MARIANI’S

  October 24, 2004                                                         NEWSLETTER

                                      Pumpkins, Eastchester, NY 2004                       Photo by Galina Stepanoff-Dargery

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AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
Within the next week, my Internet server will be changing, as will my e-mail address, which will now be john@johnmariani.com. Please direct all queries, press releases, etc., to this new address. Since things rarely go without a hitch in cyberspace change-overs, please notify me immediately if you do not receive the Virtual Gourmet next week, Sunday Oct. 31.  Also, if you have subscribed to the Virtual Gourmet within the past week, it might be a good idea to contact me and request a subscription again.  The new service will, by the way, have my new website domain (now under construction)-- www.johnmariani.com--which will have new features not now available.--John Mariani

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EDITOR'S NOTE:  Readers may now access an Archive of all past newsletters--each annotated--dating back to July, 2003, by simply clicking on   ARCHIVE .

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        Not too long ago the “three Martini lunch” was a real metaphor for the way American businessmen did business over a meal at restaurants like New York’s `21’ Club (above, in the movie "Wall Street"), Chicago’s Cape Cod Room and New Orleans’ Antoine’s.
  These days, however, the thought of anything more potent than iced tea with lemon--in those same restaurants--might be considered an indication of some failing of good judgment at a time when being lucid and in control is the very definition of power dining. To be hard-nosed at lunch means not being soft-headed at the bar.
Consumption of wine and cocktails at midday has gone the way of tournedos rossini, lobster Newberg, and crêpes Suzette, replaced by a small salad, a sliver or two of smoked salmon, and a de-caf coffee.  Gone too are all requirements for a necktie, although most New York executives in more conservative industries still suit up with ties at restaurants like The Four Seasons, even though they may be surrounded by other executives from the music, publishing and computer industries in chinos and polo shirts.
    None of this is very much different from the way business is conducted over lunch in London, Paris, Rome or Berlin these days, although food still retains far more importance to European business diners than in the U.S.  Good food is often way down the list of business lunch requirements in America, but certain guidelines are well worth following to get the most out of the meal, which has nothing to do with getting the best out of the chef.   Here are some ideas to keep in mind:





-Business meals should never be conducted in a place where you are not known to the management.









-Always call personally in advance (don’t have your secretary do it) to speak to the maître d’ in order to tell him exactly how you wish to be treated, where, if possible, you’d like to be seated, and how long you expect the meal to last.







-Relative quiet is requisite to serious discussion, so restaurants with high decibel levels--especially those with loud music--should be avoided. Two level restaurants are usually disastrous in this regard.



-Always precede your guest by at least ten minutes, thereby giving you options to change seating, alter requests, speak to the management, and have the table set up to your advantage.




-Stay clear of places where there are mere inches between tables, which stifles a free flow of conversation.  Tables should be widely separated and have tablecloths: It sets a proper tone.













-Stay clear of trendy hip and happening places where you may have to wait for your reserved table.



-Stifle yourself from going to the restroom until the meal is concluded.










-Don't order expensive items or wines unless the client specifically asks for them.










-Never order a cocktail unless your guest does first.  Arrange to have the captain or waiter offer him the winelist. If he refuses it, take it as a sign that he might disapprove of drinking at a business meal. Don’t order any yourself unless he says it’s fine with him.






-Give your client full attention. Never tablehop. Nodding to a colleague is preferable to waving at him or her.

-Sit across from your guest, not side-by-side on a banquette.  Show him or her the favor of having the better vantage point--looking out at the dining room or the window.




-Dress takes regional forms.  In New York and Boston suits and ties still count, and casual dress should be reserved only for clients you know will be dressed that way. In most cities in the south, Midwest, and west, casual, but neat, dress is considered fairly standard.  In Los Angeles a suit and tie are reserved only for the most serious financial meetings, and baseball caps--forwards and backwards--are considered perfectly normal business wear.  Elsewhere, shortsleeve tennis shirts are iffy, short sleeve shirts with neckties are tacky, and t-shirts worn under sportsjackets are out of date. If you’re going jacket-less, don’t stick pens, cell phones, and wallets in your shirt pocket.



-Turn off your cell phone or give it to the maître d’ so he can alert you to an important call.


-Talking about sports should take up no more than the first three minutes of conversation, but the all-out assault on important issues should come gradually, perhaps not until the main course has been cleared away.






-Do not ask for the check; pre-arrange for it to be given to you at the table or pre-pay with your credit card when you arrive.


-Tip waiters and captains well but not extravagantly: Twenty percent of the bill, before taxes.  If you wish to thank the maître d’ with a $10 tip, do it on the way out, not on the way in.









-Never take the first taxi.  If the restaurant has valet parking, tip your captain five minutes before leaving to have your car brought around.











-If your client tells you he really loves the restaurant you’ve chosen, introduce him to the maître d’ or owner, indicating he’ll be treated with special care next time on his own.
 

          As our canopied paddle boat chugged its way out across the calm, pristine waters of New Hampshire’s Squam Lake, Captain Joe assured us that, this being September, the chances of glimpsing any of the Lake’s resident loons were slim to none. No sooner had he said this when we saw, not 50 yards off our bow, a sleek black head and curved neck riding low in the water. Captain Joe cut his engine. Then, as if to assure us that our eyes were not deceiving us, the creature floating just off our bow gave out that wild, haunted, unmistakable three-and-a-half-note cry. A kind of downbeat yodel, it was the loon’s end-of-season swan song and we were lucky enough to have been there to hear it.
     Back up at the beautiful Manor on Golden Pond (Rte. 3, Holderness, NH; 603-968-3348; www.manorongoldenpond.com) where we were staying (left), we celebrated our good luck over cocktails at the cozy Three Cocks Pub. And there could not have been a more comfortable, attractive setting. Looking down a long sloping hill that leads to Squam Lake – New Hampshire’s second largest body of water, with nearby Lake Winnipesasukee being the largest— the graceful shapes of the White Mountains spread out before us. The first hints of autumn color tinged the trees and we heard again in the distance, that strange, melancholy ghost-like cry of the loon.
          The Manor on Golden Pond was named after the successful 1981 movie “On Golden Pond” filmed on Squam Lake and starring Katherine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda. Little remains from the movie shoot.  But the current inn-keepers of the Manor, Brian and Mary Ellen Shields, have done an impeccable restoration job on this gracious, 1904 English-style manor house built by the wealthy British real estate developer, Isaac Van Horn for his new wife.
          Today the Manor features 25 spacious rooms and guest chambers, some in separate buildings and others in the main guesthouse. The Manor house’s welcoming parlors and dining rooms remind you of a setting from “Masterpiece Theater,” with beautiful dark wood moldings, puffy sofas, antique clocks and china, and fresh flowers.
          Many of the rooms have a kind of upscale hunting lodge décor with working fireplaces, and bearskins and snowshoes hanging from the wall, while others convey a more genteel Victorian mood with lovely floral wallpapers and lush upholstery. Most bathrooms have Jacuzzi tubs and many units have porches with lovely views of the Lake and the majestic White Mountains. There are tennis courts and a  pool and down on the Lake. In season there are kayaks and paddleboats for the guests. There’s also a lovely little white sandy beach and dock for swimming.
     Just a two-hour drive North of Boston, the Manor on Golden Pond reflects the quaint waterside lifestyle of the Squam Lake area. The ecology of the lake appears to be more carefully managed than its more commercialized neighbor, Lake Winnipesasukee, which accounts for a recently burgeoning loon population here. There are dozens of tiny islands with a variety of house types on them, ranging from the subsistence camps to the completely self-sufficient triple-deckers.
     On our first morning at the Manor we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon along with a buffet of fresh fruits, granola, blueberry pancakes, apple-stuffed French toast, grilled beef tenderloin, a roasted tomato omelet, and a mixed berry crêpe with Grand Marnier cream.
    After breakfast, our host, Brian, guided us on a fairly steep hike up “Rattlesnake,” a winding mountain trail that crests with a spectacular vista of Squam Lake framed by the majestic White Mountains.
    At dinner that night, we sampled some of  Chef Jeffrey Wooley’s  “New American cuisine,” including appetizers like New England seafood chowder with toasted baguette and tomato relish; escargots simmered in Champagne, with roasted garlic, and spinach in puff pastry; crispy duck breast with mixed bean ragôut and Port wine reduction; and tempura shrimp and scallops with Asian cabbage salad and Thai dressing.
    Entrées include Boursin-stuffed Portobello mushrooms with roasted spring vegetables and caramelized onion cream sauce; herb-roasted lamb loin with mint demi-glace, fried asparagus, and chive mashed potatoes; and oven-roasted orange roughy on toasted barley with shiitake mushroom sauce and baby carrots. The dessert menu features  spiced apple crisp with vanilla glaze; a pear ginger tart; a chocolate mint truffle tort; and lemon cheesecake with passion fruit sauce.  The winelist is excellent, especially in Bordeaux and California reds.  Tea time (above) is a wonderful afternoon diversion.
     In summer there’s boating and water sports on and around Squam Lake. In fall there’s the glorious New England foliage, and in winter there’s skiing and snow shoeing. 
  The Manor's room rates range from about $300 to $460,  and include breakfast and tea.  Dinners are additional.  Guests can choose from an à la carte’ menu or the Chef's Tasting Menu, which is $65 per person for 7-course meal with wine pairing suggestions.
      
I’ve been to quite a few ritzy inns and hotels here and abroad where attention to detail borders on the obsessive.  But I saw something at the Rabbit Hill Inn (802-748-5186; www.rabbithillinn.com)  I’d  never seen before. On the top shelf in the clothes closet of our luxuriously rustic Loft Suite there was a little ball of green gingham. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was a hand-made “cozy,” a quilted pouch created especially to house—of all things-- an extra 90-watt light bulb. Not that you’d ever need it since the Inn’s staff is on the constant lookout for imperfections. Still, the idea of decorating the light bulb to fit the impeccable Early American style of this Eighteenth Century establishment tells you just how much inn-keepers Brian and Leslie Mulcahy care about the seamless experience they give to their guests.  It’s small wonder then that the Rabbit Hill Inn scores consistently high points as one of America’s finest,  including a ranking as “one of America’s 54 Great Inns” by National Geographic Traveler.
       Located in Vermont’s beautiful Northeast Kingdom in Lower Waterford (allegedly one of New England’s most photographed towns), the Rabbit Hill Inn was taken over by former Rhode Islanders Brian and Leslie in 1997, and their unpretentious conviviality and warmth permeate this 19-room Colonial get-away. Each room has a different rustic Colonial decor with features like gas-log fireplaces, antique furnishings, radios, CD-players and candles, and-- by design, no TVs. When you return to your room after dinner each night, you find the candles lit and soft music playing on the CD, and no one-eyed orthicon tube staring blindly back at you.
      The food at the Inn’s restaurant is excellent enough to make it a stand-alone destination.  Chef Russell Stannard is at the helm,  with an innovative but not trendy style fueled daily by what’s freshest in local markets. Our first night there we savored his homemade tomato soup, which somehow managed to be wonderfully creamy yet very light. His farm-raised Vermont veal terrine appetizer came with smoked ham and fig leaves and a beautifully balanced chutney of peaches, dried cherries and toasted cumin seed rusks.
       My entrée was the evening’s special: perfectly grilled Arctic char lightly encrusted with homemade bread crumbs and served with some marvelous al dente ravioli in a rich pesto sauce. We also had Stannard’s smoky “twelve-spiced” pork tenderloin. Tender and juicy, the smoked meat was glazed with white balsamic/honey and accompanied by a delicious apple, pecan, fennel and Farmstead cheese skillet cake, plus some braised leeks and pickled carrot ribbons.
          On another night we were impressed by the wild mushroom-and- vegetable puff pastry horn  stuffed with goat’s cheese and currants. My entrée was equally dazzling-- a nearly weightless fresh egg rotini tossed in the chef’s own three-pepper marinara sauce and sided with grilled vegetable meatballs and basil-laced flat bread. For seafood lovers, there’s a deftly poached lemon and tarragon-scented haddock in a delectable red pepper-coconut broth, served with saffron pappardelle pasta, pineapple-blood orange relish, and wilted greens that push all your taste bud buttons.
    Desserts are all the handiwork of Pastry Chef Paula Bystrzycki. Her warm, brown sugar/apple crumb cake is crumbly perfection served with the purest tasting vanilla ice cream, crab apple caramel, and her own unique candied popcorn. She also creates a great traditional New England flavor with her maple gingerbread pudding, served in a pool of sweet cinnamon pumpkin soup and garnished with leaf tulles.  Other desserts are a double-chocolate Grand Marnier cheesecake topped with crème parisienne; a butterscotch wafer-crusted chocolate-and-vanilla ice cream pie with peanut butter sauce and brittle crunch; a hazelnut cream and pear tart brûlée punctuated with sugared walnuts; and a malted chocolate truffle served atop a cocoa-cappuccino roulade, dressed with whipped cream and mango and raspberry coulis.
      The 5-course meals are $50 per person, plus an 18% gratuity. It’s strongly recommended that you make your dinner reservations at the same time you reserve your lodging.    
      There is a cozy pub called the Snooty Fox at the Rabbit Hill Inn where host Brian will mix your favorite cocktail or pour you some brown ale or beer while you busy yourself with tossing darts or fretting your way through a jigsaw puzzle.
    Leslie will help you plan out a perfect day in the Vermont territory designed for your personal interests, with activities ranging from bike rides to guided tours of the local gristmill, the Cabbot Cheese creamery, the Grand View winery (specializing in local fruit wines), or visits to local artists’ studios like that of Stephen Huneck, whose scenically located studio features world-famous dog sculptures, paintings, wood-cuts and a unique “dog chapel.” There are things to do at every season around the Rabbit Hill Inn including snow shoeing and skiing, fishing, hiking and leaf-peeping in autumn. If you just like poking around antique and craft shops, Leslie will give you her favorites in the surrounding area.
          Room rates for two people include breakfast, afternoon tea and service charges. Luxury guest rooms are $295 to $310; Superior guest rooms are $225; and Classic guest rooms are $185.

    Diners have been part of American history since the first roadside eatery--the horsedrawn Pioneer Lunch Wagon--opened in 1872 downtown in Providence, RI (where it still resides).   Built to look like railroad dining cars (but rarely an actual railroad car), diners were the brainstorm of Patrick J. (Pop) Tierney of New Rochelle, NY, who became a millionaire with the idea. By the 1930s streamlined diners had become a snazzy part of American food culture, with more than 6,700 of them across the land by the 1940s, when Greek immigrants--for no apparent reason--came to dominate the industry. 
    In the 1960s and ‘70s lunch counters were at the flashpoint of the Civil Rights Movement, after a “sit-in” of black protesters occurred at a Woolworth’s counter in Greensboro, NC, on February 1, 1960.  And it was at the Florida Avenue Grill, a soul food restaurant in Washington, that many of the marches and tactics were planned by the leaders of the movement.
    Diners have become imbedded in American literature and film, including  memorable movie scenes in "Grapes of Wrath," "Five Easy Pieces," "Goodfellows," and, of course, “Diner” (right) filmed at the Bendix Diner, built in 1947 in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ.  Ernest Hemingway set one of his most famous stories, “The Killers” at a place called Henry's Lunchroom.      Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern,Timothy Dale, and Steve Guttenberg in "Diner" (1982)                         And of course the lunch counter at Chicago’s Billy Goat Tavern became so popular after becoming part of a recurring “Saturday Night Live” sketch where all they served was a “chizburgah-Pepsi,” that it opened several outlets all over town.

     Diner menus have grown enormous over the years--a Greek diner's dishes can number in the hundreds--and many dishes have become part of the traditions of diner fare.  So you wouldn't think that much would change in the genre. But the opening this summer of Diner 24 (below) is reason to cheer.  True, it doesn't look all that much like a diner, set as it is on a busy corner of Chelsea.  Owner Alex Freij, who also runs Industry (food), had design company  Gasto Punk Productions provide a comfortable 60-seat interior that evokes California diners of the 1960s, the kind where you'd expect to find Troy Donahue or Ty Hardin putting the moves on Sandra Dee or Connie Stevens over burgers and fries. The  expanse of windows here gives you a wonderful sense of the rush of the city, and the fake leather chairs and booths, along with rough stone, shiny tabletops, and a semi-circular bar have a real architectural integrity that is part of the fun.
      The place can get loud, and they truly don't need the piped-in music, but the friendliness of it all makes up for the inconveniences. This is American food in excelsis and proof that there are no bad dishes (well, maybe Cincinnati chili, not on the menu here, thank God), only bad chefs, and chef Vincent Nargi has both a respect  and a love for the kinds of dishes that usually don't get no respect.  His renditions of items like macaroni and cheese, chicken pot pie, and meatloaf are so delicious that I would not hesitate to bring any gastronome from Europe here to see just how wonderful such food can be.  Indeed, Alain Ducasse has attempted to refine some of these same dishes and done quite well with them at Mix uptown; Diner 24 has done even better, because Nargi knows the food intimately. You can tell the man's a nosher.
    His mac-and-cheese is made of elbow macaroni (classic), with creamy Emmental and Gruyère cheeses (classy), and a toasty breadcrumb topping (blissful).  There is a fish taco (a San Diego invention) made with mahi-mahi, queso blanco, roasted pico de gallo, and cranberry beans, and the chicken pot pie has a marvelous flaky crust and enough chicken and vegetables to satisfy any trencherman ready to burn the roof of his mouth off. The richness of the creamy sauce in which the pie's ingredients simmer is textbook perfect, as is the crispiness of the fried chicken with little buttermilk biscuits, horseradish coleslaw, and chicken gravy. (I intended to bring the leftovers of this dish home to my always ravenous sons, but my friends and I polished it off, along with everything else we ordered.) 
     There is also a "TV Dinner" of the evening, and this evening it was an impeccably cooked seabass, with potatoes and vegetables, though carrying the joke too far by putting a lump of dessert on the plate was silly. The meatloaf was terrific, though, made of ground duck meat with plenty of flavor and nicely lumpy mashed potatoes, wild mushrooms, carrots, peas, and a duck jus--not something you'd run into at the Parnassus Diner or Mel's.  You see what I mean when I say that Nargi takes a basic diner dish and sublimates it with better ingredients and an admirable amount of creativity.   French fries (though flaccid one evening) are very tasty, lavished with fines herbes, truffle oil,  and a Brie fondue--whoa!
    Desserts are all you'd hope for in a diner, including milkshakes and banana splits, good Key lime pie. The  apple tart needs work.
      Diner 24's winelist is nicely chosen, with a "Top Ten List" of  "interesting, affordable choices."  Interesting they are, though the prices are not exactly  bargains. A Patz & Hall Dutton Ranch Chardonnay 2002 runs about $30 in a wine shop; here it's $75; Pascal Jolivet Sancerre 2003 goes for $20; here it's $42--not massive mark-ups, but not as low as you'd expect here.  Then again, I didn't see a lot of wine being consumed at the tables around me.
       Since I don't live in Chelsea, or even in Manhattan, going to Diner 24 for breakfast (which includes poppy seed lemon ricotta pancakes) is probably not in the cards.  But if I did,  I'd come here any hour of the day (Diner 24/7), for breakfast, lunch, pre-theater, dinner, or late night (midnight to 6 AM).  It's a great place to know is there for you, day in, day out, like an inviting beacon when you need it.   
     Appetizers run $6-$13, main courses $14-$18.

   

WELL, GEE, IT'S TOUGH TO KEEP THE KITCHEN CLEAN AND SMELLING NICE WHEN YOU'VE GOT A HERNIA

QUICK BYTES

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This newsletter is also available on the very comprehensive food site www.sautewednesday.com
which has dozens of other links to food articles from around the world, and also at www.Gayot.com. New York Corner reviews are also available at
 www.nycvisit.com/johnmariani

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

 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.

copyright John Mariani 2004