Category Archives: Great Finds

Bountiful Babbo

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Whole grilled branzino.

Of all the places I wanted to dine during my recent trip to New York — and believe me, there were many — the one I probably wanted to go to most of all was Mario Batali’s Babbo.

I’ve long admired his exacting techniques and his way of paying hommage to old-country traditions while giving them a fresh, modern interpretation. I also love pasta. Moreover, you have to give it to a man who can get away with a red pony-tail and bright orange clogs.

The first clue that you’re walking into an establishment very much molded into the chef’s image is by what hits your ears. Loud, loud music. It was a lively mix of country and blues the night we were there. The New York Times once famously said it would have annointed Babbo with four stars if not for the pounding music. But Batali wouldn’t have it any other way. The soundtrack is what he wants to listen to. You have to admire that.

Plus, the energetic beat adds a convivial feeling to the restaurant. Amid the striking, huge spray of flowers in the center of the first floor, you’ll find tables of families enjoying a night out with their young kids, as well as couples clad in chic little black dresses and jeans with sports jackets.

The service is top-notch. Knowledgeable to a fault. They make a point to tell you that pasta dishes are entree-sized, and that you can have your whole fish filleted by a server or do it yourself if you wish. Servers can expertly recommend wines to go with your dishes, and tell you exactly why they would marry well with the flavors in the particular dishes you’ve ordered. You gotta like that.

Nuggets of fried goat tongue

Batali is known for his love of offal, and you’ll find many dishes featuring organs not often found on many other menus. When we heard there was a special of fried goat tongue salad with arugula ($13), we had to get it. We also had to have the lamb’s brain “francobolli” with lemon and sage ($19). And we couldn’t resist the starter of fresh cured sardines with caramelized fennel and lobster oil ($12).

Fresh sardines done up like modern art.

The fried goats tongue were crispy like fried sweetbreads in texture. The taste was a little gamy, almost duck-like. The sardines were velvety, their robust flavor nicely tempered by the licorice taste of the fennel.

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Marvelous Momofuku

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Worshipping pork buns

You think you’ve had pork buns before.

But I assure you that you’ve never had pork buns like these. Chinese steamed scallop-shaped buns all pillowy soft. Stuffed with Japanese cucumbers, scallions, hoisin sauce, and the juiciest, most meltingly tender pork belly slices you’ve ever sunk your teeth into. It will have you at one bite.

These are one of the most famous creations by Chef David Chang. At his Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam Bar, it’s a given that practically every table will order them. Trust me: They live up to the hype and then some. During our recent trip to New York, my husband and I chowed down on these babies three times in four days.

We would have gladly made a meal of a dozen of them, but that would have set us back a hefty $54. Yes, an order of two buns is $9. My late-father’s jaw would have probably dropped to the floor at the sound of that. But even he would have appreciated how spectacular these are.

A paper bag with Momofuku's insignia.

David Chang and his crew, whom he self-effacingly refers to along with himself as “a bunch of punks,” turn out Korean street food with stellar ingredients and creative, contemporary flair. They’ve built a mini Momofuku (“lucky peach” in Japanese) empire. And Chang’s been richly rewarded for his efforts, winning James Beard awards for “Rising Star Chef of the Year,” and “Best New Restaurant of the Year”  (for Momofuku Ko).

Hamachi with pea leaves, horseradish, and edamame

On our first day in the city, we snagged seats at the counter at Ssam Bar, where we enjoyed tiny “BBQ Rib” pork sandwiches stuffed with red onion slaw ($12); charred squid salad with the spicy flavors of kimchee ($14); hamachi strewn with edamame, horseradish, and pea leaves ($16); and of course, those pork buns.

Pork rib sandwiches

The next night, we squeezed into Noodle Bar. On a drizzly, chilly evening, we dug into bowls of “Momofuku Ramen” (with a mix of pork, and a poached egg; $16); and hand-cut noodles topped with fried garlic and a glistening slab of pork belly, ($15).

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Fabulous Fried Chicken

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We waited three years for this. And it was worth the wait.

Finally!

It took us all of three years, but on a recent Monday night, we did it. We made it up to Yountville for Ad Hoc’s fabled fried chicken night.

Since opening its doors in 2006, Ad Hoc’s simple, family-style, four-course, $49 per person set-menu has drawn raves, particularly for a few specific dishes. Sure, there’s the sous vide-cooked short ribs that are otherworldly tender. There’s the first-course salad, made with greens grown across the street at the French Laundry garden, that’s blessed with a sweet-from-the-earth flavor you’ll never forget. Then, there is the fried chicken.

When fried chicken is done by Chef Thomas Keller, you expect it to be something special. The tricky part is that it’s not always available. Indeed, the fried chicken is on the nightly menu only every other Monday. In other words, your chances of trying it are only twice a month. And when it’s available, people turn out in droves for it.

Rightly so.

I admit that I try not to give into fried chicken for the same reasons most diet-conscious women do. But when you’re married to Meat Boy, who never met anything fried he didn’t want to inhale, well, so much for counting calories. He’d been waiting a long time to try this particular chicken. He’d even taken a day off of work to do it. He’d skipped one of his night classes, too. But I’m sure his instructor will cut him some slack. It’s fried chicken, after all.

Hearts of romaine with avocado and green goddess dressing.

Dinner began with one of those amazing salads — whole hearts of romaine, strewn with shaved red onions, pickled radishes, spiced pecans and avocado wedges. It was dressed with creamy green goddess dressing.

Next, came the chicken — six pieces for just the two of us, piled high on a platter. The skin was battered with a rippling, mahogany crust. It audibly crunched as you took a bite. The flesh was so moist, juicy and tender, you barely had to chew. The chicken is brined overnight in salt, lemon, herbs, and honey. The next day, it’s dipped in buttermilk, then dredged in flour, and fried to perfection. Food & Wine magazine once featured the recipe for those who want to try recreating it at home.

We’re talking some pretty dang good chicken.

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Tantilizing Toffee

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Victoria's Toffee

The rewards of blogging are many, not the least of which is the kindness of Food Gal readers, many of whom know me only through cyberspace.

Take SteveK for instance. Steve and I have never met, though we both live in the Bay Area. His older brother happens to be a well-known broadcast journalist who belongs to a media organization of which I’m also a member. But no, I’ve never met his brother, either.

But SteveK, knowing I’m a fiend for chocolate, told me I ought to try this chocolate toffee made by a woman who used to help watch his young daughter at day-care. The woman, Victoria Stillian, used to make the toffee as gifts for friends and families. It was so addicting, they told her, that she ought to sell it. So, five years ago, Victoria and her husband, Ron Stillian, started doing just that.

Victoria’s Toffee of San Mateo is now sold at Draeger’s Markets, Piazza’s Fine Foods in San Mateo, Roberts Market, and GC’s Cafe in Menlo Park, as well as online. A 1-pound box is $24.95.

The chocolate almond toffee squares are strewn with crunchy chopped nuts. The toffee is sweet, but tempered by the slight earthiness of the chocolate. It has a nice texture — not so hard and sticky that it gets glued to your molars for life, but just right, as Goldilocks might say if she nibbled some. Read more

A New Way to Dice and Julienne

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Peter Hertzmann demonstrates a very cool new way to dice an onion.

Palo Alto cooking instructor Peter Hertzmann was kind enough to invite me to be a guest at his recent knife skills class at Sur La Table in Los Gatos. You may recognize his name from his regular comments posted on my FoodGal blog.

Admittedly, my brunoise may not be the world’s most perfect looking, but I know my way comfortably around a chopping board and chef’s knife. Even though Hertzmann is the author of “Knife Skills Illustrated: A User’s Manual” (W.W. Norton & Company), I did wonder just a tad how much new information I would pick up from the class.

The answer? A whole heck of a lot.

Just as my pilates instructor often points out to me that I have a bad habit of standing with one hip higher than the other, Hertzmann quickly noticed that I don’t always stand facing the chopping board straight on. Yes, another odd quirk, probably because I’m so used to talking to people while I cook that I naturally turn my body toward them.

Among his other tips to the class: Avoid making a banging noise when the knife blade forcibly hits the chopping board. In other words, don’t wield your knife like an axe against your vegetables. Use a quieter sawing motion instead.

But what I will forever be indebted to Hertzmann most for is showing me an ingenuous way to dice an onion and to julienne a carrot more quickly. Here’s how to do it. We’ll start with the onion first. (By the way, in the top photo, those are Hertzmann’s hands. In the next photos below, the hands belong to my husband, aka Meat Boy.)

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