May
03

Short Rib Bourguignonne


short-ribs2This is a recipe from Danny Boone, the rescue chef on the food network. I made some modifications for my palette and was pretty happy with how it turned out. I paired it with Belgian style fries, though it would also go well with mashed potatoes.

Ingredients
Rub:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 to 4 pounds beef short ribs, cut into thirds
3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup bacon lardoons, diced
2 large white onions, sliced
4 shallots, quartered
1 pound mushrooms
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 cups red wine or half bottle
4 cups beef stock or to cover
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 to 375 degrees F.

Combine flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and black pepper in a bowl. Add the short ribs, coating them lightly in the flour mixture.

In a large Dutch oven or deep oven-proof pot over medium heat, melt butter until golden. Add the ribs, shaking off any excess flour. Sear the meat until brown, moving the ribs around covering them with the butter. In the same pot, saute the bacon for 2 to 3 minutes then add the onions, shallots, mushrooms, celery, garlic and carrots and saute until golden. Add 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon cayenne. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, adding a little at a time. Let reduce over high heat for 1 minute. Add the rest of the wine and beef stock, and bring to a simmer. Once the liquid has come to a simmer, cover, and cook in the oven for 2 to 3 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning.

May
03

Shanghai Park, Princeton, NJ


I ended up at Shanghai Park for lunch this afternoon by chance. Everyone was hungry and we needed something quick. Chinese food usually goes down well with the kids and it was on the way home after the kids’ tennis lesson. I’d been to Shanghai Park a couple of times in the past few years so what the heck, we went back.

Shanghai Park is located in the Princeton Shopping Center on Harrison Street. It serves chinese food, dim sum and sushi. I never quite understood why so many chinese restaurants in New Jersey also serve sushi. It’s a pretty large restaurant so getting a table is never an issue. Service is pretty prompt. We were sat down quickly and our order was taken quickly and the food arrived pretty quickly too. I’d call it effcient.

With the kids in tow I always order lo mein. They can be counted on to finish that regardless of whether anything else takes their fancy. We also ordered beef with onions and scallions and Genral Tso’s chicken. The noodles were pretty bland, the beef was tender and flavorful. The best thing we ordered. The General Tso’s chicken didn’t have the heavy batter which I really appreciated. The heavy batters and sauces spoil chinese food in my opinion. This one was nice and light. The only negative thing I have to say is that the chicken pieces were huge, more like chicken fingers!

Overall food was decent, not great. Worth going to if you don’t have any better options. You won’t leave disappointed but you won’t leave the restaurant singing the food’s praises either.

I have yet to find a chinese restaurant that I love in New Jersey. New York has some great places, so does London, Toronto and Vancouver. I was in San Francisco last week and the chinese food there is fabulous. It’s almost like it’s a completely different cuisine from what we find here in NJ. In that regard it’s like indian restaurants in NJ, most are just plain awful and finding a good one is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Cooking good food just isn’t that difficult, why can’t these restaurants take pride in serving great food? Maybe that separates the restaurants that are serious about food from the ones that are just in business to make a buck.

May
03

Dimple, Iselin, NJ


Dimple is an Indian restaurant serving the Indian community on Oak Tree Road, the heart of Little India in New Jersey. The focus is primarily on Indian fast food and South Indian dishes. And all are vegetarian. Essentially its snack food for Indians, things they would eat on the streets of Bombay (I prefer British name Bombay to the correct, traditional name Mumbai).

I hadn’t been to Oak Tree road for years, until a few weeks ago when I got the craving to eat bhel puri and some other Indian junk food. Feeling like I hadn’t completely satisfied my cravings completely (I typically have to give in to my cravings and why not? They can be so much fun) so went back this weekend. I really wanted a frankie which I remember eating many times in Bombay during my teenage years. The spicy, vinegary, eggy, fried wrap stuffed with chicken or some other meat…so damn good!

We chose Dimple because it advertised that it served frankies. It would be vege rather then my preferred meat frankie, but what the heck - you take what you get. So with much anticipation I ordered a frankie. What arrived was not like any frankie I had ever eaten. I took a bite, no distinct vinegary taste. No egginess. WTF? What was this thing? I took another bite, and another. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t a frankie. I also orderd the chana bhatura because I wanted to eat the massive fried bhatura (puri). It looked like a fun thing to eat. And so over-indulgent. I actually enjoyed it. Nice and spicy, good flavor though my wife didn’t think too much of it. She ordered ragda patties, which wasn’t very good.

The place was packed with Indians, young & old, snacking while out shopping. Shopping has to be a national pastime in India. We had to wait about ten minutes for a table, but the tables are turned pretty quickly. There is no atmosphere to speak of, just a bunch of tables and chairs. Its all about the food. Decent and cheap. The dosas looked good, but we didn’t try any.

Overall, decent & cheap. Worth going to satisfy a craving, just not for a frankie. My quest for a frankie continues……….

Apr
26

Camillo’s Cafe, Princeton, NJ


Camillo’s is a local Italian restaurant that’s different from your standard New Jersey pizza and pasta joint. It’s actually an Italian restaurant.

I’ve tired of typical Italian restaurants in New Jersey and have been looking for a restaurant that reminded of a local trattoria in Europe. I used to live in England and I loved going to my local trattoria, where the food was usually good, good atmosphere and it was just great to have a causal dinner in a cozy place. Don’t get me wrong, I love good pizza but the problem I have with most New Jersey Italian places is that the pasta typically has a bland red sauce, too much cheese and huge portions which substitute for quality.

Camillo’s is different. While the menu is actually smaller than most places, it actually has more breadth than your typical place. Camillo, the chef owner is Italian, and learned his trade in Italy before moving to Scotland where he ran an Italian restaurant before moving into the Princeton area. For the most part, this is an authentic Italian restaurant, however with a nod to American Italian cuisine, the menu does have chicken parm and a few other things. Economics may have won out in that case.

The food itself is good. Ingredients are fresh and flavorful. You can actually taste the freshness of the ingredients. I had the tuna tartare which was good, just a little under-seasoned and papardelle with sausage ragout. The sausage was excellent, though pasta was a little overcooked. My wife had the lasagna which was good. Overall, I would say that the the food is decent, good infact, just not great.

They do carry local NJ wine only (I can’t imagine drinking Jersey wine), so I would consider this a BYO and would bring my own wine next time.

Service is attentive and the chef actually comes out and talks to the guests. A nice touch.

Overall, a decent restaurant where you will get a good meal though not the kind of place that I would crave to go back to.

Mar
30

In Appreciation of Padma Lakshmi


Anyone who is a foodie and watches Top Chef knows who Padma Lakshmi is - former model, cook book author, tv host and just a super sexy, beautiful woman. To top it all, she loves to eat - now that’s sexy!

Came across this ad for her (thank you Kedar) and I just felt it needed to be a part of my blog. Enjoy!