In Praise of Antonio’s
Posted by Jonathan Tilley in Buying Food, Restaurants, Travel, Wine on August 20, 2010
It would take something special to post again on this oft-neglected piece of cyberspace. Justin and I have been busy, after all. In my case, working and new fathering have kept me from sampling DC’s finest or reflecting more on the absolute perfection of Hefeweizen (at least in written form).
But I am on vacation at my parents’ house in Orlando. Last night, my folks took care of our little one, while my wife and I found a new corner of restaurant heaven.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Orlando? The land of Disney and plastic culture? Isn’t Orlando the headquarters of all those big restaurant chains that push a bland uniformity into U.S. food culture? Isn’t Orlando cuisine nothing but overpriced tourist trap food?
Well, in part. But step away from International Drive. Go from the corporates to the foodies. Put down that expensive Disney Turkey leg. Next time you take the kids to Disney World and Universal Studios, be sure to drive over to Antonio’s Cafe & Deli in Maitland on 17-92. We did so, on my parents’ recommendation, and we tasted the best Italian food I’ve had in a long time.
Our romantic table in the liquor section.
Now, here is the charm. The Cafe & Deli, as you can see, is nestled within a mini Italian grocery and wine shop. We had a romantic little table in the liquor section. It may sound strange, but experience it, and you’ll find it creates a natural ambiance that most restaurants attempt to produce with funky decorations and weird lighting. We sat at our table and had two servers: A nice waitress who took our order, and their resident wine expert. The wine expert helped us select a bottle of wine from around the store (“we have an excellent wine list, and it’s all around us,” he joked), and was kind enough to open it and give us the “sniffy sniff sniff.” To go with our food, he selected a Dogajolo – 80% Chianti and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon (“which gives it more complexity,” he said). Yum.
For an appetizer, we had the Topped Ciabatta – fresh Ciabatta bread, blanketed with Mozzarella and tomato sauce – fresh, delicious, opposite of canned. It was a generous appetizer to say the least – on another more budgeted night we may have gone with just appetizers and wine. But this was a rare date night for new parents. We were going the distance. (I should also mention that this was alongside some fantastic bread, fresh butter and olive oil that could have stood alone)
My wife ordered the pizza. Delightful, authentic crust, generous portions of prosciutto, red onions, sauce and spices that blend and flavor delightfully without dominating. As a real European, she has authority to say what she said afterwards. “Here in America, all the Italian food is Chicago-Italian or New York-Italian. It’s fine and everything, but it is hard to find Italian-Italian.” Antonio’s fit the bill. Yes, she’s from Germany. But as Texas has top-notch Mexican food, southern Germany is peppered with fantastic Italian restaurants. She knows what she’s talking about.
I had a hankering for some pasta and went with the Linguini Calabrese. Wonderful sausage, onion and that perfect tomato sauce, tossed lovingly into linguini noodles. The garlic was present but not overwhelming, and as far as I could tell, the ingredients were fresh. Excellence.
The portions were generous, and though good taste spurred us on, we couldn’t quite clear our plates. But our server corked our wine bottle and gave us boxes, and our movable feast would continue the next day.
We walked away from the restaurant with a sense of satisfaction I don’t often feel. We did not feel like we had a lake of grease cratered in our stomachs. We did not feel as if we couldn’t look at another garlic clove again. We strolled through the the shop, admiring the wine selection, fresh meats, cheeses and gelato. All the while, the full feeling in our bellies didn’t make us groan. It made us smile.
Bene.
What’s the Must Have Food of Austin, TX?
Posted by Justin Thorp in Travel on March 9, 2010
So, on Friday, I’m headed to Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest Interactive Festival. What are the food and drink places that I absolutely must go to? The Salt Lick and Progress Coffee are already on my list. What else?
(Photo of Austin, TX by Rutlo)
Joe’s Stone Crab – Eating at a Miami Beach, FL Institution
Posted by Justin Thorp in Restaurants on February 28, 2010
Last week, I was in Miami Beach for a work conference. While I was down there, I was definitely looking for some type of restaurant that really was Miami Beach. Boy, did I find it. It was Joe’s Stone Crab.
It was a Monday and I was walking down Ocean Drive to meet up with my buddy Doug, who was joining me for dinner. That night, it was immediately noticeable how quiet all the other trendy Ocean Drive restaurants were. I was thinking that maybe we had caught a lucky break. Maybe we wouldn’t have to wait as along to get into what was Yelp rated as a top restaurant in Miami Beach. Ha… was I wrong.
You walk in and it was FILLED with people. There was definitely a palpable excitement or anticipation amongst all the other patrons that were there waiting to dig into a big pile of stone crabs. The restaurant is MASSIVE and it was still overflowing with people.
Doug and I made our way to the host who was taking people’s names to be seated. There was an hour and a half wait. Doug assured me it was worth it, so we put in our name, went to the bar, and got some drinks. Three drinks later, our names were called and we moved back to the staging area where they take you to your table.
The whole experience with the hosts was pretty crazy. You definitely had folks that were flashing hundred-dollar bills to the host in order to by pass the line and go directly to a table. I don’t think that I’d ever seen that before.
So… we got to our table. On the way you got to see, even more, how expansive the restaurant was. You could also tell how it was run like a very tight naval ship. All the food and drinks came out pretty smoothly and looked to be consistent and uniform with what everyone else was getting.
Since Doug paid for drinks, I bought a bottle of wine. Normally I don’t buy wine at restaurants because the markup is ridiculous. This wasn’t bad. I think we had an Albarino. It was an acidic wine that was very crisp and refreshing.
At Joe’s, you’re obviously getting stone crab claws but you can also order a variety of incredible sides. We got coleslaw, grilled tomatoes, and cornbread. The coleslaw came out first. Usually when I have coleslaw, it’s that typical cream based coleslaw that you get everywhere. This had a vinaigrette, which was delicious.
Next, with the rest of the sides, came the beloved stone crab claws. Unlike other crabs that I had in the past, these are served hot. They’re served cold, which is interesting. You peel off the shell and then just suck off as much of the delicious meat as possible. They give you this really tasty mustard with a kick and some butter sauce that you can choose to dip the claw meet in. I commented to my friend Doug that the crab claw was like an “adult popsicle.” :-p
I was definitely worth trying. I’m told by my friends that a lot of the stone crabs that you see throughout the East coast all come through Joe’s Stone Crab. So, it was especially rad to go to the source directly.
The cherry on top of the sundae for the evening was the key lime pie. It was everything that you want key lime pie to be. I can’t put the joy that the pie gave me into words. A week later, the though of the pie still puts a smile on my face. :-)
All in all, going to Joe’s Stone Crab was a really awesome experience and would be something that I’d recommend to everyone. It is a little expensive so it’s probably not something that you can do all the time but it’s worth going at least once.
Blue Bottle Coffee Coming to Brooklyn, NY
Posted by Justin Thorp in Coffee, Coffee Shops on February 26, 2010
The New York Times is reporting that Blue Bottle Coffee is going to be opening up a coffee bar and roaster in Brooklyn, NY. I’m SOOO jealous. I love Blue Bottle. (Peregrine Espresso, don’t get jealous. You’re still my first love.) All of the San Francisco Blue Bottle locations consistently draw a crowd. I’m confident that this new location in Brooklyn will as well.
Crumbs Bakery Cupcakes Coming to Washington DC
Posted by Justin Thorp in Cupcakes on February 18, 2010
According to the Washingtonian, Crumbs Bakery and their amazing cupcakes are going to be making their way to Washington DC this March 2010.
The New York-based bakery chain Crumbs will roll out seven stores here starting in May. The two-fister confections come in such sugar-shock-inducing flavors as cookie-dough—which is filled with chocolate fudge and topped with chocolate-chip-cookie-flecked cream-cheese frosting—as well as vanilla topped with M&Ms and chocolate cake with strawberry-jam filling and chocolate-buttercream icing. Our favorite is an oversize riff on the Hostess cupcake with a vanilla-cream filling, which thankfully doesn’t taste like it was created in a Midwestern chemistry lab. The outposts will spring up in DC—Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, downtown, Cleveland Park—plus Reston, Clarendon, and Rockville.
I’d usually say, “Ho hum another cupcake place in DC” but these cupcakes are frickin’ awesome. I’ve had them in my various travels to LA and New York City.
Will let you guys know when they officially open their first store in the District.
(Photo by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake)
Seriously, Watch Jamie Oliver’s TED Talk About Food Education!
Posted by Justin Thorp in Famous Chefs, Trends on February 13, 2010
Jamie Oliver has always been someone within the food space that I’ve tracked with. His attitudes around simple delicious dishes that use local fresh ingredients is definitely something that I agree with. Along with being an amazingly accomplished chef and author, he’s done great work advocating for healthy lunches in the schools throughout England.
Well this year the TED conference (Technology, Entertainment, and Design), a conference where some of the smartest people in the world come together to talk about world’s issues, honored Jamie with the TED Prize for 2010 for his work in fighting childhood obesity by teaching children about food.
He gave a really moving talk (embedded above). He illustrates through numbers and some very moving stories how diet related illness kill more people every year then anything else. He also comes with a pretty awesome action plan of, which I agree with, of how to combat it…
- Every super markets needs to have a food ambassador that’ll help their patrons be smart about food and how they prepare it.
- Big food brands need to put food education at the heart of their business.
- Fast food companies need to start thinking differently and working to get us off of our addiction to fatty, sugary, and overly processed foods.
- Better regulations around how food is labeled.
- Kids in schools need to be cooked local healthy food.
- Every child needs to be taught 10 recipes that they can use for the rest of their life.
- Their needs to be greater funding for getting healthy food into schools.
As I’ve talked about before on this blog, from a very young age, I was blessed with an amazing mother who helped and encouraged me to learn my way around a kitchen. Also, Both of my parents have been encouragements and examples for eating healthy but I know that others aren’t so lucky.
I a big believer in what Jamie’s advocating. We need to do something. While Washington DC is flailing trying to figure out how to fix health care, we can do so much to actually fix our health.
This is Jamie’s mission statement…
“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”
Seriously, watch Jamie’s talk and let’s do something about what’s happening.
My Three Favorite Indie Coffee Shops in San Francisco, CA
Posted by Justin Thorp in Coffee, Coffee Shops on February 13, 2010
Over the last three or four years, I’ve been to San Francisco many many times. One thing I’ve definitely noticed is a strong independent coffee shop culture. Every few blocks, tucked in an alley or around some corner is some cool independent coffee shop where the locals gather to hang with friends or suck down some free wifi on their Mac Books, always while sipping a highly caffeinated beverage.
In my journeys to San Francisco, there are three coffee shops that have become my favorites. I’m sure there are more that I’ve yet to discover (If you have recommendations, put them in the comments.) but there definitely three that I’ve especially grown to love.
Blue Bottle Coffee Co. – 66 Mint Street (corner of Jessie)
When my friends from San Fran heard that I was into coffee, they were all like, “you have to try Blue Bottle.” When you go to this cafe that’s South of Market, your first impression is that you’ve just entered a science lab. Behind the counter, you’ll see tons of different glass doodads that are used to make different coffee drinks.
At Blue Bottle, you’re struck by the equipment, the attitude of the staff, and the beans that they roast, the extent that they just really have a profound respect for the product that they’re making, coffee. They don’t want to give you some overly washed out sugary coffee drink, which there is a time and a place for. They really want you to be able to taste the coffee. The end result is pretty amazing. When I went with my bro-in-law, it was funny how blown away he was by the latte they made him. My reactions were equal and am now a regular there every time that I’m in town.
Unlike other coffee shops, you don’t see people sitting at Blue Bottle with laptops and parking for hours. This is a place that you go to see people or be seen.
Epicenter Cafe – 764 Harrison St.
http://www.epicentercafe.com/Epicenter_Cafe/Home.html
This became my preferred place when I wanted a really good cup of coffee and check e-mail. (Man, I love free wifi.) Thanks to my buddy Thomas, I got hooked on their espresso drink The Cubano. I’m not really sure how it’s different but it was good and after two of them, oh man I was wired. Ha.
This place is a bit of a more full fledged cafe. They serve breakfast, lunch, and even some alcoholic beverages. It was very chill. There is more room here so you don’t feel crowded, like you would at Blue Bottle.
Sightglass Coffee Bar & Roastery – 270 Seventh Street @ Folsom
For the time being, this is more of a coffee stand than a coffee shop. They’re currently amidst construction of the cafe and the roastery so right now they’ve got a coffee stand that’s open in what looks like a garage of the building.
Regardless, the coffee was phenomenal. There isn’t a whole lot of room to chill. This is more if you’re looking to get a quick hit on your coffee break at work.
One of the highlights of going here was getting to pay with the mobile payment system Square.
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