Limited Time: Matsutake Menu at Kajitsu (food)

While many are waiting for truffle season to really kick in, there is already a delicacy that is in season right now. The matsutake mushroom is technically the most expensive mushroom in the world (truffles are technically not mushrooms). In fact, they are one of the very few types of mushrooms that they cook with on Iron Chef America.

Kajitsu is a Japanese vegan restaurant that I have raved about before. Right now in October, they have a special matsutake menu which they limit to 5 parties per night. Similar to truffles, the aroma is key with matsutakes, and the chef did a wonderful job of preserving that whenever a dish had those mushrooms as a component.

Our first sake pairing of the night.

TERRINE OF AUTUMN VEGETABLES WITH CHESTNUT CRUMBS Absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful colors and lots of vegetables. I think vegetables in aspic is a fairly common Japanese preparation. This one was simple, focusing on the clean taste of the vegetables.

It rested on top of parsnip puree, and had two small slices of wheat gluten cut to look like autumn leaves, further decorating the plate.

So just how many vegetables were in this? I asked for a list, and they were nice enough to write them down for me. The terrine base (portions are not uniform) includes: broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, lotus root, bell pepper, tomato, okra, snow peas, mitsuba, red beets, zucchini, edamame, celery, corn, and potato.

CLEAR SOUP WITH MATSUTAKE MUSHROOMS, FRIED TOFU, AND SUDACHI
The sudachi was the small slice of yuzu-like citrus. This was simple with very subtle flavors. A warm soup that focused on the aroma of the mushrooms. I thought the textural differences in the soup were interesting, with the mushroom slices and the fried tofu, although I'm personally not a fan of sogginess of the batter left in the soup.

More sake.

HOUSE-MADE UDON WITH GOMA-DARE, CHAYOTE, SHISO, SHICHIMI
I absolutely loved this. The goma-dare was a beautifully harmonized sesame sauce and the udon were perfectly chewy. While the last time I had goma-dare I had soba, I thought their version of udon worked perfectly with it.

MATSUTAKE TEMPURA Accompanying the noodles were these pieces of lightly fried matsutake.

This was the first really assertive sake we had.

SLOW SIMMERED VEGETABLES, FEATURING SATOIMO, CARROT, MIZUNA, FRIED TOFU, KABOCHA, GOBO Here, the vegetables were simmered separately and then put together at the end. Our favorite was the kabocha.



ASSORTMENT OF GRILLED VEGETABLES WITH SMOKED SOY SAUCE; MATSUTAKE MUSHROOM CROQUET WITH HIBISCUS LEAF; GRILLED AWA-FU WITH SWEET SOY SAUCE, BUCKWHEAT SEEDS, WASABI
The matsutake croquet had that wonderful mushroom earthiness in a creamy filling with a perfectly fried exterior. The awa-fu, like all their wheat gluten, has a texture that is definitely an acquired taste. It was fried this time.

Yet again, more vegetables than I could figure out. Luckily, they came through again: kabu turnip, kabu turnip leaf, fennel, fennel fronds, wax beans, enoki mushrooms, cherry tomato, tatsoi. The grilling and the smoked soy is there, but again, quite subtle.



Assortment of pickles for our final savory course. There was some eggplant and kelp in the assortment.

CLAY POT STEAMED RICE WITH MATSUTAKE MUSHROOMS

The aroma was bursting from this as they removed the lid.

A closer look, which was tough because of all the steam coming out.

The rice was hot and comforting, filled with the sweet umami of the wonderful mushrooms. For the three of us, there was probably a total of about eight bowls of this size.

RED MISO SOUP WITH EGGPLANT AND KARASHI Good strong flavor and again, served hot, which was important. This was very good and I had seconds.

SWEET POTATO KINTON WITH COCONUT TOFU CREAM, WALNUTS, AND MACADAMIA NUTS Like most of the desserts I've had at Kajitsu, the inside was filled with white bean paste. This overpowered any of the sweet potato or coconut tastes that were on the plate, but matched well with the nuts.

Assortment of sugar candies


Matcha to round out the meal. Another beautiful, solid meal at Kajitsu, and I think that the matsutake is worth the extra splurge ($100 instead of $70) if you like mushrooms. It's always impressive to consider the sheer variety of vegetables offered in every meal here.

Japanese Comfort Food (food)

Now that the weather has shown clear signs of autumn, soul-warming comfort food is on the agenda. While a bowl of hot noodle soup certainly hits the spot, sometimes I'm in the mood for fried meat and hot rice.

Go-Go Curry (38th St/8th Ave)

One of my favorite places for fast, consistent comfort food at a great value. While Japanese curries in general tend to be a bit sweeter, this one tones down the sweetness and the curry actually seems more like a slightly thickened gravy. Accompanying the curry is rice, cabbage, and your choice of (mostly fried katsu-style) proteins available in four different sizes.


Or you can have it all with the grand slam for only $12.50. Pictured here, it includes one pork katsu (cutlet), one chicken katsu, one hard boiled egg, one shrimp katsu, and two berkshire sausages, along with a huge mound of rice and shredded cabbage smothered in their curry. The most disappointing (perhaps not so because my expectations are often low) is the shrimp katsu, with too much coating for very little meat. The pork and chicken cutlets are crispy, but a little on the thin side. It's perfectly fine when accompanied by the curry, but may disappoint those who (probably expect too much) are looking for particularly moist meat. The flavors are right on point though, and my favorite item is the berkshire sausage. The first thing I eat every time, they just burst with flavor with a delightful snap of the casing.

Katsuhama (preferred: 55th St/btw 5th and 6th Ave, original: 47th St/btw 5th and Madison Ave)

For exceptional katsu, Katsuhama is still my favorite place. While the original seems a bit dingy, the newer one on 55th is quite nice. Very bright and clean. The prices are yet again very reasonable, especially when you consider that the rice, cabbage, and pickles have unlimited refills. I stopped by the other night and saw that they now have a $24 prix fixe which is a great deal.

The mortar and pestle filled with sesame seeds. You grind the seeds yourself and then mix in the katsu sauce. Some tartar sauce because I ordered seafood, and some pickled daikon and cabbage.

For the first course, you get to choose one of five appetizers. I went with the sashimi salad, which was prettier and tastier than I would have thought. The miso soup is also unlimited refills.

For the main course, you get to choose one main katsu, and two side katsus. For the main katsu, I chose king salmon, and added one shrimp and one crab croquette. The salmon had good flavor, and the croquette was creamy. The shrimp here is much superior to the one at Go-Go Curry, and the fry job is excellent for everything.

But the real star of katsu is almost always pork, so I ordered an extra a la carte berkshire pork loin (shown here $20 for 180g). The a la carte is just $2 less than the set, but I already had rice and cabbage from the other set. In this case they gave me some potato salad as well. The pork katsu is fried perfectly. Crunchy, juicy, and full of pork flavor. Be careful that the hot mustard is indeed quite spicy. They also feature the berkshire tenderloin, but I feel that the tenderloin is too tender and does not gain from the expert frying.

There is also dessert included in the prix fixe. I chose the red bean ice cream. While there were red beans in it, the base looked and tasted fruity, which felt a little weird.

NFL Picks Week 5 2011 (sport, gambling)

Bill Simmons wrote a few seasons ago that he thinks home field advantage has disappeared. I do agree that home field isn't as big as it used to be for all the teams as a whole, but there are certain teams for which home field matters significantly, and I think the home-road differential for these teams is being underestimated.

TEN@PIT
PIT-3

This line has moved significantly as it opened with the Steelers -5. People are jumping on the fact that the Steelers' offensive line has looked horrible, Big Ben is hurt, and Chris Johnson finally having a 100 yard game. Well, the 100 yard game was against the horrible Browns, and the Steelers are really good at home. Given that the Steelers do have a home field advantage, the line suggests both teams are even, and I don't agree with that assessment.

GB@ATL
ATL+5.5

Another line that has moved a lot from the GB-3.5 that it opened at. Atlanta is a much different team at home, and Green Bay hasn't been as dominant on the road. I expect this to be a competitive game, and I don't think it would really surprise anyone if lAtlanta won this one outright.

The John Dory @ Ace Hotel Review (food)

A friend and I were in the area looking to grab a drink and ended up at the John Dory because the wait at the Breslin was going to be over an hour. While our hostess gave us the "we'll have a table for you shortly", we still ended up waiting almost half an hour while getting a drink standing at the bar.

Overall, it has a really good vibe, nice buzz, and a good crowd. With some nice cocktails, it's a good place to grab a drink, and the food is fine in that context. But with too many misses, it certainly is not the kind of place I would go for the food alone. The menu, besides the raw bar, mostly focuses on seafood and consists of small plates.

CHAR PATE WITH PARKER HOUSE ROLL The pate had the nice mild taste of (arctic) char and a nice texture that wasn't too much like a spread. While the parker house roll was soft on the inside, it just wasn't anywhere near as good as parker house rolls I've had elsewhere. I think a more traditional texture pairing of soft pate with toast/crunchy bread would have worked better.

CHORIZO STUFFED SQUID WITH SMOKED TOMATO My friend had this and liked it a lot.

BRANDADE WITH TOMATO TOAST Now this was a texture match that worked better for me. The presence of the tomato provided a welcome sharpness to the tasty but one-note brandade.

CHILLED CRAB AND AVOCADO Pretty much exactly as it sounds, although it was pleasantly spiced up by some hot sauce.

GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH EGGPLANT, GARBONZO BEANS, AND HARISSA The flavor pairing was quite nice in this dish, with the charred octopus, smoky eggplant, and earthy beans. However, this dish lost me the moment I bit into the octopus. While I appreciate octopus being tender, it still needs to have some give. This did not, and while it wasn't mush, the best word to describe the texture was limp.

OYSTER PAN ROAST WITH UNI CROSTINI No photo, but this was the wow dish of the night. As in "wow, that's disappointing". The crostini itself tasted very little of uni and very much of butter. The pan roast managed to be creamy without being rich and satisfying. To me, the genius of the Grand Central Oyster Bar's pan roast is the ability to present flavorful, briny oysters in a way that is warm and comforting. This did not come close.

NFL Picks Week 4 2011 (sport, gambling)

There were a couple of remarkable comebacks last week, but the most amazing thing for me last week was that Chicago punt return TD that was called back. http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/09000d5d8228f7c4/The-punt-return-that-never-was

MIN@KC
MIN 1H whatever the line is

The line for this game is Minnesota by 2.5, but I think the first half line needs to be at least Minnesota by 3. Despite being 0-3 this season, the Vikings have led during halftime in every one of those games, against teams much better than the Chiefs. In Kansas City's only game where they scored more than 7 points, they were held scoreless in the first half. This is one of those rare moments where the trends are very clear, but the books may not be able to set the line that reflects the trend because of the situation mathematically.

PIT@HOU
PIT +3.5

Pittsburgh's offensive line has looked horrible so far, but they still have weapons and know how to win. Houston's looked much more impressive so far, but they haven't played a strong defensive-minded team yet. I just don't think the Texans have proven themselves yet, and the extra half point is too much to give to a tough, experienced team.

Lincoln Ristorante: The Best Volume-Weighted Restaurant in NYC (food)

What I mean is that while the quality of food at Lincoln is on par with the very top tier of restaurants in NYC, what makes it a truly astonishing restaurant is the number of customers. When we went last night, they did 200 covers on what they called "a slow night". The previous night, they did 300 covers. It's easy to have Michelin inspectors fawn over your 10+ canapes and dishes when you're doing 12 to 18 covers a night, but to produce this quality of food for this many people nightly is remarkable. Even more mind blowing is the fact that the open kitchen is not particularly huge, and that they don't have an army of people for their kitchen staff. One fish cook, one meat cook, two pasta cooks, two garde manger, and two saucier/garnish, with head chef Benno and his sous chef running the pass.

Atmosphere: Lincoln is a beautiful, elegant restaurant with extremely tall ceilings. We were seated in one of the dining rooms where the majestic floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the Juilliard dorms from our view. The lighting is dim without being dark, and the four of us sat at a very comfortable semi-circular banquette. There was a lot of space between tables.

Service: I had emailed the dining room manager Misha prior to our visit about dietary restrictions and everything was taken care of smoothly. He seemed genuinely interested in our passion for the food, and was very friendly. In fact, all the servers were friendly and engaging, with warm smiles. Water and wine glasses were refilled promptly, and while I did ask for more bread once, I did not have to ask for it again.

Food: After looking through the a la carte menu, we decided to opt for a chef's choice tasting menu. The chef was also able to specifically feature any dish that caught our eye from the menu. I pride myself on being able to pick the tastiest dishes off a menu, but this time I had to admit that the chef's choices were probably better than what I would have chosen from the menu.

IL GIORNO DOPO - DIMMI LIQUORE, COCCHI AMERICANO, LEMON JUICE, SPLASH OF ST GEORGE ABSINTHE VERTE I had arrived early and decided to have a drink at the bar. This was exactly along the lines of what I requested. Something vibrant but with a touch of sweetness to get the taste buds going.

Our wine for the evening was the FONTANAFREDDA ‘Vigna La Villa’ 2001 BAROLO D.O.C.G.

MUSHROOM CROSTINI Our amuse for the evening was packed with mushroom flavor.

OLIVE TAPENADE CROSTINI This was for our friend who couldn't eat mushrooms.

Our bread service for the evening featured wheat, rustic Italian white, focaccia brushed with lardo, rosemary, and pepper, and grissini (breadsticks) perked up with chili flakes. The grissini were the most popular, with the heat from the chili flakes making them quite addictive. More important for me was that they were not overly salted like ones I've had at other places. The lardo flavor on the focaccia was not particularly noticeable, which was a little disappointing.

OLIVE OIL with LEMON and WHITE BEAN PUREE with DRIED OLIVE BITS For us to have with our bread. We enjoyed both, although personally I would have preferred the white bean dip to have been a little thicker for the purposes of eating with the grissini.

CRUDO DI TONNO - BLUEFIN TUNA, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, CELERY, LAMPASCIONI A wonderful dish where, to me, the tuna wasn't even the star. The tuna itself was very good, but more spectacularly it worked beautifully as a fatty, melty, wrap harmonizing the strong celery, onion, and nutty tomato flavors. At first I didn't even think the tuna was necessary, but then I realized that there wasn't much else that could have brought it all together like it did.

INSALATA DI BARBABIETOLE - SALUMERIA BIELLESE BRESAOLA, BEETS, GOAT CHEESE, WALNUTS, WATERCRESS Another dish featuring an amazing job of harmonizing flavors and textures. The sweetness of the beets, the earthiness of the walnut and watercress, the saltiness of the goat cheese and bresaola. The crunch of the walnut, the creaminess of the goat cheese, the tender beets, and the paper thin bresaola. All those things came together, made more incredible by the fact that the individual components are quite strong in their flavors. The thin slice of bresaola really worked here, and was certainly not something I would have thought of beforehand.

MALFATTI DI BIETOLA DA FOGLIA - BEET GREEN GNOCCHI, POPPY SEEDS, ORANGE The only way for me to describe this dish was that it was like a top class dim sum dumpling. The skin was thin and delicate, soft but with give, revealing a packed filling of chopped beet greens that had an almost spinach-like taste. The cheese and butter sauce gave it a nice creaminess and warmth that coated each bite.

AGNOLOTTI DI POLENTA E CODA DI BUE - ANSON MILLS YELLOW POLENTA, RED WINE BRAISED OXTAIL, SPIGARELLO, BEEF SUGO We had specifically requested that this dish be part of the tasting menu. The oxtail was cooked perfectly with strands of wonderful meat in a rich wine and beef jus. I had never heard of spigarello before this dish. It had a slight broccoli taste without the bitterness of broccoli rabe, while the leafy texture paired well with the strands of oxtail meat. We did not feel that the pasta was as successful, however. Using polenta as the pasta filling did not allow either texture to stand out, and the polenta flavor wasn't strong enough to stand toe to toe with the rich oxtail. I think a sweet corn filling for the pasta would have been perfect.

RIGATONI WITH TOMATO SAUCE For our friend who wanted something lighter, he was served something very simple. Perhaps too simple, but the tomato sauce was indeed light and fresh without being overly sweet or acidic or overpowered with herbs. The pasta was cooked perfectly.

MELANZANE ALLA PARMIGIANA We decided to order some sides to go with our main course. The eggplant parmigiana was a sizeable portion that was flavorful and well executed. At the same time, like the rigatoni, it seemed rather pedestrian.

GNOCCHI DI PATATE The gnocchi were soft and pillowy, and came with a rich, thin, creamy sauce.

FUNGHI MISTI A collection of four mushrooms bursting with flavor and warmed by the saute butter. All the mushrooms had a perfect, tender texture similar to that of a perfectly cooked shrimp.

AGNELLO - LAMB LOIN CHOP, FAIRY TALE EGGPLANT, ARTICHOKES, SUGO D'AGNELLO This was an incredible main course. A couple of us thought that it was the best lamb we've ever had. Phenomenal flavor and the most amazing cooking job. Cutting a cross-section of the meat revealed a perfectly consistent gradation of color and texture from the outside char to a mostly pink inside to a small rare center. The meat was juicy throughout and there were a couple of pieces of fat lining the outer edge of the lamb chop. The fat was tender and flavorful, but not necessary if that's not your thing.

For the other three of us, we were eagerly anticipating what would be revealed under the lid.

MAIALE PER DUE - RAVEN & BOAR FARM'S WHEY FED SUCKLING PIG, CRANBERRY BEANS, PEPERONATA, PORK SAUCE The pork shoulder for two is slow cooked and confited with duck fat. The skin is crispy, the meat is fork tender, and the rendered fat is soft and silky. The bean stew is a tasty accompaniment, with a decided spiciness that worked well with the fat and porcine flavor.

SORBETTI For a predessert, we were offered sorbets. Concord grape for the gentlemen, cantaloupe for the ladies. Very refreshing.

BUTTERMILK PANNA COTTA - STRAWBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, MOSCATO GELEE For the ladies, a fruit-based dessert. I do not know if this is a normal policy to give different desserts to men and women, and I wonder what some customers might think of this.

TORTA CAPRESE - CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE BUDINO, MIRTO HUCKLEBERRY COULIS, CHOCOLATE TORTA, CARDAMOM, COFFEE GELATO My favorite part of this was the coffee gelato, which felt more like ice cream to me, served with cocoa nibs.

Petit fours with chocolate caramels and biscotti.

After the meal, we walked by the open kitchen and got to chat with chef Benno. We discussed the difference between his food here versus his food at Per Se. "When you do 10-12 courses, you can be more subtle. When you only do 5 or 6, you have to pack more of a punch in each course, and the portions are bigger." That's exactly it. His same great flavors are louder here. At first I was worried that 5 courses plus dessert wouldn't be enough for me, but I was completely and happily full by the end. Although I did eat slightly more of the pork and had some of the lamb.

Go to Lincoln and marvel at the refined compositions of antipasti and salads. Then delight in the delicate pastas and be sated by the generous portions of perfectly cooked mains. Benno's vision was to create a restaurant where one could both have a quick meal before the show as well as celebrate a special occasion with a long spectacular meal, and I think he's succeeded.

NFL Picks Week 3 2011 (sport, gambling)

While the NFL has always strived for parity, there is a pretty big gap this season between the good teams and the bad teams. This week is quite interesting in that many of the games feature even matchups of good teams or bad teams.

ARI@SEA
SEA+3.5

Arizona is one of those teams that are really bad. Yet people don't completely see that because they have well-known names from a fantasy football standpoint like Kolb and Fitzgerald. Their defense, especially their secondary, has been dreadful. Not that there's anything really nice to say about the Seattle offense, but you can disregard last week's performance on the road against an angry Steelers team. With the 12th man back on their side for their home opener, I think Seattle will take this one as Arizona won't be able to score enough to overcome their dreadful defense.

GB@CHI
Over 45.5

One of the oldest and most storied rivalries in football, these two teams have played under the total in their last 7 games. However, I think this is the game to break that streak. We all know about the Packers' offense, with Rodgers at the helm. But their defense has shown this year that they can be thrown on, and the Bears do love to throw the ball. Chicago has been an abysmal 28.6% in third down conversions so far through two games, but the Packers' defense has also allowed a 55% conversion rate on third downs to opponents. Something's got to give, and I think we're going to see an entertaining game with lots of offense.