Category Archives: Meat

A Sneak Peek At LB Steak In San Jose

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An 8-ounce skirt steak ($23) with Bearnaise sauce.

In this skittish economy, it’s been awhile since a splashy new restaurant has opened its doors in the South Bay.

Tuesday, finally one does with the debut of LB Steak in San Jose’s Santana Row.

It’s a new concept by the Left Bank restaurant group, which already has a Left Bank Brasserie in Santana Row. LB Steak opens in the same location as the group’s former Tanglewood restaurant, which never caught on the way Chef-Proprietor Roland Passot had hoped. Indeed, even when he was conceiving Tanglewood, Passot thought a steak house would be a good fit at that spot, especially because the high-end retail-restaurant-condo complex lacked one.

The dining room lit with sparkly chandeliers.

But with diners watching their pennies these days, are they really apt to splurge on pricey steaks?

CEO Richard Miyashiro thinks so, especially because at LB Steak, the biggest ticket item is the 20-ounce Porterhouse for $39.95. Unlike so many other temples of meatdom, this one has portions that aren’t all beyond ginormous.

There also are more affordable eats, such as a burger with exotic mushrooms for $14; spaghetti and meatballs with basil ricotta tomato sauce for $16.50; and whole fried snapper with shiitakes, pickled ginger, scallions, and red peppers for $28.75.

Wild mushroom truffle risotto ($18.75).

At lunch time, there’s lighter fare, including a Cobb salad with tuna ($15.75), and a New England lobster roll on brioche ($18).

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Superb Salumi

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Can't stop at just one slice.

When chef-cookbook author-cooking host Michael Chiarello opened his flagship NapaStyle store in Yountville last year,  he finally had enough space for a curing room.

Like his other five NapaStyle stores in California, the Yountville one also boasts a tempting array of specialty cookware and gourmet ingredients. But this one also features a wine bar, as well as a cafe that serves sandwiches and salads.

When I visited recently, I was after what came out of the curing room — artisan cured meats.

Hand-crafted salumi seems to be the rage these days among Bay Area chefs. You have Paul Bertolli, former executive chef of Oakland’s Oliveto, turning out his wonderful Fra’Mani salumi. You have Chris Cosentino, chef of San Francisco’s Incanto, selling his brand of Boccalone cured meats.

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Marvelous Momofuku

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Worshipping pork buns

You think you’ve had pork buns before.

But I assure you that you’ve never had pork buns like these. Chinese steamed scallop-shaped buns all pillowy soft. Stuffed with Japanese cucumbers, scallions, hoisin sauce, and the juiciest, most meltingly tender pork belly slices you’ve ever sunk your teeth into. It will have you at one bite.

These are one of the most famous creations by Chef David Chang. At his Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam Bar, it’s a given that practically every table will order them. Trust me: They live up to the hype and then some. During our recent trip to New York, my husband and I chowed down on these babies three times in four days.

We would have gladly made a meal of a dozen of them, but that would have set us back a hefty $54. Yes, an order of two buns is $9. My late-father’s jaw would have probably dropped to the floor at the sound of that. But even he would have appreciated how spectacular these are.

A paper bag with Momofuku's insignia.

David Chang and his crew, whom he self-effacingly refers to along with himself as “a bunch of punks,” turn out Korean street food with stellar ingredients and creative, contemporary flair. They’ve built a mini Momofuku (“lucky peach” in Japanese) empire. And Chang’s been richly rewarded for his efforts, winning James Beard awards for “Rising Star Chef of the Year,” and “Best New Restaurant of the Year”  (for Momofuku Ko).

Hamachi with pea leaves, horseradish, and edamame

On our first day in the city, we snagged seats at the counter at Ssam Bar, where we enjoyed tiny “BBQ Rib” pork sandwiches stuffed with red onion slaw ($12); charred squid salad with the spicy flavors of kimchee ($14); hamachi strewn with edamame, horseradish, and pea leaves ($16); and of course, those pork buns.

Pork rib sandwiches

The next night, we squeezed into Noodle Bar. On a drizzly, chilly evening, we dug into bowls of “Momofuku Ramen” (with a mix of pork, and a poached egg; $16); and hand-cut noodles topped with fried garlic and a glistening slab of pork belly, ($15).

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Duckathlon Leftovers

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Following the trail of the ducks.....

For those who couldn’t get enough of the wild and woolly Duckathlon held last Sunday in New York, here are a few more pics to entertain your peepers.

As you recall from my original post on the crazy event, this was the fifth annual Duckathlon, hosted once again by D’Artagnan. Teams of chefs from some of New York’s most celebrated restaurants competed in the most off-the-wall events ever conceived to garner the title of Top Duck.

The Pluckemin Inn’s sardonic T-shirts:

The BLT Steak team attempts to “Put the Piggie Together Again.”

Team DB Bistro Moderne competes in “What the Fork?” — in which chefs have to make mayonnaise by whipping oil and egg yolks with a barbecue fork. Yeah, you try that at home.

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Duck, Duck, Chefs

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The Fifth Annual Duckathlon

Over the years as a food writer, I’ve had the pleasure of judging many a food competition.

I’ve critiqued a gingerbread house contest, untold cookie exchanges, an apple pie baking battle (twice), a nursing home food cook-off, the short-lived TV series “Food Fight,” and even the $1 million Pillsbury Bake-Off.

But nothing quite prepared me for the Duckathlon.

Say what??!

My thoughts exactly.

Like me, you probably haven’t heard of it because it’s super secret. Indeed, this only-in-New York rencounter is by invitation-only. As a food writer in town for the James Beard awards gala, I was invited to be a part of it. I was told I couldn’t tell anyone ahead of time that I was involved with it. I was just supposed to report to HQ (“headquarters” to you non-James Bond-ians) at mid-day May 3. It was all so hush-hush.

HQ turned out to be Chelsea Market. And if you haven’t guessed by now, the Duckathlon is a culinary competition — if Monty Python or Ben Stiller came up with it.

Team Le Cercle Rouge, last year's grand champions get into the spirit.

This rather bawdy, zany, tongue-in-cheek event was created by Ariane Daguine of D’Artagnan, the foie gras and specialty meat purveyor. Teams of chefs from some of New York’s most celebrated restaurants don wacky costumes to pit their culinary skills against one another in all manner of crazy contests staged throughout the Meatpacking District. Trust me, you’ve never seen the likes of this.

Le Cirque team member participating in "flock around the clock'' obstacle course while balancing plastic duck on a spoon.

This was the fifth year of the Duckathlon. The first one was held on a lark in 2005 as a way to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, and to foster relationships with restaurants. It proved such a hit with chefs that it’s been held ever since. Because after all, chefs are the ultimate competitors. They are warriors in whites. They are a force to be reckoned with. And if beer is at all involved, you can count on them being there.

So did these teams prepare for hours and hours in the kitchen beforehand?

Not exactly.

“I didn’t train at all,” says Chris “The Wedge” Lim, chef de cuisine of BLT Steak. “We’re all still drunk from the night before.”

“I did push-ups and sit-ups,” says Lauren Hirschberg, chef de cuisine of Craft Bar. “And 30 minutes of cardio.”

“I was speaking to ducks a lot,” quipped (or quacked) Thea Williamson, head of work in education for Team Gracie.

Don't try this at home.

One of the most memorable challenges was “So Long, Saucisson.” Above, Celso Moreira, operations manager, of China Grill, wears a bra and hoop skirt, while trying to dunk a sausage suspended from a string into a metal can below that he can’t see. He was a natural at it.

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