Wilfrid

@StephanieL Bird's custard is a flashback to my youth for me.

Second most read Eater story of 2024. Inexplicable.

I want a muffin. Two of my cheeses were from Formaggio, one from Zabar.

Seared foie with capers and raisins fried in olive oil. I am obsessed with the caper/raisin combo which seems to garnish anything. Elk, sauce au poivre, roast vegetables. Pont L'Eveque, Asturian queso azul, Crostina di Pane. Contino Gran Reserva 1996. Nervous when the cork is a soft sponge but I managed to extract it piece by piece without crumbs in the wine. And the wine is fine, still opening up.

Serendipity. Tables for three were scarce this week at restaurants with which I am familiar, but I stumbled across an opening at The Bee Next Door, which is indeed next to the big Bee. And what a pleasure to write that everything was really good. A small, cozy room, no bar, elegant servers. For a moment I thought they only had a beer/wine license because I saw no cocktail list. Not at all; our server told us they didn't have house cocktails but could make any classic, just name it. So we did. The menu is short and slightly curious. There is a prix fixe ($88) with choices from three courses; there's also a carte, which for the most part has the same (or very similar) dishes to the prix fixe. There are some supplements including a hefty $65 for a white truffle risotto. We ate an outstanding sunchoke velouté with tender braised chestnuts, a soft poached egg, little pieces of grape and probably half a dozen other things. A salade gourmande came with a generous hunk of foie gras. Black cod marinated in white miso, then caramelized with daikon radish cream, prettily sculpted slices of daikon radish and slivers of regular radish — unbelievably good. One member of the party went for the lobster and received the tail with a mild curry sauce and, on a separate plate, a pile of claw meat on a slice of toast. Desserts were truffled ice cream, millefeuille with pear custard and Calvados ice cream, and a dark chocolate torte. Chenin Blanc with the seafood. After dinner, the sommelier went to some lengths to track down their last bottle of Quinta Dos Pesos Carcevalos 1997, a sort of cross between port and madeira. I was grateful for the effort. Worth putting on the list and serves to make me more curious about L'Abeille. One thing perhaps worth noting is that none of us ordered meat (there was a filet and a Wagyu burger), so no risk of a chewy hunk of gristle this time.

It's actually not good for the pharmacies. I needed some toothpaste this week. I would have to trudge through the snow to find a pharmacy that has it, then trudge around the store to find someone to unlock the cabinet. Or I could order it same day, free delivery, from my armchair...

I remember watching him, most likely when he was with the Mets for a couple of seasons.

I have cured pork belly in salt before, but not recently. I saw a pack of cured salt pork in the supermarket, so why not petit salé aux lentilles? The pork soaked overnight. Lentils cooked in chicken stock with carrots then finished with red wine (they drank it, you can't see it) and previously sauteed shallots. I crisped slices of the pork in the shallot oil. Really good and actually didn't need mustard.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DD4qkMFxcWT/?igsh=MWk5d3d6aWxwajJ0bg==

Funny to scroll up and see my table from a year ago. I have no memory of making rabbit tacos, but well done me.

Yay. And I am not a big puzzle fan, yes the food ones are fun.

I went to 125th Street last night after sunset to enjoy the holiday lights. I have been walking by PB Brasserie since it opened in September, admiring the huge, sweeping bar and meaning to go in. It was never the right time until last night. It is a gorgeous space, the bar curved and endless, lovely stools; the more formal dining in the back. And it was busy. There was a DJ (Friday, I don't know if it's nightly), volume tolerable, a lot of vintage funk (kept my Shazam busy; I remembered Yarborough and People after I looked them up). I drank a PB 125 which was sort of Old Fashioned-adjacent and comes regular or smoked, which is an attention-getting conflagration. Service was nice (okay and good looking). The food I saw at the bar looked good, but it was too early for me. I plan to go back to eat. Menu is French bistro/steakhouse, only the joloff rice reminding you that PB is an allusion to the veteran West African Ponty Bistro with which it is connected.

Okay, that location (where I did eat), closed 14 years ago. It then opened on Avenue C and I have to believe I ate there but have no memory of it. That one closed nine years ago. So after the "brief hiatus" of almost a decade, I wonder what the latest place has in common with the earlier ones?

I'll have the poached brains followed by the sweetbread and truffle pie, thanks.

You know it's a snowy day when I spend the morning doing puzzles in the New Yorker.

I confess I enjoyed the digital interactive thing where you had to drag cartoons into a timeline to get them into chronological order. Like there was an obviously ancient one that turned out to be 1929, but if it was about COVID you knew it was later than that. Fun.

Le Jardin is apparently "back." The veteran of Cleveland Place (okay, Lafayette) has re-opened on Delancey after a "brief hiatus" (no, it's been years). As the menu description of coq au vin begins "oven roasted chicken," someone else needs to bat for the team here.

And another worthwhile show at Hauser & Wirth. https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/henry-taylor-no-title/

I am still waiting for this week's. Usually comes on Tuesday. I have it in the app of course.

I blame myself for not really paying attention to the price when ordering. Given all the raves I think I ordered badly. Rosner doesn't mention the lamb. Neither does Cuozzo, but it looks like it was a $64 veal shank when he went.

It ended up disappointing. It had all started so well. Lovely room, great service. First course, sweetbread spiedini, absolutely glorious. Sweetbreads charred on the outside, soft inside, charred leeks and a delicious sauce. A glass of Tortuga Libertango orange wine with that. Pastas served either side of me looked and smelled great; but I try to avoid pasta. I ordered the only red meat on the menu, roast leg of lamb. How difficult can it be to get that right? The plate was garnished with fiercely vinegary green leaves in a vinegary sauce. The lamb, garnished with prune pieces, had just not been cooked long and slow enough. There were a couple of big, inedible pieces of gristle; generally it was just chewy. Not as chewy as NYC duck breasts, but chewy. A glass of red wine, Occhipinti. Sigh. No dessert, a grappa and espresso. Check for two courses with drinks? $200 before tip. I am not going to blame the glasses of wine this time. The lamb (clearly portioned for one person not for sharing) was priced ludicrously at $64. That would be too expensive even if it was good. Appetizer and a pasta is clearly the way to go, although the pasta portions are modest.

I am so preeningly pleased with myself. The new New Yorker praises the Criterion Channel and mentions two movies I had already selected and watched. "Man's Castle," a 1933 movie with Spencer Tracy because early Spencer Tracy is always great. "Bushman," 1971, in which a young Nigerian man's immersion in San Francisco life is violently ripped into a documentary when the actor playing the role is deported.

Happens to me about once a year. I think it's the postal service but if you can be bothered to complain to customer service they usually add a couple of weeks to your subscription.

And slammed by 5.30.

I finished work for the holidays and went down to Borgo for an opening time walk-in. Easy. Six of us in line and there is plenty of bar seating. Lovely transformation of the old I Trulli space.