Clinton Street Baking Company and Restaurant

A friend recently celebrated a birthday and I decided to treat her by sharing a breakfast together at the birthplace for our new cookbook obsession: The Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook. There has been quite a bit of buzz about this small lower East Side restaurant and bakery since husband & wife team, Neil Kleinberg and DeDe Lahman, opened in April 2001. Their mission was to make the best baked goods in the city, hand-mixed in small batches, using quality ingredients such as cage free eggs. Soon large crowds were lining up for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their cookbook was named one of the best new cookbooks for 2010 by the New York Times (read article at this link). Both the pancakes and the buttermilk biscuits were on our mind as we've heard so much about them.

The Clinton Street Baking Company and Restaurant is located at 4 Clinton Street (between East Houston and Stanton), New York, NY.  The Lower East Side is a trendy yet rough and tumble neighborhood of old time tenement buildings and stores as you can see from a previous post I did about the neighborhood at this link. It may not be where you'd expect to find what was rated as the "best breakfast/brunch" spot by Time Out Magazine or the "best pancakes' by New York Magazine, among other honors which you can read about on this link.

The menu offered many tempting breakfasts, as you can see if you double click on the photo above to enlarge it. I really couldn't get a photo of the inside, as we were seated almost elbow to elbow in the small 32 seat restaurant, and I didn't want to annoy the diners at that table.

None of that mattered when our breakfast was served!  I chose the "Country Breakfast" of three eggs, grilled "cure 81" ham steak hash browns and a buttermilk biscuit. I had especially wanted to try the buttermilk biscuit as they were modeled after the ones that were served in the once legendary seafood restaurant from my youth called Lundy's. That restaurant has been sadly closed for many years so it was nice to taste their wonderful biscuit again.  Martha Stewart has called Neil "The king of buttermilk biscuits," and she is right!  My biscuit was flaky, tender, "melt in the mouth" good! The entire delicious breakfast was so large that the only thing I ate for the rest of the day was a small bowl of soup for supper.
Martha Stewart was kind enough to include the Buttermilk Biscuit recipe on her website, and there is also video to view of her and Neil making the biscuits on her show, which you can see at this link.

My friend had the pancakes served with warm maple butter.  She could have had wild Maine blueberry, banana walnut or chocolate chunk pancakes for the same price, but we both had decided we wanted to try them plain, so as to really see if we liked the basic pancake recipe in the cookbook.

They were served with a raspberry jam on the side which was wonderful!

Neil whips the egg whites separately from the yolks and then folds them slowly into the batter in increments when he makes his pancakes, which makes them extra light and fluffy.
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Again, he demonstrated cooking his pancakes on the Martha Stewart show and you can see the video and get the pancake recipe at this link.  Over 600 pancake stacks are served a week in this little restaurant so you know that they must be good!

Of course, as a bakery, they also have cake and pies, pastries and muffins, cookies and biscuits for sale which you can see listed at this link. All are available for pick-up only, and most must be ordered 48 hours in advance.

We enjoyed our breakfast celebration so much that I think we'll be making a trip back to the Lower East Side and the Clinton Street Bakery and Restaurant very soon!

I'm linking this post to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday for this week's letter "Y" and I took the liberty of linking this post for Yummy, Yolks and Yes, those were wonderful biscuits and pancakes!

I'm also linking to Michael Lee's "Foodie Friday" on her blog Designs By Gollum and Sandi's Friday's Favorites on her blog Whistlestop Cafe Cooking.

Thanks to all the hostesses!

The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

Are you an oyster lover? Oysters are bivalve mollusks which live and found in fresh or salt water. Filter-feeders, they are notably high in protein, low in calories, and are excellent sources of several minerals, including iron, zinc, calcium and selenium and a good source of vitamin B 12 and vitamin A. Preparation of oysters widely varies, as they can be eaten on the half shell, raw, smoked, boiled, baked, fried, roasted, stewed, canned, pickled, steamed, broiled, or used in a variety of drinks. My favorite way to eat oysters is raw on the half shell served cold on a bed of ice. Sometimes I top each oyster with a little freshly squeezed lemon juice or I add a bit of ground horseradish or cocktail sauce.  I relish them, as they are a delicious taste of the sea!

I just finished reading this excellent book that follows the history of New York City and the renowned oyster beds in the Hudson River estuary.  "Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster." according to Mark Kurlansky, author of the 2006 book The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell.  As Kurlansky states in his book: "For centuries New York was famous for its oysters, which until the early 1900's played such a dominant a role in the city's economy, gastronomy, and ecology that the abundant bivalves were Gotham's most celebrated export, a staple food for the wealthy, the poor, and tourists alike, and the primary natural defense against pollution for the city's congested waterways." 

Kurlansky, who is also the best selling author of "Salt: A World History," and "Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World," writes in a wonderfully narrative, rambling, factual style that made me feel like I was auditing a university culinary history lecture. He includes historic recipes, maps, drawings and photos among the pages of the book so the reader is totally immersed in oyster lore and facts. He is such a good teacher that I wanted to learn more, and did some of my own research.

Photo Source: click on photo

Oyster  (1807-1809)

Oysters were extremely plentiful during the early history of New York City, and many were as large as dinner plates, as depicted in the illustration above. The estuary of the lower Hudson had 350 square miles of oyster beds that for centuries fed the Lenape Native Americans, the Dutch settlers, the English, and the Americans after the Revolution. They were a staple of their diet and New York's major export.

Photo Source: click on photo

Oyster stands in Fulton Market. (1870)

New Yorkers rich and poor were eating them in oyster cellars, saloons, stands, houses, cafes and restaurants.  In some places oysters were sold as an "all you can eat" item for six cents.  In 1860, some 12 million oysters were sold in New York markets; by 1880 the area's oyster beds were producing 700 million a year.

photo source: click on photo

Oyster Houses, South Street and Pike Slip, Manhattan. April 01, 1937 -- notice the piles of discarded oyster shells in front of the buildings.

As the population of New York climbed, the constant discharge of garbage and sewage began to take a toll on the harbor floor. Outbreaks of cholera and typhoid from the apparent consumption of infected oysters began to occur and in 1927 the city's last oyster beds closed and purveyors switched to cleaner oyster sources.

The most common variety of oyster in the United States today is the Blue Point Eastern Oyster, which measures 2 to 5 inches across and can be found from the Gulf of Mexico to Prince Edward Island. They also have regional names: Apalachicola (Florida), Bluepoint (New York), Breton (Louisiana), Chincoteague (Virginia), Malpeque (Canada), and Wellfleet (Cape Cod). Because oysters, or any raw fish or shellfish, may contain harmful bacteria, which mainly comes from unregulated waters, pregnant woman or those with compromised immune systems should avoid eating them.

One of the historical subjects in "The Big Oyster" book that I found fascinating was the history of the Delmonico family and the Delmonico's Restaurant, the first of which was located at 56 Beaver Street in lower Manhattan. The restaurant's website states: "Delmonico's, opened in 1837 as America's first fine dining restaurant, continues to serve the connoisseur of fine American food in its premier location at 56 Beaver Street, the heart of Manhattan's financial district. Birthplace of the Delmonico Steak, Delmonico Potatoes, Eggs Benedict, Lobster Newburg, and Baked Alaska, the original Delmonico's offered unheard of luxury - the availability of private dining rooms, an extensive wine cellar, innovative cuisine, and, above all, warm, personal service."

The first building burned down in a fire and the present building seen in my photo above, replaced it in 1891. Many famous people ate at this establishment, including Queen Victoria and her eldest son, the Prince of Wales, Charles Dickens,Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Diamond Jim Brady, Lillian Russell, J. P. Morgan, William Makepeace Thackeray.  Samuel F.B. Morse sent the first transatlantic cable from a dining room. An extensive history of the restaurant can be read at the Steak Perfection website.

A collage of photos from the restaurant's web site, which includes a 20 ounce prime rib-eye steak, grilled to perfection and topped with herbed butter, which is a signature dish that's the gold standard for all steak houses try to achieve.  The restaurant has changed ownership many time over the years, but it still retains the Delmonic's name and many of the signature dishes that have been a part of the Delmonico tradition since its early days.

A video on how to open a live oyster by a chef instructor, Gerard Viverito, of the Culinary Institute in New Hyde Park, New York.

For a truly elegant way to serve oysters try a mignonette sauce and caviar. The following recipe is adapted from The Culinary Institute of America's "Garde Manger, The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen."

Oysters with Mignonette Sauce and Caviar

Makes 2 servings

•2 tablespoons minced shallots
•6 tablespoons chopped chives
•1/3 cup champagne vinegar
•3 tablespoons cracked black pepper
•12 to 18 oysters
•1/2 ounce osetra caviar

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the shallots, chives, vinegar, and pepper and reserve.
2. Shuck the oysters, loosen muscle from bottom shell, then remove oyster with top shell.
3. Place the oysters in their shells on a bed of crushed ice. Top each with mignonette sauce and a dollop of caviar.

No matter if you are an oyster connoisseur, or a history buff, you will find reading "The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell" both entertaining and delicious!

I'm linking this post to  Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday for this week's letter "S" for oyster's found in the Sea that taste so good Slurped right off the Shell!
I'm also linking to Michael Lee's "Foodie Friday" on her blog Designs By Gollum and Sandi's Friday's Favorites on her blog Whistlestop Cafe Cooking.
This is also an Edible Book Review inspired by Jain at Food for Thought, a delicious blog for readers with an appetite for the written word.  I will also be linking with Mary of the blog Home Is Where The Boat Is  who is hosting a "Cook Your Book and Join In The Fun" event March 1st -- I give The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell **** for "good read!"

 Thank you all for your inspiration! Please visit all these wonderful blogs and join in on all the fun!

I will be choosing the winner of my "One World, One Heart" give away tomorrow, February 17, 2011.  Please check the original post on this link to see the winner. Thank you to all who entered!  It was so nice meeting so many wonderfully creative bloggers!

Lower East Side, New York City

Although this looks like it could be a scene from Paris, it is few corner bistros in the Lower East Side of New York City. One of the oldest neighborhoods of the city, the Lower East Side was once known as a lower-class worker neighborhood and often as a poor and diverse part of New York. In the early 2000s, the gentrification of the East Village spread to the Lower East Side, making it now one of the more trendy neighborhoods in Manhattan

Russ And Daughters, located at 179 East Houston Street, is a New York institution since 1914, selling premier appetizing. “Appetizing” is a Jewish food tradition that is most typical among American Jews, and it is particularly local to New York and New Yorkers.

Stores selling cured and pickled meats are known as delicatessens, while shops that sell fish and dairy products became appetizing stores, and Russ and Daughters is one of the most famous in NYC.

They sell bagels and bialys, smoked salmon and herring and whitefish, chubs, trout, lox, schmaltz, caviar, cream cheese, chopped liver, salads of all kinds, dried fruit, rugelach, marble halvah, babka....are you hungry as yet? You might even run into Martha Stewart, who has been shopping at Russ and Daughters since she was a child. Watch a wonderful video on Martha's website when she visited the store. Russ and Daughter's even has a blog!

There are many restaurants, shops and boutiques to explore along the streets and avenues, the one above was jammed with fabrics and sewing notions.

Every Sunday, Orchard Street from Delancey to East Houston Street closes to vehicular traffic turning the street into a pedestrian mall with stores setting up tables and racks advertising their wares to passersbys.

Luxury condominium construction is beginning to dwarf some of the old tenements that are still in use.

More views of shops and tenements along Orchard Street.

An old fashioned looking ad painted on a building wall.

Another view looking down Orchard Street.

Crossing Delancy Street, you can see the Williamsburg Bridge in the distance, which is a suspension bridge over the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Your might remember this scene from the 1988 movie "Crossing Delancy" which starred Amy Irving and Peter Riegert.

To listen to a free informative podcast tour of The Lower East Side click here and click on the subjects in the right sidebar.

The Lower East Side is another one of the wonderful neighborhoods to explore in New York City.

If you do visit make sure you bring your appetite!

The Tenement Museum, Lower East Side, NY

The Tenement Museum is located at 97 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. This museum, founded in 1988, is dedicated to all the immigrants who came to New York City during the 1800s, but in particular to the occupants of this one-time tenement on Orchard Street.
An estimated 7000 people from more than 20 nations--from Turkish and German Jews to Sicilian and Irish Catholics--over the course of 72 years, lived at this one address of 97 Orchard Street between 1863 and 1935.

The museum can be seen by guided tour only. Tours run every 40 minutes on weekdays and every half-hour on weekends. There are many different types of guided tours depending upon the time --check the schedule here.

Tenement tours visit different restored apartments. No tour encompasses the entire building. Rather, each tour focuses on a particular floor and theme. Each tour will show you the rooms that actual families lived in and will describe their immigrant experiences of making a new life in a new country, working hard for a better future, and starting a family with limited means, often under harsh circumstances.

While no photos are allowed to be taken inside the museum there are many that can be seen on the museum Flickr site.

Here are a few of those photos:

The Levine Family's kitchen, from 1890. They immigrated from Poland and had five children. They converted their little 325 square feet apartment into a garment shop where they worked 10 - 15 hours a day, six days a week, to earn their living.

The Moore's family's kitchen --an Irish immigrant family that came there during the Civil War years in the 1860's. Only four of their eight children lived to adulthood. One of their baby girls died from malnutrition, thought to be brought on by inferior milk called "swill, " which was sold to the poor by street vendors, ladled out of dirty vats and sometimes adulterated with chalk or ammonia.
The Baldizzi apartment. They arrived from Italy in 1923 and struggled to find work through the Great Depression. The father of the family made the white cabinet you see in the photo.
In 1935, the building’s owners sealed off most of the 20 units rather than make changes to meet new housing codes, and the Baldizzi's were evicted and moved to Brooklyn.

It is fascinating to walk through these apartments and hear the curators recite the stories about the actual people who lived, worked,and died in these tenements. It is easy to imagine those families hopes and dreams of giving their children a better life, much as the new immigrants to America do today.

A virtual tour of the museum can be taken online at this link and the museum also has an interesting blog that discusses history, facts, recipes and other interesting discoveries about the lives and times of immigrants from the Tenement Museum timeline.

I hope you will consider visiting the Tenement Museum if you visit New York. It is a doorway into the past, and also a reminder that we are a country made great through immigration.

Katz's Delicatessen ~ Where Harry Met Sally

Katz's Delicatessen, is a kosher style delicatessen on the Lower East Side of New York City, located at 205 E. Houston Street, on the south-west corner of Houston and Ludlow Streets, in Manhattan.

Since its founding in 1888, and open 365 days of the year, it has become popular among locals and tourists alike as you can see by this crowd on Saturday afternoon. It's especially known for it's thick hot pastrami sandwiches.

Each week, Katz's serves 5,000 pounds of corned beef, 2,000 pounds of salami and 12,000 hot dogs. * source

During World War II, Katz's encouraged parents to "send a salami to your boy in the army" which became one of the deli's famous catch phrases, along with "Katz's, that's all!" which is still painted on the side of the building.

Katz's continues its "Send a salami to your boy in the army" to this day. The deli has arranged special international shipping only for U.S. military addresses and has been a source of gift packages to the troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Check their website for details.

The deli has served several U.S. presidents, including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. The walls are lined with pictures of writers, politicians and actors and actresses, and more, who have dined at Katz's over the years.

On this visit my husband and I shared a potato knish and a hot dog with sauerkraut, and a couple of Dr. Brown sodas. Then, before we left we decided to get an egg cream soda "to go" for old times sake.
An egg cream is a classic Brooklyn beverage consisting of chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer, and Katz's made a really good one!

Katz's has been used as a location in many movies, but the most famous is the "I'll have what she's having" scene in the movie "When Harry Met Sally." You can see a sign hanging from the ceiling pointing to the spot where actress Meg Ryan sat when this scene was filmed.

A close up of the sign. The Katz web site claims it was really their food that got her so excited!

A YouTube clip below of the "When Harry Met Sally"scene. Be prepared to blush!

(You will have to turn off my blog's music first by going to the purple playlist box on my right sidebar and pressing the two bars in the circle, which will turn the player off. Otherwise, you can double click on the Youtube below and it will open on the Youtube website.)

Or, if you prefer, you can watch a short Youtube here of some of the deli's highlights.

Eating at a delicatessen is definitely a New York experience. In time I hope to bring you to a few more!