You might have noticed I haven't been blogging much this past week. It has a lot to do with no Internet (no electricity at all actually) and being preoccupied with the four inches of water laying stagnant in our basement and wine cellar. And while we don't have power yet, thanks to a newly acquired (borrowed) generator , we do have access to the Internet; I'm playing a little catch up. What I wanted to talk about is what happens when you are forced to face mother nature and the wrath she may lay to your well oiled kitchen machine. For us, thanks to Hurricane Irene, we got to find out that all you really need to survive is a grill. Or so I thought...the other thing you really, really, really need is a way to keep your precious food items stored at their appropriate temperature.
What became crystal clear during all of this is the realization that we couldn't care less about the vast majority of food in the fridge and freezer. Throwing it away as it was defrosting and beginning to turn into something unrecognizable wasn't met with even a moment of hesitation. Goodbye butter and eggs; sayonara pickles and relish; au revoir weight watchers lunches and strawberries; auf Wiedersehen jellies, marinades and dressings; namaste cheese, milk and juices; arrivederci bacon, lettuce and mayo. Other than a sad little sigh of pity when the ice cream bit the dust, it was an unemotional act of blindly throwing the contents of two packed Jenn-Aires into giant garbage bags. I'm even looking forward to being able to scrub down the shelves before ever putting a single new thing back in there.
BUT, there was one thing we focused on with laser point precision. The steaks. We went through superhuman efforts to save those babies. Not just any steaks mind you, but glorious, gorgeous, flavorful Flannery steaks from California. These individually sealed and vacuumed packed miracles were watched, checked and prodded every few hours to see how they were fairing. When the last of the coolness left the dark, defrosting freezer they were moved lovingly into coolers with bags and bags of ice. We ate the first ones to thaw and watched with growing dismay as the others started the slow march to room temperature. We were running out of time! And meals! When day two became day three and then into day four of still no power and no sign of relief...we came to the morbid realization that we will most likely be putting those out to the curb as well. Oh, the horror; the sadness...the anger. Such a sad, sad loss.
To lesson our mourning and say goodbye to the departed we might have to place a big ass order and throw a party celebrating life...and steak!! This will be after the power is restored of course. Until then my friends, eat well and cherish your beef.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Brooklyn Fare, NY
Last night, before hurricane Irene drove everyone inside to wait out the storm, Alan and I were lucky enough to accompany Brian & Molly across the bridge to Brooklyn for one of the most memorable dining experiences in our lives so far. Yes, it's THAT good.
Getting reservations at this hot spot takes a miracle or the fastest set of dialing fingers imaginable. But good for us, Brian possess such fingers (using an Apple iPhone 4 I'm told). It's a fixed price; pay in advance no nonsense reservation. The Kennedy's got a reservation for 4 people at the first seating, 7pm and asked Alan and I if we'd be interested in joining them. So not only were we going to get to try this newly minted Michelin two star restaurant, I was going to take my first trip to this mystical borough.
After a starter bottle of champagne 1999 Charles Heidseick Rose at their gorgeous Murray Hill apartment (and a chance to meet Sushi, the incredible Bengal that resides with them), Brian & Molly arranged for a car service to take us to the restaurant. With no traffic, we made it there in less than 20 minutes. But alas, you aren't allowed in until exactly 7pm, so sitting on the cement wall of a nearby apartment building and chatting, we killed the next half hour.
A little bit about Brooklyn Fare. It's a grocery store. Really, see for yourself (http://www.brooklynfare.com/). Somewhere along the way, they decided to experiment with a chef's table dining experience. Separated from the store by a few dozen yards and having its own entrance, the restaurant is an oddity in the high end dining world that is New York City. First off, it's really small. There's only the one room fronted by floor to ceiling windows right on the street. It's a rectangle with almost the entire space occupied by a rectangle shaped, stainless steel counter. The center is open and where Michele, the head server (pictured below and who ultimately will be the sommelier if and when they get their liquor license) resides, bustling back and forth between the patrons (sitting on stools) and the chefs & kitchen staff who line the back wall where their cooking surface, appliances, plating area and prep space are located. Diners sit along the three sides of the counter elbow to elbow. But not to worry, there are only eighteen people seated at once so it's just not crowded. We were lucky enough to be seated on the corner allowing for conversation across the four of us.
There was also an ice filled sink behind where we were sitting for patrons to put their champagne and white wines. Along the same wall, actually on the street side window are shelves filled with all manner of wine glasses and flutes. This set up might seem closed in when you first arrive and navigate to your seat but ends up being highly efficient and quite intimate. I was very comfortable all evening.
After sitting in our seats we got down to the business of opening champagne, getting glasses, chilling the whites and getting a feel for what was about to happen. Brian & Molly have been here once before (in March, for Molly’s birthday). Alan and I were excited and intrigued by the set up and the prospect of having what the Kennedy’s have said was one of the best meals they’ve ever had. Now that’s a high bar to clear!
I mentioned earlier that Brooklyn Fare is BYO. It seems they have applied for, and are waiting for, their liquor license. Michele also mentioned that it was expected to be in hand in less than three weeks. Until then, we and the other diners came well equipped with multiple bottles. For us, this was a chance to bring out some pretty great bottles from the cellar. I mean, imagine if you will getting to choose bottles from your collection to take to a Per Se, French Laundry or Daniel; fantastic prospect, right? Right! I will not be able to give an accurate account of the bottles but I know Alan or Brian will comment on this post to add those details. What I do remember clearly is that we started with incredible champagne – the 1990 Salon. Easily one of the best bottles I’ve ever had. Ever!
In these first few minutes when everyone getting in and seated, opening up their wines and settling down, the chef and kitchen staff are preparing our first courses. And here’s where the magic starts…there are easily twenty different single bite dishes served to us over the next hour. One after the other with clockwork precision – the beautiful little bite is set in front of you in its little dish with little spoons or forks – the chef calling out the composition of ingredients and reiterating that it’s meant to be eaten in a single bite. You’ll see no pictures of these incredible morsels – written on the menu card and enforced is the restaurant’s policy of no pictures, no note taking and no cell phones. All pictures you see here are copied from a New York Times article published in April of this year. In any case, I’m sure even if I could inventory each and every bite; it would in no way do justice to the absolute phenomenon that was each bite. All were a fish or shellfish of some kind – snapper, fluke, oyster, langoustine, crab, sea urchin…they just kept coming in their picture perfect presentations and incredible accompaniments. There was caviar, rice, brioche, celery, sea foam, truffles, saffron, mushrooms, peppers…each tiny bite with its little piece of heaven…there’s almost no way to describe them all.
Getting reservations at this hot spot takes a miracle or the fastest set of dialing fingers imaginable. But good for us, Brian possess such fingers (using an Apple iPhone 4 I'm told). It's a fixed price; pay in advance no nonsense reservation. The Kennedy's got a reservation for 4 people at the first seating, 7pm and asked Alan and I if we'd be interested in joining them. So not only were we going to get to try this newly minted Michelin two star restaurant, I was going to take my first trip to this mystical borough.
After a starter bottle of champagne 1999 Charles Heidseick Rose at their gorgeous Murray Hill apartment (and a chance to meet Sushi, the incredible Bengal that resides with them), Brian & Molly arranged for a car service to take us to the restaurant. With no traffic, we made it there in less than 20 minutes. But alas, you aren't allowed in until exactly 7pm, so sitting on the cement wall of a nearby apartment building and chatting, we killed the next half hour.
A little bit about Brooklyn Fare. It's a grocery store. Really, see for yourself (http://www.brooklynfare.com/). Somewhere along the way, they decided to experiment with a chef's table dining experience. Separated from the store by a few dozen yards and having its own entrance, the restaurant is an oddity in the high end dining world that is New York City. First off, it's really small. There's only the one room fronted by floor to ceiling windows right on the street. It's a rectangle with almost the entire space occupied by a rectangle shaped, stainless steel counter. The center is open and where Michele, the head server (pictured below and who ultimately will be the sommelier if and when they get their liquor license) resides, bustling back and forth between the patrons (sitting on stools) and the chefs & kitchen staff who line the back wall where their cooking surface, appliances, plating area and prep space are located. Diners sit along the three sides of the counter elbow to elbow. But not to worry, there are only eighteen people seated at once so it's just not crowded. We were lucky enough to be seated on the corner allowing for conversation across the four of us.
There was also an ice filled sink behind where we were sitting for patrons to put their champagne and white wines. Along the same wall, actually on the street side window are shelves filled with all manner of wine glasses and flutes. This set up might seem closed in when you first arrive and navigate to your seat but ends up being highly efficient and quite intimate. I was very comfortable all evening.
After sitting in our seats we got down to the business of opening champagne, getting glasses, chilling the whites and getting a feel for what was about to happen. Brian & Molly have been here once before (in March, for Molly’s birthday). Alan and I were excited and intrigued by the set up and the prospect of having what the Kennedy’s have said was one of the best meals they’ve ever had. Now that’s a high bar to clear!
I mentioned earlier that Brooklyn Fare is BYO. It seems they have applied for, and are waiting for, their liquor license. Michele also mentioned that it was expected to be in hand in less than three weeks. Until then, we and the other diners came well equipped with multiple bottles. For us, this was a chance to bring out some pretty great bottles from the cellar. I mean, imagine if you will getting to choose bottles from your collection to take to a Per Se, French Laundry or Daniel; fantastic prospect, right? Right! I will not be able to give an accurate account of the bottles but I know Alan or Brian will comment on this post to add those details. What I do remember clearly is that we started with incredible champagne – the 1990 Salon. Easily one of the best bottles I’ve ever had. Ever!
In these first few minutes when everyone getting in and seated, opening up their wines and settling down, the chef and kitchen staff are preparing our first courses. And here’s where the magic starts…there are easily twenty different single bite dishes served to us over the next hour. One after the other with clockwork precision – the beautiful little bite is set in front of you in its little dish with little spoons or forks – the chef calling out the composition of ingredients and reiterating that it’s meant to be eaten in a single bite. You’ll see no pictures of these incredible morsels – written on the menu card and enforced is the restaurant’s policy of no pictures, no note taking and no cell phones. All pictures you see here are copied from a New York Times article published in April of this year. In any case, I’m sure even if I could inventory each and every bite; it would in no way do justice to the absolute phenomenon that was each bite. All were a fish or shellfish of some kind – snapper, fluke, oyster, langoustine, crab, sea urchin…they just kept coming in their picture perfect presentations and incredible accompaniments. There was caviar, rice, brioche, celery, sea foam, truffles, saffron, mushrooms, peppers…each tiny bite with its little piece of heaven…there’s almost no way to describe them all.
(Chef Cesar Ramirez; Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare (copied from the New York Times, April 26, 2011; article & review by Sam Sifton; pictures by Evan Sung)
After the parade of single bites comes to an end, the menu actually starts. There are another seven courses. These are written in a simple menu and each only described with a single word. Those words were: Madai, Turbot, Rouget, Duck, Cheese, Sorbet and Dessert.
The main courses are a little bigger; two, maybe three bites for each. And they were as phenomenal as their little sister dishes before. The picture you see here is Madai (snapper) with Japanese rice, sea urchin and Burgundy truffle.
During the evening we savored but downed three additional bottles of wine after the Salon. Compliments of Brian & Molly they were a white burgundy and Chablis plus a red Alan brought; a Kistler Pinot Noir. I loved the wines with this meal thinking that they did a superb job of complimenting the flavors of each dish. It was a perfect wine & food evening, no doubt.
It was an absolutely incredible food experience. So much so that I think it’s a top 10. If you can, you need to try the chef’s table at Brooklyn Fare. I promise you, it’s SO worth the trip!
Jenn’s Rating: 98
Zagat: not yet rated
Michelin: two stars
Friday, August 26, 2011
Porter House, NYC
Last night Patty, Gianne and I had our third official Ladies Manhattan Dining Club (LMDC) get together. This go around we made a reservation at Michael Lomonaco's Porter House New York in the Time Warner Center. Opened in fall of 2006 and located on the 4th floor, it shares this illustrious location with power hitters Per Se & Bouchon Bakery (Thomas Keller), Masa & Bar Masa (Masayoshi Takayami), A Voce (Missy Robbins) and Landmarc (Marc Murphy). Patty choose Porter House mainly because of a growing obsession with Debragga, New York's popular butcher and the one partnering with Porter House.
While the three of us make up the LMDC, we decided from the onset that our reservations should be made for four people allowing us to bring guests, friends or anyone we thought would enrich our evening. For this evening out we invited Susan (of AfterTaste blog fame) to join us and what a wonderful addition she made! Susan might just find herself included in more LMDC evenings out if she's not careful.
Our reservation on this particular evening was a very respectable 6:30pm. Leaving Bound Brook, New Jersey at 4:30pm, with Susan in tow, should have left us not only plenty of time to make the drive into the city but allow for pre-dinner drinks at the bar. Unknown to us and our advanced planning was the idiot who felt it necessary to get into a car accident INSIDE the Lincoln Tunnel. So an hour of sitting dead stopped in traffic and we had to make peace with the fact we were going to be late. Luckily Patty was there early ~ having drinks, making friends with the bartender and holding our reservation for us. Hell, we were so late even Gianne made it there before us (said with love Gigi)!
But we made it, close to 7pm. Upon entering the restaurant you got a sense of warm and chic...Here's the decor as described on the restaurant's web site...
While the three of us make up the LMDC, we decided from the onset that our reservations should be made for four people allowing us to bring guests, friends or anyone we thought would enrich our evening. For this evening out we invited Susan (of AfterTaste blog fame) to join us and what a wonderful addition she made! Susan might just find herself included in more LMDC evenings out if she's not careful.
Our reservation on this particular evening was a very respectable 6:30pm. Leaving Bound Brook, New Jersey at 4:30pm, with Susan in tow, should have left us not only plenty of time to make the drive into the city but allow for pre-dinner drinks at the bar. Unknown to us and our advanced planning was the idiot who felt it necessary to get into a car accident INSIDE the Lincoln Tunnel. So an hour of sitting dead stopped in traffic and we had to make peace with the fact we were going to be late. Luckily Patty was there early ~ having drinks, making friends with the bartender and holding our reservation for us. Hell, we were so late even Gianne made it there before us (said with love Gigi)!
But we made it, close to 7pm. Upon entering the restaurant you got a sense of warm and chic...Here's the decor as described on the restaurant's web site...
With spacious seating for 140, the room is as ample as the food is in its sense of welcome and luxurious modern casualness. Created by Jeffrey Beers, designer of Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne in New York, and Jeffrey Chodorow's Ono at the Hotel Gansevoort, the dining room has been critically praised for its handsome, polished design and panoramic views of Central Park. Dominating the entry is a long, sleekly gleaming cherry wood bar. Deep butter-soft leather banquettes range along the opposite wall with comfortable caf é seating in-between. The wide-grained wood floor runs the length of the bar into the formal dining room. Diners relax beneath beams of warm, slatted cherry wood and mellow, meal enhancing lighting. Wooden tables are draped with crisp white tablecloths and encircled by big, roomy arm chairs that mix American clubhouse with American opulence. The private dining room seats and additional 50, and can be divided into two more intimate and quiet spaces, providing a perfect venue for a variety of events and activities.
They settled us into a table smack in the middle of the dining room. I thought, these poor people have no idea what they're in. Wait until they realize we're loud, funny and not at all censored during our meals together. But there was a mild din permeating the restaurant that I think damped anyone's ability to listen to closely to our conversations. A good thing, I'm sure!
A disjointed and boisterous discussion ensued over the topic of how many courses, which courses and who was ordering what kicked off the evening while also trying to pick wines and ensure our waiter that we weren't nuts and we would eventually place an order. Where we netted out - a shared platter of oysters, a round of appetizers and then two porterhouse steaks to be shared amongst the four of us. To kick off the evening, we ordered a bottle of Pierre Peters Blanc de Blanc Brut, NV. This was after asking the sommelier if he could tell us a bit about the other bottle that we didn't know anything about, the La Caravelle Brut Rose, NV. During his monologue describing this champagne we were unfamiliar with he did proceed to tell us that, "it's a rose, so that means it's pink in color". We stopped him right there and ordered the Pierre Peters.
I'm going to ask Susan to weigh in on the tasting notes...I honestly was more wrapped up in the conversation and less paying attention to the bubbly. I know it was easy to drink, bright in flavor, short on the finish, medium golden color with a nice if not deep bouquet. It went well with our first two courses and seemed like a very nice choice for the $110 price point.
The first course, a tasting platter of a dozen oysters arrived. The wait staff set the iced platter up on one of those wire racks in the center of the table. The issue? The rack was so tall that the oysters were literally higher than our eyes...you couldn't see what you were eating. After some chatting we decided to take matters into our own hands and remove the rack, sitting the platter on the table, on a napkin. Seeing what we intended to do, a waiter (not our head waiter) with a deep scowl yelled at us! "STOP, I'll do that in a minute when my hands aren't full" is what he admonished us with. Luckily our head waiter must have overheard, came right over and moved the offending wire rack. Here's a picture of the oysters, down where they belonged, easily accessible to four starving young women.
Not unusually, I have forgotten the types of oysters they presented us with except Pine Island. And something I found interesting...there were four of us, we asked for a dozen oysters with some variety. Don't you think you'd make the platter up of three different kinds, four of each? That way everyone gets to try each kind. But alas, no...we got three of four different kinds so even if one type was a complete standout, someone missed out on trying it. This and being yelled at was a pretty good indictation of how the service was going to pan out all evening long.
The oysters themselves were very good...pretty large overall. Patty didn't like the "fishy" ones that much but I loved the briny, saltiness of all three I tried. They were served with a traditional cocktail sauce, lemon and a mignonette that was bright and acidic with that strong vinegar taste that goes so well with oysters.
Next up was the appetizer course. When our waiter told us they had a special that evening and it was a chilled lobster salad made from the meat of a one pound lobster and served with greens, asparagus, avocado and citrus...well, my mind was made up. I never pass up lobster salad...it's a favorite. This dish was the hit of the evening. A wonderfully large portion with the sweetest lobster meat and a gorgeous green champagne, avocado vinegrette that just made everything come together in salad heaven. The dish got passed around and kudos from all.
Susan, after much discussion with Patty, ordered the roasted beef marrow bones with herb salad and toasted country bread. I'm not sure if I've ever had bone marrow actually IN the bone. Susan performed some surgical procedure to remove each delectable morsel out and spread it lovingly onto toast points. I tried some, since there were sounds of happiness coming from her side of the table and have to say...I'm not sure I'm the biggest bone marrow fan. I've no doubt that this was very good marrow since Susan's palette has been honed to near perfection over the years...but it didn't resonate with me specifically. The bread on the other hand was fabulous.
Next up was Gianne's pan seared sea scallops with caper brown butter and creamy celery root. Winner! The scallops were warm and cooked just past translucent. The caper, brown butter was both salty and rich giving a depth to the dish. And let's face it, creamy celery root is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Great appetizer and for me, the number two star dish of the evening.
And finally, Patty's appetizer, the wild Italian arugula salad with roasted peppers, pecorino cheese, Sicilian olives and grape tomatoes. Very pretty, but just a salad, we all admit. I think I owe Patty an apology. When listening to her and Susan debate the various appetizer choices and hearing them talk about the bone marrow and the filet mignon steak tartar, I tossed out a little dig of, "what, no greens for you two"? I certainly hope my joke wasn't what diverted her away from the tartar (because I LOVE tartar) to go with the rather plain salad. Nothing special going on with this dish unfortunately.
On to the main event...eating at a placed called Porter House, how could we NOT order the porterhouse? In fact, we ordered two of them to split between the four of us. And we asked for them to be cooked medium rare... the only appropriate way to cook a steak. With the steaks, we got three of their lovely sounding side dishes...the truffled mashed yukon gold potatoes (oh, baby), the baked macaroni and cheese and the pan roasted field mushrooms.
To go with this course we ordered and had opened ahead of time a bottle of the 2006 Littorai 'Cerise' Anderson Valley. Can I just say - damn, that's an amazing bottle of wine. One of the best Pinot Noir's I've ever had. Alan, honey...if you're reading this...we need to stockpile. :)
On my plate above you see that I'd served myself up pieces from both the filet and rib eye side of the PH and added a nice tasting of the mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. The good news first? Holy frigging awesome mashed potatoes!!! Another shining example of taking something great and adding truffles to make it spectacular! Wonderful, fabulous, incredible...ahhhh....yummy. This sentiment was shared by all. The baked macaroni and cheese was very nice as well and we debated what cheese was used since it had a nice bite to it...something in there was sharp and made the dish work. I did not try the field mushrooms this evening...just wasn't feeling it.
Now, the porterhouse. It was cooked about medium rare and the flavor was nice. But it lacked that succulence that we've achieved at home (at Susan's home actually, with Rich manning the grill) and take a look at the amount of fat on the rib eye. Having to cut away a third of every bite from fat didn't make it any more endearing. While it would have been easy to do from a quantity perspective, we didn't finish the porterhouses; either one of them. The leftovers made their way back to Bound Brook to make an appearance as either pureed dinner for Connor or steak and eggs for Rich.
And finally, for dessert we decided to put one dish in the middle of the table. That dessert? Old School Ice Cream sundae of both vanilla and chocolate ice cream, hot fudge, nuts in caramel, cherries and whipped cream. And a plate of assorted Porter House cookies that they brought out with compliments from the kitchen. The sundae was yummy as were the cookies. The total bill was reasonable, we agreed, all said and done. The company and conversation was fantastic, a great ladies night out. The restaurant, we collectively gave a 6 out of 10. Good, not great...would try other places before going back.
Jenn's rating: 82
Zagat's rating: 24-25-24
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Bottle Shock!
OK. So if you’re reading this blog (and I know you are), odds are you are in an area that was hit today by the East Coast Earthquake of 2011. First off, I hope all of you and your loved ones are safe, sound, and sharing a nice bit of food and drink to celebrate the fact that you are safe and sound. If you decided to play it cool this evening to let the (after)shock of the day wear off, no need to worry. We’ve got you covered!
It's Kind of Hard to Beat Brinner
Runny Yolk Brinner Goodness on a Roll!!
Awesome Jersey Tomato Caprese Salad!
BRINNER! That delectable combination of breakfast for dinner. You’d have to be a robot not to love it. As Turk from Scrubs notes, it’s kind of hard to beat brinner. This past weekend, Susan, Rich, and Connor were kind enough to send us home with some fresh Jersey tomatoes (none better in the world!), some nice Jersey sweet peppers, and some fresh jalapeños that they had left over from their CSA share. They don’t call it the Garden State for nothing, folks!
Flush with Jersey produce, Sarah and I thought we’d do a new spin on a Jersey classic: Taylor ham, egg, and tomato sandwiches last night. It’s like a brinner BLT, except without the yucky lettuce and with the yumminess of the egg! The egg and pork roll together with the cheese really highlight the sweetness of the Jersey tomatoes.
This time, to twist things up a bit, we swapped out the Taylor ham (aka pork roll) for some thick cut ham slices from Whole Foods. (Shocker: they don’t sell Taylor ham pork roll at Whole Foods! I know, right?!?) Sarah also picked up some avocado to add into the mix. And, though we usually use a Kaiser roll to house the Taylor ham version of the sandwich, Sarah picked up some challah rolls, as those were the only soft rolls available at Whole Foods.
I was really excited to get my hands on the ingredients and get cooking! The sandwich couldn’t be easier. Put the ham in the pan and heat. Then, you cook your eggs the way you like them. Sarah wanted her egg fried over-medium, while I wanted mine lightly over-easy, so I could get that nice runny yolk. Other than those two items, all you need to do is chop the tomatoes and avocado, slice the bread, and you’re done-zo. As an added flourish (and to get more of those delicious Jersey tomatoes in our bellies), Sarah made a nice Caprese salad to accompany our sandwiches (it was DELICIOUS!).
The ingredients Sarah picked out were phenomenal. The thick cut ham (we each had two slices on the sandwich) was perfectly sized to fit the roll, and ALMOST made me forget about Taylor ham altogether. The Jersey tomato provided a simultaneous sweet and crisp element that married very well with the umami notes from the ham. On top of this, we piled 6 slices of avocado, which provided a blanket of a cool creamy softness. Next up is the egg. For me, a runny egg is what brinner sandwiches (and breakfast) is all about. Just looking at the warm yolk oozing out of the tower of meat and veg encased in sweet challah bread made my mouth water. A runny egg never disappoints, in my opinion. It didn’t here either.
The only drawback to these sandwiches is that they are so good, you’ll be done in far less time than it took you to make it. It’s a disappointment. I wished our sandwiches were 3 feet wide around, that’s how good they were.
As the summer comes to an end, so too does the dream of nights of brinner meals focused around the egg, ham, and Jersey tomatoes. Though, technically, we could have these sandwiches any time of year, there’s something about the summer and limited availability of Jersey tomatoes that makes them so much more special between the months of May and September. With just a bit more time to go, I highly recommend you run out to the store, get yourselves some ham (Taylor or otherwise), egg, soft sweet rolls and some Jersey tomatoes, and make yourself one of these delectably easy-to-make brinner wonders. If this is the last one we have this summer (and I hope it isn’t), I will be happy to know that we ended on a VERY high note.
Pizza, Homemade
On Friday Paul, Sarah & Amelia made the drive up from lovely Alexandria, VA to hang with us for the weekend. As a group we voted to make homemade pizzas as a casual dinner. Using dough from Wegmans and fresh ingredients, we worked up three different versions. The first was a straight Margarita with olive oil, sauce, fresh crumbled mozzarella, a liberal dose of Sargento's six cheese Italian blend (mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan, fontina, Romano and asiago), sliced fresh Jersey tomatoes and basil just plucked from the plant.
I thought this was one of the best pizzas we've made at the house. Adding sliced tomatoes instead of just sauce added a nice sweetness and you just can't beat fresh basil. But probably the biggest difference is this time we let the pizza stone heat up in the oven for a good thirty minutes or more which gave the crust a deeper tan and more of a crunch.
Oh, additional note! Once we decided on pizza and after the struggles of the last few times we've attempted this at home, Alan went out to Sur La Table and got us a pizza peel. It's one of those paddle looking things you use to get the pizza from the assembly surface onto the molten hot pizza stone in the oven. I have to say - Oh, Thank God!! Worked like a charm.
The next pizza up was a sausage pie with sauteed onions and peppers. This one was also loaded with cheese. We used a sweet Italian sausage browned and crumbled ahead of time.
This one was good but for some reason not quite as awesome as the last S&P pie we made. I'm thinking it had to do with the brand of sausage used this time around. As you can see from the picture, it was cooked evenly...all bubbly and happy. And the peppers and onions were well sauteed in EVOO ahead of time. It just lacked a bit of tang that I liked so much previously.
Finally, a pie made with arugula and prosciutto. There's no picture of this one thanks in part to the lateness of the evening and the bottles of wine consumed (per Alan's previous post). This was my least favorite. We cooked the pie and when it came out added the arugula and ham. The arugula was okay (looked and smelled like arugula should) but my beef here is with Wegmans. I think the quality of prosciutto was lacking. First off, it was cut way too thickly (the teenager behind the deli counter probably didn't realize the importance of paper thin strips) and without the age, salt, brine I look forward too in great prosciutto. I say all of this because I took out the leftover prosciutto the next afternoon and tried it solo realizing it wasn't up to snuff. I think I'll stick to getting all my deli meats, prosciutto included, from Delicious Orchards.
The only accompaniment to the pizza was a Caesar salad...overall a nice, relaxed meal. Good, not great food but fabulous company and awesome wines.
Oh, additional note! Once we decided on pizza and after the struggles of the last few times we've attempted this at home, Alan went out to Sur La Table and got us a pizza peel. It's one of those paddle looking things you use to get the pizza from the assembly surface onto the molten hot pizza stone in the oven. I have to say - Oh, Thank God!! Worked like a charm.
The next pizza up was a sausage pie with sauteed onions and peppers. This one was also loaded with cheese. We used a sweet Italian sausage browned and crumbled ahead of time.
Finally, a pie made with arugula and prosciutto. There's no picture of this one thanks in part to the lateness of the evening and the bottles of wine consumed (per Alan's previous post). This was my least favorite. We cooked the pie and when it came out added the arugula and ham. The arugula was okay (looked and smelled like arugula should) but my beef here is with Wegmans. I think the quality of prosciutto was lacking. First off, it was cut way too thickly (the teenager behind the deli counter probably didn't realize the importance of paper thin strips) and without the age, salt, brine I look forward too in great prosciutto. I say all of this because I took out the leftover prosciutto the next afternoon and tried it solo realizing it wasn't up to snuff. I think I'll stick to getting all my deli meats, prosciutto included, from Delicious Orchards.
The only accompaniment to the pizza was a Caesar salad...overall a nice, relaxed meal. Good, not great food but fabulous company and awesome wines.
Paul, Sarah, and Amelia (with Susan & Rich) - Saturday Night Wines
On Saturday, Susan, Rich, and Connor joined us for a sunny day outside. Susan and Rich brought over some vegetables from their CSA, some peach cobbler from Charity, a few awesome cigars, and the following white Burgundy.
2004 Domaine des Lambrays Puligny Montrachet Clos de Cailleret Premier Cru White Burgundy – I could not have asked for a better bottle to start off our afternoon festivities. This wine provided everything you would want from a white Burgundy…lovely lemon citrusy fruit, a bit of spice, minerality, good acid, a maybe a touch of oak. Some white burgundies have been getting a bad reputation lately for prematurely oxidizing, but there were no issues here. Additionally, 2004 was seen as a bit of an unripe vintage, but the wine did not show any “green-ness”. I don’t know how much Susan & Rich paid for this bottle, but would have expected it to be around $115 Retail or more. Thanks for sharing!
After the white Burgundy, we took a bit of a side track from wine to pitchers of a Jenever/Genievre based drink we called “Flying Dutchman”, amongst other names. This was a mixture of tangerine juice, lime juice, orange juice, Jenever/Gerievre (the precursor to Gin), and bitters. Very refreshing and a nice change of pace for in/by the pool. Once finished and as we moved on to our regular games of Corn-hole, the Champagne came out.
NV Paul Dethune Brut Rose Champagne – This was the first bottle of Paul Dethune I’ve had, and it was quite nice. Bought from Hi-Time for $44, it provides a decent value in Rose Champagnes. Clearly fruit driven, but with enough acid to balance things out. The finish may have been a bit short, but overall I liked the wine.
NV H. Goutorbe Brut Rose Champagne – Slightly more expensive than the Dethune, this wine was also bought from Hi-Time for $50. Overall, I thought this provided just enough more of everything to support the higher pricing. This was a bit more rounded and balanced, with excellent red fruit flavors and a nice minerality to the finish. Also had enough acid to cleanse your palate and get you ready for the next sip. If this were the same price as the Dethune, I would look to purchase more of this. However, given the price difference, I would suggest trying both and seeing which one you prefer relative to the value. Personally, I’ll look to buy both again.
NV Andre Clouet Silver Brut Nature – Andre Clouet is one of my new favorite producers and I have been trying to taste through their entire lineup. I’ve previously mentioned their excellent Grand Reserve, which provides an awesome value at under $40, as well as their high end Cuvee 1911 offering, also fantastic and well worth the $75 price point. This bottle is a bit out of the ordinary for me as it is a Brut Nature, meaning it has no dosage added. My thought was that a non-dosaged wine would be a good pool accompaniment as any sweetness in a wine when outside in the hot tends to be exaggerated. Thus, a completely dry wine might work well. Honestly, not my best choice of matches. However, saving half the bottle later to go with the Peach Cobbler worked brilliantly. The bouquet of the wine was wonderful, and provided no hint at the tartness on the finish. However, that tart and clean ending was exactly what the cobbler needed. I was able to find this wine at Premier Cru for $40. I can’t say that I would rush out to buy a lot of this particular bottling, but it is a well made wine that has its place.
2005 Williams-Selyem 25th Anniversary Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – While preparing for dinner, I pulled out this wine for the group. This Russian River Valley winery has a relatively long history (for California Pinot) of producing high quality wines. Some say it has lost a step or two in the recent 10 years, but this bottle was very enjoyable. Not a cheap wine, this appellation bottling was $60 direct from the winery; it does however deliver full flavored Pinot that is excellent with or without food. My only issue is the fact that you can get cheaper wines from other quality producers instead. However, if they are being served, make sure and get yourself a glass.
For dinner we were planning on having grilled Pork chops, with some grilled vegetables and mashed potatoes. I could not think of a better match than Chateauneuf du Pape. Also, given that Susan and Rich don’t have a lot of CdP, but wanted to try more of them, and Paul, Sarah, and Jenn love it, made it an easy choice. Thus, I went with two!
2001 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape – Le Vieux Donjon is one of my favorite CdP producers. Primarily a Grenache, with some syrah, mourvedre, and cinsault thrown in, it tends to need a couple of years of bottle aging to “strut its stuff”. This bottle was bought from a wine forum member for $45, and I thought it was delicious. In comparison to the Charvin, I thought it showed a bit more of everything…grip/tannins, dark fruits, herbs, roasted meats, etc. I highly recommend buying a bottle of Donjon in just about any vintage, but give it some bottle age prior to opening. Point in case, my first bottle of Le Vieux Donjon was a gift from my brother Scott, via a walk around within a retail store with none other than Robert Parker. It was a 1995 vintage that I opened in March 1999. My notes…”a light wine with heavy barnyard bouquet and taste, not really my style.” Oh, how wrong I was!
2001 Gerard Charvin Chateauneuf du Pape – This wine is a highly rated wine (Parker 95 points) that is in the middle of its drinking window. I expected a good showing, and got one. Knowing Charvin primarily by reputation instead of by tasting, I didn’t expect such an elegant wine. That may have been what surprised me, and somewhat disappointed me, a bit. Looking over my notes, I did have this vintage once before, with an overall good impression, I just don’t remember it being this subtle. In any case, this was a $60 bottle, probably bought from a wine forum member instead of at retail. It’s definitely a good to great wine, I just found it to be overshadowed by the Donjon.
2004 Foley Petite Syrah – The last wine of the night, served while having cigars out on the patio, was this Foley Petite Syrah. I’ve had this wine three times now, all bought direct from the winery for $55 each, and all three times I’ve been impressed. I like, but do not love, Petite Syrah. However, I love this wine and really should find a way to stock more of it. Not only is it approachable young, some Petite Syrahs need 10 years or more in my opinion, but I’m sure it also had a long life ahead (if I could have kept my hands off of them). Foley makes a deep brooding style of wine that is full of fruit…big is the word to think of here. However, always with balance. The wine matched the cigars well, but was also a good drink on its own (at the end of the night). If you haven’t tried many Petite Syrahs, treat yourself and find this one. You won’t be disappointed.
Lastly, I’d like to share a quick non-wine related note. The last two times Rich has come to my house he has brought over one of the most impressive cigars I’ve ever had…the Liga Privada #9 by Drew Estates. Easily one of the easiest, full flavored cigars to smoke, and not a touch of bitterness at any point (even smoked down to the nub). The cigars provided a nice rich smoke, excellent array of flavors including chocolate, coffee, and spice, and were a treat to have both times. Thanks Rich!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Paul, Sarah, and Amelia - Friday Night Wines
Paul, Sarah and Amelia made the trip up to see us last weekend, and so we had the opportunity to open and share a few bottles on Friday night.
1996 Bollinger Grande Annee Brut Champagne – This was another Sam’s Club special…again, while not perfect, it was decent and hard to argue with the $35 price point. The bottle was clearly aged more than it should have been, but was neither completely oxidized nor devoid of fruit, flavor or enjoyment. It was a full golden color, and actually led well into the bottle to be served next.
1976 Schramsberg Reserve Brut Sparkling – Paul’s birth year is ’76, and as I told Paul, I’ve had more of his birth year wines than of my own. As I feel like I have “grown up in wine” with Schramsberg, these bottles always have special meaning to me. Add to that fact that I’ve been able to share Schramsberg with just about all of my friends and family at one point or another, and you can start to understand my bias towards them. In any case, for a California Sparkling wine that is 35 years old, this showed beautifully. This is not a bottle that you are looking for a lot of citrus and bright fruit. Instead, it’s a flavor profile of honey, caramel, and toast. I inherited this bottle from my formal boss, Sean, and I’m glad to have another tucked away in the cellar.
2001 Damilano Barolo – For dinner we were making home-made pizzas and I wanted to have an Italian red to go with them. I don’t have a lot of Italian wines, but I was pretty interested in trying this ten year old Barolo. This was another bottle that I was given for cellar inventory work, so it would be a one shot deal. From the start, it was the right pick. I don’t know if this wine was better at a previous point, but it was super enjoyable. It had a wonderful bouquet, dark color, and full flavor. It also still had enough tannins to cut through the sausage and peppers on one of our delicious pizzas! Probably only $30 or so at retail when it was available, it makes me think that I should try to identify more Italian wines for future storage and consumption.
2003 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon – As the Barolo went so quickly, we needed one more bottle to finish off the night. This was a bottle that I had brought to D.C. for Scott’s wedding weekend, but we never got to it. Spottswoode makes terrific cabernets, and they can be enjoyed both young and aged. This wine was in an in-between stage, but it still delivered. It showed elegant fruit, some oak & vanilla, and some chewy tannins. If there were any issues, it might have been a slightly short finish, but nothing to quibble over. I believe I bought this wine direct from the winery for about $110 a bottle. Not a cheap wine, but reliable and age-worthy. Unfortunately I don’t order direct from them anymore, but always still look for them at retail.
1996 Bollinger Grande Annee Brut Champagne – This was another Sam’s Club special…again, while not perfect, it was decent and hard to argue with the $35 price point. The bottle was clearly aged more than it should have been, but was neither completely oxidized nor devoid of fruit, flavor or enjoyment. It was a full golden color, and actually led well into the bottle to be served next.
1976 Schramsberg Reserve Brut Sparkling – Paul’s birth year is ’76, and as I told Paul, I’ve had more of his birth year wines than of my own. As I feel like I have “grown up in wine” with Schramsberg, these bottles always have special meaning to me. Add to that fact that I’ve been able to share Schramsberg with just about all of my friends and family at one point or another, and you can start to understand my bias towards them. In any case, for a California Sparkling wine that is 35 years old, this showed beautifully. This is not a bottle that you are looking for a lot of citrus and bright fruit. Instead, it’s a flavor profile of honey, caramel, and toast. I inherited this bottle from my formal boss, Sean, and I’m glad to have another tucked away in the cellar.
2001 Damilano Barolo – For dinner we were making home-made pizzas and I wanted to have an Italian red to go with them. I don’t have a lot of Italian wines, but I was pretty interested in trying this ten year old Barolo. This was another bottle that I was given for cellar inventory work, so it would be a one shot deal. From the start, it was the right pick. I don’t know if this wine was better at a previous point, but it was super enjoyable. It had a wonderful bouquet, dark color, and full flavor. It also still had enough tannins to cut through the sausage and peppers on one of our delicious pizzas! Probably only $30 or so at retail when it was available, it makes me think that I should try to identify more Italian wines for future storage and consumption.
2003 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon – As the Barolo went so quickly, we needed one more bottle to finish off the night. This was a bottle that I had brought to D.C. for Scott’s wedding weekend, but we never got to it. Spottswoode makes terrific cabernets, and they can be enjoyed both young and aged. This wine was in an in-between stage, but it still delivered. It showed elegant fruit, some oak & vanilla, and some chewy tannins. If there were any issues, it might have been a slightly short finish, but nothing to quibble over. I believe I bought this wine direct from the winery for about $110 a bottle. Not a cheap wine, but reliable and age-worthy. Unfortunately I don’t order direct from them anymore, but always still look for them at retail.
A couple of wine odds & ends
1996 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Montmirail Burgundy – Jeff joined Jenn and I for dinner at our house after a tax/financials meeting. We were having a combination of Arctic Char and marinated chicken, so I wanted a food friendly red. This was a bottle that was given to me for helping a friend out with his wine cellar inventory. I had high expectations, as I often do with red Burgundy, since this was a good vintage, an appellation that I generally enjoy, and a very good producer. I honestly was a bit disappointed. Despite being 15 years old, it seemed somewhat muted. The color and bouquet suggested a full flavored wine, almost “big” in a California sense, but the palate didn’t follow through. As I only had one try at this, I was hoping for something more. Oh well.
NV Tarlant Cuvee Tradition Brut Champagne – My sister Lynne came to the house to spend the day by the pool. As a precursor to dinner, we opened this. I don’t have a lot of experience with Tarlant, but have been interested in trying them as I’ve heard good things. Thus, I bought two bottles from Hi-Time wines for $35 each. The first bottle I had back in February seemed a bit acidic and not as enjoyable as I would have liked. This bottle was clearly better. The fruit and acid were more balanced with the 6 additional months of bottle age, and I liked the value relative to the price. I will look for more, but keep an eye on the disgorgement date in order to try to not open it too early.
NV Tarlant Cuvee Tradition Brut Champagne – My sister Lynne came to the house to spend the day by the pool. As a precursor to dinner, we opened this. I don’t have a lot of experience with Tarlant, but have been interested in trying them as I’ve heard good things. Thus, I bought two bottles from Hi-Time wines for $35 each. The first bottle I had back in February seemed a bit acidic and not as enjoyable as I would have liked. This bottle was clearly better. The fruit and acid were more balanced with the 6 additional months of bottle age, and I liked the value relative to the price. I will look for more, but keep an eye on the disgorgement date in order to try to not open it too early.
Oval Room DC
Last week marked the start of DC Restaurant Week. A coworker and I decided to mix up our usual cafeteria lunch and go to a nice restaurant for a 3 course, $20 meal. When going out for restaurant week, I like to pick an expensive restaurant that offers more than 2 choices per course. With that in mind we booked a table at The Oval Room.
When we were seated, the menu we were offered was entirely for Restaurant Week as opposed to just an insert. My friend asked the waiter if they had been busy since Restaurant Week started and it was fairly obvious he was slightly jaded. He told us about working 14 hour days due to the high volume but also not making quite the same amount of money since Oval Room is "not a $20 lunch establishment." He also implied the clientele was also not use to going out to nice meals. He said one lady complained that the chilled pea soup was served cold. We assured him we wouldn't make the same mistake.
After perusing the menu I decided on the duck confit tater tots served with a tamarind dip to start and my friend ordered the truffle pasta. We both ordered the braised pork shoulder with cornbread gnocchi in a kimchee sauce for the entree. For dessert, we picked out the peach cobbler with blackberry jam ice cream and the triple chocolate brownie torte with vanilla ice cream.
The tater tots were perfectly fried and not greasy at all. I wasn't blown away by the flavor but the duck and tamarind sauce paired nicely together. The truffle pasta was amazing. It was perfectly al dente and the hazelnuts in the sauce added a lovely flavor. Our pork shoulder was nicely cooked but a little dry. The kimchee sauce was great but if it was a blind tasting I wouldn't have guessed kimchee at all. The corn bread gnocchi was delicious and inventive.
We finished our meal by sharing the desserts. I thought for sure I would prefer the chocolate cake but I found I wanted my last bite to be the peach cobbler and homemade blackberry jam ice cream. The peaches were bright and the pastry was buttery and delicious. Overall, the meal was an excellent value and I would definitely go back to the Oval Room and pay full price!
Tater tots:
Truffle pasta:
Pork shoulder:
Peach cobbler and chocolate cake:
When we were seated, the menu we were offered was entirely for Restaurant Week as opposed to just an insert. My friend asked the waiter if they had been busy since Restaurant Week started and it was fairly obvious he was slightly jaded. He told us about working 14 hour days due to the high volume but also not making quite the same amount of money since Oval Room is "not a $20 lunch establishment." He also implied the clientele was also not use to going out to nice meals. He said one lady complained that the chilled pea soup was served cold. We assured him we wouldn't make the same mistake.
After perusing the menu I decided on the duck confit tater tots served with a tamarind dip to start and my friend ordered the truffle pasta. We both ordered the braised pork shoulder with cornbread gnocchi in a kimchee sauce for the entree. For dessert, we picked out the peach cobbler with blackberry jam ice cream and the triple chocolate brownie torte with vanilla ice cream.
The tater tots were perfectly fried and not greasy at all. I wasn't blown away by the flavor but the duck and tamarind sauce paired nicely together. The truffle pasta was amazing. It was perfectly al dente and the hazelnuts in the sauce added a lovely flavor. Our pork shoulder was nicely cooked but a little dry. The kimchee sauce was great but if it was a blind tasting I wouldn't have guessed kimchee at all. The corn bread gnocchi was delicious and inventive.
We finished our meal by sharing the desserts. I thought for sure I would prefer the chocolate cake but I found I wanted my last bite to be the peach cobbler and homemade blackberry jam ice cream. The peaches were bright and the pastry was buttery and delicious. Overall, the meal was an excellent value and I would definitely go back to the Oval Room and pay full price!
Tater tots:
Truffle pasta:
Pork shoulder:
Peach cobbler and chocolate cake:
The Albino, White Eggplant
This post does have something to do with Susan...our alabaster goddess, but the Albino being referenced here is actually a white eggplant.
From Susan & Rich's CSA share this week they opted for a white eggplant looking much like the ones in the picture below. They were kind enough to bring the unusual vegetable to our house for our Saturday get together with them, us and Paul, Sarah & Amelia. No one really knew what to do with the oblong oddity so we went simple, on the grill.
Cut into lengthwise strips and coated liberally with EVOO, sesame oil and put on the grill alongside peppers with the same treatment, they cooked up nice and even. What I was thrilled to discover was how meaty they were with a unique sweetness that was unexpected. Quite yummy!! So if you see one at your Farmer's Market or grocery store, don't shy away - easy to prepare and great on the grill.
This was our first experience (all of us) with a white eggplant - - if anyone has other cooking methods they'd like to share, we'd love to hear them. This one made it's way to the table with the aforementioned peppers, grilled center cut pork chops, red bliss & yukon gold mashed potatoes and a great salad of farm fresh Jersey tomatoes, cucumbers and mozzarella (thanks again, Susan)! Nice summer dinner.
PS. The homemade peach cobbler (Thank you Charity) was a perfect finish and fabulous to boot!!
From Susan & Rich's CSA share this week they opted for a white eggplant looking much like the ones in the picture below. They were kind enough to bring the unusual vegetable to our house for our Saturday get together with them, us and Paul, Sarah & Amelia. No one really knew what to do with the oblong oddity so we went simple, on the grill.
Cut into lengthwise strips and coated liberally with EVOO, sesame oil and put on the grill alongside peppers with the same treatment, they cooked up nice and even. What I was thrilled to discover was how meaty they were with a unique sweetness that was unexpected. Quite yummy!! So if you see one at your Farmer's Market or grocery store, don't shy away - easy to prepare and great on the grill.
This was our first experience (all of us) with a white eggplant - - if anyone has other cooking methods they'd like to share, we'd love to hear them. This one made it's way to the table with the aforementioned peppers, grilled center cut pork chops, red bliss & yukon gold mashed potatoes and a great salad of farm fresh Jersey tomatoes, cucumbers and mozzarella (thanks again, Susan)! Nice summer dinner.
PS. The homemade peach cobbler (Thank you Charity) was a perfect finish and fabulous to boot!!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
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Thursday, August 18, 2011
Can it be done? An opinion poll.
To everyone out there reading our blog, I have a very serious question to pose. With the explosion of incredible new burger places cropping up all over America and their ability to churn out the gourmet to the gloppy version of hamburger paradise, is it still possible to make a great burger at home? Not a good burger, but a great burger. Great like the ones we rave about so often on this very site. Or are we kidding ourselves by even trying. I ask so I know whether or not to entertain burgers on the menu at a home get together versus bringing in take out from Five Guys, Shake Shack, 25 Burgers, Bobby's Burger Palace or one of the other local, big contenders.
Eating around Boston
Two weekends ago, Dana and I drove up to Boston to catch a Yankees game behind enemy lines. We spent the weekend up there as it was my first trip to Boston. Besides seeing the Yankees win, our goal was to see the sights of Boston and eat some local food.
Our trip started Friday at Game On which is attached to Fenway. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but this is your typical bar food. Unfortunately it wasn't good bar food. Not bad, just not good. We ate typical stuff: nachos, wings, chicken sandwiches. Nothing stood out.
On Saturday, my friend, Anthony (grew up and still lives just outside Boston) and his girlfriend, Brittany, met us downstairs at 9am to show us around. My day started with a wonderful surprise. While waiting for them to arrive, I walked down to the nearby Starbucks. While placing my usual order, the barista behind the counter asked if I would like to try coffee from one of their new machines, The Clover. I had heard about these machines but yet to experience them. If you don't know what The Clover is, you are better off googling it because I am not even 100% sure. It seemed like a glorified french press that removes the grounds from the coffee.. its like having your cake and eating it, too. Anyway, I will say that the coffee was delicious. I am not sure if I'd want to wait every morning for the few minutes it takes...plus I would imagine this would create quite a backup at the counter, but it was very good. If you are a fan of Starbucks coffee, I recommend scoping out a store for one of these machines. You can actually search their site for stores that have a Clover machine. OK. That was a lot about a cup of coffee...
When our friends arrived, they immediately took us over to one of their favorite breakfast spots, Flour (www.flourbakery.com). A pretty neat little breakfast place. Had delicious looking pastries and they also had a nice spread for people with food allergies. I went with a bacon and cheese sandwich on a croissant. One of my favorite breakfast sandwiches. While eating my sandwich, I had a bit of food envy as I watched other patrons eat the french toast. It looked so good from a distance.
After breakfast and some sight seeing, we had made our way over to Anthony's town, Winthrop. One of my prerequisites for this trip was to have the best lobster roll in Boston. Anthony assured me that the best lobster roll in Boston was actually just outside of Boston. We headed over to Winthrop to this total seafood shack dive named, Belle Isle Seafood, that was just across the bridge from Boston. I couldn't tell if this was a bait shop or a food place... might have been both for all I know. Anyway it sits just off the water and you can tell that this is the type of place that has some delicious fresh seafood. We ordered our lobster rolls to go and headed over to Anthony's home. When I opened the wrapping all I saw was lobster meat. This lobster roll was no joke. The roll was overflowing with meat. We couldn't eat these rolls with our hands, it needed a knife and fork. The first bite all you can taste was the freshness of the lobster. They did a very good job of letting the lobster do all the talking. The bread was a simple New England style hot dog bun, a little iceberg lettuce, a tiny bit of mayo and tons of fresh lobster. I was very happy.
This concluded our day spent with Anthony, so he drove us back to our hotel. After a short nap, Dana and I went on a walk. We ended up walking close to two miles and ended up near an Oyster house that Anthony had recommended. I was looking for clam chowder for Dana and I wanted some lobster bisque. We walked over to Island Creek Oyster Bar (www.islandcreekoysterbar.com) and sat down for some more food. Unfortunately they didn't have lobster bisque, but they did have chilled lobster..and they also had oysters. We ordered a dozen oysters (Island Creek, Moon Shoal, Chatham)..actually the waiter ordered them because there was well over a dozen to choose from..we just ate them. I am not a big fan of oysters, but if they tasted like these...I'd eat them all the time. Hands down both mine and Dana's favorite were the Island Creek oysters. They had a very clean and sweet taste to them and they were not overly briny at all. The other two were good, but greatly overshadowed by the Island Creek oysters. After the oysters, Dana ordered the clam chowder (she found it to be too fancy) and I had a chilled half lobster (again..very fresh). One other sidenote about Island Creek Oyster Bar, they had a very good beer menu with a lot of unique choices.
After heading back to our room and showering up, we headed back out for some small apps and a bottle of wine. Brian Hider recommended us to stop by at Troquet (www.troquetboston.com) for a look at their wine list. We had no reservation, but our hope was to sit by the bar and have a bite or two with a couple of glasses of wine. When we walked in, the place looked closed. There was a tiny bar that could seat 4-5 people and then their was a row of about 8 tables that were empty. The hostess informed us that the restaurant was actually upstairs and that the tables downstairs were for dessert only. We could sit at the bar for a bite, but it was already full. We found it to be a little confusing, mainly because I went from thinking they were not even open to being completely full. We sat down at the empty tables and figured we'd order a glass and get out. I asked for the actual wine list as well. They had a large selection of wines by the glass, but nothing was really jumping out at me. I then took a quick glance at the wine list, focusing on champagne and california cabs since no food was going to be consumed with our wine. They had a nice selection of vintage Krug for very fair prices, but still a bit too rich for what the night was. I then scanned down the cabs and immediately saw what I was ordering. They had very good prices, cheaper than most retail and usually with some bottle age. I honed in on a 1997 Spottswoode Cab for $125. That price is pretty much what a current release bottle would go for if I ordered direct from the winery. I was able to just order something at that price, but with 14 years of age on it. The wine was singing. This has been a favorite wine of mine and Dana's and this bottle showed no different. On the nose, the wine just smacks you in the face with a bouquet of red fruit and cinnamon. The wine exhibited very dark cherry red flavors and seemed still pretty young, while at the same time it started to show some secondary flavors of eucalyptus and mint. I could drink this bottle every night. The wine was served with a cheese plate that we ordered off of the dessert menu. Unfortunately I did not get to see any of the main food.
After Troquet, we walked over to an Irish pub. We walked into Father Dooley's and ordered a pint of Guinness. A few minutes later, an Irish band started playing Irish tunes. Where was I? This was a great way to end our night.
The next morning it was raining pretty hard so we decided to just head home. Before leaving town we wanted to make one last stop. We headed back over to Flour to correct yesterday's mistake. Dana and I both ordered the french toast and it was as good as it looked. I would highly recommend getting the french toast there.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Pour Perks in New Jersey...reposted from The Wall Street Journal
Thank you Steve for sharing this article as seen in the Wall Street Journal and featuring one of our favorites, Pluckemin Inn...
Pluckemin Inn's wine director, Brian Hider, said he might considering adding a few if he could find quality wines. I suggested he try the Heritage Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, a wine made in southern New Jersey. The winery had sent me a few samples of their reds and whites and I'd been particularly impressed by their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($19). It was bright and lively with a citrusy nose—and if the label didn't state that it was made in "the Outer Coastal Plain" of New Jersey, I would have believed it came from the Golden, not the Garden, State.
The bad news is that there's not much around: Only 46 cases or so were made. But according to Richard Heritage, the winery's marketing director, there's more to come. They're looking to practically quadruple production (175 cases) in 2011.
The wine is currently available online at hopsandgrapesonline.com and at the Heritage Vineyard tasting room in Mullica Hill, N.J. (about two hours south of New York and fairly close to Philadelphia). And just perhaps it'll soon be at Pluckemin Inn, too.
--Lettie Teague
by Lettie Teague
Great wine and the suburbs aren't words commonly found in the same sentence, but there are a few (admittedly, a very few) places in the greater New York area where it is actually an advantage to be a suburban oenophile.
New Jersey wine lovers, for example, are twice blessed. They have great BYO options (many restaurants lack liquor licenses due to arcane state laws and diners are allowed to bring their own bottles) and they also have the Pluckemin Inn in Bedminster.
Situated some 34 miles west of Manhattan, the Pluckemin Inn is home to a chef who studied under Alain Ducasse and has a wine list with 5,450 options, including a prodigious selection of white Burgundies, California Cabernets, Barolos, Brunellos and grower Champagnes. All the best names are represented -- often in multiple vintages.
"We have pretty good allocations," acknowledged wine director Brian Hider, in a modest understatement. (Great wines are allocated to a limited number of restaurants -- usually those with significant buying power).
Unlike any restaurant in Manhattan, about 2,300 of the wines on the restaurant's list are also for sale in Pluckemin's "virtual" wine store, thanks to another arcane New Jersey law.
"When the LaGrassas bought the restaurant in 2003 it came with a rare 'double license' for a restaurant and package store," explained Mr. Hider. "We thought, 'Why not sell wines at retail too?'"
Mr. Hider, a 42-year-old who was born in Edison, N.J., has been the wine director of Pluckemin Inn since the restaurant opened in 2005. Mr. Hider was "discovered" by the Inn's late proprietor, Carl LaGrassa, and his wife Gloria during their frequent visits to the Tewksbury Inn in nearby Oldwick, N.J., where Mr. Hider was a sommelier. He and Mr. LaGrassa struck up a friendship based on a mutual love of wine. Mr. LaGrassa's ambitions went far beyond the accumulation of great bottles: He wanted to have his own restaurant as well.
When Mr. LaGrassa passed away in 2009, his dream became his wife Gloria's, though her wine knowledge was comparatively limited. And so Mr. Hider became Mrs. LaGrassa's tutor -- tasting wines with her and taking her on trips to wine regions in California and France. He even color-coded the bottles in her cellar.
"Brian puts green stickers on the wine bottles that I can open without thinking. Yellow meant to pause and red meant 'Call Brian,'" said Mrs. LaGrassa, a gregarious woman in her 70s.
Mrs. LaGrassa is listed as Host on the menu along with the names of Executive Chef Jose Cuevas and Pastry Chef Joseph Gabriel. But Mr. Hider's name isn't on the wine list at all. Usually, such a large list (actually two books -- for red and white) would have a wine director credit somewhere. Mr. Hider seemed genuinely surprised when this was pointed out to him. "I never thought about that," he replied.
Another missing element was a selection of older wines. Although there were a few great old bottles, including a 1934 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee Conti at $25,000, they were surprisingly limited for such a list. That's due to yet another arcane New Jersey liquor law: Restaurateurs in New Jersey can't buy wines directly at auction like they can in New York. (Auctions are the primary source of most older bottles.) "In New Jersey you have to clear everything through a wholesaler, which makes it a lot more difficult," explained Mr. Hider, who is holding some wines in reserve, building up a cellar of older wines gradually.
Pluckemin patrons are allowed to bring their own wines to the restaurant ($35 corkage fee), but there is a limit of one bottle per couple. My wine-collector friend had brought two bottles of California Cabernet (Colgin Cellars and Peter Michael), but we wanted to order a white wine, preferably Burgundy. I asked Mr. Hider to choose between two Meursaults we were considering -- the 2006 Domaine Fichet Les Tessons ($145) and the 2006 Domain Remi Jobard Les Genevrieres ($160). He chose the less expensive Fichet, enthusing over its elegant profile. "Fichet is a real up-and-coming producer," he said.
The wine, a judicious balance of mineral tones and rich fruit, was a fine match with appetizers that included octopus carpaccio with tomato confit and a tuna crudo with coriander, mussels, peach, mustard sprouts and lobster vinaigrette. The Pluckemin menu is wide-ranging, including simple "Plucky Classics" like Burgers and Fish and Chips, and five- and six-ingredient items like a Wild Alaskan Halibut, Cayuga freekeh, clams, mussels, calamari and saffron jus. (Chef Cuevas worked with Dan Barber at Blue Hill and Alain Ducasse in New York before moving to New Jersey in 2009.)
A few days after the dinner, I was looking over the Pluckemin wine shop website and noticed that the 2006 Fichet Meursault we'd chosen was $82. Could we have purchased the bottle, paid the $35 corkage and brought it to the restaurant -- thereby saving $28? I called Mr. Hider to propose the scenario. "If you had gone to all the trouble, I would honor that," he replied pleasantly, adding that a couple of diners had suggested doing the same. No doubt they were New Yorkers like me.
...
One for the List
There are more than 40 wineries in New Jersey but no New Jersey wines on the Pluckemin Inn list—at least not yet.Pluckemin Inn's wine director, Brian Hider, said he might considering adding a few if he could find quality wines. I suggested he try the Heritage Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, a wine made in southern New Jersey. The winery had sent me a few samples of their reds and whites and I'd been particularly impressed by their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($19). It was bright and lively with a citrusy nose—and if the label didn't state that it was made in "the Outer Coastal Plain" of New Jersey, I would have believed it came from the Golden, not the Garden, State.
The bad news is that there's not much around: Only 46 cases or so were made. But according to Richard Heritage, the winery's marketing director, there's more to come. They're looking to practically quadruple production (175 cases) in 2011.
The wine is currently available online at hopsandgrapesonline.com and at the Heritage Vineyard tasting room in Mullica Hill, N.J. (about two hours south of New York and fairly close to Philadelphia). And just perhaps it'll soon be at Pluckemin Inn, too.
--Lettie Teague
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The Ray's Hell Burger Experience
My "Hell Burger," de-constructed. 
My "Hell Burger," 4 seconds away from being eaten. 
Sarah's "Hell Burger," ready for action! After writing and reading about burgers all day yesterday, Sarah, Amelia, and I couldn’t stand it any longer. We had to make the trip out to Ray’s Hell Burger in Arlington, VA for a much-needed burger fix. Oddly enough, though Hell Burger bears the name of “Ray’s,” it’s actually part of an ever-growing “Ray’s” franchise started by owner and chef Michael Landrum, who has cooked throughout Europe and worked the front of such DC food institutions as Nora, Capital Grille, and Morton’s Steakhouse. His flagship restaurant, Ray’s the Steaks, is the “anti-Morton’s”: a steakhouse that focuses on in-house dry-aged prime steaks, but without the frills and with only half the pretentiousness.
Hell Burger takes the best of Ray’s the Steaks (the dry-aged prime beef) and grinds it daily in-house to make 10-ounce hand-formed patties of meaty goodness. As if that isn’t good enough, Hell Burger offers a boatload of toppings. The cheeses alone are an impressive array, ranging from the pedestrian (Swiss, Vermont white cheddar, pepper jack, and more), to the intriguing (aged Danish bleu, gruyere, double cream brie, mustard seed Dutch Gouda), to the “I can’t believe I can get this on a burger (Chimay a la biere, cave-aged Irish cheddar, and Epoisse!). In addition to the plethora of cheeses, there is an equally impressive showing of other toppings (aside from the traditional lettuce, tomato, pickle offerings), including applewood smoked bacon, seared foie gras with truffle oil, roasted garlic, guacamole, roasted bone marrow with persillade, sautéed peppers, grilled onions, cognac and sherry sautéed mushrooms, charred jalapeños, roasted chestnut puree, and a runny butter fried egg. Hungry yet? There’s more. The meat itself can be prepared in four different fashions: grilled (seasoned with a secret steak blend), au poivre (if you don’t know what this is, you should be ashamed), blackened (seasoned with a blend of Cajun spices), and Diablo (grilled with a spicy chipotle sauce). Oh yeah, another thing: there are a ton of sauces available as well, including BBQ sauce, Pirañha sauce (a very spicy green chile sauce), and Ray’s Heck sauce, which is like Pirañha sauce-lite. All the burgers come on a toasted brioche bun, and are cooked to whatever heat you’d like, but they recommend a medium rare burger for optimal taste pleasure.
The combinations are enough to befuddle even the most savvy burger eating champions who wish to create their own “Hell Burger.” If making your own is too overwhelming, Landrum has a number of pre-thought-out burger combinations that might give you some inspiration, such as “Soul Burger Number One” (bacon, swiss cheese, cognac/sherry sautéed mushrooms, grilled red onions), “B.I.G. Poppa” (au poivre burger, aged Danish bleu cheese, cognac and sherry sautéed mushrooms, and grill onions), “New Jack Zing” (blackened burger, pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, charred jalapeños, and sautéed peppers), and “The Dogcatcher” (roasted bone marrow, persillade, lettuce and tomato). For those not feeling the beef love, they even have a venison burger, a Hanoi-style wild boar burger, buffalo burger, and grilled marinated Portobello mushroom burgers. (Side note: I’m now officially hungry for burgers again.) For sides, Hell Burger is finally offering two types of fries (skin-on potato fries, and sweet potato fries). They also make a heck of a shake (more on that below).
All of this is the food undercard to the main event, which is our dinner last night at Hell Burger. To avoid the long lines that usually accompany this place (due to a combo of the small seating areas and President Obama’s endorsement of Hell Burger as THE burger place to be), Sarah, Amelia, and I met up for an early dinner. We had the place almost entirely to ourselves, which was awesome.
With no line to wait in, we were quickly forced to make our burger decisions. Sarah ordered a medium au poivre burger with roasted garlic, gruyere cheese, grilled onions, cognac and sherry sautéed mushrooms, and Ray’s Heck sauce. I ordered a medium-rare regular grilled burger with double cream brie, grilled onions, cognac and sherry sautéed mushrooms, Pirañha sauce, BBQ sauce, charred jalapeños, and applewood smoked bacon. We also ordered a side of skin-on French fries, some Mac-and-Cheese for Amelia, and a Black Cow milkshake for dessert.
Thanks to there being no line, we didn’t have to wait too long for our burgers to arrive. Nevertheless, the mere minutes between ordering and seeing our food come to our table was agonizing! (This is what talking about burgers all day will do to you.) When the food arrived, we were not disappointed. Staring back at us were two behemoth burgers from another dimension. Open-faced, they took up nearly the entire plate. Each side of the bun was happily overloaded with toppings just beckoning to be eaten. I couldn’t wait to take the first bite.
As soon as I bit into the burger, I was met with an explosion of flavor in my mouth. The burger, cooked perfectly medium-rare, was sweet, tender, with a deliciously piquant hint of salt, black pepper, and garlic on the back end. The double cream brie (with rind on, thankfully) added a nutty and silky consistency, which was contrasted wonderfully by the crunchy fireworks created by the charred jalapeños and the devilishly spicy Pirañha sauce. Rounding out the flavors were the earthy-yet-sweet combo of the grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, and the applewood smoked bacon. With each flavor-packed bite, juice from the beef lusciously dripped down my hands. It was heavenly. After my first bite, my only worry was that I would eat the burger too quickly before I could even savor the flavors and the experience.
And that’s really what Hell Burger is all about: the experience. I don’t go to Hell Burger often, but the burgers are so unbelievably good, I can remember every burger I’ve had there. This burger was no exception to that rule—I will remember this burger for a long, long time. (Sarah seemed to really like her burger as well, for what it’s worth. And Amelia obliterated her Mac-and-Cheese, which actually was quite lovely.)
As far as the side offerings were concerned, the fries were very good. There was a nice crispness on the outside to them, no doubt enhanced by the “skin-on” nature of the potatoes. In that respect, they are like Five Guys’ basic, non-Cajun fries. For some reason, the fries on the top were not as well-salted as the fries on the bottom. Nevertheless, we were not deterred from eating the entire serving.
The shake also was fantastic. I’ve been burned by Black Cow milkshakes in the past (I’m looking at you, Good Stuff Eatery), but this one won me over in a big way. Unlike the Black Cows in the past, this one actually blended in the chocolate syrup so that sweet ribbons of silky chocolate danced playfully with the airiness of the vanilla ice cream and milk. It was like drinking the best chocolate milk you’ve ever had and then blending in two heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream. SO GOOD.
All in all, I’m glad Sarah suggested we hit Ray’s Hell Burger for what was a fantastic burger experience. It satisfied my burger “jones” for a while, and provided me yet another amazing burger experience.
Burger: 9.8
Fries: 7.4
Shake: 9.7
P.S. After last night’s meal, I realized that I am going to have to alter my burger challenge a bit because, for me, comparing Hell Burger and a place like 5 Guys is like comparing “coffee and donuts” dessert at French Laundry to a pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream. They both fall in the same category of food, but they are not necessarily direct competitors. In the burger world, Hell Burger is an upscale burger masquerading as a burger for the masses, even though the restaurant is decidedly NOT fast-food (much like Ray’s the Steaks is an upscale steakhouse trying to be a down home restaurant, even though it isn’t). On the other hand, Five Guys is a burger joint that knows and IS exactly what it says it is: a “modest burger shack” serving the “best fast food burgers,” as the article Jenn posted shows. The burger at Ray’s is transcendent. But it’s a special occasion burger, not a burger you’d have on a regular basis. Five Guys, by contrast, is exactly the place you go when you want a great “everyday” burger. I think the comparison will have to be Five Guys v. ShakeShack, and then a separate Bobby’s Burger Palace vs. Ray’s Hell Burger.
Five Guy's biggest struggle...reposted from MSNBC
Let's face it....on this blog, any burger news is news.
By Karen Weise 
Jerry Murrell bursts through the swinging glass doors of a hamburger restaurant at a shopping center in suburban Virginia. Van Morrison is rocking through the speakers, and line cooks are shouting orders across the open kitchen. Murrell, 67, who is tall with sporty sunglasses perched atop his bald head, enters as if he owns the place, which he does. The founder and chief executive officer of the Five Guys burger chain approaches the counter, takes his place in line, and makes a show of slipping a crisp $100 bill into the tip jar.
Murrell passes up Five Guys’ regular cheeseburger, which comes with two patties and 840 gluttonous calories, and orders the “Little Burger” — a single patty with lettuce and tomatoes. No cheese or jalapeños, no mushrooms or any of the other 11 free toppings. Not even ketchup. Though he’s proud of the offerings, chosen by his sons who help run the business — “Every little one was a decision,” Murrell says. Today he keeps it simple.
What started as a modest burger shack in a Virginia strip mall has exploded into America’s fastest-growing restaurant chain, with five stores opening each week. Five Guys serves up made-to-order burgers with beef that’s never frozen and absurdly large servings of hand-cut fries. The fresh, generous meals allow them to charge more than fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King.
Murrell founded the company with his wife and sons in 1986. For 16 years they ran a handful of local stores in the Washington, D.C., area, perfecting their limited menu and building a devout local following. Then in 2002, after much nudging, the boys convinced Murrell to open the floodgates to franchising. By the end of this year, Five Guys expects to have almost 1,000 stores open around the country and over $1 billion in sales. They’re growing so fast that the Murrells are racing to hold on to the simple, authentic vibe that made the place so beloved.
Five Guys stores don’t have drive-throughs or molded plastic seats bolted to the floor. The walls are covered in crisp white and red tiles, the kitchen is open for everyone to see, and the menu doesn’t change. As Jim Gilmore, the co-author of "Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want," explains, Five Guys stores seem to say, in the most loving way possible, “Shut up, sit down, and eat.”
Gilmore says that in an age when everything seems to be mediated and staged, the tough love from Five Guys feels refreshingly real. The restaurants cultivate that through what Gilmore calls the “texture” of their operations. The stores typically have bags of potatoes stacked up to be cut into French fries — a holdover from early locations that didn’t have storage space in the kitchen. A chalkboard on the wall lists the specific farm that grew the spuds. Self-serve buckets of peanuts let customers munch as they wait for their orders, while employees are encouraged to be personable and avoid scripted greetings.
The Murrells also shun national advertising campaigns, which they find fake, and instead rely on word of mouth. When President Obama moved to the White House, a Five Guys staffer suggested sending him a T-shirt. “That’s cheap!” Murrell shot back. Playing coy worked, and soon Obama, trailed by TV cameras, stopped by a store. He ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, fresh jalapeños, and mustard — a classic example of Five Guys’ formula that sells 2 million burgers a week and was named Zagat’s “best fast food burger” for 2010.
For this reporter, evaluating the burger first-hand was problematic: I’ve been a vegetarian for more than a dozen years. So I tried calling some expert tasters. Pulitzer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold says he doesn’t much care for Five Guys — he finds the burger “boring” — but understands why people like them. “There’s that goopeyness, and it does fit that kind of American profile.” Gilmore, the marketing consultant, calls the burgers “a couple pounds of carnivorous pleasure.” Then he adds, “It’s almost enough to make me feel sad for you.”
I started to see how Five Guys, with its fresh beef patties, made in a sparkling kitchen for all to see, appeases picky people, like myself, who fear the questionable provenance of typical fast food. At the oldest extant Five Guys store, in Alexandria, Va., I finally ordered a burger of my own. An employee called out order No. 93, and I picked up my “Little Burger” with lettuce and tomato, grilled onion, and pickles. I sat there, gripping it with both hands, and, at last, took a bite. My first thought was that it tasted … meaty. The beef’s texture was a little tough, though I really liked how it worked with the sweet bun and tart pickles. Then I noticed the juice dripping down my hand and onto the foil wrapper. No veggie burger can do that. I started to feel like I’d been missing something.
“I’m a small town boy,” Murrell likes to say. He grew up in northern Michigan and has fond memories of the local burger joint in his hometown. While he studied business at the University of Michigan, Murrell ran a kitchen in a fraternity house to cover the rent. He had three sons and moved to Virginia in the 1970s, where he remarried, sold insurance for AXA Equitable, and eventually had two more boys.
When his oldest son was about to graduate from high school, Murrell saw his kids weren’t interested in college and made a suggestion: how about using the tuition money he’d saved up to “try our luck with the hamburger business,” recalls Chad Murrell, who was 14 at the time. Murrell even had the name picked out — Five Guys, after himself and his four sons. (When Tyler, the youngest, was born several years later, the name came to represent just the boys.) “It was a no-brainer,” says Chad.
They found a little shack in the back of a parking lot in northern Virginia that had potholes so big “you could fish in them when it rained,” Murrell says. For years he kept his day job while the boys oversaw the operations. They were the ones running to BJ’s to buy out the stock of Mt. Olive pickles, arguing over how to properly stack a burger and tweaking the menu. They realized, for example, that the big, Fourth of July style burgers they initially prepared were often dry on the outside because it took so long to cook the inside. They switched to two thinner patties, which they continue to use today.
Over more than a dozen years they opened up five more stores, all in the D.C. area, and divvied up the work: Janie, the matriarch, kept the books. Matt, always high-energy and restless to expand, took on opening new stores. Chad, a calm charmer, became the head of training, and Jim, the oldest son, had the scary job of driving from store to store each night to collect the cash. Ben, still in diapers when Five Guys opened, began helping out once he was a teenager.
Chad says he was hesitant to franchise Five Guys at first. “They go to heck once they franchise!” he thought. “We were scared to death.” Eventually the boys decided it would be the quickest way to grow — they only had to convince their dad, who thought it would be hard to teach strangers the Five Guys culture. After many family meetings, Murrell relented.
In the first two years they sold the rights to 300 stores, which the franchisees run as independent businesses but according to Five Guys’ standards. In the next two years they sold the rights to another 1,000. As they grew, they never shook a quirky aspect of their management style: frequent yelling during meetings. “It’s weird how it works,” says Sam Chamberlain, the baby-faced COO who joined Five Guys in 2005. “You end up at the answer.”
Perhaps nothing embodies the awkwardness of Five Guys’ teenage growth spurt more than its hamburger buns. The family insists on using a special roll that’s sweeter and eggier than a typical bun. In the early days, Janie’s favorite local bakery, Brenner’s in Alexandria, made the bun. When Brenner’s closed, Five Guys hired two of their bakers and started cooking the rolls in-house, barely keeping up with the demand. “I don’t want to say it was a nightmare,” says Chad, “but it was pretty close to one.”
Everyone was constantly juggling. “I spent three or four months driving a bread truck,” recalls Chamberlain. Chad remembers getting a frantic call one morning from the franchise in Blacksburg, Va., who didn’t get his regular bun delivery. Chad raced to the bakery, filled his car with buns, and started driving south. Hours later, he arrived at the store — just as his dad and brother pulled up with a truck full of buns. When stores opened in Florida, they FedEx-ed buns since they didn’t yet have a local bakery. They finally contracted professional bakeries, overseen by Tyler, to produce the buns. Some franchises still have a love-hate relationship with them. “To us, it’s expensive,” says Tom Horton, one of Five Guys’ largest franchisees. “But it’s also a very good product.”
Last year, Five Guys sold out the rights to all of the U.S. and Canada — more than 2,500 stores in total. By the end of this year around 25,000 employees will work in Five Guys stores. In California they’re competing against that West Coast cult favorite, In-N-Out Burger.
The Murrells built their business around a series of simple absolutes. No timers in the kitchens — good cooks know when food’s done. French fries must be shaken fifteen times, no more, no less. Onion and bacon go below hamburger patties, pickles and tomatoes go above. Trying to maintain the Five Guys experience — from the quality of the food to the enthusiasm of the staff — has become the biggest worry.
“The more simple the concept, the easier it is to expand,” says John T. Bowen, dean of the hospitality school at the University of Houston. At the same time, growing so quickly means Five Guys must teach their idiosyncratic ways to thousands of people a year and primarily rely on franchisees to represent the brand. “We’ve got the tiger by the tail, and we’ve just got to hold on,” says Ben.
When the menu’s so minimal, errors or poor quality become obvious. As franchisee Horton says, “We can’t hide with tofu and sprouts.” Franchises nonetheless often ask to add salads, milkshakes, and chicken, but the Murrells refuse, saying that early experiments with chicken and roast beef sandwiches were just distractions. Chamberlain, the COO, says even he has had a tough time grasping the Murrell way. He recalls once skipping lunch at Five Guys because it didn’t sell milk he could give his baby. The next day, Chamberlain asked Murrell why milk wasn’t on the menu, noting, “It seemed like that would be logical.” Murrell laughed and said “it was the stupidest question he’d ever heard.” They don’t serve milk, Murrell explained, because kids don’t actually like milk, and kids like Five Guys because it’s a treat.
The Murrells realized that while many franchisees clicked with the brand, others never quite got on board. They’ve since bought back around 75 stores and run them themselves. Much of the company’s financing — which includes a $30 million investment from the private equity firm Miller Investment Management and a $100 million line of credit from GE Capital — is funding the development of corporate stores. “It’s a whole lot easier just to run ’em yourself than to try to convince other people how to do it,” Murrell says.
Back at the Virginia Five Guys, Murrell finishes his food and announces that it’s time to go back to the office for the weekly management meeting with his sons, where the family is debating even more growth. As we hop into his pickup truck he explains, “We’re getting pulled real heavy toward Western Europe.” They’ve already started looking for suppliers and potential business partners. Making the final turn into headquarters, Murrell says that, like other decisions, they’ll only move once everyone’s ready. “All my family has is Five Guys,” he says. “We don’t want to screw it up.”
Copyright © 2011 Bloomberg L.P.All rights reserved.
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