Archives Under "delicious" (RSS)
NY Cheesecake…Kind Of.
4 June 2008 | creative presentation of the week, delicious, dessert, faithful readers, plated dessert, recipe | 1 Response
People go nuts for this dessert. Eyes pop out of people’s heads. It changes worlds. Even Chef cleaned his plate and he rarely does with sweets. So it’s this month’s Creative Presentation of the Week. Just a little New York Style Cheesecake with Balsamic Strawberries and Hazelnut Scone. As I look at the plate now, I marvel at how I put TWO leaves of mint. C’mon dude! It’s a basic cheesecake recipe I learned from Mark Metzger at the Vail Cascade. I used it also at Carlyle for the cheesecake three ways. Thanks Mark!! The balsamic strawberries were Chef’s idea, and after some tinkering we reproduced them. Look at those babies! All glistening and shit. The “crust” on this cheesecake comes form of scone. I always liked scones for strawberry shortcakes and this dish had strawberries so I thought, what the F. Toasted hazelnuts and sugar crust it up. It’s a little weird, sure, but damn yummy. My faithful readers need these recipes. So…here:
Metzger NY Cheesecake
1 1/2 # cream cheese at room temp
6 oz sugar
Pulp of 1 vanilla bean
3 eggs
1. Preheat the oven to 250 (200 for convection.) Place the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla pulp in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on low speed for 5 minutes
2. Scrape the bowl thoroughly with a spatula.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time scraping thoroughly between each addition. The more careful you are here, the better your end product. Add and scrape!! Visualize that nipple in the bottom of the mixing bowl, and scrape it well!!
4. Transfer the batter to a square flexible mold.
5. Bake in a water bath for 25 minutes, then rotate the pan, and bake for another 15 minutes.
6. At this point, the cheesecake should be set on the outsides, and slightly jiggly in the middle. Open the oven door for a sec, then close it and turn the oven off. Set a timer for 45 minutes. I finish all of my custards this way, it works really well. Thanks Alton.
7. Chill the cake for at least 3 hrs before attempting to de-mold and slice. I usually flash mine in the freezer for about 25 minutes to get a clean square.
Balsamic Strawberries
3 cups balsamic vinegar
1 cup honey
granulated sugar to taste
2 vanilla beans scraped
2 pods toasted star anise
2 1/2 - 3 cups hulled local strawberries
1. Measure the balsamic and honey into a pot and whisk to combine. Whisk in the the sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you reach the desired sweetness. Remember the strawberries have a good sweetness as well.
2. Scape the vanilla pods into the pot and bring the mix to a boil.
3. Add the berries and kill the heat. Cover and steep for 25-30 minutes until berries are tender but still slightly firm. They will carry over, so…
4. Create an ice bath with water, ice and two vessels. Stop the cooking process.
5. Carefully pour the steeped berries and liquid into the ice bath. Try not to agitate the berries as they cool, they become very fragile.
Scones
I left the scone recipe at work. Eat your fucking cheesecake. Here’s a good scone recipe for you. And here’s a picture of some ice creams.
Thanks Arturo.
28 May 2008 | Ten 01, chef, delicious, people, pig, squab | 2 Responses
Here’s a pork loin sandwich created by Ten-01 sous chef Arturo Lopez. Brined and slow roasted pork loin with provolone, pickled shallots, and pea tendril salad. Arturo puts such love and concentration into everything he cooks, I love when he cooks me food. For example, on this sandwich, he puts the shallots in between the slices of cheese so they don’t slide around. He thinks about shit like that. He’s got the love, simply put. He always sends extra food my way or over to the dishers. Like Thai-Style Pork Ribs. Lately I’ve been enjoying the new Lamb set, with the ever-delicious goat cheese gnocchi (which Arturo always makes) and artichokes. I watched him cook me one up the other night. He knew it was for me but he still bent over it in concentration, standing up the pieces just right. Arturo is the kind of chef who watches all day. He even observes when I don’t eat, and then brings me some food. “I saw you ate some fries but…” He knows the mise on my station, so he’s always asking me if I need this or that, and if I know about today’s party. He’ fucking on it. Chingon. I’ve learned so much working with this him that I feel like I’ve known him for years. He humbly knows all I know, and if he doesn’t know he can still do it better than me. He’s always got a better way, from the simple to the complex. Chef and he have been working together for a long time, and I can see why. It’s like father and son almost. Also coming off Arturo’s station is Chef’s new Squab Dish (below.) The legs are meticulously de-boned and stuffed with foie-gras torchon. Then they get bacon wrapped. I haven’t eaten this one yet, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Eating in Zermatt.
26 May 2008 | Europe, delicious, food | 1 Response
We ate twice at the Stockhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland. We arrived in town on the Glacier Express in snow storm. Big flat flakes blew everywhere. An overgrown golf cart picked us up from the station and brought us to the Albatross Hotel. After checking in, we inquired about the local fondue joint. A short walk from our hotel landed us in a stinky cheese cellar. Travel weary and eager to relax, we ordered wine and beer. Shortly afterwards, a salad and charcuterie plate arrived at our table to our delight. The meat was fatty without being greasy and had nice spice. Steaming and stinky, our cheese fondue was delivered next with toasted bread. Garlic and white wine filled the air, and a slight aroma of vinegar. Drool flooded my mouth as it wafted into my face. There was more melted cheese than we could possibly eat but dammit, we had to try. As we dipped towards the bottom, our pores oozed with oily cheese. I knew the best cheese was burned to the bottom of the crock, all crunchy and dark. I chiseled with my fork to get those last few bites. After eating our fill, we waddled back to the hotel in hopes of hot tubs and glasses of proseco. The following day the hotel served a buffet style breakfast. I ate three croissants, scrambled eggs, bacon, cottage cheese, two kinds of dried meat, yogurt , and buttered bread. Afterwards, we frequented swiss bakery fuchs, where the smell of chocolate lured us into to melty heaven. We sat around our hotel most of the day, sporadically venturing out for snacks. We wanted to catch a glimpse of the Matterhorn, but as much as it teased us we never did. We watched old Frank Sinatra movies and BBC sitcoms while drinking and playing cards. Our hotel room in Zermatt was one of the nicest we stayed in. Later that night we wandered down to the StockHorn again. We sat in the upstairs dining room this time, with a great view of the fire place. Here all the proteins were cooked. A server would bring up little plates of raw meat from the kitchen. Dude would then toss them all into a bain of marinade for a few minutes , then throw them on the grill. I ordered beef tenderloin (44 francs,) and sure enough, right into that sticky sauce, then onto the grill. As we watched it leave the flames, a server dished out sides from a chafing dish near the grill. Au gratin potatoes and sauteed veggies met the steak on the plate. It all came to the table moments later with a crock of garlicy compound butter. Kate and I split the perfectly temped beef and side salad. As the night got rolling, dude flew through his orders, a blur of motion. A little intercom on the mantle kept him in touch with the kitchen. This guy cooked fifty or so steaks plus chicken, as we ate and watched. The night winded down and we drank more wine. We walked dreamily back to the hotel for more chocolate and sleep. The following day we would travel to France.
A Kick Ass Meal in Paris.
14 May 2008 | Europe, delicious, food | 6 Responses
In the 6 th arrondissment of Paris, a stone’s throw from the hotel where we stayed, sits Le Comptoir. This tiny little bistro offers some of the best food I have tasted in my life. It was so good, Kate and I ate there twice. The first time we had simple bistro food, She the Tuna Salad, me the Foie Torchon. Our cheese plate arrived with a big honkin’ slab of raw milk butter, sprinkled with sea salt. The cheese and butter where at a perfect temperature, and all melted in out mouths like…well, like butter. Butter Rules!! We enjoyed our outdoor seats with cheap carafes of red wine, despite the chill air. The bistro provided snugly blankets and strong heaters were installed in the awning above us. Peopled strolled by peeping our cheese and our silly grins. Paris!! Afterwards we hit up the close by Bar Dix, where we drank sangria until we where ready to stagger over to our hotel. We knew we’d be back to both these places. A few days later we got up early and walked almost forty blocks for an American breakfast before taking the train out to Versailles’ regal palace and it’s acres of gardens. A thirty minute ride from our area of Paris put us in walking distance of this gigantic estate. We mainly went out there to see the expansive gardens and sculptures/fountains. Unfortunately, in spring time, nothing is in bloom and the fountains are turned off. We did go out on the lake in a row boat, and push our way through the crowds of people in the palace and see some really cool stuff. When were done…we were getting hungry. We hit th
e train back to Paris and headed straight for the bar. On the way we made reservations at Le Comptoir, the five-course pre-fix menu started seating at 7:30. Good wine and cheese were in the forecast. We sat down and cozied up under the warm blankets again and watched passersby and ordered a bottle of pinot noir. The scene was set for the best meal of our trip. The bread they put out was crusty and fresh. The first was a Cremeux de petit pois et perle du Japon Chair de tourteaux. It tasted like a split pea soup with tasty ham and a warm, foamy texture. On the plate were two cheesy gougeres, ideal for dipping. The sun started to set and traffic slowed on the street. The wine flowed as we awaited the next course. Soon came a steaming bowl of clam and truffle risotto topped with grilled asparagus and parm chip. Holy shit, dude…that was money. I licked the bowl. The pace of the meal quickened as our next course wafted up to the table. The first artichoke of the season was nicely charred over breaded veal. The sauce was an a jus pistou, which tasted like veal demi and pesto. A thin cracker was the perfect garnish: deliciously functional. I was proud of Kate, she almost cleaned her plate. We caught our breath for a minute while our server cleared. More wine was poured and we giggled and chatted. Suddenly, there was enough cheese for 30 people. Seriously. A huge silver platter of assorted fromages, jams and house made jellies. There was no way two people could eat this cheese, and just the idea of it was one of the greatest dining experiences of my life. Gluttony in it’s highest form. The cheese was at perfect temperature, from stinking logs to thick chunks from hard wheels. We gorged ourselves on unpasteurized cheesiness. We ate until I thought I would burst. People on the sidewalk gawked at the display. If I ever have to die one day, I hope it happens while eating raw-milk cheese. I could go out like that. Reluctantly, we finally waved the platter away, our server spun it around and put it on the table right next to us. Viva la France. Incredibly, they then brought dessert. A tall wedge of Valrhona milk chocolate mousse cake with a minty sorbet and an impossibly thin cookie. The Chef, Yves Camdeborde, popped out onto the sidewalk and asked about our meal. We smiled and nodded and thanked him for the best one we’d had in Paris. We headed back to Bar Dix and it’s Nirvana playing jukebox. We drank sangria and laughed at ourselves until we got sleepy.
I Make Dessert V.
26 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious, dessert, plated dessert, recipe | 4 Responses
Awww…it’s cute!! Well as Tony once said, we’re in the cute business. This is the Sorbet Trio, dreamed up by Jack Yoss, and realized by me. Chef wanted to do this dish for this past New Years Eve, and they we kept it on the menu as the light choice. At first, before I got Gelatoo-D2, we were buying all of our sorbets (and ice creams) from Great Northwest Ice Cream in Vancouver, WA. Now that we make our own, I use the simplest of techniques for sorbet. Mix 2 parts fruit puree to 1 part simple syrup. As a general rule this works for every puree I’ve tried. Pictured above is pear, strawberry, and marionberry. I adjust sweetness to taste by adding water, add a little lemon juice, and spin it. An easy test for proper ingredient porportions in the “egg test.” I don’t know why this works, but it does. I believe it is somehow measuring brix. Anyway, after you mix together all your ingredients, gently place a whole egg in its shell into the sorbet base. If the egg floats so that only a dime-size portion of the shell is above the liquid, he has achieved the right balance of ingredients. If it sinks lower, the mixture requires more sugar. If more of the shell is visible, the recipe needs more water. Like I said, I’m not sure of the science here, but I’m okay with that. So you’ve got your sorbet, how about those adorable little cones? Those are made from a simple tuile cookie recipe that I stole years ago from Charlie Trotter’s Desserts. The batter is spread into a flat cone shape, sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts, baked, then molded while still warm in a pastry tip. In an airtight container, they last forever. I rotate the flavors of “broth” that the sorbet’s sit in, it’s basically a sweetened fruit puree and a complimentary wine that is brought to a simmer and then chilled. This week it’s Raspberry-Rose. I use little stray pieces of pate fruit (gelee) to garnish the soup. Here’s some recipes:
Basic Sorbet Base
2 cups fruit puree
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
juice of half a lemon
1. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepot and bring to a boil. Chill completely.
2. Mix the 2 cups puree with 1 cup of the simple syrup. Add the lemon juice. Taste it. Is it too sweet? Add water.
3. Perform the egg test as described above…go ahead…it works.
Tuile Cookie Batter
6 tblsp (3 oz) butter
pulp from 1 vanilla bean
3 egg whites
1/2 cup plus 1 tblsp sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tblsp a.p. flour
for chocolate use:
1/4 cup plus 1 tblsp a.p. flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1. Melt butter with vanilla pulp and cool to room temp
2. Whip egg whites and sugar to soft peaks
3. Sift in flour and mix to combine
4. Store or spread thin and bake @ 350 for 5-7 minutes
I Make Dessert IV.
23 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious, dessert, faithful readers, plated dessert, recipe | 4 Responses
Now, as my faithful readers know, I love Bread Pudding. If I see it on a dessert menu, I order it. Something about soaking brioche or croissants in a rich custard and then baking it (and then frying it,) really appeals to me. In the case of Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding , pictured here, I use brioche. I serve it with caramelized bananas, dark rum sauce, and salted caramel ice cream. It’s starting to beat out the Chocolate Cake as our top selling dessert. The idea for bread pudding, is as old as the hills, and its no wonder. Set the Way Back Machine for the middle ages, at the advent of custard. Dude’s sitting there eating his baked custard, or more likely, swirling his day-old bread in his creme anglaise. Ever the frugal cook and lover of bread (in spite of its short window of delicious,) he swirls and dunks and lifts and chews. POP! The light bulb goes off, bathing everyone in the light of pudding history, bread pudding is born. Seriously, though, a better use for stale bread bread cannot be found. It’s actually better with stale bread, because it’s more absorbent. Old cookbooks have tons of random recipes, but I like to take a slightly different approach. Chef Tony showed me a way to make the custard that makes a lot of sense. Creaming. If you follow the creaming method, you get a nice rich custard where the butter is evenly dispersed in tiny little particles that melt into the bread in the oven. Overnight soaking is key, getting that bread good and permeated with eggy flavor and creamy goodness. Below is a huge recipe, adapted from Chef Tony Martin’s Bourbon Bread Pudding that to this day, is the best I’ve tasted. I added chocolate chips to his base, but you could add almost anything to this, and it would be damn good. This recipe is 1/3 of what I use, it makes one 2″ hotel pan. Want a smaller recipe? Try this one.
Bread Soaking Custard
1 lb 4 oz butter
1 lb sugar
15 eggs
1 qt heavy cream
1 qt half & half
vanilla extract to taste
1. Cream the butter and sugar light and fluffy with the paddle attachment in a stand mixer.
2. Add the eggs slowly, in three additions, waiting until the eggs absorb and scraping before each addition.
3. Switch to the whip and add the cream and half and half.
So now that you have your custard, you need to soak some bread in it. You need enough stale bread (brioche, croissants, or other bread-remove crusty crusts) to soak up almost all of the custard right when you mix it in. Then cover it and soak it over night. Next day mix in the desired amount of chocolate chips (or ripe bananas, caramel apples, scales of a sea serpent, eye of newt, or whatever tickles your fancy.) and bake it, covered with foil, in a 325 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until its set. If you like, pull the foil off 10 minutes before its done to brown the top. Try something else delicious: omit the sugar, andbefore baking, add sauteed mushrooms, or chunks of foie gras, or bacon, or something savory. It’s gonna be great.
I Make Dessert III.
20 March 2008 | Ten 01, creative presentation of the week, delicious, dessert, faithful readers, plated dessert, recipe | 4 Responses
So we’ve all had creme brulee, and we’ve all had peanut butter and jelly, but who out there among my faithful readers has had PB&J Creme Brulee? I love this fucking dessert. I think it deserves Creative Presentation of the Week. Why, you may ask? Well, it’s the culmination of alot of hard work, during which I subsisted on pb&j sandwiches, and also, I’ve known this peanut butter custard recipe was solid since The Velvet Elvis. This idea had been struggling to come out, and it took the influence of Chef Jack Yoss to see it’s realization. I made him the peanut butter brulee to try and he suggested putting marionberry jam into the ramekin first, ’cause he loved the custard…and he loves pb&j, too. We first tried it in our regular brulee molds, but after one day the jam would seep through the custard and create this gnarly looking scar when you tried to brulee it. We went to a deeper dish to avoid that problem, and also started reducing the jam first to remove any excess moisture. House made honey roasted peanuts are sprinkled on after carmelizing the custard. The shot of chocolate milk actually came about because of a guest suggestion: it was good, but needed chocolate. After some experimentaion, I went with good old Hersheys choclolate syrup to make it because let’s face it, that’s what chocolate milk is. A little heavy cream adds some creaminess, as if this dish needed it. This is my favorite item on the current menu…I don’t know why we don’t sell more of them…C’MON PEOPLE!!! The only thing missing is the bread, and you had some with your salad!! Anyway, here’s the recipes:
Peanut Butter & Jelly Brulee
1 1/3 cups whole milk
1 1/3 cups whipping cream
6 tablespoons plus 6 teaspoons sugar
5+ oz creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)
8 large egg yolks
marionberry jam as needed (or any other jam that you prefer)
1. Combine milk, cream, sugar and scald
2. Temper in eggs
3. Temper in peanut butter and whisk until smooth
4. Taste the cream. I always end up adding a little more peanut butter, up to 1 cup
5. Strain the cream and chill overnight or at least three hours.
6. Place the jam in a saucepot and reduce it by one-third over low heat, stirring occasionally.
7. Cool the jam slighty and then spread it in an even layer into the bottom of desired (deep) ramekin. Pop them in the freezer to set the jam.
8. When the jam is super cold and won’t be distured by pouring in the custard, pour in the custard
9. Bake the custard in a 300 degree oven, in a water bath for 30 minutes or so, or until set at the edges, and a little loose at the center. Open the oven, turn it off, close the door, and finish them for another 45 minutes.
10. Chill the brulee’s for at least 3 hours before sprinkling some granulated sugar and a blowtorch to carmelize. Sprinkle with loose chopped honey roasted peanuts if desired.
Chocolate Milk
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
10 oz Hershey’s Syrup
1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend. Serve ice cold in a chilled glass.
I Make Dessert II.
18 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious, dessert, recipe | 10 Responses
Here is another dessert that I serve at Ten-01. It’s called Olive Oil Beignets with Lemon Sage Anglaise. I did this dessert at my tasting for the job here because we have these really sweet bowls. The sauce rides in a little caddy up front, and the dougnuts in back. I think these were what got me the job. Oh yeah, and a little magazine called Bon Appetit is running them in thier June 08 issue. The pastry is a basic pate choux, where most of butter is replaced with olive oil. Typically, choux paste uses water, but I like using good ‘ol whole milk. The batter is basically an enriched roux that eggs are added to while its still warm. I’m not sure what science is going on here, but according to Harold McGee in On Food And Cooking, cooking the flour with the liquid and fat tenderizes the gluten protiens, preventing them from develpoing elasticity, and the addition of eggs adds flavor from the yolks and structure from the whites. This basic recipe dates back to 1540, and was fine tuned much later by none other than Antoine Careme. After making the batter I pipe it into little dougnut shapes and freeze them rock hard. They go from the freezer straight into a 325 degree fryer for about eight minutes, until golden brown. While they’re still a little greasy and pipng hot, I toss them in granulated sugar. Half the point of this dish is the sauce, and with the infusion of sage and lemon zest, it nails that whole sweet/savory thing. Another ancient recipe, creme anglaise, is about as easy as it gets. Bring the cream, sugar, zest and herbs to just boiling, kill the heat and cover it for 30 minutes. Strain out the cream and temper in the yolks and cook it, stirring constantly, to a thick custard, around 165 degrees. Once cool, its perfect for dipping doughnuts or spinning into ice cream. Pastry Chef Heidi Kaufmann at Fenouil gave me this sauce recipe, it’s really quite good.
Olive Oil Beignet
2 cups milk
2 oz butter
6 oz olive oil
2 tblsp sugar
1/2 tblsp salt
2 cups A.P. flour
8 eggs
1. Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil
2. Sift flour and add to pot, cooking until it forms a ball
3. Transfer the mix to the bowl of a stand mixer, and add the eggs slowly, one or two at a time
4. Pipe and freeze
Lemon Sage Crème Anglaise
by Heidi Kaufmann
3 cups heavy cream
6 oz sugar
pinch of salt
Pulp of ½ vanilla bean
1 handful of loose chopped Sage (stems as well)
Zest of 2 lemons
3/4 of a cup egg yolk
1.Combine first six ingredients and bring to a simmer
2.Turn off the heat and cover, steep for 30 minutes
3.Strain the resulting liquid and return to heat, scald.
4.Temper in egg yolk and cook to nape
I Make Dessert.
16 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious, dessert, plated dessert, recipe | 5 Responses
Okay, so I’m no Michael Laiskonis. I am however, a pastry chef, and I’m making some pretty tasty delights at Ten-01. I’m going to use my next few posts to describe my current menu, because I’m pretty proud of it. What better place to start than our best seller, The Chocolate Whiskey Cake. It’s a rich flourless cake that contains all my favorite ingredients: chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, and booze. The butter is melted and poured over the chocolate. While that cools to room temperature the eggs and sugar are whisked up until they just turn pale and the sugar is dissolved. The to mixtures are then combined, and finished with the booze, which in this case is Maker’s Mark. I pour the batter into a framed half-sheet pan, and bake it in a 250 degree oven in a water bath. The tricky part of this recipe is knowing when it’s done. I pull it when its still loose in the center, and its starting to souffle a little on the edges. It needs to cool and set up before slicing and serving, which I like to do overnite. The cake is covered with ganache and white chocolate lines before slicing. I serve it with a Dulche de Leche ice cream and Brown Butter Caramel. The chocolate flag garnish gives it some height. It’s fucking delicious. To be quite honest, I’m kind of bored with it, and I wish someone else would make it. So here’s the recipe:
1 lb 13 oz chocolate (%68)
1 lb 13 oz butter
13 oz sugar
13 oz whole eggs
3/4 cup liquor (I’ve used whiskey, kaluha, bailey’s, meyer’s…you get the idea)
1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a bowl
2. Melt the butter until it just starts to bubble, then pour it over the chocolate-cool to room temp
3. Whisk the eggs and the sugar together in a seperate bowl
4. Whisk the eggs into the chocolate
5. Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake in a 250 degree oven, in a water bath, for thirty minutes or so.
6. Chill the cake for at least 3 hours before slicing
Birthday Dinner at Sel Gris.
13 March 2008 | delicious | 2 Responses
Kate took me to Sel Gris for my birhtday dinner last night. Sadly, this grainy picture from her phone is the only image I can share with you. I don’t normally review my meals, because I hate reviewers, but our dinner was amazing, and deserves some recognition. The standout for me was the Foie Gras Two Ways, form of seared lobe and salt-cured torchon. The seared was good, kinda small, while the torchon might have been the best thing I have eaten in my life to date. A truly historical dish in my life, it will be hard to top it. For my entree I had the Pork and Beans, which is “all-day braised” pork cheeks with french beans. As you well know, I love pork cheeks. They are hands down my favorite pork product (of course next to bacon!) Three cheeks, which means two pigs had to die, met and exceeded my expectations. I like Chef’s beans better, but these were good, too. Kate had the endive salad, which came with Humboldt Fog-an amazing blue cheese, poached pear, and wlanuts. She loved it. Her Salmon with foie melted leeks were sooooo good. I ate some, too. As full as we were, and as tipsy off the champagne, we had to get dessert. Pastry Chef Steven Smith was the worked at Carlyle before I did. Small frickin’ pond out here, man. Anyway his Raspberry Choclolate Mousse cake was divine, even if raspberries aren’t in season and if it was little heavy on the gelatine. The cocoa nib cookie was a nice bitter/crunchy tone with the other sweet flavors. Steve’s breads were also good. To make a long story short, Sel Gris deserves all the great press that they get. Service was efficient and smooth in a tiny packed dining room, and the food was the best I’ve had in Portland so far. Dinner there glazed the grayness of aging with rosy hues. It almost made me forget that I’m twenty-nine now, and next year I’ll officially be old.
