MOM AND DAD (AND FRIENDS)

Sorry it's been about three years since the last update. And I'm even more sorry I don't have a ton of really awesome photos from the food consumed over the last couple days. But I can describe it a bit and offer some insights into my mom and dad's third trip to the big city.

Last Tuesday night the folks hit Brooklyn and they were ready for some food after their travels and neighborhood exploration. We figured Bocca Lupo was in order.

Dan and Steve joined the festivities and we had a whole lot of bruschetta, paninis and maybe a bit of wine. Mom and Dad liked the mushroom and truffled cheese the best. I have to agree.

Wednesday night we made sure they hit the neighborhood's finest pizza — Lucali, of course. It's tough to get in but whatever. We knew we had to do it. That photo was from when D and James went with us, but whatever. Similar pizza. I think we had a hot pepper and shallot pie and a mushroom and onion pie. As always, fantastic.

Thursday night mom and dad went to the city and we were on our own. We called in Joya. Sorry, dudes. We were tired. I had some pork salad, Meena had a curry.

Friday night we went big and had all of m&d's friends out to Brooklyn for some drinks, snacks and dinner at Buttermilk Channel. The Guggenheims and Guipes made the trek down deep into Carroll Gardens for Court Street's finest. I had an Esposito's sausage sandwich and Meena had a flap steak with some crispy marrow.

I think the best thing on the menu is still the duck meatloaf. And despite what you may have heard, the fried chicken is pretty dope. And the bacon almonds ... they're still incredible.

Saturday morning I made a little breakfast with some of the previous night's snacks. A little egg with a nice cheddar from Quebec and a bit of proscuitto and toasted bread bits. Salt, pepper, you know the drill. It was excellent.

Saturday night we hit the famed Boathouse in Central Park and I must say, it went way beyond expectations. I couldn't believe how good the food was. I guess I wasn't expecting much, but I was very, very wrong. I thought it would just be a trap for tourists but the Boathouse delivered.

Meena had a roasted chicken with kale and gratin potatoes. I had a snapper with wilted cabbage and it was out of this world. I almost went with the whole branzino, but man ... that snapper was perfect.

And on Sunday, the folks were on their way back to Indy. Sorta. The had awful issues as LGA and they actually ended up in Cincinnatti later that night. Or Kentucky. Or something. But they made it home eventually and I have to say, this may have been their best trip yet. It was so excellent to see them and we had such a good time eating and exploring all over Brooklyn and the Upper West Side.

BUTTERMILK

Meena and I have done brunch at Buttermilk Channel a few times but because we're taking my parents there next week, we figured it was best to try dinner once before we took the plunge. I'm happy to report we will not be changing our reservations - Buttermilk Channel stands!

We had a nice little dinner. Maybe a little over the top for a Thursday, but hey, today's payday. You gotta indulge once in a while, right?

We started with the little dish I'd hear so much about - the maple bacon almonds. Friends, you should definitely get these if you're ever there. Amazing. Little bits of bacon and incredible sweet and salty coatings encased each little nut. Fantastic.

After the almonds we moved into a little cheese sampling and though I don't have much to report, we were both pleased with the selections and the roasted grapes that were served alongside.

For the main event, Meena went with a duck meatloaf that was served with summer corn pudding and a massive onion ring. Though the presentation was a little mundane, I was incredibly taken by the taste. The flavors all worked so well together and the heartiness of the duck really worked well in a meatloaf format. I was impressed.

I had the bratwurst with sauerkraut and mustard. They served this sucker on a lovely toasted roll and threw on a side of fries. It's nothing revolutionary but I just love these tastes. It's like being a kid again.

So we'll be back for sure. Next week, actually.

NIGHT 2

Night two of the meeting took us on a tour of the High Line and down to Los Dados for some margs, chips, salsa, guac and assorted other Mexican goodness.

The food quality took a massive turn for the better on Thursday. We had this lovely shrimp salad you're seeing up there. We followed it with little chicken tacos, delicious tamarind skirt steak and an assortment of desserts that featured mountains of churros.

After Wednesday, I must admit, the high-end Mexican of Los Dados was a very welcome addition to the meeting agenda.

UM

Oh boy. We had the start to our annual meeting at City Winery on Wednesday and it was a questionable experience at nearly every turn.

The idea was good. You know when you see people eating in a barn on a winery and it looks all rustic and romantic? Well, they employed this concept in the middle of Manhattan and it came out looking a lot more like a NYC cab garage than a beautiful Napa Valley barn.

The wine was just OK and the food wasn't great. We had some hummus on a toasted slice of bread, a salad with some goat cheese, a crazy sausage and some sliced steak.

Not an awesome way to kick it off, but it was good to see some of the folks I hadn't seen since last year.

STAYIN' CHEESY IN THE WEEZY

When I wished James a happy America Day he told me to "stay cheesy in the weezy" and I thought that was kinda funny. You know, because Meena and I were in Milwaukee. And Wisconsin is famous for their cheese and all.

Anyway, I'll be brief about our journey through all things awesome in Brookfield and Milwaukee and Elm Grove for a wonderful 4th of July weekend.

We started off our eating adventures on Thursday night at Mitchell's for a bit of seafood. Meena and I split some lovely east coast oysters and a big ol' lettuce wedge with some thousand island. Decadent. And awesome.

Meena moved into a Shang Hai sampler - salmon, scallops and shrimp with some sticky rice and spinach. Not bad. I had some blackened whitefish. The cajun spice and the flakey whitefish went together wonderfully.

Friday afternoon we got down with a delicious picnic in the park. Mrs. Roell manned three baby grills that produced a metric ton of hamburgers and hot dogs. We threw on some potato chips, potato salad and a bunch of bananas to make it one spectacular Friday afternoon.

Friday night we went down to Milwaukee for one heck of a spread at the waterfront hotspot, Coast. The place was peppered with gourmet stations featuring roast chicken, gyros, brats, ribs, sliders and corn. I sampled ... a few of those. Though due to over-indulgence, I'm not at liberty to divulge the exact combination of eats.

Saturday night we finished off a lovely weekend with some more fireworks in Elm Grove. Nothing too fancy on the food front - just a Miller High Life and a burger from the Rotary Club stand. But what it lacked in fancy, it more than made up for in the taste department. Those dudes made a nice burger.

Another incredible weekend in Milwaukee. Not that it's ever a surprise. It's a great city and our family is the best. We're probably going to make another trip back this summer if all goes well - and we can't wait!

HIGH ON THE HIPSTER HOG

Meena had to drop off some stuff for a shoot in Williamsburg and because it was a giant garment bag full of who knows what, she enlisted the help of Dan and myself to see that it made it over there in one piece. Not a problem, because I knew that once in the heart of the hipster, I was going to check out something I've ignored for too long - hipster bbq.

Fette Sau is this bbq joint in that neck of the woods that we've always meant to try. I guess I always sort of dismissed it as yet another NYC attempt at replicating authentic customs from the rest of the country in hopes of appealing to this town's neverending love affair with all things ironic. But we read about the Sau in some magazine touting its grub as solid cooking, so we figured it was time to see what it was all about.

We started with a big old growler of some wheat beer.

So far, so AWESOME.

Then we got our tray of meats and sides. The damage went like this:
- 1 lb. beef brisket
- 1/2 lb. pork shoulder
- 2 x spicy pork sausage
- small baked beans
- small potato salad
- rolls

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed in everything but the brisket. The pork was dry. Dry, dry, dry. As a bone. The vinegar and bbq helped, but it was obvious it wasn't a home run. The brisket, on the other hand, was awesome. Moist and full of flavor. Just delicious. I could have eaten two pounds.

The beans were burnt. And not in a good charred flavor way. Just straight burnt. The potato salad was meh. The sausage was just sausage. Nothing to write home about.

In the end, it wasn't awful. Not at all. I mean, bbq is always good. Even if it's just OK bbq. But I was still a little disappointed. I wanted it to be better. But whatever. I mean, I'll go back again. Maybe one more time just to see if last night was an off night. But after one experience, I have to report, just so, so, Fette Sau.

FISH CAMP!

I'm very happy to report that the longest week in recent memory came to a delightful close, my friends. That's right, we were treated to one of the best meals I've had in a minute at the always awesome Brooklyn Fish Camp by none other than the lovely and amazing duo of Dan and Steve.

Dan had a gift card that he was itching to use and we were happy to help.

Aren't we lucky?

Anyway, earlier in the day, Meena had told me how much she wanted a lobster roll. I told her fat chance, pay day was a week away! But Dan and Steve came to the rescue and my wife received her craving on a perfectly grilled, buttered bun.

The dinner was spectacular. We started it off with a half dozen oysters on the half shell. They were nice and plump. Not sure what the variety was, but I'm reasonably sure they were east coast. Briney and juicy. Just perfectly decadent.

For the main course, I've already mentioned Meena's selection. Plump lobster salad thrown down the center of that golden hot dog bun and served with a heap of fries. Dan and Steve went the same way - I can't blame them. Mary's does one of the best we've ever had. And believe me, it's easy to mess one of these up despite its seemingly simplistic recipe.

I was the only one who strayed from the lobster. I gave it some thought and nearly went with it, but the spicy sardine sandwich caught my eye. Pickled veggies? Check. Fried, spicy sardines? Check. Grilled bread and a salty salad of greens and onions on the side? Check.

Sounds like my perfect meal.

And oh was it ever. I think I may have dreams about this one. It's easily one of my new favorite things. And at 14 bucks, I think I can probably swing it from time to time. Exciting times, friends. Exciting times indeed. When you have a new favorite sandwich, life is just glorious.

So that was that. Thanks again to D&S - incredible meal, friends. Thanks so much for including us!

B-MORE

Sorry for the delay, folks. This week was ... well, it felt like it took a month to get through. We worked through the night on Sunday and then straight through Monday. And this was after a lovely (but tiring) weekend trip to Baltimore. So ... yeah. I just didn't have it in me to keep up this week. I had to recharge. Refresh. But I'm back and I have some photos that should bring everyone back up to speed on what we've been eating. Because I know the internet has been pining to find out what we've consumed.

Like I said, we were in Baltimore for the wedding of Madeline and Pedro and we got it started off right on Friday night at Nick's Fish House. Not really sure where it was, but it took our cab driver a minute to get there from the Inner Harbor.

The place was sorta weird. Sorta like ... spring break for an older crowd. They had a DJ. I'm not kidding.

But we had come for the crabs and crabs we had. We got a dozen of those lovely little blue suckers all bathed in a metric ton of Old Bay. We cracked and picked and dug our way through all twelve of those delicious little bastards and moved on to about a dozen east coast oysters on the half shell and a couple lump meat crab cakes. It clearly wasn't classy, but with a couple Miller Lights and Natty Boh's ... Meena, Jen, Geoff and myself felt like we'd had a rather authentic Baltimore experience.

Saturday was the big day and I have to say, this was one of the finer weddings I've ever had the pleasure of attending. Madeline pulled out all the stops and the reception at the Peabody Library was one of the most beautiful venues I've ever seen. Folks, my photos don't do it justice. If you've been there you know. If you haven't - let's just say it's just incredible. Six narrow stories of opulence and knowledge. Definitely Baltimore's finest hour.

The food was just great. We kicked it off with a gazpacho and greek salad combo (Mad is Greek and Pedro is from Spain ... natch). We moved into a lobster ravioli that left me wanting to literally lick the plate. The main course was a perfectly cooked piece of tenderloin, "Minnesota" rice pilaf and green beans. Did I mention that it was perfect?

We closed it down with some lovely wedding cake, lots of wine and a fairly obnoxious dance party.

I can't thank Mad and Pedro enough for having us - it was a very, very lovely affair. And what a couple? They're so lovely together and we couldn't be happier they've taken the next step in their lives. Enjoy Bora Bora, dudes. Thanks again for the hospitality.

THE BALLGAME

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Mets game at the new Citi Field last night and I'm happy to report it was a delightful park and a lovely evening. The Mets didn't win, but that's OK. I'm not a huge Mets fan - I would have liked it better had they won - but it's not the end of the world. There's always tomorrow, Mets.

Anyway, I did what most people do at the ballpark - I had a Nathan's hot dog and a couple beers. Matt and I also split a pretzel which was still a touch warm. Matt said it best - warm to the touch, that's always a good sign.

Food looked pretty good throughout the statium, though. I think if I wanted, I could have ventured into some shake shack burgers or pulled pork sandwiches. I figured I'd just stick with the classics, though. I'm sticking by my decision.

Meena was at home and just ordered in a bit from Sezchuan Garden:
- shrimp with veg
- brown rice

I said very healthy when I heard her order but she claims it wasn't. Whatever - better than a hot dog and a beer.

Anyway, I'll try to check out Yankee Stadium next. I heard it's half theme park, half mall. And a little baseball thrown in on the side. But maybe that's just the opinion of jaded New Yorkers. Further reports to come later. I promise.

TO MONTREAL AND BACK

Oh, Montreal. Where do I even begin?

I think I may have mentioned it earlier, but Meena and I went to Montreal for the weekend. It was a little pre-birthday trip that I surprised her with last week. I really expected to enjoy the time away from NYC exploring a new city.

I had no idea.

Montreal is flat out amazing. It's laid back. It's fun. It's clean. It's active. Everyone who speaks French can easily transition to English (sorry Montreal, I tried, but I'm just BAD at French).

And the food.

The food is pretty incredible in Montreal. The folks up there are really passionate about everything from fine cuisine to french fries covered in gravy and cheese, so you know we did our best to plow through everything we'd heard about and all the stuff we stumbled upon.

I'll just start by mentioning the stuff I missed with the digital camera (I have some of them on film and I haven't made it to Duggal yet):

1. We had the legendary Montreal bagel and I'm happy to report it's actually better than the beloved NYC bagel. Just barely. But it is. There's not the giant divide we'd read about prior to our visit. But the Montreal bagel is smaller, more compact and in possession of a crispier, thicker crust around all that doughey goodness. That's the real kicker that puts Montreal ahead in this genre - that crust. The wood fired oven gives each bit of dough this slightly smokey, golden brown finish that resists the initial bite before giving way to that classic bagel softness. Whew.

2. Le Cartet breakfast. This one wasn't anything we'd read about prior to travel, but we stumbled upon this chic Rue McGill spot. I only mention it because I had the most amazing croissant with ham and goat cheese. Flakey, buttery, cheesy and ... cheap. Le Cartet is worth stopping by if you're ever in the neighborhood.

So on to the stuff I did photograph starting with our dinner Friday night at Bistro Bienville on rue de Mentana in the Plateau. I'll just go ahead and say, this was one of the best meals I've had in a long, long time. These guys just get it right. From the atmosphere (just a handful of tables, a couple guys in the open kitchen, perfect lighting and incredible service) to the food, everything was perfectly executed.

All of these things had French names but I can't recall any of them. I'll just describe our five dishes in English if you don't mind:
- 3 west coast and 3 east coast oysters
- shrimp cocktail with spicy remoulade
- grilled octopus with asparagus and potato
- escargot bruschetta
- veal with fennel and potato

We also had a bottle of Muscadet to accompany the whole meal. I'm not all that sophisticated with wine so I don't know if that was a good choice, but I really enjoyed it. Meena, too.

The grilled octopus was probably my favorite dish. They just knocked it out of the park. It's so easy to ruin octopus and these guys grilled it to perfection. Every bite was better than the one before it. The east coast oysters and the shrimp were pretty close second place finishers. But honestly, it was all remarkable. I didn't want it to end.

Saturday night we stopped by one of Montreal's undisputed culinary institutions - Au Pied De Cochon. They're famous for using foie gras in wonderful ways - like stuffing it in a pig's foot. They also have this duck in a can thing where they cook duck and fois gras in a can and open it at your table. Pretty awesome.

Anyway, we didn't go goose liver crazy, but we did manage to combine Cochon's infamous specialty with one of Montreal's most beloved foods - poutine. That's right, we had fries, gravy, cheese curds and ... fois gras. Everything in me told me I probably wouldn't have liked this heart attack on a plate, but I can't front, it was incredible.

For the main courses, we moved into some more standard plates - Meena had bison steak frites and I had duck magret. Both were cooked perfectly. Meena's bison steak especially. Perfect crust and rare in the center. Smothered in mushrooms. Awesome.

So that was basically Montreal from the food point of view. We had such a good time. I think we missed the smoked meat sandwich. I don't think. I know. I probably should have picked one up, but whatever. Next time. We have every intention of going back. I probably should have had some Canadian Whiskey? I don't know what else. But everything was so perfect that I don't even really care what I missed.

We can't wait to go back.

BRING ON SUMMER

Another excellent trip back to the land of Hoosier. Those of you who read often know that going home for the race is a time honored tradition for me and missing it would be about the worst possible thing on the planet. Fortune was shining on me again this year and Meena and I went back for a couple days of Midwestern wonder, enlightenment and race cars.

And the food was pretty darn good, too.

We started things off on Thursday with a trip to Oakley's Bistro for lunch with the grandmothers. Meena and I both tried their tarts ... a bit of puffed pastry with various toppings and a small salad. I had salmon ... she had shrimp. Meena also started with a bit of their wild mushroom soup with truffled cream. The tarts were lovely but the soup may have been the winner. I felt like we could have used slightly more topping to balance out the dryness of the pastry. It was still delicious. Really delicious. Just sayin' is all.

Thursday night we had what was probably one of the best meals of the trip - BBQ chicken and mayo + mustard marinated asparagus on the grill. Perfection. It gets no more Indiana in the summer than that wonderful combo.

Friday afternoon we were treated to a bunch of deliciousness courtesy of Grant and Sara. Our most pregnant friends were kind enough to get us heaping portions of BBQ from a little spot in Westfield in addition to Sara's spicy cheese dip, cherries, salsa, chips, cole slaw and a terrific tomato salad. Man ... we're lucky to have friends like these.

Friday night was beef tenderloin, salad and mashed potatoes. Mom and Dad took care of the beef and the salad, the Amish of Indiana took care of the potatoes.

The beef tenderloin carried over into lunch the next day and that was just another lovely development in our weekend love affair with food. Some toasted asiago bagel and thinly sliced beef? That's lunch.

Saturday night we had a bit of a party and the grill was once again fired up to feed a small army. Dad made BBQ pork chops for the whole crew to go along with an Asian coleslaw and a handful of other delicious stuff Mom prepared to accompany. At this point you may think we would have had our fill of grilled meat but let me assure you this was very much not the case. We came to Indiana to eat from the grill and eat from the grill we did.

Sunday was, of course, the race. I drank beers liberally and devoured sandwiches with gusto. There's nothing quite like the race and there are few things more enjoyable than eating and drinking massive quantities of grub while it's all happening.

Sunday night we hit the Guggys for a post-race party filled with yellow birds, brats and a bit of scotch. And some slaw and some other stuff. Did I mention there were yellow birds and scotch? Anyway, Anne and John delivered another wonderful evening for massive crew.

Monday morning was our final breakfast and Dad once again delivered with some omelettes made to order. I had some pork, peppers and pepper jack cheese. Perfect.

Our final stop on the Indiana food circuit was the OG Jewish Deli in the Indianapolis metro area - Shapiro's. Meena hadn't ever been and it's just one of those places everyone who visits should try to hit at least once. But if you go once, there's probably a good chance you'll want to make a second visit at some point. It's just good food!

Meena had some beef brisket on a roll with mustard and mayo. I had peppered beef on rye with mustard. Man. I miss it already. I know Katz's is like ... the place. But for my money, it's Shapiro's every time.

So ... yeah. Sorry, long description. But it was a great trip and I wanted to try and get it mostly mapped out. Needless to say, we both miss home already. We've been back less than 24 hours and it's already a bit of a bummer. We miss it! But we had a great time and we're already looking forward to Thanksgiving!

DA WEEKEND

Well, it was a necessary weekend. We started out with a bang but I think the week finally caught up to me and I crashed Saturday morning. I was just beat. So ... from Saturday morning through Sunday night, I was just sitting around, friends. I think I left the house once. Maybe twice. And I just drank tea, had a few good eats and got better. So necessary.

Friday we started it off at Butcher Bay in the East Village. We'd heard a few good things so we stopped by. I'm guessing this will be our last trip to Butcher Bay.

We had:
- half dozen oysters
- hush puppies
- hamburger
- lobster roll

The oysters and the hamburger were both pretty good. The hush puppies were OK. The lobster roll was awful. It wasn't the worst ever ... but it's just one of those places we won't need to experience again. Sorry.

Saturday morning marked the beginning of the end and because I was so down and out, Meena took the reigns on our new fav breakfast. It featured:
- ciabatta
- smoked salmon
- red onion
- goat cheese
- cream cheese (for meena)
- chives

Delicious. I know you've seen it every week, but friends, it's the best.

Saturday night we were supposed to hit Lucali with James and D but because I was dead to the world, we just stayed in and made our own pizza. No Lucali but we're picking up steam, y'all. We're getting better and better each day. This one feature:
- pizza dough
- buffalo chicken sausage
- mushrooms
- onions
- marinara
- mozzarella
- sea salt
- black pepper
- chives

That crust was pretty awesome. Like I said ... we're getting the hang of this thing.

Sunday morning Meena knocked out another little Caputo's ciabatta joint. This time it was a nice little egg and cheese on that lovely, salty bread. It featured:
- egg
- cheddar
- sambal oelek
- ham

Mmmmmmmm. That's how I like to start day two of recovery. Operation "ALEC FEELS GOOD FOR THE RACE" was going just as planned.

Saturday night we threw together a little "15-minute" meal we saw in Bon Appetite. I'm not sure it took 15 minutes, but it was pretty solid. It featured:
- chicken (marinated in balsamic, sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and cayenne pepper)
- bleu cheese

I also threw in a salad that featured:
- mixed field greens
- red onion
- goat cheese
- olive oil
- sea salt
- black pepper
- rice vinegar

I think I used too much bleu cheese on the chicken, but ... now I know. It was good, no doubt, but I could have used less. The chicken was SOLID. I loved that. I had the butcher butterfly out our chicken breasts and the thin little slivers really soaked up that marinade and just burst with flavor in every bite. Nice. I like it. I love it.

The other coup of this meal was the fact that Meena enjoyed the goat cheese in the salad. It mixed through to all greens and she was into it. It's always a big deal when I can get her on board with ingredients I love.

Anyway, that was the weekend. Boring ... but necessary to my recovery.

TARTINE!

Meena and I had the wonderful opportunity to join Dan in our old hood for a delicious Friday night dinner at Tartine. We picked up a couple bottles of Rose, tucked ourselves into a diminutive little corner of the West Village's famed BYOB and proceeded to nibble some delicious treats and get a little drunk.

Both Dan and Meena had the classic:
- sauteed chicken with frites

Alec had:
- pissaldiere with goat cheese and anchovy

Pretty incredible food as always. Meena said her sauteed chicken had an abundance of tartness not normally found in this classic, but she was still a fan. My pissaldiere was perfect. Just as good as always .... maybe even better.

At any rate, it was an amazing night. Great food, great rose, fantastic.