Does every restaurant serve mac'n'cheese right now?

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It's gotten to the point that it's no longer a handful of hip places that serve macaroni and cheese, they ALL seem to now. I remember when they all discovered goat cheese salad or salad aux lardons and I remember when everybody discovered arugula and cilantro in Marin when I was a kid. One day I'd never heard of them and the next they were in every grocery store. What kind of food trends are happening where you are?

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:02 (eighteen years ago)

SF needs to get back on the fried artichoke w/aioli thing, but I love that we have great french fries all over the place now.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:05 (eighteen years ago)

I remember when they all discovered goat cheese salad or salad aux lardons and I remember when everybody discovered arugula and cilantro in Marin when I was a kid.

I have never heard of any of these foods!

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Friday, 26 January 2007 17:07 (eighteen years ago)

mac'n'cheese rocks

― Ms Misery (MissMiseryTX), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:10 (eighteen years ago)

Great comfort food when done right.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:11 (eighteen years ago)

I think mac/cheese is a different kind of food fad b/c it's not so much an exotic new ingredient as a "reimagined comfort food" kind of dish that you can sell as innovative (well, not so much anymore) cuisine while appealing to customers with less refined tastes, plus it's probably cheap as hell to make, even with fancy ingredients.

That sort of thing has been going on for a while now in New York - high-end waffles, high-end hot dogs, high-end pudding, etc.

I remember briefly seeing "fennel pollen" everywhere in NYC - maybe last year? Perhaps it didn't entirely catch on because too many New York allergy sufferers were put off by the name. I don't think I ever actually ate anything that had it.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:11 (eighteen years ago)

phil-two and i were talking about this the other day. i'm going to vong for dinner next week, and he was trying to remember the time when asian fusion was actually exciting, and this led to a fascinating discussion of the ubiquity* of once-novel dishes like black cod w/ miso, yellowtail sashimi w/ jalapeno, rock shrimp (or other seafood) tempura w/ creamy sauce, molten chocolate cake, etc.

*in upscale restaurant-land

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:12 (eighteen years ago)

I've also noticed that "pho" is quite the buzzword now that pad thai is the new lo mein.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:13 (eighteen years ago)

cupcakes must be added to the list of high-end, reimagined comfort food.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:13 (eighteen years ago)

goats cheese salad, cilantro and fried artichokes.

i would really like to eat that right now

― Frozen Field and Fox (688), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:15 (eighteen years ago)

cliche i have no problem with - goat cheese and beet salad

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:16 (eighteen years ago)

or pear, walnut, and gorgonzola.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:16 (eighteen years ago)

"Great comfort food when done right."

How I do it right.

Tuna Mac a la Big Hairy Bachelor Dude:

Prepare 1 package of mac and cheese (store brand) according to directions. Obtain rosemary, basil and oregano from garden. Mince herbs with garlic and add to m&c. Also, add one diced tomato, one diced bell pepper, a diced yellow onion slice, a can of tuna and a raw egg. Tobasco or sriracha sauce optional. Stir well and pour into oiled cassarole dish, then top with grated parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

― Candy: tastes like chicken, if chicken was a candy. (Austin, Still), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:17 (eighteen years ago)

The mac'n'cheese in restaurants problem is the similar to the ketchup problem - it always sounds really good on the menu, but the commercial/typical homemade versions of these foods are so definitive that it's hard for a restaurant version to surpass it. I generally stay away from ordering mac'n'cheese in restaurants now because I've had so many oily/clumpy/watery/too crisp/too mushy versions. It's an easy dish to get right at home and hold for 30 minutes to serve, not so easy to make/remake and serve across a 6-hour span.

― THE POLITICO (Brian Miller), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:18 (eighteen years ago)

There's an upscale place in JC that makes a delicious version of mac 'n' cheese with pancetta, but I still feel a bit ripped-off to pay $16 for some pasta with cheese.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:19 (eighteen years ago)

how widespread is the hi-lo mac 'n cheese with white truffle?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:19 (eighteen years ago)

hardly any with white truffle, some with black truffle, waaaay too many with truffle oil.

― THE POLITICO (Brian Miller), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:21 (eighteen years ago)

I've also noticed that "pho" is quite the buzzword now that pad thai is the new lo mein.

aka the NY Times discovers what we've known about in Orange County for decades. (Sorry.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:21 (eighteen years ago)

There's something a little condescending about that kind of food - it's like your mom disguising your vegetables or something.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:22 (eighteen years ago)

(hi-lo, I mean)

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:22 (eighteen years ago)

What does pho mean?

― === temporary username === (Mark C), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:22 (eighteen years ago)

Pho rocks!

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:23 (eighteen years ago)

pff.

xpost to ned

it's a beef-broth based vietnamese soup, to give an extremely basic definition.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:24 (eighteen years ago)

i am loving the mac n cheese renaissance

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:24 (eighteen years ago)

vietnamese soup with sliced raw beef on top

― sexyDancer (sexyDancer), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:24 (eighteen years ago)

or tendon, or tripe, or meatballs...

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:25 (eighteen years ago)

....with as much cilantro as is physically possible without it becoming, you know, a bowl of cilantro.

― g00blar (gooblar), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:25 (eighteen years ago)

hi-lo pho

― blotter Budweiser Hackeysadk (nickalicious), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:25 (eighteen years ago)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho

I live across the street from a good pho place. Yum.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:25 (eighteen years ago)

My brother was speculating recently that pomegranates are the new hot ingredient.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:26 (eighteen years ago)

Pronounced "fuh," if you want to sound like a proper food snob.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:26 (eighteen years ago)

Chipotle seems like it's finally on the downswing.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:27 (eighteen years ago)

I miss all the mangoes

― sexyDancer (sexyDancer), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:28 (eighteen years ago)

I'm always curious about the downfall of these trends - probably once every little cafe and sandwich shop catches onto them and makes crappy versions of them, foodies no longer associate them with good taste and move on to something else

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:31 (eighteen years ago)

I have no problem with mac'n'cheese/cupcake infant food redux in restaurants - provided they're done well. I draw the line at self -consciously 'white trash' places like Butter but I like some other places, like Lime.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:31 (eighteen years ago)

fuck eating a mango

grits are showing up on haute-ish menus more too

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:31 (eighteen years ago)

OMG that butter place would annoy that shit out of me.

― g00blar (gooblar), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:32 (eighteen years ago)

mangoes are the best

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:32 (eighteen years ago)

polenta blazed the trail.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:32 (eighteen years ago)

90% chance grits on an upscale menu are preceeded by "stone ground"

― THE POLITICO (Brian Miller), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:33 (eighteen years ago)

It's the trend mentality in restaurants I find curious to observe.

I'm kind of sad that I can't eat grits.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:33 (eighteen years ago)

i'll take grits over polenta any day of the week.

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:33 (eighteen years ago)

is that place in chelsea that was actually in a trailer still around?

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:33 (eighteen years ago)

OK that butter place is actually freaking me out.

― Allyzay doesnt get into the monkeys or vindications (allyzay), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:34 (eighteen years ago)

i am allergic to mango. :( or, i have a family history of mango allergy. or superstition. or something.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:34 (eighteen years ago)

Wow, I'd really like to stink-bomb that Butter place.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:34 (eighteen years ago)

You don't need to, it stinks already.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:35 (eighteen years ago)

bummer about the mango allergy. it could be worse--i have someone in my family who is allergic to chocolate.

;_____;

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:35 (eighteen years ago)

How sad!!

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:36 (eighteen years ago)

thanks to this thread for reminding me to get mac and cheese for lunch

― acid waffle house (dubplatestyle), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:38 (eighteen years ago)

Skipping 51 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

But seriously, being in NYC far from my food sources is kind of weird, I'm def more aware now. Barbara Kingsolver has a host of good essays on the topic, and includes a story of being invited for dinner to a friend's place in NYC and being served fresh raspberries for dessert IN JANUARY. BK was amused & mildly disapproving and said said, "I wonder where raspberries come from in winter?" and the friend said, confusedly, "Uh, Zabar's?"

― Laurel (Laurel), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:42 (eighteen years ago)

We are doomed.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:47 (eighteen years ago)

That person probably owns a patio heater.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:47 (eighteen years ago)

i miss zabar's.

― tom mix-a-lot (get bent), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:47 (eighteen years ago)

What kind of food trends are happening where you are?

They always ask me if I want spicy fries or regular fries with that combo.

― do i have to draw you a diaphragm (Rock Hardy), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:49 (eighteen years ago)

patio?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:51 (eighteen years ago)

One of those infernal thing they use for heating the outdoors. (patio, paved area in a garden)

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:52 (eighteen years ago)

there seems to be a lot more awareness of food miles in the uk, at least from what i could tell, and as a result i'm definitely more conscious of it. whole foods has the country of origin listed for their produce, which i appreciate. it has the two-fold benefit of a) letting me know when i really shouldn't be purchasing things and b) really cutting down the grocery bills. if you're not buying asparagus from peru in february, things get a lot a cheaper!

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:52 (eighteen years ago)

My mother brought home a whole bag of garlic from Costco and it was grown in CHINA. CHINA. How the hell?

― Laurel (Laurel), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:53 (eighteen years ago)

Tesco is going to start putting carbon loading stickers on its goods. Which is a good thing.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:54 (eighteen years ago)

Phil are you in Chicago right now? If so, do you want to meet Jesse and me at Catch 35 around 5-ish?

i have a dentist appointment at 4:30, and I think I have a cavity :( the worst thing about coming home to chicago is that i have to go to the cheap korean dentist here since i dont have health insurance. the best thing though is the korean home cooking! oxtail soup, kalbi, soon dooboo, my aunt's famous homemade kimchee, pollack roe, spicy squid, but spicy squid gives me terrible gas.

― phil-two (phil-two), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:57 (eighteen years ago)

There was a good piece on NPR recently about how much cheaper produce is if you buy from ethnic markets. This is because most of these markets cater to a population with daily grocery shopping habits. As a result, the produce in those markets is actually ripe and meant to be eaten in a day or two whereas the stuff you get in a big American grocery store still has a couple weeks left in deference to the once-a-week shopping habits of non-immigrant Americans.

Cardon loading stickers is a brilliant idea. I wonder what the odds of them doing that in the US are?

xp - well, if you have terrible gas, you just go your own way, there. Sorry about the cavity, though. :(

― jennyjennyjenny (pullapartgirl), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:59 (eighteen years ago)

Sauces are fine as long as they are passata or tinned tomato based, (Nothing wrong with that in my book) it's flavourless fresh ones appearing in my salad in january that I object to.

So otm.

― g00blar (gooblar), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:23 (eighteen years ago)

The romas I get in winter are passable. I am a tomato junkie.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:32 (eighteen years ago)

You live in California though.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:33 (eighteen years ago)

lol @ npr being so behind the curve on what new yorkers (ok, people from brooklyn and queens) have known for years

― tom mix-a-lot (get bent), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:36 (eighteen years ago)

HI END TATER TOT PIE

― i've dreamt of rubies! (Mandee), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:40 (eighteen years ago)

I really load up at the Viet Hoa produce section when I go to Memphisto.

― do i have to draw you a diaphragm (Rock Hardy), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:41 (eighteen years ago)

Oh, I know, but most of that is greenhoused anyway. I'm more than willing to pay exorbitant amounts for winter tomatoes.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:42 (eighteen years ago)

HI END TATER TOT PIE

I'll take two, please.

― jennyjennyjenny (pullapartgirl), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:42 (eighteen years ago)

Greenhousing is fine (if not that tasty in winter) as long as the green houses are not heated or only heated sustainably.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:43 (eighteen years ago)

GROUND VEAL, ROASTED GARLIC, TRUFFLE OIL, DOUBLE CREAM, ORGANIC PEAS, JULIENNED ORGANIC CARROTS, TOPPED WITH ORGANIC AUSTRIAN RUSSET TATER TOTS ROASTED TO PERFECTION, and a squirt of MUSTARD for color

― i've dreamt of rubies! (Mandee), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:44 (eighteen years ago)

IM A FOOD WRITER IF YA CANT TELL

― i've dreamt of rubies! (Mandee), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:44 (eighteen years ago)

I've always maintained that growing your own tomatoes returns the greatest amount of benefit vs effort, because the difference in quality & taste is phenomenal. I kind of want to try growing them upside down inside my front window! Maybe a heirloom variety, not one that has to ripen off the vine and then travel, blergh.

― Laurel (Laurel), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:44 (eighteen years ago)

fuck, now I want mac and cheese. where can I get some in the financial district in SF for lunch?

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:47 (eighteen years ago)

boston market

― i've dreamt of rubies! (Mandee), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:47 (eighteen years ago)

the npr piece specifically focused on the produce market at the base of the manhattan bridge, the one that goes late into the night and offers deals such as 3lbs of yams for a dollar. it's an amazing resource, but as mentioned the major reason vendors there can sell so cheap is because they buy stuff wholesale that's about to turn, so it's not as good if you're only shopping for one or two people. you have to have superhuman motivation to cook and freeze, or you'll wind up throwing out several pounds of dessicated broccoli.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:49 (eighteen years ago)

The greengrocer I go to is run by Chinese Vietnamese, I think. It is magnificent; about 50% produce/fruit, plus dry and canned goods, a walk in with dairy, Grace bread, coffee beans, an olive and feta bar(!?) and a good juice fridge.

In the sumer, they have heirlooms and beefsteaks and all sorts of 'maters and I spend a fortune there.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:54 (eighteen years ago)

MANDEE = TIM@KFC.EDU!?!!?!?!!!!!

― UART variations (ex machina), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:56 (eighteen years ago)

xp to Lauren - Or just shop for the produce on the day you know you're going to eat it.

We live right next to a grocery store - literally. The view from our bedroom window is the parking lot. Despite this, I still regularly lapse into my old grocery shopping habits and start loading up on produce because I think I'll want to use it later in the week. The "stock up" mentality is really hard to overcome.

― jennyjennyjenny (pullapartgirl), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:57 (eighteen years ago)

fuck, now I want mac and cheese. where can I get some in the financial district in SF for lunch?

Does Julie's at Monty and Pine have it?

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:58 (eighteen years ago)

Or just shop for the produce on the day you know you're going to eat it.

yes, but the place in the story only sells in large quantities - 3lbs of yams, 3lbs of broccoli crowns, whole flat boxes of peaches, etc. there are limits to what one or two people can eat.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 26 January 2007 19:59 (eighteen years ago)

If I take the train home instead of the bus, I'm about a ten minute walk from home but the train ride is much quicker. It also places me right on path to walk right by my grocer's. I rarely have much extra produce hanging around as I mostly just buy as needed. In a pinch, there's a Korean grocer a block away who's cheap but not as good but useful if you've just run out of ginger or garlic or lemons or whatnot.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:01 (eighteen years ago)

yes, but the place in the story only sells in large quantities

Ah, sorry. I missed that part. That is somewhat limiting.

― jennyjennyjenny (pullapartgirl), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:04 (eighteen years ago)

I may have to make some gruyere mac and cheese right now.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:04 (eighteen years ago)

I have a farmers market that operates year round directly across the street from my house, which makes things very nice. Though, yeah, I do "stock up" in terms of getting enough stuff for the week (I'm not really convenient to a grocery store so it's either that or delivery, neither of which can be done on a daily basis), but I think at farmers' markets that is a bit easier--you can judge which tomatoes are ready to eat and which can last a few days. Right now though the selection isn't really that mouth-watering of produce, understandably, so I just go for delicious free-range bacon, old-skool style organic milk, and HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF EGGS. I swear, I eat 20x the eggs I ever did before now.

― Allyzay doesnt get into the monkeys or vindications (allyzay), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:10 (eighteen years ago)

I'm pretty lucky in terms of my provisioning round here. I have a waitrose, good weekend farmers markets and some good indian, italian and turkish stores. I'm just along the way from the central wholesale meat market for London as well. I can't get my head round buying more than 24 hours in advance (although I do stock up on teabags in case a war happens or something).

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:14 (eighteen years ago)

The time in my life I was best at buying only what I needed and shopping more frequently was when I lived in an old apartment building with only an undercounter fridge/freezer. No room, no stocking up.

― THE POLITICO (Brian Miller), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:17 (eighteen years ago)

We lived blocks away from an awesome year-round farmer's market in NC. They have a really good one in the Daley Center Plaza in Chicago in the spring/summer/fall but it's not quite as convenient as being able to talk over to it. I agree about farmer's market eggs! Delicious.

xp - We have a big old USA-style fridge in our apartment and I wish I wish it was one of those little jobbies. We could have a lot more counter space were that the case.

― jennyjennyjenny (pullapartgirl), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:18 (eighteen years ago)

Oh surely you have a stock up of canned goods or broths or dried pastas and such, what if the world ended tomorrow.

xpost I rarely end up throwing things out, I'm pretty good at looking in the fridge, saying, "Oh god I forgot I bought that kale (or whatever) 3 days ago, use it now," and getting a big soup or stew on that is easy to make and easier to keep leftovers to snack on. I've learned that skill very well because of having to go on infrequent grocery trips in DC and my last year in NYC.

― Allyzay doesnt get into the monkeys or vindications (allyzay), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:18 (eighteen years ago)

I have a farmers market that operates year round directly across the street from my house, which makes things very nice.

OH, I HATE YOUR BLEEDING GUTS. (But in a nice way, of course.)

This thread just made me order $50 worth of heirloom tomato seeds.

― do i have to draw you a diaphragm (Rock Hardy), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:32 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah I stock up on those items but only as part of the daily, or so, shop.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:37 (eighteen years ago)

That is not stocking up?!

― Allyzay doesnt get into the monkeys or vindications (allyzay), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:45 (eighteen years ago)

they last for a while = stocking up

anyway I have tea enough to get me past the early part of the war.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:46 (eighteen years ago)

i was just thinking about pomegranate just now. its in Georgian food as well, and works v well

― Frozen Field and Fox (688), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:53 (eighteen years ago)

i only eat food in tins :(

― i've dreamt of rubies! (Mandee), Friday, 26 January 2007 20:56 (eighteen years ago)

How do you get tins big enough to sit in, Mandee?

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 21:07 (eighteen years ago)

there are ways, m white. bigtinstoeatin.com

― i've dreamt of rubies! (Mandee), Friday, 26 January 2007 21:29 (eighteen years ago)

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 21:39 (eighteen years ago)

The CSA thing I go on about takes care of a lot of the fresh fruit/veg basics, though there's a newly started farmer's market on Sundays across the street from me. Nice but a long way to go until they're as good as others.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 January 2007 21:40 (eighteen years ago)

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