ARTISTRY OF COOKING WHERE PREPARATION AND TASTE TRANSCEND THE CUISINE

“Elvis is finally in the house.”  You could hear those words muttered at the 3^rd Annual Chicken Soup Cookoff, held last year at the Temple Beth Sholom in Flushing. For the past two years prior, Chef Elvis’ spicy Caribbean style chicken soup came in first place from both the judges and People’s Choice awards.  Not so in this one as Elvis had competition from a new entry, Tropical Revival, whose chicken soup seemed even a bit more “peppery”.  Nevertheless, Tropical Revival came in first from both judging groups with Elvis taking second place.  

 

Who would have thought that having a most peppery soup would be such a crowd pleaser.  Late arrival Elvis toted his soup from his restaurant on Long Island, while Tropical Revival owner Albert Teekasingh made an early entrance coming from Whitestone.  I think they were aware of their competitor as along with Elvis’s soup, a tray of mac and cheese was sitting alongside as an addition taster.  Albert had a tray of what for me was the best tasting buttery soft corn bread.  There is fresh corn in the bread and a secret ingredient that makes it so soft and flavorful. 

What was in the chicken soup?  Let’s begin with that Albert only uses cut up dark meat on the bone from fresh killed chickens. Cut up pieces of corn on the cob, yellow split peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, yucca, plantains, are added.  Habanero peppers are the “kick” in the soup and he doesn’t yell the word “bam” when he adds it. 

I was forced (twist my arm) to seek out Albert’s restaurant, located at 12-40 Clintonville Street, in a small shopping center with two floors of stores.  It was easy to spot the boasting award signs and not just due to the Chicken Soup Cookoff  as I arrived at what I believed to be a less busy time. 

Albert and his sister Elizabeth were behind the counter. Most of the food choices were resting each separately on the steam table. Although there is seating for about 12 people, most customers pop in and take out.  The menu changes every day depending upon what Albert (along with Elizabeth) want to prepare. 

I interviewed Albert and sampled much of the food to find that the artistry of preparation and taste that transcended the cuisine to the point of not even taking in account its “ethnicity.”  

It was back in his childhood days in Guyana that Albert learned to cook watching his mother and grandmother involved in the catering business.  That is what got him his start here catering companies such as Home Depot. 

He soon vied for a spot catering school lunches as four-year-olds and other kids were tired of eating bland foods now catering 4 Catholic Schools.  The children only noticed the flavors and enjoyed the spices.  One of the choices is rice with spinach that is “garlicky.” He does cut back on the habanero but tends to use dishes made with a curry.  Another is a lo mein (not of the Asian ilk) with vegetables. The one I sampled also had jumbo shrimp.  

It was now time to secure a restaurant only a few years ago.  Albert begins the food preparation at about 4 am, opening the restaurant at about 11:30 am.  There are no frozen foods used in any of his dishes, not even the most popular and sought out Oxtail (It does not come from an ox, but a cow). In fact it goes so quickly that you have to call ahead of time to see if there is any left. This 4-6 hour dish is simmered and not pressure cooked using onions, garlic, thyme, sweet pepper, cilantro and scallions marinated for hours prior to the cooking. 

 

Here is where I have to “share.”  While tasting and talking a man from Uber Eats came to take photos of the food. Yes, it means that you’ll be able to fill you tummy with goodness using an app.  The man is Chinese born.  I purposely asked because I had gone to a Chinese restaurant that served oxtail and was a bit surprised as I had never seen this on an Asian menu.  I wanted to tell him this but got interrupted. Before the man left, Albert asked if there was anything that he wished to take home and he said, “oxtail.”  I had to laugh. 

Enough chat….let’s get to the food.  I started with his famous soup and although it was still as peppery managed to get past it finding that my throat was not affected but my lips were a bit.  Now I was able to totally understand the “win.” 

Curry dishes are not my favorite due to one particular ingredient – cumin. Don’t enjoy the taste and find that I have a slight allergy as well. I had brought my food buddy, Deveka who was born in Surinam.  Give her a peppery tasting item and she will still request hot sauce to go with it. Not this time though as Albert’s combination of herbs and spices pleased her palate well.  

Curry is not a spice but a mixture of spices. Albert combines: onions, garlic, cumin, and masala.  One of the selections was Crab with Curry using snow crab, coconut milk and a root vegetable known as eddoes, related to the taro family. 

   

Baked Chicken and Curried Chicken were two other items as well as Pumpkin Shrimp using both pumpkin and butternut squash.  I have yet to have Curried Duck of which Albert goes directly to a place where he can pick out a live duck. 

“Sides” are served with the main item, including rice and red beans, rice and pigeon peas, the rice with spinach, roti, dahl and macaroni pie (a form of mac and cheese). 

“Jerk” mains are available in the form of Jerk Chicken and Jerk Pork.  Spicy, but not so peppery. If you happen to be there on a Saturday, Albert might just have made his “fall off the bone” spare ribs.   

This entrepreneur is not stopping at having the catering and restaurant.  There are two more ideas in the making.

Tropical Revival is open from 11:30 am to 7pm, closed on Sunday and Monday. (917) 563-7879

CRAVING FOR SMOKED FISH? YOU CAN GET IT FOR WHOLESALE

Nova lox used to be a delicacy that was found in high end appetizing stores and supermarkets.  Nowadays lox is on menus throughout the United States as well as many other countries.  What exactly is it?  Salmon that is cured and what is termed as “cold smoked” meaning at a low temperature.  

 

Tradition has it served on a bagel with a “schmear” of cream cheese and topped with raw onions, a tomato slice, and capers.  Incidentally, if you request “belly lox” you will find it much saltier.  

Smoked fish tends to be costly, depending upon what you buy and where you buy it.  Deli counters in stores such as Fairway Market have the smoked fish laid out in the glass cases where they slice and sell it by the pound.  

Acme Smoked Fish, located in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, smokes, packages and sells their products both in the Tri-State area and across the country. We are also talking about herring, white fish, sable and baked salmon, all of which are hot smoked. 

Acme has been around since 1905 and founded by a man named Harry Brownstein, who emigrated from Russia.  It is not surprising as now always having refrigeration gave way to smoking fish and meat for preservation.  Smokehouses in New York were not new.  With the birth of the family and the company being passed down, expansion and the introduction of vacuum packing resulted in the public being able to purchase the fish without any waiting.  Acme continued to grow with products under different brand names. I’ll get to that later. 

Fridays at Acme is open to the public from 8 am to 1 pm when you can buy the products at wholesale prices….cash only. I certainly agree just as a matter of time consuming.  It was the Polish community in the neighborhood that sparked the Fish Friday. This includes being able to go to a counter with various lox flavors and have it sliced.  I tasted all but the very salted belly.  Scottish style is dry cured.  Gravlax, a Scandinavian tradition, includes dill in the curing. Lemon pepper is quite tasty and my favorite flavored is the pastrami nova, of which I understand the company won an award for.  If you are buying for when you are having “company,” it is probably best to have the original on hand and bring out some seasoning.  

Let’s go to the other salmon products.  Under the label of Blue Hill Bay, Poke bowls are available. The rice portion is meant to be heated in a microwave oven. Aside from a decent portion of salmon they come with a packet of seasonings and sauce.  They are quite flavorful and provide enough protein for lunch. One of the Poke bowls has tuna instead of salmon.  

I think that whitefish is second to having lox…no bones about it.  Well, that’s not true, you have to pick off the meat and make sure there aren’t any pin point bones.  You can always get their whitefish salad, a combination of both whitefish and whiting along with mayo.  Salmon spread with smoked wild Alaskan salmon is an alternative.  To compare, if you want, a 16oz container is $8. 

Herring may be a preference to your tasty intake.  Sold in jars, you can get the filets in: wine; sour cream and onions; and one basically with onions and dill.  A 12oz jar is $4 and a 32oz showed $6. 

Have a hankering for rainbow trout or sable?  Like the whitefish, sable (Alaskan black cod) is displayed for your choosing.  BTW, you don’t get to pick up the fish and explore it.  There are several gloved employees behind the line of goodies that will gladly assist you with any questions and purchase. 

Ellen Lee Allen is charge of the marketing. We first talk about the clientele which now includes people from various ethnic backgrounds, all who have developed a taste for smoked fish.  As far as the various offerings she said, “If it has fins, we smoke it.”  

As a marketing “stunt” Acme created the “world’s largest bagel and cream cheese.” This Guinness record weighed 213.75lbs. It contained 40lbs of cream cheese, 40lbs of salmon, 25lbs each of tomatoes and onions, and about a pound and a half of capers. 

Although I didn’t notice, Allen said that they sell sturgeon as well.  I did view the salmon roe but not sure as to whether the company gets the whole salmons with the roe inside or the roe from an outside source.  Price wise, the chalkboard read $25 for 7oz. 

How about a snack of either teriyaki or peppered salmon jerky instead of beef?  There is a chalkboard both as you enter as well as on the wall when you have made your way inside.  Here is a sample of prices: Smoked salmon (lox) is $18lb. Hot smoked honey baked salmon also sells for $18lb. 

Production Manager Gary Brownstein has been working at Acme for 45 years and gets to taste everything that comes out. Gary also makes up a special every week that is posted on the board.  “It started about 20 years ago when we had a different clientele buying from us.  The first one I made was lox with and avocado salsa.  Then there was a bourbon mustard sauce.  Today we have one with onions and jalapenos.”  

I certainly do not want to leave out one of their Blue Hill Bay products, Honey Maple Smoked Salmon.  So worth giving up bacon for but watch out for tiny pin bones.  

Acme Smoked Fish is located at 30 Gem Street. Expect very long lines if you go during the holidays…and not just the Jewish ones!

THE GRAETER GOOD JUST GOT EVEN GREATER

I had the utmost taste sensation of indulging in Graeter's Ice Cream several years ago when I was in Cincinnati, Ohio.  That's where this small batch French style ice cream is produced.  I not only loved the consistency and flavor of the ice cream itself, but it was all about the chocolate chips.

Of the name brands, Ben & Jerry's is certainly not on the top of my chocolate list.  Each time that I tried out a flavor that contained some form of chocolate chips, all I seemed to taste was palm oil.  Ben & Jerry's isn't the only brand that does this to chocolate.  The explanation is that you can't have "real chocolate" in ice cream because the chocolate would be much too hard to bite into.  On the other hand, Graeter's uses a small amount of soy oil instead continuing to maintain the full chocolate flavor.

Here is another factor on the side of Graeter’s. Air goes into ice cream, so if you think you are getting a pint or quart it's just the size of the container and not the weight of 16 oz. etc.  Graeter's actually weighs 16 oz.  I'm not sure about the weight of Ben & Jerry's if you were to get a simple flavor without all of the added "candy" which basically boils down to a lot of added sugar.

The way that Graeter's batches are made is that they are stirring the chocolate "liquid" into the ice cream and the paddles break it up.  This is the reason why the chips are not all the same size.  If fact, you get a little surprise of what is like eating a small chocolate candy bar inside the pint. 

Batches are made two and a half gallons at a time using a French Pot Process where their artisans pour and swirl the delicious ingredients into the spinning two and a half gallon French Pot freezer resulting in a dense and rich cream.
Now, let us get to the flavors starting with the chocolate chip variety including: Black Cherry, Black Raspberry, Buckeye (with peanut butter, cocoa, and peanut butter cookie dough), chocolate chip (with vanilla ice cream), double chocolate chip (with chocolate ice cream), mocha (with real coffee), mint (with real peppermint oi), toffee, and one of the new ones….s’mores that uses milk chocolate chips, soft mini marshmallows and creamy graham crackers. I never engaged in s’mores. I did not appreciate the marshmallow or milk chocolate but did like the graham cracker ice cream. I had thoughts of the  ice cream with cherries and chips for a Cherry Chip Pie.

A chocolate lover's delight is their Dark Chocolate Brownie ice cream packed with soft, chewy brownie bits complementing the richness of the dark chocolate ice cream. Can you really have too much chocolate?

Here is another newer flavor that I tried called Chunky Chunky Hippo, crafted to celebrate the Cincinnati Zoo. With a toffee ice cream base, salted roasted peanuts and milk chocolate caramel truffles and a portion of proceeds benefit the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

Graeter’s came up with a “mystery” flavor that turned out to be Maple Cinnamon Crunch, a sweet maple ice cream and loaded with crunchy cinnamon covered shortbread pieces. Like having breakfast (any excuse to have their ice cream will do).

“Our annual Mystery Flavor unveil is a favorite time of year for all of us at Graeter’s,” shares Chip Graeter, 4th generation family member. “This year’s flavor is exceptional, and we’re really excited to bring it back into scoop shops throughout Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Chicago and Pittsburgh.”

Yes, I don’t have to always indulge in chocolate ice cream or chocolate chips although my absolute two favs are the raspberry chocolate chip and the black cherry chocolate chips. It’s the best way to enjoy some healthy fruit. Okay, that’s not really true. I love cherries and raspberries. Unless you grow your own or can pick them at a farm, raspberries don’t get the ripe sweetness that my flavor buds crave. Same with purchasing cherries that appear to be ripe because they look that way. Graeter’s does have a few selections of sorbet, of which I must try the raspberry and the lemon as a palate cleanser.

No  If you go to their website, you can either order online or find a location near you that sells Graeter’s. www.graeters.com

No,I haven’t tried all of the flavors and there are a lot more than I have already mentioned.