at the sign of The Pink Pig

Dave Santos' Louro

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 31, 2012]

It seems to have been a long road for Dave Santos, but maybe that's because I've witnessed it close-up.  In addition to being a gifted chef, Dave is one of the few industry pros to have maintained a consistent presence in online food forums over the years.

I met Dave online before I met him in person.  He sent out special dishes for me when he was in the kitchen at Bouley.  I first met him when he took over 5 & Diamond from Ryan Skeen.

The Mysteries of Aska

[Pigging by Wilfrid: December 31, 2012]

Mysteries was the name of a novel by Nordic author Knut Hamsun. I don't know if he was a forager, but he did write a novel called Hunger.

All of which scarcely conceals the fact that I don't really know what to make of Aska, the studious exercise in new Nordicism which has sprung up in place of the over-subscribed Frej.

A Last Brunch At Lenox Lounge

[New York Peasant by Wilfrid:  December 31, 2012]

We dropped by Lenox Lounge to pay last respects before it closes tonight.   The seventy year old bar and jazz spot is passing into new ownership.

It's not that business is bad, rather that the current owner can't pay a $20,000 lease serving inexpensive drinks and charging moderate covers for jazz sets.

Some Christmas Cheeses

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 26, 2012]

This one was a disappointment.  Sage Farm Dairy's Belvidere, a creamy blend of goat's milk with Jersey cream from the cows at Butterworks Farm. Both farms are in Vermont.

They got the creaminess level up to 11 here, which is doubtless the point, but I was looking for some other flavors.  There's a rind, which adds a little interest, but this is basically a cream cheese.

The Party Continues: Ten years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine:  December 31, 2012]

I catered a modest domestic party on Boxing Day, ten years ago.  I cooked up a pot of tripe Madrid-style, and laid out foie gras and smoked salmon canapés, pork pies, sausage rolls, and cheeses.

The evening concluded with some Baron Sigognac Armagnac, which is always a good thing.  And the run wasn't over.

Happy Holidays

Here are my Christmas Day treats, one brand new, one appropriately aged.

Mighty Quinn's: An East Village BBQ

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 23, 2012]

It was coincidence which led me to Mighty Quinn's a few days after my visit to BrisketTown.  I don't usually plan December as a BBQ month.  But MQ's had just opened, I was on Second Avenue, it was raining.

So I stopped by the old Vandaag space, where the bar has been replaced by a long serving counter, and some of the floor space filled with a long, communal table, and sampled about as much of the short menu as I could.

Home For The Holidays: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  December 23, 2012]

Back from London, I made a batch of tripes à la mode de Caen and hurried off to see The Gangs of New York, which -- needless to say -- wasn't much like Herbert Asbury's book.  Of course, if you really want to learn about that piece of history, Tyler Anbinder's Five Points is the way to go.

Anyway, Christmas ten years ago...

A Snooth Tour Of The Pays D'Oc

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 21, 2o12]

To the elegant Meet at the Apartment event space in SoHo for a Snooth tour around the Pays d'Oc IGP.

Okay, explanations.  IGP -- or Indication Géographique Protégée -- is the level above Vin de France, or ordinary table wines, in the new classification system.  Snooth is an online community for wine lovers.

London Gastro-Pubs: Ten Years Ago

 [Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  December 17, 2012]

In New York, the term "gastro-pub" has come to mean a bar serving traditional British delicacies like fish'n'chips, bangers'n'mash, and toad-in-the-hole.  The origins of the term could hardly be more different.

Gastro-pubs in the UK strived for more ambitious cuisine.  The original -- The Eagle -- served a Mediterranean menu; some hosted Thai kitchens; anything but scotch eggs and meat pies.