My wife likes chocolate, but she loves cherries. Seeing it was her birthday recently, I thought I’d combine the two and make a special chocolate cherry cake. Sounds simple enough — just search the internet for cherry chocolate cake, and something yummy will pop up, right? Wrong. Well, there are a lot of recipes for a chocolate cake that had cherry pie filling in the middle. I wanted there to be bits of cherries in the chocolate cake batter. And cherry flavor in the icing and in the filling, too. So I started to improvise. The results were pretty damn good — not perfect — but that’s where you come in! Read the rest of this entry »
Andrea Weigl has an excellent piece in today’s N&O on restaurants using molecular gastronomy techniques in the Triangle, including The Mint, 1705Prime, Four Square and The George. Included online are some of Shawn Rocco’s great photographs including a step-by-step overview of the preparation of The Mint’s “strawberry shortcake.”
If you’re a Seinfeld fan, you’ve heard of the Soup Nazi character (but I won’t call him that anymore). Well, Al Yegenah, the man who inspired the Soup Man episode, started a small franchise of Original SoupMan restaurants, and Raleigh resident Steve Lineberry will be opening up the Raleigh franchise in early June. Located at 6325 Falls of Neuse Road, the Original SoupMan restaurant will feature 50 varieties of soup, each presented with a piece of fresh, crusty baguette, fresh fruit and a piece of imported chocolate.
The grand opening is scheduled for June 3, and on that day, a lucky customer will win a special prize: a cup of soup for life. The company will also be donating $1,500 to the charity, Stop Hunger Now. Apparently, the company makes such a donation every time it opens a new franchise.
Funny thing is that the Original SoupMan website says that the press isn’t supposed to use the “N” word, but the press release I received from the PR agency certainly did use that term. Hmm.
I usually don’t talk about chains, but Seinfeld and the Soup episode are such a part of our lore that I had to make this announcement. And hey, I like soup, and I hope I never hear the words, “No soup for you!”
Today is the first day of Triangle Restaurant Week, and if you’ve been jonesing to get to a local restaurant at a fraction of the regular price, this is the time to do it. A tradition in cities such as New York, Restaurant Week presents an opportunity to sample a three-course meal at reduced prices — $15 for lunch and $25 for dinner. Now I know not many people want to spend that much for lunch, but for 3 courses, it’s worth it. Give Glenwood Grill a chance. Or you might have read about The Mint somewhere. Heh.
For dinner, your options expand, and I’m thinking about heading over to Frazier’s or The Globe or Zely & Ritz, three places where you’ll definitely get your money’s worth. And tonight is half-price wine night at Zely & Ritz, so it could be an incredible bargain.
I know that the list of restaurants is very limited, but this is the first year of Restaurant Week. If you want more restaurants next year, go to several places this week, and the success of the program will generate more excitement.
And report back here with your Restaurant Week experiences. I’d like to hear what type of deals are being offered.
My friend Bryan Andregg is a second year culinary student at the New England Culinary Institute. As part of a financial operations class, Bryan is conducting a survey on a mythical restaurant. The survey has four questions and simply requires you to select which menu item you would order for each course.
I’ve always thought the N&O’s Greg Cox did a good job with his restaurant reviews. But when he reviewed the Umstead Hotel’s Herons restaurant, he didn’t love it as much as I did. In fact, he admitted on his blog that he has somewhat of a price-oriented bias when he said about Herons, “My experiences at Herons were for the most part very good, and certainly showed Top 20 potential, but - especially given the price - didn’t quite live up to expectations.” (emphasis mine) Those restaurants that have higher prices have to perform better to get the highest ratings. Thus, Herons didn’t get the love it might have received if its prices were lower.
I guess I can live with that, but it creates an awkward situation when he gives 3-1/2 stars (on his 5 star scale) to a counter-service fish and chips place and the exact same 3-1/2 star rating to The Mint, which is serving some of the best and most creative food in North Carolina. Nowhere on Cox’s star rating guide does it list that “value” is taken into account, but he certainly has built that into his equation. I love fish and chips as much as the next guy, but to say that a low-priced counter-service joint is as good as The Mint is ludicrous.
But the real kicker came from when I read today’s review of The Mint — frankly, I just about lost it. It was bad enough for Cox to give it only 3-1/2 stars, but he’s offering his objective opinion. Good enough. I’ve disagreed with him before (he loves Bloomsbury Bistro, and I’ve yet to have a good meal there after 4 tries). But when Cox referred to sous vide cooking as “a type of cooking with pressure,” I had to ask, “Huh?” Greg, “sous vide” means “under vacuum,” and maybe the food that’s in the vacuum bag might be under some pressure, I guess, but that’s not what sous vide cooking is about at all. It’s the bag and the anaerobic conditions and the water bath with controlled temperatures.
And then he gave us this gem: “[T]he lukewarm temperature and semiliquid white of the accompanying sous vide-cooked ‘hot spring egg’ isn’t likely to win many fans.” Um, Greg, that’s what the egg is supposed to be like. The egg white is barely set while the yolk has turned a bit custardy. They’ve been serving ‘em like that in Japan for centuries. And it’s not cooked in a bag, sous vide style. It’s cooked in its shell. No vacuum at all.
To give The Mint 3-1/2 stars is laughable. But to not understand cooking methods or the way the food is supposed to be is inexcusable.
Edit — 8:30 AM, 5/9/08 – I posted this review of Cox’s review at something like 2:30, Friday morning. At 5:07 AM, Greg Cox posted this on his blog:
Note: I just read the final copy of my review in the N & O, and noticed that someone - presumably a copy editor trying to be helpful - had inserted a “definition” of the term “sous vide,” describing it as “a type of cooking with pressure.” While that description may be scientifically correct (I’m certainly no scientist), it misses the point. “Sous vide” is French for “under vacuum,” and it’s just that: cooking under vacuum, usually in an airtight plastic bag. Just wanted to clear that up.
Apex resident Chad Ward has been my go-to guy for knives for quite some time now. I was in the market for a new chef’s knife several years ago and sought help from the eGullet community. Chad, who was then living in Iowa, even mailed me a custom-made knife and a steel to try. Talk about trust, as I had never met the guy. This special knife was really cool, but it wasn’t perfect, and it was a little pricey. Anyhow, I ended up getting a Kershaw Shun, and Chad was there to help throughout the process.
Chad knows his knives. He’s obsessed with knives. Hell, he’s now even managed to get a book on knives published — by Harper Collins, at that! An Edge in the Kitchen will be in stores on June 10, and I encourage all my readers to buy a copy from Amazon, your favorite internet retailer, or from your local friendly bookstore. You’ll learn how to choose knives, how to use knives, but perhaps most importantly, how to sharpen and maintain them.
Chad’s no knife snob, either. He knows that some of the best knives for the home cook are pretty damn cheap, and he can steer you to a $25 bargain. If you want to spend a buttload of money, he can help you there, too. The book has a ton of photos, so you’ll have step-by-step guides on how to use that new sharpener you got for Christmas in 2003.
Chad’s got a blog, Chadwrites.com, and I encourage you to visit it and leave him a comment. Or better yet, ask him a question, as he loves to teach. Now if I can just get him to sharpen my knives!
Players’ Retreat: Although I’ve lived in and around Raleigh for seemingly forever, I have never been to the Players’ Retreat, generally referred to as “The PR.” It’s an NC State hangout bar that’s really smoky. I just don’t usually want to eat meals at such places. I was at the PR last night, attending an election day party for a candidate I was supporting and ordered a burger. The menu said the burgers were from black angus beef, ground in-house, and cooked to order. In fact, the menu recommended you order them RARE. Very cool. So I got one, and damn, that’s a mighty fine burger. One of the best around. Maybe THE best. I then learned that the PR has over 60 types of scotch available. Obviously, they want my business. And with LocoPops right around the corner, well, I might have found a second home.
When The Mint opened several months ago on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, I was incredibly skeptical of the place. The menu appeared to be tired and derivative. The decor appeared to be chintzy and downright tacky. The chef appeared to have a pedigree of having worked at a couple of Rocky Top Hospitality establishments, which might be a fine job, but it’s not something to base your resume on.
Folks, I was dead wrong, and I’m now ready to eat crow. Cooked en sous vide, of course, medium rare. Read the rest of this entry »
I visited the Moore Square Farmers Market a week ago Wednesday (yes, it’s been a busy week for me) before meeting a friend for lunch, and I stopped by the Coon Rock Farm booth. I like Coon Rock Farm, because they’re local, they’re organic and they do things the right way. Many of their vegetables are heirloom varieties, and they raise and sell pasture raised pork. But one of the things I like most about Coon Rock is their freshly laid eggs — from hens who roam freely around the farm. We’re not talking about “free range” chicken eggs, where the chickens have access to the pasture — these chickens spend their days walking about, foraging for food in addition to what Coon Rock feeds them. I think it’s that extra foraged food that makes the difference.
This isn’t a watery, mass-produced egg. The yolks are a deep, rich orange, filled with flavor — they look much more like the eggs you see in France or Italy. The whites firm up quickly and tightly. As a shameless lover of poached eggs, this made my Wednesday night pasta dish so much more unctuous and tasty. Even my daughter, who does not really like egg yolks at all asked me if I can make that dish for her sometime soon.
I’m not a Slow Food zealot. I do most of my shopping at the Harris Teeter, buying industrial-style meat and produce. But my food budget is slowly shifting to the local producers. The artisans. The ones who know how much better sustainable practices are for our environment while truly recognizing that these practices result in tastier food. If it didn’t taste good, I wouldn’t eat it. But these eggs, even at twice the price of the supermarket version, are so worth it. We’re all trying to keep our costs down as the price of gas and food and everything else keeps climbing. But I’m not going to sacrifice on those things that taste good, particularly when that food has been brought to the table humanely.
New Raleigh is one of the websites I go to daily to catch up on my Raleigh news. They’re really dedicated to promoting great discussion of the politics and culture of our fair city, and they have a lot of good food information, too.
I just learned today that they’ve been working on a new restaurant guide, named “Palate,” which is now live. This is a very clean site that provides a lot of great information. Granted, the site is still in its beta stage of development, so the amount of content is somewhat thin right now, but it’ll only get better. New Raleigh has a lot of young, energetic folks on their staff (and I use the term “staff” loosely, as it’s just a bunch of volunteers who like to write about Raleigh), and they’re not afraid to criticize when it’s appropriate to do so. With this platform, they should be prepared to add a ton of reviews in a hurry.
Palate only lists restaurants that are independent or small, local chains. National chains are not included. Most of the establishments are in the downtown area of Raleigh, but I’m hopeful they’ll include other parts of the city.
Navigation is a breeze, and I particularly like the neighborhood classifications in their guide. Click on one of the neighborhoods, then move your mouse from restaurant to restaurant, and the map automatically moves to the particular restaurant’s location. Very slick.
There’s still a couple of bugs they need to fix, as places like The Pit and The Mint are listed under “T” rather than “P” and “M,” respectively. But I think this could become the definitive guide, if they start focusing on the content. One way they could do this quickly would be to include links to reviews from other sites, so their readers will get a broad sense of peoples’ opinions on a particular restaurant. I’d be honored if they linked to my reviews, all 5 of them!
When strawberry season hits, I first think of strawberry shortcake, then Belgian waffles. But right after that, buttermilk pie comes to mind. Buttermilk pie with fresh strawberries. OH MY GOD!!!!
Most Southerners understand the glory of buttermilk pie, but others would choose any other dessert in the world before this classic dish. It’s really nothing more than a simple custard pie, with a touch of lemon and nutmeg to round out the flavor profile. It’s also very light and is very good with fresh berries or a berry coulis. I last wrote about buttermilk pie several years ago on eGullet, and I’m resurrecting the pictures from that time to show you how simple this dish is. Even if you don’t know how to make pie crust (and you MUST learn), you can always use a store-bought version.
I use Bill Neal’s recipe, which is lighter than a typical version because egg whites are beaten and folded into the custard. The tanginess of the buttermilk and lemon offsets some of the egginess and cuts through the richness, so this is really perfect. I also use really fresh, local buttermilk from Maple View Farm. This stuff is a bit richer than what you typically find in the grocery store.
When you take your first bite of this luscious custard treat, be sure you thank me. Yes, it’s that good. Photos and recipe are after the break.
OK, this is a cute little commercial for Alphabits featuring the Jackson 5. Seems innocent enough, right? Well go ahead and watch it.
Now, when Michael says, “I bet I can make you say yes” or “Look at my B”, do you think a little differently now than you might have 30-some years ago? Funny world we live in.
I may have to dine on a little crow tonight. When Raleigh’s The Mint first opened in January, I wrote the following: “The Mint appears to be an old-school, protein-heavy restaurant with a contemporary twist.” Of course, my judgment was solely based on the menu on the restaurant’s website. And if you look at that menu, you probably wouldn’t argue with my conclusion.
But then something happened. Andrea Weigl of the N&O told me she was working on a story about molecular gastronomy in the Triangle, and she was going to The Mint. The Mint? Molecular gastronomy??? She then told me about this lobster dish that I had to try — the crustacean is cooked en sous vide, with a miso and caramel sauce (a combination popularized by cutting-edge pastry chef Sam Mason of New York’s WD-50). OK, something was up, and I was clearly NOT in the know. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s about to be strawberry season, so I have a perfect recipe for you. A single, large strawberry shortcake. It’s a really simple dish, but it’s a showstopper. Every time I bring this out, I get a ton of “oohs and aahs.” It’s really cool, but the thing is, it takes no time at all.
Here’s what you do. Slice up a bunch of strawberries, add some sugar, and let them macerate for an hour or three (you can add some Grand Marnier, orange curacao or the like if you desire, but it’s not necessary). Then make your big-ass shortcake. It’s just self-rising flour, sugar, salt, butter and buttermilk. Whip up some heavy cream with vanilla and sugar, and then serve by cutting that big-ass shortcake in half, putting berries and cream in the middle, and some more on top. Just look at the picture, will ya????
Anyhow, recipe is after the break. And really, it’s incredibly easy, but it’ll dazzle your guests. And man, does it ever taste good!
Last Friday, I thought I came up with a completely novel idea: a fried beet pancake, similar to a potato pancake, but with shredded beet. Of course, after a bit of research, I realized that beet roesti are somewhat common, but every recipe I found was different than my creation. So, here you go!
What I did was peel several beets and then grate them with a food processor. I then grated a red onion and cooked all of this in butter in a large skillet. I added a bit of fresh thyme and some salt. Once the beets were mostly cooked, I remove the mix from the heat and allowed to cool. Read the rest of this entry »
My wife’s family — and thus, my family, too — has been singing the Chiquita Banana song for ages. I actually started singing it at lunch today with a bunch of my co-workers. Yeah, they looked at me funny, but that’s pretty much normal for me. I was surprised, however, that only one of them had heard this classic song before.
So, for your viewing entertainment, I offer today the classic Chiquita Banana commercial, made by the fine folks at Walt Disney studios.
My friend Jason Perlow, one of the co-founders of eGullet and creator of one of the busier food blogs in the country, Off the Broiler, will be in the Triangle over the next four months. Now Jason’s primary purpose for being here is to handle a large computer consulting matter (Jason is one of the nation’s leading authorities on Linux-based systems), but he’s determined to report on a lot of restaurants in the area. When his gig is over, I suspect Off the Broiler will have more detailed content on Triangle restaurants than any other site.
He’s certainly hit the ground running with his fabulous podcast of Ed Mitchell and his Raleigh-based barbecue restaurant, The Pit. If you have some time, listen to the podcast and look at the photos, and you’ll get a sense of what Jason is recording. Jason’s a really good interviewer — this is great stuff.
I dropped by the new Haru Sushi in Glenwood Village yesterday for a little — OK, a lot — of take-out sushi, and I’m very pleased to have this new place in my neighborhood. Haru is owned by sushi chef Fang Yongxing, and he’s obviously committed to bringing a high-end selection of fish to his clientele, featuring several types of “fatty” toro selections, including tuna, salmon and yellowtail. Haru Sushi has a number of creative rolls, too, and frankly, this was some of the freshest, best tasting fish we’ve had in the area. Plus, the ginger they serve with their sushi is fantastic: fresh, with amazingly clean flavor. This stuff is white and slightly more pungent than most of the overly sweet pink and yellow ginger served at most places these days. The restaurant is very small, with much of the room taken up by the sushi bar (featuring some gorgeous granite countertops), so Haru is a great alternative to the hustle and bustle of some of the larger places in Raleigh.
Haru only has two sushi chefs, so if you’re in a hurry, this may not be the place for you. But if you want a quiet evening with the freshest fish in town, head to Haru Sushi.
Haru Sushi
Glenwood Village Shopping Center
2603-155 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27608
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Cooking, General | Tagged: Baking, Cake, Cherries, Cherry Chocolate Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Food | 
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Posted by Varmint
My friend 
I dropped by the new 
