The View - Food and Drink

Cappucino in the Campo de Fiori

2009-05-28T00:50:00.000-07:00

Felidia - New York City

2008-06-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

I first learned about Lidia Matticchio Bastianich from Vicki a few years ago. For some reason, this Istrian-born Italian cooking show host, cookbook author, and restaurant owner had stayed under my radar, despite our love of Italian cooking and television cooking shows. In 2007, at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which we attend as exhibitors every year, Vicki met Lidia and acquired a signed copy of her most recent cookbook, Lidia’s Italy. She is also the author of four books on Italian cooking.

During our semi-annual trip to New York this May for Vicki’s sales meetings, we had the opportunity to dine at Lidia’s flagship restaurant, Felidia. It was opened in 1981 by Lidia and her former husband, Felice (Felice + Lidia = Felidia). Lidia is now involved with two other restaurants in Manhattan, Becco (with her son, Joseph Bastianich) and Del Posto (with her son and Mario Batali), along with Lidia’s Italy restaurants in Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

Located on a busy street in Midtown East, we arrived at Felidia just in time for our 12:30 lunch reservation. We were led past an opulent mahogany bar to a dining room with light yellow walls bathed in orange-tinted lighting, while a skylight on the second floor provided the entire space with a hint of sunlight.

Since everything on the menu sounded tempting, there was no way we could choose so we decided on the tasting menu, which features three courses and dessert, selected by the chef. We also chose the wine tasting menu to pair wines with our courses.

We began with an antipasto course, a delicate julienne of fagioli beans, lightly steamed and tossed in olive oil with pickled red onions and sliced almonds. With the beans we were served Bastianich Rosato, a rosé from the Italian winery owned by Lidia’s son Joseph in partnership with Mario Batali. It paired well with the bean salad and had a rich fruity taste.

Our primi course was the superb Ravioli con Cacio e Pere, pear and fresh pecorino-filled ravioli, garnished with aged pecorino, crushed black pepper and slices of green olive. The pasta was paired with a crisp white wine, Calcare, from the Sauvignon grape, grown in the Marche. These small square ravioli were one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever had; they simply melted in your mouth with the sweet, musky taste of the pecorino cheese and the tang of the green olive—wonderful!

Secondi consisted of three different cuts of veal cooked three ways, “Vitello, Vitello, Vitello.” Arranged around the rim of the plate were a veal sweetbread braised, then sautéed; a braised veal cheek; and a sautéed veal tenderloin. These gorgeous morsels were served on a bed of asparagus with a mushroom sauce reduction and a little Castelmagno cheese. The entire dish was sublime—the sweetbread was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of browning, which added flavor; the veal cheek fell to pieces when touched with a fork; the sautéed tenderloin was savory and cooked to a moist, medium rare. It was served with a super Tuscan, a 2002 Tassinaia, a blend of sangiovese, cabernet, and merlot grapes. The wine had good fruit, depth, and maturity, and paired perfectly with the rich decadence of the veal.

Dolce consisted of a trio of desserts; Tiramisu Agli Agrumi—orange liqueur-soaked lady fingers with orange mascarpone cream, and blood orange-poached cranberries; a warm mini-Caprese cake with chocolate, passion fruit and caramel; and a citrus sorbetto. The small bites of dessert were served with a heady sparkling moscato from Piemonte. Both wine and sweet made for a perfect ending to a divine meal. All that was missing was the intoxicating smell of jasmine that hangs in the air outside almost every café in Italy.

The tab for the tasting and wine courses plus coffee and Pellegrino was $180.00. Outstanding service, great food, excellent wines, highly recommended.

Link:

Video - Lidia Bastianich discusses here restaurant, Felidia

Absent No More

2008-05-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, I haven't posted to this blog for well over a year, but that will now change. Due to the encouragement of my lovely wife, Vicki, I will begin blogging again on food, wine, and such. We've been travelling lately, and visting a number of wonderful eating establishments, which must be written about, so keep your eyes and ears posted.

-- Bob

Healthy Hot Dogs?

2007-02-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

Everyone who knows me well is aware that I love hot dogs. I’ll take all different kinds, from the so-called gourmet dogs to those big boys that they sell at 7-11. Hot dog eating doesn’t come without guilt, however, as most franks are laced with bad stuff like nitrates and filler. So I was intrigued when I tried a sample at Trader Joe’s of their Uncured Beef Hot Dogs, which according to the package are nitrate free, with no fillers, gluten, msg, antibiotics or hormones. Not only that, but my sample tasted great!

They’re not cheap, four bucks for a package of eight, but I brought one home and tried them today. The best way to cook hot dogs is to grill them, but I chose to steam mine. I like having two dogs because I can dress them up differently. On one I put Dijon mustard, red onion, sliced dill pickle, and halved cherry tomatoes. I also added a few Tai chilies I keep just for this purpose. On the other I put some grainy mustard, onion, and sweet pickle relish. Both were marvelous, and the flavor of the dogs stood up to all my additions. They went great with one of my favorite chips, Kettle Chips Yogurt and Green Onion.

Guilt free hot dogs? Well, it ain't health food, but it's a step in the right direction.

Fresh Mex

2007-01-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

Fresh Mex, at the corner of 5th and Keystone. sounds like a chain, but it’s not. I’ve been there a few times now and frankly, I think it’s just as good as Beto’s down the street, a place everyone raves about. So far, I’ve tried three kinds of their terrific tacos, al pastor, carnitas, and chile verde. The all come in a nice fresh tortilla and the meat is perfectly cooked, chewy, but not tough, with little pieces of fat that give it a delectable flavor. My favorite is the al pastor, which is pork marinated in various spices then roasted. Taquerias in Mexico frequently cook the meat on a vertical rotisserie similar to a Turkish doner kabab. Thin slices of meat are then carved off the roast and placed in small tacos with onions and cilantro.

On my last visit I had the enchiladas plate with one chicken and one beef. The food was nicely presented with rice, beans, salad, and a swirl of sour cream on top of the enchiladas, which were covered with a red picante sauce. The chicken enchilada was a little dry, but very flavorful; the in-house made sauce was excellent, with a very earthy taste. Its beefy cousin was outstanding, tender beef with wonderful flavor. I’m not a huge fan of sour cream on my Mexican food, but it went well with the flavors and I felt sad as I ate the last bite. The beans and rice were pretty pro-forma, but when covered with the sauce, were quite good.

All meals at Fresh Mex start with a basket of chips and a bowl of the outstanding salsa fresca. Tomato, onions, cilantro, and hot peppers, it was perfectly made, with enough bite to keep the salsa interesting. The chips are freshly made and had great taste.

The service at Fresh Mex is outstanding. Both of the women that have waited on me have been friendly and efficient, often returning to my table to see how I’m doing. The owner frequently walks among the diners also, saying hello and asking how the food it. Years ago there was a Chinese restaurant at this location where my son Matt and I used to get a lot of take-out, even though it wasn’t very good. It was followed by a place called California Burgers that also served Chinese food―not very good either. The owner of Fresh Mex tells me that people still come in asking for Chinese cuisine. What they can get instead is some of the best and most authentic Mexican food in Reno.

Lemons & Limes ... Getting Expensive??

2007-01-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

The news reports that the recent freezing temperatures in California's Central Valley has caused the loss of approximately three-quarters of the state's $1 billion citrus crop. The Golden State supplies about 87% of the country's lemon crop. This big freeze, according to reliable sources, will cause the citrus prices to go up, including lemons. Go up? Holy smoke, they've been so expensive the past few years they ought to be called yellow gold. When did someone decide that a dollar was a good price for a lemon? Well, go to supermarkets in Reno and you find plenty of them for a buck a pop. Granted, they can be found a lower prices—I buy them in bags of five at Trader Joe's for $2.79, but they're not monsters, by any means.

So what can we expect if the price goes up—three dollars apiece? And what about limes? Will they become green jewels? Some stores in Reno try to get away selling them for 50 cents each, Albertson's for one. I buy them at the King Ranch Market on Well Ave., where they're always at least 4 for a dollar and sometimes twice that. If they go up I may have to quit drinking gin & tonics—heaven forbid!

Boeuf Bourguignon

2007-01-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

Vicki and I had some friends for dinner last evening and I decided to to make boeuf bourguignon. It's something that I haven't cooked for a long time, but years ago I used to prepared it frequently. It's part of the basic repetoire I learned from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol 1. This book, along with her long running show, The French Chef (1962-73), founded my interest in fine cooking.

I love this dish, slow simmered pieces of beef swimming in a rich wine sauce with mushrooms, and pearl onions. It's classic French comfort food, perfect for the cold winter nights we've been having in Reno lately.

My dish is a variation on the Julia Child recipe. I researched a number of different recipes and came up with this one, which has some added ingredients. Basically, pieces of beef are browned, then slowly simmered for hours with bacon and vegetables in red wine. I also added beef broth, which is traditional, but some recipes don’t include it. I was very pleased with the results. I’m not sure it’s better than Julia’s recipe, just a variation.

We served the stew with garlic-celery root mashed potatoes, a classic Caesar salad, and for dessert, a lemon-yogurt cake with blueberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. The wine to accompany the dinner was Vino Noceto Sangiovese (2002) from Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley and a Cloudline Pinot Noir (2005) from Oregon.

Vicki is a fabulous dessert maker, but I promised to make the entire dinner, so I tried this Ina Garten recipe for Lemon Yogurt Cake with blueberry sauce. Everything went pretty smooth except when I poured the batter into the pan and popped it into the oven, I realized that I'd forgotten to add the eggs--quickly it came out, back into the mixing bowl, eggs added, beaten, and back into the oven. Okay, time was getting short and I was going too fast. Our guests loved it!

Sezmu

2007-01-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

Vicki and I were excited about going to dinner at Sezmu last evening. It’s received a number of rave reviews and best of all, it is only two blocks from our house! When I first moved to the neighborhood the spot where Sezmu now resides was occupied by the Great Harvest Bread Company, renowned throughout Reno for its freshly baked bread. Then about two years ago they moved to Plumbgate, a yuppie little shopping center at Plumb Lane and Arlington Ave. Next came Bec’s, a frozen custard place that didn’t last very long. About six months ago I noticed there was a sign in the vacant spot indicating that a restaurant was going to open there. Finally, in November I drove by in the early evening and saw people eating at small tables—Sezmu had finally arrived!

Sezmu is on the east side of a fairly unattractive building on Mt. Rose Street. It’s a small space, but they’ve done a great job with the furnishings and décor. The west wall is covered with large fabric squares lit from below with lights embedded in the top of the long banquette. The remainder of the walls are the original red brick with windows all around and a high beam ceiling. Seating is at small tables along the two walls, along with bar seating on the opposite side and two tall tables near the kitchen.

The three-tiered menu is not huge, but is certainly innovative and wide-ranging. The wine list is extensive and varied with both inexpensive and more pricey bottles—we chose a nice sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, which we enjoyed with the fresh home-baked bread.

The first menu tier consists of several small bites including house marinated olives, sweet potato chips, and almond stuffed dates with bacon bits. The is followed by a number of small plate appetizers. We started with crispy fried calamari on a bed of pickled vegetables. It was wonderful—perfectly crisp calamari that went well with the unusual Thai basil sauce and the spicy/tangy vegetables. Next came the Beet Study, beets presented in three different ways—all of which show off the vegetable's fabulous flavor. Finally, seared diver scallops with cauliflower puree, red curry, and almond-raisin salad. This was heaven, beautifully cooked scallops, with inspired accompaniments. We both agreed that these were the best scallops we’ve ever had.

We decided to split an entrée and settled on the pork chop that comes with parsnip-pear puree, chard, and orange gastrique. This was a pork chop to make you completely rethink any previous ideas you may have had about pork: it was full of flavor, moist, and delightful with the vegetables that lay underneath. Other entrees on the menu included beef, fish, lamb, chicken and pasta—all very innovatively prepared, with a true passion for the food itself. Dessert consisted of a ru-laced crème brulee, gingersnaps, and roasted pineapple. Accompanied, of course with a couple of espressos.

The service too was outstanding; our server was helpful, knowledgeable, and even found time to stand and chat with us. The food came quickly, but not too … and there was always someone there when we needed something. The seating is cozy, which enabled us to have a wonderful conversation with the two couples seated next to us—longtime Reno residents who were also thoroughly enjoying their meal.

The chef/owners of Sezmu are the husband and wife duo of Larry Dunning and Kristi Hoffman. Dunning is the former owner/chef of Truffula in Tahoe City and executive chef at Squaw Valley’s Plumpjack Café and the Westside Café in Tahoe City. Evidently, Chef Troy and Coleen Cannan, the owners of LuLou's Restaurant, wanted to get Larry and Kristi to Reno so they helped them find the Mt. Rose Street location.

Sezmu is just what Reno needs; creatively prepared food with an emphasis on freshness and the use of organic ingredients, presented in an outstanding manner. Its menu gives the diner an opportunity to eat a variety of light plates or have a more substantial entrée. It’s everything that an innovative upscale neighborhood restaurant should be. By the way, the name Sezmu comes from that of the Egyptian deity of wine and oil presses.

670 Mount Rose St. Reno
327-4448

New Year Lobster - Addendum

2007-01-05T08:58:00.001-08:00

I received a very apologetic phone call yesterday from the manager of the Raley's food story on Keystone. He said that more than a third of the Maine lobsters the Reno stores had ordered died on their way here from the Bay Area. No reasons why, perhaps they didn't like the altitude in the Sierra.

It's great to get this kind of follow-up. Makes the consumer feel like he/she has a voice. I should add that they are sending me a $20 gift card for my trouble -- I think I'll start sending them a complaint once a week.

New Year Lobster

2007-01-04T12:00:00.001-08:00

Vicki and I spent New Year’s Eve with our good friends Tom and Joyce. We wanted to do something simple, so Joyce suggested lobsters―Raley’s was having a sale on the Maine imports ($9.99 lb.) and they had purchased a couple on Friday afternoon. I stopped at Raley’s that evening but they were all sold out, or at least couldn’t be found. I called the next morning and was told that they were gone from all Reno Raley’s stores because there had been some question regarding the origin of the lobsters―only a small number had been ordered. Mr. Thrifty was disappointed, but went to Albertson’s and found them for $12.99 lb. These were BIG BOYS, almost three lbs. each! I swallowed hard and ordered two, watching as they were fished out of the tank by an apprehensive clerk; sure he was going to be shredded by these denizens of the deep.

I decided to prepare the briny boys using a recipe my friend Dan had found in the food/wine section of the SF Chronicle. It consists of par-boiling the lobsters for a few minutes, cooling them to room temperature, then coating them with seasoned butter and finishing them in a 400 degree oven. No problem, right? I dumped the lobsters in my sink and discovered I didn’t have a pot nearly big enough to accommodate even one of them. Out to the car, race to Marshall’s to find a big pot− no luck− so I dash across Plumb Lane to Gottschalk’s where an 11 qt. stockpot is found for $40 bucks. No problem for Mr. Moneybags. It rings up as a sale item for $16.00, I coulda kissed the young sales clerk, but resisted, fearing she’d have me arrested.

Back home, the lobsters are thrashing around in the sink. I quickly dismissed the idea of clubbing them to death, so boiled water, added salt and plopped one in. Fifteen minutes later I had two red boys in post-mortem, cooling down.

The remainder of the cooking went quite well. The lobsters were fabulous, accompanied by Vicki's wonderful Caesar salad and an outstanding bottle of Chateau Woltner Russian River Chardonnay. We finished up with a croissant bread pudding, a recipe I got from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Gartin; well, not from her personally, but her tv show. This dessert is not for dieters, as it contains three whole eggs, eight yolks, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and six buttery croissants. But it was loved by all and Vicki had some for her New Year’s Day breakfast as we watched the Rose Parade.

Here are links to the recipes I used:

Roast Lobster – SF Chronicle
Croissant Bread Pudding – Ina Garten

Wine - VINO 100

2006-12-30T13:34:00.001-08:00

When Vicki and I traveled to south Reno to Sushi Moto, we also found a relatively new wine shop called VINO 100. The concept of the shop and tasting bar is to present 100 wines under $25.00. We spoke with one of the two owners, Cathy Blair, and found her to be personable and very knowledgeable about their wines. Despite having only 100 wines, I found their selection to be very diverse, with a wide range of wines from throughout the world. There were some old friends and many wines that were new to me. People are beginning to realize that although many great wines are being produced in California and the West, some outstanding bottles can be found from Chile, Argentina, Spain, South Africa and Australia. Many of these bargains can be found at VINO 100, and it’s great to have knowledgeable people who can tell you about their wines and also give you a chance to taste a few.

I think VINO 100 is worth a visit; it’s located at the corner of South Meadows Parkway and Double R, in the Smith’s Shopping Center.

Last summer reno.com had an in-depth article on VINO 100 — check it out:

http://www.reno.com/article/20060728/ENTERTAINMENT08/60222005

South Reno Sushi

2006-12-30T11:08:00.000-08:00

Vicki and I love sushi, so when a flyer for a new Reno sushi joint came with our revered Reno Gazette- Journal, we decided to give it a try. Sushi Moto is located in a newer strip mall in fast-growing south Reno near the Washoe Medical Center. We were greeted by a bevy of young Asian ladies and we were quickly shown to our seats at the crowded bar. We admired the décor of dark brown walls and a large black and chrome sushi bar. The room itself is large and contains tables where a full menu of Japanese cuisine can be ordered.

The menu is filled with more than thirty-six maki cute and hip named sushi rolls along with nigiri sushi and four hand rolls. Everything we received was well presented, and though our server was a little slow, we managed to go through five maki rolls, three hand rolls and ten pieces of nigiri. Sounds like we really liked it? Well, not exactly. Despite the variety of descriptions, all of the rolls lacked flavor and everything seemed to taste the same. I found myself dipping everything im my bowl of soy sauce and wasabi just to perk it up a bit. Vicki likes hand rolls and said the scallop hand roll she started with was not nearly as good as the scallop-based Jason she always has at Sushi Boat. The nigiri was good, but nothing special. We kept waiting for something to come that would knock our socks off, but it was not to be. As we left, Vicki said, “please don’t bring me back here again.”

The crowd at Sushi Moto was mix of young and hip, with a sprinkling of older folks and some kids. I think they’ll do well because of the atmosphere and the fact that there aren’t many sushi bars in south Reno. All-you-can-eat sushi is $14.95 for lunch and $21.95 for dinner. Our bill with drinks was around $41.00.

To satisfy our sushi cravings we’ll stick to our favorites, Sushi Boat (great prices) and the Atlantis.

M&M’s Fish and Chicken Shack - Reno, Nevada

2006-12-27T21:14:00.000-08:00

I haven’t had much real, authentic, Southern food. Sure, I’ve had plenty of deep fried chicken, fish, and of course ribs, but even though I’ve been in the South, I’ve never been in a real Southern “soul food” restaurant (what the hell is “soul food?”) When I read a review of M&M’s Fish and Chicken Shack in the Reno News & Review a few months ago,

http://www.newsreview.com/reno/content?oid=oid%3A56965

I knew I had to go—the food sounded absolutely great. I got a chance a couple of days after Xmas when my son Matt and I made the sojourn to the restaurant over on Mill Street, where it’s located in a non-descript group of businesses just east of Terminal Way.

You order and pay at the counter, probably because they get a lot of take-out orders (or maybe that’s the way they do it in the South?). Anyway, I order the fried catfish basket with a side of red beans and rice ($6.99); Matt had the fried chicken basket with fries ($6.99)—we also got an order of fried okra ($3.00). Is everything at this place fried? Absolutely not, remember that Southern cooking includes barbeque, and at M&M’s there are ribs, chicken, pastrami, and hot links, all cooked over a wood smoker in front of the restaurant.

We sat down with our drinks and the okra came first. Hot, right out of the fryer, these things were amazing. They were like little green nuggets, breaded and light as a feather. Never had ‘em before, sure will again.

My fish came before Matt’s order as it takes a little longer to fry the chicken. The pieces of catfish were breaded just like the okra, light, moist, and flavorful. They came with red beans over rice and collard greens with little pieces of ham in it. I nibbled at the food and tried to wait until Matt’s chicken came, before digging in. Then the waitress came up and told me they had mistakenly given me a plate rather than a basket. Apologetically she asked me if I wanted her to take it back and bring a basket instead—sure, I’ll give up this nice plate that includes an extra side, for a basket—no way.

Matt’s chicken was all wings, fried in pieces, minus the tip section. It was done perfectly, crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. It came with some very good thick-cut fries. He made quick work of this—I helped with the fries.

Before we left, I offered to pay the difference for the plate I’d received when I had ordered the basket. The two young ladies at the counter absolutely refused to take the two dollars I had in my hand so I put it in the tip jar and was thanked profusely—with giggles.

Needless to say, Matt and I were somewhat comatose as we left the restaurant, walking out the door into the cold and rainy afternoon. We’d agreed that we’d probably never eat again, or at least not until dinner. In particular, I was worried that somehow I was diminishing my girlish figure, particularly since I'd been fasting over the Xmas holiday.

As we stepped outside, Mitch Moore, the owner was tending the barbeque. The racks of ribs, chicken, and hot links looked fantastic and smelled even better. His barbeque is set up just under the edge of the drippy roof and he said this made his job a little difficult—good thing it doesn’t rain too much in Reno.

Matt and I agreed that a steady diet of this kind of food would probably cause premature death, but on the other hand, there’s still a lot on the menu that I need to try. That would include the barbeque, the fried oysters, the seafood gumbo, and many other things—the peach cobbler and sweet potato pie must be great desserts if one could be disciplined enough to leave room for it. I can’t wait to go there with Vicki, Tom King (Floridian) and Gailmarie (MFA, Arkansas).