Iron Chef America 3/23 — Tyson Cole, sushi master of Texas, challenged his idol Morimoto in Battle Ginger. Alton Brown told us there were five types of ginger on offer, and then proceeded to explain what four of them were. What was the fifth variety?! Morimoto seemed to be falling behind, and yelled a lot more than usual. During the judging of Cole’s food, Jeffrey Steingarten leaned over and read another judges notes (her name was Pim). He agreed with her “where’s the ginger” sentiment, and that pretty much summed up the whole thing. Morimoto won (of course). (Food Network, Sunday at 10pm)

Last Restaurant Standing 3/25 — The elimination challenge continued the theme of staff management, this time with a catered affair at Blenheim Palace. Mike and Ed, the somber brothers, seemed doomed from the start. They didn’t prepare their food well, they didn’t give their staff a meal break, etc. There was some funny stuff when the rugby players fed by Martin and Emma stole some of Lloyd and Adua’s champaign, and when Mike realized he had brought only one pan to cook all 50 steaks, but it was pretty obvious who was going to be cut. Mike and Ed (and the horrendously named Treacle Well restaurant) were out. Raymond Blanc told Martin and Emma that they were getting another chance, but said it’s “the last one.” (BBC America, Tuesday at 9pm)

Bizarre Foods 3/25 — Zimmern went back to his home state of Minnesota, where there are lots of Scandinavians. He ate a stinky brown cheese called Gamalost, which popular legend has it is cured in manure. Even the proprietor of the shop said that it doesn’t taste like cheese. Zimmern agreed, saying that it tasted like “spoiled meat.” Yum? Then he gave us a tutorial on lutefisk, which he said was more popular in MN than in the “home country.” Lutefisk is dried fish, imported from Norway. First they soak it in water for a few days, then they add lye (or caustic soda) to the mix, making it deadly poisonous. Then they soak it in fresh water for 7-9 days to make it eatable, and then they usually whiten the fish with hydrogen peroxide. Zimmern admired the finished product in all its “translucent glory,” and described the taste as salty and fishy with a jelly-like consistency. Then came some boring stuff, lots of deep-fried foods on sticks at a state fair and an ancient woman named Marjorie Johnson who has been winning blue ribbons at bake-offs for hundreds of years. I did find it interesting that both General Mills and Cargill are located in MN. There was a meat raffle which was even more boring than the state fair, and then Zimmern traveled to his hometown of St Paul and ate at Heartland Restaurant where they use almost all local products (for the show they made an all-wild boar meal). At the White Earth Ojibwe Reservation, he helped harvest wild rice, and ate suckerhead fish soup. The head of the fish is perhaps the most disgusting thing I have ever seen Zimmern eat — it looked like something from the Chinese Restaurant in Existenz. There was also a sauerkraut pie (made just for him), a burger with peanut butter and mayo, and deep-fried whitefish livers. (Travel Channel, Tuesday at 10pm)

Top Chef 3/26 — We opened on the two bearded lunatics (Andrew and Spike) in a tickle fight, and it was all downhill from there. Rick Bayless was the guest judge, and the quickfire challenge was to reinvent the lowly taco as a fine dining experience. Half of the chefs decided to just make street-style tacos, because they are idiots. Erik’s plate looked horrible as always. The two beards were in the top three, but Richard Blais won for his jicama-wrapped taco (he made three — one for each judge and one for himself!). The prize was immunity AND Bayless will add Richard’s dish to the menu at one of his restaurants. Then came the elimination challenge — cater a block party. Really? And the chefs had to get the ingredients from the people in the neighborhood. Really? The neighbors had pantries that had obviously been stocked by Bravo and the Top Chef sponsors, and I almost gave up. All of the people who made the worst dishes worried about them early. Zoi was unhappy about having to make pasta salad, and then made lousy pasta salad. Erik worried that his corndogs would get soggy in transport, and they did. Nikki was afraid her mac & cheese would turn into a dry brick, and… I think you can guess. I don’t think Nikki is long for this competition. Luckily, Padma showed up looking lovely in a t-shirt and jeans, and the eating began. The Blue team played to the judges and made some upscale stuff, while the Red team went the burgers and dogs route (except Dale, doing his own thing, made an fancy shish kebab). In their words, they went “simple for the locals on the block.” Ouch. The Blue team won, but only by a small margin; none of the food was very good. Stephanie won the challenge (this is her second in three episodes). The Red team had a very hard time accepting that they lost, even with all of their soggy food. Erik and his corndogs were booted. Next week: Boulud and Roeper! FYI — according to a viewer poll, more people think there will be a female Top Chef before there will be a female President. (Bravo, Wednesday at 10pm)

Posted by Howard

I never heard of a torta before. When you think of Mexican food you think burritos or tacos or tamales. It’s also said to think that many people believes Taco Bell is the real thing…*sigh. Anyways, it took my friend in LA to tell me about tortas from King Taco, she’s not a big Mexican so for her to rave about this beef torta I had to go try. I don’t really remember how it was since it was 2 years ago but I’m sure it was good, haha..ha. So one late drunken night, my friends and I were in search for food. Some of us went straight to the pizza place while some of us were attracted to the pretty green neon lights. We decided to go into Tacos Nuevo Mexico because there were enough seats for the 6 of us and I didn’t feel like having pizza. And damit, pizza places don’t serve margaritas! Going through the menu, it’s a pretty big menu, I saw TORTA! HHmmmmmmm…….Mexican sausage and egg torta, DONE! Again, writing this right now trying to think back what the torta was like is difficult. I only remember it being very good but was looking for the egg. I didn’t see no egg but it was good. So this time I went for the roast pork torta (next time I should get 2, 1 torta barely fills me up) and I have decided that the bread of the torta was what made this sandwich so good. The bread was soft and chewy. I’m tempted to ask them where they get their bread from.

- Tacos Nuevos Mexico 491 5th Ave btw 11th St & 12th St

Posted by Donny

When I was working on the Upper East Side, Saigon Grill was my favorite place to eat. The food was great, though the restaurant itself had an almost cafeteria-like atmosphere. With its chipped formica tables, flourescent lighting, plastic potted plants, and service that was a notch above indifferent, Saigon Grill seemed to be communicating a message to diners: nothing pretentious here, just great Vietnamese food. During off hours the staff would sit in the dining room, trimming vegetables for later service or eating their own meals. There was always a table available for one, no matter how busy it was.

Unlike many Vietnamese retsuarants I have been to, there was a large vegetarian section on the menu, and many of the rice and noodle dishes could be made vegetarian. I was especially fond of the vegetarian Bun, room temperature rice noodles covered with cooked vegetables, but the curries were very good as well. The Rau Cai curry came served on noodles, with rice on the side, and a flat pancake for wrapping. Somehow all of these disparate elements came together beautifully with the heavy, spicy curry. Both the summer rolls and the spring rolls were underwhelming, but the Rau-Cai Nuong was a real star. It was simply large chunks of vegetables grilled on skewers, served with a peanut dipping sauce. The vegetables were always grilled to perfection, especially the broccoli, an unlikely candidate for girrling. The broccoli florets came out crispy while the stalk came out crunchy, a true marvel. I’m still unsure of how they accomplished this.

I was disappointed when they closed it down for “renovations,” though I heard rumors of a new branch opening up south of Union Square. Time went by and the UES restaurant never reopened, and then I started working in Brooklyn and Saigon Grill fell off of my radar. Recently I was in the Union Square area around lunch time, and decided to check it out.

My first thought upon entering the new Saigon Grill was that I had accicdentally gone into the wrong restaurant. The new location has high ceilings with fancy light fixtures, dark wood paneling with recessed bottles of wine in impeccable lines. It’s also about five times the size of the UES location, and at lunch was incredibly busy. I saw men in ties, families crowded around tables, couples trying to enjoy an intimate moment. None of these people would have felt at home in the old location, though they obviously felt at home here. I felt out of place, though I was immediately shown to a table for one. I was comforted by the sight of the trio of chili sauces on each table, just as I was used to.

The menu, despite its fancified padding, looked the same. I ordered my favorite vegetarian Bun, though I was disappointed to see that the lunch special price was now $7.25, up from $5.25 on the UES (the Bun is $8.25 outside of lunch). My food came just as quickly as it used to, thanks in part to what seemed to be an army of wait staff stalking the dining room. It certainly looked the same, a huge portion served in a plain white bowl.

One bite was all it took to put my mind at ease. The reason that I love the Bun so much is the contrasts in taste, texture, and temperature. The salty cooked vegetables with the sweet carrot salad, the soft rice noodles with the crunchy veg, and the cold noodles with the warm topping; each bite gives you different proportions of those sensations. It makes you want to keep eating it, until suddenly you’re staring at the bottom of an empty bowl.

So I am torn about this transformation for Saigon Grill. The food is just as good as it always was, but a restaurant is more than just its food. I am glad that they seem to be successful, but in their change they seem to have left behind what I liked about eating there. Perhaps its my fault; I always felt like Saigon Grill was the kind of neighborhood joint that you could surprise a friend with. Its newer incarnation make it feel to me like any other, run-of-the-mill upscale Asian restaurant. If that’s what I wanted in a Vietnamese restaurant I have lots of choices, and Saigon Grill wouldn’t be at the top of that list.

Saigon Grill — 91 University Place

Posted by Howard

Do something good with that big brain of yours — use it do have rice donated to the UN World Food Program. When you play Free Rice you have the opportunity to do something good while wasting time.

Besides, how else would you know that “usurious = extortionate”? My current high-score is a vocab level of 47.

http://freerice.com/

Posted by Howard

I wanted to cook with the foraged food as quickly as possible, to minimize the amount of time between the soil and my belly. I used a couple of tips that the “Wildman” mentioned on the tour, and adapted them to my kitchen and pantry.

I made a salad using some greens I had purchased at the Farmer’s Market, and augmented it with the baby dandelions, hedge mustard, and goutweed, as well as chopped wild carrots and evening primrose root (which tastes like radish), all from the foraging tour. The vinaigrette was both simple and delicious. It consisted of a half of a shallot (also from the Farmer’s Market) finely chopped, and the finely chopped root of the mustard garlic (gathered on the tour), which tastes of wasabi. Salt, pepper, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, and olive oil completed the dressing. It was all refreshing, the carrots and evening primrose adding an earthy sweetness to the salad, and the mustard root added a nice bite to the dressing.

Next i concentrated on side dishes. I blanched the day lilies in some salted water for about 30 seconds, as the “Wildman” said they tasted like green beans. After they cooked, I shocked them in cold water to stop the cooking and set the color. They were very good, the texture almost like the green part of the scallion but with a much milder, green taste. In a large saute pan over medium heat, I added the other half of the shallot, chopped, some of the field garlic from the tour, and some chili flakes, and then added large handfuls of curly dock (gathered lakeside) and a little salt. Of course I washed everything very well, but the dock was especially important to wash as it has an enzyme which can numb your mouth (according to the “Wildman”). When it had wilted down, I added a bit of the pasta water (see below) for moisture and salt. This came out great, the curly dock takes on an almost lemony flavor when cooked, while still retaining their spinach-like texture.

For the main course I made a pesto (in my handy one-touch food processor) with a large handful of the mustard garlic instead of basil (the “Wildman” suggested a pesto on the tour). First I used the processor to chop up some toasted walnuts. Then I added the mustard garlic, some salt and pepper, and some olive oil to help it blend. Last came some grated parmesan cheese and lots more olive oil. When the mixture reached the right texture I checked the seasoning (it needed a touch more salt), then topped it off with olive oil and let it sit. I cooked some fettucini in the same water I used for the day lilies (and used the same water for the curly dock). When the pasta was cooked, I drained it well and returned it to the hot (dry) pan, off the heat. The pesto went on top, and the whole thing was tossed well. The mustard garlic was delicious, retaining its sharpness and its raw grassy flavor, wonderfully complementing the nuttiness of the walnuts and the saltiness of the cheese.

This ended up being one of the best meals I’ve cooked in a while. There are several reasons why I think this is. The ingredients were at the peak of freshness, having been harvested literally hours before cooking. There was also the intrinsic pride in having foraged the ingredients myself. Perhaps most importantly, the fact that I had worked so hard to get the ingredients made me treat them with the utmost care, something that most of us don’t bother to do these days with bought food. Foraging for food made me look at the way I ate, and think about the way I ate, in a way that I never had before. This is, I think, the most important reason to forage your own food.

Click here to read more about “Wildman” Steve Brill and to look for a tour near you.

Read about foraging the food in Part 1.

Posted by Howard

I’m not sure how I first heard about “Wildman” Steve Brill and his foraging tours. After reading Michael Pollan’s excellent Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which Pollan collects and cooks an entire meal of food he has personally foraged, I was intrigued. I’ve been interested in eating more locally and more environmentally responsibly, and foraging seemed like the perfect marriage of the two.

I had read a lot about the “Wildman” on-line before I called to make a reservation on his tour of Prospect Park. I was not prepared for the soft-spoken voice that answered on the first ring: “Wildman Steve Brill, good afternoon.” This sounded like no “Wildman” I had imagined. He was very kind and gave very specific instructions about what to bring on the tour, including lunch, drinking water, gloves, something to dig with, and exact change (each tour costs $15, though his website says that no one will be turned away for “lack of funds”).

On the day, “Wildman” arrived with his three-year-old daughter Violet in tow. He also brought a sampling of the books he has written, all for sale. The group I was a part of was about 20 people, and was pretty diverse. There was a young Indian couple, a group of 4 from a local synagogue, a couple with their two young children, and a group of Japanese tourists, among others. We spent about half an hour at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park before we got started, mostly because “Wildman” had to go bring the unsold books back to his car before we got started.

Luckily, once we got started we found interesting things right away. “Wildman” really knows his stuff, and pointed out the inedible as well as the edible. The poisonous Star of Bethlehem looks a lot like the delicious field garlic at first glance. The greens of wild carrots are easily confused with mugwort, which is used to a brew a cramp-relieving tea.

We didn’t find an abundance of anything, except a leafy green called curly dock down near the lake. Most of what we found was just coming up, being so early in the Spring. This scarcity made the discoveries more exciting, and members of the tour were quickly making finds of their own. I was seemingly the only one there to collect food for eating; most of the others were there to learn a little bit and to spend a nice day in the park. This meant that even when other people found things, after a quick taste test they passed the find to me.

The biggest problem with the tour was the presence of Violet. Of course the “Wildman” wants to teach his daughter about these things, and of course she is his biggest priority, but this meant that she was dominating the tour. He was sometimes concentrating too much on her to pay attention to his surroundings. Other times he imposed on the couple who came with their kids to babysit his daughter. It was all a little strange.

“Wildman” Steve Brill is definitely a character (don’t get me started on the Brill-o-Phone), but he’s exactly the kind of person to lead these kind of tours. Knowledgeable not only in the identification of the plants but also in how to cook them (he is a vegan), he is someone from another time, a disappearing kind of person. I highly recommend going on at least one of his tours, and I plan on attending more of them myself as the seasons progress.

The final haul: curly dock, hedge mustard, mustard garlic, field garlic, roots from the common thistle, roots from the evening primrose, wild carrots, kentucky coffee beans, sassafras root, day lilies, baby dandelion greens, goutweed, and japanese knotweed sprouts.

Next: Cooking with the foraged foods!

Posted by Howard