The Abbondanza of Sostanza

Phil

During the BUCA years, Joanne and I traveled to Italy up to three times a year with our culinary teams and managers. These deep dives into Italy’s culinary heritage took us from the wealthy areas of the north to the less affluent, gritty areas that dominate the south, including the heel and toe of the boot as well as Sicily.

The thread of continuity that binds Italy is, of course, the food – the glorious food – equally wonderful from Bologna to Rome to Naples and Palermo; yet so different, sooo very different.

We’ve taken a breather for several years, but now Joanne and I are planning a trip back, this time with our grandkids. And that starts me thinking about the restaurants that we so enjoyed during our many visits.

Let’s start with Florence.


Despite the throngs of tourists, the city not only endures, it consistently charms. If it’s cold and rainy, you can easily spend a day inside the Uffizi Gallery, replete with treasures like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. But if the weather’s good, put on your walking shoes and head to the Ponte Vecchio. You can spend your euros on a cameo or spend some patience dodging the Germans who congregate around the Duomo and the Baptistery with their backpacks, annoying sandals and wool socks.

Joanne and I like to stroll across the Arno to the Pitti Palace and the entrance of the Boboli Gardens, a true oasis in the heart of the city. Stroll by the Dwarf Morgant Fountain that depicts an obese naked dwarf astride a turtle, his testicles squashed against the shell. We can stroll the gardens for hours and emerge back into the chaos of central Florence well refreshed.

Pisa is nearby – a perfect daytrip. And be sure to indulge in gelato…every day, maybe twice a day. Be sure also to visit Florence’s markets and salumerias for their beautifully merchandized bounty. While at the Central Market, don’t pass up the porchetta sandwiches (from the porchetta food stall on the first floor). As you stand in line for lunch, check out the photo they posted of our culinary team.

Afterward, head to the Academia and check off another item on your bucket list: viewing Michelangelo’s David.

As evening sets in, consider where you might dine. We love RISTORANTE CIBREO, near the Central Market, led by chef Fabio Picchi. The night we were there, all his arrogance and condescension were on display in the way he treated his guests, but so were his culinary talents – which are spectacular. If you’d prefer a little less attitude, make your way to the less costly and more casual CIBREO TRATTORIA and, weather permitting, snag an outdoor table.

We also love COCO LEZZONE on Via del Parioncino, where – strange as it may sound – you can make a budget meal of a small green salad accompanied by either of their incredibly robust soups (or are they stews?), including Pappa al Pomodoro (Italian tomato/bread soup) or the Ribollita (a thicker, “bready” vegetable soup). If you want Bistecca Fiorentina, you must call in advance, but my advice is to stick with the soups. I’ll steer you someplace better for steak.

By the way, look closely at the image I’ve posted of the dining room. Note the ochre-colored stripe on the wall. That represents the high-water mark from the disastrous 1967 flood that ravaged Florence.

Dining with a group? Don’t miss IL LATINI on Via dei Palchetti for spectacular family-style fare. It’s a carnivore’s heaven – totally meat-centric, with giant sharing platters of Bistecca Fiorentina, as well as mixed grills that include lamb, chicken and pork. Note the expressions on the faces of our Minneapolis colleagues as our server presents the platter. They do not take reservations, so line up early.

I’ve saved my favorite for last: the old school TRATTORIA SOSTANZA, located on a desolate, dimly lit little street called Via del Porcellana, two blocks from Santa Maria Novella. The restaurant is tiny – maybe 40 seats – with distressed white-tiled walls that evoke a vintage butcher shop. They haven’t changed a bit in the 25 years that we have been visiting there, and I hope they never do.

Like TRAMSHED in London (see my July 20, 2017 posting), Sostanza specializes in two offerings – CHICKEN and STEAK – but here they’re so good that the restaurant doesn’t need a Damien Hirst embalmed chicken and cow installation to wow the crowds. In fact, from a culinary perspective, comparing Sostanza and Tramshed is like placing a horse next to a mouse. Sostanza is far, far better.

Bistecca Fiorentina stars here. Harvested from huge Chianina cattle (Italy’s premium breed) and raised primarily in Tuscany and Umbria, the tender, well-marbled meat is available only through state-approved butchers, ensuring uniform quality (and high prices). Sostanza grills its one kilo porterhouse over white-hot embers. It’s about $100, but serves two to three people. And I have to say, it rivals MANNY’S porterhouse.

Now, if there are at least four people in your party, get the BISTECCA, which is arguably Florence’s best. But you MUST ALSO order the PETTI DI POLLO AL BURRO – brown butter chicken. YOU MUST! The dish consists of a pair of plump chicken breasts, lightly grilled and, while still hot, dredged in flour and passed through a bath of beaten eggs, then set in a small pan with at least a quarter to half a pound of premium butter, then finished over a bed of glowing embers. It’s brought to the table sizzling hot, its brown butter bubbling gloriously.

A good piece of advice: Get a side of CANNELINI BEANS, which are a welcome counterpoint to the richness of the Bistecca and the butter chicken.

Finish up with a slice of signature MERINGUE CAKE with fresh strawberries, and by all means order a few shots of GRAPPA. Even though tourists have certainly discovered this restaurant, you can toast the fact that Sostanza embodies the uncorrupted soul of Tuscan cooking.

W.T.F.

PHIL

Dresses Upstairs, Undressed Mallards Downstairs

Phil

From my first trip to London in the ‘70s, I fell in love with the city – the hustle and bustle and the vitality really connected with this Minnesota boy. The pomp and pageantry of it all…the Changing of the Guard…the jet-black horses and their mounts wearing brass breast plates shiny as trumpets…the Tower of London….Westminster Abbey…….so, so different from Minnesota and the farm town where I grew up.


But perhaps because Pete and I had just opened our first restaurant, MUFFULETTA, what resonated with me most were the FOOD HALLS of HARRODS department store in Knightsbridge. I’d never seen anything like them; never IMAGINED anything like them.

Here’s the thing about food halls in London (and Paris, Tokyo, Seoul…): They tend to reside in department stores (probably due to the incredible density of the urban population in the city.) And while SELFRIDGES’ basement food halls are impressive….as well as the top-floor food hall at HARVEY NICHOLS, nothing – and I mean nothing – compares to HARRODS.

First a bit of background……

HARRODS, at one time the largest department store in the world with over a million square feet spread over 7 floors, opened in 1849 and suffered a fire in 1883 that destroyed the building. When it reopened a few years later, the building boasted a new palatial style – with cherub-adorned terracotta tiles out front, swirling Art Nouveau windows, and a huge Baroque-style dome.


HARRODS sold exotic pets from Africa, Asia and South America ‘til the mid-1970s. They sold cars for a while and even had a funeral planning service. During World War II, they stopped selling luxury goods and transformed the shoe department to manufacture parachutes and uniforms. HARRODS boasts of having the first escalator as well.

The food halls are on the ground floor, and they are immense. I don’t know exactly how big, but I would suspect that they occupy close to 100,000 square feet – about the size of a Target store.


I had never in all my life seen merchandising like this. Pick a category of food; Harrods utterly dominated it. Charcuterie, for example: so beautifully exhibited and so “nervy” and bold and robust. And there was a natural beauty and innocence – a “grittiness” in the presentation of these carcasses of hare and Mallard ducks on marble slabs, (accompanied by wines appropriate for game). Then there were the Christmas turkeys cascading upside down from the ceiling. You can imagine Charles Dickens writing about that.

The fresh seafood? It transcended a mere “display;” it was sculpture.

HARRODS divides its food hall into several departments, each dominating a category – meat, produce, bakery and patisserie, charcuterie and hams, candy and treats, cheese and so on…..punctuated by a dozen or so sit-down food venues, including spaces rented to excellent London restaurants such as BENTLEY’S SEAFOOD. (I’ll write about Bentley’s in a separate posting sometime.)

Then something happened.

Mohamed al Fayed, a wealthy Egyptian, bought HARRODS in 1985. If you recall, his son, Dodi, and Princess Diana were later killed in a violent car crash in Paris. He dedicated a shrine – more than that, a grotto – to them in the store. Check out the picture. I don’t know if it’s still there.


In 1989, Fayed introduced a dress code….no more flip-flops….or high-cut shorts…..or swimwear…or thong sandals.

Following the death of Dodi and Princess Di, Fayed observed that neither Prince Charles nor the Queen were shopping at HARRODS any longer (the closing of the flip-flop department might have been the last straw for them). In retaliation, he removed the Royal Crest.


Coinciding with Fayed’s other decisions, the food halls began to change around that time as well, losing some of the “earthy” merchandising that I had fallen in love with. The seafood “sculpture” replaced its freshly caught fish with jars of seafood products. The carcasses of wild rabbits and Mallard ducks were now fully dressed and stored behind refrigerated glass. The Christmas turkeys were butchered and cleaned up as well – no feathers, no head, no feet…..NO FUN.

In fact, most all of the meats came off the ornate marble carving tables and were moved behind glass. That’s also where the dry aging now takes place.

These changes might have been made by Mohamed al Fayed or the London Health Department, and undoubtedly they increased efficiency and safety, but they still left me feeling a little down, a bit nostalgic. I’ve always preferred earthy and gritty to sleek and polished.

I’ll get over it.

And I’ll go back time and again and again…because Harrods’ food halls remain as arresting and impressive, as huge and beautiful, as ever….more than anything you’ve ever experienced.


WTF

PHIL

An Oasis in Paris

Phil

Sometimes when Joanne and I are in Paris, we just don’t want to be culinarily challenged. By the 5th or 6th day of seeking out very special restaurants that somehow could have a culinary relationship with our PARASOLE restaurants, we simply want a DAY OFF…a time to just chill.

But Paris being Paris, even the places you expect to be predictable have the capacity to surprise. Consider PAVILLON ÉLYSÉES LENÔTRE…..or simply LENÔTRE, a little gem of a restaurant southeast of the Arc de Triomphe toward Place de Concorde, right on the Champs. You’ll see it nestled perfectly in a park across the street from the Palais Royale amongst the trees.


This place is the soul of consistency. It consistently earns solid rankings for its food, and its service and décor don’t disappoint either. It’s a “safe” choice – that’s what we like about it – but damned if I don’t come away from every meal with an idea or two.

More often than not, I come away with a kitchen gadget or two as well, because the space is made up of three components – the restaurant, a cooking school, and a very well-curated culinary boutique with appliances, books, dishware and the like, as well as an assortment of small electronics and appliances for the kitchen.


By the way, if it’s a nice day, YOU MUST sit outside.

Regardless of where you sit, be prepared for some adventure, because amidst the comfort food and familiar pastries are dishes featuring smart, attractive and sometimes witty plating. You won’t be overwhelmed; you’ll simply be delighted as you kick back with a bottle of wine (or perhaps two).

Our appetizers have included smoked salmon with blini and horseradish cream and a crunchy salad, foie gras encased in cranberry “fruit leather”, and a quail breast with pumpkin in Jerusalem artichoke foam. But this is also the place for a simple, deliciously creamy quiche Lorraine. And our granddaughter was in hog heaven with her spaghetti tossed in butter and sprinkled with a little Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.


Steak Frites? Of course, and they’re just as you’d expect, except on occasion they add a few snails. But what about a special of Beef Cheeks with Chorizo? Expecting that? I don’t think so. I’ve enjoyed countless hanger steaks, but never a VEAL hanger steak as I’ve had here. It’s as though they try to sneak it by you. Same with the Shepherd’s Pie – also made with veal. By the way, they call this dish Veal Parmentier, but it’s really just a Shepherd’s Pie. And a delicious one at that.

Twice Joanne has had the Monkfish “Bouillabaisse” with white beans. She could easily be a slave to that dish (just like me and Bao Buns). And speaking of Asian treats, Lenôtre isn’t bashful about going there. Witness the grilled shrimp alongside spring rolls with sweet and sour dipping sauce and a bowl of Thai fried rice. Finally, my favorite: Hazelnut Crusted Cod on a bed of Chanterelle Mushrooms.

Over one of our frequent lunches here, we concluded that Lenôtre (and a bevy of other Parisian spots) were too good to waste on us. We needed to bring over the PARASOLE CULINARY TEAM. So we did.

After that decision, Joanne and I dove into the pastries – tarts, cakes, Baba Rhums and Charlottes. Check ‘em out.

The Parasole Culinary Team arrived not long afterward, and here they are at the Eiffel Tower and, of course, Lenôtre.

GO THERE. You’re gonna like this place – as much for how engaging it is as how relaxed you’ll be as you wile away an afternoon on the Champs-Élysées.
.

WTF

PHIL

Viandes & Beyond at The Lord Essex

Phil

As one who heads to the Mayo Clinic for his yearly physicals, I’ve discovered something about dining in Rochester: You can treat yourself to a nice dinner, or you can treat your doc to a nice clean prep for your colonoscopy the next morning. You can’t do both (I’ve tried, but my efforts were poo-poo’d by the gastroenterology team).


My most recent, however, was of a less…invasive nature. So when Joanne and I stumbled upon the semi-hidden, dinner-only LORD ESSEX STEAKHOUSE in the Kahler Hotel, we made a beeline for the host stand and requested a table.

Talk about a step back in time. It was medieval décor on steroids – oozing Old World charm; warm, cozy, small and intimate. It reminded me of the splendid design work of Paul Albitz back in the day in Minneapolis. Anybody remember THE CAMELOT?

I thought that I was aware of every important steakhouse in Minnesota, yet I had never heard of the Lord Essex. WHY? It turns out that the restaurant was only recently converted into a steakhouse. For most of the Kahler’s nearly 100 years, it served as the hotel’s bar while THE ELIZABETHAN ROOM was the main restaurant.

By the way, you’ve got to love any restaurant with “Room” in its name. Remember THE ORION ROOM at the IDS Center? THE PUMP ROOM at the Ambassador East Hotel in Chicago? And of course THE OCEANAIRE SEAFOOD ROOM. So retro classy! I think if I do another fish restaurant, it’ll be PHIL ROBERTS’ NEPTUNE ROOM.

But I digress.

Today The Elizabethan Room serves as banquet space. And although I can’t be sure, I suspect that the menu at the Lord Essex’s predecessor was probably centered around meatloaf and walleye for many of those years before becoming a steakhouse.

Oh, and I also learned that rock star chef Stewart Woodman opened the restaurant. But he has departed, and now the culinary team is in the capable hands of Tommie Tran and Duc Le.


Seated in a cozy red leather booth (#311), our server brought us a basket of quite good bread, embedded with raisins and other dried fruit. Then she wheeled up the meat cart and showed us the steaks, which looked impeccable. Appetizers were a Crab Claw and Shrimp Cocktail (typical steakhouse fare) and an outstanding Goat Cheese Flatbread with apples and caramelized onions (not your typical steakhouse fare).

Salads were generous and crispy. Joanne had the Farmer Salad with goat cheese and golden beets. I enjoyed the Chophouse Salad with bleu cheese, cucumber and hard boiled egg.

So how were the steaks?

I couldn’t tell you. We got the Grilled Salmon and the Roasted Chicken.


I know, I know – pretty lame for a blog post about a steakhouse discovery. But just as I was about to order, Joanne reminded me that I was going to get weighed first thing in the morning. Suddenly I had a taste for chicken.

One thing I CAN tell you about their meats, however: They’re advertised as “the finest available hand-selected USDA Prime…served to your exact preferences, seasoned with sea salt and resh, cracked black pepper,” then “broiled at 1,8000 F and finished with herb butter.”


So without being able to tell you firsthand about the steak, what’s my take on the place overall?

We liked it and would definitely go back. Our dishes were tasty, and I can only assume the steaks would be just as good. Service was smart and attentive, too. Dinner at The Lord Essex won’t break the bank, either. Expect to pay about $40-75 per person depending on wine; not bad for a first-class steakhouse.

I’m not certain I understand the Rochester market. On a Thursday night, the restaurant wasn’t very busy. You’d think, with thousands of people coming to the Mayo every week, it would have drawn a larger crowd. Then again, I’m told that the clinic “front loads” patients on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week, leaving Thursday and Friday open for follow-up tests, so maybe that impacts the number of diners at the Kahler.

WTF – give ‘em a try. I think you’ll like The Lord Essex – especially if your dining companion doesn’t shame you into ordering the chicken.

Phil