Corned Beef and Egg Sandwich, Stage Deli, Troy, MI

Late this afternoon, I was looking for a sandwich for a late lunch/early dinner.  I found this beauty sitting in the display case at Stage Deli at the Somerset Collection food court.  It was just the right kind of savory treat I was craving at the time.  Immediately, I ordered one.  It was the first time I had ever seen this sandwich offered there.

The sandwich was made by cooking beaten eggs on a flat-top grill.  After the egg became solid, the corned beef was laid on top.  Some sort of white cheese was placed on top of the meat.  Everything was folded up like an omelette one might find at a diner.  The cook placed the omelette on an onion roll and dressed it with some Grey Poupon Dijon mustard.  Happily, the omelette was a bit too big for the roll.  As you can see from the picture, the sandwich was served with a pickle.  By the way, I ate more than half the sandwich before I remembered to snap a picture.  It looked and tasted that good.

It all came out just like I like a sandwich: meat, cheese, egg, and condiment with a minimum of vegetables.  Actually, the only vegetable life on the sandwich were the bits of onion on the roll.  Sure, sometimes, I appreciate a bit of tomato or Romaine on a sandwich, but more often than not, I’m just interested in the meat, cheese, condiment (usually either mustard or mayonnaise), and bread.  I like that sort of Jewish deli ethos when it comes to a sandwich.  Think lox and plain cream cheese on a poppy seed bagel.  Think hot pastrami on rye with a bit of mustard. The acid for balance comes from the juicy pickle.  Wrap it up in some butcher paper.  Pack it in a brown paper bag.   It’s elemental.  It’s carnal.  It’s an umami lover’s delight.

How did it taste?  It was melt-in-your-mouth marvelous.  The only change I would consider is a substitution of a good pastrami for the corned beef.  Personally, I just prefer the stronger flavor of pastrami to corned beef.  If you love eggs, meat, and cheese, I highly recommend this sandwich.

Ken Oringer’s Clio, Boston, MA

In this blog’s introductory post, I mentioned that I was so moved by a dinner at Ken Oringer’s superlative Clio at the Eliot Hotel (Boston, MA) that I wanted to blog again.  It had been years since I’ve written about food in an abortive attempt to establish a restaurant review blog for the Detroit Metropolitan Area.  After that dinner at Clio, I felt I had to tell the world about Mr. Oringer’s outstanding restaurant and all the other great (and not-so-great) food I’ve experienced.  Admittedly, it wasn’t just the food that moved me to blog again.  It was the entire experience.  It was the joy of sharing a wonderful meal with wonderful people.  The proverbial “warm and fuzzy” feeling I had after this meal is really what influenced me to blog.  During those three hours at Clio, I felt I was experiencing the best that life had to offer an epicurean soul.

If I really dig back to the roots of this blog, I have to go back even further to a friend’s bachelor party weekend, featuring dinners at Charlie Palmer Steak and Nobu in Las Vegas and to his wedding in May 2008. While I wasn’t floored by Charlie Palmer Steak, I was blown away by Nobu.  I finally understood what my friend Eric meant by taking sushi to another level, a level beyond the standard ngiri and maki plates found everywhere else.  At the wedding reception, I sat at a table with some of the same people who were at the dinner at Clio. The three of us who were at both the reception and the Clio dinner a month later sat with about eight other people.  The eight other people at the table shared only a fraction of our zest for the ten-course Chinese feast before us.  My friends and I had most of the food to ourselves.  The eight less-adventurous souls chose to starve instead.  Fine.  More food for us.  The following day, we met other friends for brunch at Blue Water Grill on Union Square in Manhattan and dinner at Matsuri in the basement of the Maritime Hotel.  Sharing good food with good friends is what really drove me to write this blog.

With these experiences in mind, I had to share another great meal with great friends.  My college buddy Eric and his wife Myha met my friend Kristine and me for dinner at Clio in June 2008.  It was a humid summer evening in Boston.  Kristine and I grabbed a cab and headed for Clio.  We were a bit late.  I called ahead to Eric to let him know.  When Kristine and I finally arrived, we found Eric and Myha at the bar.  We said our hellos and then took our seats.

I ordered a glass of champagne to start.  Everyone else at the table agreed that the bubbly would be a good way to start.  If I recall correctly, the ladies may have ordered cocktails, which they quickly abandoned in favor of the bubbly.  So, a round of the bubbly, please!  After quickly scanning the menu, Eric found that Clio offered a tasting menu.  Immediately, I knew that’s what I wanted.  Myha commented, “Leave it to Eric…to find the tasting menu.”  Clio concocted both an eight-course tasting menu and a fourteen-course menu.  Wine pairings were available for both.  I knew I wanted wine.  I knew I wanted food.  I know I don’t know a lot about wine.  So, this kind of arrangement is perfect for me.  The first question became: Eight or fourteen courses?  Eric looked to me for my input.  I said, “Well, go big, or go home.”  We all had a laugh at that.  The next question to the group: wine pairing or no wine pairing.  Eric looked to me again.  I repeated my newfound mantra: “Go big, or go home.”  We all laughed harder.  I knew it was going to cost me, but I didn’t care.  Some of my best friends with some of the best food I could find?  How could I not “Go big?”

The menu is shown below for your reference.  We all were very impressed by the dinner and the wine pairings.  I knew that there was no way I could remember any of the details.  I think Myha felt the same way.  At the end of the meal, she asked the Sommelier, Christophe Richelet, if he could provide us with a list of the wines and the courses.  He graciously e-mailed all the information to us.  Thank you, Myha and Christophe.  As I am writing this blog entry nearly four months after the dinner occurred, the details are fuzzy, but certain courses and wine pairings stand out like beautiful carved relief on the sandblasted ruins of my memory.

We started with the Sodas Inspired by Nature.  Clio can, at times, adhere to the deconstructionist trend of molecular gastronomy.  It was highly on display in this course.  Small round-based volumetric flasks, similar to the triangular Erlenmeyer flasks you might remember from chemistry, were filled with these sodas.  With the sodas came cones made from syrup and stuffed with popcorn and powdered cheese.  We got the salty with the sweet.  What was funny but a little off-putting was that there was no neat way to eat the popcorn cones.  I got the white cheese powder everywhere.  Thankfully, the table linens were white.  Too bad my pants were black.  As they say, “It’s all good.”  The combination of the sweet, sugar cone and the salty popcorn and cheese was a fun, whimsical way to give me both the salty and the sweet.

Next, we received the Tomato Water Martini with Basil Oil, Caper Berry, and Tomato “Popsicle.”  For this course, the only alcohol to be found was in the wine pairing, listed below.  The tomato water was clear.  The basil oil sat as green drops on the surface of the drink.  The caper berry stood in place of a more traditional martini garnish, the olive.  Served on the side was a diminutive cube of a frozen tomato concoction.  The most impressive thing about this martini was that it actually tasted like a martini without the bite of the alcohol one might normally find in a cocktail.  To this day, Kristine still reminisces with me about the martini.

Ken Oringer has a little sushi bar called Uni adjacent to Clio.  The next two courses were from Uni.  We had a tiradito of fluke with spicy pepper vinaigrette, yuzu, and hishio soy followed by iced Taylor Bay scallops with rhubarb verjus, Ossetra caviar, and fresh wasabi.  The scallops were paired with the wonderful Riesling listed below.  Unfortunately, the details of these two courses elude me, but trust me, they were fantastic.  That much, I do remember.  A cold soup of cucumber with yogurt, black onion powder, and olive oil was next.  The next two courses were likewise excellent, but the details, again, are a little fuzzy four months later.  The globe artichoke “anchoyade” with chanterelles, crispy salad, and frozen goat cheese powder was followed by surf clams with stinging nettle soup, chive flowers, and crispy potato.

Next, we received a crispy-skinned striped bass with lemon balm foam, green garlic, and young radish paired with a 2006 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley.  Though the details elude my memory, I do remember that this was a standout dish for all of us that night.  Though one might question a pinot noir with fish, I assure you that the pairing was perfect.  I think the flavor of the dish would have overpowered many whites, but the pinot was just light enough to be the right complement to the dish.  Our sommelier Christophe did a marvelous job all night.

The next course again paired seafood with a red wine.  The Clio staff served us a soft shell crab tempura with grilled ramps, wild lettuces and sauce diable.  It reminded me of a similar dish I had at Nobu in Las Vegas.  Our wine pairing was a 2002 Chateau La Rame Sainte-Croix-Du-Mont from Bordeaux.  While excellent, I didn’t find the dish particularly groundbreaking for me.  I preferred the soft shell crab tempura from Nobu.

Next up was the sweet Lacquered Foie Gras with strawberries, violet candy, and Oolong tea bitters.  Christophe chose for us a 2004 Delas Hermitage “Marquise de la Tourette” from the Rhone River Valley.  Apparently, the wine is made from the Syrah grape from a particularly notable region, which may help to explain why it was so perfectly paired with the foie gras as prepared above.  The fruity, full-bodied Syrah went extremely well with the big flavors of the foie gras dish.  For me, this course and the paired wine, were the best of the night.  After that, we had veal and sweetbreads with the same wine.  All I remember was that this too, was excellent.  Probably, the most notable dishes that night were the sea bass and the foie gras.  I remember that these two dishes seemed to impress us most.

What followed was essentially dessert.  I have written elsewhere in this blog that a meal is akin to a sentence where the dessert functions as the period.  To me, the real meaning is in the sentence.  I think I’m just predisposed to pay less attention to dessert.  I don’t know why, but that’s just the reality.  I often say that I don’t have a sweet tooth; I have a fat and salt tooth.  Perhaps, that’s why I don’t pay nearly as much attention to dessert as I do to the rest of the meal.  I did love the sherry that we had with our wild strawberries with honey lemon crème and poppy ice cream.  That much, I do remember.

Thank you to Eric, Myha, and Kristine for sharing that night at Clio with me.  Thank you for being my complicit partners in crime.  Thank you to Chef Ken Oringer, Sous Chef Andres Juilan Grundy, Pastry Chef Renae Herzog, and Sommelier Christophe Richelet.  Though it was too long ago for me to remember all the details, I do remember it as one of the greatest meals of my life.

 

› Chef’s Tasting Menu on Saturday June 21st, 2008.

›

Soda inspired by nature

›››

 

Tomato Water Martini

with basil oil, caper berry and tomato “popsicle”

2006 Célestin Blondeau Sancerre “Cuvée des Moulins Bâles”, Loire

 

 

Tiradito of FLuke

with spicy pepper vinaigrette, yuzu and hishio soy›››

 

 

Iced Taylor Bay Scallops

with rhubarb verjus, ossetra caviar and fresh wasabi     

›

2005 Domaine Otter Riesling Grand Cru “Schlossberg”, Alsace

 

 

Cold Soup of Cucumber

with yogurt, black onion powder and olive oil

›››

 

Globe Artichoke “Anchoyade”

with chanterelles, crispy salad and frozen goat cheese powder

›››

 

Surf Clams

with stinging nettle soup, chive flowers and crispy potato  

›››

2006 Naia Verdejo, Rueda

 

 

Crispy Skinned Striped Bass

with lemon balm foam, green garlic and young radish    

›››

2006 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

 

 

Soft Shell Crab Tempura

with grilled ramps, wild lettuces and sauce Diable  

›››

2002 Château La Rame Sainte-Croix-Du-Mont, Bordeaux

 

Lacquered Foie Gras

with strawberries, violet candy and Oolong tea bitters  

›››

2004 Delas Hermitage “Marquise de la Tourette”, Rhône

 

Milk-Fed Veal “Scallopine” and Sweetbreads

with morel mushrooms fricassée, marjoram and aged sherry  

›››

 

La Tournette with Armagnac prunes

Fourme d’Ambert with spruce syrup and candied walnuts

Valencay with apricot and fig

Charolais with purple basil syrup and braised pear

›››

  

Wild Strawberries

with honey lemon crème and poppy ice cream

›››

Alvear ‘Sherry’ Pedro Ximénez Solera 1927, Montilla 

 

Milk Chocolate ‘Bonbon’

with sarsaparilla ice cream, Bing cherries and cocoa nib 

›››

Watch “Spain…on the Road Again.”

Chef Mario Batali took a road trip through Spain with his three friends Mark Bittman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Claudia Bassols.  Mark Bittman, some of you may know, is a food columnist (The Minimalist) for the New York Times  and the author of the How to Cook Everything series of books.  Gwyneth Paltrow is the Academy Award-winning star of Shakespeare in Love.  Claudia Bassols is a divinely beautiful Spanish actress from Catalonia.

Spain…on the Road Again is a twelve-part series airing on PBS.  In this show, Mario and friends do just what I would want to do on a vacation in Spain.  They go from place to place, riding around in Mercedes-Benz convertibles, sampling the glorious food and wine of various regions of Spain.  I highly recommend this series to you, dear reader.  Check your local listings or the show’s website (http://spainontheroadagain.com/index.shtml) to find out when to watch.  This series has a companion cookbook and an upcoming DVD set.

See the video below.

You Are What You Eat: Diet and Reproductive Fitness

I think a lot of people have heard the aphorism, “You are what you eat.”  I agree.  The thought is that if one overeats, one gains too much weight.  If one doesn’t eat healthily, one is unhealthy.  Okay, fine.  I admit it.  I don’t always listen to the wisdom contained in the above aphorism.  Yes, I understand that if one eats too much, one can wake up as a diabetic.  Yes, I understand that diabetes is linked to premature deaths due to nasty things like coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, renal failure, etc.  I understand that unhealthy diets are linked to other nasty things like cancer.  Fine.  We get it, right?  But, that’s not what this blog entry is about.  I believe people tell you a lot about themselves when they choose a meal or a drink.

 

Reproductive fitness is a concept in evolutionary biology that describes the ability of an individual to pass on his or her genes to the next generation.  It’s generally looked at in the following way.  Does a certain trait make an individual more likely to have mating success or to have live offspring in the next generation?  Does Brad Pitt’s attractiveness to a large segment of the female human population make it more likely that he will have offspring?  Does Angelina Jolie’s attractiveness to a wide segment of the human male population mean that she’s more likely to have reproductive success?  The concept of reproductive fitness is all about passing genes on into posterity.  What is the relationship between dietary choices and reproductive fitness?  Well, I think those intellects ruled wholly by science would argue that one has to make healthy choices in one’s diet to have reproductive fitness.  I’m sure those intellects would believe that the healthier one’s body, the healthier one’s reproductive system, and the more likely one will have live offspring who can transmit DNA further into posterity.  Understood.  I’d like to turn that thinking on its head, though.

 

My aunt once told me that she knew that her late, first husband was The One, because they liked to eat the same things.  I completely understand this point of view.  I believe that food and life are equivalent.  I believe that you are what you eat, but not in the way the phrase was meant to be used.  What I believe is that a person will telegraph who they are when they choose a meal or a drink.  It’s very revealing.  It has been written and said that a person’s appetites for food may reflect their appetites in the bedroom.  What I think is meant by that is that if one revels in the sensual pleasures of great eating, one will probably revel in the sensuals pleasures of—well—the bedroom.  Personally, I think that viewpoint underestimates the power of using a person’s food choices as a litmus test, because it refers only to the bedroom.

 

I believe that the compatibility of a pair’s taste in food says a lot about the potential of that relationship to produce offspring in this modern world.  So, in a way, it’s not diet per se that decides a pair’s reproductive fitness.  It’s compatibility.  People who are compatible when it comes to food, I believe, are more likely to be compatible in other ways, and therefore, they’re more likely to stay together.  People may have an image of Republicans as alcohol-swilling steak eaters.  Some might imagine a Democrat as an ascetic, tree-hugging, vegetarian whose idea of a naughty indulgence is a veggie hot dog.  One might imagine a Republican as a person who takes whole milk in his or her latte.  The same person might imagine a Democrat as one who takes a healthier approach with skim or soy in their double decaf latte.  While those preconceived notions may be untrue, I still believe that if two people agree on food, they’ll agree on a lot of other things.  If they agree on a lot of things, I believe, they’re more likely to stay together.  I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.  The Carl’s Jr. hamburger chain ran an advertising campaign stating that “If it doesn’t get all over the place [like their burger], it doesn’t belong in your face.”  I have similar thinking.  If we can’t agree on what we just ate, don’t expect me to ask for a(nother) date.

 

I’m pretty sure the following people are stereotypes whom I’m not going to want to be with for the long haul.  Here they are in no particular order.  (Disclaimer: Yes, I know these are oversimplifications and stereotypes, and that I’m an awful person for not giving people a chance.)

 

1. The woman who only drinks white wine.  She’s problematic for me, because I need variety in my food and drink.  I can’t imagine this woman to be an adventurous eater.  If a person’s first move is Chardonnay, I’m immediately suspicious, but I’m waiting to evaluate what she orders for food.  I’m betting she’s a picky eater.  Personally, I’m more adventurous than that.  I’m often looking for something new.  I’m looking for a partner to share the pleasures of the food that I like.  I want a playmate.  I don’t think that Ms. Chardonnay and I will find much common ground.  I don’t see us getting along as playmates.  I imagine she’ll want to play one game she always plays, and I’ll want to play another new game.  We could be sometime playmates as friends.  I can’t imagine her as my best friend with whom I’d want to play for the rest of my life.
2. The woman who orders the same thing every time she goes to a particular restaurant and has no particular need to order anything else—ever.  The problem I will face with this woman is going to be the same as the one faced with Ms. Chardonnay.
3. The woman who thinks of dessert as the best part of the meal.  I’m not that kind of a guy.  To me, dessert is the period to the sentence.  The real meaning of a meal is, for me, in the sentence itself.  To me (to use a desert analogy), is merely the cherry on top of the sundae; I’m in it for the sundae.  I have no interest in eating the cherry first; I feel the cherry should be eaten in the context of the rest of the sundae.
4. The vegetarian or the woman who says she doesn’t eat meat even though she doesn’t self-classify as a vegetarian.  I’m a carnivore.  What can I say?  I still need a playmate.  If a woman’s not up for ribs at a barbecue event, I think we may have a problem.
5. The person who doesn’t eat seafood.  Yes. They’re out there.  I imagine that the person who isn’t up for either a sushi/sashimi extravaganza or lobster with black bean sauce is not for me.

 

Okay, fine, I admit it.  I’m lumping women into various categories that are oversimplifications.  Sure.  I don’t mean to castigate women for their food choices.  One might feel that I’m judging books by their covers, but I allow women the freedom to eat whatever they want.  I’m not saying people who don’t eat the same things I do are bad people.  All I’m saying is that I’m looking for a playmate who wants to play the same games I do.  I just think that a compatible playmate when it comes to food will be more likely to be a compatible partner when it comes to other things.

 

I know a vegetarian, whom I find exceedingly attractive.  Blonde and green-eyed—Guinevere we’ll call her after the titular character mentioned in the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song—has a beautiful face and remarkable figure, in my mind.  She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.  I can’t imagine us together, because I’m a carnivore.  We’re not going to be able to play the same games together; we’re not going to be able to share in the pleasures that I find in eating.  I just can’t picture it.  So, I appreciate Guinevere for the nice, warm person she is and for her beauty, and that’s all.  Guinevere isn’t going to be able to share in my gustatory games, in my life.  Umami—the  Japanese word for savory and delicious tastes found in meats, cheeses, broths, stocks, and proteinaceous foods—will, I imagine, mean nothing positive (and probably a lot of negative things) to Guinevere.  To me, it means everything—as far as food is concerned, anyway.

 

In my journey through life, a particular dish holds a special meaning for me.  I’m a lover of lechon, or what a Filipino or a Puerto Rican might call a roast pig.  Personally, I prefer the variety made on the Philippine island of Cebu.  I also prefer Cebuano mangoes to those found elsewhere, but that’s a topic for another blog entry.  Anyway, lechon is all about the umami.  I’m all about the umami.  The best lechon, I think, is from Cebu where my father grew up.  Here’s a little look into what goes into a Cebuano lechon.  This recipe was sent to me by my friend James from the following source: http://www.extra-rice.com/best-taste-cebu-lechon-recipe/

 

Prepare:

One whole pig (about 20 kilograms)

Salt

Black pepper

Soy Sauce

 

Lechon Stuffing:

5-10 bundles of lemon grass (tanglad)

20 pcs. Banana (saba variety), peeled then halved or

20 pcs. Taro (gabi), peeled

 

1. Clean and prepare the pig by removing innards, washing and scraping the body of bristles.  Rinse and allow to drain a bit before stuffing.
2. Rub with salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Rub soy sauce on the skin of the pig.  This will make it nicely red when roasted.
4. Stuff the belly of the lechon with lemon grass along with saba and gabi.  Sew to close.
5. Skewer the pig and split roast over live charcoal or traditionally, in somparts of Cebu, under live fire.  Roast until crisp.
6. Cebu lechon is not served with a sauce, but if a dipping sauce is requested, vinegar with scallions and pepper may be served along with it.

 

I’d like to find a playmate who’s into umami.  Lechon is a game that Guinevere isn’t going to want to play.  If a playmate asks me to eat steak or ribs with her on occasion, I think she may be able to share life with me in the fullest way.  It’s a start, anyway.  The search for a soul mate is a quest to find someone who shares the same attitudes in life, someone who is on the same wavelength?  Aren’t those good building blocks for a lasting relationship, for the reproductive fitness of a particular pair bond?  My journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step of finding someone who appreciates the umami as much as I do.

Introduction and Initiation

Hello, and welcome to Moviefone.  Okay, not really.  What’s this blog really about?  It’s about whatever I want it to be, but mostly it will be about food.  For me, food is life and life is food.  Food is central.  Food is vital.  Take the etymology of the word vital (from the Latin vita, meaning “life”) and you may see what I’m getting at.  The importance of food, however, goes beyond sustenance or its role as a substrate for exothermic reactions.  It is about Life with a capital “L.”  It’s more “Life Magazine” than Biology 101.  It’s more about Billy Joel’s “My Life” or Roberto Benigni’s “Life is Beautiful” than it is about fuel.

 

Eating is universally a social event.  Many people won’t go out to eat alone.  I’m sure that some anthropologist has studied this type of communal eating behavior and attempted to divine the purpose of it all.  I’m sure that animal behaviorists have watched prides of lions (lionesses?) hunting various larger beasts and subsequently devouring their unfortunate prey within a defensive perimeter.  I’m sure researchers have tried to figure out why we seem to eat within a social context by studying our leonine cousins.  Whatever the reasons, it is one of the rituals of life.  We eat with friends.  We eat with families.  We eat with other people for company.  We talk about how the food was at a wedding reception.  We eat with potential mates.  Some of us (myself included) try to get to know a person by what she orders and how she orders it.  I’m assessing our compatibility here.  Eating is a mating ritual whether one realizes it or not, whether one is on a date or at a party.  Isn’t mating central to life?  Isn’t good company and a great meal a wonderful way to spend an evening?  Aren’t these moments some of our best experiences in life?

 

I recently had an extremely pleasurable evening with good friends and fantastic food.  We’re talking about some of my best friends in the entire world.  We’re talking about one of the most amazing meals I have ever had in my life—whether at a domestic venue in the United States, or one abroad.  That priceless (read: expensive) experience is what inspired this blog more than anything else.  Reflections on that meal at Ken Oringer’s superlative Clio in Boston reawakened the impulse to blog.  Of course, television programs like “Top Chef” or “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” fed the impulse its breakfast.  Currently, I live in a metropolitan area that is not known as a great destination for culinary tourism.  When I find good food in this Motor City (or elsewhere), I am, as Mr. Bourdain states in his show’s introduction, “hungry for more.”  This blog is about my quest for “more” and my enjoyment (or displeasure) on the journey of discovery.   This blog is about life’s centerpieces: the meals we eat.