Andrew Mark Veety

Assorted Minutia: 4/30-5/06/2011

I've started to keep a tumblr diary for all the little things that I find, read or eat during the week. With any luck the quick thoughts, dishes I ate and pictures I accumulated along the way will make for a a disjointed yet interesting weekly post.

Porter's Fried Chicken

Depending on who you talk to, Porter's is serving up the best fried chicken in St. Louis. I'd suggest listening to the folks who will tell you it's not to be missed. Skip the sides (or even eating at Porter's) and focus on crisp and flavorful chicken, perfect eaten warm from the box or cold from the fridge. My preference is to alternate between Crystal's hot sauce and honey between pieces.

I last wrote about Porters in August of 2008.

Pizza Toppings / Garnish / Relish

I make this topping a few hours before I begin tossing pizzas. Start with a base of sea salt, minced garlic, crushed red pepper and good olive oil. Add herbs like marjoram or oregano, always fresh and rough chopped to expose their natural oils to the mixture. Drizzle over your pizza before sending it into the oven.

Pizza Made With YellowTree Farm Fall Honey

On the topic of pizza, I used honey from my CSA this week to replace sugar in a pizza dough. Give it a read, then give it a go in your oven.

Garlic And Dill Quick Pickles

My two year old son seems to have my love of pickles in his DNA. Rather than serving up the erie green pickles found at the grocery store, I try to make a batch of quick pickles every few week or so. Dill, garlic, salt, onion powder, water and white wine vinegar make for a treat that quickly vanishes from the fridge.

Matt vs. Food

I was lucky to have my brother Matt and my future brother in law Chris in town for a visit recently. 

We pretty much ate and drank from the moment they got off the plane from North Carolina until they left three days later, starting off with some outstanding sushi at Tani Sushi Bistro in Clayton. For the midwest, Tani somehow manages to get fish that is of a better quality than I can normally find around town. 

Standouts at Tani include the sashimi, the dragon ball, a collection of inventive rolls (sadly many include cream cheese which continues to confuse me) and a real treat - the hot rock - served in a thick bowl and accompanied with thinly sliced raw beef in a soy, garlic, ginger and yuzu. The beef cooks directly on the stone in seconds and is a perfect foil to the sushi.

I took the guys to the City Diner for breakfast the next day and to discuss what we would end up doing during their visit. After a half hour of fruitless discussion, my brother suggested that a eating tour of St. Louis might be in order. 

I was into the idea of a tour of my favorite places here in town, however I had no desire to actually complete such a task myself. I let him know that if he felt up to it, he would be eating alone for the most part and that when in doubt, I would be ordering for him.

Lucky for everyone my brother is hungry, brave and willing to entertain his big brother - and what follows is a minute to minute and bite to bite recap of Matt vs. Food - St. Louis Edition.

09:43:46 AM - City Diner - St. Louis Missouri

The plot is hatched and the day is full of possibilities. I kick Matt's day off with a slinger - two eggs with sausage and hash browns, topped with chili and cheese. Friends recommended that the City Diner slinger should be topped with mustard as well. From the way Matt devoured the dish - I can only assume it was a good addition.

The mere mortals amongst us enjoyed BLT's and The Southsider - eggs, biscuits and gravy with hash browns.

Fortified on sturdy carbs from breakfast we headed out to get Matt the St. Louis eating adventure that he demanded, nay deserved, for flying in to spend the weekend with me.

11:37:56 AM - Woofie's - St. Louis Missouri

I last visited Woofie's in November and I reviewed and contrasted Chicago style and New York style dogs. I suggested the Chili Pie for Matt - a Vienna dog served on a bed of chili, Fritos, onions, pickles and cheese. 

Matt knife and sporking it at Woofies, enjoying each bite a bit to much.

01:22:51 PM - Carl's Drive-In - St. Louis Missouri

I wrote up a long time favorite of mine, Carl's Drive-In, last fall. I can't think of an out of town visitor that I have not tried to bring to Carl's because the burgers are executed so well. Pressed flat on a griddle, the burgers become completely caramelized and for some diners take on a sweet flavor that plays along with the toppings. Matt enjoyed a double cheeseburger with all the fixings and a mug of home made root beer the size of his head.

A few hours and stops in, Matt was motoring along and devouring everything I could put in front of him.

01:48:12 PM - Kolache Factory - St. Louis Missouri

A kolache is a small dough treat filled with any number of meat, vegetable or fruit fillings. The Kolache Factory is a small chain with a shop in St. Louis and serve several dozen varieties of this eastern European treat. 

Matt opted for a Philly Cheesesteak while Chris took a chance with the bbq pork. In hindsight, this seems to be the first time I captured gastronomic distress in my brother.

02:14:53 PM - Ted Drewes Frozen Custard - St. Louis Missouri

Ted Drewes has been serving frozen custard in St. Louis since the 1920's and its likely that no other local location has received as much attention by the national media than it has - the place is known far and wide for its frozen treats. Because of this, "that custard place" is always on the lips of visitors as someplace they would like to stop while they are in town. 

It could be that the massive quantity of cream, eggs and sugar are leading to the serious nature of this picture, however it could be that a concrete from Ted Drewes is nothing to joke about and he's just getting down to spooning that sweet treat into his already filled food hole. 

02:39:47 PM - CC's Depot Dog - Home Depot - St. Louis Missouri

A hot dog from Home Depot? You bet your ass. CC's Depot Dogs can be found nestled by the exit doors of the Kingshighway Home Depot, and they serve up some tasty hot dogs for a price you can't beat for quick lunch - a loaded Chicago style or custom dog will run you about two bucks after tossing a quarter into the tip jar.

Matt "enjoying" a CC's dog in the parking lot, not to mention his third or fourth soft drink of the day. All that sugar - rookie eating tour mistake for sure.

03:12:14 PM - Gus' Pretzels - St. Louis Missouri

Gus' rests in the shadow of the Budweiser brewery and has been making pretzels since the 1920's. With dinner reservations at Modesto for later that evening, I figured that this doughy and salty treat would be perfect for soaking up all the grease and chili Matt had taken down.

Matt Veety - eating machine - he will break you.

10:59:46 AM - Chris' Pancake & Dining - St. Louis Missouri

The next morning we began again, this time at Chris' Pancake & Dining for some much needed breakfast. To my amazement Matt dove right back into the challenge after a nights sleep and healthy constitutional, this time opting for steak and eggs with hash browns. The only issue with his order resulted from his relative unfamiliarity with the menu. When you are offered a side of toast or pancakes at a pancake house, you always, always say pancake. After a quick discussion he indeed have the pancakes.

I joined Matt for the carb load by taking down a stack of pancakes with bacon, eggs, hash browns and a bloody mary. However, to be fair, I didn't eat much the day before and I had just finished running up all 42 floors of the Metropolitan Building for the American Lung Association.

04:41:01 PM - Tin Can Tavern and Grille - St. Louis Missouri

As part of my plans for the weekend, I pulled together a bar crawl around Tower Grove Park with stops at The Royale, Three Monkey's, The Tin Can Tavern and Grille, The Amsterdam Tavern, Tower Pub, Stella Blues, Friendly's and The Blackthorne Pub. 

Matt waited all day to try out the mini corn dogs at The Tin Can and compared their doughy goodness to the classic appetizer called pigs in a blanket - an observation I can't bring myself to argue with.

Keeping up the impressive consumption, Matt didn't hesitate to enjoy a cold PBR with his mini corn dogs, while I enjoyed the opportunity to share my neighborhood and friends with my family.

07:59:49 PM - Stella Blues - St. Louis Missouri

While others faded, Matt saddled up the bar at Stella Blues and took down a basket of onion rings.

Moving into his 48th hour of eating, Matt kept taking his best shot at menu's all over St. Louis. It was an epic showing that left me proud yet concerned about his body's ability to process all that grilled, fried and steamed food. 

10:17:35 PM - The Blackthorne Pub - St. Louis Missouri

Regular readers might remember my post on the Blackthorne Pub, where they serve up Chicago and pan style pizzas in the land of the inedible thin crust pizza topped with provel - St. Louis. The Blackthorne turned out to be the end of Matt's eating tour as well as the bar crawl, which is probably a good thing for all of us.

A group of us destroyed several pizzas in a matter of minutes before retiring for the evening. While we all had a great time, I find myself wishing great piles of vegetables on my brother to help him recover from this eating challenge - because as I was creating this post - I noticed his meals were totally devoid of them. 

Good times - great meals.

Let's never do this again.

The Penguin Drive-In

In 1954 Jim and Jean Ballentine purchased an ice cream shop in the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. Populated with families and craftsman style bungalow homes, The Penguin (locally known as "The Bird") was an anchor of the neighborhood during its hay-day serving ice cream, burgers and hot dogs. 

Over the years Charlotte sprawled into the county and the neighborhood fell into decline. The family run businesses that surrounded The Penguin moved and were replaced with adult entertainment establishments. Business slowed and the local hot spot fell into disrepair, closing its doors in 1999. 

Since that time, interest in rehabbing the neighborhood took hold. Families moved back to the area to rehab homes and a group of punk rock kids took over The Penguin, bringing the business back to life. Today, like in the past, The Penguin is a local hot spot with great food and lines running out the door. 

I've been waiting for some time to visit The Penguin, specifically to try a new favorite of mine, deep fried pickles. I've been hooked on this dish since Sara and I visited Gulf Shores, Alabama on our honeymoon. Whereas the pickles in Alabama were breaded with corn meal, the pickles at The Penguin have a light and thin coating that reminds me of tempura. Served with ranch dressing, the fried pickles were a great pairing for a beer and the local soda, a cherry flavored drink called Cheerwine.

As soon as the pickles were polished off, I dug into The Penguin's Big Block Burger. The Big Block Burger is two beef patties weighing a combined 2/3rd of a pound topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions.

Finishing off the meal was a Race Track Dog topped with mustard, a loose meat chili, a mayo based cole slaw and chopped onions. 

The most memorable part of this hot dog was the scent of chili and cole slaw that hung low over the table as we ate and made me hesitant to try this dog. However, missing out on this treat would have been a mistake. The cole slaw was light and had a tang that you normally find with a vinegar based slaw. Hidden beneath the dog was a spicy mustard that completes each bite with just a bit of heat. 

A few other treats enjoyed at our lunch at The Penguin:

 

The Tupelo Special - Peanut Butter and Banana on Texas Toast

Thin sliced onion rings with a lonely pickle riding on top.

Opinion: Recommended

1921 Commonwealth Ave

Charlotte, North Carolina 28205

Flipper Freddy’s Polish Pickles

When I was about 5 or 6 my parents packed up their drab green mid-seventies Chevrolet Impala and we set sail along the highways from Arizona to our new home in New York. As my parents arranged to buy our first home in New York, we lived with my Grandparents in Pine Bush, a small farming town about 90 miles outside of New York City.

We ended up living in the farm house my mother grew up for several months. While most of my attention as focused on playing with Matchbox’s cars in a mound of dirt near the driveway, I can remember being intrigued by the dark and steep stairs into the basement, its walls lined with mason jars filled with the bounty of the past summers harvest. It seemed my Grandparents would pickle just about everything they grew, beans, beets, carrots, celery and my favorite to this day, cucumbers.

As I attempt to garden myself and shop our local farmers markets when in season, I have a greater appreciation for the multicolored jars in my grandparents basement. Not only is canning, jarring and pickling a great way to extend a harvest into the fall and winter, it is a tradition that I hope to pass long to my children. The simple act of making pickles forces us to slow down and appreciate where our food comes from, and our relationship to it. Free from chemicals and preservatives, we are taking the best our gardens have to offer and saving a part of it to enjoy later.

With this in mind, this morning at the Tower Grove Farmers Market I came across a basket filled with Kirby cucumbers, each one seemingly as big around as they were long and most likely picked within the past 24 hours. I selected a dozen of the best cucumbers I could find as well as three heads of fresh garlic.

Placing my find on the scale, the farmer running the booth smiled and commented “Pickles”. I grinned and continued my shopping, but in the back of my mind I was thinking not only about the pickles that I would make when I got home, but also of all the possibilities they offered, wingmen to a future sandwich and perhaps a cookout where my pickles rode high on burgers along with fresh tomatoes, onion and lettuce.

Making refrigerator pickles at home is cheap, easy and produces a vastly superior product than what lines the shelves of your local grocery store. Once made, they will keep in your fridge for weeks. That is if you can restrain yourself from frequent visits, fork in hand for a taste a few every time you pass through the kitchen.

What follows is my recipe for Flipper Freddy’s Polish Pickles, in honor of my Grandfather, made in quart sized mason jars. As you make yours, just multiply the measurements below by the number of jars you have.

3 large Kirby cucumbers
1 Tablespoon fresh grated horseradish
Several cloves of fresh garlic, chopped roughly
10 Peppercorns
1 Teaspoon of mustard seed
1/2 Teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
9 Oz. Water
5 Oz. White vinegar

1. Prepare a water bath for your jars, letting the jars and jar collars sit as you prepare your ingredients.

2. In a saucepan, combine water, vinegar, salt and sugar, heat until near boiling and combined. Remove brine from heat.

3. Slice or quarter your cucumbers and set aside.

4. Grate Horseradish and set aside.

5. Peel and chop fresh garlic and set aside.

6. Remove jars from the bath using a set of tongs, letting as much water as possible drain back into the bath, arrange in a conveyor belt fashion near your workspace.

7. Add horseradish, garlic, peppercorns and mustard seeds to your jar, then pack your cucumbers in, leaving a small headspace near the top.

8. Ladle brine over your cucumbers, enough to cover. You may need to shake each jar a little to eliminate any air pockets that may have developed.

9. Cap and hand tighten each collar, set aside on a countertop for several hours to cool.

10. Hand tighten collars again, reserve to fridge.

Your pickles should develop a great, spicy kosher pickle flavor over the next week to 10 days and will keep for weeks. Enjoy.