Author Archive: Dan P.

Eat Drink Camera Action!

Q San Francisco
May 1997
Pages 42-43

Eat Drink
Camera
Action!

eatdrinkWhile I’m sure that with some effort I, or any of you, could come up with a film that does not include some form of eating or drinking, I am, for the moment, at a loss to come up with one. Edibles and inebriates are more a part of our on-screen entertainment than are sex and violence. Has anyone done a study on the deleterious effects on our nation’s youth?

Of course, food and drink, especially wine, have their place in the world of the erotic as we have chatted about in past columns. Two of the most erotic scenes (one gay, one straight) I’ve seen on film both involve ingestibles: the champagne-sex vignette in My Beautiful Launderette and the egg yolk-orgasm clip (trust me, you have to see it) in Tampopo.

What we eat and drink has even been at the heart of some of the most fun (in my humble opinion) films out there. Babette’s Feast would have been an exceedingly tedious and long film about a lonely woman in the middle of nowhere doing nothing, were it not for the feast in question. Instead we have a slow build that involves much poking and prodding of foodstuffs, simmering, sizzling and just generally heating up of dishes, and a long, caressing, idyllic repast that makes the whole lengthy process worthwhile.

Night of the Comet manages to create an entire dramatic saga of sex and romance, danger and violence, while all the while, propping the whole thing up, is a single, solitary, bottle of rare wine. Try finding a film of the “black-and-white era” that doesn’t involve champagne at some point or another, starting right back with the first Academy Award-winning film, Wings, a silent film that includes an entire champagne seduction scene with bubbly special effects.

Not so long ago, Like Water For Chocolate splashed across our screens with a series of sensuous recipes that intertwined with the characters’ lives as they grew from small children to adults. Dishes that created flaming passion mingled with plates of sorrow and joy. Whether it was holiday peppers stuffed with meat and walnuts, a plate of molé, or even the now famed quail with rose petal sauce, we even got instructions on how to make them.

One of my favorites, even apart from that incredible egg yolk scene, is the Japanese film Tampopo. First, it’s just plain fun. One part “spaghetti western” (see, we even use food terms for film styles), one part “Kung Fu,” and all parts spoof, this film is the search for the holy grail – in the form of the perfect bowl of noodle soup. Exalted beyond, well, beyond anything a bowl of noodle soup probably ever rated, we learn about everything from proper water temperature, to the making of good soup stock, to the right way to knead your noodle…so to speak.

And on that note, I’ve decided to offer you my own version. It will not be as decorative as a bowl of noodle soup from your favorite noodle shop. It will not even be particularly Japanese in character. Think of it as a nice Jewish boy from the Midwest meets Tokyo… somewhere.

My Noodle Soup

Roasted vegetable stock:
2 yellow onions
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
2 red bell peppers
2 parsnips
1 turnip
1 rutabaga
2 heads of garlic
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
2 pieces star anise
1 small piece ginger root
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup olive oil
5-6 quarts of cold water

Wash but do not peel vegetables. Cut all vegetables in half and put in a roasting pan with the spices. Toss with the oil. Roast in a 350 F oven for 45 minutes, flipping them around occasionally. They should be softened and somewhat browned – don’t let them burn. Put all the roasted veggies into a large stockpot and cover with water by 1 inch. Heat over medium heat until the water just starts to simmer -you don’t want a real full boil. Reduce the heat to the minimum setting you can get away with and let the stock infuse at least 6 hours. I generally let mine go for close to 24 hours. Strain the stock and discard the solids. You should end up with about 3 quarts of stock.

The noodles, et al:
Soba noodles (buckwheat)
4 egg yolks
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Light soy sauce
Pinch of saffron threads

For noodle soup, I tend to like simplicity. If you like it more elaborate, you can add additional things like little slices or shreds of roasted meats, sliced and lightly cooked vegetables, or whatever your heart desires. If you don’t like the buckwheat noodles, substitute whatever kind of noodles are your favorite. Bring some water to a boil and cook the noodles until “al dente,” soft but still just a touch firm. Meanwhile, reheat the soup stock just to the point it starts to boil. Place noodles in bowls. Pour stock over each just to cover. Top with chopped scallions. Carefully float an egg yolk in each bowl on top of the noodles. Garnish with 3-4 saffron threads per bowl. Serve with soy sauce on the side and let each guest season to taste. This should be just about right for four servings. Slurp to your heart’s content.


Q San Francisco magazine premiered in late 1995 as a ultra-slick, ultra-hip gay lifestyle magazine targeted primarily for the San Francisco community. It was launched by my friends Don Tuthill and Robert Adams, respectively the publisher and editor-in-chief, who had owned and run Genre magazine for several years prior. They asked me to come along as the food and wine geek, umm, editor, for this venture as well. In order to devote their time to Passport magazine, their newest venture, they ceased publication of QSF in early 2003.

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Fine Tuning

Santé
The Magazine for Restaurant Professionals
May/June 1997
Pages 37-39

Wine List Makeover
Fine Tuning

Despite having spent many years in the restaurant business, and most of them as a chef, the term “organic” in relation to a restaurant summons a connection with “health food”, which in turn conjures up associations like tasteless, brown, and chewy. It is a rare eating establishment that breaks with the traditional “if it tastes good it can’t be good for you” attitude. Most of us want, and expect, good food that’s good for us, too.

Lincoln Center is not the first venue that springs to mind for restaurants that take up this calling. Home to some of the top performances of ballet, opera and symphony orchestra, this is an enclave where tuxes per square yard measure in santejosephina1the double digits. The cultural aficionados who gather here don’t want to sleep through performances. They want food that will wake them up and keep them going through three acts and two intermissions.

The Restaurant
Across the street, Josephina has more than met the challenge. The term casual elegance was coined for this atmosphere. Bold, colorful murals of produce and street scenes from southern Italy splash across the walls. Tabletops, chair fabrics, and colorful woods make the room alive and vibrant. Josephina herself, grandmother of owner Louis Lanza, looms over the bar as an image in a mural. Location makes Josephina the perfect pre-performance dinner spot. With 175 seats, the staff handles 200-300 covers a night, twothirds of that between 5:00 and 8:00. This is a neighborhood that rolls up the sidewalks at the same time they hoist the curtains.

Food is focused on seafood and produce. Butter and cream are rarely used in cooking here. Spicing is important, and the chef has a generous hand with them. Each part of the dish is carefully cooked and seasoned on its own, so even thos of us who tend to pick apart dishes don’t miss out on the spirited flavors.

The Wine Program
All of this has made for an unusual wine program. Because most diners are off to a three or more hour performance, they don’t drink heavily. Wine by the glass outsells wine by the bottle by astronomical proportions. While three to four cases of wine are typically sold each evening, less than one of those is sent to the table in bottle.

Edward Ting, along with managing the restaurant’s general operations, has been charged with upgrading the wine list. Prior to his arrival, the list was not a priority for management. Customers were happy just having “a glass of wine,” and the dozen item selection reflected that reality. But with the opening of his new fine-dining restaurant, Ansonia, owner Lanza saw the opportunity to simultaneously upgrade the quality at Josephina.

Over the last year, Ting has eliminated off-vintage specials, poor producers and a dependence on California Chardonnay and Cabernet. The list now features forty wines; other grape varietals, quality producers and a small but growing selection of entries from the rest of the world have been introduced. Staff training and tasting sessions have become part of the daily regimen. With the focus on glass sales, a range of styles are now offered, currently six whites, six reds, and two sparkling wines. A beer list was added, with attention to a variety of styles.

Wine pricing here is somewhat erratic and probably is a reason for the low sales volume. The official pricing plan is 2.75 times cost, but in truth, wines are priced from two to nearly seven times cost. By-the-glass prices are a little high at a bit more than one-quarter the cost of a bottle for a small, four-to-five ounce pour.

Much of what sells does so on name recognition: Sonoma-Cutrer, Mondavi, Hess and Gloria Ferrer. But the two biggest movers, Bonterra Chardonnay and Jenard Merlot, easily outsell the other wines. They fly into the glasses for what would seem to be an obvious reason: they’re both marked on the list as “organic.” Not only do customers pick them on their own, but for the waitstaff, it’s a readily available “hook” when it comes to making a recommendation.

An Adjustment, Not an Overhaul
Everone knows the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” For the most part, Josephina’s wine list works: customers seem to be happy with the general approach to wine, as evidenced by gradually increasing sales, and the staff is excited about the offerings. What’s needed her is some fine tuning.

santejosephina2Presentation is everything in sales, and a good product with a good presentation is golden. Josephina’s wine list is presented simply in a plain, clear plastic cover with a dark red border. The beer list is on the front, and the wine list comprises the inside two pages. The cover itself is fine, being simple and non-threatening. ON the other hand, the list is printed on white copier paper and contains several minor spelling, accenting, and formatting errors. Even for casual elegance, this is too casual.

It would be worthwhile for the restaurant to invest in a better grade of paper, something reflective of the environment in which the list is presented. Around the colorful murals, tabletops and fabrics, the walls of osephina are designed with a simple, dark cream colored faux marble. This is a readily available paper style and is more reflective of the class of the restaurant, and this simple change would enhance the overall experience. The layout of the list is easy to follow and read. Sticking with the overall format, but switching to a more interesting and elegant font, will contribute to the quality feel of the list.

Who among us hasn’t shared and laughed over some error in translation or description that lef a dish or wine sounding more humorous than ingestible? Simple mistakes in wine names may be noticed only by those of us in the business, but, hey, we’re customers too. Attention to correct spelling and accenting are easy fixes. More important here is the inconsistency in listing of wines. Some are listed with producer first, some with varietal or name and some with region of origin. Again, a simple tune-up will cure this problem.

As noted earlier, one of the selling points for wines here is the tag “organic.” There are numerous organic wines on the market, many of them of excellent quality. It doesn’t pay, however, to dump everything else that works in pursuit of such a focused idea – too much of a good thing and all that. A sound approach would be to showcase a few wine selections that are noted as quality organic wines.

Although Ting would like to expand the list to around fifty selections and to offer a more worldwide representation, his storage space is limited.Given its by-the-glass success, Josephina needs na expansion of that program, not an increase of the overall list. All wines should be available on a by-the-glass basis.

The Josephina list also includes a few higher end items. Simply, these don’t sell. They have not been offered by the glass, because waste would be too costly. Although they are a minimal investment for Ting (they are supplied in small quantities of two or three bottles at a time by the owner’s other restaurant, Ansonia), they take up unnecessary space on the list and contribute to a feeling that the list is a bit higher priced than it ought to be. Paring these to a minimum is a priority and offering what remains by the glass will yield a sales alternative that will attract attention from customers. A worthwhile investment might be a small, home style gas-preservation system for these few, more expensive wines.

Pricing Recommendations
Pricing is the last, but by no means the least, important issue. The primary problem is one of consistency. Two wines that cost the restaurant the same amount ought to be priced on the list at the same amount. A simple example – Fortant de France White Merlot costs $4.67 and is offered at $18.50 while Columbia Cresta Merlot costs $4.50 and is priced at $26.00. It is always difficult to come up with a fair pricing scheme; some opt for flat increases, others for certain percentages in ranges of costs (e.g., 2.5 times if it costs $5-10, 3 times if less, 2 times if more). I generally recommend a sliding scale, in this case two times costs plus $8. This keeps the higher end wines right around the twice cost markup, and the lower end wines generally end up in the 3-4 times range.

By-the-glass pricing in New York is typically one-quarter of bottle price, but pours are more often around six ounces than the four-to-five that Josephina offers. With its significant investment in smaller sized glassware, the restaurant should consider lowering their prices on glass sales. Owners are rightly entitled to a profit, and in this case, the customers don’t seem to object. This is a decision that Josephina’s management will have to consider over time.

All-in-all, Josephina has a winning structure here. Fine tuning provides a way to increase customer and staff enthusiasm, build profits, and generally make the whole dining experience more enticing. After all, that’s why we’re all in this business.

Josephina's revised wine list after Perlman's fine tuning.

Josephina’s revised wine list after Perlman’s fine tuning.


santejosephina4


Santé is a glossy format trade magazine for restaurant wine buyers and educators. I wrote as a freelancer for them on and off from the first issue in November 1996 until November 2002 when they decided to stop using freelance writers.

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Wine Notes May – June 1997

Felidia Ristorante

Wine Notes
May – June 1997

Who’s Fiddling With Pinot Nero?

Pinot Nero, more commonly known to us by its French name, Pinot Noir, is a member of the family that includes Pinot Grigio and Pinot Bianco as well. Perhaps more than any other red wine, Pinot Nero harmonizes with a wide range of foods, spices and herbs. At ist best,  it is pure sensuality. For the winemaker, it is, perhaps, the most difficult challenge faced. Pinot Nero is notoriously difficult to grow, and even more difficult to capture its spirit in a quality wine.

Best known, and probably best expressed historically, Pinot Nero is the grape variety responsible for virtually all red Burgundy (except Beaujolais). More and more “new world” Pinots are appearing – California and Oregon have become famous for their quality offerings, South Africa and Australia offer their own styles that are rapidly making their mark. But, perhaps the least known, despite years of cultivation and quality wine production, are the Italian Pinot Neros.

Generally lighter in style than the Burgundian style, Italian Pinot Nero shows the elegance and grace of the fruit. Sample Felidia’s offerings from the norther regions of Trentino and Alto Adige – from the lighter, simpler drinking wines of Franz Haas and Cantina Sociale di La Vis to the heartier, richer riserva style from Alois Lageder. Falling in between, Girolamo Dorigo from the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region in the northeast offers a wine that is light yet complex. Toscana is famous for the depth of extraction of its wines and the delightfully intense single vineyard offering from Fontodi is no exception.

Stylistic comparisons can be a fun pursuit, especially when exploring the world of wine. From the United States, we offer a selection spanning the west coast – Sanford in Santa Barbara, Jed Steele in Carneros, Gary Farrell in the Russian River Valley, El Molino in Napa, Cameron and Adlesheim in Oregon.

France, too, has its place on our list, with a sampling of top growths from Burgundy. Volnay, Clos de Vougeot, Musigny, Echezeaux and Vosne-Romanée are currently in place from, respectively, Pousse d’Or, Arnoux, de Vogüé, Mongeard-Mugneret and Leroy. And don’t miss our latest Swiss offering, the Dôle des Monts from Robert Gilliard, a blend of both of the famed red grapes of Burgundy, Gamay and Pinot Nero.


Sommelier Q&A

What do all those letters on Italian wine labels mean – VDT, IGT, DOC, DOCG, e?

VDT – Vino da tavola, or table wine is a catch-all designation for wines that fall either below or above the officially recognized regional denominations. Some are wines that are simply not of a quality level to qualify for “quality” wine status, while others exceed the level or use grapes which are not approved for the region’s wines, e.g., the so-called “Super-Tuscans”.

IGT – Indicazioni geografiche tipiche is rarely seen.  This is a fairly recent category designed to fill a void between the lesser VDTs and the small regional denominations. IGT typically covers large regions and is similar to the Vin de Pays of France.

DOC & DOCG – Denominazione di origine controllata (e garantia) are the top quality wine designations in Italy. These categories guarantee such things as growing area, vineyard yields, grape varieties, aging, and aromatic and taste characteristics. The “garantia” puts even stricter controls on wines.

e – is the symbol used to designate a wine approved for distribution in the European Community.

 

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Spring Vegetable Menu

19970413

Spring is sprung and all that – I went vegetable for the dinner. I recall no complaints.

Second Sunday Supper Circle
Spring Vegetable Menu

Mint & Basil Gazpacho
La Scolca Brut Riserva, 1987

Red Bean Mousse Tart
with Creminis & Blueberries
Domaine des Aubuisieres Vouvray Sec, 1992

Roasted Yellow Tomato & Sugar Snap Pea Timbale
with Oyster Mushrooms & Plum-Saffron Mayonaisse
Hugel Gewurztraminer, 1993

Okra Cakes
Domaine la Condamine Fitou, 1991

Grilled Portobello Caps Stuffed
with Fennel & Fig Risotto
Coppo Barbera d’Asti “Pomorosso”, 1986

Vanilla & Three Cheese-Cake
Chateau Reynella “Old Cave” Tawny Port, N.V.

April 13, 1997

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The red bean mouse tart

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The gang, from left to right – friends Ross, Frank, Bob, Theresa, and my boyfriend Mark

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The okra cakes

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Wine Notes March – April 1997

Felidia Ristorante

Wine Notes
March – April 1997

Barbera: The People’s Wine of Piemonte

Barbera is the second most widely planted red grape in Italy after Sangiovese. Although most at home in Piemonte, Barbera is planted throughout a large portion of northern and central Italy, and its origins lie in Lombardia. Versatile and productive, the grape is a favorite of Italian wine connoisseurs worldwide and the every day choice of a multitude of Italian consumers.

Wine made from Barbera varies from light to full bodied, from dry to sweet, from still to downright fizzy. Still, Barbera has certain characteristics that hold true throughout its many guises. Common are its aromatic notes of violets, roses and cherries. A deep ruby color, that in the past was often used to “color correct” Nebbiolo based wines is a hallmark. Low tannins and fairly high acidity, much like the more well known Pinot Noir show in the majority of wines.

Much Barbera is made in a lighter, fruity style, something that shows in wines such as Icardi “Sur di Mù” and Azienda Abbona “Ravera”. Barrique, or small new barrel, aging is becoming increasingly common to add depth and complexity to the wine. Top examples include “Bricco della Bigota” from Giacomo Bologna and Bava “Stradivario”.

Single vineyard Barberas are becoming more and more common with wonderful selections found in Coppi “Pomorosso”, Michele Chiarlo “Valle del Sole”, and Villa Fiorita “Il Giorgione”. Barbera is also often blended with other native grapes to produce a more complex, more interesting wine. Our favorites include Il Bacialé, a blend with Pinot Nero, and Maneiro, a blend with the delicate Freisa grape. More recently, California wine producers have begun to experiment with the vine. While many of the selections we have seen were not of the quality we like to see, we think we’ve found a uniquely delicious example from Preston Vineyards in Dry Creek Valley.


Sommelier Q&A

What do you mean by “full-bodied” or “light-bodied”?

“Body” is a wine-tasting term for the perceived weight of wine on the palate. By perceived, we mean the sensation in the mouth of fullness, or richness. The major component of wine is water, which, to most people, would not qualify as a particularly “full-bodied” liquid. But the second most important component is alcohol, and the alcohol level in a wine is a major factor in the perception of body. The extract, or dissolved solids, in a wine, such as tannins, sugars, and flavor components can also have a significant effect.

An important point to note is that body is not related to quality. However, full-bodied wines do tend to make a more obvious impression, which may lead to the perception of higher quality. Sometimes, though, less is more….


Felidia Goes Global

Our regular guests will note a new section to our winelist. We have embarked on a search for the “cream of the crop” from around the globe. Expanding on our existing selection of Italian, American and French wines, we will be adding in wine from around the glove. This section with remain intentionally small and very selective, only the best, in our collective opinion, from each country will be included.

 

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Eating Rainbow

19970309

Following on January’s successful red dinner, I guess I decided to go full rainbow! So not actually a monochromatic menu, but in a related spirit. [And a corrected first dish name, either my mind had simply slipped, or I let an auto-correct slip by me.]

The Second Sunday Supper
Public Broadcasting Service
presents

Eating Rainbow

Cherry Blossom Rice with Shad Roe & Cherry Gastrique
1995 Millbrook Tocai Friulano

Salmon with Carrot-Orange Glaze
1975 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett

Spicy Yellow Split Pea Soup
191 Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir Reserve

Pecan-crusted Pork Loin with Green Peppercorn Sauce
1988 Château Cheval Blanc

A Selection of Blue Cheeses
Roquefort, Cabrales, Cambazola, Stlton, Blue Gouda
1976 Hungarovin Tokaji Aszu Essencia

Fresh Blackberries with Maple Cream
Coffee

Sunday, March 9, 1997

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Remember the 80s?

Santé
The Magazine for Restaurant Professionals
March/April 1997
Page 15

table fables
Remember the 80s?

Dan Perlman is the Wine Director at Felidia Ristorante in New York City, a columnist and food and wine editor for Q San Francisco magazine, and a private chef

Dan Perlman is the Wine Director at Felidia Ristorante in New York City, a columnist and food and wine editor for Q San Francisco magazine, and a private chef

Chefs threw multicolored, multilayered, phallic architecture on a plate and charged an extra sawbuck.

Caviar, foie gras, truffles and champagne went from movie screen fantasy to daily fare at the diner down the block. Drinks that were rack became call and then top shelf. Top shelf itself came into being and proliferated on every bar back. Tips were as big as the drinks themselves. A sommelier needed knowledge of little more than the five first growths, DRC, Gaja and maybe how to lever out a cork. If the Court of Master Sommeliers had based their exams on a true “need to know” basis, we’d have thousands of MS’s running around the country.

Everyone was spending money on becoming a foodie or trendy drinker. Doctors, lawyers, bankers, professors and anyone else with a professional title were using corporate credit cards to satisfy the slightest culinary craving. Even the file clerk down the hall had an expense account.

Welcome to the 90’s. Tax reform and economic trends have stripped those magical sign-now-pay-later phantasms from all but the top echelon. The question has gone from “what vintage Bordeaux?” to “what bargain Merlot?” Cellar management has become an exercise in breadth rather than depth and sales have gone from a snap of the corkscrew blade back to the art of diplomacy.


Welcome to the ’90s… The question has gone from “what vintage Bordeaux?” to “what bargain Merlot?”


But the top stuff still sells. Who’s buying it? The one class of professional that has the leveraged financing to pull it off is still ordering. The one class that retains those mystical expense accounts are investment bankers – young, hotshot, generally but not always male, looking for that meteoric rise in income, knowing that it won’t last, but enjoying life’s pleasures while it does.

Now, I preface the next bit with the caveat that this is a generalization. (Any investment banker who is quite sure he or she doesn’t fit this description, please consider yourself an exception.) Let’s face it, as wine buyers, we’ve all attended auctions and seen prices skyrocket as guys with too much cash pay outrageous sums based on vintage charts from their magazine of choice. We’ve all had one who ordered a bottle from the right-hand side of the page without a clue as to its content and then announced to his friends at the table what he was paying for whatever he was getting. High school locker room-size comparisons just change form, they don’t go away.

I give you, however, a particular evening. It was a typical night. A party of four late-twenty-somethings popped in, the host a weekly visitor, each time with a new trio in tow. Without fail, our leader ordered his usual bottle of ‘76 Lafite. I presented the bottle for his inspection, and, as always, presented it to each of this evening’s friends so that they could see what he had bought for them to toss down after a couple rounds of martinis. As I served the bottle, I quietly mentioned to the young gentleman that this was the last in our cellar. He stopped the conversation at the table with a wave of his hand and asked me when I intended to get more. I said, regretfully, that it was unlikely that any more was available for our purchase. Without a pause, he slammed his fist on the table and shouted, “Do you know who I am?! Call the factory and have them make more!”


Santé is a glossy format trade magazine for restaurant wine buyers and educators. I wrote as a freelancer for them on and off from the first issue in November 1996 until November 2002 when they decided to stop using freelance writers.

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Passion foods

Q San Francisco
March 1997
Pages 42-43

passionfoodsIn preparing to write this column I turned first to that indispensable aid, the VCR. Finding a direct link was easy as I watched with eyes as glazed as candied carrots the preparations in Like Water for Chocolate; Babette’s Feast; Eat Drink Man Woman; and The Wedding Banquet. Passion Fish, while enjoyable, was not as helpful; okra gumbo may inspire some to great heights, but I doubt they are heights of passion. Pedro Almodovar’s Labyrinth of Passion gave me some amusing ideas, though few of them were about food. A young Antonio Banderas as a sort of spindly Islamic bloodhound was kind of fun.

Passion and food have been inextricably linked throughout the ages. Whether as a means of seduction – “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” – as an aphrodisiac – “it may be true that a diet based on food and drinks that expand the blood vessels predisposes one to amorous behavior” – or as a simple sex aid as in the case of whipped cream in a can.

Tomatoes were once known as “love apples.” Passion fruit is, well, passion fruit. Generally, those foods thought to engender passion were those that were expensive, and therefore, likely to impress the object of one’s desire. Truffles, foie gras, caviar, champagne, flamingo tongues; that sort of thing. Exotica were also fair game, especially in the world of spices where the filaments of 70,000 or more saffron crocuses are required to put together a pound of saffron, or where Chinese merchants skim the intestinal secretions of sperm whales off the surface of tropical seas to make ambergris. Personally, I have some ideas that involve homemade nachos and a two-liter bottle of RC Cola, but those will have to wait for another column.

My favorite foods for passion are lobster, caviar, and roses. I love Mediterranean cooking, whether Italian, Spanish, Moroccan or elsewhere. Somewhere along the line it became necessary to put all of these together into one dish:

Passion Risotto

2 lobsters, (approximately
1 pound each, preferably live)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 large tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 bunch scallions
6 dried apricots, chopped
2 ounces pistachios (unsalted, no shells)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
2 whole star anise
1 teaspoon rosewater
1 red rose
1 cup arborio rice
2 teaspoons caviar (the best you can afford)

Okay, here’s the tough part. The lobsters are alive. For the non-squeamish, take a large, heavy knife and simply cut them in half, starting from the head back to the tail. For the squeamish, have your seafood supplier do it for you. Place on a sheet pan, cut side up, drizzle with half the olive oil and roast in oven at 375 degrees until the shells are red and the meat is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool. Take the meat out of the shells. Set aside two of the tail halves. Chop the remaining tail and claw meat coarsely.

Break the shells up and put them in a large saucepan or stockpot with all but one of the scallions. Slice the tomatoes in quarters and add to the pot. Add peppercorns and star anise. Cover with one quart of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Strain the stock and discard the solids.

Finely chop the onion. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the remaining two tablespoons of oil, the onions and a pinch of salt. Sauté, stirring regularly, till onions are translucent and soft. Add dry rice and stir to coat with oil and onion mixture. For the next 20-25 minutes, you will have to continually stir the rice around to cook evenly, as you add the reserved lobster stock, one ladleful at a time (approximately one cup each time). After each addition of liquid, continue cooking till it is completely absorbed. The rice is done when it is soft but just slightly chewy and has a bit of creaminess from the starch in the liquid. At this point, add the chopped lobster meat, pistachios, the chopped apricots, cinnamon, and rosewater. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide in two portions, top each with one of the reserved lobster tail halves, warmed. Garnish with the last scallion finely chopped, the rose petals and one teaspoon each of caviar.

Since champagne is a must in the world of passion, I recommend my favorite with this dish, Champagne de Venoge Princesse Rosé, a wonderful gold-pink sparkler that will light up your evening.


Q San Francisco magazine premiered in late 1995 as a ultra-slick, ultra-hip gay lifestyle magazine targeted primarily for the San Francisco community. It was launched by my friends Don Tuthill and Robert Adams, respectively the publisher and editor-in-chief, who had owned and run Genre magazine for several years prior. They asked me to come along as the food and wine geek, umm, editor, for this venture as well. In order to devote their time to Passport magazine, their newest venture, they ceased publication of QSF in early 2003.

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