Stuart Blog 2

I need to

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think of some more vulgarities.

For the

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love of all that's holy!

this

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sucks!

why isn't

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this working?

testing againg

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testing sgirsginet'inetih'o

testing subscribe2

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and wp-o-matic
and who knows what else.

Rube goldberg would be proud.

test

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I hope there aren't still people subscribed to this blog.

test test test test test

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test test test stets tg erigherioghueriog

test

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testing rssfwd.

test

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test

stu_spivack on Snipd.com on 10-6-2008

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stu_spivack on Snipd.com on 10-6-2008

Another test

stu_spivack on Snipd.com on 10-6-2008

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Testing.

Yesterday's dinner

2007-11-02T07:18:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of the banana cream pie at Moxie

These lamb chops were one of the day's specials.

This butternut squash soup had delicious chunks of squash and shrimp.

Lamb Chops

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testing

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41.11609 -83.175173

2006-12-31T15:39:00.000-08:00

How easy is it to use Google Docs to publish to a blogger blog?

Bagels with Sarabeth jam and Organic Valley cream cheese

Well, it's pretty easy, I guess. But WriteToMyBlog makes it simple to import images from flickr.

Also I keep aligning the photo in the center and every time it saves my progress it gets pushed over to the right. Weird.

Miles Farmers Market

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Miles Farmers Market is not a gourmet shop. It's a grocery store but it seems to be the area's go-to spot for exotic or premium foods. I first resolved to explore Miles Market when I heard that they carried Zingerman's gelato . I finally did explore Miles Market after I heard that they carried H&H bagels. A chance to particpate in Food Destinations #4 may have provided just a little extra bit of motivation, too.

A nice bagel is enough for me to call it a day and declare a winner but the breadth of Miles Market's stock is impressive in every department. Want some butter? How about beurre d'Isigny? Plugra? Goat butter? Ghee? All available, amongst several others. Chocolate? I've grown accustomed to seeing Scharfen-Berger but I was pleased to see Vosges Haute Chocolate. I'm only sorry that I didn't document the mind-boggling array of salts, olive oils and honeys.

What goes with those bagels? How about some Sarabeth jam? Markets throughout the region have acres of aisles devoted to jam and they're packed with fancifully shaped bottles of extravagantly priced jam but I never saw Sarabeth's until I visited Miles.

My visit to Miles Market was more than just a shopping trip. I was surprised many times by products that I'd only read about amongst other unfamiliar products that I'm sure offer yet more delightful surprises. A gift certificate to Miles Market would be a gift that I'd be happy to receive and proud to give.

Hazelnut gelato - delicious

Some prepared food. I see crab pretzel bread

They have little cups of hot sauce for their sandwiches. That's a detail that appeals to me.

Cheese!

Note the house made croutons in the foreground.

Bread from a neighborhood bakery

Tom-yam gung

2006-12-04T22:09:00.000-08:00

We prepared this delicious soup at a dinner party slash cooking class. Tom-yum gung is one of the most emblematic dishes in Thai cuisine. This version turned out wonderfully. The shrimp were plump, juicy and flavorful. The broth was full of flavor, too. The central note is provided by lemongrass, a common motif in Thai cooking, and the taste is filled out with another common Thai flavoring - fish sauce.

The soup itself was delicious but I also enjoyed the experience. I was able to learn about food, eat a well thought out menu full of delicious food and share it all with other eager food enthusiasts.

Galangal is another important component in this dish and another common Thai ingredient. It was difficult to locate. The evening's organizer had to arrange to have it mailed by a family member.

Fish sauce is made from fermented anchovies. Squid brand is a strong flavored brand and is recommended.

Tracking down kaffir lime leaves is frequently another chore for USian cooks. But our host fixed that problem. This little fellow is a kaffir lime tree.

Palm sugar

These kaffir lime leaves weren't from the tree pictured above. The chef remove the stem that runs through the center out of habit. The leaves are removed before serving.

The lemongrass is bruised to release the flavor.

This is the plated soup. It was delicious. There are very few restaurants in the US that give Asian food the type of treatment that's given to French or Italian food. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be an audience prepared to pay a premium for fresh, quality ingredients. But whenever and wherever some courageous restauranteur is willing to the lead the way then I'll happily seek them out. This soup demonstrates that the results are worth the effort.

Serves 8-10 as a side dish

8 cups or 2 quarts of vegetable or chicken stock

5 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and bruised

6oz galangal ginger crosscut into coins

6oz fresh ginger crosscut into coins

10-12 bird chilies, stemmed and bruised whole

6 kaffir lime leaves, stemmed

1/2 pound oyster mushrooms, stemmed

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/2 pound fresh medium shrimp peeled and deveined

2 medium tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup fish sauce or more to taste

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon chili in oil (nam prik pow)

Fresh sprigs or leaves of cilantro for garnish

Place first 4 ingredients into a large pot and boil for 10 minutes. At this point you can strain and discard ingredients. Or for a more authentic approach, leave all ingredients in broth and continue to add chilies, kaffir lime leaves, oyster mushrooms and onion. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 minutes. Turn down heat and add shrimp and tomatoes, then remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and garnish individual servings with cilantro. The flavor of Tom Yum should be an equal balance of all flavors; sweet, salty, sour and spicy.

Optional: A sous chef from one of the country's best restaurants. This might be as hard to find as the galangal but it's highly recommended. It comes in handy when too many of your other cooks get tipsy.

This soup was only the beginning of a wonderful meal. It was perfectly matched with several other iconic Thai dishes. (Recipes are available for several. Please click the picture.)

Whether you're inspired to reach for the stock pot or the yellow pages, I hope you'll find a delicious tom-yam gung for yourself.

So how often do I eat at Siam Cafe?

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This often:

Scroll up so that you can see the week that begins with Sunday, August 20. That five week span captures my most concentrated period of Siam Cafe indulgence. At least, recently. This widget only goes back in time 10 meals.

Test

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Just testing BlogMailr.

Tamarind (?) fish soup. Delicious.

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P1040110 Hosted on Zooomr

Dine and Dish 7 - Like a virgin

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Choosing something new was easy. Lola was Cleveland's most anticipated restaurant opening in my memory and perhaps for as long as a couple of decades. Chef Michael Symon originally opened Lola many years ago in Tremont, a neighborhood long on history but experiencing an extended rough patch. Lola was an important part of a revitalization of the neighborhood. The area is now home to many of the city's most popular independent restaurants, many of our galleries and has a nice mix of charming old housing stock and newer buildings.

Lola closed in that location and was quickly replaced by Lolita but everyone's greatest expectations were reserved for the new incarnation of Lola in a new location. Lola's grand re-opening was far behind schedule. The new space is much larger and has a more "downtown" energy. Everyone oohs and ahhs over the beautiful alabaster bar. It makes a grand first impression. The new location is on East 4th Street which gives Symon and Lola a chance to participate in the revitalization of yet another Cleveland area. Luxury lofts in an old wig factory, a martini bar bowling alley and the House of Blues music venue are all nearby.

The beef cheek pierogi is one of Chef Symon's whimsical tributes to the hearty ethnic culinary tradition of Cleveland. We like our pierogis. This beef cheek pierogi was full of beefy flavor.

Chef Symon spent time studying with Mario Batali and has since featured charcuterie at Lolita and now at the new Lola. This lamb was delicious. Very light and very lamb-y. Isn't the bread adorable? I want to see a whole loaf. It's also delicious.

This grouper was fantastic. It was as good as any fish that I've ever had: crispy outside, moist and buttery inside, full of flavor.

French toast with bacon ice cream? Yup. It was very nice with more of that delicious tiny bread. I don't know whether this is an intentional tribute to Heston Blumenthal. The pastry chef is Cory Barrett whose resume includes Tribute in Chicago.

lobster corn dogs. mustard creme fraiche.

pork sausage, pickled fennel.

A great salad is a sign of a great restaurant. It shows that no part of the meal is considered as an afterthought. Nice peppery arugula, flavorful nuts, creamy cheese.

Ordering poultry is a risky proposition even, I've found, at very highly regarded restaurants. And recently I've grown wary of foie gras. It's so wonderful that it's hard to pass up and equally disappointing when it isn't prepared to the standards that it deserves. This squab was moist and full of flavor. The squab is corned - rubbed with salt and spices and allowed to absorb these flavors for a while before it's cooked. I first read about this technique in relation to Zuni Cafe. Salting prior to cooking is important for flavor but it can draw moisture out of the meat. But Chef Rodgers at Zuni salts the meat hours or days before which allows time for the moisture to be redistributed back to its natural place. Chef Symon uses this technique on the lamb, squab and steak. I can vouch for the results on the squab, I've heard raves for the lamb and personally, I'm very excited about trying the steak. Yet one more thing I've grown hesitant to order.

Delicious pear sorbet with brown butter pear and gorgonzola and walnut cake.

lola-pops. chocolate, hazelnut and sea salt.

Considering the quality of the squab, the foie gras and the grouper I have to say that Lola lived up to all the hype. Chef Syon said they'll start making changes to the menu in several weeks so I've got my work cut out for me. There are so many things that I want to try before they're replaced. Lola is a wonderful new addition to the Cleveland culinary scene.

sidenotes

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Weird. This didn't work several months ago. Then it didn't work a few minutes ago and now it works. I'm glad that it does because sidenotes are neat and really suited to my meandering, pretentious prose style.

I think it looks even more impressive when there are two of them.

burgers and ice cream

2006-10-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hungry? Try some delicious frozen custard. Find a Rosati's location near you. Ready for dessert? Try the best cheeseburger in the world at Swensons. Find a location near you.

Zuni Cafe

2006-09-21T09:22:00.000-07:00