ol_ironstomach

Cantu's death is being investigated as a possible suicide. Tujague already posted this sad news last night in the Chicago thread, but here are some links: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-famed-chef-homaro-cantu-owner-of-moto-found-dead-on-northwest-side-20150414-story.html http://www.eater.com/2015/4/14/8417143/michelin-starred-chef-homaro-cantu-found-dead-in-chicago

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.

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

Back before the Internet-as-you-know-it, we used to discuss the best-sounding versions of CDs on Usenet forums, which is how one ends up with a pile of versions of Pink Floyd's DSOTM after repeat visits to Phantasmagoria, and the import section of Tower Records. No doubt, this was simply an extension of what had been going on since the invention of vinyl discs, and maybe back to wax cylinders and player piano rolls. Nice to see that a quarter-century later, some things haven't changed (in this context, _Electric Ladyland_): Steve Hoffman's Forum Note that this post was from 2004, and some folks seem to feel the '06-07 releases are contenders.

I did not know that in 1997, Brand partnered with the BBC on a six-part miniseries based loosely on his book. Watch it here (includes playlist): Apropos of Don's comment regarding campus architecture buildings, note the segment beginning at 19m12s.

I have both of those books too, but neither sees much use. I am no architect, only an admirer. But here are some reccs that I loved and you might enjoy, and which don't necessarily point you in the direction of any particular style: "How Buildings Learn", by Stewart Brand (1994). This one was an epiphany wrapped up in rephotography, musings on plumbing and drainage, and why the sixties turned out to be crazy after all. I haven't looked at any old brick wall the same ever since (which is honestly something of an impediment when you're trying to walk through an old English town). Not convinced? Read this synopsis. "Why Buildings Fall Down", by Matthys Levy and the late Mario Salvadori. Salvadori also wrote a complementary volume, "Why Buildings Stand Up", but obviously it lacks the drama of its companion. Pretty much anything drafted by Francis D.K. Ching. His "Architecture: Form, Space, and Order" remains a popular reference textbook. Most any title by Witold Rybczynski, especially "The Most Beautiful House In The World" (1989). "A Field Guide to American Houses", by Virginia McAlester. The vernacular house, American style. Of local, if tangential, relevance: Garrett Peck's "The Smithsonian Castle and the Seneca Quarry" "Places from the Past", by Clare Lise Kelly, published by M-NCPPC. A history of MoCo buildings. Previously hard to find, but the 10th Anniversary Edition is now available as free PDF download at the link. Any of James Goode's coffee table books, especially "Best Addresses" and "Capital Losses". Finally, revoking what I said up top and pointing at one particular local architect, look up Robert Gurney.

Intrepid roadtrippers, please take a moment to lament the passing of the iconic Orange Ring fruit stand off US27 in Haines City, at the northern end of the central Florida citrus belt, and site of the first citrus processing (aka juicing) plant in the US (1915). There's a "for lease" sign on the site now. Consistently better and cheaper than the tourist trap stands that line I-95 near Jax, this one was my go-to on the annual return trip from the Sebring race. At least they'll still ship via mail-order.

Ah, yes...I forgot to mention BYOB. Baltimore seems to have quite the BYOB scene at the moment. We had an excellent meal, full of skill, but IMHO I'd be hesitant to declare that this is "important" until we see more conceptualization. It didn't seem to be quite as ambitious as Riverstead / Town House. The re-do of the rowhouse interior is nicely done, in muted Edison bulb lighting with exposed brick and new wood flooring in something resembling Ipe, but the character of the space is more cozy and communal than formal, more Brooklyn than Manhattan. Plus, Monnier seems to be doing all of the work himself, whereas after you've navigated a main meal at TH and are ready for dessert, Karen Urie-Shields is a formidable talent in her own right. I don't know when they posed the dishes for that photo shoot, or even if the bright colors and vegetables were supposed to be typical of what was seasonal and local in January, but in the dead of winter the ingredients tend towards root vegetables and subdued colors. I'd love to see what Arí´mes is capable of from late spring through the autumn months.

At 1000yregg's urging, we booked a dinner last weekend at Arí´mes, a new spot in Hampden that just opened a couple of weeks ago. Chef Monnier hails from Reims with a résumé that stands on classic haute cuisine spots in Paris and LA, but has chosen to open his small (24-ish seat) operation in a converted rowhouse, specializing in seasonal and local ingredients. Dinner is a prix fixe affair of six courses for $65, or three for $45. Four of the courses are smaller bites to precede the main course, and then you proceed to dessert. Because of the ever-changing menu, it's somewhat academic to repeat what we had, but each course's description sounded simple, unexpected, and maybe even opportunistic, and yet each time what arrived was remarkably integrated, and much more than the sum of its parts to the extent that each component became essential. Also evident was a high degree of technique and care in the preparation. I'm only going to describe a few of our courses, but there wasn't a dud in the bunch. "Beets, umeboshi, pear jam, and lucky plum" combined soft and crisp textures in a small composition of fleshy fruits and root vegetables, plated with a flourish of beet ash. It cleansed the palate for the next course, a little taste of "risotto and scallop chicharrones with Old Bay mayo". I don't know how they struck upon the idea of making chicharrones out of large thin curls of good scallops, but its compelling and concentrated umami was almost unreal, and a worthy match for a few bites of perfectly toothy risotto. The "oyster with green apple and sorrel" was a single oyster on a bed of rock salt, topped with a foam (the only appearance of modernist technique all evening) so you breathed its flavor as much as you tasted it. This course was a bit precious, but whatever oyster they used (it wasn't indicated) was beautifully clean and deeply cupped, almost like a kusshi, which makes me really curious where it's coming from in this region? The chalkboard near the front window held only thank-yous to a number of their suppliers: Vent Coffee Roasters (excellent, btw), Trickling Springs Creamery, Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop, Two Boots Farm, Baltimore Organic Farm, and Liberty Delight Farm. It's not a place for wildly crowd-pleasing dishes like Rose's, and to be honest I think a picky eater wouldn't have enjoyed all of these dishes, nor the menu format. But if our meal was any indication, Aromes is worth the serious diner's consideration, and worth the trip.

Fishnook is your party and Ferhat. Not "and a sous-chef". Not "nearest the kitchen, where plates come to you fastest". No, Ferhat cooks for you, right in front of you, and serves it to you. Does it matter that here might be one of the most tender presentations of octopus in the city? Or lobster that is neither overcooked nor accidentally too raw? Or a dazzling spicy curry that shames many a local Thai joint? Or that you might not be able to get a single thing I mentioned because each menu is heavily dependent on what's freshly available that day? Go.

Is it my imagination, or has the Harris Teeter Organics ice cream changed slightly? I appreciate that their Unit of Issue is still a real 16oz pint, but seem to remember it previously being denser / having less overrun. Maybe all this cold weather is skewing my judgement.

No wonder I'm always grazing.

The 2015 Semifinalist list (long-list) for the James Beard Awards has been released.

I'm no longer finding Fever Tree "Naturally Light" Tonic Water, their lower-cal product, when I check the shelves. Just unlucky, or are retailers no longer stocking this?

WVABCA Commissioner ignores WV Code authorizing onsite retail sales by microdistillers; misapplies retail licenseholder regulations to Charles Town distiller. http://bloomerysweetshine.com/why-we-are-closing/

Obviously not, but fortunately Sibelius didn't make his living as a historian.

Only last week, I learned (from mom, of course) of the existence of bu jian tian (ä¸è¦‹å¤©) pork, aka "pork armpit". The literal meaning is that the meat "has not seen the sky", but this is reputedly the most prized cut for making Cantonese char siu. It's not a standard western butcher cut, so you may have to seek out a Chinese grocery to find it...and get there before mom does.

That's just Bowser's intro before the rest of Sha Na Na joins in.

Same. Not long after our very nice meal, we visited for happy hour and found several items (fish and chips, calamari) disappointing; the former weren't as crisp as they ought to be, and the latter were heavily oversalted (and I like salt). We let them know, but the calamari in particular should never have left the kitchen. Day of the week? Just the fryer station? I don't know, but that much unpredictability isn't a desirable trait.

It's not bacon, despite being made from pork belly, and I don't know that I've seen an accurate version anywhere around DC...served as a family-style dish, not enough of the edges capture that bit of broiling, and too many have a sauce poured over them. Alternately, while the Momofuku pork bun and its imitators (cf Sakuramen) owe the basic flavor profile of the pork belly to this dish, the pre-assembled bun format ditches the broth/braising liquid in favor of sweeter sauces. [ image: an individual earthenware dish of Dongpo rou with baby Chinese cabbage, sticky rice, and a steamed folded bun; from Lou Wai Lou restaurant (founded 1848) in Hangzhou ]

Winter storm Juno causes kale shortage in NYC. FFS people of Brooklyn, you have cellars...put away some root vegetables!

Could be weirder. I was at the Detroit Auto Show last weekend, and could swear that Nissan's choice of background music was the talent show number from _Revenge of the Nerds_.

Breyer's was never a superpremium, but I don't remember it being totally awful, once upon a time. Sadly, that will have to remain a fading memory. It would take a heavy dose of "wrong" to screw up a "Samoa" GS cookie-flavored ice cream, but somehow they've made it happen...it's nothing at all like ice cream. Bleccch.

Next to the new ArcLight Cinema in monkey mall, eh? Sounds like a fair excuse to check it out when Song of the Sea begins its only area run on January 30. Most beautiful animated tale I've seen in the past two years (and maybe bring a hanky).

We were also there on Monday evening, both to seek relief from rush hour traffic and to celebrate Gubeen's most recent career move. The front room was doing a reasonable trade, but we enjoyed the quiet of having a rather empty back "wine" dining room to ourselves for a while. Monday isn't theoretically ideal for either seafood or for your favorite spots being open for dinner, but BlackSalt didn't disappoint. Excellent oysters Rockefeller, beautifully crisped skin on the red snapper / buckwheat ramen on the daily specials list. But just as memorably, really, really good service. Comfortable, unforced, unintrusive yet ever-present. I didn't count how many times the shell plate for her moules was changed...it would simply be replaced every time it started to look two-thirds full. I personally hadn't been in years, partly from a long period of not venturing into DC enough, but this is going back onto my radar.