Year: 2008

Whining about Dining in Las Vegas

Published by Kathy Hunt

When friends visit New York, they often complain about high food prices.  Two dollars for a cup of coffee?  Six dollars for an omelette, toast, hash browns and juice?  Eight to ten bucks for a glass of wine?!    May they never travel to Las Vegas.  At first glance prices in Vegas don’t seem out of proportion.  Martinis and mojitos at the Venetian Resort with my friend Tim cost around $12 apiece, roughly what I’d spend on a cocktail in New York or Philadelphia.  Factor in the live music and that we were in a fancy hotel in the heart of Las Vegas and the amount appeared realistic.  Even the first night’s dinner at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon didn’t seem particularly outrageous.  My trout almondine entree was $27 while my friend Marilee’s scallop special was $46.  Okay, $46 was quite steep but this was THE Thomas Keller.  What truly surprised me was not the cost but the quality.  Good but not astonishing.  Plus, the haricot vert that topped my trout were limp and lukewarm.  When you’re favorite part of the meal was the complimentary bread, well . . .. …

Irish Cuisine – Beyond Guinness and Fish and Chips

Published by Kathy Hunt

  I have long argued that British cuisine has not been given its fair due.  (See “The Best of Britain” September 2007 for further rantings on this subject.)  Well, now it’s time for me to argue in favor of the Irish, too.  On a recent trip through Ireland I experienced firsthand the country’s culinary renaissance. Whether in the Republic or in Northern Ireland, the menus featured fresh, seasonal, and locally produced foods. Fish caught right off the coast. Cheese made down at the town shop. Eggs laid in the innkeeper’s backyard. It couldn’t get much fresher or more locally produced than that. Irish cooks seemlessly melded the old with the new. Take creamy leek and potato soup. Intead of pairing it with the customary hunks of brown soda bread, the soup was partnered with micro greens or a salad of frisee, arugula and radicchio. No more bland iceburg lettuce or pale pink tomatoes in this land.  At the bright and cheery The Farm on Dawson Street in Dublin the updated fare was organic, all natural and utterly delicious. The salmon came with sides of sauteed spinach, mashed potatoes, and …

Belfast – Moving beyond Its Past

Published by Kathy Hunt

  Having followed the Troubles in Northern Ireland since childhood, I had more than a few notions about both the country and capital.  Belfast would be grim.  It would be gritty. Bomb-scarred buildings would line the streets. Police would pound the pavement, poised to quell sectarian violence. Everywhere I turned, I would see evidence of not just decades but centuries of fighting. That’s the problem with preconceived ideas. So often they are wrong. Thanks to generous revitalization funding from the EU and Great Britain, Belfast resembled an active, modern city.  Sleek, pricey hotels like the Malmaison dotted the cityscape. Huge, glittering shopping complexes, such as the newly opened Victoria Square, drew in hordes of spendthrifts.  Briefcase-wielding business people, not gun-toting police officers, dominated the sidewalks. Cranes and construction equipment filled the skyline.   In spite of this hustle and bustle, Belfast was a quiet tourist destination.  During our time there most of the sites — the Ulster Museum, the St. George’s farmers’ market, which originated in the 17th century, and the Belfast Cathedral — were closed.  In the case of the 19th century St. Malachy’s Church, reputedly the best example of the Victorian architecture for …

Gawking at Sites along Northern Ireland's Coast

Published by Kathy Hunt

Driving along the northern coast of Northern Ireland, Sean and I experienced the famous ever-changing weather of this country. Sun-warmth-clouds-rain-sun-wind-driving rain-sun-cold-wind, all within a half hour. While the weather may be unpredictable, the lush landscape and breathtaking sites are not. Rather than blather on about each and every site, I will mostly allow pictures, rather than words, to capture the beauty of the land. Sheep – They’re everywhere! The Giant’s Causeway — The 37,000 polygonal, balsatic rock columns of the Giant’s Causeway are reputedly Ireland’s top tourist destination as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   Dunluce Castle – On a dark and stormy night part of the cliff fell into the sea, taking the 16th century kitchen and startled cooks with it. Bonamargy Friary – The ruins of this 16th century friary are now tucked into a corner of a golf course along the Coastal Causeway. The town of Cushendun – Once a popular resort area, this little charming village still offers visitors ruins of Carra Castle, the National Trust house Rockport, a small …

Travels in Northern Ireland – the North Coast and Bushmills

Published by Kathy Hunt

Upon hearing that Sean and I were headed to Belfast in Northern Ireland, the Dublin car rental agent responded with, ‘You’ll be wanting a bullet-proof car then.’ Jokes aside, I had expected the border crossing between the independent Republic and British-controlled North to be somewhat momentous. Interrogations. Friskings. Or, at the very least, a much-coveted passport stamp. Instead we breezed across the invisible border without any fanfare. The only indication that we had left the Republic came in the form of mileage. Instead kilometers, distance in the North is measured in miles. Deeper into the countryside the atmosphere shifted ever so slightly. Graffiti popped up, proclaiming ‘Sinn Fein is law,’ ‘Hang Bush,’ and ‘No more British control.’ Placards posted to telephone poles and tree trunks declared ‘Abortion is murder.’ Hmmm . . .. Saving Belfast for later in the trip, we headed north to the village of Bushmills along the North Channel in County Antrim. Home to the Old Bushmills Distillery and within a short drive to the UNESCO World Heritage site the Giant’s Causeway …

St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland

Published by Kathy Hunt

St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin is a lot like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Minus the beads, bared breasts and beer consumed on the streets. And the warm weather. And exceptional live music. (The only traditional tunes that my husband Sean and I heard were from a middle-aged man playing a recorder in a hot, packed pub. And he played quite badly.) What wasn’t absent were the enormous crowds and tremendous police presence. After a series of violent fights on St. Patrick’s Day 2004 Dublin now imports about 800 police officers from around the country. On every block we saw 5 to 10 ‘gardai’ in their flourescent yellow jackets, waiting to spring into action. Most often they seemed to give directions to confused and/or drunk tourists. (Tuesday’s papers indicated that they arrested around a dozen car thieves-arsonists who set the stolen autos on fire.) Celebrants there were many. Since Ireland has banned smoking in bars and restaurants, smokers clustered around the front entrances and along the sidewalks. Inside the pubs were wall-to-wall revelers. At one …

Favorite New York Eateries, Take One

Published by Kathy Hunt

With close to 20,000 restaurants in the five boroughs I am never at a loss for dining options.  Although it feels as though I am constantly trying new places, I still manage to revisit more than a few favorites.  A couple, such as David Bouley’s elegant French mecca in Tribeca, Bouley www.davidbouley.com, I save for special occasions.  Others I frequent for specific meals, such as a bagel breakfast at Tal’s or the not-to-miss Sunday champagne brunch at Isabella’s www.brguestrestaurants.com.  (As an added bonus, while my brunch buddies wait for a table at Isabella’s, I can slip across Columbus Avenue and shop for vintage photos, antique silverware or alpaca sweaters at GreenFlea Market. www.greenfleamarkets.com)  When I’m in a rush, I turn to grab-and-go spots like Two Boots Pizza, Chickpea and Artie’s Deli. There I can pick up a slice of vegetable-laden pizza, falafel-filled pita or egg salad-on-rye sandwich and eat as I walk down the street.  If time isn’t a factor, I drop by Savoy in SoHo, Carmine’s and Acqua on the Upper West Side and …

Care for a Cocktail?

Published by Kathy Hunt

Why, yes, I would.  When I was in my 20s, I thought that wine and beer would sustain me for life.  A nice glass of Montepulciano at dinner.  A couple of beers on a Saturday night.  Older and more seasoned, I now realize that cocktails are where it’s at. Whether inviting a few friends over for dinner or throwing a big soiree, nothing says “celebrate” like a mixed drink.  In the summer I whip up watermelon daiquiris, coconut mojitos and lemon drops.  Fall and spring mean sidecars and Pimm’s cups.  Winter marks the return of moose milk, steaming wassail and nutmeg-dusted Irish cows.  Thanks to my spiral bound “Bartender’s Black Book,” I can make a multitude of drinks every day of the year. Dolled up with a tiny paper umbrella or served au naturel, cocktails are, for me, the hallmark of adulthood.  I have my parents to thank (or blame) for this view.  Normally teetotalers, they would splash out and indulge at parties, receptions and upscale restaurants.  Harvey Wallbangers, whiskey sours, and — yick! — scotch.  Never left out, I received the requisite, maraschino …

Gadget Girl And Her Onion Goggles, Silicon Baking Tools . . .

Published by Kathy Hunt

Just as I bestowed pom-pom topped club covers, golf ball retrievers, and rubber gardening shoes on my golf- and gardening-enthusiast father, I now am bombarded with egg poachers, cookbook weights, and whisks of all sizes and shapes.  If a new culinary contraption hits the markets, chances are I’ll receive it as a Christmas, birthday or hostess gift.  Yes, my lust for cooking has turned me into the goddess of kitchen gadgets.     Some sound too quirky to be useful.  Take, for instance, onion goggles.  Others, such as the silicon oven mitt, sound like a clumsy baker’s dream.  Yet, often the reverse is true.  Onion goggles are a godsend – no more tears! — while that hot, unwieldy oven mitt has been shoved to the back of a kitchen drawer, never to be used again.  With so many utensils at my disposal I have become somewhat of an authority on non-essential cooking tools.  Below are a few of my favorites.  I could live without them but why would I want to? Onion goggles – If I sloppily — and …

Fine Dining in Philadelphia

Published by Kathy Hunt

                Usually, when I’m at home in southeastern Pennsylvania, I prefer either to cook or grab a simple meal at a nearby brewery or coffee shop.  Driving 35 minutes into Philadelphia never sounds terribly appealing when I’m tired and hungry.  However, over the past two weeks I broke from my usual routine and had some exceptional dinners in Philadelphia as a result.  The restaurants? Amada and FARMiCiA in Old City, the Water Works in Fairmount Park and Vetri in Center City. Authentic, earthy Spanish tapas with flavor and flair was what I wanted, and got, at Jose Garces’ Amada.  www.amadarestaurant.com   Lychee mojitos, cranberry-studded sangria and a cheese plate of Manchego paired with lavender honey, Cana de Cabra with a side of fig marmalade and Queso de Cabra accompanied by balsamic strawberries started the evening.  Following this were small platters of bread slathered with tomato and garlic, patatas bravas or spicy potatoes topped with saffron aioli, salt cod croquettes, shrimp sauteed with chunks of garlic, and charred green onions as well as bowls of …