Seeking out Saka Gura

As our stalwart readers know, we have rarely delved into full on restaurant reports.  This is partly because we primarily eat at home (else prodigious show-offs Dame Maggie and Prof. Moriarty would have no audience), partly because we typically forget to document anything whilst we are out and about, and partly because other websites like immaculate infatuation do it oh so much better.

Not so last Monday!  'Twas Mr. Quail's birthday (he turned a respectable age) and to celebrate we finally took the plunge and went to Sakagura.

For those not in the know, Sakagura is a sake bar/Izakaya in the basement of a relatively obscure office building a block away from the Chrysler Building.  Mr. Quail even worked in the building for a short stint (for a company that may or may not have "existed" in the eyes of "the man") but never ventured down to the hidden world below the elevator bank.

So, was our insatiable craving for all cuisine Japanese satisfied?

Two Quails Roosting in Wine Country, Part 2

See Part 1 of our adventure here.
  

Sweet local strawberries and blackberries, local goat cheese, a salmon mousse from Santa Rosa Seafood, and a wedge of Montbriac, a blue-brie cheese. Salut!

We would be remiss not to mention the utterly gorgeous cottage we rented for our trip to California's wine country, nestled in a meadow on the top of a hill outside Calistoga, quaint enough that deer, birds of prey, rabbits, lizards, and wild turkeys were our morning companions, but modern enough to feature a killer outdoor grill and indoor range that we made heavy use of during our five nights. This definitely beat waking up early to catch the end of continental breakfast service at some inn.

Two Quails Roosting in Wine Country, Part 1

Three days into our trip to the Napa Valley. Our trip is three days old, and we haven't visited a single vineyard. Can you believe that? Never fear, we'll get there, but until then we'll just have to tough it out with things like this:



Carnitas and Carne Asada from La Taqueria


Maybe it's hard to tell from the photos, but these were amazing tacos. All you Californians who complain on the east coast about the dearth of Mexican food? All is forgiven. I understand now.

Catching Up

Sorry, but we've been eating this.

Apologies, dear readers. We promise there is a reason for the gap between this post and the last. Two reasons, actually.

Here is one:

Some Call it Aloha

To celebrate Christmas 2010 and New Year's 2011, Mr. Quail and I fled the New York City tundra--just missing the day-after-Christmas snowpocalypse--for sunnier shores.  As always, Hawaii (in this case, Maui, Kauai, and Oahu) did not disappoint.  For our friends, who we urge to get themselves there as soon as possible, here are some of the culinary highlights.

Sacrilege!

Growing up in Downeast Maine, one eats a lot of lobster. It costs about half as much there as it does in New York or Boston, and because Maine has such a long coastline – roughly equivalent to that of California – there are unlimited places to choose from. Lobster and clambakes are traditional, as is the typical New England no-fuss service: lobster is boiled or steamed whole and served with butter, or it is chopped, mixed with mayonnaise, and served as a lobster roll in a grilled hot dog bun. There are some exceptions (count on seeing the hot lobster roll from The Maine Diner in Wells make an appearance on this page before long), but generally you know what you’ll get when you order lobster in Maine, especially whole lobster.

Chicken, or That Lowly Bother

Bacon-wrapped Enoki at Yakitori Totto Image courtesy of eGullet (Daniel)

When Ms. Beyond the Quail read in Anthony Bourdain’s book, A Cook’s Tour, about the wonders of Japan’s yakitori, she got a hankering and requested that we hightail it to Yakitori Totto on 55th and 8th, post-haste. Now, Yakitori means chicken, skewered and grilled chicken. And if there’s one thing that doesn’t excite us, it’s chicken. Bland, ubiquitous meat, largely flavorless, with a nasty, slimy texture when raw. Raw chicken skin and chicken fat are two of our least favorite things, at least in comparison with other meats. So, needless to say, expectations were moderate at best.

All is forgiven, little fowl. Yakitori Totto exceeded those expectations and just kept on going.

Worth its Salt

Patatas Bravas at Tia Pol Image courtesy of Project Me!

Certain cultures develop a palette, or a tendency, for particular flavors or textures. For instance, some Chinese regions favor the slippery or chewy – think shark fin soup, fish maw, and glutinous flour. Moroccan food is often sweet, with a reliance on sugar and high-sugar fruits and vegetables like carrots and raisins. Americans? Fat, perhaps. American cuisine has deep roots in the Lardy Fryolated Lumberjack Trucker Blue-Plate Special with a side of grease (Hoo-rah!) Just ask Paula Deen.

But what I’ve learned of Spanish food suggests that their cultural palette is gung-ho for that most ubiquitous spice: SALT.

Now THAT's a sandwich!

Let’s start this off with a killer: the Mexican Club Torta at Rosa Mexicano near Lincoln Center in Manhattan. We’re big fans of authentic Mexican cuisine, and Rosa has some great stuff (maybe the best mole poblano I’ve had), but while tortas are authentically Mexican, the Club Torta more resembles foods of other countries, such as the Cubano sandwich or the American club sandwich. This beauty is on the lunch and brunch menus at Rosa, and costs $11.50. Get this: a pressed sandwich (the bread resembles toasted panini) with melted Chihuahua cheese, sliced jalepenos, a grilled ham steak, grilled chicken payard, bacon, avocado, chile mayonnaise, and a thin layer of refried black beans with chipotle. Throw in some stellar sweet potato fries and habanero-pickled onions, and you have greasy, spicy heaven (The pickled onions make it pretty spicy, so I sometimes leave them out). Healthy it’s not, but it is a memorable sandwich.