Sunday, August 10, 2008

Simple

I just read an article in the New York Times magazine about a bakery/restaurant in Big Sur. After you read it you'll see that I'm missing the point by not touching on the focus of the article, but I wasn't struck by that. What struck me was the groundswell that was occurring around a bakery that essentially was serving croissants, jelly doughnuts & pizzas. Now granted they are making exceptional versions of these classics, but it got me thinking. That is the type of food that seems to strike me the most....well except for that incredible meal at Cyrus on my 30th & our recent best lunch ever at Jean-Georges (foie gras brulee WHAT THE F***!) What I love to eat the most are simple dishes that are made with excellent ingredients & prepared with love. Pizza at Justin's or Jeff & Kristy's or Kristi & Warner's. A beautiful ribeye steak with sea salt & pepper drizzled with olive oil & grilled to medium-rare. Pasta with sauteed tomatoes, garlic, onions & parmiggiano. For breakfast Kelly & I had simple slices of bread toasted in butter out of a skillet. Granted, it was Sheri McKelvie's cranberry walnut bread (the best EVER go get some at the Memphis Farmer's Market next Saturday) & organic butter but it was simple nonetheless. I guess I'm getting all "Alice Waters" up in here, but its true what she says. If you start with the best organic & preferably local ingredients & prepare them simply it will be an incredibly delicious meal.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I definitely hear what you're saying. I think an area where many Americans get overly complex is with Mexican food. I once got a bunch of little soft corn tortilla shells and assembled a dozen different meats and toppings, but told the guests they were limited to three toppings on each taco. So everyone found out that combinations like roast pork, shredded cabbage, and tomatillo were pretty tasty compared to the average Taco Bell offering. That bigger wasn't necessarily better.

Cheers!

Michael Hughes said...

Ben-

That sounds de-lish! I want some pork, cabbage & tomatillo.

The Chubby Vegetarian said...

Thanks for the shout-out yo! I am going to attempt coal fired pizza soon like I had at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. Ya'll will have to come over for that.

Unknown said...

Simple, local food not only tastes better, it is also so much better for you. My digestion is always much improved by eating in, rather than going out. That being said, Jasmine was yummy last night!

Michael Hughes said...

Oh my gosh, Jasmine was very very good. They might take the cake for best lemongrass tofu in town.

Unknown said...

Don't try to tell Kelly that!!!