He Likes it Raw
At raw food eatery Quintessence in the East Village — and even at the location on the Upper West Side — restaurateur Dan Hoyt creates some of the most innovative and well-reviewed raw food recipes in the culinary world. The Thai dumplings, filled with crisp slices of cucumber and red bell pepper, layered on top of a creamy Thai spiced pate and drizzled with a special sauce, are bursting with the exotic flavors of Thailand.
Peter's Pot, a hodgepodge of blended tomato, yellow pepper and cucumber soup — enriched with dulse, basil and a dash of propolis — is a mixture that's not only delicious, but also boosts the body's healing power.
The Mali Kofta, an astounding creation brought back due to overwhelming demand, is inspired by a popular Indian dish with vegetable balls made from sprouted chick peas smothered in a creamy almond curry sauce over a bed of sprouted wild rice, accompanied by zesty mango chutney and mock tamarind sauce.
The spotted dick, however, leaves something to be desired.
christmas was the usual whirlwind of cookie-eating, present-opening, church-enduring, christmas-cracker-pulling, poker-playing, and of course seemingly ceaseless driving. i happily enjoyed a quick 'n' easy ride down with tricia m., instead of the bus, which was nice. dinner at paul's, a last-minute christmas eve shopping afternoon, three stops on christmas day, and bang we're back. i got a lot of kitchen-based gifts, much to the delight of chef carl, who can now chop his garlic on grade-a bamboo cutting boards in his choice of two sizes, a last-minute regift from my mom (thanks mom!). we also got personalized aprons! and homemade hats! and colorful argyle socks! and of course books and cd's and an atari "flashback" system that's getting a lot of use already. gotta love those 1980 graphics. oh! and carl and i both won the lottery. well, scratch tickets from paul. i won 25 buckaroonies and carl won ten. good times. carl also got a cold from my mom: the gift that keeps on giving. thanks mom!
and my birthday, yesterday, was very lazy. paninis with dad and carl at bar toto for lunch, an afternoon of laying around, then cheese and the long-saved dr. frank's champagne at home, followed by dinner at blue ribbon with nate and holly. this birthday is a pretty anticlimactic thing after last year's milestone. yes, folks, once you hit 26 it's all downhill!