Archive for September, 2011

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Fighting For Foie Gras At Animal – Los Angeles

Friday, September 30th, 2011

Ludo Lefebvre, a forty-year-old tattooed, Burgundian chef known for his construction, operation & deconstruction of pop-up restaurants is partnering with Animal’s Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo to fight for the right to party with foie gras. The two festive dinners are to be held at Animal Restaurant on Fairfax on October 14 and 15, (the price for the eight-course dinner is $175 per person). Reservations are accessible by phone only by calling: (323) 782-9225. Be forewarned that the tel. line may be engaged, and Animal Activist group PETA with all certainty will hold a disruptive rally in front of the restaurant’s entrance.

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Wine Corks In Demand Again! – Portugal

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Cork oak trees

I am happy to say, that the Wine Cork is making a rebound after a downturn that caused a loss of 25% market share during the 1990s.
Amorim, a Portugal-based company, who is the largest supplier of cork with 3.2 billion units sold last year, suggest that the cork forests around the western Mediterranean have a positive effect as a neutralizer of greenhouse gases, and that after being stripped of their bark they will regenerate it within 10 years. They also claim that incidences of “corked” wines are in decline. At the same time, certain wineries have experimented with using the screw caps exclusively for the last 10 years and have found results to be favorable, with wines maturing elegantly on the same level of what you would expect with having 100% fault free corks.
On the other hand, current  prevailing thought on the subject, believe that screw caps are fine for use as shorter term sealants on wines that will be consumed early although, too tight for long term aging as the microscopic pores in natural cork are necessary, due to the gradual entry of minute amounts of air, which, help in a positive way in the development process of wines over longer periods of time.

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Ferran Adrià To Redo Barca Academy Menu – Spain

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

Culinary Tidbits . . . El Bulli’s Ferran Adrià has been hired to revitalize the menu at Barcelona’s youth soccer academy; this will be of great interest to him being both a chef and a soccer fan.

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Leila Lindholm: Contributing To A Butter Shortage – Sweden

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Aftonbladet, a Swedish tabloid, claimed this week that Leila Lindholm and fellow TV cookery stars were encouraging the normally health-conscious Swedes to shun less fatty “artificial” alternatives to butter.
The newspaper even ran a butter recipe for readers wanting to churn their own. All they would need, the paper told them, was a mixing bowl, whipping cream and salt. “Swedes think butter is delicious,” said the tabloid.
Aftonbladet singled out Lindholm as a particularly influential butter evangelist. “I only bake with real butter,” the newspaper quoted her as saying. “Butter is the best flavor enhancer and tastes fantastic.”
The dairy association said that while butter had enjoyed a recent spike in sales, there had been a reduction in the amount of milk and butter produced annually in recent years. Younger Swedes are not attracted to work in the dairy business as well.

Out of the kitchen go the light, additive-filled butter substitutes. In comes the pure raw butter, preferably containing as much butterfat as possible. It seems to be cheered on by both TV chefs and nutritionists.

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Heston Blumenthal, His Book; ‘Heston Blumenthal at Home’ – U.K.

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Culinary Tidbits . . . As set forth in the UK edition of FT.com, Heston Blumenthal of Fat Duck fame is a self-taught chef, and he knows just how perplexing cooking can be. So he has always been keen to demystify the process. For some time he has wanted to write a book that has both exciting recipes and all the background information that explains how they actually work. A book that makes people feel at ease in the kitchen. Heston Blumenthal at Home is the result.

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Vin Bourru (Very Young Wine) – France

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Le vin bourru est un moût en fermentation. Ce vin trouble (levures en suspension) contient encore beaucoup de sucre. Il ne se conserve pas longtemps, les levures continuant à transformer le sucre en alcool.

As you can clearly see in the image above the wine is still fermenting and is cloudy. It is the first wine to be released to drink, usually around this time in September.

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New Terroir Wine Bar, Murray Hill, East Side of Midtown Manhattan – NYC

Sunday, September 25th, 2011


JUST OPENED: Terroir at Murray Hill, 439 3rd Ave between 30th and 31st | Mon-Sat 5 pm-2 am, Sun 5 pm- midnight

Mary Lindley Murray SALUTE! (“The British generals…repaired to the house of a Mr. Robert Murray, a Quaker and friend of our cause; Mrs. Murray treated them with cake and wine, and they were induced to tarry two hours or more, Governor Tryon frequently joking her about her American friends. By this happy incident general Putnam, by continuing his march, escaped…It has since become almost a common saying among our officers, that Mrs. Murray saved this part of the American army.”)

Terroir | Tribeca: 24 Harrison Street map  Mon-Sat 4 pm-1 am Sun 4 pm-11 pm 212.625.WINE (9463)
Terroir | E.ViL: 413 E. 12th St. NYC   Open Mon-Sat 5 pm-2 am (food til 1am) Sun 5 pm-midnight    No Phone

logos, images & menus © Terroir

Links to Wine List & Menus for Terroir appear Here



 

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Philippe Chow Restaurant on Melrose, Reportedly For Sale – Los Angeles

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

Culinary Tidbits . . . Philippe Chow on Melrose Avenue is reportedly on the market for under half a million dollars. The owner however, denies that it is.

This was the former location of the Art Nouveau restaurant Le Chardonnay with its mirrored walls, ornate tile work and dark wood owned by Chef  Claude Alrivy and his partner Robert Bigonnet. It was one of the most beautifully decorated restaurants in Los Angeles. Then designer Dodd Mitchell got a hold of the property and utterly destroyed it.

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Tenkaichi Nagiya, Thonglor Soi 13 – Bangkok

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Tenkaichi Nagiya Yakatori on Thonglor Soi 13 in heart of Japanese Town has just recently opened and is very cozy and exudes a warm, welcoming feeling. The wait-staff is informed and the cooking is good. They also offer a varied  selection of Sake by the bottle and small bottles. Shochu is offered by glass and bottle. Their first outlet is located at Nihonmachi behind K-Village.



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Houston’s Quits Century City Mall After More Than Twenty Years – Los Angeles

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Houston’s took over Langan’s Brasserie’s, Century City space (pictured above) in the early 1990’s

Houston’s in Century City at the Westfield Mall is closing after more than twenty years after a lease dispute with the mall owners. Houston’s originally took over the site, especially built for Langan’s Brasserie of London, who eventually also terminated due to a lease dispute with the mall owners, the major shareholders of which, were a union pension fund at the time.

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