All Hallow’s Chocolate

Hello,
There are two schools of competing thought regarding why I love chocolate...

The first is that my adoration for all-things-Hershey was inborn. As a toddler my favorite word was “candy,” which I proclaimed repeatedly in a certain supermarket aisle probably before I could walk. Favorite game, Candyland; favorite movie, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (featuring favorite song, Sammy Davis Jr.’s “Candyman”) and in my humble opinion, Halloween was a much better holiday than a silly old birthday.

You may or may not know the second school of thought, which started in the middle of the night during my 5th year. As the story goes, I woke up asphyxiating and was checked into an oxygen tank because that moment was when I officially inherited my mother’s asthma. I didn’t really mind the hospital stay, because it sorta reminded me of Halloween. You know, I was wearing a costume, and a mask, and one day my mom snuck a Snickers bar into the tank and on another day my dad snuck a Milky Way into the tank. It was heaven! A nice nurse even provided a special treat one day, a thick slice of triple chocolate layer cake that was so good I wondered why I didn’t stay at the hospital more often.

Idiot. On the day I was due to check out, a cranky old doctor gave the test results to my parents and he concluded that I had asthma, plus allergies: to dust, to mold, to trees, to milk, and to chocolate. Wait what did he say? Allergic to chocolate?? “Noooooooooooo!!!” I silently screamed in my shy five-year-old head.

This diagnosis was taken quite seriously by mom, as I was stunned to learn that my after-school Oreos, Yodels, M&M's (my candy initials), Nestle's Quik and Halloween-candied Octobers would be no more. (Well, I was allowed to Trick-or-Treat, but then the chocolate was put away and doled out in teensy portions on special occasions.) So you can probably understand why some believe this sad revelation caused my passion for chocolate to magnify in festering intensity through the years, with dreams of becoming Charlie Bucket teasing me even more!

Many years later, ie. 12, I was invited to a slumber party at Holly Somesuch’s house down the block when I saw it… a non-parentally guarded giant bowl of plain M&M’s that I ever so coolly placed near my sleeping bag. Yes who needs sleep when you can talk about boys while dipping a rogue hand into that fascinating bottomless bowl all night long… Hospital be damned! By the time I sugar-crashed, rumor has it that half that bowl was gone—the equivalent to about 12 oz.—and the obvious end to that tale is I did not in fact wake up dead.

This life-changing discovery (that the doctor was, how do you say it, WRONG?) was exuberantly shared the next day with mom, who got really mad and said what I did was way too risky to repeat. And so it goes, the nurturing of my habit started secretly out of the house. Sometimes in the house too, in my bedroom closet. Now it does help a covert operation if all ducks are in a row—admittedly I had no garbage etiquette then, resulting in empty chocolate bar wrappers strewn about everywhere in my room for people, and mothers, to see. Which she did. And there was a confrontation, and I was so afraid of choco-retribution that I lied in the heat of that moment, confessing that the chocolate had been devoured by my friends, yes really!, and they gave the wrappers to me because "I now collect chocolate bar wrappers."

Well, believe it or not that went more smoothly than expected. Mom either believed me on that fateful day or she’s a damn good actress! In any event, I don't remember which wrappers she found, but the guilt of lying got to me soon after, so the collecting part started seriously then and I brought home a first wrapper (Twix bar), and a second (Cadbury Easter egg), and a third (Reese’s peanut butter cup Easter egg) just to make things right. After that, it’s all a blur.

Through the years, friends and strangers have sent wrappers for the collection, particularly Stanislav Kramsky in Prague, who in the 1980’s had 60,000 wrappers and sent me some awesome factory-condition ones from the Czech Republic and the USSR. I’d like to eventually visit Prague and stop by his mini chocolate museum, where hopefully he won’t remember me as “that American girl who sent only a pittance of some stupid American wrappers in return for the hundred or so I sent!” (It's not my fault, there were only limited resources available at the time!!)

If you're curious, the way the collection has grown is by picking up lots of chocolate bars when traveling. Friends pick them up too (thank you!), and I also received some from a pen pal during the Gulf War but for the life of me can’t find them (though one can assume they’re probably the ones with the Arabic writing).

These days there are thousands of wrappers in the collection, and two newspaper articles and one radio interview about this habit. And I still love chocolate, more than ever, perhaps due to a gigantic time-space-continuum hiccup in my chocolate consumption past, or simply because I was born to love it.

(Hershey's) Kiss,
Marly

Where I've been foodie-ing about

Happpppy October!

A few days ago as I reviewed my calendar, and my waistline, it seemed to be that lately I've been trying new tastes at new-to-me restaurants. Ok so yes Zankou has been visited many times; otherwise, here is the list of places, mostly in order of appearance and each with a link to more information, including what I devoured in the last 10 days that was so darn good:

Barn Burner in Pasadena - A big ole Texas-themed BBQ place that's a real hoot... and it's in a barn! Great big menu, like Texas itself, with lots of smoked meats to try, tempting sides and a pretty unique microbrew selection. Neil ordered the KT Rancher and I had the Stubby Clarksdale. No I don't remember exactly what those entailed -- see the link to view the exact components -- though I do remember the tri-tip and corn bread were quite tasty. Oh and see that photo below, this is probably the only BBQ joint around with a real grill stepping in for a sink in the men's bathroom! Crazy Texans.



BJ's Brewery in Burbank - The Pizookie, their warm chocolate chip cookie in a skillet with vanilla ice cream pretty much rocked my world. The buffalo wings weren't so fantastic, but now that I know how to order them at this establishment (well done and tossed) I will venture to try them again.

Hot Wings on Melrose - However, I can't imagine any wings would be as good as the ones found at Hot Wings. Thanks Tim for the tip and for bringing an LA place that serves east-coast-worthy wings to my attention. They rock! (I ordered them "hot".) BTW they serve Philly cheesesteaks too, and don't listen to the bad review from 7/11 at the Citysearch link, I completely disagree. This place is a definite keeper.

Albano's Brooklyn Pizzeria on Melrose - We ordered the pepperoni which was great but it's actually their "lasagna" pizza that was so original and so good! Basically it's a regular slice of pizza with both a tomato and ricotta base (so a red and white pizza all in one) topped with crumbled meatballs and basil. How good is their pizza? Why I believe it made Neil's top 10, so it's probably worth the $2.75 per slice price.

Zankou Chicken in Burbank - Mark, Lily and I each ordered the 1/4 chicken white, which comes with a succulent roast chicken quarter, hummus, garlic dip, 2 warm pitas and a salad of tomatoes and pickled beets. For $6.95 it really doesn't get better than that. Though try to stick to the Burbank location, it's way cleaner and friendlier than the one on Sunset.

Village Idiot on Melrose - Not the low-down Irish pub one would think, this is more of a gastro-pub right by Albano's and Hot Wings (I see a food crawl in my future). Erin and I ordered the catfish with a side of Brussels sprouts with bacon. The sprouts were halved and roasted, which is the best way. Will go back to try their grilled chicken with warm bread salad and peach shortcake for dessert. A great beer selection too, with my hefeweizen microbrew actually smelling and tasting of bananas. This spot feels cool and New Yorky, and is a winner even if the pints seem a little too small.

Milk on Beverly Blvd. - This place at the corner of Beverly and Poinsettia was recently written up in Gourmet magazine and the photo of the Milkie Way Malt got me revved. This particular shake is made with the shop's homemade vanilla ice cream, malted milk, chocolate chips and a caramel-chocolate swirl. Yum. Yes I said yum. Oh and with tax this baby cost $5.95, meaning it's a once-in-a-blue-moon sort of indulgence in a world where you can get a great shake at fast food places for less.

Food is great, isn't it?
Until we eat again,
Marly

French Macaroons S'il Vous Plaît

Bonjour,

As you can tell from the last entry, I adore French food. Some favorite items include:

• Poulet frites (crispy roast chicken with so tasty frites) and steak frites
• Real almond croissants (you know, not from Starbucks)
• Pan-seared foie gras (Oh boo, I'm an evil foie gras eater! Well I hardly eat this anyway, just once in a long while)
• Grande salade – A southwestern France specialty in a giant 2-quart salad bowl: salad greens tossed with walnuts, radishes, ham, and small chunks of pancetta tossed with cream dressing, with a molten-yolk fried egg on top, covered with a layer of roasted potato slices on top of the whole thing. Yes it is a salad FEAST!
• Kir Royale – Because it's a part of the very civilized tradition in which restaurant hosts offer waiting guests an apéritif of Champagne mixed with crème de cassis.

AND

• The delectable French macaroon. No, do not confuse this delightful nugget o' love with the hefty coconut Matterhorn-looking things sometimes dipped in chocolate (which are good in their own right but see just talking about them now I'm yawning).

The best and most fun macaroon is the French sort. Here is a definition:

[mak-uh-ROON]
"A small cookie classically made of almond paste or ground almonds (or both) mixed with sugar and egg whites. Almond macaroons can be chewy, crunchy or a combined texture with the outside crisp and the inside chewy. Note: There is also a coconut macaroon, which substitutes coconut for the almonds. Macaroons can be flavored with various ingredients such as chocolate, maraschino cherries or orange peel."

(Now chop off the last two sentences of that definition and we're all set. NO maraschino cherries, no orange peel please! :)

In Paris, the famous spot to pick up macaroons is Ladurée (they do have lovely macaroon animation on their website btw). However when I last visited that city of lights over yonder my feet walked me straight past there and up the street to the confectionery of famed French pastry chef Pierre Hermé. Beyond magnificent pastries, the majority of the counter at PH is dedicated to macaroons of all kinds, lined up in rows bursting with color.

Flavors include but are not limited to the chocolate, strawberry, coffee, pistachio and lemon. Then Hermé went wild and turned out flavors of apricot, rose, olive oil, and the “oh-he’s-a-genius” chocolate passion fruit (in the photo above, it is the yellow with brown specks). Note for yourself: if you haven’t tried the combo of chocolate & passion fruit together, put it on your "to do" list right now.

To buy these babies in LA go to Boule (see link @ right). In NY, their transported version of Fauchon sells them but I heard a rumor that placed closed. And even though the best French bakery in Brooklyn, Almondine, sells a pre-packed box of 5 standard mixed flavors, that hardly compares to peering over a long glass counter at all those bursting colors and deciding, for $2 a pop, in how many macaroon flavors should I invest my money today?

In conclusion, trust me, if you haven't had a French macaroon yet, one is waiting for you as we speak. Well, it's waiting for you at the store, if you go over and buy one. (Actually, one isn't enough, I'd say buy at least two.) And if I ever decide to try out a chocolate macaroon recipe in Ktown, if you're real nice to me I may let you know.

Cravingly yours,
Marly

Steak Frites of My Dreams?

Hello,

This week my weekly ritual of looking at the NY Times Wednesday Dining section came a day late, as it is Thursday.

Turns out this week's section is a special Restaurant Preview, covering the of-course-bajillion restaurant openings in NY this fall by all the star chefs and wanna-be star chefs, flooding the city's eaters with too many food options once again in an autumnal mass frenzy of new dining establishments in my old town.

I gingerly reviewed the goings on and clicked on another article in there about restaurants in other cities but somehow when my brain saw this photo, I forgot what I read and cursed the fact that I live in Los Angeles for the very first time! Expecting this stupendous and gloriously caramelized steak & frites to be down some sultry back alley back east where I'd be lucky to taste it this December if the mobs clear out enough to give me a seat, I read the caption and was OVERJOYED to read that this photo is of a steak frites in...West Hollywood?? Oh Carnivoric Joy!

David Myers, the chef/owner of LA's Sona--a restaurant quite worthy of my attention but far beyond my humble Liz Claiborne wallet--has thankfully graced WeHo with a new brasserie called Comme Ça, meaning "Like That," meaning it will be affordable, meaning I can have it! We all can!! As soon as it opens.

No, I don't think Comme Ça is open (since there's no phone number yet one would assume not), but believe me, when that time comes, due to the reputation of this chef and the fact that they received national exposure with a photo that could drive vegetarians to repent for a day if not forever, this place will indeed be busy.

So keep an eye out for Comme Ça, and if you are so inclined, read about what's going on in the NY restaurant world, then check out the new places in other US cities too. Who knows, maybe you will find the dish of your dreams just around the corner too.

Comme Ça
8479 Melrose Ave (@ La Cienega)
Los Angeles, CA 90069-5305

(photo by Fran Collin, NY Times)

Until we eat again,
Marly

Vietnamese Food a Go-Go

Dear Peeps of this here Fobloog,
I bet you didn't know this, but since moving to LA I've denied myself a great pleasure... the joys of Vietnamese food. No worries, though. I'm happy to say that all changed last Friday, when my friend Joe and I ventured to San Gabriel for some Golden Deli action.

Golden Deli, per Chowhound.com, is a great spot to get all kinds of Vietnamese food. Joe wanted to try their Pho (traditional Vietnamese soup) and I wanted to try their Bun Bo Nuong--most people order this cold vermicelli noodle dish with grilled pork (as Bun Thit Nuong), but I got it with grilled beef like I've had it at University Pl. & 13th St. in NYC. Uh huh, that's a picture of my fave dish up there!

People who haven't tried Vietnamese food may assume it's similar to other Asian cuisines, ie. Thai or Korean. The wikipedia listing for Vietnamese food is: "A cuisine known for its common use of fish sauce, soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Recipes use many vegetables, herbs and spices, including lemon grass, lime, and kaffir lime leaves. Throughout all regions the emphasis is always on serving fresh vegetables and/or fresh herbs as side dishes along with dipping sauce."

Anywho, we got there at 8pm and had to wait 15-20 minutes. It was crowded! Once inside we saw the vast menu and stuck to our plans: Joe ordered a beef Pho and I ordered my beef and noodle dish. Each item cost under $5!! So that's why we also ordered the shrimp and pork summer roll appetizer (Goi Cuon) and a Banh Mi, the famous Vietnamese sandwich (French bread with paté, Vietnamese mayo, pork, pickled daikon, carrot, and cucumber slices) because I'd always wanted to try that and especially since here it only cost ...hello $3!

How did everything taste? Well Joe said the Pho was tops, compared to other places, and it came with fresh basil and bean sprouts to mix in. My Bun Bo Nuong rated a T for Tasty, though the beef was cut thinner than I prefer in this dish (I'm telling you the best place for thin cut beef is in a greazy Philly cheesesteak in this person's humble opinion). The pork sandwich and spring rolls were tasty too, and all that plus an iced tea came to $17! Wow no wonder this place is crowded.

One thing I love about Vietnamese food is its simple fresh ingredients and deliciousness. Another thing is the various options for adding heat on the table, so if you don't like spicy food like my Mom it's perfect because everything arrives "spicy" free. These sauces were: hoisin sauce, red chili sauce (a.k.a. sambal olek) and a lovely chili flake-infused brown oil. Mmmmmmmm happy stuff!

Now this was all well and good, and I do recommend you make a trip to the Golden Deli soon. Note, however, that when you are there, I'll likely be next door trying something else. In the same strip mall is an awesome-looking Chinese seafood spot (with other Asian influences) called Newport Seafood Tan Cang Restaurant.

From what we could see through the window, they apparently serve a close relative to the famous (say it with me now) "Shanghai Chili Crab," AND they make the dish with lobster too! Shiver me crab legs! On the menu it's called New Port Special Crab (and New Port Special Lobster), stir-fried with chopped green onions, various colored chiles and onions. Watching tables dine on these platters of delectable chopped up crustacean blew my food-lovin' mind. No price is listed on the menu for these items, but come on, does it really matter??

See you in San Gabriel soon!
Marly

Food Movies

Hello readers! Welcome to this posting about Food Movies, a topic I've been meaning to discuss with you so you never accuse me of not offering you a well-rounded and complete fobloog experience.

In my life, one measure of cinematic greatness is if a movie successfully illustrates a sliver of life you hadn't thought of before. If what I see opens up my heart and mind in a new way, if it touches me emotionally and that feeling lingers after I leave the theater, then I know it's done its job and is a really good movie.

Which leads me to the topic of great food movies. These are a rare breed inspired by the story of a person, a family, or a community. They contain marvelous food scenes, mostly in the foreground. And there aren't too many of them.

On the flip side, there are probably more non-food movies that contain bits of food in the background...with dear old friends cooking together in the kitchen, family BBQ's, children running across a field with fresh baked bread in hand, famous restaurant scenes. The point of these movies isn't food, though as a background item food is woven into the storyline in moments. Blow that up to a whole movie about food, and a mirror is created that illustrates our passion for the importance of food in our lives, reminding us how much it means to us and that we should never take it for granted.

The following list focuses on food movies that communicate the intense joy of food and how it impacts our lives in a poetic way (of course some are more powerful than others). The list is not complete, so if I've left any worthy entries out please let me know. After watching these, don't be surprised if you are inspired to run to the gourmet shop and hit the kitchen.

Food Movies (in alphabetical order):

• Babette's Feast
• Big Night
• Dinner Rush (more of a restaurant behind-the-scenes)
  
• Eat Drink Man Woman
• Like Water for Chocolate
• Mostly Martha (not sure this belongs?, just remade in US)
• Ratatouille
• Tampopo*
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (original version)

*Touted by a friend for years, when I finally saw it I thought "eh," however it's still known as one the big food movies. Sorry, the biggest a-ha to me was discovering that the male lead--The Man in the White Suit--was the Chairman's friend in Memoirs of a Geisha).

This list does not include:

• Chocolat -- Because to me, this is a movie that pitched itself as a food movie when in fact it was really only a movie movie.
• Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle -- 'Nuf said
• Simply Irresistible -- Made me want to make éclairs again, but just a cheesy 1-star shoulda-been-a-movie-of-the-week (tho props to Patricia Clarkson and Dylan Baker)
  
• Tortilla Soup -- Made on the tails of Eat Drink Man Woman with little impact
• Wild Strawberries -- I don't think this is a food movie! (if it is, someone lemme know)
  

Until we eat again,
Marly

My Recchiuti Confession

Well hello. This week's post is simply something I wrote for a monthly contest in April 2006 when I was still a New Yorker, and it won the contest in February 2007. While enjoying a new Snickers Dark bar tonight I just realized, dear readers, that most of you have not read this.

The contest was for Recchiuti Confections in San Francisco, my favorite U.S. chocolate company (see link at right), and the prize was a glorious black box ($40 value, see left). When I never heard from Recchiuti after sending this in, I thought I didn't win and was like, hello? But as it turns out, they were saving my passionate letter for their Valentine's issue (copy-edited way down of course) and I received my black box while at USC and I think I may have shared, oh, 2 pieces. So here it is...my full-length chocolate missive, containing factual events and slightly exaggerated feelings (you'll never know how I truly felt, now will you ;)

My Recchiuti Confession – a true story, by Marly Miller, Brooklyn NY

I wasn’t looking to fall in love with chocolate. The only plan for my two vacation days in San Francisco before heading north was to unwind from the daily grind of New York living.

The Ferry Building’s a foodie mecca, hmm? That’s what the concierge said. Perfect! So I wandered over for a quick visit and you know how it works – when you least expect it, that’s when you meet your soulmate. That’s what happened to me in the Ferry Building that sunny June day. That’s when I met you, Recchiuti. You weren’t your average kind of chocolate shop, you. Reserved and subtle yet mysteriously beckoning, you were like a hip computer geek sequestering your passion, bestowing it only upon those who are worthy of your greatness. In that moment it was clear, I had to know you.

Our first moments together were rather dreamy. You had me at Fleur de Sel caramels. The emotional wave was carried forward with the honeycomb-design topped Sesame Nougat, then you sealed the deal with the Kona Coffee pyramid. I was elated! Even though we’d just met, I took you back to my hotel room where time passed in blissful discovery of your single-origin varietals. We had a beautiful night together, and then you were gone. Seriously, who knew it could be this good between a woman and her chocolate?

The next morning I wondered, how can it be that such a love exists, only so far from home? Figured the feeling would dissipate as I traveled up to the Culinary Institute, Greystone for a week of wine study. It wasn’t easy, though. I thought of you more often than Brix counts, and kept thinking things like, “If only you were here to pair with that great Pinot blend from Sonoma.”

One afternoon on St. Helena’s main drag I walked past a local chocolate store and sniggered in contempt at their confections braggingly displayed in the window. “Ha! So you think you’re a chocolate store!” Oh I did not betray you, my love, I did not yield to the temptation of another; my heart was yours! Okay, I did yield to a chocolate malted at Taylor’s, and a slice of chocolate marshmallow pie at Cindy’s, but please don’t accuse me of cheating! What’s a girl to do until she can get close to you again?! It was a shake and a dessert, not bon bons. No, never bon bons!

Days – ages – later, back in San Fran I couldn’t just skip through to the airport without saying goodbye. Not after learning the week before that no matter how much I loved you – and no matter how much you wanted me to love you – you in fact would not be moving to New York any time soon. So back to the Ferry Building I ran ever so nonchalantly to pick up some airplane sustenance – a hand-picked collection of all your caramels including the rose, burnt and limited edition passion fruit. While paying for my affection I pined, “But Scharffenberger is moving to New York!” You were resolute, “Sorry, there are no plans for us to open a store in New York at this time.” Fine! Fine. Didn’t take it personally. All I know is that’s when I knew I’d been living a lie and was actually one of those girls who chocolate settles. That all changed after I met you.

Back home in New York I couldn’t stop talking about you so of course all my friends couldn’t wait to meet you! I didn’t know how to spell you so it took awhile to find you on Google. Then I found you! *sigh* It felt a little better knowing that if I truly couldn’t live without you I could just order online. But shame on you, Recchiuti, getting me all crazy with those glimmering images of candy on the web, followed up by those awesome promotional postcards in the mail. Ahh, you were so close yet so far.

Life went on – it was a very vanilla existence – until a phantasmagoric trinity of luck was bestowed upon me that could only have been the result of answered prayers!

1) Inadvertently in Soho one day I found you at the candy counter in Dean & Deluca, my eyes ka-boing-ing upon seeing that very familiar circular disk with a honeycomb pattern on top – the Sesame Nougat! And a Kona Coffee pyramid was right next to it! No, Could It Really Be Recchiuti?? There were only a few bon bons for sale – you tease! – but I don’t believe in pride. That’s right, I bought you and we went to a movie (a chick flick). Our unexpected day together was quite bittersweet (literally). Yes that day renewed my love for you in full (not chocolate-related) bloom. When you were gone I wondered when I would ever see you again.

2) Weeks later a friend announced he was traveling to San Francisco. I grabbed his collar and pleaded, “Oh please you MUST bring me back some Recchiuti Fleur de Sel caramels!! And buy some for yourself, for I will not share!” Yes, I could have ordered online, but I really wanted my friend to meet you too. The following week he returned to New York… with a box of Fleur de Sel caramels with my name on it! Dang life was good!

3) If that wasn’t enough, Christmas was around the corner and some colleagues asked me a very silly question, “Marly, what’s your favorite brand of chocolate?” Like they didn’t already know, come on! I gently reminded them of you, hoping secretly they were not playing a cruel holiday prank and a week later you arrived in full glory! A box of Fleur de Sel caramels, a box of limited-edition chocolates and a S’mores Kit. Indeed it was an amazing day! We ran back to my apartment together and laughed and laughed, as that’s the effect of consuming mass quantities of natural-occurring amphetamines.

The season had evolved into a New York Recchiuti-loving girl’s dream come true! You, in several incarnations, were finally with me in New York, my Recchiuti-sweetened bloodstream giddily flowed as my unrequited choco-passion for you was finally sated. That Christmas was a testament to our ultimate compatibility – there was no turning back now! We were indeed soulmates and would definitely be sharing a very happy chocolate life together forevermore.