Chasing Concha

Everytime I mention to my Argentinian friends that I just love Conchas, they get a big laugh out of it. In fact, they can't stop laughing when I say it: Concha. Concha. Concha.

Somehow, I don't think we're speaking the same language...

As I was seeking out the famous Chicken Rico, I stumbled upon a Mexican panaderia that someone had mentioned to me but that I had forgotten.

Never one to pass on eating concha, I had to stop in and see just what my money could buy.

Hermanos Navarro is an interesting place. It's a taco joint, a bakery and pastry shop all in one. Not only did they have the usual assortment of Mexican baked goods, their menu lists such classics as Enchiladas Suizas, Camarones Encebollados, Vuelve a la Vida, tacos al pastor, tacos cesina, milanesa de pollo torta, pozole, arroz con leche y rebanada de pastel tres leches. It's a veritable Mexican feast. And...ay chihuahua! They've got chilaquiles on the menu!

Looks like a more thorough investigation of their meal is in my near future.

But I'm here not for the chilaquiles - although I could be... I'm here for the concha and, dammit, I'll take a couple of those sprinkle cookies, two chocolate frosted donuts, a cream-filled donut, that fried round thing and that bread that looks like pan de muerto. Nine dollars and seventy-five cents later, I was out the door munching on a chocolate donut.

The chocolate donut is deep fried in an oil I'm not used to. It tastes strongly of the oil and I'm wondering just what kind of oil it is. I'm worried that I'm tasting the oil because it's too old, but I forge on to honor you, gentle reader. The chocolate is dark. Much darker than anything Dunkin Donuts is willing to put on their donuts, and it's good. That bittersweet chocolate does the trick. Plus it's flaky with a nice texture but it's falling on my shirt and I hate that.

Later, I find myself at Woodberry Kitchen (go figure) and bring one of the conchas to try. I avoid telling Mariano I've got a concha because he's one of the Argentinians that can't stop laughing at me. At least the Mexican contingent at Woodberry understands.

Readers of this blog know that I've been searching for a concha that rivals the ones I had in Mexico City. So far, it's been a tough dough to knead but digging into this one from Hermanos Navarro was like being in Mexico City all over again. Soft, tender, supple, lightly sweet, airy - just delicious. Perhaps just a hair short of Cafe Bondy, but damn good.

I think I've found my place for conchas.


Hermanos Navarro
3712 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
410-522-0030

Chicken Rico

The 1/4 Chicken Special with papas fritas and rice.

I've been hearing quite a bit about this relatively new Peruvian chicken place in Highlandtown lately. Everyone seems to be saying that their chicken is, well, rico (tasty). Since I had a little time on my hands and a need to do a little shopping for some tomatillos and stuff, I made my way into the city.

Located on Highlandtown's main drag, Chicken Rico is a simple and casual affair. Formica tables with those tube extruded metal chairs with faux vinyl cushions (you know the type) that are packed with mostly people of Hispanic descent means that the food is probably pretty authentic and tasty (rico). While the dining room is simple, the open kitchen features two large wood burning chicken rotisseries that were imported from Peru (at least that's what I'm guessing since the glass doors have a Peruvian phone number on them). Inside their bellies spin racks and racks of whole chickens glistening in their own juices.

It's about 1:15 on a Sunday afternoon. Church has let out and the place is jam-packed with people. Besides myself, there are maybe three or four other non-Hispanic (gringos) people in the place. Couples, friends, families - everyone is here eating, chatting or watching Primer Impacto on the television.

As I wait to order, two attractive Peruvian women are in front of me waiting for my chicken. I think of chatting with them and asking for pointers on how to properly eat like a Peruvian. Sounds dumb, I know - but you never know...

When it's time for me to order, I ask for the 1/4 chicken special. The two girls ahead of me have taken both leg quarters from the chicken and left me with the white meat. For a moment, I briefly ponder ordering half a chicken then decide that's just too much - and white meat is better for you anyway.

By chance, the only table left is next to theirs (I promise) and I'm off to the races. For my two sides (included), I chose french fries and rice. Sure it's not as balanced as say: rice and beans, but I do love rice and fries. The fries are disappointingly cold and the rice is just ho-hum and lukewarm. It's a busy place so I can understand why they would fry large batches of fries, but these have been sitting around for a bit too long. Plus, they're those wide, frozen Simplot fries so they're not the best but the additives help them stay as crisp as possible.

Meanwhile, the girls are really getting into their chicken. They're tearing the leg and thigh pieces apart with reckless abandon - but they're still cute. Actually, they're so into their chicken that I'm nearly shocked and return to my cool fries.

My chicken is pretty darn tasty. Fresh from the oven, it's blazingly hot and served with a mayonnaise kind of sauce and a green sauce that's a bit spicy. Moist, tender and with a wonderful blend of spices: delicious. It's easily the best Peruvian chicken I've had in Baltimore.

In the end, I didn't chat it up with those two. They weren't my type. I prefer women who tear into their chicken with more reckless abandon than they did.

Maybe next time...

Chicken Rico
3728 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
410-522-2950

Induction Junction, What's Your Function?

The Waring Pro Induction Cooktop taking its' rightful place on the line.

While I was out with my nephew the other day, I noticed this Waring Pro Induction Cooktop at Williams Sonoma for $169. It's not quite a CookTek but it looked interesting.

I spent the next couple of days thinking about it and then decided, what the hell - why not? Okay, so you can't set it to a particular cooking temperature like the Cooktek, but it doesn't cost $650 either. With that in mind, off to Williams Sonoma I went.

As the staff there readily admits, this is not a usual item for them and when the display was no longer where it was on Tuesday, one of the didn't even know what I was talking about. After a few minutes, we found one on display next to some chili bowls. After a few more minutes searching, they discovered that this was their last one - but they would be happy to knock off ten percent since it was the floor model. Okay, deal - and out the door for $162, including tax.

I've had it at home for a couple of days now and it's a pretty cool device. The heat is fast and efficient but the magnetized surface area is smaller than the Cooktek. The digital controls are easy to use and I seem to have little use for the on-board timer. Otherwise, so far so good.

One of the problems with induction is that it won't work with everything and I've got a number of pans that just won't work on the cooktop. That's a bummer. But the cast iron works fine, which means I've got 90% efficiency for cooking my steaks!

Onward and I'll report back later.

Steak Paoi

Chef-in-Training Paoi and his signature steak cooked in bacon fat.

After hitting the Waverly Farmers Market and Springfield Farm loaded with groceries, Paoi and I set about making a meal before his flight back home to Las Vegas tonight.

The farmers market is on the lean side this time of year. While during the summer, you can find most anything you desire, in early January it can be slim-pickins. We arrived around 10:15am and there was a good selection to choose from, but by 11:30, the pickins were slim indeed.

At the market, we loaded up on purple broccoli, green beans, carrots, yukon gold potatoes, cilantro, rosemary, mesclun mix, cheddar cheese, Fuji apples, apple cider, baby shiitake mushrooms, trumpet mushrooms, extra-thick bacon and four smoked ham hocks.

Out at Springfield our selections were simple: just two ribeye steaks and a tour of the farm to see ducks, geese, chickens and Petunia the mother hog. Not to mention a large load of product for Woodberry.

Back at the house it was time to get to work. Paoi's got an interest in cooking so this was his meal. I was just instructing. Preheat the oven to 450F. Slice the bacon in ladron sized chunks and fry. Season the ribeye with salt and pepper. Slice a Fuji apple. Arrange a bowl of mesclun mix. Check the bacon. Warm the rice. Decide on a raspberry vinaigrette. Pull the bacon and dry. Sear the steak on one side. Mix the salad. Turn the steak and into the oven. Set the table. Grab a couple Mexican Cokes from the downstairs fridge. Open a bottle of red wine. Cut a piece of butter. Pull the steak after seven minutes and set on a plate to rest. Deglaze pan with wine. Mount with butter. Pour over steak. Serve and eat.

Not a bad way to end your visit to Maryland, I think.

Eating More Chilaquiles

Just a little something-something for breakfast.

Abacrombie Fine Food

Tuna Ceviche Amuse Bouche

My Aunt Aleli and Uncles Lito and Norman are visiting town this week which means daily family dinners. After a great meal at Woodberry Kitchen last night, they wanted to try something else so I decided to give Abacrombie a try.

Yes children, there's more to life than Abercrombie & Fitch and this Abacrombie isn't related to the other. The restaurant itself has suffered some hard times lately but new proprietor, Jerry Pellegrino of Corks fame, has taken over and placed Jess, formerly of Pazo, in the kitchen.

Wintertime means symphony time and when we arrived at 7:15pm, the place was pretty full. By 8pm, the dining room seemed like a howling desert - a stark contrast to the impossibly full Woodberry. Not to worry, just means the kitchen has more time to focus on our meal.

Split Pea Soup with apple wood smoked bacon

The first course was a Tuna Ceviche amuse bouche. A nice touch that was well-executed and just a biteful. Light, flavorful and just the right balance of lime and chili peppers.

The next course was a Split Pea Soup that had nice flavor with the apple smoked bacon but was heavily salted. Everyone commented that it was just "too salty" and that detracted greatly from the dish.

Service was a bit uneven. The soups came out with covers and while everyone elses' covers were taken away, I was left with mine as, I guess, a souvenir. Other problems were that the front of the house didn't seem to be communicating very well because they just didn't know which dish was supposed to go where. Not to mention the spotty and unpolished glassware that I could see from across the table.

My nephew, Paoi, decided to go with the Chilled Shrimp Cocktail which had me envisioning the usual U-10 frozen shrimp with their bright red-orange color. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that these were large prawns with their heads still intact and looking as though they came from Marvesta on the Eastern Shore.

Chilled Shrimp Cocktail - jumbo prawns, house made cocktail sauces

Moving on to the main courses, I decided to go with the Bistro Steak. Now, I hate to seem like an overly critical customer who wants to know where everything comes from, but I had to ask our server if the beef was local. While he mentioned that it came from Pennsylvania, he didn't know much more beyond that fact which was something I found disappointing.

The steak however, was very tasty and quite enjoyable. Topped with a bleu cheese butter, the flavor was unique and the haricots verts were really darn good. Our table shared a few side dishes of macaroni and cheese, califlower gratin and haricourt verts.

Duck Two Ways - confit leg, seared breast, celeriac/parsnip mash, baby carrots

Paoi, on the other hand, choose quite wisely with the duck. I sampled the breast and it was delicious. One thing I have to say about my nephew is that he's not too afraid of food. Seems he'll try anything, from raw oysters to raw fish to anything else, he hasn't disappointed when it comes to trying something out of the box.

Speaking of out of the box, it surprised me when our server told us as the outset that the beef cheeks were already sold out. It was only 7:30pm and sold out already? Either they were that busy and it was that popular or someone forgot to do something. It was a bit disappointing since that was the one dish I wanted to try.

Cast Iron Bistro Steak - mashed potatoes, blue cheese butter, haricots vert

The rest of our meal went by smoothly. My dessert, called "Breakfast for Dessert" was truly interesting and something that I really enjoyed. Bacon toffee - who knew? That's something to consider for future reference.

In spite of the problems I listed above, our service was quite good and they accommodated my request to build a milk sorbet plate with blood orange sauce for Paoli quite readily.

"Breakfast For Dessert" - brioche french toast, berries, maple star anise "Chantilly" and bacon toffee.

Abacrombie Fine Foods
58 West Biddle Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-837-3630
www.abacrombie.net

Hydrocolloids

Some sort of foam in Queens made from water.

Just what is this "hydrocolloid" thing all about?

My aunt Aleli (the food chemist) has an absolutely brilliant definition of hydrocolloids. One, that if I were to memorize, would absolutely blow you away with my Ivy League education and chemist credentials up the wazoo. Unfortunately for you, my gentle readers, I wasn't the summa cum laude of the family...

I barely graduated from prep school.

And hacked the grading computers in college.

But what I can tell you, in very simple terms, is that hydrocolloids are basically thickening and gelling agents that were originally designed for industrial food applications. In a nutshell, they help things stay or stick together. Ever wondered why your commercial coffee syrups (or Log Cabin, for that matter) were so thick and viscous? Lots of sugar, maybe? Nope. That viscosity can be achieved using a hydrocolloid like Xanthan Gum (a corn derivative).

Or maybe how does that Hungry Man Salisbury Steak stay together when it looks like fecal mush? Could be Methylcellulose doing it's thing.

Activa-based mozzarella "gnocchi."

But what does this have to do with food or coffee?

Some of you might be familiar with the term "molecular gastronomy" - that interesting, intellectually stimulating, imagination capturing and just plain weird method of making haute cuisine pioneered by Ferran Adria of El Bulli and carried on at places like Minibar, Alinea and WD-50. Much of this approach is due to the successful use of industrial chemicals, like the hydrocolloids, to make new and novel restaurant dishes and tasting menus.

Unlike its' portrayal in television shows like Ugly Betty or King of Queens, Queens, New York seems to be a pleasant, tree-lined suburb rather than some urban neighborhood in America's largest city. Strolling down this almost idyllic street lined with trees and grass, one gets the feeling that something exciting is about to happen.

Spike and I are in Queens to attend a class on hydrocolloids by Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa, the two rock star chefs who run Ideas In Food. If you've never read Ideas In Food, you should. It's one of my favoites and it's filled with weird, strange, odd and tasty-looking experiments in food. For the initiated, they're the ones playing with things like C-Vap, sous vide, molecular and more. Strolling up to their two-story walk-up in Queens is like knocking on Simon LeBon's door. An odd feeling that, maybe, you're not supposed to be there because they're "rock stars" and well, you're not.

Alex answers the door and he's a friendly fellow who warmly welcomes us into their home. We're the first students there so there's that slightly awkward feeling that comes when you're the first people to arrive. So...the weather's pretty nice... How 'bout them Yankees...?

Turns out that there will only be three of us today which means there will be a bit more interaction than with a larger group. The other student, Max, arrives a few minutes later and we're off to the races.

We're seated in the dining room and as we begin, I'm amazed by their library of cookbooks. I mean, I've got a lot of cookbooks, Spike has a nice collection, the Baltimore County Public Library in Towson (and home to The Spro) has an extensive collection, but Aki and Alex have got us all beat. The dining room is floor to ceiling filled with cookebooks - on all four walls. It's impressive. It's amazing. They even have the El Bulli collection - dammit! Alex offers to sell any of us the Spanish language El Bulli books and while I'm tempted, I have to admit that my Espanol sucks.

Two preparations of carrot puree.

It's an intense three hours, filled with tons of information and loads of ideas. There was discussion of a dehydrated cheese disk that melts in the mouth and thoughts of "dried coffee" came to mind. My experience with hydrocolloids has been minor, with limited applications using agar-agar and xanthan gum. Max, however, is fresh from a stage at Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck in Bray, and seems to be well-versed in how these hydrocolloids are used in fine dining applications.

What may surprise many of you is the amount used to thicken or gel the items. Typically ranging from .1% to .4% (in ratio to the product), there is rarely an example when you would use more than half a percent. It seems like minute quantities, but when you start going over .4%, things can get a bit hairy.

Basic math skills are a necessity. As is a gram scale - one that can measure to the hundreth of a gram would be best. Oh, and a pen and scratch paper as well, cause there's a bit of calculation (a calculator helps) going on to figure out the proper weights.

Max and yours truly watch as the carrots set.

Aki hangs out nearby as Alex handles the instruction. The pace is relaxed while imparting a blizzard of information. Some of it technical, most of it easy to follow along and understand. And if you wanted to get geeky about it, there's a couple texts that delve hardcore into the science of hydrocolloids - like if my Aunt Aleli were to be in attendance. He level of scientific discussion is always above my pay grade.

The two of them have got an easy patter. There's a bit of ribbing between them that comes from years of togetherness and their expertise shines through without pretense. It's a great time but I wish I could absorb and assimilate the data faster.

Spike explores the hydrocolloidial fight against gravity.

Throughout the session, there are examples on how to use each hydrocolloid. A gelling of carrot puree, of team and more. Problem is that I really need to sit down for a couple hours and compile my thoughts. A couple hours to myself being outside the scope of my reality lately.

As we progress, I make mental notes for my new shopping list: connections at CPKelco, call Le Sanctuaire, call ADM, buy a new VitaPrep blender, CookTek Induction burner, more scales, The Handbook of Hydrocolloids and tons of chemicals. While touring the WD-50 kitchen the night before, we spied a literal wall of chemicals used to create our foods. Time for a little shopping.

After class, Aki took us on a tour of their kitchen. It's a small deal but one chock-filled with toys that warm the heart and excited the soul. I mean, how many people do you know with a Berkel vacuum sealer, PacoJet, immersion bath and CVap cabinet in their home kitchens? It's what I want to have when I grow up!

Aki and Alex: rockstars of the culinary world.

After a few lingering moments and promises to keep in touch, we're back on this urban suburban road, collecting our thoughts and plotting lunch.

The lingering question in our minds is: how does this apply to what we do? Neither of us run a molecular gastronomy kind of place (at least not yet). Woodberry Kitchen is a down-home kind of cuisine while The Spro is mostly a coffee shop with a little experimentation, but not much.

For me, the techniques are exciting but the USBC states that a signature drink must be "drinkable." Which means that creating a "Cappuccino Knot" is out of the question. Although, that "Coffee Disk" that melts in the mouth might be a viable alternative.

But this is what separates the Men from the Boys and the Wheat from the Chaff. Time to study hydrocolloids more, figure out how to use it in our context and get to work.

The Life of Living Dangerously

Spike and I headed up to New York City under the guise of education but with the secret agenda of sampling new frontiers in cuisine. I'm the kind of person who readily joins a meal just to see what it's all about and, admittedly, I've been to some great restaurants - but usually I stick to one serious meal per evening.

When you're travelling with The Spike (as I would find out), one serious meal is just not enough.

While my recent trip to Los Angeles seemed like a continual feeding with multiple stops throughout the day, our trip to NYC would be more like an assault than simply a meal. The reason for our trip was a Hydrocolloid class being held Monday morning by Aki and Alex of Ideas In Food, one of my all-time favorite blogs. When we started thinking about places to eat, some of the "usual" places came to mind: per se, Restaurant Daniel, Masa and a few others. However, it being a Sunday night and so close to New Year's meant that most of the spots we immediately thought of were either on vacation or closed on Sundays. When we were originally talking about a dinner at per se, Spike threw out the thought of an early dinner at per se and then a late-night excursion to Momofuku.

Not too bad, I thought. Later, I would find out just how bad it could be.

Hurtling north on Interstate 95, and at nearly the same speed, the topic of dinner came up once again and it was decided that we would try to hit Wylie Dufresne's much-lauded chapel to molecular gastronomy, WD-50. But, Spike floated, why don't we hit WD-50 early and then do a later meal at Momofuku around 11pm? That sounded reasonable. I'm game. Entonces, if Momofuku is open until 2am, then maybe we should go to P*Ong beforehand...

Smart people know better than to cram three dinners into one night.

I never make foolish statements about my being smart...

Three restaurants and twenty-four courses in six hours. It was a veritable Gastronomic Tour de Force. Never had I attempted such a feat. Perhaps never again should I ever attempt that feat. The food was stimulating and amazing. Some courses were just "meh", while others absolutely dazzled.

Later, Spike would compliment us on our frugality. It would take mere mortals no less than three days to eat the same meals we ate in twenty-four hours. When you consider that we saved two nights of hotel bills and time lost from work, it becomes easy to see the wisdom in pursuing such a culinary schedule.

Of course, I would pay for that wisdom until 3:30 in the morning and live with the slight queasiness that comes from surviving such a feat until the next nights' dinner at Esca - another full-on attack on a restaurant menu by the Dynamic Duo.

To the casual reader, this may seem like outright gluttony. I would be foolish to try to argue otherwise. However, sin or no sin, it was a tremendous education in food, flavors, service and presentation. Each restaurant had a different approach and different philosophy. Each is well-regarded in its' own right. My palate and understanding of food and service is expanded. And for someone in the food and hospitality business, this is not a trivial matter. But would I attempt a similar Tour de Force again?

As sentient, learning creatures, our species survives through experience and learning from those experiences. One would think that eating three meals in one night and suffering for it would teach that smart creature not to do that in the future.

I never said I was smart...

Esca

The Opening Round: Venetian Spritz and a Cosmopolitan.

The one-week old extra virgin olive oil and grilled bread.

Bean Bruschetta amuse bouche.

House-made foccaccia and a baked somewhere else sourdough.

Fluke Crudo.

Yellowtail Crudo.

Geo Duck Crudo.

A sampling of Spanish Mackerel.

Maccheroni alla Chitarra - with lump crabmeat and sea urchin.

Preparing the Triglia.

Triglia- Red Snapper.

Fritto Misto Amalfitano - low temperature fried skate, skrod, calamari, shrimp, oysters and steamers.

Contorni- a side of potatoes.

Crespelle - crepe with pomegranites and caramel.

Ice Cream & Sorbet Sampler of tangerine, almond milk and cherry.

A too hot cappuccino.

A sampling of biscotti, cookie and chocolate brownie.

Esca
402 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
212-564-7272
www.esca-nyc.com

Bonita

Lime Soup

Queso Flautas

Veggie Tacos

Enchiladas de Huajillo

Bonita Restaurant - Williamsburg
338 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-384-9500
www.bonitanyc.com

Momofuku Ssam Bar

Barron Point Oysters - with kimchi consomme

Cured Hamachi - edamame, horseradish, pea leaves.

Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Ham (Madisonville, TN)

Steamed Buns - pork belly, hoisin, cucumber, scallions.

Pork Short-Rib Clay Pot (Newman Farms, MO) - fingerling potatoes & pine nuts.

Marinated Hanger Steak Ssam - ginger scallion, kimchi, bibb lettuce.

Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003
212-254-3500
www.momofuku.com

P*Ong

Cara Cara Orange - avocado, candy striped beets, chevre, baby greens, agrumato olive oil.

Berkshire Pork - black pepper, sweet potato, almond, scallion, pineapple-soy caramel.

Stilton Souffle - walnut crust, black pepper, basil-arugula ice cream.

Fresh Porcini and Polenta Pudding on a Skillet - garlic, parmesan, mascarpone.

P*Ong
150 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10014
212-929-0898

www.p-ong.com

WD-50

The Pastis.

Table Bread.

Bay scallops, kohlrabi, currant, smoked white beans.

Pizza Pebbles, pepperoni puree, dried shiitake.

"Knot Foie"

Hamachi Tartare, sea beans, sake lees tahini, grapefruit-shallot.

"Eggs Benedict" - Egg yolk, bacon & fried hollandaise.

"French Onion Soup" - beef consomme,onion puree, encapsulated cheese, bread.

Cuttlefish, squash, chamomile, orange, toast oil.

Lamb belly, black chickpea, cherried cucumber.

Yogurt, saffron, raisin.

Toasted coconut cake, carob, smoked hazelnut, brown butter sorbet.

Soft white chocolate, potato, malt, white beer ice cream.

"Menthol Cocoa" with marshmallow.

WD-50
50 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
212-477-2900
WD-50