Posted by Brian Koppelman, August 1, 2007 at 10:30 AM
My friend and neighbor Brian Koppelman is just about as passionate about food as he is about movies, which is saying something, considering he and his writing partner, David Levien, have written screenplays like Ocean's 13 and Rounders. He has strong opinions about everything from pizza to sushi, so I've invited him to the Serious Eats table for periodic communiques that Brian will post in the form of "Dear Ed" letters. Here's his first one. —Ed Levine
Dear Ed,
I'm of the belief that sushi doesn't travel. That's why I never order it in. And that must be why I've waited six months to try Sasabune in New York City. See, the L.A. Sasabune is one of my all-time favorite restaurants, and I guess I figured that if the toro doesn't taste as fresh when the delivery guy has to take it three blocks, Sasabune wasn't going to be the same 3,000 miles away.
I was wrong. The restaurant is stunning. Chef Kenji Takahashi learned at the sword of Nobi Kusuhara at the original Sasabune and, in the tradition of his master, is so dedicated to perfection that he himself hits the fish market first thing every morning before personally making every single piece of sushi and sashimi that his establishment serves from noon until midnight. If you haven't checked it out yet, you really should. It's top shelf.
Best,
Brian
Sushi Sasabune
New York City: 401 East 73rd Street, New York NY 10021; 212-249-8583
Los Angeles: 12400 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 150; Los Angeles CA 90025; 310-820-3596
Posted by Ed Levine, November 12, 2006 at 9:11 PM
Traverse City Pie Company: TCPC not only still makes all their magnificent Michigan cherry pies by hand, but its other pies are also pretty damned fine. If you don't live in close proximity to a great pie, a shipped TCPC pie is the way to go.
Julian Pie Company: Who know that the town of Julian, Ca. is mecca for West Coast apple pie lovers? These guys also ship, and if their pies are not quite up to TCPC standards, they're a close second.
Posted by Ed Levine, November 12, 2006 at 8:24 AM
A BY CITY GUIDE TO THANKSGIVING PIES
I once wrote a piece for the New York Observer advocating the nation skip the turkey, stuffing, and sweet potatoes, and opt for an all pie Thanksgiving meal. A meal consisting of, say, half a dozen pies would indeed be one that serious eaters would be thankful for.
To encourage serious eaters everywhere to take up my all pie Thanksgiving cause I am going to try to guide readers and users to the best pies available, both in New York and elsewhere.
First New York:
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 26, 2006 at 9:47 AM
If you haven't already checked out the piece on the world's foremost baguettologist in New York Magazine, you must. This is all you need to know about Steven L. Kaplan: When he speaks of baguettes he says things like "a global sense of the moment of penetration" in describing mouthfeel; or that baguettes have "had intercourse" when they're packed too tightly in the oven; or, finally, "It's as if the female crumb has completely reduced the male crust to helpless impotence" when he describes a soggy bread.
The problem with the story is that we never learn the exact criteria he uses in judging baguettes. We learn he has a 21-point grading stystem, but we never find out how he applies it.
But the story did start me thinking about baguettes in New York and around the country, and in the last three days I have bought ten baguettes to sample. What have I learned? One is that a baguette from the same bakery can vary greatly from day to day. The baguette from Pain D'Avignon was great one day, and pretty awful the next. This makes sense in a certain way. Bread baking is affected by outside temperature and humidity and changes in both from day to day. It's like pizza. Also, mass-baking baguettes is the ultimate challenge for any bread baker. Any one of six bakers in New York can make ten great baguettes a day. The real question is whether they can make thousands of very good baguettes in a day. Also, a baguette is an extremely perishable food item. It varies in taste and texture according to how many hours it's been out of the oven. A baguette that's one hour old tastes very different from a six hour-old baguette.
This is a long-winded way of asking all of you to vote for your favorite baguette, either in New York or out.
Here are the candidates I know about:
New York:
Eli's
Pain d'Avignon
Sullivan Street Bakery
Balthazar
Tomcat
Le Pain Quotidien
Outside New York:
La Brea Bakery: (originally LA, now nationwide)
Acme Bread: Bay Area
Bread Line (D.C.)
So cast your vote and tell me what you like about your favorite baguette. We're talking about regular baguettes here, not sourdough.
Vote early and often.
