July 9, 2008
When my wife and I began eating Indian food in Frederick some years ago, we'd go to Bombay Grill, on Market Street, downtown. For variety, we then tried Nilgiris off of Rt. 85 and that became our go-to Indian place. Earlier this month, we tried Clay Oven on Rt. 40 and had a good lunch.
Our preferred meal for Indian is lunch buffets, due to the selection, price, and how many Indian dishes (which are slow-cooked in sauces) excel when kept hot for long periods of time . Clay Oven's lunch buffet and dining room are smaller than those of the aforementioned competitors. One thing we appreciated was the consistent and noticeable spiciness of the food at Clay Oven. Perhaps in an attempt to appeal to a wider crowd, sometimes the chili peppers seem a bit buried at Bombay Grill and Nilgiris. Another (surprising) difference was the inclusion of a beef dish at Clay Oven's lunch buffet.
Most of the dishes really worked well at Clay Oven. The chef's use of spices (not just chilis), created many flavorful offerings. I enjoyed the chicken tikka makhani, chicken curry, navratan korma ("fresh vegetables simmered in a spiced creamy sauce with nuts"), and baigan bhurha (eggplant and onions). On the other hand, the dal makhani, a lentil dish, was one of the few bland dishes, needing more spice and more salt. The vegetable samosa was dense and unpleasant. The naan was acceptable.
In comparing my one visit to Clay Oven with my multiple visits to Nilgiris, Clay Oven's dishes were generally better seasoned. Most of Clay Oven's dishes were well spiced and appropriately creamy and rich. On the other hand, the chef(s) at Nilgiris can sometimes have a heavy hand with the oil and the salt. Yet the buffet at Nilgiris has an ever-changing variety of dishes (often including goat!) while Bombay Grill and Clay Oven seem to play it safer with their offerings. Perhaps this is why we tend to see more Indian patrons at Nilgiris. Nilgiris also has great naan, blistered from the hot oven and brushed with butter.
This was my first lunch at Clay Oven and I look forward to returning. I also need to return to Bombay Grill - it's been awhile.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Keeping berries fresh
technique from Cook's Illustrated magazine:
One thing that can go bad quickly regardless of whether it's local or not is berries. I'm sure you've had the experience of buying berries, putting them in the fridge, and throwing them out in several days because they're moldy. A solution is to wash berries in three parts water to one part regular white distilled vinegar. This kills mold spores and bacteria on the surface of the berries. Then rinse with cold water. Then spin the berries dry in a salad spinner lined layered with paper towels. Store in a paper towel-lined container with lid ajar to let moisture escape.
I split a batch of wild black raspberries purchased at the Shab Row farmers' market in Frederick. Half the batch I left in the container I purchased them in, loosely covered. The other half I prepared as above. The washed and dried berries are still good one week later (save for one, lone moldy berry). The unwashed half were moldy. The procedure above bought me at least several extra days of good berries.
One thing that can go bad quickly regardless of whether it's local or not is berries. I'm sure you've had the experience of buying berries, putting them in the fridge, and throwing them out in several days because they're moldy. A solution is to wash berries in three parts water to one part regular white distilled vinegar. This kills mold spores and bacteria on the surface of the berries. Then rinse with cold water. Then spin the berries dry in a salad spinner lined layered with paper towels. Store in a paper towel-lined container with lid ajar to let moisture escape.
I split a batch of wild black raspberries purchased at the Shab Row farmers' market in Frederick. Half the batch I left in the container I purchased them in, loosely covered. The other half I prepared as above. The washed and dried berries are still good one week later (save for one, lone moldy berry). The unwashed half were moldy. The procedure above bought me at least several extra days of good berries.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
E.M. Restaurant - Chinatown, New York, New York
June 21, 2008
Chicken feet. Jellyfish.
The morning after Steely Dan at the Beacon Theatre (and several bars after that), we agreed to do dim sum in Chinatown for brunch.
I asked our friend from high school (Brian) who lives on the Lower East Side to take us to a real deal place. I'm uninterested where tourists eat in Chinatown. Take me to some place authentic, I said.
So we head to Chinatown and on the outskirts the crowd is racially mixed. As we kept walking, we eventually got to a point where we were the only six non-Asians around. We entered the restaurant and we were the only non-Asians there. We sat down at a round table in a brightly lit room not unlike a banquet room of a modest hotel. Throughout the meal the wait staff was very welcoming while gladly and proudly telling us what every dish was.
We had shrimp shu mai, pork shu mai, a braised leafy green in soy sauce, lamb and turnips (probably boiled), and a scallion pancake (one of the table's favorite dishes) as well as several pork rib dishes. On the whole, there were familiar Chinese flavors involving soy sauce and mixing sweet and salty. Sometimes the food was pretty pungent (fish sauce? oyster sauce? an ingredient with which I'm unfamiliar?), such as the pork shu mai, yet the lamb and turnips was quite bland (other than the disturbing skin attached - and at least one piece with a few hairs unremoved).
Alright. Chicken feet.
If you've never had chicken feet, would you like them? The answer to that question is pretty much the same as the answer to: Do you like the skin on chicken? Because once you eat the skin off of a chicken foot, there's really nothing left but bone and cartilage. Brian said he prefers fried chicken feet to the ones that we had because the skin on fried feet is crispy while the skin on the ones we had was soft. I assume I would agree. The chicken feet were in a brown, salty and sweet sauce, topped with sliced scallions - flavors and appearance that you'd associate with Chinese cuisine.
Jellyfish tasted like cabbage but had one of the worst textures of any food I can think of ever trying. It was described by people at the table as like "a mouthful of chicken cartilage," "eating an ear or nose," and "eating bubble wrap."
What was different from regular Chinese restaurants in the 'burbs was that most of the food was much more modest. To me, there's a real peasant quality to dishes like chicken feet and the lamb and turnips, yet the waiters were in white shirts and black bow ties. The Americanized Chinese restaurants I'm used to seem to serve more expensive cuts of meat - but at higher prices. The six of us shared quite a few small dim sum plates and had tea and water and the bill (pre-tip) was $55. In New York. Where I paid $11 for a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada. Where I paid $15 for a beef brisket sandwich and pickles.
One ingredient that was noticeably absent was anything with duck. Brian said that duck (as well as roast pork) tends to not show up at weekend dim sum brunch but does at other Chinese meals (lunch, dinner).
Was the food amazing? No. Was this a good, affordable, and very interesting brunch in NYC? Absolutely.
Chicken feet. Jellyfish.
The morning after Steely Dan at the Beacon Theatre (and several bars after that), we agreed to do dim sum in Chinatown for brunch.
I asked our friend from high school (Brian) who lives on the Lower East Side to take us to a real deal place. I'm uninterested where tourists eat in Chinatown. Take me to some place authentic, I said.
So we head to Chinatown and on the outskirts the crowd is racially mixed. As we kept walking, we eventually got to a point where we were the only six non-Asians around. We entered the restaurant and we were the only non-Asians there. We sat down at a round table in a brightly lit room not unlike a banquet room of a modest hotel. Throughout the meal the wait staff was very welcoming while gladly and proudly telling us what every dish was.
We had shrimp shu mai, pork shu mai, a braised leafy green in soy sauce, lamb and turnips (probably boiled), and a scallion pancake (one of the table's favorite dishes) as well as several pork rib dishes. On the whole, there were familiar Chinese flavors involving soy sauce and mixing sweet and salty. Sometimes the food was pretty pungent (fish sauce? oyster sauce? an ingredient with which I'm unfamiliar?), such as the pork shu mai, yet the lamb and turnips was quite bland (other than the disturbing skin attached - and at least one piece with a few hairs unremoved).
Alright. Chicken feet.
If you've never had chicken feet, would you like them? The answer to that question is pretty much the same as the answer to: Do you like the skin on chicken? Because once you eat the skin off of a chicken foot, there's really nothing left but bone and cartilage. Brian said he prefers fried chicken feet to the ones that we had because the skin on fried feet is crispy while the skin on the ones we had was soft. I assume I would agree. The chicken feet were in a brown, salty and sweet sauce, topped with sliced scallions - flavors and appearance that you'd associate with Chinese cuisine.
Jellyfish tasted like cabbage but had one of the worst textures of any food I can think of ever trying. It was described by people at the table as like "a mouthful of chicken cartilage," "eating an ear or nose," and "eating bubble wrap."
What was different from regular Chinese restaurants in the 'burbs was that most of the food was much more modest. To me, there's a real peasant quality to dishes like chicken feet and the lamb and turnips, yet the waiters were in white shirts and black bow ties. The Americanized Chinese restaurants I'm used to seem to serve more expensive cuts of meat - but at higher prices. The six of us shared quite a few small dim sum plates and had tea and water and the bill (pre-tip) was $55. In New York. Where I paid $11 for a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada. Where I paid $15 for a beef brisket sandwich and pickles.
One ingredient that was noticeably absent was anything with duck. Brian said that duck (as well as roast pork) tends to not show up at weekend dim sum brunch but does at other Chinese meals (lunch, dinner).
Was the food amazing? No. Was this a good, affordable, and very interesting brunch in NYC? Absolutely.
Local Farmers' Markets
I've been taking advantage of the mid-week markets in order to avoid the crowds of Saturdays. But I believe I'm missing a lot at the Fairgrounds and Baughman's Lane. I've got to check those out soon.
July 1: Coldstream Lot, Lake Linganore
This is a new market, which will hopefully expand. There were only three vendors and only one sold produce (the others were baked goods and coffee). But it's hard to complain when it's the closest one to my house.
Most of the produce at the one stand was not from the farm of the stand owners. They had a few items from their farm in Keymar, MD, some goods from a neighboring Carroll County farm, and others from as far away as South Carolina. I'm at the markets for local produce only so I bought a nice pint of cherries for $2.50. I paid $4.00 for a pint at the Shab Row market last week.
June 19 and 26: Everedy Square and Shab Row, Frederick
For its small size, the Shab Row market has a decent selection of goods from various-sized farms. In addition, there is a bakery, and on the 19th, there was a vendor who makes and sells chocolate truffles. In the two weeks, I've purchased blueberries, two types of summer squash, cherries, Thai basil, rosemary, orange-lemon-lime-ade, and a chocolate truffle. I've been pleased with the quality of all of the goods I've purchased (but a regular-size chocolate truffle for $2 was too much).
June 4: Heritage Farm Park, Walkersville
My first farmers' market trip of the summer was a bit of a disappointment at first, yet yielded a really good dish.
Only a minority of stands had produce. The rest hawked items such as wool and flavored popcorns, yet the trip was not a bust because I had cut out a recipe from the previous week's Washington Post's Food Section. From one produce vendor, I purchased radishes. From the other, I purchased spring onions. The dish was "Butter-Braised Radishes" and it exceeded my expectations. I had only had raw radishes in the past and was never much of a fan, but cooking them in water and a little bit of butter, along with sauteed spring onions, was a great new flavor. I saved the recipe and will make it again. I need to return to the Walkersville market.
July 1: Coldstream Lot, Lake Linganore
This is a new market, which will hopefully expand. There were only three vendors and only one sold produce (the others were baked goods and coffee). But it's hard to complain when it's the closest one to my house.
Most of the produce at the one stand was not from the farm of the stand owners. They had a few items from their farm in Keymar, MD, some goods from a neighboring Carroll County farm, and others from as far away as South Carolina. I'm at the markets for local produce only so I bought a nice pint of cherries for $2.50. I paid $4.00 for a pint at the Shab Row market last week.
June 19 and 26: Everedy Square and Shab Row, Frederick
For its small size, the Shab Row market has a decent selection of goods from various-sized farms. In addition, there is a bakery, and on the 19th, there was a vendor who makes and sells chocolate truffles. In the two weeks, I've purchased blueberries, two types of summer squash, cherries, Thai basil, rosemary, orange-lemon-lime-ade, and a chocolate truffle. I've been pleased with the quality of all of the goods I've purchased (but a regular-size chocolate truffle for $2 was too much).
June 4: Heritage Farm Park, Walkersville
My first farmers' market trip of the summer was a bit of a disappointment at first, yet yielded a really good dish.
Only a minority of stands had produce. The rest hawked items such as wool and flavored popcorns, yet the trip was not a bust because I had cut out a recipe from the previous week's Washington Post's Food Section. From one produce vendor, I purchased radishes. From the other, I purchased spring onions. The dish was "Butter-Braised Radishes" and it exceeded my expectations. I had only had raw radishes in the past and was never much of a fan, but cooking them in water and a little bit of butter, along with sauteed spring onions, was a great new flavor. I saved the recipe and will make it again. I need to return to the Walkersville market.
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