I Want to North Fork on the Table

It’s always nice to get away from reality for the night, especially when dozens of vineyards and a quaint and charming cheese shop are involved. This weekend we went to the North Fork of Long Island to have a private tour of Lenz Winery and see how their production of wine has been progressing. First we needed to fill our bellies before we started the day of drinking and stopped off at The Village Cheese Shop in Mattituck. Appropriately, this cheese shop/ café is located on Love Lane. And it was true love when I first walked in and saw the large selection of cheeses they had and found out they were serving wine in the café. Their featured cheese was Hooligan which I’ve had before and remembered loving. Hooligan is a raw cow’s cheese that is aged in underground caves for over sixty days. It is left with a semisoft pate, and has an easy start with a very long finish. We then sat down for smoked salmon, charcutterie, fondue and a glass of their local white wine.

I surveyed the selection of cheeses in order to know what I wanted to pick up on our way out of town the following morning. The Stinky Bishop, which I have read is one cheese to use to impress your friends, was there. By the next morning they were sold out of it. That didn’t stop me from buying some other cheeses. I picked up Lamb Chopper, Langres and the Drunk Monk.
Lamb Chopper is made from sheep’s milk. Adverstised as coming from Cypress Grove in California, this cheese is actually made in the Netherlands and imported to Cypress Grove. It’s mild, custardy and buttery flavor lingers in your mouth for the perfect amount of time, giving off an almost sweet taste. This cheese is recommended as using for cooking. I’ll keep it on the table, thank you. Langres is a French cow’s milk that is produced in the Champagne- Ardenne region. It manages to be a soft and creamy but still have a crumbly texture to it. The yellowish rind is made with penicillium candidum. I don’t know what the hell that is, but sounds as bad as the ingredients listed on a can old diet coke. Good thing I can easily ignore this when I am schmearing it on a flax seed and honey flatbread. Yum!
The third cheese is the Drunk Monk hailing from Connecticut. Always falling for those witty names of cheeses and pretty wine labels, I decided to try it. I found out later that Drunk Monk was Hooligan after it’s been given a rub down in brown ale from the Willmantic CT Brewing Co. No wonder it tastes so good. I know some people who need this treatment. The cheese is very pungent with a hint of peanut butter.

A fun and relaxing time had by all, we are planning another trip for the fall.

Restaurant Review II- Blue Hill at Stone Barns

There are few experiences one has in their life, which can spiritually, physically and emotionally shape them. For me, they are usually centered on food. Sunday brunch at Blue Hill at Stone Barns was one of these experiences. Chef Dan Barber uses local ingredients to create gastronomical and artistic wonders. Everything from the homemade butter to the environmentally friendly cardboard straw has been carefully and flawlessly thought out. For two and a half hours we tasted seasonal food that could not be forgotten.
The menu is very unusual, where you see all of the ingredients Chef Barber may use in your meal. The participants at the table let the waiter know if there are any allergies or dislikes, such as liver or brain (which we excluded) from our repertoire. Let the eating begin!

Unsure if this was our first course, the waiters casually brought over four amuse bouche. First was homemade white bread, made on the premises, still warm and exactly what I was craving after three painful weeks on a no-carb diet. Next, were beet chips. Paper thin, the chips practically melted on your tongue after giving it a lightly salted jolt. Keeping with the winter root vegetable, beets, were mini beet burgers. Between two moist corn bread-like disks was a compote of beet and raspberry. A micro-green playing as the lettuce, I wish there were twenty more to shoot down. Venison sausage (my dads favorite) and sunchoke soup were part of this pre-first course.

Next a young lady came to our table presenting five brown eggs in a hand blown glass hollowed bowl stuffed with the makings of a nest. She gave us a shpeal about how many eggs the farm produces in the winter months. Ten minutes later we were presented with what had me up thinking about for days later. The soft-boiled egg is lightly deep-fried in an almond panko crisp breading and presented with a green house salad with pistachios and a schmear of herb dressing. Days later I was lying in bed when Barbers method still had me stumped, “After being boiled, peeled and fried, the yolk was still perfectly runny. How the hell did he do it?”

Second course was poached halibut in a spinach broth with baby shrimp and clams. The waiter caught us starting the meal with a fork when he rushed over and recommended using the spoon in order to get the broth evenly distributed over the piece of fish. He knew what he was talking about. The fish absorbed the broth, changing the color and flavor. Absolutely delish.

Thirdly was roasted venison and venison sausage with carrots. We understood it as though the venison came from a nearby deer farm. Not knowing that was either legal or available in Westchester we were open to this new experience and embraced it to the last bite and lick of the plate. The carrots had the right amount of sweetness and al dente, also grown on the farm.

The cheese lovers that we all are, we decided to insert the cheese plate into our menu. A little disappointed with the options that they had, we definitely felt we could put together a much better cheese plate. They had us comparing and contrasting two blues and two cheddars. I was hoping for a little more originality, especially since the previous three courses. I think we all felt a little upsold. None of that stopped us from finishing all of the cheese in our preparation for dessert.

Two different desserts were divided between the five of us. I got an apple strudel pancake with vanilla maple goose egg ice cream. Not usually being one for desserts, I couldn't get enough of the ice cream off of the plate. I was looking for more bread to soak it up with. A great end to a fantastic meal. One that I will never forget.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

630 Bedford Road

Pocantico Hills, NY

914.366.9600

http://www.bluehillatstonebarns.com/

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Restaurant Review 1- Morgans Fish House

When my favorite cheese, Pecorino Tartufo makes a cameo on a dish in a restaurant, I automatically hold a special place in my cheesy heart for this restaurant and have to tell everyone I know about it. Last Friday I had lunch at Morgans Fish House in Rye, New York. The place was completely desolate, making us question the food we were about to eat. Trusting the recommendations we’ve been given on this restaurant, we soon relaxed with a nice cold glass of Prosecco. I started off with a terrine of tuna tartare served with avocado salad and cucumber. The tuna tasted very fresh but it was a little too cold, as if it was left over from the night before. The presentation was absolutely exquisite. I also let the waiter choose half a dozen oysters for me to try. Again, the freshness couldn’t be compared. For my entrée, I had the baby arugula salad with pecorino tartufo (Hallelujah!), crispy pancetta, golden apples and toasted pecans. The light vinaigrette they tossed the salad in did not overpower any of its superb components. Morgans on a Friday night seems like a great place to come with a large group of people. It’s bright, loud and fun. Note: My birthday is coming up soon!

Morgans Fish House
22 Elm Place
Rye, NY 10580
914.921.8190

http://www.morganfishhouse.net/