Umami Burger

After hearing mixed reviews - from gushing accounts to up-turned noses - I wanted to check out Umami Burger.  Umami, is that unknowing but all-knowing sense of something-delicious-in-my-mouth-is-happening-now.  I like this word, and this name for the restaurant.  I also liked my burger, the namesake patty.  Meat plus portabello mushroom plus parmesan crisp plus sun-dried tomato did have that je ne sais quoi affect.  I could have done for more dipping sauces - house spread was a thousand island-esque dressing and the garlic aioli was addictive.



Onion rings also yummy, but I wanted more in the order. Then again, it was nice that you'd got what you paid for all around. Having a sparse plate with just a burger on it made the burger a heck of a lot more manageable over all.  We left happy and full but not devastated; a good indicator that we will be back.

FOX NEWS features Yours Truly

What a weekend.  I was on Your Questions, Your Money to "sell" my business to a panel of sweetheart experts who were all genuinely excited about The Dish's Dish. Watch below to see what they suggested I do.  What do you think?  Post your ideas in the comments!

Brunch at Ford's

Fresh off the plane from NYC on Sunday, what better a thing to do than collapse into the sunny patio outside of Ford's for brunch? Biscuits, fish n chips, brisket, polenta... a heavenly way to re-acclimate to California livin'.

Biscuits... hot from the oven... came with sweet jam. A good opening salvo.

Shrimp Pil Pil. I liked the idea of dipping the sweet biscuits into the garlicky shrimp. No one else did but I thought it was great. I was pretty hungover and wrecked from NYC though so that might have had something to do with it.

Holy fish n chips. The batter was light and spongy and not only were there chips but there were onion rings and asparagus, too!  The fish was perfect. Perfect! Loved.

Brisket Hash. Booyah. That's some good Sunday food right there.

Blue Maxx - Ford's version of eggs benedict. Smoky potatoes lined the bottom of the dish. Killer hollandaise.

Polenta Cake with mushrooms and truffle-mascarpone. So baller it's on the dinner menu, too. This was the dish that I, officially, ordered. No regrets.  I'll see you soon my friend.

Metro NY Thanksgiving!

For those readers not living in NY, Boston or Philadelphia, I thought I might mention the awesome coverage The Dish's Dish received from Metro on Friday. We had a full page spread of easy Thanksgiving recipes. Check out their site for all of the recipes or click the photos below to see the pretty pics I took during the shoot!

Max Brenner, Are You There?

The real deal?

So this is really strange. I was reading about the most recent Max Brenner expansion and got linked to a FOX Business interview with him. I instantly recalled that Frank Bruni had written an article for the Times a while back in which he proclaimed that there was no real Max Brenner.  Instead, it was a fictitious concept developed by two businessmen.  WTF? Who's telling the truth?  People need to get their PR hats on straight.

Tacos Por Favor

A reason high on the list for moving to the west coast: Tacos Por Favor.

Best Brekkers in Jackson

Before a hike in the Tetons over the weekend, my friend let me in on a secret- Nora's Fish Creek Inn. It's an old-school spot that's been serving meals to woodsmen for decades. Huevos Rancheros are a must. Eggs over easy plus bacon plus beans plus green sauce plus a layer of cheese will give ample energy for a hike (in our case 13 miles). A close runner up is trout and two eggs which comes with potato hash. Don't worry - all those calories will quickly burn up on the gnarly mountain range that waits right outside the door.

Soda Like Never Before.

Do you wish he was your quirky relative who showed up every year at Thanksgiving with some crazy sodas?

Fried Chicken. Done.

If you've ever wanted to know, now's the time to learn baby.

(This video will be up til the 14th)

Kabobs

Last night I marinated tuna in soy, balsamic vinegar and honey for about an hour. I roasted red and yellow peppers and mushrooms. Then I seared the tuna and put them on kabobs.  Accompaniment was a simple salad of spinach with shaved fennel plus fronds as well as fingerling potatoes roasted with thyme.  I tossed them in a balsamic reduction that a Culinista had left at my house last week.  

English Muffins Reimagined

(photo courtesy of Le Grande Orange)

It might seem silly to devote an entire article to English muffins but once you try the homemade sourdough rendition that Le Grande Orange makes daily, you’ll understand.

I was never much of an English muffin fanatic growing up, but that all changed when I moved to New York and discovered the Good World burger. This burger, made up not only of fine meat but also of beets and other Scandinavian-esque fillers, was topped with Jarlsberg and bacon and served on… an English muffin. It seemed revelatory to me – that this somewhat dainty bread could make an appearance on a very manly burger.

So I started loving English muffins after that. The positive association with the burger was enough for me. I would get caviar from Brighton Beach and spread a thick layer atop a toasted muffin.

Then it dawned on me, though, that I didn’t love the muffins, I loved the idea of them – the nooks and crannies, the flat outside and doughy inside. I like English muffins OK but it’s true, they really aren’t that special – it’s all about what you can do with them.

Now enter Le Grande Orange – a Phoenix-based phenomenon, now in Santa Monica, that brings eclectic food a good name. They started making English muffins at their Arizona grocery and have become an obsession. Made with a sourdough starter every day, baked à la griddle not oven to preserve the crispy outside soft inside balance and dusted with cornmeal, these are not Thompson’s.

They are about triple the size of any English muffin I’ve ever seen and triply delicious. They are excellent plain, toasted or topped with a variety of accoutrements. Le GO serves their commuter breakfast on one and you can ask for their burger on the muffin at lunchtime. The dense dough will sop up all the juices.

There’s something chewy about them that makes even a plain muffin incredibly satisfying.

$9 will get you a bag of six muffins but be sure to purchase an extra one – you won’t be able to drive home without busting into the bag. I am looking forward to having Thanksgiving leftovers on them. Can you imagine? A toasted muffin, a slathering of mayonnaise, cold turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing… drizzled with gravy…