“But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has praised Los Angeles for its practice, defended the system. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘If you can’t pass [a health] inspection one time, you can’t pass an inspection every time.’”

- Glenn Collins’ article “A Stir Over the Plan to Grade New York City’s Restaurants” in The New York Times

I can’t share this whole recipe with you. It’s not a secret. It’s just that I was in a mood when I started it, and ended up opening my cabinets and dumping everything into a bowl in instinctual proportion but without paying attention. So to repeat, you may need to release the tension into the salad dressing, abandoning any care for convention, and relish this spicy concoction. So somewhere in the line of: 2 minced shallots, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon cashew butter, crushed red pepper flakes, a little coconut milk, 1 teaspoon chipotle salsa, 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon whole grain English mustard, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, and some pepper. Whisk. Taste. Holy shit.

“Look, we can live in San Francisco forever, and we’re never going to change anyone’s mind because we’re going to be in our insular community. If we ever want to make any change, we’ve got to be the monkey wrench from the inside.”

- Camille Eklof, co-owner of Justus Drugstore: A Restaurant (from The New York Times article “Farm to Table“)

Fish baked in a pouch. Sounds eh, doesn’t it? Well how about Thyme and Lemon Butter Cod en Papillote with Leeks and Purple Haze Carrots? Suit your fancy? Did mine when I came across a variant in Cook’s Illustrated.

You know it’s, err, finally happening when The New York Times reports on a trend. Uses of “Blipster” and “locavore” come to mind, but let’s not go there. Other than dubbing the recent artisan foods and specialty shops opening in Brooklyn a “movement,” and selecting those owners that aesthetically mesh with the existing Brooklyn “hipster” vibe, Oliver Schwaner-Albright’s article is worth the read (inspiring, even). He gives some well-earned props to Brooklyn Flea, the Mast Brothers Chocolate, McClure’s, Fine & Raw, and Marlow & Sons. I posted on the Flea back in November after a trip out to see Bob McClure, Michael and Rick Mast, and Daniel Sklarr. The return to real artisan trade, keen attention to detail, and community support in Brooklyn is definitely inspiring and can’t help but be reminiscent of the Berkeley food revival in the 70s and 80s. But small, local movements like these need something bigger (i.e. Alice Waters) to make any sort of national impact or even be dubbed a movement. What’s next, Brooklyn?

In the meantime, I need a job. Let’s revive the traditional apprenticeship, shall we?

Also, check out the comments from readers in the Diner’s Journal Blog.

Nothing can bring you out of the depths of jet lag, writer’s block, and the melancholy from hating the recession, NY produce in winter, and NY restaurants in general like a rich, savory Lebanese lamb stew. I am a lamb and stew newbie so this was a small revelation. We actually had to look up lamb to verify its animal origin: sheep. This post is not without some myth busting and prejudice, specifically my relegation of lamb to the gamey, smelly variety of meat that I would never touch. Thanks to this recipe and Harold McGee, I have overcome my judgments. Mutton, though, is a different story.