Newmark's Door

Tilapia--not so good

Other than being cheap, I haven't understood the popularity of tilapia. Here's another reason not to like it: "Popular Tilapia Might Not Help Heart".

Cinnamon, chili peppers, olive oil, and seventeen others

"20 Common Cooking Ingredients that Act Like Medicines".

Update on L.A.-area "fro-yo" craze (and bäcos)

A list of the coolest--pun intended--new Pinkberry imitators.

(I'm sorry, but I find the L.A. frozen-yogurt scene strangely interesting.)

(And besides, Pinkberry imitators are moving east.)

Even hotter are the new bäcos, gyro-pizza-tacos. 

Technology changes eating (in these two cases, for the good)

The British are eating more fresh fruit. A contributing factor is that it's fairly cheap to put fruit from exotic locales in the cargo holds of jumbo jets.

And in the midst of  a long, but very interesting, Vanity Fair article on the market for sushi, we learn that inexpensive air travel fosters a rather amazing result:

And so it is that our bluefin tuna from Gloucester, Massachusetts, flown from New York to Tokyo, where it is auctioned, bought, and cut into pieces of three hand widths at Tsukiji, is flown back to New York and delivered—three to nine days after it has left the sea—to a sushi chef there, or even in Boston.

"Best bars in America, 2008"

According to Esquire.

And here's "The 10 Oldest Bars in the United States".

Speaking of bars, for readers near North Raleigh, I'll again tout the Oliver Twist Lounge. Wednesday night, selected drinks are half off. But I and my family really like the tapas. And the service has been quite good.

"News you can use"

Three advantages of buying wine in a box, and the "Six Best Boxed Wines Out There".

Two "ten" lists

"The Top Ten Wines Under $10".

"The Bizarre History of Ten Common Sayings".

Two for amusement

Take the quiz: "Discontinued Ben & Jerry's Flavor or Band I Found on MySpace?"

"Cookie Monster Searches Deep Within Himself and Asks: Is Me Really Monster?"

A perfect gem of an example of government at work

LA Weekly writer Jonathan Gold praises "entry-level capitalism"--Mexican food trucks.

The best thing I had to eat last week was a massive carnitas huarache, from the Gorditas Lupita’s truck on Eagle Rock Boulevard near Avenue 34. I ate it while leaning against a warehouse wall in Glassell Park, washed it down with a bottle of Mexican Coke and perfumed with the exhaust of a thousand diesel trucks. The second-best thing may have been a Puebla-style cemita overstuffed with fried beef milanesa, ripe avocado and shreds of the Pueblan string cheese called quesillo — that one I ate sitting on a plastic folding chair right on Indiana Street, where it runs into César Chávez at Five Points in East L.A.   

The third, who knows? A bean-smeared clayuda devoured while sitting curbside at the La Oaxaqueña truck on Lincoln at Rose in Venice? A tostada of fiercely hot aguachile, chopped marinated shrimp, eaten on a milk crate perched next to a Whittier Boulevard medical clinic? A spicy tongue taco eaten at El Pique, in the parking lot of a Highland Park car wash on York at Avenue 53? The carne asada taco at the El Chato truck on Olympic near La Brea, the tooth-staining red sauce at El Taquito Mexicana in Pasadena, the al pastor at El Taurino on Hoover at 11th near Macarthur Park? They all came from trucks; they all made me feel glad to be alive, glad to be in Los Angeles.

But there is trouble in paradise . . . 

The new, new hotness in L.A. food

I reported last month that the hotness that was Pinkberry was being replaced by Icepan.

An even newer hotness is sno:la.

(C'mon, where other than the Door are you going to learn about this?)

"America's Tastiest Streets"

". . . our road map to America's seven best streets for exquisite food you can actually afford."

"An Era of Opulence in Russian Vodka"

"Not long ago, Stolichnaya was the only Russian vodka Americans seemed to know about. But if you look around today, you can find up to 35 brands -- and the pace of new arrivals is picking up."
 

Two on restauarants

My family had an excellent meal recently in a new North Raleigh restaurant, Savoy. I greatly enjoyed the Crab Louis, the Caesar salad, and the skirt steak with bearnaise sauce.

My older daughter recently visited L.A. and reports that Pinkberry is no longer quite so hot. The new hotness is IcePan.

More news you can use

"America's Top Ten Drunk College Foods".

#1, the Luther Burger, is stunningly creative. But, sorry, not appealing.

Three on food

"The Best [Restaurant] Sandwiches in America" (from Esquire).

". . . the best examples [worldwide] of ten classic dishes" (from the UK Guardian).

"The 20 Worst Foods in America" (from Men's Health). (I've eaten--and greatly enjoyed--four of the top five.)

Best food

"The Best Bites of Food in the U.S.A." (Two years old, from Esquire.)

Pizza

Everything you ever wanted to know about U.S. regional pizza styles.

Locopops!

Good news for Raleigh residents: before the end of the month, Locopops of Durham will open an outlet at Hillsborough and Oberlin (two blocks east of the NCSU Bell Tower).

A locopop is a Mexican paleta, a kind of Popsicle but made with fresh fruit and other interesting flavors.

The ones my family and I had in Durham were really, really good. You don't have to take my word for it: when the new store opens, watch for the lines.

Omega-3 and Alzheimer's

UCLA researchers offer a possible explanation for why omega-3 might reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

Two food items.

An L.A. restaurant has invented carne asada French fries. This needs to come to Raleigh. Now.

What will be coming to Raleigh in 2009 is a Trader Joe's.

Trying to lose weight? The odds are against you, big time.

But if you're among the two-thirds of adult Americans who are overweight or obese, permanent, substantial weight loss appears to be almost impossible by diet and exercise alone.

Only about 1 to 2 percent of obese people can permanently lose weight through diet and exercise alone, said Dr. Lee Kaplan , director of the weight center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"Dieting is like holding your breath," he said. "You can do it, but not for long. Your body is stronger than your willpower."

At long last: New York does a chewing gum taste test.

NBC's Today show nominates the best five sandwiches in America.

Supposedly, Americans just don't understand good chocolate.

Tastes-like recipe for Red Robin's "Groovy Smoothie". Haven't tried the imitation yet, but the original is excellent.

My vast number of Canadian readers are demanding--hoping?--saying "eh" to?--more stuff on poutine. O.K.

Something you don't see at American Burger Kings.

A bit of history and the astonishing thesis, "arguably Canada's most pervasive contribution to world cuisine".

"A Primer on the Preparation of Poutine".

Lots of pictures. It's almost poutine porn.

Very interesting article in Forbes about how to run a restaurant.

Your humble master of ceremonies here at the Door almost certainly will never run a business, but if I did, a restaurant would probably be the one I'd like to try. How about an All-Hot restaurant--the best spicy-hot dishes from Thai, Mexican, and Chinese cuisine, along with Buffalo chicken wings?

(Update: some of my family members thought this was too narrow; what do people who don't like spicy food do? My first answer was, let 'em eat at another restaurant! But upon reflection, I decided the restaurant could be "Hot and Cold": the spicy foods would be accompanied by famous cool drinks and foods, such as mint juleps and gazpacho and lemon sorbet.)

The New York Times on some of the "trendsetter" foods in restauarnts.

The summer is winding down and the question arises anew: where have the Raleigh Newmarks been eating recently? Brief comments on a dozen new, or almost new, restaurants, and mention of a half dozen older favorites and a few we hope to try soon.

Rey's. A fine meal--I had the "French Quarter Chicken", a house specialty, "Airline breast stuffed with herb cheese, topped with lemon beurre blanc"--made even better by one of those $20-off postcards they mail out frequently.

P. F. Chang's. I had two items from their new Yunnan menu--Yunnan Wontons and Dali Chicken--and enjoyed both.

Red Robin. I haven't had a hamburger there yet, and I should because that's what they specialize in, but I can recommend their "Groovy Smoothie" made of "strawberries, peaches, bananas, wild berries and grenadine blended with apple juice and vanilla cream".

South. Excellent fried pimento cheese beignets and about the best fried chicken I've had anywhere.

La Vie Pan Asian. Satisfying Thai buffet lunch, weekdays, for just $7.47.

Champi Thai and Sushi. Service was slow the one time we were there, but the Crab Rangoons were excellent and so was the Red Curry Beef.

Taste of Thai. Fine Thai coffee, Pad Thai, Chicken Satay, and Red Curry Beef. They will also sell you a jar of their fine peanut-based salad dressing which made my wife very happy.

Jibarra. It specializes in tequilas, which I did not try, and my younger daughter and I went only for Sunday brunch. But we liked said brunch very much. I had Bistec con Chilaquiles, corn chips with poblano sauce and queso fresco along with thin ribeye slices. That, plus a nice fruit plate, a mimosa, and the dessert bar were a bit pricey at $25, but it was a welcome change from usual brunch fare.

Tres Magueyes. One of the busiest restaurants we've been to in Raleigh. They have low prices--made even lower by the zillions of coupons they mail out (if you miss one, the coupons are also online)--quick service, and good quality food. I really like their tortilla chips and their carne asada tacos.

On the Border. A new one just opened in North Raleigh, near the Triangle Towne Center. Once again, excellent tortilla chips and carne asada.

Ferlo's Alimentari. I have a weak spot for family-run restaurants. Ferlo's has opened recently in Plantation Square and is owned and operated by two siblings. Excellent Italian deli meats and sandwiches.

Jack Astor's. I forget what I had to eat--it wasn't bad--but "Jack's Original Lemon Concoction" was quite a refreshing drink on a hot day. ("Shake made with fresh lemon and French Vanilla ice cream.")

We continue to get good value at Tasca Brava, Metro 8 in Durham, Solomon's, EVOO, Carver's Creek, and Biaggi's. Tasca Brava, in particular, should have a lot more patronage than it apparently does. Owned and operated by a husband and wife, two true foodies, it has outstanding tapas and good wine. 

We hope to try soon North Seafood Bistro, Kin, Pollo Rico (Peruvian grilled chicken in Cary), and Falls River Smokehouse (8320 Litchford Road).

In praise of Southern sweet tea.

I always knew the food on TV ads looked too good to be true. Here's photographic evidence.

Three on food and health:

Once again, there's a suggestion that (dark) chocolate might be very good for you.

And coffee, in moderation, might be good for you,too.

Eating a low-calorie soup before your meals can help you lose weight.

Despite the carping of short-sighted people, I think a busy, smoothly-running Waffle House is a beautiful thing. I'd even call it a great American institution. Here's a little peak at how they do it. (Link via Kottke.)

Discouraging news: New Scientist article argues, more persuasively than other sources, that vitamin pills don't do much good. Scientists don't know why.

Yet the fact remains that people eating diets abundant in vitamin C, vitamin E, polyphenols and carotenoids are less likely to suffer heart attacks, vascular disease, diabetes and cancer. One explanation is that these people have a generally healthier lifestyle - they exercise more and smoke less, for example. For now, no one knows for sure.

There are some ideas. Halliwell still believes that antioxidants are at least partly responsible. He argues that because the polyphenols, carotenoids and vitamins in fruit and vegetables are bound into tough, fibrous material, they hang around in the stomach and colon, where they can neutralise free radicals. The gastrointestinal tract, especially the stomach with its highly acidic environment, is constantly generating reactive oxygen species from food. Supplements may not replicate this effect because they are digested too quickly.

Encouraging news: you may not have to give up all your bad foods if you eat enough good foods.

According to Harvard University epidemiologist Karin Michels, "It appears more important to increase the number of healthy foods regularly consumed than to reduce the number of less healthy foods regularly consumed."

Online help in counting your calories is here.

I'm increasingly drawn to (spicy) hot foods. But I've found commercial U.S. food advertised as "hot" generally disappointing. I've read that retailers think that Americans don't really want hot, hot as in authentic Thai and Indian cuisine.

So I wasn't expecting much when I happened upon, in the frozen foods section of my local grocery store, "Bangkok Firecracker Shrimp", made by the fine folks at Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited.

But, wow. Hot. Maybe not the fabled "Thai hot" but close enough for this American. If like me, you've been disappointed by foods advertised as hot, give 'em a try. And have some dairy products at hand to put out the fire.

The hot new health food ingredient: curcumin.

To fight--and, presumably, prevent--prostate cancer, it might help to combine tomatoes and broccoli. But you need 1.4 cups of raw broccoli a day. A lot better than cancer but yecch.

Best of all might be a drug that kills cancer cells selectively by turning back on the cancer cells' mitochondria.

"14 Superfoods that Will Change Your Life".

Good news for North Raleighites: a Chipotle restaurant will be opening in North Ridge in April. I think their crispy corn tortillas with barbacoa and red chili salsa are fabulous.

National Review Online writer Alex Avery argues that, the New York Times notwithstanding, recent E. Coli outbreaks are not the Bush Administration's fault.

To Raleigh-area readers: the Fractured Prune Donut Shoppe is now open for business in the Brier Creek area.

$8.95/dozen. Believe me when I tell you that they are worth every penny.

Say hello to the young husband-and-wife team trying to making a go of it, and tell 'em Newmark's Door sent you.

Our oven isn't working too well. Rather than shop for a new one, though, I got the household a Black and Decker Infrawave Speed Oven. While it is too small--0.7 cubic feet--to cook really big things, we don't usually cook such things these days, and we are otherwise quite happy with it. Recommended.

My older daughter informs me that The Fractured Prune Donut Shoppe is the new hotness in D.C. (It's at Dupont Circle.) And having tried the product, she wholeheartedly endorses it.

Thank goodness they're coming to Raleigh. I predict Krispy Kreme's time is up.

According to the Guardian, the "Top 10 Bars of the World".

Only 1 in the U.S. More stinking anti-Americanism, I suppose.

In case you missed it, Trader Joe's has finally come to the Triangle.

In case you don't know what the fuss is about, here's more.

I don't get to NYC much, but the next time I do, I'll consult this "Best Brunch in New York City" list.

It might just be because I own a little PepsiCo--owner of Frito-Lay--stock, but I thought this Onion piece was quite funny, "Frito-Lay Angrily Introduces Line of Healthy Snacks".

With the recent trend of wholesome snack foods reaching "truly ridiculous proportions," Frito-Lay announced Monday that it would, against its better judgment, roll out a new line of healthy fruit-and-vegetable-based chips next February.

"Here," said Frito-Lay CEO Al Carey as he disgustedly tossed a bag of the company's new Flat Earth-brand snack crisps onto the lectern during a meeting with shareholders and members of the press. "Here's some shit that's made from beets. I hope you're all happy now that you have your precious beet chips with the recommended daily serving of fruit, or vegetables, or whatever the hell a 'beet' is."

Scale economies in fine dining

Economies of scale make a surprising appearance: in high-end dining.

Scott Adams, of Dilbert fame, asserts--seriously? semi-seriously? just for laughs?--that if you find yourself getting sleepy in the afternoons, cut back on carbs.

The market for beer is great

How marvelous is the market? Consider beer. In the U.S. the industry is simultaneously exploiting huge economies of scale and also producing enough "porters, stouts, barley wines, bocks, hefeweizens, pale ales, bitters, and Belgian-style farmhouse ales" to satisfy the snobs.

Markets generally work well.

What do Twinkies, Oreos, Moonpies, cheeseburgers, sweet potatoes, green beans, and Coca-Cola have in common?

Give up?

They've all been served fried at the North Carolina State Fair.

I'm sorry to report that my forecast of the winner of the new flavor contest held by Ben & Jerry's was wrong. "Puttin' on the Ritz" won.

A lot of lousy, depressing news lately. You have to look hard to find some upbeat stories. Fortunately, the Door is at your service:

James Hamilton argues that the confusing economic numbers we're seeing make sense if the markets believe that a soft landing is coming.

Mr. T is coming back.

Despite the recent problem with fresh spinach, food-borne illnesses in this country are dropping significantly.

Yale's endowment is making money: it's supposedly averaging 16% per year over the last 21 years.

At least some bloggers are making money: here are eight supposedly making at least five figures per month, just from Google ads.

And finally, how bad could things be if "In 2005, 33% of new homes built in the Western states had three-car garages . . ."

Ben & Jerry's has narrowed down 40,000 suggestions for a new flavor to five. I think Mojito will win in a runaway.

After six years, Jeff has finally reverse-engineered the perfect NYC pizza.

Interesting that Consumer Reports finds that two of the best grocery chains in the country are two of my favorites: Harris-Teeter and Trader Joe's (the latter is supposed to be coming to Cary very soon).

The Newmark family finally sampled the famous Locopops in Durham. They were, as advertised, extremely excellent. Here's a story about the company founder, who had "a business plan that bore no resemblance to reality".

Time for one of my irregular notes on Raleigh restaurants. (Earlier posts are here, here, and here.)

The Newmarks, while having some spirit of adventure, value consistency in eating out. Five of the places we have been going to regularly because they rarely disappoint us--and because they are short drives from North Raleigh--are:

Michael Dean's. At their new location (6004 Falls of the Neuse), there's a lot more seafood and some new pizzas.

Firebirds. If only they would serve the outstanding Durango Burger at dinner as well as lunch.

Bonefish Grill. Excellent grilled salmon specials.

Carrabba's. It may indicate just how pedestrian my taste is, but Chicken Bryan is one of my favorite dishes anywhere.

Solomon's. Very fine Greek/Mediterranean food. The owner always seems to be there and always seems to be interested in customer satisfaction.

We don't get to 518 West as frequently, but my wife and I had an excellent lunch there this summer and there's usually something excellent among their weekly specials.

Some places we've recently tried are EVOO, Asahi (Cary), Nelsons, Chipotle, Hard Wok Buffet (under new management), T. Q. Zheng's, Kemp's Seafood House, Vivace, Havana Jax Cafe (Wake Forest), Piper's Tavern, The Wild Orchid Grill, and North Ridge Pub. At EVOO my kids had "Big Greek Platters" which they enjoyed, and I had a steak frites special. The steak was excellent, the frites not so much. Asahi has an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet that's $12.95 weekdays; it's a good value. Nelsons has a Sunday brunch we thoroughly enjoyed, but it's pricey: $26/person plus a mandatory 20% tip. Chipotle's crispy tacos with barbacoa and red chili salsa are far above average for fast food. The new Hard Wok's buffet is a good value. At the others we had satisfactory-or-better meals, but they weren't particularly noteworthy.

Among the ones I'd like to try are BakeHouse Bistro, Cool Runnings (Cary), Fujisan Japanese Steakhouse, and Riviera.

Finally, two restaurants noted favorably here have recently closed: The Bamboo Club and Gino Russo's.

What's El Bulli, the "World's Greatest Restaurant", serving this year? Through the magic of the Net you can find out, with pictures of each course.

Three-and-a-half years old but fascinating story about the "Coolest Small Business in America". That would be Zingerman's. The Door has bought a couple of food items from them through the Web and was impressed both with the quality of the items and with Zingerman's service.

But they are, probably not surprisinglly, a bit pricey.

Would you pay $148 for a sandwich?

It does sound good.

I recently linked to website that extrols the Canadian delicacy of poutine.

In response to the thousands of readers--hundreds, maybe--no, dozens?--O.K., just one reader who inquired where poutine could be obtained here in Raleigh, I now have an answer: Milltown.

Only on the Internet: "Pimp My Snack".

Immerse yourself in one of Canada's signal contributions to world culture--not hockey, not Molson--poutine. (Link via Metafilter.)

An entertaining and mouth-watering review of cuisine in Argentina: "Argentina on Two Steaks a Day".

"There is no other beverage available today quite like Coca-Cola Blak."

Truer words were never spoke. I'm growing a third thumb so I can give this concoction three thumbs down. Blech.

Thanks to the readers who wrote me that my enthusiasm for omega-3 is perhaps overdone. And thanks to reader Paul Jaminet for pointing me to this interesting summary of the medical evidence.

This may be sound statistics--although I doubt it--but after reading stuff like this, it's no wonder the lay public gets confused and frustrated. There is a metric ton of studies indicating that omega-3 fatty acids have considerable health benefits. (A brief summary of some of the literature is here.)

But because one study, of a special population, failed to find benefits--for reasons not understood--cranking up the meta-analysis machinery yields the conclusion that there is "no evidence of a clear benefit to health".

When I get some time, I think I'll do a meta-analysis of gravity. Maybe after factoring in studies of self-levitating gurus, it'll turn out that there's "no evidence of a clear gravitational effect".

The Starbucksization of chocolate.

The invention we've all been waiting for: Butter-Wizard, a portable, temperature-controlled butter dish, so that the butter is never too cold to spread well.

From time to time, I comment on dining out in Raleigh. (See here and here.) Some new comments follow.

Chris at the great new blog Raleighing has announced that the "dining epicenter" of Raleigh is now North Hills and he has a good case. North Hills has a Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill, which my family has enjoyed a lot (except for the music which is too loud for my middle-aged taste); a Bonefish Grill, which has superb "Bang Bang Shrimp" and salmon specials; a completely revamped Capper's now doing business as 115 Midtowne, which has a great "Red Chile Braised Chicken Quesadilla" for lunch; and for good but less pricey meals, Five Guys Famous Burgers & Fries, Q-Shack, and Moe's Southwest Grill.

We've yet to try JK's, which Chris strongly recommends. And Chris notes that Vivace, run by the folks who run Porter's Tavern and Frazier's, and Restaurant Savannah will open soon.

So many restaurants, so little time.

A few other local restaurants recently receiving the coveted Newmark Seal of Approval:

Shabushabu (Crab Rangoon and Chicken Red Curry).

Biaggi's (Chicken Florentine soup and Chicken Piccante pizza).

Oliver Twist Tapas Restaurant & Martini Lounge (Wednesdays, the Signature Martinis are half price).

Solomon's (Chicken Roland and the special goat cheese, olive, and sun-dried tomato appetizer that is not on the menu, ask for it).

A tribute to a great entrepreneur, Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader's Joes, who catered to the "overeducated and underpaid". As graduate students in L.A. 25 years ago, that was my wife and me. (And when are they going to open an outlet in Raleigh? Let's go, guys.)

Find out what a wine you're unfamiliar with tastes like by using these Jelly Belly recipes.

It turns out that ranch dressing really was invented in Hidden Valley. Who knew? Slate presents a history of ranch dressing and asks the burning question, "Why Do Americans Love It So Much?".

It was on sale at the grocery store, so I just had to try it: Haagan-Dazs Light Dulce de Leche ice cream. "Light" means that instead of having 1160 calories per pint, it has "only" 880.

It is insanely good. It reminds me of the terrific Hershey caramels I used to have as a kid.

Dinner from the Chef's Menu at Thomas Keller's Per Se restaurant. With pictures. (Link via Kottke.)

Old and busted: Atkins. The new hotness: the GI diet. (Note, though, the core philosophies are quite similar.)

Cory Doctorow has a religious experience with Mexican-style drinking chocolate, "a viscous drink made with very bitter chocolate, seasoned with chillies, aged Cuban rum . . . and cinnamon and nutmeg."

I wouldn't mind trying that myself.

Pictures--scroll down--of each of the 28 courses of an opening-day meal at Alinea, showcase of "molecular gastronomy". (Link via Kottke.)

Stephanie at the Daily Vegetable applies economics to the organic foods industry. (I'm not as sure as she is, however, that the supply curve for organic foods is negatively sloped.)