The New York Times has some good reading in the dining section today: Bottoms up! A quick history of Jerry Thomas, innovating showman bartender of the 1800s. Chefs on their favorite H'ween candy: What they're giving out, what they hoped for as kids, what fantasy treat they'd make. New Orleans chef John Besh profiled: A great backgrounder if you only know him from Next Iron Chef. Seems like a good guy. The Pour explores Portuguese Douro reds: What port would taste like if not fortified and left sweet. Make Roasted Marrow Bones à la Fergus Henderson: Mark "Minimalist" Bittman tells you how. Wegman's sets farmed shrimp standards: It will be the first supermarket chain to adopt environmental and health standards....
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Lots to chew on in the New York Times food section today. Harold McGee on using gelatin to concentrate the flavors of nearly anything into consommé-like essences: "It’s ingenious. As the jelly freezes, the water in it begins to form solid ice crystals, while the gelatin, the solid food particles, the droplets of fat and the flavors are concentrated in the remaining liquid. The long gelatin molecules bond to each other to form an invisibly fine net that traps everything else in its crevices." A poignant and pointed take on the difficulties of opening a restaurant in the Big Apple: "Murphy's Law rules the insane world of New York City restaurants. Community boards can kill a liquor license. City codes...
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The story on lonely, neglected farmers' markets has already piqued Ed's interest, but here's the rest of what the Gray Lady is digesting today. You say buffalo, I say bison: The icon of the American West is enjoying a resurgence among diners. Treehuggers and nutritionists rejoice. Keep on Puckin': Despite frozen food lines, Home Shopping Network huckstering, and other numerous ventures, Wolfgang Puck and his steakhouse, Cut, manage to impress Frank Bruni. Eaux de vie, loud and clear: An Oregon producer—Clear Creek Distillery—is turning out colorless fruit brandies that Eric Asimov describes as "an entire orchard of fruit ... packed into a single glass."Kosher coin-ops: Vending machines that dispense glatt kosher products. 0y v3y!Cold eggplant salad? Melissa Clark prepares this...
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