The Food Section

Ryan Magarian, Ambassador of Imbibing

By Jessica Ritz

At S Bar in Hollywood, miixologists-in-training observe as master bartender Ray Magarian teaches the nuances of crafting cocktails.

If cocktails everywhere were designed by Ryan Magarian and made by bartenders who have been through his training program, we'd be a country of seriously raging alcoholics.

But such a scenario would be very expensive. And more importantly, he'd never want it that way.

"I’m not trying to get people to drink more. I’m getting people to drink less. I just want you to drink better," he says. Although some existing and invented buzzwords are tossed around, he uses "passion," "awesome," and "excited" with such frequency and conviction that you just have to believe him.

The 10-plus years Magarian has spent concocting thousands of drinks and customizing cocktail menus for clients large (Holland America Cruise Line, Fairmont and Sofitel Hotels chains) and small (restaurants in Portland and Seattle) have not dampened his enthusiasm one bit. But lately the "associates" in his firm, Liquid Relations, crisscross the globe when he needs to stay closer to home in Portland. Magarian's other venture, Aviation Gin, takes his ambition one step further by allowing him to formulate actual raw materials, not just ingredient combinations. Such is the life of a master mixologist in contemporary American cocktail culture.

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Agenda: Calcotada, Burger Battle, and a Greenmarket Tour and Tasting

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Back Forty's Calçotada Festival
Following in Savoy's 8-year tradition, its sibling restaurant, Back Forty (190 Avenue B), presents its first annual Calçotada, a traditional Catalan onion festival that marks the start of spring. Enjoy live flamenco music as you enjoy grilled calçots (leeks) dipped in romesco sauce, hearty lamb chops, and a dessert of crema Catalana. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 14th with communal seating being held between 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Prepaid reservations are required. $60/person (212.388.1990).

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Q&A: Joanne Chen, Student of Sweet

By Anna Papoutsakis

Joanne Chen is the author of the newly released The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair with Our Favorite Treats. In the book, her first, she explores the science and culture behind why some of us have insatiable sweet tooths while others do not. The book also pays particularly interest to Americans' love-hate-guilt relationship to sweets and desserts.

There’s no doubt you're an avid lover of sweets. How did your sweet tooth become the inspiration for the book?

I grew up in a family that loved food, all sorts of food including sweets. We always had desserts and afterschool snacks, and I never thought sweets were a bad food or something limited to special occasions. So, when I became an adult, I was appalled that people didn’t feel the same way. I couldn’t believe people would pass up a just-baked pie! Or feel guilty about eating a cookie. So this book was an excuse to explore how our relationships with sweets (and food in general) came to be.

You write about the many ways people experience taste. What’s the difference between a non-taster, taster, and super-taster? How can someone find out what category they fall into?

Super-tasters have a higher density of taste buds than tasters and non-tasters. Our taste preferences are mainly determined by culture and experience, but our density of taste buds influence how intense certain foods might taste. So super-tasters are more apt to think certain vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, are very bitter, or certain sweets, like Rocky Road ice cream, are too sweet. As one scientist I interviewed explained, super-tasters live in a neon taste world, while non-tasters live in a pastel taste world. You can get an idea by taking a quiz on my website, The Taste of Sweet. You can also get strips of PTC paper from science hobby or teaching shops. These test strips will taste bitter to super-tasters and tasters. Non-tasters will taste nothing at all.

Are some sweets perceived as more low-brow than others? Why is a box of Godiva chocolates more coveted than a box of Whitman's? Isn't it all chocolate?

Yes, I believe some sweets ARE perceived as more low brow than others. It all depends on context. Godiva chocolates are considered more high end than Whitman’s because the price points are higher, justified, in part perhaps, by the purity/quality of the chocolate and fillings it’s made with. However, one scientist I interviewed brought up a good point. He wonders why certain wines are deemed better than others—what is “better”? It’s only deemed better because someone influential in a particular circle says so. Of course, in some social circles, Godiva chocolates are low brow, and something else—like Vosges or Michel Cluizel—is consider high brow.

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Agenda: Tequila, Chocolate, and Wine

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Tequila: The Future of Tradition
As spirits go, tequila often gets a bad rap. To educate imbibers about agave (above), tequila's flavor profile, and its rich history, Astor Center (399 Lafayette Street) is presenting a class, "Tequila The Future of Tradition." A discussion will be led by David Suro-Piñera, President of Siembra Azul Tequila and Foundation. along with tequila experts Dr. Rodolfo Fernandez and Claudio Jiménez Vizcarra, all of whom will be presenting in New York City for the first time. Sample a variety of tequilas, learn proper tasting techniques, and finish the evening off with appetizers from Café Frida. The class will take place in Astor Center's Gallery on Friday, May 9th, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $45/person.

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MarketWatch: Asparagus, Ramps, Miner's Lettuce, and Crepinettes

By Josh Friedland

Ramps at the Union Square Greenmarket, added to the MarketWatch Photo Pool by Flickr user guessica.

MarketWatch is a monthly report on what's fresh and new at farmers markets in New York and San Francisco. If you've visited a farmers market recently in your own community, tell us what's new in the comments. And, if you have photos, be sure to post them to the MarketWatch flickr pool.

NEW YORK: UNION SQUARE GREENMARKET

News & Notes
As mentioned last month, the construction project at the north end of Union Square has temporarily displaced some Greenmarket farmers and producers. They've been relocated to the busy south end of Union Square, mixed in among the upstart peddlers of beads, incense, used CDs, and other decidedly inedible things. Not everyone is thrilled with the arrangement. "Now you have to schlep through a maze of nonfood vendors to get to the underselling milk; it’s like a frenetic flea market crossed with the long-gone flower district," writes Regina Schrambling on her blog, gastropoda.

The good news is that when the project is finally completed (18 months from now, at the soonest), the Greenmarket will reclaim all of its original space in the North Plaza, which is to be re-paved with hexagonal blocks.

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Agenda: Date Night, Brooklyn Eats, a Day-A-Whey, and Audible Eating

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Sweet Eats to Heady Drinks
The Culinary Historians of New York present Dates in "Medieval Baghdad: Sweet Eats to Heady Drinks." Discover how medieval Baghdadi cooks and wine makers exploited the date, from its versatility as a sweetener to its ability to produce highly intoxicating wines. The lecture will be led by native Iraqi Professor Nawal Nasrallah (author, Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook). The event will take place at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South) on Monday, May 5th with check-in and reception at 7:30 p.m. followed by the lecture at 8:00 p.m. Tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets. $40/non-members and guests, $25/members, $22/students and seniors.

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Agenda: Book Talk, Bake Sale, Greek Easter, and Craft Beer

By Anna Papoutsakis

FEATURED EVENT

Book Talk
Brooklyn's Montauk Club will launch its monthly series, "Facts & Fictions," with readings from authors Alex Prud'homme (My Life in France) and Kim Sunée (Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home). The free event will take place Wednesday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at the Montauk Club (25 8th Avenue, Brooklyn). For more information, contact montaukreadings@gmail.com.

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Passover Postscript (2008 Edition)

By Josh Friedland

Last week's Passover conundrum, about what to make for a Passover dessert among so many interesting recipes, was narrowed to two final selections. I wanted to make something out of the ordinary, and the results were successful.

Above is a Spanish orange-almond flan, adapted by Joan Nathan from a recipe by Ana Bensadón. Somehow, I averted what I thought would be a complete disaster during the cooking process and somehow produced a pretty incredible dessert, worthy of making not just for the Passover holiday, but any time...you have a dozen eggs to spare! The disaster part came while cooking the flan in the oven, which was a surprise, since I successfully navigated the toughest step in the recipe: making caramel for my very first time (seen bubbling away below).

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Passover Dessert Recipes

By Josh Friedland

Desiring something different than the ubiquitous (but always delicious) flourless chocolate cake, I have been searching for something entirely new to make for Passover dessert this year.

I've had some success in Passovers past making Le Pain Quotidien's Belgian Brownies (above left), rich chocolate mini-cakes that, surprisingly, don't suffer at all from the absence of flour, as well as Joan Nathan's almendrados (above right), Spanish almond macaroons with a hint of lemon.

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