Docsconz- The Blog

Stella Starr

With my friend Judith Klinger's words that she prefers to go to Pizzeria Stella in Philadelphia for pizza rather than stay in NYC , I had to taste for myself. I since suggested that another good friend try it when he was in Philadelphia and his raves seemed to match Judith's, amplifying my interest even further. To clarify, Judith is someone whose opinions about food, especially Italian food, I take seriously, very seriously. Judith and her husband Jeff live half their year in NYC and half their year in Montone, Italy, where they have successfully opened an Italian restaurant. Judith also keeps a blog, Aroma Cucina, in which she writes a lot and very well about Italian food. I have also dined with Judy and Jeff. They know their Italian food. I also value my other friend's opinion. Individually or together, their opinions spurred me to visit Pizzeria Stella.

On a recent weekend in Philadelphia, a get together with other food obsessed friends was a perfect way to try Pizzeria Stella, Philadelphia über-restaurateur Stephen Starr's foray into the world of Neapolitan style pizza. Stella, of course, means “star” in Italian, which means that Starr effectively named the restaurant after himself. I guess he was serious about making good pizze.

The restaurant, located in a corner building in a lovely part of old Philadelphia, is bright and expansive with plenty of windows opening out onto both streets. A new, adjacent bar makes the restaurant even bigger. The central pizza making station is spacious and centered around a classic domed Neapolitan wood-fired beehive oven with the name Stella tiled in on the oven's transom. The internal fire, off to one side of the oven, was raging when we arrived for an early dinner. A row of bar stools overlooking the workings of the oven and around it stood empty when we arrived.

Our focus was on the pizza, but we decided to warm up our appetites with a couple of orders of arancini, Sicilian fried stuffed rice balls named for their resemblance to “little oranges.” While not quite at the rapturous level of my beloved Ferdinando's Foccaceria or those made by Ana Tasca Lanza at The Regaleali Estate in Sicily, these were still quite good. The size of small meatballs, they were tightly packed with herbs and melted cheese in the center. They were smothered in a good marinara tomato sauce with shaved parmesan (pecorino or especially cacciocavallo would have been more Sicilian) strewn on top. The exteriors of the arancini were perfectly crisp and fried just right. These were compact balls that would not simply fall apart. The rice was al dente, perhaps a touch too much to my taste. The only real flaw of these fine morsels, though, was a relative lack of flavor compared to the virtuous examples cited above. I attribute that to a mildly flavored filling and the failure to use a saffron laced risotto milanese for the rice base. While these were in fact, very good and technically beautiful, I would have preferred a more inherently full-flavored rice ball with less sauce. Nevertheless, they provided a lovely start, as it is hard to find rice balls in this country as good as these outside of a Sicilian-American home kitchen.

We ordered 8 pizze. Unfortunately, I failed to request that they come out in waves. Instead. they arrived essentially simultaneously, one after another arriving at the table in short order. Since we ordered all the pies cut to share, this meant that not all the pies could be sampled fresh and hot by everyone without rushing through each slice.

As much as I would have liked to order every pie on the menu, there were simply too many to choose from, so we had to leave a few to try another time. Of course, we had to order the gold standard of Neapolitan pies, the Pizza Margherita, so-named after the former Queen of Italy. The pie, dressed in the red, green and white colors of the Italian flag, contained San Marzano tomato sauce, basil and fresh mozzarella di bufala blended on a crisply seared crust. The basil was justly applied just before serving preserving its aromatic strength. The buffalo milk mozzarella was soft and creamy and the sauce flavorful without overpowering the pizza. The crust was well charred with an adequate number of bubbles. While the center of the pie was a tad soft, it held up to eating by hand. While I would not say this was the best pizza napolitana I have had in the US (for one, I prefer that of Keste in NYC), it was damn good and would have been worth the visit even if it was the only pie we had.

Thankfully, we had other pies to sample too. Each was expertly prepared with only personal preference separating one from another. From a list of specials we selected a pizza with Squash Blossoms, ricotta, basil, San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella and a little chili oil, which gave it a fair kick. As was the case for all the rest of the pizze, the pizza was beautiful with a lot of flavor. Squash blossoms are a great vehicle, but don't generally provide a wallop of flavor, usually relying on an aromatic stuffing within. In the case of this pizza, the flavor came from the other ingredients with the blossoms providing just a subtle component.

The Sausage Pizza also had a kick, this time from the “long hot pesto”, which also added a splash of bright green color to the pie. The kick was balanced by tomato, basil and mozzarella. The Polpette pizza was amongst my favorites. In addition to the sliced meatballs, it contained ricotta, the same tomato sauce, basil and Sicilian oregano. The most aromatic of the pies, no surprise, was the Tartufo, which came with black truffle, fontina, an egg, which was spread out around the pie by the server and parmesan. It was yummy. I expected the Piccante with capicola, aged provolone, crushed red pepper and tomato to be devilishly spicy, but it was no more so than the sausage or squash blossom pizze. Delicious despite being over-charred on one side and the most novel combination, the Pistachio also had red onion (added after the oven), fontina and extra virgin olive oil. Surprisingly, my favorite pie was the Spinach, which came with oven roasted tomato, mozzarella and pine nuts. I shouldn't have been surprised as I generally love that combination and so I did here.

 

While I was not as enamored of Pizzeria Stella as my friend Judith, I did like it a lot. The quality and overall experience is such that it has to be considered one of the better artisanal pizza restaurants in the country, especially of those practicing Neapolitan style pizza. Though I consider it a notch below Keste, correctly timed Grimaldi's (in Brooklyn) and certainly Pepe's in New Haven ( the latter two are not strictly Neapolitan style pizzerias, at least not la vera pizza napolitana), it is most certainly worth a visit for any pizza afficionado when visiting the City of Brotherly Love.

Visiting Vetri

In 2005 in Bon Appetit magazine, Philadelphia area native, critic Alan Richman called Vetri “probably the best Italian restaurant in America.” Having secured a coveted 9PM Saturday evening reservation for four for The Chef's Grand Tasting Menu, which is only offered on Friday and Saturday evenings, I was finally able to form my own opinion.

The premise of The Chef's Grand Tasting Menu, considered by the restaurant to be the epitome of the Vetri experience, is to create “customized multi-course tasting menus for each table...a seamless succession of dishes and wines personalized to each individual's taste.” Each diner is presented a menu, hand-painted by Chef Marc Vetri, based on available seasonal ingredients for that particular evening's dinner. From this menu, with the consultation of the server and the wine staff, the table's meal would be constructed. At the end of the meal, the signed menu was ours to keep. Ours contained a total of 11 savory items and 4 desserts. Amongst the 4 of us, we were served 10 of the savory courses and all 4 desserts, with the specific placement of dishes determined in several instances by preferences cited at the beginning of the meal. The lone savory course omitted was “”red mullet with pepperonata and saffron mayonaisse,” the only fish on the menu.

Vetri, located in a town house in Central Philadelphia, is small, intimate and quite romantic. The dining room is warm and elegant, lending a feeling of being in a stately private home. The service is assured and efficient, friendly, but not overly familiar. With warm earth tones and low light predominating, the restaurant was pretty, but not particularly camera friendly, thus only photos of a few of the dishes came out well enough to present here.

For each course with the exception of dessert and the initial three pronged amuse, which we each received, two different preparations were presented with one served to one member of a couple and the other to the other member of a couple. It amounted to everyone receiving a 15 course meal as my wife and I tasted each other's savory courses and all four of us tasted each of the desserts. Serving the meal this way, saved on dinnerware, saved on plating, saved on wine and saved on time, but it scrimped on elegance, since it is never as elegant to eat from a plate that has already been sampled from. Of course, we didn't have to share plates, but that would have only been half the experience.

The amuse, separated on a long narrow plate into three sections was mostly forgettable, though I enjoyed the bit of pork belly more than the other components, one of which contained foie gras. We were served a glass of prosecco with the amuse.

Sliced Pork Butt with Horseradish and Radish Salad

The first platings from the menu followed a bit after. I received the “Sweet Onion Crepe” over white truffle fondue with Parmesan while my wife received house-brined “Sliced Pork Butt with Horseradish and Radish Salad.” My friend, David and I were the only ones indulging in the wine pairings, so his dishes tended to mirror my wife's, to enable the restaurant to present different wines to each of us. Of the first two dishes, the sweet onion crepe was the more elegant and the more delicious, a conclusion that would have surprised me, had I done the ordering for myself. The pork butt was truly nothing special. Had the pork packed more flavor or nuance, it may have justified its relatively inelegant presentation, but alas, it did not. I was served a glass of Domaine de La Patine, 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley to accompany the decidedly French feeling crepe.

Snails with Watercress Crema and Crème Fraiche

For the next progression I received “Eggplant Terrine with Salsa Rossa and Marcona Almonds”, while my wife received a Vetri signature, “Snails with Watercress Crema and Crème Fraiche.” Although it was highly processed, I could buy the association of the eggplant dish, which happened to be quite delicious, with Italy, however, not so on the snails, which once again felt more French than Italian. Of course, Italy is a large country with a varied cuisine, so there is plenty of leeway, but still.... Though considered one of Vetri's classics and a signature, I failed to find the magic in the dish outside of its pretty presentation. Flavor-wise, it was surprisingly drab. The Librandi Ciro Rosato 2008 from Calabria, Italy worked well with the eggplant as did the remainder of the pairings, even if none truly stood out as particularly memorable.

Spinach Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Shaved Ricotta Salata

Another signature was up next for me, Vetri's “Spinach Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Shaved Ricotta Salata.” Finally, here was a dish that clearly had Italian origins. To me, what separates the best gnocchi from lesser ones is their ethereal lightness. While delicious, these were anything but light. My wife was served “Cavatelli with Fava and Truffle Pecorino.” A subtle dish, it was lighter than the gnocchi, but unfortunately that additional lightness seemed to come at the expense of flavor.

The level of the food took a significant turn for the better with the next course. The “Porcini Ravioli with langoustines” was full flavored, delicious, Italian and original. I grudgingly gave up half the dish to my wife, but my hesitation soon turned to joy when I tasted the remains of her “Rosemary Pappardelle with Lamb Bolognese.” One of my two favorite dishes of the evening, I now started to get a glimpse of what all the fuss has been about with this restaurant. The pasta was ethereal and the bolognese sublime.

My other favorite dish came with the next and final savory course. A large double grilled veal chop was brought to the table for display before returning to the kitchen for plating and service. I was the beneficiary of Vetri's “Grilled Veal with Chantarelles,” while my wife, who is not crazy about veal received “Baby Goat with Soft Polenta.” I got to eat my entire plating of juicy, flavor-packed veal chop and lovely, earthy chantarelles and still taste the kid. The kid was tasty, but I definitely won with the veal. Vetri's charms were becoming clearer yet.

Unfortunately, my growing sense of appreciation was knocked back with a lackluster pre-dessert of strawberry sorbet with black raspberries. This wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything special. Wonderful things can be done with strawberries and raspberries, but this was far from wonderful.

I've noticed a trend with some finer restaurants when trying to show off their dessert capabilities during degustations. Rather than drawing out the dinner and serving each diner a taste of each dessert, they take the easy and lazy way out, by serving each diner a different dessert and having them share by passing the desserts around the table. That is not so bothersome when the dining partners are lovers or at the least very close friends, but what does one do if with casual acquaintances? Fortunately for us, we were all close friends, so hygiene was not a huge issue, but still it lacks elegance.

Usually, in these situations I wind up lusting after someone else's dessert, discovering one I liked better than my own during the pass around. On this occasion, however, that was not the case. Amongst the “Chocolate Polenta Souffle,” the “Cherries with Pistachio Zabaione,” the “Blackberry Zuppa Inglese” and the “Strawberry Zeppole,” my Cherries with Pistachio Zabaione was the clear winner. Out of the others, the only real competition came from the souffle. The zeppole was acceptable, but the Blackberry Zuppa Inglese was boring and totally forgettable.

Make no mistake, Vetri is a fine restaurant. It is warm, romantic and has fine food, lovely wine and good, professional service. They also emphasize some of the little things that help to make a dining experience special, such as the signed menu, take away muffins and detailed descriptions of the wines. With all due respect to Alan Richman, though, I do not agree that Vetri is “probably the best Italian restaurant in America.” Not even close. While our meal had some notable highs, it had some distinct lows and far too many simply good dishes to justify that sort of accolade or even its steep $135/person price tag (add $90pp for the wine pairing). Overall, I liked my meal, but I can't say that I loved it.

Taste of the Week - January 31st - February 6th: Maple Loch

In a week of incredible dining, that a cocktail should be my taste of the week, has even me shaking my head and asking, "What?!?" I have certainly become a big fan of the cocktail revolution that has slammed the United States over the past five to ten years, but this cocktail was particularly impressive. Created by Mattias Hagglund, wunderkïnd bartender of Elements Restaurant in Princeton, N.J., the drink was original, creative,elegant, perfectly balanced and most of all, delicious. Consisting of Ardbeg 10 year old Islay single malt Scotch, Bliss Maple Syrup, Nux Alpina walnut liqueur, fresh lemon juice and house-made hops bitters. Extremely food friendly, the cocktail was slightly smoky, slightly sweet and slightly bitter. In short it was damn near perfect. Hagglund's other cocktails weren't too shabby either. He is a bartender/mixologist to watch!

I will be writing much more on this extraordinary meal as well as my other meals from last week shortly. Please stay tuned.

Cheese and Crackers

Some very good friends are visiting us this weekend from the Philadelphia area. In addition to themselves, they brought a number of lovely things with them including some beautiful cheeses, crackers and Dalmatia fig spread that they brought from the Ardmore Farmers Market. Amongst the cheeses were the creamy, smooth and delicious Delice de Borgogne and the rich, blue St. Agur.  Each cheese served atop La Panzanella Rosemary Croccantini was marvelous. The Delice was also lovely with a dollop of the fig spread. I'm looking forward to sampling some of the other delights they brought as well.

I'm still scratching my head though, as to how these lovely foods from France and elsewhere, as wonderful as they are, can come from a place outside of Philadelphia that calls itself a "farmers market." I fear that the term "farmers market" is being co-opted, like so many other terms that start off meaning something specific and wind up becoming relatively meaningless. While that has yet to become commonplace where I live, it appears to be all too common elsewhere. In my point of view a "farmers market" is not a "farmers market" unless it is selling only foodstuff directly from the farms from which they were grown or raised. That definition can be stretched to the production of artisanal food products so long as they are sold directly by the artisan. Anything else, though it may be a wonderful market, is quite simply not a "farmers market." This opinion in no way is meant to disparage The Ardmore "Farmers Market" or other markets that sell items like the wonderful ones our guests so kindly brought. It is a fine market, however, It should call itself something other than a "farmers market," lest the term continue to lose all real meaning.

So You Want Good Fried Chicken?

It seems that from Momofuku Noodle Bar to Locanda Verde and beyond, fried chicken is the new rediscovered dish of the moment. I must admit that I haven't yet had the pleasure of their versions, but the best I have had in quite some time was in a little corner stand at The Trenton Farmers Market in Trenton, N.J. belonging to King Foods, the business of an Amish family from Manheim, PA. I had a thigh, which was absolutely perfect - hot, crisp, grease-less and most of all delicious. I ate every morsel from that piece of chicken that I possibly could. The fried boneless chicken breast strips were good too, but lacked the decadent succulence of the thigh. Aside from the fried chicken, which had been recommended to us, by Aki and Alex, the stand does a brisk business in rotisserie barbecued chickens, pot roast, turkeys and other hearty fare. 

In addition to the savories, they also sell freshly made soft pretzels and ice cream. The soft pretzel, hot from the oven and freshly dipped in butter and coated with just enough salt, was as good a one as I have ever had, superior in my memory even to those in Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market. 

The other standout taste we had was a blueberry malted milk shake. The young woman who made it for us, confessed that she had never tried that combination nor even made one before. Perhaps it was beginner's luck, but the combination was superb. She had added fresh blueberries, malt and soft vanilla ice cream to a blender and whipped away - marvelous!

I don't see us hitting the Trenton Farmer's market too frequently just because of where it is. While they do sell some excellent produce, the main reason I would go out of my way to return is the King Foods stand. I don't think that I will have just one piece of fried chicken either.

At the Market - September 5, 2009

Some images from the Trenton, N.J. Farmers Market

 

 

 

 

 

There was some beautiful produce to be had. The peppers, peaches, tomatoes and corn were particularly plentiful and good. I couldn't believe some of the prices. At one stand I bought a basket of poblanos and a basket of jalapeños at $1/basket! The fresh lima beans were quite lovely as well and not an item I typically find in my usual markets. That being said, the overall atmosphere of the market was more like a commercial produce market than a true farmers market. Out of all the stalls, I only noticed a minority of them actually giving themselves the label of a specific farm. There were also quite a few non-farm vendors present, cheapening the overall atmosphere. The highlight of our visit though was a food stall where we had lunch, but I will post separately on that.

A Great Pairing - La Grande Dame and Rembrandt

We brought the wine. Alex and Aki had the cheese. Some of life's greatest pleasures occur purely by happenstance. This was one. The 1990 Grande Dame Champagne from Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin was wonderful on its own as was the exquisite 2 year aged Rembrandt Gouda from DiBruno Brothers, but together, they were pure magic! The yeastiness from the champagne picked up on the deep umami of the gouda and didn't let go. They melded seamlessly, a tremendous balance of intense flavor and texture.

Ideas in the Studio - Round Two

No, I wasn't there, but I certainly wish I was. The photos and the menu indicate a particularly extraordinary meal, having incorporated so many of my favorite foods including soft-shell crabs, sweetbreads, pig cheeks, foie gras, sea urchin, goose eggs, squab and so much more. Alex discusses a need for flexibility here. Given that the diners and the beverages they bring for meals at Studio Kitchen are always interesting, there is no doubt in my mind that this was a truly incredible evening!

Ideas in Food Meets Studio Kitchen: The Action

In addition to world class food and excellent company, one of the major attractions of a meal at Stdio Kitchen or with Ideas in Food is the personability and interactiveness of Shola and Alex and Aki. Here is a photo tribute to the artistry of the team at Studio Kitchen on May 1st, 2009.

Ideas in Food Meets Studio Kitchen: The Dinner

I have had the great fortune to have experienced the cooking of Alex & Aki and Shola on a number of occasions both fee-based and not and have come to know all of the them to the point of considering each of them a good friend. Being acquainted with them and their cooking, it has struck me for some time that they would work very well together in the kitchen. Their styles are complementary and their outlooks similar. I have been trying to get them to come up to my area together, but for various reasons doing so jointly had previously been unable to come to fruition. With the recent move of Alex & Aki to Buck's County, PA, essentially becoming neighbors to Shola, everything changed. Though it wasn't happen in my backyard, I was thrilled when I heard that they would be collaborating on a Studio Kitchen style dinner. I simply would not miss their first effort together, which as fortune would have it, would occur on the weekend just prior to my 50th birthday. What better way to start a celebration?!

I will post my experience in three parts, including the first post, published to provide a preview of the event.This post will focus on the food, offered under the theme, Shades of Green, Tastes of Spring and the last on Shola and Alex in the kitchen.

Upon entering the studio, introductions were made by and for those who had been previously unacquainted, while those who had previously been acquainted renewed those acquaintances under the anticipatory energy of the coming dinner. As with all previous Studio Kitchen dinners, guests were encouraged to bring libations to share. We started with a delicious little French bubbly.

After a period of time to get to know each other, we guests took our seats for dinner. The initial four courses were described as an amuse, but they were served separately and in succession.

The first dish, called "Liquid Lovage" was a crisply flavored, delicious lovage soup that enveloped succulent crab, a combination heretofore unique to me and simply delightful, providing a sensational jumping off point for the rest of the meal to come. The dish captured spring on the palate and in it's palette, wearing the color that I like to call "incipient" green.

"Mozzarella Pudding, frozen rhubarb, olive oil" wasa nice concept with a pretty presentation. The most subtly flavored dish of the evening, however,  was probably the least memorable dish for me. Neither a bomb nor a home run, this dish paled next to the others presented, yet it was still good. In another situation it may have excelled.

One of the reasons the mozzarella may have lagged was its placement between the snappy Liquid Lovage and this, "Cream of Watercress Ice Cream, sake cured steelhead trout roe (Blis), croissant croustillant." This dish was the epitome of synergistic balance with the salty, smoky roe popping in the mouth, along side the slightly sweet peppery creaminess of the ice cream and the crunchiness of the croustillant. This dish would thrive on either end of the menu.

"Wild King Salmon, pecorino, fava beans, pimenton" consisted of three main parts. The first was a slice of salmon sashimi, the second was a salmon tartare that incorporated oregano and the third, resembling wasabi, was a combination of favas, pecorino and pimenton. Those three ingredients along with lemon olive oil and some others were combined and ultimately extruded via the Paco Jet. The dish worked nicely. Somehow I neglected to photograph it myself. Fortunately, Shola was kind enough to let me use his photo.

The first four courses were paired with a Sake from Granville Island near Vancouver brought by David & Rachel from a recent trip. We drank the JunMai Nama which was excellent.

The first four plates were billed as amuses. The "meat" of the meal followed.

Once again, balance reigned with "Russet Potato Gnocchi, ramp leaves, country ham, shaved l'etivaz." This dish was not one of contrasts working off each other, however. It was a seamless blend of silky, pillowed goodness. The benton ham provided some salty and smoky notes, but the over-riding sense of this dish was one of supple luxury.

 

"Wild King Salmon, grilled zucchini puree, lemongrass sabayon, rye bread" - how do they come up with these combinations? How can something like this work so well? I don't have the answer to either question, but clearly  they do and I can attest that it does, very, very well. Justice was done for this magnificent salmon.

At this point I opened the first of the wines that we brought, a 2000 "Y" from Ch. D'YQuem. I brought this wine specifically, since I had brought one to my first Studio Kitchen dinner on March 17, 2006. This was a tribute to that amazing dinner and experience. Despite the difficulty extracting the corks, the wine drank well. It was served with the following course.

"Chicken Marsala. egg yolk, morels, nasturtium" - this was not my father's chicken marsala, though it was no less enjoyable. The deceptively simple looking chicken was the product of an elaborate process. First chicken carcasses were pressure cooked with marsala wine and other ingredients to make a stock. This stock was then used to poach the morels, which were then set aside. The remaining liquid was reduced and pureed with the white and dark raw chicken meat, mixed with activa and set in blocks. The blocks were cooked sous vide, chilled then sliced thin. For service the silky, mortadella-like chicken ribbons were warmed in a C-Vap. The chicken itself contained all the flavors of a classic chicken marsala. Combining it with the morels, nasturtium leaves and a sauce from rich egg yolk created a delicious, fun and unique dish all their own.

This was the second wine we brought, 1997 Gaja Barbaresco. Still in its youth it paired well with the next course, my favorite of the evening.

"Skirt Steak, honeydew melon, rosemary, fermented vadouvan" married perfectly cooked skirt steak with the plate's principle green element, the honeydew in sublime fashion. Cooked sous vide and finished on the grill, the meat melted in my mouth. The best part was that additional meat remaining after the initial plating was passed around for much appreciated seconds. The rosemary actually came from rosemary flowers, which left a lovely, yet subtle perfume. The vadouvan provided a perfect compliment.

This dish surprised even though the menu description was explicit. "Langres, strawberry-lychee mostarda, red ribbon sorrel" clearly stated lychee and not rhubarb as one would expect from looking at the strawberries and considering the season. This was an original and tasty composed cheese course.

Our final wine of the evening, 1993 Royal Tokaji Co. Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos. Made from botrytised Furmint grapes, this was the dessert wine of choice for the Russian Czars. The 1993 vintage was one of the first after the fall of communism in Hungary. It provided an excellent much for the evening's final course.

Listed on the menu as "Aero Chocolate, blood orange infusion, crispy cashews", this was a tasty and satisfying dessert despite the fact that the "cashew" missed its intended "crispy" texture. It was chewy rather than crispy. Ironically, the texture worked anyway. The flavors were on and the chocolate was indeed light and airy. If any of the descriptions had to miss a little, then ththe cashew's was the best one to do so.

Ever since Ferran Adriá participated in a Q&A on eGullet in December of 2004, I have used a quote from that session in my eGullet signature: "Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster." Since then, Adriá has expounded further on that idea, emphasizing the pleasures of taking ordinary, non-luxury ingredients and using the alchemy of a chef, creating something special from them. With the possible exceptions of the beautiful wild Alaskan King Salmon and the morels, none of the ingredients utilized by Alex and Shola for this dinner can really be classified as "luxury." There were no truffles, foie gras, bluefin tuna, Wagyu beef or Ossetra caviar. Neither lobster nor Mediterranean gambas found their way onto the menu. That is not to say that the ingredients were poor or inferior. Far from it.The ingredients were chosen with care and were top quality. The Blis roe, though not readily available, are the product of a superior artisan who has taken relatively mundane ingredients and created something special. The same goes for the Benton ham, the vadouvan spice mixture, the cheeses and any other quality ingredient that was used to prepare this meal. The greatest alchemy, however, came from the minds and hands of Alex and Shola themselves. Their creations are original, beautiful and most of all delicious. Combine that with the intimate setting of Studio Kitchen, fine wines and great company and the result is an unforgettable evening. An experience like that makes a drive from upstate NY a no-brainer. I look forward to the possibility of making that trip many more times for any future collaborations between these talented individuals that may occur.

A Trio of Eggs

Away from home on Saturday, I was unable to buy eggs from our usual source, Elihu Farm at The Saratoga Farmers Market. Having heard that I could get wonderful chicken eggs from Meadow Run Farm at The Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, I stopped in to buy some.  To my delight I also found mallard duck and goose eggs from Pecan Meadow Farm in Newburgh, PA. Unfortunately, I was short of time to shop through all the other beautiful products for sale at the Farmstand.

Ideas in Food Meets Studio Kitchen: A Preview

I don't know too many people more creative or skilled at what they do than Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen and Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa of Ideas in Food. I have been trying to get them together for a meal for some time, so when I heard that they were finally doing it, I had to be there. Unfortunately, Aki will not be there due to other obligations, so it will just be Alex and Shola.

The dinner is tonight, but I stopped in this afternoon to drop off some wine. While there I had a chance to catch some of the prep, whetting my appetite even more for tonight's dinner if that is possible. Here are a few photos ffrom this afternoon at Studio Kitchen:

Dinner to come.