Cooking Comfort Without Comfort

I have always prided myself on the ability to cook with my nose. People often look at me puzzled when I say that. Smell is how I usually figure out what works with what and, how much of what is right for a dish. I am not discounting taste but my nose knows. I have been able to tackle many regional cuisines this way. From Caribbean to Indian, I have sniffed myself far out of my comfort zone and mastered those foreign cuisines. Visiting these countries helps a lot too. My nose is good but its proximity to the home of a particular cuisine helps out a lot.

I’ve been to England many times and my nose and adventures have proved to be ineffective in mastering their cuisine. Although Britain is notorious for “bad” food, it wasn’t until…

Unreal Scallops in B.C.

Ferris Oyster Bar – Victoria B.C. from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

I have not been to Victoria British Columbia a lot yet. I just started my next contract on the ship and was recommended by two friends to head to Ferris’ Upstairs Oysterbar. I only have a couple of weeks left on these Alaska runs and I can’t wait to go back. Victoria is a fun little city with lots of restaurants and bars. Hope I get a chance to try as many places as I can.

I Chew With My Mouth Open

I learned it from my grandfather. Of course, he did it in 7 different languages including original Latin and the occasional Portuguese. It’s been a while since we looked back at the roots of this blog. Taking a closer peek, the reasons why we started it and the reason why we continue to do it have not changed. What has changed is how we do it. If we really put this under the microscope, this blog started at birth. Although wordpress didn’t exist in 1974, pencil and paper did. For as long as I can remember I celebrated food. Food inspired me and was visible in what I wrote, drew and did. I was taught immediately the importance of “Dinner Time” and the therapeutic nature of eating with family. When I was old enough “Dinner Time” became about discipline and work ethic as well as a check-in. I always say you laugh and cry, shout and smile at the dinner table. That is a universal truth around the world.

Most of you know, I have traveled extensively and witnessed first hand how cultures are oddly similar and extremely different. I compared some of my more unique meals and noticed…

IN-N-OUT of a Defcon Situation

On a recent trip to California, me and that wonderful Canadian found ourselves in a defcon situation. (Defcon scale+amount of hunger=how processed your food is). After a day of wine and beer tasting in Paso Robles, we made a quick detour to wack down these beautiful In-N-Out burgers. The glory of fast food, big box chain’s and IN-N-OUT burger in particular, is the consistency of the experience right down to the building in which you have the experience. In fact, IN-N-OUT has exactly the same layout in every store I have ever been in. Once inside you wouldn’t know if you were in San Francisco or Modesto. Necessary evil or charmingly delightful, this cookie cutter aesthetic creates a window in which the attentive and observant will cherish.

Because the surroundings, employees and menu are all the same, the focus becomes on the guests waiting and ordering with you. As you sit on that little white bench waiting for your number to be called by the tall, football type, teenager in the too small paper hat and stretched red apron, take a look around. San Francisco and Modesto certainly have different citizens but I have found you are likely to see a myriad of burger fiend diversity no matter which city you are in. Our star customer this day was a young latin girl who decided dressing like Pat Benatar in a mostly rural farming area would be the best way to stand out. In her 4 inch black leather heel boots she barely scraped five feet tall. In the corner was a family of five. This 45 year old mother corralled her three kids while her young Mexican husband filled the drinks at the fountain machine. I’d love to know more about that story. To top off the mix a trio of farm hands came in for their early dinner sporting crisp dark jeans and worn, dusty cowboy boots. The whole ensemble was complete when I watch them all simultaneously tip their cowboy hatted heads up to read the menu. The motion reminded me of a farm machine starting up in the field.

Of course we still come for the food, but there is so much else going on during any out-of-the-house food experience. I implore you to take a good look around the next time you are waiting for your double double to be ready. I promise it will be an interesting game.

TABLE FULL-REEL TASTY: Austin Powers

Get on our list for upcoming dinners. Jump on.

TABLE FULL
Saturday, September 18th at 7:00pm
Come join us for some shagadelic tasty! Here’s the skinny on the fat.

Starts: 7:00pm (cocktails and appetizers)
Ends: 11pm (really, when the film is over)
Donation: $60 (make a reservation below)
Movie: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

This month we bring some British to the deck. 1960′s free love Britain that is. Don’t worry, all the spinning beds and naughty mood lights have been put away. We will take that kitsch and put it into the menu instead of the decor. It’s just safer that way. Aimee and I have reinvented some of our favorite British dishes and we hope you’ll come by to try them out. Of course, Austin gets naughty and goofy on the big wall during the later half of the evening. I can’t wait to see what Lily from Dandelion Wines digs up for this one.

Menu

Appetizers
Mini fish & chips
Welsh rarebit
Sausage rolls with fried quail egg

Entree
Short Rib Shepards pie
Walnut stilton apple salad
Curry chips
Unmushy peas with mint pesto

Dessert
Home made tea and scones ice cream
Plus, a surprise. Think custard or pudding goodness.

Reservations

Reservations are required. Space is limited to 16 people. When booking please make sure to change the quantity field to the number of people in your party. In the note section let us know if there are any food restrictions anyone in your party has.

More on Reel Tasty:

Jason and Aimee pair a 5 course gourmet meal for 16 friends, some new and some old on a HUGE deck in Brooklyn. As the name implies, we will be screening a movie during the meal. Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of time pre-entree to mingle, catchup and meet some new friends. Once the sun goes down we will role the film in all its two story high glory. This is an experiment, so we are not sure how much silence or chatting will go on. That’s for you to decide. We hope you will come out and enjoy yourselves with us this summer. See you on the deck.

You can check out pics from our last dinner here.

If you can’t make this dinner but want us to send you an invite to the next one, fill out the below and you’ll be in the know. Yes, that rhymes on purpose. Or join the facebook fan page and get announcement updates that way.

RECAP-REEL TASTY: Kindergarten Cop

photo credit: Kun Kim

Last month we had our second curated REEL TASTY. First it was bachelorettes this time is was teachers. Nine teachers and their husbands joined us on the deck for Kindergarten Cop and our take on some cafeteria favorites. As you can see by the home made Whoopie Pie above, we really pushed the gastro-limit with this menu.

For those who are unfamiliar with the dinners, Reel Tasty is…