at the sign of The Pink Pig

Alder Blossoms

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  June 3, 2013]

I waited for the crowds to subside, the hubbub to cease, the opening hours to expand to seven days.  And then I went to Alder.  After ten years enjoying WD-50, I was champing at the bit.

Not that Alder isn't still busy and popular two months after it's opening, but it's now at least manageable.  I've now eaten there on a busy weekend evening (Dewey Dufresne holding court at one end of the bar, Eric Ripert at a table), and on a quiet week night.  Either way: welcoming and comfortable.

Red Sauce And Fleur De Sel: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  June 3, 2013]

Following a rainy Memorial Day rain, and an attempt at making Mark Bittman's crispy fried chicken, I had two interesting restaurant experiences, this week ten years ago.

Don Peppe's in Ozone Park (first time) and Fleur de Sel in the Flatiron (latest visit of many).

Nashville Cat

[A Pig At Large by Wilfrid:  May 27, 2013]

I think it's about six years since I was last in Nashville, and the place hasn't changed much.  Work took me there on this occasion, but I found some time to play.

A welcoming city, nicely balmy at 80F, full of music (and beer, and whisky).  A little too full of churches for my personal taste (overheard: "If you don't finish your homework, you can't go to Bible class.")

Not a center of fine cuisine, even with the strides made in other US regional cities.  And in any case, I only had time for fast food.

At least there are independent burger and BBQ outlets in downtown.  Not just the chains.

The Cheese: Rogue River Special Reserve

[Pigging by Wilfrid: May 27, 2013]

I recently mentioned a superb domestic blue cheese I'd sampled at a Whole Foods event, the Rogue River Blue Special Reserve.

So of course I had to pick some up (it's not cheap--expect to pay over $35 per lb--but it eats like a premium product).

Mexico, India, And Senegal: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine:  May 27, 2013]

J.D. McClatchey talking about Horace, and ten years later I can't remember a word he said.  But I'm sure it was interesting.  I was also ploughing through Mishima's Sea of Fertility series, and I visited the Schwitters exhibition at the Ubu Gallery a third time.

There was also some international eating.

Happy Birthday Hellman's

[Free stuff by Wilfrid: May 20, 2013]

You may have seen me klutzing around in a cooking demonstration for Hellmann's with chef Tim Love.  This time around, I am out of the kitchen, and Mario Batali is concocting a pasta salad.

The occasion?  The 100th anniversary of Mr Hellmann (that's Richard to you) launching a mass market version of his Hellmann's Blue Ribbon mayonnaise--the home-made version of which he'd been selling in his Columbus Avenue deli since 1905.

Duckling And La Caravelle: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  May 20, 2013]

The week began with me showing off a fictional duckling recipe.  Fictional in the sense that it's made by a character in a novel, the private detective Pepe Carvalho in Manuel Vázquez Montalbán's 1977 novel The Angst-Ridden Executive.

But real enough in the sense that Montalbán gives you enough information to reproduce the recipe.

Rinds & Vines: Whole Foods Put On A Show

[Free stuff by Wilfrid:  May 16, 2013]

Whole Foods can put on quite a show.   This particular occasion was an opportunity to taste domestic cheeses, and domestic and imported wines, from its extensive portfolios at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods' tap room.

Cypress Grove's idea of a wedding cake

It was also an opportunity to chat with the stores' global wine buyer, Doug Bell, and global cheese buyer, Cathy Strange. Much as I love wine, I had to tell Cathy that being a global cheese buyer sounded like a dream job.

High And Low End: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  May 15, 2013]

I don't know if it's fair to call Café Edison, also known as the "Polish tearoom" low end, but it's an eccentric little place, hidden inside the Hotel Edison off Times Square (it still exists).

I was taken there by a friend, I think with the purpose of illustrating to me just how solid New York Jewish cooking can be.  Suffice to say that, after the matzoh brei, I could only toy with the chopped liver sandwich.

Quick Bites: Tiny Fork--The First Lobster Roll Of The Season

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  May 14, 2013]

Tiny Fork is a new and cavernous raw bar and restaurant on the corner of Orchard and Stanton.  The forks may be tiny: the bar and dining room are not.

It's new, and I should pay proper attention, but it's hard to eat there without thinking of a different, longer-established, venue--a chain, in fact--Luke's Lobster.