Near to perfect - the Red Cottage in S. Dennis, Mass.

One of my favorite Cape Cod restaurants is the Red Cottage, in South Dennis. First, there is the beautiful old Cape style building itself, but inside you'll find a fascinating cast of characters and absolutely delicious food.

About the "cast" - this place is frequented by a wide assortment of quirky, interesting people, locals, vacationers, commercial fishermen, and retirees. The place feels like a mélange of Thorton Wilder's "Our Town" crossed with the folks from "Prairie Home Companion."

The staff are friendly, funny, attentive without being intrusive, and remember their regulars, and if you go often they will also know your order from visit to visit.

All this said, the real reason to go is the delicious, fresh and classic diner food. Breakfast is truly amazing, with all sorts of interesting specials, (awesome pumpkin pancakes for example) great baked goods, and lots of coffee refills spiced with a smattering of local gossip. (If you sit at the counter.)

On my last visit I have the 1/2 lb Lobster roll, which was very meaty, and delicious. it came with a reasonable portion of excellent french fries, and a cranberry cole slaw that was also delicious. The waitress commented that for her it made two meals, and I can easily see why.

My partner opted for the "Pilgrim Breakfast", poached eggs, a side of baked beans, and meltingly tender bone in ham. It was delicious. Interesting people, great food, and a very reasonable price make is one of my favorites on Cape Cod.






-Will H. Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:36 Old Bass River Rd, South Dennis, MA 02660

LA Food Truck Twitter Aggregator Yowzah!

Hungry Angelenos - check out the uber-cool LA Food Truck Twitter Aggregator Yowzah!

http://www.findlafoodtrucks.com/

Soup Dumplings @ Dim Sun Garden

These are the pork shanghai dumplings at Dim Sun Garden on 11rh Street in Philadelphia, These are the soup filled ones that "pop" in your mouth releasing a burst of porky succulence. Soooo delicious!





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Culinary Magic! "Heirloom" recipes from Sandra Lee.... Really?

I'm still trying to recover from watching the cloying Sandra Lee, the host of the most vapid of Food Network TV shows "Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee" make what she called an "Heirloom Spring Vegetable Side Dish." For those who don't know, "Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee" is a show in which Sandra assembles frozen, packaged and highly processed foods into concoctions which she passes off as being "homemade." It's truly culinary magic! Like magic, it involves a lot of misdirection.

Sandra is always nattering on about how "healthy", "fresh" and "wholesome" her cooking is. Uhhh, yep. In Sandra's case, "homemade" seems to mean you sneak the packaging the processed food came in into the trash when no-one is looking.

In this particular recipe, she de-bags frozen green beans, carrots, corn etc. into a crock pot, slathers it all with canned condensed asparagus soup and a packet of freeze dried leek soup, and cooks this sorry mess for FOUR hours. (Presumably to super-concentrate the sodium, and finish destroying any nutritional content that may have survived the processing.)

Never mind that in a food context "heirloom" is generally used to describe cultivars of fruits, vegetables or animals which date to before industrialized factory farming became prevalent, before foods began to be bred to store for as long as possible rather than taste good. Never mind that this mess cannot even remotely be described as "semi-homemade." (Whatever that means.)

Frozen vegetables cooked for four hours?

Really?

Another Beach Breakfast - Southern Style

Breakfast - August 4th 2009

This breakfast is sort of an homage to my family down South, but updated a bit as well. I substituted the grilled veggies for bacon, sigh. (As much as as I love bacon, into each life some bacon-less days must fall.)

One poached Brewster egg on stone ground yellow grits, with sauteed shrimp and grilled vegetables. The lot of it dusted with cayenne and Parmesan.

- Will

Lobster Omlette

Cape Cod Breakfast, July 31, 2009

A lobster, smoked gouda, and cherry tomato omelet with fresh chives. (Made with fresh Brewster eggs, which taste just like the eggs I remember growing up.)

Local greens with a shallot vinaigrette, and wheat toast with beach plum jelly.

It was really good, except for my not infrequent mistake of overdoing the cheese a bit.

Sole with Lemon Caper Sauce

August 4th, 2009 - Dinner: Sole with Lemon Caper sauce over Spelt cooked with sun dried tomatoes. An Arugula and Cherry Tomato salad with Balsamic vinagarette. Yum!

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First Caprese Salad of Summer

Ahh, the first Caprese Salad of Summer, nuthin better.
The tomatoes aren't ready yet, so I used store bought heirlooms, but the basil is doing great.






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Zen Zoo Tea, Hollywood

I had high hopes for Zen Zoo Tea, on Vine St just north of Sunset Blvd. They serve a wide variety of teas, which are good, as well as Dim Sun. Just recently they added a breakfast menu. Unfortunately, the dim sun is pretty run of the mill, and appears to be commercially packaged frozen. It is somwhat bizzarely served with a bowl of shiracha and hot mustard. It's ok for a quick snack on the way to the Arclight, but if you're looking for real dim sun better to pass by...



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Mother's Day Breakfast

My Mother (and Stepmother) both passed away many years ago. I still like to make a nice breakfast and raise a glass of OJ to remember and thank them.  

This is this year's breakfast: chicken apple sausage from Huntington Meats* in the LA Farmers market, stone ground yellow grits, eggs scrambled with asparagus, and calamata olive sourdough toast.   

________________________

*Huntington Meats is the bomb!  

A truly classic old school butcher shop at the east end of  the LA Farmers Market.  They will cut or prep  whatever you need.   On this past visit Dan told me that they go through 500-600 pounds of their homemade sausage every weekend.  Yow! 

Thai Place, Phoenixville, PA

Back where I come from, part 1 - 

Visiting Eastern PA for a weekend, where I grew up, I was completely shocked to find that Phoenixville PA, has lived up to its name and risen from the culinary ashes.    This town was a drab hole when I was in my teens, whose most significant dining option was a Burger King.  On doing an Urban Spoon search I was shocked to have so many offerings - Tapas in Phoenixville,  you're kidding me? 

I settled on a restaurant somewhat imaginatively named: "Thai Place", and was pleasantly surprised. It has taken 18 years in California to get over my reflexive  mistrust of strip mall dining*, but of course the best places are often buried in strip malls.  "Thai Place" followed that pattern, being tucked into a strip mall with a "Giant" food store and a K-Mart. 

The menu was very extensive, covering all the staples as well as some more outre options.  I had a very good cucumber salad, with ground peanut and a tang of fish sauce, beautifully presented, followed by a red curry shrimp, which was as good as those I get at home in Thai Town in LA. 

Thai Place

700 Nutt Road
Phoenixville Plaza, #730
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
(610) 917-9943        www.eatatthaiplace.com

* I still avoid strip mall dentistry, however.

Pan Roasted Trout w Saffron Lemon Reduction

This is really good!

I like to serve it with a green salad and green beans, or cherry tomatoes sautéed in sweet butter.

Trout in a Saffron-Lemon Reduction.

For the sauce -

2 Cups fish stock
2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 Tsp lemon
1-2 tsp saffron threads
2 tsp fresh or dried Tarragon
Lemon Pepper.

For the trout -

2-4 portions of trout.
1 Tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil.
zest of 1/2 lemon
a few lemon slices, to garnish.

Sauce:

In a flat saucepan add cream to fish stock, whisk well. Place over med-high flame and whisk in 2 Tsp lemon juice as it warms. Bring to a rolling boil and grind in three "turns" of lemon pepper. Reduce till it is about 1/2 Cup, remove from flame and stir in saffron threads and tarragon. (If you are really fussy, you may want to keep it warm over hot water as it rests.)

Trout:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat the bottom of an oven safe skillet or saucepan with olive oil. (no plastic handles.) Place pan over medium heat and warm. Sprinkle lemon zest into pan. When it become fragrant add trout (cut into individual portions) skin side up and sear till about 1/4 inch is opaque. Flip with a spatula and sear the skin side till it is also about 1/4 inch opaque.

Transfer the whole pan into the preheated oven and allow trout to pan roast until done, about 3-7 minutes depending on thickness of trout portions. (Thin ones will be very quick; if it is an inch or so thick it may take 5-7 mins.

Plate the trout over rice pilaf or mashed potatoes*, and drizzle the sauce over each portion. Garnish with lemon slices.

*This may go without saying in civilized homes, but always warm the plates first, as fish cools incredibly fast!

Argentine Sandwich @ Cafe MALBA, Buenos Aires

After an afternoon perusing the collection at Malba ( Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) I stopped into the Museum cafe for lunch.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the Argentine sandwich, grilled asada (beef loin) with a chimichurri sauce, grilled red peppers and onion.

The beef here is generally grass fed on the Pampas, and thus vastly different from the growth hormone and antibiotic laced slabs of fatty tissue we get at home. It is significantly leaner, and much more flavorful.

Observant readers have probably noted how predominant seafood is in this blog; if US beef were all this good that would probably change.

Sadly Argentine farmers are moving to feedlots as they shift Pampas grasslands to soy production and to remain competitive with their beef prices in world food markets. That's a shame, because it seems to me that a healthier and tastier item will always remain competitive, among people who care what they eat anyway.

Off to La Cabrera tonight, for more cow...

Cafe MALBA
Av Figueroa Alcorta 3415
Buenos Aires C1425CLA, Argentina

Anchor Oyster Bar, San Francisco

This is the Yellowtail Snapper over fingerling potatoes with sauteed veggies at one of my favorite San Francisco eateries, the Anchor Oyster Bar in the Castro.

I endured a frenzied rush on a rainy night to make it from SFO before closing, which gives you and idea of how significant this eatery is...

I agonized briefly over the snapper, an eco-heinous choice, but yellowtail is significantly better than red snapper, so I gave it a shot.

The food here is beautifully done, fresh, minimally fussed over and always subtly seasoned and delicious.

Plus you can sit on the barstool that Harvey Milk used to perch on, and feel at one with history.

- Will

Anchor Oyster Bar
579 Castro St
San Francisco, CA 94114

(415) 431-3990

Ocean Seafood Los Angeles

This is the shrimp and rice noodle at Ocean Seafood in Los Angeles.   It's my favorite dim-sun place in LA hands down.  (mostly because of the emphasis on fresh seafood - huge tanks with live critters line the entry hallway, and if you've a mind to you can choose your lunch from the tanks.) 

This seems to be something of a theme with this blog - I've noticed that the last ten posts or so are all seafood places.   Hmmm... 

I went by myself this time.  I had just gotten back to LA, and was craving dim-sun after a few months on the Cape. (Great seafood there, but not a lot of dim sun, if any.)   Going by myself was a bit overwhelming as the carts were circling like sharks and the little plates piled up pretty fast...

Very tasty though...

- Will

Ocean Seafood

750 N Hill St

Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 687-3088

Cap't Elmers -in Orleans, MA

Cap't Elmers, on Old Colony Way in Orleans, MA has been serving what I consider the best lobster roll on Cape Cod for 32 years. Elmer's consistently delivers a classic Cape Cod lobster roll. (I grew up eating this particular lobster roll, which may partially explain my fondness for it.) When I was a teenager they were $5.99 - imagine that!

A few worlds on the lobster roll -

It MUST be on a New England style hot dog roll, ideally split and buttered, and toasted to a golden brown on the grill. A hamburger bun is NOT ok, nor is (gasp) a bulkie roll, a grotesque perversion of the New England classic common to expat New Yorkers. (The Bulkie is way too chewy, and overpowers the lobster meat with its floury-ness.)

All that goes into the lobster roll is lobster meat and a leaf or two of lettuce, ideally Boston lettuce, but butter lettuce will do in a pinch. Romaine is icky in this context, and Mesclun way too gourmet, and thus liable to incite ridicule. A generous gob of Mayo is traditional (and yummy) but may be omitted by the phobic. It is usually served in a white cardboard sleeve, and may be accompanied by fries, onion rings or chips.

If the lobster has been too salad-ized with the addition of celery or God forbid scallions the proprietor should be spanked. When I make them at home I will veer from tradition just slightly by adding a bit of fresh tarragon.

Elmers meets all these criteria admirably. I am sure other things there are excellent, but I have to confess that other than the great clam chowder - in 32 years I've never had anything but a lobster roll at Elmers.

Cap't Elmers
18 Old Colony Way
Orleans, MA 02653

(508) 255-3350

Cooke's Seafood, Orleans, MA

Cooke's wins awards for their fried clams nearly every year. The place is the antithesis of the ramshackle beach seafood shack we all dream of, but the fried seafood here is excellent. (It's a vast fluorescent lit, air conditioned space more reminiscent of a chain fast food place than a local joint.) To be honest, it is a chain, with three or four locations around the Cape, one in Hyannis, One in Mashpee Commons, and the one in Orleans, which I think is the best.

That said, these folks have an amazing touch with the fryer, the clams are perfection, never greasy or heavy, more like clam tempura in their delicacy.

PS: Get the whole clams, that clam strips thing is strictly for rubes...

I've never understood clam strips, why would you have the best part of the meal removed?

Cooke's Seafood
1 S Orleans Rd
Orleans, MA 02653
(508) 255-5518

Provision Company - Holden Beach, NC

This is the crab-cake & boiled shrimp, with a side of conch fritters and slaw at the Provision Company, in Holden Beach, NC.

It's rare that I eat out when I'm there, as we're usually cooking a LOT of food at the rental house, but on this trip we w nt here for lunch. 

This place is excellent, and like so many other southern coastal seafood joints is tucked away under the bridge, and nearly impossible to find on a casual inspection.   (Rule of thumb - NEVER eat at the place at the mainland side of the base of the bridge on these coastal islands, but instead look for a smaller place tucked away under the bridge.) 

The Provision Company is well worth the search though.   The food is great, and it has a great open deck where you can watch the fishing boats landing your lunch.  

The Provision Company 

1343 Cedar Landing Rd SW
Holden Beach, NC 28462
(910) 842-7205

Heaven on Seven Chicago

Visiting Chicago this weekend, some friends took me to Heaven on Seven.  Great gumbo,  but the shrimp and cheese grits weren't particularly to my liking.  The grits seemed like instant, a tad flavorless, made with plain water rather than the more interesting stock.  The shrimp were lightly floured and fried, which I found a bit odd. 

(This may be a NOLA thing, but not the low-country type deal I was expecting.) 

- Will

Best Fish Taco in Ensenada Restaurant

This place just opened down the street from me.  They have an incredibly simple menu -  Fish Taco ($1.50), Shrimp Taco ($2.00) and Beverages. ($1.00)  This place is proof of the old truism about doing one thing and doing it well.  (Well, two things.) 

The fish and shrimp are perfect, delicate and soft inside, lightly floured and fried to order in immaculately clean oil.  They taste like an ocean breeze.  

The tacos come simply as fish or shrimp in the grilled tortilla; you spiff them up yourselves at a salsa / guac / relish bar.  The hot guacamole is great, as is the mango salsa.   Make sure you try the radish relish - it's very cool, and a beautiful color atop the tacos. 

Somewhat confusingly, the "Best Fish Taco in Ensenada" is in Los Angeles. 

- Will

Best Fish Taco in Ensenada - 1650 N. Hillhurst, Los Angeles, CA.

PS: They have a "Latinos for Obama" placard in the window, so not only is the food great, but their heart is in the right place too.