Ode to Jamon Iberico

Thinking about jamon iberico made me miss the plates and plates of this savory and nutty ham that we had every single day while in Madrid last May. So I'm posting some gratuitous shots of it (also known as pata negra) here. Believe it or not, el Museo del Jamon, despite its cheesy name, had some of the best and most reasonably priced jamon iberico that we ate in Madrid. Also, they had a fantastic sopa de jamon which I drank religiously three times a day.

Estado Puro

I think I just need to go back to Spain. There's just no substitute for eating tapas in Madrid until the wee-hours of the night/morning. These are photos from a hip and funky tapas bar called Estado Puro that Andrew and I chanced upon in Madrid. Below: Patatas bravas (brave potatoes!), mejillones tigres (tiger mussels), huevo frito con chipirones (fried egg with baby squid).

Save Pata Negra!!!

While I'm on the subject - here is jamon iberico as served by Chef Mateo in good ole New York City. Andrew told me that there is a rumor that Chef Mateo may close down Pata Negra due to these tough economic times - aaaaarrrrrrgh! Where else would we go to find a mouthwatering plate of glistening jamon iberico with a damn good glass of tempranillo?!?!?! Please do not close down Pata Negra, Chef Mateo!!!

Four F*king Dinners, Momofuku

I had a crappy day today, and I'm sitting at home eating my chicken cabbage soup listlessly. I'm going to take myself out of this funk by thinking of happier times in the past - namely the Four F*king Dinner at Momofuku that my friend Dan and I ate at last September. Andrew was the one who had the foresight to sign up for the lottery to eat at this one-time event hosted by David Chang at his Momofuku restaurants, and was thrilled when he sucessfully obtained 2 seats to eat at Milk Bar with guest chef David Kinch! But the poor guy (Andrew, not Chef Chang) had to go on a business trip at the last minute, so my good friend Dan joined as my dining companion that night... along with Jeffrey Steingarten, Jennifer8Lee (Fortune Cookie Chronicles), Pim (Chez Pim), and Mario Batali. When we were all standing outside on 13th St, waiting for the doors of Milk Bar to be opened, Chef Batali tried to wait around incognito behind aviator sunglasses, but there was no hiding with those orange clogs and robust body frame! David Kinch's food was AMAZING. There was not just a wine pairing, but a *bread* pairing as well to go with each individual course (see bread rolls on the skewer)! That's Jeffrey Steingarten showing off the blood sausage that Chef Kinch made for him especially. Ah...I found my zen place! Crappy day begone!

Niu Ba Ba

My friend Kate alerted me to this piece of ridonculosity - $324 bucks for a bowl of niu rou mien (beef noodles)? All I can think is publicity stunt. Hey, it got them a mention in the WSJ! Really, really? Is the Asian economy that much stronger than the anemic US economy that people can pay $324 USD for a bowl of beef noodles at Niu Ba Ba (translation: Beef Daddy? Papa Cow? Father Beef?) in Taipei? Maybe it's time to move... oh wait, I won't be able to afford the noodles there. Nevermind.

Iberian Pig

Pork Cheek Tacos. Super crispy taco shells filled with melt-in-your-mouth soft braised pork cheeks topped with a generous amount of gooey avocado, corn, cilantro, peppers. Yum! Oh, and the Iberian Pig serves jamon iberico and jamon iberico de bellota, too! I am such a sucker for that delicious nutty complex-flavored ham cured from meat from those acorn-fed free-range Spanish pigs. I still think Chef Mateo in New York City serves up the best Pata Negra on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. But hey, I'm in Atlanta now, so I'm grateful that the Iberian Pig does a damn good job as a stand-in for my favorite East Village wine and jamon/tapas bar.

The WaterShed

A deceptively simple but incredibly rich and delicious tomato basil soup that had both me and Andrew wanting to lick the very last drop off the bowl. The inconveniences of dining in public! The Sapelo Island littleneck clams were perfectly steamed with a little white wine, leek, tomato, house-cured bacon, and a healthy amount of garlic. And finally, Mac-n-Cheese that is almost (almost) as good as that made by Beecher's in Seattle. Oh, and the restaurant is owned by The Indigo Girls!

Peter Chang's

We found out that Peter Chang is (maybe) settling down in Atlanta (for the time being) via UrbanDaddy Atlanta and that the opening of Peter Chang's was this Sunday. Worried about the throngs of Changians (Chang groupies) descending upon the new restaurant of the infamously peripatetic chef, we called on Saturday morning to make a reservation for two for lunch at noon on Sunday. When we arrived, there was a good number of Chinese and non-Chinese customers already eating and more arrived as we lunched our way through the menu. I am ecstatic that I have finally found authentic Chinese food in Atlanta! We ordered the dan dan mien (Szechuan ma-la noodles), xiao long bao (steamed Shanghai soup dumplings), shui zou yu (Szechuan fish boiled in oil), and stir-fried pea-pod stem. I really hope Peter Chang will stay a awhile (at least for the next two years while I'm here in ATL), as I miss real Szechuan food with the delicious ma-la numbing spice. We later found out that we were the FIRST ones to make a reservation at Peter Chang's first restaurant!!!! I wonder if I will ever bump into Calvin Trillin at Peter Chang's, and if so, would I have the cojones to ask him for an autograph? His ode to Peter Chang was published in the March 1st, 2010 issue of the New Yorker

PPQ Dungeness Island

The local dungeness crab season just started in San Francisco, so we went to try out the goods at PPQ Dungeness Island. I am a very picky crab eater, preferring to eat only true Singaporean cracked pepper crab and chili crab in general. But this roasted crab (Cua Xua Bo) and the accompanying pepper crab (not pictured) at PPQ Dungeness Island in SF were *amazing*!!! In less than 35 minutes, we (four) had inhaled 2 large dungeness crabs and a bowl of garlic noodles. We would have ordered more except we were still digesting multiple Thanksgiving dinners from the day before. Those of us less compunctious about social etiquette finished the feast by sucking garlic noodles and crabmeat tidbits off our fingers. It was that good.

Dac Phuc

My mom took me and Andrew to this place over Thanksgiving. I had worked for 3 months in Hanoi, Vietnam back in the fall/winter of 2000 and miss authentic northern Vietnamese pho bo, whose broth is clearer and more savory (less sweet) than its southern cousin. My mom's friend Aunty Yman swears by this place. And of course she is right. I could almost hear the cacophony of zooming and honking mopeds on the streets of Hanoi as I sucked down the rice noodles and soup from this bowl of pho bo dac biet.

Sushi Azabu

Pacific coast oysters - like kumimoto oysters on steroids. With a little ponzu sauce, grated radish and scallions. Slurpity good!

Beef Noodles, Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles