Went out to dinner with Rensel today. Our culinary expeditions have become something of a Sunday tradition with us. After a week of usually working with food for eleven hours a day, we take our mutual days off to experience cuisine from the consumer's perspective. Sitting down to have a nice meal without worrying about the multitasking chaos of the Back of the House is the ultimate release from reality.
Today, at Kaya in the Strip, a Carribbean joint owned by a potential employer for me, it was wild Alaskan salmon grilled rare and served with wheat berries and sauteèd carrots, green peppers, and onions in some kind of warm vinaigrette. It was stunning--the symphony of ingredients represented my style of cooking. Flavors were not subtle or hinting at massive starch thickeners at an afterthought; they were bright, vibrant and refreshing, and unabashedly in-your-face. I would not pay to each a lightly seasoned Duchesse potato. I would, however, pay for this dish again, which was acidic without being harsh, contrasting without being outrageous, and thoughtful, even mysterious. At the first bite of the green peppers, I thought I was eating nopalitos. The wheat berries were flavor-intense, like a barley pilaf on angel dust, with an intriguing texture that was chewy, yet firm and easy to eat.
Jenn got a bit of lamb loin from Elysian Fields, the most prestigious farm in the country and located in PA. It was served with enchiladas refritos frijoles negros, some kind of adobo chutney, and green beans. We traded a few things from our plates to get a fuller taste of Kaya's menu. You think you can't get good mexican food in the North? You're full of shit. Nowhere near that Tex-Mex stuff, the enchiladas were perfectly seasoned with cumin and cayenne, nice and crispy, and full of very well-executed refried black beans. It didn't knock you on your ass with spice, it wasn't covered in that shitty Mexican Velveeta, and it wasn't doused in Crisco-based "Molè" sauce. And the lamb? There is no God. There is only Elysian Fields lamb.
On my agenda this week is to learn to make beignets. I also want to do some things with some jasmine rice I picked up at the Asian grocery, and maybe make some polenta. Polenta I must become good at. I have so many ideas for food and not the time or resources to execute them.
Anyway, other things that have been going on:
-Waiting for my tax return. Nice.
-Very, very busy at work lately. Reservations were sold out on Wednesday and while today was my day off and felt really nice, I still feel like I need about 16 more hours of sleep. We got slammed last night about 15 minutes before close, which didn't make our chances of ever getting off work look good.
-I can't sleep.
-I'm looking for a place to live in preparation for leaving this godawful dormitory and starting my externship.
-I think I may have secured an externship. I'm waiting for a phone call or an e-mail. But I talked to some really great guys on Thursday--the corporate chef and an executive chef from a big restaurant group in Pittsburgh that owns some pretty damn nice places, including the one I went to today. It's soon time for me to move up in the biz.
~I love all of you
hurt by the cold
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