GASTRONORMOUS

There is something odious to me about serving scrambled eggs in a martini glass, but I must admit this recipe for creamy scrambled eggs with mushrooms and herbs featured over at the Kitchn sounds totally delish.

Eat It: Brooklyn gives a more or less negative review of Alma, where I have had mixed experiences, too. I have had enchiladas wading in a pool of cheese-oil there more than once. Sometimes their food leaves me cold, but some lucky nights it is spot-on. The guacamole is reliably good, and their brunch can be amazing, depending on what you order. EIB has some enchiladas that she rightly complains look unappetizing. I think I can explain the iceberg-lettuce topping, though: My husband makes muy excellente New Mexican enchiladas, and always tops them with iceberg and onions, so I guess is is a southwestern thing. That isn’t how we do it in California, but I sort of like the bit of freshness and crunch it adds.

The Epicurious blog reports on the new COMPOSTABLE cups and plates that you can use at your next picnic. Interestingly, they are made by Solo, makers of the ubiquitous red or blue plastic tumblers. Good for them, for not contributing more to the Pacific Ocean island of plastic.

Years ago, I had my friend Eddy over for some baked beans and corn bread I made, and pretty much every single time I have seen him since then, he has mentioned how delicious those beans were, and he wished I would make them again. Thing is, I seem to have lost the recipe. I cannot find it in my recipe file, and I am pretty sure I did not get it from a cook book. Well, I might just have to try this recipe from the Amateur Gourmet, as he pronounces these “the best beans of your life.”

Growing up in a, shall we say, non-cosmopolitan central California town, you can imagine that the buffet restaurant called Smorga Bob’s (I swear) was a big hit. And it was, for a while. It is long gone, but I still remember they had swedish meatballs in deference to the titular reference to a smorgasboard, but otherwise, the menu was a free-for-all, pan-nation collection of meat, grease, and starch. Well, you can certainly get much closer to what a true smorgasboard tonight at the Swedish Midsummer Festival in Battery Park City. This, and other weekend food event are listed over at Serious Eats: NY.

After visiting the Flea in search of antiques (by which I mean I went just to eat and if I happened to peruse some vintage merch, so be it), and being terribly disappointed to not find the Kumquat Cupcakery booth in operation that day, my friend Em and I left in search of cupcakes on the outside. We quickly came across Tillie’s, where we ordered cappucinos and I, a lemon-lime cupcake. I didn’t realize until after I purchased the confection that it was in fact a vegan cupcake from Red Bamboo, the neighborhood’s go-to spot for vegetarian Caribbean, soul, and junk food. I must admit that I then approached the cupcake with trepidation. I am picky about my buttercream, and I abhor the (what I assume to be) whipped crisco and sugar that passes for buttercream at many a bakery. Since there is obviously no real butter in a vegan cupcake, how good this one possibly be?

It turns out that is it possible for a vegan cupcake to be impossibly good. The buttercream frosting was, well, buttercreamy, and the cake was moist and flavorful. The flecks of lemon and lime zest throughout the cake and frosting only added to the scrumptiousness. Incredibly, I didn’t miss the dairy at all.

So, I am delighted to report that my first, accidental, foray into vegan baked goods was a rousing success! Nest stop, Babycakes!

Olea is a little Mediterranean/tapas restaurant in Fort Greene that we had managed to go to for brunch a few times (which I would recommend if you are in the neighborhood, say for the Flea, a block away), but hadn’t tried it for dinner until this recent meal there. [photo courtesy Brownstoner]

There were no tables immediately available indoors, so the Hubs and I accepted an outdoor table, though it was borderline too chilly to sit out there (we were limited on time as we had a movie at BAM to get to). The inside of the restaurant is very Mediterranean: very cozy, rustic, and tile-y. The outdoor seating consists of some simple tables and chairs pushed up against the facade of the building, but it is a quiet street, so the lack of a partitioned outdoor dining space wasn’t a problem.

Our affable waiter took our orders promptly, tell us about the specials and warning us of what was not available from the menu that evening (which I appreciate–one of my pet peeves is when you order something and then the waiter tells you they are out). Though they had an enticing array of tapas, we decided to go with two apps and two entrees.

To start, we had the falafel-crusted artichokes, served with some marinated vegetables. The artichokes were crispy and had good flavor, but were drastically under seasoned. The cold marinated vegetables that came with it, though, were divine. I could have eaten a bowl of those with some crusty bread and been really happy.  The slaw, made with oil-curved olives and citrus was also really good: fresh, crisp, and well-seasoned.

Next came the scallops (a special), served with gigantes (large white beans), greens, and crispy carrot chips. The bivalves were perfectly cooked, and well complemented by the tasty beans and greens. Though Hubs thought the carrot crisps were too much like Terra Chips dumped on top of his meal, I must say I was a fan. The wheat pasta with spring vegetables was another winner–for the most part. The delicate flavors of pasta, vegetables, cream, lemon zest, and crispy almonds were perfectly balanced, but like the artichokes, could have used some salt. Ok, a lot of salt. Another odd thing about the pasta. The tough skin around the fava beans wasn’t removed! I had to slip each bean out of the skin before I ate it. It wasn’t a big deal to do, but really, that is the kitchen’s job, isn’t it? At the Hub’s urging, I called the waiter over to politely point out the problem. I felt bad because he seemed a little flustered and embarrassed about it, but I thought the kitchen should be told, lest a customer less pleasant than me complain about it.

Overall, with a few shakes of table salt, I enjoyed the meal. I would definitely recommend Olea if you are in need of a good meal in the neighborhood. I look forward to returning for tapas some evening soon.

Olea
171 Lafayette Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 643-7003