Happy Birthday Julia Child!

Julia Child, the iconic TV chef who introduced French cooking to everyday Americans, would have turned 100 today.

Julia Child lived in North Cambridge, not too far from where I live now. She loved shopping at Formaggio Kitchen and Savenor's (both of which, by the way, are fantastic gourmet markets). She regularly dined at Sandrine's and Harvest, both in Harvard Square.

In 2001 Julia Child donated her kitchen from her Cambridge home to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

I had the honor of being at the Smithsonian Museum of American History today to attend a special birthday celebration in honor of Julia Child.


There were A LOT of people there!

A band of musicians dressed up as chefs played a few songs, including happy birthday.

They passed out cookies made from one of Julia Child's recipes. Land O Lakes donated 50 kg of butter and Wegman's donated the rest of the ingredients and the labor cost. Can you believe they made over 3000 cookies?

Afterwards, we visited Julia's kitchen, which has recently been moved (within the museum) and rebuilt in a way that allows more people to view it at once. Whereas there used to be only three "viewing" windows around the kitchen, there are now six viewing windows.

Isn't this cute? Julia liked to use a pegboard to keep track of where everything went. If you look closely, you'll see the outline of each item drawn on the board indicating where everything goes.

I was so intrigued by all her kitchen gadgets.  What are all those copper pans in the back? It was also cool to think that this was the famous kitchen where she filmed so many of her TV episodes.

Julia Child's kitchen will become part of a larger new exhibit at the Museum of American History exploring food and wine in America from 1950-2000.

The exhibit will explore how food in America has changed as a result of technology (e.g., the scienrific advancement of food production and "Big Ag"), immigration (e.g., the rise of Mexican cuisine and, more recently, Indian and Asian cuisine), and major historical events, like World War II. Julia Child is a huge player in this history, being the one to bring the art of French cooking to everyday Americans.

They have acquired some interesting pieces to display, such as a Krispy Kreme doughnut machine and shopping carts from the 1950's compared to a Costco cart today.

The exhibit begins on November 20, 2012. It sounds exciting and I can't wait to see it!

A Peek of DC Food
Of course, I can't write a food blog post without posting any pictures of food, right? I've been in DC the past two days on a crazy food tour. Here's just a small peek at some of the stuff I've enjoyed!
A lovely cappuccino with "latte art" from Peregrine.

A gorgeous cocktail from the bar at the Federalist, the restaurant/bar that is part of the new (20 million dollar) renovated Madison Hotel.

Fantastic dumplings from The Source, Wolfgang Puck's restaurant-within-a-museum in DC.

A snack before dinner? Mussels served with pipirrana, Sherry dressing and honey from Jaleo.

The "Vegetal" gin and tonic from Jaleo, complete with radish, fennel, cubeb (tailed pepper), and kumquat.

Palak Chaat - a fantastic crispy spinach appetizer from Rasika West End in DC.

I still plan on visiting a few more places before returning to Boston. I will definitely write about all of these restaurants in full, gory (photolicious!) detail after the Eating the Big Apple series concludes. I've definitely visited some incredible places and I can't wait to share them with you.

Stay tuned!

Disclaimer - this trip, including all the meals, were provided by Destination DC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting DC as a travel destination. All opinions provided in this post are my own.

Il Buco Alimentari & Vinera

This is the sixth post in the Eating the Big Apple series. Other posts include Soba Koh, Sylvia's Restaurant (Gospel Brunch), Torrisi Italian Specialties, Ippudo, and Tasty Hand Pulled Noodle.

I rarely visit the same restaurant twice.

OK, perhaps I exaggerate slightly. Maybe I should say, if I’m not in Boston, I hardly ever re-visit a restaurant that I’ve written about in a blog post. Why “waste” a meal on a restaurant I’ve visited before when I could be trying dishes, photographing, and writing about a completely new restaurant?

Instead, my typical modus operandi involves scouring my favorite sources (my “go-to’s include Chowhound, the Michelin Guide, Zagat, and various “Best Restaurant” lists on the internet”) and planning the trip itinerary around the food.

I broke my own rule the last time I was in New York.

Come to think of it, I think I regularly break that rule in New York. I’ve visited Le Bernardin and Sushi Yasuda (two of my favorite restaurants in New York), at least three times each.

And now I think I’m adding another restaurant to that category.

Il Buco Alimentari & Vinera, the closest thing to Roscioli (our favorite Italian marketplace/restaurant in Rome) this side of the "pond", is definitely a place that is worth visiting over and over and over again.

Il Buco Alimentari & Vinera is the second restaurant from Donna Lennard, founder of the first Il Buco back in 1994. Donna longed for a restaurant that embodied the philosophy that she saw all over Italy. In Italy, markets selling the day’s freshest and best salumis, cheeses, and pastas sit a stone's throw from the local eateries.

What you end up getting are local, family restaurants that serve incredible food because they have easy, virtually immediate access to some seriously fine ingredients.

Il Buco Alimentari & Vinera aims to recreate that little Italian "village." They bake their own breads, cure their own salumis, and carry a huge selection of fantastic olives, olive oils, cheeses, and other fine imports from Italy.

Culatello, salame Toscano, finocchi, guanciale, capocollo, pancetta, prosciutto, mortadello, “bologna”

The house-cured meats are fantastic. The availability always varies depending on which meats are ready. During one visit, for example, our sampler plate included the mortadello, prosciutto, “bologna”, speck, and guanciale. They also have a nice selection of imported cured meats from Italy and Spain (among other places). It's fun to order a variety to share.

If you don't want the entire large share plate you can custom order a smaller share plate (even though it's not on the menu). Bryan and I did that the second time we visited when it was just the two of us.

We started with the Crispy Artichoke with Preserved Lemons and Parsley. Pickled and then flash fried, these mini-artichoke hearts were great starters. I was not expecting them to be so brown, but I still enjoyed this snack. Artichokes are huge in Rome, and thus this appetizer totally reminded us of our recent Rome trip.

Ceviche with Local Fluke, Black Radish, Cucumber, and Jicama was light, fresh, and just a beautiful combination of flavors and textures (crunchy, creamy, and bright!). Perfect for summer.

Octopus a la Plancha was expertly grilled - gorgeously crispy on the outside yet soft and tender on the inside. It came with Corona beans, Taggiasca olives, and kumquats.

The Chittara (house extruded pasta) with Ramps, Fresh Chili, Lemon, and Pecorino was fantastic. The texture of the pasta had a nice toothsome bite to it, and I loved the herbaceous flavor from the ramps, one of my favorite springtime vegetables.

Paccheri (another house-extruded pasta) with Braised Oxtail, Greens, and Parmigiano also had great texture as well as a deep, rich, flavorful meat sauce.

Bucatini Cacao e Pepe is pasta with Pecorino Romano and black pepper. It is deceptively simple, relying a lot on the pure quality of its ingredients. I loved the al dente "QQ" bite of the pasta. Though the ingredients were simple, this dish packed a ton of flavor, seriously contending as one of the best pasta dishes we’ve ever had in America. (!)

The Lasagnette, served with spinach and braised pork shoulder, was also very tasty. The pork was fall-off-the-bone tender and the tomato-based sauce full of flavor from the braised meat.

Salt-Roasted Branzino 
thyme, coarse sea salt, caramelized lemon 

I’ve had branzino several times in many area restaurants. Every restaurant I’ve visited recommends the branzino as the restaurant’s house special, claiming it's one of the best dishes. Although it’s usually quite good, at the end of the day, I’ve always though of salt-roasted branzino as an oven-steamed fish – nice with lemon, but nothing extraordinary.

Il Buco changed all that. The branzino at Il Buco was seriously the best branzino I’d ever had. Though similar in preparation, the texture was super soft and the flavor was somehow incredible. It must be the quality of the fish.

Porchetta alla Roman
shaved fennel, blood orange, mustard greens, cracklings

This wonderfully “porky” dish came with soft, fall-off-the-bone porchetta that was incredibly juicy and flavorful. The smoky cracklings added a lovely defining crunch to the dish.

Spit-Roasted Short Ribs
Castelvetrano olives, celery, walnuts, horseradish 

The result of being cooked for many, many hours, these short ribs were soft, meltingly-tender, and absolutely delicious.

Dessert

I did not expect a small splash of aged balsamic vinegar to make such a difference, but I was blown away by the house made panna cotta with 10-year aged balsamic vinegar. The aged vinegar was deep, almost-syrupy, and sweet. It added a lovely complex dimension to the creamy panna cotta.

In fact, I liked it so much I broke down and purchased a whole bottle of this gorgeous balsamic vinegar at the market after our meal.

I confess, I often sneak small cups of this addictive stuff and drink it straight up. It's that good.

I ended the meal with a Cappuccino and some cookies.

Bryan went with the Espresso. Both were great and totally reminded us of Italy, again.

The Food
The food here is excellent. We've only been here twice (once for lunch, once for dinner), but both times we had a great time. Everything is good. The salumis are among the best we've ever had, the cheeses are excellent, and the pastas are unparalleled. Every single meat/fish dish was executed really well.

The Market
It's hard not to be tempted to shop at the market after the meal. The best part is that you can often purchase things that you enjoyed during your meal, such as particular cheeses, cured meats, or olive oils.

I picked up a huge bottle of amazingly fragrant extra virgin olive oil as well as a bottle of that lovely balsamic vinegar.

They are used to dealing with out of town customers, so they can help you pick out market items that will last your trip home. In our case, we ordered a bunch of fantastic cured meats as well as some of their delicious bread. Perfect for a sandwich on the train or bus ride back to Boston!

Il Buco Alimentari & Vinera
53 Great Jones St
New York, NY 10012

Park (Harvard Square)

Harvard Square is forever a changing scene when it comes to restaurants.

 Back when I first moved into the area (over 10 years ago!), it seemed like the only way to get really good food was go somewhere really casual (e.g., Herrell’s ice cream, Bartley’s Burgers, Veggie Planet) or really fancy (Craigie Street Bistrot, Rialto, or Upstairs at the Pudding).

There was a gaping hole for nice, gastropubs that offered excellent food, a great drink list, and reasonable prices.

The past five years, several casual yet great food-focused options have popped up right in the Square. Russell House Tavern is by far the most popular one, serving excellent new American cuisine along with a great selection of drinks. The Monday Club just recently opened its food bar, another great alternative for reasonably priced and fantastic small plates, pizzas, and pastas.

Add to that list places like Tory Row, Ten Tables, Garden At the Cellar, and now Park, you have a solid list of great gastropubs serving innovative and well executed dishes that go with great beer on tap.

Park replaces Redline, a tired, American pub/nightclub whose dated presence just wasn't working anymore (or perhaps it was the food, which I never found to be that exciting?). After a massive renovation, Park re-opened just a couple months ago to great fanfare, not the least of which came from the very influental Boston Globe writer Devra First.

The interior resembles an old library filled with cozy little sitting areas where you can lounge in leather couches while staring up at endless shelves of books. The tables are a bit smaller and lower to the ground here, but I really like it because it's more low-key.  It's like relaxing in a friend’s living room - there’s a bit less noise and a bit more space.

Bacon 3-way

I had been intrigued by the “toasts” that they offered. Though I was tempted to order the tomato-themed set of three toasts, Bryan really wanted to try the Bacon 3-way toasts [$12], so we went that way instead.

The "Bacon, Egg, and Cheese" is unusual in that it's made with lamb bacon, Gruyere cheese, and a quail egg. It was excellent. The bacon was well crisped, the egg was just a tad runny, and the toast was nicely browned.

Similarly the House cured Maple Bacon, Confit Tomato and Arugula toast was tasty and my favorite of the bunch.

The Prosciutto, Summer Melon and Balsamic (there was no toast involved, just a Chinese ladle filled with tiny bits of melon, prosciutto, and balsamic), was more interesting in concept than actual execution. The flavors were alright, but I did not think the creative presentation added anything to the flavors.

Meat Pies
We had heard some pretty incredible things about their popular ever-changing daily Meat Pies. They only make a certain amount per day and invariably run out early. As predicted, they had run out of the last meat pie by the time we ordered (even though it was like 7PM - Grrr!).

According to the chef, the meat pies keep them creative. Though most of the menu is relatively constant, the meat pie changes daily. It gives them the creative outlet to continue innovating, dreaming up new variations and styles of this comfort classic.

Bryan did manage to order a meat pie on a subsequent solo visit and reported back that it was sausage-based and was “pretty good.” (He is a man of few words, alas).

The side dish Sautéed Garlicky Greens [$6] was fine but a bit underwhelming. It's serviceable if you're ordering a side of vegetables to be healthy, but the flavors were only OK. Any Cantonese restaurant's version of garlic wok-fried vegetables beat this hands down in terms of flavor.

Bryan really liked the Salt and Pepper Shrimp Pickled Jalapeños, Napa Cabbage and Cilantro [$10], which was recommended to us by the waitress. Though the pan-Asian inspired flavors were not my personal favorite (it was just a bit sweet & sour for my tastes), the shrimp was executed well and the dish was still enjoyable.

Seared Scallops Corn purée, shaved asparagus and house-cured bacon vinaigrette [$23]

The scallops were perfectly cooked - nicely seared, juicy, and sweet - and were served alongside thinly shaved asparagus and topped with bacon. The flavors were solid, though it was the type of dish that I sort of felt like I could recreate at home.

Bryan loved the Grilled Lamb Belly Summer succotash, Madeira [$19]. It was extremely tender, “fall-off-the-bone” soft and full of deep, rich flavor that was brightened a bit by the Madeira wine. The accompanying succotash was great, chock full of fresh peas, corn, and fava beans. I would totally come back and just order myself a full side of of succotash, it was so good.

Initial Thoughts
Park is a welcomed addition to the burgeoning food scene in Harvard Square. It offers a nice selection of well-executed creative dishes at a reasonable price point. The food is good, and we like the focus on fresh seasonal ingredients as applied to comfort foods. The bar has a lot of craft cocktails that we have yet to try and the beer selection looks great as well.

Is it my first choice for dining in Harvard Square? Probably not. Being a person who loves fresh farm produce more than meat-focused comfort foods, I tend to gravitate towards restaurants with lighter fare.

Nevertheless, the food is solid (Bryan definitely liked the restaurant more than I did overall), and it's a great option to have in the Square. The menus has a nice variety of options, the dishes are executed well, and it's fun going there.

I'm sure we'll return.

Park
59 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
 

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is so misunderstood.

I misunderstood it for years.

{OK, to be fair, I haven't known pasta carbonara for that long. In fact, I first knew the name as a server at MIT. Yes, MIT named its servers after pasta dishes, likes Primavera, Carbonara, you get the picture.}

But even after I knew that it was a pasta dish, I always thought I hated carbonara. Why? I really don't care for cream sauces. Fettuccine Alfredo makes me shudder, and I would choose a rustic tomato or simple olive-oil sauce any day over a cream sauce (with only a few exceptions).

But then I tried carbonara in Rome.

It's so different there.

In Rome, we tasted some of the best carbonara we'd ever had in our lives. At Roscioli, a restaurant known for obsessing about the source of its ingredients, it's all about the eggs. The pasta carbonara at Roscioli is much "eggier" than any carbonara we've ever had. The intensely yellow-yolked eggs come from Paolo Parisi, a well-known egg farmer whose free-range hens feed on goats' milk.

We also learned that pasta carbonara in Rome has absolutely no cream.

In fact, the ingredient list for this rich, velvety pasta is ridiculously short and simple.

A true carbonara consists of only the following: eggs, guanciale (smoked pork jowls), pasta, cheese, and fresh, ground pepper.  That's it! Forget the garlic, white wine, parsley, and butter. Definitely forget the cream.

Because of the recipe's simplicity, it's crucial that you buy the highest quality ingredients. You can easily be disappointed by this recipe if you don't use good ingredients.

So we went all out. We went to Formaggio Kitchen, one of the nicest gourmet stores in the Boston area known especially for its incredible cheese selection. We picked up a really nice, eggy dried pasta from Italy called Marco Giacosa.

We bought the house-cured guanciale (cured pig's jowls), a mix of Pecorino Romano and pure Pecorino from Italy, Chip-In eggs, and a blend of pink, white, and black peppercorns. For fun, I threw in some Sichuan peppercorns that I had as well.

Once you have your ingredients, it's really, really easy to make this simple dish. Cook the guanciale over medium heat until the fat is rendered. The original recipe says don't let it brown, but definitely ignore that! All of the guanciale we had in Rome was super crispy. It was one of our favorite parts of the dish, so I would definitely let it get nice and crispy. Drain the oil and put the guanciale in a separate bowl. Mix in your glorious bowl of (mostly) egg yolks, and stir!

Meanwhile, on the side, cook your pasta until perfectly al dente (make sure to salt the water a lot, til it "tastes like the ocean"). Grate some cheese, crush some pepper, and then get ready to assemble!

Add in all the goodies (including some reserve guanciale fat and pasta water!), taking care to add the cheese in small quantities (and mixing in between) so it can melt and distribute evenly.


Toss everything together!

Serve on warm plates, as the dish does cool pretty quickly.

Add extra fresh ground pepper and grated cheese to taste.

Enjoy!

Bryan, definitely my toughest critic by a long shot, thought the dish was really good and happily volunteered to eat all the leftovers the following day.

This one's definitely a keeper.

Pasta Carbonara
Serves 4-6
adapted from Barbara Lynch (of Boston's No. 9 Park, Menton, among others)

1/4 pound guanciale, cut into 1/3" cubes
7 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 pound pasta (I used pappardalle)
Kosher salt
1/2 - 1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano (original recipe said 1/2 cup, but we added more)
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground green peppercorns
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pink pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
[note: I just used 2 tsp of one of those pre-mixed sets of peppercorns]
Freshly ground black pepper

Cook guanciale in a large skillet over medium heat until fat renders and the guanciale is nicely browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Pour into a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; reserve drippings. Transfer guanciale to a large bowl and let cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and egg.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water (I made the water pretty salty, "like the ocean."), stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. To the egg mixture, immediately add pasta, 2 tablespoons pasta cooking liquid, and 1 teaspoon guanciale drippings; and toss to coat. Working in 3 batches, gradually add the cheese, stirring and tossing to melt between batches. Add the fresh ground pepper and toss until sauce thickens, adding more pasta water by tablespoonfuls if needed. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Divide among bowls. Garnish with additional Pecorino and fresh ground pepper.

Enjoy!

Note: I halved the recipe (it could still easily serve 3 people), so I used 3 egg yolks and 1 egg, which still worked out fine.

Related Posts
Deconstructed Spaghetti Carbonara with Sous Vide Egg
Roscioli Restaurant (Rome)

Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles

This is the fifth post in the Eating the Big Apple series. Other posts include Soba Koh, Sylvia's Restaurant (Gospel Brunch), Torrisi Italian Specialties, and Ippudo.

I started eating hand-pulled noodles at a very young age.

At that time, I didn't even appreciate how awesome it was. We were fortunate, I guess. In the middle of Toledo Ohio, there was this Chinese couple (who grew up in Korea, interestingly), that opened a simple Chinese restaurant called Peking City.

Sure, the restaurant had its fair share of Americanized Chinese food (hello Orange Chicken!) and (oddly enough) Korean staples like Jja Jang Myeon. But the most beautiful thing? The husband knew how to make hand pulled noodles.

I didn't really appreciate the rarity of this treat until I moved to Boston. All of a sudden, I was living in a city where (at most) you might have one hand pulled noodle shop (if you're lucky) exist for a few years before shuttering (ah, Noodle Alcove, I miss you).

In desperation, I tried learning to make my own. I even took a noodle pulling class in Beijing to learn from the masters themselves (yes, check out the video of the class that I made!). When traveling to other cities, we continued to eat noodles - in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, the Bay Area - even a place that Anthony Bourdain visited.

Thankfully, I need not travel that far for noodles. New York City is pretty close to Boston, and there are tons of hand-pulled noodle shops there. This past year, I visited my first hand pulled noodle shop in Chinatown.

Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles is your typical hole-in-the-wall in Chinatown. Tucked away in a small side street, the friendly, colorful sign beckons you into a reasonably cramped eating space with simple wooden tables and pictures of dishes on the walls.

One of my favorite things about this restaurant is that you can "custom-order" your noodles. You choose between "normal", "wide," or "fat" hand pulled noodles. You can also get knife-cut noodles (not hand pulled, but shaved off of a huge block into boiling water!). You can even order rice noodles (but why would you ever do that? They're not homemade!).

Of course we got a variety, opting for "normal", "wide", "fat", and "knife cut."

They asked us if we wanted to also get some veggies, like the house made pickles. I kind of regret bowing to the pressure at the time. These were frankly kind of average - I actually much prefer my own version.

The noodle soups, on the other hand, were great. The broths are pretty simple - bone-based, clear, and reasonably light. Those that are used to intense, flavorful broths may find this a bit "bland", but I thought it was fine and I didn't mind the "lighter" style soup.  I think most of the offerings use the same basic broth, just with different combinations of ingredients.

How do you know if you have *real* hand pulled noodles? You'll have A LOT of trouble cutting your noodles in half. After all - hand pulled noodles derive from one loooooong noodle that gets pulled and doubled, over and over again.

We tried various methods of trying to cut the noodles, including this interesting "cut from the edge of the bowl using chopsticks" method. I guess it wouldn't be so much of a problem if you have your own bowl and you can just keep on slurping that one long noodle. However, we were with friends, and the four of us wanted to try all four noodle dishes that we ordered, thus the complexities.

I loved the super wide noodles, which had a great, chewy "QQ" bite to it.

That particular wide noodle was paired with a wonton noodle soup, which was pretty good.

The pan fried dumplings, although serviceable, were a disappointment overall. I've had much better dumplings, both in Los Angeles and in China. These were a bit greasy, not super crispy, and overall just a bit too heavy. I would stick with the noodles and skip the fried dumplings.

One of the best ways to enjoy the texture of handmade noodles is to have them in a pan-fried dish. At the end of the day, if you're not a super fast eater, you risk the soup softening the fresh noodles over time. This problem doesn't occur in a pan-fried noodle dish, which is why I often like to order pan-fried fresh noodles instead of soup noodles. [I'm also a particularly huge fan of knive-cut noodles in general, so perhaps I'm biased?]

These knife-cut noodles had awesome texture. In some ways, it almost didn't matter what specific other things came along with the noodles. I was just happy chewing away at the wide ribbons.

Alas, we ordered way too much food, but it was super fun to try so many dishes. Overall, Tasty makes great noodles. Skip the cucumbers and pan fried dumplings. Focus on the various permutations of what they make best - noodles!

Some may argue that their broth is a little less complex than other broths (Bryan still prefers the flavors of the noodle soups at his favorite LA haunt, for example). There's also less variety, as it seems like most of the noodle soups are based on this one broth.

Nevertheless, if you're just in the mood for a simple, well-executed, cheap and satisfying bowl of chewy, hand-pulled noodles (most dishes are $5-$7), Tasty does a fine job of it.

Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles
1 Doyers St
New York, NY 10013