At Least There Was This

Today, Mike Mussina notched his first 20 win season in his 18 year career by beating the Red Sox 6-3. It doesn't really make up for the fact that the Yankees are not going to the playoffs this year and the Sox are, but I get to be happy today. I really wanted Mussina to get to 20 wins this year because no one expected him to pitch like this coming into the season. It's too bad the Yankees finally got around to playing their best baseball of the season when it was too late.

NP: New York, New York, Frank Sinatra

That's All She Wrote

Last night, I watched the last game to ever be played in Yankee Stadium. Too bad the Yanks couldn't make it to the post-season this year. We could have extended the building's run for a few more weeks. That wasn't the case, and last night was it. I really wish I could have gone to the game, but with tickets going for around $500.00 each, it wasn't really in my budget anymore (2 kids will do that to you). Instead, I watched it on television.
I know some people out there will think of all the goings-on as Yankee fans and New Yorkers feeling too self-important and too Yankee/New York-centric. That's not the case at all. Popes have given mass there. Concerts have been played. Some of the greatest boxing matches and football games have taken place in Yankee Stadium. It's not only about the Yankees - they just provided most of the memories.
I've been there too many times to count over my lifetime, but I never got to go this year. In fact, it's the only year I haven't been to at least one game out of the past nine. Regardless, I'll miss the place. I've been to many different stadiums and arenas, and nothing beats coming out of the dark underground tunnel to the seating area - it's usually so bright - with the green and brown of the field and the blue of the seats with the white of the facade in center field. I loved it every time.
I've watched the new stadium grow ever bigger from across the river during my commutes to and from work, and it looks beautiful. I'm sure it will be a great place to watch a game. However, all of my memories with Donnie, Bernie, Jeter, Righetti, Willie, O'Neill, Tino, and the rest will be across the street.

Taking A Stake in Omaha

Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I were walking around our town with our two kids trying to enjoy the nice weather when we realized that we had nothing for dinner. We thought about going out to eat since we were already out of the house, but sitting our 2 week old daughter in a crowded restaurant filled with people infected with who-knows-what didn't really sit at the top of our list. So... we needed to find an alternative. Chinese? Not really in the mood. Italian? We just had that the night before. Thai or Indian? There are no good Thai or Indian places in our town. However, there is an Omaha Steaks Store. I've never been in there before and we've never had their food. In fact, I always found it a little odd. But our car was parked right in front of the store, so we went in. Luckily, they were having an in-store sale yesterday, so we grabbed a box of bacon-wrapped filet mignon and some stuffed baked potatoes. I have to say that the steaks were awesome. Sure, a part of that was due to my grilling ability - but most of it came from the steak. I was lucky enough to get the box of 4 steaks for only $15.99 but they usually cost way more than that. Now I'm going to be wanting to get steaks from there all the time. Especially with the places around here - I've purchased spoiled meat at almost all of the major supermarkets around here - Stop and Shop, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and A&P. Only Kings and Shopright haven't disappointed yet.

NP: Comfortably Dumb, Extreme

Eating Inn Ho-Ho-Kus

Right before our baby we born (1 day before) we decided to go out for dinner and a movie. While we usually like to go into NYC for our dinner, this time we decided that we wouldn't travel so far. My wife was supposed to deliver our daughter in a little more than a day and we felt it was probably better to stay closer to home. Also I don't think my wife was really up for walking around the city streets. So... we decided to check out the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn for dinner. This place is in my sister's town and we had read a few good things about it.
The place is very quaint, but also very old inside. There was an area of outside seating set up, but it was still very warm out so we opted to sit inside. Unfortunately, that meant we were the only people sitting down for dinner who didn't have hair a shade of gray, silver, blue or white (this may have been due to our choice of an early dinner so we could make a showing of The Dark Knight later in the evening). Anyway - the staff were very attentive and nice. although it still amazes me the number of waiters/waitresses we've encountered who do not know what the word "pasteurized" means.
We both had some appetizers to start out the meal. I had a special - it was an avocado and corn chowder with king crab meat. It was actually very good, but our waiter failed to tell me that it was to be served cold and I wasn't expecting it. After mulling it over for a minute, I felt that I should have realized it was cold - but I still think the waiter should have told us. My wife decided to have the warm goat cheese over mixed greens, candied walnuts, granny smith apples with lemon herb vinaigrette. This was excellent.
For dinner, I had the crispy Long Island duck breast and leg with wild berry sauce, while my wife had the Canadian farm raised salmon with horseradish crust in a grainy dijon mustard glaze. I paired my entire meal with a couple of glasses of Barton & Guestier Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Pays d'Oc, France. I really enjoyed this wine and our meals were very good. It was a little expensive considering the fact that I was sitting in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, but that's the general feeling I get whenever we go out to eat in Jersey. Too expensive for what you get.
Would I go back? It was definitely good enough for a second try. Is it likely to happen? With 2 kids and limited going out time - probably not.

Kugelhopf!

Every once in a while, I get in the mood to try and make something good to eat. The other day it was breakfast time and I wanted to make something good for my wife and myself (we are both off of work this week). I was perusing through the Joy of Cooking when I came across something called a Kugelhopf. The Joy describes it as similar to a brioche with less of a buttery-goodness. Even with that basic description, I really wanted to try it. It wasn't something I could make for breakfast - it takes way too long - so we made pancakes. However I began crafting my latest achievement in baking later that evening.
The kugelhopf is either from the Alsace region of France or somewhere in Germany or Austria. I've read sources that point to all different regions. Some feel it is more of a holiday bread, but it is great for breakfast. This is one of those bread recipes that needs to be started the day before you want to bake it because it's technically a 3-rise bread. The first is about 1 hour, then there's a 4-12 hour proofing time in the fridge, then another hour of rising before you finally bake it. This thing takes commitment.
Anyway, besides for substiuting dried cranberries for the currants called for in the recipe, I stayed pretty close to the cookbook's instructions. You know what? This is a great breakfast bread. Especially warm out of the oven with some butter on it.

Complaining Is So Easy To Do

Even though this is supposed to be a very happy time in my life (it is) - we have been welcoming our new daughter into this world this week - my drive into work tonight has made me finally want to complain about the drivers in New Jersey. We moved a little less than a year ago, and I've been trying to see if I was just being a stuck-up New Yorker having problems with transitioning to the suburbs. However, I really don't think that's it. Why, does it seem, that no one understands the concept of "the passing lane" in New Jersey? People mosey along in the left lane driving at 40 mph in a 55 mph zone. Then, they get mad if you want them to move over so you can keep going. Driving slow is what the right lane is for. These people need to move over. Another thing that really bugs me is that no one seems to know how to merge. I've seen people come to a complete stop in the center lane so that they could merge into either the right or left lanes. Screw the flow of traffic - they just stop. And it's not a gradual slowing down - it's 40 mph to zero in no time flat. On my route home, you could not imagine the number of rear end collisions due to this phenomenon. I could keep going on but I have to get to work.
All I know is that I've lived in New York City and Boston (owning a car in both) and have driven in Italy, Spain, Puerto Rico and Mexico and New Jersey has had some of the worst driving I have ever seen. I always thought it was a stereotype created by New Yorkers, but now I'm really not too sure about that.

Exploration Leads to Nice Discoveries

Yesterday afternoon, I woke up from my post-working-overnight slumber and ran to do some shopping before I had to retrieve my son from his grandmother's house. I decided to go and check out this place called Market Basket here in New Jersey. I've been missing my gourmet supermarkets that I had become very used to shopping at while living in Manhattan and I still haven't found anywhere around here that I like as much. I've heard good things about this place, so I plugged it into my GPS and away I went. Although it's not that far away, you have to take the streets there from my house, and it's a winding way - which ended up taking too long. The store itself is nice, and there were some great deals on fresh fish and steaks. However, I didn't like the vibe of this place. It's in a very rich neighborhood, where the local "houses" are about 6 times the size of my little hovel. It's the first grocery store I've ever been to where I felt like I was out of place. They did carry Cacio di Roma, which is a very important component of Cacio e Pepe - a pasta dish which is basically pasta noodles covered in this cheese and fresh black pepper - it's really good. And since I found it in this store, it's what we had for dinner last night.
I also went into the new Stew Leonard's Wine Store which just opened about 1 week ago near my house. I haven't been too happy with the wine shops around here, but in the past month this store opened and a new Best Cellars. So prospects are looking up.
I was happy to see that they had the wine I was looking for - Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi 2006. I've had this wine before, although the last bottle I had was a 2002, and I really enjoy it. So, I was thinking of something to drink with my Cacio e Pepe, and I wanted a nice Italian white. I don't know if this is the best wine to go with this meal, but I wanted it, so I found it and bought it. This bottle seemed creamier with more of a melon taste than I remember the last bottle having. Overall, I was very happy with it.
I was also happy with the wine store. I was a little skeptical going in - it is a chain store, but it wasn't bad. It's not the best store I've been in, but their sales were good and although it had its share of Little Penguin wines, they had a nice selection of more upscale wines as well.
I'd go back. Pretty soon I'll check out the new Best Cellars...

NP: Benigno and Roberts, WFAN

Otter Pops!

The other day I took my son to Rite Aid to pick up his vitamins, and what did I see when I entered the store? Otter Pops! I had to buy them. So now I've got Alexander the Grape, Sir Isaac Lime and the crew freezing away in the ice box. Perfect timing too. It's going to be in the upper 90's this week, so some nice cold ice treats will be just what the doctor ordered.

I Needed A Drink

If you read my previous post, you'll understand the title of this one. Tonight, I needed some wine.
Recently, we had a barbecue and I went out to the wine shop to grab some bottles for that day. While I was there, I grabbed a couple of new wines (to me) for myself. Tonight I opened up the Step Road Blackwing Shiraz 2005, Australia (screw cap). To be honest, I picked up this bottle because I liked the label. Not the best way to pick out a wine, but I thought it looked nice and wanted to try it. I wasn't disappointed. Tonight, I drank this with some spicy grilled lamb and roasted potatoes. I felt it went really well. To me, this wine started off with some red cherries, then hit me with a hint of tar and finished off with cranberries. Overall, I enjoyed this wine and went through 3 glasses with dinner. Perhaps it went better with my meal, but I think I enjoyed it a lot more than those who wrote the reviews of it I read on the web (which I read tonight while searching for the pic of the label). To me, this was a nice smooth wine, which went great with my meal and gave me what I really needed - a drink.
Another bottle of wine I bought during that same trip was Washington Hills Riesling 2005, Washington. I opened this about 1 week ago while we were eating some Indian take-out. I had really wanted a Gewürztraminer, but there were none in my house, so I opened this. It actually went very well with the meal because the food was really spicy and this was very sweet. The only thought I had while drinking this was "apple juice." I enjoyed drinking this with Indian, but it really did taste like apple juice to me. With a nice alcoholic twist.
On the day of the barbecue, I had bought a few different bottles on wine to drink. A couple different whites and some red. The first bottle of white we opened up was the La Delizia Pinot Grigio 2006, Italy. I don't really remember exact things about this wine, but I do remember really liking it. As did my mom and my wife's grandmother. It went pretty fast, so I'm assuming it was pretty good. Also, we didn't enjoy the next bottle of wine nearly as much (I don't remember what that was - I didn't buy that one).
The other type of white wine I bought for the barbecue was Kris Pinot Grigio 2006, Friuli-Venezia Italy (screw cap). I love this wine. It's never disappointed me and I've never bought a bad bottle. Of course it's not the best bottle of wine, but it's light, crisp and tastes as good as a Pinot Grigio is going to taste (I'm not a big fan of the Santa Margherita, which has somehow become some sort of standard for Pinot Grigio). Also, this wine is cheap. Always an added plus!
I also bought a couple of bottles of Rancho Zabaco Heritage Vines Zinfandel 2006, Sonoma, but this was heat-damaged and tasted like crap.

NP: Exit, Population 1

"What Happened This Time?"

Initially, I had a different title for this blog entry, and I had started writing it with a totally different beginning. However, when I went outside to grill some dinner on the barbecue (some nice lamb) my neighbor approached me with that horrible question: "What happened this time?"
For those not in the know, we recently renovated our basement. It was already a "finished basement," but we hated the way it was, so we just paid a construction company a lot of money to renovate it. New foor, ceiling, sheet-rock and a new storage closet. I had even started moving some things down there - the computer (not this one) and my flat-screen television. This was going to be a playroom for the kids/media room/office space. It was all planned out, with the current office to be converted to the new baby room/nursery (she's due in a couple of months).
Anyway... it was all finished about 9 days ago and then we went away to Martha's Vineyard for a family get-together (I was hoping my next blog entry was going to be about that trip, but it's going to have to wait). We got home last night and my wife threw some laundry in the machine to get ahead on the chores we had set for ourselves for the rest of the weekend. A couple of hours later, I decided to head to the basement to start setting up the desktop computer in the new office-space. That's when I saw it. Water. Everywhere. Somehow during my freakout, I threw on some rubber boots and headed into the mess. The water was at least 4 inches deep. My first instinct was to check the boiler, but it was fine. No... it was the washer. Somehow it was still running 2 hours after the load had started and there was water pouring out the back.
I was able to stop the flow and headed off to Home Depot to rent a pump. 3 hours later, my father, mother and I were able to get it down to a distinct dampness in the basement.
Today, the professional cleaners showed up at the request of our home-owners insurance company. They had to rip up the floor, take off all the molding and spray some anti-mold stuff in the basement as well as pump out the rest of the water. Now we've got what feels like 30 industrial strength fans running until at least Monday to dry out the basement.
Seeing the trucks outside our house is what prompted my neighbor's query. Unfortunately, we've already replaced our roof and dealt with a rodent problem (if you count one mouse as a problem), so our home is looking more and more like a money pit as the months pass.
We're currently accepting all donations to help with the current problem.

NP: Virtual Insanity, Jamiriquai

Iron Chef Birthday

Last week was my birthday (they just keep coming), and my wife took me out to dinner for a little celebration. After a long discussion of where we should go, I decided on Bar Americain, which is one of Bobby Flay's restaurants. We had gone to Mesa Grill once a few years ago and were pretty disappointed, but I wanted to give Bobby another try. Overall, we had a very nice time. Unfortunately, our waiter was a spazz, and there were no tomatoes due to the NYC tomato-salmonella scare - but we overcame.
In general, the place was a lot louder than I had expected. It's very open inside with high ceilings and a large bar. All of these contributed to the noise-factor. Also, there's a very distinct touristy feel to the place. More so than I felt at Babbo (another Iron Chef's restaurant). Anyway, on to the meal.
To begin, I went with the Gulf Shrimp and Grits with Green Onions (and a lot of bacon), while my wife got the Shrimp Tomatillo Cocktail. She had wanted to get the Fried Green Tomato with Crispy Duck and Sweet and Sour Dressing, but no tomatoes... With my appetizer I had a glass of a nice Spanish red blend to drink (but I can't remember the name). For our main courses, I had the Porterhouse Lamb Chops with Mustard Barbeque and the Corn & Collard Green Tart while my wife had the Cioppino with Sour Dough Toast. I decided to pair my dinner with a glass of Pinot Noir Cloudline 2006, Oregon. It was good, but the Spanish wine I had first was better. Finally, we decided to split the Chocolate Praline Layer Cake with Caramel Rice Krispi Crunch. Fantastic dessert. This was paired with a fine cappuccino.
We both found our dinner at Bar Americain to be much better than what we had experienced at Mesa Grill. Where we decided we wouldn't go back to Mesa Grill again, I'd be happy to go back to Bar Americain. It wasn't my favorite restaurant, but it was a fine meal never the less.

Holy Dinner Batman!

Yesterday was our anniversary (4 years already), so my wife and I got a babysitter and headed into the city for dinner. It was initially going to be a movie followed by dinner, but work got in the way and we missed the movies (if we went to a later film, we would miss our dinner reservations). So... it became walking around the city a bit, then dinner.
Unlike our past 3 anniversaries, we didn't go to Babbo this year. Unfortunately, we forgot to make our reservation at the appropriate time (10:00am; 30 days prior to your reservation date - for those thinking of going) so we were stuck. We decided to try the Gotham Bar and Grill. This is a place we've been wanting to try for a while since everyone tells us how good it is.
The place is actually very nice inside, and the staff was very friendly and helpful. In fact, our waiter seemed like the nicest guy in the world (so nice, in fact, that it made me a little suspicious of what he did when he wasn't at work). Initially, he seemed a little disappointed when we only asked for water to drink after being seated, but he perked up after I asked for the wine list a little later on. Anyway, our meal mapped out like this: We shared the Rigatoni with Braised Duck Ragu and Broccoli Rabe for our appetizer. My main course was the Grilled New York Steak with marrow mustard custard and vidalia onion rings and a bordelaise sauce while my wife tried the Porcini Crusted Halibut with roasted cauliflower, fingerling potatoes, and hazelnut oil white verjus emulsion. Unfortunately, this was so salty she couldn't eat it and needed to send it back (not something we like to do, but what can you do?). They were really nice about taking it back and let her choose something different. This time she went with the Roasted Maine Lobster with spaghetti squash, potato puree, brussels sprouts and red wine lobster reduction (there was also some type of white foam on the dish). This was much better, although the claw meat was undercooked... For my wine, I got a half-bottle of the Chateau Larose-Trintaudon Haut-Medoc Bordeaux, 2005. I've had this before and thought it would go well with my steak without breaking my wallet. I was right. It was very good and easy to drink.
Finally, we moved on to dessert. We split the Gotham Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar, which is basically two bars of a chocolate fudge-like substance with a peanut crust, topped with roasted candied peanuts and peanut butter ice cream. It was pretty damn good. The cappuccino was excellent as well.
As far as anniversary dinners go, it didn't beat the first time we went to Babbo, but we ate a damn good meal and had a really great time.

Making The Switch (sort of)

Today I ordered myself a new computer. It is a laptop. And it is an Apple. I haven't owned an Apple computer since college so I did hesitate a little bit, but in the end it was the best decision. Basically, I can get this computer for free through work - we get money each academic year for different educational pursuits and I didn't spend much of mine this year. Our academic year ends June 30th, and if you don't spend the money it goes away (it's not additive with each year). I recently found out that you can use it to purchase a computer if you'd like, so I decided to look into it. You have to go through our Apple or Dell reps and get the "approved" computers. I initially went to Dell, but they only had 2 laptops available without much room for upgrading. Neither were ones I would have purchased on my own. Therefore, I figured I might as well take a look at the Apple Notebooks. Lucky for me, Apple doesn't have the variety that many PC manufacturers do. Basically, the laptops that I could choose from are the same ones that everyone can choose from (minus our educational discount). So... I chose a MacBook Black. It will be an odd transition back to the Mac, but I'll still have my Dell Desktop at home, so it won't be too bad. Who knows? Maybe when that one goes it will be time for an iMac.

NP: Scars, Rush

BEER!

A friend of mine just brought me a nice 4 pack of Caffrey's Irish Ale. She was going home to visit her family in London and I finally remembered to ask her to bring me back some. I've missed it since they stopped importing it to the USA. Tomorrow, it's beer time!

Coffee Smells Good!

Out of all the culinary wonders out there, a good cup of coffee is near the top of my list. I've always enjoyed my coffee, but back in the day, Dunkin' Donuts was the epitome of a good cup. Then I went to Italy. Everything changed after that. I have had my Breville espresso machine for about 2 years now and I could not imagine living without it. I actually thought it broke once, and I was crushed. Luckily, it had just over-heated during it's de-calcification cycle, and was good as new after cooling off a bit.
I'm writing this now as I brew a nice latte to go with my lunch dessert. Today, I'm having some Miscela D'Oro Ciald'Oro espresso. This is a nice espresso. It does have a little more bitterness than I usually go for, but it is good. My favorite lately has been Lucaffe Caffe del'Ospite. This has a nice chocolately taste and makes a nice crema. Generally, I really like all of the coffees from Lucaffe. Apart from their somewhat racist packaging (see image below), I like this company.
Another great coffee is Segafredo, which may be my overall favorite.

Lost!

We just got back from Miami (where we had to cut our trip short - more on that might be explained later) and the airline lost my luggage. This is the second time in a row - the only things that stopped me from going ape$hit were: 1. It was two separate airlines (the first time it was Continental, and this time it was JetBlue), and 2. It was midnight and I was really tired. So, now I have no clothes or toiletries. For some reason, my bag was sent to Buffalo, NY, while the rest of our luggage (3 bags) came through fine to Newark.
Let's see if they come through on their promise to get me my stuff back today.
More pleasant ramblings about our trip will be up here in a little while.

NP: The sound of my son playing with his breakfast.

Getting Back Into The Swing

You know... I was looking over this blog, and I realize that my life was more interesting before we moved out to the Garden State. At least we went out to dinner at some cool places. Now, the best places to go are either The Cheesecake Factory or some other chain place like Legal Seafoods. Of course, the main reason we moved out here was to get a better home for our kids, and in that we succeeded. But, I miss the food and fun of the city...

Now on to other things...

One night we had some people from work over the house and luckily one of our guests brought a bottle of Jezebel Pinot Noir 2006, Oregon. I had never even heard of this wine before, but I was really glad I was able to try it. I think I had 3 glasses from this bottle that night and I enjoyed every one. It's a very smooth wine that's easy to drink. Light in color, but still with a nice flavor. It's more fruit forward I think... This is a great bottle of wine that I would definitely buy/drink again. I think I had a better time that night because of this wine.
Another wine I had recently was the Col d'Orcia Spezieri 2005, Tuscany Italy. This bottle, I received from my cousin for Christmas. Most things have been sitting in the wine fridge because my wife is once again unable to drink with me. So, until August (at the earliest), I'm drinking alone. Anyway, this is a really nice red blend (mostly Sangiovese, which is probably why I liked it) - basically a table wine. It went well with my pasta bolognese, which is all I can ask in an Italian table wine.

NP: Ice 9, Joe Satriani

Shiraz-y

This other day, my sister had a barbecue and I decided to bring over a bottle of wine. My sister and mom are big fans of white wine (mainly Pinot Grigio) so I decided to bring a red. I didn't really feel like going to the store, so I checked out what I had in the house. I would have liked to have brought a Zinfindel, but I was all out. So, I settled on a Shiraz. I've been kind of off Shiraz lately. When I first started getting into wine, it was something that I enjoyed a lot, but now... it's really not my first choice. I think it's usually to tannin-y for me.
Anyway, this isn't something that I bought myself - in fact I don't think I've purchased a Shiraz in about 3 years. But I had it, so I brought it along. Oh yeah - it's Rolling Shiraz 2004, Australia. Basically, my main feeling on this wine is "eh." It wasn't a bad wine, and if I went to someone's place and this is what they were serving, I would drink it without a problem (hmmm... when is that really a problem?), but I wouldn't bring it a long myself. To me, this tasted like Shiraz. That's it. Nothing special or fancy... it's a Shiraz.
The barbecue was good though.

NP: Nothing. Trying to keep my son asleep for his nap.

Cell Phone Miracle

Okay. So, I've been pretty non-existent on this thing for a couple of months now. It's not that I haven't had things to post. I just haven't had any time to post anything. I'd rather spend time with my son or do some repairs on my house (well... it's not that I'd rather do that - I just have to) than sit down at the computer and write a blog entry. I want to try and do a little better and at least have 1-2 posts per month, but if the past few months are any indication - it's unlikely.
We spent most of today celebrating my parent's 40th wedding anniversary (which is tomorrow). We had a nice time. 40 years is pretty impressive.
Anyway, what got me to finally start typing tonight as we sit on the couch and watch bad Sunday night television is this. About 2 weeks ago, I was carrying my son into the house and my cell phone fell out of my pocket. It landed on the stone entryway and broke. I broke into 2 pieces. I have the MOTOROKR™ Z6, which can be seen here. It landed right on the corner and the face-plate broke right off. I spent days trying to get it back on with no success. I looked inside and couldn't find a way to re-attach it. Finally, I was going to try krazy-gluing it or soldering it together. However, 2 days ago, I stuck the pieces in the back pocket of my jeans while I was running around with my son. When I took the phone out a few hours later, it was fixed! The two pieces were back together and it wasn't even loose. How this happened I have no idea. It was a miracle. That's the only explanation I can fathom.

The Tavern

Yesterday, my wife's dad and step-mom offered to watch our son for us so we could go out to dinner. Not wanting to waste a chance to have a nice night out, we decided to go into the city instead of heading to one of the many mediocre places here in Jersey (sure, I'll admit there have to be some good places out here - we just haven't found them yet). We didn't have any time to get a reservation at one of the places we wanted to go to (although we did scour the list on opentable.com) so we decided to try our luck at the front room in the Gramercy Tavern.
This is one of the paces I always wanted to go to, but never did get the chance. The place is split up into two parts - the front "tavern" room, and the back restaurant space. To sit in the back, reservations are required (unless you get lucky) and the dress code is a lot nicer. The front, has a cheaper, scaled-down version of the menu, with no reservations required and a more laid-back attitude. Although it appeared crowded when we got there, it only took about 15 minutes of waiting at the bar for us to get our table. Everyone was very friendly and we had really good service.
We started off with some appetizers. My wife got the carrot soup with spiced cashews, and I got the plate of restaurant-made cured meats. Both were fantastic. For our main courses, my wife got the smoked kielbasa with spaetzle and butternut squash, and I had the stuffed meatball with fontina cheese over a potato puree with onion marmalade. Of note - I decided on my dish based on the fact that our waitress said it was "pretty freakin' good." All of my dishes were paired with many glasses of the Dolcetta d'Alba Ascheri 2005, Piedmont Italy. I had initially intended to change up my wine selection as I went on with the meal. I like to do this when I'm out to try as much as possible. However, I was enjoying this so much, I just kept going with it. It was a light wine, red in color, and it went down very easily. It's a wine I could buy a case or two of and keep drinking it with all my meals.
We finished up with the apple crisp for two with vanilla and cinnamon sour cream ice creams as well as excellent cappuccinos.
Great meal, and a great atmosphere. Would definitely go back again.

NP: The Pretender, Foo Fighters.

Pistachio Cake

The other day I was in the mood for baking (in case you didn't already realize, I do almost all of the cooking in my family). It was a cold, rainy day, and we couldn't really do much of anything outside. Since I was home-locked, I figured I'd make something. There's this cake in the Babbo Cookbook that I've wanted to make for a while. It's an Italian hazelnut cake. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find all of the ingredients. So, I made my own version using pistachios instead of hazelnuts and changing a few other things around to things that would go better with pistachios. Anyway, the results were really good. It's kind of like pistachio ice cream in cake form (that's what I think, anyway). In case you're interested, here's the recipe:

1 cup shelled pistachios roasted in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 pistachio paste
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325. Spray 9 inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment or wax paper
Pulse the nuts in a food processor with 1/4 cup flour until it becomes finely ground (basically making a pistachio flour). Mix together this mixture with the rest of the flour and the baking powder (set aside).
In a mixer cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the pistachio paste, and then add 1 egg at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and honey. Mix in the flour mixture, 1/3 at a time.
Spread evenly in the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes (make sure a toothpick or something like it comes out clean). Remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack.
When cool, dust with powdered sugar.

I think it's pretty good, and I haven't gotten a complaint yet. Many are skeptical, but once they have it, they agree it's a good cake.

Top Chef Dinner

Wow. Last night I took my wife out to dinner for her birthday. We went to Perilla, which is the restaurant opened by the winner of Top Chef - Season 1, Harold Dieterle. We suffered through the real-feel temperature hovering near zero and parked our car somewhat illegally in the West Village and made our way into the small, but very nice restaurant on Jones Street (between Bleecker and West 4th) - not a bad location. Although there was space at the bar where we could hang out and wait, we were lucky and didn't have to wait at all to be seated at our reserved table (this is one of those places that take reservations 1 month from the day you want to go - and they fill up fast).
To start, we split the Grilled Greek Sardines over a baby mesculin salad with golden beets. I paired this with a Treixadura blend from Spain (sorry, I can't remember the exact wine). We decided to go for something different with our appetizer. For main courses, my wife had the "Jerk" Style Black Grouper with plantains and purple yams over a black bean puree, while I had the Roasted Duckling with pomegranate, white grits and mustard greens. I was tossing between the pork loin wrapped in bacon (it IS pork on pork after all) and the duck, but the waiter said the duck was Chef Harold's favorite dish on the menu. Decision made. I paired this course with a glass of Foris Pinot Noir, Oregon 2005.
Dessert included fresh warm vanilla scented donuts with two dipping sauces (chocolate mousse and meyer lemon curd) and a vanilla creme fresh panna cotta with poached pears. Amazing desserts. The other great thing about this restaurant was the coffee. It was terrific, which is always a plus.
Overall, we had a great meal. I would definitely go back.

NP: Inch Worm, John Coltrane

Donut Headache

Most mornings when I am driving to work, I make my own coffee at home and take it in a travel mug. Every once in a while I can't be bothered (I'm usually too tired) and I figure I'll stop on the road on my way into the city. There's this Dunkin' Donuts on Route 17 that I've gone to once or twice before. Never have I gotten good service there. Also, their coffee isn't that good, which I don't really understand because I assumed all Dunkin' Donuts establishments made their coffee exactly the same way (isn't there a Dunkin' Donuts University out there for prospective franchise owners?). Anyway, my wife has had similar experiences as I have had at this place and we both came to the conclusion to avoid it from now on.
Well, I didn't listen to my own advice and the other morning I stopped in there to get a coffee and a muffin. I clearly asked for 1 large coffee with milk and sugar and a banana nut muffin. The following conversation followed:

Dunkin' Donuts Lady: "Anything else?"
Me: "No, just the coffee and the muffin."
DDL: "Okay. Anything else?"
Me: "Well... the muffin."
DDL: "Yes. Anything else?"
Me: "No. Just a large coffee with milk and sugar and a banana nut muffin."
DDL: "Anything else?"
Me: "No. The coffee and the muffin."
DDL: "Anything else?"
Me: "No."
(a few moments pass...)
DDL: "One large coffee. $2.02." (rings me up in the cash register.)
Me: "Are you f*&king kidding me?!?!?!"

I don't know why this exchange surprised me... this place sucks.

NP: nothing