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by gansie

What Did I Do Wrong

I’ve done it again. And I’m ready to admit that I need help.

I’ve previously failed, and documented, my attempts to create an appetizing salad at one of the many new do-it-yourself salad places that have popped up downtown. Another one just opened, Freshii, and my friend Katie and I checked it out.

I was immediately turned off by their ordering process. Each customer is given a piece of paper and a pencil and told to check off their salad items. I can see how this saves time and confusion, but this absolute waste of paper really pisses me off. Couldn’t there be touch screen kiosks instead? (Although they do claim to reuse order tickets as flyers, but I’m not really sure how that works.)

I soldiered on and checked off ingredients. I went vegan that day and avoided the up-charges, although that was probably the main issue. A salad without cheese or avocado can barely be considered a salad. But still, I thought my choices went well together, especially as I’m increasingly into raw broccoli. But it was bland and barely dressed.

Help! Please show me how to put together a decent salad. (Better view of ingredients.)

by gansie

Chicken in the Raw

OhMyGod – Guess What?!?!

80P and I are going to Japan and South Korea!

We’re doing a week in/around Tokyo and a week in/around Seoul. We’re looking for travel suggestions, especially where to eat. We’re also interested in taking an over-night trip from both cities. I would like to know where I can buy an entire new wardrobe and 80 would like to know where he can drink sake while I clothes shop.

Last night I went to a press dinner at Kushi, a Japanese style sushi, raw bar and grill. The owners there are really nice and knowledgeable about Japan and I tried to learn as much as possible so I don’t look like a total asshole when I’m in Asia. Oh and the food is kick-ass, especially the crispy duck thigh, the heritage breed chicken wing, the miso marinated fish and pretty much any of the sashimi.

Things I’ve Learned Pre-Japan

Patrons are given a warm, damp cloth at the beginning of meal to cleanse their hands and then use as napkin.

Robata is a grill.

Never drink sake with a rice dish. Sake is made from rice so it’d be a double starch. Imagine adding potatoes to pasta. However, sushi is fine to drink with sake, the rule is more geared to a bowl of rice.

Shoji is like vodka. If I remembered that correctly. An anti-hangover drink combines ukon, a turmeric tea, mixed with shoji.

Chicken is eaten raw in Japan. Chicken can be served sashimi style and eaten with wasbi and soy, like fish.

by gansie

The Dark-Herr, The Better

I truly adore Michael Pollan. I pretty much take his words as gospel. His new “for dummies” type book, Food Rules, breaks down his complex narratives of our broken food systems into succinct guidelines. His rules make sense. They are easy to understand and to follow. This one is particularly relevant to our I want it now culture:

#39 Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

There is nothing wrong with eating sweets, fried foods, pastries, even drinking soda every now and then, but food manufacturers have made eating these formerly expensive and hard-to-make treats so cheap and easy that we’re eating them every day. The french fry did not become America’s most popular vegetable until industry took over the jobs of washing, peeling, cutting, and frying the potatoes — and cleaning up the mess. If you made all the french fries you ate, you would eat them much less often, if only because they’re so much work. The same holds true for fried chicken, chips, cakes, pies, and ice cream. Enjoy these treats as often as you’re willing to prepare them — chances are good it won’t be every day. [HuffPo]

But the idea of making a potato chip better than Herr’s is just a fucking lie. They make the best chips in the world and it wouldn’t be fair to attempt replication at home when they are already out there on shelves across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

I recently spotted an enviable collection of Herr’s chips at a Philly-themed hoagie shop in DC, Taylor. My eyes widened at their floor to ceiling display, noticing the new (and I find misguided) direction of Herr’s: kettle chips. Kettle chips have too much of a bite for me. Too crunchy, too much time in the oil.

I asked the dude behind the cash register about the many new flavors and he pointed out a recent failure: Herr’s Dark Russet Kettle Chips. He said they tasted straight burnt. I bought them instantly.

Hey Hey Hey, It’s Skinny Albert

Editor’s Note: We’ve gotten somewhat political on ES before, mostly making fun of Sarah Palin and prohibition candidates, but actually we’re big dorks. In fact, after school I would rush home so I could tape–and watch live–Clinton’s impeachment hearings. I read Cokie Roberts’ book for pleasure and wanted to be George Stephanopoulos when I grew up. Anyway, it’s about time we used the blog for something other than talking about bacon. Well, just this once.

Our friend Josh works for Northwest Harvest and was recently in DC to lobby for childhood nutrition funds. Here’s his rant. Pay attention.

It’s time to put down the spatula and pick up the phone.

We need to tell our Senators and Congressmembers to invest in the future health of our population, our economy and our national security by strengthening the Child Nutrition Act to the tune of an additional $10 billion over ten years. Strengthening these programs will ensure our kids are receiving the proper nutrition where they live, work and play, AND go a long way to fighting childhood obesity.

The Child Nutrition Act is a large piece of legislation that comes up every five years or so and funds critical nutrition programs for our low-income infants and children, including WIC, national school lunch and breakfasts, afterschool snacks and summer feeding programs, and feeding programs in child care and adult care settings. Senator Lincoln has introduced the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to begin the reauthorization process in the Senate, but the bill falls short of the full $10 billion necessary.

Study after study show that hungry kids simply cannot learn in the classroom. Chronic hunger has profound impacts on kids’ ability to focus, retain and thrive in our schools. Providing our children with proper nutrition for the school day is critical to the future success of our country.

Peanut Butter and Philly

Last week I was in Philadelphia for my 9-5. But what’s funny about Philly is, even though it’s my hometown city, I barely know about it. I lived on the other side of the *bridge* and crossing that bridge was portrayed as such a big deal, such a hardship, such a production that it almost never occurred. And what my mom said goes, if she didn’t do Philly, we didn’t do Philly.

Of course, I still knew, and benefited from, many of Philly’s culinary offerings.

The soft pretzel. I never knew the soft pretzel was special to Philly. When I was little I thought all cities were filled with pretzel street vendors.

After a very brief google search, and a hunch of my own, it looks like Philly owes its signature snack to the Pennsylvania Dutch. The pretzels here are not dipped in butter and shaped like shoelaces, but have a crust, yet are soft and chewy inside. They do not need mustard. The office where I was working receives a weekly present of pretzels from a previously satisfied client. Pretzels are not just a snack, but a gesture of thanks, good taste and local flare.

From the School of George Costanza

What would happen if we didn’t live by certain social norms?

Would we keep the napkin on the table instead of the lap?
Would we tip a dollar on a dollar beer?
Would we drink everything out of a straw?

I don’t know. Well, except for the last question. And that is an enthusiastic yes.

But I am pretty sure that if George Costanza didn’t stigmatize the double dip I think we would all be happily consuming twice as much dip than chip. Of course the garlicky hummus is more delicious than that celery stick. But we cannot indulge in our love of sour cream and onion. We must only dip once.

Except for Jack. Jack is almost 17 months (I think I got that weird months thing right) and while he can walk, color and bang spoons on a table, he has not picked up on the no double dip rule. I watched in fascination as he triumphantly dipped his tortilla chip into a bowl of creamy spinach dip, over and over and over. He never took a bite of the chip. It was awesome.

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by gansie

Duck, Duck, Duck…Peking…Post

While Britannia’s Slow Cooked Peking Duck may have not yielded all that much meat, it was definitely revolutionary in its originality. The Washington Post even picked up on it. Check out Britannia’s (Russell) shout out in Joe Yonan‘s solo cooking column.

[Cooking for One: Discovering Slow Cookers]

(Photo: Thin Glass)

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