Thursday, June 19, 2008

A Pre-Grand Opening Look at The Stable!

I'm not supposed to officially write about The Stable....yet. The grand opening isn't until Saturday (6/21) and I believe in giving a restaurant time to find its feet. I'm also friendly with the owners and kitchen.

In any case, I strongly recommend that all of you visit when you can. The taps are very micro-heavy, the food is spectacular (especially the pappardelle with smoked chicken, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes), the decor is classic Jones (see Rotten Apple review), and hopefully, the few service burps will work themselves out within a couple of weeks.

Soooo worth the short trip to the Falstaff brewery complex at Lemp and Cherokee.

Here are a few pics to get you excited....

...Left Hand milk stout, O'Fallon 5 Day IPA, Scrimshaw Pilsner, and Hoegaarden

...The still, currently in the process of making local whiskey

...An at least two-story chandelier, assembled in pieces from salvaged stuff in the brewery complex

...That means booze!

...Another one of the chandeliers. Much like the huuuuge one, most of the features at The Stable were salvaged from old, falling down buildings.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Drink It, Black


Or not. In this recent New York Times post, Oliver Schwaner-Albright writes about how cream and all its dairy siblings pollute -- pollute! -- coffee. He says "the flavors of an exceptional cup of coffee can be as layered and complex as a glass of pinot noir." To this, I would like to say the following to Mr. Schwaner-Albright:

Bitch, please.

How you take your coffee is a preference issue. My father takes his with sugar, no cream. My mother takes hers with cream, no sugar. My boyfriend takes his black. I take mine "regular," an East Coast term meaning with small, equal amounts of milk and sugar that, sadly, the Midwest has never adopted in language or practice. Perhaps we should thanks Starbucks for running "regular" into extinction with endless variations on "-ccino."

Why isn't preference ever enough for food snobs? I appreciate that people labeled as food snobs are educated about what they're consuming, but the key word there is "consuming." Paying money for cupping sessions wherein participants compete to identify flavors and aromas undetectable by uneducated sensory systems is work. What's so wrong with enjoying something for once?

I enjoy coffee. My ideal cuppa consists of dark French roast (preferably Kaldi's or Chauvin, both local and delicious), muscovado sugar, and whole milk. Perfect. I breathe deeply over my cup and immediately feel more alert, calm, and satisfied. I don't think about nutty aromas or spicy flavors.

But again, that's just me. I know all about standards and such (like, um, Folgers sucks?), but everything enjoyable is open to interpretation. Few booze experts will deny that a true martini is made with gin, but I can't think of many who would deny that vodka martinis can be just as tasty and inebriating.

I'm not buying the coffee beans that come from a fox's asshole. I haven't invested insane amounts of money and time to make myself feel special. I just like my coffee the way I like it. Bitter balances sweet. Milk softens acidity. Neither ruins quality coffee's essential robust character. I don't break it down into science, I just enjoy it.

(Though if I were to dissect my love for coffee into more elemental terms, I'd use the outstanding Grant Achatz article in the August 2008 issue of Food & Wine....go buy it if you're not already a subscriber and read all about Gerard Craft [whose Smoky Pork Pappardelle recipe is today's top choice!] in the process!)

Pollution rules.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

RECIPE - Chili Garlic Oil

This is possibly the easiest recipe ever. It's also cheap to make, lasts a long time, and lends a distinct flavor to everything it's added to.

What You'll Need....
  • 1 empty glass bottle, thoroughly washed
  • 1 wine bottle stopper
  • olive oil
  • 1 bulb garlic, all cloves peeled and trimmed
  • red chili flakes
What You'll Do....

Peel and trim all of the cloves from one bulb of garlic so that they fit into your glass bottle.




Add red chili flakes. I have no idea how much I used. Probably a tablespoon or so.

Add olive oil. Fill nearly to the top (your wine bottle stopper should have a dry base when it's plugged into the bottle; if the oil gets inside the threads, it can turn rancid and the oxygen will rot the garlic).

I suppose you'd call it "cellaring," but put the filled, closed bottle in your pantry and leave it there for at least a couple of weeks. The flavor gets stronger the longer it sits, so keep that in mind when you're dipping your bread into it.