Sweet Paris - Ladurée versus Pierre Hermé

Two weeks ago (has it been two weeks already?) I flew to France to see B., to meet his family, and to soak up the sweetness that is Paris.  Of course, when I talk about the sweetness that is Paris, I do mean that rather literally.  I have a long-standing love for French pastries — a love that almost matches my love for B. — and I don't deprive myself when I can get them.  In fact, I just counted, and during the six days that I was in Paris, I ate 12 different pastries.  Twelve.  And I don't even think of that as a lot.  A visit to Paris is so synonymous in my mind with eating pastries that I don't think of it as anything to write home about; most of the time I don't take notes or pictures, and all my friends and family know that I always take pictures of my food.  But with French pastries, either because I grew up seeing them all the time or because I don't want to wait the extra 20 seconds to take a decent picture, I just buy them and I eat them.  But there are two places in Paris that are too famous to act blasé about: Ladurée and Pierre Hermé.

I first went to Ladurée when I was thirteen.  This was many years ago, before the name was well-known in the States.  It was a place that my parents had read about and they decided to take their two daughters there.  We sat down in the salon and oohed and aaahed over everything as we ate the pastries and drank the tea.  It was wonderful.  The service was friendly and attentive and everything was delicious, but I haven't been back since.  Ladurée is good, but pastries everywhere in Paris are good, and I never really got into the macaron food fad that everyone else seems to be following.  Sure, I enjoy the delicate little rounds, but I'd rather have some good foie gras.
Recently, however, when my boyfriend came to visit, he brought two boxes of macarons for my family from Ladurée, sweetly packed and carried across the ocean for us.  My sister and my parents were touched by his gesture, and it piqued my interest in going back to the shop.
Ladurée, which was founded back in 1862 (a fact that is printed on almost everything that bears their name, so I think they're rather proud of it), is often credited as being the first place in which the modern-day macaron was made.  The modern-day macaron I speak of is a tiny "cake" (if one can even use that word) made of egg whites, almond flour, and sugar baked into small airy rounds that are smooth, crisp, and soft all at once.  Two of these small "shells" are joined together by a ganache or jelly-like filling in the middle.  Flavors can range from raspberry and chocolate to olive oil or thyme.

I first visited Pierre Hermé two summers ago.  I had heard much about it for years before then, but I just hadn't taken the time to visit.  Pierre Hermé (the man) is famous in the gourmet pastry scene for his bold, sometimes risky, flavor pairings, including the very famous Ispahan, a macaron that combines raspberry, lychee, and rose together so successfully that it has been copied everywhere, including at Ladurée.
My sister and I went there together, and we didn't try any of the macarons (again, I was never big into the macaron craze), but we bought the Ispahan and a dark chocolate mousse pastry.  I remember that the Ispahan was good, but I don't recall being blown away by it.

But I am no longer eighteen and it has been a long time since I was thirteen, and so I had to go back.  I wanted to do a taste test between the two places and to compare the macarons at Pierre Hermé with those at Ladurée.


At Ladurée I bought several macarons, for 1€70 a piece.  Boxes are more expensive, but are a good choice if you are traveling with your macaron, as the paper bag they give you otherwise provides absolutely no protection.  After I had paid, I was offered a free raspberry marshmallow macaron to try, as it was a new flavor that they were trying to promote.  I accepted it from the silver platter upon which it was offered to me (by a man in a suit wearing white satin gloves, no less), and ate it as I walked down the street to the metro.  It was overly sweet and the flavor was one note.  I could sense the marshmallow from the filling, but the raspberry flavor was lacking, and I felt like it needed some acid or salt to balance out the cloying sweetness.  It did, however, have a lovely texture; the shell was airy with a crisp exterior that gave way to a soft interior that had just the slightest bit of chew before giving away to a melt-in-your-mouth kind of "crumb" that is very distinct to a well-made macaron.
The flavors I bought to try (pictured above, on the left) were salted caramel, pistachio, cherry, and fleur d'oranger (orange flower blossom).  I took them home and split them that night with B. for dessert after dinner.  The salted caramel was good, sweet, but balanced and very well flavored.  The pistachio wasn't quite as strongly perfumed, but it was enjoyable.  I didn't get as much of a cherry or orange blossom flavor, respectively, from the last two macarons, but they were both pleasant to eat, albeit a little on the sweet side.  B. and I agreed that the macarons at Ladurée were good, although more delicate flavors weren't captured as well as strong flavors were.

At Pierre Hermé, I also bought several macarons.  Here, they charge for the macarons per piece until you buy more than four; then they charge you by weight.  The flavors here were more unique; I suppose Pierre Hermé finds single-flavored macarons to be too easy, and he's a man who likes more of a challenge.
At the top left is the "Eden", a macaron that combines saffron, peach, and apricot.  I was very curious and hopeful about this one, but I did not enjoy it at all.  In fact, to be honest, I didn't even want to swallow the bite that I took, that was how unpleasant I found it, and I am not one who normally disdains odd flavor combinations.  B. agreed with me that it was not good.  In the middle on the top row is the "Mosaic" macaron, which features a vanilla macaron and pistachio filling flavored with cinnamon and morello cherries.  Neither of us were really crazy about this combination either.  The filling had an odd and unexpected flavor of coconut, and I couldn't sense any cinnamon or pistachio.  All the way to the right is the "Mogador" macaron, which features milk chocolate and passionfruit.  I thought this was the best one.  Both flavors were strong and they worked together well.  Unlike the other macarons, in which the flavors had seemed to be fighting with each other, these flavors were complimentary.  On the bottom left is "infiniment caramel" which features salted caramel (fleur de sel).  This was good.  It was much heavier on the salt than the salted caramel macaron at Ladurée.  Though I preferred this version, B. preferred the one at Ladurée.  Lastly, the pale macaron on the bottom was "infiniment jasmine", which was supposed to have flavors of jasmine flower and jasmine tea, but they did not come through in the macaron.
I was very disappointed by Pierre Hermé after this tasting, and B. told me that we should have ended the taste test with Ladurée to finish on a good note, since neither of us particularly enjoyed the lingering tastes we had in our mouths of the macarons from PH.

I also compared the two versions of the Ispahan.  This raspberry macaron with a rose-lychee filling is originally a creation of Pierre Hermé.  Ladurée (on the right/on top) sells it for 7€20; Pierre Hermé sells it for 6€90 (left/lower image with the "PH" sticker).

Though they look almost identical, B. and I agreed that Ladurée makes the better version of the Ispahan (pictured on top); their re-creation is preferable to the original.  Their macaron shell was texturally better and their filling was more flavorful.  Pierre Hermé's version was good (better than his other macarons), but the macaron shell was not well made.  It was too thin and the texture was odd; the crispy shell exterior gave way to an interior that was too dry and didn't have the light crumb that I expect from a good macaron (pictured on bottom).  The filling was also too sweet and didn't have enough flavor, though large pieces of lychee were generously mixed in.  While the flavor combination in both cases was good, Ladurée had better execution.

It saddened me greatly to see Pierre Hermé fail so terribly in comparison as I had expected it to be a closer call, but now I can say with no hesitation that if I had to pick, Ladurée is my preference.  I can see why people are always lining up in Paris and NYC to buy the sweet creations.

Though Ladurée has many locations worldwide, if you find yourself in Paris, my recommendation is to go to the one on 21 rue Bonaparte as it is not as crowded as some of the other locations (the one near Madeleine often has a very long line, since it is in an area frequented by tourists) and it still has a salon if you want to sit down for tea or food.  For NYC locals, there is a store at 864 Madison Avenue, however from what I've heard, there is always a line.

Finally, one last word of advice: take care when traveling with macarons.  They smush rather easily.

Home

I am back from my trip to Paris.  What does this mean?  It means I am sitting in my apartment eating madeleines and drinking sirop de menthe.  It means that I have amazing chocolate in my pantry and good French butter in my fridge, and a stock of Belin Monaco crackers to snack on.  It means that for the next few weeks I will be hoarding a beautiful stash of foreign goodies for careful consumption.

Sometimes I think I know better what brands to get in France than I do in the States.  For example, I have a deep fondness for Mamie Nova brand yogurt, especially the apricot flavor.  My preferred brand of milk is Candia.  When it comes to butter, my mom likes beurre doux by President, while I enjoy beurre demi-sel (with sea salt crystals, mmm) by Grand Fermage.  I only ever buy mousse de canard by Madrange, and if we buy foie gras from the supermarket, we always stick to Labeyrie.  There are even more brands that I know and love -- Lu, Teisseire, Reflets de France -- and it is their familiar names, fonts, and colors that make me feel at home when I go grocery shopping in Paris.

Of course, I couldn't go to France without bringing home something for my family.  I ended up packing half a suitcase full of goodies to bring back.  Normally we also buy wine and gifts and such, but because I was traveling light and it was a short trip, I only brought back the minimum.  That's right.  What is pictured above is the minimum.  Bare bones.  Yes, we like our French food in my house.

But what about you?

For you, dear readers, I brought home stories.  Description of pâtisseries and boulangeries that were visited, taste tests that were conducted.  I will report.  But for now my still jet-lagged brain demands sleeps and so I leave you with a hint of what I had and what I will share...

Ladurée.

Counting Down to Paris

Four days, and then I'll be back in the land of warm baguettes that cost only 80 centimes, savory tarama and pâté de foie for my breakfast spread, delicious pastries at the corner pâtisserie next to the Mairie des Lilas metro, and, mostly important, B.

In four days I will fly to the see the man who, when I tell him, "I have a random question..." replies to me, "I have a random answer." The man who took me to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library and was disappointed that I didn't get to see the reading room because it was closing when we arrived.  The man who is eager to teach me how to boulder, how to drive a stick shift car, how to install my own programs onto my computer.  The man who forgives me when I don't have time to talk to him because of the amount work I have to get done, and yet is there for me in an instant when I tell him I need him.

In four days I will be in Paris.  Beautiful, dirty, sweet, snobby Paris.  Paris of my childhood summers.  Paris, where life has given me some of my favorite memories, where I spent countless birthdays with my grandparents and cousins.  Paris, where I had my first drink at a bar.  Paris, where I fell in love with foie gras, where I experienced my first two Michelin star restaurant.  Paris, where I learned how to be alone, where I discovered the joy of going to the market and buying fresh produce.  Paris, where I taught myself how to slow down, sit quietly, and watch the world.

And Paris, where I met B.

"Paris ne m'a jamais semblé aussi jolie, magique et magnifique qu'en ta présence."

I can't wait to return.

Dinner at Ai Fiori

As I mentioned before, last weekend, my sweet B. flew into town to visit.  My sister was in the city (by that I mean NYC) at the same time, visiting with her boyfriend T., and so we all decided to go out to dinner together.  My sister and I spent a long time time trying to figure out a good restaurant for the four of us.  We considered Gilt, Marea, and Thomas Keller's Per Se, but ended up deciding on Ai Fiori.

Ai Fiori is actually Marea's sister restaurant.  In 2012, Zagat rated it NYC's Best New Restaurant and it also recently earned one Michelin star.  I checked OpenTable about a week before that date we wanted, and I was able to make a reservation for four people at 8:30pm.

Located inside the Setai hotel, it is contemporary in style with a business type of air to it.  The menu is organized into four different categories: per cominciare, pasta e risotto, pesce, and carne.  You can order à la carte or you can get the four course prix fixe for $89.  We decided that the women would order just one main course each while the men would order the four course prix fixe, which the women would help share.  This ended up working out just perfectly so that everyone was satisfied and full.

After we finished ordering, we were offered a selection of three different breads: an olive bread, a sourdough bread, and a whole grain bread.  On the table we had a lightly salted butter and olive oil.  The bread wasn't warm, but it was light and fragrant.  The whole grain bread was my favorite, but all were good.

We were then served a shot of carrot cumin soup with lime foam (not pictured).  It was a nice combination of hot and cold.  The warm earthy tones of the soup also contrasted the high acid notes of the mousse.  It was pleasant, but not amazing.  Normally, or at least in my opinion, the amuse bouche is when the chef can show off his talent; it's supposed to have a wow factor.  This did not.  We gave it a 6.5 out of 10.  Not bad, but definitely not setting our expectations very high.

We did also order drinks, but I'm not reviewing them here because I don't remember exactly what was ordered; I was too busy taking notes on the food.  My sister and T. both ordered cocktails, and B. and I split a lovely glass of white wine (Châteauneuf-du-Pape).

To start our meal, my boyfriend ordered the Torchon (part of the prix fixe, supplement of $5), which features foie gras au naturel, bosc pear, and almond zabaglione.  It is served with a small tray of toasted brioche.  The dish was light, delicate, and well executed.  The poached pear was filled with toasted almonds, mixed with a reduced balsamic glaze that complemented the foie gras nicely.  It was not a mind-blowing dish, but I would happily order it again and be satisfied.  We gave it an 8 out of 10.

To start their meal, my sister and her boyfriend ordered Animelle, which featured crispy sweetbreads, pomme puree, truffle vinagrette, and pancetta.  As T. said, it tasted like fried chicken, "but in a really good way."  I'm not sure that that's what the kitchen was hoping to hear when they made this dish, but I think what T. was trying to say was that for a dish that is made predominantly of offal, it didn't taste like it.  Creative presentation and satisfying without being mind-blowing, it was a 7.5 out of 10.

Next, both of the men ordered the Agnolotti as the second course in their prix fixe meal.  This was a dish recommended by the NY Times review and it consisted of braised veal parcels, butternut squash, and black truffle sugo.  It came to the table with a simple presentation, served with a fried sage leaf.  The first bite was incredible.  The veal parcels melted in the mouth and the flavors were earthy, deep, and savory.  However, after a while, the dish got to be a bit tiresome and a little bit one dimensional.  I almost wished there was some textural crunch to contrast the chewiness and softness of everything on the plate.  Nevertheless, it was an 8 out of 10.

For his main course, T. ordered the Maiala (part of the prix fixe).  This dish featured red waddle pork loin, boudin noir, gnocchi, apple, and mustard.  The blood sausage (boudin noir, which we were told is made in-house) was delicious.  It was studded with lardo and tasted incredibly smooth.  It was not as grainy as the blood sausages I've had in the past, and the flavor was very mild and savory.  It was game-y in a way that I normally associate with meat.  The pork loin was cooked beautifully and the combination of flavors and textures was very successful.  Texturally the dish was also satisfying.  It was a very solid 8.5 out of 10.

For his main course, B. ordered the Astice (part of the prix fixe), which features butter poached nova scottia lobster, root vegetable fondant, and chataeu chalon sauce.  I was actually sorry that he ordered this dish upon my recommendation because it was the most disappointing dish of the night.  It had been recommended by NY Times, but it lacked a wow factor.  The sauce was good, but honestly I expected better.  It was so safe, so boring.  And worse yet, the tail meat of the lobster was sadly undercooked.  I personally would have said something to the waitstaff and asked for the dish to be corrected, but my sweet B. is too nice to do so.  As such, we gave it a 4 out of 10.

For her main course, my sister ordered the Trofie Nero ($36, ordered as a main course), which features ligurian crustacean ragu, seppia, scallops, and spiced mollica.  The squid ink pasta was served al dente and so it had a great bite to it.  It was filling, satisfying, and perfectly executed.  I wouldn't change a thing about this dish.  It had texture, it had flavor, it wasn't heavy, it was wonderfully balanced.  A 9.5 out of 10.  Highly recommended.

For my main course, I had the Agnello ($40) which features rack of lamb en crepinette, panisse, romanesco, and parmesan.  The lamb was very good, truly melt-in-the-mouth, tender, and moist, and I was incredibly impressed with my first few bites, however it was a lot to eat.  The romanesco was a nice crunchy textural component and the parmesan worked nicely with the lamb.  A 9 out of 10.  I would happily order this again.

For dessert, my sister and her boyfriend had the Tartaletta, which features dark chocolate, red grape, caramelized sherry, walnut gelato.  This was very good.  All of the components played well together and while I didn't quite get the fragrance of walnut when I tasted the gelato, the entire dish was a beautiful symphony of flavors.  8.5 out of 10.

For our dessert, B. and I shared the "Baba al Rhum" which features tropical fruit, passion fruit coulis, and crema di coco.  While this was delicious and I loved the flavors, it was absolutely not a baba au rhum, at least in the sense of the French pastry that I know and love.  First of all, there was no rum flavor, which should be a clear indication that you cannot say your desert is "al Rhum", and secondly it was more like a French Toast; it was even served warm, which is not something I've ever encountered with any French baba au rhum I've ever eaten.  The cold fruit plate was very fragrant.  The combination of warm pastry with the cold ice and fruit was delicious. I would be happy to order it again, but I do think the dessert should perhaps be renamed.  We gave it an 8.5 out of 10.

To close the meal, we were brought two trays of mignardises (one for each couple) which included, clockwise from top left, a chocolate with coconut filling, a delicate sand cookie will raspberry jam filling, a chocolate with banana filling, and lastly an apricot or peach pâtes de fruits.  They were all good, not stellar, but well executed.

Overall we gave the restaurant a 7.5 out of 10.  The service was decent.  There were no frills, no extras, no lingering.  It was friendly, but not above and beyond.  The food was good, but for the price and reputation, I was surprised to see something fail the way that the lobster did.  It is always disappointing to enjoy everything in a meal and then have one dish mar the experience.  I would be happy to come back, but I won't go out of my way for it; there are too many good restaurants in New York that I still have to try.

Ai Fiori
400 5th Avenue
Setai Hotel - 2nd level
New York, NY 10018
Tel. 212.613.8660

Dinner at Salt and Fat

For the past week I have been in heaven.  My sweet B. -- whom I think I will forever refer to as the one who cooks for me, partially because after all this time, that is still one of my most read post on this blog -- came to visit from Paris.  This past Friday night we went out to happy hour and dinner with his friends in the city.  We had made plans to eat at a place that I have wanted to try for a while called Salt and Fat.  This restaurant serves what they describe as "New American small plates" which are like tapas, but without the Spanish influence in terms of flavor or composition.

We were three couples, and we walked in at around 7pm on a Friday night.  The restaurant doesn't take reservations, so we added our name and number to the list.  We were told it would be about an hour wait, so we went a few doors down to a bar to get drinks.  It wasn't long before the hostess called us and we were able to come back and be seated.

While we considered the menu, we were started off with a bag of bacon fat popcorn.  Each couple got their own bag to share.  This was a wonderful way to get the meal started.  It was salty and savory in a perfectly balanced and ethereal way.  I would happily eat this every day for the rest of my life and sacrifice my arteries and my health.  Delicious.

And then we started the meal.

One of the dishes we started with was the Truffled Beet Salad which featured frisee, red and yellow beets, pepperoni chips, and a dressing of yuzu creme fraiche ($9).  It was a good balance of bitterness (from the greens), acidity (from the creme fraiche), sweetness (from the beets), and saltiness and spiciness (from the pepperoni).  It was also fun to eat because of the differences in texture of all the components.  Despite the fact that the dish was overall a success, we gave it a 7 out of 10 because it wasn't particularly special (thought it was above average) and because it really could have used more beets.  Also I think this the type of dish that you only order once to know what it is like; good, but not stellar.  For six people, we ordered one plate.

The dish which you can see above in two forms -- first, as it came to the table, and second, "mixed" after we had dug in a little -- is the "Shaved" Hudson Valley foie gras which featured cinnamon, Mandarin oranges and bacon brittle ($15).  It was a fantastic combination.  I loved the soft acidity of the mandarin with the warm sweetness of the cinnamon.  They worked well with the delicate flavor of the foie gras, which truly melted in the mouth.  The bacon brittle was a great textural component and its saltiness was a nice addition to the flavors already in play.  We gave it a 9 out of 10.  I would happily order this again.  For six people, we ordered two plates.

 

This dish is the yellowtail tartare which featured scallions, yuzu gel, cassava chips ($14).  You can see it as it came to table, beautifully plated, and then after we mixed it and were prepared to scoop it up and eat it with the chips.  This was my absolute favorite dish of the night.  It was perfectly balanced.  It was spicy, savory, crispy (from the fantastic cassava chips), and fresh.  The natural flavor of the fish was highlighted beautifully, and each bite I took impressed me.  We gave this a 9.5 out of 10.  I would definitely order this again.  For six people, we ordered one plate.

Not on the menu was a dish called "Crack and Cheese", which features fried potato gnocchi, bacon, and cheese (white béchamel sauce).  This failed to impress me.  It was hot, heavy, and dull.  The same texture was in every bite and the overwhelming fattiness of dish could be tasted in a way that I did not enjoy.  With a name like "crack and cheese" you would think that the dish would be addictive, however I wouldn't order it again.  This was barely a 4 out of 10.  For six people, we ordered one plate.

 These braised pork belly tacos with kimchi salsa, pickled onions, and queso fresco ($9 for three) were another favorite of the night.  The kimchi was mildly spicy, the pickled onions were crunchy and brine-y, the pork belly was sweet and meaty, and the queso fresco added a mellow smoothness that rounded out the other flavors.   There was great textural balance.  I really enjoyed this dish.  Our one complaint was that the kimchi was a little strong and thus overwhelmed the pork belly flavor.  There either should have been more pork belly or less salsa.  We gave this dish an 8.5 out of 10.  Would I order it again?  Yes.

 The pulled pork sliders pictured above were marinated with a sriracha BBQ sauce that was more sweet than spicy (I actually had no idea there was sriracha until I looked at the menu) and served with sweet pickles ($9 for three).  I thought this dish was rather one-dimensional.  There was nothing interesting in terms of texture with each bite; the bread was soft, the pork was tender, and the pickles weren't particularly crunchy.  The flavors were also rather dull.  There was no kick, no oomph, no wow-factor.  We gave it a 5.5 out of 10.  This was by no means a bad dish, but it failed to impress and I wouldn't order it again.

The oxtail terrine, pictured above, was served with caramelized onion puree and roasted mushrooms ($10).  We appreciated the nice presentation, but you have to agree that the terrine was overly burnt, which detracted from our enjoyment of it as it really depended on the piece you bit into whether or not the char of the terrine detracted from the experience.  The onion puree was also a little too acidic.  Overall, while the earth tones of the mushroom, onion, and oxtail played together nicely, the flavors not as sophisticated as I would have expected.  We gave it a 6 out of 10.  I wouldn't order it again, but I could understand giving the kitchen another chance to make this right.  For six people, we ordered one plate.

 Pictured above is the crispy pig trotter torchon which was served with a slow cooked egg, spicy mayo, and scallion"mu chim" ($10).  This dish was interesting because it is not at all how you typically think of pigs feet in texture or taste.  In fact, if I hadn't read the menu and had tasted this blindly, I would have had no idea that it was pigs feet.  I liked the fresh spiciness of the scallion combined with the smooth spiciness of the mayo.  The creaminess of the egg was an interesting addition, thought I don't think it added much flavor-wish to a dish that was already a bit heavy.  We gave this a 7.5 out of 10.  A fun dish, I did enjoy trying it for the first time, however I don't know if it would be something that I would come back and order again.  For six people, we ordered one plate.

 We were also given complimentary fried chicken which came with pickled daikon and an herb ranch dipping sauce (normally $13, on the menu).  I'm still not sure if it was given to the table because we were a large group that ordered multiple dishes which I kept photographing and taking notes or if it was because one person in the group knew the hostess, but either way, it was a nice gesture.  Unfortunately, this dish failed to impress.  The brining of the chicken left it a little too salty.  Being cooked sous vide, the meat (especially in the breast) was tender, but we found our drumstick to be a tad undercooked.  I wasn't crazy about the herb ranch dipping sauce, and honestly thought it actually detracted from the chicken cayenne and paprika flavors of the meat.  Though this was given to our table for free, I think it was not worth the price on the menu.  If you put fried chicken on your menu and charge $13 for four pieces, it should be excellent.  This was overly salty and the skin was soggy, as though the oil it was fried in was not warm enough.  We gave it a 5 out of 10.  I wouldn't order it again.

For dessert, we ordered the lychee panna cotta with yuzu buttermilk sorbet ($6).  While I enjoyed the panna cotta, the problem was that if I closed my eyes and pretended I hadn't read the menu, I would have had no idea that the flavor was supposed to be lychee.  It didn't come across at all.  It didn't have the fragrance or the flavor of the fruit.  And the sorbet was so overpowering in its acidity and depth of flavor that it overwhelmed the delicacy of the panna cotta.  The sorbet was more of a palate cleanser; good, but not what you want to pair with a panna cotta.  The two parts of the dish worked well independently, but not as well together.  We gave it a 7 out of 10.

Our second dessert was the ice cream and sorbet ($6).  The flavors change daily, but on Friday night they served white peach and jalapeño (right, green), thai iced tea (in the middle, orange), apple miso (left, peach colored).  My favorite was the white peach and jalapeño because of the perfect balance that was established between the sweet and spicy.  It captured the natural and delicate essence of the white peach very well and yet managed to counter it with the bite of the jalapeño, which was sweet in its own way.  The thai iced tea was also successful; it really was thai iced tea in a scoop of ice cream, not diluted, not overly sweetened.  The apple miso was not bad, but it was fairly basic as a mixture of salty and sweet and I thought the scent of the apple was a bit lacking.  We speculated, however, that this flavor (apple miso) would have been nice if paired with the lychee panna cotta.  We gave the dessert a 7.5 out of 10.

After we were done eating, the meal was concluded with a probiotic Korean yogurt which the waitress brought out for us.  They were little bottles, like the kind you buy at an Asian supermarket and they tasted like candy.  The waitress had described the flavor as something like orange julius, which I thought was fitting.  It was a clever idea to end the meal with something to aid digestion, but the cloying sweetness of the yogurt wasn't exactly what I wanted after a full meal.

Overall, the experience was a 7.5 out of 10.  The service was friendly, the atmosphere was nice and the food was good.  Though there were some dishes that were subpar, there were also some dishes that really impressed me (popcorn, foie gras, tartare, tacos).  I wouldn't mind coming back to experience the scallops, grits, or Korean BBQ wrap on the menu.  Maybe another time.

Salt and Fat
41 - 16 Queens Blvd.
Sunnyside, NY 11104
Tel. 718.433.3702
open Tues-Sun from 6-11pm

Kale Chips

I know, by this point in time, kale chips are no longer an innovation.  I remember reading about them a couple years ago, but for some reason I never got around to actually making them until last Thanksgiving.  I had various reasons to put it off — I couldn't justify turning on my oven just to dehydrate a leafy vegetable, I don't actually like kale that much, I thought the recipe was harder than it actually is — but now I am so glad I finally gave in to my curiosity.  This is one of the easiest and healthiest recipes ever.  Honestly, it's not even a recipe so much as a set of easy-to-follow instructions.  But please.  Learn from my mistake.  Make these.  Really.

All you do is get yourself several pounds of kale, wash it, dry it well (salad spinners are great for this), and cut out the hard fibrous ribs of the kale.  Gather up all the large leafy greens you have and toss them with a very minimal amount with olive oil (I'm talking about 1 teaspoon for a pile of greens the size of a newborn child) and a dash of salt.  You can even eliminate the salt and the oil if you're feeling really healthy.  Spread the leafy greens out in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake at 350F for about 4-8 minutes (depending on the size of your pieces of kale).  It's so easy!

I check on the kale at about 4 minutes, rotate/flip any pieces that are bigger and start removing smaller pieces.  It's a very fast process.  If your oven has a convection setting, you can do 3 trays at a time.  I actually had two Cornish hens baking while I baked two cookie sheets of kale.

And the end result?  Tasty!  It's fun and easy to eat, and best of all, healthy.  The crispiness of the kale is fantastic.  My family scarfed down a huuuge bowl of this during Thanksgiving.  My mom even suggested that the next time we have a family movie night (which we always do around Christmas) that we make kale chips instead of popcorn.  Mmmm, a delicious way to get a good dose of beta-carotene, vitamin K, and vitamin C.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere - Grapefruit and Rum Cocktail

I wouldn't call myself much of a cocktail girl.  I enjoy them from time to time, but I have a very small build and Asian genetics, which means that it doesn't take much for me to get tipsy.  And when I say that it doesn't take much, I mean it only takes about one cocktail.  As such, I don't casually indulge in happy hour or after dinner drinks, and normally choose to just abstain from drinking.  But sometimes, after a long day, available supplies and the alignment of the stars make it such that I come home and decide to mix myself a drink.  (For my parents who are reading this, you know your little girl is all grown up when she starts posting recipes for cocktails on her blog.)

Now, wikipedia defines a cocktail as a mixture of liquor, sugar, water, and bitters.  I'm no expert on alcoholic beverages, but I'm going to go ahead and call this concoction a cocktail because it's vaguely similar to a mojito and I know mojitos are cocktails.

The idea for this drink came about simply because I currently have an abundance of grapefruits on hand.  A family friend who lives about 10 minutes away from me stopped by almost two weeks ago and dropped off 13 grapefruits.  For just me.  I told her it was too much, but she insisted that I take them. So I've been eating a lot of grapefruit.  Needless to say, I don't think I'll be developing scurvy any time soon.

Today, I still had four left, and as I was segmenting them into a bowl, I thought to myself that I wanted to do something else with the fruit than just mix it with honey and eat it.  It occurred to me that the grapefruit juice would probably make a great base for a drink.  The only alcohol I ever really keep on hand is rum, and so I thought I would make something vaguely like a mojito.  In the summer, my mom and I often make mojitos at home.  We let the sugar, muddled mint, and lime juice marinate in the fridge for a few hours before mixing our drinks and we sip at them while playing Scrabble.  We live very exciting lives.  But I digress.

I reduced the grapefruit juice with a little bit of sugar down to a syrup and then combined that with some rum and seltzer and it made a delicious little end-of-the-day cocktail that I'm now sharing with you.  You can play around with the ratios a little bit, but I like the balance of sweet, sour, and alcohol that the recipe below provides.  The resulting grapefruit and rum cocktail has an absolutely gorgeous color, and it tastes crisp and refreshing.

A Light Valentine's Day Dessert - Ginger Pear Granita

Valentine's Day is approaching and I know for some people this carries with it the pressure to create a magical day for their significant other.  If this sounds like your situation, or if you're just looking for a quick, easy and fairly healthy dessert to make, I'm glad you stopped by.

I've always liked the idea of a granita.  A granita is essentially a classy version of a slushie that you make by hand.  The only slightly annoying thing about making granitas is that you can't forget about them while you're making them because in order to make a granita, you need to scrape at it with a fork or knife every hour or so to prevent it from freezing into one hard block of ice.  But I have found an easy solution to this very irritating problem: use a carbonated beverage and mix it with fruit.

The combination of ginger ale and pears chunks in this granita prevent it from freezing into a chunk of ice and also make this a refreshing dessert.  The most important thing now becomes finding good ginger ale.  I cannot stress enough how vital this is to the recipe's success.  Normal grocery store ginger ale does not taste like ginger.  It is simply sweet carbonated water.  That will not do.  Go out and buy the real stuff.  Boylan's makes a good ginger ale that uses real cane sugar and Reed's makes a deliciously spicy ginger ale that is my new favorite soda.

From there, all it takes is four easy ingredients (or three if you feel like omitting one) and you've got a palate cleansing, refreshing, and healthy dessert that takes absolutely no time to make.  I also like this dessert because it is light and almost ethereal in quality.  The frozen ginger ale bubbles a little bit as it melts in your mouth and because there is no cream or fat in the dessert, it doesn't weigh you down.  I know this a bit different than the standard chocolate and strawberry desserts that people normally associate with romance, but let's be frank here: who feel sexy after a heavy dinner of creamy, fatty foods?  And besides, ginger is an aphrodisiac and pears are sexy.

Now if you're wondering why there's only one glass pictured (especially considering the fact that this is a Valentine's Day dessert), well, it's because I only own one martini glass.  I once had two, but then, sadly, I broke one while washing dishes and I've never felt the need to go buy more given that I neither drink martinis nor thrown swanky parties at which my guests would be drinking martinis.  Instead, my martini glass tends to be used to dress up yogurt parfaits, chocolate mousse, and, now, a granita.  Also, despite posting a recipe for a Valentine's Day dessert, I will not be making this tomorrow for my special someone so there is no need for a second glass.  Why is that?  Not because of a lover's spat, I assure you, but rather because balancing a long distance relationship in which one partner works on one side of the Atlantic and the other attends medical school on the other side of the ocean means not seeing each other for Valentine's Day.  But it's okay because I don't need a holiday to remind me to appreciate my sweet B. and he makes me feel loved regardless of what day of the year it is.  So I will have a single martini glass of this granita tonight and another glass again tomorrow night.  If you're single, come on and do the same.  After all, Valentine's Day is really just an elaborate excuse to enjoy good food and good company, and this granita qualities as both.

Happy [early] Valentine's Day, all.

"Buttermilk" Roast Chicken

Buttermilk and chicken are a classic combination.  In fact, when I hear the words buttermilk and chicken together in the same sentence, I automatically think moist, tender, and flavorful.  Buttermilk marinades are often used for fried chicken, which is delicious, but also unhealthy, not to mention a nuisance to make at home (it's messy and  makes the whole house smell like oil).  So how can we get both delectable crispy skin and moist and tender meat at the same time without frying?  Well, with the recipe I'm about to give you.

Besides having incredibly tasty results, this recipe is great if you're busy because it requires no special attention.  The chicken has a long marinating time during which you can leave it in the fridge and forget about it for a day or two, and then while it is roasting, you don't have to worry about checking on the chicken constantly either.

And, to make this recipe even easier, it requires no special ingredients.  This is why "buttermilk" is in quotations; this recipe doesn't actually use buttermilk.  Why?  Because let's be honest, how many people out there normally have buttermilk in their fridge?  I know I don't.  I do, however, almost always have milk and yogurt on hand.  So that is what I used.  This combination is a great substitute, and it tastes every bit as delicious as the buttermilk version.

The end result is a very healthy meal of moist and tender chicken with lightly browned, crispy skin.  Serve it with a side of rice and some asparagus or green beans and you have a fast and delicious dinner, no sweat.

A busy life doesn't mean you can't eat good food.