The Lunch Break Chronicles

ABOVE: A pair of tacos at Los Molcajetes.

LOS MOLCAJETES: 211 LIBERTY SQUARE, NORWALK

3/2/2010

After photographing John Barricelli of SoNo Baking Company for a story on his upcoming cookbook release, I cruised over to Los Molcajetes for a couple of tacos.

I was recently tipped off to the possibility of hand-made tortillas here and had to see for myself. Word on the street was that you are served the tortillas with the larger plates but not necessarily with the tacos, so I had to take preemptive measures.

“You make your own tortillas?” I ask, gesturing to the wooden tortilla press in the back of the kitchen.

And let me tell you, they make all the difference.

I generally hit up Los Portales grocery down the street for all of my taco needs in Norwalk, but Los Molcajetes should not be missed.

They have a really decent space and a warm and friendly staff, a perfect place to relax and enjoy an early lunch, I will definitely be back soon.

–CP

ABOVE: Today’s special, the burrito Chilango, which I’m told is popular with the Stamford PD. (Staff writer Maggie Perez informs me this is a nonsensical name as Chilango is slang for someone from Mexico City and burritos aren’t native to the D.F.)

EL CHARRITO: 201 RICHMOND HILL AVE., STAMFORD

3/1/2010

Lord knows I love the West Side, but I ain’t gonna lie, Stamford’s lone taco truck, El Charrito, could stand to have a better location.

It’s pretty much one-stop shopping over there – you can buy a new toilet, a set of spark plugs and a lap dance – all without losing sight of the bright yellow truck, but dining al fresco at Jackie Robinson Park of Fame isn’t for everybody.

Just pretend you aren’t eating lunch a picnic table not ten yards from five guys getting totally hammered and taking turns urinating on a tree and you could be anywhere.

But it’s almost spring and El Charrito made its 2010 debut on an absolutely beautiful first day of March and I was there to celebrate the sunny weather with tacos.

This year, owner Carlos Terron is tweeting the daily specials (@elcharrito) and soliciting fans on Facebook. He is also expanding the menu; bringing in more soups, featuring lamb on Sundays and serving up tamales on Fridays.

If you think quality tacos are difficult to find around here, just try and find a real tamal – no, not the big, fat Guatemalan kind – you’re going to be hard pressed to come up with one. Suffice it to say, I’ll be back on Friday to find out of El Charrito passes muster in the tamale department, but from the looks of everything else, I’m hopeful.

– CP

POST SCRIPT: Forgive me Alvino for cheating on Casa Villa. I’m sorry, and I will be back soon.

PICTURE HOPE FOR HAITI: MARCH 2, 6 PM, CHEZ JEAN PIERRE, STAMFORD

2/23/2010

It’s just the two of us back in the photo lab and some people talk a lot of nonsense.

I often think we should just go ahead and add the padded walls and call it what it is. Then again, I’m responsible for the vast majority of the neuroticism and delusional behavior.

So when Advocate photographer Kathleen O’Rourke proposed organizing an event to benefit Haiti earthquake relief efforts, I pretty much blew her off.

But the planning went from half-baked to realistic and it suddenly dawned on me; “Oh wait, you are actually going to do this?” I asked.

When the room started filling up with framed photographs for the silent auction, the answer was plainly obvious.

Now fully on board with the situation, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and I hope you can join us next week.

Plus, there’s food involved:

Fairfield County photographers will present “Picture Hope for Haiti” from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 2 at Chez Jean Pierre Restaurant, 188 Bedford St., Stamford.

The photography exhibit and silent auction will feature a collection of images from the area’s best-known and most inspiring photographers. Please join us for an evening of art and support a wonderful cause.

All proceeds from sale of the photographs will be donated to Doctors Without Borders and the relief effort in Haiti. Hors d’oeuvres and a complimentary glass of wine will be served and a cash bar will be available.

$25 suggested donation.

CONTACT: Kathleen O’Rourke for more info: kathleen.orourke@scni.com

–CP

ABOVE: A plate of lomo saltado and rice at Mi Ranchito in Stamford. ($7)

MI RANCHITO: 262 HOPE STREET, STAMFORD

2/22/2010

In my years at the Advocate the little restaurant on the corner of Hope and Pilgrim Walk has changed hands seemingly countless times.

It was a falafel joint, or a cafe, or maybe a cafe that sold falafel, a Salvadoran place, then closed for a while and now Mi Ranchito. Click here for more…

ABOVE: My first attempt at the simple ginger cookies, left, from the SoNo Baking Company Cookbook yielded a picture-perfect stack.

SONO BAKING COMPANY & CAFE: 101 SOUTH WATER STREET, NORWALK

2/18/2010

SoNo Baking Company’s almond croissants have made me an addict, but they are a little advanced for my baking skills. When I saw that the bakery is poised to release their cookbook on March 9 and that they provide a sample recipe for ginger cookies – something much simpler – on a promo card for the book, I decided to give it a shot. Click here for more…

ABOVE: A pizza margherita ($13) at Jim Lahey’s Co. in Chelsea.

CO.: 230 NINTH AVE., NEW YORK

2/17/2010

NEW YORK – Carrie Parma-Collier’s dog, a samoyed, prefers Brazilian beef to MilkBones, but when you win best in breed in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, you can have whatever you want.

Eschewing the concession stand hot dogs, reporter Elizabeth Kim and I, who were in Manhattan covering the big dog show, had other plans for lunch. I’d been thinking about the assignment all week for one important reason: it’s within walking distance to both Co. in Chelsea and Café Grumpy.

Jim Lahey, of the Sullivan St. Bakery, opened the high-end pizza joint in late 2008 and has been making some of the best pies in the city ever since. This isn’t my first trip to Co., but I haven’t been in a while and was looking forward to trying the famed pizza bianca. (Lahey is still probably known best for his famous “no-knead bread” recipe). Click here for more…

ABOVE: Shrimp étouffée (sorry for the semi-recycled post, but what are you gonna do, I’ve been busy.).

2/16/2010

Ten years ago I was a photojournalism intern at the Baton Rouge Advocate, where crawfish became a staple of my diet. I became obsessed with all things crawfish; boiled crawfish, crawfish po’ boys, crawfish boudin balls and, of course, étouffée.

I really loved the stuff served at Tony’s Seafood on Plank Road. It’s the kind of place where you can walk in and buy live catfish or step up the counter and order Louisiana classics like red beans, gumbo and fried oyster po’ boys. Plus, they also had some of the best bread pudding around.

I haven’t been back down to Louisiana in years but I’ve been cooking étouffée ever since.

The biggest problem I’ve found around here is that crawfish are hard to come by. But last year I discovered New Wave Seafood in Stamford and they carry frozen one-pound blocks of cooked crawfish tails. I’d prefer whole crawfish because I like to make my own stock, but I’ll take what I can get. (Shop Rite in Stamford had a single bag of frozen boiled crawfish, but they were in bad shape.)

Last week, for Super Bowl Sunday, I roughly doubled the recipe but still only used 2 pounds of crawfish tails. They were fully cooked so I just threw them in at the end to bring them up to temperature and to infuse crawfish flavor.

I’ll save shrimp shells and tails from other dishes and make shrimp stock with those.

After experimenting with a couple different recipes over the years, I eventually settled on this one. But I use it more or less as a rough guide, I eyeball everything and I’m sure I’m using way more onion, celery and tomatoes than are called for (there is some debate over whether a true étouffée includes tomatoes, but I don’t care). Some étouffées have a slightly chunkier texture from the vegetables, but I like to give everything a fine dice so they cook down and whole dish is creamy.

If you follow this recipe exactly, you run the risk of seriously over seasoning it; two tablespoons of creole seasoning is really quite a lot, as it’s mostly salt. Cut down on that and then liberally use Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste. (I would use Louisiana brand or Crystal over Tabasco, which has a sharper, more acidic flavor).

The key with étouffée is to get the right balance of heat from the hot sauce and pepper and the rich creaminess from the roux and butter. It’s easy go overboard on the hot stuff but almost impossible to use too much butter.

Bon temps.

–CP

ABOVE: The chicken and arugula salad with balsamic vinaigrette, a staple at Enzo’s. (Of course, since I know the secret Minturnese handshake, I got it with an extra cutlet on top.)

ENZO’S ITALIAN FINE FOODS: 231 HOPE STREET, STAMFORD

2/15/2010

Every time I walk into Enzo’s on Hope Street it’s like a bocce league reunion.

But that’s not why I go, it’s all about the food.

Enzo Cardillo opened his namesake deli a couple of years ago after working at A&S Italian Fine Foods in Fairfield. But Enzo’s is decidedly more low-key.

Sam Laria, who owns a landscaping company in New Canaan, and his friends hold court at the table nearest the counter at lunch every day. They go for the daily specials; last week everybody was talking about the pork chops, but the stuffed peppers looked pretty decent too.

Perennial favorites are the fresh caprese salad and the signature prosciutto panini with a delicate combination of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and balsamic – pretty standard fare but definitely worth checking out.

I’ve become a big fan of the chicken and arugula salad. It’s a nice mix of peppery arugula, tomatoes, onions and grilled chicken with a balsamic vinaigrette. The best part is, it only sets you back six bucks.

Enzo also makes fresh mozzarella daily, as well as some of his own desserts, like the rice pudding and the cornetti (a flaky pastry similar to a croissant).

If you are looking for some down-home Italian cooking in addition to a full deli menu, give Enzo’s a shot.

–CP