100...no..7 places to eat like a local

A few weeks ago I posted a link to a CNN iReport project with Travel + Leisure magazine.  They are looking for "100 Places to Eat Like a Local."  I couldn’t help but throw into the mix a few of my favorite places to enjoy authenticity.

Hop Kee, New York City – I found this place almost 25 years ago, wandering the streets of NYC’s Chinatown with college friends.  In search of a place to eat, we were saying we didn’t want a place that catered to Americans; we wanted authenticity.  A woman leaned out a second story window and yelled at us in Chinese, pointing at some stairs and a door, mostly unmarked.  We pointed to confirm what appeared to be her directions.  We descended the stairs and entered a large dining room filled with Chinese.  A server quickly sat us and handed us menus – in Chinese.  He swiftly returned, we explained that we had no idea what to eat but were willing to eat anything, could he please choose for us.  He treated us to a feast of incredible flavors and textures.  This was the best Chinese food I had ever had…but I didn’t know the name of the place.  Years, many years, later I was watching Anthony Bordain’s No Reservations.  He was discussing the decline of authentic Cantonese restaurants in Chinatown.  Then he wandered down some stairs into the same simple dining room I had enjoyed this wonderful feast all those years ago…Hop Kee , http://hopkeenyc.com/, 21 Mott St, (At Mosco St)

Da Tonino, Rome, Italy – Da Tonino is just on the outer fringe of the tourist-plagued regions of ancient Rome, just to the southwest of Piazza Navona.  But odds are you won’t see too many in here.  The restaurant is hardly marked, has no printed menu and seemingly operates without a computer or even a calculator in sight.  Once you are seated in the simple and very intimate dining room a server will tell you what you can eat; maybe they will point out a chalkboard.  When your food arrives prepare to be amazed.  This is authentic, peasant, simple Italian food.  The pasta alla carbonara is the best I have ever had.  Savor each bite, as you will be hard pressed to find food this good at such a price in this city.  When you are done a server will drop by and scribble an amount due on your paper table setting.  You will swear they didn’t charge you for something.  I am not entirely sure this place is a real, legal business.  It has the feel  of an impromptu pop-up, but I know it has been here for years.  The food is worth the trip to Rome.  Via del Governo Vecchio, 18

Ristorante Pizzeria I Monaci, Assisi, Italy  - An Italian friend took me here and said she thought it was the best pizza in Italy.  I thought that was a pretty tall compliment.  After eating at Monaci many, many times I suspect she is right.  In recent years this place seems to have been discovered by daytime tourists in Assisi, but it remains quite accessible and excellent in the evening.  Wood fired in a small oven, your pizza might take a while, but it will be worth it.  La Ghiotta, the Glutton, is one of my favorite pizzas here. This has sausage, prosciutto and an egg dropped in the middle.  Heavenly.  They don’t roll and puncture their dough after spreading it out, so you get bubbles in the crust which add a great texture.  The tomato sauce is just tomatoes….no sugar, no paste, and as far as I can tell, no seasoning or olive oil either.  Maybe, just maybe, some salt.  But I think it’s just straight, authentic, simple, fresh, high-quality tomatoes.  Just a few nice chunks of sausage and all of it covered with gently rippled sheets of delicate prosciutto and a nice glow of a cooking egg sitting in the middle. Pizza Romana is great….perfectly salty, plump capers, generous heaps of anchovies…mmmmmmmm.  But get more than just pizza – salads are great.  Try some spaghetti aglio e olio….garlic and olive oil.  Could not be any simpler nor any better on a hot night.  Followed up with some limoncello….a perfect Italian evening. Via Giuseppe Verdi, 10

Chez Denise, Paris, France (not far from the Louvre) – Walking in at lunch time on a weekday, and I am the only tourist in sight.  Long and narrow, simply furnished with red and white checked table clothes, I am ferried to the back, the last table before the kitchen.  A server swings by with a large chalkboard listing entrees.  Peasant French food…nothing fancy – kidneys, brains, tripe, lamb, foie gras, simple fish dishes.  I go for my first brains.  Dishes arrive and everyone’s looks amazing, with large, hearty helpings.  A large platter of incredible pommes frites is placed on the table.  Everything tastes amazing.  Other diners are slipping out, back to work.  We stay and enjoy a dessert and some Armagnac.  Another Armagnac.  We are the only ones left in the restaurant.  The lights are turned off.  “Should we leave?”  “Non, non….rester ici.”  Another Armagnac.  Finally, after hours of conversation and wonderful food and service it is time to leave.  The bartender has to unlock the door for us.  We have to find a place for dinner.  5 rue Prouvaires

Osteria dei Pazzi, Florence, Italy – I never come to Firenze without a stop to see the Pazzi.  Without fail they have the same gregarious wait staff, the same retired, boisterous, crazy history teacher cooking in the kitchen and the same wonderful, fresh food.  Decorated by incongruous hangings from the ceiling and a row of communist-themed vodkas, you can always count on a good time.  Their pastas are always seasonal, fresh and soul-warming.  Their seafood is among the best I have had.  On my last visit they treated me to a rarity – whole octopus, grilled, still containing organs.  For those who enjoy offal, an octopus head is a treasure.  But don’t stop there… crostini, bruschetta, beef carpaccio, mozzarella buffala, tomatoes, assorted cheeses and cured meats – all wonderful, and just on the edge of the touristy areas of Florence, not far from Santa Croce, so it is convenient, but not mobbed. Via dei Lavatoi, 3

Onesto (Giorgio) Luxembourg Ville, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – This wonderful Italian spot is well off the tourist routes, but by only a block.  It is small, intimate – in that you will be very, very close to your neighbors – and noisy.  If you are shy or averse to being flirted with, avoid.  You will feel like you are in Rome.  The pastas are excellent, including spaghetti bolognese and amazing pesto.  Pizza is authentic, cooked in a wood-fired oven made by the same pizzaiola for the last 30 years.  And none of it will break the bank.  And it is my second favorite pizza in the world, after Monaci in Assisi.  Rue du Nord 11

Cantina Mayahuel, San Diego, California  - I crave this place every few weeks but sadly get there about once per year.  It is an amazing tequila bar; you will be hard pressed to find a greater selection or more knowledgeable and passionate staff.  And the owner created every bit of the place – the silverware was crafted by him, the bar, seats and table designed by him and each tequila carefully selected by him.  You will feel like you are in rustic Mexico.  Beautiful salsa and mole – fresh, bright flavors you will dream about.  Somewhat ambivalent staff gives a quirky, devil-may-care attitude.  Come if you love tequila and real Mexican food, stay away if you are high maintenance. 2934 Adams Ave. (at 30th St) 

I have a few others, but I won't share them here.  I need to keep them undiscovered.  But I will happily take you.

Tour de Monterey

Comfort food is an edible hug.  It can be most anything, but it automatically transports you to a place and a feeling.  Normally that feeling is of warmth and love.  That comfort food feeds the soul its fuel.  I have enough comfort foods in my life to write dozens of these entries.  But I need to start with a 62 mile bike ride for a salami sandwich.

When I was a teenager my family lived in Luxembourg, a cycling-crazed nation nestled between France, Germany and Belgium.  My Peugeot road bike was my freedom on which I explored most of that country.  As a fourteen year old I spent virtually all daylight hours on my bike, often hanging out with friends, but just as often out in the countryside soaking in sycamore-lined roads through miles of farms and miniature, story-book villages, castle ruins, and vineyards.  I would stop and eat from time to time and one of my favorite snacks was a simple salami sandwich on a baguette with butter and a Coke.  A summer day could hardly be better enjoyed than out in the middle of the European countryside with my sandwich and my bike.  

This past summer my family bought me my first road bike since college.  I have been riding it with childlike joy throughout the Santa Cruz area, particularly enjoying its beautiful coast and feeling like I am 14 again.  I am blessed with some great friends who also road bike, so we planned a big ride around Monterey Bay.  I figured we could make it a family event – the guys would head out at sunrise, circle the bay and meet our families at a park on the other side.  I knew immediately what I needed for my picnic lunch – that salami sandwich!

We had a stunningly gorgeous ride – the sunrise silhouetted the cement ship of Aptos, migrant workers picked strawberries in Watsonville backdropped by the Bay, seals barked at Moss Landing, the tourists strolled in Cannery Row, and golfers went for par in Spanish Bay.  The most surprising part to me was the way the farmland brought me back to Luxembourg.  The soil mixed with morning air creates a scent that only comes from a farm.  Almost 30 years later, here I am again – exploring on a bike, cruising through farmland, using all my senses to remember it all. And there’s a salami sandwich waiting for me. 

After a morning on the bike, we pull into the park and are greeted by our families.  My stepdaughter pulls out a giant sandwich she made, and I know it’s for me.  If it weren’t for the soreness, I would swear I was 14 again!  The kids run and yell, occasionally running past the picnic tables to snag a carrot or a chip.  The adults are charmed by the grins and giggles of the infants.  The dads relax, telling our wives of the beauty of sunrise, the colors of the surf, or how “easy” 62 miles on a bike really was.  As I eat my sandwich, savoring the combination of brie, salami and crusty bread, I am in the Luxembourgish countryside again with a world to explore, surrounded by family and friends and a life of dreams ahead of me. 

The Sandwich

Comfort foods can change, they can be dressed up and altered to meet our evolving tastes and needs.  The salami sandwich of my youth really was nothing more than a handful of salami on butter-slathered baguette.  In my 20s I discovered it dressed up in Paris – add arugula and some brie and you have a wonderful adult version of the same sandwich – and it tastes beautiful as you stroll around Notre Dame’s exterior.  My post-ride comfort sandwich was much the same – a crusty baguette, lots of butter, a few large slabs of brie and more salami than you think is appropriate.  Partner that with some San Pellegrino mineral water, some chips, carrots and follow it with some amazing chocolate chip cookies – now that is an edible hug.

Food Holds Us Together

Part of what I wish to explore is the role of food in building community.  I believe we must be the change we wish to see in our world.  But that is easy to say.  And we can truly live by our convictions.  But how do we share our ideas and passions?  How do we use our passions to actively create a better world?  I hope we can find answer to such questions, and I truly believe they might be found in the kitchen and at the dinner table.  This article in Saveur highlights many of these ideas.  Enjoy.  Happy cooking, joyous eating!   

Family and Donuts

Honoring family and food this weekend…  

 This weekend we stopped at Los Angeles landmark Randy’s Donuts in honor of my wife’s grandfather, Tranquilino Cipres.  He passed away in August.  Years ago he was a plasterer in LA.  Among his early projects was plastering the giant donut that has since become  an LA monument seen by millions as they land at LAX or watch such things as Iron Man 2 or Randy Newman’s "I Love LA" video.  He went on to plaster some of the most famous buildings in LA, worked in many film studios and worked on the homes of such celebrities as Bob Hope, Liberace and Linda Ronstadt.  

As for Randy’s… GREAT donuts!  This will become a regular stop for us when we are in Southern California.  Open 24 hours a day, always fresh donuts, always delicious!

Here’s to you, Great-Grandpa!

Comforts amongst devastation

There's no denying the power or importance of comfort food... Check out how comfort food is helping the survivors of Sandy cope.

Local eateries

When you want to eat where the locals eat, where do you you go?  Share at CNN -  http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/travel/eat-like-a-local/index.html?hpt=hp_bn10

Building a Family in the Kitchen

Most often familial bonds are formed naturally, from birth.  The connection between child and parent is innate.  Some such families will define their relationships through sports, others through faith, at the dinner table and most through a combination of many family activities, experiences and shared life.  But they all have the advantage of time and nature.

My situation, like so many modern families, is different.  I am a stepdad to my partner’s two incredible children.  Forming bonds with them is exciting, challenging, and a daily, deliberate effort.  While a birthparent can rest assured with the presence of unconditional love due to unquestioned biology, for me it is not quite as simple. 

A few years ago I walked into an amazing relationship and immediately found myself a parent to two kids, a dog owner, and caretaker for a home…in a new part of the country with a new job.  To make it all work I needed to carve out my niche and figure out exactly what my role could be.  Together with my wife we decided we needed to start with the simplest, most basic of my passions to share.  We would begin with sharing food; I knew the kitchen and the dining table would be my place to form the bonds, express the love, and form this new family.  

Food would be the foundation on which I would do my part to build us.

In these pages I will be sharing much of our life in the kitchen and at the table.  But first let me share a little of what we have done over the years to get us to this point…

Sunday dinners – My wife’s family has a long standing tradition of ‘Sunday Family Dinner’ and they have always included anyone and everyone who was available.  We’ve had Sunday dinners with just the four of us, but more often than not there have been 8 to 10 at the table.  And in a way these are not elaborate affairs.  We try a new recipe, throw some things together or plan a particular celebration – but it is always casual, marked by a lot of time talking and listening to music in the kitchen, at the table and then cleaning, most often to The Big Chill soundtrack.

Friday Night Pizza Night – This too was in place before I arrived.  Every Friday night on which we have no other plans the four of us make pizzas and watch a kid’s movie.  The kids demand it now.  Sometimes my wife and I sit with the kids, sometimes we make a fancy pizza or something completely different and eat while the kids watch.  The bottom line is that it is a tradition for the four of us.  We don’t invite friends, we don’t veer from the menu.  We’ve watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Wizard of Oz, James and the Giant Peach, Howl’s Moving Castle, Labrynth, The Neverending Story, The Muppet Movie and many less memorable flicks.  And we have many movies we can’t wait to see as the kids get older.  

Nation nights – Nation nights are our way to travel without leaving home.  The four of us gather decorations, music and food from one country and make-over the dining room so we can “travel” for dinner.  We’ve been to Italy, France and Mexico.  We teach the kids a few key words in the native language, eat food from the region, watch a travel video and then try to find a kid’s movie that fits – Pinocchio for Italy, for example.   We look forward to Japan, Germany, Brazil, Belgium, China, Thailand, Morocco and the rest.   

My 40^th birthday – For my 40^th birthday my wife surprised me by having me make dinner for family and friends.  To me, this really was a gift.  I am happiest running around the kitchen creating wonderful food for people.  Fourteen people came to dinner, and I made my favorite comfort food, Pasta alla Carbonara.  Telling you all about the dish is for another essay.  What is important from this night is important for all great celebratory cooking events.  Just before the dish was done we gathered everyone to the table so they could be seated and ready; carbonara must be served and enjoyed hot.  Then my wife and I walked in individual bowls of the pasta for everyone and one giant steaming bowl for secondi.  The presentation kicked off the meal…of course.  The lesson is what followed.  There were the mmmms and ahhhhhs but most of all there was an hour or so of lovely conversation, laughter and fun at the table.  The food was a backdrop.  Not an after thought by any means, but the event was about family, connection, love…the food provided the canvas.  I knew it was a successful dinner not because of compliments about the food, but the joyous noise at the table.  

     

Pasta – My stepson’s favorite food is pasta.  On his birthdays he has pasta for all three meals.  And I certainly love pasta and could eat a pasta dish virtually every day.  I suggested to the kids that making our own pasta could be fun.  We gave it a try one afternoon.  It didn’t actually turn out, but we got all messy with dough, learned about moisture and kneading, and various shapes of pasta.  The point really wasn’t the finished product – it was the process.  The kids and I laughed and played, and to this day they want to do it again and see if we can get it right.

Heart Shaped Meatballs – For Valentines’ Day every year we have spaghetti and meatballs.  This began as we were looking for something red to have for the day.  A red sauce with pasta seemed obvious.  Then one of us suggested making meatballs shaped like hearts.  The kids and I did our best, but we really ended up with heart-shaped mini meatloafs.  But we had a blast doing it and now we do it every year.

The bottom line for me is that forming the parental bonds with my two stepchildren takes a conscious, careful, deliberate effort.  Without forcing it, I am trying to form some of the most important bonds that can exist between people.  Food has become my vehicle.  So we eat dinner together every evening and share the events of the day.  We talk about school, friends or whatever is on our minds.  And we always talk about food.  The kids know I love food.  They make suggestions for what we should eat.  They love asking questions.  They love requesting something they’ve never had.  They now jump in and help cook from time to time.  And it has been through the sharing of food that we have begun to form those bonds that make us a new, modern family.     

Every Body Eats

This week we attended the Every Body Eats event here in Santa Cruz.  The panel discussion featured some amazing people – Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, John Robbins author of The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less and The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World , Jim Cochran from Swanton Berry Farm, Randall Grahm from Bonny Doon Vinyards, Jamie Smith of the Santa Cruz City Schools, Darrie Ganzhorn of the Homeless Garden Project, and Dr. Wallace J. Nichols of the Blue Marbles Project.

We managed to make it another Date Night and started the evening at Burger again.  I can confirm my positive review from an earlier post.  We enjoyed a vegetarian burger that was excellent, a couple Slop Sloppie Joes that were great and some fries and salad.  More important to note was the joyful service of our bartender, Shawn.  He was our bartender a few weeks ago also.  On this night they were short a bartender and were dealing with an enthusiastic crowd for the Game 2 of the World Series.  Shawn was hustling – doing his best to stay on top of drink orders, food requests, general bar maintenance and pouring beers and wine from the other bar located about 40 feet away.  He performed with panache and ease, epitomizing the adage, “Never let them see you sweat.”  Well done – we will return.

On our way into the event we were treated with free ice cream from the Penny Creamery.  This is a place you must try.  The free treat – mint ice cream on an obviously home-made cone.  The mint was incredible, far, far superior to anything found in a grocery store and guaranteed to make anyone smile in amazement.  Once inside the Santa Cruz High School Theater we were treated to a thoughtful discussion of the intersection of food, science, economics and politics.  

Dialogue began with a discussion between Robbins and Pollan about California’s Proposition 37 which would force food providers to label genetically modified foods.  I took away from this a few ideas.  First, or the good of our families, do we not all want to know what is in our food?  It isn’t about what is or is not harmful – it is about simply having all the necessary information from which the consumer can make individual, informed decisions.  Yet opponents are spending a million dollars per day to defeat this – and that is far more money that the supporters.  The health issue for us here is pesticides.  It is not about taste or nutrition.  It is about the amount of pesticides found in and on our food.  For much there is not enough science to determine the health effects of ingesting these foods…but don’t you want to know if those pesticides are there in the meantime?  In regards to the money being spent and big agribusiness’s efforts to defeat this, I think Robbins had the key quote, “Ignorance is not bliss; it is subordination.”  Check out www.carighttoknow.org for more info.  Next, we all need to learn more about BT Pesticide.  I don’t know enough to say much here, but the fact that it can be engineered to occur in our food and therefore is ingested by us following genetic modification is enough to make it a priority for me.  My final take-away from this portion of the evening was this thought: eaters need representation on the Congressional Agriculture Committee to have input in the writing of the Farm Bill.  The committee needs some urban representation.  Is there fertile ground for a food-oriented consumers’ lobby?  Is there such a thing already?

At this point the other panelists joined Pollan and Robbins on stage.  From each panelist these are my take-aways:

Jamie Smith, Santa Cruz City Schools’ Food Services Manager – Our schools should be centers of community service and should be places where kids are safe from harm…and this includes the food supply.  SC Schools have gone to cooking from scratch and using local ingredients.  This has provided numerous learning opportunities for everyone involved.

Jim Cochran, Swanton Berry Farm – Labor issues must be part of the dialogue about our food supply.  If we are serious about caring for our environment and the economy re: our food supply, then getting informed about labor practices is vital.

Darrie Ganzhorn, Homeless Garden Project, Santa Cruz County’s first CSA – Similar to Cochran’s thoughts, Ganzhorn asked, what is the link between the food movement and homelessness?  None of the issues of our day and place exist in a vacuum.  When we realize the interconnectedness of the issues and bring the leaders of various movements and organizations to the table, they can more effectively coordinate to make real change.

Randall Grahm, Bonny Doon Vinyards – There are wines of effort and wines of terroir.  There are wines for which the maker determines every step of production and therefore taste, and others for which taste all comes from place, weather, and soil of the grapes.  A wine of terroir is low-tech and far more interesting.  Grahm is now trying to develop a very low-tech, very traditional vineyard in San Juan Bautista, and I cannot wait to see what the results are.   

Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, The Blue Marble Project – “The ocean is downstream from our entire economy, “ and everything we consume and all of its packaging eventually ends up in the ocean.  If we care enough to eat organic, local, seasonal, can we care enough to have it all packaged responsibly?  Recently his team found a sea turtle with 3400 pieces of plastic in his digestive system.

My final take-away was this:  We all care about our food for different reasons.  We all have our pet issues.  We are not mutually exclusive.  We need to get to the table, coordinate, share and change our food systems for the good of our children and our collective future.