Cooking With Ideas

Food on the Move: Sarah Murray's Moveable Feasts

Moveable Feasts is subtitled "From Ancient Rome to the 21st Century, The Incredible Journeys of the Food We Eat." And that is just what Sarah Murray, "travel writer and longtime Financial times contributor who reports on the relationship of society and environment," (frontispiece) provides in this 2007 book. Beginning with the Roman amphorae which carried olive oil across an empire (and ended as a huge trash heap, a treasure trove for patient archaeologists) and moving (yes, pun intended) through container transport, banana republics, air transport, nomadic traditions, and barrels, Murray provides significant insight into the ways food has always moved -- from place to place through empire after empire -- and the many ways that the means by which food is transported has shaped -- quite literally some times -- and been shaped by (again, quite literally sometimes) transport technology. WHile I was fascinated to learn the history of the container box (the one that moves whole from the back of truchs on to ships and are stacked in my imagination in huge lots here and there around the globe), my most memorable tidbit is that a barrel, properly constructed, rests on less than a square inch as one rolls it along. Also fascinating are the depictions of the Berlin airlift and the impact of the politics of food on the Cold War, and the organizational genius of tiffin transportation in India newly fascinating even to the Harvard Business School. (For some discussion of complex event processing a la the tiffin box, click here.) And, who knew that the "racing clipper" literally did race across oceans to bring the first of the tea harvest to England. Or that English grown tea is now making its way back to India. 

The most fun for an upstate new Yorker? The chapter on grain elevators in Buffalo -- and their impact on modernist architecture. I had no idea that Buffalo was the place they were invented. Yes, I knew Buffalo was a critical juncture in the 19th century transport industry, prior to the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Yes, I knew they were early to the electrification of street lights and boast two presidents (and one presidential assassination). But grain elevators? So, Murray sent me out googling, and here's a great site on Buffalo grain elevators. And another with a photo gallery of them. I thought of them as standing aloof in disappearing towns in the midwest. No: Buffalo! And the tale of the ways they came to be loaded and unloaded is, indeed, fascinating. 

Beyond being fun, the book is through provoking in its unexpected challenges to the current discussion of the carbon footprint of food transit. Turns out that much of the environmental impact is not from the air transit of, for example, salmon from here to there to everywhere before it reaches your plate (a round trip to and from China, for example). We knew that, for example, from Peter Singer's book(co-authored with Jim Mason) reviewed here. We knew that local is not always the best energy option, let alone the best ethical option. And yet, Murray's book reveals the startling news that long-distance food transport is nothing new. Ok, we knew that, from too many books to mention, let alone the notion of the transport of spices. But still, this book's journalistic chatty tone fills you with the sense that the theme of food transport merits even more attention. It has shaped us all -- across history and across civilizations and empires. In some arguments, food transport and monoculture is destructive; here it, too, is the way foods are flown into the Sudan during famine, the way that failing economies might be transformed and starving children fed. It is at once more complex and simpler than anyone can say. It is a moveable feast. 

As Murray herself puts it: "If our moveable feasts have sparked conflicts, fed global empires, altered the tastes of food [think the oaky-ness of wine, for example], and revolutionized eating patterns, they have also helped spread decorative ideas to neighboring civilizations, advanced artists' theories of perspective, and provided the inspiration for highly collectible paintings. yet no transport innovation has had such a profound impact on art, architecture,m and design as the grain elevators, changing profoundly the characteristics of the buildings in which we live and work." (p. 238) 

And, in the end, Murray also provides even more. What an amazing bibliography. 

For Murray's official site, called Moveable Feasts, click here.

For Murray's blog at the Huffington Post, click here. 

Upstate Lit: Food, Hunger, Appetite

While usually Canada is the land of magnificent magazines, Ithaca has its moments as well. There I was in the Bookery II (click here for their website, shared with the Bookery) , and right before my wondering eyes: Harpur Palate, volume 7, number 1. The Subtitle: "The Food, Hunger, and Appetite Issue." Harpur Palate is Binghamton University's (aka SUNY Binghamton) semi-annual literary journal established in 2000 -- and their web site says "Eat Our Words." The magazine is run by Binghamton's English Department graduate students -- and is named after the University's college of arts and sciences. 

I was persuaded to buy the Summer 2007 issue (there are several subsequent issues according to their web site) because, when I flipped through it in the bookstore, I saw a magazine insert. No, this one was NOT for perfume (who invented those things that somehow invade one's home and spread migraines everywhere?). Rather, this one is labeled: "an edible poem." In tiny tiny print at the bottom of the envelope label (the envelope is maybe 1 1/2 inch by 3 inches ?) it says: "*Only the poem inside is edible. Outside label and envelope not suitable for consumption." The poem's title: "The Ghost," by Cole Swensen. The cute little envelope is translucent -- I can see through it, though Swensen's words are not entirely crisply visible. The poem starts: "the ghost is a flavor." Wow. 

Once I started reading, I found a literary journal which, to be frank, is of uneven quality. The prose is not the best (and in my view, was too little related to food to bother with for this purpose), but there are a few poems that I liked a lot, many with foodie themes. Among those was one called "Fettuccine" by Fran Markover, a poem in parallel strips of words -- which reminded me of a mid-1970s poetry anthology that was one of the first poetry books I ever owned -- a book entitled Shake the Kaleidoscope which included loads of poetry with the words printed in formats linked to the poem's topic.  (The anthology is the one pictured here.)  (For an article about Markover, click here.)  

What else? Maura Stanton's prose poem called "Cloud Ears" (on page 23 of the magazine, and available on the web here) was wonderful -- absolutely wonderful -- in its evocative imaginative hopefulness. And, it turned out, I liked all of her contributions -- the others entitled "Greed" and "Edward Lear's Shopping List." (For an interview with her, try clicking here.) Perhaps, though utterly (or only more or less?) unrelated to food, Richard Kostelanetz's "Short Novels" is worth perusing over and over again. Certainly, Arthur Plotnik's "The Menu Poet" will make you read menu's differently -- looking not simply for misplaced apostrophes or appetizers to delight, but also for poetry. 

Not a Finger Lakes Food -- but yes, this nearby production was worth the $10. even if I never fully consume the edible poem . . . . 

Inaugural Anticipations

So, as we move slowly (oh, too slowly) toward January 20, 2009 and the end of the Bush era, Julie Hyzy is just what we need. Yes, she's the author of State of the Onion, which I reviewed here. And yes, there's another mystery in her series "A White House Chef Mystery" featuring Ollie Paras. In this era of presidential anticipation it's ok that I misread her 2008 title Hail to the Chef as it was intended to be misread, "Hail to the Chief." (If you can't wait to hear the song with a new chief and/or want a bit of presidential musical history -- complete with corrections, click here. Or, if you need some background on and history of the music, click here.) 

On Hyzy's mystery itself: main character and amateur sleuth Ollie Paras (spoiler alert!?!?!?) has been promoted to White House Executive Chef and once again is in the midst of both backstage kitchen planning -- this time for Thanksgiving and the subsequent holidays -- and of various threats to the White House. With appearances from many of the characters introduced in State of the Onion, this mystery too comes with insight into permutations and combinations around the White House and food. Like many of us, for example, Paras has learned that administrative work is time consuming and, while rewarding for many, comes with special challenges such as management of teams, delegation, and etcetera. This tale, in addition to the foodie delights  (again, a bit of a spoiler alert), brings along the business interests of a presidential spouse.  (Ok, I said spouse, but just like the real world --  again, yet and still -- the presidential spouse is a wife; even Hyzy's very smart writing could not bring us our first female president; prescient on her part, I guess. And, this presidential spouse is portrayed as a warm, humane, and strong, kind, idealized person. Hmmm. Who could that be? And spousal finances as an issue does bring Hilary to mind, but that might be me just pining?)  In any case, the menus include appetizers galore, and the accompanying recipes include attractive sounding blue cheese straws as well as bacon and cornbread muffins. From private meals in the presidential residential area to the afore mentioned Thanksgiving and ritualized holiday entertainment every US citizens recognizes as annual events (e.g., holiday tree lightings), food food everywhere! Accompanying this are other behind the scenes views -- of electricians and tradesman, including some trivia about the history of race relations among White House employees. Also fascinating are the moments when White House executive chef meets up with training for a post- 9/11 security landscape, complete with fears and an equation of endless scrutiny (verging on paranoia) with the hope of safety. 

All in all, Hail to the Chef is a fine way to while away the time until President elect, Hawaii shirtless, Obama, complete with homophobe Rick Warren, reaches inauguration day and is magically (or at least ritually) transformed from President elect into President. (Yes, Warren is the Purpose Driven Life guy. Yes, the Saddleback Church guy. Yes, the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals guy. If you are the last person on earth to know that Obama has invited Warren, complete with his position on gays and lesbians and same-sex marriage, to deliver an invocation at the inauguration, look here or here or, for Warren's somewhat facile self-defense, here. Why, oh why, is it always the gays and lesbians who have to stand for the oh-we-can-include-even-those-with-whom-we-disagree horrors like this just because their books sell to so many American bigots and. . . .Why oh why does every even seemingly progressive president elect -- even before officially President this time -- have to move right  (and pander to their base?) by torching us? ) 

And, yes, Hyzy's book will in fact distract you. It will. I promise. While not quite as distracting as the prior mystery, Hyzy does point over there, away from Obama's verging-on-betrayal choice. 

For more on this punny title, here are a few totally unrelated news items from google-land: here, for a great piece with an even more punny title linking "hail to the chef" with offal,  here for a dandy piece on Cindy McCain's plagiarism from the Food Network, or here for an actual review of Hyzy's book! 

Laura Childs Speaks Out -- an Interview

One day -- well, one day I got an email from a person I did not know, offering to send me some of her books. Yep, it was Laura Child. And she sent me three books, including the not-yet-released at that time, Eggs in Purgatory. I reviewed all three books here. And now, I have an interview with her for you. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed her books. 

Bibliochef: So, you write three different mystery series – the Tea Shop Mysteries, the Scrapbooking Mysteries, and your newest series, the Cackleberry Club Mysteries.  How did you come to write mysteries?  And why did you choose to do “cozy” mysteries?

Laura: I started writing mysteries about a year before I sold my marketing firm.  I knew I wanted to make a transition to something new, and novel writing seemed like the ticket.  The “cozy” thing came about because I did a little market research and found that many women were tired of thriller-killer-slasher-type books.  They weren’t interested in having that type of book on their bedside reading table and were looking for a respite.  Cozies by nature are mysteries that feature a sort of “bloodless murder” where the bad guy (or girl) is brought to justice in the end.

Bibliochef: You had three books released in 2008.  That’s incredibly prolific.  Can you tell us something about your writing process and how you’ve come to write so successfully?

Laura: I spent twenty-five years in advertising, the last fifteen as CEO and Creative Director of my own firm.  So I was used to juggling a couple dozen projects at once.  I just carried over my hurry-up attitude into novel writing.  In fact, my writing philosophy is a lot like Nike.  Just do it.  Sit down, sip a little tea, develop a story outline/time line, then keep chipping away at the writing.  You don’t need personal assistants, incense, feng shui, or anything remotely tricky.  If you log quality time you’ll start to produce quality work!

Bibliochef: You feature three locations, New Orleans, Kindred (Minnesota), and Charleston.  Why those places and, also, give some insight into how those places connect to your interest in foodie matters?

Laura: New Orleans and Charleston are cities I love to visit - they both have amazing restaurant scenes as well as rich food heritages.  You can dine high end on oysters and champagne or seek out little hole-in-the-wall places  (think gumbo and po-boys in New Orleans and spicy sausage with tasso gravy and grits in Charleston).  The Minnesota setting gives me the great ingredients of the heartland to play with. 

Bibliochef: Why do you include recipes in your mysteries?

Laura: I think recipes add authenticity.  When you read about Eggs in Purgatory, Drunken Pecan Chicken, or Bodacious Bacon Quiche, you're just naturally curious about these things and want to know more.  Plus, readers tell me there’s something very satisfying about reading the story, then whipping up the recipe.  There’s a kind of “interactivity” at work.

Bibliochef: You have nine Tea Shop Mysteries out.  How did you come to write about tea and tea shops?  Also, why did you name the shop the Indigo Tea Shop?  And, of course, what’s your favorite tea?

Laura: Tea was something I noodled around with my editor.  Then, when I did a little research, I found that Charleston has the last remaining tea plantation in the United States. [Bibliochef's editorial note: for that last tea plantation, click here.]  It dates back to before the Revolutionary War and has root stock brought over from France.  The Indigo Tea Shop is a name that’s fun and suggestive (my company used to name products) and is a tribute to the indigo plantations that used to populate South Carolina. [Bibliochef's editorial note: for insight into indigo in the US, click here.] Oh, and my favorite tea is Japanese green tea.

Bibliochef: Your book released December 2, Eggs in Purgatory, has some lovely moments and great recipes.  What’s your favorite breakfast?

Laura: Eggs Pacifica (Eggs Benedict with crab cakes instead of Canadian Bacon) sitting on the deck at Highlands Inn in Carmel, California, looking out over the ocean.

Bibliochef: One of the themes of Cooking with Ideas has to do with women’s lives and/or feminism.  And each of your murder mysteries features one or more women who are entrepreneurs or business owners.  How does being a woman affect your choices as an author?

Laura: I tried to create characters who were smart, savvy, caring, and multi-dimensional.  Women who are very real – just like the women who are the mainstay of our communities (the teachers, moms, grandmas, CEO’s, doctors, nurses, volunteers, PTA ladies, business leaders, and political activists that keep our society humming!).  I also believe that women are the keepers of family lore and memories, and serve as our moral compass.  On a personal note, it used to infuriate me when I’d see the president (any president) give his State of the Union Address and there were only grey-haired men in dark suits clapping and glad-handing him.  Thank goodness that’s changed!  

Bibliochef: So, I ask some quetsions of everyone I "inteview." For example, what’s the absolutely best meal you’ve ever had?  And what made it the best meal?

Laura: Fried clams from Kelly’s Oyster Shack in Revere Beach (Massachusetts), because my husband had them package up a clam roll, then carried it half way across the country to me.

Bibliochef: What do you eat for comfort food? 

Laura: Bagels and cream cheese, chocolate, banana bread, foie gras and champagne, and crispy honey shrimp from the local Chinese restaurant.

Bibliochef: I usually ask folks if they have been to the Finger Lakes and if so, what their restaurtant recommendation is for our area. But, since I think you have not been here -- what’s your favorite restaurant?

Laura: French Laundry (Napa Valley) for it’s tasting menu,Wolfgang Puck's Spago (Beverly Hills) for pasta, Gary Danko (San Francisco) for seafood, Todd English's Olives (Las Vegas) for carpaccio, and the Carnegie Deli (New York) for cheesecake and deli treats. 

Bibliochef: Well, thanks for all this -- and for the many ideas of where to travel for good meals! Here's to more mystery writing -- and reading. Not to mention, changes in careers -- your shift from marketing to mysteries is an inspiration for those of us feeling like our jobs are, well, just not mysterious enough! 

For more on Laura Childs, click here for her official site, or another interview (with a focus more on her scrap booking mysteries) try here or for an interview focused on her first tea shop mystery, try here. 

Do You Like Cabbage?

Thanks to www.pierogiesplus.com for the picture!

Those of us who live in upstate New York know that cabbage is one of the farm products of our area. We drive along, once in a while, behind a huge truck, filled to the brim with cabbages. We pass fields of cabbages, before and after harvest, and realize, suddenly, that cabbages are beautiful. We see stands along the roadside selling cabbage. We understand that cabbages are a very healthy food (see, e.g., here). And yes, we still care. We know that Phelps has a sauerkraut festival and that all depends on cabbage. And Dano's (reviewed here) on Cayuga Lake certainly offers various cabbage-based delights -- including braised red cabbage and sauerkraut with bacon and caraway. So, I was cooking with cabbage recently and thought I would do an entry on cabbage-related recipes. 

Cabbage is, indeed, for much much more than cole slaw.  Some of my favorites include  a Sauerkraut Bacon Strudel from Saveur magazine, Sauerkraut and Duck Confit from James Peterson's cookbook focused on duck, and braised red cabbage. But, what I made on a lovely Friday night most recently was "Chickpea, Potato and Cabbage Curry" from Madhur Jaffrey's very pink cookbook entitled From Curries to Kabobs. (For my piece called "I love Madhur Jaffrey," click here.)  I made this with people I love. Here's what I gathered in order to make this dish:

1 green cabbage

3 medium potatoes cubed (circa 3/4 inch)

*3 cans of organic garbanzo beans (aka chick peas) 

a handful of cumin which I roasted by tossing in a hot skillet for a few moments and then ground

a table spoon of hot curry powder (yes, this is what Jaffrey calls for rather than something you make yourself)

salt (I always use kosher)

*a pinch of cayenne pepper

a cup of chopped onion

3 chopped garlic cloves 

a small bit (her recipe calls for 1/8th) of a habanero pepper

*some oil

(the asterisks show differences from what Jaffrey called for; for example, she uses no cayenne and calls for a teaspoon of roasted cumin but I maybe used 2) 

Here are the steps more or less as we followed them:

1. Throw one cup chopped onion and the garlic into a food processor (ok, Jaffrey calls for a blender but ours seems to be leaking lately) with the 1/8 habanero and blend along with 4 tablespoons of water. 

2. Heat a pot with the oil and then put the onion paste in to cook; cook for about 2 minutes and then reduce heat, cover and cook another two minutes.

3. Add 2 1/2 cups water (use part of the chickpea water if you want; Jaffrey has you use 1 cup of dry chickpeas, soaked overnight and thus uses part of the chickpea water. I used, I confess, part of what surrounded the chick peas in the can because I refused to use dry chick peas because that would have meant planning ahead and. . . ) with the potatoes and chickpeas and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and cook for circa 20 minutes.

4. Add the cabbage (which had been cored, and cut into circa 1 inch squares) and maybe another teaspoon of salt and cook until tender -- about another 20 minutes or so. If unsure of cabbage size, use about 4 1/2 cups of cabbage. We did not measure. 

5. Taste for seasonings. When we did, we added more roasted cumin, the dash of cayenne and a bit more salt. 

All and all, a great dish. The potatoes got a bit mushy, the cabbage was wonderfully tender, and what does not taste better with roast cumin?  Plus, as an extra added bonus, and yes, I admit it: I really really like chick peas. Not to mention left overs, though the whole shebang gets fairly mushy after a while. And to be honest, we could simply not eat it all. Next time, I will give away half. 

Served with? Swordfish vindaloo. Rice. Raita. Various chutneys. A few pappadums. Good company... And. . . mmmm. 

Keep an Eye Out For. . . .

Thanks to www.wever.wordpress.com  for the picture!

So, what exactly are you keeping an eye out for here at Cooking with Ideas in the next little while? A few things:

Reviews of two books that focus on Canadian cuisine: Margaret Webb's Apples to Oysters: A Food Lover's Tour of Canadian Farms and a cookbook entitled Anita Stewart's Canada:The Food, The Recipes, The Stories

A Review of Sarah Murray's Moveable Feasts. With its subtitle, "From ancient Rome to the 21st century, the incredible journeys of the food we eat," this one promises to be loads of fun

What else? Possibly, just possibly, a report on some cooking going on in Bibliochef's kitchen. . . .

National Pastry Day and More

December 9 is National Pastry Day according to this web site. 

It is also the birthday of such luminaries as Herman Finkers, a Dutch cabaret star, and Michael Dorn who played Worf in Star Trek the Next Generation and, for a former Chicago Bears fan like me, the important Dick Butkus,  according to this web site. Not to mention, according to the same website, Douglas Fairbanks and Beau Bridges and Kirk Douglas and Emmett Kelly and. . . to get back to food, Clarence Birdseye, born in 1886. Another website says Dame Judi Dench was born December 9, 1934 and Felicity Huffman on December 9, 1962. . Hurrah. And yes, december 9, 2008 is the 400th anniversary of the birth of John Milton. Huzzah. Paradise Lost? Paradise Regained? 

Less cheerfully, December 9 is also the death date of such fascinating people as Mary Leakey (1996), Roy Orbison (1988), Leon Jaworski (yep., the chap who was the special prosecutor for Watergate in 1982), and others. (See this web site) 

What else? On this date in history, the Florida recount was halted - and an election stolen, in 2000; a five meter meteor passed within 100,000 kilometers of earth (in 1994); and, in 1985, Phoenix Arizona got 3 inches of snow. If you are watching bailouts of various sorts and thinking this is new, just think of December 9, 1975, when Gerald Ford bailed out New York City with a $2.3 billion loan. 

To get back to food, it was indeed December 9 1983 when Attorney General Ed Meese said  people go to soup kitchens "... because food is free and that's easier than paying for it." (For more exciting events in history, click here.) 

And, even more crucially, click here, where I have finally found it all -- December 9 events in food history. Google. A miracle. A drug. 

Happy National Pastry Day. 

A Most Dangerous Woman

 (Thanks to www.damesofdeduction.com for the picture!) This murder mystery by  L. M. Jackson is most definitely not one of those quirky little cozy types advertising "recipes included" on its mass market cover. No, it has a dark cover, with the figure of a Victorian era woman receding down an alleyway in the shadows. More Caleb Carr than Diana Mott Davidson. Set in London, the book's prologue opens: "Sarah Tanner bought her coffee-house in the spring of eighteen hundred and fifty-two. It was a small.rather dusty premises, situated upon the corner of Leather Lane Market and Liquorpond Street, in the parish of St. Albans, Holborn.  . ." The prologue continues with references to coffee urns, to local custom and passersby, to a waiter named Grundy and a cook called Mrs. Hinchley "a plan cook and no nonsense," and to a "good dinner at 8d." So, there is, indeed, a link to food and drink, through Sarah Tanner's business which she owns and manages. Mrs. Hinchley -- and food and drink -- are virtually invisible after the prologue, truth be told, though Grundey, as Sarah Tanner's sidekick, and Tanner herself as amateur sleuth and seeker of justice, well, they are the main dish. 

So, in the end, the mystery, though very well worth the read, has absolutely nothing to do with food. Nor does it have to do with coffee. Rather, like many tales of Victorian London, it has to do with class, with gender relations, with poverty and crime caused by the lack of access to hope, and with the impact of the vast urbanization of mid-nineteenth century Britain. Still and all, it features the owner of the New Dining and Coffee Rooms and from his website (see below) it is clear that Jackson knows a lot about food and drink in Victorian London. Interested? We can look forward to more from Tanner in Jackson's next novel, also featuring Sarah and pals, The Mesmerist's Apprentice.  

For an interview with Jackson, click here. 

For Jackson's own web site, click here www.victorianlondon.org where you can read about jackson and loads more about Victorian London. Wow -- what a site. There is absolutely loads on food and drink and related matters. For those details, just explore around on the site. I did and what a blast. 

Ottawa Still Eats. . . And So Do I

Ottawa is, of course, Canada's capital. Like Geneva, NY (and Chicago), it is one of those places where the weather changes every fifteen minutes, and the sky is less blue than one would wish. And yet, Ottawa (much much more like Chicago than Geneva) is a foodie wonderland. Here are a few mini-reviews of foodie delights to recommend in Ottawa:

Arc the Hotel is a boutique hotel in downtown Ottawa. Yep, walking distance to loads of fun stuff, including Parliament Hill, Byward Market and Elgin Street, for example. While I have never had dinner at the hotel, the menu looks swell -- and the breakfasts are quite nice. I had scrambled eggs with avocado, a bit of red pepper and chives that was good. The crispy bacon was, I have to admit, a bit weird. One of my pet peeves is when butter comes too cold, not true here, and the jams for the toast were runny and lovely. Ditto (ok, being silly) for the coffee (hot) and the orange juice (just right). The service is efficient and kind. And the tone of the whole place is welcoming, easy going and hip. 

Beckta is a fine dining joint often ranked in the top places to eat in Ottawa. The first (and only previous) time we ate there, we discovered an amazing foodie item - mango caviar. Yep, a sort of gastro-chemical taste explosion of mango made to seem like caviar. Dandy. For a review of that previous visit, click here. This visit was less thrilling, though the meal was quite good and the service as well. We began with a Henry of Pelham Cuvee Catherine sparkling wine -- though less perfect than their rose sparkling wine, this was a pear-y version that went well with the tasting menu we ordered. Among the delights were some house made papardelle and a foie gras terrine on top of a crispy bit -- which I cannot quite recall but which I remember as incredible perfect juxtaposition of textures. The amuse bouche was a tuna tartare with pickled fennel. MMMMM. A bit price-y but a good restaurant. 

Benny's Bistro is a small place beside/behind the French Bakery on Murray Street near the Byward Market area. We read their sign on Saturday and came back on Sunday to try out the brunch. While the ambience is nothing to write home about, the food was inventive and tasty. I ordered what was, for m, a bit risky -- a buckwheat pancake with a sunnyside egg inside, twice smoked pork shoulder and an apple cabbage slaw-like side. And I had a big bowl of latte. The meal was tasty and satisfying. Would I order it again? No. Why? I just simply do not really like sunny side up eggs, with the runny yolk going everywhere. I am not as adventurous an eater as I wish I was. Or, maybe I was adventurous but know what I do not like? Anyway, the pork was great, the pancake thin and light, and the slaw-like bit perfect. I am definitely glad I tried the bistro. And, besides, they have a wonderful side which is lardons of thick cut bacon and fingerling potatoes. Mmmm. 

Boushey's Fruit Market is a corner store (at 348 Elgin) with lovely tart cheese bread and other munchies as well as regular corner store grocery type stuff. We usually load up on the the cheesebread, but were moving a bit slowly and missed it. But we did get a spinach pie and a meat pie and ate them on the road back to lovely Geneva. Try them; you'll like them. For a few comments on Boushey's try here or here. 

Bridgehead Coffee is an Ottawa (originally Toronto, but now based in Ottawa according to their bags) chain, with 9 places in the city. It has been voted best coffee in Ottawa and focuses on fair trade and organic coffees and teas. I have been a fan of The Second Cup and may have switched allegiances. And, Bridgehead has pretty darn good shortbread cookies; I tried the pistacchio and cranberry with my eggnog latte. And the latte was great -- it tasted like eggnog but was not unduly sweet or thick. For more on Bridgehead, click here. 

Domus is simply one of the best places to eat ever. Previously reviewed here, I usually want their to-die-for soups, but this time was tempted into sharing a chopped belgian endive and quail's egg salad. (Seems quail's eggs are in the running for new-food-focus of the moment.) The salad was augmented with asian greens which had a taste -- and even more importantly, had a taste which melded well with the slihgt bitterness of the endive. We followed this with a second shared dish -- a substitute for a fish ravioli that Domus was out of. What did we have instead? Ravioli filled with braised lamb. Wowzers. A bit of black pepper, a lovely broth, some cheddar shavings. Then, I ordered a plate with a focus on suckling pig served in a variety of ways. I love pork. I loved this dish -- every bit of it was perfect. It includes: a stuffed pork loin, a chorizo sausage, a pork croquette topped with smoked pork belly, some pork shoulder confit, a bit of mashed potato and some spinach. Yes, each and every mouthful made me happy. I was not as much a fan of the croquette as the rest of the little piggy but I definitely made a little piggy of myself. Yes, this was one of the top Domus meals ever. And I ended with a bit of self-control and ordered the three truffles as my dessert.  Very chocolate-y. Service as always oo attentive and kind --and the view out the window filled with Ottawans and their hats. 

Metropolitan Brasserie is beneath another, unrelated, restaurant down a flight of outside stairs nearish the Chateau Laurier on Sussex Drive. The bar is where we had an afternoon snack of a few raw oysters (ok, not me) and french fries accompanied by a drink. The Malpeque oysters were 3 for $6.25 and came with 4 dipping sauces -- including freshly grated horseradish. (Horseradish too seems like a new trendy bit -- we had a schmeer of horseradish cream with something at Beckta as well.) The ambience at the Metropolitan is, as its full name suggests, very brasserie and the clientele varied from Parliament hill types to clueless people like me. 

Murray Street Kitchen Wine Charcuterie was recommended to us by the folks at Daya Spa. And wow, were we grateful. We went twice in two days and were very happy both times.  The menu calls Murray Street itself "restaurant alley" -- and yes, Domus is almost directly across the street. Anyway, our first visit, we wandered in during the late afternoon and had several cheeses (including a Back Forty Highland Blue cheese from Quebec and both of the available goat cheeses, including a Tomme de Haut Richelieu semi-hard which also turned up on Beckta's cheese plate) and a dandy (noton the menu) elk terrine. The condiments on the side included carmelized onions and raisins, and a grainy mustard. Not to mention the de rigeur cornichons and a bit of pickled yellow beet. The second visit we tried two terrines: yes,we repeated the elk and brandy but added a lamb cassis terrine. The two terrines were very dissimilar in both taste and appearance; the lamb was very finely ground meat with a pink coloring,for example. This time we tried three different cheeses including an alternate blue suggested by the (very helpful) bartender.This blue was a cow cheese, St. Benoit Benedictin unlike the Back Forty raw sheep -- though both were from Quebec. Before this delightful ($25 CDN for 2 meats and 3 cheeses) charcuterie board, I had a lovely soup (that kind of day) with wheat berries, carrots, and duck broth. I also go the chance to taste poutine in a fancy version, made with duck confit and spatzle. Once upon a time(until that very moment), I thought the idea of poutine disgusting. I was wrong. Again. (The spatzle, by the way, trumped the pretty darn good spatzle at Dano's.)  Yes, this time we were there for dinner so we indulged andi got dessert. Mine?  Chocolate espresso pudding with salted caramel on top and a side of a gingery- (very) compote. The ambience matched the food -- a tad darkly lit, and cozy feeling while hip. All in all a very very happy discovery, including the delightful draught St. Ambroise oatmeal stout I had with the first charcuterie board. 

So: we ate our way across Ottawa and were overly full when we left. And, by the way, I have a new  hypothesis about restaurant bathrooms in Ottawa: they are always way way way too cold.  

Morgan's

There have been new joints in town for a while, and I have not been eating out much so. . . there is a bit of a lag here. Harrumph you say! Okay, I say. So, here's one newer place, though many locals have been there already. Right across the street from Halsey's and Parker's -- in a place I think of fondly as the-place-where-the-woman-in-a-pink-pantsuit-sang-jazz-many-years-ago, is Morgans. I recently had lunch there. As I was thinking about what to write here, I realized that I have fallen off using my original format for restaurant reviews -- complete with pictures and things. (Click here for an early review which used that format) and am going to go back to it here!) So, I am back using it here. 

But what did you eat, you ask? Here's what I had: Chicken Souvlaki. It came as slices of nicely grilled chicken on a piece of quite thick pita (which I confess I did not eat or even taste but it looked lovely), on top of a very thick "homemade" tsastiki. (I always wonder what homemade really means in a restaurant -- restaurants are no one's homes, at least as far as I know, so did the chef make the sauce at home and bring it in? Of course not.) Anyway, very cucumber-y and very (perhaps too?) light on the garlic, the tsastiki was so tasty I scraped it off the pita when I was done the chicken. The yogurt-y contribution was a bit tart. The (open faced) sandwich came with a greek salad, which I had thought would be inside the pita, but was alongside. And, it was the single best greek salad I have had in Geneva. The feta was tasty, the olives just the right level of briny-ness, and the dressing was perfect. Nice job. And, as one of the folks with me said later (based on her quesadilla), I would definitely go back and lunch there -- certainly ahead of Parker's! 

  DRINKS: I had coffee which was actually pretty darn strong. So, the coffee was delightful. Alas, I forgot entirely to check out the rest of the drinks menu, but I know they have beer, wine, and alcohol because (yes) I saw the bar. My luncheon companions mainly had tea; and as far as I could tell, that involved a basic tea bag sorta thing. 

SERVICE: The lunch service was friendly, non-intrusive and adequate. Especially since there were people only at two tables.  I did, though, have to ask for more coffee rather than have it automatically poured. Also, a quibble: the server suggested an antipasto salad to a vegetarian which is described as having loads of meats and cheeses. 

SETTING: Well, the location is easily accessible, right there on Seneca Street, and there is parking nearby. Inside, the restaurant is pretty dark, and plain. Tables are a little small and the walls are (if I recall) pretty darkly painted in a reddish tone. So, do not go there for ambience. On the other hand, other than the people I was with, I knew no one there, which was a nice change. 

ON THE WALLS: red paint? And I recall nothing else. Help me out? 

 BATHROOM REVIEW: Ok, I used it. (TMI?) While nothing to write home about (and a bit chilly), it was entirely adequate and readily located. 

MINOR ISSUES: Getting MILK rather than half and half or cream for coffee seems to be increasingly a problem these days -- and it took some asking to get our waitress to do so. Nowhere I go do they seem to have 2% milk; they only had whole milk here. What's up with that? Also, this is NOT the place to go for a vegetarian possible, though they do have a portobello sandwich and some salads. 

OVERALL: A nice idea for lunch, and as I said, best Greek salad in Geneva. I disagree with the various discussions (see below under "Also reviewed at") that say it is an imitation of Parker's. The salad and sandwich variety is quite distinct

ALSO REVIEWED AT: Okay,there are a few comments here  and here If you want a fuller review, though, you will have to do it yourself! Please comment below and share what you know!  

Morgans Restaurant

93 Seneca Street

Geneva NY 14456

315-789-8900