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Things You (Desperately) Want A Local Chef To Make


Pool Boy

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This thread is dedicated to all of the wanton desires of the readers here. What is it, that elusive preparation of a food that you really, really want to see a local chef pull off and blow your mind?

I had a truly tremendous experience at Trattoria Battibecco in Bologna, Italy a dozen years ago where one of my courses was a smoked octopus. It was not a tiny baby octopus, nor was it a very large adult octopus - this was more of a teenager. I got some legs, but they sent the thing out whole (sort of), so I got the body/head, mostly, too. A mind-blowingly good dish.

And I have been searching for someone local to make their own iteration of a smoked octopus of similar size ever since then.  Hell, I would love nothing more than a lost weekend trying a dozen versions of this all from different chefs around town.

So, that is on my list. That and a stunning schmear of shellac-y good black pudding spread on to a small toast square. :)

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This thread is dedicated to all of the wanton desires of the readers here. What is it, that elusive preparation of a food that you really, really want to see a local chef pull off and blow your mind?

I had a truly tremendous experience at Trattoria Battibecco in Bologna, Italy a dozen years ago where one of my courses was a smoked octopus. It was not a tiny baby octopus, nor was it a very large adult octopus - this was more of a teenager. I got some legs, but they sent the thing out whole (sort of), so I got the body/head, mostly, too. A mind-blowingly good dish.

And I have been searching for someone local to make their own iteration of a smoked octopus of similar size ever since then.  Hell, I would love nothing more than a lost weekend trying a dozen versions of this all from different chefs around town.

So, that is on my list. That and a stunning schmear of shellac-y good black pudding spread on to a small toast square. :)

Mine is grilled octopus, not the one-tentacle thing usually served around here, but as you describe as a teenager....rubbed with olive oil and garlic and herbs and sea salt, and grilled to a nice char on the outside and tender on the inside. And with the smokiness you describe....

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This is not exactly the same thing, but I'd love to find another Ethiopian place with a gomen preparation on the menu like the one they had for years at The Red Sea with collards and spiced cottage cheese.  It was probably my favorite item there and no other place I go seems to have it.  A number of years back, when I went through a period of making Ethiopian meals at home, I attempted it based on different recipes I could find and my memory but couldn't really come close.  At this point, though, it's been so long since I had it, I'm not sure my memory of the taste is even accurate anymore :( .  (They closed in, what, 1999?)

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Mine is grilled octopus, not the one-tentacle thing usually served around here, but as you describe as a teenager....rubbed with olive oil and garlic and herbs and sea salt, and grilled to a nice char on the outside and tender on the inside. And with the smokiness you describe....

While not octopus the grilled whole squid at Itzakaya Seki is excellent.

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Ferhat makes a damn good octopus, too.

I still want a local chef to make:

  • malasadas
  • suan la chow show - in the style of Mary Chung's, Cambridge MA
  • decent carnitas with crispy edges...not the usual mush we get around here
  • Montreal smoked meat.  I'll settle for Wagshal's in a pinch, but...Don knows what I'm talking about here
  • Gillian Clark's dessert pies
  • Julien Shapiro's páté en croí»te
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Ferhat makes a damn good octopus, too.

I still want a local chef to make:

  • malasadas
  • suan la chow show - in the style of Mary Chung's, Cambridge MA
  • decent carnitas with crispy edges...not the usual mush we get around here
  • Montreal smoked meat.  I'll settle for Wagshal's in a pinch, but...Don knows what I'm talking about here
  • Gillian Clark's dessert pies
  • Julien Shapiro's páté en croí»te
 

I'll take all foods Julien, thank you very much. :)

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Thank you Dave.  (Insert high-five emoticon).

When available, Frank's páté pantin (not baked in a mold) is a finer farce-fine  of the highest caliber with judicious flavors of truffle, dried fruit, cured meats & game.  Brad at Boundary Rd recently received some recommendations (you're welcome) while experimenting with some lofty inlay ideas "“not sure if he made one; and Savenor's in Cambridge, MA will have their version pimped up/out pro-bono next week.

With that uncertainty in finding a proxy in DC, consider visiting the North Fork Table & Inn and 8 Hands Farm from June onward, where I'll be put out to pasture fabricating stalwart products & antique forcemeats with whimsical zoomorphic gadgetry salvaged from yesteryear.

IMG_7403_zps245cf5f8.jpg

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...

I still want a local chef to make:

  • suan la chow show - in the style of Mary Chung's, Cambridge MA
  • ...

How great is the suan la chow show at Mary Chung's in your opinion?  Haven't been there in years but get up to Boston periodically, including this weekend. Years ago, thought of the place as inexpensive Chinese American more than something special but not sure I ever had this dish.  Is it something you seek out when in town?  Have you had it recently? More details please!  Thank you.

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How great is the suan la chow show at Mary Chung's in your opinion?  Haven't been there in years but get up to Boston periodically, including this weekend. Years ago, thought of the place as inexpensive Chinese American more than something special but not sure I ever had this dish.  Is it something you seek out when in town?  Have you had it recently? More details please!  Thank you.

It's their signature dish.  When I lived three blocks away, I ate there fairly frequently, and still crave it from time to time.  I myself haven't been back in years, but its reputation doesn't seem to have changed (yes, I'm keeping tabs for sentimental reasons).

The rest of their menu was passable, but not what I'd consider serious worth-the-trip Chinese.  Mary's wasn't so much a foodie destination as it was (and still is) a cultural landmark among certain nerds.  But if you're in that neighborhood...stop in and have a bowl.

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I had an excellent dinner at North Fork Inn a few years ago. How sweet that you will get to work with Claudia Fleming, although I understand that she is quite involved with caring for her husband, who IIRC has ALS. (I am fortunate to own Fleming's great dessert recipe book, The Last Course which is out of print, but still much in demand. Perhaps you could encourage her to consider re-printing it. Used copies are, apparently, selling for more than $100.)

And there are some very exciting things going on around there with farm products, wine, and fresh seafood and fish. Summer near Long Island Sound and Shelter Island -- not too shabby, as the saying goes.

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This is one thing that just makes no sense to me. I've tried it a few times and it just must not be my thing.

I lived a bit in Chicago and it's definitely a guilty pleasure from my younger days. Looking back can't believe how many I ate.

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