at the sign of The Pink Pig

Quenched At Thirstbaràvin

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  May 14, 2012]

Maybe my biggest food craving is for everyday French bistro food, but done really well.  Better than the standard frisée aux lardons and steak frites you find served in countless careful reproductions of zincs, bouchons, and brasseries all over town.  Thirstbaràvin was dimly on my rader.

But it didn't occur to me that it might hit my sweet spot until a recent "Tables for Two" in the New Yorker.  Not that "Tables for Two" is the most reliable source of dining advice.  It rarely has the same byline two weeks running, and one can be forgiven for suspecting that some of the writers aren't very experienced diners.  But Hannah Goldfield got this one right.

The Cheese: Salva Cremasco

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  May 14, 2012]

Here's a beauty from Murray's, the Salva Cremasco, finished in the caves in the basement.

Half the fun is in the natural crust, both to look at and to eat.

From Peking Duck To Faggots: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  May 14, 2012]

Still in London, ten years ago, and enjoying a lunch in Chinatown with my godson and his family.  We chose one of the fancier Chinatown spots, the New Diamond on Lisle Street.  Peking duck with its pancakes to start, and spare ribs cooked in a paper bag. Then one of the house specials, salty-crispy squab.  Spicy chicken, chow mein, scallops, and egg fried rice, just to fill up.

 That evening, my diary tells me I had "Indian country cooking" somewhere - but where?  I am pretty sure it was at a place on the Strand, near the Savoy Hotel.  The name, irrecoverable.  Some potato pancakes, and duck in a dark brown sauce.

For my last night in the UK, I could resist re-visiting La Pigalle, that simple but splendid French bistro on Berwick Street.  After a shellfish gratin, ordering petit salé aux lentilles didn't stop me asking for a plate of outstanding pommes frites as a side.  Some of the best french fries I've ever eaten, washed down with a carafe of Cabernet.

 I killed time the following morning by window shopping on Jermyn Street window shopping.  For lunch, a  British delicacy, the greasy bacon sandwich on white bread; then an afternoon flight back to JFK.

Flying west makes for a long day.  It was early evening in New York when I arrived back in the East Village.  After drinks at Manitoba's, I seem to have made room for the second greasy sandwich of the day, corned beef from Katz's.

Next evening, I dined in the neighborhood, at Le Tableau, a French-ish restaurant -- now closed -- owned by the people from the nearby trattoria Lavagna.  With a bottle of Portuguese pink, I ate escargots, day boat cod en papillotte with baby clams and pil-pil sauce.  Key lime cheesecake to finish with a glass of  Commandaria St John.

To finish up the week, I finally did some home cooking.  Another British delicacy: faggots.  For the uninitiated, these are large, savory pork meatballs, with a generous proportion of pig liver.  I ate them for supper after seeing Sondheim's "Into the Woods" on Broadway.  A nice evening.

Sondheim Into the Woods.  Faggots & Peas.

Nibbling The NoMad

[Pigging by Wilfrid: May 8, 2012]

Yes, The NoMad (not Nomad), at the NoMad Hotel located, it says here, "in the heart of the historic NoMad neighborhood, North of Madison Square Park." What nonsense.  The recently invented NoMad neighborhood.  And it is kind of recently invented, as far as restaurants are concerned.

The NoMad is a step from The Breslin, The John Dory, and barely two blocks from Millésimé, in a quartier where the many mid-range hotels used to house restaurants of no interest at all.

London To The New Forest: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  May 7, 2012]

Continuting my extended break in the UK ten years ago, I was delighted to catch up with Eric Chavot's cooking again, this time at The Capital Hotel.

I'd first come across Chavot in the intimate and eponymous Interlude de Chavot on Charlotte Street.  The Capital, where he was now ensconced, was a grander dining room, established previously by Philip Britten as one of London's top tables.

Quick Bites: Cevapcici At Saro

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  May 2, 2012]

An entirely spontaneous late-night bite recently at Saro, the cozy Croatian bistro on Suffolk Street.

The cevapcici sandwich hit the spot, with crisp, I guess twice-fried, fries.

Some Time In The UK: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine:  April 30, 2012]

I seem to have taken some extended vacation -- although I worked too -- in the UK ten years ago.  I can't now recall the occasion, but it seems to have involved a blizzard of restaurants. 

I can tell by some of the recommendations I followed that I was active on eGullet, although like me, the people I took the recommendations from have long ago moved on to other forums.