It’s usually the most simplest things/moments in life that tend to resonate with you for a long time. weather it be a spontaneous bite to eat with an old friend or making a familiar dish really well. Last week My friend Malcolm gave me the keys to his Harlem walk up to host an end of week b-day brunch for my best bro Evan. A couple close friends showed up with some beer and headed straight to the pool table while i was swagging it out in the kitchen. I made Sliders (50% pork/ 30% sirloin/ 20% chuck) and “potato chips”. The chips where fingerlings cut into coins and fried then seasoned and tossed with some herbs. It took me a while to strip it down to the “sliders n chips” as i tend to go for something a bit more out of the box but glad i stuck with something simple and honest. It was an epic way to end the week.
I know its hard to hate on american cheese but this can really be turned up if tomatoes where paired with a brie or even make a play on a classic caprese salad and add some basil leaves.
“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films…..”
Its watching clips like this that make me want more out of life, but also makes me happy about life in general.
The end of my career. Before the end of my life. I’d like to open a small kitchen somewhere by the beach and serve an hour long tasting menu for a table of two.
I just finished eating a chicken culet with BEEF BACON?!… RIGHT IT DOESN’T EVEN SOUND POLITICALLY CORRECT BUT DONT KNOCK IT!… Coming from an avid pork abuser, throwing bacon on pretty much aything i can.. even a Big Mac! even tho it takes away from the FOODIE street cred.. One to many Cocoloso’s can take you to do the craziest things..
So i walk into the Deli/bodega on 164st and Broadway that just opened about a little over a year ago and see them slicing a large amount of beef, when i asked what it was used for they said since there Muslim they use beef bacon instead of pork. With respect to there religion I decided to give it a try to measure out the diffrences..I had it on a Chicken Cutlet with Pepper Jack Cheese..
The taste… Slightly porky as it carries on the same amount of fat but since it wasn’t cured/smoked it was obviously missing that crunchy texture we all love about pork bacon.. It’s a meatier cut so much more filling and substantial, I would suggest to health freaks and people that try to stray from pork or even for those who walk into there local bodega ran by Muslims.. DONT KNOCK IT! Half the people that buy there “Bacon Egg & Cheese” probably dont even know the diffrence!
”Tools are meaningless wihout the food. I love the food and tools and heat and cold together for the great and forever meaningful goal to feed people and to make them happy. To earn your pay and feed yourself. [.. Mornings when few are there or late night, surrounded by cooks, service over and the kitchen clean-the private euphoria of service gone well and the private shame of being in the weeds…”
- Michael Ruhlman-The Reach Of A Chef
This is the type of stuff that helps me wake up and do what I do; day-in, day-out. Put my balls away, forget about my pride and dignity and do work! The passion inside the heart of a cook is what makes him do what most wouldn’t even put up with… Shout out to anyone who wakes up every day working against the grain… KEEP ON TRUCKIN!!
