Remnants of the Fall Garden

Days are growing short. The last tomatoes hang on scraggly vines.

It's been dry and the garden is a melancholy shadow of years past.

And yet, I love the fall. I love the cool nights and afternoon breezes.

Battling away the pessimism of drought I plant a couple late season seeds and look forward to spinach and lettuce and even carrots when the rains come. 

Belly and Snout: Filipino Stoner Treats

 I don't like hot dogs and I cannot under any circumstances tolerate American cheese. But still I couldn't resist the draw of the oddest of edible oddities, the bizarre fusion that is Belly and Snout. Obviously inspired by Korean taco master  Roy Choi, B&S doesn't exactly have the same kind of chef cred. None the less they are putting homemade Filipino style meats in tacos, on tater tots, and tucked into grilled cheese.

Longanisa grilled cheese combines house made sausage -- really tasty -- with plain old white bread, pickled vegetables and the dreaded bright orange American.  An immigrant sandwich.

First American cheese and then hot dogs. Topped with peanut braised oxtail, sisig (crisped pork flavored with bright vinegar), pork adobo (the beloved Filipino national stew), and plenty of bacon, garlic cream, and fried eggs the hot dogs themselves are inconsequential. They are the least interesting part of the hot dog combos but overall -- I don't know how -- it kind of works.

Though my friend loved the grilled cheese, more successful to me were the tacos. Truly delicious pork or chicken adobo topped with cilantro, onions, jalapeño slices, mayonnaise, sesame (peanuts on the pork) and radishes all wrapped up in a flour tortilla for $2. With one bite I could picture the lines of late night zombies counting their change for a late night snack.

I might have been in my elementary school cafeteria the last time I had a tater tot. Back then they just came with ketchup. At Belly and Snout they are topped -- just like the hot dogs with pork, pork, ad more pork -- including the excellent house made longanisa. The whole thing is crazy and somehow satisfying.

Sitting in the back eating area (I can't call it a dining room) with the TV blaring travel channel food shows I can't help but think if I were a drinker or stoner I'd probably see more of Belly and Snout instead of late night shame filled Del Taco runs popular in my reckless youth. As it is B&S is a curiosity I had to try once and might think of from time to time when caution take flight and fast food looms heavy.

Scallops At Home

I'm not sure if I try to make James something special dinner when I am home for a brief stop before another work trip because I love him or because I want him to miss me when I'm gone.
Today I came home from a mad Costco stop up run with a tray of beautiful wild scallops and just a couple hours later James was digging into a delicate gratin of butter sautéed mollusks topped with Beecher's handmade flagship cheese picked up at the cheese merchants airport store in Seattle (airport cheese store -- genius!).

Beta 5: Bring Some Home From Vancouver

 Hidden away in a Vancouver industrial park is Beta 5. A strange and wonderful chocolate and pastry shop.

Co-Owner and pastry chef Adam Chandler served his time in luxury hotels and European capitols before taking the lessons he learned in Belgium and turning them into chocolates infused and filled with flavors like caramelized banana (spectacular), bay leaf (shockingly delicious), fisherman's friend (yes, the cough drop) and real farmer's market cherries.

Not content to fill small boxes with chocolate jewels Beta 5 branched out to ice creams, chocolate bars and a nothing less than kooky assortment of cream puffs in flavors like Vietnamese coffee, blueberry lavender and apple pie. Baked extra long the delicate shells have an almost cookie crumble exterior giving way to layers of dough and creamy filling. Wow.

Cafe Medina

I like Cafe Medina. There is always a wait and yet when I am in Vancouver I make a point of going for breakfast. Not just because the vaguely Middle Eastern/ North African spiced dishes feature some of my favorite flavors (sumac, harissa, chili)  but because Cafe Medina is fun, just plain fun.
Despite the constant onslaught, the servers are cheerful and the bartender -- as a solo diner I almost always sit at the bar to eat -- perfectly chatty.
I don't generally reach across a table to meet new people but every time I've eaten at Cafe Medina the person next to me has struck up a conversation and turned out to be interesting, good company.
The menu is interesting too. You can get standard egg dishes or more elaborate concoctions like breakfast paella, boulettes (lamb meatballs and eggs in spicy tomato sauce), or their take on cassoulet with garlic sausage, smoked bacon, red wine and tomatoes. I've never even tried the signature waffles though they top just about every table.
I love the fresh juices and house made sodas (rose hip and bergamot, citrus buttermilk anyone?). The coffee is delicious (I don't even understand how it is so good).
Everything is good -- maybe not exceptional or nuanced but it doesn't matter. Cafe Medina might just be the perfect breakfast place. If I lived closer I'd be a regular.

Ask For Luigi

Ask just about anyone or read any magazine article or blog post and you are likely to hear "Ask For Luigi." What's a good new restaurant? Where is the best Italian? Where should we have dinner?

Even the name of the tiny restaurant, according to chef owner JC Poirier, is an answer. A guide to ask for a friend, knowing you will be treated well when you, essentially, know someone on the inside.

It's hard not to know people quickly at Ask for Luigi. The 34 seats are terminally full with a line waiting at the door. Seats are close and wait staff literally shimmies from table to table holding platters of fresh pasta, appetizers and wine.

Everyone feels happy and relieved by the time a table opens and it shows. The dining room is cheerful and loud and every plate is met with delight.

I'm always fascinated by places this small. The night I visited there was a man at the front of house (the manager I assume) and 4 waitresses. In the open kitchen I saw the Chef de Cuisine and 3 line cooks. A fifth cook was tucked away in a back space prepping for the next day's lunch. To make money with so few seats and so large a staff a restaurant has to be highly efficient and chose dishes wisely so food comes out quickly and tables turn over to bring in the next group of waiting diners.
Prep work is the star at Ask For Luigi. Fresh pastas are ready to boil, sauces are simple or made earlier in the service, meatballs are par-cooked and turned in tasty red sauce as they are ordered. These aren't dishes wrapped in chef's egos or elaborate technique. This is, as AFL's manager says "pasta for the people."

The food is inventive and somewhat unexpected (I had a dish of rye flour penne with guanciale, broccoli rabe and egg yolk) but in attitude Ask For Luigi may be the most authentic Italian restaurant I've dined in outside of Italy itself.
At heart, though crammed with tourists, dating couples, foodies and bloggers, this is a neighborhood trattoria. You can stop in for a quick bite (minus the waiting time) on any night. The food will be good, ingredients fresh, and the staff friendly.

Montreal Bagels: Two Grand Old Names

 Something I would't know where to find even in New York . . . a 24 hour bagel shop. Could I be dreaming?
Arriving into Montreal late on a rainy night I headed right for Fairmount Bagels as the sesame seed rings were coming out of the wood burning oven. These are not the giant doughy delicious New York variety I grew up with but something altogether different. First off Montreal bagels are small, or a reasonable serving size compared to their Southern cousins. As my friend Marc described, there is a greater crust to dough ratio making them almost more like a soft pretzel or a bialy. And they are sweet. Fairmount's have a faint taste of honey which made the sesame seeds literally sing in every bite.

 Fairmount is the oldest bagel shop in Montreal and there was a line at their flagship shop close to midnight when I came by.

 St Viateur is the youngster by comparison, baking and boiling in Montreal since the 1950s. In addition to their 24 hour a day bakery (about a block from Fairmount) St Viateur has four cafes across the city. So I was able to try their sesame bagel (Montreal's favorite) with lox and a mountain of cream cheese. St Viateur's bagels are just a tiny bit dryer and slightly less sweet than Fairmont's. Delicious toasted.
Across Montreal the best bagel is debated in endless blogs and articles and breakfast tables. Though there are other bakers the serious food city seems to split between Fairmount and St Viateur.
Fairmount's garlic bagel was not for me and their pumpernickel lacked the dark flavor I come to expect in New York but their sesame hot from the oven barely made it to the car.
The bagel debate may rage on in Montreal, but I've picked a side.