at the sign of The Pink Pig

Dirty French: Double Take

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 29, 2014]

Yes, a double-take.  From that school of acting perfected by Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York on Bewitched. Surprise; pleasure; displeasure; frown. One dinner at this restaurant from Mario Carbone and Rick Torrisi was just all over the place.

How great to eat what may be my dish of the year, right at the end of the year. How bizarre to eat in the context of an--overall--very disappointing meal.

The After Christmas Lull: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  December 29, 2014]

The few days between Christmas and New Year were a quiet time, at the end of 2004, as I recovered from the festivities and packed for a trip to the Dominican Republic.

My journal does tell me I visited a couple of restaurants I can hardly remember. Bistro Cassis, anyone?

Wild Ducks, Pig Tails, And Stuff

[Pigging by Wilfrid: December 26, 2014]

From the home kitchen, Chinatown wild duck with sour cherries; pig tails poached with aromatics, then basted with mustard, breaded and broiled; the wine and cheeses (Duke of Sussex, Stichelton) of the season.

Quick Bites: Black Seed Bagels

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 26, 2014]

Walking down to Chinatown on a cold, blowy day before the holidays, Black Seed seemed inviting. This is the Montreal bagel operation from the Mile End Deli people. A small SoHo storefront, with a few tables inside, and some stools at a window counter.

Line up, and order type of bagel and filling. Signature sandwiches range anywhere between $8 and $13--which is still a lot for a sandwich. There are some salads too.

The Cheese: Cabra Amanteigado

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 26, 2014]

This is curious one.  There's a sheep's milk Amanteigado, which--from online research--looks pale and creamy. But this one was plainly labeled as a goat Amanteigado, indeed raw goat's milk. Both are made with thistle rennet.

Much firmer paste, by the look of it, than the sheep's milk version, and what appeared to be a washed rind.

Le Village: A Healthy Bistro

[Free stuff by Wilfrid:  December 22, 2014]

Le Village is a French bistro in a narrow corridor of a room on East 7th Street.  It's warmly decorated, service is friendly, and--unusually for the genre--it offers many gluten-free options, and a number of vegetarian and even vegan dishes.

 

In fact, some things about it seem familiar.  And rightly so.  In my own words...

From A.J. Liebling To Fred Astaire: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid: December 22, 2014]

Christmas week 2004 began for me with a long day of cooking, preparing a special meal to celebrate the centenary of A.J. Liebling. Liebling, if anyone could possibly not know, was one of the half dozen pre-eminent regular contributors in the history of perhaps the world's finest English language magazine, the New Yorker.

Not the Liebling was every snooty about his achievements. He famously said, "I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better." Among his writings, my personal choice for the best book ever written about eating in restaurants, Between Meals.

The Cheese: Barely Buzzed

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 17, 2014]

Maybe you've come across this unusual item before. I first found it, courtesy of cheese wrangler Tia Keenan when she was curating the list at Casellula.

The novelty--and hence the name--comes from the cheese being hand-rubbed with espresso. But that would just be a gimmick if the cheese itself wasn't good in the first place.

Jean-Georges And Bouley: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  December 17, 2014]

A fancy run-up to the holidays in 2004, with a series of high end dinners and lunches, and some parties too.

Not to mention some celebratory home cooking, but we'll get to that next week.  We start off with some exotic frogs and David Bouley.

Quick Bites: Ocabanon, Dziupla, Etc.

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 15, 2014]

Ocabanon, the swish little cave à manger--okay, wine bar-- may call it "pâté en croûte."  I found it to very like a rectangular pork pie, and a good one too.  I like pork pies.

Don't worry, not a big mouse. I'd already taken a bite out of it.  I drop by this place from time to time for French wines by the glass.