Cat Food

Culinary Scotland

I get the Travel section of the New York Times delivered to my inbox every week. It comes on Fridays. Since money's tight these days I tend to treat reading this section as my weekly vacation (there probably won't be one this year). This week Frank Bruni has a piece on his culinary tour of Scotland in the early Spring during lambing season.

The first time I visited Scotland it was early Spring during that same season because I had a crush on an accordion player that I had met through friends here in New Jersey. I was young and silly and when he mentioned that I should come for a visit I took him up on it. Hell, I had a passport with very few stamps - that needed to change! Needless to say I fell in love ... not with the accordion player but with Scotland. I traveled around the Trosachs (lower highlands) with him and his band staying on ranches and wandering the little towns, mountains and pastures. I bartered my limited culinary talents for room and board and was even given lamb feeding duty on one ranch. Now I haven't traveled around the world but I have been to quite a few places on the planet and hands down, Scotland is my favorite. It's natural beauty and diversity, the hospitality of it's people, it's food ... if you've never been - you must go.

Read the New York Times piece HERE.

Oh No! Not Le Madeleine!

I got some potentially sad news today. One of my favorite bistros is under attack by their landlord who not only wants to evict them prematurely but wants to demo the entire building!

Le Madeleine has been at 403 West 43rd Street since 1979 serving modern bistro fare to neighborhood regulars and theater goers alike. They not only serve a killer menu but they're also a recurring recipient of The Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence for their fantastic wine list. They're members of Slow Food International and promote organic and sustainable practices in farming and vitculture as well.

As the gentrification of the west side of midtown Manhattan crawls northward from West Chelsea, this section of Hell's Kitchen is seeing unprecidented building, with three or four new high rise buidlings under construction in the immediate neighborhood right now.


Here's what the Press has to say about Le Madeleine...

"Le Madeleine has been feeding theater crowds for years. ....The bistro's gone modern under chef Bruce Beaty (whose lively flavors reflect stints with Alfred Portale, Gilbert LeCoze, and Jonathan Waxman). We feel miles from Ninth Avenue reality in the quirky all-weather garden, sharing grilled lamb sausage and splendid yellowfin tartare that's zingy from lime and ginger. The tang of ripe tomato enlivens the skate's classic brown-butter vinaigrette. Corn custard, leaf spinach, and summer-vegetable compote tag alongside braised lamb shoulder, and the rib eye comes with fabulous frites. Lemon custard seals the deal. Grab a honey madeleine and catch that curtain."
–Gael Greene, New York Magazine, 9/11/01

"Soft lights, brick walls, fresh flowers and plenty of romantic ambiance comprise the very French very warm atmosphere of Le Madeleine."
–Jen Reiseman, The Star-Ledger

"Just a beautiful little restaurant."
–The Washington Post

"Another unexpectedly local charmer is Le Madeleine bistro ... this is a simple, casual establishment that is at its very best when dining in the pretty garden out back."
–Gourmet

If you'd like to help - please click here to sign the petition to their landlord - Save Le Madeleine!

Mayberry, RFD or Montclair, NJ?

I stopped in to Raymond's on Church Street for a quick bite this afternoon and I have to say for a town that prides itself on being hip & sophisticated, with Church Street being referred to as a "mini SOHO", the restaurant felt downright neighborly.

It's not just because Jo and Ray are my friends that it made sitting at the counter feel like I was in Andy Griffith's 'hood but it seemed most folks were there meeting up with their local friends too. Parents and kids, people having lunch meetings, friends sitting around gossiping - everyone mixed up together in a loud, busy, vibrant community.

All of a sudden it was 1969 and I was 7 years old sitting at McCrory's five and dime lunch counter in Sistersville, West Virginia. That's the town where my dad was from and where as a kid we used to go and visit and inevitably meet up with his old pals at the lunch counter. In those days it was a grilled cheese sandwich and a chocolate milk shake. Today it was a terrific Cobb salad and a diet coke. That's probably where my love of diner food started and it's nice to have a place like Raymond's in the neighborhood to carry on that truly American tradition - both the food and the fellowship.

What's new on Cat in the Kitchen?

Wow did I just find a great new place in Upper Montclair! Click here and check it out.

Clinton St. Baking Company

A day out of the kitchen yesterday in search of a great brunch on the lower east side (NYC). Clinton St. Bakery is known for it's simple yet fantastic food and it's a bit difficult to get in there on the weekends so we thought we'd give it a try.

Yum! I had the perfect omelet, light and fluffy and filled with fresh spinach and goat cheese. Hash browns made like my grandma' used to make - real crispy on the outside and moist and fluffy on the inside. My friend had the terrific buttermilk biscuit sandwich with scrambled eggs, cheese and tomato jam.

The scones and muffins in the take-out case looked great and they also have coffee to go. Check it out - you'll be real happy you did!

Clinton St. Baking Company
4 Clinton St.
(Lower East Side)
at Houston St. NYC
646-602-6263