The Lunch Break Chronicles

ABOVE: Vinny Rizzi racking his family’s homemade wine.

9/30/2009

ANNUAL WINE TASTING CONTEST: FRIDAY, OCT. 2, 7:30 P.M. AT THE ITALIAN CENTER, STAMFORD

I was over at the Rizzi’s house last night, watching Vinny and his extended family rack next year’s homemade wine. But last year’s wine, their entry into Friday’s Federazione Laziali Annual Wine Tasting Contest is ready to go.

It’s not bad, I’ve tasted it. Or at least I think so; I sampled a great deal of wine from so many different unlabeled bottles a dinner a couple of weeks ago, I’m not really sure what’s what.

Vinny’s dad, Tony, is entering his own special batch too. This I certainly tasted as I recall it being unpacked from its own protective tote – with some amount of pomp – between the second and third courses at the annual bocce league dinner at the Minturnese Social Club.

After leaving the Rizzi’s I headed over to the club to grab the bartender’s phone number for our reporter, she’d need to talk to him about his own entry this year.

While sitting there talking to Alex the bartender and a club member named Sam, another member came in and said to me: “let’s take a ride.”

Look, I’ve seen enough Scorsese films to know that in the movies, this usually means somebody’s ending up in the trunk of a Town Car, but the night turned out decidedly more upbeat.

We drove to an undisclosed location within the city limits where a dinner party was taking place. On the menu: rabbit [raised on the property], pasta with venison [shot on the property], and homemade tiramisu [made with eggs from the chickens raised on the property].

I would go on, but I was sworn to secrecy.

READ: Karen Lanza’s story in Thursday’s Advocate.

–CP

BELOW: The whole family helps out.

ABOVE: The apple and dulce de leche empandas at Valencia.

VALENCIA LUCHERIA: 172 MAIN STREET, NORWALK

9/27/2009

If Valencia Luncheria were in Stamford it would be a staple in my weekly lunch rotation. But it isn’t and this makes my visits there seem a little special, which is why I will indulge in their desserts – not something I normally partake in during my mid-day meal.

Their ridiculously decadent Nutella and cream cheese empanada is a deep-fried masterpiece. The fresh fruit batidos are fantastic. And the flan and rice pudding look pretty damn good, though I haven’t tried them yet.

But the apple and dulce de leche empanada is king; it is not too sweet, not too tart [the apples are pre-baked] and the pastry shell is incredible.

This is something of an unfair comparison, but they instantly bring to mind McDonald’s apple pies, you know, back when they used to deep-fry them* [in 97% beef tallow no less].

But who am I kidding, these are so much better.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Run over there and try them for yourself, you will not regret it.

–CP

*I would just like to point out this site, which lists locations where McDonald’s may or may not still sell fried apple pies. This is dedication and a work of love and I absolutely respect that.

EL CHARRITO: MOBILE, GENERALLY  IN FRONT OF BEAMERS/JACKIE ROBINSON PARK OF FAME

9/24/2009

Last week, a reader named Adam commented on my latest/recycled post about Casa Villa and contested my claim that they have the best tacos in town. [Check out his super-informative taco entries: here]

Nevertheless, I stand by my assertion regarding Casa Villa – though I will concede that he is correct in that the al pastor there is not “true” al pastor. You aren’t going to find pork roasted on a shawarma-style spit anywhere in Stamford.

This brings up El Charrito, the city’s lone taco truck. While nothing like the grand mobile vendors to be found in just about every city on the West Coast, it does have its charm. You know, as charming as something parked in front of a strip club can be.

At Adam’s suggestion, I tried the huaraches and was pleasantly surprised. A oblong piece of masa is fried, topped with refried black beans, the protein of your choosing [in my case, tinga: shredded chicken with sauteed onions and chipotle] and topped with lettuce and sour cream. And let’s not forget their hot sauce, which is mildly reminiscent of the La Vic’ Orange Sauce of my youth and packs a nice kick.

The tacos at El Charrito are too big and overstuffed and the pork in the al pastor is not as crispy and spicy as Casa Villa, but I’m pretty OK with some of the other meat choices.

It’ll take me a while to work through the menu here, tostadas are up next.

THE RECOMMENDATION: Check it out while the weather is still nice.

-CP

9/24/2009

The Advocate’s Jeff Morganteen reported today that Sabatiello “Sammy” Settembre, who was portrayed as a maniacal restaurateur on Fox’s Kitchen Nightmares, has been arrested by Stamford police for allegedly trashing his own restaurant before being evicted from the Bedford St. property:

Local restaurateur Sabatiello “Sammy” Settembre caused more than $20,000 worth of damage to his former Bedford Street restaurant sometime before he was evicted from his Italian steak house this past December, police said.

The incident occurred a month after Settembre appeared on the Fox television show “Kitchen Nightmares,” which features celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his profanity-laden attempts to revive flailing restaurants.

Investigators found no signs of forced entry at the building, police Sgt. Peter diSpagna said. The damage — smashed mirrors and decorative glass — was found Dec. 4, when a state marshal and landlord tried to serve Settembre with eviction papers, court papers state. Settembre was not there and the building was locked. Police said Settembre was in control of the building before Dec. 4 and was the only one with a key to the restaurant, which was locked when the vandalism was found, police said.

READ THE FULL STORY: HERE

THE KITCHEN NIGHTMARES TRAILER:

–CP

A NOTE FROM THE LBC: I have been part-time blogging here at the Advocate for a year now, so I thought I’d repost this entry, which inspired The Lunch Break Chronicles.

9/12/2008

CASA VILLA: 182 WEST MAIN ST, STAMFORD

As a fifth-generation Californian, I come from a magical land of street-corner tamale vendors, homemade tortillas and the ubiquitous urban oasis: the taco truck.

While not exactly mobile, this brings me to Casa Villa, a Mexican eatery on Stamford’s West Side. And to be honest, I’m not sure what they serve besides tacos as I rarely look at the menu — I recently noted my customary order of tres tacos al pastor con arroz y frijoles (and a grapefruit-flavored Jarritos) is anticipated by the staff when I walk in the door.

In the months it was closed after a fatal car accident resulted in the destruction of the restaurant’s small seating area (no diners were injured), I was adrift in a taco-less world few could enjoy. I tried the lone taco truck, the chain restaurants and the more yuppified options. They were not the same.

I found solace on trips to California where I sampled some very fine tacos. Tacos de camarones in Napa. Tacos de pescado in San Diego. Tacos de carne asada in Vallejo, my hometown.

But what I really needed was a little piece of home right here in Stamford.

In Casa Villa, the steady, accordion-laced ranchera soundtrack, the reassuring presence of the mustachioed revolutionary Emiliano Zapata gazing down from the orange-colored walls, the sizzle of the grill…it all does wonders for my sanity.

The tacos al pastor are a house special–and for good reason, owner Alvino Villa hails from Puebla, Mexico, where the dish originated. The chopped pork atop a couple of warm corn tortillas is spicy and is finished with pineapple, onions and cilantro. They arrive quickly served with wedges of lime and their own salsa verde.

I’m not here to tell you these are the best tacos al pastor I’ve ever had. So subjective are tacos this would be disingenuous, but all things considered–particularly the appalling lack of decent Mexican food in the area–they should be given a chance.

Tacovangelist that I am, I haven’t been entirely successful in my endeavor to spread the word; a friend of mine–a transplant from San Diego–had patently refused to try Casa Villa on the presumption that Mexican food in Connecticut simply cannot be edible. However, I’m not sure I can entirely trust her judgement knowing that a San Diego invention, the “California Burrito,” is a grotesque abomination that involves stuffing a perfectly good carne asada burrito with French fries.

…but I digress. Did I mention I love tacos?

–CP

BAOGUETTE: 37 ST. MARKS PLACE, NEW YORK (AND 61 LEX AND 120 CHRISTOPHER AND…)

9/14/2009

After an event in the East Village last week we were in search of a decent sandwich before heading home. My initial thought was to head to Porchetta on East 7th for their remarkable porchetta sandwich, complete with crispy pork skin on a chewy baguette, perhaps with a plate of crispy potatoes and burnt ends [yes, burnt ends!!]

“It’s open late,” I said. But I was wrong, they close at 10 Sunday-Thursday.

Plan B – equally genius – was to walk a scant three blocks to Baoguette on St. Marks. I first wrote about Vietnamese bahn mi sandwiches nearly a year ago, before they started popping up everywhere in the city. Now, your bahn mi choices run the gamut, from cheap and traditional to less-cheap, with fancy ingredients, served to you by hipsters in Brooklyn. They are all good.

Bahn mi is a Vietnamese baguette sandwich traditionally filled with pork, pâté, pickled carrots and other vegetables and jalepeños. The baguette itself is extremely light and crispy, because of the incorporation of rice flour in the dough.

I went for the pork chop bahn mi this time, with grilled pork and a fried egg, extra spicy. The fried egg, oozing golden yolk all over the place, was key; the fat and protein in the egg cut the heat a little and provided a silky, rich component to the baguette. And all of this for between six and eight bucks.

Baogette also serves a few other traditional Vietnamese dishes, spring rolls and the like [as well as sweet, Vietnamese iced coffee], but the star here really is the bahn mi.

Obviously.

-CP

ABOVE: No-knead bread. Check out the photo at the bottom of my post from my aunt Sue in Denver, apparently she’s an expert. I’ll have to manage to visit more often than once every ten years.

9/12/2009

So-called “no-knead bread,” has garnered something of a cult following since Jim Lahey of Sullivan St. Bakery (and now the pizzeria, Co.) teamed up with the Times’ Mark Bittman for an installment of his Minimalist column.

I jumped on the bandwagon a couple of years later, but this has become something of an obsession at times. The large, round loaf it yields is absolutely stunning. And ridiculously easy to bake (if you have a cast-iron Dutch oven). NOTE: If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you really need to get one. They are very versatile and indestructible. Money well spent.

I have written about this before and there are dozens of variations on the food blogs and message boards, but America’s Test Kitchen recently aired a recipe to correct some of the problems, specifically the lack of true bite and yeasty flavor of artisan breads. The recipe is essentially the same, but includes a little beer (a light lager) and a tablespoon of white vinegar.

FROM THE TEST KITCHEN:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

7 ounces tap water (room temperature)

3 ounces beer

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix in the wet with a spatula. Cover. Let rise for 8 to 24 hours.

THE NEXT DAY:

Line a 10-12″ skillet with parchment sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. On a floured work surface, knead the dough just a few times (10 times, or so). From the dough into a ball and place on the parchment and lightly cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for two more hours.

BAKING:

Pre-heat your oven to 500-degrees. About 30 minutes before you are going to bake the bread, place the Dutch oven (with lid) on the lowest rack. When it is time to bake, lift the dough ball (parchment and all) and place it in the Dutch oven. Cover and let bake for 30 minutes at 425-degrees. Remove the lid and bake for another 15-30 minutes until the loaf is deep brown in color.

That’s it.

–CP

P.S. The parchment trick is pretty clever. The last time I baked this bread without the parchment, when I plopped the dough into the Dutch oven, a fine cloud of corn meal blew back at me. Let me tell you, having cornmeal in your eyes is extremely unpleasant.

We’re back in the final week of our Summer of Salsa escapade. In case you need to be filled in, Chris and I have been making a salsa every week to celebrate the glory days of summer, using the book Nueva Salsa, by Rafael Palomino and Arlen Gargagliano, as our guide.

In week 8, we decided to go more traditional with a Tomatillo, Cilantro, and Avocado salsa. Tomatillos are a green cousin of red tomatoes and a key ingredient in Mexican green sauce. Check out this link for an interesting history of both tomatillos and tomatoes in Aztec culture (yep tomatoes are a New World plant).

The only proper way to eat this salsa is with homemade tortilla chips, find quick instructions below.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:

4 tomatillos

2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped

1 red onion, diced

2 poblano chiles

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

juice of 1/2 lime

1 tablespoon olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Corn tortillas

First, you’ve got to roast your tomatillos and poblano chiles.

FOR THE TOMATILLOS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Husk and rinse the tomatillos. Remove the stems. Coat with olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Once the tomatillos have cooled a bit, cut them in quarters.

NOW FOR THE POBLANOS:

Again, this is the same roasting technique we used for bell peppers and jalapeños in other recipes.

Stick each chile on the end of a fork, turn on your (gas) stove and stand there rotating until it is nice and black on all sides. (To be honest, I don’t know how you would do this without a gas stove. The chiles need to be burned. Any suggestions? )

Then, place the chiles in your paper or plastic bag and close it. Let them cool for about 10 minutes, then pull out the stems and rub off the black skin. Cut the chiles in half and remove the seeds with a fork or knife.

The recipe only calls for 1 1/2 poblanos, so save the extra half for later. You can stuff some mozzarella cheese in it, then fry for a pseudo-chile relleno.

Dice the 1 1/2 chiles.

READY TO MIX:

In a large bowl, combine the tomatillos and avocados. Gently stir in the red onion, chiles, vinegar, lime juice, oil, salt and pepper. Let sit for about 20 minutes. Then stir in the cilantro and serve.

To make fresh tortilla chips

Heat a generous amount of corn oil in a large pan (about 4 tablespoons). Grab a stack of tortillas (about 6 or 7) and cut into sixths (like a pizza). Place the tortilla triangles in the pan in a single layer. Fry until that side gets crispy, then turn them over. The chips should be a golden brown when finished. Use a spatula to fish the chips out and place on a plate covered with a paper towel to soak up the extra oil. Salt. Continue in batches until all the chips are fried. Add additional oil as necessary.

This was a tasty salsa to enjoy with a beer. Chris and I made micheladas, which depending on where you order them, is like a beer bloody mary or, as I prefer, a beer served with lime juice and salt on the rim.

Eat this salsa right away, it didn’t seem to hold up too well in the fridge!

Sadly, with the cool breezes, leaves falling off the trees (already?!) and pumpkin spice coffee reappearing at Donut Delight, it is time to call the summer of salsa quits. But stick around. On a chilly night we might rustle up enough tropical-vacation-itch to take on one last recipe we were eyeballing, a Tequila Watermelon Pineapple salsa. How’s that for summery? ¡Hasta el proximo verano!

-Magdalene Perez