Are these the best dinner rolls in town? Very likely. The small, elegantly-shaped francese rolls from Gayle’s — not those enormous sandwich francese rolls, but the neat, oval babies with crisp edges, gossamer crust and soft, fragrant interiors. They are good beyond belief.
But the variation strategically laced with green olives, is even better.
Fifty cents each.
Heaven with butter.
Thank you Gayle.
(Hope you’re cleaning up at the mah jong tables….)
Giovanni’s back, and Star Bene’s got him! The chef/owner of the former Caffe Bella Napoli is now the starring attraction at the cozy (and hard to find) E. Cliff Drive dining room, where Ceil and I feasted last night. We started with excellent focaccia to dredge through a trio of seasoned olive oils — oil infused with eggplant, kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes. Absolutely delicious. Next we split a simple green salad — all the while swilling some great wines, a Chardonnay from Storrs (hers) and an outrageous Ahlgren Cabernet 2003 (mine). Our entrees dazzled. Ceil ordered an unusual evening special of traditional paella. Now Ceil is picky when it comes to this complex Spanish dish — she even claims to make it herself on special occasions. Chef DiMaio’s version was lavish with saffron, and loaded with fresh, steaming seafoods — calamari, shrimps, mussels, clams — Italian sausage, peas, red bell peppers and chicken. It was nothing short of great. Would that this were an item on Star Bene’s regular dinner menu. (more…)
Thank you Ben Sims for making my new favorite dish — Avanti’s weekend special of braised pork shoulder in white wine and tomatoes. Thank you for your exquisitely sensitive touch with the pork, so that it falls effortlessly into bite-sized shreds. The succulent sauce, inflected with orange peel which adds a bitter backnote to the sweetness of the tomatoes. How brilliant of you to pair this dish with a ragu of Dirty Girl Farm shell beans and pole beans — also simmered into earthy submission. Ben, Ben, Ben — you have (once again) outdone yourself. And anyone reading this would be foolish not to rush to Avanti this weekend and (if this sensuous creation is still on the menu) ORDER IT!!!
Just returned from lunch at the new Batik Cafe – and while I had a few issues, the cafe is only a few weeks old so there’s lots of time for fine-tuning. Sabrina – an Indonesian cuisine veteran- and I worked our way through several plates of traditional items involving potatoes, tofu, bean sprouts, noodles, hard-boiled eggs and outstanding rice. Sabrina’s giant glass of Sumatran coffee was spiced with fresh ginger – seriously excellent. My tall cool glass of Batavia Blend was a very very sweet concoction of cranberry, orange and rosewater. A plate of yellow curry with potatoes and tofu, called Kari Tahu was delicious – the curry a well-balanced blend of spice and heat. Another specialty called Telor Balado involved a sauteed hard-boiled egg topped with a chili sauce of shallots, peppers and tomatoes. Also good. We also sampled the tomatoey fried potatoes (necessitating Tums later) with rice. Not hot enough! (more…)
Chef Sean Baker is mad for tomatoes this time of year, and who can blame him? Especially since he’s gotten down and dirty, so to speak, with the growers of Lindencroft Farm who create exciting fresh veggies and herbs for Baker’s experimental menus. The garden gurus of course, are Stephen and Linda Butler, and they grow dozens of tomato varieties, from which chef Baker will choose 20 or so to fool around with. This dining delirium will feature many other beautiful greens and vegetables grown at Lindencroft — but the spotlight is on the tomato!
I was in Italy – so I couldn’t be there. But I heard it was sensational. Details at 11.
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.