fruitcake

I made fruitcake, and it wasn't horrible.
also discovered that "nuts to you" - 20th & chestnut - is awesome.

divan turkish kitchen

right along the gentrification frontier at 22nd & carpenter. went on the friday after christmas and there was almost nobody there so I was a little worried. but the food was fantastic. sorry forgot my camera so you get drawings.

had some crispy fried calf's liver that was delicious, and grilled lamb that a little bit strangely came with flour tortillas as the "flatbread" but whatever it was great. the lamb and beef dumplings were almost like raviolis, in tomato sauce and a yogurt mint white sauce which also seemed a little wierd at first but we were ready to lick the plate clean at the end.

it's also BYOB but with a $10 corking fee (ouch). they have some turkish beer & wine which seems to be the way to go.

divan turkish kitchen
22nd & carpenter

Drawing for Food

This is a delayed posting, but for Drawing for Food's Birthday Hawk cooked dinner for our friends. This included the best celery root soup I ever had, pressed cuban sandwiches, pork tacos with homemade everything, and my new obsession with truffle honey.

what I really eat

believe it or not I was a vegetarian for 5 or 6 years and have much experience in the way of rice & beans.
when I don't have a lot of time or money this is still my staple meal.

I usually keep some pork chops or chicken thighs (dirt cheap) in the freezer, defrost in the microwave and sear in the pan. pull it out, throw in some bacon or chorizo (or not), whatever vegetables are rolling around in the bottom of the fridge - onions, peppers, celery, throw in the rice and toast it a second, maybe add some tomato paste if there's any.

Deglaze with miller lite or box wine or leftover coffee..throw your chicken back in there and a can of beans.. fill the rest with stock or water. Throw in a bay leaf or herbs if you got 'em. (This is a great time to get rid of almost rotten $12 herbs you bought at whole foods for something you never even made) The chicken thigh or leg should be done the same time as the rice as long as you don't use anything too big.

And it's even better the next morning with tortillas and eggs for breakfast. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life.

frog legs

the last place we ate in paris was a tiny rustic looking bistro hidden on a dark alley complete with pictures of old french butchers and pots hanging from the ceiling. they specialize in frog legs.. which I know apparently the french don't really eat but whatever they were delicious, like french chicken wings.







actually everything here was delicious especially the pumpkin soup with foie gras, mixed green salad with goat cheese brik, scallops with truffled potatoes, braised pork. nothing insane just simple and delicious and well made if not a little touristy with the toulouse letrec poster reprints everywhere.

walking around the latin quarter area at night half drunk is pretty incredible, the streets are lined with dudes making crepes and cases full of sandwiches and bars with secret underground caves where beer is 2 euros but coca cola is 6.

roger la grenouille
26-28 rue des grands augustines
left bank/latin quarter, paris

french street food

Being in paris I felt obligated to go into restaurants, but honestly I could have been happy eating nothing but street food the whole time I was there. the streets and alleys are lined with gleaming cases of sandwiches, spinning greek gryo meat, pastries, seafood, crepes, rotisserie chickens, even hot dog and cheesesteak baguettes. I seriously don't know who the hell eats all of this food.

One place even had a huge cornocopia of shellfish just sitting in front of the restaurant. Lobsters, open oysters, shrimp, etc... I thought it was fake but they were real, just sitting out in the street. Here they would either get eaten by bums or shut down by the health department.

breakfast in paris

Breakfast in france usually means a croissant and some coffee. which is great but if you're a filthy american like me you want a giant plate with eggs and a few varieties of meat all cooked in fat along with your bread. So I was happy to find a little tobacco/lottery stand a few blocks from our hotel proudly advertising "petit dejeuner" including "fried ham and eggs".

Past the old french guys smoking and drinking beer at 10 oclock in the morning were a few tables. We sat down and ordered some coffee and croque madam sandwiches which if you dont know is a grilled/toasted/warm ham and cheese sandwich with an egg on top and sometimes bechamel sauce.

The guy at the counter took a big swig of wine and walked into the back to cook up our sandwiches, which were damn good. nothing fancy just good french ham slathered with cheese & topped with fried eggs. and even a little side salad.. pretty awesome for a newsstand full of smoking drunks. Oh and the coffee in france is better than anything else, I dont know why, maybe it's in the water or something, even the stuff that comes out of vending machines tastes like magic.