I am from Philadelphia, and when I meet someone who isn’t from
Philadelphia they always say “Oh! You are from Philadelphia. You must
love cheese steaks,” because this is the only thing people know about
Philadelphia.
Cheese steaks are embedded into the national imagination as “Philly
food,” or “Philly phood” (mad men dreaming up ad campaigns for local
Philadelphia business or sports teams love to replace “f” with “ph”
whenever possible). Philadelphians bear this and other burdens
patiently, but at a certain point, even the most sanguine lose their
cool. How many times have I weathered cheese steak-related questions
with the same bottled response, which is: the secret to a great cheese
steak is the bread, and the secret to the bread is the water, and the
water has to be Philadelphia water because otherwise it doesn’t taste
quite right.
Sandwiches
The Perfect Sandwich
Ham and Jesus
“I’m hungry. Can someone please help me? Please. This is serious. I haven’t eaten since early this morning. Please.” The plea came from a diminutive man I had just rushed passed on 8th Avenue in New York City. He was wearing a grey cap pulled down over his forehead and held a tattered white plastic shopping bag. It was 12:30 a.m. A hard March wind was blowing through Chelsea and everyone who passed this pleading man, was hurrying to someplace warm, including me.
I had just eaten at one of my favorite joints Casa Mono. I started with the pulpo with fennel and grapefruit and followed with the dorada with artichokes and langostinos (the langoustine tail meat was a bit mushy but still flavorful.) My belly was full and I still had the glow of a quarto of solid Spanish red.
For a reason I still do not know, after getting a few steps past this man, who was all but invisible to passers-by, I stopped and waited for him to catch up. When I offered a dollar bill to him, he said, “No man, didn’t you hear, I’m hungry. This is no joke. I don’t want money. I’m just very hungry.” “Really, no bullshit?” I said.
Retail Therapy
I can’t help it. I really can’t.
When I go into a grocery store and I put an avocado in my cart,
I think “Ohmigoshwhatif someonecomesoverandwantschips too?” And so I go
and buy chips. Two kinds. Because what if a friend has a craving for
blue corn instead of yellow? G-d forbid I should not have blue corn
tortilla chips in the house. That’s thought one.
Thought two is more like “hmm, never heard of that before. Maybe it would add a nice kick to stir-fry.” And so I put the odd looking, non-English labeled jar into the cart, too.
A Real Tuna Fish Sandwich
One of the problems with sushi bars is that they have weaned us away
from enjoying cooked fresh tuna. I know some restaurants serve grilled
tuna studded with black pepper or accompanied by some exotic fruit
salsa – de rigueur for any California joint that sells fresh fish. But
really that’s about all the variety you get in most joints. But you are
really missing something if you haven’t tried a real tuna fish
sandwich. The great thing about sautéing tuna is that it really soaks
up the flavors in which it is cooked. Here’s a recipe I have every
summer during albacore season but you can use any fish in the tuna
family. This recipe borrows from Italy, Mexico and Japan.
Tuna Ingredients
12-16 ounces of fresh tuna cut into 2 equal pieces
juice of 2 medium lemons
2 minced garlic cloves
2 green onions cut into about 1/4 inch pieces
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (about an inch piece grated)
2 roma tomatoes thinly sliced
1/4 cup minced Kalamata olives
1 small to medium minced jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon Kosher or coarse salt
2 tablespoon sherry or sake
olive oil or grapeseed oil
Zingerman's
I have a vivid memory of my parents entertaining friends on Christmas Eve in 1982. My mother threw all of her Protestant tradition out the kitchen window and ordered Zingerman’s pastrami on rye sandwiches with giant garlic pickles. I was enthralled by this rebellion at age six, although I had no understanding of what pastrami was. I just knew it was special.
The ingenious ingredients and thoughtful, bountiful preparation is half of the magic pf the pastrami sandwich. The other half is the Zingerman's magic, the palpable feeling of community provided by the owners, Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, who instill in all of their endeavors a familial rhapsody. (I have dined at the Roadhouse and had Ari come to the table to fill up my water glass more than a few times…enough said). In a town high on intellect, Zingerman’s employment is looked upon as social cache (or junior college).
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