HUNGRY GERALD

The high rise glass and steel tower, which is HG/BSK’s temporary residence. in Vancouver has a 350-foot pool and a whirlpool hot tub. A big fitness center with scores of varied exercise machines. So, this morning, HG swam one mile and BSK ran, cycled, stretched, etc.. Yes, it is imperative to exercise in Vancouver because the lure of great food is omnipresent. Here are some of the food experiences HG/BSK have enjoyed: Picked up a slab of pheasant pate plus some unctuous duck liver and truffle pate; jambon de Paris and cornichons at Oyama in the Granville Island Public Market. A baguette and grape bread (for breakfast) from Terra Bread and lush Winnipeg cream cheese from the Market’s cheese counter. Oyama is owned and run by French-Canadians and their pates, rillettes, terrines, sausages, hams, etc. beat anything offered in Paris. Vancouver, of course, is a very Asian city so HG/BSK tried a new Vietnamese restaurant, Mr. Red Cafe, in the Kitsilano neighborhood. This is North Vietnamese cooking with many different menu items than the usual cuisine offered in Vietnamese restaurants in the United States. HG/BSK enjoyed crisp-skinned “Turmeric Fish” and mango salad. Went back to Peaceful Restaurantfor a lunch of spicy Dan Dan Noodles and lamb dumplings. These dumplings are very much like traditional soup dumplings. The diner takes a little nibble and drinks the broth before eating the cumin scented lamb. Returned to Congee Noodle House on a rainy day for comforting mushroom and scallop congee. Congee Noodle Hose still makes great congee but the other offerings have gone downhill. Sad. However, the predominantly Asian customers seemed to be relishing various noodle dishes. So, if you get there, confine yourself to congee and noodles. Wide noodles with prawns looked good.

Vij’s is one of the ornaments of Vancouver. It is an Indian fusion restaurant and as close to being perfect as any eatery can be. It was located on 14th Avenue just east of Cambie. When HG/BSK were part time Vancouver residents for some ten years, HG/BSK ate there at least once a week. No reservations. HG/BSK would join a line waiting for the 5:30 PM opening. Only way to get seated without a long wait. Vij’s has moved some blocks south on Cambie into a much larger, luxurious space with perfect lighting and acoustics. As always, there is lovely blend of warm, attentive service and restaurant professionalism. Founder/owner Vikram Vij has always promoted wine as the right accompaniment for his food. This is reflected in a new, vast wine list. Many affordable bottles and rare vintages for high flying oligarchs. HG/BSK drank Beaujolais Villages and dined on grilled vegetables in a mung bean curry; ling cod in a tomato based sauce; Vij’s signature dish of pink lamb “popsicles” in a cream curry. Warm naan slicked with a variety of spices and basmati rice. Palate cleansing kulfi and a creative Indian version of carrot cake were the desserts. Opulent meal. Memorable.

Tojo’s, located on Broadway in Vancouver’s Fairview neighborhood, has long been acknowledged as one of the best Japanese restaurants in North America. Perfect place to celebrate HG’s 87th birthday. Yes, the political situation in the United States is dismal. However, HG/BSK have much to be thankful for. HG remains reasonably healthy, active. Appetite is robust. Love for BSK is sustaining. HG is grateful to have a brilliant, humane, talented family. So, political woes were left behind as HG/BSK feasted at Tojo’s. Tuna tataki on a bed of shaved daikon. Baked oysters (indescribably delicious). Age tofu (perfectly fried cubes of lush, creamy tofu). Unagi on fluffy rice. Baked Pacific sablefish (black cod) with “Tojo’s special marinade”. Unusual Japanese version of creme brûlée for dessert. Drank a pleasant French sauvignon blanc. Lovely evening.

Oh, joy. HG/BSK are in Vancouver, the beautiful, cosmopolitan city in the land of liberty–Canada. Living in a high floor of a glass and steel tower adjacent to the city’s hockey stadium, home of the Vancouver Canucks. Wonderful views of skyscrapers and city lights plus a little terrace facing the mountains and English Bay. Good workout area (BSK’s domain) plus a 350-foot long pool and whirlpool (HG’s hangout). Exercise is necessary since Vancouver is food city of renown. The Asian food is the best on the continent. On arrival, HG/BSK dined at Congee Noodle House. Bowls of steaming congee with sliced scallops and mushrooms. Small plates of “Chef’s Special Chicken”, barbecued duck and, for HG, pork and shrimp wontons. Next day went shopping on Fourth Avenue in the Kitsilano neighborhood. (The most beautiful women in Vancouver shop on this lively avenue)). Lunched at Peaceful Restaurant. Szechuan Ma Po Tofu and string beans with shredded pork. Very tasty with restrained notes of heat and oil. Beautiful, well designed place. Election gloom is beginning to lift from HG/BSK.

SeaBus crtossing Burrard Inlet, Vancouver BC

The insane election race is done and HG rests in a nest of anxiety and gloom. Thus, it is a joy to find a new, life enhancing restaurant. And, that is what Bodega Prime is all about. Located on San Felipe Road (off Cerrillos) in Santa Fe, Bodega Prime (breakfast and lunch only) is a restaurant, deli and caterer. The space is light and open with views of the kitchen staff preparing the edibles. On the walls are carefully curated kitchen accessories: Cutting boards, knives, salad bowls, napkins, dish towels, etc. (HG/BSK picked up a few things for Christmas presents.)
The food is organic, locavore and creative. Joined for lunch by neighbor Karen K. (The Dessert Queen), all had the pulled pork sandwich, tall glasses of an exceptional fruit drink. Shortbread cookies for dessert. The sandwiches were abundant, underlined by an unusual chutney and made fiery with house made kimchi. HG eyed a couple having appetizing tuna melts. Yes, tuna melts. Not ordinary. Bodega Prime makes a confit of fresh tuna in a flavorful olive oil and spice mix. Must get back to Bodega Prime for breakfast. HG hears the waffles are a special treat.

One of the many joys of the Santa Fe Farmers Market is the abundance of shishito and padron peppers. These are small, bright green chile peppers. Mild but flavorful taste. However, be forewarned. Every now and then you may encounters a blazingly hot one. BSK did just that at the very good Bones Restaurant in Denver. It was so hot that it took BSK’s breath away and BSK almost fainted. Anyway, take a chance. These peppers are a treat. Shishito peppers are an East Asian variety. Padrons originated in the Galcia province of Spain. HG can’t discern any taste difference (Padrons fend to be smaller). HG/BSK were introduced to fried, garlicky padrons–Pimientos de Padron—at a Galician restaurant in Madrid near Madrid’s museum of modern art (it’s the museum that houses Picasso’s “Guernica”.) HG/BSK relished the peppers as well as tender octopus (polpo de gallego), shrimp in garlic sauce (camarones de ajillo), Spanish saffron rice and a big pitcher of sangria. There are two schools of padron frying. Both call for the peppers to be fried in a very hot cast iron pan. One school calls for the peppers to be cooked in olive oil. The others pours olive oil over the peppers after they have fried. BSK cooks the peppers in oil and adds plenty of minced garlic. Sublime.

Guacamole is omnipresent in New Mexico. Every supermarket sells a version of the avocado dip. Best of the bunch is the fresh packaged guacamole at Whole Foods. This is good guacamole, not great guacamole. The same could be said about the guacamole served in HG’s favorite restaurants dispensing authentic Northern New Mexican cooking: El Parasol, Sopaipilla Factory and Tia Sophia’s. Great guacamole is served at Gabriel’s, a large restaurant with a spectacular terrace, located 15 miles north of Santa Fe on highway 285. The guacamole is prepared table-side. A cart is pulled up to the table and a server scoops guacamole into a Molcajete (a round, volcanic stone bowl with three short legs). The server adds garlic, chopped onion and tomato, jalapeño peppers, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Pounds the mix with a Tejolote (stone pestle) into a proper consistency. Splendid. Even greater guacamole is prepared Chez HG/BSK. A swift and simple preparation. The Pojoaquë Super Market, a few minutes drive from HG/BSK’s, prepares fresh tomato based salsa, tomatillo salsa and pico de gallo daily (as well as ceviche). All are made by local women and have a down home taste. For a spicy (not fiery) guacamole, HG mixes (to taste) spoonfuls of the two salsas and adds an exuberant amount of freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice. Salt and pepper. Using a wooden fork and spoon, HG chops the mix into a smooth but chunky texture. HG serves pico de gallo (heavy on jalapeños) on the side for those who like fire in their mouth.

It’s Monday and HG is enjoying lunch at El Parasol, HG”s favorite dining place for earthy, down home New Mexican food. (Located on Highway 285/84. Pojoaque, N.M., minutes from HG/BSK’s home and 15 minutes driving time north of Santa Fe). El Parasol is presided over by Jose and Alicia Atencio, gracious and welcoming hosts. Customers step up to the counter, order and pay for their food. (Big takeout business). If you are seated at an indoor or outdoor terrace table, a smiling staffer brings the food to your table. All the standards (tacos, burritos, tostadas, enchiladas,etc.) are delicious (even addictive). However, HG’s favorite is the robust green chile menudo (tripe stew). Hot, hearty, spicy bowl of goodness. That was HG”s Saturday lunch (plus a shredded beef taco) when lovely Alicia stopped by HG’s table to welcome HG back after HG’s four month absence enjoying sea and sun on Prince Edward Island. The welcome was typical of Alicia (and Jose). They treat each customer like a valued guest. The customers are diverse–Latino families, Native Americans from the nearby pueblos, farmers, ranchers, artists, bikers, travelers, etc. Everyone is treated with smiles and efficient service. El Parasol is immaculate (including the restrooms). What the restaurant business needs is more Atencios, people who combine human warmth, culinary skills and professional management discipline. Upon leaving El Parasol this Saturday, Alicia presented HG with a bag of fresh produce from her garden as a welcome home gift. Hungry Gerald is also Lucky Gerald.

The breakfast burrito is a hearty culinary staple of western USA. Favored by physical laborers and desk bound executives (and everyone in between). A big BB devoured in the morning makes lunch superfluous. Effete east coasters may never have tasted one so let HG explain: A BB is a big rolled flour tortilla enclosing potatoes, eggs, onions, peppers, bacon (or ham, sausage or chorizo). The BB, looking like a small football, is smothered in green or red chile. Heat factor is mild to blazing. HG was introduced to the BB at Pete’s Kitchen on Colfax and Race in Denver. HG’s office was two blocks away from Pete’s so breakfast (or lunch) was, inevitably, the mild green chile smothered BB. HG loved it (as did SJ when SJ resided in the Mile High City). Since moving to the Santa Fe area, HG has learned that New Mexico is the true home of the BB. There are exemplary BB’s served in more than a score of restaurants and from some dozen roadside trucks. The best BB can be found at Tune-Up Cafe in Santa Fe (El Parasol in Pojoaque is a close second). Inventive BSK serves up BSK’s own version of the BB. Not monstrously large but very satisfying. Here’s how BSK does it: Warms a modest sized tortilla. Tops it with a browned layer of left over smashed potatoes and fried onions. Adds crisp bacon. Tops it with a sunny side fried egg. Then smothers the tasty work of art with plentiful warmed 505 Green Chile Sauce (Medium). Medium is mouth tingling. Hot is numbing. Where did the name “505” come from ? That’s Santa Fe’s telephone area code. If you want to attempt a New Mexico BB at home, order 505 from Amazon.

HG’s e-mail pal, Charles Curran, the Florida gourmand, informed HG this morning that the Carnegie Delicatessen will close at the end of 2016. Not a victim of The Real Estate Monster. The Carnegie owns the building in which it is located. The closing doesn’t sadden HG. For some decades the Carnegie has catered to tourists. Prices have been high and the sandwiches have been unappetizingly huge. The Carnegie opened its doors in 1937 and immediately attracted a crowd of show biz types: press agents, song pluggers, comedians, bookies and other raffish denizens of the Broadway/Seventh Avenue/Carnegie Hall neighborhood. HG dined there frequently from 1951 to 1983 (the downhill slide began in the 80’s). HG also frequented the Stage Delicatessen (when Max Asnas was in charge) and the incomparable Lindy’s. Those were glory days for Jewish delicatessens with Reuben’s in the East 50’s, Gitlitz in the West 70’s, Katz’s on Houston Street and 2nd Avenue Deli on Second Avenue. And, of course, there were scores of good delis in the boroughs (with the exception of Staten Island). HG’s all time favorite was Reuben’s. Its Reuben sandwich and chicken in the pot were incomparable. Woody Allen’s “Broadway Danny Rose” is framed around a group of comedians, seated at a Carnegie Delicatessen table, chatting about a Broadway character. The film captures the ethos of the Carnegie in bygone days. And, the film is a nice bittersweet homage to low level show biz.

(Photo by James and Karla Murray)