So you’re driving down the road and you start to feel those old familiar pangs of hunger. What to do.
It is not so much of a question here in nelson as we only have one true drive through restaurant. The rest of North America is not really the same.
The city of Baldwin Park CA., the home of the first drive through restaurants, has banned the development of any new drive troughs’.
Story here http://tinyurl.com/28ngcal
From John Rogers (AP)
"Amid complaints of obesity and lines of idled cars stretching into neighbourhood streets, this blue-collar town is banning new drive-troughs’ in hopes of shedding its reputation as a haven for convenient, fatty foods."
This has caused quit a stir in this town of 90,000 with 17 drive troughs, and debate.
for some there it is almost a way of life, you get up, the kids a re sick you left late, drive through breakfast, lunch time run a few errands, go to the drive through, stayed late finishing up that report?, grab something on the way home because you too tired to cook.
Do we really need to sit in our cars for everything? Cars were originally a way to get from a to b. faster than horses, they were not our offices, our dining rooms, our local watering hole.
We need a new out look on this.
Hey I am not saying ban drive through, far from it. When I travel, I like my Timmies.
What I am saying is that it should not replace a meal from home. You know how it is. We get up late every morning, run around getting ready for work and find that we have no time for breakfast, so we get in the car, drive down the road and pull into a convenient drive through and grab something to go.
Hey it's only 6 bucks right. Now multiply that by 4 days a week 24 dollars. for less than that and getting up a little earlier, you could have made that English muffin, egg, bacon/sausage thing with orange juice, and still had time to create a lunch with leftovers from last night. You did cook dinner last night right? No? Oh my.
Really it comes down to choices and moderation. If you want to sit in your car, waste gas, and eat what ever comes through that window. So be it.
Hey we all get jammed up some days.
You should think of the drive through like a treat, not a habit.
Now where's the nearest White Castle, I'm hungry.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Simple, Is So... Well Simple
The world is a complicated place and getting more so every day. The recent recession has shown that there is a center to every family and that is food.
We all gather around the dinner table as many times a week as we can, to sit down and enjoy a meal together. There seems to be a divergence of sorts in the food world. The complicated meal that takes more than a couple of hours to make has been some what supplanted by the meal that only takes an hour or less. This does not however mean that we have reduced the quality of what we eat, by no means. If anything the opposite is true. With food being in the main stream of the internet we have become much more aware of not only how to prepare our food, but what’s in it and how it got to the store. The chain of food processing is no longer a mystery. Some have written, exposing the underbelly, pardon the pun, of the beef, poultry, and pork industries, with much of it focused on the bad side. I believe that if you want to eat meat poultry, or pig or any other once living animal, then you should make am effort to see the slaughtering process from start to finish.
That said, many people have written about the few growing number of farmers who are making an effort to raise their product as humanely and sustainably as they can. The difference in taste is noticeable. Beef for instance is grown and marketed as a commodity. Plain and simple. Get as many cows as big and as fast to market as you can. Most of these are corn fed and taste like it. For the most part there is nothing wrong with this. We need to feed the world some how. A few however see the industry as waiting for a niche player to enter. Organic beef, grass fed, humanely slaughtered, etc. there is a market for this. As more people become aware of food there will be more demand on higher standards for the industry.
So simple right. What does it mean to me?
Simple is finding the best ingredients you can and not messing with them. Get the most natural flavour out of them that you can and do not bury that flavour by over spicing, or over cooking.
Take the so simple and yet we screw it up day after day. The way we put everything on the burger, is it any wonder you need the meat at all? I mean cheese, tomato, pickle, onion, bacon, bbq sauce, mustard, ketchup, mushrooms, I mean really, come on, who are we kidding.
With that many toppings you would need a 3/4 pound burger to taste the meat. And yet we eat these everyday. The only things on there that hasn't been processed to death are the toppings.
We all do not have the ability to locally source our meat, but, we can choose how we cook it in our homes. There are several good sources for this. Ozersky TV has a great vignette by josh on cooking a burger on the grill. The Minetta tavern has taken this one step further by putting together, what is reputed to be the best hamburger you can buy. Albeit for 26 bucks US$. There are pizza places that are trying to hold true to and view of history of pizza. Sourcing 00 flour, fresh mozzarella, locally made pepperoni, San Marzano tomatoes, and most important, a brick oven. Whether it is heated with wood, coal, gas or oil fire. The idea is to get it freaking hot and let the pies fly. There are places that only make 3-4 styles, that's it, and when the dough is gone that's it no more pizza tonight. You do not need a pizza that has been over thought with cheese in the crust, or all the distractions. Get, or better yet make some thing that has some love in it. You will taste the difference, and when you get right down to it, it takes no longer than ordering it from the local dominos.
And speaking of time...
This notion of you don't have time to cook is bullshit. Yes we have kids and yes they need to be fed, but you do have time to prepare a decent meal. So what if you won't get home until 7, make a snack and move on with it. Making a meal is, and for most of us a joy to make. It is our end of day calm down from the rush. A time to reflect on the events of the day, to resolve issues and to plan for the next day. Sure there are times when we want to go out, to celebrate accomplishments holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and the like. They have there place, no doubt, but to use the excuse that you have no time to cook is to fool yourself, and those around you. To some of us however we are not being fooled at all.
We all gather around the dinner table as many times a week as we can, to sit down and enjoy a meal together. There seems to be a divergence of sorts in the food world. The complicated meal that takes more than a couple of hours to make has been some what supplanted by the meal that only takes an hour or less. This does not however mean that we have reduced the quality of what we eat, by no means. If anything the opposite is true. With food being in the main stream of the internet we have become much more aware of not only how to prepare our food, but what’s in it and how it got to the store. The chain of food processing is no longer a mystery. Some have written, exposing the underbelly, pardon the pun, of the beef, poultry, and pork industries, with much of it focused on the bad side. I believe that if you want to eat meat poultry, or pig or any other once living animal, then you should make am effort to see the slaughtering process from start to finish.
That said, many people have written about the few growing number of farmers who are making an effort to raise their product as humanely and sustainably as they can. The difference in taste is noticeable. Beef for instance is grown and marketed as a commodity. Plain and simple. Get as many cows as big and as fast to market as you can. Most of these are corn fed and taste like it. For the most part there is nothing wrong with this. We need to feed the world some how. A few however see the industry as waiting for a niche player to enter. Organic beef, grass fed, humanely slaughtered, etc. there is a market for this. As more people become aware of food there will be more demand on higher standards for the industry.
So simple right. What does it mean to me?
Simple is finding the best ingredients you can and not messing with them. Get the most natural flavour out of them that you can and do not bury that flavour by over spicing, or over cooking.
Take the so simple and yet we screw it up day after day. The way we put everything on the burger, is it any wonder you need the meat at all? I mean cheese, tomato, pickle, onion, bacon, bbq sauce, mustard, ketchup, mushrooms, I mean really, come on, who are we kidding.
With that many toppings you would need a 3/4 pound burger to taste the meat. And yet we eat these everyday. The only things on there that hasn't been processed to death are the toppings.
We all do not have the ability to locally source our meat, but, we can choose how we cook it in our homes. There are several good sources for this. Ozersky TV has a great vignette by josh on cooking a burger on the grill. The Minetta tavern has taken this one step further by putting together, what is reputed to be the best hamburger you can buy. Albeit for 26 bucks US$. There are pizza places that are trying to hold true to and view of history of pizza. Sourcing 00 flour, fresh mozzarella, locally made pepperoni, San Marzano tomatoes, and most important, a brick oven. Whether it is heated with wood, coal, gas or oil fire. The idea is to get it freaking hot and let the pies fly. There are places that only make 3-4 styles, that's it, and when the dough is gone that's it no more pizza tonight. You do not need a pizza that has been over thought with cheese in the crust, or all the distractions. Get, or better yet make some thing that has some love in it. You will taste the difference, and when you get right down to it, it takes no longer than ordering it from the local dominos.
And speaking of time...
This notion of you don't have time to cook is bullshit. Yes we have kids and yes they need to be fed, but you do have time to prepare a decent meal. So what if you won't get home until 7, make a snack and move on with it. Making a meal is, and for most of us a joy to make. It is our end of day calm down from the rush. A time to reflect on the events of the day, to resolve issues and to plan for the next day. Sure there are times when we want to go out, to celebrate accomplishments holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and the like. They have there place, no doubt, but to use the excuse that you have no time to cook is to fool yourself, and those around you. To some of us however we are not being fooled at all.
Grocery Store Retail Trends
Many stores, and I mean franchise’s, are investing in keeping the customer entertained while they shop. From in store video to product demonstrations to any gimmick they can think of. One such store that follows this is Stew Leonard’s. Located in southern CT. they follow a very strict plan of attack for dealing with their customers. You enter through one door and follow a sort of maze through the store that takes you through every department. Think of it as the IKEA of food, only without the shortcuts. Mostly it is all fresh baked, squeezed, cut meat, fresh seafood, fresh made on site mozzarella cheese, other cheeses, fresh fruit. Many of the name brand product lines they do carry are very, and I mean strictly, limited. I learned for instance that they only carry one of the Fischer Wieser sauces. But they buy a lot of it, and I assume that they go through a lot of it. all the while they have old style Disney-ish flipping monkeys, a bunch of animatronic cows that will sing songs, a demonstration milk bottle filling machine, etc. is this all to distract you from what you are buying? To keep you from noticing the prices or it's just a shtick to entertain you and the kids. What ever. They seem to do it very well. I do like the way in which they get you to walk the whole store and all pass all the products whether you want to or not. Most people know that to get the best deals at the supermarket, stick to the outside isle. Stew Leonard has found a way to market all of their products to you without making it feel like it. Very interesting. I would say I that it is near on impossible for most stores to replicate but is it the future of retail? Maybe.
The New York Fancy Food Show
The New York food show was well attended this year by many from afar and near. It is really good to hear people who are new to the show. I take it as a sign that there is life to this industry. As an added feature this year we have the World Cup on, with two games daily to distract us. It’s really hard to concentrate when you hear cheering from across the room/hall/cavern. So what is this fancy food show? It is a North American trade show that brings together producers retailers and everyone connected to the food industry. It covers both floors of the Javits Center and covers almost every food product from every part of the world. You have big blocks of booths taken up by countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany, South Africa, Canada, etc. this show is huge. There is fresh to frozen, dried to shelf stable. I look for the shelf stable for the store but it is always good to try the cured hams from Spain or Italy, the myriad of cheeses from all over the world, and the sauces, BBQ hot savoury and otherwise. One of the highlights for me this year was running in to Mark McEwan from Toronto. He owns 3? restaurants and 1 gourmet food store there. More pertinent to the conversation is that he is the head judge for top chef Canada. This will be the first year it is run in Canada and chef Jamie Hertz has got to stage 3 of the auditions. Go Jamie. If you have gone to the show in the past it is a great way to reconnect face to face with your suppliers, talk about what’s new for them and you and reinforce the relationship. You are both there for your mutual benefit. So what’s new? Well chipotle still rules but there is a strong upsurge from the Asian market in hot sauces, vinegar flavours, and black garlic.
Black garlic is one of the most unusual items I have seen over the last four years. It comes out of Korea and I think will be one of the dominate players soon, if not just for the fascination of it all. There was a good contingent of waters from just about everywhere. Funny category that you would pay so much for what you can get from your tap, in most places. There was even, get this, organic water. What gives here, this is completely unsustainable and useless category. To bottle water in this day is and should be considered criminal. Chocolate is still big. there are, it seams more and more small business' putting there own spin on the chocolate category, gold covered, covering fruit, ghost chili infused with sel gris on top, the list goes on. All in all I like the show. It’s good to see products that we started with 4 years ago are still strong and thriving. Ones that we picked up just recently are gaining traction and proving stronger contenders, for shelf space. It is and I hate to say this some what gratifying to see some products that went into large supermarkets floundering because they no longer have the support of people like me to push it forward. I will run a small but tight line of products in a category, but I know all of them and can sell them equally to the customer. Try that in your supermarket. Overall impression is the show is totally worth it and I will continue attend when I can.
Black garlic is one of the most unusual items I have seen over the last four years. It comes out of Korea and I think will be one of the dominate players soon, if not just for the fascination of it all. There was a good contingent of waters from just about everywhere. Funny category that you would pay so much for what you can get from your tap, in most places. There was even, get this, organic water. What gives here, this is completely unsustainable and useless category. To bottle water in this day is and should be considered criminal. Chocolate is still big. there are, it seams more and more small business' putting there own spin on the chocolate category, gold covered, covering fruit, ghost chili infused with sel gris on top, the list goes on. All in all I like the show. It’s good to see products that we started with 4 years ago are still strong and thriving. Ones that we picked up just recently are gaining traction and proving stronger contenders, for shelf space. It is and I hate to say this some what gratifying to see some products that went into large supermarkets floundering because they no longer have the support of people like me to push it forward. I will run a small but tight line of products in a category, but I know all of them and can sell them equally to the customer. Try that in your supermarket. Overall impression is the show is totally worth it and I will continue attend when I can.
The Minetta Tavern, New York City
One of the first things I looked at when I planned this trip to New York City was what to eat. Now as you know I have been on this kick of doing the simple things really well, no exceptionally well! That is how I arrived at the Minetta tavern. The Minetta is a smallish tavern located in the West Village and close to NYU. Its claim to fame is the black label burger. How it got its name is a mystery to me. Much has been written about this burger. Some believe that it is the best and it was my aim to find out. For me this was a means to an end, this was my only goal for the day.
Arriving at the Minetta you have a doorman/concierge you walk in to an anteroom open the door and finally part the red velvet curtain, and that is just the entrance. What greets you inside is a noisy old school very posh tavern. I have no reference point on this as I do not go into these very often or at all. There is dark wood everywhere, and it seams that every square inch of the walls are taken up with caricatures of famous people. The place is packed. If you are going as a couple or more I would highly recommend reservations. I sat at the bar. Service is fast and good. To the burger. The burger as I understand it is made of three cuts of ground together by Pat Affray and sons. It is proprietary to the Minetta. It weighs 8 oz before cooking and that is where the fun begins. The burger is formed ahead of time and allowed to rest. The grill is not searing hot. The process starts with a drizzle of grape seed oil on the grill the burger goes down and now we wait, good char on one side and over it goes. Doneness is tested by temp of a metal skewer on the lips of the chef. Medium rare is the only way to go here, to order this beyond that would total defeat the experience. When the burger is done it is placed on a rack to rest. The partially caramelized onions are next. They go right into the burger juice on the grill to finish and absorb the juices of the burger. The burger is placed on a toasted bun that is made in house and topped with the onions. Served with shoestring fries made in house with 1/4 pickle tomato and lettuce on the side. The fries are worth it. Now the taste. I first took a bite out of the side of the burger only to taste just that to start. WOW! For an 8 oz burger it was soft juicy, crunchy goodness. You can really taste the meat, the subtly of flavours that you can only get from mixing different cuts. Not too heavy on the salt or pepper. To place cheese, ketchup, or anything else on this would be a crime. To bite into the whole burger is to have an almost existential experience. The way the burger plays with the sweetness of the onion and the bun that holds it all together. There is a small amount of pink meat in the center, nothing you would have to worry about. You have to force yourself to slow down and eat this. You can not just gobble it down like you’re at the company picnic or backyard BBQ. This is something to be savoured, to taste the texture, the nuances of each bite. That said there is one thing I did notice that really irked me. This had nothing to do with my food but more to what I witnessed around me. This folks is a burger, probably the best one you will ever taste. The package is complete burger, caramelized onions and bun together. So I ask you this, why-o-why do you order the burger without the bun or worse yet you pull the burger out of the bun and eat just the burger with a knife and fork. Folks if you are going to order a burger that this much care and attention in getting it to you, do not f it up and insult the chef and all the staff who work there by not eating the whole package. This burger works. Do not disassemble it to meet the whims of your fancy low carb diet crap. If this is you, you should go somewhere else and let the rest of us enjoy this. Enough said. Ultimately this for me was the pinnacle of it all. The perfect marriage. This is best burger I ever ate. Now what do I do?
Arriving at the Minetta you have a doorman/concierge you walk in to an anteroom open the door and finally part the red velvet curtain, and that is just the entrance. What greets you inside is a noisy old school very posh tavern. I have no reference point on this as I do not go into these very often or at all. There is dark wood everywhere, and it seams that every square inch of the walls are taken up with caricatures of famous people. The place is packed. If you are going as a couple or more I would highly recommend reservations. I sat at the bar. Service is fast and good. To the burger. The burger as I understand it is made of three cuts of ground together by Pat Affray and sons. It is proprietary to the Minetta. It weighs 8 oz before cooking and that is where the fun begins. The burger is formed ahead of time and allowed to rest. The grill is not searing hot. The process starts with a drizzle of grape seed oil on the grill the burger goes down and now we wait, good char on one side and over it goes. Doneness is tested by temp of a metal skewer on the lips of the chef. Medium rare is the only way to go here, to order this beyond that would total defeat the experience. When the burger is done it is placed on a rack to rest. The partially caramelized onions are next. They go right into the burger juice on the grill to finish and absorb the juices of the burger. The burger is placed on a toasted bun that is made in house and topped with the onions. Served with shoestring fries made in house with 1/4 pickle tomato and lettuce on the side. The fries are worth it. Now the taste. I first took a bite out of the side of the burger only to taste just that to start. WOW! For an 8 oz burger it was soft juicy, crunchy goodness. You can really taste the meat, the subtly of flavours that you can only get from mixing different cuts. Not too heavy on the salt or pepper. To place cheese, ketchup, or anything else on this would be a crime. To bite into the whole burger is to have an almost existential experience. The way the burger plays with the sweetness of the onion and the bun that holds it all together. There is a small amount of pink meat in the center, nothing you would have to worry about. You have to force yourself to slow down and eat this. You can not just gobble it down like you’re at the company picnic or backyard BBQ. This is something to be savoured, to taste the texture, the nuances of each bite. That said there is one thing I did notice that really irked me. This had nothing to do with my food but more to what I witnessed around me. This folks is a burger, probably the best one you will ever taste. The package is complete burger, caramelized onions and bun together. So I ask you this, why-o-why do you order the burger without the bun or worse yet you pull the burger out of the bun and eat just the burger with a knife and fork. Folks if you are going to order a burger that this much care and attention in getting it to you, do not f it up and insult the chef and all the staff who work there by not eating the whole package. This burger works. Do not disassemble it to meet the whims of your fancy low carb diet crap. If this is you, you should go somewhere else and let the rest of us enjoy this. Enough said. Ultimately this for me was the pinnacle of it all. The perfect marriage. This is best burger I ever ate. Now what do I do?
Friday, July 09, 2010
New York Style Pizza in New Haven CT
Last week I saw the one of the best ways to make a pizza. Care and passion and attention to detail are obviously important. The place was Modern Apizza in New Haven CT.
Modern Apizza is one of these old school New York style pizza joints, family owned and run. What makes it good? Everything. It’s a thin crust pie with great toppings and a fantastic crust.
I got to talk to Steve the manager there and quizzed him on some of the methods and ingredients that make their pie so good. While he would not reveal all, he was able to confirm that they make their dough 18-24 hours in advance, with “00” flour, and the sauce was mmmmmm……. I had read once that to make a good pie you need an uncooked sauce.
What is that? Open the can of tomatoes add some spices and in this case some sweetness nothing else. The sauce will cook while it is in the oven.
Aside from the sweetener, the only thing Steve would confirm is that they use oregano in the sauce.
The pizza dough is thrown right onto the peel as it is a thin crust, New York style, there is no chance that you are going to be moving this thing around otherwise. The large is the same width as the peel about 18 inches. The toppings go on, I had the Margherita, and into the oven.
The oven, there are two, are old school, oil fired behemoths. The take out oven is fired up in the afternoon holds 15 large pies. The man on the peel is “the guy”, he has to not only put the pies in the oven but move them around so they cook evenly. He even takes into consideration the fact that when you put a pie in there is a cooling effect on the oven in that spot. The peel handle is about six feet long. The oven will heat up to about 900° if they want, but they find that 700° works about right.
The menu is straight forward, and they do not deviate from what works. They do not follow the trends for what’s hot. The end result? Well, it is something you will have to experience for yourself. While it would not be hard to replicate many aspects of this at home the hardest part would be getting your oven hot enough. That said, you can make this great pizza at home you just need to prep and pay attention to the details.
Modern Apizza is one of these old school New York style pizza joints, family owned and run. What makes it good? Everything. It’s a thin crust pie with great toppings and a fantastic crust.
I got to talk to Steve the manager there and quizzed him on some of the methods and ingredients that make their pie so good. While he would not reveal all, he was able to confirm that they make their dough 18-24 hours in advance, with “00” flour, and the sauce was mmmmmm……. I had read once that to make a good pie you need an uncooked sauce.
What is that? Open the can of tomatoes add some spices and in this case some sweetness nothing else. The sauce will cook while it is in the oven.
Aside from the sweetener, the only thing Steve would confirm is that they use oregano in the sauce.
The pizza dough is thrown right onto the peel as it is a thin crust, New York style, there is no chance that you are going to be moving this thing around otherwise. The large is the same width as the peel about 18 inches. The toppings go on, I had the Margherita, and into the oven.
The oven, there are two, are old school, oil fired behemoths. The take out oven is fired up in the afternoon holds 15 large pies. The man on the peel is “the guy”, he has to not only put the pies in the oven but move them around so they cook evenly. He even takes into consideration the fact that when you put a pie in there is a cooling effect on the oven in that spot. The peel handle is about six feet long. The oven will heat up to about 900° if they want, but they find that 700° works about right.
The menu is straight forward, and they do not deviate from what works. They do not follow the trends for what’s hot. The end result? Well, it is something you will have to experience for yourself. While it would not be hard to replicate many aspects of this at home the hardest part would be getting your oven hot enough. That said, you can make this great pizza at home you just need to prep and pay attention to the details.
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