Chow & Again tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2008-06-12:/chowandagain/9 2009-11-11T17:20:28Z Andrew Zimmern's Food & Dining Blog Movable Type Pro 4.2-en Where in the World? tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4219 November 11, 2009 November 11, 2009 Last week my pal Shane sent out an e-mail to his best and most well-traveled buddies. He and his family have had a crazy year... Last week my pal Shane sent out an e-mail to his best and most well-traveled buddies. He and his family have had a crazy year... Top chefs, Tucson, and Surviving the Holidays tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4216 November 9, 2009 November 9, 2009 Minnesotan Todd Macdonald is the new chef at Cru in NYC. Todd’s parents Bob and Sue are two of the most committed supporters of the... Minnesotan Todd Macdonald is the new chef at Cru in NYC. Todd’s parents Bob and Sue are two of the most committed supporters of the... Todd Macdonald is the new chef at Cru in NYC. Todd’s parents Bob and Sue are two of the most committed supporters of the local food and wine scene that I know of, and they are ardent boosters of great food and chefs around the world. Their son is a talented young man who deserves this shot in a big way. His parents have been to more Michelin-starred restaurants than anyone I know outside our industry, and their blog can be found at andrewzimmern.com.

Coon Creek Family Farm in Mondovi, Wisconsin, is the place to get turkey this holiday season. The farm offers stunning white turkey as well as heritage birds. Check 'em out. The birds I got two years ago are still the best I have ever had, and I am ordering some for Christmas this year since they freeze superbly. Plus turkey is good for you.

What’s not good for you is stuff like this, and despite the powerful call of this type of excess, it’s truly food porn of the most unattractive sort. I get the humor, and I laughed my ass off when I first saw this site. But after a week of talking to folks about it and seeing their almost rabid reactions to wanting to try food that for sure can kill you, I am starting to think some of this is dangerous. I am a civil libertarian of the highest order, but at some point (think smoking bans, warning labels for transfats, truth in labeling laws, et cetera) someone has to stop the ignorant and uneducated from hurting themselves. Why can Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cereal be advertised all morning long on Saturday when kids are watching cartoons, but Marlboro and Stoli Vodka aren’t allowed to? Seems like its all the same to me. And with both childhood obesity and adult diseases associated with poor dietary choices skyrocketing, I am convinced that our worship of foods like the ones seen on the thisiswhyyourefat.com have more than just a casual effect.

On the other hand, I was in Arizona last week and chowed on some truly great food. You need to check out El Charro in Tucson for its rooftop-dried carne seca, pico de gallo for pumpkin empanadas, tacos de cabeza, and killer flan, and Maico for the best birria (goat stew) I have eaten in years. In Phoenix, I had yet another amazing meal at Pizzeria Bianco. Chris Bianco is a superbly gifted chef and an even better human being. The marinara pie continues to be a revelation every time I eat it—tomato, dough, garlic, and oregano on angel's wings—simply evanescent. Chris also picked some figs from the tree outside his kitchen door and combined them with taleggio and prosciutto for a memorable special pizza of the day. But the experimental focaccia he’s toying with, made with Farro flour, Reggiano parmesan, and caramelized onions, had our table swooning. The wait for a table is legendary, but so worth it.

While there, Chris told me I should check out Claudio Urciuolo (formerly at Il Fornaio in LA), the new chef at Prado in the Montelucia Resort and Spa in Scottsdale. This was easy enough, since I happened to be staying there. It's a world-class resort, and the Joya Spa is incredible, but Claudio’s food is so superb it's worth building a long weekend around. You can eat each night at Prado and then spend the day in the spa. Lather-rinse-repeat. The collection of tequilas, the wine program, the sherry steward at the door, the fireplaces, the insanely comfy room, and the gorgeous detailing in the restaurant is one thing, but the food sets this place apart. We started with antipasti of wood grilled head-on prawns and house-made sausages, creamy and intense burrata with crispy escarole and dried tomato jam, sea scallops over braised controne beans, prosciutto, salames, cheeses, olives, bay scallop and crab risotto, roasted vegetables from a farm three miles down the road that included some of the best chili- spiked Brussels sprouts, pinky sized eggplant, and okra I have ever eaten, several cuts of grilled dry-aged beef and superbly fresh Suzuki, skate, and bream. All the grilling is done over local hardwoods and Claudio’s team is kicking ass in the Valley of the Sun.

Looking for a great Holiday gift for the outdoorsman in the family? My buddy Myke Hawke has a new custom-designed survival blade for sale on his site. I ordered one the moment it came out and won't travel anywhere without it. It’s called the Hellion. Tops Knives made the blade for Myke, and since he is one of the world's most famous survival experts, special-ops gurus, and security/tactics specialists, in addition to being a trained medic, you know that this knife can do it all. If you are looking for a gift for someone this holiday season, you should order now as I am sure there will be a waiting list very soon. I ordered mine last week and will carry it everywhere when I am in the field.


]]> The Kohler Experience tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4212 November 4, 2009 November 4, 2009 Food & Wine Magazine-partnered event. Jaques Pepin, Ulrich Koberstein, Marcus Samuelson, Jon Ashton, Claudine Pepin, Tory Miller from L’etoile, Adam Siegel from Lake Park Bistro (2008 regional JBA winner), Joe Bartolotta, Hosea Rosenberg, and about a dozen other great chefs (and about 45 winemakers) did an outstanding job teaching classes, performing demos, hosting book signings, and, of course, executing an amazing tasting dinner on Saturday night. Food events of this size are always more fun than the monster-sized events where guests never get to meet the talent and share time with them. At Kohler, all the chefs spent hours interacting with guests and sharing the experience.

The separately ticketed dinner on Saturday was especially awesome. Seating was limited to 120 guests—I told you to book early—which kept the focus on the food for sure, except when the winemakers and owners of Napa’s Merryvale broke out the good stuff and paired their wine with all six courses. Wine selections included a rare vintner’s reserve Carneros pinot noir with Jaques poulet avec sauce champignon and the fortified Antigua, a brandy infused Muscat dessert wine made from a blend of vintages all of which were more than 11 years old. It came with an awe-inspiring cluster of cheeses from Monroe’s Roth Kase Dairy. Regi Hise teamed the cheeses with sugar-poached young black walnuts still in the shell and a breathtaking rose petal confiture. I did a homey braised pork and chili dish right after Marcus’ lobster roulade with plum and chili sambal course—his lobster was off the hook. Jon Ashton did a poached sea bass with tonka bean broth and Ulrich did a blueberry and lemon verbena mousse with shortbread crisps and lime-sour cream sorbet. Killer. Stella Artois hosted a beer hall that was packed 24/7, and beer classes and tastings seem to be more popular than ever at events like this one. No need to wait in lines for hours at Aspen or SOBE, Kohler hosts one of the most impressive food and wine events in the country right in our own backyard.

Personal highlights from the weekend included cooking with Pepin, prowling the Friday night wine event at the Kohler Design Center with Marcus and Hosea, listening to Jaques and Claudine tell stories about their family and cooking memories, and, most hysterically, the owner of Merryvale (a Frenchman living in Napa) introducing the square-bottled Antigua to the gala dinner audience by asking them why they thought the wine was packaged in a square- sided olive oil bottle. He responded by telling the primarily Wisconsonian audience that it was so the bottle wouldn’t rattle around in their pickup trucks. I laughed so hard I was crying. You can’t make this stuff up!
]]> One Restaurant Makes a Difference tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4210 November 2, 2009 November 8, 2009 Doug Flicker’s Piccolo will open in the old Agri space restaurant that is currently Café Agri at 43rd and Bryant, and it should be up... Doug Flicker’s Piccolo will open in the old Agri space restaurant that is currently Café Agri at 43rd and Bryant, and it should be up... old Agri space restaurant that is currently Café Agri at 43rd and Bryant, and it should be up and running by January. I know it seems counter-intuitive to believe that a restaurant designed to serve a relatively small menu of small plates to a small group of patrons (no more than 30 seats) makes a difference on the local dining scene, but sometimes it’s the impression that counts the most.

A few months ago, when JP Samuelson, Steven Brown, and Doug were without their own kitchens, I really thought we were worse off as a food town. Three of the best chefs in the cities were sitting on the sidelines. I guess my fear as a local diner, with a vested interest as a food professional to boot, was that these three might seek higher ground as the floodwaters of the local restaurant scene became increasingly difficult to navigate. Well, JP is running the kitchen at Solera and now Doug is back in his own restaurant, and, yes Margaret, it makes a difference. Right now, much of the culinary firepower and bandwidth is outside of our downtowns, and I think this is the best thing that can happen to our food lives in terms of establishing restaurant longevity and keeping the best chefs. Plus it shows all the up-and-comers that you can find a simple storefront located in the heart of a residential area and do great business. And let's be honest, Flicker is one of the most extraordinary talents and nicest human beings in town. As a diner, I can't wait to eat his food again. I was out of town when Auriga closed and never had a “last meal” there, but I did attend Doug’s dinner at the Beard House in NYC around the same time and it was superb.

Speaking of one restaurant making a difference, you know I am really into the Eastern Euro food in Milwaukee, and many of us already know about Old Town, Three Brothers, et cetera. Many of these restaurants are operating on fumes despite their superb product, but there’s a new Serbian place opened by a veteran of Old Town, Ilija’s, that you need to check out. 
]]> Thai in the Twin Cities tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4198 October 26, 2009 October 26, 2009 And am I the last to know about the tiny little Bangkok Thai Deli at 315 University Avenue (651-224-4300), or am I helping fill up... And am I the last to know about the tiny little Bangkok Thai Deli at 315 University Avenue (651-224-4300), or am I helping fill up...
And she was right.

I devoured the pad-kee-mow, spicy noodles with chicken, egg, and sweet basil. The chili heat quotient was high, but the burn was slow and complex and the dish was almost a carbon copy of the one I love at Anna’s in Bangkok. The dish was superior to every version I have eaten locally. The gai-tom-kha was deep and limey, a stellar version of a barometer dish that I order in every Thai restaurant. The masaman curry, the fish with three flavors (pla-sam-rad), the larb, the papaya salad—every menu item I have had subsequently has  given me a new reason to celebrate Thai cooking in the heartland. If you love Thai food, real gutsy authentic Thai food, you need to check out BTD.  I have not been disappointed with anything I've ordered during my several visits.
 
Anyone seen the live kitchen video feed at D'Amico Kitchen every night from 7:30 to 10 p.m.?
 
I just got back from NYC and had a few stellar meals in between all the to and fro that takes up way too much time whenever I am back home. Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain really impressed me. I had lunch there and the steak tartare couldn’t have been better. The potato chips dipped in hot blue-cheese fondue was comfort food heaven. Flay came by the table and we chatted for a while, and I couldn’t help but be impressed by his kindness and the extraordinary way he took care of all his guests as he bounced between tables and kitchen. He has matured into a really cool human being and a savvy operator.

I also checked out Luke’s, a new lobster roll stand occupying the 200-square-foot space next to the tiny Caracas Arepa counter on East 7th Street just off 1st Avenue. Luke’s is awesome, the guy that owns it is from Portland, Maine, where his dad runs a fish company, so all the seafood comes from the harbor docks each day and winds up on Luke’s menu. Luke's only serves lobster, crab, or shrimp rolls or chowder and bisque, but if you want something quick and fresh you can't go wrong, especially post-club. Caracas is a NYC stalwart of the street dining movement, a little counter indented off the street where you can order any of a dozen or more types of Venezuelan arepas and empanadas. I adore this place and making a meal with friends out of offerings from both of these little stalls is a blast. It's uber-casual and all about the food.
 
Check out Saffron because chef/owner Sameh Wadi is importing his own spices and selling them out of his eatery. In his words: “It’s always been on my mind to share the culture and culinary history of my ancestors. The basis of Middle Eastern and North African cuisine is in the spice blends, I’m pretty sure we have the biggest spice collection of any restaurant in the Cities. When you buy ground spices and spice blends off the shelf at supermarkets, they could have been sitting there for over a year, shipped from god knows where. They have anti-caking agents and additives to extend shelf life, they lose most of their aroma and that just doesn’t compare to the real thing. We seek out the highest quality spices such as the Iranian saffron that we have imported directly to us, hand grind, and blend with about 25 other exotic and hard to find spices to produce Ras El Hanout.” You can buy them at Saffron or online at the restaurant website starting October 31. Now the big question is how he is going to explain bringing Iranian saffron into the USA…that’s gotta be a great story!]]>