the good and the bad of food ...

... so over the last couple of days I have been out and about again savouring some culinary delights of NY. Last night I headed off with a new NY acquaintance and her friend to Tabla Bread Bar on Madison and 25th. Cocktails were ordinary, and food a bit greasy. Sindy would not be rushing back for the food. However the company was good and the view of Madison Square Park was certainly very pleasant on a hot and humid NY evening. The thing that seems to sell Tabla is that it is dog friendly (ie they offer doggy treats and are quite happy for your dawg to sit under your chair and look cute - Saint Bernards need not apply unless you want to look like something out of a greek wedding). I don't think they thought this should mean that the dogs become friendly with each other. Unfortunately Suki the maltese cross and Brewster the black lab puppy decided they liked the look of each other in THAT way. Not pretty when the waiters are trying to be cool carrying their cocktails around, to have to ignore the owners frantically tugging on collars and trying to disengage their best friends...
Then again, NY is just a dawgy paradise really - big dogs. Yesterday in the lift at my flat, there was a large miniature sheepdog, which for some reason was very agitated about another lift persons bag. Turns out the bag contained a little yappy thing. Fun fun fun as you go up 23 floors, to watch the two owners trying to keep their dogs apart.
Today for lunch I went to Del Friscos with a colleague and a nice lawyer. It is a Texan steakhouse place, and the steaks were pretty special. Luckily enough I restricted myself to the 8oz filet mignon. However colleague and lawyer decided to share the 36oz giant Kobi (sp?) ribeye. We also got sides of asparagus and macaroni cheese just in case we got hungry (what is it with Americans and having macaroni cheese on the side when eating steak. Its like saying "well, I am loading up with cholesterol and trans fat so lets just top that sucker up with cheese and carbs!" Yeah .... The macaroni cheese had "American cheddar" on top too. I really don't know what is in that stuff - it is bright orange. Now nothing that comes out of a cow is orange. Maybe it is added cane syrup?)
Anyway, back to the 36oz ribeye. First the two men had to come to a compromise on how to have the steak cooked. One wanted medium the other wanted medium rare. So medium it was, as we were told they do tend to cook on the rare side (trust me, my filet was what I would have called rare, when I asked for medium. It was gorgeous though!)
The 36oz arrives in one piece to be divided between them and with a giant rib bone sticking out of it. That is a bit close to the bone I thought (ha ha couldn't resist!). It literally looked like something out of the Flintstones. The rib must have been 60cm long, and very wide across - as you would expect from a cow's rib. Would have loved to watch someone try to suck the marrow out of that one.
The steak knives they provided much each have weighed about 10oz, with a giant sharp serrated edge - scary but I guess what you need when tackling that delicacy!
So the two men had their hunk of beef divided up, and did a good job of polishing it off. One thing I have noticed with the beef though (same at Michael Jordans), is that they COAT it in salt and pepper. Too much salt. The beef itself is beautiful, but I find I have to scrape the outside to really get rid of the salty taste... interesting ... no need for dinner tonight for me anyway!