Dear Asheville

Dear Asheville,

I think we’re going to have to start seeing a lot more of each other.  I think I really like you and I don’t want to wait too long to see one another again.   I find your Portland-esqe vibe very attractive and love your quaint funkiness.  How long do I have to wait to see you…Wednesday?  Should we make a date at The Admiral or perhaps Curate?  What about that new restaurant Seven Sows Bourbon & Larder?  I would be okay with going back to Limones again for a blood orange margarita and some mushroom enchiladas with poblano mole, but maybe we can go somewhere new or even some place I haven’t tried like Jerusalem Garden Cafe?  Oh, and I can’t wait until Buxton Hill opens either, we will definitely have to go there.  Please let me know when you have time for me because I want to see you again soon.  One more thing.....don’t tell Greenville right now because I’m not quite ready to break up. 

Thinking of you,

Erin

Prepping for Passover

After reading the January issue of Travel and Leisure magazine, which I picked up for my cross-country journey back to South Carolina, it has me daydreaming of New York City.  As you can tell I’m a little behind on my magazine reading as usual, but that’s a whole other story.  In the issue it covered such topics as the 500 best hotels in the world—a dreamy list that included small little waterside bungalows in Bali to all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic.  The issue also covered a good article on the growing problem of the rapid decline and bankrupting of English countryside estates, interesting for those of us who are fanatical about Downton Abbey.  But, what caught my attention was the article “For the Love of Latkes,”where the author discussed the culinary delights of the Jewish-American community in New York City.

For such a long time I have been slightly (and when I say slightly I really mean extremely) obsessed with New York and all of the culinary treasures the city has to offer.  One of these culinary treasures is the iconic New York deli. The city certainly isn’t without its fair share of delis, almost one on every corner it seems.  The famous ones such as Carnegie Deli and Katz’s Delicatessen are only two out of many that most tourists know.  Carnegie Deli in Midtown is loud and crowded and has some of the largest sandwiches you may ever put in your mouth.  Katz’s on Houston Street has been a Lower East Side staple for nearly 100 years, which became even more famous after the movie scene where Meg Ryan gave Billy Crystal an unforgettable performance in When Harry Met Sally.  If you want to sit at the same table where the scene occurred, there’s a sign that points you to there. In “For the Love of Latkes” the author goes on to describe some of the dishes at lesser known Jewish delis and restaurants in the city. Most of these restaurants mentioned are offering a different spin on traditional fare ranging from what we know as Jewish-American cuisine like matzo ball soup (Jewish penicillin) and the renowned Reuben sandwich, which was adapted from the food of German and Eastern European immigrants.  Matzo ball soup is traditional for the Passover table; during this time no breads or cakes are consumed with leavening agents.  Eating unleavened bread during this time represents the hasty exit of enslaved Israelites freed from Egypt during the Exodus.  There was no time to let their bread rise and had to be eaten flat.  Jewish cuisine also has influences from the cuisines from the Mediterranean, Middle East and Northern Africa, or anywhere large populations of Jews have lived at one time or another.  Adaptations on all of the original recipes were all built out of necessity and strict dietary laws. 

Pastrami on Rye and Half-Sour Pickles at Katz's Delicatessen

I haven’t had the pleasure of dining at any of the restaurants mentioned in the article such as Balaboosta (which means perfect housewife in Yiddish), Mile End Delicatessen in Brooklyn, Kutsher’s in TriBeCa, or Russ and Daughters on the Lower East Side.  The last one on the this list I have actually walked into, twice actually—staring at all of the different types of smoked fish and caviars behind the counter, too paralyzed to order anything for fear of making a fool of myself in front of people far more familiar with how and what to order.  Both times I have walked in and then walked out with nothing, but each time found the flurry of activity in this small little shop very exciting.   

Russ and Daughters on The Lower East Side

Growing up I wasn’t exposed to this type of food and didn’t have any have any experience eating food like this, with the only exception being an occasional pastrami sandwich or bagel.  I have been interested in exploring deeper into a small piece of my family heritage, since my great-great-great grandfather Carl Goldberg emigrated to the United States, leaving Prussian Germany in the 1800’s seeking both social and economic opportunities, leaving his roots behind.  My first real experience with Jewish cuisine was on a trip to New York City a few years ago right before Passover.  We took a food tour through the “Enthusiastic Gourmet,” a company that offers food tours on the Lower East Side through Chinatown, Little Italy and “noshes” of traditional Jewish fare.  We chose the tour called the “Melting Pot,” where you get to sample food from all three cultures in one tour.  The tour took about four hours and started on the Lower East Side in the Essex Street Market.  At first I was a little nervous because our first stop was at a stall that made birthday cakes, and had recently ventured into the world of making red velvet cupcakes.  We tasted them and neither of us said anything.  Both us clearly didn’t like the cupcake.  Growing up in the South, you come to know red velvet cake very well and this cupcake wasn’t cutting it.  I was worried we had made a mistake by going on the tour, but thankfully our next stop made up for the first disaster.  Next stop was Saxelby Cheesemongers, a little stand that specializes in American farmstead cheeses.  Let me just say, that I don’t think I’ve ever met a cheese I didn’t like.  Things were looking up.  On the way out we passed Shopsin’s, a place I had only read about in Saveur magazine just before our trip.  Owned by the curmudgeon Kenny Shopsin, the menu offers around 900 or so items and if you don’t know what you want when you get up to the counter he yells obscenities at you.  Our tour guide even commented that she had tried to set him up as a stop on her tour, but he wasn’t even remotely interested to put it nicely.  I don’t know this to be true from my own experience and it doesn’t deter me from wanting to still eat there.

Next on the tour were kosher pickles from the Pickle Guys.  Three different pickles in varying stages from new, half sour, to full sour.  All considered to be a revelation in my book, but this is also coming from a girl who packed a Mt. Olive pickle in her lunch everyday for three years in high school.  Because of the time of year we were visiting, the Pickle Guys were grating fresh horseradish for people to use at family dinners during Passover.  I learned that horseradish is used as a part of Passover Seder plates to remind Jews of the bitterness of slavery.  I couldn’t resist purchasing a jar since I’d only had the store bought stuff.

New, Half-Sour, and Full-Sour Pickles at The Pickle Guys

Kossar’s Bialys across the street was our next stop where we had our first bialy.  Bialys are similar to bagels, but for those of you who haven’t had a bialy, the differences between the two are that bialys aren’t boiled before they are baked and instead of a hole there’s a medium-sized indentation in the middle.  We then made our way through Chinatown where we sampled pork buns and ogled the fresh and unusual produce and seafood placed in terraced bins out on the sidewalk.  Then made our way through Little Italy sampling on Sopressata and Piave cheese (a cow’s milk cheese similar to Parmigiano Reggiano), finally ending at an Italian bakery where we stuffed our full bellies with mini cannolis.  To this day it was one of the coolest things we’ve done when visiting the city and in my opinion, a very fine way to spend an afternoon learning and eating my way through one of my favorite places on earth.  

Chinese Cabbages on the Street in Chinatown

A Shop in Little Italy Prepares for Easter

In theory, I like to get up to New York City a couple of times a year but that doesn’t always happen.  So, since I won’t be getting up to New York City any time soon, and since Passover starts next week, I will start by making Ruth Reichl’s Matzo Brei recipe as well as a Passover feast on Sunday.  I can also head over to Greenfield’s Bagel and Deli to get lox and bagels, a liver or tongue sandwich to satisfy my kosher cravings, and most of all fixate on what I would order at Russ and Daughters.

Sopressata and Other Salami in a Shop in Little Italy

Love Letter to John Mariani

Although I am extremely pleased that my adopted hometown of Greenville, SC has gotten some well deserved culinary press from John Mariani of Esquire magazine, he has failed epically by not mentioning some of the other restaurants in town that make the culinary scene here truly great.  These are the restaurants that prevent me from dying of boredom every time I think of going out to dinner, even if it means that I have to drive twenty minutes away from downtown to get a great meal.  I don’t want to cry foul play, as I’m sure he had a limited time to visit all of these restaurants, but there are definitely others worth mentioning if Greenville is getting national press, which it has.  Some even more deserving than others mentioned in the article. 

Greenville is a great place to be.  We have all the international businesses Mariani mentioned like BMW, Michelin, and General Electric.  All of which aided our local economy during the Great Recession.  We endured a little less pain than some of our other friends from around the state because of them.  The only other exception of this barely felt recession of course would be Charleston, which is always able to rely on its old Southern charm, and the constant national press it receives to keep it as one of the most beloved cities in the country for travelers.  It’s well deserved I might add, but that’s for another time.  Since I have lived in this town for almost six years now, I consider myself very well experienced when it comes to dining out here.  I have been an active part of the food community during my wine career and have seen most of these restaurants start from the ground up, growing and changing into what they are today.  I have my favorites, just as everyone else, so this is my opinion.  BUT, I am consumed by giving credit where credit is due and upon doing a bit more research, Mr. Mariani would have found some of these other gems as well. 

American Grocery Restaurant-Opened in 2007 by husband and wife team Joe Clarke and Darlene Mann-Clarke in the West End of Greenville, AGR focuses on seasonal American cuisine.  With Joe leading the kitchen and Darlene leading the floor and beverage program, they were one of the first restaurants to really focus on “farm to table” eating in town and their menus show it.  Touting one of the best cocktail menus in Greenville, a small well thought out wine list with small producers, and an ever-changing food menu with influences ranging from Spanish cuisine to the great American South.  Darlene’s cocktail creations change almost as often as the food menu, but the “Pig on the Porch” made with house-infused bacon bourbon, Bleinheim’s “Not So Hot” ginger ale, garnished with a pork rind stays on the cocktail menu year round.  The pig is king at American Grocery but offal has become one of the stars here also.  Favorites that can be seen on their menu from time to time include cured lamb belly, fried chicken livers with chow chow, different setups of sweetbreads and Joe’s now signature beef tongue.  Joe braises the beef tongue for hours until tender, then pulls the tongue apart almost as if it were pulled pork, forms it into little puck-sized cakes and then sears them on each side. My mother, who is often less adventurous in the food department, loved the beef tongue.  Together with lots of collaboration and experimentation Joe and Darlene are consistently pushing the envelope and have developed a very loud culinary voice in the process.  A voice that has been recognized by both Garden and Gun and Saveur magazines, and it’s one that deserves more local attention as well as national attention. 

Stella’s Southern Bistro-Opened in 2008 in the chain-driven town of Simpsonville by husband and wife team Jason and Julia Scholz, both formerly of the Maverick Southern Kitchens group in Charleston and Greenville, they too are using local artisans and purveyors presenting classic Lowcountry flair and high end Southern cuisine.  With Julia running the front of the house and Jason manning the back, this restaurant is one of the best in the Upstate.  Fine examples of the menu include the ever-popular classics such as shrimp and grits, crab cakes with Savannah red rice grit pirlau, fried green tomatoes and chow chow.  Other fine Southern selections include menu items like the giant Eden Farms pork chop with bourbon smoked peppercorns, barbecue greens, and Adluh Mills cheese grits.  They always have fantastic appetizer and entrée features for the evening, which often have fresh fish and usually some decadent pork or beef, in addition to the menu mainstays.  This is where Chef Scholz really gets to play.  For instance my first taste of beef deckle, an often forgotten and often underused cut of meat, was on a menu feature at Stella’s.  A bite of the deckle, with its tongue melting fat marbled throughout gave me one of those pure dopamine inducing culinary moments that I live for. At High Cotton Chef Scholz gained recognition from such publications as Bon Appétit, Southern Living, and the New York Times to name just a few.  We are proud to have them representing the restaurant community.  They are consistently turning out meals worthy of press here at Stella’s, especially worthy of Esquire’s attention.

Takosushi-Opened in 2007 by another husband and wife team on what could be considered downtown’s “Sushi Row” on Main Street, Shelby Stone and Linda Mayes from New Mexico partner with Kevin Goldsmith in this fusion restaurant.  It’s not typical to find both sushi and Southwestern items on the same menu, but you do at Takosushi.  This concept always has people scratching their heads before they eat here, but it works.  I don’t usually dine on sushi here in town, so I wouldn’t be the best candidate to speak on that subject, but I have eaten most everything on the Southwest side of the menu.  As for the sushi, many people come only for the sushi and not for the Southwestern items. Favorites of mine include: posole, a comforting concoction of red chile, pork, hominy served with all the fixings you could want; the gut busting chile rellenos; carne adovada anything; and the fried fish tacos with spicy Sriracha bok choy slaw.  If you really want to do it as a true New Mexican would, get your burrito with “Christmas” sauce, a delicious mix of their green and red chile sauces, which are made with Hatch chiles coming from none other than New Mexico.  This restaurant has become a Greenville favorite for many reasons.  

Coal Fired Bistro-Located off the lonelier side of Pelham Road, this restaurant originally opened in 2007.  Now under the powerhouse duo of Jason Callaway and Chef Anthony Gray (formerly of this past season of Top Chef), this restaurant has taken shape into what it should have been all along.  With their own farm now being cultivated, the two plan on using their produce for Coal Fired as well as their new venture Bacon Brothers Public House, slated to open by the end of this month.  I’ve always felt that the food at Coal Fired was substandard before Chef Gray took over the kitchen, but I will now gladly make this part of my dining out repertoire.  On a recent dining experience, my husband I enjoyed one of the best butcher plates I’ve had in recent memory.  The board had the beautiful artisanal raw milk cheeses of Thomasville, Georgia’s Sweet Grass Dairy as well as a dizzying array of house made charcuterie.  The cheeses featured were Camembert-style Green Hill, Asher Blue, Thomasville Tomme, and spicy house made salami Calabrese, Brasiola, pork county pate with pistachios, sour cherries, and veal sweetbreads, pork rilletes, and duck liver mousse with accompaniments of fig jam, gherkins, and local honey, all of which totally rocked my world.  House made pastas such as squid ink tagliatelle with shrimp and sauce puttanesca and gnocchi with lamb meatballs, olives, and “lambcetta”—a play on the delectable Italian bacon made from lamb belly instead of pork belly.  Chef Gray has an ambitious plan for both restaurants and it’s really exciting to see where else these two will go. 

The Owl-This new kid on the block just celebrated it’s first year anniversary of being in business and boy are we glad to have them.  Instead of just another Southern restaurant these guys and gals are serving up contemporary American cuisine in an old Pizza Hut located just minutes away from downtown along the wasteland of strip malls on Wade Hampton Boulevard, and just before the infamous Bob Jones University.  This restaurant crept onto the restaurant scene waving their culinary middle finger in the air.  In fact, just this week they hosted a food truck rally in peaceful protest to the latest ridiculous ruling that food trucks have to be 250 feet away from a brick and mortar restaurant as well as on private property, making it nearly impossible for these trucks to park anywhere.  The Owl, which is run by another husband and wife team Aaron and Justi Manter, offers an abbreviated yet very affordable global food menu, a well-priced wine list, and Portland-style cocktails.  Changing the menu almost weekly, the Owl goes a little way down the molecular gastronomy road without veering off course.  I loved the deconstructed Cuban sandwich they did with pickled onions, gherkins, pork rilletes, grilled bread, and a melty mix of mayonnaise and Swiss cheese, and a brush of whole grain mustard. They are rebellious and daring at the Owl and that’s why we like them. 

High Cotton-The New Southern restaurant opened in the spring of 2007 by Maverick Southern Kitchens, the folks who brought us the Charleston restaurant of the same name.  Located in the heart of downtown just across from Falls Park, High Cotton is one of the most expansive and impressive restaurants in town boasting an outstanding view of the Reedy River.  With both Chef Jason Scholz and Chef Anthony Gray as alums, the kitchen is now under the helm of Chef Greg McPhee, formerly of the nationally adored restaurant Husk in Charleston, SC.  On a recent night out, I was able to sample some of the new menu items. Standouts included the oyster gratin, a take on the Oysters Rockefeller with Benton’s bacon, onion confit, creamed spinach and smoked hollandaise—surprisingly light for a dish that can be so heavy.  Other selections the group enjoyed were the butcher’s plate with a boiled peanut country pate, roasted brussel sprouts and cauliflower, and seared scallops with pea risotto and a small spring salad.  We are glad to have Chef McPhee and have full confidence that he will find his own culinary footing here in Greenville.

The biggest thing in all of this for me is that I believe in what these restaurants are doing here.  I also agree that we can be the culinary juggernaut that our Coastal sister has become.  I challenge and strongly encourage Mr. Mariani to come back and give these restaurants a try, and he will see what else our little town has to offer—even if it means venturing away from Main Street. 

Supper Club Girls

A few days ago I had dinner at a friend’s house for a much needed girls night.  Luckily, my friends are chefs (or former ones) and restaurant people (or former ones) so the group knows how to eat and drink.  Generally, we pick a date and try to make it work for all, but because of life and everyone’s schedules and all that we have going on it makes it difficult for us to get together as often as we would like.  The venue changes each time along with the theme of the meal.  There have been nights filled with worldly foods like carnitas tacos with pickled onions and Moroccan chicken and olives, to name a few. With only limited dietary restrictions in the group, these girls will eat just about anything.  I love that. 

Because we hadn’t all been together for some time, we chatted over glasses of wine, sometimes individually, but sometimes as a group catching up on what each of us has been up to.  As we finally moved into the kitchen for more wine and some appetizers, we found that on this particular night the feast included a bagna cauda dip (anchovies, butter, olive oil and loads of garlic melted together) with veggies and for the main course, shrimp pasta.  Both dishes for this family are reserved for special occasions.  Over dinner, we talked and laughed and enjoyed the fruits of our hostess’ labor.  Stories and more wine and more laughs.  Did I mention these ladies are also great storytellers with wicked senses of humor?  We all laughed to the point of crying that night. 

Being around these ladies made me realize how important it is for us to have this time together.  Time we need to take just for ourselves--away from children, husbands and stressful jobs or in some cases, stressful job hunting.  I look forward to the next time we can all take a break and gather at the next venue for food, laughs, and fellowship.  Until next time my Supper Club Girls.