Great Taste

End days at Harbor View

If you haven't made it to the Harbor View Cafe in Pepin yet this summer, time's nearly run out: Sunday's the last day. Hours on Sunday typically are 11:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., but call ahead (715-442-3893) to make sure this is correct...I'm guessing if the crowd is good, they'll be relucant to close.

My wife and I haven't been there this year, which is an indication of how our summer went, but contrary to my good friend Gourmanda's assessment, I love the place -- sure, the food's a little inconsistent, the service can be sluggish, but when it's good (which is primarily on a lazy summer evening, with dragonflies in the air and the boat tied up at the marina), there's nowhere else along the river I'd rather be.

JF

The Thanksgiving Feast as interpreted by Nora Ephron

Which--ah hem--screenplay writer has the guts to do a movie about Julia Child and then recommend Thanksgiving stuffing with a bag mix (among other things strange about this essay....)

Speaking of guts, what do you do with the innards, Ms. Ephron? Say "eeewwwww!" as your cook removes them and you have her/him throw them away?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nora-ephron/the-third-annual-huffingt_b_353898.html

Just for starters, Ms. E, do you realize that the slow-cooking turkey is a "cover" for the "less than ideal" hostess--aka a lot of us-- who may not have all the other courses pulled together before the high-temp, fast-cooking turkey would be finished?

Time to order Thanksgiving turkey

Great Taste is accepting suggestions/recommendations for Thanksgiving turkeys. Do you have a favorite source for the annual feast?

At Saturday's Rochester Downtown Farmers Market, the Fendry family of Summerhill Family Farm, Lanesboro, will take orders for organic free-range turkeys.

More market information at http://rochesterdowntownfarmersmarket.org/ Reminder: The market is at the indoor "winter" location now.

Omnivore or vegetarian? J.S. Foer's new book is food for thought

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/11/09/091109crbo_books_kolbert

Cool California is warming on soda tax

Gourmanda likes the idea of a soda tax. 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/11/now-that-public-officials-and-health-authorities-have-recognized-the-growing-problem-of-obesity-the-question-is-what-to-do-a.html

Apples, diversity--and us

Are we losing something by all eating the same apple?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/opinion/06fri4.html

Here's a great blog post from the New York Times -- rules of the road for people who stick their necks out to own and run a restaurant. My favorites from the list so far...they'll publish the other half of the list later.

1. Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.

4. If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche. The guests may be tired and hungry and thirsty, and they did everything right.

Could have used some pampering of this type at a Rochester restaurant Weds. night...

7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.

21. Never serve anything that looks creepy or runny or wrong.

31. Never remove a plate full of food without asking what went wrong. Obviously, something went wrong.

32. Never touch a customer. No excuses. Do not do it. Do not brush them, move them, wipe them or dust them.

40. Never say, “Good choice,” implying that other choices are bad.

41. Saying, “No problem” is a problem. It has a tone of insincerity or sarcasm. “My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” will do.    

44. Do not discuss your own eating habits, be you vegan or lactose intolerant or diabetic.

Pass along some of your personal favorites, or items they missed.

JF

To our veggie and veggie-leaning readers: We love you!

Gourmanda Galore is back with a vengeance!

She is here to remind her Great Taste compatriot JF that many of us do not like to think too much about our meat as we eat it. As JF's cow may walk by the grill, GG prepares to pray to a porcelain god. 

Let's not dwell only on deep-dish carnivores and instead make that leap beyond rare to discuss RAW.

GG doesn't mean steak tartare.

The raw food movement is one of the most exciting things to ever happen to Gourmanda Galore. Not only does well-prepared raw food taste surprisingly good, GG actually feels healthier and more energized from it. Here are videos about GG's favorite raw restaurant, Juliano's Raw, in Santa Monica, California.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hdqw5L5Fl0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCHtiMaUXkY&feature=related

In the Midwest famed Chicago-based chef/restaurateur Charlie Trotter has partnered with West Coast chef/restaurateur Roxanne Klein to create the "Raw" cookbook.

http://www.charlietrotters.com/store/books/product.asp?catID=2&productID=113

Gourmanda encourages readers to email suggestions for Minnesota establishments that serve raw vegan food. 

'Shave the cow's butt and walk it quickly past the grill'

Here's an excellent comment from a reader, regarding the next Four Stars column:

Dear Mr. Furst,

I enjoyed your Four Star feature about pizza and its follow-
up Tuesday, but the mention of your upcoming Four Star feature
caught my eye and I simply can not keep my thoughts on your
challenge to myself. Allow me to preface this with a little
information about myself. I LOVE steak. There are times when I
believe I could eat steak for every meal of the day for the rest of
my days on this earth, if I could get away with it. Morton's, Ruth
Chris's: Mecca. So it was with great interest I read that you will
be looking for the best filet in Rochester. I love a well cut,
juicy and correctly cooked filet. Which brings me to the question I
have regarding your assessment. How do you like your steaks cooked
and what does that actually mean to you? I moved here to Rochester
10 years ago after having lived in Cleveland, OH and Rochester, NY.
When I came here, It took me a while to learn and even longer to
ACCEPT the fact that Minnesotans seem to like to over-cook their meat.

Mose self-disclosure: I like my steak cooked medium-rare. A medium-
rare steak should feel a bit like the tip of your nose when you
press it lightly with a fork (the steak, not your nose). Mushier
than that and it is likely rare. Any firmer than that it is cooked
medium or more.  A perfectly cooked, medium-rare steak should be
warm and RED in the center when you cut into it. If it is a cool
red center, it is rare. If it is a warm PINK center it is medium. I
know how I want my steak cooked and I know what I should expect
when I order a medium-rare steak. That being said, I have also
learned through trial-and-error, that if I want a medium-rare steak
ANYwhere in Rochester, I must order it rare. I have had to go so
far as to suggest the cook merely "shave the cow's butt and walk it
quickly past the grill" in my attempts at some places to get a
properly cooked steak.

Some places here in Rochester, when you order your steak, will go
so far as to clarify what you order. For example, the Outback. Me:
I would like it rare, please. Server: Rare. That will be a cool,
red center. Is that okay? Me: sure. My steak will reliably arrive
medium-rare as described above. When my family from Ohio or New
York comes to visit, I warn them of the "Over-cooked Minnesota
Steak Syndrome" and they will order their steak cooked one less
than they normally would like it with the steak ending up prepared
as desired.

Don't think I am only picking on Rochester. The whole state seems
to be afflicted my this problem (with the exception of the SUPER-
fancy steak places in the cities such as Ruth Chris. But for $30 a
steak (not including sides) it sure as heck better be done
correctly!!) When I traveled with my family to the North Shore a
few summers ago, it seemed that not only did the "Syndrome"
persist, but actually got worse the further north one went! We went
to a rather fancy place up north whose name I do not recall, and
found that you simply could not get a medium-rare steak there.
Ordering rare brought medium steaks to the table (both the original
and the re-do). Those ordering medium-well, received hockey pucks.
I imagine you got a chunk of charcoal of you dared to order
anything "well". The other steak place on the North Shore we went
to yielded similar results.

So you see, I am very curious not only of what your research in the
area of Rochester's best "juicy, perfectly cut and cooked filet
mignon" reveals, but by what measure you are using to define
"perfectly...cooked".

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your thoughts and
reply to my concerns.

Ariel Borisch

Rochester

Can't disagree with Ariel, though I don't think it's just a Rochester issue -- food safety's obviously a big issue everywhere and some places won't even serve a steak rare anymore. In my experience locally, you're just as likely, though, to get a steak too rare as too well-done if you order it medium rare...don't think there's a conspiracy of overcooking.

My wife and I were at Outback last night and, as Ariel says, the server made a point of describing what medium rare means, to confirm that's what I wanted -- a very good idea.

So far, our parade of steaks has included 300 First and Outback, with a lot more steer to be eaten over the next two weeks. Got suggestions? Send them along.

Rah-rah catapults to culinary major leagues--with Zzest

Rochester, when it comes to good food you're no longer in the rookie league.  The October 23rd reopening of Zzest Culinary Market & Wine Cafe hit one out of the ballpark. It's a whole new culinary scene.

Great Taste has just one little concern.  Is this a dream?

Salts, peppercorns and spices; honey varieties; chutneys and preserves; mostardas; sauces (including mole); chocolates; ice creams; olives; many types of oils; vinegars; truffles; pastas; risotto rices; specialty crackers; and quality soup mixes are among the foodstuffs to be discovered in LeeAnn Zubay's Manhattan-esque food emporium. The store's new and much larger location, across the road from Apache Mall, also houses a cafe due to open later this month.

At the center of it all--literally and figuratively--are the cheese cases. Shoppers will find a large assortment that is not comprehensive (there are few, if any, cheeses found at the supermarket) but includes artisan domestic cheeses such as Prairie Fruits Farm's liquid center Ewe Bloom, made in Champaign, Illinois, and Coupole ash-ripened goat cheese in a miniature wood crate from Vermont Butter & Cheese Company. Humboldt Fog of California is featured, natch, as well as major 2009 award winners SarVecchio Parmesan and Crave Brothers Mascarpone, both from Wisconsin.

We haven't even started mentioning the imports.       

If you aren't already en route to this little piece of foodie paradise, consider multi-grain and olive loaves and French baguettes shipped in from Tribeca Oven bakery on the East Coast. Or specialty supplies like cutting boards or copies of Culture, the cheese aficionado's glossy magazine. 

Culinary Market, previously located in the heart of Rochester at First Avenue and Civic Center Drive, is now, at 1190 16th Street, a longer trip for some, but it has easier parking.

Info: (507) 424-0080; open Tuesday-Saturday 10 am to 8 pm.

LeeAnn Zubay, how can we thank you enough?   

Does GT have to wake up now? Is this some kind of belated Halloween prank?

But it's true....In rah-rah Rochester, Minnesota.

In the land of Jesse Ventura and Al Franken, in the land of the SuperTarget and Sontes, anything can happen....And it has!