In the most beautiful of times, Autumn, we crave hearty and easy to heat or reheat foods. In Southern tradition the tailgate, campfire, back porch and by the fire foods have to be able to rest easy to eat, keep warm and/or fit inside a bun. Wanting to keep the focus on Indian cuisines for America the options were very easy to choose from for this colorful, cool season.

Meatballs and beans comes to mind. Pigeon peas (tur dhal) with diced pumpkin and fried pink lentils (masoor dhal); and ground beef, garam masala, and dried apricot khima. Our exploration of making the unfamiliar familiar and raising the familiar to the new or unfamiliar is a perfect project for kofta or khima in Mombai Parsi cuisine (keftedes, polpette, boulette de viands, meatballs) and dhal/dal (pulses is the culinary family name for legumes, peanuts, beans) which refers to vegetarian cuisine of the South or Dakshin, in this case of the Andrah region. As with all comfort foods the dishes may vary from region to region, home to home, mother to mother. The words may seem strange but the delicious is not.

Here we are in part three of a set of foods native to Indian cuisines that are items we regularly use in the Western Hemisphere. The more I learn the more these once mysterious ingredients and dishes arrive in my rotation of meals. This is as much fun as I have had in a very long time in discovering new ingredients and new ways of cooking. The dishes I have chosen are ones that friends have prepared in the past or that became alluring to me the more I learned of them. Please forgive if these are not completely of their home, the attempt is to familiarize for the ease of the American kitchen. Every time you shake a bottle of Worcestershire, use a chutney or cook split peas you are giving a nod to the vast continent of 33 distinct cuisines, India. Not only in dedication to Suyauta Winefield, Mariam & Wes Qureshi, Dot Whitelaw (Mother), Melanie P., Jordan T., Don Chambers, Jarad Blanton, Cindy and JP of Southern Distinction, Tom and Mel of Food & Beer Atlanta, but dedicated to the vast world of inspiration that is our world of food, inclusive and loving, from the ground to the plate in kitchens unhindered. I do this all for the pleasure of the plate without remuneration, simply so that all may enjoy the fruits of life.

Pigeon peas (tur dhal) with diced pumpkin and fried pink lentils (masoor dhal). Indian cuisines use only pink, green and yellow lentils. The pink cooks quickly and binds well for reforming to fry. You can use brown/green lentils with longer cook time. The brownish lentils we are familiar with are unhulled, which can be slightly bitter if not soaked and repeatedly rinsed in cold water. If you cannot find pigeon peas (in Athens area they are at Publix, Taj Mahal or at any Indian and Middle Eastern grocers) then use garbanzo, black beans (the closest in flavor) or kidney beans. Pigeon peas are used in Latin, Caribbean, Indian and most equatorial cuisines. The garbanzo is native to countries west of India, most notably Afghanistan, Turkey, Israel/Palestine and Lebanon. They are the primary pea used for humus, Latin dishes and Middle East recipes in America. Remember fresh cheese, paneer, from last month? Make it again or buy queso fresco as this dish is best garnished with crumbly paneer.

We are most familiar with pulses (traditional French cuisine term) or dhal as split peas, lentils, pigeon peas, black beans, peanuts, black eyed peas and various mung beans. Think of pulses/dhal as being the edible seed inside of a pod. When you see a recipe for various dhal dishes you are already familiar with some of the ingredients, the name dhal simply refers to it’s being an Indian dish.

The khima/meatball will be ground beef, garam masala, chilies and dried apricot. Middle eastern and Kerala (Southern India Christian and Muslim) cuisine uses lamb for the meat. The price and availability of ground lamb can be high here so I am using beef. Hunting season has begun so you can certainly substitute ground venison. The only ingredient change from traditional is the use of beef. Dried fruits are common across Asia to the Middle East, apricot is one of the most versatile stone fruits, welcoming in recipes from jams to hams.

Who doesn’t have some kind of meatball dish in their cuisine? Rhetorical question there. Meatballs are good anywhere from side dish to kebabs and pastas, sandwiches and on top of potatoes. You can use any meat, fowl, seafood or textured soy protein (tofu). The technique is the same from land to land. Grind, mix and gently roll into shape. They can be pan sautéed, grilled as kebab, roasted dry or in sauce. Who doesn’t like meat/food on a stick, so if kabobs are your thing then put them on skewers and cook over a grill or fire. If the meat is very lean you will need to add some kind of fat or oil to help it bind together. And now, time to cook!

PUMPKIN PIGEON PEAS WITH FRIED PINK LENTILS
You will need an inexpensive coffee grinder used only for spice grinding, a cutting board, sauce pot or slow cooker, and an iron skillet. The finished pigeon peas will be moist and soft, just a small amount of liquid. The pink lentils will be crisp and used as a garnish on the peas. Recipes are for four as a side dish so adjust as necessary for more people. Arrange ingredients for these recipes before you start prepping.

Asafoetida is derived from a kind of fennel, somewhat pungent, tastes of shallot, is used to help digestion, maintain color in the peas, and as a slight baking soda action that elevates the flavor. It is dark brown and hard. You will need to use a microplane grater. If you do not want to buy any then use 1/3 teaspoon baking soda and 10 crushed fennel seeds. If you have curry leaves use 4 in this dish.

PIGEON PEAS
1 cup dry pigeon peas (small, round and off white color)
2 ½ cups water, soak peas for 6+ hours
1/3 teaspoon cumin, powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons asafoetida
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
.25 ounce cilantro, leaves and stems chopped
10 ounces pumpkin, peeled, fine dice
4 ounces white onion, chopped
6 ounces tomato, chopped, use juice and seeds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 ounces coconut milk

Pour peas and water into pot. In a mortar and pestle crush cumin, turmeric, garlic, ginger, cilantro, asafoetida, chili and salt into a paste. It will be a paste. Put everything into a crock pot. High for 90 minutes and low for 90 minutes. You can add sliced okra, green beans or any other gourd.

PINK LENTILS
If you have black mustard seeds then use them. When you crush the seeds do so between sheets of plastic wrap so that they do not fly all over the kitchen.

½ cup pink lentils (turns tan when cooked)
2 cups water, soak for one hour
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon coriander, ground
¼ teaspoon black cardamom, ground, use a zester on whole pod
1 serrano pepper, minced
1 garlic clove, smashed and pressed into paste
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds, crushed
During last 3 minutes add:
3 tablespoons yellow fine corn flour, (Mills Farm Red Mule)
For pan frying:
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 tablespoon butter

Pour lentils and water into pan, add rest of ingredients except oils, corn meal. Boil and then turn down to low, cover and cook 45 minutes. Remove cover, turn up to medium, add cornmeal, stir. Dust a plate with corn flour and transfer lentil paste. If it is too loose add more corn meal.

Shape into 12 quarter sized discs, not very thick. Dust again with corn flour. Refrigerate for minimum one hour.

Heat butter and oil to 350 degrees. It will sputter. Add discs one by one to the oil. Cook on medium high until they are crispy and light brown color. Place 3 with each serving of pigeon peas. This is a very filling dish. Garnish with fresh cheese, cilantro leaves, crushed peppers and lime wedges.

MEATBALLS/KHIMA
The combination may sound extreme but the results are in the rich and complex flavor. Perfect to match up to any bean dish. Good as sandwich, pasta, rice or our pigeon pea recipe. Makes 16.

1 pound sirloin, ground
1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (re, August Southern Distinction)
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon cloves, ground
½ teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon jalapeno, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 1/2 ounces apricot, dried, chopped
1 ½ ounces almonds, ground
3 ounces onion, minced
2/3rd cup fine bread crumbs

SAUTE:
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Do not over mix, just enough to combine. Roll into 16, 1 1/2 ounce balls. If they are not holding form add more bread crumbs.

Heat large cast iron skillet with 3 tablespoons corn oil and 1 tablespoon butter on high. When it is 350~ add the meatballs one by one. Let cook a minute all around so that it browns. Heat oven to 350~ and transfer skillet and meatballs to oven. Turn after 10 minutes. Cook 1o more minutes. Remove, set meatballs on paper towels to drain any oils.

Serve with our pigeon peas and fried lentils with paneer (queso fresca). Serve with naan for your bread. You can find this bouncy, soft, perfect flat bread in most grocery stores.

Khima can served in any number of ways such as sandwich with spicy tomato sauce, on buttery rice noodles and vegetables, brown basmati rice and roasted red bell pepper puree, roasted with chopped sweet potatoes

I know there are a few ingredients new to home cooks. Once you purchase in the smallest amount, use them a few times and your senses will tell you why these are such magnificent additions to the pantry. I can’t even cook black eyed peas without asafoetida! Comfort foods arrive when we least expect it, really. Take your time familiarizing yourself with the recipes, if you rush it then you open yourself up for mistakes.

With all hope for a beautiful season that you may eat well, freely converse and spread the love.

I always bought the curd for buffalo mozzarella (moist, soft) and burrata, a mozzarella with cream center then folded in wheat grass, lotus leaf or banana leaf. For mozzarella cook the curd in 180 degree salted water and then quickly fold it into SOFT not chewy balls or logs and then cool. This method of making fresh mozzarella is a process taught in the early years of a true apprenticeship to become a Chef. Being a Chef is a lifestyle and profession. What one learns in the Classic style of apprenticeship requires 6 to 10 years of full time devotion to learning at least five cuisines and mastering one.. Speaking the language of the kitchen and knowing recipes is just the tip of the spoon. Learning, absorbing and applying is what separates dogma from beautiful actuality. Here, we seek the perfection of homemade. Not all learn how to make their own curd.

I dedicate today to my life long inspiration, friend and beloved, Melanie Paulk. She frequently travels to India, is a yoga instructor and has a yoga studio retreat in Utah. Our march into the world of spices, pulses, breads and heat is a search as ancient as the Silk Road and near as the travels of Columbus. As example, Pulse is a word in Escoffier’s La Culinaire as well as post-British occupied India. It refers to dried beans or legumes including fava, mung beans, chick peas, pigeon peas, split peas, black eyed peas, lima beans, crowder peas, cranberry beans, navy beans, red beans, etc. Learn the language of the Indian kitchen, then learn the dishes. In research and travel we find there are things quite similar between culinary cultures. Then there are those things that seem like they are from another world, which in some cases is close to social fact.

The only time I have seen fresh cheese curd made in TV-land (a place where few beyond Alton Brown and Mario Batali tell the truth.) was on Japanese Iron Chef. The Chef  was the inimitable Chen Kenichi of Sichuan fame. He separated the curds and whey, drained, wrapped in four folded cheese cloth and worked it into a viable soft crumble cheese. I was intrigued.

Making paneer required several readings in 7 different books. Days in the kitchen. Preparing “instant” (hah!) from the package, dining out, eating ready made styles and going it alone prepared me to stand as a chef of ancient kitchens.  Yogurt cheese, dehin, is made by combining Greek yogurt with sea salt, wrapping in cheesecloth, draining for an hour and sealing in an airtight container overnight in the refrigerator. These are on a level with Neufchatel and cream cheese.

In Athens we have Taj Mahal and Fooks, both on Baxter Street, offering everything and more of Indian and Asian ingredients. Buying Asian, Indian and Latin ingredients is very easy today. Purchase what you need in small quantities for exactly what you need in any individual dish. Karen at Fooks will answer all questions, plus she carries my cookbook (A Romance With Food: Ginger, Lily & Sweet Fire).

Things like asafoetida, mango powder, pomegranate seeds and black cardamom pods for the next column sound like they are impossible, but on the contrary they were only 15 minutes away. As example, asafoetida made me shut a cookbook once and walk away. It is made by powdering the gum of a plant also known as giant fennel and has the slight flavor of leeks. When combined with gum Arabic (A powder made from a scrub brush grown in desert regions, is also used in Altoids.) is used in baking and making savory fresh cheese. It is also good for digestion and is prominent in Hindustan foods. Do not be afraid of what is new to you. Worcestershire is made from Asian fruit tree pod, tamarind. “New” is just a word away from the familiar. It is easier to say “you are what you eat” than it is to understand that “you are what you eat, eats” and their origins. I am sure the hunter gatherers made fun of the first farmers (An age old conflict).

Madhur Jaffery’s books are excellent introductions to Indian cuisines. The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi is indispensable, and is perhaps the most definitive of vegetarian cooking. Cooking At Home With Pedathia on Andhra style South Indian cooking is a graceful look into home cooking. Bengali Cooking by Chitrita Banerji opened gates to the river kingdom. One of the books on Punjab cooking that was easy for me was Menus and Memories From Punjab by Veronica Rani Sidhu. She married a Punjab doctor that she met while in college in Michigan. He thought that the Hungarian meal of cucumber in sour cream and chicken paprikosh that her Mother made was a Punjab style meal to impress him! She never told him otherwise.  The world of love and cuisine uniting cultures is not just anecdotal , it is a reality.  

PANEER
Time to make the cheese! Prep time is in two 15 minute sections, setting time is 3 hours and resting time is 8 hours. You will need a deep, stainless steel 6 to 8 quart pot, cheesecloth (a must for any kitchen) or damp handkerchief, yarn, slotted spoon, broad kitchen spoon, colander or strainer, milk and lemon juice. Seriously, the first stage is that minimalist. Follow directions exactly, the research is done so now for the easy part. Use the curd for the cheese, the whey is the liquid part of the dairy. You can keep reusing the whey each time you make cheese by adding the reserved whey to each preparation.  

Fresh cheese is very easy, BUT you must be completely sanitary and precise. It may seem detailed but in reality it is simply a set of precise motions that become second nature, like making Southern biscuits, yeast rolls and cinnamon buns. 32 ounces milk ($2)makes 8 ounces fresh cheese ($12 in store). Use ONLY whole milk, skim and low fat will not make proper curd.

MAKING THE CHEESE CURD
8 cups whole milk, anything less will not work
1 1/2 tablespoons each lemon juice, lime juice  

In deep, heavy bottomed pot heat milk on medium to scald temperature or of 180 degrees. Slowly move the large spoon back and forth in the pot. As milk begins to foam add the juice one tablespoon at a time (10 minutes). Immediately remove from the heat and continue to move the spoon. You will see the curds and whey separate. The whey is watery and greenish yellow. Cover and let cool for 10 minutes.

The separation will be noticeable. Fold the cheesecloth into four layers and set it inside of the colander. Leave enough room to tie the cloth around the curd. Use a flat spider spoon or slotted spoon and lift the curd out of the pan. Place curd in cheesecloth. Save the whey for next time to use as the active acid solution.

Hold the curd bundle under warm water for 10 seconds to rinse off any whey. Gently squeeze the cloth around the curd to release any remaining liquid/moisture.

Drain for ten minutes. Place curd bundle on cutting board and roll it around to shape into a block or cylinder shape. Roll into shape in cloth. Drain for 3 hours.

After 3 hours unwrap the cheese and set on cutting board. Line plastic wrap with paper towels and roll the cheese into a cylinder shape. Refrigerate overnight.

SAVORY
Combine cheese curd with ½ teaspoon salt and 8th teaspoon rice vinegar. Press cheese over and over until it is soft and smooth. Shape into small discs.  

SAUTE
1 tablespoon clarified butter or ghee

Heat on very low for 30 seconds each side. Remove and drain. Use for bruschetta, tomato sandwiches, for spicy bean dishes, light snack.  

SWEET
1 tablespoon orange blossom water 3 tablespoons jaggery, date palm sugar, turbinado or light bright sugar 8 ounces water

If you want to color the cheese mix food color in bowl and hand press dye and cheese until soft and consistent. Shape cheese into small balls. Poach temperature is 150 degrees. Remove, drain and arrange on plates or serving trays. Sprinkle powdered sugar, cinnamon, allspice or cardamom for extra flavor.  

Fresh cheese can also be used for dip, sandwiches, bruschetta and for adding to cooked pulses/beans/dhal. Eat with assorted breads, fruits, cured meats, olive oil and fruit vinegars. That was fun, wasn’t it? Please give fresh cheese making a go of it, you will be amazed and surprised at how much you can do with either paneer or dehin. Fresh cheese is for all cultures.

Be warm, kind and loving.

Lamar
hlamart@me.com

I’d prefer to think that these similarities are not so much a lack of skill as a lack of imagination. So let’s break down the problem.

On the skill side, a craftsman knows his materials (or ingredients) and his craft is produced through his artful use of aforementioned ingredients. The combination, the amounts, the interaction and the techniques and processes used are what produce the craft — in this case beer. The same amount of the same ingredients can produce drastically different beer depending on how they are brewed and fermented.

On the ingredient side we have the basic Reinheitsgebot mandate of malt, hops, and yeast.

I will credit most craft brewers with using malt as their primary source of fermentable sugars. At least they haven’t gone the route of using cheaper rice or corn like most the mega breweries. Malt is the traditional choice and is responsible for not only the fermentable sugars which convert to alcohol but for the non-fermentable sugars which give the beer body, flavor and mouth feel.

Yeast is a little trickier ingredient. With thousands of live cultures to choose from, each leaving its own residual attributes and those attributes changing depending on both the amount of yeast used and the conditions it is fermented under, it would be difficult to blame the yeast for the sameness of craft brews. And realistically, unless you drink a lot of bottled conditioned ales, when did you last taste a beer and recognize a yeast ester? Most people wouldn’t recognize a yeast ester if it stood up and slapped them.

Speaking of standing up and slapping you, let’s examine the last ingredient in the beer triumvirate — hops. Probably the most noticeable of the ingredients because of its powerful aroma and flavor. Hops are also the easiest to be misused. In the same botanical family as nettles and marijuana, hops use in beer is a relatively recent addition. That is, it has been used predominantly in the last five hundred years of beer’s five thousand plus year history. Why? Well, frankly it was a commerce decision, partially instituted to keep other herbs and narcotic out of a commercial product and partially because the addition of hops helped beer age longer without spoiling.

The addition of hops to beer was a controversial subject. English brewers initially referred to it as a pernicious weed. Proponents claimed it was good for curing insomnia. Opponents claimed it was a euphoric used to calm the masses. Even today, hops high phyto-estrogen content is a perpetual source of worry for conspiracy theorist worried about “brewer’s droop”. Considering that the first use of hops in beer was in eighth century Germanic monasteries this may have been perceived as a benefit.

So maybe today’s craft brewers have never heard of brewer’s droop or maybe Viagra fixed that, but I would still argue that it is the misuse or abuse of hops that is primarily responsible for the lack of differentiation among many of the craft brews on the market today.

Let me be upfront. I am a malt guy. I like hops (particularly the noble varieties). I like the aroma and the flavor of hops — as a complement to the rest of the beer. Beer is not solely a showcase for hops. I like different styles of beer. Some are hoppier than others. For me, a brewer’s skill is far more demonstrated brewing a beer that is balanced with proper body, mouth feel and flavor — for its style, rather than one that is simply over hopped.

Unfortunately far too many craft brewers have fallen into relying solely on hops to try and differentiate their beers. Beer bitterness has increased drastically in the past few years. Ten years ago a high bitterness rating of 80 IBU (international bittering units) was reserved for big bold styles that had the malt profile to balance it. A beer like a Russian Imperial Stout demands aggressive hopping but applying the same hopping in a Pale Ale is simply an abuse of style.

Over hopping is a cheap gimmick and craft brewers should know better. To make matters worse craft brewers often choose the same type of hops to over use. If I crave the citrusy grapefruit taste of Cascade hops I’ll buy Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. There is no reason to up the ante and make every other IPA taste like pine needles. Oh, and by the way, could someone brew a decent porter that doesn’t have coffee in it?

Pretty scary stuff……check out this article:

It’s a yeast — that is a unicellular type of fungus, not a bacterium — that is a common spoilage organism. Brett for short, a genus of yeast consisting of multiple species found naturally in wood. Brettanomyces contributes distinctive flavors to the beverage it grows in. When used properly,  distinctive flavor and aroma is considered desirable in some sour beer styles, and at low levels it is depended on to add complexity to many styles of wine.

The strain brettanomyces claussenii was discovered at the Carlsberg Brewery in 1904 by N. Hjelte Claussen, who was investigating brett as a cause of spoilage in English ales. The term brettanomyces comes from Greek for “British fungus.”

The flavor contributed by brettanomyces is often called barnyard, but has also been described as gamy, or as smelling like damp wool, leather, wet fur, a sweaty saddle (or horse blanket), or a butcher shop. Brett is very invasive, and if not handled properly can become out of control in a winery or brewery. But, if used properly, it can add rich aromas and flavors of earthiness, leather, smoke, barnyard, a famous descriptor is “wet dog in a phone booth!”

Brettanomyces (also known as brett) is feared by most brewers and winemakers alike.  Some winemakers will not even visit breweries that put brettanomyces to work. Brettanomyces is yeast, and has the ability to continue fermenting through almost any type of sugar, including those natural sugars found in the wood of an oak barrel. The “barrel boom” in the 80’s contributed to the growing trend of infection as coopers struggled to keep up with demand.

Brett likes oak. It particularly likes toasted new barrels, and has been found 8 mm deep in staves. It can feed off a compound, cellobiose, that is formed when barrels are toasted. It likes high pH, so when some wineries tried to kill it with bleach, it thrived. It enjoys residual sugar, low SO2 and lees. It can go dormant, so culturing doesn’t reveal its presence, and then, like a bad rash, it re-emerges later on to bloom in the bottle. Brett can and does occur in the cleanest cellars.

Brett control! The use of a chemical called DMDC, and filtration. DMDC is dimethyl dicarbamate. This is extremely toxic to microbes, but breaks down into harmless products once it has done its job. Filtration is another way of dealing with brett but some say it causes loss of flavor. Many fine beers and wines are not, or only lightly filtered.

Brett and Beer
Riding the edge is a big part of our craft beer evolution. Brett infected, or sour beers, our fast becoming the next “in beer” style. Eight or so years ago, the now famous craft IPA’s would have also been considered a fault.

In Belgian ales, brett is both appreciated and encouraged. Lambics and Gueuze owe their unique flavour profiles to brettanomyces, which are also found in Oud Bruin and Flanders red ales.

Examples of these styles:
Liefmans Brown Ale
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Duchesse de Bourgogne
Ithaca Beer Company (in their Brute)
Russian River Brewing Company
Deschutes Brewery
Lost Abbey
New Belgium Brewing Company
Goose Island Beer Company (in their Matilda)
Boulevard Brewing Company (in their Saison-Brett)
Allagash Brewing Company
Ommegeddon and Bière de Mars
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Victory Brewing (in Wild Devil)
Saint Somewhere Brewing
Avery Brewing Company (in Depuceleuse).

The Orval Trappist monastery is a unique Trappist with brettanomyces characteristics. In Orval’s case, the brewers add the yeast to the beer at bottling.

Many American craft breweries have begun to use brettanomyces in their beers. Some breweries use 100% brettanomyces for the fermentation of some of their beers, and omit saccharomyces from the recipe. It’s also common practice for American brewers that use brettanomyces to also include lactic acid producing bacteria such as lactobacillus, and pediococcus in order to provide sourness to the beer.

Sometimes pitched in the fermenter, aging in infected wood barrels, brett is another method used.

While most stouts achieve their sour tang using acidulated malt, roasted barley, or in “Milk Stout” lactose and incipient lactic acid, though, some use brett.

Brett and Home Brew
Be careful, once brett has been introduced, it can be difficult to eliminate. Brett can take up residence in micro-scratches in plastic fermentation vessels and escape alkaline cleaners and acid satirizers used by home-brewers. A bonus? Brett can consume almost any sugar so final gravities are low.

Brett and Wine!
Brett at low levels can have a positive effect and often is associated with on wine, contributing to complexity, and giving an aged character to some young red wines.

Many wines even rely on brettanomyces to give their distinctive character such as in Château Musar and Château de Beaucastel.

When the levels of the sensory compounds greatly exceed the sensory perception and will be negative. Sensory thresholds differ between people, and some are much more sensitive to it than others.

Brettanomyces taint in wine is also sometimes incorrectly identified as cork taint.

In short, this and for many other reasons, beer and wine share many of the same challenges while in the pursuit of providing pleasure.

Chris Reid
HopCity Beer and Wine
Follow his blog at:
http://chrisreidwineandbeverage.blogspot.com/

So this month, I’d like to utilize this editorial space by assisting you dear reader — on the patron side of the table — sift your way through all the cyber-dribble of these newfangled food sites.

In the early days of the Internet, sites with message boards like eGullet, Chowhound and Atlanta Cuisine (founded and run by yours truly) are where local web crawlers went for restaurant and food news. Today, eGullet and Chowhound still exist but have taken a back seat to Yelp! and Urbanspoon, two feature-rich sites with a modern twist, and more inviting to would-be posters.

Much to the chagrin of some, I shut down the Atlanta Cuisine message board a couple years ago, but a few of its former loyal members launched a new local web site called 285 Foodies — a site worthy of mention.

For the sake of being too lengthy, I will only acknowledge three web sites in this article and offer my opinion of each.

Yelp!
This web site is by far the busiest of all review sites, making it a shoe-in contender for any article like this one. I recently read an article online in which the author claimed, “the restaurant critic is a dying profession because of sites like Yelp!.”

Oy vez. I shutter at the thought. I’ve yet to be compelled to follow the advice of one single Yelper. Maybe because I can’t seem to shake the memories of the very first Yelp! post I ever read. In that post, the author named his or her top-five hamburgers, a list that proudly boasted Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday and Houston’s. But then, most reviews I’ve read on this site seemed to have been written by those with pedestrian palates.

Verdict: God help us if this truly is the future of restaurant reviews. I believe Yelp! is more a cyber social gathering than anything else, for those who pretend to know food. User beware, some post with a chip on their shoulder and curse wildly.

Urbanspoon
This site falls second to Yelp! when weighing web traffic. But I do find it more useful, and here’s why. 1.) I like that they include a web links to all restaurant web sites. 2.) They pull local bloggers’ and food writers’ opinions from their respective sites and place them all in one place for those quick hitting one-stop shoppers.

As for user reviews on this site, I’m not totally sold, though I do trust reviews here to be more reliable than those of its competitor Yelp!. I’ve found a couple of posters (Bill Vol and Barney) on this site whose tastes mostly align with my own.

Verdict: While I’ve found some reasons to like this site, I still believe that most user reviews are somewhat pedestrian, though far less annoying than Yelp!. Here, too, I don’t get a good sense that most posters really know food. Basically, this is a user-friendly review site with a small handful of good members — that doesn’t quite cut the mustard.

285 Foodies
This local site is made up of a small but spirited group of posters that are collectively more food knowledgeable than both Yelp! and Urbanspoon combined. And the opinions found on this site are far more reliable.

However, the core of this group has been together a very long time so one is forced to sift through all the insider banter (meaningless dribble) to walk away with the goods. A small price to pay, I suppose. But that coupled with insignificant web traffic, keeps this site from true greatness.

Verdict: Looking for that revelatory post that will mark the next great foodie stampede? Leave that to other sites, this one has too little web traffic. What you will find here is a passionate membership that possesses and applies good sense when it comes to food and drink. This site is definitely worthy of a visit.

Truth be told, when I hit the web in search of quick food info I can count on, I prefer individual blog sites over message boards. Which brings me to the next question: Blog vs. message board sites. What’s your preference?

From a chefs perspective, we can use them to wake-up, check the weather to see if we should open the patio for that day or make sure our orders placed the night before were received. We can close the garage door and set the alarm with them, get directions to our meeting and set reminders to ensure we remember the meeting.

We can instantly capture images of unacceptable produce that was sent to our restaurants and forward the images to our sales rep.

We can capture images of issues that need to be addressed at the restaurant with our staff.

We can set daily alerts to make us aware that we are 30 minutes from the start of breakfast, lunch or dinner service.

We can do recipe conversions with the right “app,” instantly respond to guest correspondence, receive orders for catering, accept reservations, and even take notes while we work on the development of a dish or recipe.

We can sketch plate designs, text the sous chef who is 15 minutes late, speak with anyone instantly, but most especially our families who were likely asleep when we got back home after dinner service and still sleeping when we got up to go back to the restaurant.

We can update our Facebook sites immediately with working photos and comments, send out daily specials, and respond to our “fans” or “followers” comments as they come in.

We can read our favorite blogs, update content to our website, listen to our customized playlist as we do our mis en place

We can voice record reminders of items that need to be ordered, read our recent reviews from Yelp, Urban Spoon, Zagat, and every other foodie-centric site that is of any concern. And, we can scan these food sites to see if that impossible couple from table 27 last night has made good on their threat to write badly about us on the internet.

“Ay, there is the rub” -Hamlet, William Shakespeare

In consideration of all of the good and useful things that we are able to do with this bit of technology, from freely and successfully marketing our businesses to making our lives a bit easier from an operational standpoint (or perhaps more difficult, depending on your own view and experiences with this technology) the rub, the problem, is that we ALL have access to it, and we can ALL — chefs and guests and anyone else — access the Internet. By no means am I at all going to suggest that we censor, or by proxy, allow the feds to censor the internet. But despite its obvious pros, there are many cons. With the right information and the right perspective, we can stack the “foodie technology boom” in our favor.

I have heard many chefs and restauranteurs say both in person and in print, that they don’t read the reviews of their restaurant. They claim they don’t care about the food sites that rate their establishments, and that they just don’t care what is written or spoken about them. And, the reason for this is understandable in that they expect if they continue to uphold their personal standards, their own personal work ethic and continue to do the right thing, that their business will be, or remain successful.

To a degree this is correct, but speaking for myself, I have found myself engaged in internal dialogue when I read mediocre (or rough) comments from customers. I remind myself that I really do know most of what is going on in my cafe, and that the undesirable comments are unfounded, uninformed, uneducated, overly nit-picky, and just plain ridiculous.

But the problem is that they are already out there for public consumption. And, whether or not I am confident in the way my “machine” works, the comments still hit a nerve and can sometimes result in a knee-jerk response. For example, I may rethink a dish that has been on the menu for years or hand out a new policy change. But most of the time I do my best to just let the comment sit and sink-in while I really think about it.

When a tough customer is in our cafe or sends in a scathing e-mail about the “girl behind the counter,” or the fact “that we don’t serve Bud Light,” or that an “umbrella was not placed at their table as it began to rain,” my initial thoughts are, “what girl…there are 5?” “Bud-Light sucks!” And, “If it begins to rain perhaps one might decide to get out of the rain!”

Although it is difficult and sometimes annoying to read or hear any complaint about our businesses — because only we know how hard and how long we have worked on it and at it — we need to realize that sometimes we are just a part of that persons already bad day. As long as we are doing what we know to be right and trying to serve that customer as best we can by providing them with a product that has been handled as best as we are able, from sourcing to plating, there is absolutely nothing else we can do.

I have an immediate relative who is one of these people and I have told my wife that if I handed this person one million dollars in cash in a suitcase as a gift, the first thing that she would say — In a whiny voice —is, ‘Chris, this is sooooo heavy!’

And like in any business, we all have to deal with these people. But it’s these people who are most likely to take the time from their miserable lives to write all over your Yelp page because they, too, have the Internet.

It has been stated before and I will repeat it because it’s true. An unhappy customer is far more likely to tell people about their experience at your establishment than a happy customer. In fact, I vaguely remember from culinary school that there were specific statistics which gave credence to this fact, and with the explosive growth and access to “restaurant review” sites, I would venture to say that these percentages of spreading a negative review as opposed to a positive one based on the guest experience have increased — and not in our favor!

We can all read these reviews by our customers on our favorite open foodie sites and brush their comments off as impossible customers, unfounded, ignorant, or just plain ugly for the sake of being ugly. But the unfortunate reality of this form of food media is that millions of people use these sites to help make their dining decisions. One of these sites even gives the user the ability to “play slots” to make their decision about where to dine. Just shake your phone and watch the wheels spin and the results are based on cuisine type, location, and price point. The ‘rub’ is that the odds are stacked against you yet again. If your establishment is not a paying client of the site, for advertising or search placement, you will likely find your business buried, despite how successful or well-known it may be. The house wins every time, as in Vegas, the “foodie sites” are not making millions because they are unbiased. In Vegas, the spectacular hotels and resorts do not exist because the games are unbiased. The simple truth is that these sites are businesses and they do not make money by having a reputation of being quality centered.

To further this point, I recently read, concerning all small business, that Google searches can and do place extremely poorly-rated and highly-rated businesses at the tops of their search list because of the overwhelming amounts of reviews.

It’s all about volume, and good or bad, the result is the same. It’s just an algorithm and the algorithm is “the house,” and “the house” doesn’t care at all about you and your business.

I feel compelled to state, for the record, that there are numerous reputable culinary sites and blogs out there that do in fact focus on the true merits of an establishment, and there are sites that spotlight regional and local businesses, sites that are quality conscience and have a real desire to reveal and explore the backbone of the food industry. These sites are not the problem. What we are exploring here are the “foodie harlot” sites in our industry. I have talked about these sites with many industry and non-industry people and how we as business/restaurant owners and employees should deal with these drive-by critics and here are a few common threads that have been determined:

1) Don’t take them too seriously!: This not only applies to what is directly written about you and/or your establishment, but the overall impact or “marketing” power that they claim to have on your business and standing in the community.

These sites will likely fade away as quickly as they came, and the trash will ultimately be sifted through as we allow the free and open marketplace to do what it does best. I am not suggesting that these sites and their “critics” be ignored, because sometimes there is usable and valid information that can be turned into a training tool for your staff, both service and culinary, and most of the time these comments are coming from real customers…your customers. Some of these comments come from longtime loyal customers and others are from drive-by thugs.

Now, there are obviously a vast number of people whose comments and dispositions fall between these two extremes. And, those are the comments that we should pay close attention to. Often, there is good information in these “reviews,” and if you approach them with the right attitude, they can improve your business as a whole. Some comments even shed light on aspects of your business which would have otherwise been totally overlooked.

There are also those comments that when you read them you have to wonder if they were even talking about your restaurant because they are totally wrong, and misinformed. For example, we experienced a post on one of the main foodie sites, where the writer expressed his dislike of our chicken salad. He went on to say that he hates southern style chicken salad with apples, pecans and grapes. The problem is not that we don’t have a chicken salad, but that we don’t have a Southern-style chicken salad….no apples…no pecans…no grapes! In fact, its inspiration is from Southern Thailand — not South Georgia — but I digress. This comment was either from a competitor, a disgruntled past employee (for obvious reasons), or just someone who had a bad experience elsewhere and thought that it was with us. The problem is: I can’t do anything about it. I can’t dispute it. I can’t effectively write the individual back. I can’t really do anything except brush it off.

2) Actively Respond!: Do not respond immediately, take some time to let the post marinate and be creative with your response. Most of all, be honest. If something really was a valid problem, fess up and invite them to return while telling them that their experience, no matter how bad it was, was not the norm.

Do not respond in an aggressive manner. Do not verbally assault the writer, but intelligently appeal to his or her sensibilities and do what you can to get them back in the door, because if you win them back, you will have a loyal advocate for you and your business for years to come.

Do not — unless necessary, worth-it, and warranted — offer a free-meal. Most customers do not want this, and the ones that do aren’t good customers anyway. What most customers who have taken the time to honestly review your restaurant really want is simply to be heard and to know that their comments have been recognized and addressed. I have heard numerous times after responding to an e-mail concern, or voicemail, or whatever, “I really didn’t expect that anyone would care or call me back.”

Also, respond to the good reviews as often as you do the harsh ones, so you don’t appear to be defensive. Think about it, if you were a user of one of these site, wouldn’t you be refreshed or even impressed that the chef, GM, or owner actually took the time to respond to issues or compliments about the business?

When you register, make sure that your user name clearly expresses your connection with the business (i.e. acmechef, acmemanager, acmeowner), if your moniker is bongman, your credibility is lost and at a quick glance, you will not catch the eye of future site users.

3) Call out the shills!: It is unfortunate, but many of your direct competitors out there are using these sites to undermine their competition, either when they enter the marketplace, or when they are feeling the effects of your presence in the said marketplace.

It’s easy to have a few close friends, perhaps investors, even employees to register with the sites and post some nasty reviews and comments. I believe that this will ultimately be the demise of many of these sites because they (the sites) will be outed as totally unreliable unless they (the site operators) figure out how to get behind the businesses they promote rather than the businesses that support them through advertising. Shills are easy to spot. One can smell them a mile away. Not only in reference to the shills, but also the drive-by reviews. Check out the writers history and how long they have been a member of the site. I would bet that if you suspect a shill or a drive-by, it is likely that this is the poster’s first review and that they only just joined the site. And, more often than not, these posts are replete with spelling errors, horrific grammatical structure, and just plain ignorant and uninformed information about your establishment.

Also, check other sites if you see the same person reviewing your establishment. They usually cut and pasate their review on numerous sites. Not only are these people sociopaths, but they have outed themselves as having alternate motives.

4) Solicit Good Reviews: We all know our regulars and we privately hear their praise and excitement about our businesses, but they are not likely to go home and write about you so mention it to them. If a loyal customer or even a new customer expresses their positive view of your business, offer them a little something to take home and tell them how much you would appreciate their honest review on one of these sites if they feel lead to do so. Often, good loyal customers want to do something for you and your business.

Food and beverage media, from newspapers to television to the web, has grown at an enormous pace in the past 15 years and the appetite for all things food is strong and doesn’t seem to be going away. Everyone thinks they are a chef, and everyone is a critic.

Sure, we have all recently experienced, and are still experiencing a pullback in our industry, but the changes surfacing as a result of the economic environment are not only interesting but they are encouraging. The food and beverage industry is trimming away the fluff, and in its recent “survival mode” has focused on the fundamentals that we all love and appreciate.

We are buying locally and regionally, which is not a new phenomenon, but something that we only recently got away from with the expansion of a global marketplace. We are serving and enjoying classic cocktails of years past, learning about and appreciating artisan craft beer, and seeing menus that are seasonally driven. We are back to traditional time-tested cooking techniques, but executed with a revitalized level of care and skill. And finally, we are getting back to good thoughtful service.

Running parallel to these foundational rebirths are these above mentioned foodie-sites. These sites will surely either adapt or be left behind as we continue to grow this industry. I believe that most of the newer craze sites will just simply disappear and we will return to the fundamental foodie sites that have already shaped our industry for years, not months. Do not be afraid of these recently popular sites, but arm yourself and your business to deal with them accordingly. Use them for effective marketing, but don’t unnecessarily invest your brain power in them as they will likely be gone tomorrow.

The whole concept of valet parking can prompt a stress tick in many people’s mouths, and a heated debate about dining-related “issues” among serious restaurant lovers. Some enjoy the courtesy and ease valet service provides — it’s raining, or you’re just that much closer to the door and your cocktails and dinner — while others detest the forced payment required — $5 to park at Maggiano’s in Buckhead when they have a huge lot 24/7, what gives? — and then there’s the whole issue of if and how to tip the valets who race back and forth like good soldiers ferrying your automobiles to and fro.

The holidays are approaching, and chances are you’ll have occasion to face a valet experience or two in the coming weeks. Maybe it’ll be for an office party or a nice family dinner out on Christmas Eve, and questions abound for many people: do I tip a valet, and how much; do they really go through my stuff; what if I have a problem with the parking job or other issues with the valet service; who manages the valet staff; why does valet parking even exist in the first place, . . . and more. Talking to restaurant owners and managers and valet companies such as AmeriPark, here are a few take-aways for you as you navigate the how-to’s of entrusting your car to valets as you dine around town.

First, if you “hate” to valet park — you know who you are! — don’t do it. Don’t go to places where it’s basically required due to physicality; sometimes, the logistical placement of a restaurant means there really isn’t an option but to valet park people’s cars.

In certain parts of town, say Midtown or even the Westside, there aren’t lots available or landlords have issued edicts to the restaurant or bar owners and, for example, given them two spots right in front and the actual lot is a long trek away from the storefront; this was the case with the lovely former Waterhaven, much to the owners’ chagrin. You don’t want your girlfriend ruining her Manolos trekking all the way to the front door, so either willingly leave your car with the valet, drop her off and park and walk yourself or pick another place.

Understand that owners/managers don’t always have control over this aspect of their real estate. Now, if it just aggravates you to pay to valet, in general or at say, Perimeter Mall for one of the shops or restaurants there, park anywhere else in the open lot or garage and walk. If there is a charge for the valet service, it should be noted on a placard or other clearly visible sign. If it is not, this is something worth reporting to a manager or other restaurant or store employee. It’s entirely within your aggravation radar to feel gypped when you return to the car with your ticket to find out that “complimentary” valet actually costs $7, as happened to one vexed diner who commented for this article, after his recent lunch at Lenox Square Grille. Which brings us to the question of tipping — whether there’s a charge for valet or not . . .

What about tipping? It is correct to tip a valet, and generally $2-3 per car with more for exceptional service or assistance is appropriate, and yes, you tip whether there’s a cost for the valet or not. The valet parkers make their money off of your tips. When there is a charge for the valet, this is almost always about how the restaurant and valet companies have worked out their arrangement(s). For example, at Two Buckhead Plaza, where Chops/Lobster Bar, Nava, J. Christopher’s, Seasons 52, and other offices and stores are located, there are different arrangements between businesses and AmeriPark. This is why the parking here is completely validated regardless of length of stay for some of the restaurants and only for two hours for J. Christopher’s, for example. Valets may or may not get any money out of the separate arrangements with the specific parking company for which they work and the restaurant(s) involved, particularly in situations where they are parking in a complex and there are contracts with multiple businesses, so don’t assume that they are “getting money that way.” Remember, these guys have to run after every car that gets parked and in a group setting such as mall parking, they don’t know where you are going and they aren’t getting tip share at the end of the night like they might at an individually-owned restaurant.

As for why valet parking exists in the first place and what purpose it’s to serve, did you know that it dates as far back as the 1930s in this country? That’s right, after the Model T ford and ensuing popularity of the automobile, cities like New York, Chicago and LA especially became homes to valet parking! “Curbside parking” as it was originally called was popularized because there was little room for these snazzy new things people liked to show off and when everyone went out, well, something had to be done with them when drinkers and diners went inside to get their party on. Valet parking was born. This value-added service has endured in our culture to this day, and taken on different forms along the way. Bobby Donlan, longtime captain of several of Atlanta’s best restaurants and current managing partner of New York Prime, is known for having a valet team that is as much a part of his excellent service staff as any of the servers, hosts or bartenders you’ll find inside his restaurant; the valet experience at NYP exemplifies the best of what entrusting your car to another’s hands is all about. If you have a problem with a valet, or think something is amiss with your car upon its return — talk to a manager or call the restaurant or parking company. A manager should be able to address a problem in his or her restaurant, and you should not get blown off or told brusquely, “We aren’t liable for that.” If that happens and it’s serious, for example something has been taken from your car escalate the situation up the chain of command with the business and/or parking company to get resolution.

Sometimes, valets get perks like a free “shift meal” or can eat at 25-50% off — like Yosef, pictured at left, can, who splits duty between multiple restaurants parking for guests at Genki Noodle & Sushi Buckhead, Annie’s Thai Castle, The Red Door Tavern and Gypsy Stag — and are therefore more inclined to take good care of their customers, because their own treatment helps them feel ownership in the customers’ experience as much as the servers do. Yosef is known to Genki regulars for bringing their keys as the restaurant is about to close and letting them know he moved their cars to a safe spot if they’re staying after the valet has closed, so they can finish up and leave at their leisure. These are the kinds of extras that make valet parking a true value-added. As Bo Merrill of AmeriPark, frequent event parker, comments, “It is absolutely unacceptable for valets to go through personal belongings.” When asked about treatment of guests, particularly for private parties and for VIP’s, Merrill notes, “We get a pretty regular rotation of celebrities in here and need to accommodate them politely and discreetly while at the same time taking good care of all of our guests. Everyone should have a good experience and receive good service. We do our best, especially when we get really busy and all the guests come out after a party or when all the restaurants close [at Terminus] to get the cars out quickly and minimize any hassle people experience.”

Ultimately, valet parking is a reality in many places in our town and our restaurant scene. There’s good and there’s bad to it, much like any part of the dining experience. A lot of your experience will depend on your own opinions about whether using valet is worth the money, and then it will be based on whether management of the business and the valet company do a good job in training their staff and communicating the up-front cost if any to you, and making it as easy as possible to get from start to finish through your valet experience.

Bottom line, though? Yeah, you need to tip your valets.

Happy parking!

So remember, when dining at any of the restaurants below, you never know who else is sitting at your table.

Public House/J. Christopher’s
605 S. Atlanta Street, Roswell
Tel: 770.640.5548
Reports here have been steady and consistent for at least three decades. Most activity seems to happen upstairs in what was an upper level dining room with small bar for the old Peasant concept, but is now a special occasion room and an office for popular local breakfast chain J. Christopher’s. Reports here vary from glasses being pushed across the bar on their own to quick moving shadow figures, from disembodied voices to unexplainable bright balls of light, and from odd noises in dark creepy corners to intense feelings of being watched when nobody else is there. An early morning line cook even claims he saw the apparition of a woman in a dress walk through the kitchen before disappearing into thin air.

Aqua Terra Bistro
55 East Main St., Buford
Tel: 770.271.3000
Servers claim that coffee mugs fly off the shelf in mid shift for no apparent reason. Bartenders report wine bottles shoot off wine racks all by themselves. There are numerous claims by management and employees of unknown voices in the dining room after all living patrons have gone for the night. Several professional ghost hunter teams captured a variety of EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) on recorders to back up those claims. During an overnight investigation last year one team of ghost hunters even caught a shadowy anomaly on video exiting the kitchen into the bar area. Guess he/she needed a drink.

Hot Dog Heaven
8558 Main St., Woodstock
Tel: 770.591.5605
Come on in and get a big hug from Becky. And, grab a killer Chicago style dog and giant sloppy Italian beef while you’re at it. But do know that this charming little hot dog shack is also known for its pesky paranormal resident. He’s a prankster according to employees who report hot dog buns fly out of locked bins during the busy lunch rush, as the hot dog cooker mysteriously turns itself off. Might just be a dear deceased customer seeking one last hot dog and a little sugar from Becky before walking towards the light.

Anthony’s
3109 Piedmont Rd., Buckhead
Tel: 404.262.7379
This house was originally built in 1797 in Washington, GA. In the mid 1960’s the house was moved brick by brick with extreme attention to detail to its current location in Buckhead. Numerous reports of shadow figures, unexplained footsteps and disembodied voices. Some believe these mysterious happenings are the works of Annabelle, the home’s last hostess. During an investigation by Historic Ghost Watch a photo was taken of Kevin Fike (founder). If you look closely at the photo you’ll notice a mirror on the other side of Kevin, which also shows an apparition standing right behind him. Spooky.

Sycamore Grill
5329 Mimosa Dr, Stone Mountain
Tel: 770.465.6789
About the time this was written this Stone Mountain restaurant closed for business. We thought about removing it, but thought the likelihood of another restaurant opening in its place was too great. Besides, the building was once a Civil War hospital with long southern history. The building is believed to be haunted by Civil War soldiers who died there. While shadow figures and unexplainable shuffling noises are the norm, many patrons and employees claim to have seen apparitions in the dining area.

I vowed several years ago to drop this way of thinking. Easier said than done for some of us. Our egos our bruised when others dislike the same foods or beers we like. Rather than just passing it off as taste being subjective and calling it the day, we instead resort to defending our egos, which usually translates to putting others down.

Recently, I disagreed about a certain beer with Kraig Torres of Hop City, a rare occurrence. We both passed it off as a taste difference — or, at least I did. Apparently, I’m making progress.

But, what I find most interesting about this particular festbier (or situation), is a great example of how people that really do know beer can sometimes, well, disagree. You see, Torres isn’t alone in thinking the way he does about this beer. Others, whose beer knowledge is well documented and whom I respect, agree with him. On the flipside, there’s a group of other very beer savvy folks who know beer as well as anyone, who, like me, vehemently disagree with Kraig.

It only goes to show that those who truly do know food, beer, wine, or whatever, can and will disagree about taste. Whether or not they let their egos get in the way is entirely up to them.

Sure, I do like it when other people’s tastes align with my own, but I still enjoy reading and talking to those whose taste differs from my own, especially now that I can actually do so in a respectful way.

Cheers!
Tom