Sunday, July 11, 2010

food death(s)

sometimes i take it too far.

often i get too excited for the really big, important parties and drink tequila like it's going out of style and i miss everything.

sometimes, when faced with the same 'big, important, party' feeling in terms of food, i over-do it. (cured meats, cheese platters, pate, a hot, fresh pizza pie, etc)

sometimes i just can't stop. sometimes it absolutely cannot be helped. sometimes i HAVE to keep eating because its just too good to stop. and sometimes...sometimes i over do it.

this, friends, is one such occasion.

Friday, July 9th

up bright and early for my interview that i MUST have done well at because i have follow-up on Monday!!!

im trying not to count my eggs all in one basket....before they are...hatched...or...something...BUT ahem-imfeelingverypositiveaboutitandimtotallygonnanailit.

i rewarded myself for my job-well done with back to back to back episodes of AB:NR (Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations- Indonesia, Ireland, Sweden, Ghana, Beirut) and i also spent almost 2 hours video chatting/watching Top Chef with aunt Jill, uncle Frank and Mom.

later on...

i met up with my friend Megan from college and some her friends and things got fuzzy. ladies and gentlemen, my first "too much" of something:

TEQUILA. too much. too too much.

luckily i managed to get out of Chelsea in one piece and after a very brief meet up with Garret, Cathleen and Nate it was straight to bed.

SATURDAY, July 10th

Garret, Cathleen (or Leens, as she will henceforth be referred) and I set out to watch the final game of the World Cup!!! oh. well. whoops. turns out we were a day early....

so we went to Central Park instead! it was a perfect day to walk around the park- it was warm but over-cast and gave the whole park this incredible light.

i love it there. i want to go there all the time! and i WILL live there one day. i will.


since we were already way up west there was only one place to go...

Salumeria Rosi

my mom told me about this place after seeing on, guess where, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. what can i say? we're big time fans...

it was on his 'food porn' episode and after seeing a clip of him chowing down cured meats and lardo i was DONE. had to go. and so we did!

i practically ran in. and as i squirmed excitedly in my seat i knew we were in for it. this is a place that takes what it does very seriously. you can tell by the almost perverse way they describe their wares. if ever there was a a sexy food it is absolutely cured Italian meats.

we ordered the the Selezione del Salumerie, which is the choice of whoever happens to be working behind the glorious counter of fatty, meaty heaven. three pieces of the following:

Il Parmacotto Our signature prosciutto cotta, or cooked ham. Delicately flavored, this boneless ham is brined for several days then cooked in steam ovens until juicy and tender.

Mortadella di Bologna finely ground, cooked pork sausage, a staple in Bologna. Rose colored, dotted with cubes of port fat. Light, yet full of flavor. With our without pistachios.

Prosciutto di Parma, the Ferrari of Italian pork products. This shiny red, hind thigh of hog, rimmed with pure white fat, is simple irresistible. Salt cured and air-dried between 18 and 36 months.

Soppressata, A coarsely ground, dry-cured sausage popular in Southern Italy. Made with lean pork fat and spices of infinite combination

Arista, Slow-roasted pork loin, seasoned with salt, pepper and various spices. The superior cut of pork certainly lives up to its name- arista, from the Greek aristos, meaning "the best".

Finocchiona, A zippy, Tuscan-style salame, seasoned with fennel or finocchio. Full of flavor, it pairs well with mild foods like the saltless bread of Tuscany.

Cacciatorino, This pocket-sized salame originated as a snack for Piemontese hunters, or cacciatori. Now popular all over Italy, recipes vary from region to region.

amazing. amazing. amazing.

we also ordered a cheese selection. yeah, why not?!

Pecorino Stagionato (Toscano), Six month old sheep's milk cheese served with carrot mostarda

Parmagiano-Reggiano Stravecchio (Emilia Romanga), Hard cow's milk cheese, aged 24 months served with balsamic reduction

Gorgonzola Dolce (Lombardia), Creamy, blue veined cow's milk cheese, served with candied walnuts


so that we didn't get scurvy, we ordered a modest salad,

Rucolo E Parmigiano
, Arugula, lemon vinaigrette and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.

oh and WINE! we also had a bottle of wine! Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2007

and finally...to top off my own 'waterloo of gluttony'....

in a whispered voice, seeming to be coming from another world....


lllaarrrddddooooo

slippery, salty strips of as far as i'm concerned, the fat of some sacred, God-like pig. there is no reason for fat from the back of a pig to taste the way lardo tastes. its magic.

sooooooo yeah. we had a pretty good time.
(on a scale of 1 to 10 how jealous are you of this meal?! im jealous just re-living it)

and to make it better, Garret, most likely drunk on pork products, cheese and the wine, offered to pay for this incredible lunch. THANK YOU GARRET. thank you thank you thank you.
amazing.


so what are you supposed to do after you've eaten incredible meats and cheeses???
why, go get more, of course!!

i took them to Zabars, aka mecca. easily one of my favorite places in the entire world. i can spend HOURS here. downstairs rows and rows and shelves and shelves filled with any cheese you can imagine, olives, breads, deli products, fish, etc etc etc and upstairs rows and rows of kitchen products for every possible dish imaginable.










sooo we went a little nuts and walked away with bags full of goodies that we couldn't even fathom eating, being so full of the previous meats and cheeses...


but that didn't stop us! no way. after a nap for them and some Anthony Bourdain for me i set up our feast...

Dry salami, truffle mousse pate, olives, cornichons, caper berries, two baguettes, grilled salmon, gazpacho,

Dutch aged gouda, french goat cheese, burrata, apricot preserves, olive oil, and of course a zabars mug.


ooooof.



it was a day of excess. and i was totally feeling it. but i pressed on. we went out to Brooklyn and had beer beer beer beer!

sure! the heaviest drink after a day of nonstop eating! yeah, you bet!

and yet....there was more!!

at the bar we went to The Woods had a taco truck out back. i haven't had ANY Mexican food out here yet because all i've heard are bad reviews so i was curious. Garret and i each got 1 carne asada taco and some chips and 'guacamole'. not bad! $3 for a taco and not too shabby. the 'guacamole' was interesting. it was basically pureed avocado, lime and spices so it was really runny and weird but at least it tasted like avocado...

i went to bed full. very full.

SUNDAY, July 11th

after only hours since my last meal (taco) i was up and eating again! Garret, Leens and i, now champion eaters, went to Clinton St. Baking Co. which we had heard sooooooo much about. amazing! wonderful! best brunch ever! usually you have to wait hours to be seated but since we live so close, they put our names in and we came back to the house and relaxed instead of waiting out front. not bad! (it still took 2 hours). but boy were we excited!! with such a reputation! I ordered the special
Asparagus Benedict with truffle hollandaise served on a buttermilk biscuit. Garret got the Southern Breakfast, two eggs, sugar cured bacon, cheese grits and fried green tomatoes. Leens got the Buttermilk Breakfast Sandwich, scrambled eggs, melted cheddar, homemade tomato jam, with hash browns and bacon.


oh, AND

we shared...

Brioche French Toast with caramelized bananas, roasted pecans and warm maple butter.
(dear lord)

meh.

i dont know what happened. maybe we ordered the wrong things? but everything just kind of...lacked flavor. lacked spice. all the components were there but something was just....not amazing about it. maybe we're jadded SF diners? maybe we had eaten such incredible food the day before? i dont know....EXCEPT the Brioche French Toast. that was pretty awesome.

i spent the rest of the day rolling around on the floor in agony. two days of INSANE eating.
too much.

TOO MUCH.

i'll spare you the details of my misery but i was unhappy. and the worst part was that i had all kinds of great food in the fridge that i just could NOT eat!! sad.

im a bit ashamed to reveal the sheer volume of food that was consumed this weekend but food that delicious needs to be shared. and as my new imaginary best friend Anthony Bourdain says, "few things are better in this world than pork skin and pork fat, as far as im concerned."

so true. but i need a break.

xo
L

2 comments:

  1. You are fucking driving me crazy!!!!!!!! all the things I cannot eat anymore. When will it stop?

    ReplyDelete