Holiday Flavors at Ici

It's been awhile since I dropped by Ici Ice Cream in Berkeley, but I did this afternoon after some holiday shopping. There was hardly a line, I guess because a lot of people are out shopping or think it's too cold for ice cream (it wasn't), so it didn't take me long to get my two scoops. One was Gingerbread and the other was Cardamon Rose. The Gingerbread had a subtle ginger flavor, and not super sweet like ginger cookies. The color really reminded me of coffee. They also had a Cranberry Orange Sorbet for the season. But I went for the Cardamon Rose, which was lovely with a distinct rose flavor. I felt like I was eating flowers at a spa. I'm a big fan of Ici because of the interesting seasonal flavors, but also because the texture is always so creamy and solid, not icy or clumpy like other ice cream shops. Ho ho ho.

Ici Ice Cream, 2948 College Ave., Berkeley (Elmwood neighborhood). PH: 510.665.6054. www.ici-icecream.com

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Fro-yo at the Mall

You’re probably like me, hitting the malls trying to get some of your Christmas shopping done early. When your feet gets tired and you’re so done elbowing your way into the stacks of half-off sweaters, it may be time for a fro-yo break.

I discovered last month that a new frozen yogurt store has made its way into the San Francisco Westfield Shopping Centre on Market Street. I don’t know why it took so long because a mall seems like the most logical place for fro-yo.

With a fancy logo and an Italian-sounding name, Céfiore is a pretty tiny shop. In fact, there’s no seating inside except for a small round-top table near the wall for standing-room only. Awhile back, I went to check out the store to see how Céfiore stacked up in my continued search for the best fro-yo in town.

Céfiore offers a wide variety of flavors in addition to the original. It also has green tea, raspberry and pomegranate. But what caught my eye was the acaiberry flavor. Some of you may have heard of this flavor, which has been getting a bit of controversy in the food world on whether it really is as healthy as it claims.

I decided to give it a try, ordering a mini cup (which I guess is the kid’s portion because there’s also a small size) topped with strawberries. (The specialty flavors are a bit more expensive than the original flavor. The mini cost $3.25 and 75 cents for each topping. The original cost only $2.75 for the mini.)

My acaiberry wasn’t what I expected. First off, it had this really weird light purple-grey color to it. And then when I tasted it, it didn’t taste good. It was really sour and I didn’t really enjoy it, although the texture was fine (and not icy).

I felt kind of bad going off my usual taste-testing with original fro-yo, so I gave Céfiore a second chance, this time returning to try the original flavor. This time I got a mini original with cantaloupe topping.

The original tasted just as sour as the acaiberry, but without the weird color. It’s not the same slight tart flavor that can be addictive if done right. This was just plain sour, almost like spoiled milk.

Céfiore had a really nice look and feel and the service is friendly enough (although on both visits they weren’t able to really put a nice swirl to the fro-yo) but I just can’t get used to the sourness of the yogurt. It’s too bad because Céfiore has prime real estate being at the Westfield. But convenience can’t be the only criteria when looking for the best fro-yo in town.

Single Guy's Fro-yo Rankings:

1. Red Mango, Palo Alto
2. Pinkberry, Southern California
3. Tuttimelon, San Francisco
4. YoCup, San Francisco
5. Fraiche, Palo Alto
6. Icebee, San Francisco
7. Jubili, San Francisco
8. SoGreen, San Francisco
9. Yogurt Harmony, Berkeley
10. Yogen Früz, San Francisco
11. Céfiore, San Francisco

Céfiore, 745 Market St. (second floor of the Westfield Shopping Centre). (A second location is also near the Financial District at 59 New Montgomery St.) PH: 415.987.8017. www.cefiore.com

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Single Guy Thanksgiving Essentials

Oh. My. Gawd. I can't move. How about you? Why do we do this? OK, I can barely blog, but I thought I should. So as a Single Guy, I don't do a big Thanksgiving since my family is in Hawaii and I'm not. But I still try to do a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for one. At the very minimum, this is what I need to have:

1) Turkey and gravy, of course. But instead of a whole turkey, I roast just a turkey breast. So convenient because it takes just a little over an hour to bake instead of the 2-plus hours for a whole turkey. And it sure helps to have a thermometer to check that it's 165 degrees while resting. Gravy turned out nice using the drippings and a bit of Marsala wine.

2) Stuffing. This year I made one with leftover sausage I had in my refrigerator and red chard for a bit of color.

3) Cranberry. I made my cranberry-pear marmalade that was featured in last year's Chronicle Turkey Cook-Off that I participated in.

4) Pumpkin pie. Yeah, some people don't like the texture, but I loooove pumpkin pie. This year my pie turned out needing a bit more sugar, but the pre-made crust from Marie Callendar sure made it simple.

My simple dinner was finished off with some roasted brussel sprouts and a bottle of Malbec wine from Argentina. Sigh.

Ok, now for the clean up. Thankfully, I have one day to deal with that.

Hope you had a filling and happy Thanksgiving!

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Top Chef: Season 5, Episode 3

A Very Special Foo Fighters Thanksgiving

Previously: The cheftestants cook at Tom Colicchio’s Craft restaurant for about 50 bitter rejects. Jill decides to go big or go home, so she buys gigantic eggs (ostrich to be specific). Nervous Ariane goes extreme with the sugar in her lemon meringue and nearly chokes Padma to death. In the end, Fabio wins for Italy and Jill is sent packing after an incomprehensible defense of her ostrich quiche.

Opening scenes of the condo, and EU Stefan is bonding with EU Fabio over their two wins. Get a room already, guys. Nervous Ariane is still talking about her too sweet dessert, saying she needs to shine this time around. Richard the Bear is giving a rundown of some nicknames for people in the house. Hmm, wonder if any would be fun to pick up? He calls Jeff the Hair, Don Johnson (not bad) and calls Leah “fun and flirty and the one with a nice rack.” Huh? That’s not really a nickname as much as it’s an unusual description from a gay man.

The cheftestants arrive at the Top Chef kitchen for their next Quickfire challenge, and they see the dreaded knife block. Padma says “Happy Thanksgiving,” which probably throws them off since this was maybe filmed in the spring? Standing next to Padma is guest judge Grant Achatz of Alinea restaurant. Now, anyone in the food world knows of Achatz, the molecular gastronomical genius of Chicago who also battled tongue cancer recently. Padma gives him one of the grandest introduction I’ve heard her do yet, and all the cheftestants treat him like a rock star. Achatz tells them that as chefs they have to roll with the punches. With that, they each grab a knife, which has a variety of numbers on them.

Padma says the number corresponds to a page in the Top Chef cookbook. (OK, who out there bought one? You are a Top Chef junkie.) They have one hour to put their own spin to the recipe from one of the past cheftestants. Hey, that’s actually a pretty cool challenge.

The cheftestants grab their copy of the cookbook and then start prepping the dish. What’s weird is everyone’s talking about whose recipe they’re making, but they’re not saying how they’re going to personalized it. All of a sudden, Padma comes in shouting “STOP!” like someone dared to put chocolate in her peanut butter. She tells the cheftestants that they’re now in the mood for soup, so they have to use the ingredients they have and turn them into a soup. Curveball No. 1 as well as Product Placement No. 1 with Swanson’s Broth, which is supplied as the base for everyone’s soup.

So now everyone’s making some weird soup, like Leah who has to make her tuna tartar into some kind of soup. Or Carla’s olive oil poached shrimp (that actually sounds like something nice to top the soup). BTW, I’m now going to call her Cosmic Carla, because she’s so in touch with the universe, you know? Right now she’s talking about building flavors in her soup and adding the most important ingredient… love. Gotta love her because we all need a little crazy now and then with our Top Chef viewing.

Padma and Chef Achatz go around tasting the soup. It must be his refined taste buds because Chef Achatz is quick to give a thumbs up or thumbs down. (Or maybe it’s just because he’s from Chicago and he watched one too many of Roger Ebert’s movie reviews.) So he likes Stefan’s broth, thinks Nervous Ariane’s Colorado rack of lamb soup is overcooked, Daniel’s black forest ham and egg soup is a nice complement to the original recipe, Richard the Bear’s Mexican soup needs acid, Melissa’s Italian wedding soup blurred the lines in a not so good way, Fabio’s mushroom asparagus soup’s flavor was flat, and he likes Carla’s shrimp coriander soup.

Chef Achatz says he liked Jamie’s soup, which was balanced, Daniel’s hearty and rustic ham and egg soup, and Leah’s, where she used white asparagus topped with her tuna. He names Leah the winner, and she has immunity.

Commercials. Wow, am I in the 80s or is that a Calvin Klein fragrance commercial? Eternity, wear it when running on the beach with your kids dressed in gauzy white clothing.

For the elimination challenge, Padma tells the cheftestants that they’ll be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for some very special clients. They’re split into two teams, and Leah as the winner of the quickfire gets to choose her team and she picks: Jamie, Hosea, EU Stefan, Melissa, EU Fabio and Radhika. Fabio pulls the Euro card again, saying how he and Stefan will unite to make an all-American Thanksgiving.

Padma plays a taped message from the special guests and it’s the FOO FIGHTERS! (Like you didn’t already know.) All the cheftestants get excited about cooking for rock stars. Hey, you know if you add a “D” to their name, they’re actually the FOOD Fighters. No wonder they’re fans of the show. Ha!

The cheftestants will cook at the Foo Fighters’ next concert venue for the band and their entourage. And the winning team gets invited to the concert while the losing team does clean up work. (Wow, doesn’t that sound like some sad Thanksgiving where all the popular people in your family goes to the movies and you’re left cleaning up. Didn’t happen to you? No? Guess it was just me, then.)

They jump into their black SUVs and take I-490 to Rochester, New York, home of the Blue Cross Arena. They meet a “roadie” who shows them the arena and then takes them to the kitchen. They keep walking and walking until they’re outside. Curveball No. 2: They have to cook a turkey in a makeshift outdoor kitchen.

The cheftestants are freaking out because all they see is a bank of microwaves. But in reality, some of them aren’t microwave ovens but miniature convection ovens from Calphalon (Product Placement No. 2), which isn’t an oven but still pretty good for cooking.

They have 15 minutes to plan, and of course all the cheftestants are freaking out (especially Jamie) about the lack of burners and the caterers are feeling pretty confident (not-so-Nervous Ariane and EU Stefan). Jeff the Hair again emerges as the calm in the storm and starts to organize his team (he’s a natural leader). Ariane gets assigned to the turkey, which I think is a pretty daring move giving someone who’s been at the bottom from the beginning of the season such a big responsibility.

They go shopping and that’s where we learn that they’ve given names to their teams. Leah’s team has decided to call themselves Team Sexy Pants (no one knows why) and the other team is Team Cougar, which for some reason is all about Ariane, whom Alex explains is mature and kind of hot when she works out in her shorts. So from now on, I’m going to call Nervous Ariane, The Cougar.

Commercials. Those V8 commercials are so wild. You know who needs a V8? That creepy Benjamin Button in that Brad Pitt movie. Is anyone really going to go to a movie when Brad Pitt is all wrinkly and short? I’m just sayin’.

The cheftestants start cooking and Eugene gets this brilliant idea to make a grill after buying some charcoal at the store. (He probably learned that from years of grilling at the beach growing up in Hawaii!) Team Cougar is making turkey, roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, pork roast and other sides with banana s’mores for dessert.

Team Sexy Pants is pretty much making the same along with mashed potatoes, gravy, side vegan salad, and a pumpkin tiramisu and fruit crisp. For some reason, EU Stefan is annoying Jamie to no end. I think it’s the whole Alpha Dog thing where you have two Alpha Dogs in the kitchen.

As the teams are busy finishing up their cooking, it starts to sprinkle (Curveball No. 3 from God). The TC Production crew tries to put up tents and I have to say, those cheftestants don’t miss a beat because they’re still grinding away at the cooking despite the rain. Luckily, most of them are done and they start packing up and taking the food inside for the turkey chow off.

Inside, they’re setting up like a buffet line, and Team Cougar is really helping each other out. They really are working like a team, and Cosmic Carla says they have more to prove because they weren’t the chosen ones.

In walks the judges: Padma, Chef Tom and Gail, and then comes the Foo Fighters. Despite the rock stars, Richard the Bear is again getting all hot over fellow bear Colicchio. It was cute the first time, but now it’s borderline stalking, me thinks.

Team Cougar is up first and the Foo Fighters grab some “spoonbread stuffing with figs” and some macaroni and cheese with bacon. The band members (well, mostly Dave Grohl talked the most) liked most of the food like the smoked pork loin, but didn’t care so much for the stuffing and the potatoes are slightly “al dente” (meaning undercooked). Chef Achatz says that some things are classic like stuffing and should be prepared the classic way. Which is kind of an odd comment for Top Chef land where the cheftestants are always told to be innovative and dinged for being boring and predictable. And does anyone else think Chef Achatz doesn’t look like he wants to be in this episode? I know he’s a genius and all, but he really looks like he was only on the show to promote his new book, Alinea.

The judges and Foo Fighters go to Team Sexy Pants’ buffet line, grabbing turkey, vegan cornbread stuffing, roasted corn salad and more stuff. Seems like EU Fabio has been the designated presenter because he seems to be doing all the talking. The Foo Fighters don’t seem to be as excited about Team Sexy Pants’ turkey, but they do like the caramelized marshmallows over the yams.

They head for the desserts and The Cougar is busy eating so Jeff the Hair tells her to stop stuffing herself. Doesn’t matter because the group goes to Team Sexy Pants first, who serve up their roasted pumpkin with honey and cinnamon tiramisu, and a peach and blueberry crisp with cinnamon cream.

The Foo Fighters like the tiramisu. Chef Tom thinks it was resourceful for EU Fabio to use pumpkin with the tiramisu, which isn’t a classic Thanksgiving dessert. They also love the crumble. Did anyone else notice Gail was really bossy during this segment, like she wanted to control the discussion with the Foo Fighters around? She’s such the groupie.

At Team Cougar, they serve up a pumpkin mousse and the banana s’mores. The Foo Fighters come up with the worst comments for this round, calling the pumpkin mousse “barf-fait” and comparing the vanilla cream on top of the banana s’mores as spit. Ouch.

The cheftestants are anxious to hear who won because they want to go to the concert. Daniel says he has his party hat and party underwear on. Woah, way too much information there, Daniel.

The Foo Fighters say it was pretty close, but they choose Team Sexy Pants. Team Cougar is pretty upset and Eugene is swearing up a storm (or bleeping up a storm). I feel bad for them because it was pretty close. Looks like dessert was their downfall yet again.

Team Sexy Pants attend the concert and of course they’re having a lot of fun (what is Jamie wearing on her head?) while Team Cougar is cleaning up inside. None of the guys are talking but The Cougar and Cosmic Carla are talking a lot.

When the two teams meet up at the stew room, you get the typical gloating from Team Sexy Pants and then Danny flips the bird. Uncool, dude. What a sore loser.

We know who’s heading in to the Judges’ Table, so in comes Team Cougar who lines up. Padma asks if they were surprised they lost, and Jeff the Hair (who hasn’t really smiled since losing) says he thought they did a good job given all the curveballs. Chef Tom says Jeff looks really pissed, but Jeff says it’s because he has a lot of heart, that’s all, when competing.

Chef Tom tries to give them a bone and says that it wasn’t a runaway win for the other team, and Gail adds that The Cougar’s turkey was the better of the two teams. They talk about the dry spoonbread stuffing (Jeff) and the undercooked potatoes (Danny) but most of the discussion focuses on the desserts.

Gail says the pumpkin mousse had an odd combo of flavors with the pumpkin and the berries. Chef Achatz says the s’mores should be like s’mores with the burnt sugar and the gooey chocolate but what came out didn’t resemble s’mores at all. Gail repeats the band’s spittle comment.

The judges deliberate and talk about which dessert was the least offensive. Chef Achatz says the s’mores were conceptually a mess. Doesn’t look good for Team Rainbow.

OK, we went to commercials and then all of a sudden there’s this short clip of the cheftestants in the stew room and Daniel is eating a peanut butter thing and dropping food every where and Jamie is getting annoyed. (I think I’m going to call her Alpha Dog from now on.) She says Daniel gets on her nerves and then the segment is over and we’re back to commercials. What was that? If it’s like an extra segment, I wish they would label it or something. It’s throwing me off.

Back at the judge’s table, Team Cougar reassembles and Chef Tom says they did like Eugene’s pork dish, so he’s safe and can leave. Alex is also safe, and Carla’s dessert was the best of the three, so she’s safe as well. Ariane’s turkey was excellent, and Chef Tom says she redeemed herself this week, so The Cougar can leave.

That leaves Richard the Bear, Jeff the Hair and Daniel. Tom says something about traditional dishes being the way to go and the non-traditional is what didn’t work. Padma sends Richard the Bear packin’. And there goes Team Rainbow. Now it’s just Jamie the Rainbow (but I already called her Alpha Dog, so really there’s no rainbows left for this season).

Richard is really emotional during his exit interview, talking about how it took him three seasons of trying out for the show before he finally got selected. He’s proud that he did make it to the show. And we learn now that, yes, even bears cry.

Next: It’s cooking in the morning at the Today Show kitchen, and someone makes something that forces Kathie Lee to spit it out (like she hasn’t done that before). And be prepared for the return of The Rocco.

“Top Chef: New York” airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. (9 p.m. Central) on Bravo TV. Photos courtesy of Bravo TV’s Web site.

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Travel Dish: Le Bar (Buenos Aires)

This is part of a series of reports recapping my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check back every Monday and Tuesday when I’ll be giving you a taste of my food adventures in this South American metropolitan city.

Taste the World at This Hip Martini Bar
Tacumán 422, Buenos Aires
Microcenter (downtown)
PH: 11/5219.0858
Open for lunch and dinner with a lounge
Major credit cards accepted
Web site (it’s a Spanish language blog about music/DJ events at the bar)

BUENOS AIRES
The allure of this city has attracted creative people from around the world to call Buenos Aires home, and several of them have started fun new restaurants such as Le Bar, a martini bar serving global tapas and started about 1 ½ years ago by a bunch of French ex-patriots.

Le Bar is hidden along a busy street of hotels and shops near the city’s Microcentro district or Microcenter, which is considered the downtown of Buenos Aires. While popular in the evenings because of its lounge feel and upstairs terrace, Le Bar is also a fun place for a nice lunch.

That’s how I found myself at Le Bar one day, walking up its stairs in a space that almost had the feel of a converted home. (The wooden moldings and faux fireplace really reminded me of a Victorian in San Francisco.) On the first floor, a bright orange-colored bar is to your left and the dining area to the right is a more muted purple with tear-drop lighting from the ceiling and a wall that can only be described as psychedelic.

The approach to the food is eclectic, just like the décor. Don’t expect to find any Argentine specialties here because Le Bar is truly trying to introduce new global flavors to the locals. So instead, the menu has a mix of influences from three primary areas: Rabat, the capital of Morocco; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Pondicherry, India. How the owners decided to zero in on these three disparate cuisines, one can only guess.

But I dove right in, starting my lunch with the Biruat de Pollo (AR$10 or $3.45). This was one of those times that I didn’t know what I was ordering but knew it was chicken (and haven eaten beef all week, I was ready for some white meat). What came out was a golden-brown looking turnover, almost like an empanada but flakier.

Despite the fact it was probably made with a lot of lard or butter, I loved it. It was different, tasty and so filling. My waitress told me that this was a type of Moroccan dish. It reminded me a lot of samosas, but bigger.

Next came the ensalada de calamare or calamari salad (AR$14 or $4.80), which looked pretty big. The calamari was tangy and tender to eat, but the dressing was a bit heavy on the greens. And I really didn’t get why it was served with the tortilla chips on the side.

Finally, I got the Croque Madame sandwich ($AR19 or $6.55), which I guess is a tribute to the French owners. A Croque Madame is basically a Croque Monsieur (ham and cheese grilled sandwich) but with a poached egg on top. Everything was done really well, from the poached egg to the grilled ham and cheese. The chef used a slightly cinnamon-flavored bread for the sandwich, which gave it almost a French toast feel. It was all good, but really quite filling. I had a nice lingering lunch as I sipped my glass of Malbec wine and chomped away at this huge sandwich.

While Le Bar has a chic reputation, close up it really feels worn in and comfortable. It has a lived in feel compared to a lot of the stylish and spotless restaurants I had visited earlier. The eclectic menu, friendly service and reasonable prices also make it a great place for lunch or bites with drinks.


Single guy rating: 3.5 stars (Charming little gem)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Bueno … life in BA
Le Bar is just a stone’s throw from the popular shopping street known as Avenida Córdoba, where you’ll find leather stores and places selling shirts for popular soccer teams. And on this street is a galleria known as Galerías Pacífico, with luxury brand names and this amazing painted ceiling in the middle courtyard. It was such a surreal experience to see such artwork juxtaposed next to store signs like Timberland or Hugo Boss. The galleria also has a very large food court on the ground level that was packed when I went through. It was your typical food court, with an assortment of Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian and Argentine food choices. Since I ate at Le Bar, I didn’t have to worry about succumbing to mall food.

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Mini Travel Dish: La Salamandra (Buenos Aires)

This is part of a series of reports recapping my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check back every Monday and Tuesday when I’ll be giving you a taste of my food adventures in this South American metropolitan city.

Bright, Fresh Spot for Caramel and Cheese
El Salvador 4761, Buenos Aires
Palermo Soho neighborhood
PH: 11/4831.1600
www.salamandra.com.ar

BUENOS AIRES
Not all the spring days during my trip to this South American city were filled with sunshine and warm weather. I did get rained on, but luckily on only about three days of my 10-day stay.

Walking around the quiet streets under gloomy overcast skies, it was refreshing to discover little bright spots like the La Salamandra café in the touristy Palermo Soho shopping district.

I walked past this café the day before and it was packed in the afternoon. But on this day I came in for lunch and it was relatively empty, with only a few moms with strollers and men reading newspapers. Still, the bright orange décor and contemporary setting were a welcomed escape from the wet streets.

La Salamandra bills itself as a “dulce de leche and mozzarella bar” — a combination I never really thought of for a cafe. It’s really a reflection of La Salamandra’s owners, an Argentine company of the same name that’s famous for its dairy products, namely cheese and the milk used to create the country’s famous milk caramel, dulce de leche.

The café offers mostly sandwiches and quiches, and a large variety of pastries and petit fours. I settled in and ordered a limonatta (AR$12 or $4.15), a frothy frozen lemonade drink, and the Quichette de espinacas, ricotta, parmesano y mozzarella (AR$28 or $9.75) or Spinach Quiche with Three Cheeses (ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella).

The quiche came as an individual-sized portion with a side salad of mesculan greens, all very light and refreshing in look and feel. The quiche itself had a nice, clean taste to it but I thought the crust was a bit bland. Still, overall it was a simple and delightful lunch.

Sitting on the white leather seats looking out at the trio of potted orange trees outside made me forget about the rainy day. La Salamandra is a relaxing, casual lunch spot perfect for a light meal or maybe some indulging of sweets, whether it’s pastries, desserts or the jars of dulce de leche for sale to take home.

This is a mini review, so no ratings. But I would definitely recommend La Salamandra if you’re shopping around Palermo Soho and want a place to rest your feet and grab a bite.


Bueno … life in BA

What do you think this is? A hot new club? A supply store for dance clubs? It’s the local supermarket. Walking around the neighborhoods, I saw several outlets for this grocery store chain called Disco. It seemed really popular with the area residents who had bagful of groceries heading home after work. I wonder if there’s a mirrored ball inside?

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Chestnuts + Roasting + Open Fire

Something about warm, toasty chestnuts in your hands that just makes you think of the winter holidays, doesn’t it? Even for a Hawaii boy like me, I loved the roasted chestnuts my mom would buy at Shirokiya, a Japanese department store in Honolulu.

Around the Bay Area farmers’ markets and even at supermarkets, chestnuts (still in their shells) are widely available — some coming as far away as Italy. What’s funny is that most of these chestnuts have been harvested a few weeks ago, but they’re only popping up in markets now because people only think of buying them around Thanksgiving. (Kind of like Dungeness crab season.)

I spotted these chestnuts for sale at my neighborhood Temescal Farmers’ Market last Sunday. The guy grows his chestnuts in the Davis area, and he had this interesting display of a chestnut still in its prickly exterior. Doesn’t it look like a porcupine? A little kid wanted to pet it because it kind of looked like a chia pet.

Since these were locally grown chestnuts (instead of the imported ones from Italy), I thought I’d give it a try. Plus, a really big bag (looked like 1.5 to 2 pounds) only set me back $4 for the smaller nuts (he had gigantic chestnuts for sale at a higher price).

The guy (I really should have asked for his name) says he boils the chestnuts, but I didn’t like that idea. So I baked them in the oven (since I didn’t have an open fire) on a roasting tray with a little bit of water to keep it moist. The thing everyone warns about the chestnut is that it explodes when heated. So you have to pierce and X on the side of the shell. (Weird. I never noticed this in the chestnuts at Shirokiya.)

The small chestnuts take only about 15 to 20 minutes to bake. You can tell they’re ready when the X mark looks like an exploding entry point. The freshly baked chestnut was so warm and the meat so sweet, it was great. My only complaint about fresh chestnuts is the furry skin. That part can be pretty hard to peel off. (I notice that when I roast at a higher heat and cook them longer, the skin gets crispy and peels off easy but you end up with drier meat.) Plus, individually piercing every nut with an X can get tiring. Still, it really feels like winter. Now all I need is some egg nog and I’m good for the next month.

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Starter Snack for Holiday Dining

Some of you will probably be busy in the coming days preparing food for Thanksgiving. One thing I find helpful when working in the kitchen is to keep the wine flowing and have something to snack on.

Easy-to-make savory baked goods are always a good bet. To me, nothing is easier than using frozen puff pastry and creating a galette. Full disclosure: I don’t know anything about what makes an authentic French galette—the circular rustic pastry dish. I just know that all you do is fold over the edge of a circular puff pastry and you’re good to go.

I’ve seen savory and sweet galettes (the sweet ones are often made with some kind of jam base). My recipe below is a mix of sweet and savory, which I think is always good as a bite before dinner. The sweet comes from the fresh autumnal pears (I used red pears I got at my grocer) and the savory from the ham (you could be fancy and use pancetta or jamon but I’m on a budget these days so I just used your basic American-style cooked ham) and blue cheese, in this case gorgonzola.

Making a galette is so easy because you just prep the ingredients, throw them all on the puff pastry, pop it in the oven and you have a fancy looking starter in minutes. (I have to say, my galette’s edges ended up looking loose because I had folded over the edges in a pretty pattern and then realized I should have added the cheese, so I had to unfold it and fold it back, that’s why it looks the way it does.) Serve this up for guests who arrive early or just eat it for yourself while you’re slaving away in the kitchen. You deserve it!

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Ham and Pear Galette

Copyright 2008 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
1 pear (red or Bartlett recommended)
¼ cup cooked ham, diced
¼ cup gorgonzola cheese (or other blue cheese)
2 twigs of fresh thyme
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Defrost puff pastry sheet per instructions on the box.

Cut pear to remove the core, and then thinly slice lengthwise. Toss in lemon juice to prevent it from browning.

Roll out puff pastry (you might need some flour for dusting) and create a circle. TIP: If your sheet starts off square, cut off the corners to make a better circle.

Sprinkle a bit of ham on the sheet, then place your pear slices in a pattern. Make sure you leave at least an inch of puff pastry around the edge. Tear off thyme leaves from the stem and sprinkle over ingredients, then crumble the cheese around the top.

Fold over the edges. Create an egg wash with the egg and a little bit of water, and apply the egg wash onto the edge of the puff pastry. (Optional, crack some sea salt on the puff pastry edge.)

Place on cookie sheet with liner like a Silpat or parchment paper. Bake until the puff pastry edge is golden brown (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool so the pear juices can be absorbed by the puff pastry and serve warm.

Makes four servings.

Pair with a glass of Riesling.

TIP: When assembling your galette, it might be hard to move it from your counter to the baking sheet. So I like to assemble it on the lined baking sheet, then I don’t have to worry about it falling apart when transferring.

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Top Chef: Season 5, Episode 2

Free Labor for Colicchio’s Craft

Previously: The cheftestants arrive in the Big Apple and they start by peeling apples. Lauren gets knocked off first so we won’t really remember her at the reunion show, and Team Rainbow forms with Jamie, Richard and Patrick, except Patrick throws a monkey wrench and breaks up Team Rainbow by getting himself eliminated in the first challenge.

What’s at stake? Hey, Glad is every where now, I can’t think of any other brand that does the same. Anyone? I bet a TOP CHEF would know.

Opening scene of typical shirtless guys waking up (thank you Jeff the Hair) and women looking for something. Richard the Bear is sad that Team Rainbow has shrunk, and Ariane is still trying to recover from her near elimination because of her undercooked faro. Fabio is saying some weird thing about how it doesn’t matter how many dragons you slay (translation: challenges you win), all that matters is that you get the princess (translation: named Top Chef).

Hey, did you notice there are two bald guys in the group? It’s going to be tough keeping Stefan and Hosea apart, other than Stefan is the Euro chef and speaks with subtitles.

The cheftestants arrive at the Top Chef kitchen for the quickfire challenge. Waiting for them are Padma and guest judge Donatella Arpaia, who seems to be the career judge for the Food Network after her countless appearances on Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef.

Padma says they’re going to have to make a dish that’s the favorite of New Yorkers, eating millions of it a year. What could that be? Hot dogs. Yep, New Yorkers love those ground leftover pork pieces sitting in the same salted water all day. And Padma brings out supposedly the most famous hot dog vendor in the city, which is Angelina DeAngelo. The cheftestants have to put up their fancified links next to DeAngelo’s.

They rush off to make hot dogs, and many of them, of course, have never made one or haven’t done one since culinary school. Luckily, we don’t really get too many shots of cheftestants grinding meat and stuffing it into casing, because, really, how pretty is it to stuff a sausage?

They have 45 minutes to create their own hot dog and then dress it up, but Jill decides she’s not going to bother making her own hot dog and just goes for the ready made. She also decides to give it a Vietnamese spin by turning them into summer rolls. (She’s not the only one doing an Asian twist because Eugene is making hot dog sushi.)

Jill’s summer rolls are up first as Padma and Donatella goes around tasting each hot dog. BTW, there are still so many cheftestants that they don’t bother showing everyone’s hot dogs. So other than Jill, the editors featured Radhika’s kabob-style lamb and pork dogs, Daniel’s pork hot dog, Eugene’s maki hot dog rolls, Hosea’s bacon and roasted pepper pork dog, Stefan’s “world” dog (which Donatella makes a face at when eating), Carl’s lamb-and-pork sausage with quick sauerkraut, Ariane’s chicken sausage, and Fabio’s andouille hot dog.

Last featured is Jamie’s hot dog, and Padma bites into it and there’s a thud. She’s bitten into a piece of bone. At least she’s gotten her calcium supplement for the day.

Then Padma and Donatella tries Angelina’s famous hot dog, and of course they rave about it after only taking one bite. I really don’t get why she was there in the first place, other than they wanted to have someone wheel in a hot dog cart.

Donatella says Jill’s hot dog dish was the worst because she didn’t even try to make her own sausages, and she also didn’t like the taste of Stefan’s world dog, which gets him steaming. She did love Radhika’s Indian-inspired dog, which was “moist and satisfying” and Fabio’s, which had a real Mediterranean feel. She also liked the smoky flavor of Hosea’s, but the ultimate winner is Radhika, who gets immunity.

Commercials. Want to know a secret? Kids can’t keep secrets. Thank you Swanson’s for the heads up. Ugh, that Xbox commercial with the whole game inside the back of the guy’s head is creepy, and the guy looks like his head hurts.

Elimination challenge. Padma says New Yorkers are the toughest customer, so they have to open a restaurant in Manhattan and serve up food to New Yorkers. Wow, is it the restaurant challenge so soon? Oh, not really. They just have to serve three courses of a “new American” menu at some restaurant.

Padma leaves it up to the cheftestants to decide who does which course, and it’s a mad chaotic mess. Wow, I’m surprised so many people want to make dessert. Usually most people avoid that. They’re all clamoring around each other while Jeff the Hair is like this calm executive chef off to the side writing on a piece of paper. He gets them to organize into three groups of appetizers, entrées and desserts and lucky for him the group divides evenly. Chaos averted.

They go shopping at Whole Foods, and this is when you can tell who’s going to do well and who’s in for trouble, at least based on editing. For example, Hosea wants to make a crab salad that he makes often at his own restaurant back home. But they don’t have fresh Dungeness crab (because it’s not in season when they filmed this episode) so he buys cooked crab in a container. Red tag this guy for elimination.

Jill’s at the egg aisle and sees these big ostrich eggs, and she decides to use them to make a quiche. One problem: She’s never cooked with them before. Another red tag here.

What’s funny is that none of the dishes people are talking about really sound like “new American.” It just sounds like everyone’s making dishes that they’ve made before at their restaurants back home. This is really going to be a snoozefest of an episode.

The cheftestants pay for their groceries and head back to the Top Chef kitchen to prep. Jill is trying to get her ostrich egg cracked, and Fabio comes over and helps her by stabbing a big chef’s knife into the top. OK, whatever works for you. (I’ve seen most chefs start by using a drill to create the first puncture, then saw off the top.) Jill instead uses a hammer to push the knife deeper until the egg cracks open.

In comes chef Tom Colicchi, who announces that the restaurant they’ll be serving their dishes will be his, Craft. But they’re not just cooking in Tom’s kitchen, they’re also serving 50 rejected Top Chef candidates from the New York area. Chef Tom says to expect them to be super critical (and way bitter).

The cheftestants pack their knives and head back home, where Fabio is rambling on again about his whole theory of slaying dragons and whoever gets the princess is the winner. I’m not really digging that metaphor for some reason. It’s no surprise that he has bonded with the other European cheftestant, Stefan. They’re like their own little European Union (so from now own I’m going to refer to them as EU Fabio and EU Stefan, or if you like, ewww Fabio and ewww Stefan.)

Commercials. Wow, did you see that 83-year-old woman water skiing? Grandma’s got legs! Hey, what just happened? All of a sudden I’m watching a snippet of Hosea and Leah sitting on a lounge chair flirting with each other. Did I just switch to VH-1 or something? Did the show start again? I’m confused. I think some lowly editor inserted a scene from a future episode. So now we know there’s romance brewing for these two.

Back to the real episode, I guess: Everyone wakes up to open up at Colicchio’s Craft. Eugene is wearing some white cloth around his head, which is kind of odd given that he has a buzzed haircut and is actually almost bald.

(Side note: I ate at Craft about two years after it opened and it is a very beautifully designed restaurant. At the time, the food was this weird approach where the menu lists different elements like starches, vegetables, sauces, and meats and then you created your dishes. It was very ala carte. I think it’s moved on from that but still maintains the simplicity of the cooking style.)

In the Craft kitchen, Jamie is thinning out her corn soup and feeling pretty confident, but EU Fabio is trashing her soup as too simple. He says you have to take it to the next level, so for his beef carpacchio, for example, he’s making an olive out of liquid. He tried to explain the chemical thing about how it works, but I couldn’t follow him and I don’t think they had subtitles for that segment when they really needed it.

We go through the regular shifts of overconfident cheftestants and the worry warts, like Carla who’s fussing about the crust on her apple dessert (oooh, looks like something I’m posting about this weekend but using pears!), and Nervous Ariane (that’s my new nickname for her, like Nervous Annie) is forcing everyone to try her lemon meringue martini. Richard the Bear thinks to himself that it’s too sweet, but he says he’s not going to tell her because, um, this is a competition. But Carla and Radhika do hint to Nervous Ariane that her dessert is a tad too sweet. So what does she do? Nothing.

Oh, she does tell everyone that if she goes down, she’s going to blame everyone for not being open with her. Huh? Why don’t you just blame your cooking? C’mon!

The rejects arrive for dinner, and they already start bitching and complaining about the menu. Meeeeow!

Back in the kitchen, in walks Chef Colicchio in a long blue apron and he introduces Craft’s regular chef Damon Wise who will be working with Chef Tom as “expeditors,” which if you recall from last season’s steakhouse episode, the expeditors are the people who call out the orders and asks how much longer it’s going to take for them to get it.

The judges arrive and it’s ladies’ choice with Padma, Donatella and Gail. The servers start taking everyone’s orders so now we can finally start seeing the finished dishes. Here’s the rundown:

Jamie’s chilled corn soup. Gail thinks it’s beautiful and light with the mint.

Hosea’s crab salad. Donatella says it’s slimy and one guy says he can taste the can it came out of.

Leah’s yukon potato and seared scallops. One guy says the scallops tasted sandy and Padma thinks the presentation is kind of a throwback to the 80s.

EU Fabio’s beef carpaccio and his kalamata liquid olives. Padma says it was beautiful and Donatella liked that he was being different with the olives.

Melissa’s grilled avocado salad. Everyone thought it was boring, and one guy (naturally) says he could have done better if he were selected. More people rip the creativity of the dish.

Jill’s ostrich egg quiche. It looks pretty, but someone says it resembles dog food. Donatella says it taste like glue.

Eugene’s deconstructed open-face meatloaf. Donatella doesn’t like the presentation.

EU Stefan’s pan seared halibut with micro greens. Padma likes the taste, others liked the flavor. It looks like a safe dish served at every restaurant.

Jeff the Hair is falling behind and Chef Tom is waiting for his chicken with honey mustard and chorizo. Everyone likes it but they’re not thrilled by it.

Alex’s stacked pork tenderloins. Donatella doesn’t like the flavor. One woman thinks it’s not up to par with something a Top Chef candidate would make (say like … herself, maybe?).

Radhika’s citrus avocado mousse. Gail says the food is weird and that the avocado mousse is really just a sweet guacamole.

Daniel’s ricotta pound cake. Donatella says it’s good, and most people seem to like it.

Nervous Ariane’s lemon meringue martini with hidden cherries and cookies. Padma nearly chokes from taking the first bite and I think she’s spitting it out now in her napkin. Everyone agrees that it’s toooo sweet.

Richard the Bear’s banana sandwich. Gail calls it an after-school snack.

Carla’s rustic apple tart with ginger peach tea and a lonely slice of cheddar cheese. Padma likes the taste of the dessert, but Donatella thinks the cheese looks like it fell off the diner truck.

All the dishes are served and now Chef Tom does a tasting in the kitchen. He makes a weird face after eating Nervous Ariane’s dessert.

Chef Tom joins the rest of the judges and says there were obvious missteps. He feels a bit shocked because he liked all the food last week, and now he’s wondering where did those cheftestants go? Plus, he doesn’t think anyone defined “new American” in their food and instead went backwards. (I’m still not really sure what the expectations are for “new American.”)

Back in the stew room, it’s Chef Tom instead of Padma who does the roll call, but not before he does a little speech about how unimpressed he was at the cheftestants new American cuisine. He asks for Jamie, Hosea, Nervous Ariane, EU Fabio, Carla and Jill. It’s funny how this season they’re calling the top and bottom people in together.

Padma says there were some bright spots and then starts going over each dish, starting with Carla’s dessert. Tom says the pastry was excellent, but she needed to work the cheddar into the dish. Padma says it was her favorite dessert.

Then they talk to EU Fabio, who really doesn’t know why he’s in this group. He thinks he’s going to get chewed out so he says he’s at a loss as to why people wouldn’t like his beef carpaccio because it’s so popular back at his restaurant in Los Angeles. Gail lets him know that everyone did like it and he’s among the top dishes, so Fabio has to do a 360 and thank the judges for putting him in this group. Everyone laughs.

Everyone raves about Jamie’s soup and the subtle hints of chili in the oil. I’m really tempted to try it because I love corn soup.

Donatella announces the winner as EU Fabio, who throws kisses at the judges. He says something in Italian during his interview about being the winner (what? Does this air in Italy?), and says that he’s now tied with EU Stefan. Um, Fabio, it’s only the second week.

Jill, Nervous Ariane and Hosea are on the bottom and Padma interviews each person. Hosea says he wanted to do something light and refreshing and actually thought he would win, but it sounded like the seasoning was off.

Ariane says she knew her dessert was too sweet, which is when Padma says she literally had to spit it out.

But the most interesting exchange is with Jill, who first of all looks like she’s out of it either because she’s super tired or just doesn’t care at this point. She talks about how she bought the ostrich egg to add another challenge but that she realizes it didn’t work and will try to do better the next time. She was actually going on and on and this is probably when the producers signal to Padma to let the cheftestant go on and on because sooner or later they’ll either hang themselves or make themselves sound incoherent. Judging by Chef Tom’s look, I think Jill achieved that.

Padma sends the trio back to the stew room so they can deliberate more, and Ariane goes back touting the fact that she’s the sure loser to go home this week. Take a number, Ariane.

Judgment. Tom says you have to stand out in this city (we know, because it’s tough). He says Hosea was complacent, Nervous Ariane was just so-so in a really tight competition, and Jill had a good idea but didn’t deliver. Just at the point where Padma is about to drop the knife, Jill makes this odd twitch in her face like she’s motioning to Ariane, telling Padma “pick her, she made you spit in your napkin.” But Padma sends Jill packing.

Jill says she’s disappointed and that Nervous Ariane should have gone home (I guess that twitch really was a signal), and that she’s still trying to figure out what she wants to do in her food career. She promises to crack more ostrich eggs until she gets it right. (Well, not really, but she should.)

Back in the stew room, Nervous Ariane cries and says she doesn’t deserve to be there and that she should have gone home. Carla tries to comfort her, saying something about not mistaking the universe. That universe, it’s a tricky thing in Top Chef land.

Next: They’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the Foo Fighters, looks like it’ll be a wet dinner, and did someone just spit on a plate? It’s like Thanksgiving at the Clampetts’.

“Top Chef: New York” airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. (9 p.m. Central) on Bravo TV. Photos courtesy of Bravo TV’s Web site.

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Dish on Dining: Zinnia

Welcome Home Chef Sean O’Brien
500 Jackson St., San Francisco
Financial District
PH: 415.956.7300
Open for dinner, Tues.–Sat.
Reservations, credit cards accepted
http://www.zinniasf.com/

I’ve always wanted to taste the food of Executive Chef Sean O’Brien ever since he was named one of the country’s Best New Chefs 2007 by Food & Wine magazine. Then all of a sudden, Myth restaurant where he created his magic was sold in late 2007 and O’Brien was out of a kitchen.

So when the chef returned to the city’s food scene with the opening of Zinnia last month, I didn’t waste any time in getting myself over there. And I dragged my fellow food blogger Foodhoe with me. (OK, I really didn’t have to do much arm-twisting on Foodhoe’s part since she has eaten at Myth before and knows the talents of O’Brien.)

Zinnia is actually the former home of Scott Howard, another reputable dining establishment that also had a change in ownership. I’ve been to Scott Howard before and walking into the space now transformed into Zinnia, I really have to say that I still felt a sense of the Scott Howard ghosts.

The layout hasn’t really changed, with a grand chandelier in the center dining room and banquettes around the perimeter. Michael Guthrie & Co., who did the refurbishing, added more whimsy with the multi-colored cloth lights in the center but it wasn’t a total transformation. The only really new elements are an elegant chef’s table adjacent to the kitchen and an interesting communal table at the bar.

Chef O’Brien’s menu offers California-inspired dishes, with many of the pasta and seafood dishes provided in small or large portions. I like it when restaurants do that because then I can order the small versions and try more dishes.

Foodhoe recognized a few items that Chef O’Brien served up at Myth, namely the seared sweetbreads and potato gnocchi. We both—for the briefest of moments—contemplated ordering the Black River Oscetra Caviar starter with Potato Cakes for $79, but thought better of ourselves.

I actually started with the Seared Sweetbreads ($12), served with bacon and haricot verts in a light sherry vinegar sauce. It also came with a slice of toasted baguette on top, which I thought was out of place. The sweetbreads were amazing in texture and taste. The exterior was lightly crisp, giving the tender interior a light and pleasing feel. It worked perfectly with the sherry vinegar and bacon. This truly is a signature dish for O’Brien, showing the mastery of his simply designed dishes and expert execution.

Foodhoe started with the Poached Jidori Egg ($11) with mushrooms and chicken hash, topped off with cracklings and chicken jus. It looked like a brunch dish to me, maybe because of the hash. Foodhoe seemed to like the dish, but she wasn’t blown away. I think she was tempted to order it because of the cracklings, but she didn’t really rave about them after trying them.

Next Foodhoe got the Seared Mascarpone Potato Gnocchi with Wild Boar Bolognese ($14). The gnocchi was a bit larger than what I normally see when eating gnocchi. They looked almost like tube pasta and they had a nice seared coloring on them. Foodhoe says she’s had it with a cream sauce, and preferred that to the Bolognese. I actually didn’t mind the Bolognese sauce, which was a rich and flavorful meat sauce. But both Foodhoe and I agreed that the gnocchi were a bit on the gummy side, almost as if they’ve been overcooked.

I had a small order of the Seared Scallops ($15/$26) with mushrooms, crispy potatoes, fennel and lobster sauce. I love any kind of seared scallops, but this dish was a little underwhelming. First, it looked awfully brown for some reason and the searing didn’t produce that nice, tasty caramelization on the scallops. It just made it looked brown bordering blackened. The sauce was rich, but didn’t have a distinct flavor other than cream.

For our entrees, I went with the Quail ($17) stuffed with quinoa and king trumpets and served with arugula and orange slices. The quail was nicely prepared, with the bones so cooked that they basically broke away at each bite. The addition of the oranges gave it a bright, clean flavor but not something I haven’t tried before.

Foodhoe got a small order of the Roasted Alaskan Black Cod ($16/$27) served with baby shiitake mushrooms, butternut squash and sitting on a stewed piece of daikon (Japanese radish). The dish was finished off with a clear dashi broth poured on at table side.

Foodhoe felt the fish was nicely cooked, allowing it to be tender and juicy. She loved the addition of the dashi broth, as did I when I gave it a taste test. The dashi was light and clean, which really helped to focus the attention on the meaty fish. Foodhoe wasn’t a fan of the stewed daikon underneath, but I thought it was fine. The dish probably could have done without it, but I thought it was just another flavor profile added in this Japanese-influenced entrée.

We finished off our meal with a dessert recommended by our server: the Chocolate Marquise ($9). It was a mousse-like chocolate cake served with a caramel “air” (which is just like foam but more light, I guess). The chocolate mousse was delicious, with a creamy texture that was a perfect balance of airy and dense. I liked the accompanying “air” but Foodhoe had to spoil it for me by saying it looked like something her cat left behind.

Side note: The service was friendly and attentive, but the timing of the courses seemed too spaced out. There was a lot of time in between our courses, which made our school-night dinner last more than two hours. I don’t know if this is a reflection of the opening month kinks in the kitchen or Chef O’Brien’s deliberate take to provide diners with the European approach to long dinners. I’m not a fan of long waits between courses, unless I’m on vacation.

Chef O’Brien’s return is marked with moments of brilliance and a sense of being stuck in gear. Hopefully as he gets comfortable in his new digs, he’ll aggressively chart new territory in his cooking so diners can enjoy exquisite dishes like his sweetbreads and black cod with dashi. Let’s hope his stay is a long one.

Single guy rating: 4 stars (Refined and Familiar)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

It was a beautiful evening as we left the restaurant, and being the shutterbugs that we are, Foodhoe and I got into a competition to see who could get a photo of the restaurant sign with the night's moon and the nearby TransAmerica building. I only could get two of the three.

You can read Foodhoe's take on our meal here on her blog. (She was able to get a shot of the sweetbreads since mines didn't come out. I still believe that was the best dish!)

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Helado Brain Freeze

This is part of a series of reports recapping my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check back every Monday and Tuesday when I’ll be giving you a taste of my food adventures in this South American metropolitan city.

BUENOS AIRES
While I was blogging from this city, I posted about my love of helado—the popular local ice cream that resembles Italian gelato. You can’t walk five or six blocks without finding someone selling helado, whether it’s a chain store or a mom-and-pop stall. (It’s also found on the dessert menu of most restaurants.)

It’s no wonder, given how hot it gets here. Everyone agrees that ice cream is a quick fix for the heat. But there’s something special about the Argentine helado, with its creamy, foamy texture and its multitude of flavors.

NOTE: In all heladerias, you stand in line at the register to pay first, then you stand in line at the counter to order your flavors. But it’s worth the wait.

Here are the highlights of my adventures in helado consumption:

Nonna Bianca—This folksy looking spot in the heart of the funky San Telmo neighborhood sells artisan helado. (Artisan really just means home-made, and doesn’t necessarily always reflect the quality of the ingredients.) It’s part café and part heladeria.

I ventured here after checking out the popular Sunday antiques fair at a nearby plaza. There were tons of flavors, but the service was awful. I had looked over the flavors and decided I just wanted to get the melon, which I assumed would be something like cantaloupe or honeydew. The woman behind the counter just would not listen to me when I kept pronouncing melon (which is how it was spelled on the board). I tried pronouncing it like limon (lee-MON), which is lemon, thinking it was close. Mee-LON I would say, but she still didn’t get it. I tried to point to the board, and she wouldn’t turn around to look. Instead, she made me wait until the other server was free so he could take my order, which he did after one try. Sigh.

Anywho, the melon was less creamy than most helado I had in town, and was more like a sorbetto. Despite having a bright orange color, it tasted more like watermelon than cantaloupe. It was still good, but not amazing. (Small cup: AR$5, or $1.75)

Vessa—Also in the San Telmo neighborhood was this shop, which I felt had the least flavors offered. Many of the flavors were slanted toward the chocolate category and Italian desserts. I ordered something called Tramontana, which is a foamy scoop of vanilla flavored helado with a whole bunch of stuff, including caramel swirls, candy bits and chocolate chips. It was like eating a light sundae, and the helado had the most air than the others I’ve tasted.

I also got the tiramisu, because that’s one of my favorite Italian desserts. It wasn’t very special, tasting almost like plain chocolate. (Small cup: AR$8 or $2.75)

Side note: Nonna, Vessa and another favorite Freddo are all walking distance of each other in the San Telmo neighborhood. Of the three, the chain Freddo was consistently packed.

Froilan—Another artisan helado spot, this café is in the heart of Palermo Soho, the shopping district. This is one of the largest heladeria where you can sit inside and hang out. (They sell coffee and other stuff too.)

I ordered something called the Fruita 9 Semanas y Media just because it sounded mysterious. It turned out to be like some kind of strawberry and marshmallow concoction. I also got the Crema de Marni, which was thicker than the fruita and had flavors of peanut butter and bits of toffee bar.

Froilan’s helado is more gooey, definitely more like gelato. I loved how they pile on the ice cream, even in a small cup, and the staff is young and super friendly. (Small cup: AR$7 or $2.40)

Volta—This is like the high-end helado spot. The place I visited is on Av. Pte Quintana in the Recoleta district, just a block away from the luxurious Alvear Palace Hotel and the various foreign embassies/mansions. It has the sleekest look and actually has a counter selling a variety of chocolates in addition to helado.

I ordered something called the Durazno Tropical and the Café Italiano. The Durazno had a definite tropical fruit flavor, like papaya or passion fruit. (A Google search seems to hint that it’s a peach flavor.) I really loved the orange color. The Café Italiano was rich and soooo good. It had a real balanced coffee flavor, but not sweet or strong. What I also like is that it’s served in a cookie cup that was light and crispy. (Small cup: AR$10 or $3.45)

When I look back at all the different heladerias I visited and the many flavors I randomly chose, I have to say that my favorite has to be my very first helado I had at Freddo. Despite it being a chain, Freddo has the cleanest spots, friendliest service and the most interesting selection for your money. The helado is consistently thick and creamy while still airy enough to feel light. And how can you not love ice cream spiked with rum? ;-)

Bueno … life in BA

One of the local treats that you find around town is the alfajor. It’s kind of like a cookie sandwich made with the country’s famous dulce de leche (or caramel spread).

In various bakeries around town, you’ll see alfajors made in various shapes and sizes. The above were some alfajors I saw in the window of one bakery. The center is the dulce de leche squeezed between two cookie pieces. These were huge! Just looking at them gave me a stomach ache from all the sweetness.

Alfajors are also great treats to bring home to the states, and the most convenient place to get them is the Havana stores (I know, you expect to buy cigars or something). This is a chain of stores that you’ll find around town, and their alfajors come in chocolate and powdered sugar and are conveniently air-packed.

I bought a couple of boxes back for my office and they were a big hit. The alfajors from Havana were more normal size for a cookie, and were crumbly good but not super sweet.

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Travel Dish: Meridiano 58º (Buenos Aires)

This is part of a series of reports recapping my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check back every Monday and Tuesday when I’ll be giving you a taste of my food adventures in this South American metropolitan city.
An Enriching Meal in a Zen-like Atmosphere
J.L. Borges 1689 (at El Salvador), Buenos Aires
Palermo Soho neighborhood
PH: 11/4833.3443
Open daily noon to 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. (later on weekends)
Amex and Visa accepted, reservations OK
Cubierto or table service charge added

BUENOS AIRES
If you ever need a reminder that you’re half-way around the world, then make your way to Meridiano 58º, which gets its name from the geographical location of Buenos Aires in the world map.

The restaurant, itself, is at the northern end of the trendy Palermo Soho neighborhood, where people shop at designer boutiques and brand-name franchises (there’s a Nike and Diesel store nearby). It has a huge façade, probably because it has three levels of dining.

When I arrived for dinner, I sat in the first level, which has the feel of a bar lounge. The second level is where most of the diners sat. Meridiano 58º has this Asian sensibility to it, which is a bit confusing since the food is strictly Argentine. (It’s sometimes classified as modern Argentine or global Argentine cuisine.)

The furnishings are like black lacquer and the accessories have accents of bamboo. Even the servers are dressed in loose-fitting white gauze outfits that look like something from Shanghai.

My waiter brought me the ubiquitous bread basket. I got a bread basket every where I went on this trip, and by this point of my vacation I felt guilty at seeing this large basket placed at my table. But then I decided to try a roll and it was the best I had anywhere in the entire city! I would go back just for this bread basket because it was so fresh and warm. The roll I tried was soft and pillowy, and embarked such a comforting fragrance that I was entranced all evening. The accompanying tapenade was also yummy, and another unique flavor that I hadn’t experienced in any bread basket given to me at other restaurants.

But enough about the bread. For my actually meal, I decided to start with empanadas, another traditional Argentine dish. I had taken a class on how to make empanadas, which are like turnovers often filled with meat, and fell in love with them. But I was wary of eating them at restaurants because I’d heard they were mostly deep fried.

When my waiter told me that their version was baked, I ordered one beef and one chicken empanadas for AR$4 (or $1.40) each. They looked really cute when they arrived. While they were tasty, the skin was thicker than the ones I made in class (and I decided the homemade ones were better than these).

For my entrée, I ordered the Lamb with Quinoa risotto (AR$42 or $14.50). I’d never heard of risotto made with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wa), which is used a lot in South American cuisine and considered very healthy. People confuse it for a grain, but it’s really not.

The quinoa risotto had a gummy texture and was very salty, so I really couldn’t finish it. It was mixed with bacon bits and roasted cherry tomatoes. The lamb was tender but a bit on the done side. (That’s when I realized my waiter never asked me how I wanted my lamb done.) The lamb had a thick glaze on it that was similar to a balsamic reduction. Overall, the dish was OK if the risotto wasn’t so salty.

I had read a lot about Meridiano 58º’s desserts, so I made sure I saved room for it. And having discovered maracuya (or passion fruit), I knew I needed to order the Mousse de Maracuya (AR$19 or $6.50).

The plate looked beautiful when it arrived, and there was a nice tart passion fruit flavor to the mousse. Unfortunately, the block of mousse had a slightly frozen texture, like it was brought out from the freezer to defrost but didn’t defrost all the way by the time it got to my table. This made me wonder: Do they make their desserts ahead of time and freeze them? Or do they buy their desserts from someone else and ship them over? I guess I’ll never know, but it was definitely a shame.

It’s funny because while I was having this dinner, I remember feeling really good about it (probably because of that dream-like bread I ate to start) and that I enjoyed the ambiance and the friendly but non-intrusive service. But now that I look at my notes and look back, it really sounds like my meal wasn’t that great. Maybe it was an off night, because on paper everything sounded good and the restaurant is a handsome and plush environment. Maybe the kitchen was off by a latitude or two.

Single guy rating: 3 stars (Hit and Miss)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Bueno … life in BA

Most tourists I ran into told me they got around the city by taxis. And locals have told me that the fleet of taxis has increased dramatically in the last few years as tourism boomed. Here’s how they work:

1) Always catch what’s called a Radio Taxi. They’re supposed to be the “official” taxis with meters. They’re often painted black and gold.

2) A taxi is available when a red sign (it says “libre”) at the top of the passenger side of the front windshield is turned on.

3) The taxi driver always starts the meter at AR$3 (or about $1).

4) Many taxi drivers hardly speak English. So my tip is to always write down the address of where you want to go on a piece of paper to hand to the driver. If it’s a known destination like the Malbec museum, they’ll probably know. But if it’s a restaurant, specific addresses with cross streets will be helpful.

The downside with taxis (and the reason why I hardly took them unless I was super tired) is that traffic in Buenos Aires is crazy. So depending on the time of day, you could be stuck in traffic spending a lot on the fare. And while the fare could average about (U.S.) $4-$6 per trip, which doesn’t seem like a lot, they can add up if you’re there like me for 10 days going back and forth from location to location.

Summary only...

Dish on Dining: Dazz Thai -- CLOSED

Fresh New Option for Lunch
UPDATE (04/30/09): This restaurant closed and an Ethiopian restaurant took its place.
1442 Franklin St. (at 15th), Oakland
Downtown
PH: 510.268.1109
Open for lunch only

I’ve complained before about the limited lunch options around my office, forcing me to take the 10-block trek to Oakland’s Chinatown. So I always get excited when I’m met half-way by something new.

Dazz Thai, despite sounding like a jazz studio, opened a few months ago near 15th Street, half-way between my office and Chinatown. This week I decided to check it out and asked my friend Jeanne to join me.

The restaurant is brightly painted with the typical Southeast Asian colors of orange and lime, and has some interesting photographs on the walls, including what looks like family pictures. The room is split into two dining areas, and is often filled with the smell of incense.

Even before ordering, our waiter brought out two bowls of the house soup, which is typically a clear broth with stewed vegetables. It was a nice palate cleanser.

The menu is made up of your typical rice plates, stir-fries, curries and pad Thai noodles. But they also serve a few Thai noodle soup bowls, which looked intriguing. Jeanne and I decided to order a few dishes to share, and they all pretty much came out at the same time.

We had the Yum Yai Salad ($8.95), which was this huge plate of roughly chopped lettuce overflowing with shrimp, chicken, cucumber, thinly sliced red onions, pineapple chunks and tomatoes. It had the light Thai dressing, similar to Vietnamese dressing using the fish sauce, lime and chilies. It was refreshing and filling all at the same time. I never had a salad with pineapples and it was oddly comforting, maybe because I’m from Hawaii and I’m used to pineapples.

Next is the Basil Chicken ($7.95), which is a standard dish at a lot of Southeast Asian restaurants. What threw me off, though, was the chicken, which looked a bit like ground pork or something. The chicken was in pieces. Still, the overall dish was nice with the light garlic and chili sauce, but I didn’t get a strong basil flavor although you could clearly see the Thai basil leaves in the dish.

I typically order Pad Thai but wanted to be adventurous, so with the recommendation of our waiter, we ordered the Pad Kee-Moua ($7.95), which is a fried noodle dish using the flat rice noodles. It’s wok-fried with basil leaves, onion, bell peppers, and chili. We ordered it with tofu for an extra $2.

Our waiter warned us that the Pad Kee-Moua would be spicier than the other noodle dish we were looking at, and he wasn’t kidding. It wasn’t overpowering but you definitely got the kick. (I actually shouldn’t be surprised because right at the front table with the incense is a big jar of dried red chilies, so this place doesn’t kid around when they say spicy.) Jeanne liked the noodles, but I felt it was a little on the greasy side.

The service was very friendly and attentive, but then again the restaurant wasn’t too crowded on the day we went. I’ve seen it busier on other days walking by on my way to Chinatown.

The food seems fresh, and the servings are generous. It’s definitely a step above the couple of Thai places near me, but nothing to travel long distances for. In fact, it’s the kind of place I’d go half-way for.

Single guy rating: 2.5 stars (Spicy Thai Lunch)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Summary only...

Top Chef: Season 5, Episode 1

Two Eliminations for the Price of One

Padma’s back in bright yellow and she takes us down memory lane of Top Chef’s past, with San Francisco, LA, Miami and last year’s Chicago. But now the highly rated food show on TV has made it, and to prove it they’re going to the Big Apple baby. There’s a quick montage of the 17 cheftestants this season. Hey, is that someone in a bikini?

What’s at stake you might ask? Padma, can you give us the rundown? Hmm, sounds pretty much like the same prize package every year: a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Food & Wine event in Aspen, $100,000 from Glad, and, oh, what else? Um … the title of TOP CHEF.

Cue the dance music. Oh how I missed this silly montage. I’m not even going to bother mentioning all the cheftestants flashing briefly before me right now, although I have to say they’re a bit more awkward dancers than what I recall of previous seasons. Did some guy just wink at us? Oh boy, it’s going to be that kind of season.

We open with scenes of a New York farmers market, then Whole Foods (since when is that a New York landmark?), and Grand Central Station. Fabio is the first to arrive with his wheelie bag, and if you haven’t guessed it, he’s from Italy. Florence specifically (or what I like to call Firenze, which is the proper Italian name for the city—bastard westernization of foreign cities!). You can tell he’s Italian by the way he says “frickin’.” Then we have Jamie who’s the only chef this year from San Francisco (woo-hoo!) and she has a lot of tats.

Oh wait, I’m wrong. This guy Eugene from Las Vegas via Hawaii has way more tats. The rest of the parade of cheftestants include Jeff, a surfer blond from Miami who I’m going to call Jeff the Hair because he says he always checks his hair before he goes into a restaurant; Radhika, who’s Indian but says she doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed into cooking only with Indian spices (although she does just that in the first quickfire challenge); and Lauren, a Southern girl from Savannah with a husband in Iraq (bring the troops home Obama!).

Now they’re on a ferry outside of Manhattan. We meet more cheftestants, some of which don’t even rate a few minutes of bios. They’re just too many of them. Looks like Southern Girl Lauren knows Patrick, the 21-year-old culinary student (he didn’t even graduate yet). They were in some class together, so can there be an alliance brewing?

This guy Stefan is from Finland, and you know how most Europeans know more than one language so he’s busy talking Italian to Fabio. It looks like they’re heading to Governor’s Island near the Statue of Liberty, and this cheftestant Richard blurts out for no apparent reason that he’s a big ol’ queen. In our community, he would be known as a “bear.” (Just like how they tried to stick that label on Tom Collichio but he wouldn’t hear of it.)

Speaking of Chef Tom, there he is in all his shiny baldness next to the fabulous Padma, who welcomes them to the most competitive environment yet. (Is that kind of like the most suspenseful rose ceremony ever?) She announces the first quickfire challenge, but tells them that there are 17 of them but only 16 chef’s jackets back at the Top Chef kitchen. So one person will be eliminated from the quickfire. (I had read about this in some early press so I wasn’t shocked about it, but it kind of sucks for whoever gets kicked out in the first 20 minutes of the show.)

Chef Tom tells them they’ll be tested through three rounds of culinary skills, all involving the bowl of apples (get it?) in front of them. For the first round, they all have to peel 15 apples using a knife instead of a vegetable peeler. Oooh, I bet there’ll be a lot of bleeding in this segment.

They’re off, and everyone starts peeling, and sure enough I already see some blood. Ouch, some big guy (I still don’t know everyone’s names) just said he cut through his thumb and he says he has to keep on going even if his thumb falls off. Nice. Stefan finishes first, and actually gets immunity for the elimination challenge (just for peeling apples?). The next eight will be safe while the remaining losers move on to the next round. Jamie from San Francisco doesn’t want to have to do the second round, but there’s just one more spot left for safety and … she’s safe. Whew! Give her a shot of absinthe, people!

In the second round, we learn a new fancy culinary French term known as “brunoise.” So kids, what that means is they have to dice the apples into tiny little perfectly identical squares.

Four cheftestants brunoise their way to safety so that just leaves four others for the third and final round of skills. Leah, who’s from New York, Lauren with the military husband, Patrick the culinary student and Radhika, who doesn’t cook with Indian spices. Tom says they have 20 minutes to make a dish from the apples. Radhika just said in her interview that it takes her 20 minutes just to get her knives together, find her pots and get her spices. Geesh, girl, how slow do you cook in the kitchen? Do you know you’re in a competition?

Anywho, Radhika says she’s going to make an apple chutney. Huh, that sounds vaguely like Indian food to me. Leah is making seared scallops, which is smart because they’re fast to cook, and friends Lauren and Patrick are both making salads.

Tom and Padma go to the four stations to try out their dishes, but they don’t really say much. Then Chef Tom gives his appraisal, starting with Leah’s dish, which he thought was well seared and Radhika, which was well seasoned and balanced. Both are declared safe.

So that leaves the buddies Lauren and Patrick. Not only do we get our first elimination for the season, but the producers are already breaking up this heart-felt reunion. Oh, this is so like “Sophie’s Choice.” OK, maybe not, but still.

Commercials. I don’t get that “Australia” movie with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It looks all epic and such, but what is it about? Are they going to do the history of one country in two hours? Is it a musical? I know how Hugh loves his musicals. (wink) You know another commercial I don’t get? That British Airways commercial with sea lions and other sea creatures swimming around like they’re at an airport. What is that supposed to mean? Fly British Airways, and sit next to a smelly sea animal. I can’t believe in this economy some company is paying someone to come up with these.

Back at Governor’s Island, Chef Tom says both Lauren and Patrick’s salads were good, but he has to go with Patrick’s. So that means Lauren has the honor of being the first to go home, and she didn’t even cook for the guest judge. Brutal.

Padma busts out the knife block and they’re already into the Elimination Challenge even before these guys have unpacked. Wow, New York season is tough. As they pull knives, they’re words printed on the sides like Astoria, Chinatown, Brighton Beach, and I can tell already that it has something to do with New York’s neighborhoods. Everyone who comes to New York always have to do something about the city’s distinctive neighborhoods, which are mostly in the boroughs.

Turns out that the group is divided into pairs, and each pair will have to make a dish inspired by their neighborhood. And for each pair, they’ll go head-to-head in judging and one person will move forward and the other will be “eligible” for elimination. Now that they know the rules, everyone’s dismissed and they head to their new digs.

They arrive at their new home, which looks like some new loft or condo, and there’s the typical ooohs and aaahs. I can’t tell from the view exactly what neighborhood they’re living in, but my guess is somewhere on the lower west side because I think I see Jersey over there. Lauren and Richard the Bear are out on the patio and they call themselves Team Rainbow (as in the LGBT rainbow flag). We already knew Richard was a self-declared big ol’ queen, and now we know Jamie is a lesbian. (She is from San Francisco, remember?) They drag young Patrick into the group because, you know, things are better in threes.

Inside we see subtitles whenever Stefan and Fabio are talking. I don’t know why, because I can make out what they’re saying. Blah blah blah, football, blah blah blah, marijuana, blah blah blah where’s my cigarette? Stefan gets into a fight with someone about how vinaigrette is vinaigrette. You can tell the editors are making Stefan out to be the Marcel or Stephen of this season, the pompous know-it-all. Except he’s a European pompous know-it-all.

Commercials. Another movie that I don’t get. All I know is it’s about a boy with a British accent who wears striped pajamas. Two words: Oscar whore.

The cheftestants wake up and get ready, and we get the typical worries from people who are out of their element. Eugene is worried because he’s going to Little India and needs to cook Indian food, which he’s never done before. Ariane is just a whole bag of self-esteem issues.

For the next few minutes, we see the pairs shopping at neighborhood grocery stores and discovering different ethnic foods. They have $75 to spend, and the only interesting moment is when we find out more about Carla, the tall woman with a big bunch of frizzy hair on top. She’s in Brighton Beach, which is primarily a Russian neighborhood, and she can’t decide what to make. She says she’ll let the “spirit gods” guide her to find out what she’s supposed to make. OH-kaay.

Young Patrick and this big guy named Daniel is in Chinatown. And I love New York’s Chinatown because it’s crowded and gritty and so ethnic. But Patrick is in the aisle of a grocery store and he’s looking at Japanese noodles! Hell-no. You’re supposed to be inspired by Chinatown, not Asiatown. So he grabs a bag of black noodles, which I suspect is Japanese soba or black sesame noodles and he heads out. (I hate it when they confuse Asian cultures, like we’re all the same or something.)

Everyone returns to the condo building, which is also where the Top Chef kitchen is. The cheftestants start cooking and we get the fast-paced cooking music, along with a lot of sweaty people. I guess with the camera lights, it can get pretty hot in the kitchen.

Fabio is paired with Jeff the Hair and he’s feeling pretty confident that his pork slices with mango demi-glaze will be more Latin than Jeff’s. Jeff is busy creating sides like crispy plantains.

Here’s young Patrick making his Chinese dish with Japanese Mirin (the sweet rice wine) that he’s going to use as a glaze on a salmon. He’s cooking his black noodles but it looks like he overcooked it because he says the texture is off.

Richard is trying to talk to his partner and fellow Team Rainbow member Jamie, but Jamie is fun outside but serious inside. So she’s not the talkative type when she’s in the kitchen. I bet Richard wants to revoke her Team Rainbow card right now.

Ariane is over-tasting her faro that she’s cooking, and she says she tastes it again and again to the point she doesn’t know any more if it’s seasoned or not. Wow, she’s a disaster just waiting to happen, isn’t she?

Just seven minutes left and everyone’s rushing to plate, and Jeff the Hair is totally caught off guard. It’s the typical “too much on his plate” scenario and now he’s running back and forth between the stove and his station to finish the dish. And you guessed it … Jeff doesn’t finish plating his dish.

Commercials. Now that’s a better Glad commercial with the cutie kid. It’s not surprising but at least it’s not creepy.

Back in kitchen, we find out the first guest judge for the season is New York legend Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Padma introduces the other judges: Chef Tom and Gail Simmons of Food and Wine. They head off to the judges’ table, which is right in the kitchen and looks so casual with the wooden table, like they’re at some kind of picnic.

Since they’re so many cheftestants, here’s just a quick summary of the dishes:

Neighborhood: Long Island City (Middle Eastern). Stefan’s lamb chops with tabouli salad trumps Ariane’s undercooked faro risotto with lamb.

Neighborhood: Astoria (Greek). Richard’s (who sends some love over to fellow bear Tom) Greek lamb sliders with orzo salad is too plain next to Jamie’s deconstructed Greek salad with seared bass.

Neighborhood: Jamaica (Jamaican). Jill’s overcooked scallops with plantain fritters and jerk-spiced salad was still better than Radhika’s jerk-rubbed halibut and three-bean rice.

Neighborhood: Ozone Park (Cuban/Latin). Fabio’s sous vide-prepared pork chop with roasted mushroom wasn’t Cuban enough next to Jeff the Hair’s pork tenderloin with Cuban coffee.

Neighborhood: Brighton Beach (Russian). Hosea’s trio of smoked fish (pretty plating) demonstrated “culinary elegance” (Padma’s words) so he wins over Carla’s smoked trout over potato latkes.

Neighborhood: Little Italy (Duh). Leah’s faro risotto and snapper wins over Melissa’s seared rib eye with tomato sauce.

Neighborhood: Chinatown (Chinese!). Daniel’s generic Chinese Chicken Salad (which is an American-invented dish) trumps young Patrick’s Japanese-inspired seared salmon over black noodles.

Neighborhood: Little Indian (double duh). Alex’s grilled lamb chops with ragout didn’t have any Indian flavors while Padma herself declares Hawaii boy Eugene’s masala-rubbed lamb as a classic Indian home-cooked dish. Wow, he totally lucked out on that.

Tom says he’s happy with what he’s seen so far this season, but he did leave some criticism for young Patrick, saying his dish didn’t represent the neighborhood (I sooo agree). They continue talking about their likes and dislikes, and as usual they’re all over the place.

Commercials. We’re at the one hour mark and this premiere is a special 75-minute long show. I’m going to be soooo tired. Why did I decide to do these recaps? Ugh, those Xbox commercials looking into the brains of people is really creeping me out.

Night-time in New York. Padma comes and rounds up the winning group of Stefan, Eugene and Leah. And she also brings in the losing group, young Patrick and Ariane. Ariane is worried she’ll be the first voted off. Wrong show, girl, unless that’s Jeff Probst I see standing behind the camera eating that leftover piece of lamb.

For judgment time, they draped a table cloth over the judges’ table and turned on the mood lighting. They discuss the winning dishes, and Tom says Leah captured the flavors of new Italian cooking. Chef Jean-Georges, who’s kind of soft-spoken and also needs subtitles, says he liked Stefan’s dish. Padma is still raving about Eugene’s classic Indian dish, and Chef Jeans-Georges says the masala was “divine.” But for the winner, he gives it to Stefan, who hopes to be the first Top Chef from Europe.

So that leaves Patrick and Ariane. It’s a good sign that the cheftestants’ dishes were so good that they only have two in the bottom instead of the typical three. But it most be so embarrassing to be those two. Which brings us back to young Patrick and Ariane.

Chef Tom says Patrick’s dish wasn’t inspiring and Gail says it tasted like the same texture. She says it doesn’t say Chinatown. (Of course not, because it’s a Japanese dish!) Tom tells Patrick he needs to travel more and discover the other world tastes. Ariane says something about how she looks at cookbooks and that creates a dramatic thunk with Tom, who says cookbooks are for kids.

Padma asks them the silly question of why they should stay and I really don’t get their answers, so let’s just find out who leaves. Oh wait, they need to talk about it more. Maybe they’re still trying to figure out if the bok choy Patrick used with his dish is Chinese or not.

Finally, it’s judgment time. Chef Tom says Ariane’s dish was inspiring but lacked technique. Patrick’s dish was well-executed but not inspiring. Padma looks over at Tom, who gives her the death nod, and then she turns to young Patrick and tells him to pack his knives and go.

Patrick hugs everyone bye, and they’re so many of them at this stage he doesn’t know if he hugged everyone yet. Then he jumps on Richard the Bear, who probably would like it if he wasn’t into other bears. Patrick says he’ll go back to culinary school, because he has an exam next week. Then he’ll be Top Chef in the year 2012.

This season on Top Chef: Lots of fire, lots of running, Fabio fighting, Jamie getting offended by Stefan, Martha Stewart arrives, Rocco Dispirito never left from last season, and Ariane is still a whole bag of self-esteem issues.

“Top Chef: New York” airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. (9 p.m. Central) on Bravo TV. Photos courtesy of Bravo TV’s Web site.

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Travel Dish: L’Orangerie at the Alvear Palace Hotel (Buenos Aires)

This is part of a series of reports recapping my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check back every Monday and Tuesday when I’ll be giving you a taste of my food adventures in this South American metropolitan city.

Escape with a Royal Touch of Tea
Av. Alvear 1891 (at Ayacucho), Buenos Aires
Recoleta district
PH: 11/4808.2949
Tea service Mon.–Sat., 4:30–7 p.m.; Sun., 5–7 p.m.
Major credit cards, reservations accepted
Web site

BUENOS AIRES
For the ultimate afternoon meal, there’s nothing that can surpass afternoon tea at L’Orangerie, inside the ornate Alvear Palace Hotel.

The Alvear is considered one of the most luxurious and exclusive hotels in Buenos Aires, and it is home to one of the best known French restaurant in South America (La Bourgogne). But because I’m such a big fan of the whole ritual of tea (which is why I love London), I made it a point to visit L’Orangerie instead.

Just walking through the hotel lobby and seeing the breathtaking view of the formal dining rooms, you really do feel a bit out of place. The history of Argentina’s elite just drips from the gilded wall hangings and crystal chandeliers. L’Orangerie’s tea service is a tradition for portenos (or locals), many coming for special family gatherings on holidays.

The Alvear Tea at L’Orangerie is a fixed menu and price (AR$85 or $30). You can pay extra and get the special Alvear Tea with Kir Royale. I went with the standard Alvear Tea, which is still a lot for one person.

The setting has all the formality of a royal tea party, with suited servers in white gloves and polished silverware. Despite the formal atmosphere, my server was very friendly and accommodating, making me feel at home but pampered at the same time.
The main spot to be is the garden courtyard, where the servers wear a special red coat and you’re surrounded by elegant floral displays. I did not sit there because you need to make a reservation for that prime spot. So I was relegated to the indoor seating (which was still plush and special) and the hostess gave me a table with a view of the garden so I can be even more jealous.

I started off by ordering the special “Blend Alvear” tea, made with black tea accented with the fragrances of almonds, Mediterranean citrus and rose petals. My server came and prepared my tea at the table, letting it seep and then returning to pour me my first cup.

Taking that first sip made me forget about all the days of walking the gritty city and the exhaustion of lugging my camera bag everywhere. I felt like I was in the middle of a spa, just breathing in the smells of spring.

Then the server brought the tower of food—four levels of scones, finger sandwiches, puff pastries and dessert. I was going to be there for awhile.

I started with the scones, which were served with three types of marmalade. I have to say, the scones were a disappointing start. They felt dense and heavy, and not very flavorful. I only ate one and left the other two behind.

But then I started eating the sandwiches, and each one was a delightful surprise. While some were simple standard tea fare, such as the cucumber sandwich, they each tasted fresh and distinctive. I felt like I was eating that flavor for the first time. Along with the cucumber, there were a turkey with tomatoes (and what tasted like pesto mayonnaise), tuna salad on wheat bread, and iberico jamon (Spanish ham) with arugula.

Next I tackled the mini patisserie plate, which included three savory puffs. One was filled with mascarpone cheese and bits of ham and another was a mini smoked salmon burger. I forgot what the other one was, but this plate was my favorite of all the courses because of the rich savory flavors encased in the fluffy puff pastry.

Here’s a closer look of the salmon burger. At this point I was nearly full, so I took a break and mostly sipped my tea and people-watched. A piano player started playing and the room filled up with mostly businessmen and tourists.

OK, on to the desserts. One of my favorite was this chocolate toffee bar with a coco cream topping. It was an amazing mix of coco flavors with a light-as-air feel.

This is the rest of the dessert plate, which included two fresh fruit tartlets, a chocolate mousse-like cake and a custard-like square. The fruit tartlets were fine, although I thought the crust was a bit average and I didn’t like the slice of chocolate cake, which was a bit dry. The custard square was very enjoyable.

At this point, I was totally filled of pastries and two pots of tea. But then my server came to tempt me again, this time bringing in the reserve arsenals and showing me this dessert cart. She said I could choose one dish that came with my tea service. I told her I was so full, but she insisted so I decided to go for a pear tartlet because I thought it’d be light and it looked so pretty.

Here’s the pear tartlet. It turned out to be just OK, nothing like the savory puff pastries or finger sandwiches. The pear was a bit firm, so it made it kind of difficult to eat.

Even though I’d paid my bill already, my server just wouldn’t stop tempting me with food. She offered me a selection of one of these truffles beautifully displayed at one end of the room. I had to be firm and told her I just couldn’t eat any more.

The tea service at L’Orangerie is the kind of place where you can treat yourself when traveling because that’s the whole idea of a vacation, isn’t it? To just feel like you’re special and you’re living a whole new different life half way around the world.

Single guy rating: 3.75 stars (Elegance in Small Bites)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Bueno … life in BA
If you find yourself having tea at L’Orangerie, or even if you don’t want to take in its formality, you should definite make a trip to the Alvear Palace Hotel and check out one particular store in its promenade: Tealosophy by Inés Berton.

Berton is an Argentine painter who started this tiny boutique tea store inside the hotel. (She’s since opened another location in the city and a store in Barcelona, Spain.) I discovered Tealosophy as I was window shopping in the hotel, waiting for L’Orangerie to start its afternoon tea service. Since I’m a tea lover, I had to check out the store, but there was a long line of shoppers coming out of the tiny store (I mean really tiny, it’s almost the size of large bathroom).

So I had my tea at L’Orangerie (where I discovered that Berton helped to create some of the blends, which she has done for hotels around the world) and returned to the shop to buy some tea. Yes, it was a tea kind of day.

Berton was actually at the shop and she’s a very personable and unassuming tea connoisseur. What I like about her shop is that she’s willing to create her own special blends (tea purists hate blended tea, but I’m a big fan of them and wish I could get more of them in San Francisco). Blends like Cornelia Mood (grapefruit, sunflower, mango, hibiscus) or Plum Rose (Assam with plums and rose petals) is just an example of what you’ll find. It can be overwhelming to pick what to buy, which is why many shoppers study Berton’s list of tea varieties before getting in line to order.

I ended up getting the Royal Fruit blend (like I mentioned, I discovered this around the city but never outside of Argentina) and a Peach Apricot blend, both of which I’ve tried since returning home and love. (I just wished I bought more.) Some say Berton’s tea is uber expensive, which is probably true on an Argentine income. But the conversion to U.S. dollars makes her tea quite affordable compared to what I’ve paid in New York or London. I hear her tea might be sold in the United States soon, so remember her name. It’s worth checking out.

Tealosophy, Ave. Alvear 1883 (inside the Alvear Palace Hotel), Buenos Aires. PH: 11/4808.0483. http://www.tealosophy.com/

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Travel Dish: Cluny (Buenos Aires)

This is part of a series of reports recapping my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check back every Monday and Tuesday when I’ll be giving you a taste of my food adventures in this South American metropolitan city.

Relaxing With an Afternoon Meal
El Salvador 4618 (at Malabia), Buenos Aires
Palermo Soho neighborhood
PH: 11/4831.7176
Major credit cards, reservations accepted

BUENOS AIRES
The thing about eating dinner around 11 p.m. or midnight is that it’s a long time without food after lunch. So when I was on vacation here, I scouted out places where I could find a nice afternoon meal and not look like I was there for the early bird special.

Cluny is a perfect spot for that, and not just because it’s open specifically from 4 to 7:30 p.m. for what they call “afternoon tea.” It’s a refined setting right in the middle of the fancy shopping district known as Palermo Soho. Tired from shopping all afternoon? Well, just rest your feet in this contemporary Argentine restaurant.

Like most fancy restaurants in this city, Cluny has a real lounge feel in the front adjacent to the tiny bar. Then there’s a large courtyard with outdoor seating (empty when I was there because of a light rain) and a larger dining room area in the back that’s cozy yet stylish.

I looked over the menu for afternoon tea, and it was a mix of sandwiches, tarts and items from the patisserie. I decided to start with the baguette de lomo or sirloin steak sandwich (AR$27 or $9.25). It was a grilled baguette with thin slices of beef and bits of onions, lettuce, tomatoes with just a splash of vinaigrette.

Now, I’m a sucker for any crispy sandwich that’s warm and inviting, so I totally fell in love with Cluny’s baguette de lomo. The meat easily tore away with each bite, and the crunch of the grilled baguette contrasted with the light tartness of the vinaigrette. This sandwich was amazing, and I devoured it like I wasn’t going to be eating for another six hours (which was true, actually).

Since it was time for afternoon tea, I got a pot of the Royal Fruit blend (which I’ve seen only in Buenos Aires and is a black tea with tropical fruits like mango and hibiscus). After quizzing the waiter about the various translations in the patisserie section, I ended up with the cheese cake (AR$14 or $4.75).

The plate looked beautiful when it arrived, dressed with fresh seasonal fruits and sauce. But the cheesecake itself was disappointing, a bit spongy and lacking in any true flavor. It was such the opposite of the sandwich I just had.

The waiter was so sweet; he brought out a tiny complementary plate of coconut-flaked blondies and brownies because I couldn’t decide what to get earlier. I snacked on them as I slowly sipped my tea as I watched people come and go. While I was there, other shoppers came in mostly just to rest their feet and order fruit smoothies.

I took a peek at the dinner menu and that’s where Cluny’s chef is a bit more adventurous in his dishes, with entrees like grilled octopus, crispy sweetbreads, black risotto and lamb prepared two ways. But I also noticed that their dinner prices were much higher than most restaurants, putting it on the same level as what I pay in San Francisco.

If you’re willing to pay the price, then I’d recommend trying Cluny for dinner. It’s a casual and stylish spot for a special dinner. But at the very least, drop in for an afternoon snack. Skip the sweets and go directly for the replenishing baguette de lomo.


Single guy rating: 3.75 stars (Stick with the Savory)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Bueno … life in BA

I usually travel to large cities in foreign countries because I know I can pretty much count on public transportation to sightsee. Whether it’s London’s Underground or Rome’s Metro, I always ride the city’s subway.

In Buenos Aires, the subway system is called the subte. And having traveled to many large cities, I have to say this subway system — the oldest in South America — is the worst. It’s crowded and has only about five lines, with four of them running pretty much parallel to each other. So oftentimes, you can’t get to your many destinations without hoofing it part of the way.

I stayed pretty close to the subte stations, but only caught it about 10 times. You buy a ticket that looks very similar to the MetroCard in New York, which you insert only when you enter. I’d recommend getting the 10-ride ticket, mostly for convenience so you can avoid the long lines at the ticket booth. The subte is definitely cheap, at only AR$0.70 a ride (that works out to be a quarter in the United States).

I was there in the spring, so it was bearable riding the subte. But in the summer, I can’t imagine the heat. The trains don’t turn on their air conditioning during the spring when I was there, so you ride trains with the windows open, blowing in all the soot from years of underground passage. The subte also has limited hours, closing at 10 p.m. on most nights and earlier on the weekends.

Most tourists end up catching taxis, while the locals pack themselves onto buses. As for me, I ended up just walking everywhere. At least I could count on my feet to be on time.

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Still Hot in The Kitchen: A Conversation with Former “Top Chef”-testant Ryan Scott

This Wednesday night people will be putting down their knives and tuning in to watch the latest installment of “Top Chef.” This season, its fifth, comes from the make-it-there-or-go-home-crying Big Apple (love it). So I thought it would be fun to catch up with one of last season’s cheftestants and local celebrity Ryan Scott, formerly of Myth Café and now at Mission Beach Café in San Francisco.

UPDATE (11/18/08): SFGate.com is reporting in its "Inside Scoop" column that Chef Scott is leaving Mission Beach Cafe and starting Dec. 1, Chef Thomas Martinez takes over the kitchen. Chef Scott didn't hint at this during our interview, so this is surprising news.

Chef Scott was one of four San Francisco cheftestants who traveled to Chicago (or ground zero for Obama nation, I imagine) last season to chop, puree and flambé their way to the title of Top Chef. That honor eventually went to Chicago native Stephanie Izard (the first female chef winner, woo-hoo!), and Chef Scott was sent packing when he got too fancy at a tail-gating challenge with Da Bears.

Since coming back home, he’s become a partner and executive chef of Mission Beach Café in the Castro-Mission neighborhood and has been making the rounds of appearances for charity cook offs here and around the country. In fact, when I got together with him recently at his restaurant, he had just came back from Chicago where he did a fund-raiser with Izard and other “Top Chef” alums for the Common Threads charity co-founded by Art Smith, Oprah’s one-time personal chef.

If some of you forgot, Chef Scott was pegged early on in his season as the pretty boy. And there was no mistaking his made-for-TV smile when he came out to greet me. He wasn’t wearing any of his chef’s whites, but was wearing what he called his “winter Ryan” with a military-style jacket and plaid-print scarf.

I chatted with him about whether he’ll be watching the show, what his life is like a year since leaving “Top Chef,” and his numerous charity work (which leads to a very personal, revealing moment).

The following are edited excerpts of our conversation.

Single Guy: Like I mentioned, I wanted to do this interview as a build up for the next season starting up.

Ryan Scott: What? What are you talking about, what show? “Project Runway”?

SG: You know, that small little kitchen show.

RS: Got me. [[He shrugs his shoulders.]]

SG: So are you planning to watch it?

RS: I didn’t watch the last part of mine. (laughs) I didn’t have time, we were so busy. I would really like to watch. I’m a huge fan of Jamie (Lauren, executive chef of Absinthe Brasserie and Bar and the only San Francisco cheftestant in Season 5.) Yeah, we’ll see how she does.

SG: Yeah, she’s the only chef from San Francisco this time. Why do you think that is?

RS: Because they put too many of us in Season 4. (laughs)

SG: That’s right, they bunched you all up.

RS: … It takes a certain talent to be on the show. I think (Chef Lauren) really fits the bill. She’s adorable. Hopefully she rocks it. I’m sure she’ll do well.

SG: Did you watch the show before you applied for your season?

RS: I watched a little bit. I watched Harold (Dieterle) win Season 1. I remember watching it and thinking, “there’s no way I would ever do this show.” … The house that they lived in (in San Francisco) is like two blocks away from where I live now, so I run past it every morning. So I’m like, it’s kind of surreal, kind of funny.

I said I wouldn’t do it, and then I saw Season 2, and watching Marcel (Vigneron) and Sam (Talbot) and all the other guys and thinking, you know, I think this is something I’ll do.

I remember I opened at Myth Café and I said OK, I’m going to fill out an application for it and check it out. I actually got a phone call right before I filled out the application that they were casting for Miami. Somebody called and asked if I was interested, and I said, yeah, so I got all the way to the final (interviews) for Season 3, but I didn’t make it. I went to LA, tried out and didn’t get on. So I was a little bitter with Season 3. I watched, maybe, none.

SG: I didn’t realize it was such a long process for the casting.

RS: It’s sooo long. It’s so arduous. They really don’t want you to stay on; it’s that hard. They pound you and pound you and pound you. They make sure that they don’t have somebody who’s going to turn out to have been a porno star before they were on “Top Chef.” That’s what they really want to find out.

So I didn’t make it on (Season) 3, then I made it on (Season) 4.

SG: Do you still think about your experience on “Top Chef”?

RS: I didn’t think about it until this last week when I was in Chicago. It was one year ago last month that I left Chicago. So it was the first time I was back since the show. It was really cool to go back, and it was very cool to hang out with everybody. And when we would go into a bar, um, coffee shop, not a bar, and to have people come up, it was so cool to be in Chicago. … To go back and see it all again, and drive past the house, and see how people react still a year later about the show. I’m very fortunate. I just watched the reruns of Season 1 the other day, and I’ve been very fortunate people know who I am, to stand out only half-way through the show.

SG: Do you still get recognized because of “Top Chef”? Like when you’re just walking around San Francisco, do you have people come up to you and …

RS: freak out?

SG: Yeah, freak out. So how exactly do they freak out?

RS: It depends on what area you’re in. Castro area, they freak out. The Marina, they point. I was at the Castro Street Fair to support some friends of mine. It’s so funny. I had such a blast to where I had to end up leaving. They just want to take a bunch of photos, sign a bunch of autographs. People just want to converse, and I just love it.

SG: Have you gotten used to this whole celebrity chef status you gained from being on “Top Chef”?

RS: I think notoriety has been great. It’s helped us out a lot. I really want us to grow and expand. The one thing I’ve gotten from the show, which I love, is to be able to help people. Between fund-raisers and functions and more functions and more fund-raisers and more fund-raisers, we’ve done a lot this year and we’ve helped out a lot of people, which is great.

Things that are near and dear to me a year ago—without the pull of the show—wouldn’t have gone that far.

SG: I’ve noticed some chefs on the show who really seem shy and a bit overwhelmed by the attention they get afterwards. So you don’t feel pressured or stressed about it?

RS: No, it’s been phenomenal. … I saw Spike (Mendelsohn) last week, and he and I, the intention when we went on the show was to get exactly what we wanted. We didn’t go on the show to get a TV show. We went on there to excel and make ourselves better with the quality of our skills, and also get the notoriety to expand our brand and do the things we want to do. Like Spike just opened the first of his many chains of restaurants. Taking this (Mission Beach Café) over really made this place get on the map. We just got recognition from Gayot and Zagat, and I’ve been here less than six months. That’s huge.

[[Chef Scott was referring to Gayot’s recent inclusion of Mission Beach Café as one of 10 Hot Spots for Dining in San Francisco.]]

RS: The greatest thing about the show was it put me on the map, but it also let people know that I’m not a one-trick pony. I can actually do more than what was shown on there and what we did at Myth Café. I think we’ve really excelled at this restaurant. It’s grown exceedingly. And we’ve really enjoyed it.

SG: I do want to get to your experience here at Mission Beach Café, but I do have one more “Top Chef”-related question. Was there anything about the show that you felt never really came out or was never really shown to viewers?

RS: I think me, personally.

SG: So you don’t think the person people got to know on the show is really the real Ryan Scott?

RS: No, not really. Because I think I’m more a really fun-loving guy. You can put me in any situation and I’m the person that makes everyone crack up and have a good time. In six episodes, and, you know, how many minutes? Forty-seven minutes, maybe less than that, they’re trying to display 16 people’s personalities. I think if I made it a little longer you would have seen more of me. I think the fun-loving guy that a lot of people on the show get along with was shown a little bit. But now the times I do the demos, go do live things, I did the “Top Chef” tour, that way I got to reach out to a lot more people. Yeah, I do talk a lot. They did get that across.

… I would have liked to show a little bit more of my talent, but now it’s my turn to come back and do it here. This place has been the vessel for me to do that.


SG: How has it been at Mission Beach Café? Do you feel you’ve been able to accomplish what you set out to do?

RS: I think so. When you come into something that’s already a little established, you have to put your stamp and your mark on it. I think one of the best pastry chefs (Chef Alan Carter) in San Francisco if not the nation is here. The way he thinks about food is amazing. You think about pies, and you think that’s all you do, try his stuff.

SG: Was working with Chef Carter one of the reasons you decided to come here?

RS: He’s the reason why I came here. Yeah, we went to school together (at the California Culinary Academy). We always had a thing for each other about the way we can cook together, and it really has excelled since I’ve been here. It’s been phenomenal. This is definitely just a great vessel to get started, to see new things and a new demographic for me to cook for.

The financial district was more a fast-paced, 300 people turn and burn, and I get to put a little spin on a few stuff. But doing four menus (at Mission Beach Café)—breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch—has been challenging in a little shoebox, and with no walk-in (refrigerator). We’re "cooking for people out of a house" is what I tell people. Imagine cooking at your house and trying to do it for 60 people a night, 300-plus on the weekend for brunch, and turn around and do it for dinner and then do lunch.

We just bust the format on lunch here. I’m doing brunch and lunch. And it’s grossed so much just in two weeks. It’s just a huge response. I think people really like to get eggs all day. People don’t think twice about $13 for eggs, but you put $13 for a sandwich and they freak out. So they want the big platter, the hash browns, the pancakes, and you know what? That’s what we’re giving them here. You cook for the clientele. You’re cooking for where you’re at.

SG: How would you say this is different than what you were doing at Myth Café (which has since closed).

RS: I don’t even think there’s even a comparison. The palate just on the other side of town is way different. This is a vegan, vegetarian-driven neighborhood and then you get every two or three covers you see the guy that wants a slab of beef on the plate. … At Myth I had fun and I didn’t have a lot of competition, and this genre, this area where we cook for, we have Range four blocks away, we have Delfina, Dosa, Foreign Cinema, Tartine and Bar Tartine. I mean, the fiercest of the fierce are cooking down here. I think the best chefs in San Francisco are in this area right now.

SG: What’s your approach to the cuisine that you’re doing differently here?

RS: First of all, it’s completely lunch driven, and I’ve tried to bring that format here. People have definitely bitten into it and they like it. But this is not like other fast-paced neighborhoods. People here definitely can have a glass of wine with lunch and relax a little bit more, and don’t mind having roasted salmon with lentils and yogurt dressing, and it’s not a big deal. That was something I wasn’t used to over there. And I worked with strictly electric at my last place. So having BTUs and being able to use gas, to be able to hone that and find out who I have been.

I haven’t been able to cook fine dining since Gary Danko, and that’s been almost four and a half years ago. It’s been awhile, so it’s been great to be able to figure out who I am as a chef again, on the food level, and the simplicity of how I think I cook on a certain level. So we’ve taken simple Mission Beach Café food and put it on to a beautiful plate and brought some flavors that you wouldn’t think would be in this area. So when you walk by this place and you walk through the doors and sit down and order something, you’re amazed by every bite.

SG: How often do you change the menu?

RS: A lot. Monthly, if not seasonally. It changes so much I’m getting yelled at about how much paper we go through. (laughs)

SG: Do you feel that even in this short time you’ve been able to come up with your culinary point of view?

RS: Definitely, I think it’s definitely been shown.

SG: How would you describe it?

RS: New American cuisine. It’s an angle on a twist on what the classics are. But when you sit down and get caramelized gnocchi and cherry shallot butter on top of a grilled New York (steak)—simple combinations but when you get the flavors it’s pretty killer.

SG: Is it fancy café food or fancy comfort food?

RS: I think it’s fancy food in a café atmosphere. You have these tables we’re sitting on that are about $1,000 a piece, and when you get the Heathware plates, which are handcrafted too, what we’re spending the time on each of the dishes are really amazing. And the products are just out of the world.

SG: So how much of your clientele is coming in because you were on “Top Chef”? Do you still get people coming in to see you and not necessarily the food?

RS: Yeah, every night.

SG: So what do you think about that?

RS: I think if that’s what gets them in the door, then I win them over with the food. I mean, that’s my job. The whole goal of the show was to let people know who I am and that’s been absolutely great. If that’s what draws them in, and they come in and say they came to see Ryan Scott but the food blew them out of the water, then we did our job. … So be it if people come in and want to say hi and take a photo. I dig it. It’s such an honor. I mean, I love that people want to say hi and talk food. That’s why I’m here.

SG: So it’s pretty obvious you like to talk … (RS: Really?) … and it’s really obvious that you’re charming. So do you ever feel like you want to go into TV? I think I read in an interview soon after you left the show that you wanted to develop some TV shows. Do you have anything in the works?

RS: First of all, food is first and foremost. And this restaurant is my main priority, and working here and developing other concepts and looking at all the things possible to grow with these guys will be phenomenal. I’ve had offers, and I’ve flown down (to LA) to check out some stuff, but I want to make sure the brand and who I am here stays true. And I want people to be able to come talk to me non-stop all the time and stop me on the street.

As long as the show’s concept that comes to us is something we believe are who we are then I’m totally fine with that. But I’m also not sitting there and pitching a show to anybody. I’ve had people come to me, but my main priority is not to do a TV show. I’ve turned down some really good offers. This career to me is about longevity and having a career for the rest of my life.

My main goal coming back from the show is not being a has-been or a five-minute TV star and that’s it. And we’ve really exceeded that and have done well with it.

SG: How do you think you’ve been able to stretch our your 15-minutes?

RS: I think if you’re out there in the right way. We’ve been called a gazillion times. … We really work together as a team (referring to his publicist who was sitting in on the interview) because I honestly couldn’t have done it without my friend, first and foremost, and then a great publicist. I mean, what’s been great is, OK, the American Heart Association comes to us. What is important about the American Heart Association? Are you just going up there just to do it? And we’re not. It’s something that’s near and dear to her, and I had it in my family and so on. Doing things that are near and dear to us and helping charities have been the best part about doing “Top Chef.” …

SG: You seem really passionate about helping charities. It really seems like it’s something you really want to do and not just because people ask you. Where does that come from, this wanting to help? I’m sure a lot of chefs get calls all the time. For you it seems almost like a passion.

RS: Wow, you’re actually going to get this out of me and I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody. … I had colon cancer when I was 8. And I remember my family being super poor, and I’ll never forget my dad working double (shifts) and my mom working doubles and us having to drive down to Fresno and I had to do all these scans and blood transfusions and so on. I’ll never forget my dad waking me up one night when I wouldn’t take my medications, and my mom cried and called my dad and said, “hey, Ryan’s not taking his meds,” and I didn’t know what was happening at the time because I was 8. Anyways, he says, “it’s not your time.” And to have that and to see my parents breaking their backs and doing whatever to take care of a half-a-million dollar doctor bill we had to keep me alive. I was 8 years old, I just turned 29. That was 21 years ago that I wasn’t supposed to be around. And to see that, and to see my parents doing anything and everything. And all I have to do is cook for somebody to raise money to have another family take care of their child, why not?

I’m not doing this for any other reason but to help people, and that’s the best thing that’s come out of “Top Chef.” The friendships that we’ve gained from this and the charitable actions that we do, it’s phenomenal. It’s not about money, it’s never about money. Trust me, check my bank account.

SG: So what’s in store for you? Do you have projects coming up?

RS: Oh, besides a gazillion charities to do? We’ve actually launched, finally, it’s taken a year since the show, the Web site is almost up, Ryan Scott to Go is just a private little catering company that I do that’s basically I can go to somebody’s house and do little team building and so on. The logo just got finalized today. It’s going to be all online. I just finished getting all the paperwork from the city. It takes a lot of work. Since the show aired, it’s taken me a year to get the license and everything else.

… We’ve got another show we shot with Bravo that airs in February, it’s going to be great. I’m not going to tell you what it is, but watch for it, it’s great. I can’t say yet.

SG: Oh, is it some kind of Bravo “Top Chef” reunion?

RS: I don’t know. [[He’s faking ignorance right now in case you can’t tell.]] But it has my name on it. It’s has to do with something like that. That will be on and there are so many different things that have come our way. San Francisco is our home, it’s where I’ve been almost eight years and I’m not leaving. So it’s finding the best way to work through what’s going on right now and finding the best results and what will work, and Mission Beach is succeeding and hopefully we can keep going strong and we’ll go from there. There’s definitely things in the burner. I’m always looking for other things to expand and make a name for, but also be very smart about it. I know my demographic and I know my clientele and I’m going to stay in those confines.

We chat a bit more about where he gets his energy and he confirms, because I know you all want to know, that he’s currently dating someone. Throughout the interview, he had his Blackberry beside him with the light blinking as he constantly gets e-mails.

Mission Beach Café, Chef Scott and his partners just launched a new quarterly dinner to help raise funds for a local non-profit. For the first dinner in November, a five-course, prix fixe dinner will benefit Creativity Explored, a Mission neighborhood non-profit visual arts center. The Nov. 19 dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. and costs $75 per person (not including alcohol, tax and tips). To reserve, call 415.861.0198, ext. 2. If you can’t make it for the five-course dinner, you can just dine at the restaurant every Wednesday nights between 5:30 and 7 p.m. and 15 percent of your food tab will be donated to Creativity Explored.

After the interview, I snapped some photos of Chef Scott outside the restaurant and he showed me his colorful pink argyle socks. Turns out, they belong to fellow Season 4 cheftestant Jennifer Biesty (who’s also from San Francisco). She leant them to him in the episode where they had a neighborhood block party and Chef Scott got all wet when he was dunked in the dunking booth. So Jennifer, if you’re wondering where your socks are, you know whom to call.

Special thanks to Chef Scott for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat with me. And you can check back on this blog every Thursday night when I’ll be posting, yet again, my recaps of the new “Top Chef” season.

Mission Beach Café, 198 Guerrero St., San Francisco. PH: 415.861.0198, http://www.missionbeachcafesf.com/

“Top Chef” Season 5 premieres Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 10 p.m. (9 p.m. Central) on Bravo TV. Check your local listings.

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Time to Chill in the Financial District

I don’t know how it happened, but starting this food blog has given me a sweet tooth. It must be all the sweet crazes starting up these days, from cupcakes, to doughnuts, to frozen yogurt. Then there were the dessert bars, now dessert cafés.

Dessert cafés are no stranger in Asia, where they love their sweets, whether its specialty pastries or gloopy drinks or imported treats from the United States and Europe. But in America, it’s a java world. So it’s unusual to find a space that looks like a café but serves mostly sweets. Confused? Then check out Chill.

Chill is a new dessert café that opened this week in the Financial District. I had an appointment earlier in the week that took me to the city, so I wandered in afterwards to check out this new spot. I didn’t know what to expect because looking over the menu didn’t help me get a sense of what it was.

Was it a fro-yo spot? It certainly had the bright, contemporary colors for it and they do serve a selection of frozen yogurt with exotic toppings. But it’s more than fro-yo, because Chill also serves a selection of hand-made sweet crepes served as hand-held cones.

Chill was started by Trang Nguyen, who has an MBA and worked in food marketing before pursuing her dream of a sweet spot for the every day person.

I have to say I really enjoyed the space. It felt airy and bright and cool, almost like a lounge. When I visited, it was pretty busy for a place that had just opened.

I looked over the menu and while the weather made it too cold to think about frozen yogurt (I was tempted by the Crème de Papaya flavor, though), I opted to try one of the crispy crepe cones. So I ordered the Strawberry and Figs crepe for $5.75.

You can watch them make your crepe on the side and assemble it. When I got mines, I sat myself in one of the white, Swedish-inspired plastic chairs and started to chow down, getting all the crunchiness of the crepe with the cooling sweet ice cream inside. I definitely got a strawberry flavor but I didn’t really detect any figs, which was disappointing. Still, it was enjoyable to eat. But as you can imagine, it was difficult near the end when eating the final pieces of the crepe folded as a cone without the melting ice cream dripping all over your hands. Sigh, the things you have to do for treats.

Currently, Chill doesn’t offer any coffee, and they only have the red Rooibus tea (a type of decaffeinated root drink primarily from Africa).

Chill is a real nice treat to get away from the hectic bustle outside and discover something different. But in the current economy, I do wonder how Chill will survive in the current spot (the prices were kind of on the high end, I felt). While it’s a prime location on Kearny, most Financial District people are in a rush home and would rarely want to stop and chill. And on Saturdays (the only weekend day it’s open), Chill is a bit far out of the Union Square beaten path.

So that means you need to make it a point to find time for Chill. It’s an interesting concept and the people seem friendly and the product seems enticing. It’s worth a visit, and I hope Nguyen does well.

Chill, 125 Kearny St. (between Post and Sutter), San Francisco. PH: 415.433.1233. Open Mon.–Fri., 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sat., noon–5 p.m. Closed Sunday. www.chilldesserts.com

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Dish on Dining: Incanto

Ofal-ly Tasty Dishes in Noe Valley
1550 Church St. (at Duncan), San Francisco
Noe Valley neighborhood
PH: 415.641.4500
Open Wed.–Mon., 5:30–10 p.m. (closed Tuesday)
Reservations, major credit cards accepted
http://www.incanto.biz/

I spot Chef Chris Cosentino often around town, whether it’s at the farmers’ market or at some food event. And I always remind myself that I have to check out the restaurant where he made a name for himself — Incanto, in the young family-oriented Noe Valley.

So last week I jumped on the J-Church and headed for some rustic Italian cuisine under the hands of this Iron Chef competitor. (He lost in his recent Iron Chef appearance, and the secret ingredient was offal. Ouch.)

When I arrived, the twinkling lights dangling from the awnings reminded me of a cozy Italian joint in Little Italy in Manhattan, except Incanto sits on its own in a sleepy street filled mostly of baby clothing boutiques and my old dentist’s office when I used to live in the city. I pulled up to the long, handcrafted stone bar and who do you think was sitting at the end with his young son? That’s right, Chef Cosentino.

Turns out he had the night off and he was getting some early dinner with his son before heading home. At first I was disappointed thinking he won’t be behind the stove, but when I looked into the efficient kitchen and the sharply dressed kitchen staff I felt more at ease. My worries were totally erased as I started to dine on the menu crafted daily by Cosentino and deftly executed by his team.

Cosentino has built a reputation for himself as an advocate for incorporating offal — an animal’s organs and extremities — into your cooking. He’s started his own blog on the topic and his own sausage and cured meats company (including a store front at the San Francisco Ferry Building called Boccalone). So I was set for an adventurous evening of Survivor-type dining.

Turns out that offal is sprinkled throughout the menu, and in no way dominates the Italian dishes that are inspired primarily by fresh, sustainable ingredients of the season.

Side note: Incanto has a unique approach to serving its customers. Little touches like serving filtered still or sparkling water (they were one of the early ones) and placing paper notes around the foot of your wine glass to remind you what you’re drinking indicate the careful attention they provide to make sure you have a comfortable yet conscientious dinner.

Glancing over the many appetizers, I saw a bruschetta with cow brain and the popular pig trotter with foie gras. I settled for the special Spicy Trippa Neapolitan ($10.50) or tripe. When the plate arrived, it was a whole lot of tripe in a tomatoe sauce with bits of mint.

The tripe was tender and the sauce was bold and, well, quite spicy. You definitely need some bread both to calm your taste buds as well as to sop up the sauce, if you’re so inclined. (I did a few times and the sauce was more comfortable for my palate when defused by the bread.)

The pasta dishes are available in large and small sizes. So I ordered a small plate of the Spaghettini with Sardinian cured tuna heart, egg yolk and parsley ($16/$10). This is a classic Cosentino dish that is consistently on the menu. The bartender says that when the chef drops it from the menu, diners cry for its return. And I can see why.

The wholesome, earthy pasta is topped by thin shavings of the tuna heart, which gives it a deep ocean flavor similar to squid ink or seaweed. This strong flavor of the sea is luxuriously blended with the pasta by the nearly raw egg yolk.

My entrée was rather tame in comparison, but still elegantly presented. The Braised Veal Breast with Umbrian lentils, erbette chard and black garlic aioli ($26) skillfully represented Cosentino’s view on eating the whole animal. The tender piece of braised veal was presented along with some fatty parts still attached for richness and a charred skin to provide another texture in the meal while still using all the parts of the veal breast. Nothing is wasted, and everything is enjoyed.

The dishes at Incanto are definitely on the rich side, so it’s important to wash everything down with several glasses of Italian red wine. Incanto’s wine list is made up of bottles strictly from Italy, and I enjoyed a nice 2006 Anglianico from the Campagna region.

I ended my dinner with the Heirloom Apple & Quince Crostata with Rose Geranium Ice Cream ($8). (Most people recommend the panna cotta, but I wasn’t feeling the bay leaf version offered that night.) The crostata was just all right — the apple and quince slices leaned more on the firm side and the pastry wasn’t as flakey or crumbly. I did love the refreshing rose geranium ice cream and wished they gave a larger scoop.

Incanto’s dining room has this mixed feel of a casual Italian restaurant with its straw-back chairs, and a touch of Vegas with its dramatic arched columns and faux marble walls. On your way to the bathrooms, you see a well-lit prep station where you can see all the action in the kitchen, and on the right is the Dante Room where you can host a private dinner and order up Cosentino’s “whole beast” dinner where dishes are made out of an entire animal of your choice.

I can’t say that every dish was better than anything else I’ve tasted in other fine restaurants in the city, but they were all solid, and I’m still thinking about my experience even though it’s been days. I guess that means I should make another trip back soon.

UPDATE: You be the judge. Incanto has just posted a special prix fixe dinner featuring Cosentino's tasting menu performed on his recent appearance on Iron Chef America. He's going to recreate all five dishes, from lamb heart tartare to his county fair gut fry, for $95 per person. The menu is only for parties of four or less (kind of like the Iron Chef judges' panel) and will only be offered on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from Nov. 13 to Dec. 20 (except Thanksgiving when the restaurant is closed). You have to reserve a week in advance by calling the restaurant's reservation line and confirming with a credit card. Click here for more details.

Single guy rating: 4 stars (Italian that's uniquely Californian)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

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Vote for the Argentine Empanada '08!

This is part of a series of reports recapping my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check back every Monday and Tuesday when I’ll be giving you a taste of my food adventures in this South American metropolitan city.

BUENOS AIRES
Something I highly recommend when traveling is looking into a local cooking class, especially one taught in English. It gives you a chance to get in the kitchen and cook after nights of eating at restaurants, and you get to meet some really fun people while learning something about the local cuisine.

In researching my trip to Buenos Aires, I discovered a Web site for Teresita, a retired teacher who wanted to do more than just hang out watching her grandkids. So she started a bed-and-breakfast and soon began teaching cooking classes spotlighting Argentine cuisine, specifically the ubiquitous empanada.

Teresita’s empanada class cost only $45 and you place a deposit using PayPal when you make a reservation. (Her Web site was created by her graphic designer daughter who lives in the United States; and her daughter actually still manages the reservations and then sends regular emails to her mom letting her know who’s showing up for her classes.)

On Saturday morning, a guy nicknamed Buddha came to my bed-and-breakfast in the city to drive me to Teresita’s home in Adrogue, a suburb of Buenos Aires. (You pay extra for the door-to-door transportation or you can catch a train to the neighborhood.) Buddha also speaks English and he explained that he got the nickname in school when the teacher asked him to do something and all he did was sit there like a Buddha. So the name kind of stuck. (I knew you were all dying to know. Buddha is a porteno, a local Argentine, and has no Asian blood.)

Buddha also happens to be Teresita’s neighbor, so he easily took me to the home, which is in a quaint middle-class neighborhood that reminded me a lot like the warm, sunny country towns on Oahu (if only they were closer to the beach).

Teresita teaches in her kitchen, where she proudly displays the center block table that her husband built. She joked that when they retired, they moved into a smaller home but she said there were only two non-negotiable items: 1) there had to be a big kitchen and 2) a big garden. Teresita got both.

Joining us for the class was Beth, who’s a newlywed from Boston. She and her new husband Steve were staying at Teresita’s bed-and-breakfast, so it was easy for her to get to class on time.

We started by prepping all the ingredients for the filling. We were making two types of empanadas that day—a savory beef and a sweet corn. For the beef, we finely diced some onions, green bell pepper, green olives, and hard-boiled eggs. And for the corn we just cut the kernels away from the cobb. (There were more ingredients, and you’ll see in the recipe below.)

We started by sautéing the onions to get them translucent. After that we added in the bell pepper.

Here’s the ground beef that Teresita got from her local butcher. The Argentine beef is so fresh and inexpensive, so you know the empanadas are already going to be so much better tasting than what we can make back home just because of the quality beef used.

Here’s the beef sautéed to done with the onions and bell pepper. Teresita seasoned it with a spice called aji molido (a kind of ground red, spicy peppers) along with pimentón (sweet smoked paprika) and cumin. She says it’s important to use really fresh spices (don’t keep them long in your cupboards because they’ll lose their flavor), and she got hers at a local spice shop.

This is the corn filling, which also includes bell pepper and onions. Teresita also added some milk. The corn filling is called humita.

Once we were done with the fillings, Teresita placed them in the refrigerator because she says it’s easier to assemble the empanadas with cold filling. That’s why she recommends making the filling the night before.

So what to do while we waited for the fillings to cool? Well, we did a bit of wine tasting. Mmmm. This is a Torrontes white wine from Argentina's wine country, Mendoza. Teresita says this is the best varietal to serve with empanadas. When I tasted it, it had a sweet undertone to it, and reminded me a lot of Riesling.

After our wine-tasting break, we got back to work and started making the empanada dough. Here’s Teresita, left, and Beth working on the dough, which is just all-purpose flour and water. Teresita did start by adding some lard and butter, and she used water with salt already dissolved in it. See how she’s slowly pouring a little of the salted water at a time as Beth kneads the dough? She just adds enough until she gets the right texture. I have to thank Beth for stepping up and getting her hands dirty because I knew it would be hard to take pictures if I had doughy hands.

We let the dough rest and then we broke them into little balls before we made them into empanada skins. Empanadas can be really big like a calzone or small like little turnovers. So we made the smaller version, which I like better.

We had to roll out all the little balls into thin skins. See how thin they were? I had the hardest time rolling out evenly round skins. Mines were always a bit lopsided.

This is Tiny, Teresita’s family dog right outside the kitchen door watching us from the garden. She was such a sweet dog, and pretty big. I think she’s some kind of German hound. She was my new best pal.

Once we rolled out all the balls, we were ready to build our empanadas. It was a real challenge for me to handle the dough and the filling, without everything falling apart. Teresita made it look easy, filling her empanadas with a big spoonful of beef and then doing a rope-twist design to close up the edges. (Oh, I forgot to mention that for the beef fillings, we added raisins, green olives and the hard-boiled eggs after the meat cooled so those ingredients weren’t cooked with the beef.)

Here are the empanadas after they’ve been baked for 10 minutes. Don’t they look yummy? They were made golden brown with the help of an egg wash. Teresita cooked it at a very high heat, and it didn’t take long because the filling is already cooked.

We did two methods for the empanadas, and these are the deep-fried versions. You know how I feel about fried foods, so I admit I only had one of these just to compare. I honestly prefer the baked versions because the dough tasted more like pastry.

Here’s the gang enjoying our work in the garden: From left, Steve (Beth’s husband, who did join us in the kitchen near the end), Beth, Teresita’s husband, Buddha, and Teresita.

This was truly one of my highlights of the trip. I had mixed feelings about empanadas before arriving because I thought they were going to be fried. So I was totally blown away by tasting the baked version and loving it, especially the savory beef empanadas. (The corn filling was yummy, but I think I would eat the humita as a side dish instead of stuffed in empanadas.)

I even made empanadas recently when I returned home. It was a real struggle for me to get the fold right. And while simple to make, it is a lot of work, especially if you’re folding more than two dozen by yourself. That’s why it’s common to host empanada parties where you get people to come and help you fold the empanadas and then you eat them all day with a nice glass of Torrontes. Now that’s a party I can back.

NOTE: The recipe below is an adaptation of Teresita’s beef empanada. The recipe she sent me used grams and such, so I had to guess the measurements. Plus, I didn’t have the aji molido spice, and I ended up using a mix of turkey and lamb ground meat. They turned out pretty good, but not as good as Teresita’s.

If you’re headed to Buenos Aires, be sure to take one of Teresita’s classes. If you don’t want to cook, she also does a market tour for a bit more money. Here’s her Web site. Tell her I sent you!

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Almost Authentic Argentine Meat Empanadas

Copyright 2008 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
1 lb. ground turkey or lamb (or a combination of both)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
½ cup raisins (golden raisins preferable)
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
½ cup green onions (green part only), finely diced
¾ cup pitted green olives, chopped into small bits
2 T Pimentón (smoked sweet paprika)
2 T ground cumin
2 T vegetable oil
2 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Empanada dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup lard or vegetable shortening
2 T butter
2 cups water
1 t salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Start by making the filling. Place butter and vegetable oil into large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent (about 3 to 5 minutes). You don’t want to brown your onions, so lower your heat if it starts to color. Adding a pinch of salt now will help cook your onions. Add bell pepper and cook for another minute, then add the meat and season with salt, pepper, cumin and pimentón. (Taste to see if you like the flavor, if not adjust the seasoning.) Cook meat until well done. Remove from heat and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Now focus on the dough. Dissolve the salt in hot water and let your salted water mixture cool to room temperature. Then melt your lard/vegetable shortening and butter in a separate pan. Place flour in a medium-sized bowl, then slowly add the melted lard/butter and mix flour with fork to create little balls. Then add a little bit of salted water as you mix the flour with your hand. (Don’t use all the water, just enough to create a dough that’s kind of like playdough.) Adjust with more water or more flour as you continue to knead the dough with your hand, creating a dough mixture that you can mold. Continue kneading until you get the right texture (don’t knead too much though.) When you’re happy with the texture, cover your dough in the bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

When you’re ready to make your empanadas, start by creating the skin. Remove your dough from the refrigerator and pinch balls a bit smaller than a golf ball. (The size depends on how big you want your empanadas.) After you have a tray of mini dough balls, then flatten each one with a hand-size roller pin to create small tiny circles, like a mini pizza. The skin should be at least 1/8-inch thick or less. (Trick is to push out the ball from the center, moving it a quarter inch each time to make a nice round skin.)

Once you’ve made all your empanada skins, bring out your filling and mix in the olives, raisins, eggs and spring onions.

Create your empanada buy placing a spoonful of filling on one side of the circle skin, then fold over and pat down the edges, making a half-circle almost like a baby calzone. Now you can either decorate the edges by doing the traditional Argentine rope edges by starting on one end and turning over a bit, and then folding over and over along the edges to create a rope look. Or you can do the simple method of pushing down the teeth of a fork along the edge.

Place your empanadas on a lined baking sheet (Silpat sheets are the best). Create an egg wash by mixing one raw egg with a bit of water. Paint the egg wash on top of every empanada. (Optional: crack a bit of fresh sea salt on top of each empanada.) Place in oven and back until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Makes about three dozen (depending on how big you made the skins). Serve with a green salad or roasted corn.

Pair with a glass of Argentine Torrontes white wine.

TIP: It’s important that you make sure your filling is cold before making the empanadas. If it’s hot, it’s harder for the mixture to stick together as you’re placing it on the skin. To save time, you can make the filling the night before you plan on making your empanadas.

STORE-BOUGHT SKINS: In some cities with a large Latin population, you can actually buy ready-made empanada skins from specialty stores, which will save you some time. Still, it’s pretty labor intensive to fill each skin and create the rope edges, but that’s the whole idea behind hand-made empanadas!

TOO MUCH FILLING: If you have filling left over, you can freeze it for another empanada-making party! Or you can mix it with some rice and beans in a tortilla and make a burrito.

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Travel Dish: Museo Evita Restaurant and Bar (Buenos Aires)

This is part of a series of reports recapping my recent trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check back every Monday and Tuesday when I’ll be giving you a taste of my food adventures in this South American metropolitan city.

Lunch, Art and Evita
J.M. Guitierrez 3926, Buenos Aires
Palermo neighborhood
PH: 11/4800.1599
Major credit cards accepted

BUENOS AIRES
Traveling in this country in October-November means you get beautiful spring weather, which is what greeted me on my first day in Buenos Aires. So I strolled from my hotel to the Museo Evita, a tiny museum dedicated to the woman who changed the history of this country and inspired a musical.

The museum, fairly new having opened in a mansion in 2002, also has an adjacent restaurant and café with a garden. Seeing as the day was so beautiful, I had a quick lunch in the garden before heading into the museum.

One quick note about garden dining when traveling to foreign countries, don’t forget that the smoking laws may not be the same as in your home town, like the strict laws of California. Even though it was pleasant sitting outdoors, I was surrounded by smokers.

Anywho, the menu is a mix of modern Argentine and Italian dishes. I started with the Rabas ala plancha con salsa provenzal or calamari salad (AR$19 or $6.50). (BTW, the menu was in English and Spanish, and the Spanish names were really long.) The salad looked really big and beautiful when it arrived. The presentation was like any high-end restaurant.

But the squid itself, while fresh, was slightly rubbery and made it a bit chewy to eat. The bed of greens was lightly dressed in a simple vinaigrette and was an elegant side to the squid.

For my entrée, I ordered the Pechuguitas de Pollo (AR$29 or $10). I knew pollo meant chicken, but I wasn’t sure by reading the description what to expect. It said something about black sesame and I thought I’d give it a try. Turns out, this is a chicken breast that’s been baked in a black-sesame encrusted shell.

It was an interesting preparation for chicken (I’ve seen this technique used a lot in the United States for fish). I dug into the chicken and the shell easily fell apart. It was crumbly and slightly sweet, almost like dessert, which was an odd sensation to have with chicken. While the chicken meat inside was tender, the combination with the slightly sweet baked crust was a bit off-putting. The chicken was served with a sampling of mushy gnocchi and a mix of roasted vegetables, including what tasted like fennel.

The service was friendly and accommodating, with a few English-speaking waiters. In the afternoon, the nearby buildings do cast a shadow on the garden, so you can wind up feeling chilly sitting in the shade if you eat too late. You won’t be blown away by the food, but it’s a quaint, convenient lunch spot when visiting the museum. You can always tell friends you had lunch with Evita.


Single guy rating: 2.5 stars (Aspirational but not quite there)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Bueno … life in BA

The Museo Evita is dedicated to Eva Peron, considered the “spiritual leader” of this country. She rose from a poor background to become the wife of Argentina’s leader, at the same time changing the face of the country’s attitude toward women. Of course she made enemies along the way and the often-shifting political slant of the country made her legacy very mixed.

The museum (AR$12 admission or $4) is housed in an old family mansion that’s been declared a historical landmark and was getting a facelift of its exterior when I visited. But the museum is still open, and offers a glimpse of the woman with historical footage, audio, and displays of some of her dresses. A tiny corner on the first floor showcases changing artwork by local artists who have created pieces in honor of Evita. I learned some interesting things about Evita (like how she was initially buried under a false name in Italy because of the controversy surrounding what to do with her body) and the fact that the museum’s bathroom is like some fancy bathroom in a high-end restaurant. Who knew?



Museo Evita, Lafimur 2988 (Palermo neighborhood), Buenos Aires. PH: 11/4807.0306. www.museoevita.org

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Cooking Today with The Letter P

Pomegranates are plentiful at the farmers’ markets (and even my local supermarket) so I was excited to get my hands on them. I was trying to think of a new way of using them, and I decided that, if nothing else, they would look really pretty in polenta. (Originally I was thinking of making a pomegranate risotto, but I thought the ruby red jewels of the pomegranate seeds would look prettier against the yellow polenta.)

I typically don’t make polenta but have found a new appreciation for it when I had a really superbly done plate of polenta at Ubuntu Restaurant in Napa, Calif. And who doesn’t love fried polenta? But you know my policy on fried things. So I decided to make grilled polenta bedazzled with the pomegranates.

They turned out to be pretty, like I suspected, and I liked getting the burst of sweetness from the pomegranates as I ate the savory polenta. But I have to say, those seeds didn’t really stay put. They seem to fall right out of the polenta cakes once you stick your fork into them. Oh well, these pomegranate cakes turned out to be a nice side for some slow-cooked BBQ pork ribs I made, but I bet it’ll also be fun for brunch or on top of a salad. Enjoy!

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Grilled Pomegranate Polenta

Copyright 2008 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
1 cup polenta (or yellow corn meal)
1 cup pomegranate seeds (from one pomegranate)
2 cups broth
2 cups water
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 T butter
Salt for seasoning

Bring broth and water to a boil in a large saucepan, then gradually add polenta while whisking at the same time. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking (stirring occasionally) for 30 to 40 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add butter and cheese, then season to taste with salt. Let cool and then stir in the pomegranates.

Pour polenta mixture onto 9”X13” baking tray with edges. This should create a layer about a ½ -inch thick. (If you want your polenta cakes thicker, pour the mixture into a smaller pan.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Remove polenta from refrigerator and cut into squares or circles. Spray a grill pan using extra virgin olive oil in a can and place on medium high heat. Then grill your polenta cakes for about one to two minutes on each sides for the grill marks.

Place on top of a salad or as a side to a meat dish like boneless barbeque pork ribs (shown above).

Makes four to five servings.

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