Coffee tea ..... huh??

Last week at Harry Sasson's well-known restaurant in Bogota, I was introduced to a drink that I did not even know existed. It's known as coffee tea. The shells that are removed from coffee beans are simply dried and infused with hot water to produce a sweet-flavored drink that is smooth and delicious. It has no bitterness, it's quite fruity and has the flavor of tamarind and prunes.

I haven't seen it anywhere in North America, so I recommend a visit to Bogota to taste it first hand. You'll find a vibrant restaurant scene in addition to some legendary coffees!

Shave that $@&$#

It’s white truffle season, and legendary stories abound. It was Puff Daddy who notoriously told Daniel Boulud to “shave that bitch” in reference to white truffles while dining at his restaurant. I did a little shaving myself recently when a generous friend arrived at my house with a beautiful nugget of white truffle from Alba.

But my purpose is not to gloat — it’s to set the record straight on white truffle oil. Those who know me well know it's not my favorite thing. I find the aroma to be fake and nauseating. At a recent lunch a debate ensued about whether truffle oil contains any truffles. The answer is “NO.” Most truffle oils contain a compound called 2,4-dithiapentane. And for once in my life I find myself agreeing with Gordon Ramsay, who calls truffle oil “one of the most pungent, ridiculous ingredients ever known to chefs.”

I do recognize people (not me!) love their truffle fries, but I beg chefs not to inflate the price of a dish just because the description includes the magic word “truffle.” We're not that stupid!

The greatest market in the world?

While in Japan last summer I made sure to pay a visit to Tsukiji Market. If you've been there, please indulge me. If you haven't, you MUST go!

Tsukiji is the largest wholesale fish market in the world. It handles more than 400 different types of fish ranging from tiny sardines to 300-kg (661-lb) tuna. Every year more than 700 metric tons of fish pass through the market with a total value of about US$6 billion (more than the GDP of Monaco!). In 2013 a Japanese company paid a record US$1.76 million for a Bluefin Tuna weighing 222 kg (489 lbs).

In the image above it took three men to delicately cut through a valuable piece of the tuna using a special knife called a “magurokiri.”

Typically such tuna will sell for between US$60 and US$120 per pound depending on the quality and the amount of fat. The result of the cut clearly shows the range of the grades from the Oo-toro (highest sushi grade) on the left to the Maguro on the right.

And no visit to Tsukiji is complete without an omikase sushi breakfast at one of the many sushi restaurants adjacent to the market.

Locally farmed melons — $155 each and worth it!

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I just returned from Japan where I was reminded how seriously they take their food. I lived in Japan for nearly two years, and it was like living inside the “Larousse Gastronomique.” The quality of the ingredients they use is extraordinary. In the same shop as I found this muskmelon there were bunches of grapes for $100 a pop!

One night we went for shabu-shabu (kind of a Japanese beef-and-vegetable hot pot), and out came this wagyu beef that was so beautifully marbled it felt like heresy dunking it in the water, but the flavor mixed with the house-made ponzu sauce was amazing!

Honestly, I could fill pages recounting every food story from my two weeks in Japan, but I'd prefer you go and experience it firsthand. You may never come back!

 

 

Chateau Latour for Breakfast?

Well, sort of. Last month I attended the Pebble Beach Food & Wine event and was one of the fortunate few to sit through a tasting of 10 wines from Chateau Latour.

The tasting started at 10 a.m., which, as those oenophiles who read this column will attest to, is the best time to taste wine as your palate is at its freshest and cleanest. The wines — of course — were amazing, but I enjoyed them all the more for tasting them so early in the day. It is most common for people to open great red wines with dinner, once the palate has been numbed with cocktails and other wines.

So for the collectors among you, invite some friends over for a morning tasting. Your wines will taste a whole lot better!

When less really is more

I confess, I'm a sucker for great oysters. And when I see them on a menu I'll typically order some for the table to get a meal started. Everyone seems to have their own favorite way of dressing them — a little Tabasco, a little mignonette, a little grated horseradish. It's all part of the experience.

So why would anyone think of ruining perfectly good oysters by injecting them with mignonette to the point of exploding?

This what I experienced at a restaurant in Miami recently. Great anticipation, big letdown.

Don't get me wrong. Creativity is a great thing with food. But some things are best left untouched!