Guu

I've never been to Asia. Thus, I have no frame of reference for any kind of Asian (in this case, Japanese) inside joke. That's how I'd regard Guu - an inside joke...

We visited the popular Thurlow Guu location (recommended to us by The Salt Tasting Room wait staff), which I think is an irreverent take on a Tokyo dive bar; only with more thoughtful food. We waited outside 20 minutes for our table and were then ushered in as the waitress and chef yelled in Japanese at each other and then us; a welcoming, of sorts. Wok smoke filled the heavy air. We were crunched against the bar between other fellow diners. More yelling. But it was never kitschy. Never (remotely) Benihana. My problem? I was never quite sure whether I was watching an earnest recreation of home or a tongue-in-cheek version of a familiar institution. But that's a compliment and that's my problem. If I'm eating Japanese, why shouldn't I be transported to Tokyo? Why shouldn't I be disoriented and unsure? Isn't that authentic? Authentic or not, it's foreign to me and that's fine...

The menu was broad and interesting, as well as a minefield for both my allergies and my sensibilities. Shrimp galore, Pig intestines, fish heads with salt, marinated jelly fish...

We waited another 15 minutes before our waitress took our drink/food order, but then our food arrived in less than five minutes...

Fresh Beef "Sashimi Carpaccio" with Tomato Ginger Sauce and Mustard Mayonnaise
Smoked Salmon and Three Kinds of Tomato Salad
Grilled Black Cod with Miso Mayonnaise Sauce

Dishes were priced between $4-8 (Canadian), leading me to believe we'd get small tapas-sized plates. Nope. Each dish was good-sized, almost a meal unto itself. And I wouldn't describe any of the dishes as delicate. Miso mayonnaise glopped atop a slab of cod. Large pieces of smoked salmon haphazardly added to a simple salad. But everything was good. Tasty. Some accessible. Some interesting. My friend got the Pumpkin Croquette Ball inside egg with original sauce...

Would I go back? Yes. Although, next time, maybe I'll bring along somebody to translate the humor...

Cost: $$
Rating: 7/10

Guu
838 Thurlow Street
Vancouver, BC Canada
604.685.8817

The Salt Tasting Room

I'm not sure where it was that I saw or read about TSTR (after a quick Google, I think it might have been a Food Network show or maybe Food & Wine magazine), but when learning I'd be spending a quick couple days in Vancouver, it's the first eatery that came to mind. It was the immense chalkboard wall of charcuterie and cheeses that left an impression...

Nestled in (what I perceived to be) a faux grungy alley in quaint, yet touristy, Gastown was a simple idea. Pick your meats and cheeses (total of 3), pick your condiments (3) and pick your wines (3). Pair them yourself or have the helpful and knowledgeable staff pair them for you...

Full disclosure: we arrived on a lazy Tuesday evening and it's reasonable to think our experience might have been different on a packed Friday night...

I've documented my historic disappointment with wine bars (Cliff Notes: love the concept, "eh" on the execution), but I'm not sure I'd call this place anything but perfect. Every step of the way I felt I was eating something hand-picked. Something pre-screened. That's all I ask. I start envisioning a distributor shoving surplus product down a buyer's throat and the vibe's lost...

After some intense deliberation, here's where I spent my $30 Canadian (solid portions btw):

Manchego (Spain)
Marcona Almonds
Shepherd's Ridge Pinot Noir (Wairau Valey, New Zealand)

Pancetta Salami
Guiness Grainy Mustard
Langmeil Three Gardens (Barossa Valley, Australia)

Valdeon Azul (Spain)
Similkameen Apricots
Renato Fenocchio "Elena" Barbera d'Alba (Piedmont, Italy)

Two words: Valdeon Azul. I like Blue Cheese. I've had good, I've had bad. My point: I'm no devotee. But every bite of that wedge was an experience. A strong, balanced flavor that paired perfectly with wine and the apricots. But what I loved was that it wasn't overly rich. Not over-the-top buttery, as blue cheese can be. Later, I learned it's a blend of cow and goat's milk customarily wrapped in Sycamore leaves. Complex flavors I don't have the vocabulary to describe...

All three pairs (trios?) worked. Well. Differently. And it was fun. I love assembling food. I love making those micro-decisions that help craft the experience. What should my pancetta to mustard distribution look like? Do I finish the blue cheese before downing an apricot? Good stuff...

The concept's not new. Meat, cheese and wine. But give me good meat, good cheese and good wine. TSTR delivers on all three and the mix-n-match pairing is what takes it over the top...

Cost: $$
Rating: 9/10

The Salt Tasting Room
45 Blood Alley
Vancouver, BC Canada
604.633.1912

Mesob - Montclair, NJ

Up to now, I've resisted blogging about local restaurants, but as Montclair (12 miles west of NYC) has grown as a destination for Northern Jersey suburbanites, the dining options have made it, IMHO, blog-worthy...

I've been to Mesob a half-dozen times and one thing never fails. Regardless of my mood, appetite or dining partner, I will leave uncomfortably full. Sickeningly full. The culprit being that light (you think - ha!), spongy Injera (Ethiopian Bread). There are no utensils, so every bite is transported in the Injera as it absorbs the flavors and oils and herbs of the various dishes. Even better, the piles of stewed meats and vegetables are neatly arranged on a giant canvas of Injera. Just when you think you're completely full is when you dig into the bits of bread that have acted as a place mat and spent the meal soaking up flavor...

But don't get scared off. I'm quite certain my requirement to engorge myself with food is a character trait (read as: no self-control) and most "normal" people will simply stop eating when they are full. I am not familiar with this custom...

And it's more than a gimmick. The food is full of deep, fragrant flavors. Spicy, yes, but not simplistically so. My favorites are: Doro Tips (marinated chicken), Kitfo (Ethiopean beef tartare), and the Halibut (which I see isn't on their online menu, but was still on the menu when I was last in the restaurant)...

The decor is simple, but tasteful and inviting. A mesob is actually the straw(?) table that some of the diners use in the restaurant (there are still a number of "regular" tables), which is a customary Ethiopian eating table. It's small, but if you're a party of two it's perfect...

And as is the case with any downtown Montclair restaurant, since it's BYOB you get the opportunity to browse the tremendous (and unique) wine selection at Amanti Vino down the street. Just tell them what you're eating and they'll recommend something wonderful (I had a great Gewurztraminer)...

Cost: $$
Rating: 6.5/10.0

Mesob
515 Bloomfield Avenue
Montclair, NJ
973.655.9000

Crispo - NYC

Growing up in suburban New Jersey meant "family style Italian food" was as ubiquitious as Starbucks. Red sauce this, Parmigiana that. Some good, some bad. And while Italian American fare became comfort food for me, it's no longer what I'll seek out when seeking to expand my culinary horizons. Fair or not, I just don't find it that interesting any more. Which is what makes Crispo such a revelation...

I initially found Crispo on recommendation from my step-brother* whose Wall Street executive lifestyle has him entertaining and sampling some of NYCs best restaurants. And each time I've returned it's been consistently enjoyable...

The menu is exceptional. Broad, varied, but true to the core Italian ingredients and flavors that people know and love. The anitpasti or affettati allow you to sample anything that looks good, from the Prosciutto di San Daniele, Parmigiano & Figs to the Sausage Stuffed Sage Leaves. It's all good...

The entrees are solid, but it's really about the pastas. Whether the Orcchiette with Broccoli Rabe or the Bucatini alla Amatriciana or their award-winning Carbonara, they are all prepared with care and attention. The Carbonara's not too rich or too heavy. The Bucatini's cooked perfectly in a delicate, perfectly spiced sauce. I rarely eat much pasta any more, but when making a trip to Crispo's, it's a must...

If you're going w/ a group larger than 6 or so, I'd ask for the special room, it's a small room/alcove within the larger dining room that makes for a great, somewhat secluded time...

For what it is and for what it's trying to be, it's hard not to call Crispo: perfect...

Cost: $$
Rating: 8.5/10.0

Crispo
240 West 14th Street
NY, NY
212.229.1818

*Excerpt from email from said step-brother: "I have NO problem w/ you pawning off Crispo as your own discovery as long as I get some form of recognition. Even if said recognition comes in the form of an email forward that no one else will ever see. In the end it’s not about me, it’s about spreading culinary bliss. (That line should somehow make it into an entry on ihateshellfish.)"

Angeli Caffe - Los Angeles

I sought out Angeli Caffe based entirely on my podcast subscription to a public radio show/podcast hosted by the restaurant's owner. I listen every Wednesday during my long run (not to be confused with the weekly episode of Filmspotting, which serves my Saturday long run). After driving the length of Melrose (just west of LaBrea) on a grey, rainy disgusting day, I couldn't help but feel a little repulsion toward Los Angeles. Granted, I'm an East Coast guy, with a genetic predisposition to taking up such a position, but I've spent enough time living and visiting the west coast, to consider myself a neutral. LA as a visitor can be, and often is, a wonderful whirlwind of consumerism at its grandest (no sarcasm intended). I often think about what anthropologists and archaeologists in three thousand years will take from our society. And for unadulterated consumerism, for better or worse, I would think Los Angeles makes a good case (I'd file Las Vegas under a different category. Maybe "unbridled decadence"). But it's on a grey day where LA's warts really show. Sure, NYC may have invented the grey day, but it built its empire around it. The city's psychology, architecture and mythology embrace it.

Which brings me to Angeli Cafe, a non-descript tenant on a block next to The Groundlings and a few steps from an Adult Pleasures superstore. Not exactly what I was expecting from the podcast host / cookbook author. Even the interior was a little underwhelming, I would have expected unpretentious, but found slightly gaudy wall decorations and, overall, a stylistic void. But I wasn't there for an architecture class, I was there for a light lunch before I was off to a meeting...

Cauliflower Minestrone
Eggplant Poppetti
Fennel and Endive Salad with Garlic-Parmesan Dressing

Now this is the Evan Kleinman I came for. Simple ingredients, all fresh, all prepared perfectly. Nothing extraneous. Even the (really) warm paperweight of bread they brought out was a treat. And let me tell you, those eggplant poppetti. I could have eaten fifty of them. I will pine, dream and return for them. Rain or not, I'm looking forward to my next LA trip and my next trek down Melrose.

Cost: $$
Rating: 7.0/10.0

Angeli Caffe
7274 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
323.936.9086

Foreign Cinema - San Francisco

I have a new favorite restaurant (for at least a week) and I didn't even like my main course. This is an interesting exploration into the psychology behind the dining experience. Foreign Cinema is a good fifteen minute cab ride from downtown San Francisco into the Mission district. From the moment I entered the renovated old cinema (or what was made to look like a renovated old cinema), I bought in. We were seated outside in a friendly courtyard, between a restaurant-affiliated art gallery and a room of indoor diners. On the large concrete wall to the courtyard's rear, they project (we visited the second-floor projectionist after dinner) a movie. On this night it was The English Patient. Regular tables, diners are served, some watch the movie, most don't, but the concept works.

Celery root mutsu apple veloute with autumn-spiced croutons
Mixed micro green salad with fuyu persimmon, mission fig toasted pecan vinaigrette
Ajwaan and cocoa nib rubbed onglet steak with carmelites turnips

The menu changes daily (they say) and the food (up until my main) was tremendous. Unfortunately, my steak was a little tough (I don't know why I continue to order hangar-type steaks) and not as flavorful as the multi-syllabic description would have led me to believe. But I'm giving them a pass. My friend's meals were as perfect as the appetizers and soups (they had a middle-eastern influenced chicken and a pork tenderloin), but it was really the experience, the vibe, that won me over.

Cost: $$$
Rating: 7.5/10.0

Foreign Cinema
2534 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-7600

PS - after a return trip a few months later, I'm starting to doubt my initial review, or should I say, it's solidifying my original fears. Again, the starter and dessert were great, as was the vibe, but my main course (paprika/curry-rubbed fried chicken) was surprisingly flavorless. Hmmm...

The Great Polish Beer-off

With more time to kill in Poland while tagging along with my wife and her cartilage repair conference (didn't make that up - as boring as it sounds*) I was out of amusing activities. I would not place Warsaw exceptionally high on my "you must see this place before you die" list. Such relative boredom is often the incubator of genius, as it was in this case, when I conceived of The Great Polish Beer-off. With such a variety of Polish brewed beers, I figured why not sample them all? Yes, all of them, that's what I'll do!

In short, I am no beer aficionado. While well beyond the six pack of Natural Light (in bottles, mind you) of my college years, I either like beer or I don't. I usually tend toward Pilsner-type beers and dislike the maltier, microbrew types. They make my mouth itch...

Tyskie (5.6% alcohol) that all-too-familiar flat American beer taste - not terrible, but too Anheuser Busch-like product

Lech (5.2%) like a skunky Heineken without any discernible taste or purpose for being

Okocim (7.1%) there was a time I enjoyed Mickey's Big Mouth. There was also a time I wore corduroy OP shorts with tube socks pulled up to my patella (different times, of course)

Warka (5.7%) says Uznany Smak on the label. I don't know what that means, but I think I like it. Kinda like a Carlsberg without the punch.

Zywiec (pictured is actually the non-alcoholic version - I thought I saw a smirk on the cashier's face as she rang me up - but I had many Zywiec's on the trip. Seemed to be the most popular brand) Not bad. Not great, the definition of American beer (in my mind).

I guess I liked the Warka the best maybe? Overall, a little disappointed with the state of Polish beer. Nevertheless my wife was done with her whatever she was doing by the time the Beer-off ended, so it served its purpose.

*to stupid people like me who wouldn't understand a complete sentence spoken between two conference attendees