August 16 In Eating

August 16, 2017

Days Until. . .

Coolinary Summer Specials End 16

Edible Dictionary

chicken-fried steak, n.--A slice of lean beef pan-fried with a medium-thick coating of flour and bread crumbs. The beef usually comes from a less-expensive part of the cow, and is pounded to make it tender. The coating is applied in three steps, starting with a thin coating of flour, followed by an egg wash, then by either more flour or bread crumbs. It's cooked in a pan of hot, shallow oil, although lard, rendered beef fat, or shortening were once used. Chicken-fried steak is classically served with "cream gravy," which isn't really a gravy, and rarely contains cream. Really, it's a bechamel with pan drippings, salt and pepper. Chicken-fried steak is almost certainly a descendent of German and Austrian dishes like wiener schnitzel, with a rustic touch. Its point of origin is probably Texas, where a lot of people with that heritage immigrated.

Gourmet Gazetteer

Whiskyville is seven miles off the south shore of Lake Erie, in northern Ohio. It's old farming country in decline, with an unusually large number of abandoned railroad lines crossing the countryside. The presence of a large trailer park is no bonus. But what would you expect of a town called Whiskyville? The restaurant in the area is Farmer Boys, just west of the crossroads that gives Whiskyville its center. Big double burgers are the specialty.

The Beginnings Of A Great Cocktail

Today in 1498, on his third voyage, Christopher Columbus landed on the beach of the island of Margarita, off the coast of what is now Venezuela. He was met on the beach by Jimmy Buffett, who, in 1948. . .oh, wait. I transposed two numbers and now. . . well, never mind. However, it's also National Rum Day. Until the storm, New Orleans had the only rum distillery in the United States, making N.O. Rum. Logically enough, this is also Baba au Rhum Day. Rum baba--a cake soaked with rum mixed with syrup--was once a popular dessert in New Orleans restaurants. The old Chris Steak House made an especially good one. But I don't think any restaurant serves it anymore.

The Gourmet Of The Opera

Gioacchino Rossini was one of the great composers of opera, a dedicated gourmet, and the man for whom the foie-gras-topped dish filet de boeuf Rossini is named. He didn't just like it: he created it. Today in 1846, he got married. He never composed another opera. "Why do you waste all that time writing all that stuff for big women to howl?" his wife probably told him.

Annals Of Oyster-Eating

Grand Central Station began construction in New York City today in 1904. It's the last of the Apple's great train stations, and also the home of the fabulous old Oyster Bar and Restaurant (that's it's official name). In a unique space with its arching tile ceilings, they serve not only great oysters from all over the world, but a lengthy list of daily fish specials. The oyster bar was a New York creation that we adopted, as much as we think of the institution as our own.

Wine Pioneers

Today is the birthday of Fess Parker, who was a hero to many guys my age who were little boys in the 1950s, when he played Davy Crockett. After his acting career ended, he did well in many other ventures, including the excellent winery that bears his name in Southern California. The label features a small coonskin cap in gold. It was one of the biggest thrills of my radio career to have him as a guest on my show about ten years ago. I was saddened to hear of his passing in 2020. He was 86. He'll always be the king of the wild frontier to me.

The Saints

Today is the feast day of St. Roch, a well-known name in New Orleans food history. The St. Roch Market, on the street with the same name at the corner of St. Claude, was one of the last neighborhood public markets. Like all the rest was made obsolete by the advent of supermarkets. In recent decades, it was the home of a seafood restaurant, which later opened branches in New Orleans East and Covington. Roch (pronounced "rock") was a French nobleman, alleged to have been born with a birthmark in the shape of a cross. He lived in the 1300s, when plague was running rampant. He caught it himself, and while waiting to die in the woods outside Montpelier, he was kept alive by a dog who brought him food every day. He is much revered in Italy, where he's called St. Rocco. There have been some spinoffs of the New Orleans St. Roch connections, notably the restaurant Avo and the restaurant on the corner of Lafitte and Jevverson Streets in Mandeville.

Food Names

Singer Eydie Gorme was born today in 1932. . . Bill Spooner, who was a member of the rock group The Tubes, was born today in 1949. . . Ebenezer Sage, a Congressman from New York in the early 1800s, was born today in 1765.

Words To Drink By

"Let us candidly admit that there are shameful blemishes on the American past, of which the worst by far is rum. Nevertheless, we have improved man's lot and enriched his civilization with rye, bourbon and the Martini cocktail. In all history has any other nation done so much?"--Bernard De Voto, American novelist. "Beer is not a good cocktail party drink, especially in a home where you don't know where the bathroom is."-- Billy Carter.

Words To Eat By

"If the material world is merely illusion, an honest guru should be as content with Budweiser and bratwurst as with raw carrot juice, tofu and seaweed slime."--Edward Abbey.