AutoGrill and Fast Espresso

I found myself longing for Italy recently while standing in line at a local “café”, with a wait going on ten minutes for two cappuccinos. This particular café has changed owners and the new folks still don’t have the espresso machine mastered. The number of movements required to grind the coffee, brew the espresso, steam the milk and combine it made no sense. Grind, dispense, tamp, look, look confused, grind some more, stop, add beans, grind some more, dispense, tamp, look. Now, move the filter towards the machine. Hmmm, too many grounds. Scrape some out, tamp, … There’s more, but I’d just being inflicting pain on an innocent reader. Surely these folks can see that customers will stand patiently for a few minutes, and then observing the glacial pace behind the counter, wheel around and march out. Given that, why not get training on how to run an espresso machine? Or for god’s sake, get an automatic machine if the big brute you inherited can’t be tamed?

While closing my eyes against the horrors being inflicted on my unsuspecting cappuccinos, my mind wandered longingly to some of the wonderful espressos (and cappuccinos) Laura and I have enjoyed on the Italian Autostrade. While Starbucks has the throughput thing pretty well covered, Starbucks espresso tastes crappy compared to an espresso you would find in Italy. A good espresso should be creamy and almost sweet. Try to find that at a Starbucks – be ready for burnt and bitter. AutoGrill, the Italian equivalent of a Quik Mart or Seven-Eleven, has gas and snacks, but also a deli with terrific paninis and a full espresso bar! Behind the bar are baristas (always men for some reason) running “big iron” espresso machines, creating a culinary work of art with every cup they prepare. You can find great espressos everywhere in Italy, but who would have thought that some of the best and most accessible are found in gas stations? And they are fast…!

– Chris

Paris Bound!

Laura and I have a trip to Paris coming up soon, and I hope to document at least a few unusual culinary discoveries while we are there.  My goal is to find some low key, high quality restaurants that aren’t well known, rather than killing ourselves with seven nights of bazillion course meals at the well known restaurants.  I’m working on a list of “undiscovered” chefs who have small, unique restaurants and will memorialize the results on this blog.  That said, it may be that if one can get into a Ducasse restaurant, one takes the opportunity!  Stay tuned …

– Chris

Wired for Food

Wired magazine is full of weird stuff about technology, the internet, politics, our environment and the surreal nature of life.  When I find the time to work my way through an issue, I look at the world a little differently.  Here’s some interesting stuff from recent issues:

“Cool Whip: A delicious blend of sugar, wax and condom lube.”
Here’s a one page article breaking down the ingredients in Cool Whip to water, sugar, various oils and waxes, and finally, the equivalent of condom lube.  I can’t help but wonder what happens if you just take all this crap and throw it in a blender.  Might be a good you-Tube video …!

“What’s Inside Red Bull: Meat Sugar, Caffeine, and Bile!”
Another blender project.  Take some water, sugar, caffeine, vitamins and other chemicals that aid the body’s conversion of sugars to energy and hit the button.  Voila!  Red Bull!   Well, not quite.  Turns out you need some Taurine, an amino acid extracted from bull bile.  Don’t have any Taurine?  Heck, just pound a cold coffee with two sugars!

Molecular Gastronomy is gaining more attention, partly due to Marcel Vigneron, a Top Chef finalist last season.  Marcel’s creations involve using chemicals like sodium alginate, calcium chloride, agar, and nitrous oxide.  The result is food that takes on forms that aren’t anything like you had when you were a kid.  Or since.

And last but certainly not least, there is Chef Grant Achatz of the Chicago restaurant, Alinea.  Grant has created a new form of food art by designing new implements and hardware to create his dishes, introducing some of the same chemical techniques used by Marcel Vigneron, and literally sculpting each dish into its final form.  Alinea, open for about 30 months, is thought by some to be the best restaurant in the country.  Unfortunately, Grant is suffering from an advanced form of tongue cancer of all things, but remains at the helm of his restaurant.

– Chris