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Jonathan

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Everything posted by Jonathan

  1. Jonathan
    I'm flummoxed.
  2. Jonathan
    I can tell you from experience (as I worked there in 2008), that no matter the day and no matter the shift, this place is run with the utmost attention to detail. Back then, the skirt steak was $28 and it was served kind of like a Thai style steak salad. I remember thinking how outrageously expensive it was. But they were always full and people never really barked at the prices for the skirt steak or the beef tongue or lamb heart.
  3. Jonathan
    Pizza preference is obviously subjective. And most of us have had great pizza out of deck ovens and terrible pizza out of deck ovens. We have also most likely had great pizza out of wood-fired ovens and terrible pizza out of them too. And as the adage goes, even bad pizza is good. The deal with gas deck ovens is that, unlike coal or wood-fired ovens, they can only get as high as 650 degrees. As a result, they take longer to cook. And because of this longer bake time, oils and sugars are typically added to the dough to make them more tender, to help caramelize, and to add flavor that would otherwise be gained by the high temperatures and resulting maillard reactions. In a coal or wood fired oven reaching 900-1000 degrees the high temperature cooking, leads to a shorter cook time allowing the dough to crisp on the outside quickly and have the inside remain pillowy and soft. The end product, whether it be coal fired from Frank Pepe or gas oven from Pizzeria Beddia or wood-fired from Pizzeria Bianco or for that matter deck oven, in a pan, like Buddy's, will all have their fans and detractors, and be cause for great arguments. All that aside, I certainly had the most fun of my cooking career while manning the 900-1000 degree, wood-only, oven at the original Franny's on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. My buddy/mentor, Mike Conlon (now manning the pits at Hometown BBQ in Red Hook) and I used to always joke how we were the #1a and #1b pizzaiolo in South Brooklyn when we were on top of our game. No small feat considering the great pizzas in that part of the world. Cooking with fire, and at those high temperatures, is certainly more difficult and requires a greater skill than manning a gas oven or gas deck oven or conveyor belt oven.
  4. Jonathan
    Had the pleasure of visiting our own Poivrot Farci at 8 Hands Farm (website) in Cutchogue, NY last week. Poivrot is butchering, cooking, baking bread and farming at a small, sustainable farm out on the east end of Long Island's north fork. The farm recently built an amazing kitchen for Julien to perform his craft. They also have a food trailer (a food truck on steroids) that will start serving homey meals featuring their chickens, pigs, and sheep. They are also building a cheese-making facility. Local resident Tom Colicchio is a big fan of Poivrot's work. Below is a shot from his walk-in. Very much worth a trip if you are out that way. Beautiful country, filled with farms, vineyards and water.
  5. Jonathan
    A bizarre list of restaurants by a bizarre publication. I'm glad they didn't out El Sol or Baan Thai or the many other actual cheap eats that are far more delicious than this slapdash collection. But, hey, they will sell their books. And chefs and restauranteurs will have their bibs or stars to hang on their walls.
  6. Jonathan
    But I find the atmosphere of the actual wine bar to be far superior to sitting in the restaurant (and in Siberia upstairs). You get to see the food sitting at the wine bar. And the bartenders/Jeffrey/Oliver are great.
  7. Jonathan
    You'll be fine. They are "small plates made for sharing." [tongue planted firmly in cheek]
  8. Jonathan
    Agreed. The eggplant with a green type sauce and pine nuts has been delicious as is any type of bean or corn. if you can use the word "soulful" to describe food, then 2 Amy's is it.
  9. Jonathan
    The chilled sparkling Gragnano is my go to wine. Their beers are all winners. pizza is an afterthought but I typical get the Norcia. all dishes that are on the white wine bar menu that come from the actual wine bar are better than the normal menu items that come from their kitchen. roasted cauliflower is always good. Roasted peppers with olives and tonnato. Cured meats. Porchetta. Marinated beans. Pickled and cured sardines. Smoked swordfish with olives and fennel. Basically anything drenched in olive oil. Make sure to ask for lots of bread and make friends with Kiersten or Jeffrey or Oliver or anyone working the bar.
  10. Jonathan
    it certainly gets lost in all the hype of the new restaurants that are continuously opening. But for my money, I'd take two stools at the wine bar, my wife, a crossword puzzle book and some of the most soul satisfying, seasonal food the city has to offer. Not to mention a beautifully culled wine list and beer list. All for a fraction of what you would pay elsewhere in the city.
  11. Jonathan
    A restaurant, that uses high quality ingredients, prepares the food with love and care and treats their employees like family, should be able to charge enough money to make the restaurant a nice profit so they can continue operating...whether it be Mexican, ramen, BBQ or haute cuisine. clearly there is a notion amongst a large swathe of people that certain foods should be cheap always, regardless. My wife and I have written a business plan for a Mexican restaurant where people would have to pay $50 for food on average...and we knew in our heart of hearts that many people would bristle... the issue I have with the cost of food is not when I know a place treats its staff like family and uses top notch ingredients...its when a place like Rosa Mexicana uses gimmicks to charge $25 for enchiladas or other restaurants use hipster credibility, a loud mouth and some mismatched plateware as an excuse to charge $15 for a plate of carrots or $22 for a chicken thigh. In those cases, I'd much prefer to spend my money at a hole-in-the-wall taqueria or Peruvian chicken joint (and not pay a premium for their rent or their corporate profits) or a place that I know support the causes I care about.
  12. Jonathan
    I couldn't agree more. Not to mention, the cereal milk ice cream is terrible.
  13. Jonathan
    Cornicione. http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/01/how-to-pronounce-cornicione.html and their crust needs some work. after visiting all purpose several times, along with pizzeria vetri and timber pizza, and knowing a thing or two about good pizza crusts myself, I think Timber Pizza has the best pizzas of any of the new establishments in the city. Just one guys .02 cents.
  14. Jonathan
    In the post Obama-care world it is much more common than you think. Tail Up Goat, Mindful Restaurants are two I know from experience. And I was under the impression that he pays the normal $12-$15 per hour for cooks that is industry standard.
  15. Jonathan
    Where is it written that he pays benefits and high wages to his staff? I remember reading that he wanted to pay his staff like $18/HR but never read anywhere that he was doing such things. And if he is paying benefits, what are they? What percentage is he paying of health insurance etc?
  16. Jonathan
    Northern Thai Pork Curry**** Khao Soi*** Green Mango Salad (best rendition I've had) Kanom Krok for dessert (spelling is probably off) Spicy beef salad with eggplant Spicy stir fried chicken with bamboo shoots *****have to get!
  17. Jonathan
    You can add to frogprince's list of very good/great dishes (and like frogprince, I love the Szechuan Eggplant and Ma Po Tofu): -Ma La Pork Chop (General Tso's on crack) -Dan Dan Noodles -Shredded Beef -Twice Cooked Pork (which is the pork belly, but I've had some great batches) -Boiled Fish with Mustard Greens (though I have never had it, people have told me it's fantastic) The only reason I don't go here often is because it is a bit unhealthy compared to home-cooking or even Baan Thai. But it is a very good option to have for delivery.
  18. Jonathan
    Well that is flattering;) that's my pizza. And I'm very passionate about it. 2 Amy's, dollar for dollar, though, is the best restaurant in DC.
  19. Jonathan
    Franch...food is life. It's what sustains us. It's what I have given my adult life to...to enjoying food, cooking, shopping, cleaning, eating and running restaurants. Shaw Bijou is a a caricature. It's the Jersey Shore. It's Small Wonder. I Iike Sopranos, I like Cezanne.,I like Sargent. It's as simple as that. Shaw Bijou has been a non-stop parade of PR for over 2 years. The doors haven't opened. Prices have gone up. Memoirs have been inked. Cookbooks written. Ribeyes ordered. Ribeyes wasted. Shaw Bijou is all that I find to be embarrassing in the profession and world I am in everyday. Pardon my passion, but this is Paris Hilton. This is Real Housewives...this is our culture at our worst. This isn't a celebration of food and wine and life. It's a celebration of one guys "story" and celebrity. It's mediocre food. It's vastly overpriced. It's so many things that I find offensive...that to actually speak my mind and share my opinion feels good. Feels calming. Feels cathartic. I can only hope that a meal for 2 in November or January or May 2017 (if they have opened yet or opened and then have since closed) feels half as good at quarter the price.(or some fraction of a fraction of a whole or what not) *disclaimer: I have never seen Mozart so I cannot attest that they are markedly better than CREED. But a friend of a friend of mine that worked at '31 Flavors' told me that Mozart was bitchen'
  20. Jonathan
    Paul McCartney. Paul Simon. Rolling Stones. front row at the Stone Roses. Hamilton (over priced and over hyped) where else? And is Kwame as accomplished as those acts?
  21. Jonathan
    please tell me what concerts cost $562 for 2 tickets...and where you would be forced to fork over another $400!!!! for transport, food and drinks? Much appreciated. and then tell me if this meal at Shaw Bijou will include a world class music act, transportation and a decent meal. Because as far as I know, it is an over priced meal served a block off of Rhode Island Avenue by a guy who is more concerned about his image than actually cooking for a living...at a price point so far out of whack of his experience, talent, and ability to execute that it takes a brave soul (not to charge as much as he is charging but) to call him out for his bu!!$h!t.
  22. Jonathan
    You have clearly shown your allegiance and excitement for Shaw Bijou. Now it would be appropriate to share any and all ties to Kwami, his partners, this project and/or Top Chef. Because you are quite the cheerleader...(will there be pom-pom's and short skirts? Sequins? Overpriced parking? Are you Dan Snyder? Will there be Cowboys and Eagles involved?).
  23. Jonathan
    Yes all sales are final for concert tickets. But what concert costs $962 for 2? This guy is the equivalent of CREED yet he's charging prices more apropos to Mozart. i wish this guy picked another city to open up in.
  24. Jonathan
    I'm hoping Kwame Brown (DCs original wunderkid) can be the Maitre d'...
  25. Jonathan
    Our goal is to open up a small pizzeria, so we will most likely be open all winter. We had a deal fall through on a pizzeria in Mattituck that was right next to the high school and seemed to do well enough during the off-season.
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