Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity

The Drawing Center
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The first thing you see is a larger than life portrait of Ferran Adrià overseeing his domain, the elBulli kitchen, eyes focused on his brigade. A fitting image for a chef whose culinary creativity sparked a revolution and ushered in an era that has influenced every chef since. 

My first memory of Ferran occurred on Feb 19, 2011. When I first began reading recipe books and chef memoirs at the local Barnes and Noble, Ferran’s name was always mentioned so when my friend Steven invited me to attend a screening of the documentary El Bulli: Cooking in Progress at the MoMA I jumped at the chance to catch a glimpse of the elBulli universe. Besides the insider "behind the scenes" look at what went into the R&D sessions, the highlight for me was the slideshow at the end of the film. Bold colors, juxtaposition of textures, odd shapes, whimsical presentations, Picasso/Tim Burtonesque creations that looked like they came out of a dream sequence. I had never seen food by a man who was so disciplined and driven to push the boundaries.

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Quince: All That Glitters Is Gold

Quince
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For Anna’s birthday dinner a few weeks ago, I took her to Quince, a restaurant located in the in Jackson Square neighborhood of San Francisco. Chef Michael Tusk's menu is French and Italian inspired and sources local ingredients from Northern California. Walking into the restaurant, you couldn’t help but feel at ease. The host made eye contact, smiled, and welcomed us warmly. Coats were taken and we were shown to our table in under a minute.

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Superbowl Ramen

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As we all know, the Superbowl isn't just about football. It’s about family, friends, commercials….and FOOD. When you think Superbowl snacks, you think pizza, buffalo wings, chips with accompanying guac, salsa, bean dip. You think cheese, sour cream, and delicious things that are fried. In other words, you don’t think of homemade ramen, pork buns, and bread pudding - but that’s exactly what I enjoyed two Sundays ago.

It was my first time visiting Long Island City and I took my time admiring gleaming towering condos and sleek office buildings. Upon entering Frank’s apartment, the first thing that caught my eye was a tray of pork belly, braised in mirin, sugar, xiaoxing wine (instead of sake) and a little rice vinegar.

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Hearth: New Year Brunch

Hearth
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I recently had the fortune of enjoying a delicious brunch with two of my favorite people at Hearth, a restaurant I read about in Timothy Ferriss’s book, the 4-Hour Chef. In the book, Timothy emphatically describes the culinary prowess of Marco Canora, the chef-owner of Hearth and Terroir. After seeing many positive reviews about the brunch, I booked a table shortly after the new year.

There was still snow on the ground when Anna and I stepped out of the cab. We were running 10 minutes late and Miho had already texted that she was close by. We gingerly stepped over newly formed slush puddles, a result of New York’s bipolar weather.  

The entrance to Hearth isn’t where you think it is. The correct entrance can be found around the corner on 12th street. The first thing I noticed was a beautiful bookshelf filled with cookbooks, memoirs, and Marco’s book, Salt to Taste.

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Rob's Chirashi Bday Dinner

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Last weekend, Rob and Jessica hosted Chirashi Night at their apartment for 16 guests to celebrate Rob’s birthday. After having many food adventures together in 2013, it was no surprise that they were flying in fresh fish from Catalina Offshore and preparing 16 bowls of heaven. I was skeptical about eating fish delivered from a website but after some research about the reputation and reviews of the website, I was sold. And, if anybody could pull off a successful chirashi night, it would be Rob and Jess.

The menu: ahi, maguro, chutoro, scottish salmon, escolar, hamachi, unagi, uni, avocado, masago, ikura, poached egg, and tamagoyaki over sushi rice.

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