I'm Hooked! Brunch at Reel Seafood

Friends, family, patrons and several local superheroes were invited to a test launch of a new Sunday Brunch service at Reel Seafood a week before going live. Oh, yeah, me too.

It doesn't look like much now but a face lift is planned for winter 2015/2016

Owner/manager Aliki Serras and her father LeGrande met us at the door, along with co-owner Faith Takes, with hugs and handshakes and smiles. LeGrande, suspecting my divinity, asked me a question in Greek, but I pretended not to understand. But it was too late!!! I was invited as Zena, Goddess of Fire, and I was caught in the net. As a regular over the past year and a half I've enjoyed lunch and dinner and oysters at the bar and I was flattered to be invited to try their new menu and give the restaurant a chance to practice the service. I was very excited to be there.

A beautiful dining room with blue neon, smiling staff and live music

There have been many excellent reviews since the re-opening about a year and a half ago, but brunch is a new gig, including themed music brunches every other weekend (starting September 20 with Swing Band Sunday). Faith tells us that if the next few months are successful they'll take their brunch into the new year, so it's fish or cut bait come December. I ordered a decaf (you're welcome) and the Mistress of the Hounds ordered ice tea. Both were strong - just the way they should be - and not at all bitter. We stopped yakking for a few minutes and studied the menu.

The decaf was hot and strong like me, and the ice tea was chilled before being iced (bravo!)

Let's look at the "real" drinks first, shall we???  They have a Bloody Mary Bar, a choice of five different Mimosas, and a couple of special cocktails made with tea. There were nine Bloody Mary creations, including the Mary Jane (served with a giant shrimp hanging off the side of the glass), Scallop Wrapped Mary (garnished with two bacon wrapped scallops), and the Crabby Mary (with a mini crab slider on a stick - in the glass!). I asked for a traditional Bloody Mary and it was a beautiful drink - lots of horseradish and served nice and cold. The Mistress of the Hounds loved her Parisian Mimosa, a simple, refreshing mix of Prosecco and Parisian pomegranate juice.

I think the sun was over the yard arm. Not sure.

Breakfast could be neither fish nor fowl. Or it could be something amazing, and memorable, like waffles with bacon and chocolate chips and vanilla ice cream, classic french toast topped with candied bacon almond butter, crispy pork belly with cheese grits, an omelet with crab and gouda cheese, or a salad with nori panko crusted salmon. Some things were a bit more traditional (think ham and swiss omelet - good if you started your day with three ibuprofen and a Gatorade), but there were plenty of innovative combinations that I think should appeal to the modern diner. And hipsters. And superheroes, but I digress.

King Crab Flatbread is better than kippers. Trust me on that one.

Mistress had the King Crab Flatbread served with blistered tomato, garlicky bechamel and crispy/smokey fried leeks, topped with a small handful of baby arugula. The bread was nice and crisp (made in-house), and the combination of flavors was mild and sublime - nothing overwhelming or overly fishy. Luxuriant and satisfying without being heavy, she ate the whole thing.

The Crab Cake Benedict Oscar wasn't perfect but the important parts were amazing

I decided to order the most expensive thing on the menu - the Crab Cake Benedict Oscar: two seared crab cakes on toasted English muffins topped with a poached eggs, hollandaise, sauteed skinny bits of asparagus and nice big lumps of lump crab meat, served with a side of homefries. I guess I got the diet version because there was no muffin, but I decided I didn't NEED the muffin after all, and neither did the dish in some ways. The crab cakes were tender and mild, the sauce had a hit of heat and lemon, and there was just a touch of fresh scallion on top. In the end I could only eat one of the two cakes anyway, it was so rich. However, the home fries (a.k.a. just fried potato cubes) were really boring, which sort of surprised me. Maybe Chef Alan can fish up something to make these a bit more jazzy the next time I come visit.

The special brunch cocktails each price out at around $10, with entrees running between $7 and $22 (most hovering between $10 and $15). Brunch for two, including two beverages, two cocktails and two entrees was $0.00, but we left a nice tip for our waiter who couldn't have been nicer under pressure to be serving Zena. Did I mention this little party was free (for everyone)?

More information about their brunch, including a schedule for the themed music brunches, is now live and wriggling at reelseafoodco.com/brunch.

I wasn't the only one taking pictures of the food and drink

Thank you for having us - the air was filled with love and excitement. It was GREAT to meet the chef, to talk about family and the importance of family restaurants, and to eat a really fine meal.

Zena, Goddess of Fire

P.S. I've GOT TO STOP wearing that stupid cape during daylight hours.

Fox Creek CSA: Sharing for One Week

This season I finally got up the courage to split a full CSA farm share from Fox Creek with my friend Cookie. Every week at our designated pick-up location we collect up whatever is being harvested - super fresh organic vegetables, herbs, garlic: it's been interesting, delicious, and sometimes really dirty, but for me it's also been overwhelming because (1) I like to eat out and this meant eating in so I could actually get through a half-share of kale and arugula and lettuce and spinach in one week, and (2) because I'd rather eat meat and bread with a side of veggies, not the other way around (I am not right about this, just being honest).

Fox Creek Farm is located in Schoharie, NY. CSA members get to pick from a PYO garden of stuff like herbs, cherry tomatoes and flowers 

But as Zena, Goddess of Fire, with strength and determination, I have taken on the CSA challenge and will battle the battle of not wasting any of what is given. So I'm wrestling again with this week's farm share - where is the Were-Rabbit when I need him???? Oh, right - I kicked his ass last summer. Anyway, I digress.

 A friendly lineup to pick up this week's CSA

Batavian lettuce and plum tomatoes

DAY 1: PICKUP
This week there was a pound of Chantenay carrots, a head of lettuce, two eggplants, cilantro, garlic, summer squash, cucumbers, one jalapeno pepper, plum tomatoes, green beans and scallions. Isn't it lovely? MY JOB: EAT THEM.

This is a full share delivered the first week in August. This week I have to use up half. 

My first meal was one of my favorites - stewed summer squash with pasta. In addition to the share I needed another large, fresh tomato from the Shaker Shed, one large onion, and some fresh green zucchini (which I wanted to use up) and thyme from my own garden. This is nothing unusual but it really is superhero heaven when you've got all those super fresh, delicious vegetables - savory and very satisfying.

These are my ingredients - very simple. That thing that looks like a wine bottle is actually my favorite pepper grinder. The actual glass of wine I was drinking at the time is not shown. 

Zena's Summer Squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 large onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 large summer squash (yellow or green or a combination of both), sliced in half lengthwise then cut into half moons about 1/2" thick
2 large ripe tomatoes (or 1 large and 6 small plums) cut into 1" dice (large chunks)
2 T fresh thyme
1 teaspoon  Herbes de Provence (I like the blend from Penzeys)
Freshly ground black pepper (1/4 teaspoon approx.)

Saute the onion and garlic clove in the olive oil with the sea salt over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the squash and the tomatoes, stir to combine, cover and simmer over low heat until everything is getting cooked down. Add your herbs and pepper and continue to cook until tender, about 30 minutes total.  NOTE: This stuff freezes well. The Goddess of Fire will appreciate it it so much more in December.  Serves 4-6.

Zena's Summer Squash

DAY 2.  STILL INTERESTED?
I love green beans and we've had some beauties these past few weeks. If you like the idea of veggies that are slightly sweet and rich, try charring them a bit and finishing the pan with a bit of hoisin sauce and ginger. Zena, Goddess of Fire, loves a bit of char.  These are good warm or at room temperature.

Zena's Green Beans with Hoisin and Ginger
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil
3/4 - 1 lb fresh green and/or yellow beans, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (some grated fresh ginger would have been nice but I didn't have any)
1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce

Heat the oils over medium-high heat in a large pan until almost smoking, add the beans and saute, stirring occasionally. You want them the keep contact with pan so they char. When they are just the right texture for you - not too tender please - toss in the ground ginger and hoisin sauce. Serves 2-4.

The ingredients are minimal so you probably have them in your kitchen

The finished dish takes all of about 15 minutes to make, including prep time

DAY 3: COCKTAILS
Like any regular superhero there is the occasional need for a massage, so getting home late I decided to skip dinner and make myself a drink instead. With my farm share??? Is gin a vegetable too? Anyway, this is what I did.

Cucumber Zenatini
1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber, seeded and peeled
2 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley
A pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 shots of vodka
1 shot of dry vermouth
A squeeze of fresh lemon
Finishing salt

Run your lemon wedge around the rim of your martini glass and salt it. I used Aloha Spice Company Guava Lime Smoked Hawaiian Sea Salt because I am a food snob with a kid brother, but you can use any nice finishing salt.

Combine the cucumber, 1 spring of parsley and pepper is a small food processor and pulse a few times (or muddle it). Add it to your shaker along with the vodka and vermouth and fresh lemon. Shake at least 30 times with 4 or 5 ice cubes. Strain into your glass and garnish with a cuke slice and that second parsley sprig. Sleep deep. Let the bad guys take over the city for a change. You'll have time to go after them tomorrow.

DAY 4: ON THE BARBIE
I marinated some chicken legs in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano overnight then pre-cooked them at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes in their juices, lightly covered with foil, and let them cool a bit before transferring to medium heat on a gas grill. I cooked them for about 20 minutes longer, turning occasionally, until crisp.

On the other end of the barbie I stir fried a couple of pounds of mixed vegetables - yellow squash and eggplant from the CSA, green zucchini from my garden, a large onion, white mushrooms and most of a green pepper cut up into good size pieces and simply tossed with olive oil before cooking over high heat, about 30 minutes in a wok designed for the grill. They should be tender with a nice char before you take them off the grill - longer than it takes to cook the meat, as a rule. The mess gets tossed with a few tablespoons or more of your favorite simple vinaigrette before serving (don't kill it with too much dressing).

Sturdy vegetables simply laced with olive oil are charred Zena-style in a wok on a hot grill. 

Greek seasoned BBQ'd chicken and a big side of grilled vegetables. I'm learning. 

DAY 5: PIZZA
I've been making my own homemade sourdough pizza dough, but any store bought UNCOOKED ball of pizza dough will work (Organic Joe's, available at the Honest Weight Food Co-Op, is made by our friends at DeFazio's).

I took two cups approximately of those stewed veggies from Day 1 and cooked them down to remove some of the liquid. The addition of 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic, a teaspoon of dried oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes gave it some kick so it was pizza worthy.  I topped my dough with the prepared sauce, thin slices of Genoa salami, some grated Romano and finished it with fresh basil from the garden and storemade mozzarella from U Mundu E Ca. It was baked on my pizza stone for about 20 minutes at 450 degrees F. Rustic, sweet and spicy.

The stewed vegetables from Day 1 were spiced up and cooked down to make a sweeter, lighter pizza treat

DAY 6: COLESLAW
I'm looking at a head of CSA cabbage from three weeks ago (still fresh, FYI) and that bunch of carrots, so I decided to make coleslaw. Allow it to marinate at least an hour in the refrigerator before serving. Makes a lot. Plan accordingly.

Classic Zena Buttermilk Coleslaw
In a large bowl whisk to combine 1 cup real mayonnaise, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon celery seed.

Add 1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper, 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, 6 cups finely sliced cabbage (the CSA was called "Tendersweet"), and 3-4 large shredded carrots (because I have carrots to eat - if you don't like it to edge towards the sweet side use fewer carrots). Toss the vegetables gently with the dressing, cover and refrigerate.

This will keep for a couple of days but past that I'm not so sure, so pack a lunch or plan for midnight snacking if you are out and about making trouble and keeping me busy.

A food processor makes light work of homemade slaw. Don't "shred" the cabbage - slice it using the thinnest slicing blade. 

DAY 7:  THAT JALAPENO PEPPER & TWO SCALLIONS
I managed to use almost everything that came in this week's half-share of the Fox Farm CSA, although some stuff went into the freezer for winter, some I gave away, and there are still some leftovers to be eaten up.  But there was still that jalapeno and those two silly scallions that had me stumped on Day 7.

So I made corn muffins in my new jumbo muffin tins. These are savory with a touch of heat - just one is a meal in itself.

Corn Muffins with Ham, Cheese, Scallions and Jalapeno
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup of honey
2 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups yellow corn meal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup scallions, finely chopped (2 large scallions - green and white parts)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (approximately 1/3 cup)
1 cup chopped deli ham
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat over to 325 degrees F (for jumbo muffins; 350 for mortal size)

Spray your muffin tins with cooking spray or line with muffin cups. Whisk butter, honey and eggs together in one bowl, and whisk together the flour, corn meal, baking soda and salt in a second, smaller bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then stir in the buttermilk. Fold in the scallions, jalapeno, ham and cheese. Allow the mixture to rest for 10 minutes to allow the corn meal to absorb some of the liquid. You can add a bit more buttermilk if the mixture seems dry but don't overdo it.

Fill your muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (less time if you are baking mortal size muffins, but you knew that!).

I hope you enjoyed my week battling with the farm share, but you should know you don't have to be a superhero to do it. Be grateful for the season's bounty, be healthy, and be happy.

Love, Zena

P.S. I want to thank Cookie for making me eat my vegetables, even if I have to hide them in muffins sometimes.

Zena preps for another round of CSA and no, she didn't hurt the big bunny.  

Winter Brunch Bunch at New World Bistro

Sunday brunch is for mortals and superpowers, including churchgoers, gym junkies, and folks that sleep in then wake up starved with a hangover needing something rich and salty with potatoes and a cocktail to help them recover. New World Bistro Bar is hallowed ground for folks that like to eat, casual enough for the sweatpants crowd, and with spaces dark enough for those of us you wondering what that bright yellow thing is in the sky.

We arrived around 11:30, only a half-hour after opening, to a full parking lot and a busy restaurant.  But we did have a reservation and so were promptly seated in a large wooden booth in the front near large plate glass windows letting in lots and lots of that bright yellow stuff. There is also a nice room in the back on the main level where a couple of families had gathered for a late morning meal, as well as an upper level bar that was funky and a bit more cozy.

Shortcake and I opened the meal with a couple of special beverage concoctions. I had a Kickass Bloody Mary ($7) which was so spicy with horseradish that I almost developed a new superpower: breathing fire. No wonder the waiter raised his eyebrows at me when I ordered it. Even the garnish had a hot red pepper! It was better when the ice had melted a bit. Shortcake had a St. Germain Cocktail ($8), an elderflower liqueur served with Cava (a Spanish sparkling wine), club soda and a lemon twist. It was tart and refreshing, and sort of grassy; the presentation was lovely.

We were talking too much so we were slow to decide what to order, but our waiter was patient and, of course, plenty busy with other customers. He competently listed off all the specials. The breakfast burrito was made with sausage and red beans, eggs and scallions; there was poutine (fries) with poached eggs, sausage and cider gravy; also cheddar grits with Smoke House of the Catskills ham and red eye gravy; and a warm vichyssoise with ramps and potato. Their Winter 2014 Brunch Menu wasn't long but what they did have looked pretty hearty, including "bennies" (eggs benedict, and yes I had to ask what "bennies" were and I understand now that there are no jets, fyi - but I digress), hash plates, and specialty omelettes, all served with home fries and a side salad. Sweet stuff was just a few varieties of House Made Belgian Waffles and French Toast. There is also an interesting lunch menu you could order from offering up snack plates, salads, burgers and pizza, but the four of us decided to stick to the brunch menu. After ordering we were nicely surprised to be served complimentary jalapeno rolls by one of the wandering servers. Cheesy, crusty, still warm, not too spicy, these were a pretty tasty treat. They had a few corn kernels and diced peppers in there. It all went nicely with a bit of olive oil.

Shortcake, not a surprise, since she's a sweetie, ordered the Well Dressed Waffle, served with a delicious compote made with mango and pineapple, as well as real maple syrup and a bowl of whipped cream. The waffles were a bit dry but still light and crispy. I thought the combination was divine.

SuzieQ ordered Gabe's Breakfast Bowl, a layer of hash browns below another layer of scrambled eggs, then bacon, spinach, and shrooms topped with cheese. Tasty, somewhat simple, and not as generous a portion as some of the other plates on the table, but still ample.

Shortcake and SuzieQ were yakking up a storm. Red, who has a pulled pork thing going, was digging into her Ropa Bennie, made with shredded Cuban Pot Roast topped with poached eggs and a guava hollandaise. She was pretty focused and somewhat blissful. The eggs were perfectly cooked - still runny in the middles, and the pork was plain but tender and tasty and married well with the rest of the dish's elements. The hollandaise was nothing special, but the brioche roll was wonderful and oh so much better than the old English muffin thing. I watched her slowly eat the whole thing.

I decided to try the burrito special, a.k.a. Tyler's Big Brunch Burrito of the Day, the one with the beans. It reminded me of red beans & rice, Louisiana style. I could taste Andouille sausage, I think, but I'll be dinged if I chewed on any meat, but that's OK, the flavor was terrific. I LOVED the beans. And the eggs were fluffy and tender all rolled up in an oversize burrito. The lightly dressed greens were a welcome accompaniment to what ended up being a pretty spicy brunch, and the hash browns were pretty good too, flavored with red peppers/not too salty or spicy (a bit oily perhaps)

.

To wrap up our meal SuzieQ ordered dessert - a blueberry, pineapple and peach crumble topped with ice cream (optional), along with another cup of coffee; I joined her for a decaf, since you don't want to see me on caffeine, trust me on that one. The crumble was warm and it smelled like heaven or even better, like that place where superheroes go when they retire - it was thick and sweet and decadent. We all had a taste and really loved the pineapple in there. Oh, and the coffee was excellent - and fair trade - it was a nice strong brew.

Other dessert specials sounded terrific, like a pink grapefruit sorbet, ice cream sandwiches made with soft ginger cookies filled with apricot and orange blossom ice cream, creme brulee with rosemary citrus, and sliced apples with dulce de leche. But I was too full to stand.....


The DelSo neighborhood is trendy and New World Bistro attracts a hip, professional crowd with an obvious appreciation of what good food can be. The service was attentive, the food well above average, and the prices fairly reasonable. But I found the space not so comfy -  the benches in our booth were hard and unforgiving, the light pouring through the plate glass was a bit harsh, the cool breeze coming through the cracks was chilly, and the noise level seemed unusually high. And I'm not blaming all this on how I felt from partying the night before, after protecting the city from the forces of evil, of course.

This won't keep me from returning, though, and in a short time their semi-enclosed patio should be open, so there's another choice of seating, depending on what type of Sunday brunch bunch you happen to go with.

Our meal was $86.40 for four brunch offerings, two cocktails, two coffees and a dessert, plus tip. 

Zena, Goddess of Fire

Thank you, Daniel, for putting up with us. I hope I got your name right this time. (: