New York City: Minca Ramen

Manhatten is undeniable. I may have my issues with the subway smell, the amount of screaming children in line for museums, and the dirth of good coffee, but you cannot ignore or deny that city. There is a life and soul to New York that is unlike anything else. It's an organism; a living, breathing animal that sucks you up and makes you feel a part of something. Last weekend I went to New York with the specific intent to eat, and boy, did I accomplish it.
My friend Frances accompanied me, and we both took the opportunity to relish in every availible morsel, as well as art and the all pervading culture that swarms the streets. We started off from Penn Station to Minca Ramen Factory on the Lower East Side. At eight on a Friday night it was packed; we squeezed in communally with a hip older Japanese man and his well dressed friend, and lost ourselves among the Sapporo drinkers and steam from the kettles of broth surrounding us. Ramen is a particular kind of beast, I ordered the standard and she the spicy ramen, with an appetizer of pork dumplings. The dumplings were small and pleasing, easy to eat with a nice amount of stuffing to dough ratio. Then came the ramen. In the vein of Korean bobimbap and pasta carbonara, the combination of starch, protien, vegetable and lots of saucy bits all mixed up in one big bowl is deeply, deeply satisfying. Served with your choice of broth, slow roasted pork belly, pickled egg, scallions and nori, the ramen noodle itself turns into a filling, soul affirming meal.
Ah! Alas the bell is about to ring, so I must scurry, but more about New York and consuming everything about it later I promise. There is sweetbreads to be discussed!

Braised Salmon! Yay!

Thank the good lord for seafood. If there is a god, whatever form that might take, i am sure that mollusks, crustaceans and fish would have a definate place in heaven (although isnt it forbidden in the Bible to eat shellfish? Oh well). Fish in my house constitues about sixty percent of our total dinners, mostly do to the low prices of frozen salmon and tilapia fillets at Wegmans. Now, I know frozen fish sucks, I know there are ecological concerns, I know we should buy fresh, but for feeding a family, it works great. It also allows for myrid ways of making bland, boring fillets taste great. Last night, inspired by a chicken dish I'd tried last week, I made poached salmon in a white wine broth, over a bed of lemon and leeks and served it with garlic bread and feta. It was intriguing and delightful. The lemon lent a subtle, tangy air to the dish that worked well with the sharpness of the wine, and the leeks and vegetable stock made a fragrantly smooth broth for bread dipping. It was tasty success, and one that I am looking forward to trying out with more poachable foodstuffs and aromatic spices.
That being said, the thing that haunts me most about Seattle, and the thing that I am most looking forward to is fresh pink salmon. The first thing I am going to do when I arrive in June is wood grill the hell out of a whole fish and serve it with bruised tomatoes and lots of lemon and garlic. You're all invited, of course.

Whoa

Ok. so its been a month since my last post. I suck. Anyways, that month has been one of the craziest, most bizarre in my entire existence. Life throws things at you so fast sometimes its hard to do anything except wait for the next day to come without freaking out. Basically: I will soon be transplating myself back west, to Seattle, and the best part of this situation has to be the availiblity of fresh seafood. Selfish, I know, but soo true.
Spontaneously two weeks ago, I found myself back there (details forthcoming) and feel it is my duty to record the fantastic things I consumed during those four days. I am a lucky, lucky bastard. So here they are in, in list form:
1. Egg torte with tomato coulis
2. Torrafazionne coffee
3. Fried goat cheese with baked wontons, pesto and lemon frisse salad
4. Ginger dark chocolate
5. SUSHI!! Haikkaido roll: citrus scallops with tempura asparagus and scallions
6. Tempura pinnapple
7. LIGHTHOUSE COFFEE
8. macadamia banana bread
9. Fresh pita with olive fig spread (with homemade feta)
10. Gargantuan prawns in muscat glaze
11. Apple torte with buttermilk ice cream and tangerine marmalade
12. Bartlett pears and rasperry scones


Mmmmmm. In conclusion: Life, though spontaneous, shocking, and very much humbling, always is delicious.