Gourmet Tucked Away in Norwalk: Nicholas Roberts

Nicole and I had the day off recently so we decided to go to the dog track and wet our beaks a little.  Before that though we wanted to find an inexpensive place for a quick lunch.  By fate perhaps we found ourselves at a frequently traversed crossroads in Norwalk...take a right down Main Street toward Joe's condo and Valencia Luncheria, go straight and take a walking tour of the News 12 facility, take a left toward Fat Cat or Nicholas Roberts.  Oh yeah, Nicholas Roberts, that place somewhere in Norwalk that supposedly has really good creative gourmet food. 

Not hard to find at all if you know where Talk of The Town Nightclub is.  No?  Driving down Main Street toward Wall Street, Nicholas Roberts is on the right and with prominent enough black on orange signage.  We walked through a heavy velvet curtain after entering the front door that gave way to a pretty open space, instantly changing the vibe from Hot & Speedy Pizza next door to something more hipster.  Inside is done up in that low cost HGTV way of faux walls, and features a large chalk on blackboard mural just above head level on the far wall (so as not to get smudged if people lean back I suppose).  Ikea furniture for the tables, probably covered with cloth for dinner as Nicole noted, but dressed down during the day.  There's a large case when you first enter on the left displaying some of the food for takeout if you're on the go. 

I forgot that the place is still cash-only, and we had about $15 between us.  It caught me off guard when we saw the sign and Nicole looked to me for our next move, but alas it would not be a problem...we could eat and then run to the ATM in the gas station at the intersection we were told.   

We began with a bowl of cauliflower and sweet onion soup, pureed but not quite smooth.  It was a sort of dull brown color from the caramelized onions, whose flavor was the most prominent of all.  Although we didn't get much cauliflower, it brought us instant warmth on a frigid day, nice earthy flavors without being too herby.  I thought I tasted some celery root in there; not as prominent as celery stalk, but an underlying and mild aroma of it. They were a little heavy-handed on the white pepper you might say, but it worked to give the soup a little bit of spice.

Nicole ordered a pulled pork sandwich served with sweet potato fries, and I went for the lamb kebab with their "famous" french fries on the side.  I was tempted by the potatoes roasted in duck fat, but being a first time customer I took the bait with the " " tag.  I also had an iced tea infused with chai and unsweetened but for the whole blackberries, blueberries and segments of strawberries floating in it.  I spent a good deal of the time between courses trying to stab the fruit and pull it up to my mouth, but then found that I could crush and suck little bits through the straw to the same effect.

We were having a late lunch but there were a handful of other people there enjoying the laid back vibe and snazzy music.  Despite the high ceilings the noise level wasn't a problem, but I could see it being a different story if it was full house and people were popping bottles.

Nicole's pulled pork was served on an ordinary store bought bun, with a cole slaw featuring apples atop the meat.  The texture of the pork was good, tender and chopped small, but I was hoping for a little more spice and vinegar, Eastern Caa-olina style.  The apple slaw was crunchy, the matchsticks of it big enough to feel in each bite, but again it lacked a little bit of tang for me.  Still, not a bad effort at pulled pork at all and hard to put down.  The sweet potato fries were cut thicker than normal fries, with the outsides not achieving that extra crunch that russets yield on the second fry.  I'm a big fan of the starchy sweetness though, and coarse grains of salt are enough garnish for me to make up one of my favorite sweet/salty endeavors.  Nicole opted for a ketchup bath, something I don't approve of with sweet potatoes.

As my plate came I had to taste a fry first to get it as fresh from the oil as possible.  Deliberately or not, the pile was made up of longer fries and lots of bits of irregular nubs that get an extra shade of brown and crunch by the time the regular sticks finish cooking.  They were quite good, ketchup or not, each one crunchy through and through. 

The lamb kebab was nicely wrapped warm in a flour tortilla and on the first bite through I got a wave of freshness from chopped parsley, mint and cilantro, all kind of playing off each other in that order.  The meat was comprised of little links of sausage, reminiscent of merguez and North Africa, flavored with cumin but giving off just a little bit of heat.  It was pretty lean, just discernible as lamb, and it oozed a little of its natural juice with each bite.  The yogurt dipping sauce was as advertised; really good herb and spicy that is.  It had a nice tang to it and was full of flavor to stand up to the abundant action of the meat and herb salad in the wrap.

It was a large lunch for us, a bit of a splurge since we're used to cereal and leftovers midday, but we were both thoroughly satisfied with the meal and the experience.  The ingredients used are of good quality, and the technique of chef Robert Troilo is obvious in the creativity and breadth of cuisines covered on the menu.  A hop skip and a jump over Route 1 and back with some cash and we got out of there for about $25.  We'd definitely come back on the rare occasion we're in the area at breakfast time knowing they're reputed for it.  And we'll keep it in mind for takeout on a weeknight when we're bereft of dinner ideas, or maybe for another lunch date on our way to Rrrrrraceway Park in the Spring.

NR does breakfast and lunch weekdays but closes around 3pm, so get the dinner takeout order in early.  They also do brunch on the weekends and have a full catering business.  Nicholas Troilo founded the business, Robert does the food, and that's where the name comes from.  Still without a liquor license, they encourage you to BYOB with a small corkage fee.  Ironically, they also have a wine business located on Route 1 in Darien.  Peter Troilo, somehow shafted when it came to naming the enterprise, runs that end of things.

Harkening Back to...Nope: Harry's Bar, Venice

When it's frigid outside and I'm shoveling feet of snow I think how only a short time ago it was Summer...

And when you reach Venice you have to turn in your motor car to be herded on and off water buses by attendants sporting rat tails (local tradition), unless there's a strike, but you'll have plenty of notice in that case.  The whole setup of the place strikes some as Disney-ish, but unlike a lot of other jaded travelers, I think Venice is great (nothing against Disney either).

You can almost totally avoid Piazza San Marco or the Ponte Rialto and still find enough to make the place memorable, which I suggest.  My favorite thing is to just stroll down the narrow alleys, crossing the minor canals and getting lost.  The winding waterways make it easy to lose your sense of direction, but you're never that far from anything.

And the remarkable thing is that without cars and with significant speed restrictions on boats it's silent.  All I need to do is find an empty piazza, decrepit but still showing glimpses of Gothic-Byzantine opulence, and I realize why I just enjoy the feeling of being there.  It took me until the third trip there to get that, but I think Nicole quickly got on board with that during our short honeymoon stay.

Being big Prosecco fans and knowing we were just offshore of Treviso and Valdobbiadene, we sampled many a bottle a Venezia.  And favoring it over champagne for almost every toast since we've known each other, we've used it to make mixes with fruit and other liquors, all of which descend from the Bellini.

Harry's Bar is often cited as the birthplace of the Bellini; Prosecco with white peach pulp mixed in. It's also reputed for its super dry martini, sucked down by guys like Ernest Hemingway and Alfred Hitchcock.

So I thought Harry's Bar would be reminiscent of the big band years, when club waiters in tuxedos were standard and life was lived in black and white.  Sometimes I just get it plain wrong, and Harry's is an example of that.
   

Risotto with Asparagus & Mushrooms

Maybe the joke's on us. We weren't trying to play dress up as though we'd just stepped off our yacht and were in search of other classy people who smoke Pall Malls. The objective was the original drink but we ended up spending an unjustified amount of money on an underwhelming dinner.

Based on our limited information we were imagining some kind of of haunt reminiscent of the good old days, an outdoor bar where we could pull up and be served aperitivi and stiff vodka drinks by slick bartenders, a dish or two of food scattered in between in the setting sun of La Serenissima. Instead we were immediately ushered upstairs since there's no outdoor bar to be found and the first floor is cramped.

We ordered a couple Bellinis off the bat, served up in thin stemless glasses, flat and as if they were poured from a big pitcher.  Was it even real peach?  Maybe it was the same stuff sold in soda bottles in coffee bars around the city.  Then we stuck around against better judgement to look at a food menu averaging about 40 Euros a dish. Indeed, and we knew there wasn't much to be said for its reputation as a gastronomic destination, as with anything Cipriani, who now own it. Nicole had a decent risotto with asparagus and I had a tender but salatissimo dish of cuttlefish cooked in its ink.  The waiters serve each dish from a tableside platter on to your dinner plate, and the portions are more than any one diner is going to eat, so it makes the prices a little more understandable.  But what if you don't want an automatic doggy bag?   

Pearly white Polenta and tar black Cuddly Fish

We were left thinking, are all the other people tricked into it like us? It didn't seem that way. It would be unfortunate if the other patrons actually thought this was something to behold, but they ate it up.  I did a number on my napkin from all the squid ink though so maybe the dry cleaning costs explain the whole sham.   

We didn't hate our Harry's experience and we concluded by laughing at our carelessness for walking in and being inundated with the white glove business that we normally snicker at. I've had better Bellinis elsewhere (like 40 Hogan Trail, mixologist Gina Saponare), so this place is definitely one I will dissuade others from seeking out in the future.

You're better off enjoying a glass of Prosecco in your hotel room and squeezing some ripe white peaches between your fingers to a pulp (feels good) and shmearing it into your glass if you really want one.

Starting 2011 Off Right: Carnitas

Shakedown 1986, cool kids love school lunch tacos before they discover Old El Paso mix...
Not many people stuff taco shells or burritos with ground meat anymore. Usually it's carne asada or slow cooked puerco.  But I remember taco days at Kings Highway Elementary School.  Always a special day for me, the one time in the month when I'd line up with the privileged kids to buy lunch tickets before class started.  Later in the dim basement cafeteria I got to savor the yellow corn shells filled with Grade B ground meat, the juices of which oozed out onto my cheeks as I tilted my head sideways to chow down.

I thoroughly enjoyed the vaguely Mexican-seasoned meat topped with plain canned crushed tomatoes (salsa hadn't been invented yet).  My favorite school lunch by far...except when they used the leftover Sloppy Joe meat from the day before and passed it off as taco filling, which was sorely disappointing.    

Those experiences made me lobby for taco nights at home, and later during my pre-pubescent "baby fat" years led to $.49 tacos by the dozen from Taco Bell in the Trumbull Mall food court...but I've since repented for that.

Now I want a taco or burrito or carnita filled with meat I have to chew a little bit.  Granted, not big pieces of flank steak that require 40 revolutions to swallow and fall out of the burrito on the first bite, but a little resistance is nice.

I had a bad experience recently with a Mexican place in Stratford whose name I won't mention.  The pork I ordered was slow cooked, but after that it was probably left in hotel pan in a warm oven for a day or two to suck virtually all the life out of it.  I liken it to what I imagine the tassels that dangle off suede cowboy jackets taste like.  A disgrace.

It was such a shame because pork shoulder, the cut of choice, can take so much cooking (often in dry heat) and still moisture clings to it.  On a good piece the fat is of a quality that it liquefies in heat and dresses the protein, congealing at room temperature or below to act almost like a confit if there's enough of it.

Heat it up again and back it goes to liquid that sizzles and crackles in the pan, the sound assuring you it's going to be good.

Pork shoulder has gained in popularity in recent years with the renewed interest in slow cooking.  The "Boston Butt" is actually a large piece of shoulder meat, usually with the bone included.  So when you're shopping look for either designation.  If it comes bone-in you can cut around and remove it for this dish or have a butcher do it.  If they've left the skin intact you can choose whether you'd like to keep it on or cut if off to make cracklings.   

When I made this recently I started with a good piece of shoulder from Whole Foods, they tell me sourced from a farm in upstate NY.  Pale pink streaked with white, it also had a nice layer of solid white fat without anything sinewy or any shiny silver skin to trim.  The seasoning was comprised of garlic, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon and a little bit of lime juice.  

After a couple hours in the oven uncovered

Cooking the meat in the oven slowly and then re-cooking after shredding it apart crisped the ends and concentrated the flavor.  It may look stringy but texturally and in terms of flavor it was spot on.

I let it cool and waited for the next day to actually make the carnitas, at which point I threw it in a pan for even more cooking, improving it further.  There was plenty of residual fat to fry it up, crisping it to the nth.  No package of flavor crystals needed.  

From there take your pick of bright, fresh Mexican flavors to complete the dish.  Avocado, fresh cilantro and lime are a good start.  Pico de gallo or plain tomato, onions (raw or cooked), cheese and a cream of some sort, be it sour or a puree are good options as well.  I used soft corn tortillas, which are a little granular but have that full corn flavor that just tastes like lunch in Oaxaca, or something like that.



Shredded, it still keeps its moisture  

This method can really be utilized to suit the style of almost any region's cuisine.  Just add and subtract herbs, spices and other sources of flavor to your liking.

I could eat it with some eggs in the morning, with some piquant sauce on a sandwich for lunch, or mixed in with a stock reduction for a ragu over some pasta for dinner.  Just cook some of it up on the weekend and re-cook it throughout the week to your heart's content.

      

Serves 8

Ingredients:
4 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 8 to 10 chunks
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin (whole if you have it, toasted then ground)
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 to 3 tablespoons oil for browning the meat

Juice of 2 limes

Soft corn or flour tortillas

Optional: 1 can or bottle of beer

Ideas for Toppings:
2 Avocados, sliced or medium diced
Fresh cilantro

1 red onion, medium diced
2 tomatoes, medium diced
Sour Cream
Queso Fresco, grated (substitute Monterrey Jack)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Salt and pepper the pieces of pork generously.  Bring the oil to medium heat in a heavy roasting pan or dutch oven.  When it shimmers add the pork pieces, mindful not to overcrowd the pan.  Let the pieces cook until well browned on one side, at least 5 minutes, then flip and repeat on another side or two, then remove them to a platter lined with absorbent paper. 

When all the pork is done drain the excess fat and turn off the heat on the stove.  Making sure there is only a little fat left in the pan and that it's cooled down to only moderately hot, carefully add water (it may splatter) or the beer to the pan and deglaze the bits stuck to the bottom.

Add the pork pieces back to the pan in one layer and cover 2/3 the way up the meat with the water and/or remaining beer.  Add the spices, garlic and lime juice.



After 3 1/2 hours the liquid is reduced to a silky glaze 

Place the pot in the oven, uncovered and cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, turning the meat a few times throughout, until it is well browned and there is only a little residual liquid.  Remove the meat from the pan and shred it when it's cool enough to handle.  

Then place it back in the pan and continue to cook, checking periodically, until it's the desired crispiness without being dry (that can take a while, perhaps another hour or more).  

Serve with garnishes rolled up in the tortillas, or in one of many ways I alluded to previously.