Saveur 01.02/05 PLEASE READ!!

The latest issue of Saveur Magazine is the annual "Saveur 100" roundup. I was immediately struck by the number of things on their list that we have managed to discuss at LTH since our inception. Frankly, we've got it all over their list. Here, see for yourself...

1. Footed Cast iron Pot : Frequent poster, Bob S. should be given some kind of Faith Popcorn Award, as there are no less than four fireplace and hearth-related entries . Remember Bob's query titled, "So, Geek Meets Fireplace"? Number one on the Saveur list is the suggestion to "play with fire," and by that they specifically mean cooking with a Dutch oven in the fireplace. It was JoelF that first mentioned the possibility for Dutch oven fireplace cookery in Bob's thread.

9. Okonomiyaki : Saveur suggests that the "best substitute for pizza" is okonomiyaki. Poster yellow truffle first gave us the scoop on where to find this Japanese treat in Chicago, back in September.

10. Hot Brown : The folks at Saveur suggest that "the South's richest sandwich" is the Hot Brown. Cowdery told us all about it, back in November.

16. Tony May : Tony May, the former proprietor of New York's Rainbow Room and founder of Gruppo Ristoranti Italiani, may be an unknown to our Antonius, but given this post of his on the subject of his favourite stuffed pasta, I have no doubt that he could appreciate Mr. May's recipe for Uovo in Raviolo al Burro Nocciola Tartufato.

21. Furikake : Saveur suggests that you punch up a bowl of rice, noodles, or fish with furikake. After Ann Fisher's recent trip to Hawaii, she came looking for this item, right here, at LTH.

25. Smell Of Frying Bacon : The editors at Saveur would suggest that "the most irresistible aroma" is the smell of frying bacon. MAG just might agree. At any rate, she has managed to cure her own.

26. Rose Syrup : While the poster, zim, may not have been speaking of organic rose syrup made from Gallica roses, he let us know, back in June, that he is certainly familiar with the form.

33. Jalapeno Cheeseburger : In September of last year, Fast Eddie and Bill/SFNM debated jalapeno chile cheeseburgers.

34. Pierro Selvaggio : Piero Selvaggio, restaurateur and owner of LA's esteemed Valentino, is credited as a "champion of Italian food and wine." Back in June, the poster, Kman, told us about the new outpost of Valentino, in Las Vegas.

36. Ironbound District : The culinary treasures of Newark's Ironbound District make it #36 on the Saveur list. Wasn't Rich4 just talking about a Newarkathon? It seems like he's known about this area's riches for years.

43. Mavalli Tiffin Rooms : While we haven't discussed Bangalore specifically, I am sure that one of our resident Indian cooks, like c8w, would have a few words to say about the vegetarian offerings at Bangalore's Mavalli Tiffin Rooms.

44. Cuban Croquetas : Cuban croquetas anyone? JeffB told us about them, back in June.

45. Large Skillets : Skillets? Starting back in September, we managed to cover that one, forward and back.

58. Fireplace Grill : Once again, Saveur hypes hearth cookery. Bruce pointed out the very same item they suggest, back in August.

61. Salt On Oatmeal : "Savoury Gruel?" "Salt on Oatmeal?" It looks like Antonius beat them to the punch.

71. Pino Luongo : Restauranteur Pino Luongo makes the Saveur list for familiarizing Americans with Tuscany's culinary riches. Kenny from Rogers Park recently reported on a favourable experience at Luongo's Coco Pazzo Cafe, in Streeterville. While Antonius may perhaps be nonplussed by Luongo's inclusion, I do not doubt that he would find Luongo's recipe for Tagliatelle Souffle to be quite interesting.

72. Spitjack : More home hearth cookery! This time it is a fireplace rotisserie. While ToniG may not have scooped it, it sure looks like she was hot on the trail, back in September.

73. Bamboo Cutting Board : Well, we may not have discussed them exactly, but stevez got us talking about the general care and maintenance of cutting boards, in August of last year.

77. Alsatian Wine List : Chicago's very own Everest made the Saveur 100 for its Alsatian Wine List. Aaron Deacon shared his experience with the wine list at Everest, back in June.

79. Restaurant Gualtiero Marchesi : Apparently, the folks at Saveur just recently discovered the combination of caviar and pasta. It would seem to be old hat, though, to our JeffB.

82. Pickled Mustard Greens : Asian pickled mustard greens come in at #82. The editors of Saveur even provide a recipe for Suan Cai Fen Si Tang, or "Pickled Mustard Greens Soup with Bean Thread Vermicelli." I dunno, but hasn't that dish been a favourite order at Ed's Potsticker House for some time? G Wiv even has a picture of the item, here.

86. Julia Child : What list would be complete without the inclusion of Julia Child? David Hammond not only acknowledged her passing, but hooked us up with her video archive, as well.

87. Pastry Blender : The pastry cutter made the Saveur list in the requisite gadget category. Resident pie expert, Cathy2, is obviously very familiar with the item, and back in May, she told us why it is indispensable to her art.

88. Heritage Foods USA : Slow Food U.S.A.'s Heritage Foods comes in at #88. In November, Manning opened the floodgates, only to learn that a number of us have "been there, and done that."

95. Toasting Fork : One last hurrah for hearth cookery, and this time it is for the toasting fork. If you were managing to read closely, back in September, you noticed that ToniG mentioned that item, too.

98. Lustau Sherries : Lustau Sherries come in at #98. It would appear that MAG just made the cut with her reference to the Lustau Puerto Fino that she enjoyed on the very last day of 2004!

99. Ritz Cracker : Whether or not you agree with Saveur's inclusion of something so lowly and modest as the Ritz Cracker, our resident pie expert, Cathy2, told us how it can be elevated to the level of gourmet dining.

Happy New Year!

Erik M.

Edited to correct spacing and punctuation.

Erik:

Great list, great job annotating it. Though I'm laughing my personal sitting region off at the idea that Antonius is at all "Mr. Trendy" in his posting topics.

What do you suppose will be on Saveur's 2005 list? Phong karii samrap neau? Raccoon? Queso de sincho? Ryazhenka? LTH may turn into the print media's favorite place to mine...

Amata

Interesting, I was bummed that nothing in Chicago had managed to make it onto the list but clearly I was looking at it the wrong way. Great set of links, Erik.

Erik,

thanks for the post. As I haven't seen the saveur list nor many of the threads linked too, it was especially valuable.

I appreciate your humility as well, as I bet there were probably a few links of threads you started you could have put in.

I won't show the same humility and instead will link to a post of mine on CH regarding Mavalli, which is really a must visit if you are ever in Bangalore

btw, the MTR ready to cook packets and spice mixes you see all over at devon are from the same outfit, and are pretty decent. I've heard that quite a few software engineers pretty much live off the stuff

Amata wrote:Erik:



What do you suppose will be on Saveur's 2005 list? Phong karii samrap neau? Raccoon? Queso de sincho? Ryazhenka? LTH may turn into the print media's favorite place to mine...

Amata

Surely the future list would be lead by the In N Out Burger secret menu, with an emphasis on the 5X5, though I concede the raccoon might edge it out.

Erik:

What an entertaining post. Many thanks for the conception and execution thereof. All the time you spent putting the links together seems to be giving many of us much pleasure as we go back and read threads and posts we've missed or forgotten. I am amazed at how much stuff is in the LTH archives now and your links have made that point clear.

Antonius

Thanks for the lovely post. It was nice to be mentioned a few times and to discover that I am so up on things. But I've never actually purchased any of the items described, so I feel a bit of a pretender...though it does make me feel good knowing that I'm not wasting my time with all that catalogue browsing -- I'm performing a public service!