Superlative Cappucino

Back in 2002, William Grimes wrote an article for the New York Times on the best espresso in New York, and Via Quadrono came out on top.  

As an eager nouveau New Yorker, I dutifully made the trek to the Upper East Side to see what all the fuss was about.  What I found was an absolutely charming, truly European cafe.  There's even an actual bar that people stand up at to drink their coffee, just like Italy.  I tend to drink espresso after big Italian dinners, not in the middle of the day, so on my maiden voyage I opted for a cappucino instead.  It was gorgeous.  

The espresso was, as promised, rich, and it lacked that trademark bitterness I've come to expect after years of drinking espresso at lesser establishments.  The foam was rich, the bubbles were tiny, and I was completely happy.  Until, of course I got my bill.  But I suppose in the grand scheme of things, $4.50 is a small price to pay for such utter competence.  And on the plus side, they've kept the prices the same since opening, so perhaps this means the price is technically declining?  

Now I will admit, the scene at Via Quadronno is a bit odd to me.  Located on 73rd and Madison, it attracts a much more uptown crowd than I am used to.  On more than one occasion, I have stopped in on a Saturday morning for a quick bite after an exercise class and have had 60-something men offer to buy my meal for no discernable reason (well I can surmise at their motives, but do not want to assume).  And I was there recently on a Thursday at 2:00 p.m. and the wait for a table was 45 minutes, which I guess implies that the patrons of this fine establishment do not, as a rule, work.

But that said, if you can get a table and avoid inappropriate male patrons, you will have the privilege of snacking on lovely panini followed by an excellent coffee variant of your choice.  I might, however, counsel you to steer clear of the $57 fondue.  Times are tough, however delicious it might be.

Literary Salvation

I read a lot. I would say I am an avid reader, verging on voracious, verging on utterly nerdy. I have extremely fond memories of growing up poking around the independent bookstores that were so ubiquitous in the Bay Area. I was told once that Berkeley had the most independent bookstores per capita of any city in the country, and although I'm not sure this is still the case, I can certainly imagine that it was when I was a teenager.

Coming from a place of such bounty, my one disappointment with New York when I first moved here seven years ago was with the bookstores. Yes, there is Strand. I know that it's independent, that it's been around for 80 years and that it has 18 miles of books, but I don't find it conducive to good browsing. The space is not welcoming, the selection is overwhelming, and unless I go there in the early morning on a weekday, I feel as though I'm constantly ramming people with my huge bag. So I tend to take refuge in the cookbook section, leaving all other 17.95 miles of books unexplored.

And although I'm not ideologically opposed to the big chains like Barnes & Noble (despite being raised by parents with a distinctly populist, hippie bent), I must say that I am rarely surprised by the selections on the tables in the lobby areas of these stores. I feel as if I always know pretty much what to expect, plus which I'm over the fare that the Starbucks cafes provide. So with these as the main options, the literary retail landscape struck me as a bit bleak. That is, until I discovered McNally Robinson.

The store is on Prince near Lafayette so I pass by it quite frequently. I cannot remember a time that I have passed by without stopping in, which means that I go there at least once a week. The space is modern and clean, and I want to read virtually every new title or staff pick that they display. To top if off, they have extremely well edited food, architecture and design sections, and the cafe is just perfect. I could sit there all day at the communal table reading and drinking tea out of their seemingly bottomless tea pots. And occasionally I even make it over for a book reading which makes me feel more cultured than is really appropriate.

It's been heartening to see that of late the store has been packed, people seem to be discovering it in droves which I couldn't be happier about. I hope that the owner's hard work over the past few years is paying off for her!

Comfort Food, British Style

There seems to be a lot of talk these days about "comfort food".  Cookbooks are published on the subject, restaurants featuring it are opening with great frequency and the Food Network seems to run shows about it on a continual basis.  But I must admit, I have no one food that screams "comfort" to me.  My mom has always been an avid, creative cook, which meant that there wasn't a lot of culinary repetition in our house growing up, so I never had the chance to get attached to any one dish (other than warm milk with honey and nutmeg, which to this day I adore).  Comfort food to me is just anything that is good and plentiful.

Paul, on the other hand, is VERY attached to certain dishes, probably a result of growing up in country where Sunday roast lunches (the menus of which are relatively consistent) are considered an event.  His two great loves (other than me...I hope) are anything Indian and roast chicken.  When he first found out that I could cook, he began lobbying for roast chicken, just like his "mum's".  Lucky for me, it's just about the easiest thing in the world to make. 

Roast Chicken  

1 chicken, 3-4 lbs.

one lemon

kosher salt 

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Remove gizzard package from chicken cavity, and rinse the chicken under cold water.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Sprinkle kosher salt in chicken cavity.  Cut lemon in quarters and put as much of it as fits in the chicken cavity, and tie the legs together with kitchen twine.  Drizzle olive oil on the chicken and rub it all over.  Place the chicken breast up in a roasting pan, tuck the wingtips under, and strew kosher salt over the top of the chicken.  You're always free to use pepper as well, but I prefer it without.  Roast for approximately an hour (I'm told technically it should be 15 minutes per pound plus 10 minutes), until a knife prick in the thigh yield clear juices.  Let rest for ten minutes, and then carve.  

Gravy

1/4 c. white wine

one pan in which a chicken was recently roasted

If the chicken produced a lot of fat, pour off all but a couple of tablespoons.  Put the pan over medium heat, then pour in white wine.  Stir with a wooden spoon to loosen the delicious chicken bits, then simmer for a few minutes to concentrate the flavor.

I also like to serve some roast vegetables and garden peas (just like mum's) with the chicken.  Again, easiest thing in the world.

Roast Vegetables

enough carrots, potatoes, etc. to serve whoever you're feeding

olive oil

kosher salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (if you're cooking this in the same oven as the chicken that's fine, 400 degrees works as well).  Cut vegetables into 1-in pieces and put in roasting pan.  Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil over the top, sprinkle with kosher salt and a bit of pepper.  Then toss with your hands to coat, and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Garden Peas

one package of frozen petit pois

1 Tablespoon of butter

2 Tablespoons of fresh mint, finely chopped

Melt butter over medium heat.  Add peas (still frozen) and toss with butter.  Let cook for a couple of minutes, until peas are warmed through.  Add mint and, if using unsalted butter, a pinch of kosher or Maldon salt.  Cook for another 30 seconds - 1 minute and serve.