baby spinach, and a red onion on hand—a great combo for a salad—so all I had to do was decide on the dressing. One of my favorite flavors for chicken is honey mustard, so I whisked up a quick dressing and tossed it all together. At the last minute I decided to sauté the onions briefly to help take off their raw edge (but feel free to skip this step if you'd like). For a final touch I tossed in some crunchy toasted pumpkin seeds. With only minimal effort, this salad of juicy grilled chicken, grassy spinach, sweet mango, and zingy honey mustard makes for a quick, fresh meal that makes a lot of summer sense. About the author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of the new cookbook One Bowl Baking: Simple From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts (Running Press, October 2013), also available at Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Powell's, and The Book Depository. Watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. Follow her Chocoholic, Chicken Dinners, Singapore Stories and Let Them Eat Cake columns on Serious Eats. Follow Yvonne on Twitter as she explores Singapore. Get the Recipe!    |
| Posted: 17 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT I usually use a disher when I need to fill a cupcake or muffin pan, or I pour from a large measuring cup or batter bowl when I'm making pancakes or waffles. It's good enough, but it can also be a little messy. Inevitably, I'll have drips and drops where they don't belong. So I figured I'd give the OXO Batter Dispenser ($11.99) a test drive. It's a simple concept. Squeeze, and the batter comes out. Stop squeezing and the valve keeps batter from dripping. Some ketchup and mustard bottles use a similar system but with a smaller opening. During filling (and between squeezing), the dispenser fits on a base. The top comes off for easy filling and the dispenser holds about three cups of batter. It comes apart for easy cleaning and it's dishwasher safe. That's all good. One full dispenser held enough batter for a batch of pancakes I made, but a large batch of cupcakes would take a couple re-fillings. So that's something to consider. And because of the size of the dispensing opening, you're limited to non-chunky batters. Small bits are fine, but larger chunks of nuts or whole blueberries wouldn't work. It takes a couple extra seconds to take the dispenser apart before washing, but I'm saving time by not having to clean up splattered batter that would drip off a disher. It takes a little time to fill, but it's one fill for a lot of batter, as opposed to multiple dips with the disher. I'd say this has a slight edge on time spent, but not by much. Is this an essential gadget? Well, no. I've been using other methods for a darned long time and no one's complained. But I do like that this is a little neater, particularly when I'm cooking for company or when I want super-neat presentation for photos. It should also be great for funnel cakes or spaetzle, although I haven't tested it for those applications. About the author: Resident yeast whisperer and bread baking columnist Donna Currie also has a serious gadget habit. When her father-in-law heard about this column, he upgraded the nickname for her kitchen from "gadget world" to "gadget heaven." You can find her on her blog, Cookistry or follow her on Twitter at @dbcurrie. Disclaimer: Testing samples were provided to Serious Eats.    |
| San Diego: Sausage Burger Bust at Coronado Brewing Company Posted: 16 Jul 2013 05:02 PM PDT [Photographs: Erin Jackson] Coronado Brewing Company170 Orange Ave, Coronado CA 92118 (map); 619-437-4452; coronadobrewingcompany.com When a longtime AHT reader tipped me off to a must-try burger in Coronado, I was so intrigued, I made landing one my top priority. It wasn't a classic burger that was being hyped, but a banh mi-style burger ($12.50) made from coconut-curry sausage topped with pickled veggies, cilantro, and chili-lime aioli from Coronado Brewing Company. Closer inspection of the menu revealed that it's not their only burger made with a sausage patty. There's also a bratwurst burger topped with caramelized onions and melted Swiss cheese on a pretzel bun. I knew what I had to do. The brew pub makes the sausage patties in-house, from scratch, and cooks them on a wickedly hot grill. They emerge striped with hash marks, flecked with char, and glistening with fat. Both have potential to be great, if unusual, burgers, if not for some pretty major missteps. I was hoping the banh mi burger would be something like the pork meatball banh mi sandwich from Lardo, and while it did have a passing similarity in terms of seasoning and toppings, it was taken down by the chili-lime aioli. Properly prepared (and portioned) it would have been awesome, but this version was muddled, weirdly sweet, and much too heavily applied. This had two main repercussions: the pickled veggies on top were transformed into a creamy coleslaw-type topping, and any flavor the beef and pork patty brought to the party was completely washed away. The end result was a burger that had some great textures (crunchy veggies and a patty that was both moist and nicely charred), but the only flavor that really stood out was that perplexing sauce. If you're curious about this burger and want to give it a shot, definitely get the aioli on the side. Admittedly, I'm not big on bratwurst, so I let my brat-loving husband do the heavy lifting on the bratwurst burger ($11.50). Like the banh mi, it showed some promise. Where it was charred, the patty was tasty, but it was too heavily salted and the onions were out of control. It came without the customary spicy mustard, and the only option at the table was Dijon, which, even applied in gobs, wasn't quite doing it. The uniqueness of the pretzel bun, and the sausage burgers in general, faded after two bites. After giving up on both burgers, I hoped the fries would fill my hunger gap, but they were the biggest bust of all. Anemic, under-cooked, unsalted, and fried in oil way past its prime, they weren't edible past a few courtesy bites. I left the same way I came in: hungry. About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter and Pinterest while you're at it!    |
| Ribolla Gialla: The Rest of A Rare Grape's Story Posted: 17 Jul 2013 10:09 AM PDT Note from the author: There are 1,368 varieties covered in Wine Grapes by MW Jancis Robinson, MW Julia Harding, and Dr. Jose Vouillamoz. Bet you can't try them all. Winemaker Robbie Meyer of Grassi Wines shares the 2012 Grassi Ribolla Gialla with the crowd at Napa's fourth annual Ribolla Fest. [Photograph: Stevie Stacionis] Remember Paul Harvey's radio program, "The Rest of the Story"? I love Wine Grapes, but it's fairly succinct and straightforward, never quite getting into the juicy bits—to "the rest of the story." Take the entry on Ribolla Gialla, for example. Wine Grapes introduces the grape crisply: "ancient white from the Italy-Slovenia border." The book goes on to list places you'll find the grape planted, then offers a brief description of its flavor profile:
Finally, the entry ends with a single, concise allowance: "A little is also planted in the Napa Valley, California." But, you see, there's more to the story of Ribolla Gialla, particularly in the Napa Valley. We begin with a man named George Vare. George entered the California wine industry in 1972 and worked in a number of prestigious roles, including president of Geyser Peak Winery, president of Henry Wine Group, and cofounder of Luna Vineyards. At Luna, George focused on Italian grape varieties and often traveled to Italy. He was particularly fond of the Friuli region, where he met and befriended local winemaker Josko Gravner. Wine Grapes calls Gravner a "recommended producer [...] whose distinctive [wine by the name of] Anfora is made in clay amphorae." To sharpen the picture just a little, Gravner is a veritable winemaking icon as well as an iconoclast; collectors and wine geeks clamor after and snap up his fascinating orange wines like rare, precious jewels. One trip to Friuli, George snipped some cuttings of Ribolla Gialla from Gravner's vines and smuggled them back to Napa in a suitcase. There, he grafted them into his own vineyard in Oak Knoll in 1999. Ribolla Gialla became George's passion project. It wasn't lucrative, and most people didn't know or didn't care much about a small plot of a rare Friulian variety planted in cult Cabernet territory... But slowly, word spread to wine geeks and Gravner fans that George was working with this grape. A little subculture of experimental winemakers began asking George if they, too, could try making small batches of wine from his fruit. This group of winemakers became like a little family. Once a year, they'd informally gather together to share great food and their wines, to consult with George and swap tasting notes and techniques. Did yours go through malolactic fermentation? What temperature did it ferment at? Did you press or just crush the grapes? And how long did this sit on the skins? Last week, the extended family and a group of friends met up at the Matthiasson property in Napa Valley to check in for the fourth annual "Ribolla Fest." We sat in the yard, forming an arc around two wine barrels and passing bottles in between discussion. Robbie Meyer, winemaker from Grassi Wine Company, opened the evening with the 2012 Grassi Ribolla Gialla. The grape, whose name includes a reference to its color (gialla means "yellow" in Italian), confidently introduced itself with apricot, yellow peach and banana skin aromas buffered by white flowers and a surprisingly acidic attack on the palate. The texture was fascinating—similar to Assyrtiko with its tannic grip and acidic core—and I couldn't wait to try more. Next, Dan Petroski of Massican passed around his 2012 Annia, a mix of Tocai Friulano and Chardonnay with Ribolla Gialla from both George's eponymous Vare vineyard and the Bowland vineyard. There was that gialla nose again: baked yellow fruits and a warm, soft spiciness followed up by a lightning rod of acidity. Matthew Rorick brought out his 2011 Forlorn Hope Ribolla Gialla with a caveat: "As I'm learning, Ribolla is a wine that needs a little time." His wine sat on its skins for around two weeks, the juice thereby pulling out extra tannins and richer notes of pear skin, peach skin, even slightly bitter almond skins. I'd like to check in on this in a decade or three. In turn, Duncan Meyers and Nathan Roberts of Arnot-Roberts showed two versions of their 2012 Ribolla Gialla from the Vare vineyard. The first had seen four hours of skin contact: it was all soft yellow melon flavors shot up with that crazy acidity. The second had been left on its skins for two weeks in terra cotta amphora and boasted an uncanny nose of damp clay with yellow apple slices, parsnip, and a rounder, juicy mouthfeel. Husband and wife team Ryan and Megan Glaab of Ryme Cellars also compared two of their wines: a barrel sample of their 2012 (left on its skins for six months) with their current release of 2010 (one month on the skins). Again, both wines rocked that balance of tannin and acid with a richer, rocky texture. While the first was full of red apple skin, dried apricots and softly spicy cider, the second had a metallic, mineral edge to the dried yellow raisins, apricot skin and even lemon skin notes. Finally, Steve and Jill Matthiasson passed around their 2011 Ribolla Gialla from the Vare vineyard and compared it to their 2010, which was made from vines they'd grafted from George's vineyard onto ones in their own backyard. Steve explained how he liked his fruit to have 50/50 golden and green components. True to form there was yellow apple and cantaloupe but also honeydew and green pear with an almost minty or anise spiciness. The finish washed in a green-streaked acidity plus a welcome creaminess. Jill reminisced about how the 2010 was picked by their two young sons, who then stomped the grapes by foot and fermented the wine on its skins in their barn out back. It was, as Jill mentioned, an opportunity to "let the hair down." Normally, I imagine, George would conclude the annual event with a collective pat on the back and a pep talk for the impending harvest. This year was unique, however: It was the first year George wasn't present. Jill's voice cracked a little as she raised her glass and addressed the group with a toast. George passed away in April, survived by his beautiful wife Elsa, a legion of fans and colleagues, and a legacy of Ribolla Gialla. "To George," Jill announced simply. "To George," we all nodded as we clinked glasses in the diffused, descending rays of sunlight. And now you know the rest of the story. The Grape: Ribolla Gialla About the Author: Stevie Stacionis is a wine writer and Certified Sommelier based in San Francisco. She's currently drinking her way through the 1,368 varieties included in the new Wine Grapes tome. Follow her on Twitter @StevieStacionis and check out her snobbery-free wine videos at A Drinks With Friends TV.    |
| Win Two VIP Tickets to the Vendy Awards, September 7th Posted: 17 Jul 2013 05:33 PM PDT The Vendy Awards, New York's biggest street food party, is still a couple months away, but tickets are selling fast. This year's event, an ode to chicken and rice carts, far-out ice cream trucks, and everything in between looks like it'll be bigger than ever, with more vendors at a new, easy-to-access location, Sunset Park's Industry City. In the coming week's we'll be bringing you stories of some of the finalists (to be announced), but now we're giving away two early entry VIP tickets ($145 each; $95 for general admission) right here. To enter, tell us about your favorite street vendor in New York in the comments below. A winner will be selected at random on Friday, July 19th at 5 p.m. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply. RelatedA look at last year's Vendys »    |
| A Sandwich a Day: Croque Madame at Chez Moi Posted: 08 Jul 2013 07:36 AM PDT [Photograph: Molly Durham] My morning craving is almost always for a breakfast sandwich. Waking up ravenous, something about eggs alone or anything that doesn't include several food groups just doesn't seem like enough. So while several other options sounded good (and many sounded lighter) I went with the croque madame ($13.50). While looking at the menu, I realized I had no idea what the difference between a croque monsieur and croque madame is. Both are open-faced ham and cheese sandwiches, but the madame has an egg on top. And since this one was expertly cooked, so I could break the yolk and watch it ooze all over the top, I think I made the right choice. At first I thought, "This bread is too hard, too dry, and I can barely cut through it!" But then I realized, what would this sandwich be if the bread wasn't like this? Too soggy. It would have no foundation, and would be a mess. So it balances out the cheesy, eggy top. While it didn't give me the satisfying action of holding a sandwich in my hand and taking a big bite, my breakfast sandwich fantasies now include a more delicate option. Chez Moi2100 North Halsted Street, Chicago IL 60614 (map)    |
| Behind the Scenes: Back Door Donuts in Martha's Vineyard Posted: 18 Jul 2013 12:53 PM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: Behind the Scenes: Back Door Donuts in Martha's Vineyard [Photographs: Laura Togut] If you asked me for advice on what to do on Martha's Vineyard, my response would be simple: Back Door Donuts, Back Door Donuts, Back Door Donuts. I've been to the Vineyard for enough consecutive years to consider myself somewhat seasoned, and I can attest that nothing compares to lining up in the darkness outside the back door of the local Oak Bluffs bakery, awaiting your turn to receive a doughnut that has been born into the world mere moments before. Have you ever had a doughnut fresh from the fryer? The difference between a doughnut that was fried 10 minutes ago and one that was fried 30 seconds ago is unfathomable. I could try to describe the warm, melty sugary goodness to you, but I won't. You just have to trust me. Also trust me to include an apple fritter in your order. Given my obvious undying devotion to Back Door Donuts, I was eager to get a peek at the doughnut-making (and fritter-making) in action, and they kindly obliged. Click through the slideshow to see what goes on behind the back door. Back Door Donuts (A.K.A. Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Cafe & Bakery)    |
| Ask the Food Lab: Does Resting Under Foil Ruin Meat? Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:30 PM PDT It's time for another round of The Food Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji , and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post. Become a fan of The Food Lab on Facebook or follow it on Twitter for play-by-plays on future kitchen tests and recipe experiments. [Doodle: Robyn Lee; other photographs: J. Kenji López-Alt] Does Resting Under Foil Ruin Meat?
—Sent by MichaelGA We all know that resting meat—letting it sit off heat for a few moments before slicing or serving it—can help it retain more juices when you subsequently cut into it, right? There are conflicting theories as to why this is the case, the most common being that either the juices get redistributed within the meat so that no areas are oversaturated, or that the juices increase slightly in viscosity as they cool, allowing them to stay in place better. Heck, there are even some respectable folks who claim the entire thing is bunk, and they make several good points. So is resting useful or not? What are the tradeoffs between resting and not resting? And does foil do anything at all? First off, at least as far as we can measure via mechanical means like a scale, there is absolutely a difference in moisture retention in rested vs. unrested meat. You can prove this for yourself by cooking a couple of identical steaks (preferably cut from the same larger piece) to the same temperature, slicing one immediately, and allowing the other to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing it and noting the amount of juice lost. You'll probably see something like this: But the question remains: on the palate, is that a noticeable difference? Well to be honest, it's minor. The real differences you notice are in the textural differences between steak that has a major temperature gradient inside (unrested meat will be much hotter around the edges and cooler in the center) and a steak that is relatively evenly heated inside. The latter tastes more evenly tender with a juiciness that slowly releases, while the former has more contrast, the external layers wringing their juices more like a sponge, while the center remains a little chewier. Some folks like their meat to taste this way. I personally don't. The other major area of change in rested versus un-rested meat is in the crust. Provided you are pan-searing steaks in a blazing hot skillet or grilling them over a rip-roaring fire, you should be able to develop a great charred, crisp, crackly crust—for many folks the highlight of the steak eating experience. Resting, they complain, ruins this crust. That is a fact: the longer you wait, the more that crust will diminish, and to get back to your initial question, foil will increase the softening effect of resting. For many people, this is not a trade-off worth making. But here's the good news: you do not have to make that trade-off. It's absolutely possible to get a steak that has been rested, and has a sizzling, crusty, crunchy, charred crust. How? Simply re-crisp it immediately prior to slicing and serving. This is much easier than you think. See, the reason that crust soften is because moisture from inside the steak will begin to steam its way out, saturated what once was dehydrated and crisp. All you've got to do is dehydrate it again by blasting it with heat. For pan seared steaks, save your pan drippings in the skillet while your steak rests, then immediately prior to serving, reheat those drippings until smoking hot and pour them over the steak. You should see a vigorous crackling and bubbling and your crust will redevelop. Serve it quick before it softens! For grilled steaks, let your steaks rest off heat after cooking (no need to cover them with foil) while you add a dozen extra coals to the fire (or pump up your gas grill to high and preheat with the lid closed). Just before serving, place the steaks back over the hottest part of the grill and give them a brief 45-second to 1-minute sear to re-crisp the outside. Serve them immediately. Hopefully this will help everyone in the great resting versus non-resting debate to get along a wee bit better. Wasn't that easy? Oh—I guess I never really answered your first questions: Does resting food under foil help retain heat or just destroy crispy skin? It retains a little heat, but there's no need for it unless you are outside on a very cold and windy day. Or is the skin / crust not affected by a foil tent? The skin and crust are affected by a foil tent, but it's easy to rescue. Does protein laid bare on a plate lose that much extra heat, that tenting with foil is required? Protein laid on a bare plate can lose extra heat, but again, only if it's very cold and windy out will you need foil (plus, it's better to rest on an elevated rack or wooden cutting board than directly on a plate). If foil is not used and the protein cools down faster does that help speed up the re-distribution of juices? There is no real significant difference internally in terms of resting time when using foil vs. bare. Bare will rest slightly faster, but not much. I'm in the crispy skin / crackling crust crowd so I don't like to tent under foil. Am I terribly mistaken? You are not terribly mistaken. Go forth unafraid! Got a Question for The Food Lab?Email your questions to AskTheFoodLab@seriouseats.com, and please include your Serious Eats user name in your email. All questions will be read, though unfortunately not all can be answered. About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook. Recipes!    |
| First Look: Mixing with Maotai at Lao 18 in Chicago Posted: 18 Jul 2013 09:03 AM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: First Look: Mixing with Maotai at Lao 18 in Chicago [Photographs: Anthony Todd] Note: First Looks give previews of new drinks and menus we're curious about. Since they are arranged photo shoots, we do not make critical evaluations or recommendations. "This bottle alone costs approximately $600 retail," explained mixer Allie Lee as she handed over a bottle of Maotai. This imported Chinese spirit is "a weird oxymoron," said Lee. "It's the only socialist luxury spirit in the world." The Chinese government has given it out as a diplomatic gift, while newscaster Dan Rather famously once said it was like drinking "liquid razor blades." Oh, and that $600 bottle? It's only got 375 millliters of the stuff inside it. A 1980 vintage bottle of the spirit sold for over $1.3 million last year. At newly opened River North Chinese spot Lao 18, they've incorporated it (in very small doses) into their cocktail program. How do you begin to mix with such a distinctive spirit? "I had to taste it first and really think about it. It has a bit of a soy sauce aftertaste, and it comes off as having a chrysanthemum-honey flavor," described Lee. Maotai (also sometimes spelled Moutai) is distilled from sorghum, and comes in varieties with between 35% and 53% alcohol. Lee is mixing with the 53% version. "I needed some kind of base spirit, because I'm not going to use three ounces of this and call it a $50 drink—no one is going to buy it, unless they're truly frivolous," Lee explains. She chose Buffalo Trace, because she thought the sweetness of the bourbon would play well with the honey notes in the Maotai. Lao 18's owner Tony Hu, famous for his many spice-laden Chinese restaurants in Chicago including Lao Hunan, Lao Szechuan and Lao Beijing, wanted Szechuan peppercorns incorporated into the cocktail. After a lot of playing around, the final cocktail came together—a mix of Buffalo Trace, muddled blackberries and crushed black and Szechuan peppercorns, poured over crushed ice and topped with the Maotai. At $25, it's appropriate that the cocktail is called "The Prosperous Life." It's not on the menu, but if you ask, they'll know what you're talking about. There's also a $16 version without the Mao Tai float. According to Lee, Maotai is traditionally taken as a shot. "It's not actually a spirit that you're supposed to sip," she explained. "You want to get the heat, so they tend to shoot it." There's some talk of selling it by the bottle to VIP guests, but for right now, you'll have to try a Prosperous Life if you want a taste. The Prosperous Life isn't the only cocktail on Lao 18's menu. When Lee was figuring out what to put on the list, she thought about the flavors that the chef was incorporating into the Chinese dishes in the restaurant. Her cocktails include ingredients like chrysanthemum liqueur, jasmine liqueur, yuzu, shiso leaf, and sriracha simple syrup. Pop over to the slideshow for a look at some of the drinks »
Lao 1818 W Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL 60654 (map)    |
| Good Bread: Free Bread's Gluten-Free Rolls and Loaves Posted: 18 Jul 2013 08:26 AM PDT [Photographs: Andrew Coe] People seem to shun gluten for a number of reasons. A doctor may diagnose them with celiac disease and tells them to avoid all proteins deriving from wheat and similar grains. Some may not have a full-blown disease but suffer from intolerances or allergies. Some are looking to cut out or down on refined carbs. And some are heeding the siren call of self-proclaimed nutrition experts telling them that gluten is the root of all evil and that cutting it out will cure everything from cancer to mental illness. In all cases, they have to make a choice: Suffer a World Without Bread, or buy the gluten-free alternatives. After Karen Freer was diagnosed with celiac in 2007, she found the former unthinkable, but the latter wasn't exactly attractive either: "I was bummed out, because I missed bread. I didn't like the gluten-free breads out there, so I started making my own bread. My friends said they'd buy it, gluten-free or not. That's when I started Free Bread." Karen bought an oven and a mixer, got a gluten-free certificate, and began to get her products into stores. In 2012, she teamed up with Sarah Black, an industry veteran who was a founder of Tom Cat Bakery and had just left her job as head baker at Fairway Markets. They found space in a Long Island City food incubator and began to expand and perfect their line of loaves. Like all gluten-free bakers, they faced the challenge of making a product that had the taste and texture of real bread with a list of ingredients that had very different properties than traditional grains. Today, they sell their rolls in Whole Foods and other markets, and also to fill breadbaskets at restaurants like Le Bernardin and Telepan. The flagship of the Free Bread line is its Moxy roll, the name derived from millet, oats, and flax seed. Karen developed it to fill her craving for "hearty, whole grain bread, something with a little tooth in it." Like all gluten-free products, the list of its ingredients is long, including various kinds of rice flour, tapioca and arrowroot flours, olive oil, egg, molasses, agave nectar, xanthan gum, yeast, and salt, in addition to millet, oats, and flax. The bread has nutty, wheaty aroma and a satisfying density to the chew, very similar to those German whole-grain health breads. For a newbie, the only drawback is the price—$8.49 for a pack of three large rolls at Whole Foods. Welcome to the world of gluten-free, where loaves cost a lot more because their ingredients are lot more expensive than simple flour, water, salt, and yeast. (Free Bread will soon be selling more reasonably priced packs of sliced Moxy Pullman loaves.) In addition to being gluten-free, Free Bread products are also nut-free, so they couldn't make their version of a traditional dried fruit and walnut loaf—unless they got rid of the nuts. Voila the Cranny Pep ($8.49 for three rolls). Even denser than the Moxy, this dark, slightly sweet bread is made from a half dozen exotic flours (garbanzo bean, teff, arrowroot, tapioca, coconut, and sorghum), dried cranberries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, spices, molasses, agave nectar, eggs, olive oil, xanthan gum, yeast, and salt. With its chewy texture and cranberry-spice flavor, the Cranny Pep makes a great breakfast bread and probably would be a good base for cheese as well. Finally, Free Bread's Jalaa! ($8.49 for three rolls) fills the gluten-free cheese bread niche. The cheese is a sharp cheddar given an added zing from a liberal dose of jalapeno peppers added to the dough. This is the lightest and fluffiest of Free Bread's products. I suppose you could top it with even more cheese, but I prefer to toast it and cover it with a liberal spread of good butter. All of Free Bread's loaves are made without chemical mold inhibitors and other preservatives. (I generally don't advise freezing breads, but at gluten-free prices I give you absolution.) They're available at Whole Foods and many area health food and gourmet markets and in an increasing number of restaurants. Free BreadAbout the author: Andrew Coe is the only reporter covering the city's bread beat.    |
| Reality Check: McDonald's New Quarter Pounders Posted: 16 Jul 2013 12:44 PM PDT [Photographs: above, McDonald's; others, Dennis Lee] It looks like the Angus burger selection at McDonald's took a huge dump, because McDonald's recently voted them off the island and changed up their menu. They've been replaced by a new "premium" version of the ol' standby favorite, the Quarter Pounder. As a glutton for punishment, I volunteered to review these newfangled ground-cow-rounds as a reflection of my low self worth. And, of course, out of genuine curiosity. There's three types: The Bacon Habanero Ranch, Bacon and Cheese, and Deluxe Quarter Pounder. They'll all hit you in the wallet for $3.99 each, and they all ring in at approximately 600 calories (the Deluxe is less at 540). I'm letting you know, in case you were closely monitoring your calorie intake. At a fast food restaurant. You know what? All three are actually pretty handsome right out of the box. I feel like McDonald's is getting better at giving their fancier food a face-lift in terms of actual execution. Well, minus that extraordinarily gray meat thing in the middle, you know, the beef. The Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder is topped with white processed cheddar (the same as the Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger), bacon, a swipe of habanero ranch, lettuce, and tomato. Out of the three, this is the more interesting option, but by a very marginal amount. The orange-colored habanero ranch doesn't have much flavor aside from vinegar, but it does have a creeping kick, which is kind of nice. The bacon is chewy and a little strong, and the white cheddar does almost nothing for the burger that I can tell. But man, there is no getting over that lousy beef. Please believe me, I don't harp on fast-food restaurants because it's a cool thing to do; I go into each of these reviews with a positive attitude like Vanilla Ice. There is just no way to rescue the meat. It's bone-dry, rubbery, chewy, and a little spongy, with tiny bits of gristle in it. The sandwich might actually be better without the patty. The Bacon and Cheese Quarter Pounder says f*ck it and forgoes the garnishing veggies altogether. It's just regular American cheese on this one, and there's nothing remarkable about the whole package—each bite tastes like bacon, red onion, processed cheese, and occasionally, crunchy pickle. Again, on absurdly dry, grainy, beef. I've noticed that when McDonald's calls a menu item "deluxe," that means they just add lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Because nothing says class like mayonnaise. In theory, the Deluxe Quarter Pounder is a pretty decent idea. The lettuce is appealingly green, and while the tomatoes aren't particularly delicious or ripe, they come in big slices. Red onion is nice on burgers now and then, and of course, so are pickles. But look at that picture. Just look at it. That is the most mayo I've ever seen on a sandwich. There's so much on there that even Paula Deen would gag (or I'd hope, at least). Yes, I know I can scrape it off, but if that's the default amount, then we're all in trouble. I'm not sure what kind of image McDonald's is going after; it seems like the corporation is trying to pull a Cher by constantly changing face these days, but under the hood, it's still, well, McDonald's. Despite the nice makeup job, that sad, tired beef is still showing through. Cher, though, I think you're still pretty cool. At least you know who you are. About the author: After a failed attempt at starting a chain of theme restaurants called "Smellen Keller," Dennis Lee traveled the world to discover his true passion. Sadly, midwifery didn't pan out. Now he works in a cubicle, and screws around as much as possible. Follow his shenanigans on Twitter. Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter while you're at it!    |
| We Try the New Lemonade & Key Lime Doughnuts from Dunkin' Donuts Posted: 17 Jul 2013 12:40 PM PDT Dunkin' Donuts has brought two of the season's quintessential flavors to their lineup for the summer. Now through August, make room next to the crullers and Boston Kremes in your dozen for Lemonade and Key Lime. Lemonade features a yeast shell with lemon-flavored filling and is topped with white icing and sprinkled with bits of lemonade bark. The filling is the same that's already used in the chain's lemon filled donut—bright (in both color and flavor) and actually more tart than you might expect. What really sets this apart, though, is the topdressing layer of lemonade bark shards. Not exactly chewy but not quite crunchy, these candy bits do add some textural interest to the donut. To my palate, the bark has a somewhat artificial taste (duh; lemon bark is in no way a naturally-occurring food item) as opposed to any sort of homemade treat that comes off your mom's cookie sheet on a lazy summer afternoon. The Key Lime variety follows a nearly-identical formula: a yeast shell filled with key lime flavored filling, frosted with white icing, and decorated on top with graham cracker crumbles. Cutting into the Key Lime doughnut, there was cause for concern. I had feared finding fake green-hued goo; thankfully, the filling here was pale in color, just like a true key lime pie. Taste-wise, though, don't expect a great burst of identifiable lime flavor: citrusy, but almost generically so. Dunkin' drives home the pie thing by taking the traditional graham cracker crust and crumbling it over the top of the frosted donut. I personally preferred the Key Lime donut to the Lemonade, but that's solely personal preference. (I'm a big key lime pie fan; I could take or leave lemonade... except in an Arnold Palmer.) But in the end, they're donuts. You'd have to try really hard to screw them up to the point where I wouldn't eat them. I'd gladly add either of these summer donuts to my usual assortment from now until school starts again. About the Author: Todd Brock lives the glamorous life of a stay-at-home freelance writer in the suburbs of Atlanta. Besides being paid to eat cheeseburgers for AHT, pizzas for Slice, and desserts for Sweets, he's written and produced over 1,000 hours of television and penned Building Chicken Coops for Dummies. When he grows up, he wants to be either the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys or the drummer for The Gaslight Anthem. Or both.    |
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