tommy:eats

MIL report: Swiss Pork Store in Fair Lawn open on Sundays

From the MIL Report files:

Beef: Ribs, BBQ

I'm not sure why I haven't posted about this deliciousness yet.  In fact I'm not sure that I've posted about any deliciousness recently.  Today's (or technically tomorrow's, I suppose - 5/24/09) article in the NY Times Magazine reminded me that I should.

New Jersey Farmers' Markets: it's almost time

2009 Repost:

It's that time of the year. 

To find a farmers' market near you, let the government help you:  click.

For heirloom tomato transplants, hook up with Catalpa Ridge Farm.  They're always at the Ramsey market the Saturday after Mother's day.  We had excellent luck with their transplants last year.  Once you grow and eat your own heirloom tomatoes, you'll never eat a supermarket tomato again.  Come to think of it you shouldn't have been eating them in the first place.

Jerry's Gourmet in Ridgewood: closed?

From the t:e rumor mill...some unsubstantiated stuff for your consumption...

Fairway in Paramus: a video tour, of sorts

t:e reader John from Paramus (that's what I call him anyway), sent me this cool link.  It looks like Fairway in Paramus is becoming a reality.  They're talking about aged Prime beef, kosher meats, freshly baked breads, produce.  Right there in the Fashion Center.  Yum, o.

Click me for the tour!

For more info on Fairway, go to discoverfairway.com

The bun: as important as the meat, and a thank you to the Spotted Pig

Clearly I like burgers.  Clearly.  It's a beautiful thing, the hamburger is.

Since most restaurants have no idea how to make a good burger, I spend a good amount -- probably an unhealthy amount -- of my time thinking about and making hamburgers at home.  I never buy pre-ground beef (except from Fair Lawn's Swiss Pork Store, where they grind to order), use only high-quality interesting cheeses (most of the time at least), really good bacon, rarely ketchup, tomatoes only when in season or Campari tomatoes if not.  And as for the bun?  Well hell, I'm not a baker, and we don't have many options in north Jersey for fresh baked buns or brioche.  So I have to concede and use store-bought mass produced buns. 

Brisket: BBQ experiment

My 2 attempts at smoked brisket have ranged from pretty good (the first time), to dry and not done enough (the second time).  Since I was messing around supermarket brisket, I decided that instead of continuing with this Micky Mouse shit, I'd go for the real thing:  a whole brisket, also known as a "packer cut".  It includes not only that overly-trimmed, lean piece of meat you usually see posing as "brisket" (the "flat", as it's called), but also the more fatty piece that is on top (the "point").

The first time.  Pretty good.

I called The Market Basket in Franklin Lakes, NJ, and they had one in Cryovac.  Just what I wanted.  While I expecting something at about 10 pounds, what I got when I picked it up was a 19 pound brisket.  Holy enormous cow, Batman.

8 inch knife, for reference purposes

I trimmed off about 3 pounds of fat, which put this thing at 16 pounds.  According to everything I've read, that's about 16 hours worth of smoking.  There's simply no choice but to do this overnight, so away I went to my gas grill.  Purists, you might as well stop reading here, if you haven't already.

3 pounds of beef fat, and 20 pounds of cat fat

The only other prep on the meat was a good, healthy rub of fresh cracked pepper and salt.  A whole bunch of pepper, and only slightly less salt.  A lot of this is going to come off during the cooking process, and even if it doesn't, we're still talking about 16 pounds of meat.  Not 16 ounces, which is a nice sized steak.  But 16 pounds.  Pounds baby, pounds.

stretch-tite is awesome, and might very well be the only plastic wrap on the planet that actually works

The size of this brisket is only part of the challenge.

Rye whiskey: in northern New Jersey

Did you wake up this morning thinking "damn, I wish I knew of a place around Bergen/Passaic counties that stocked a bunch of rye whiskey."  No?  Well I sure did.

The only rye that I've been able to find 'round these parts has been Jim Beam.  It's a fine product, I'm sure, but I'm looking to branch out a bit.

A few hours later I found myself at Shoppers Vineyard in Clifton.   And holy moley.

Corrado's market: Wayne, NJ

Civitavecchia, not Wayne

When I first heard that Clifton's Corrado's was opening another store in Wayne, and the excitement generated by this prospect, I was nonplussed.  Corrado's in Clifton has never really impressed me.  It's always seems crowded, and not in an exciting and energetic open air market in Civitavecchia I can grab a beer at the market bar to take a break way, but rather in that get-me-the-eff-out-of-here way.  I suppose the prices on the produce are good, but the savings aren't worth my time, digging through the less-than-fresh-looking stuff.  It is what it is, but I've not found much reason to go. 

However, it's a new day, and there's a new Corrado's in Wayne, and on my first visit all I could say was "WOW!"

Firstly, the place is spacious and a pleasure to move around in.  It's bright.  It's clean.  There were an adequate number of checkout lanes.  And it has everything.  In fact, I made it a point to make a mental note to myself:  "Note to myself:  this place has everything.  If you ever need something, and don't know where to get it, it's here.  At Corrado's.  Dried chiles.  Pork skin.  Pork belly.  Dry-aged beef.  Prime beef.  Olives.  Cheeses.  Sausage casings.  Chipotle in adobo.  Fresh mozzarella.  Mozzarella curd.  Pork butt.  Italian bread.  Chicken feet.  Ox tail.  French bread.  Desserts.  Sandwiches." 

The list goes on.  The place could very well have the most comprehensive inventory of interesting and hard-to-find foodstuffs in all of north Jersey.

Want a huge chunk of provolone for 55 bucks?  Here is is.

Need pork belly?  They've got lots of it.  Although the skin still had whiskers.

The dry-aged beef is supposedly USDA Prime.  At about 20 bucks a pound, it's a good value, and certainly in line with Franklin Lakes' Market Basket's pricing (an obvious competitor).

The non-dry aged beef (about 14/lb IIRC) looked excellent, and had nicer marbling than the dry aged stuff I got.    

And most notably, the produce looked really fresh and in good shape.

As an aside, I realized that if you're serving steak and potato and greens, and you're pre-slicing the steak, it's easy to just serve everything on the board, instead of dirtying more plates.  

As another aside, I did a side-by-side taste test of Corrado's San Marzano DOP tomatoes and Cento organic, and the Cento was the clear winner.  I have a feeling both would lose if up against Muir Glen, which I feel are some of the best canned tomatoes out there.  A reminder to taste your ingredients!!!

Corrado's Market : 201 Berdan Ave : Wayne, NJ 

Vito's Deli: Hoboken, memory lane

Just a quick throw-away post about Vito's in Hoboken.

Fairway in Paramus: Coming, soon?

Update (03/27/2009):  Fairway be open, and you're dopey if you go the first week it's open. 

Update (02/03/2009):  More on Fairway in Paramus if you click me!

I don't usually do much "reporting" on this blog.  Reporting is dry, boring, fact-based verse.  I don't deal in facts.  Additionally, reporting is a job for trained and professional reporters and newspaper people, and that's sure not me.  Conversely, being interesting and entertaining is my job.  And before you say anything, I don't get paid for that job, so if I'm sleeping on the job, not very good at the job, or just plain not showing up to work, well, too bad.

At any rate, a lot of people are excited about NYC's Fairway Market coming to Paramus (unrelated to Fort Lee's Fairway, which is a fine store in its own right, and has served the community well for longer than most people have been a part of the community).  And of course they're excited:  NYC's Fairway is a pretty darned good store, and, our Paramus version sure has been a looooong time in the coming. 

t:e visitor Jmags sent me this picture, which he claims shows the progress of the construction of Fairway (I sure hope he's right, because we don't need another stinkin' Linens -n- Things), and that got me thinking that I should probably look into this.   I figured I'd do some reporting on this story.

Here's the report:

Stew Leonard's coming to: Paramus

I noticed a "coming soon" sign in an old furniture store on Route 17 North in Paramus.  "Stew Leonard's" "Stew Leonard's Wine and Spirits" followed the "coming soon" bit.

Food Basics: good stuff, good deals, Manager's Specials

I'm finding myself shopping at Food Basics more and more.  Food Basics is sort of a budget store, owned by the nice folks at the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (who own A&P, and others) that seems to cater to a lower-income audience than does say a Whole Foods or Stop & Shop.  You'll also often find Food Basics in ethnically diverse neighbors.  When a store caters to an ethinically diverse community, you're not only going to find great values, but you're going to find great products that you won't normally find:

Pigs feet?  Check.  Ox tail?  Check.  Pork shoulder?  Not a problem. Tripe.  Got it.  Offal of all sorts?  Yippers.

Gone are the days of calling Stop & Shop the day before a BBQ and pleading them to save a pork butt before turning them all into sausage.  Food Basics always has a bunch of butts right there in the case.  Carnitas is only some onions, OJ, and fennel seed away.

Carnitas, Jim

Duck confit, mushrooms: penne

What do you do when Chef Anthony LoPinto, from Fairfield's Crave Restaurant, gives you a handful of house-made duck confit to take home?

I found myself facing that question a few days ago.  After an outstanding meal at Crave the night before,  Chef gave me a 'care package.'  There are few ways to be taken care of more than you are when given a handful of duck confit.  Of this you are assured.

To answer my own question, since no one has raised their hand:  you say 'thank you' and you take it home.  And then you don't waste it.  You cook it.  The next night.  Because it's really good.

The strangest thing I didn't necessarily eat last year

Brace yourselves.

On November 9th, 2007, I took these things:

Turned them into this stuff:

And made a few of these:

They were pretty good. Grinding your own hamburger meat is always preferable to buying that nasty stuff from the supermarket.  Although, given the chance, I just go to the Swiss Pork Store in Fair Lawn, NJ, and buy some of their freshly ground beef, which is simply the best.

Anyway, on November 17th, 2007, the kitchen started smelling prit-tee funky.  We searched high and low for the offending organic matter, which was clearly being consumed by micro organisms, which were in turn creating tiny but smelly micro organism farts and stuff.  We finally found the source of the odor:  the garbage disposal.

The people at Insinkerator claim that you can put just about anything down their disposals.  Who am I to question this.  However, when you put fat trimmings in there, and you kind of ignore them for several days, you apparently get this:

Oh for eff's sake, another burger: sure, why not

We're perdy.

Yer perrrrrrr-dy. 

I could lie and say that this was beef ground freshly in my kitchen, but there's no glory in that.   I bought it from Stop & Shop.  It was in their "upscale" case, though, where you'll find CAB (Certified Angus Beef) and other goodies.  Have a look-see.  And while you're at it, have a look in their "Natural" dairy section for some pretty darned good Greek yogurt.

I wanted to duplicate the burger that I've had at Morristown's Copeland, cuz that's a mighty good burger.   All I really had to go on was beef, cheese, and bacon, so I ran with it. 

Thai chili condiment

Did you ever go to a Thai restaurant and get a dish of that Thai condiment of chili peppers?  Sure you have.  Most Thai places serve one version or another.  When we order in for Thai from one of our local restaurants, we whip up a batch of our own.  It's simple and the ingredients can (should) be found in your pantry.   

Best of: 2006 NJ food retailers

There are plenty of great food retailers in New Jersey, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  You no longer have to cross the river for top-notch ingredients and products. 

Here are some of the places that I found myself returning to again and again in 2006, and before that, and likely after that as well, which makes me ask how this post is specific to 2006 at all:

Mano ciao Roberto: Amano: Ridgewood, NJ

Update (20080119):  the Bergen Record reports that Roberto Caporuscio is no longer with A Mano.  More troubling, the approach to pizza-making has changed as well.  Back to the original post...

FINALLY, a newer update and a report on the pizza can be found here (click).

I've been watching the progress of Jerry's Italian market in Ridgewood.  Readers will recall how excited I was when I spoke with the folks at Jerry's and was told that they'd be opening a brick oven pizzeria with true Neapolitan style pizza.  Well the story might be a bit more interesting:

Ridgewood, NJ: more doins, January 2007

Lots of activity in Ridgewood these days.  Ridgewood, in case you don't know, is home of about 64 restaurants, with only a handful worth the parking hassle.  Some casual drive-bys reveal the following:   

The Lazy Spoon: quite a spoon

I found myself in Paramus, NJ's, Chef Central the other day.  Chef Central is a local, pricy store, but it's convenient, and they have some nice stuff.  ANYway I noticed Rachel Ray's line of pumpkin-colored cookware.  It catches the eye so I took a look.  Immediately I noticed that wooden spoon that she pimps on her show (which show, I don't know...I do watch all of them).  It's the spoon with the little notch in it that keeps it attached to your pot, as seen in the picture above.  I thought it was a nifty idea I guess.  And then I turned it over to look at the price.

Big doins in Ridgewood, NJ

I noticed a few changes around Ridgewood recently, and I bet you're on the edge of your seat...   

Trader Joe's in Paramus: let's see what they got

So an outpost of Trader Joe's moved into Paramus, NJ, a few weeks ago.  The internet and blogosphere were abuzz with excitement.  Neighbors were talking, people were phoning up the place, wondering when it would open, barely able to contain their excitement over the prospect of a Trader Joe's opening 5 miles (10 minutes on a bad day) from the existing Trader Joe's in Westwood.  Everyone, that is, except me.

Jerry's Gourmet from Englewood: coming to Ridgewood, NJ (closed)

Jerry's Gourmet, the most excellent Italian gourmet store in Englewood, is opening a branch in Ridgewood, NJ.  EDIT: NOW OPEN CLOSED!

Carbonara: hold the cream. I'm beggin' ya.

A few years ago we went to Italy for the first time.  Needless to say, we had a lot of memorable meals.  One dish, though, stood out.  It's the one we talk about the most.  It was spaghetti carbonara at a little unassuming place in Rome called Ai Tre Scalini.

Sitting in the shadow of the Coliseum we really didn't expect much (not that a bad meal in Italy isn't excellent by most barometers).  In fact, we only stopped in because the restaurant that we had planned on visiting had a line out the door, which was probably a bad sign anyway. Boy did we make the right choice.   The carbonara was so pure, and simple, and perfect.  Al dente pasta (obviously), crunchy yet soft and luscious pieces of guanciale that burst with flavor when chewed.  It was like no carbonara I'd ever eaten.  We liked it so much that we walked, literally, 5 miles in the rain later in the week just to order it for lunch again (you'd do the same).  This time it was fettuccini.

I've tried several times to duplicate this dish, with just OK results.  I think I'm actually getting close.  Finally.

Ham/salt/water: from Kings Supermarket

What is it about just about every deli counter person that makes them think that you want your ham/salt/water product sliced super thin?  We ordered the "French ham" (made in Canada - and much much better than the run-of-the-mill ham/salt/water product from Thumann's and others, what with its fat cap and all) from our local Kings Supermarket today, and made the mistake of not following up the order with "not too thin."  If you don't specify "not too thin", you get "too thin."  They should just put it in a bucket and give you a straw at that point.

As I stand there in the kitchen, pulling off little bits of the stuff (since you can't possibly get a full slice out of it), I have to wonder "why?"  So really, why?  Maybe it's easier for them to slice when the slicer is set at a thickness where it's basically just shaving off bits of the ham/salt/water product?  I'm all for easier, and I'm no stranger to taking shortcuts at my job.  But come on.  Do they prefer it this way when they bring some home for themselves?  Or do they put in the extra effort if it's for their family and slice in actual slices.

The good thing about the too thin ham/salt/water product is that I can set it on top of a bottle my (and your) favorite Mexican hot sauce (Cholula, of course), and you can still read the label and see the pretty lady.  But, regardless of how cool that is, I still maintain that you shouldn't be able to see through your pork. 

 

the best tuna sandwich: ever

I am telling you that I'm addicted to tuna sandwiches.  I don't know what it is about this stuff.  It doesn't fit my usual M.O.  It's canned, it's not sushi quality.  It's probably cooked to death.  But, practically every day for lunch I have a tuna sandwich from a nearby deli in NYC.  Other days, of course, I'm at Blue Smoke or Shake Shack or Wu Liang Le or Naples 45 or wherever my pangs take me.  But the tuna is what's really important right now.