Virtual Gourmet

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Long after you've finished the memoirs of Lady Di's bathroom attendant and before you get around to your vow finally to read Anna Karenina, you will in all probability still be thumbing through, skimming and using the same cookbooks you've treasured for the past thirty years. And every season brings wonderful new entries in the food and drink categories (and an enormous amount of junk). So here's my pick of the best (in alphabetical order) of 2003's notable publications in the field.

ALL-AMERICAN DESSERTS Judith M. Fertig (Harvard Common Press, $18.95)—With 400 recipes ranging from classics like blueberry pie and chocolate chip cookies to novel ideas like blackberries with rose-scented crème anglaise and toasted piñon and caramel ice cream, this is a remarkably comprehensive volume with as much good background as thorough, simple-to-use recipes. Not fussy, just delicious.

CANDY: The Sweet History by Beth Kimmerle (Collectors Press, $35). It's been a long time since anything of substance has been written about the history of American candy, and here, with enormous affection and dogged scholarship, Beth Kimmerle provides one of the loveliest, most informative and most nostalgic of food books, with a plethora of wonderfully evocative old artwork. Ever wonder who invented Dubble Bubble? Or Sky Bar?

CITY TAVERN BAKING & DESSERT COOKBOOK by Walter Staib (Running Press, $29.95). As much an historical document of 18th-century baking as it is a fine cookbook based on the recipes of Philadelphia's famous City Tavern, this shows how very old some wonderful "new" ideas can be, like orange curd cake, almond anise fig tart, and eggnog puff pastry torte. The book also includes facsimiles of fascinating items like Thomas Jefferson's recipe for vanilla ice cream

THE COMPLETE MUSHROOM: The Quiet Hunt by Antonio Carluccio (Rizzoli, $39.95)—Yet another very beautiful and very comprehensive book by Antonio Carluccio, with detailed information on all edible mushrooms, how to find them, and how to cook them in wondrous ways, from mushrooms and sauerkraut to morel and porcini risotto.

COOKING BY HAND by Paul Bertolli (Potter, $40)—Arguably the best American-born Italian chef, Paul Bertolli of Oliveto in Oakland, CA, shows why in this fine volume of recipes that take as much care in shopping as in making, with superb, dependable results, from pork hock agrodolce and making your own sausages to dry-curing salame and making a sformatino of Gorgonzola.

EAST OF PARIS : The New Cuisines of Austria and the Danube by David Bouley, Mario Lohninger and Melissa Clark (Ecco, $34.95). Master chef David Bouley has produced a work here that breaks tremendous new ground in the appreciation and sophistication of his personal style of modern Austrian cuisine, as featured at his NYC restaurant Danube. Not for the faint of art, this volume is best appreciated as a professional's manual of style, with dishes requiring many careful steps and ingredients, but a must-have for any serious chef.

HIGH HEAT by Waldy Malouf and Melissa Clark (Broadway, $30)—A little slender at 125 recipes for $30, but Waldy Malouf provides grilled and roast food recipes with gutsy American and European flavors, and terrific items like charred onion soup and white pizza. It's just the kind of food a hungry human being looks forward to, cooks and devours with enormous satisfaction.

KITCHEN OF LIGHT: New Scandinavian Cooking by Andreas Viestad (Artisan, $35)—Not just a terrific cookbook that shows how varied Scandinavian cookery truly is, but one of the most beautiful cookbooks of any year, with stunning photos of the Land of the Midnight Sun. Simplicity geared to perfect seasonal ingredients count heavily here in dishes like poached pollock with parsley butter, scallop carpaccio, and breast of goose with prunes. This is my pick as Cookbook of the Year.

THE MACCIONI FAMILY COOKBOOK by Egi Maccioni with Peter Kaminsky (Stewart Taboori & Chang, $32.50). The problem with most family-style cookbooks is that you may well be missing a family that can enjoy the food contained in the book. No such possibility with dishes like baby calamari with peas, roast veal, onion frittata, and spaghetti with shrimp, as detailed by the formidable materfamilias of the Maccioni clan that owns NYC’s famous Le Cirque 200 and Osteria del Circo, from which many of these recipes derive.

RAW by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein (Ten Speed, $35). Whether or not raw food will be the next big trend in non-cooking remains to be seen, but the ideas espoused and worked out in this book by Chicago's Charlie Trotter and Larkspur's Roxanne Klein can hardly be ignored as a reasonable alternative to traditional cookery. Like other chefs' books, it would certainly help to have a brigade of cooks helping you with recipes that require 15 or more ingredients, but there is a great deal of good taste along with the revolutionary ideas here.

RETRO BEACH BASH and RETRO HAPPY HOUR by Linda Everett (Collectors Press, $16.95 each)—Not for the quality of the recipes (like "Sun Baked Casserole," "Walk the Plank Cookies" and "La-Dee-Dah Crêpes") but for the amazing look at how we ate and cooked and entertained in—and how far we’ve come from—a time when things may have seemed simpler but had their own rules of kitchen and patio engagement. Fun, but also a telling
sociological cartoon.

STEVEN RAICHLEN’S BBQ USA by Steven Raichlen (Workman, $35). Just when you thought Steven Raichlen had exhausted the subject of barbecue and grilling, he comes out with the definitive book on the subject of ‘cue—425 recipes from beef brisket with a coffee-beer sauce to Texas drunken steak in a bourbon marinade. If you can’t make good home-cooked BBQ from this book, you just can’t cook.

MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS FESTIVAL
Surreal and Sublime Spotlights
by Kirsten Skogerson

While most people are content to admire winter from the warmth of their homes, Canadians enthusiastically throw themselves into the elements and in so doing seem to have plenty of fun. One of the newest additions to the long list of Canadian winter celebrations is Montreal’s High Lights Festival, which features light and firework displays, culinary events, and art performances. It spans two weeks and three weekends starting at the end of February (this year’s will be held Feb. 19 through Feb. 29; see below for details), with activities scattered all around the city. But the heart of the festivities is at the Place des Arts Complex, an expansive outdoor plaza and home to the Musée d’Art Contemporain and several performance halls.

skating

Skating at the Old Port Rink with Bonsecour Market in the background

Every night as the sun descends on the plaza, the barren winter cityscape comes to life. Joyful whoops of children and adults skimming down the icy sledding slope fill the air, and brightly painted balloon-like decorations whip around on their tethers above the festival grounds, threatening to take off in the wind. At the top of the slope, a candy vendor embraces the cold; maple syrup poured onto snow-filled trays solidifies and is twirled onto Popsicle sticks for an intense maple sweet. At the bottom of the slope, bonfires illuminate revelers roasting marshmallows and sausages on wooden skewers while alternating between warming their front and backsides. Nearby, the chestnut roaster climbs into the stationary locomotive to man its converted engine and serves piping hot nuts in newspaper cones. Off to the side on the stage surrounding the DJ booth, teens dance like crazy to create their own kind of heat while the more sedate attendees lounge in the open-air pavilions glowing with the warmth of infrared lamps. Nightly fireworks and pyrotechnic displays bathe the plaza in light, and the music continues well into the evening.
    But the festival extends far beyond the plaza to performance halls and dining rooms throughout the city. Though far from festival central, it was impossible to miss Bain Mathieu, a municipal swimming pool—especially with Bob Blumer cooking up a dining ‘event’ on the premises. An inflated fridge and oven—float-sized in proportion—dwarfed the Bain Mathieu structure, advertising the whereabouts of this native Montrealer and Food Network personality, known to many as the “Surreal Gourmet.” His contribution to this year’s festival was an evening of culinary kitsch appropriately billed as "psychotronic."
    Pajama-clad waiters circulated with hors d’oeuvres including parmesan-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates, and ouzo shots in cucumber cups. When dinner was ready, they sat us in the deep end of the drained pool. Twister sheets served as tablecloths and the don’t-lose-your-marbles game ‘Ker Plunk’ stood in as both centerpiece and icebreaker. Menus appeared in the form of origami fortune-tellers and provided answers to the most pressing question: “Qu'est-ce qu'on mange?” I sipped roasted red pepper soup from a can while munching on a grilled cheese triangle. A TV dinner course was the meat of the meal; aluminum trays arrived at the table covered with a picture of the meal within. Of course, the "S" logo on this lid stood for "Surreal." As the aluminum trays were cleared, bets were placed on the identity of the "wo eggs and bacon" dessert. Cheesecake whites served sunny-side up with glistening apricot yolks were accompanied by two-toned chocolate "bacon" stripes and presented with red squirt bottles of raspberry "ketchup."
    My next festival meal was a striking contrast to Blumer’s kitchen kitsch. I cannot imagine a more inviting place to come in from the cold than Toqué! (3842 Rue St. Denis, 514-499-2084). The absence of throbbing music, replaced by the lively chatter of guests engaged in normal-tone conversation, makes this one of the most pleasant dining rooms I’ve visited recently. Warm lighting showcases the soothing red tones of the comfortable chairs and the paint-coated exposed brick walls. Back in the kitchen the culinary artistry of Norman Laprise will make any diner feel pampered and welcome. Tableside, the low-key, professional staff appears just as dedicated to providing stellar service as the chef is to preparing a standout meal.
    In all of Laprise’s plates I saw the hand of an artist at work. His skilled manipulation of ingredients manifests itself in an impressive array of textures, flavors, and visual effects. The presentation of an oyster on the half shell in yellow pepper water with a cube of gelled clementine mousse and chives was visually stunning. Crab salad encircled by chive purée and topped with red pepper concassée was much more than a skillfully prepared classic. His rendering transformed the ordinary through the addition of a taro ‘microchip’ dusting, which gave the dish a distinctive, ethereal crispness as fine as sand. This careful juxtaposition of flavors and textures was evident in all dishes served that evening.
    Laprise appears infatuated with trendy foams. A foamy yolk emulsion enriched a bowl of potato soup full of succulent shrimp and nameko mushrooms. Sweet, earthy celeriac mousse served with lamb-filled ravioli in oxtail broth played a dual role; its flavor complemented the meat of the dish, and its substance served to thicken the broth. Finally, a venison chop served over enoki mushrooms leaning on a single, delicious potato gnoccho bolster was covered with a film of foie gras foam.
    The dessert course did not disappoint. A bittersweet chocolate mousse was layered with paper-thin rectangles of meringue, which pleasantly sweetened the mousse while dissolving on the tongue. Cardamom sorbet anchored to the plate with clementine pulp accompanied the mousse. The delicate flavor and interesting visual of a candied ground cherry, its papery husk pulled back from the berry and decoratively flared, finished the composition with panache.
    I was impressed with the variety in the tasting menu. Not everything worked—the oyster’s brackishness was masked by the yellow pepper, and the foam on the venison chop bore a striking resemblance to stockpot scum, This was, however, by far one of the most interesting and well-crafted menus I have had this year. With this strong culinary performance and the weak Canadian dollar, one should need little encouragement to visit. The six-course tasting menu costs about US$58.

The featured region of the Montreal High Lights for 2004 is the Rhône-Alpes,

France

, and the

U.S.

city is Boston. Theatrical and music entertainment will include Laurie Anderson, American pioneer of electronic music, presenting a world premiere from her series Happiness; The Ballet de l’Opera national de Lyon, presenting Boléro et autres lumières sur Ravel; Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; The North American premiere of Lord of the Rings, a symphony composed by Howard Shore and performed by musicians of the Montréal Symphonic Orchestra; the Constantinople Ensemble, performing Mediterranean music of the Renaissance and Middle Ages, along with the acclaimed Boston Shawm & Sackbut Ensemble; delices

food and wine events (dining at Les Délices du Nord, below), involving 50 Montréal chefs, Lyon’s Georges Blanc, Frederic Bau,
Nicolas Le Bec
and Yves Rivoiron,
and from Boston, Michael Schlow
(Radius), Ana Sortun
(Oleana) and David
Daniels (Stephanie’s on Newbury). Call 888-477-9955 or visit www.montrealhighlights.com

Amiable, bustling, and full of bonhomie, Payard is one of those French bistros that make me realize just how narrow the line has become between imaginative good cooking and the pretensions of haute cuisine. For while Payard wants very much to be loved for its homey merits, which are many, its food could easily be found on menus costing twice what it does. Too many French bistros in NYC play it safe with a menu of beloved classiques like onion soup, coq au vin, and steak frites, but, like the best in Paris, a contemporary bistro like Payard goes beyond those clichés, evident in dishes like St. Pierre en papillote with sunchokes, mousseron mushrooms and Meyer lemon--a dish you might easily find at a much higher price at a two-star dining salon in Paris or Lyon.
payard

I shall leave further comparisons for another time and focus instead on the charms and good taste of Payard, which takes its name from François Payard, pâtissier extraordinaire, as evidenced from the flanking display cases of breads, croque-monsieurs, fruit tarts, and candies in the front of this glowing space on Lexington Avenue (there is a branch of the pastry shop on Long Island in Manhassett), and Payard is a major caterer and supplier of breads and desserts in and around the city. For these alone one should stop by and let one's jaw drop and palate salivate, perhaps for the best croissants and brioche in NYC or just for afternoon tea, cappuccino or hot chocolate with a gorgeous little array of petits-fours or a slice of gâteau St. Honoré.
    Move beyond the pâtisserie and you enter a two-level dining area, recently refurbished after six years in business, with all the joie de vivre of classic Paris bistros, with none of their grime of yellowed walls, tarnished brass and patched banquettes. For Payard is one of the cheeriest, loveliest venues for just about any occasion when you have something to feel good about--a new job, a new love, a new suit, a new baby, whatever, celebrating at a comfortable table here will make the event all the more memorable.
      This is very much a neighborhood place in a very tony neighborhood, so people tend to dress with flair if not formality, and it's a crowd conversant with French food, so chef Philippe Bertineau, who has been here since Day One and to whom Monsieur Payard gives every possible credit for the cooking, works very hard to please a demanding clientele willing to try something new.
    I hadn't been to Payard for maybe two years, and I found the place as bustling and happy as the newest restaurant on the block, refreshed with flowered banquette fabrics and perfect lighting in which everyone can see, be seen, and looks healthy. Service is excellent, beginning with maître d' Philippe Barraud, who receives everyone with grace and checks in on you throughout the evening, and general manager Laurent Chevalier, who oversees the wine list, a solid two-page selection of about 150 labels that include fine French regionals like La Charnivolle Domaine Fournier Ménétou-Salon '01 ($46) and Domaine Le Couroulu Vielles Vignes Vacqueyras '99 ($43) up to big names like Mouton-Rothschild, Margaux, and Haut-Brion, along with a very good choice of U.S. and New World wines in equal measure. Mark-ups seem to average 100% above retail plus a few bucks. Selections under $40, however, are very few (I counted three).
     And so to begin. We were sent two little amuses--a tiny crab cake and a little morsel of tender pig's trotter meat, along with the excellent breads and rolls for which Payard is famous. A wonderful autumn soup of butternut squash with bits of feta cheese and croutons was an ideal starter for a blustery November evening, as were those sweet bay scallops mentioned above. There is a twice-baked upside down cheese soufflé that makes an ideal starter but I wanted to eat another and another as a main course, drizzled as it is with a light Parmesan cream sauce and white truffle oil. Big eye tuna tartare with miso, sesame tuile and micro-greens was slightly above average for a dish that's become something of a cliché.
           Payard himself highly recommended the evening's "Pheasant Duo," a roasted breast and leg confit with Hokkaido squash, baby Brussels sprouts, black trumpet mushrooms, Fuji apple and sage. When I hesitated to order a game-raised bird, he insisted, no this Vermont fowl had real flavor, and he was right: It was as fine a non-wild pheasant as I've ever had, very juicy, very well served by its complements. And what could be better than a pot au feu on a late autumn evening? Payard's brims with a paleron cut of beef, root vegetables and condiments of sea salt and mustards--just the thing for a healthy appetite. Sautéed barramundi with a curried cauliflower purée, baby bok choy and Japanese mushrooms in a caramel tea sauce shows how far Payard is from mere bistro fare.
    Payard has a small cheese selection in perfect condition, but it takes forever to get at it. Why is it that in France they bring the cheese to your table, they slice off what you ask for, and that's it--two, three minutes. In the U.S. everyone makes a big deal out of cutting the cheese just so, plating them just so, arranging the breads and condiments just so, and soon 20 minutes have gone by and I'm ready to move on to dessert instead.
    Which, by the way, are obviously superb. Every pastry has a fragile crust, every center is rich and tasting of fresh cream or fruit, each chocolate dessert has been carefully worked on to produce perfection of texture and depth of flavor. There's nowhere on the dessert menu you could turn and be disappointed. Which, of course, goes for the petit-fours and candies.
     After several years in business Payard keeps getting better and better, not by resting on its bistro laurels but by exemplifying what a modern bistro can and should be. Throw in perfect breads and pastries, and you've got a restaurant to adore.
     Dinner appetizers at Payard run $7-$17, entrees $24-$33; There is a 5-course tasting menu at $68, a 6-course menu for two at $160 (which includes an autographed copy of Payard's Cookbook), and a pre-theater menu (5:45-6:15 PM) at an amazing $34 for 3 courses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALL RIGHT, WHICH ONE OF YOU WISEGUYS
ORDERED TWO SUNNY SIDE UP ON BUNS?

Superintendent Darrel Hardt of Springfield, Illinois, took the honors students of the Beta Club for a school trip to Hooters, explaining to shocked parents that it was the only inexpensive restaurant within walking distance of the school.

The announcement by William "Biff" Grimes that he was stepping down as rstaurant critic of the New York Times
as of Dec. 31 came with a notice that he would continue writing for the paper in another capacity that was not "going to be food related." By deconstructing some of Biff's recent restaurant reviews, however, we think he may be angling for a place on the Times' sports page.

Babe Ruth dining at The Casino, Tuckahoe, NY , 1946

“Mr. Silverman does throw a change-up just often enough to keep things interesting.”—Review of Lever House Restaurant, (10/8/03).

“Culinary perfection at one culinary level does not compare with culinary perfection at a higher level. A perfect reverse somersault with one turn cannot earn as high a score as a perfect reverse somersault with two and a half turns. . . . The Brooklyn Cyclones could win all 76 of their games, but they would still be a minor league team. A great one, but still minor league.”—Review of the Grocery (10/21/03).

“The Biltmore Room may be the best restaurant ever to come out of far left field.”—Review of The Biltmore Room (11/12/03)

“Just when Mr. Dufresne seems to be overplaying his hand, he sneaks a winner across.”
–Review of WD-50 (6/18/03).

“Ginger-tomato marmalade gets in a swift, sneaky punch on the side.” –Review of Django (10/29/03).

* On Nov 29 Carol's at Cat Spring in Cat Spring, TX, will hold a 5-course dinner featuring guest Chef Neil Dougherty, along with Chef Doug Atkinson of Carol’s, with exceptional wines, at $249 pp. Call 979-865-1100.

* On Dec. 3 L’Escalier at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL, welcomes James Hall and Anne Moses of Patz & Hall Winery for a 6-course dinner with wines, at $165 pp. Call 561-659-8466, ext. 1522.

* On Dec. 7 a black tie 9-course dinner showcasing truffles will be served at The Left Bank in Duck, NC, to Benefit the American Cancer. Chef George Robinson will be joined by Mid-Atlantic chefs Ris Lacoste of 1789 Restaurant in Washington, DC; Sam McGann of The Blue Point in Duck, NC, and Ben Barker and Karen Barker of Magnolia Grill in Durham, NC. $250 pp. Call 252-261-8419 or visit www.thesanderling.com

* From Dec. 12-13 & 24 at DC’s 1789 Restaurant the Washington Men’s Camerata will entertain from 7-9 PM. Guests may choose either a $50 fixed price menu or à la carte, and guests will be given gifts of cookies and cakes. Call 202-965-1789.

* From Dec. 13-15 chef Mark Salter of The Inn at Perry Cabin (800-722-2949 or www.perrycabin.com.) in St. Michael’s, MD, will team up with chefs from Hôtel de la Cite beginning with a champagne reception. Sat. afternoon, the pastry chef from Carcassonne will present a demo of French Christmas pastries, and guests staying at the Inn will receive a special "pastry surprise" in their room. Saturday evening, the chefs present a dinner featuring winter meats and game from surrounding farms. The entire weekend culminates with Sunday brunch.

* NYC’s `21’ Club celebrates its 63^rd anniversary of a festive New York City tradition: the Salvation Army Band at ‘21’, when Christmas carols and Holiday tunes are led by the chorale, and guests are encouraged to chime in. Both lunch and dinner seatings. Call 212-52-7200 for dates and seating..

* Paris' Hôtel Le Bristol (112 Rue de Faubourg; 01-53-4343-00; www.lebristolparis.com) Chef Eric Fréchon prepares both Christmas lunch and dinner, €220 pp, to the sound of harp music. . . . New Year’s features 3 events: dinner in the restaurant with a jazz quarter, €550 pp; canapés and caviar in the Saint-Honore Bar, €135; all guests invited to the dance floor and garden. Brunch, lunch and dinner on New Year’s Day.

MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Naomi Kooker, Kirsten Skogerson, Mort Hochstein, Edward Brivio, Robert Mariani. Contributing Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery, Bobby Pirillo.

John Mariani is a columnist for Esquire, Wine Spectator, Diversion and the Harper Collection. He is author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman), The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink (Broadway), and, with his wife Galina, the award-winning new Italian-American Cookbook (Harvard Common Press). To purchase from amazon.com, click on the image below.