STUDIOKITCHEN

Day's Off......Washington-Arlington.

I had some time off this weekend, typically I always just spend the time in New York City eating but due to a rare set of circumstances, I decided to head in the opposite direction.
It occurred to me that as long as I have been in this country, I have never actually been to it's capital.

After doing some research to figure out if there were any worthy restaurants for a 5 hr drive, that however became a moot point when I reached out to a great friend to see if he wanted to go down with me and he said "sounds awesome, why don't we take the DB-9 and take turns driving.

If I have a passion outside of cooking, its long touring drives in a fine British sports car at a good clip. Nothing reckless, just let the car stretch its legs.
Of course one would have to contend with the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland state police but thanks to our friends at VALENTINE, we could see them from miles ahead.

I came up with a list. Ripert at the Ritz Carlton, Citronelle, Palette and of course Jaleo. I am a bit of a cynic, I almost believe everything on the internet is overhyped so I also took a slightly different approach.

I went to Molteni's website, found a sales rep and asked "does any restaurant in DC have a Molteni stove". Certainly there is no assurance of great food just because of a fancy kitchen but Molteni is very different, the thought process of hauling one of those gigantic stoves from France is usually an indicator of a restaurant concept that takes it's food seriously. For those who don't know, Molteni is HERE.

I found this place called the BLUE DUCK TAVERN. Delicious food, great artisanal meats and produce. Also visited JALEO Arlington. Good tapas, yummy.

A good two days off and a great time.
Washington is now on my radar.

By the way is that not the most appropriate misspelling ever ?

Where else would it be cool to confuse Champagne with Campaign ?

Clearly our politicians are drinking too much.

Moving Forward.

The last 12 months have been a time of flux and tough decision making.
I have come to another defining moment in life where big changes need to happen, running back and forth between NYC and Philadelphia is fun and the occasional cooking gigs in LA and Miami simply make me hate coming back.

This autumn I have decided to change both compartments of my life, that is the personal and professional. I need a new job, something still related with food but with less travel. I don't mind working 16 hour days as long as the work is efficient with the right equipment.
Thankfully I have lots of options.

On the other side, I need a new place to live just to erase the past and start with a clean slate. A peaceful atelier where art intersects with life, even the building should be a work of art, sadly most of the condominiums being built in Philadelphia like Symphony House and 10 Rittenhouse Square are ugly as sin.

I spoke to my friend Winka in NYC who is a damn good architect and is designing a bunch of stuff in Philadelphia, you know Philadelphia buildings that look like Lower Manhattan buildings and came up with the perfect quiet place to live.

If you have any remote interest in Architecture, click here.

Winka's website is WD.

My new home will be right here !

Now I just need to find the job to transition to.

New York Stories 2

A lovely day in Central Park today, after a quick client consultation and a nice chat on the benefits of CVap VS Rational Combi Oven with JOEL , I decided to get out of Manhattan for dinner.
A short scenic drive to the barnyard.
Very good food, great philosophy.
I suggest you go if you haven't already.
Anything else you want to know ?

Click HERE.

Sorrel Margarita with Arugula Salt.
Who knew ?

New York Stories

 

It's fun to see what other restaurants are doing and what better way to spend an evening off that roam around NYC, with passover and the pope in town it was a recipe for no waits anywhere, you could just walk right in and eat.

I much rather prefer sitting at the bar and haven't made a reservation in months.
Now that Wylie is all over Iron and Top Chef, I thought what the hell lets just go to WD-50 on an off night. Guess who was standing at the pass...Ha!
It's impressive to see New York Chefs actually in their kitchens on a Saturday night.
After having a quite tasty Escabeche of Sawara at the tasting room earlier, I thought it would be a great time to finally try Alex Stupak's desserts finally. I have to say the boy makes some good stuff, pistachio tube being my favorite.

They were quite nice enough to do a dual 3 course dessert tasting. Sadly no camera besides that would have attracted too much attention.

What next ? Thought I would find my pal Amador Acosta and headed to TAILOR for some chicken wings I heard about. I love whimsy when it works.

If you are in NYC, go try the "Tailor made wings".
As I am eating my perfectly geometrical wings, I said to the quiet looking Brit, "are you Paul Liebrandt"

Why yes indeed I am.

You never know where the winds blow in NY, after being dragged to Milk and Honey by Mssrs Freeman and Acosta, the  evening ends at 3am on the lower east side.

New York stories indeed.

Sugar-up at WD.

Liquor-up at Tailor.

Coming out of hibernation

I worked and slept my way through March.
I am coming out.
Sooner than you think.

Get your drink on !

Everytime I work in Tribeca, I set up at least 2 hrs before any guests arrive, check and double check everything.
What next ?
I solid cocktail to take the edge off.
Sadly good quiet bars are hard to find let alone an authentic bar.

The authentic bar in Tribeca.
Quiet, hidden, love it.

Next................ PDT.

Continuity

January 2008 turned out to be a much busier time than expected. To those who were wondering where I disappeared to, there is a huge project I've been working on which hopefully when it gets realized will be well worth the effort. In the last few weeks, I have been a cook, a bandleader, a therapist, seen a therapist, a politician, financial analyst, cheerleader and Sherlock Holmes.
Speaking of Sherlock,  in December someone hacked and deleted a significant portion of this blog, in addition to that, a few other internet related nightmares ensued which prompted a whole new approach to blogging and internet security. It's taken a while to fix these problems but thanks to some very clever friends in the computer industry, I have faith in the system again.
If I can give you one good piece of advice, do not ever save passwords on any browser on a laptop computer. In addition to that, put passwords on everything, logging into the computer, sensitive sites, the wireless network, file folders, everything. I spent 2 weeks chasing a "ghost" around the internet, trust me it's no fun.
It's time to get my head wrapped around food again.
The best inspiration is to step out of the house for lunch or dinner.
Heck why not both ?

Lunch tommorow:
A restaurant whose name suffers from alliteration located across from a geometric shape with a radius named after the person who allegedly discovered America .

Dinner Tommorow:
A very creative suitmaker in Soho with a passion for arctic char.

Reports to follow.

Happy Birthday

To me apparently, December 31 2007.
I just got a lovely gift basket from our fearless leader at Upenn.
Scarf, hat, gloves and marshmallows among other things.
I said "Dr G, I cant wear this stuff, everyone knows I never went to Penn"

She said "Tell them I gave it to you".

That's it then.

2007 Retrospective

2007 was a great year and 2008 will be even better.

I would like to thank the following people who have been great influences over the year.

Conversations and Comradery in the Biz.

Marc Vetri , you rock. Nothing else to say.

Jeff Michaud, you sir are a prince among men and king of all Salumi.

Alex and Aki , thanks for the inspiration and the conversations.

James Syhabout, always a pleasure talking to you sir, see you this spring.

John Mac , adopted son of Liebrandt ha ha, the best is yet to come.

Ane and Rebecca , I just adore you, the queens of churros.

Meganinlosfeliz , how about another delicious weekend in LA this spring.

Philadelphia Friends .

Helen...... you are the best.

Tomaaaas  adding to our overly litigious society.

J-Glaze    Think positive.

J-Pizz  The cocktailing Lynx, more drinks in 08....Hakkasan ?

Lippy , Alinea SOON ?

Mentors:

Jeanette Neubauer.
Thank you for the wisdom and sincerity and the generosity of sharing it without reservation.

Deb Denis.
You are like a mother to me.......not in age though.....he he.

Sir Walter Rich.
You prove there is such a thing as a free lunch.

James Marshall.
Your analysis of everything is invaluable.

Everyone else whose paths I crossed and hopefully left a good impression.

Lets all remember that kindness should not be confused for weakness.
From now on it's no longer just about food.

Reflection

And so ends 2007.
The last few weeks have been very hectic, multiple obligations in addition to the typical holiday madness. My least favorite time of the year is the week before thanksgiving till today. So much joy sometimes amplifies reflection. I lost a younger brother a few years ago at this time and thus, a lot of memories about Soccer in Nigeria which we played together when we were kids, cricket at boarding school when we moved to Kings College in Lagos flows through my head. Life is short, live it to the fullest, It is time for a profound change in outlook, vision and character and so look forward to the 2008 Manifesto.

The blog is coming back to life again, creativity will flow starting tommorow and it's time to kick it up a few notches. A life worth living is worth living for a purpose.
That purpose is coming.

M.I.A.

Dear Blog readers
Apologies for the hiatus.
Sometimes we actually have to pour ourselves into your work and a few things including the blog take a backseat. I have been busy attending to clients for whom the word No is not in the dictionary. While it isn't about sacrificing your self respect, the oldest clients who have supported you for years get some latitude to have their demands met. Cooking in New York this month a lot has been fun. Even when there are surprises such as when your assistants forget all the cryovaced portioned fish and you discover this 85 minutes before a dinner, typical reaction would be to scream, blame and essentially waste time moving to the solution. Conventional wisdom makes you slowly grab your keys, blast down FDR Drive like Michael Schumacher  to Citarella. I have learned recently to embrace uncertainty and deal with things as they come. Solutions are easier, clearer and more effective.
Embrace uncertainty.
Embracing uncertainty doesn't require you to avoid effort and dedication.
It just lets you prepare for curved balls.
Remember, the worst leaders are those who think they can control everything and everyone.

Day's Off.

On days off, I try to engage an old friend and a glass of wine. Think outside the world of cooking and veer into politics and history among other topics. A typical conversation with a woman at a bar becomes a conversation on the finer points of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Albanians and Archduke Ferdinand. Not quite levity for a day off but fun nonetheless. Step out of the kitchen and see the world.

The Importance of Sleep

Sleep therapy and blogging are mutually exclusive it seems. On the advice of physicians, I have been weened away from my computer for the last 3 days completely. I just finished a series of nights sleeping in a hospital strapped with electrodes last week. In the quest to be all things to all clients at all times, the first casualty is sleep closely followed by focus, attention to detail and just general interest. Apparently televisions, computer screens and monitors of any sort are the insomniac's worst enemy. They even confiscated my laptop upon entry.
I get anxious when the flow of information and communication stops but it was a good thing.
I feel like after dropping 200 quid on books at Kitchen arts and letters, you might actually want to read them at some point instead of scanning through. This was a great opportunity to slow down.
I cheated slightly though, to quote Al Pacino in Scarface "say hello to my little friend".....the I-Phone, E-mails came through every now and then.
The lesson of last week is that sleep hygiene is just as important as food hygiene.
Now I am back and connected to the world.

Structure and Change.

I woke up this morning after a particularly long night of cooking. Getting up at 6.45am when your day ended at 1.30am has never been a problem when the point was to get to the fish market before the Japanese dudes grab all the good fish. Today was an escalation in personal training, that day when your weights all go up a few pounds. Expect your body to be beaten up but the leftover paella at the end of the tunnel gives hope. Usually I function in a realm where my clients give themselves to me, "cook for us", "suprise us", today I was the client and learned a whole new range of motion under pressure.
My trainer Mr Morales is a focused person, the details matter. All the things we talk about in fine kitchens resonate in his instructions, dont bang the weights, use fluid motions, it is better to do it in quality for a short time than quantity without control.
All this before 8.30am.
Who knew, paella for breakfast is delicious indeed.