Because I work part-time at a local news station I get quizzed a lot about local news talent . . . the general public’s fascination with this stuff is amazing . . . so let me answer all the e-mails I have collected on this issue over the last few months at the same time.

First off, to answer the question I get asked the most: In our house, we watch all the local newscasts each night, DVR-ing them and speeding through to see who's broadcasting what stories and how they are reporting them. I know, we’re geeks. I am not afraid to pick favorites, but we do watch them all since they all offer a much different product and in a different context.

Tim Sherno, my old buddy from Fox, has indeed recently joined Channel 5 as a reporter. He is a very good one, and he has some of the best interviewing and storytelling skills of anyone in our market. He is funny and smart and way more genuine of a human being than TV reporting allows us to see. Here’s my question: Why is he not being used as an anchor? He is much better than most of the desk-sitters at that station. And why is he not hosting their morning show? Or anchoring one of their four nightly newscasts? Strange.

The person who I think has grown the most at KARE as they continue to expand and evolve is Eric Perkins, who has gotten funnier and more creative with each passing month. And yes, Belinda Jensen is even kinder and more genuine in real life than on the air. And I think that, yes, because I am from the East Coast, I am in the minority and enjoy more than the average, locally born-and-bred viewer Mike Pomerantz’s glib retorts and faintly concealed eyebrow tilts toward Julie and Di. And I’ll admit I thought it was a little painful to watch them roll out the whole ‘get to know him’ stuff when he first got here. It’s not my bag.

Yes, I have met some of the folks at ‘CCO, but TV folks don’t all hang out in the same secret hideout, as if we were the Justice League of America. And yes, I think Frank and Amelia are wonderful on air together, and together with Rosen and Shelby, I will volunteer the idea that they represent the most ‘food aware’ group at any local station.

I do work at Fox, but I still have no idea why Janie Peterson disappeared from our station. I have been asked more about her exit than I ever imagined, and as far as I know, Lara Yamada moved out to the Seattle market to anchor a newscast out there. As far as the Passolt-Robinson-Hughes issues and rumors, I have absolutely no idea whether they get along or not. I work in the morning and they work in the evenings, and we never cross paths. But I think that Jeff works really well with both of them, and as a viewer, I think they are all extremely polished, very professional, and extremely talented. I am biased, but the Fox folks are phenomenal people. Because I work with them, I am especially fond of our morning team, Alix, MA, Tom, and Keith, who are all superb people and very good at what they do.

Here is the recipe that I have promised several of you over the last few months. I think it’s the best of its class and the béchamel variation that follows is a close second. The difference is that the second version is less tricky to execute than the first, and it comes out a bit gooier. You be the judge—make ‘em both.

The Best Macaroni and Cheese
1 c. fresh (not dried) breadcrumbs from artisanal slicing bread
3 T. melted butter
salt and pepper

2 large eggs beaten
12 oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 t. tabasco
2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 lb. uncooked elbow macaroni
4 T. butter
12 oz. aged cheddar cheese, grated . . . I like the Grafton cheddar for cooking

Toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter. Season and set aside.

Cook the macaroni to al dente, drain well, place back into the pot it was cooked in, and toss the butter into the pot. Stir.

Combine the eggs, 3/4 of the milk, 3/4 of the cheese, tabasco, salt, pepper, and mustard.

Stirring the macaroni and butter over medium-low heat, add the egg mixture and stir until cheese melts and sauce begins to thicken. Add the remaining milk and keep stirring until sauce is beginning to bubble on the edges of the pot. Pour contents of the pot immediately into a greased baking dish.

Sprinkle with the cheese that remains and then the bread crumbs.

Place in the top third of a 400-degree oven and cook for 7–10 minutes until the breadcrumbs get toasty. Serve immediately.

The Best Macaroni and Cheese, Version 2.0
1 c. fresh (not dried) breadcrumbs from artisanal slicing bread
3 T. melted butter
salt and pepper

2 1/2 c. whole milk
1/4 t. tabasco
2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper
2 or 3 pinches freshly ground nutmeg
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 lb. uncooked elbow macaroni
4 T. butter
2 T. flour
14 oz. aged cheddar cheese, grated . . . I like the Grafton cheddar for cooking
2 oz. grated parmesan

Toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter and parmesan. Season and set aside.

Cook the macaroni to al dente, drain well, place back into the pot it was cooked in, and toss half the butter into the pot. Stir and set aside.

Combine the flour, remaining butter, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and mustard in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes to combine, then, with a whisk, slowly add the milk in thirds, whisking and allowing the sauce to thicken as it goes. Whisk in the cheddar cheese with the last third of the milk.

Stirring the macaroni and butter in the pot, add the cheese sauce and stir to combine over low heat. Pour contents of the pot into a greased baking dish.

Sprinkle with the bread crumbs.

Place in the top third of a 350-degree oven and cook for 15–18 minutes until the breadcrumbs get toasty. Serve immediately.

So much to wade through . . . let's clear the desk so we can get movin' on!

Over the last month or so many of you have posted about food and restaurant philosophy, and while I have weighed in on this issue before, I have been receiving dozens of emails asking for a restatement of my ideas on this matter, none of which are really original, just my take . . . I think there is a difference between a local joint (Quang Deli, Pineda, Whitey’s, etc.), a neighborhood restaurant (Pop!, for one), a fine dining tablecloth restaurant (LBV, let’s say), and a chef-driven, food-forward restaurant (like Alma or the nearly departed Auriga). They all have their place and their fans, they share customers, and they often have many similar traits. But in their heart they fall into two vastly different spheres. Joints and neighborhood restaurants are responsible to their customer in a way that fine dining and chef-driven eateries—generally concepts that offer ‘culinary art and education’—do not. Both are responsible for the customers’ happiness, but the joints and the ‘hoodies are not destination dining in the general sense, and therefore, from where I sit, are obligated to cater to their customers price threshold and regional tastes. If they don’t, they will close sooner rather than later. These types of restaurants grow where they are planted and flourish within that context. These restaurants are more about eating and less about dining. And the restaurants that offer dining experiences, art, and education have some of the same obligations, but to a smaller percentage of the dining public. Most of these eateries will, for the foreseeable future, be special-occasion and destination dining landmarks in our part of the world.

If you love food, you need to frequent all these types, some more than others as your lifestyle fits, but to ignore any one type completely is to miss the forest for the trees.

Last Monday morning my Blackberry exploded with about twenty-five emails from readers, publicists, and preprogrammed alerts from local newspapers all detailing the sad news about Auriga closing (see Auriga’s press release below).

In light of all the chatter on this blog, here are my three cents. This is sad news because this town needs chefs who are artists and educators. Even if you never ate at Levain, Auriga, or Five, or if you think you had a bad meal there or didn’t like the drapes or are outraged over rumors about the chef’s temper . . . whatever . . . our food community is dramatically worse off without these chefs cooking in our city. They inspire, teach, expand our boundaries and ideas about food, and perform culinary acrobatics without nets. With these chefs (and the retired Seth Bixby Daugherty from Cosmos) gone from our burg, we have lost four of the best seven chefs in town in the blink of an eye. Diversity and choice make for a more competitive, service-oriented, economically accessible, and creative working environment (think airline hubs, telephone companies, and cable TV suppliers if you disagree!), so if you think for one second that because you never ate at these restaurants, or only ate there once a year ago, that their closing will not affect your food life . . . think again. Less, in this case, is definitely not more. I am officially back on the ledge.

 

Arrivederci and Au Revoir Auriga

Twin Cities fine dining establishment announces its closing

MINNEAPOLIS—Award-winning and celebrated by local, national, and international diners and “foodies” alike, Auriga announced today its plans to close the restaurant following a dinner service on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007.

“We accomplished exactly what we set out to do when we opened,” said Doug Flicker, acclaimed chef and one of Auriga’s three owners.  “We’re very proud of our work and appreciative of our staff and customers.”

Flicker’s upcoming plan includes an extended culinary working trip on the West coast, and owners Melinda Van Eeckhout and Jim Andrus plan time off to decide future endeavors.

“It’s simply time to move on . . . on a high note,” the Auriga owners agreed.

Those high notes include a variety of honors for Auriga ranging from being named City Pages’ “Best Restaurant Minneapolis” in 1999, 2000 and 2005, to being featured on the Food Network program Tasty Travels with Rachel Ray.

The culinary masterminds behind Auriga also received local and national praise, as Flicker was the first Twin Cities chef inducted into Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame and was also invited to cook at the James Beard House in June 2006.

One of my favorite people in the whole world has launched a new website and it's brilliant, in the most Etonian sense of that word. Check out Dishola. It's billed by its creators (Minnesota native and Cowgirl Chef extraordinaire Paula Disbrowe and Austin, Texas, tech wonk Lindsey Simon) as a hunger-pang-problem–solving web-based community for the food-obsessed. Restaurant guides will tell you where to eat, but not what to eat, and as someone who spends half the year on the road, I can tell you that even when I am at home, we are more concerned with the ‘what’ than with the ‘where.’ In our family, this is how it goes:

Rishia: What do you feel like eating tonight?

Me: How about pho and spring rolls. Does that sound good to you?

Rishia: Great, where should we go?

See what I mean? We are always looking for the best sizzling Hong Kong–style ho-yu-gai poo or fettuccine Bolognese, not necessarily the best Chinese or Italian restaurant. And something tells me we are no different than most of you. People who love (and live) to eat think food first and restaurant second the majority of the time. At least the Zimmern family does.

According to Simon and Disbrowe, “Dishola is a dazzling new user-driven website devoted to the best dishes in top gastronomic destinations across the country. And it’s fun. Users can sign on to track down what they’re craving, read smart reviews by Dishola editors, industry professionals (cooks, bartenders, dishwashers), and members—passionate eaters across the country. Then they can add reviews of their favorite dishes, and they can even upload photos of them.”

Dishola also has something called a Celebrity Disher component; a “Spotlight Dish,” complete with the lowdown—and definition—of everything from pad thai to enchiladas de mole rojo to panna cotta; and pages where Dishola members can create a running list of “future feasts,” learn about cool food safaris, and, as the Dishola index grows, find the best dishes by location and descriptive tags with reviews and ratings from real people.

Disbrowe, who is a food writer with Food & Wine and The New York Times bylines to her credit, has a new cookbook titled Cowgirl Cuisine, that will be published by HarperCollins this spring. She is the real deal. I have seen galleys of her book, which is loaded with great recipes as well as the passionate musings of a great writer who left Minnesota for a career in New York, only to find her bliss in the hill country of Texas where she has lived for the last five years.

Both the website and the book are taking up a lot of my attention these days. Check them out.

In my friend Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, he includes this recipe for a frisée salad. The last time Tony was in town, he made this for our lunch and I have been making it ever since. I have taken the liberty of adapting it a tad so that it's more easily incorporated into the casual cook's lifestyle. I have simply tightened up the details a bit, no more, no less . . . .  But I do add the sugar to the pot I blanch the bacon in—I think it makes for a more interesting flavor. The dressing may seem unusual, but trust me, it works, and it's Tony's take on one of the classic salades tied, a warm bistro offering of frisée, lardon, and sautéed livers, but here the livers are used as the backbone of a sturdy vinaigrette.

Frisée and Lardons Salad with Chicken Liver Vinaigrette
1 lb. slab bacon cut into 1-inch cubes
2 T. brown sugar
1 baguette, sliced on an angle
3 T. olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
3 heads frisée, washed, trimmed, and torn into pieces
6 oz. real Roquefort

Prepare bacon by placing the cubes and sugar in a saucepan, covering them with water, and bringing to a quick boil. When water boils, drain bacon, discarding water. Toast baguette slices in the oven with a brushing of olive oil. Make sure you have your vinaigrette (see below) ready to go.

Place sauté pan on medium-high heat for a minute or so, until sizzling hot. Add bacon and cook until crispy and brown. Place cooked bacon in a salad bowl and discard all but 2 T. of the bacon fat. Over medium-high heat, add half the shallots to the pan with the fat and when translucent, add chicken liver vinaigrette to the pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately.

Place frisée in the salad bowl with the bacon. Add the other half of the shallots. Toss salad with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Spread some Roquefort on each of the slices of toasted baguette. Divide salad among six serving bowls, top each with some of the cheese-smeared toasts, and serve. Serves 4-6.

Chicken Liver Vinaigrette
4 oz. chicken livers, connective tissue removed
1 T. butter
2 oz. red wine vinegar
2 oz. olive oil

Season livers with salt and pepper. Heat butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until it foams and subsides. Add livers to the pan and sear on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove livers and allow to cool for a few minutes. Place livers in a blender. Return the pan to the heat and stir in vinegar, scraping all that goodness from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Remove pan from heat and add vinegar to the blender with the livers. Add olive oil and blend until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper as needed. Correct for seasoning by tasting. You may find you like this with another short drizzle of red wine vinegar added to it.

I just missed Kramarczuk's five-course Polish dinner and Polish beer tasting on the 13th, but you can call 612-379-3018 and make reservations for the next one on the 20th. Orest Kramarczuk has completely remade his East Hennepin Avenue monument to all that is wonderous when it comes to eastern European foods. The café is one of the best bargains in town for great home-cooked foods, and with all the fancy wine dinners and tasting menus being offered at even the most incompetent eateries, it's refreshing to see someone who knows their audience and is also doing something different to attract new customers. Kramarczuk's has been a regular stop on my food trail for fifteen years, and if you have not been yet, get your butt over there. Their homemade Krakowska sausage—rings or sliced thin from large loafs—is one of my top ten favorite foods in town. I like to grab some dark bread, a few pounds of deli meats (Krakowska, Speck ham, air-dried beef, and lachshincken are my musts), some other goodies (whatever tickles my fancy), and then I stroll into the café, grab a Ukrainian sausage and kraut to go, and I'm off. Kramarczuk's offers sixty different types of sausage, twenty breads, pastries, chocolates, and has been offering world-class food for fifty-three years and through three generations. Last week when I was there Orest gave me a few slices of his newest creation—a custom smoked ham that he bastes with an herb and garlic wash as it perfumes and cures in his massive smokers. The ham ate like the artisanal hams I ate last month in Europe. Ask for it in the café, it's hot and sliced to order . . . and by the way his beer dinner is only $50, all inclusive. Five courses, four beers, and if you can't make it on the 20th, he tells me that these dinners will change themes and menus each month.

Am I the last person on earth to finally visit Emily's Lebanese Deli on University Avenue around the corner from Kramarczuk's? This place is amazing as well, and while I often have been accused of throwing out more superlatives in this blog than BP has lawsuits, the spinach pies, the tabouleh, and the kibbi are second to none in this town. My wife has been insisting I go for years, and I finally did . . . once again, she was right.

So with Punch, Nea, Fugaise, Rachel's about to open, the Modern, Surdyk's, the new Lunds, Kramarczuk's, Emily's, Whitey's, Nye's, Erte . . . what else is there in good ol' Nordeast for me to try? any thoughts . . . . What am I missing? I feel like I am forgetting some places . . . .

If Five fell in the woods would anyone hear it?

It just keeps getting better and better to be a writer in the dining blogosphere. But first . . . BRAVO to Vincent Francoual for his great post last week and for having the stones and smarts to simply chime in and set us all straight. Here's a radical idea: Put down your mouse and keyboard and call his restaurant and make a reservation. Sounds like a great way to support local chef- and owner-operated restaurants. My pals the Macks (whom I trust on these matters without hesitation since I have been eating with Aaron for forty years) went there last week and told me they had a killer meal. I love this restaurant and haven't been for nine months thanks to a silly schedule and new parenthood, but I am going to make my reservation, and you should too.

Speaking of Vincent, FIve has closed its doors, in case you have not heard, and no one, and I mean no one really cares. Why, you ask? Because the restaurant was only worth eating in when the Woodmans were there. Once they got the boot, and it wasn't because the food wasn't good, it became a pointlessly open white elephant. I wonder how the chef who took over is handling all this? That's the sad part . . . Will the building be sold? Converted into condos? I am so eager to be posting about other things, happier stories, more engaging ideas, but this was too big to ignore. Somewhere in Minneapolis the Woodmans just popped a bottle of champagne.

Moving on . . . Oh, and one last thought: The idea that a restaurateur can let a chef go and/or change concepts without closing the restaurant's doors for at least sixty or ninety days and reopening as a new venue is crazy. Goodfellows and Five both tried and it didn't work . . . and when Jason took over at Goodfellows it was yummy, and it still couldn't sustain itself. Five's new chef (old chef?) didn't even have a chance—that place was dead before he unpacked his knives. Give Harvey at Levain credit for one thing—closing and reopening is the way to go, and if he ever does reopen, he has a better chance than had he never closed at all.

Just think of all the great chefs without stoves . . . Seth, Stewart, Steven . . . . The guys at Town Talk should buy Five and reopen it with Steven doing a restaurant like Taylor's Automatic Refresher (in SF). That would work over there, don't you think? Hmmmmm . . . .

No one invents food anymore, not unless you are Homaru Cantu or Grant Achatz or some other notable heavies working on the edges of the new frontier of culinary alchemy. This recipe, courtesy of the good folks at Serendipity 3 in NYC, has been a favorite for years there, and is one of the best frozen desserts I know of. My buddy John Levy, an intrepid chocoholic, sent this to me two years ago and I am forever indebted, as you are now to him as well.

Serendipity’s Frozen Hot Chocolate
6 half-oz. pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates
2 t. store-bought hot chocolate mix
1-1/2 T. sugar
1-1/2 c. milk
3 c. ice
whipped cream (recipe below)
chocolate shavings

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally, until melted.  Add hot chocolate mix and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature. In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture, and the ice. Blend on high speed until mixture is smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw . . . or both!

Whipped Cream
1 c. heavy cream, very cold
1 t. vanilla extract
1-1/2 T. light corn syrup
Combine cream and vanilla and mix well. With an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, start whipping the cream on medium speed. Add corn syrup slowly while beating. Whip until the cream holds soft peaks. Slather, drop, and dollop onto whatever your heart desires. Makes 2 to 2-1/2 cups, enough for 1 to 8 persons, depending on if you feel like sharing.

Recipe courtesy of Serendipity 3, copyright 2004

The most talked about story of the first part of this week continues to be Sunday’s  Strib-o-gram from Bill Ward and Jon Tevlin. Their steamy tell-all sat on the front page of the Source section, detailing some of the sleazier goings-on in the restaurant world, lurid tales that go on behind the scenes in most businesses jam-packed with crazies and drug-addled egomaniacs with no self-esteem. I should know—I am one.

There were a few things that struck me about the piece as a reader. The biggest one was I WANT MORE DETAILS. And I want really juicy ones. You know it was a good piece when you can smell the blood in the water. One of the biggest causes of friction between owners and chefs or chefs and landlords or servers and managers, and something that presages all of the most disgusting behavior, is anxiety. Especially the type brought on when the business is circling the drain pipe. All these restaurants (Mpls. Café, Goodfellows, Bobino, E’s, Five, etc.) were going through the death throes of extinction during the time when the craziest behavior was going on. And remember, Big E is basically a self-created myth of Eric’s own making and if his TV deals and book deal go anywhere at all (am I the only skeptic here???), the background checks he will have to deal with will give him apoplexy. Check out the public record on this guy—in some of the restraining-order paperwork there are some pretty wild accusations. The amount of FBI background and security checks I had to deal with for my own show were massive, but they pale in comparison to the morals clauses you have to sign off on if you actually can get a real show on a real station. Everyone in the media these days is scared of signing anyone to anything and then finding out later that they have a record, or pending legal issues. It’s a deal breaker. And while it’s an incomplete survey to say the least, no one I speak to in the cable TV networks, major networks, or publishing world have heard of his projects. TV/publishing people I deal with always ask me about this person or that, or want to know who’s who in our market because they are seeing proposals or show tapes on different local personages and want to get a feel for their appeal. So far, not a whisper on E. But, of course, I could be wrong.

Ms. Miller is a talented chef, but the article fails to mention the travesties of what went on at Red, and the fact that the Bobino tale was only in a sidebar tells me that they couldn’t get anyone ‘on the record’ on the Miller-Paddock saga. I am surprised that not a single employee from Red/Bobino/Mojito, etc., would tell any of the tales of what went on in those restaurants after hours and behind closed doors. Perhaps they got a few on record, but the paper didn’t want to go there for fear of legal exposure.

The story I really want to read is the one that Ward and Tevlin must have turned in three weeks ago to be vetted by the Strib legal department before the editors told them what they could and could not print. Court records are one thing, but the stories I heard coming out of the mouths of employees of Red, Bobino, Five, and Goodfellows make the stuff I read on Sunday seem like Sesame Street. The nice thing about a blog is that people can feel free to chime in and tell me what they heard, so feel free, especially if you worked at one of these places back in the day.

Speaking of the Strib, how about that story they ran a week ago today on the Midtown Global Market? Talk about a tough headline. The front page used the phrase ‘World of Hurt’ and the jump contained the header "Growing Pains." I happen to think the real story is somewhere in between, but what do I know? Well, let me tell you. The MGM is a wonderful resource and one of the most undervalued and unappreciated and unattended food venues in our city. But we don’t live in a ‘build it and they will come’ environment. The problem with constructing a business of that magnitude, especially one that has such a large social agenda as its raison d’etre is that the two are rarely compatible (business and social agendas). Philly, Seattle, and other cities that have these fabulous multi-use eat-in or shop-it food and craft complexes are all in the hearts of downtown. Until the MGM folks can figure out a way to get mom and dad in Chanhassen to hit the place twice a month for dinner, shop there once a week by offering a compelling reason to do so, and lure them from the Minneapolis skyway for lunch once a week, they are in danger of developing Levain’s Syndrome. Imagine what would have happened if the MGM complex had been built across from the Target Center instead of that utter waste of a space that Block E became. Anyone been to Hooters lately?

Ben Graves called me yesterday and confirmed that Steven Trajahn, late of the Ritz Carlton and NYC's swanky 21 Club, will take over the helm at Cosmos and at the Graves 601 Hotel. Running the pastry program there will be Khan Tran, who in the last eighteen months has been at Auriga, 20.21, and Levain. An anonymous poster to this site first dropped the Trajahn news last week. Nice work.

Great blog response on the “issue de siecle”—and all of you made some erudite and relevant points. Thanks for all of your responses. We have a vibrant community here on Chow & Again, that’s for sure. Now that I am officially off the ledge, I will say that we are indeed a great food town, but one still finding its sea legs when it comes to changing the way in which our general population relates to restaurants. It is not only about income, but about culture. As Phil Roberts is fond of saying, “Too much Lutheran DNA.”

In San Fran, the fifth largest market in the USA (for twelve and ups), or in any of the top five markets, the bottom third of the middle class spends a significant portion of their income eating in restaurants, mostly ethnic and independent eateries. Most of these people live in bustling metro areas (NYC, Boston, Chicago, etc.) where (AND HERE I AM GENERALIZING TO MAKE A POINT, READERS) cooking at home is a once a week occurrence (and growing), whereas in the Twin Cities eating out is a once a week occurrence, and growing, but not quickly enough or in the right places as far as I am concerned. Live in Kenwood and want to find an alternative to a rack of baby backs at Chili's? Head on over to barbecue independents renowned for their product, like Ted Cook's, Cap's, Market Bar-B-Que, etc. Live in Blaine or Rogers or Buffalo? No options, really, except another chain, Famous Dave’s. Who in those towns will get back in the car and drive forty minutes for dinner? The most we could expect them to drive is ten and even that is tough when you factor in kids, family errands, etc. . . . since the majority of our population lives outside our city centers, and there is so much competition these days from other restaurants and other non-food-related activities, I guess we all have to be patient.

Price is a huge factor in how we make our dining decisions. Almost 100 percent of the thirty people I polled responded price and service were their two primary factors in choosing a restaurant. Food was a close third. When my wife and I make a choice on eating out we consider food, food, and food. Service and ambiance are definitely on our list, but price really isn’t. Not because we have any disposable income, but because with the exception of four or five restaurants in town, most menus can be flexible. An example: We love La Belle Vie, and we have eaten in the dining room and done tasting menus twice. Fabulous. But we have gone there once a month and snuggled into a booth in the bar on a date night and ordered four or five goodies off the bar menu and spent around $50 for two. Which is about what dinner for two at a chain in the ‘burbs costs. All of this is a roundabout way of urging folks to support our local independent eateries.

Hopefully chefs like Steven Brown (and there are a handful of others whose restaurants are barely making it) will resist the siren song and stay put, rather than move to NYC, Boston, Miami, San Fran, LA, Dallas, Chicago, etc., where fame and fortune awaits, but if they moved to find a more receptive audience, who can blame them, really?

And from the “Hey, it’s gonna get worse before it gets better” department, Vincent, from what I hear, is not only doing a weekday happy hour, but is closing on Sunday, despite serving some of the best food in the Cities in a lovely and warm atmosphere. I am hoping that things there are OK, and my sense is that being across from Orchestra Hall helps his business, but he has a large monthly nut there on mall. But then why the cutbacks and discounts, etc. . . . is that what customers want? Oy vey.

I am going to lay claim to coining something I call Levain’s Syndrome, named after the most extreme example of the illness. This condition is recognizable by the primary symptom of waning interest and falling attendance despite an actual increase in food quality and local/regional/national reputation. Any candidates for triage???? I’ll go with Midtown Global Market. More on that Thursday.

Claudia Fleming was the original pastry chef at Grammercy Tavern and supervised much of the baking and pastry work at all of Danny Meyer’s restaurants in NYC, including Union Square. She is among a handful of pastry chefs who can lay claim to being a legitimate top-ten player nationally. She is also a phenomenally kind woman who many years ago shared this pound cake recipe with me that is still the best I have ever worked with. The lemon syrup bounce at the end is so wonderful I cannot even begin to describe its impact on the cake. Try it with different citrus combinations (clementines, limes, mandarins, satsumas, Meyer lemons, etc.) and don’t be afraid to experiment. This recipe is one of the all-time greats.

Lemon Pound Cake
2 sticks unsalted butter
5 large eggs
1-1/2 c. sugar
1-1/2 c. plus 2 T. cake flour
large pinch salt
1 T. grated lemon zest
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c. strained fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter. With an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat eggs and 1 cup sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Sift flour and salt. Fold zest and flour, in thirds, into eggs. Whisk 1 cup of this batter into the vanilla and butter. Fold this into remaining batter. Pour batter into a buttered and floured loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Meanwhile, combine remaining sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. Transfer cake to wire rack. Pierce all over with a cake tester. Rotating the cake on all four sides and brush/drizzle with the syrup, finishing with the top. Let cool and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream seasoned with crème fraiche. Makes 8 servings.

Wanna know what class is?

Steven Brown coming on Chowhounds with me this Saturday at 10 a.m. to talk about the future of fine dining in the Twin Cities.

. . . or how about Tim McKee, chef-owner of La Belle Vie, stopping in at Levain on New Year's Eve to wish everyone there his best on what was their last night open for business?

. . . or maybe Steven’s staff at Levain should get the award for best exemplifying everything that C-L-A-S-S stands for? I talked with Steven at length on Tuesday about the restaurant’s closing, and he told me that after he learned late on Thursday that Levain would serve its last meal on Sunday evening, he let his crew know that if anyone wanted to they could turn in their aprons and he wouldn’t blame them for spending the weekend, or the evening of New Year's Eve, with their friends and family, given the last minute notification, the bittersweet nature of the closing, or the holiday timing of the closure itself. Everyone showed up for each shift for the remainder of the weekend—cooks, dishwashers, everyone . . . that’s class. And a great reflection on Steven.

I think this is the first time I have teased an upcoming radio show on this blog, but given the incredible graciousness with which Steven accepted my invitation and the AMAZING interest in this story as demonstrated by the number of comments to my Tuesday blog entry, I wanted to let this community know to tune in. Let your friends know, and if you are in the biz, or just love food, give it a listen. 100.3 FM on Saturday at 10 a.m.

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RIP . . . Andy’s Garage served its last burger in its University Avenue location so that ownership could focus all their attention on their new stand in the Midtown Global Market.

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Rumor Mill . . . Ben Graves, the Graves 601 Hotel honcho, would neither confirm nor deny the anonymous posted comment on this blog on Tuesday stating that Stephen Trajahn (of NYC’s 21 Club, Ritz Carlton Hotels, etc.) was taking over the stove left vacant by Seth Bixby Daugherty’s exit last month. Graves promised me some news would be forthcoming next week, so stay tuned. Ben and his dad are smart, standup guys and I am crossing my fingers that the person they are bringing in will continue to grow the national-caliber reputation that Seth and the Graves family created at Cosmos.

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Toque Tally . . . Woodmans, Seth, Steven, all gone from kitchens that they made relevant in a national sense during 2005 and 2006 . . . there is a new scent in the air, a vague aroma of disinterest in creative and inspired cooking. Too much competition? Too many restaurants serving food that is too ‘edgy’? Too pricey? What will it take to get Minnesotans to dine out on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening in restaurants that offer forward-thinking menus? Will we lose Alma or Auriga to this nauseous wave of disinterest once new restaurants open in the W Hotel and the Ivy? Was Larry D’Amico dead-on when he told me last fall that there were already too many fine-dining seats in this town relative to customer interest? And why my personal outrage? Because most people I meet and talk to want it both ways. They want to live in a town with great restaurants, but they can’t or won’t support them. Sad, but I am sorting it all out still and will be writing about this a lot in the upcoming weeks and months. All I know is that the new breeze that is blowing smells foul to me.

Let’s not mince words. This is one of the saddest New Year’s I have spent as an eater in this town in as long as I can remember. Friday morning I woke up and amongst other things I reflected confidently on the happy State of the Food Union in the Twin Cities. I don’t ordinarily do that—I’m not that much of a food geek—it’s just that I was thinking about topics for Chowhounds the next morning. Then, on Friday night, I checked my e-mail and found this:

Restaurant Levain Closes
Restaurant Levain will no longer be open beyond its New Year’s Eve Dinner on December 31, 2006.

After 3 ½ years of operation, the four star fine dining Restaurant Levain closes its doors New Years Eve. Owner Harvey Thomas McLain says it was a, “wild, wonderful rollercoaster. I thank all the employees and customers for their support. Special thanks go to Chef Steven Brown for a consistent execution of spectacular food. I was always amazed at the subtle, complex and layered flavors in his foods.”

McLain has plans to convert the space into a simpler bistro type restaurant. 

There are several redeemable options for those who hold gift certificates to Restaurant Levain: they may be applied to any of the three Turtle Bread locations, held on to for the upcoming restaurant or receive a cash refund at the Turtle Bread on 48th & Chicago.

Convert the space into a simpler bistro???? Aaaaaaaargggghhhhh. I don’t want a simpler bistro, I want Steven’s food. PLEASE, DEAR GOD, HEAR MY PRAYERS AND LET THE GRAVES FAMILY MAKE STEVEN AN OFFER HE CAN'T REFUSE AT COSMOS. And let me also state unequivocally that I found his cooking to be consistently some of the best I have ever eaten, anywhere. My wife (she is Steven’s biggest fan ever since she tasted his experimental smoky potato consommé with dashi and hana katsuo one night two years ago) and I are still reeling and frankly, much like when the Twins lost Liriano to elbow injury at the end of the season, losing one pitcher (or restaurant) can change the entire complexion of not only the playing field and the season, but also the league.

After being named our Restaurateur of the Year several years ago (I think it really is a curse now for sure), Harvey seemed poised to make a real dent in this town when he eventually opens up the restaurant in the old Turtle space . . . now he is really starting over. I am just beside myself. The last few R of the Y’s have had their tsuris for sure. Wayne Kostroski . . . closed Goodfellows, lost Michelle Gayer at Franklin St., retooled Tejas. Sam Ernst and Partners . . . closed Table of Contents and Red Fish Blue. Harvey . . . closed Levain. I know I am forgetting someone else . . . oh well, early Alzheimer's . . . .

The Woodmans' exit from Five was for all sorts of reasons, according to all the parties involved, but ultimately it began with food of that quality and price point not being popular enough. Then Seth left Cosmos to spend more time with family, but the lunch and weekday business there has been sketchy for over a year. Levain closes. Vincent now does a happy hour . . . What’s next?? Two-fers at Auriga? Early-bird specials at Alma? Tuesday taco bar night at La Belle Vie? Someone talk me down from the ledge, I am serious as a heart attack. I think I want to kill myself.

Is fine dining dead? More on this later after I get a chance to speak to Steven and Harvey and see what’s what.

P.S. Spotted at the Delano Pool in Miami over the holiday week—Lindsay Lohan strolling poolside with what looked to be a cocktail (surprise!) and Kate from our office who bumped into my South Beach crew on the same night.

Nothing is as glamorous and heartening as sitting down to a dinner built around, or including, a soulful shrimp bisque. Good ones are hard to find. This recipe is a variation of one that my soup professor (Barbara Kafka) taught me years ago, and a version of it is in one of her books, I think. Her kids went to the same school as I did in NYC and she was one of my early food idols. The lady can cook, and this recipe is worth the extra step or two. If you are going to freeze this, do it at the point when the soup base is finished, but before you thicken it.

Shrimp Bisque

3 lbs. shrimp, 16-20 size
5 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
2 c. white wine
7 c. fish or shellfish stock
1 T. tomato paste
2 sprigs tarragon
2 T. paprika
3/4 c. each minced celery, carrot, and onion
2 minced garlic cloves
2 cloves
2 thyme sprigs
1/2 c. cognac
1 lb. canned chopped tomatoes in their juices
1/2 t. Tabasco

5 T. flour
3 T. butter
8 oz. heavy cream
salt, pepper, and lemon juice to season

Peel shrimp. Freeze the meat from 2 lbs. of the shrimp* for another use. Reserve all the shells and one-third of the total volume of the meats. Melt 2 T. of the butter and all the oil over medium heat in a medium stockpot. Add half the shells and cook until well colored. Add wine and reduce by half, then add stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Pull pan from heat without removing the lid, and let sit for 10 minutes. Strain, pressing down, to extract all the flavor-rich juices. Reserve this liquid.

Return the pot, cleaned, to medium heat and add the remaining butter. When foaming, add remaining shells, shrimp meats, tomato paste, herbs, vegetables, and spices. Cook well but do not burn. Add cognac and reduce until dry. Add tomatoes, Tabasco, and reserved shrimp shell–infused stock. Bring to a simmer and hold there, cooking for 25-30 minutes. Let soup rest for 15 minutes in the pot. Using an immersion wand or blender, purée the soup. Strain several times through a chinoise. You should have 5-6 cups of rich shrimp soup.

Place 5 T. flour and 3 T. butter into a pot and melt to combine into a roux. Add the soup in thirds, thickening as you go. Whisk to combine, and when simmering. add cream. Bring to a boil and season. Serve, garnishing with snipped chives. Serves 6-8.

* NOTE: It’s nice to save a few shrimp per person to poach in the soup when you add the cream at the end.