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'Wich of the Week: Philippe's French Dip

YumSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:10:33 -0700

While I was down in Los Angeles for the PopSugar Tech Party, I couldn't pass up a trip to Phillipe the Original, the downtown LA institution that invented the French Dip. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Phillipe's (as it's known to locals) offers everything you'd want from a historic restaurant, including old-timey signage, 10-cent coffee, and a sandwich whose construction has been honed over decades to perfection.

Typically, a French Dip sandwich involves hot roast beef served on a French roll with a side of au jus, a gravy whose name amusingly translates to "with juice." But don't expect a dipping bowl at Philippe's; what makes its legendary version oh-so-tasty is that the au jus is built right into the bun. For a firsthand account of my Philippe's adventure, read more.

Originally, Philippe's served three kinds of French Dip: beef, lamb, and pork; in the 1980s, the restaurant added turkey to appease the health conscious. The first time I went to Philippe's, I tried the turkey, but I felt like I was missing out, so this time I got the pork sandwich, "double dipped," with both sides of the roll gently submerged in juice.

The Philippe French Dip is divine in its simplicity. In the words of general manager Richard Binder: "It's no secret. It's meat. It's bread." Of course, it's also the au jus, of which Philippe's makes three enormous batches a day. Each batch of stock uses 50 pounds of bones and a potpourri of veggies, plus drippings from the pans that roast nearly 1,000 pounds of meat every day.

Philippe's high volume and time-intensive preparation makes its sandwiches difficult to re-create at home. The pork is so tenderly roasted that it gives just right when you bite into it, and the juice - rich with hours of flavor - provides a yummy transition between the soft, warm roll and the meat. I'm sure cheese would be good too, but I just flavored mine with a bit of Philippe's hot housemade brown mustard. Remarkably, despite being incredibly moist, the Phillipe's French Dip isn't messy, because the ingredients cooperate with each other so well. Neat, simple, and delicious.

Have you been? Tell us about your Phillipe's adventure in the comments!

US and France at War Over Food Tariffs

YumSugar — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:00:04 -0800

France and the United States are engaged in another food war, and this time it's not over fries. The French government was infuriated by the legacy that President George W. Bush implemented right before leaving office: enacting a colossal tax on France's prized Roquefort cheese. While he imposed a 100 percent import duty on many products from the European Union, the former US President singled out the pungent blue cheese for a 300 percent tariff. As a result, Americans will soon be unable to buy Roquefort. In a letter to newly inaugurated President Barack Obama, French parliament member Philippe Folliot called for the removal of the steep duty. If the high tariff doesn't change, he said, there may be unfortunate consequences. "Symbol versus symbol," he said. "Since the United States has decided to surtax one of the most ancient (cheese) appellations, I think that the French government, with the European Union, must think about a heavy specific tax on imports of Coca-Cola concentrates produced in the US."

I hope Obama reconsiders the tax on Roquefort, so the US and France can return to more diplomatic times. Americans can still enjoy their Roquefort and the French can drink all the Coke they want.

What do you think - does it seem fair for France to tax the US in retaliation for a large tariff on Roquefort?

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'Wich of the Week: Monte Cristo

YumSugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:00:26 -0700

If there were any doubts about my intense love for sandwiches, this post should put them to rest, because I consumed this Monte Cristo at Canter's Deli in Los Angeles a mere three hours after eating an enormous French Dip at Philippe's. Hey, I was only in town for a few days, and there were many iconic sandwiches to be consumed!

Like the French Dip, the Monte Cristo was invented in Southern California. Traditionally, a Monte Cristo is made with bread dipped in egg - essentially, French toast - and filled with ham, turkey, and swiss cheese. The sweet, salty delight is then topped with powdered sugar and strawberry preserves. For more history and a recipe for the Monte Cristo, read more

No one is quite sure where the name came from. Originally called a French sandwich, the Monte Cristo was renamed in Southern California in the 1950s, possibly as a nod to the French adventure novel and film The Count of Monte Cristo. The Monte Cristo hit the big time in 1966, when it was featured on the menu at the Disneyland's Blue Bayou restaurant.

Rather than visit Disneyland just to eat a Monte Cristo (even I'm not that crazy), I headed to Canter's, a Jewish deli that's been serving sandwiches in LA since 1931. Its Monte Cristo was a perfect, classic version, oozing with cheese between creamy slices of bread. To make your own at home, check out the recipe below.

Monte Cristo Sandwich
Modified From the Food Network

Ingredients

3 slices white bread
Mayonnaise, as needed
2 slices swiss cheese
2 slices turkey
3 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Strawberry jam
Powdered sugar

Directions
Makes 1 sandwich.

On a work surface, lay out 2 slices of bread and spread with mayonnaise. Top each slice with the 1 slice of swiss and 1 slice of turkey each. Put the third slice of bread on top of one stack, and flip the remaining stack on top, cheese-side down, to make a triple-decker sandwich.
Using a knife, cut the crusts off the sandwich (this helps to pinch and seal the ends). Wrap the sandwich tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 6 hours. (Wrapping the sandwich in plastic wrap compacts it and prevents the egg batter from seeping in.)
Combine the eggs and milk in a bowl. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Unwrap the sandwich and dip it in the egg batter, to coat evenly. Gently place it in the skillet, and fry, turning once, until golden brown and hot, about 5 minutes total.
Cut the Monte Cristo in half, transfer it to a plate, dust with powdered sugar, and spoon some jam over each half. Serve immediately.

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Hell's Kitchen - 3.1 Recap

partysugar — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:50:18 -0700

Last night Fox aired the third season premiere of "Hell's Kitchen", hot shot British chef Gordon Ramsay's reality show. It was my first experience with Hell's Kitchen and what a memorable, yet traumatizing, experience it was. Why anyone in their right mind would volunteer to go into Hell's Kitchen is beyond me. You couldn't pay me in Dior handbags to put up with the condescending, rude, and completely disrespectful behavior and attitude of Ramsay. Sure he is a world renowned chef with Michelin stars and acclaimed restaurants, but in my opinion, no amount of fame, fortune, or success should grant you the right to poorly treat, profusely curse, and yell at people you hardly know. This of course, is the entire premise behind Hell's Kitchen. Twelve contestants have joined Ramsay in the kitchen for a chance to be the head chef at a new Italian restaurant in Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa in Vegas. Unlike Top Chef or the Next Food Network Star, in this competition the contestants have to cook in a real kitchen for real people. To see my thoughts on last night's episode - including my top 5 favorite Ramsay quotes - just, read more

The show begins with Lord of The Rings type music, a voice over, and the contestants being driven to the kitchen in large black SUVs. The 12 competitors, equal parts male and female, are greeted upon arrival by the restaurant's maitre'd, Jean Philippe - whose accent sounds oddly fake to me. Ramsay appears on a balcony like the Wicked Witch of The West and orders the crew into the kitchen requesting them to prepare a signature dish or as Ramsay says, "you on a plate". Time's up and Ramsay lavishly opens one platter after another asking the creator of the dish to kindly step forward and explain their dish. He hates all but two or three of the dishes; giving compliments to the attractive, long haired Melissa and to Eddie, the guy with a growth-stunting kidney disease (why do reality shows always have a token odd contestant???).

Next they are separated into two teams, the boys versus the girls, and are told that they will cook in the restaurant's kitchen on opening night. An hour goes by and neither team can get an appetizer ready, the girl's fail miserably to fry an egg and the boys' pasta, according to Ramsay, "tastes like gnat's piss." Brad takes the lead for the boys and things look up as they start to crank out 29 of their 50 appetizers. Julia, the short order cook, has a breakdown because the girls ignore her and don't let her attempt to fry an egg. Aaron, the big Asian cowboy, cracks and starts to cry after he can't temper eggs for ice cream and has cooked the chicken until it is dry and inedible. In the end the boy's run out of chicken and lettuce, and the girl's never catch their stride. Ramsay shuts Hell's Kitchen down and the customers leave angry, unfed, and hungry.

Ramsay declares the girl's as the night's losers, although both teams performed poorly. Melissa is asked to nominate two members of her team for elimination. She nominates Tiffany, the girl who couldn't fry an egg if her life depended on it, and Joanna, the feisty African-American girl who picked a fight with just about everyone but Ramsay. In the end Tiffany was justly eliminated.

In case you missed it here are my top 5 favorite Ramsay quotes from this episode (I recommend reading them aloud in a growling tone with a British accent):

"Where's your horse? I've never met an Asian cowboy... you are one chunky monkey, aren't you? How big are your f**king fingers?"
"Your pasta is like glue."
"Sir, would you mind wiping the snot off of your face before we have chicken and snot?"
"Ladies I've never seen girls b*tch so much... it was just evil and twisted hell's b*tches!"
"Touch that egg! It's like a plastic silicone implant!"

Finally, does anyone know where I can find a recipe for chicken fried chicken penne???

Why Open a Restaurant When There's Bling to Be Had?

YumSugar — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 07:59:12 -0800

Okay, now what's wrong with this picture from the South Beach Wine and Food Festival party? Go on take a good look.
Here we have Top Chef winner Ilan Hall, Gail Simmons, Sam Talbot and Tom Colicchio hanging out at the Food & Wine magazine after party. Have you figured it out? I'll give you a hint it has to do with attire. No it's not that Sam is looking under-dressed (although you have to admit that he is), it's that Ilan looks like he's spending his Top Chef winnings on fancy suits and bling!

In fact the folks over at snack spotted Ilan getting on to the plane for Miami and have put together their breakdown of Ilan's attire choices, including a $12,000 diamond encrusted watch.

Moncler black vest: $375
Pink shoe laces for white Nikes: $4
Louis Vuitton duffel bag: $1,100
Louis Vuitton white belt with candy-colored logo:$350
Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce watch in pure white (with diamonds): $11,950

To check out more pictures of our favorite Top Chef crew partying the night away, read more

In other Ilan news, looks like I missed Ilan's swoonworthy Orzo in one of the latest issues of Life & Style magazine. I absolutely love orzo, but the comments the folks have left definitely aren't too kind.

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