Two Major Meals, a Bit of Crunch and Some Joy

A terrific source for vintage menus. The last days of El Bulli. Great crackers to buy or make. And a little lagniappe.

If you love old menus you need to know about vintagemenuart.com. Once called coolculinaria, the site offers beautiful reproductions of vintage menus. The massive collection is classified by city and subject.

Stuck for a gift? You can almost always find something appropriate here.

The menu below, from Louis Sherry, captured my attention. I’m fascinated by Sherry’s which was established in 1880 intending to become the city’s grandest restaurant. My Aunt Birdie used to reminisce about the wonderful meals she ate there at the turn of the century, although I’m sorry to say she was not present for the restaurant’s most famous meal. That would be the dinner on horseback. In 1903 Cornelius Billings hired thirty-six horses and brought them into the dining room so his guests could feast in the saddle.

Over the years Sherry’s fed many generations of New Yorkers, but it served its last meal in 1952. Tastes had changed.

Take a look at this meal! It’s a reminder of a time when people with serious appetites attempted to devour everything the earth had to offer at a single sitting. On this January night guests sat down to oysters, went on to various hors d’oeuvres followed by sea bass in hollandaise sauce and filet of beef with mushrooms, potatoes and peas. But the meal is merely beginning.

Now there are bouchees a la reine (puff pastry nests filled with creamed chicken), and timbale a la Bontoux. The latter is a truly complicated construction of pastry filled with a rich mixture of macaroni, truffles, coxcombs…. It’s basically that timpano that was the centerpiece of Big Night (one of the greatest food movies ever).

And still there is more. I believe that sorbet a la romaine was a palate cleanser based on punch a la romaine, which was first served at the papal palace, popularized by Auguste Escoffier and wildly popular in fancy American restaurants. Made with lemons, champagne and rum, it’s a wonderfully refreshing creation. (Here’s a recipe.) Just the thing before a dish of quails with watercress. Next up, salad. And finally the many cakes, ice creams, fruits and other goodies which were rolled in for dessert.

It gives you a better understanding of Diamond Jim Brady.

Looking at that menu made me think about one of the most epic meals I’ve ever indulged in.

For years I followed the career of Ferran Adria as he upended the culinary world, but in 2011 I had never eaten at his restaurant, El Bulli. On a beautiful spring morning I was taking a walk with Nancy Silverton when my phone rang. It was Jose Andres calling from DC.

“I have a message from Ferran,” he began. “He’s closing El Bulli at the end of the summer, and he wants you to come before it’s over. You’ve published many stories about him, you’ve done tv shows about him, but you’ve never eaten at his restaurant.”

I turned to Nancy. “Want to come along?”

At this point I should probably tell you why I didn’t ask my husband to join me: a five hour meal is Michael’s idea of hell. My friends, however, are a different matter, and as word began to circulate my phone began to ring. Soon a group of us were on our way to the Costa Brava. (Jonathan Gold was supposed to be there with his daughter Izzy, but they missed the plane. We caught up with them the next day at La Boqueria.)

Nancy eats the famous liquid “olive”

The meal was magical. We arrived at 7. Around midnight everyone went outside to watch a total eclipse of the moon. Then we went back inside to continue the meal.I think it was 3 a.m. before dinner was over.

Did I like everything we ate? I can’t say I did. But as Colman Andrews told me later, “Ferran doesn’t want you to like everything. He just wants to surprise you and make you think.”

And that he certainly did. I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun.

I find these extremely seedy crackers from Potter’s Table absolutely irresistible. But they’re expensive, and for ordinary occasions I make my own crackers with the ends of stale baguettes.

These couldn’t be easier. Just be sure to use good olive oil… and set a timer so you don’t forget them in the oven.

Baguette Crisps

day old baguette
olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice the baguette into thin slices on the bias. Put the slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle olive oil on top. Turn the slices over and douse with a few more drops. Dust lightly with Malden or some other textured salt and bake for about 12 minutes until golden.

Nestled into a plastic ziplock bag these will keep for about a week.

And one last thought…..

I just opened up the latest missive from George Saunders. (If you don’t know about his newsletter, Story Club, you’re missing out.) This is what he wrote.

“It’s hard to do anything beautiful without some joy going on. Imagine your favorite album – any joy in that?  Do we think the artist was having fun?  Of course she or he was. The truth is, it’s really hard to proceed on any other basis.  We sometimes are told, or made to believe, that art is about planning, about knowing what one wants to say, about being smart, having a theme – but in reality – in the actual doing of it – you have to have some love.  You can’t write 300+ pages unless you are being led by something, something that you can’t resist.  And you don’t need to know why it’s interesting to you – just that it is. “

Here’s to joy. Wherever you find it. Cherish it.