The first time I entered this place, it was a hole-in-the-wall affair in Union Square, Somerville, and bore the name Taqueria la Mexicana. The last time I'd been wowed by a Mexican restaurant was in the late 1980s-early 1990s, at the late, lamented Taco Villa in Amherst and Northampton, MA, a place with chimichangas to maim for. While this new-to-me taqueria did not have chimichangas, or taquitos in the same style, they had excellent nachos, enchiladas and stuffed poblano peppers. I visited several times when I lived in walking distance, and have kept visiting since moving a town or two away.
A few years ago, Roberto, the owner, had a chance to absorb the space used by the Irish pub next door. After a great deal of introspection and examining budgets, he decided to go for it. He expanded and renamed the place Cantina la Mexicana, building a nice new dining room space and adding a good little bar to his restaurant. Some new dishes got added as well, but the old dishes mostly remained the same.
Tonight I went there with my children, ages 6 and 3, determined to have a good meal and to keep them out of their mother's hair for a few hours. We sat in the downstairs section, which is only a few steps below the main area near the bar, and hung our jackets on our chairs. We're regular enough that the staff knows us, and I am thankful that they put up with my (loud, impolite, brash) children.
I debated whether to go for the vegetarian enchilada relleno combo ($7.50), which sports two enchiladas and one refried-bean-stuffed poblano pepper, each covered with cheese and your choice of mild or hot sauce; or whether to go for the grilled skirt steak with grilled avocado and chilaquiles ($16.95). When both children declared they would only eat tortilla chips, and only drink water, I sighed and ordered the skirt steak. I also got myself a glass of limonade ($1.75), a tasty lime beverage that they make on-site that has free refills. They forgot to put it on my bill this time, which I will tell them the next time I go in. Unfortunately, my children distracted me at checkout time.
The tortilla chips at the restaurant are also fried there on site. Eating corn chips fried earlier in the day, lightly salted and served with hot salsa, really gives you an appreciation for how good they are fresh, and just what you miss when you buy store-brand chips. My children chomped on chips quite contentedly. I finished my chilaquiles, which are small tortilla strips covered in cheese, before attacking my steak. I ate my beef very happily, even though it is a little salty for my current diet.
Over midway through our meal, my 3 year old daughter, who had previously insisted that she only wanted corn chips, did not want meat, and did not want to share my dish, told me she wanted meat. After some back and forth, I sighed and told her she would have to wait while it cooked. It was slightly steep at $8.50 for the equivalent of just the meat I'd gotten for my meal, but it was just as tasty. She ate about half of it before declaring herself full.
While they generally only bring the supper menu at dinner, their full lunch menu is also available. It contains some of the best roadside Mexican food I have ever tasted. I brought a girlfriend there once, and after her first bite she told me it was the closest she'd had to her late grandfather's cooking since he passed on, tragically before passing along any of the centuries-old recipes that had been handed down through the generations.
While this is not fine dining in the gourmet sense, I consider this place fit for foodies and cheery for chowhounds. If you find yourself wanting good, real Mexican food, and that cheap big-chain place isn't cutting the chalupas, come here instead. The parking meters run 'til 8PM; come earlier anyways. You can thank me later.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Making Meatloaf
Last week, when our house was looking for hamburgers for supper, I got my ground beef at Costco despite a couple of complaints. "What are we going to do with all that meat?" they asked. Leaving aside the immediate rude answer -- I don't always focus on food -- I replied, "Meatloaf!"
Most people are used to meatloaf that is dense, dry, and about as flavorful as the styrofoam the meat is usually sold in. I have a few tips on keeping your meatloaf from falling into the same trap:
There are probably more tricks of the trade out there. I like using roasted garlic, for example, which most people might not have on hand. Should you have a lot of ground meat left over, though, meatloaf is a good way to use it.
Most people are used to meatloaf that is dense, dry, and about as flavorful as the styrofoam the meat is usually sold in. I have a few tips on keeping your meatloaf from falling into the same trap:
- Get fattier meat, like 80/20 or 85/15. Yes, your meatloaf will melt down a bit more, but the fat is where the flavor is. It's also a bit more tender when it is fattier.
- Use some sort of breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs were used in Italy to stretch meat, such as in meatballs, but is has another property: it is another way to keep meat tender. I like panko, as it's also good for frying if you have too much.
- Fry up some chopped onions and add them to the mix. Onions are flavorful, but if they start out raw inside the meatloaf they won't cook enough by the time the rest of the meatloaf is ready.
- Cook's Illustrated has their own secret: add a packet of gelatin to your meatloaf. I have a different secret as I have trouble finding suitable gelatin for my Kosher-ish home: I use a can of tomato paste (I use Rienzi brand) and mix it in. It adds a good tomato flavor and a bit of sweetness.
- Spices are essential. I suggest garlic powder, paprika, ancho pepper, ground black pepper and a little salt. If you have a mix for a steak rub, that would work fine.
- Eggs are important. You don't need many, but they help keep the meatloaf from crumbling. A good rule of thumb is one egg per pound of ground meat.
- Ketchup on top. It makes for a tasty glaze and it also protects the meat from getting too dried out - assuming you don't cook it for too long.
- Make free-form loaves on sheet pans instead of using a loaf pan. I suggest loaves no wider than your hand.
There are probably more tricks of the trade out there. I like using roasted garlic, for example, which most people might not have on hand. Should you have a lot of ground meat left over, though, meatloaf is a good way to use it.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Hah!
My in-laws are visiting for the weekend. This is considerably more restful than you might think, as the children love spending time with them. I had originally planned steak for last night's supper; instead, my in-laws said, "Let's go out to dinner." Given how often I have ended up doing the dishes after cooking a meal, I wasn't about to say No. We had an enjoyable meal at Not Your Average Joe's in Arlington. Steak got pushed off by a night.
This afternoon, we all visited a festival taking place off the Mystic Valley Parkway in Medford. On our way out, I told my father-in-law, "You have a choice of beef or beef for supper. Would you like a steak or a burger?"
He deadpanned, "I'd like a swordfish steak." He knew we didn't have any swordfish in the house.
I still needed to get some foodstuffs for cooking the lasagna I am bringing to a gathering after a funeral tomorrow, so I made a stop at WholeWallet Foods to get some chopped spinach. While I was there, I went by the fish counter. Hmmm... fresh swordfish steaks on sale for $9.99 a pound.
Guess who got swordfish for supper? Yup: my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, and me. The latter two of us also had some of the ribeye steak I'd cooked too, me more than her.
Cooking fresh swordfish scares a lot of people, and sometimes it worries me too. Fish is easy to overcook and easier to dry out. It takes time, technique and practice. Still, I have a few tips:
I don't get to cook fish often enough in my home, and I miss it.
This afternoon, we all visited a festival taking place off the Mystic Valley Parkway in Medford. On our way out, I told my father-in-law, "You have a choice of beef or beef for supper. Would you like a steak or a burger?"
He deadpanned, "I'd like a swordfish steak." He knew we didn't have any swordfish in the house.
I still needed to get some foodstuffs for cooking the lasagna I am bringing to a gathering after a funeral tomorrow, so I made a stop at Whole
Guess who got swordfish for supper? Yup: my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, and me. The latter two of us also had some of the ribeye steak I'd cooked too, me more than her.
Cooking fresh swordfish scares a lot of people, and sometimes it worries me too. Fish is easy to overcook and easier to dry out. It takes time, technique and practice. Still, I have a few tips:
- Swordfish can be grilled, but you can also fry it in a frying pan. More people have frying pans than grills.
- While butter can be wonderful on a swordfish steak, don't use straight butter to fry it. Use an equal amount of canola, grapeseed, or toasted sesame oil. The latter choice adds some nice flavor but isn't everybody's favorite.
- Use a relatively high heat to cook your swordfish on both sides. The thinner the steak, oddly, the higher the heat; you'll want to get a proper sear, and since you'll have less time to cook the fish before it cooks through, you need to juice it up. Don't get too thin a steak.
- Sprinkling a little salt on your swordfish while it cooks helps the flavor. I am fond of a particular lime-flavored salt, called "lime fresco," that I can find at Christina's Spice Shop in Cambridge. You can marinate fresh swordfish, but you might lose some of the flavor you can only get from fresh swordfish.
- Fish steaks have considerably less fat than a good beef steak. You can get away with a smaller amount of fish for a serving than you can with beef.
- For the love of seafood, do not put a crumb topping on swordfish. It's fine for haddock and cod, but those kinds of fish are considerably more flaky and can use the added crunch. Firm fish like swordfish don't need it.
- If possible, you should stick to fresh swordfish. If it's not possible, be careful about the previously-frozen swordfish you buy. The closer you get to pink, the better it was frozen.
I don't get to cook fish often enough in my home, and I miss it.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Cheddar Popovers
For many people, popovers are a luxury item. They see them at fine restaurants, or the occasional excellent breakfast place with astounding cooks who make you wonder how they make them all. Heck, there's even a restaurant in New York City named "Popovers"!
The truth is, basic popovers are even easier to make than pancakes, although they do take more time. With pancakes, you have to get the griddle or frying pan to the right temperature, be careful not to slop batter when pouring it in, be careful flipping it -- and Heaven help you if you put in fruit or chocolate!
Popovers, by comparison, are pretty simple. Once you've poured the batter in the pan, you don't touch them for over half an hour. If you have a good non-stick pan, the first time you touch your popover with a knife will be to put butter or jam on it.
I do have a dedicated popover pan at home. I do not use it as often as I'd like, but I do use it. I have learned, from painful experience, never to let this pan go into a dishwasher. A little soap and water serve nicely for cleaning purposes, and then I let it dry. No muss, no fuss, and no risk of losing the non-stick properties of my popover pan.
You don't need a dedicated popover pan to make popovers. Some people use standard muffin pans, with 12 cups for small muffins or cupcakes, but I find those make tiny popovers that are a bit too cooked for me. If you don't have any sort of muffin pan or popover pan, and there isn't a good popover pan for sale near you, don't panic. Look for what some places will call a Texas muffin pan, which only has six larger cups in the same space a standard muffin pan would hold twelve. Get a non-stick one for your own peace of mind.
This recipe is adapted from "The Joy of Cooking," which is an excellent reference book for a home cook. Newer editions aren't always as good as the old ones on some recipes, from my experience, but they still explain a lot of terms and foods.
All the hardware you need for this recipe are some good measuring implements (1 cup and 1/4 cup), a 2 quart bowl or measuring cup, a whisk or a hand-mixer, and possibly an OK knife and a cutting board.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
pinch of salt, to taste
2 large (or bigger) eggs, preferably room temperature though not required
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 oz cheddar cheese, shredded or finely sliced. I slice my own with a knife; you might find it easier to buy pre-shredded cheese, and that is fine for this application.
Preheat your oven to 450ºF. Melt your butter in your microwave for 20-30 seconds, or on your stovetop for however long it takes. Beat the eggs into the butter, then the milk into the eggs.
In a separate bowl, put in your flour and salt, lightly blending them. Add your milk, egg and butter mixture to the flour and whisk thoroughly until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mix into each cup until it is about 1/3 full. Add roughly an equal amount of cheddar to each cup, then pour in enough batter to cover the cheese and bring the cup to 2/3 to 3/4 full. This will fill all 6 cups in a standard popover pan or a Texas muffin pan.
When the oven reaches 450º, put your pan in the oven for about 16 minutes. At the end of that time, turn the oven down to 350º and reset your timer for 22-24 minutes. At the end of this time, take out your pan and stare in wonder at the beautiful popovers sitting on your stove.
Grab your butter or your favorite jam, spread it inside or out as you prefer, and dig in!
If a friend asks you how much work they were, you could lie and tell them that it's the most complicated dish you've ever heard of. However, I suggest that instead you tell them how easy it was to make and share the recipe, as sharing good food is one of the oldest expressions of friendship on the planet.
The truth is, basic popovers are even easier to make than pancakes, although they do take more time. With pancakes, you have to get the griddle or frying pan to the right temperature, be careful not to slop batter when pouring it in, be careful flipping it -- and Heaven help you if you put in fruit or chocolate!
Popovers, by comparison, are pretty simple. Once you've poured the batter in the pan, you don't touch them for over half an hour. If you have a good non-stick pan, the first time you touch your popover with a knife will be to put butter or jam on it.
I do have a dedicated popover pan at home. I do not use it as often as I'd like, but I do use it. I have learned, from painful experience, never to let this pan go into a dishwasher. A little soap and water serve nicely for cleaning purposes, and then I let it dry. No muss, no fuss, and no risk of losing the non-stick properties of my popover pan.
You don't need a dedicated popover pan to make popovers. Some people use standard muffin pans, with 12 cups for small muffins or cupcakes, but I find those make tiny popovers that are a bit too cooked for me. If you don't have any sort of muffin pan or popover pan, and there isn't a good popover pan for sale near you, don't panic. Look for what some places will call a Texas muffin pan, which only has six larger cups in the same space a standard muffin pan would hold twelve. Get a non-stick one for your own peace of mind.
This recipe is adapted from "The Joy of Cooking," which is an excellent reference book for a home cook. Newer editions aren't always as good as the old ones on some recipes, from my experience, but they still explain a lot of terms and foods.
All the hardware you need for this recipe are some good measuring implements (1 cup and 1/4 cup), a 2 quart bowl or measuring cup, a whisk or a hand-mixer, and possibly an OK knife and a cutting board.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
pinch of salt, to taste
2 large (or bigger) eggs, preferably room temperature though not required
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 oz cheddar cheese, shredded or finely sliced. I slice my own with a knife; you might find it easier to buy pre-shredded cheese, and that is fine for this application.
Preheat your oven to 450ºF. Melt your butter in your microwave for 20-30 seconds, or on your stovetop for however long it takes. Beat the eggs into the butter, then the milk into the eggs.
In a separate bowl, put in your flour and salt, lightly blending them. Add your milk, egg and butter mixture to the flour and whisk thoroughly until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mix into each cup until it is about 1/3 full. Add roughly an equal amount of cheddar to each cup, then pour in enough batter to cover the cheese and bring the cup to 2/3 to 3/4 full. This will fill all 6 cups in a standard popover pan or a Texas muffin pan.
When the oven reaches 450º, put your pan in the oven for about 16 minutes. At the end of that time, turn the oven down to 350º and reset your timer for 22-24 minutes. At the end of this time, take out your pan and stare in wonder at the beautiful popovers sitting on your stove.
Grab your butter or your favorite jam, spread it inside or out as you prefer, and dig in!
If a friend asks you how much work they were, you could lie and tell them that it's the most complicated dish you've ever heard of. However, I suggest that instead you tell them how easy it was to make and share the recipe, as sharing good food is one of the oldest expressions of friendship on the planet.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Restaurant Review: Neighborhood Restaurant and Bakery
Over a decade ago, I moved into an apartment in Somerville situated between Union Square in Somerville and Inman Square in Cambridge. During the year and a half I lived there, I spent more time visiting Inman than Union. As I found out yesterday, clearly this was a mistake.
The Neighborhood Restaurant and Bakery, located at 25 Bow Street in Somerville, has a forgettable sign above the door. The interior is small and a bit cramped. If you go in and look at the menu, you might think the prices are a little high for a breakfast nook, although they are certainly close to what you'd pay at Bickford's.
None of this prepares you for the food or the service. The place was mostly packed when we arrived late Thursday morning, with only a couple of tables available. The variety on the menu is a better than what you might expect to find in your standard local breakfast establishment, including occasional Portuguese fare alongside pancakes and waffles.
Before we properly got down to business, our server brought us each a small cup of what tastes like sweetened orange juice and a plate of lightly sugared fresh fruit. While my dining companion left the juice to me, which I generally drank, she ate most of the fruit on her plate, as did I. She ordered tea, which was brough to the table in a coffeepot and poured into her waiting mug. All breakfasts come with juice, the small fruit plate, and your choice of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I do mean "and" - there are free refills.
My dining companion ordered whole wheat pancakes, while I ordered the steak and eggs breakfast with some extra mushrooms for the steak. Both of our meals came with toast and homefries. Her pancakes were dry, but they were also tasty and fluffy. Our server initially mis-heard my stated steak request for "pink all the way through" as "cooked all the way through," which she did fix as quickly as possible when I brought it up to her, and the replacement steak was a good hunk of sirloin. I ordered my eggs to be poached and served on my toast, like Mom used to make, and it was excellent. The eggs were properly runny, the toast was thick and crunchy but not tough, and it was just as good as I'd hoped for. And believe me, I hope for excellence.
The toast and the homefries deserve special mention. The restaurant is also a bakery, so all the toast they serve is made from their own fresh-baked bread. They serve it thick, so it's both crunchy and chewy; and the crust is not terribly tough like on French bread. It's a real treat. The homefries... all I can say is, I have been searching for these homefries since I first moved to the Boston area over a decade ago, and nobody else has had them like this until now.
During warm months you can sit outside in their arbor-covered outdoor space. They even have their own grape jelly made from their own grapes.
The bill for the two of us was $20 before the tip. I deliberately tipped far more than the standard, some 25%, because I was that impressed. Well, also, it was only a dollar more than 20%.
Still, the place is charming for chowhounds and children alike. I foresee future visits, and I am looking forward to them.
The Neighborhood Restaurant and Bakery, located at 25 Bow Street in Somerville, has a forgettable sign above the door. The interior is small and a bit cramped. If you go in and look at the menu, you might think the prices are a little high for a breakfast nook, although they are certainly close to what you'd pay at Bickford's.
None of this prepares you for the food or the service. The place was mostly packed when we arrived late Thursday morning, with only a couple of tables available. The variety on the menu is a better than what you might expect to find in your standard local breakfast establishment, including occasional Portuguese fare alongside pancakes and waffles.
Before we properly got down to business, our server brought us each a small cup of what tastes like sweetened orange juice and a plate of lightly sugared fresh fruit. While my dining companion left the juice to me, which I generally drank, she ate most of the fruit on her plate, as did I. She ordered tea, which was brough to the table in a coffeepot and poured into her waiting mug. All breakfasts come with juice, the small fruit plate, and your choice of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I do mean "and" - there are free refills.
My dining companion ordered whole wheat pancakes, while I ordered the steak and eggs breakfast with some extra mushrooms for the steak. Both of our meals came with toast and homefries. Her pancakes were dry, but they were also tasty and fluffy. Our server initially mis-heard my stated steak request for "pink all the way through" as "cooked all the way through," which she did fix as quickly as possible when I brought it up to her, and the replacement steak was a good hunk of sirloin. I ordered my eggs to be poached and served on my toast, like Mom used to make, and it was excellent. The eggs were properly runny, the toast was thick and crunchy but not tough, and it was just as good as I'd hoped for. And believe me, I hope for excellence.
The toast and the homefries deserve special mention. The restaurant is also a bakery, so all the toast they serve is made from their own fresh-baked bread. They serve it thick, so it's both crunchy and chewy; and the crust is not terribly tough like on French bread. It's a real treat. The homefries... all I can say is, I have been searching for these homefries since I first moved to the Boston area over a decade ago, and nobody else has had them like this until now.
During warm months you can sit outside in their arbor-covered outdoor space. They even have their own grape jelly made from their own grapes.
The bill for the two of us was $20 before the tip. I deliberately tipped far more than the standard, some 25%, because I was that impressed. Well, also, it was only a dollar more than 20%.
Still, the place is charming for chowhounds and children alike. I foresee future visits, and I am looking forward to them.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Pasteurization and Your Food
One of my perennial rants has to do with over-pasteurization in our nation's food supply. Yes, we want our food supply to be safe; yes, most of us want to have our food exactly when we want it without delay. I am very much pro-pasteurization, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Currently there are five kinds of pasteurization on the market: gently pasteurized, pasteurized, flash pasteurized, ultra-pasteurized, and cold pasteurized. Although each method will kill off bacteria and archaea typically found in industrial food, each of them work differently and do different things to your food and drink - usually drink.
Gently pasteurized is not commonly used nowadays. A gently pasteurized product is simmered at about 145ºF for about 30 minutes. Manufacturers do not like this method due to three drawbacks: it takes more energy to use this method, it takes longer to do, and it results in a shorter shelf-life even with proper refrigeration. However, gently pasteurized apple cider is some of the best-tasting heat pasteurized cider you will ever taste. It is very close to unpasteurized fresh cider in flavor, and it is one of my go-to levels.
Pasteurized is much more common, generally used with milk and some juices. Your foodstuff is heated to 161ºF for at least 16 seconds before being cooled. This is a common method used due to lower energy costs, shorter time requirements, and longer shelf-life. While we have gotten used to the flavor of pasteurized milk in the US, fruit juices suffer more from this method. Your standard half-gallon box of not-from-concentrate orange juice is pasteurized this way.
Flash Pasteurized has come into vogue over the past couple of decades. Heat your food to over 180ºF -- 191ºF is common -- for somewhere around 5 seconds for the lower temperature or 1 second for the higher. All the things that manufacturers like about regular pasteurization they like even more about flash pasteurization. The only thing that suffers is the taste. I have had Odwalla flash-pasteurized orange juice once. It is far too expensive for that cooked a flavor, in my opinion.
Ultra Pasteurized is also more common nowadays. It has a range of temperatures. The highest temperatures make liquid milk shelf-stable for months without needing a fridge. Even higher temperatures, even shorter time, and even lower taste. I highly suggest avoiding drinks that are ultra-pasteurized, unless you don't have much choice in the matter or you have never had the good stuff. It is fine for stocking your bolt-hole to survive a zombie apocalypse, but you won't impress a date or a spouse with the taste.
Cold Pasteurized is a misleading term in that it does not use cold to pasteurize your food. No, this process uses radiation. While it has similar refrigeration issues to gently pasteurized products, I am actually fond of this method because the flavor is the closest I have found to unpasteurized. Hey, if you don't like irradiated food, don't use a microwave. Or anything grown under the sun, which is a giant radiator.
Now, some people I have talked with have said, "But the food is only at those high temperatures for such a short time! It can't make that much of a difference." If you are of that sentiment and you are a beef eater, I have a question for you: which ribeye or tenderloin steak would you prefer, the one which took 30 minutes to reach 145ºF inside, or the one which hit 200ºF inside in a second? It does not matter how long the steak is at that temperature; it only matters that it was that temperature. The same principle applies to milk, cider, orange juice and more.
Don't give up on pasteurization. It helps keep our food supply safer in the long run. However, if you have never had gently- or cold-pasteurized drinks, I urge you to give them a try should you find them.
Currently there are five kinds of pasteurization on the market: gently pasteurized, pasteurized, flash pasteurized, ultra-pasteurized, and cold pasteurized. Although each method will kill off bacteria and archaea typically found in industrial food, each of them work differently and do different things to your food and drink - usually drink.
Gently pasteurized is not commonly used nowadays. A gently pasteurized product is simmered at about 145ºF for about 30 minutes. Manufacturers do not like this method due to three drawbacks: it takes more energy to use this method, it takes longer to do, and it results in a shorter shelf-life even with proper refrigeration. However, gently pasteurized apple cider is some of the best-tasting heat pasteurized cider you will ever taste. It is very close to unpasteurized fresh cider in flavor, and it is one of my go-to levels.
Pasteurized is much more common, generally used with milk and some juices. Your foodstuff is heated to 161ºF for at least 16 seconds before being cooled. This is a common method used due to lower energy costs, shorter time requirements, and longer shelf-life. While we have gotten used to the flavor of pasteurized milk in the US, fruit juices suffer more from this method. Your standard half-gallon box of not-from-concentrate orange juice is pasteurized this way.
Flash Pasteurized has come into vogue over the past couple of decades. Heat your food to over 180ºF -- 191ºF is common -- for somewhere around 5 seconds for the lower temperature or 1 second for the higher. All the things that manufacturers like about regular pasteurization they like even more about flash pasteurization. The only thing that suffers is the taste. I have had Odwalla flash-pasteurized orange juice once. It is far too expensive for that cooked a flavor, in my opinion.
Ultra Pasteurized is also more common nowadays. It has a range of temperatures. The highest temperatures make liquid milk shelf-stable for months without needing a fridge. Even higher temperatures, even shorter time, and even lower taste. I highly suggest avoiding drinks that are ultra-pasteurized, unless you don't have much choice in the matter or you have never had the good stuff. It is fine for stocking your bolt-hole to survive a zombie apocalypse, but you won't impress a date or a spouse with the taste.
Cold Pasteurized is a misleading term in that it does not use cold to pasteurize your food. No, this process uses radiation. While it has similar refrigeration issues to gently pasteurized products, I am actually fond of this method because the flavor is the closest I have found to unpasteurized. Hey, if you don't like irradiated food, don't use a microwave. Or anything grown under the sun, which is a giant radiator.
Now, some people I have talked with have said, "But the food is only at those high temperatures for such a short time! It can't make that much of a difference." If you are of that sentiment and you are a beef eater, I have a question for you: which ribeye or tenderloin steak would you prefer, the one which took 30 minutes to reach 145ºF inside, or the one which hit 200ºF inside in a second? It does not matter how long the steak is at that temperature; it only matters that it was that temperature. The same principle applies to milk, cider, orange juice and more.
Don't give up on pasteurization. It helps keep our food supply safer in the long run. However, if you have never had gently- or cold-pasteurized drinks, I urge you to give them a try should you find them.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Always Check Your Food's Expiration Dates
This past Monday I went to my local Stop & Shop to do a little shopping. Yes, I handle most of the shopping for my home. I picked up one of their handheld scanners, good for their express checkout, and went through the aisles at my usual leisurely pace. I swear I only knocked over three carts this time. Promise.
One of my purchases was a carafe of Tropicana white grapefruit juice. Yes, I like it. I had my little girl with me at the time. She was her usual self, wee, cute and distracting. I grabbed the first carafe I could find.
I didn't open my carafe until the next day. That's when I noticed something more than a little annoying: "FOR BEST TASTE, USE BY: SEP 26 11."
I gave it a sniff. It smelled OK. It tasted OK too. Still, I really wish I had looked at the date before putting it in my cart. This was my first freshness flub in a long time.
One of my purchases was a carafe of Tropicana white grapefruit juice. Yes, I like it. I had my little girl with me at the time. She was her usual self, wee, cute and distracting. I grabbed the first carafe I could find.
I didn't open my carafe until the next day. That's when I noticed something more than a little annoying: "FOR BEST TASTE, USE BY: SEP 26 11."
I gave it a sniff. It smelled OK. It tasted OK too. Still, I really wish I had looked at the date before putting it in my cart. This was my first freshness flub in a long time.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Restaurant Review: 111 Chophouse, Worcester MA
On Saturday, my wife and I dropped our younger child off with her grandparents, who already had our older child. We wanted a good meal and were both very hungry. Last year, for my wife's birthday, my Mom gave her a gift card good at the Sole Proprietor, Worcester's premiere fish restaurant -- a card also good at its sister restaurants. So, when deciding on where to go for supper, I told her I'd prefer Sole but I wasn't wedded to it. She said, "Let's go to the chophouse. I want meat!" Off we went to the Sole's sister restaurant, the 111 Chophouse, located at 111 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester.
At some point we will clearly have to try the third restaurant of the group, an Italian place just up the street from the chophouse, called Via. You might be able to watch just one part of a trilogy, but after you get the second part you have to check out the third.
Returning to the tale: we made reservations on the phone, which was vital given how busy the place is. We arrived a few minutes late, but they were still dealing with a line of reservations that had shown up shortly before us. We stood near the entrance, a little cramped since one group in front of us was a party of eight and was taking up most of the foyer space. We were seated relatively quickly, though, and got to perusing.
This is not like an Outback or a Bugaboo Creek. There's no music running in the background, no adorably creepy talking stuffed animals, not even a trace of kitsch. Despite the lack of music it gets a bit loud in the background, but not so loud that you can't talk with your dining companion. There's a very classy-looking bar section, a kitchen visible behind clean plexiglass, and there are a few different dining areas. While there are a few flat-screen TVs showing various sports, none of them had the volume on and were not in routine eye-level. The staff dress in short, stylized butcher jackets along with their white button-down shirts and black ties. It is, all in all, classy and comfortable.
The waitstaff work in teams for your table, with two people looking after even a table for two. While uncommon, this system allows for extra eyes and hands to help at a table. They initially brought over a small loaf of what looked like Italian bread or a thick baguette, cut into slim slices, wrapped in paper.
Our meal was definitely very good. We each started out with a bowl of Vidalia French onion soup au gratin ($7.99). It arrived very quickly but was still impeccably done, with plenty of very good cheese, some of their baguette for the crouton, and a tasty beef stock fortified with wine and properly cooked onions. We both felt it was slightly salty for our palates, but it is one of the best French onion soups we have eaten out of the house ever.
After the soup came the salad. My salad - comprised of a wedge of iceberg lettuce, large-chop tomatoes and (for me) Caesar dressing - was tasty, properly dressed, and came included with the cost of my entree. Normally it comes with Stilton cheese (think good bleu) and a bleu cheese dressing, but I am not a fan of bleu. The tomatoes were not quite as tasty as I might have liked, but it was the very first time I have ever eaten tomatoes that come with a salad so I cannot be considered a good judge for that. My wife ordered a baby arugula salad ($4 extra), which came with goat cheese, candied walnuts and a lemon vinaigrette. She was extremely pleased with it, remaking on how the walnuts were only lightly candied and thus still recognizably walnuts.
For our main plates we both had beef. I got their prime rib special ($21.99), which came with oven-roasted red bliss potatoes, peas with mushrooms, and a small amount of au jus; my wife ordered the Wagyu flat iron steak ($28.99), with sauteed asparagus, roasted red bliss potatoes, oyster mushrooms and a cabernet sauce. We also ordered a side dish of au gratin potatoes ($8.99) for the table. My boneless prime rib was slightly grainy in a couple of bites, but it was quite tasty and aside from those couple of bites properly done. The sides were good, but I felt the potatoes were (again) slightly salty for me. Given that I have been cutting down my salt over the past couple of years, it is probably still in the range of good for people with normal salt counts. My wife said the special breed of beef, Wagyu, was lost on her. For those of you who don't know, Wagyu beef is very well marbled. It's the US breed of Japanese Kobe beef, considered some of the best in the world and astoundingly expensive. While she felt it was wasted on her, I could tell that this was the best flat iron steak I had ever had. The cabernet sauce was exceptionally good, although when I dipped a piece of my prime rib in it, the sauce did not pair up properly with the beef. She enjoyed her asparagus greatly.
For all that the place is centered around great beef, I felt the stand-out dish was the au gratin potatoes. The potatoes themselves were cut much the same way the roasted potatoes were, in pieces rather than the traditional slices. They were served in a gratin sauce that was, simply, the best I have ever had in my life. My wife said that the next time we go we should just order lots of sides and appetizers, just to sample all the tasty food.
Our total bill, including tax and tip, came out to over $100 for two people. We didn't have any wine, cocktails or hard liquor, so those of you who enjoy such should prepare to pay more. That said, it was thoroughly enjoyable and we will go back after we've held the charity fundraiser to afford it. Beef of this quality would run at least 50% more in Boston, and the parking would be hard to find or outrageously pricy. Frankly, this place is about an extra 50% more than your Outback or Bugaboo Creek and it is more than worth the price difference.
As we walked back to my car, we passed by the lot for the valet parking. I had passed it up at the time because I figured it would be expensive - I'm used to Boston prices. The sign said: Valet Parking, $3. Since there was on-street parking at the time I am not sorry we skipped it, but if the street gets crowded when we return we'll pay the extra.
At some point we will clearly have to try the third restaurant of the group, an Italian place just up the street from the chophouse, called Via. You might be able to watch just one part of a trilogy, but after you get the second part you have to check out the third.
Returning to the tale: we made reservations on the phone, which was vital given how busy the place is. We arrived a few minutes late, but they were still dealing with a line of reservations that had shown up shortly before us. We stood near the entrance, a little cramped since one group in front of us was a party of eight and was taking up most of the foyer space. We were seated relatively quickly, though, and got to perusing.
This is not like an Outback or a Bugaboo Creek. There's no music running in the background, no adorably creepy talking stuffed animals, not even a trace of kitsch. Despite the lack of music it gets a bit loud in the background, but not so loud that you can't talk with your dining companion. There's a very classy-looking bar section, a kitchen visible behind clean plexiglass, and there are a few different dining areas. While there are a few flat-screen TVs showing various sports, none of them had the volume on and were not in routine eye-level. The staff dress in short, stylized butcher jackets along with their white button-down shirts and black ties. It is, all in all, classy and comfortable.
The waitstaff work in teams for your table, with two people looking after even a table for two. While uncommon, this system allows for extra eyes and hands to help at a table. They initially brought over a small loaf of what looked like Italian bread or a thick baguette, cut into slim slices, wrapped in paper.
Our meal was definitely very good. We each started out with a bowl of Vidalia French onion soup au gratin ($7.99). It arrived very quickly but was still impeccably done, with plenty of very good cheese, some of their baguette for the crouton, and a tasty beef stock fortified with wine and properly cooked onions. We both felt it was slightly salty for our palates, but it is one of the best French onion soups we have eaten out of the house ever.
After the soup came the salad. My salad - comprised of a wedge of iceberg lettuce, large-chop tomatoes and (for me) Caesar dressing - was tasty, properly dressed, and came included with the cost of my entree. Normally it comes with Stilton cheese (think good bleu) and a bleu cheese dressing, but I am not a fan of bleu. The tomatoes were not quite as tasty as I might have liked, but it was the very first time I have ever eaten tomatoes that come with a salad so I cannot be considered a good judge for that. My wife ordered a baby arugula salad ($4 extra), which came with goat cheese, candied walnuts and a lemon vinaigrette. She was extremely pleased with it, remaking on how the walnuts were only lightly candied and thus still recognizably walnuts.
For our main plates we both had beef. I got their prime rib special ($21.99), which came with oven-roasted red bliss potatoes, peas with mushrooms, and a small amount of au jus; my wife ordered the Wagyu flat iron steak ($28.99), with sauteed asparagus, roasted red bliss potatoes, oyster mushrooms and a cabernet sauce. We also ordered a side dish of au gratin potatoes ($8.99) for the table. My boneless prime rib was slightly grainy in a couple of bites, but it was quite tasty and aside from those couple of bites properly done. The sides were good, but I felt the potatoes were (again) slightly salty for me. Given that I have been cutting down my salt over the past couple of years, it is probably still in the range of good for people with normal salt counts. My wife said the special breed of beef, Wagyu, was lost on her. For those of you who don't know, Wagyu beef is very well marbled. It's the US breed of Japanese Kobe beef, considered some of the best in the world and astoundingly expensive. While she felt it was wasted on her, I could tell that this was the best flat iron steak I had ever had. The cabernet sauce was exceptionally good, although when I dipped a piece of my prime rib in it, the sauce did not pair up properly with the beef. She enjoyed her asparagus greatly.
For all that the place is centered around great beef, I felt the stand-out dish was the au gratin potatoes. The potatoes themselves were cut much the same way the roasted potatoes were, in pieces rather than the traditional slices. They were served in a gratin sauce that was, simply, the best I have ever had in my life. My wife said that the next time we go we should just order lots of sides and appetizers, just to sample all the tasty food.
Our total bill, including tax and tip, came out to over $100 for two people. We didn't have any wine, cocktails or hard liquor, so those of you who enjoy such should prepare to pay more. That said, it was thoroughly enjoyable and we will go back after we've held the charity fundraiser to afford it. Beef of this quality would run at least 50% more in Boston, and the parking would be hard to find or outrageously pricy. Frankly, this place is about an extra 50% more than your Outback or Bugaboo Creek and it is more than worth the price difference.
As we walked back to my car, we passed by the lot for the valet parking. I had passed it up at the time because I figured it would be expensive - I'm used to Boston prices. The sign said: Valet Parking, $3. Since there was on-street parking at the time I am not sorry we skipped it, but if the street gets crowded when we return we'll pay the extra.
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