Serious Eats |
- Gluten-Free Tuesday: Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
- The 5th Annual Pizza Olympics in Philadelphia, PA
- Check Out LTHForum's New Website
- Whole Animals and Open Flames: Snapshots from Burning Beast in Arlington, WA
- Street Food: Batch Ice Cream Truck, Boston
- Greek in Gramercy at Taverna
- Corn Week: Grilled Corn with Harissa and Mint
- NYC: Clarke's Standard is Just That
- Where to Eat Ice Cream in Berlin, Germany
- 11 Best Drinks from Tales of the Cocktail 2013
- A Hamburger Tuesday: Cheese Crisp, Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger, Smashed Burgers, and More
- A Sandwich a Day: Turkey Well Worth Eating at Stage Restaurant
- Lunch Box: Make-Ahead Mustardy Quinoa with Sausage, Potato, and Tarragon
- A Bowl of Good Stuff at Pecking Order
- Toki Underground Chef's New Southeast Asian Tasting Menus in Washington, DC
| Gluten-Free Tuesday: Baked Chocolate Doughnuts Posted: 22 Jul 2013 01:52 PM PDT [Photographs: Elizabeth Barbone] For a long time, a doughnut pan sat on my shelf gathering dust. Maybe I used it once, I don't know. But I do know why I hesitated to use the pan: I thought baked doughnuts were simply doughnut-shaped muffins. And when I want a doughnut, I want a fried affair, not a masquerading muffin. Then an enticing chocolate glazed doughnut recipe from "Buns in My Oven" appeared in my Facebook feed. I clicked on it. My mouth watered. I wanted that doughnut. Then I noticed the recipe made baked, not fried, doughnuts. My mouth and my mind were in opposition. Was it finally time to take the baked doughnut plunge? Yes, yes it was. The recipe called for all-purpose flour. So it needed a gluten-free makeover to fit my diet. Since I'm baking more with whole grain flours and less with rice, I replaced the all-purpose flour with oat flour and potato starch. Why oat flour? Well, even though the cake doughnuts I bought in my pre-gluten-free days were probably made from white flour, they have a grain-like sweetness in my memory, and I wanted to chase that flavor. The batter came together quickly. You simply whisk the dry ingredients together and add an egg, milk, and sour cream—no electric mixer required. At first, the batter seemed a little thin. I wondered what would happen if I let it sit on the counter for five minutes. Would it thicken? It did! The batter didn't become really thick, but the flour seemed to hydrate a little, adding some body. Even after standing for five minutes, this still isn't batter you could fry—it's too thin. But it's perfect for baking. I filled the doughnut pan cavities about halfway and baked. I hoped muffin-shaped doughnuts wouldn't emerge from the oven, but if I'm honest, I wasn't entirely confident. Ten minutes later, the doughnuts were ready. After they cooled, I dipped them in a simple glaze and took a bite. It was dense like a doughnut, but not heavy. The oat flour added that nutty sweetness I love in a chocolate doughnut. And, the best part, it wasn't muffin-like at all! Two bites in, I was total convert to baked doughnuts, which is great news for that little-used doughnut pan. About the author: Elizabeth Barbone of GlutenFreeBaking.com joins us every Tuesday with a new gluten-free recipe. She is the author of Easy Gluten-Free Baking. and "How to Cook Gluten-Free." Get the Recipe!       |
| The 5th Annual Pizza Olympics in Philadelphia, PA Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:20 PM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: The 5th Annual Pizza Olympics in Philadelphia, PA [Photographs: Kaytee Riek] It happens every year. I show up at the South Philly Review's Pizza Olympics and find myself pushing through the snaking lines, frantically grabbing slices wherever I can, shoving them down my gullet, and then cackling in glee. "Unlimited pizza...so good... more...please...," I manage to gasp out between slices. When one finds oneself face-to-face with a cavernous, echoing catering hall filled with 11 pizzerias serving up unlimited slices and hundreds of Philadelphians queued up in long, slow-moving lines to eat them, something animalistic crawls out of your soul. The Mummers string band plunks banjos in the corner, dancing in sparkly neon pants, while we confront our most base instincts over a greasy paper plate stacked with a tower of slices. But when forced to internalize the reality of the slice math this year, we quickly became more discriminating pizza eaters. 11 pizzerias, each with at least four types of pizza, equals an unachievable 40+ slices to try. Wasting our limited stomach space on the rest of a slice after a mediocre first bite would only mean having to skip other, possibly better, slices. And so it was that our rating system of the night emerged. "This is worth eating a whole slice," became the highest compliment we gave to any pizza. Pizza Olympics attendees vote for their favorite pizza in a number of categories: Best Crust, Best Veggie, Best Creative Topping, and more. The official rankings haven't been announced yet*, but I can tell you the unofficial results. Based on an unscientific sample of my companions, along with a couple strangers I made uncomfortable with my questioning, a number of slices were deemed especially worthy of occupying our valuable stomach real estate. See favorites like Paulie's Sloppy Joe, Cacia's Pizzazz square slice, and more in the slideshow » *Official results will be announced in the South Philly Review's July 25th issue. About the author: Kate Axelrod dreams about adventure foods. She blogs about pizza on Take Your Truffle Oil Pizza and Shove It.    |
| Check Out LTHForum's New Website Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:41 PM PDT  Same logo, new website. We're big fans of the LTHForum, which you've probably noticed from the few dozen times we've mentioned it. It's sort of like Chowhound, but funnier and more in-depth. But while the information was often invaluable, the site wasn't exactly the most pleasant to look at or navigate through. So we're excited to see that the site has been completely redesigned. In particular, we're psyched about the new search feature, because the old one was sort of as pathetic as the one The Onion just parodied a day ago. Check out the new website by clicking here.    |
| Whole Animals and Open Flames: Snapshots from Burning Beast in Arlington, WA Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:22 PM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: Whole Animals and Open Flames: Snapshots from Burning Beast in Arlington, WA Sweetly smoking, engulfed in flames, strung up whole or buried underground in a coal-lined pit, an array of animals from elk to sardines greeted the crowds at Smoke Farm this Sunday for Burning Beast, the non-profit event space's annual fundraiser. Fifteen of Seattle's best chefs convened at the Arlington, WA farm this year, thrown into a field with an assigned beast and an open fire—a clear recipe for an event like no other. Chef Mike Easton of Il Corvo prepares his whole calf for serving. This year, carnivorous fanatics of the Seattle food scene had just seventeen minutes on a gray May day to buy the hottest July ticket in town. In fact, the event site sold 540 tickets—100 more than originally allotted—before organizer and iconic Seattle chef Tamara Murphy managed to shut it down. At the end of the night, the giant wooden beast that serves as centerpiece to the festival was burnt to cinders. But the ticket-buying crowds are almost an afterthought at Burning Beast. In reality, it's a 36-hour party for the chefs and their crews. A chance for them to play with whole animal and open-fire cooking; an opportunity to get out of the kitchens for the night and experiment. Eaters enjoying the festival with the wooden bunny-beast in the background. Ever want to know what a chef cooks outside the confines of the stove, when they cook for the sheer thrill of cooking? Flip through the slideshow for a taste » About the author: Naomi Bishop is a Seattle based food and travel writer. Find her wandering through words and worlds on her blog, TheGastroGnome, where she claims that being a GastroGnome is not about sitting idly on the front lawn of culinary cottages. Follow her explorations of cooking and culture around the world at @GastroGnome. Get restaurant suggestions and locate local eats in the Northwest from her app, Unique Eats of the Northwest.    |
| Street Food: Batch Ice Cream Truck, Boston Posted: 22 Jul 2013 11:37 AM PDT [Photographs: Kate Shannon] Street food fans and ice cream lovers in Boston, rejoice. This spring, a sweet new food truck hit the streets: the Batch ice cream truck. Yes, this is the same small batch (get it?), high quality ice cream that burst out of Jamaica Plain's Crop Circle Kitchen in 2010 and has been winning awards—and fans—ever since. Batch has never had a scoop shop of their own, so Bostonians really only had one way to enjoy their ice cream: buy a pint at the grocery store and dish it out themselves. In the frozen aisle, Salted Caramel (pictured below) and Chocolate have proved themselves to be permanent best-sellers. But with the truck providing first tastes to hundreds of people around town, that balance might shift towards the Ginger or Green Tea. The truck itself looks like a pint that grew up and sprouted wheels. The whole thing is decorated with the company's trademark chalkboard-style writing, all clean lines and black-and-white text. Like the ice cream itself, the concept seems simple but is surprisingly complex. In addition to promoting their seven homespun flavors (an eighth is coming in September), that charming handwritten text lays out the company's quality standards: no artificial stabilizers or additives, whole ingredients and fair trade products where possible, and only the freshest New England dairy. Inside the truck, Batch fans will find the same stellar flavors they're used to finding inside the pints. Founders Susie Parish and Veronica Janssens pick what they're going to scoop, usually offering 4 or 5 flavors at any given event. The Cinnamon & Chocolate Bits—which they had on hand at last weekend's WGBH FunFest—is a great place to see their quality standards play out. Cinnamon ice cream conjures up images of scary, cherry-red ice cream and a flavor profile akin to melted Red Hots, but Batch's version is nothing of the sort. Because they infuse the ice cream base with toasted cinnamon sticks and never use dyes, the ice cream maintains the same creamy hue of their award-winning Vanilla Bean. The flavor is pure and clean, tasting of toasty, warm cinnamon that dissipates into a rich creamy finish. Tiny, fair trade chocolate chips add texture and a hint of bitterness. Visitors to the truck will also find something they can't get in the freezer aisle: a chance to chat up Susie and Veronica. Batch remains a small operation and the two founders are driving the truck around themselves. In a city where trucks post up at regular locations week after week, they've opted to do things a little differently. You won't find them scooping during FiDi's lunch rush or drawing the dessert crowd at Cleveland Circle. Susie and Veronica are focusing instead on the festival and event scene, popping up at food fests and concerts in and around Boston. For dates and locations of the truck, check the schedule on the Batch website. Batch Ice Cream Truck(857) 263-8833; www.batchicecream.comAbout the author: Kate Shannon is a cheesemonger and former line cook. Although she calls Boston home, she hasn't lost her love for the fried cheese curds and Chicago-style hotdogs of the Midwest. She believes that leftover Thai takeout makes the best lunches and that strawberry shortcake is meant to be breakfast, not dessert.    |
| Posted: 23 Jul 2013 09:04 AM PDT Lamb souvlaki. [Photographs: Nick Solares] Now open in the space that until earlier this year housed long time neighborhood favorite Lyric Diner, Taverna brings a welcome glimpse of Greek cuisine to an area whose prior options were largely relegated to gyro platters at diners and pizza shops. I have fond memories of Lyric—I used to eat there regularly back in the 1980's with my then-future, now-ex-wife who was a film student at SVA. Back then it was the go-to place for SVA students,when options were more limited. These days there is a proliferation of alternatives, not to mention a significant shift in dinning habits. Lyric, famous for its large neon sign, was as classic a Greek-style diner as one could find, and I assumed it would stand the test of time, so I was surprised and saddened when it closed. But there are still a many decent diners in the area, but far fewer Greek restaurants. Taverna has changed that. And if anything had to replace Lyric, I think a Greek restaurant is wholly appropriate, given that Greek immigrants have had such a profound impact of diners across America and in New York in particular. Taverna's opening is also part of a larger trend—there have been a slew of Greek restaurant openings in Manhattan recently—Ammos Estiatorio and Village Taverna being two recent examples. Taverna is a worthy addition. Whether manufactured or real, there is a family vibe to the restaurant. The all-male waiters jostle and joke with each other as if they are brothers from one very large family. The host position is occupied by two slender, olive skinned women who could be sisters. A gruff old man with a bushy beard mans the full bar—grandpa perhaps? Whether the atmosphere is real or contrived isn't as important as the food delivering, which it mostly does. The Lamb Souvlaki on pita with greek salad and oregano fries ($14, pictured at top) is probably the most assimilated, familiar dish on the menu, but it is a rousing rendition—the hunks of lamb (ordered and delivered medium rare) are succulent and smoky. The large floppy pita is airy with just the right amount of char from its time on the grill. I am particularly impressed with the salad, which was fresh and beautiful to behold. Patzaria with scordalia Start off with the Patzaria ($8)—tender cubes of roasted beets served with a thick schmear of scordalia (more commonly spelled skordalia), redolent with garlic and olive oil—and you won't be disappointed. Especially if you have overloaded on beets and goat cheese in the last few years and are looking for a new salad or dip. Halloumi. Don't let these ear-sized wedges of Halloumi ($9) cool too much—they sill taste good, but not nearly as much when they are piping hot. The red pepper emulsion adds a nice tang to compliment the creaminess of the cheese. Moussaka. I am not sure that I necessarily buy that the Moussaka ($16) is a "secret family recipe," but it is wonderful nonetheless. For a dish that looks like a brick and is often as dense as one, Taverna's version is unexpectedly light and airy. It tastes great too, with the creamy potato, earthy lamb, and eggplant all adding their own distinct layers of flavor. Mosharaki Youvetsi. The only disappointment was a veal shank ($21) that tasted more like mutton (not in a good way), and proved to be a rather meager portion despite the generous helping of orzo. Of course I ordered a braised meat dish in the middle of summer, they probably don't sell too many. That doesn't excuse stale product, but it raises the question as to why it is even there in this heat. That aside, I look forward to dining at Taverna again. It is a welcome addition to the neighborhood and a place I would be happy to spend my own money. About the author: Nick Solares is a NYC-based food writer and photographer. He has published Beef Aficionado since 2007, with the stated purpose of exploring American exceptionalism through the consumption of hamburgers and steak. He has written over 350 restaurant reviews for Serious Eats since 2008 and served as the creative director for the award-winning iPad app Pat LaFrieda's Big App for Meat. You can follow him on Instagram (@nicksolares) and Twitter (@beefaficionado).    |
| Corn Week: Grilled Corn with Harissa and Mint Posted: 22 Jul 2013 01:53 PM PDT [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Welcome to Serious Eats' Corn Week 2013. All week we'll be featuring recipes, techniques, and how-tos about how to get the most out of the sweet summer corn that should soon be flooding our farmers' markets, including a new grilled corn topping idea each day. Today our grilled corn takes a quick trip top North Africa. I first tried slathering the cobs with straight up harissa paste, a thick, oily Tunisian spice paste made with chilies and warm spices, but found the balance to be a bit off. It works as a rub for grilled meat or for flavoring stews and couscous; as a corn topping, it needs a bit of modification. First step: get some acid up in there. It's pretty common to combine hot sauces of various origins with mayo to tame their heat, add some acid, and get them nicely spreadable, but in this case I found the flavor to be a little too muted when mayo was added. Straight up acid would have to do instead. Some harissa blends already have plenty of citrus or vinegar in them, but the DEA brand most common 'round these parts is relatively lacking. Lime juice and some lime zest tarted it up nicely (no, not in that way). Warm spice levels can also vary greatly between brands. So while some are packed with cumin and coriander, others mostly rely on their chili heat. A couple teaspoons of toasted spices added some more complexity to mine. Finally, I add a good amount of olive oil mixed in to form a very loose emulsion and help the flavors distribute themselves and stick to the corn, along with a handful of freshly chopped mint leaves. The resultant corn has an intense smokiness and a slow-burning heat that quietly builds up as you eat your way through it. Get the RecipeGrilled Corn with Harissa and Mint More Grilled Corn Recipes!
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| NYC: Clarke's Standard is Just That Posted: 22 Jul 2013 08:38 AM PDT [Photographs: Sam Levison] Clarke's Standard977 8th Ave, New York NY 10019 (map); 2 other locations in NYC; 212-245-2200, clarkes-standard.com In the past I've made my feelings about Midtown burgers very clear. They're often overpriced, underwhelming and, at their worst, insults to the word "hamburger." Add the swaths of clueless tourists and 95 degree heat and you've got yourself a recipe for never enjoying a burger in Midtown no matter how good it may be. Recently, however, I found a Midtown burger that I could actually get behind, if not fully champion. Clarke's Standard, a slow-fast burger joint offshoot of PJ Clarke's (à la Shake Shack), recently opened a location near Columbus Circle (others in Flatiron and Financial Districts) and after walking by it for a week the smell of burgers finally proved irresistible. Even before one considers the food, Clarke's has a lot going for it. The narrow space is bright, clean, full of seating and, most crucial for summer dining, aggressively air-conditioned. Additionally, no burger on the menu exceeds $9, which is usually the starting price for a regular hamburger at one of the rackets masquerading as a burger joints between 59th and 34th Streets. I was hoping to find a solid alternative for the Shack and to some extent I did. The Standard burger ($7.95) came out in about five minutes looking a bit diminutive and unremarkable in its cardboard container, but after removing the 8.5"x11" sized piece of lettuce it actually looked all right. The six-ounce patty of fresh ground angus, cooked a bit past the requested medium rare, was thicker than the average quick-style burger and had developed some nice crust on the nearly brand-new flat top. Removing the lettuce monster left a couple slices of tomato, a slice of American, and a barely detectable swipe of Standard sauce as the toppings. The first bite revealed a burger that could have been truly notable with the addition of some pickles and more special sauce. The beef, however, was juicy, ground coarse, and packed tightly but not compressed—a bit more salt would have made it even better (though this might be a function of the new grill). Most impressive, however, was how the patty developed a bit of fire-grilled flavor despite the flat top method—something I had never experienced on a burger before. With some minor alterations, this would be a burger I would definitely return to. The bun, however, was an abomination. The website says that all burgers are served on a St. Joseph roll. I don't know who St. Joseph is or why he bakes bread, but I sincerely recommend Clarke's burgers file for divorce from these Catholic buns. As a firm believer in the church of St. Martin's Potato Rolls, I simply will not settle for this thick, chewy excuse for a bun. The Brooklyn Au Poivre ($7.75) was a slight improvement. The Au Poivre title meant more pepper on the patty, but not overwhelmingly so—the seasoning definitely helped the burger. Sautéed onions and peppers added some moisture and sweetness to the mix and the gouda was tasty-but-unassertive and sufficiently melted. Moreover, the patty was cooked to a perfect medium rare, making this somewhat unique but still classically appealing burger my favorite of the two (I'm heading back soon for the Green Chile burger, which I think will be excellent). Sides cover the standard players of fries and tots in various outfits like cheese and chili-cheese. The Natural Cut Fries ($3) were crisp, salty, and greasy in a Lays Potato Chips sort of way. In fact, because of great execution and a somewhat unique flavor profile, these certainly outshine both Shake Shack and Burger Joint fries. The milkshake ($4.75) on the other hand could take a few lessons from the Shack...or Mister Softee. Hardly a shake at all, the confection is essentially above-par soft serve blended and poured into a plastic cup. Skip it and get a cold Pacifico instead. Is a Clarke's Standard burger objectively better than a ShackBurger? No, but the lack of lines and a relatively unique burger make it a very attractive option. All the Time Out-reading masses heading to Le Parker Meridian or 77th and Columbus should think twice, however, and head to Clarke's for a pleasant experience and a very good hamburger. I'll be back...but probably with my own buns. Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter and Pinterest while you're at it!    |
| Where to Eat Ice Cream in Berlin, Germany Posted: 22 Jul 2013 10:55 AM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: Where to Eat Ice Cream in Berlin, Germany [Photographs: Katherine Sacks] Growing up as an Army brat in Mainz, Germany, I was one spoiled kid. We had the best playgrounds, the best pastry, the best parks, and we got to make regular trips to the eis café. I loved the tangy lemon and sweet strawberry sorbets, and it was always exciting to take a family walk to the cafe for a cone. As an adult living in Berlin, the ice cream shops still hold a special place in my heart. Berlin's winters can be pretty grisly—grey and gloomy and lasting well into the months when spring should really be blooming. So when the sun starts shining bright, everyone in town crowds to these sunny ice cream meccas—which generally open only for the season—savoring every taste of summer while they can. Unlike the wild child Ben and Jerry's-esque flavors of the U.S., Germans tend to like their eis a bit more classic. Favorites include a variety of fruit sorbets like strawberry, mango, and lemon; chocolate chip, coffee, and the tangy quark are typical ice creams; and herbal infusions using Sandorn berry or sweet woodruff are also pretty common. Berlin is covered in ice cream shops; every block has its own eisladen serving up brightly colored scoops. But with a summer this short (some June days felt like February had crept right back in again), you should really try the city's best while you can. Although there are a number of great Italian cafés and frozen yogurt places popping up, here are some of the top places for traditional German eis in Berlin.
About the author: Katherine Sacks is a Berlin-based food and travel writer eating her way through anything and everything German. Follow her adventures at katherinesacks.com or Twitter @LaVitaCucinare.
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| 11 Best Drinks from Tales of the Cocktail 2013 Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:09 AM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: 11 Best Drinks from Tales of the Cocktail 2013 [Photos: Carey Jones unless otherwise credited] It'd be impossible to calculate how many drinks I sipped at Tales of the Cocktail last week, because something new ends up in your hands at every turn. It's perfectly normal to turn the corner and see snowflakes falling—from a snow machine, in the middle of a steamy New Orleans July day—and have a bourbon-laced snowcone handed to you. Or walk down the street at 10am and find yourself with a hopped vodka Bloody Mary. Or go out to dinner expecting three drinks and end up with eleven. And that's before you even get to the parties, where thirty mixologists might be shaking up thirty drinks at a single event. But from seas of nearly indistinguishable cocktail memories, there were a few undisputed highlights. Here are my eleven favorite drinks from Tales this year. Did anyone else attend? What were your favorites? About the author: Carey Jones is the former managing editor of Serious Eats. Follow her on Twitter (@careyjones).    |
| A Hamburger Tuesday: Cheese Crisp, Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger, Smashed Burgers, and More Posted: 22 Jul 2013 05:38 PM PDT  On this week's installment of A Hamburger Tuesday, we've got submissions from five AHT'ers who get crafty in the kitchen, whipping up their own American-style cheese slices from scratch, transforming leftover shredded cheese into cheese crisps, and tossing iceberg lettuce in a clever ingredient found in most kitchens (among other things). Take a look at what your fellow AHT'ers have been up to at home by clicking through the slideshow » Want to share your homemade burgers on AHT? Well, we want to see them! All we need from you is a photo of the burger, a description of the burger, and your name. Head over here for complete submission details » Looking for inspiration? Try recreating a burger you've seen in the reviews, check out our 2013 Serious Eats Guide to Grilling Burgers, browse our burger recipes, or get cooking tips from The Burger Lab. We're taking submissions for next week's A Hamburger Tuesday until the end of the week. 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!    |
| A Sandwich a Day: Turkey Well Worth Eating at Stage Restaurant Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:04 AM PDT In this great city of ours, one could eat a different sandwich every day of the year—so that's what we'll do. Here's A Sandwich a Day, our daily look at sandwiches around New York. Got a sandwich we should check out? Let us know. —The Mgmt. There's some bread under there. [Photograph: Max Falkowitz] Let's review Stage Restaurant, a Ukranian lunch counter in the East Village that's one of the great last holdouts of the neighborhood's Eastern European heritage. Boldly seasoned, affordable pastrami. Deliciously rare roast beef. Killer breakfast. Not so killer burgers. These are all quite well and good. (As are the excellent pierogies and potato pancakes, of course.) But might I suggest you hold out for roast turkey day? Because this is a turkey sandwich ($9) well worth eating. Yes, there's a sandwich under that pile—two slices of rye, which they offer to toast despite the flood of gravy that comes when you order your turkey open-faced. The turkey—moist and well-seasoned, pulled in large chunks devoid of gristle—is mounded and mounded until you barely see the crust poking out. Two things strike me as special about this sandwich. First, if you only want dark meat, your request will be almost entirely honored—no dry, bland breast meat on this pile. Second: should you ask for extra gravy, an advisable move given its balance of richness and salt, you'll be met with a quick smile. About the author: Max Falkowitz is the editor of Serious Eats: New York. You can follow him on Twitter at @maxfalkowitz.    |
| Lunch Box: Make-Ahead Mustardy Quinoa with Sausage, Potato, and Tarragon Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:28 AM PDT [Photograph: Suzanne Lehrer] This week's lunch box was borne out of a desire to make and eat my favorite potato salad for lunch, followed by the begrudging conclusion that just potato salad does not a responsible lunch make. So I added some things—handfuls of arugula and a base of black quinoa—to turn a side dish craving into a full-fledged meal. While I would never be one to turn away a mayo-based potato salad, I prefer to make a lighter, tangier version. A simple vinaigrette of mustard, olive oil, and fresh tarragon goes a long way, contouring the sweet, mild flavor of the potatoes without overwhelming, and preserving the texture without becoming something gloppy and scoop-able. Crispy sausage is a natural accompaniment, as is the rendered fat whisked into the dressing. Quinoa soaks it all up—and provides a delicious disguise for a summer picnic hankering. About the Author: Suzanne Lehrer is a writer and recipe developer in New York and a recipe editor for Cooking Channel. When not curating her budding hot sauce collection, she puts her French Culinary Institute education to good use in kitchens all around town. Follow her recipes and cooking adventures at TheSuzChef.com and on twitter @the_suzchef. Get the Recipe!    |
| A Bowl of Good Stuff at Pecking Order Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:35 AM PDT Photograph: Lindsey Howald Patton The interesting thing about a restaurant doing Filipino fusion is that there is hardly a clear-edged Filipino mold to riff off of in the first place—it's all fusion, really. The country's cuisine is among the most patchwork I know of, thanks to its proximity to, trade with, and/or history of being dominated by China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Spain, the United States, and Japan. Pecking Order's menu pays a bit of respect to that mix, with things like house-made longaniza (which is similar to Spanish chorizo) and egg noodles. But the dishes that the restaurant takes particular pride in are ones that are particularly popular or only found in the Philippines, like the calamansi vinaigrette and banana ketchup. Pecking's Filipino-style fried chicken has earned its popularity, but this time I went for A Bowl of Good Stuff ($12), a coconut curry dish piled with chunks of light and dark meat chicken, sautéed green beans, salty flits of caramelized onion, and fine shavings of green onion. Right off the bat, this dish is less spicy and more savory than other Southeast Asian coconut curries I've had. Every bite brings something different to the fore. One mouthful gives you the warmth and creaminess of the coconut; the next is all-out chicken stew; then you snag a caramelized onion and it's a salty little explosion. At the bottom of the dish, your rice (brown in my case, but the choice is yours when you order) soaks it all in, while atop you have a julienned latticework of crisp cucumber and tart green apples. Without the sweetness you expect from Thai curry, the green apple was a fun addition. And if Pecking Order—with its bright reds and blues, eclectic wall art featuring chickens, and funky kid's sidewalk chalk font pointing the way to the bathrooms—isn't fun, I don't know what is. Pecking Order4416 North Clark Street, Chicago IL 60640 (map)    |
| Toki Underground Chef's New Southeast Asian Tasting Menus in Washington, DC Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:32 AM PDT  VIEW SLIDESHOW: Toki Underground Chef's New Southeast Asian Tasting Menus in Washington, DC Some of Maketto's dim sum [Photographs: Brian Oh] Chef Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground fame has a new project in the works, but it's not slated to touch down on H St. until later this year. Development of Maketto, Bruner-Yang's send-up to Southeast Asian street food, is humming along; in the meantime, the chef has installed his team at Hanoi House on 14th St. for a three-month residency. For the rest of the summer, Bruner-Yang and Chef de Cuisine James Wozniuk will be serving six-course, family-style dinners Monday through Saturday for $30 per person in order to try out different flavor combinations and techniques for Maketto. Bruner-Yang describes the residency as "a time of practice and creativity," an opportunity to "test dishes that the chefs love to eat—foods that they grew up on and dishes that they fell in love with during their travels throughout Asia and more." Chef Erik Bruner-Yang overseeing one of Maketto's first nights at Hanoi House The team will be switching up the menu on a weekly basis, if not more frequently. They'll also be circulating dim sum carts with items like Steamed Pork Buns and Pickled Pineapple, ranging in price from $2 to $10. With heavy influences from countries like Cambodia and Taiwan, dinners will feature dishes like Wagyu Lok Lak and Crispy Fried Prawn Heads. Considering Toki Underground's diminutive kitchen, Bruner-Yang is relishing the opportunity to cook on a broader scale. "There's a lot of resourcefulness and hard work that goes into Toki," he says, "It's absolutely a great foundation for Maketto." Check out the slideshow for a look at the first meal on offer » Maketto at Hanoi House2005 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009 (map) Reservations are required through OpenTable (and they're going fast). About the author: Brian Oh is a Washington, DC based international development professional and a food, photography, and travel enthusiast. In his free time, you can usually find him stuffing his face in our nation's capital. Follow him on Twitter @brianoh11    |
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