A Few of Our Favorite Things

Pigs, bees and Michael Pollen in last weeks New York Times Magazine.

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Half A Cow

OK kids, it's go time for big beef in Dinertown.

The side is going to yield 1 standing rib roast (aka rib steak, cowboy steak, prime rib, cote du beouf), one section of T-bone/porterhouses or a tenderloin and shell steaks.

Then there is 10lbs of top sirloin, short ribs, 1 brisket, shanks (for osso bucco) , a chuck-eye roll (roasting, braising from the fore quarter) and some odds and ends like 4 skirt steaks and 1 flank steak.

Think about maybe doing a chicken-fried steak for brunch that we could do with any cut that would be hammered by the Jakard knife (the tenderizer). Also, I have some experimental steak marinade going to see if we can make a tender bar steak using the magic of coca-cola and dried chiles.

Meditate on it and prepare accordingly. Don't say I didn't warn you...

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You never know what you might find when you go outside to buy your groceries in the middle of winter...

We are participating in and sponsorsing an incredible event this Sunday the 16th. It is a one day market put on by this group called New Amsterdam Public. Their tag line is: sustainable purveyors, at the seaport: New York's public market district since 1642. The entire goal of this non-profit organization is to create a permanent, sustainable market of purveyors focused on providing regionally produced goods. This one day market is the first step in showing the city what is possible for these buildings that have housed many markets over the last few centuries.

Check out the NY Times posting.

Marlow & Sons is taking the show on the road and will have a stand that represents the "farm to market" table in the center of our shop. We will be selling vegetables and fruits from the farmers we work with day to day. Of course we'll also be adding our own touch to things with some house-made goods: bitters, hot sauce, granola. Sean and Cheffie will also be serving food at the market- vegetarian chili in the morning and braised beef sandwiches in the afternoon.

New Amsterdam Public is offering memberships to their organization as part of their fundraising and awareness building efforts. Each member will receive a year subscription to the Diner Journal. They posted the member info today and within two hours already had one person register.

If you can make it to the market it please do and cross your fingers that it is a lovely snowy white wonderland instead of a crapstorm of wintry mix. Either way we'll have good food and hot apple cider on hand.

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Larmandier Bernier

Category: Sparkling
Region: Champagne
Appelation: Champagne
Sub Region: Vertus
Grape: Chardonnay (Blanc de Blanc) and Pinot Noir (Brut Rose de Saignee)
Vintage: NV

The Larmandier family has owned vineyards in the famous Côte des Blancs region since the late 1700s. Today, Pierre Larmandier and wife Sophie continue this Champagne clan's age-old tradition, making fine sparkling wine from their premier cru vineyards in Vertus, at the southern tip of the Côte, and the grand cru Cramant to the north. Larmandier-Bernier is at the forefront of what some are calling 'the grower revolution' in Champagne, a small group of vineyard owners who are inspired by Anselme Selosse, a revolutionary vigneron whose philosophy is strictly biodynamic and of Burgundian influence. This renegade group is making their own wines, often biodynamically, or close to, and producing small-batch cuvées that reflect a particular vineyard site or village. The 15 hectares of vineyards (chardonnay and pinot noir), with an average vine age of 35 years, are meticulously cared for. The vineyards are all biodynamically managed and yields are kept scrupulously low by Champagne standards - 50 hl/ha on average.

Here at the restaurants we are carrying Blanc de Blanc from Chardonnay and Brut Rose de Saignee, made from Pinot Noir grapes. Most rosés are made by blending white wine with a little red wine from Champagne (Coteaux Champenois appellation). A rosé de saignée, on the other hand, is made by directly macerating Pinot Noirs. This method of vinification is more demanding and requires grapes with an excellent degree of maturity. This is the real rosé. The Pinots are destemmed and left to macerate for about two days before the 'bleeding' is carried out. Then come the natural alcoholic fermentation in an enamel-lined steel vat, the malolactic fermentation and the maturation on the lees during the winter. The bottling takes place in May. After being aged in the cellars, the wine is disgorged at least 3 to 6 months before being marketed with a discreet dosage (3 grams of sugar).

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WE HAVE CAVIAR

We selected a few types of caviar to cover the range of flavors, textures and pricing. Here is some basic information about the types we have- and also about other products we offer to accompany caviar.


All of these will keep for up to 6 weeks before they are opened. Once they are open you need to keep chilled and will want to eat within 24 hours.

TROUT ROE $15.50 100grams
A beginner's caviar- or maybe graphic designer caviar (they always seem to like orange). These are less intense in their "taste of the sea" than the other caviars. Great snap to them and totally approachable flavor. Let's call it the "gateway caviar."

HACKLEBACK $24 for 30grams
This is American caviar. The roe is harvested from rivers and lakes in Tennessee and Illinois where wild Hackleback sturgeon live. The beads are small- not jet black but more of a brown/black and it has a mild taste that has some salinity but also a smoothness through the finish. (more buttery than the others)

TRANSMONTANOUS $50 for 30grams
This roe comes from white sturgeon called transmontanous that is farmed but is also native to California. This is the value caviar I think- it has the refined and balanced flavor of some of the more expensive caviars. California was one of the early adopters in the domestic caviar industry when they saw the effects of too much harvesting in wild sturgeon habitats. Florence Fab wrote about California caviar for the New York Times this week.

ALVERTA $70 for 30 grams
Another California caviar. This one is from mature, white sturgeon in Northern California. The flavors are clean and balanced with a bit of nuttiness. Little bit lighter in color than the transmontanous. Much more of a saline/oceanic flavor to this than the less expensive options.


The classic way to consume caviar is to drop a dollop of crème fraiche on a blini and sprinkle a bit of caviar on there, maybe even some minced chives?

BLINIS $15.50 for 30 mini blini
They are just tiny, pancake-like vehicles for eating caviar. A mildly flavored backdrop that offers a contrasting texture.

CRÈME FRAICHE $4.25
Basically a fancy French way of saying SOUR CREAM. They are so much better at naming things, fraiche sounds better than sour when you're choosing what to eat… Delicious when dolloped on all kinds of things like soup, blinis, brunch, yum.

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