Emma's Brick Oven Pizza

Some restaurants are emotionally evocative. A type that evokes emotion on the broadest possible scale is the pizzeria. I have seen people cry in focus groups when describing what a pizzeria meant to them. With so much potential at stake, getting it right yields big rewards. Like satisfaction for owners who see happy faces in the dining room.




Emma's in downtown Cranford, NJ is an up to date pizzeria. It makes no effort to replicate the old days, or the old country. It is not a carrying place with tables. And if they deliver, they have the courtesy to keep it quiet. The decor is simple and communal, like any pizzeria. Like any up to dat one, they use a wood burning hearth oven, and have to good taste to design it well and feature it as the focus of the whole restaurant.




But how about the food? My perusal of the menu could not get past the first item, a Margherita. Emma's is made with fresh buffalo mozzarella, crushed San Marzano tomatoes, ( the world's best due to the soils fertilized by volcanic ash), and a thin crust. Thin between New York and Napoli.  We ordered a "personal" size- good choice for two.

The pie was so good, I burned my mouth on it! Part of the joy of great pizza right from the oven- something no delivery can replicate. Nor can delivery replicate the delicate crisp of a thin crust.

We also had a bowl of white bean and escarole soup, one of the best soups I have had in a restaurant. Real care and love.we left happily stuffed. All this for a sawbuck, including tip.

Emma's dining room is always full of families enjoying each other over a pie. That is what a pizzeria is.

Local pizzerias make me happy. Searching for one makes me frustrated. Discovering one makes me triumphant.

Blending- A Lifestyle

While grazing our way through Costco, lunching on samples, we were obliged to wait at the demonstration of a blender to get the goodies. Earlier we had been mocking the price, wondering how it could be better than a $20 model. We were soon to learn.

I was fascinated by the fact that this brand of blender is the one used on Will It Blend.com so I stayed around hoping the demostrator would have a Sham-Wow "Are you gettin that camera guy?" moment. No luck on that score.

But we had soup and ice cream out of the damn thing, and that was impressive. Back we went the next day to learn more. What we learned was enough to sell us. We even cut a deal that if we got 3 more sales we would get an extra blender vessel free! I was hooked when I read the book introduction page, titled Lifestyles Recipe Book. I am always seeking to participate in Lifestyles, so away we go.

We have been enjoying some quick soups, and the Blend Tec has won a place on our counter- recognition of its contribution to the cuisine.

The sales referrals didn't work out.

Meli Melo Creperie- French Food, or Faux?

Galettes! Of course we had to try any crepe shop serving buckwheat crepes.


The place is tiny and busy, so the decor is quite worn. This can be good if you aren't starting from a cheap fit-out originally. If it was cheesy to start, it ages poorly.

The menu is full of crepes and soups, with sandwiches thrown in too. We had a couple of galettes, buckwheat crepes. The crepes themselves were quite good, though the wheat de ble, buckwheat flour, was cut with white flout making them more tender and sweet than we are used to. The black pepper In the batter was a nice touch.

The traditional ham and cheese was good, given the limitation that the ingredients are sourced from the US and are not as tasty. We also had a veggie crepe, always a mistake, and it was again this time. Our butternut squash soup had stewed apples in it that really ruined a good soup, and the potato leek soup? We really couldn't tell if it was asparagus or leeks that colored it. It had grains of sand and stems (thyme)? It was just pretty bad.

The most amazing thing was that The bill for lunch was $39!!! Holy shit! An undersized crepe piled high with raw bean sprouts and a smattering of other vegetables was $14! This is effin' spit out your food crazy ! I can't recall a rip off this profound anywhere else.  And how in hell does it relate to the noble Galette of Bretagne?

For the love of God, avoid Meli Mello like the plague.  Save yourself!

- Exechobo

Rockin Joe's Coffee

Rockstar parking at Rockin Joe's
rock-n-roll coffee shop. In downtown Westfield, NJ, this two location chain spans the second and third wave cafe worlds. It also has a respectable menu for luck and dinner.







The coffee is fresh ground and brewed, From Delano's roastery. Not bad, it's fresh. There are lots of cute espresso drinks named for rock stars emphasizing their caffeinated properties.

The menu is a good one, and they know how to cook eggs. The specialty is Belgian waffles, a passion of the owner. They looked good, if that is what you want.

- Exechobo

Pain Quotidien

A follow up to my prior review of Pain Quotidien. In fact, just a few days after that post, I updated it here with some corrections thanks to a reader's input.

It is good to go back to worthy places to check up on them.


We have eaten here three meals in a row, and Mrs. Exechobo pronounced this one of her favorite restaurants. So much so she bought the book of the owner, Alain Coumont, forgiving him for being Belge.

We look for this little chain when we are in the NYC. The bread is as good as it gets, nice dishes that are light and seem healthy without losing flavor, the atmosphere pleasant and the prices fair. In fact, oatmeal is twice as good at half the price of Sequim. How is that possible?

Pheasant

Driving out the driveway I passed a couple of pheasants. If I had The Judge with me, we could have taken the big male. The shot was clear. Take the shot!







- Exechobo

Razor Clam Dig

Here in the Northwest we have traditions. When winter storms hit the coast, and the low tides come before sunup or after sunset, we dig razor clams. People head to the wide sand shoals the receding Pacific reveals as it retreats. They walk down to water's edge in small groups until there is a collection of hardy souls wandering in small patterns with eyes intent on the sand. You see a great slice of Northwest outdoorspeople.



In the center of this picture is a young family, with an infant less than a year old in her mother's arms. Was mom watching her husband dig? Or was she pointing out clam "shows" for him? No. She was down on her knees in the surf, baby cradled in one arm, the other digging after the clam up to her shoulder. What a great way to raise a kid!

At the end of the day the die-hards are still at it, headlamps and lanterns ablaze, looking for the last morsels of sweet claminess.


For us, we broke out pocket knives and sat around with glasses of Scotch, cleaning clams and bullshitting.

With a buttermilk soak, then some Zatterain's fish fry breading, and a 60 second dip in the hot oil jacuzzi, they are mild, sweet and delicious.

- Exechobo

Thumb Sharpening

Fishing, hunting, cooking all require sharp knives. I had a sharpening session after my knives were worn a bit dull on an elk. But I used my thumb as a jig, a guide to ensure I maintained a 20* angle between the stone and the blade. The result? A flat sided thumb with a hole ground into it. Ouch.


- Exechobo

Apple Harvest

In between fall storms the peninsula is paradise. We have been reveling in days of little wind, intense sun and cool mornings. The shortening days make one appreciate these days even more.


One of the activities that get our attention is harvesting apples. Apples of all kinds, including the derelict orchards we sometimes find in the woods. But today it was a friend's mini orchard that needed pickin. A ladder, a bucket, a trailer behind a tractor and three of us can pick a tree clean in no time, enjoying the weather and companionship as we do so.



- Exechobo

Mushroom Hunt

We spent a few happy hours in the woods, scrambling over fallen trees and scooting amongst alder scrub.
With our field guide in hand we sampled fungi from a couple of areas. Lo and behold, we found a few edibles! Most interesting was the shaggy mane. We found a perfect eating specimen as well as a couple that were starting to consume themselves. When they do that the result is an exuded liquid that makes excellent ink

Seattle Adventure Part 3

Paseo makes us rethink geography. Why not, in the future, approach Seattle from the north via the Kingston Ferry so we can drive on Fremont and stop in?


Paseo is that good. Carribean cuisine is the second under-appreciated culinary profile worth learning.

We had a pork sandwich, and the flavors were remarkable. Jerk seasoning, cilantro, a flavorful aioli contributed to a memorable sandwich I will re-crave.

Nothing is perfect, and this little place missed on a couple of items. The bread is delicious. A sandwich sized baguette, and toasted, it is just a bit too toothsome for a sandwich like this. Bite after bite I had to reassemble the sandwich as it's innards popped out the sides. Messy is OK, but this was just not necessary. The other quibble is with the peppers. Jalapeños. OK, not imaginative but legit. The issue is with using pickled peppers. Lazy! Fresh would have been far better.

Even so, these issues won't deter us from taking a northern approach to Seattle so we can stop here again and again.
- Exechobo

Working for Food

We are now executing plan F for lunch on Saturday. The list we worked through includes:
Crab Fest
Sabai Thai
Kim's
Viaggio Pizza at the market
Cedar Brook Farm
These are the places we tried to eat at. I am perplexed with a restaurant industry that takes Saturday off. I had always found that day to be the second most profitable of the week, accounting for about 35% of the total weekly profit.

No, the hunger to succeed is muted out here. Except for Viaggio, who were rained out- the oven won't keel temp and the make table is unusable when wet!

But we actually benefitted from the long search for an open restaurant. We ended up at Alderwood Bistro.


This tiny place on Alder Street is a serious restaurant. Most important they take great care in planning and preparation of dishes made around local and regional food. Highly recommended.

- Exechobo

Fungus Finds

Hunting season is here- deer, grouse, elk and mushrooms. It is a great season to be in the woods, and there is no better reason than to bring home something good to eat.



Mycology is the proper name for the study of fungi. It is a field important to mushroom hunters, for making a mistake in identification is potentially fatal. We have begun our schooling, fortunately there is a good Mycological Society locally.

Field work begins today in the fir forests known to be a favored environment for chantrelles.


- Exechobo

Victrola Coffee

Recently corrupted while in NYC, we are now third wave coffee aficionados. Filled with a dangerous level of knowledge and Stumptown coffee we now find that Starbucks simply won't do. So when in Seattle we did a mini tour, looking for the beans to buy for our home espresso making. Naturally my espresso skills are hampered only by the bean! (the last thee sentences are in jest)

We were recommended to taste Victrola and so we did. We went up to 15th Ave, for I mistakenly though we could sip our coffee while looking into the roasting room. But alas no. So we simply sipped.

We immediately agreed the espresso they were serving was bitter. Maybe it was our palate, maybe the bean, a single bean Guatemalan, maybe the roast. But it is a very nice cafe in a hyper hip Seattle neighborhood worth a stop.


- Paul/ BlogPress/ iPhone

Crab Fest

Not a festival of my ex-wives, but a celebration of this, the meatiest of all the crabs, size for size The Dungeness Crab is possibly the most significant wild food of our area. We build our calendar around it. We have not yet forgiven our daughter for interrupting the crab season for a mere wedding.

The festival is in Port Angeles. Crabs and crab cooking dominate the event. The smell of crab is in the air.


When we arrived, I went first to the back of the tents to see the crabs and the kitchens. The booths, music and attractions didn't faze me. All I wanted was to gaze at Dungies.

Latke

Recently I had latkes or potato pancakes at Katz' deli in NYC. They were good enough to make me think about mine. The recipe I use I got from my mother. My two brothers and I peeled potatoes and ground them and mixed the batter while she fried em. We did 5# batches. So delicious were they. Now I make em.

I pulled some potatoes, onion and zucchini from our garden, and decided this fritters would be the best way to enjoy the bounty. Add some flour, a couple of eggs, salt and pepper. The real secret is how the produce is shredded. My secret.



- Paul/ BlogPress/ iPhone

Found! Great Pizza

My life has been inextricably linked with pizza. From age 16 to retirement pizza has figured big. So when I tell you I have found great pizza, you should listen up!

I will restrain myself from ranting about the comoditization of pizza. Also, I like pizza in many forms. New York, Chicago, California, French, thin, gourmet, traditional, there is a place for all. Pizza is simply  a flatbread base with ingredients on top baked in an oven. And by the way, a conveyorized cooking chamber is NOT an oven. Anything cooked in a conveyor is a compromise of time and temperature. Plain, pure and simple.

A couple of enterprising guys have eschewed the trappings of a fakey Shakey's pizza parlor and brought us the essence of pizza.  Good ingredients and a good oven.  They are Viaggio Pizza.

I made my second and third visit to the cart recently, and found it as good as the first time. Fresh seasonal ingredients, like chantrelles the owners had harvested, and produce from our green market. Super thin dough, like the Neapolitans use, an oven over 700 degrees, and you can't go wrong.



We now have two favorite places to eat in Sequim, Viaggio and Kim's.




- Exechobo

Honey Hole

Recommended by @CoffeePedaler, who has proven to be a discerning gourmand, we needed a light lunch while in the neighborhood.



During the long wait for our carryout order, I moved the car to keep from getting a ticket. On the way I reflected on how the Honey Hole might fare in NYC. At their rate of speed most fine dining places there would have the starter course down. And the line would be unmanageable, resulting in imminent closure as they struggled to pay the rent.

However, once we started to enjoy our sandwich, we actually had to say "Damn, that's a good sandwich!". Fresh, quality ingredients, good flavors, right balance of moistness, a'la minute prep, very good sandwich roll added up to be worth the wait and the money.

So even though Honey Hole fails the NYC test, it's good enough to excel in Seattle.

Smokin Salmon

 Of course, the best smoked salmon is from a recipe I use.  Not my recipe.  The varieties of smoked salmon reflect its widespread uses and users.  From the barely smoked, thin sliced lox to the dry, chewy jerky product, there is a smoked salmon recipe to please any fish lover.

Here on the Olympic Peninsula, everyone has a personal smoked salmon recipe.  The Native People started it.  Their simple, hang it over a fire till its smoked method produces excellent smoked King salmon I am told.  The Alaskans here, and there are plenty, take a more involved approach.  One such fellow shared his secret recipe with us.  His resume is impressive.  Alaskan, cannery owner, salmon buyer, commercial fisherman and gourmand.  He has honed this process for a lifetime to get it perfectly balanced.  And it is.

Smoking salmon by his method is a commitment.  It takes at least two days, and some late night, early morning work to make it happen.  The results are worth it.  This is the BEST salmon you can eat.  Plain, pure and simple.

Oh, you thought I would give you some insight? No chance.  I entered a confidentiality agreement to get this recipe, and salmon smokers take this very seriously.

Farm Tour

Pastoral settings, sandwiched between the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  We are surrounded by Native American culture and casinos, and farms.  Roads everywhere mark farm family names, like Kitchen-Dick, two families whose farms are connected by the road.  The Farm Tour is a once a year chance to connect to those who still farm here.  In the late 19th and early 20th century, settlers came out to the peninsula on boats to live off the land, logging and farming the cleared ground.  Our history is not so far removed nor different than current life in places like Brazil and Indonesia.

The tour was enjoyable, with access to information on many subjects related to agriculture.  A couple of "farms" were a stretch, like the sheep herding demonstration, enjoyable as it was.  The food and music added to the atmosphere.
We used the opportunity to add to our growing knowledge base of chickens and goats, and to spend a beautiful day with some friends.