Wolfe in sheep’s, oh never mind

February 1

Did you know that New Orleans now has 80 more restaurants than it did before “the storm” (as locals call Katrina)?
I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s what Thomas Wolfe, executive chef of Wolfe’s in the Warehouse in New Orleans, said.
It seems to me that New Orleans at the moment is trying to send out two messages:
1) Everything’s fine, y’all, come on down and laissez les bons temps rouler! and
2) We’ve been forgotten, neglected, and we need help!
I suspect both have elements of truth.
I also learned last night at the James Beard House that the next time I go to New Orleans I must have roasted oysters at Drago, near the airport, and also make the 25-mile trek across the bridge to Trey Yuen for the best Chinese food in America.
The last bit of advice was from Lynn Howard, a native of New Orleans who once was a physician but now is an international equities trader and art dealer. She met her husband Chris Howard here in New York, I think at a rugby game (excuse me, rugby match).
I find that it is practically a law of nature that if someone says something is the best, it’s usually below average. But Lynn and Chris seemed bright (he’s a biochemist and art dealer) and nice and I’ll try to get to Trey Yuen next time I’m in New Orleans.
The Howards were at the Beard House because Lynn is an old, old friend of Thomas Wolfe, who was cooking there last night.
And who do you think was photographing the event but Jamie Tiampo, whom I’d just met the other night? He looked very cute and serious.

Here’s what Thomas Wolfe and co. cooked:
hors d’oeuvre:
tuna tartare on black pepper-anchovy emulsion and lemon-caper dust
truffled tossed potato chip basket with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, poached leeks and Madeira butter
venison terrine with peppadew jam and fennel powder
honey mustard fried catfish with Tabasco chipotle tartar sauce
Nicola Feuillatte Champagne

Gulf shrimp paillard with herb salad, lemon-caraway granité, choupiquet caviar and confit tomato vinaigrette
206 Hendry Chardonnay (Napa)

brie-enriched velouté with caramelized scallop and saffron celeriac batonnet
2005 Henri Pelle (Menetou-Salon, Loire)

foie gras torchon and pastrami cured squab gallontine with cranbery custard, smoked Viking sea salt, wild rice pilaf and tarragon cherry beurre rouge
2005 Domaine Chandon Pinot Noire (Carneros, Calif.)

Grilled wagyu strip loin with serrano ham, confit shallot and asparagus bundles, wild mushroom ceviche and classic Bordelaise
2001 Marques de Caceres Gran Reserva (Rioja, Spain)

Ellie’s white chocolate butter bars with raspberry gelato and vanilla bean anglaise
2004 J. Vidal Fleury (Beaumes de Venise, France)

flights of flavor

February 1

Yesterday I had lunch at Gilt, which was hosting an event thrown by a spice company announcing its 2008 flavor forecast, centered around 10 pairings that it has declared to be the flavors of 2008.
The lunch was developed by the spice company's corporate chef along with Gilt executive chef Chris Lee and Michael Schulson, who used to be the executive chef at Buddakan in New York, but left to do a television show called Pantry Raid. Now he’s working on opening a Japanese-oriented restaurant at Borgata in Atlantic City, in the space where Susanna Foo’s restaurant used to be.
I parked myself at a middle seat of a long table and was soon joined by Susan Westmoreland of Good Housekeeping, which is always a treat. We didn’t end up talking much, though, because after Michael finished talking about the food, he sat on the other side of me and we talked about food in East Asia and sort of gossiped about New York chefs. Mostly, he avoided giving me too much information about what other chefs were doing as I needled him for information. He did sort of nod and shrug in ways that indicated where I should follow up, so that’s what I’ll be doing.
We also talked about seasonality. One of the flavor combinations Michael had to work with for the lunch was lemon grass and lychee. But Lychees are a hot season fruit — available in Thailand in April and May, for example — and of course yesterday was the last day of January. So although canned lychees are available, Michael made a culinary statement by pickling the lychees. I thought that was a good way of serving what he needed to serve while still highlighting seasonality.
I chatted with Chris a bit after lunch. He seemed well. Apparently he was responsible for the cardamom "caviar" in the fizztini (see below), which were little green cardamom-flavored spheres made by adding sodium alginate to a flavored liquid and dripping droplets into calcium chloride solution. That’s probably the molecular gastronomy trick to go the most mainstream, unless you count using transglutaminase to hold cuts of meat together.

Here’s what was on the menu:
vanilla cardamom fizztini
Venison tartare with toasted allspice bread and candied cherries
foie gras torchon with caramelized apple, whiskey cider foam and sage brioche
field salad with kumquats, crystallized rose petals and poppy vinaigrette
lemon grass poached lobster with pickled lychee
red curry shrimp and plantain tempura with sweet chile sauce and agave nectar
cornmeal crusted scallops with heirloom beans and oregano succotash
cinnamon scented pork tenderloin with tomato hazelnut pesto, crispy olives and balsamic glaze
ginger pistachio roasted sea bass with grapefruit miso sauce and blackberry-Merlot reduction
Mexican hot chocolate “cup” cakes (it was actually cake, served in a ceramic, possibly porcelain, cup) with cocoa whipped cream
guava and coconut water sorbet with coriander scented cones
smoked chocolate and candied orange bon bon


These are the ten flavor pairings that were being highlighted:

oregano and heirloom beans
vanilla bean and cardamom
chile and cocoa
coriander and coconut water
lemon grass and lychee
red curry and masa
orange peel and natural wood (or smoke)
allspice and exotic meats
poppy seed and rose
rubbed sage and rye whiskey

Bagatelle

February 1

I had 8 p.m. dinner reservations at Bagatelle on Wednesday, but I got there early, so I lingered at the bar and sipped Sauvignon Blanc as I got to know the bartender, Giuseppe, a friendly chap from Calabria who came to New York, met a woman, got married, has a kid, seems happy.
I think Clark Mitchell showed up right on time and ordered what I was having, which is of course a very quick way to get a drink. He later switched to a gin Martini — with onions, so I guess it’s technically a Gibson. He said he has made that his regular drink, a slight switch from his previous regular drink, a gin Martini with a twist.
Clark had been invited to dinner at Bagatelle separately, but he passed the invitation on to some underlings at Travel + Leisure and went as my guest instead. He brought along, at my request, a copy of an article he wrote on Gstaad (Clark's the guy in the mostly red jacket, looking very sporty).
He handed me the magazine and then went to say hello to his underlings.
I’m so proud that Clark has underlings now, not that I had anything to do with it, but it’s nice to watch people grow.
The menu at Bagatelle, which just opened in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, is mostly simple French bistro fare, so Clark and I had mostly simple things. He ordered crudités and a filet with Béarnaise sauce, and I had leek-filled truffled ravioli and a steak au poivre. We drank Pomerol with it.

Ia Alano

Introducing the most fashionable customer I've ever had--Ms. Ia Alano, who works as a Marketing Officer in Rustan's. Her date that night was Miguel, whom I can say is equally good looking as Ia. They were very sweet to each other so I have no doubt that they will end up in a relationship soon. Ia was the first to experience the Special Christmas Dinner I prepared during the holiday. A special menu for a very special occasion.

Ia's Birthday Celebration!

Grilled Lemon Herb Salmon with Potato Gratine.

With flowers on the floor and not the usual white petals.

Kani & Bean Sprouts Salad with Grilled Peaches.

My very own Frozen Chocolate Foam which I think was Miguel's favorite.

The take home goodies I gave for the month of December:
Cupcakes which I ordered from Yumi Castrillo.

Another reason for me to smile...

Ia handed me this little gift and asked me to open it in front of her so she will know whether I like it or not. She bought this wooden bracelet from an artist who paints for her business.
Thank you so much Ia!