Toloache

Guacamole Rojo with Avocado, Tomato, Red Onion, Chipotle and Queso Fresco

It doesn't look like much from the outside, and a couple years ago you could saunter into Toloache on a Friday night and get a table. That was until New York's food scene, with some help from the New York Times, realized two things about this self-proclaimed "Mexican bistro": First, it is close enough to be considered "Theatre District." Second, and more importantly, the food and the drinks are outstanding.

Tortilla Soup

Opened in 2007, Toloache is the first in a series of restaurants offered by chef-owner Julian Medina, a native of Mexico City trained in both Mexican and French cooking. Before striking out on his own, Medina worked in some of the top Mexican restaurants in the city, including Richard Sandoval's Maya, and even branched out into Japanese cooking at SushiSamba, a Japanese-South American restaurant with locations around New York City. He recently appeared on Iron Chef America (secret ingredient: Mexican chocolate), later offering his creations from the show on a limited-edition Iron Chef Menu. He is now the proud owner of Coppelia, YerbaBuena and two other branches of Toloache.

Grilled Soft Shell Crabs

Spring time is great for cooking lighter versions of traditional winter recipes and for sautéing ramps. But perhaps my favorite part about spring cooking is the availability of soft shell crabs. These crabs are available starting this month through summer and remind us that some shellfish are still seasonal even in this era of globalization and commodity fishing.

A "soft shell crab" is just a culinary word for an American blue crab that has recently molted -- very recently, in fact, as the shell remains soft for only hours, not days, after the crab has molted. It's amazing the industry is able to catch so many with this tight of a window. Soft shell crabs are now widely available at fish stores and at some supermarkets (I got these at a Citarella). Make sure you get them cleaned when you buy them -- unless you don't plan on cooking within the next day or so, as the crabs lose a lot a day after they've been cleaned.

Most often soft shell crabs are ruined by overly battered and fried preparations. A light batter can be good, but my preference is to grill them with just some olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, and a few spices. The crabs' new shells provide a natural crunch and do not need batter. While I have yet to see grilled soft shell crabs without batter at a restaurant, as the home cook you can do whatever you want. Try this.

Rubirosa

A large antipasto platter on Rubirosa's family-style dining menu

The finale of the Sopranos put it best, with Phil Leotardo's henchman overhearing a guide on a passing tour bus say "New York’s Little Italy once spanned 40 square blocks, and has since been reduced to one row of shops and restaurant."  Yet, the area now occupied by the developer-created moniker Nolita has seen a return of Italian restaurants, but from a younger generation of chefs. This trend is seen most vividly on Mulberry street which features the critically acclaimed Torrisi's Italian Specialties and its deservedly hyped sandwich-based offspring Parm.

Further down the block is Rubirosa, a pizzeria and Italian restaurant that serves traditional recipes in an updated setting. The chef, A.J. Pappalardo, a Staten Island immigrant, replicated his father's pizza technique from his restaurant, Joe & Pats, but incorporates newer sauces and toppings, like an excellent vodka sauce pizza. The rest of the menu includes traditional Italian recipes like fried calamari, mozzarella sticks, caprese salad, lasagne, and chicken or eggplant parm but with an updated take (they serve a brick-pressed chicken, for example). Rubirosa also keeps up with modern trends by having a large bar that takes up much of the front of the restaurant, and it offers an extensive liquor and cocktail list.

The result is a restaurant that blends new and old, and at prices that are still fairly casual for the area.

Beyond the Five Boroughs: The Foods of Chicago

Giordano's Pizza, Chicago-Style Hot Dog at Al's Beef, Spanakopita at Artopolis and Mapo Tofu at Lao Sze Chuan 

This is the first part of our Beyond the Five Boroughs feature on Chicago. The next post will cover fine dining.

Chicago is a terrific food city with a rich culinary history and a distinct collection of local specialties. Like New York, its culinary landscape has been developed by waves of immigration, each group bringing its own specialties from back home, and an innovative spirit that generated a cuisine all its own. On a recent weekend trip, we sampled some of the diverse offerings, from Chicago style "stuffed" pizza and hot dogs to some of the best Szechuan food I have had.

Chicago Style Pizza:  Giordano's

One of the first things we wanted to do upon arriving in Chicago was to enjoy some serious Chicago style pizza. Sometimes called "deep dish pizza" or "stuffed pizza", Chicago style pizza is prepared by lining a deep round pan with flaky crust and filling the inside with layers of cheese and fillings, topping the whole thing with tomato sauce and baking it in the oven.

Stuffed Pizza with Fresh Garlic and Mushrooms

Having arrived late on our flight from New York, we swung by the nearest Giordano's, a local chain found all over Chicago. Founded in 1974, Giordano's is popular and open late. While we waited for a table, we efficiently pre-ordered our pizza, which takes 35 minutes to prepare, and enjoyed some beers at the bar tables set up in the front of the restaurant.

Once seated, the pizza did not disappoint. The crust is deep and the cheese is thick, with tomato sauce spread on top. The sauce has a lighter, brighter taste than the sauce typically used on New York style pizza. The fillings (which in New York we might call "toppings") were delicious, stuffed in between layers of cheese. For me, fresh garlic really made the pizza. It was strong and flavorful, stuffed in the cheese and worked into the sauce.

Simple Sautéed Ramps

Ramps are wild spring leeks, available in the Northeast for only the spring months after which they flower and lose their pungency. Unlike most vegetables, which through globalization and factory farming are available virtually all year round, ramps remain available only for about 3 months. In recent years, ramps have appeared in menus at numerous high end restaurants and have even been celebrated at "ramp festivals" throughout the east coast.

Ramps at the Borough Hall Greenmarket

The amount of attention given to a simple wild leek was perhaps the inspiration for the always entertaining "Shut Up Foodies" blog's admonition to "please stop talking about ramps." You know what, I don't care. They're delicious. And I'm only too happy it's ramp season again.

For me, ramps are best by themselves as a side dish fried in olive oil or butter and served simply with salt and pepper or with a few spices (garam masala and chili powder work well or a little pimentón or even just some cumin).  I also enjoy them as a topping for pizza.

Here's a recipe for simple sautéed ramps with ramps that I got at the excellent Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket ($2.50 for the bunch). Enjoy while it's still spring! Serve with other spring dishes like vegetarian chili with tofu.

Vegetarian Chili with Tofu

Spring is finally here and with the return of fresh produce and vegetables to our city's farmers markets, now's a good time to modify a traditional winter recipe into one more fit for spring. Chili is one of my favorite dishes and this vegetarian recipe is really versatile - you can use any vegetables you want. I like to combine colors and textures like broccoli or cauliflower with zucchini, red bell pepper, beans, corn, and tofu. But just throw in whatever looks fresh. Of course, frozen vegetables and canned beans work fine too.

Use whatever vegetables you have

Everyone has their own spice mixture for chili but I found fennel seeds and some smoky pimentón bring out the best in this dish. The vegetables in the ingredients list below are what I used the most recent time I made chili but feel free to use different vegetables and beans. This chili can be made in as little as 30-40 minutes and so I've made it on many weeknights. But, of course, as any experienced chili aficionado will tell you, the longer it simmers the better.

Garlic Marinated Roasted Peppers

My father used to make a big to-do out of roasting peppers. First he would cut the peppers into quarters and roast them in the oven, brushed only with a little vegetable oil. Meanwhlie, he would prepare a simple marinade of extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and sliced garlic. When the peppers were done, he would peel them and leave them to soak up the marinade overnight.

Although the process is simple, the results are extraordinary. The peppers take on a delicious sweetness, which is balanced by the tartness of the vinegar, the bite of the fresh garlic and the fruitiness of the olive oil. The peppers comfortably stand on their own, topped with some sliced or torn basil. Or if you prefer, add them to a salad or sandwich or pair them with fresh mozzarella.

There are no quantities for this recipe. Use as many peppers as you feel like roasting. (8 peppers with 5 cloves of garlic made a good starter at a recent dinner party for 11.) For the marinade, I use a ratio of approximately 3 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar.