DC and Baltimore for a week
Sorry about all the typose and spelling errors. Looks like it was written by a lazy illiterate who doesn't proof before posting. I'm not an illiterate.
Serious Eater Profile
Get to Know a Serious Eater.
capcooks's Profile
The Ten Most Recent Comments By capcooks
DC and Baltimore for a week
Been to Minibar three times. In fact, I took a chef friend the second time (and a client the third.) Never disappointed. Point of reference José spent time in Ferran Adria's kitchen... and Katsuya Fukushima (his exec chef at Minibar) gets props too. They (and the working chefs who actually prep and present to 34 course menu in front of you like a sushi bar) spend time during the day experimenting like Adria's atelier does in Barcelona. José has a series on PBS called Made in Spain... which is a travel/cooking show and where he shows some of his simply techniques. It's worth the investment in the DVD... just to here his astonishing enthusiasm. The rest of his "empire" consists of 3 Jaleo locations (tapas), Zaytina (middle eastern small plates), Oyamel (Mexican) and they're opening a hotel near the Beverly Centre in LA. Anyhow. Minibar is a real treat. And while cutting edge experimental cooking/ thinking is great for special occasions, all the other places offer lots of great tastes too.
Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Elements of Cooking'
The single most important ingredient is shopping -- or sourcing. Finding really great quality... or unusual ... spices or condiments or whatever you want to put together. Eventually. So for me, I have a pantry of exotica... that I use to augment the freshest basic ingredients I can find.
You can't improvise if there are no ingredients to improvise from. And if the ingredients are second rate, the results show up on the plate.
You can have great technique, but if a box of instant oatmeal is all that's in your pantry, you're not making anything much more exotic or interesting than oatmeal.
Batali vs. Bittman Pasta Saucing Smackdown: Who's Right?
Geeeeeeeeze! All this who-ha about Italian vs Italian American! You'd think either one was homogeneous. Venetian pasta and saucing is different from Sicilian, Piedmontese differs from Neapolitan... and where your grandmother came from shapes the tastes of your perception of Italian American. Hell, even Chef Boy-Ar-Dee (aka Boiardi) from your childhood (or worse, Franco American) helped shape your opinon. Some of you act as if your sophistication sprang full-blown on your 21st birthday.
Instead, isn't it enough to acknowledge that Batali has a bias toward AUTHENTIC Italian -- and more specifically, probably, Tuscan. Perhaps tempered by the Bastianich Istrian influences (which are sometimes in history Croatian.) And unless I miss my guess Mark Bittman's grandmother's pasta probably had its roots in kugel. And he adjusts his recipes to the (generic) American palate and to American obsession with increasing fiber and protein and reducing fats and carbs.
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong way. It just has to taste good. If not, the insinkerator doesn't really care what it tastes like.
Responses to Comments by capcooks
DC and Baltimore for a week
I also love Mama Ayesha for Middle Eastern food (on Calvert just over the Ellington Bridge from Connecticut Ave). They have recently added several new dishes...both meat-based and vegetarian. Great food, nice ambiance and some of the most gracious staff in DC, I think.
My daughter who lives in Spain is home visiting for a few weeks. We watched 'Made in Spain' together and LOVED it. I was in Madrid a few weeks ago and based on Jose Andres' shows, I tried a couple of restaurants that serve regional food (Asturia and Gallego). Big success...thanks Jose. We also love Jaleo and Zaytina.
DC and Baltimore for a week
How were you able to get reservations there 3 times?! Is there a secret I don't know about?
DC and Baltimore for a week
Sorry about all the typose and spelling errors. Looks like it was written by a lazy illiterate who doesn't proof before posting. I'm not an illiterate.
Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Elements of Cooking'
Thanks to everyone for commenting and congrats to our winners:
cupcup
sw8t
Anthony A
amylou61
ride&cook
Batali vs. Bittman Pasta Saucing Smackdown: Who's Right?
Goodness. Too many things to read. I think that you're just not comparing apples with apples here. Fresh pasta itself is perfect, needs very little flavoring, etc. So Batali makes sense. Especially if you've had his cacio e pepe pasta.
Bittman is discussing what's good for your health. It's definitely an American school of thought. Pasta as one of many ingredients in a dish. Still, there are lots of delicious dishes w/ pasta that aren't pasta-focused.
Website: http://p216.ezboard.com/brestaurantsanddining
Location: capcooks
About: Hosted AOL's FDN for 8 years, then moved over to ezboard above for a couple more. It's moribund (too).
Favorite foods: that which doesn't eat me first.
Last bite on earth: ... may kill me. Like Mr. Creosote.