kevin barnett

Last night, I ventured with my friend Jon on the 7 train out all the way out to Flushing for dinner with The Gastronauts. They were celebrating two years of socializing and adventurous eating at A Fan Ti, one of the group’s “greatest hits” from the past two years. I knew what was on the menu since it had been circulated before hand:

An Evening at

A Fan Ti

Vegetables and Starters

Sauteed Strring Beans [sic]
Sauteed String Melon
Seaweed with fresh garlic
Parsley with Peper [sic]
Preserved Egg with Bean Cord [sic]
Gizzard

Nose to Tail

Lamb Brain
Lamb heat Meat [sic]
Lamb Eye in Brown Sauce
Salteed Hunch [sic]
Spicy Shredded Lamb Stomach
Grilled Lamb Kidneys
Lamb Lag with Bean Sauce [sic]
Testicle with Hot Pepper Sauce

Drinks

Koo Lai

Jon and I showed up slightly late after walking past the restaurant not noticing it. We thought it might have been our subconscious trying to tell us something but if it was, we ignored it and found the small, modest restaurant which simply had “B.B.Q.” on the awning.

I sat down to one of two tables with at least 15 people sitting at each one. The crowd was lively with a good mix of women and men all talking about the courses they had just tried, anticipating the courses to come and sucking down bottles of Koo Lai, or Coors Light. My kind of crowd.

Appetizers

The dinner, served family style, followed the menu pretty closely with some exceptions. We caught up on the first courses of String Beans, Seaweed with Lamb Head Meat, Tofu with Preserved Egg, Shredded Lamb Tripe (String Melon) and Sauteed Spinach. All of these first courses were served chilled or room temperature, light on the palette and refreshing. The preserved egg, which I assumed might be nasty, only carried a really salty flavor above anything else.

Then it got serious.

Main Course

First up was the Lamb Brains served grilled with a brown “sauce for the brains”. There was a plate of 3-4 brains which are about the size of your fist. As would be my technique for the evening, I portioned a couple of healthy bites. The flavor was evident of lamb but also a bit gamey. The texture could be compared to runny scrambled eggs without the viscous, liquid component…if that makes sense. I had another bite, just to make sure that this was not an appealing course. After that third bite, this was a sign that I could trust my instincts in this case.

Next was the Lamb Eyeballs, braised and served in brown sauce. This was the dish I was having the most anxiety about, worried that I would have an entire eyeball in my mouth and have to chew through it with a surprise burst of flavor that I did not want to comprehend. But I think everyone at the table had the same feelings as I did since we portioned the eyeballs into halves and separated the optic nerve (which Jon would later consume and enjoy). Surprisingly, the eyeball was good assuming you like to eat the bits of fat from an appropriate piece of meat. The flavor and texture were equivalent to that but in some subtle way better. However, I treated it like a piece of pork belly which is to limit myself to a very small piece. I had a feeling this meal was going to be pretty high in cholesterol and I did not want to push it.

Okay, I’d never order eyeballs again if I can help it. But it was a pleasant surprise not to be grossed out by the one item on the menu I was most fearful of. Perhaps this is the parable parents have been looking for to convince their children to try new things at the dinner table.

Don’t Wash Your Food Down

After most of our table had concurred on the Lamb Eyeball culinary experience, we moved on to a rapid fire succession of Lamb Kidneys and Testicles, each served two ways; grilled and you guessed it, in braised in brown sauce. The grilled kidneys were heavily spiced - almost blackened - which helped me to eat it slowly and savor the flavor. Not too bad. My least favorite dish of the evening was the braised kidneys, which I didn’t like from the moment it hit my chopsticks. I made the mistake of trying to wash the kidneys down with beer, which due to their tough texture, washed all of the otherwise delicious brown sauce away and left only the kidney in my mouth. It was then I realized I had no business in an eating contest on a reality television game show. But I held my composure and swallowed. Uggh.

There isn’t much to say about the braised and grilled Lamb testicles other than it was fun to eat them listening to the comments from everyone at the table. The flavor had the subtle pungent lamb flavor I had been tasting all night along with a texture that sits somewhere close to but not quite as tender as swordfish. At least the braised testicles were served spicy with peanuts which not only added to the flavor but also to the irony of it all.

Three final dishes, braised chicken gizzards, spicy shredded lamb stomach and braised lamb tongue were, in retrospect, a great way to end the meal only because my appetite was fatigued from…trying so many other new things. I have had fried gizzards before, so I knew what to expect…the toughest, chewiest protein I have ever had. The spicy shredded lamb stomach was equivalent to the shredded “melon” dish, basically a tripe Kimchi. The lamb tongue ended up being the favorite of mine for the evening and for everyone sitting around me. The texture was better than what I remember of beef tongue and the flavor finally found equilibrium with the brown garlic sauce that had accompanied so many of the other dishes.

No Dessert Course

After the meal, we stuck around the restaurant to socialize, discuss the election returns (and our disappointment from those returns), and to talk about previous Gastronaut dinners. As extreme as this meal was, everyone seemed pleased that it was not nearly as challenging as their insect dinner, which was documented and reported on by NPR.

Reflecting on the evening, I can say this: I have a better appreciation for the food we eat regularly in the West. What I had to eat last night is probably considered by many cultures a delicacy, either because it’s part of their tradition to not waste animals killed for food or because it is what’s affordable. So I applaud the Gastronauts for expanding my culinary experiences because I don’t know many others who are, no pun intended, gluttons for this type of punishment. I definitely had a lot of fun with the group and I look forward to dining with them again in the future.

But I am thankful I wasn’t there for the insects.

I was just listening to Beck - Rental Car

I’m thirty now and it feels pretty awesome. A big part of that is not experiencing anxiety about changing the first digit in my age much less having someone thoughtfully point that out to me. The great feeling also comes from a sense of learning from the mistakes I made in my twenties - what some people refer to as living - and applying those lessons learned to…

Actually, what it comes down to, is that I had a great birthday. I was surrounded by friends (some traveling from Chicago and Austin) and family (my father was in town on a well-timed business trip). I was spoiled with gifts, most of which should benefit any AAPL stockholders and employees. And I received a lot of birthday cards of which my favorite was enclosed in a translucent yellow envelope procured in France. Of course, the experiences was what made it fun.

Hill Country
This place can’t seem to get any negative reviews and/or press in New York and why should it? It’s objective is to serve one of the finest styles of cuisine in the world: Texas BBQ. Of course, after having my fill of Texas BBQ in Texas the weekend before, I wasn’t aggressive on the menu. But it does taste a little bit like home which maybe is worth $20.00/lb for the sliced brisket. Which is the perfect place to have a happy hour/dinner with all of your close Texan (and honorary Texan) friends. Maybe that’s why it is our De facto go-to for such occasions. Also, I don’t know who that sound engineer guy is working at Hill Country thinks he is but he needs to cut out the Kevin-Barnett-imposter-act because it’s pissing me off.

Perilla
Okay, I picked this restaurant at the recommendation of some New York editors and because the executive chef won the first season of Top Chef. As one of the newest and notable restaurants in town, it has received some stellar press and reviews. But what it comes down to is the food and service. Both were impressive. I loved the simple menu (read: not being overwhelmed by a menu adds to a dining experience) and the food really did seem to focus on whatever fresh ingredients were available at that moment. If this is what results from a reality television show, I say bring on Season 4.

Dominick’s
Ten years ago, my friend Luke visited New York with a college friend from Connecticut. When he requested italian food one evening, the friend’s parents drove them to Dominick’s on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. That night resulted in a legendary meal story that I have been curious to re-create ever since moving here. Finally, I was able to do that with Luke visiting along with his wife, sister-in-law and a group of mutual friends. We all took the North Line out of Grand Central to the Fordham University stop and made a 15 minute walk to the restaurant. There were no menus, only “Pasqi” making recommendations and asking us to tell him what we wanted. What ensued was a multi-course meal (antipasto, calamari, stuffed artichokes, veal marsala, chicken picatta, eggplant parmesan, etc.) and enough wine to get us all ubriaco. Considering what we ended up paying before tax/tip ($425 for 8 people), this may have been the best meal I’ve had in New York City.

Fresh Salt
AKA There Will Be Booze. I was surprised at how many people trekked it down to the South Street Seaport zone. We took over the entire bar, DJ’ing off my iPod with just the right amount of space to keep us cozy with room to move around. Two unexpected guests included a neighborhood regular who also shares a Feb 27th birthday (yeah, weird) and his pet Komondor (awesome hair). It made the evening even more special considering the service was excellent, drinks were stiff and the company was A-class. We had fresh baked cupcakes. From there it gets fuzzy.

The next day was not as awesome. But completely worth it. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.

I was just listening to Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique

I did a lot of eating this past weekend, or at least that’s what it felt like. On Saturday, I celebrated Chinese New Year with some friends and was treated to an authentic home cooked meal one might have in China, or Singapore to be specific.

The appetizer/salad started with a tin pan full of bean sprouts, carrots and other thinly julienned vegetables you would expect to see in an “asian salad”. Everyone at the party circled the table featuring this centerpiece while various ingredients - fried won tons, peanuts, sesame seeds, fish oil, duck sauce, etc. were dumped over the salad one at a time.

Once all ingredients have been added, everyone is tasked with tossing the salad together using chopsticks and not being afraid to be messy about it. In fact, it appears the celebratory method is to scoop and drop the ingredients high off the table letting them rain down below while saying a praise/wish for the new year like “Here is to being healthy this year…”

Then with great anticipation, we all started eating it. And it was good.

That was followed by duck soup, curried chicken, glazed chicken and my favorite of the evening, pork belly and mushrooms served with steamed bao buns.

Everything served was delicious and the 3-4 hour Nintendo Wii tournament that ensued was probably a necessary step to burn a least a little of the dinner off.

What I was most fascinated by was the dessert that was served, a layered cake called Kuih Lapis. Except this is no ordinary layer cake featuring 14+ layers at a total height of 1-2 inches. I can’t imagine the amount of effort that goes into making it but apparently it’s more effort for anyone in the United States; the cake was actually flown in on a carry-on from Singapore. And like much of the cuisine from that part of the world, eating it was only half as fun as looking at it.

But this giant amazing meal was not enough for weekend. No, I just had to take a friend up on an offer to travel out to Di Fara - Brooklyn/Midwood pizza joint which serves what many claim to be the best pizza in New York.

Everything about the experience suggests that it’s unique and of the old world. There’s an older gentleman, Domenico De Marco, hunched over a small workstation making the round and square pies. His sons are working in the back prepping ingredients and, although somewhat socially awkward, taking orders from the unorganized mass of people hoping to get their attention at the counter.

Among four guys, we took down an artichoke round and sausage square pizzas. I can verify that the square pie was the best pizza I’ve ever had although the round pie was no slouch. Both are prepared similarly with some great sauce, high quality buffalo mozzarella and baked in a massive oven to create the crunchy-thin yet slightly chewy crust.

When De Marco pulls the pies out, he gives each pizza a healthy dash of fresh shredded parmesean, basil and olive oil.  His techniques and flavors suggest that this is a rare, lost art in the Americanization of Italian cuisine.  Or, he just figured out a good way to make pizza.

After two weeks of sifting through various Best of 2007 lists and posts, this video of Christopher Walken demonstrating how he prepares roast chicken was my favorite of things I missed in the year. From I�m Cooked (via Serious Eats� Best Cooking Videos of 2007) in July 2007�

It goes without saying this is classic material for anyone who does a good Walken impression.

The Joker published his own recipe on page 2 of the Ha Ha Ha Times. Looks promising but only 10 lbs of diced bacon? Yes, everything is better with bacon.

Looking forward to seeing that Dark Knight preview this weekend…

I was just listening to Uffie – Dismissed

I had to stop by the Union Square Barnes & Noble on my way home from work last night to catch a discussion between Michael Ruhlman and Anthony Bourdain. I’m a long time fan of Bourdain, specifically of Kitchen Confidential, his subsequent travel shows and rants about The Food Network and their personalities. I had been reading Ruhlman’s blog every now and then to catch Bourdain’s guest appearances until I started watching The Next Iron Chef, for which Ruhlman was a judge and commentator via his blog.

The introduction was a tad heavy on the fluffing but the two authors kept it real on travel, cooking and producing good television around those topics. They also had some funny and interesting comments on the celebrity chef. BN.com will have at some point has a video of the discussion.

Bourdain: Guy Fieri, you know…20% more gel…20% more Rastafari…can we put him on a skateboard…with the glasses around his head: ratings gold.

Ruhlman: Apparently, he’s very popular. I don’t know…

Bourdain: So is chlamydia.

Ruhlman: Did you really quit smoking?

Bourdain: Yes.

Bourdain: That’s what a pair of 7 1/2 month old lungs in the house does to you.

Ruhlman: You have some redeeming characteristics after all.

Bourdain: Shut the fuck up.