The Lunch Break Chronicles

ABOVE: Alfonso Carozza from Amore explains what makes his pizza special in this short video.

7/23/2009

As the cornmeal dust settled, a victor emerged from the brick oven; the Stamford Pizza Tour announced their #1 pick in their pizza “tournament,” Amore Restaurant on Hope St.

“We at the Stamford Pizza Tour can confidently say that the very best pizza in town comes from Amore Restaurant, and while we’re torn between the Bruschetta and the Margherita pies, it seems they can do no wrong because both were extraordinary.”

In case you haven’t been following, the SPT blog run by three guys from Stamford, set out to find the best pie in the city and sampled about 50 restaurants in the process.

Stamfordites – and even transplants like myself – are passionate about their pizza. Over the past week I’ve been taking an informal poll and I haven’t encountered a single tepid response.

After the SPT tourney champion was announced today, I headed up the street to Amore with photographer Bob Luckey to see what all the fuss was about. I picked up a few tips on dough making and sauce production.

A NOTE ON THE SAUCE: Amore’s sauce is very simple but very good. They use whole, canned San Marzano tomatoes [the same kind you can get at the grocery store, but in much bigger cans] and add olive oil, salt, basil, and possibly a couple of other things and leave this simmering on the stove. Simple as that.

READ THE STORY: HERE

–CP

7/22/2009

Last month I wrote about the superb bread from Wave Hill Breads in Wilton, and its relative scarceness around Stamford.

Co-owner Mithcell Rapoport checks in today telling me that in addition to Mrs. Green’s Natural Market, Wave Hill’s bread is available at both of the Wednesday farmer’s markets [Fashion Plaza and The Barlett Arboretum] and they have recently added new accounts at Fratelli Market and Rye Ridge Deli.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: It’s good stuff. [And now a little easier to get your hands on]

–CP

7/21/2009

The end is near.

The Stamford Pizza Tour has taste-tested its finalists, tallied the votes, and is counting down to number one. Who makes the best pie in Stamford?

Eight finalists took part in the contest – Sergio’s was “scratched” because they declined to provide a pie at no charge, proving there really is no such thing as a free lunch. In the next couple of days the results will be posted with the the so-called best pizza in Stamford to be crowned on Thursday.

I previously took issue with the low score given to Colony, but felt redeemed when the popular vote for the Myrtle Avenue landmark [a landslide 38%] forced it into the final round.

CHECK OUT: The Advocate’s Story on the three guys behind the tour and vote in our decidedly unscientific poll.

–CP

POST SCRIPT: Yesterday, I found myself in the interesting position of explaining to the owners of Remo’s Brick Oven Pizza why I prefer Colony when Remo’s Napoletana pies are technically superior to the Colony grease fest in almost every way.

ABOVE: Chef Bill Taibe of Napa & Co. in Stamford.

7/20/2009

UPDATED

Stamford’s renowned Napa & Company is losing the executive chef who has been with restaurant since it opened three years ago. Chef Bill Taibe tells the LBC his last day at the restaurant will be Wednesday.

Taibe, 33, a Weston resident, is planning to open a new restaurant in Westport by the end of summer. Via email, Taibe offers this regarding his new venture, “The concept: old reclaimed barn wood, open kitchen, super casual farmhouse feel. Food will be what is available to me that day.”

Along with owners Mary Schaffer and Charlie Morgan, Taibe and his staff have remained close to the themes evoked by the restaurant’s name; Napa & Company’s hallmarks have been its deep wine list and a menu that changes frequently to reflect local and seasonal produce and cheeses.

“[It is a] great restaurant with a passionate group of people running it. Napa made me the chef I am today, and I’m very proud to say that,” says Taibe, ” I will miss it, but I need to be in a more hands-on environment, a smaller more intimate restaurant. I will miss Napa and its staff, I wish them all the best truly…

PLEASE READ: Schaffer’s comment to this post. Excerpted here, she writes:

…It is with pride that we announce that Bill Taibe has been offered a chance to do his own restaurant again. With change comes excitement, we are equally proud to announce the next rising star chef, Arik Bensimon. Arik is a culinary graduate from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park. He has the famed restaurants, Le Cirque and Picholine in NYC and La Panetiere in Rye, under his belt. His many years in the culinary scene of New York City shaped his passion and work ethic. And although, Arik shares the same “farm to table” philosophy as our former chef, we are very impressed at the sneak peaks of what’s to come out of the kitchen now.

–CP

ABOVE: Zucchini blossoms sold for $10-per-pound at the French Market in Stamford.

7/18/2009

The NPR Food podcast recently featured a segment on zucchini blossoms, something I’ve long been intrigued by never knew what do to with.

Inspired by this, I headed down to the French Market in Stamford today in search of the yellow and gold flowers. Grossly overestimating the weight of an individual zucchini blossom [essentially nothing], I took my $5 worth of the flowers – which turned out to be about 50 of the beautiful specimens – and headed home, not knowing the first thing about cooking these.

Turns out there are a wealth of recipes out there and a lot of them boil down to this: stuff them with some sort of cheese and seasoning. Lightly bread. Fry.

I’m a sucker for anything deep fried, and a cheese-stuffed flower is no exception. These were fantastic; so light and airy and cheesey and salty and good.

They ain’t bad raw either.

CHECK OUT: More recipes here.

–CP

POST SCRIPT: I had a conversation Thursday with the Greek lady at Ron’s Deli [presumably Ron's wife] about Greek restaurants in Astoria. I’m heading down there later today and plan on hitting up Taverna Kyklades for seafood, but I’ve also heard good things about Agnanti near Astoria Park. She said her favorite is Telly’s Taverna and that I MUST visit it this weekend. I called my friend Kerry, a former resident of Astoria, to confirm this and she hasn’t  been super-impressed with Telly’s. When I saw the Greek deli woman at the French Market today, all she could say was “you go and you tell me. Maybe she don’t know how to eat!”

Not tired of salsa yet? Good. In case you haven’t been following, CP and I are celebrating summer by making a salsa every week. All the recipes are from the book Nueva Salsa by Rafael Palomino and Arlen Gargagliano.

This week, number five, we made Shiitake Mushroom Chimichurri, paired with seared filet mignon.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
olive oil for coating, plus ½ cup
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 shallot, minced
juice of ½ lime
pinch of red pepper flakes
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Lots of ingredients?  Yes. Lots of time? No. This recipe was easier than it appears. Here’s what the book says:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Lightly coat the mushrooms with oil and put them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the garlic thyme and oregano on top. Bake for 5 minutes, or until slightly toasted. Remove and let cool to room temperature. Coarsely chop.

In a blender, combine all the remaining ingredients except the cilantro. Add the mushrooms and pulse just until mixed. Let sit for about 20 minutes, then stir in the cilantro and serve.

Easy, peasy. We didn’t have any mishaps until reaching the blender step. After blending it all up, you get a dark, VERY vinegary mixture, and we were disappointed to find the balsamic had overpowered nearly all the flavors, especially the mushroom, which should be the star of the show.

But don’t worry, all was not lost. Once the chimichurri was paired with steak, the balsamic did not seem nearly as overbearing. In fact, it was pretty darn good. Chris added a little flourish to the meal with seared scallops, Brussels sprouts, and a chocolate souffle for dessert.

HOW TO MAKE THE STEAK:

Rub your steak with salt and pepper

Heat up a large cast iron skillet with grape seed oil until very hot. You can test the temp by flicking water in the pan, if it evaporates immediately, you’re set.

Sear each side 5 – 6 minutes. If you have one, use a meat thermometer to check the temp, 120 degrees for rare, 130 degrees for medium.

FOR THE SCALLOPS:

Once again, heat a skillet. Meanwhile, salt and pepper your scallops, and for a bit of flavor, you can add paprika or a pinch of cayenne pepper. We used a bit of Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic [because I'm lazy. CP].

Sear about 1 1/2 minutes each side, or until each side is slightly browned.

AND FINALLY, THE BRUSSELS SPROUTS:

These were really the highlight of the night.

Use about 1 1/2 cups of Brussels sprouts. Rinse and chop off the ends, then halve.

In the skillet melt about 2 tablespoons of butter, and toss a few smashed cloves of garlic in the pan. Cook on medium high heat until the garlic browns slightly. You can discard the toasted garlic, but we couldn’t resist eating it.Sprinkle the pan with a tablespoon of brown sugar. Place the sprouts flat side down in the pan, and sear without stirring until the bottom browns, about 10 to 15 minutes. Then stir them around to coat and serve. [I never really liked Brussels sprouts until I had them at Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa and I'm pretty sure this is how they prepare them. CP]

It was a great meal, I wholeheartedly recommend!

–Maggie

POST SCRIPT: I threw this on a filet mignon steak sandwich with some carmelized onions a couple of days later. Awesome. CP.

7/16/2009

A couple of Fairfield County guys made the Daily Candy’s “What to do This Weekend” list today, albeit for an event in New York.

Ben Van Leeuwen, who came up slinging cones for Good Humor on the means streets of Greenwich and Norwalk chocolate phenom Frtiz Knipschildt team up for an event on Sunday in the East Village.

From Daily Candy’s weekend rundown:

Ice Cream Social
What: Scooping sweetheart of Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream gets topped off by the owner of Knipschildt Chocolatier.
Why: Fresh flavors and decadent sauces plus house whipped cream and conversation, just five bucks.
When: Get your sundae on Sun., 1-4 p.m.
Where: Murray’s Cheese, 254 Bleecker St., b/t Sixth & Seventh Aves. (212-243-3289).

–CP

7/15/2009

Greenwich Time staffer Neil Vigdor reports in today’s paper that the renovation of the former HoJo’s in Greenwich will feature a Blue Smoke Chophouse, “an upscale barbecue restaurant run by the owners of New York City’s famed Union Square Cafe.”

This is exciting news as Blue Smoke’s brisket is totally decent.

I tend to shy away from Greenwich as a general rule, but will I be visiting Blue Smoke? Well, does Neil Vigdor wear go-to-hell-pants with only the slightest touch of irony? [Just in case you are wondering, the answer is yes.]

–CP