| FORK PLAY March 8, 2011
Chodorow-Bashing. Strictly Vegetarian. Socarrat Again. Ember Room is Smokin'. Josephine's Amazing Biscotti.
Dear Friends and Family,
Like determined picadors sticking the bull in the neck so he'll drop his head in battle, our town's restaurant critics can't resist aiming barbs at Jeffrey Chodorow. I refer to powerful print mouths, not the yelping of the obsessively wired.Fearless mercenaries shielded behind computer screens, they  go for the soft spot. What did this street-educated, impoverished, ambitious restaurant mogul do that invites constant reopening of the wound?
Granted, he has opened a string of feeding stands that didn't work nearly as well as his triumphal China Grill and Asia de Cuba, cloned so successfully around the country. I have no idea what he is like to work with or if he abuses his family. He seems to be happily involved with his first wife, which is certainly refreshing. I must say I have admired what seems to be his irrational optimism.
What did the guy do? What is his sin? He bought a full-page ad in the Times to complain about a review. It was his only option to have his say in a spot as visible as the critique he contested. And heaven knows, the Times needs all the ads it can get. What did his ad reveal? That if you prick a man, he hurts. And if he can afford it, he'll prick back.
Was it essential to recycle Chodorow's checkered resume so Sam Sifton could say he mostly loved the food at Bar Basque, even though it was too red, too confusing with its blaring Jumbotron screen in full view -- and too full of the kind of people you hope your ki ds don't marry? In judging Bar Basque as "heartbreak in the making" if there's not enough demand for "some of the finest Spanish Basque country-inspired cuisine in town," the Post's Steve Cuozz couldn't resist referencing the controversial swords on the ceiling at Chodorow's shuttered Kobe Club. Adam Platt took some pokes at the guy's fondness for "Disney-style grandeur," also in a mostly positive assessment, but he didn't have as much space to reminisce.
I've dismissed a number of Chodorow's restaurant concepts as hopeless myself. But I liked Kobe Club well enough to go back three times on my own after writing about it. I thought Wild Salmon was a valiant effort. And I try to ignore the annoying big screen at Bar Basque because I'm fond of chef Yuhi Fujinaga's cooking. Though it was hard not to keep sneaking peeks at Fred Astaire two weeks ago while revisiting the marvelous mackerel.
You can certainly argue that I might not be impartial. Chodorow is an advertiser. Ed's Chowder House offers a $29, 2 lb. lobster with two sides to any customer who mentions my name. The man has been a generous supporter of Citymeals-on-Wheels for more than a decade. And the architect of Bar Basque's devotion to the young and old Turks of the new Spanish cooking -- China Grill development director Terry Zarikian - singled out Citymeals again last week. The March 1 launch of a tasting menu by visiting chef Aitor Basabe from Bilbao was a benefit where we shared the proceeds. I spend my own money when I eat there, friends, and I'll definitely be back. In the Eventi Hotel. 839 Sixth Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets. Click here and scroll down the page to know what we ate.
*** There's not much in colorful produce coming in from local farms this week to inspire Fork Play Colors, so I just picked two hues that look good together, a little somber perhaps. Just waiting for the first fresh asparagus.
*** Strictly Vegetarian
I'd promised my friend Suvir Saran - he describes himself as a flexitarian leaning on vegetarian -- that we'd go together to Jean-George's ABC Kitchen. It's impossible to get a table, I hear, but I came so early on and have loved it in writing with so much, possibly boring, repetition that I have a number to call. Anne Hathaway obviously had a number to call. Her brother Tom is a runner there. I thought she was loose and funny and did a nimble job at the Oscars the night before, while James Franco stood there seemingly stoned.
I wonder if Jay Z had a number to call. He came by to greet Anne and she stood up - at the middle table - the one we usually have when we're six. Jean-Georges appeared in his immaculate whites as he often does, emerging from chef de cuisine Dan Kluger's kitchen to make the rounds.
Almost everything we ate was wonderful - buffalo mozzarella pizza, a sensational pasta with bacon and bread crumbs. I had to order the marvelous carrot salad and the beets with housemade yogurt, as I always do, of course. The chef sent out a crudo of sweet raw shrimp and kabocha squash toast with fresh ricotta - cut in four. The two best dishes of the night. Make that three. We managed to quickly disappear the salty caramel ice cream sundae with popcorn and chocolate. 35 East 18th Street.
***
Socarrat Times Two
I liked the monomania of Socarrat Paella Bar in Chelsea. There was something sexy and romantic sitting across from the Road Food Warrior at the long communal table in the narrow space on W.19th Street, watching owner Lolo Manso scraping the stuck-on rice rubble from the bottom of our shared paella pan -- piling that crunchy good stuff on ou r plates. Every once in a while since, making a critic's rounds, I would hunger for that paella. But the place did not book ahead.
So I was excited when Manso announced a new, larger Socarrat would open on Mulberry Street. Though that's definitely not my 'hood, reservations would be honored. A few blizzards kept me away, but finally I found it Saturday night before last - a beacon of life across the street from the dark desolation of stalled construction. Inside there are iron gates and lacquered cream cupboards like those uptown. I imagine I am already hearing the tat-a-tat of spoons scraping iron paella pans. Pulling out my flashlight to study the starter possibilities in the dim - I want everything. Click here so you'll know what to order. 284 Mulberry between Houston and Prince.
***
Embers Is Smokin'
I loved the sweet, savory, smoky allure of Kittichai, and I was an early fan and booster of the Plaza Food Hall. So for weeks before its stalled opening, I could almost taste the sticky torrid combustion to come from the fusion of Todd English and Ian "Kittichai" Charlermkittichai at Ember Room. It's a desolate arctic Tuesday and the place is almost empty. Yet the layout is as strikingly  handsome with thousands of temple bells suspended from a double height ceiling at the entrance, where gold letters spell out a philosophy of welcome in Thai, or so we are told by the hostess at the podium. Servers look very upper east side in one shouldered black frocks. Our young innocent from Syracuse is adorable and blissfully naïve. The runners stand waiting to grab plates away at the first sign of your pause to chew. Still, the menu is full of promise. Click here to see what we liked. I can imagine savvy folks heading here before or after the theatre for a supper of small plates - just $7 to $12 -- in this handsome back room. I will be back too. But it will take more than impressive resumes to fire up the Ember Room. 647 Ninth Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets.
***
Josephine's Candied Orange and Dark Chocolate Biscotti
Orange and chocolate is a combination I love. The chewiness of the candied orange, the richness and creaminess of the dark chocolate and the chunkiness of the biscotti make this cookie unique. To save time, you can substitute store bought candied orange. I wouldn't, but that's how I am.
Candied Orange
Ingredients:
2 Large Oranges or 3 Small Oranges
1 Cup Sugar
½ Cup Water
Instructions:
1) Rinse the oranges, then cut strips of the outermost orange peel off the oranges with a sharp paring knife. Trim off white. Cut the peel into ¼ inch strips.
2) Blanch the peel in boiling water for about 1-2 minutes, then drain. Repeat 3 times. Use multiple pots simultaneously to save time.
3) Bring sugar and water to boil, add the peel to the sugar syrup on medium heat. Cook till peel becomes translucent and the syrup thickens. about 15 minutes. When the syrup bubbles up vigorously and the peel is translucent, it is ready.
4) Pick up the strips and separate them on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and let them cool.
Note: If you want extra candied orange for snacks, double the amount of orange and roll the strips with sugar after they cool. Store them in an air-tight container.
Biscotti (Make about 30 2" pieces)
Ingredients:
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup (4oz) Dark Chocolate Chuncks
4 Tablespoons (half stick) Butter
¾ Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
¼ Cup Grand Marnier
Candied Orange
Instructions:
1) Move oven rack to the middle. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Sift flour, baking powder, and salt.
3) Chop your favorite dark chocolate to about ½ in by ½ in chunks using a heavy knife. For chocoholics, don't hesitate to add more chocolate. You won't regret using good quality chocolate here as the taste will show through.
4) Beat butter and sugar together in mixer using the paddle (or in a big bowl using a spatula or big spoon) until light and smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Add Grand Marnier and mix again.
5) Add the flour mixture, fold in gently till just combined. Fold the candied orange and chocolate chunck into the batter.
5) Halve dough and using floured hands, gently stretch each portion of dough into a rough 13-by-2-inch log. If you like long biscotti, shape the width of the log to the desired length of the biscotti. Put the logs on a silpat or a cookie sheet covered with parchment. The logs should at least 2 inches apart.
6) Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the logs are golden and just beginning to crack on top.
7) Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Lower the oven to 325 degrees.
8) Cut the logs to about ¾ inch thick using a sharp heavy knife.
9) Return biscotti to the cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
10) Put them in your favorite cookie jar after they cool. They can be kept for a week in an air-tight container in a cool area.
Note: Biscotti are low in fat. You can cut out the butter completely if you add 2 extra eggs and ½ cup extra flour. The no-butter biscotti will have comparable texture without the richness of the butter taste but still tastes great.
***
Photographs of Jeffrey Chodorow at Wild Salmon, Lamb Paella at Socarrat and our server at Ember Room may not be used without permission from Steven Richter.
Photo of Bar Basque tuna may not be used without permission of Gael Greene.
Fork Play copyright Gael Greene 2011. |
