by Christina Waters | Aug 6, 2008 | Food, Home |
“Chinese-Japanese Cuisine” says the sign on the old China Station building at Fair & mission, which is currently being revamped for a future opening.
Huh? The Westside is prime restaurant territory, where roving foodies (not to mention ravenous students) eagerly await the next dining possibility. Why would anyone offer the curious culinary cross-colonization of Chinese cookery and Japanese cuisine? (Do they give Oscars for alliteration?) After much emailing with the chef/owner of the O’mei, I want to clarify that I would welcome a menu reflecting an authentic, historically-based dialogue between Chinese and Japanese culinary cultures. What I fear is cross-over convenience that ends up being neither Chinese, nor Japanese.
Are we being asked to believe that a single restaurant can convincingly create dishes from two heavyweight culinary cultures? Or that if you can, say whip up a kung pao something, then you can obviously also make robata, or yakitori, or sushi?….What this means to me — and I’ll eat my words if I’m wrong — is that we’re looking at the imminent opening of yet another pan-Asian fusion everything that remotely involves soy sauce eatery.
How about a Bagels & Pho bistro? Or Norwegian Barbeque?
by Christina Waters | Aug 6, 2008 | Food, Home |
Ben Sims at Avanti made my new favorite summer salad last week.
Fresh local albacore confit, shredded into unctuous morsels and then arranged with organic green beans, heirloom baby tomatoes and a garlicky, fresh aioli garnish.
Consumed with something in the key of Rioja.
Yes.
by Christina Waters | Aug 6, 2008 | Food, Home |
At this week’s SCMWA professional wine judging, Lionel Le Morvan of Ma Maison Restaurant laid out a spread that was truly choice. Giant shrimps from French New Caledonia, coucous with succulent chicken and fiery harissa, housemade lamb sausages (tdf!), gorgeous desserts including the house signature bread pudding and beautiful little custards with fresh strawberries – and this was after crostini slathered (one of the appetizer tables is shown at right) with salmon and dill, plus enough of the house paté to pave Provence itself.
But here’s the best part, M. Le Movan confided to me that he would be repeating his cold weather triumph of last year — yes, cassoulet. It will make a guest appearance on the Ma Maison menu sometime in February 2009. We’re talking authentic cassoulet, three days in the making, cutting no corners, making no concessions.
I will begin camping out in the parking lot of Ma Maison sometime near the end of January. Cassoulet made by a French chef is the stuff of dreams.
by Christina Waters | Jul 28, 2008 | Home, Wine |
Wondering what to have with that grilled lamb burger? Wonder no more. Help is available in the form of Gatos Locos 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Syrah. Big, but not too big (13.8% alc.), spicy but not whimsical, this luscious red wine offers a center of leather and plums. Part of the sumptuous line of Wines of Vine Hill, it’s available at Shoppers for $19.95, or up at the Vine Hill winery — worth the spectacular drive up behind Branciforte — it tastes even better on Day Three (though it probably won’t last that long).
by Christina Waters | Jul 28, 2008 | Food, Home |
My new favorite light dinner – three fat, perfectly cooked scallops sitting on a bed of crunchy, roasted cauliflower. The sauce? A dazzling sweet-&-salty puree of raisins and capers. For $13, it’s an affordable luxury. Add a Gruner Veltliner and find yourself smiling despite the economy.
Soif – 105 Walnut in Santa Cruz.
