Fork in the Road Talks to Chefs about Gastro-Economic Distress

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 10:55 PM, May 6, 2008

This week, Fork in the Road talks to chefs who are grappling with the crazy-bad euro/dollar exchange rate.

The problem is not that they can't afford a Paris vacation—no, it's that all those delicious things that come from Europe (like cheese, wine, Mediterranean fish, chanterelles and truffles) are now ridiculously expensive. They can raise prices, but only so much—would you pay $22 dollars for a glass of Champagne? In some cases, that's how much chefs would have to charge to maintain any profit margin. So the chefs are sourcing other ingredients and changing their menus to stay both profitable and relatively affordable.

Our Man Sietsema and Fork in the Road Join Forces, Eat Dosas

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 8:21 AM, April 30, 2008

This week's Eats section is a special South Indian extravaganza. Our Man reviews Tamil Nadu Bhavan, a new vegetarian South Indian restaurant on Lexington Avenue. Meanwhile, I discover three Hindu temples that all boast canteens, two of which focus on South Indian fare.

First up! Our Man at Tamil Nadu Bhavan, where he finds 20 varieties of dosas, including rarer finds like the ghee roast (a dosa swimming in clarified butter) and the self-explanatory "5-foot dosa," which is so big Our Man notes that it could be used to wrap up a good-sized child.

Our Man also finds serviceable South Indian thalis (full set meals of rice, several veggies and bread), along with all manner of lentils and rice aplenty. The best rice option, Our Man finds, is a one called curd rice that comes swimming in yogurt. It has a "puckeringly sour effect. Little Miss Muffet would have approved," notes Our Man.

Turn the page, and you'll find FitR (that's me) at three Hindu temples: two in Queens, one in New Jersey. Hindu temples often have kitchens to prepare prasad. Those are small food items (usually sweets) that are first offered to the gods, and then eaten by devotees as part of the worship.

These three temple kitchens, though, evolved into full-fledged canteens. (Well, one is more of a sweets/snacks shop), You can sit among a hubbub of families and eat all kinds of dosas, uttapam, idli, daals and other, rarer, regional specialties like pongal—a buttery yellow split pea and whole peppercorn soup—and bobbatlu, a sweet, grainy flatbread served with milk poured over it.

Fork in the Road Reviews Islero (Plus Bonus Recipe)

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 9:34 AM, April 23, 2008

In this week's paper, I review Islero, a new tapas spot on East 50th Street.

The upshot is that Islero has potential, but it doesn't seem to know itself very well. Throughout a meal at Islero, there are some inexplicable choices that seem to be an awkward reach for trendiness or fanciness—too many fussy garnishes, squeeze-bottle squiggles of sauce, chairs that tower strangely over the tables.

But some of the food is really tasty, and if the place would just relax into itself, I think it would be a good neighborhood spot.

The recipe (it's simple this week!) for Islero's best dish, arroz cremoso, after the jump.

Islero's Arroz Cremoso
Yield: 4 Servings

4 ounces forbidden Chinese black rice (see note)
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups hot chicken stock
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1 tablespoon white truffle oil
2 ounces drunken goat cheese, cut in cubes
3 ounces Manchego cheese, shredded

In a pot over medium heat, combine rice and olive oil, and stir until all grains are coated and shiny. As if you were making risotto, add the chicken stock in 1/2 cup increments, stirring after each addition until chicken stock is absorbed by the rice. Once all the chicken stock has been absorbed by the rice, remove from heat and stir in the creme fraiche and truffle oil. Serve into 4 bowls, top each with an equal amount of the goat cheese cubes and shredded Manchego cheese. Serve immediately.

Note: Forbidden Chinese black rice can be found at Kalustyans.

Fork in the Road Reviews Elettaria (with Bonus Recipe)

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 8:34 AM, April 16, 2008

This week, I review Elettaria, Akhtar Nawab's new Indian-New American place on 8th Street in the Village.

I think the only other critic to write about Elettaria so far is Alan Richman, and I agree with his assessment that the restaurant has "a coherent and confident point of view."

Much of what I ate at Elettaria was both delicious and surprising—new ideas thoughtfully executed. Even when things aren't quite right (check out the waitress' dresses, for one...) they do reflect coherence and confidence. This is a restaurant with a soul and a point of view.

Whenever I review a restaurant, I'm going to try to get the chef to give me the recipe for a dish I liked and post it here.

So! Akhtar Nawab's Pan roasted Duck, Keema, Nettles, Cardamom, after the jump.

Pan roasted Duck, Keema, Nettles, Cardamom
Chef Akhtar Nawab, Elettaria
Yield: serves 4

1 Long Island duckling, butchered into two legs and two breasts
1 cup sugar
1 cup salt
1 tsp coriander, toasted
1 tsp fennel seed , toasted
1 tsp mustard seed, toasted
4 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp peppercorns
4 cardomom pods, ground in a spice grinder and toasted
4 tbs butter, divided
1 onion, minced fine
2 tsp ginger, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh chile
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
4 cardamom pods, divided
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp saffron
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced, 1/2 inch squares
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup diced carrots, 1/2 inch squares
1lb stinging nettles, cleaned and blanched
ground cardamom, to taste

For the duck breasts:
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, salt, coriander, fennel, mustard seeds, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, and cardamom. Pour this curing mixture over the duck breasts and leave to cure for 8 hours.

Bone the leg meat and coarsely dice the meat. Place in the freezer for 1 hour. When fully frozen, run through a meat grinder and place the ground leg meat in the fridge to keep cold.

For the keema (ragout):
In a large pot, add 2 tbs butter, then add the onion, ginger, garlic and chile. Leave to stew until tender. Separately, toast the cinnamon, cloves, 2 cardamom pods, turmeric and saffron in a small pan over medium heat. When aromatic, add the toasted spices to the onion mixture.

In a separate pan, heat 1 tbs butter and add the ground duck leg meat. Cook until the fat separates from the meat. Pour into a colander and discard the fat.
Add the ground duck meat to the already cooking onion and spice mixture. Cook over low heat until the flavor begins to develop.

After an hour of low heat cooking, add the carrots and cook for 20 more minutes. Then add the potatoes and cook until tender. When the potatoes are tender the ragout can be removed from the stove and left to cool.

To finish the dish:
Cook the duck breasts on the skin side on low heat in a heavy steel pan to render the fat. After about 10 minutes, discard the fat and add 1 tbs of butter to the pan. Add 2 cardamom pods to the pan, and baste until the meat is medium rare. Leave to rest in a warm place.

In the same pan as the duck was cooking, add the blanched nettles and sauté.

Gently re-heat the ragout in a small pot. Equally divide the ragout into 4 bowls, being careful not to damage the cooked potatoes. Carve and place the slices of duck breast over the ragout. Scatter the stinging nettles over the duck and season with ground cardamom.

Fork in the Road Tries Drinking Really, Really Local

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 9:13 AM, April 9, 2008

This week, FitR's column explores the urban winemaking phenomenon. The idea of making wine commercially in a city is all over SF's Bay Area already—see SF Chronicle, Imbibe magazine. And now it's come to New York.

Urban winemaking isn't about growing grapes in the city, which would be pretty much impossible. But there's a growing group of winemakers who want to have their production and tasting room facilities within the five boroughs—which makes sense, since a younger, more urban population is drinking more wine than ever before.

That's Michael Dorf, above, the founder of the Knitting Factory, who is opening a giant custom-crush facility in the West Village this fall. Basically, that means you can pay to make a barrel of your own wine under the tutelage of an expert winemaker.

Other urban wine activities: Bridge Winery's tasting room in Williamsburg, where you can taste at the bar as well as buy bottles, and Vintage New York's tasting room, where you can taste and buy Brooklyn Oenology's first two wines, just released this winter.

Today, Dr. Vino has news of yet another new urban winery, this one set to open in Red Hook.

Fork in the Road's Column on Hiatus this Week

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 8:52 AM, April 2, 2008

FitR's column in the paper is on hiatus this week, but you can catch back up with us in next week's paper.

And! You can still read our roundup of places to eat in Hunt's Point here.

Fork in the Road Explores Hunts Point Eats

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 8:56 AM, March 26, 2008

This week, FitR brings you to the South Bronx neighborhood that feeds the city—Hunts Point.

The vast wholesale fish, meat and produce markets in Hunts Point make up the largest food distribution center in the world. These markets are the most vital link in the supply chain that carries food to New York. Much of the food you're buying in markets or eating in restaurants comes through the markets, which operate all night to ship food to the sleeping city.

So, where to eat in the neighborhood that feeds the city? We found an amazing broccoli rabe hero, crackly-skinned pernil, great Southern-style barbecue, and outrageously delicious (and cheap) Dominican salt cod stew.

We also met a refugee from the Manhattan restaurant world who worked for Donatella Arpaia for years, but left to open his own spot on Hunts Point Avenue, close to where he grew up.

The neighborhood looks industrial and gritty, but it's not the dangerous place it used to be. Now, it seems more like a small town, where the cops can be persuaded not to write a parking ticket if they know you well enough. There's also great people-watching (and plenty of strip clubs). What's not to love?

Fork in the Road Loves Paté

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 6:47 PM, March 18, 2008

Loving paté is not a going-out-on-a-limb type opinion to have, we know, but we really do love us a good paté. Those of you who feel the same way should save up your pennies and get yourselves over to Bar Boulud.

For FitR's column this week, we're reviewing Daniel Boulud's new temple to charcuterie and wine.

It was interesting to see that many critics acknowledged that Bar Boulud's charcuterie is amazing, but nevertheless didn't give it much love—see NY Mag and Time Out NY. (With the notable exception of The Bruni).

It's true that many of the entrées are merely skillful, not inspired, and that several of them are not even skillful.

But you feel that the place's heart (and it's reason to be) is in the charcuterie, and so it's those patés and boudins and terrines that should carry the most weight in judging the restaurant. It would be ideal if the restaurant did away with almost everything else and just let the menu do what it does best without hedging its bets that not everyone likes fatty pork molded into slabs.

But that's just FitR's two cents, and you know how we like a good bit of molded pork.

Fork in the Road goes to French Camp

Posted by Sarah DiGregorio at 1:09 PM, March 11, 2008

For FitR's first column, I'm visiting some of the oldest French restaurants in the city. The food might be good—Chez Napoleon and Tout va Bien—or it might leave much to be desired—Le Veau d'Or—but the real reason to visit these places is their stubbornly eccentric, time-warpish charm. Or to get hit on by Robert Treboux, above, who will surely oblige.