Marc Forgione

Last night, I checked off another Michelin-starred restaurant, Marc Forgione. I’ve been trying to get someone to go with me for their Sunday Suppers, but there’s always some kind of scheduling conflict so I’ve put the restaurant on the back burner for a while. Luckily, my friend, Joe, is always in the mood for good food and drinks. Marc Forgione is located on a quiet, tree-lined street in Tribeca:

Marc Forgione’s Sunday Supper deal is really good – 3 courses for $39. There’s also a burger + beer deal for $15, but they ran out of burgers by the time we arrived. Luckily, neither of us were too hungry because we had a huge dim sum earlier in the afternoon so we decided to share a Sunday Supper and order another appetizer, which was definitely enough for both of us. We started off with some warm buns and herb butter:

With the Sunday supper, we started with an amuse bouche – risotto and pate:

For our appetizer, we ordered the ravioli with lamb and tomato sauce:

And the “Hangtown Fry”, Crispy Olde Salt Oysters, Smoked Paprika Aioli, Pickled Red Onions, North Country Bacon:

The “Hangtown Fry” was delicious, although there was a little too much breading on the oysters (I actually couldn’t taste them). The smoke paprika aioli was also really delicious with the perfectly fluffy omelet.

For our main entree, we ordered the Colorado Lamb Chops, Anson Mills Farro Piccolo, Black Olive Salt, Preserved Meyer Lemon, Tomato Coriander Jus:

The lamb chops were a perfect medium rare but the meyer lemon flavoring was a bit uneven and I only tasted it near the end of my meal (on the perfectly cooked farro). The portions were very generous and the three pieces of lamb chops were definitely enough for both of us.

For dessert, we ordered the Affogato Hazelnut Ice Cream Sundae, Brittle, Crunchies, Whipped Cream, Nutella Sauce:

The ice cream sundae was definitely the best part of the meal; the waiter poured espresso on the ice cream, there were brownie chunks throughout the sundae, and the nutella sauce and fudge were perfectly spread throughout. Originally I wanted to order the panna cotta with rhubarb sauce, but Joe insisted we ordered the most decadent item on the menu.

Finally, we got two brownie bits with our check:

The brownie bits in the sundae and the ones that came with our check tasted similar to the ones Thomas Keller makes in his Ad Hoc at Home cookbook; a perfect combination of cake and fudge and not too sweet.

Joe and I had a good time at Marc Forgione; it’s a casual neighborhood restaurant with seasonal ingredients and good service. The only thing we were unsure about was the restaurant’s music choices; Joe said he felt like he was at a sports bar with the music they were playing (classic rock was playing two decibels too loudly and it did kind of feel like we were in a bar, not a restaurant).

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Whenever I go to Pearl Oyster Bar in the late spring/early summertime, my meal consists of fried oysters, a lobster roll with shoestring fries and malt vinegar, and strawberry rhubarb pie with vanilla ice cream. Since I recreated the lobster roll for my dinner party, I figured I could also recreate the strawberry rhubarb crumble in the place of pie. Rhubarb was pretty difficult to find; I initially went to the Union Square Farmer’s Market for some but everyone said it would be another two weeks before it started showing up. I remembered that I’ve seen it at Whole Foods during the wintertime, so I ran over to check – they had about a pound (which was exactly what I needed). The recipe is from one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (some commenters found the flour option a little too, well, floury so this has been updated)
Pinch of salt

To prepare the filling, clean and cut the rhubarb and strawberries into 1-inch pieces:

Toss in sugar:

Cornstarch:

Lemon juice and a pinch of salt:

Mix everything together and then pour it into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate (I didn’t have one so I just used my brownie pan):

For the topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar aka Sugar in the Raw)
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest:

Add the melted butter and mix with your hands until small and large clumps form:

Cover the fruit evenly with the crumble mixture:

Bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes:

Top with vanilla ice cream:

The dessert can also be substituted with all types of fruit (nectarines and raspberries, blueberries, etc). It’s a great last minute dessert and went really well with the lobster rolls. Now I have to figure out how to make Pearl’s fried oysters and tartar sauce so I can have a complete Pearl Oyster Bar meal at home!

How to Make Lobster Rolls

Yesterday, I showed you how to make court bouillon, which is the stock I used for cooking my lobsters. A while back, a reader wrote in and asked if I had ever made lobster rolls since I eat so many of them. Sadly, before last Saturday, I had never even purchased whole lobsters before! Lobsters kind of scare me, but I love eating them so I decided it was time for me to buck up and make them at home. I always walk by the fish stalls in Chinatown and see them on sale, so I finally decided to buy some. There are two stalls that sell lobsters on Canal Street, I went with the stall that had bigger lobsters:

If you’re buying lobsters, I’d recommend only purchasing them if they’re still alive (if not, you don’t know how long they’ve been frozen/sitting in the fridge). These lobsters were still moving a bit, which terrified me, especially on my walk home, but I bought six, thinking it would be enough to feed 5 people for dinner (I almost purchased 9 because I wasn’t sure how much each lobster would yield, but I’m really glad I stuck with 6 because there was more than enough lobster for 5 people…I made a total of 7 large lobster rolls with the 6 I purchased).

Now, when I say that I’m afraid of lobsters, I’m really not joking. As in, I don’t like touching them when they’re still alive. In order to remedy this situation, I put on some oven mitts and was able to hold the lobsters without fear:

I showed my friend the picture of me holding the lobster with oven mitts and he just laughed – apparently most people can just grab the live lobster with their bare hands! The court bouillon is best for cooking 1 – 2 lobsters at a time, so I cooked two at a time and the rest awaited/smelled their fate:

Once the court bouillon came to a boil, I placed two lobsters into the stock:

It’s important to place the lobsters in head first; if you place the lobsters in tail first, they’ll splash the boiling water all over you. Also, placing them into boiling water head first is the quickest and most painless way to kill the lobster. After the lobsters are in the stock, cover the pot and let it come to a boil again. Once the lobsters have come to a boil, remove the lid and let it boil for another 2 minutes:

After two minutes, remove the lobsters from the heat entirely, place the lid on the pot, and let the lobsters steep for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you can remove the lobsters from the stock and let them cool:

While the first batch was cooling, we let the stock come to a boil again and then Ariel took care of the second batch:

Apparently Ariel was also afraid of holding the lobsters, so he used the oven mitts as well. We let David do the third batch but after we cut the rubber bands from the claws, the lobsters latched onto each other:

David has never dealt with live lobsters, either, so this REALLY freaked him out. The first lobster kind of put up a fight (his claws were horizontal, almost making it too difficult to put into the pot, but the second lobster had his claws vertically and it looked like he was ready to dive to his death (aww, sad):

Sumon’s dog, Tigger, wanted to get in on the action but he was afraid we were going to cook him next:

After all of the lobsters cooled down, we moved to the dining room and started removing the meat from the shell. By this time, Ariel and I were not as afraid to touch the lobsters:

To remove the lobster meat, Ariel and I first removed the head from the tail, then cut the tail in half (lengthwise). The tail was definitely the easiest, everything else was a little difficult since I only had kitchen scissors. The knuckles and claw shells were really tough, but with a good set of kitchen scissors, it wasn’t too difficult. Ariel worked really fast:

I had one injury; while removing the claw meat from the lobster, I accidentally cut myself (actually, the lobster cut me…for revenge).

All of the lobster meat:

Do NOT mess with Ariel…he will CUT you:

We added about 1/4 cup of Hellman’s mayonnaise to the lobster:

Originally, I wanted to make my own mayonnaise, but someone pointed out that just because it’s homemade doesn’t make it better. I also just forgot because I was busy making cobbler and french fries.

Gently incorporate the lobster meat with the mayonnaise and if you’d like, chop up some celery and add that in as well. I made the rolls without celery for the party, but the next day I made two with celery bits and it was also really delicious.

Set the lobster meat aside while you prepare the buns. One time at Pearl Oyster Bar, I noticed that they used Pepperidge Farm top cut hot dog buns, so I went to four grocery stores to find them. Luckily, Food Emporium in Union Square had a bunch. First, melt some unsalted butter in the microwave, then brush some butter on the inside of the hot dog buns and place them on a cookie sheet, inside faced-down:

I placed them in a 350 oven for about 5 minutes but watched them the entire time. Just make sure the buns are nicely toasted and not soggy from the butter (at least that’s how I like them).

After the buns are finished in the oven, spoon LOTS of lobster meat onto the buns:

Five lobster rolls and one tuna roll for Sumon:

All of us at dinner:

The lobster rolls were nothing short of amazing; the meat was VERY tender and the flavor was exceptional because of the court bouillon. I definitely want to make these this summer – they are labor intensive (if you don’t have the right materials for extracting the lobster meat), but they’re really delicious and definitely worth the hard work.

Tigger says, ta ta for now:

Have you ever made lobster rolls? Here’s my roundup of New York’s Best Lobster Rolls.

How to Make Court Bouillon

Over the weekend, David and I had a party with some friends and made lobster rolls, fries, mung bean noodles, and strawberry rhubarb crumble. Today I’m going to show you how to make court bouillon, which is the liquid I used for cooking the lobsters we purchased in Chinatown.

Initially, I planned on steaming the lobsters on a bed of seaweed, but after perusing Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home cookbook, I decided to purchase the ingredients to make the court bouillon. Court Bouillon literally translates as “quick stock” and is usually used for cooking seafood, especially salmon or sole.

Court Bouillon

Ingredients
Adapted from Ad Hoc at Home

4 leeks (white and green parts only), split lengthwise, washed well, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
3 cups coarsely chopped onions
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and coarsely chopped
4 quarts water
2 cups dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 lemons, halved

Combine the vegetables in a large stockpot:

Add water and bring to a boil:

Reduce to a simmer and add the wine and vinegar. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the lemon halves to the pot:

Return to a simmer.

Court bouillon is great to use, especially if you’re preparing lobster rolls because the lobsters will be served cold. Keller recommends steeping the lobsters in the flavored liquid because it adds more flavor and complexity to the meat rather than cooking them in water or steaming them. I have to completely agree; the lobster was tender, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. Tomorrow, I’ll post pictures from the party and the recipe for making lobster rolls!

Má Pêche

Last week, I went to lunch with some friends at David Chang’s newest restaurant, Má Pêche. The restaurant has been talked about for quite some time; it’s in the Chambers Hotel and has a take out option that had a soft opening a while back serving bahn mi sandwiches, cookies, and soft serve ice cream. The actual restaurant opened last week and when we went, was packed with guys in suits from the office buildings in midtown, very different from the hipsters that crowd Chang’s East Village restaurants (another difference between the East Village restaurants and the midtown restaurant: we didn’t have to wait two hours for a table – there was actually no wait at all).

I hadn’t read many reviews about the actual sit-down restaurant, but my friend, Charles, grabbed a sandwich the day before and had really good things to say about their bread. Eunice, Connie, and I all picked dishes that we thought were interesting and then narrowed it down to four dishes to share. Starting with my least favorite – côtelletes de porc (newman’s farm, mo) – pork ribs, lemongrass caramel:

The pork ribs fell off the bone and the meat was very tender, but the lemongrass caramel was tooth-achingly sweet and made the pork seem like a dessert dish rather than a savory appetizer. Eunice and Connie both thought the sauce was a little on the sweeter side, but I don’t think they disliked it as much as I did.

Connie and I are big fans of tripe, so we ordered xà lách frisée – frisée, tripe, jowl croutons, poached egg:

The tripe is stewed for a long time so the texture is not too chewy or gelatinous (not like the tripe you’d get in Chinatown for dim sum). I was skeptical about adding frisée to the tripe because I figured it would wilt from the heat, but it actually made the tripe in its chili sauce seem less heavy.

My favorite dish from our lunch was ôc sên sauvage – wild burgundy snails, pork sausage, garlic, tarragon:

And when I say “favorite,” I mean the dish I didn’t dislike (none of the dishes were incredible, I thought they were all very good). The snails were absolutely delicious, especially with some crusty bread dipped into the garlicy sauce. Connie and Eunice both liked the sausage, however, I think I might be so used to chicken sausage that I don’t like the taste of pork sausage because it’s too greasy and heavy compared to the stuff I like. The sausage was topped with thinly julienned green apple pieces that made the sausage a little less heavy, but I would’ve liked a dish of just snails.

Our last dish, bun du riz (niman ranch) – rice noodles, spicy pork, sawleaf herb:

One reason I think David Chang is overrated is because I think a lot of his food is reproduced Asian food at a markup, like P.F. Chang’s (okay, I did not mean to be THAT mean, but seriously, if you purchased this dish in Chinatown, I think you would spend $4 MAX whereas at Má Pêche, we spent $18 on these rice noodles). Yes, I understand that he uses Niman Ranch pork but even then, there really is no reason his food should be so expensive. That being said, the dish was satisfactory.

After lunch, we walked by the raw bar to watch the chef prepare oysters and then walked upstairs to the bakery area to get some dessert. They no longer sell cake slices (to avoid staleness) but they do sell pie slices:

All of their cookies are individually packaged along the wall:

We ended up not buying anything because I was in the mood for soft serve but they only had salty pistachio and cereal milk and I don’t like either of those flavors (cereal milk, which is trademarked by David Chang, tastes like the milk from Cheerios + Life + Wheatabix…WHERE ARE THE LUCKY CHARMS OR KIX OR ANYTHING TO MAKE IT SLIGHTLY SWEET?!) While I’m not a huge fan of David Chang’s take on Asian food, I do like some of his American dishes and will be back to try his short ribs and skate.