Beware Your Choice of Ice Cream. It Says A Lot About You.

Also, a great restaurant deal. The menu from one of my all-time favorite meals. New York's best bargain. And a vinegar to celebrate the Year of Yuzu.

When I met Ian Dengler in the late seventies he absolutely fascinated me. I had always believed that food choices were like handwriting - a secret way of getting to know someone - but as he focused on the semiotics of food, he proved it.

I wrote a number of articles about him; in this one he takes on ice cream and coffee. Isn’t it interesting that at the time I wrote this article - 1981 - coffee consumption in the United States was on the decline? We had no idea what was coming down the road!

Salsa Verde

Clifton Fadiman once called cheese “milk’s leap to immortality.”  I think of salsa verde as parsley’s bid for lasting fame. Here the little sprig, rarely more than a disposable decoration, has its shining moment. Put this salsa on steak and watch it sing. Serve it with raw tomatoes, with grilled eggplant, or on a plate of scrambled eggs. A single spoonful has the kick and crunch to bring a summer meal together, and this time of year I always have some sitting in my fridge, ready to rescue a dull meal.

One important note: This is the time to use the finest olive oil in your cupboard, because ordinary oil will have a negative impact. I particularly like the bright flavor of virgin Tuscan oils here; their prickly bite adds an interesting note.

1 bunch flatleaf Italian parsley
2 shallots
red wine vinegar
¼ cup capers, rinsed and soaked
3 cloves of garlic
½ cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
half a lemon
high quality extra-virgin olive oil 
salt
pepper

Wash  your parsley and pick the leaves until you accumulate a small mountain on your cutting board. In the words of Fergus Henderson, “discipline” your parsley by running your knife repeatedly through the pile. You want a fine chop, but be careful not to mash. Set aside.

Peel and chop your shallots extremely fine and cover with red wine vinegar. Drain and chop your capers. Peel and mince the garlic. Cut your lemon in half. Mise-en-place complete: prepare to assemble!

Beginning with your parsley, add half of the shallots, half the capers, all the garlic and almonds, and toss. Taste the mixture for salt and acid, and continue to add shallots and capers accordingly, bearing in mind that the capers will significantly raise the salt-content.

Douse the entire salsa in olive oil, stirring it into a shimmering green pool, and adjust the seasoning with a squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavors, salt and pepper if necessary. Some like it soupier – I prefer mine more rustic,

It's ready to eat now, but it will be even better tomorrow, when the the flavors have had a chance to get better acquainted.

You have probably realized that this is the Year of Yuzu. The Japanese citrus is suddenly trendy - and for good reason. It’s the most ladylike lemon; where others have a sharp edge, this one has a gentle perfume. These days I find myself reaching for this Blis yuzu vinegar all the time. It’s great in salad, but also adds a gentle zip to vegetables, pickles and sashimi sauce.

I had one of the best meals of my life at Arzak in San Sebastian, which is the only 3 Michelin star restaurant I would describe as cozy. (Many days you can walk through the kitchen and see the entire family sitting down for dinner.) I recently pulled the menu out because I’ll be returning this fall and taking a group of friends along. If you’d like to join us, the information is here.

For years I told people that the best deal in New York was the $39 lunch at Jean-George’s Nougatine, but it is now, alas, a thing of the past. (The great lunch deal, not the restaurant, which is still wonderful.) However, I’ve just discovered an even better bargain just across the street at Porterhouse.

The restaurant has one of the best views in New York - a bird’s eye view of Central Park. And some of the city’s finest food. There’s a great shrimp cocktail, a superb Caesar salad, and a slim but flavorful little steak with a heap of fantastic fries. I honestly don’t know how they do it, but I can’t think of nicer place to relax into a classic New York meal.