Month: March 2020

We haven’t had a chance to cook together lately and had to cancel our first dinner party to keep our families safe, so I’ve had some time to reflect on when families struggle. It’s certainly no hoax that there’s something making people suddenly look up how to cook and bake from scratch. It was only 80 years ago that people all over the world were skimping, scrounging and saving everything they could in response to the World War II effort of the 1940’s. Anyone else remember American Girl Molly McIntire, the youngest daughter of an army doctor? The scene here really sets the tone of the entire movie: Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront Meat, butter, sugar, cooking oils and cheese were heavily rationed. There was a points-system put in place where stamps and different color coins were for different types of items, but the number value was how many points it was worth, kind of like a sub-economy as well as the regular price tag. Let me give you an example:  A butcher sells sausage links for 40 cents per pound, then the government says it’s worth 8 ration points. You pay both charges. The WWII Museum has articles about this sort of system here.

During the years when my grandfather was in the navy aiming cannons, fresh fruits and non-root vegetables were increasingly costly, but seeds were practically pennies a pinch! City slickers could give their hand a green-thumb instead of shelling out the green in their purses. If you were a British kid, you were most likely evacuated to the countryside or overseas for your own protection. It makes you look at the 1st scene of the first Narnia movie directed by Andrew Adamson in a whole new light. Joan Collins even has a chapter in her autobiography about her family crowding into a bomb shelter.

The government assisted farmers by promoting the planting of Victory Gardens. 20 million were planted; 9-10 TONS of produce fresher than fresh were blooming out on peoples lawns. It was an agricultural BOOM that also boosted the morale of the homemakers and kids. They could help out by doing simple things around the house while the highly trained men and women were out taking care of major duties. Too bad the urban folks stopped in 1946, or there wouldn’t have been a shortage that year.

Naturally, the cuisine of the era was high-carb, low-sugar and low-fat. Honestly, it did England a favor in their flu, obesity, diabetes and cardio health rates for a solid 14 years. There were Victory Cookbooks printed for housewives to create balanced healthy meals for their families catered to the rations they were given. The key was to waste nothing and stretch your goods for as long as they could last before rotting. That’s why there were so many books and pamphlets out around town on canning, pickling and preserving. 

One thing my grandmother remembered and Mom told me, was that chicken was often boiled, so that the meat would come off and the water and bones could become soup broth. After this, the chicken could be used for croquettes, pot pies, casseroles, sandwiches, salads, patte, stews and so much more than just roasting it and calling it a day. I would try and make chilli out of it if I had the spices for it.

Hey, Look! I found some cookbook titles from the war….

“Eating for Victory: Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations“

“Ration Cookbook: Recipes & History“

“The Wartime Cookbook“

and a Mental Floss webpage with 11 pages more…here

It’s a classic tale of a floundering seafood restaurant. At first the food is fresh and delicious, then a few less customers come in and they have to start lowering the budget. The food suffers. The chef can’t recreate the flavors with frozen and canned ingredients, so the customers stop. The management changes and the cycle repeats until finally they can’t find someone to shift everything back into shape and it all crashes.

It’s these sort of stories that once required a wake-up call and total makeover by the famous Gordon Ramsay and his crew behind the show “Kitchen Nightmares“, later revamped to “24hrs to Hell and Back“; if not “Restaurant Impossible” featuring sledgehammer-wielding, Robert Irvine. Not all restaurants fall this way, but it’s as common as a cold if it’s not a fast-food chain. Our spotlight restaurant is “The Reel Seafood Company” formerly of Albany NY.

My mother went there in the late 80’s after her friend gave the oysters a 5 star personal review. Upon my mother’s visit, she was served a bowl full of salt, pasty chowder with uncooked lumps of flour and no essence of flavor. Management switched hands between then and the late 2010’s.

This is what it was like to the general public in 2019: https://www.yelp.com/biz/reel-seafood-albany-2 

That’s when my step-father John, went in for a dinner date with my mom and me for her birthday in July 2016. Things had definitely improved by then, to the point that I was advised to take Lauren there for dinner on our first ever 1st date anniversary on March 25th 2017, conveniently during restaurant week, so the special was 3 courses, but we liked the menu options better. I had the Giovanni linguini with scallops in white wine sauce and she tucked into a stuffed haddock after we polished off the raw bar’s best oysters.

FYI: No real scientific proof has been found about oysters increasing sexual desire. 2015 “Sexual Medical Reviews” journal says; they’re great for increasing zinc, male hormone health, serotonin and amino acids, but the goo-goo eyes are a placebo-effect.

We loved it so much and the staff was rather pleasant, yet sophisticated. It became our favorite haunt. I remember having the ruby-red spiced jambalaya, the legendary cioppino, (Think of that as a shellfish lover’s platter complete with claw-crackers, wipes and a plastic bib topped with a lobster tail) and the stuffed haddock. The bread always accompanied one container of olive oil and balsamic vinegar mix, one ball of plain butter and one ball of fruit-flavored butter like strawberry or blueberry. It was a dead give-away that the bread rolls came reheated from the consistency, but then again, I’ve always liked poppy seed.

Later on, we began to see some changes in their quality of food. The rolls were the same. The butter trios were still delicious, but the jambalaya Lauren recommended to me was different, stew vs soup consistency. We thought it was a different chef in the kitchen and thought nothing of it. The flavors were still there, you know? Moving on, we saw more and more chicken dishes coming up on the menu. We all know the one person in a seafood joint who can’t stand fish, so they get something from the small meat-section in a wine reduction paired with veg. When we go to a seafood restaurant, we expect there to be a majority towards aquatic dishes, whether it be sushi, white fish, salmon or any kind of crustaceans or mollusks. As we continued to visit, the more chicken replaced some of the fish dishes we knew and loved. Jambalaya was the first thing to go, then the cioppino and to our shock, the Giovanni just to name 3. Sure, there were still fish and chips, clam chowder and salads, but those you can get at a low-end diner or a fish-fry place for a lower price. It’s like the Sparkle paper towel commercial use to say, “Why pay extra for something, like gourmet chicken nuggets?”

We went one last time in celebration of Jeremy’s paper being published and my new state job in January 2020. The raw bar was a fine treat, but the chicken had nearly overtaken the entire menu. Why? Chicken is cheap, well-liked and very familiar to people. It’s a safe staple for the restaurant industry eaten by anyone who isn’t vegan, vegetarian, pescitarian or Catholic during Lent on Fridays. Yes, it’s important to change the menu to keep things interesting, and we understand it was also a steakhouse, but the taste was off on both of our orders with clear signs of the stuffed haddock having been frozen. If I wanted something processed out of a box, I could’ve bought it for next to nothing with coupons. We left with complimentary mints and thanked ourselves for not having gotten dessert, or signed up for their restaurant loyalty app. A week later, we found a notice online stating that The Reel Seafood Company was shut down for good. 

What have we learned here? When management cuts corners on what really counts is not going to have much longevity. A successful restaurant does only 1 thing, give the customers what they want: Natural ingredients, Cooked well at Fair costs and they’re Happy to do it for your satisfaction.

Hana means “flower” in Japanese. Flowers have a strong significance in Japan from geisha names, to decor, to food and restaurants. This restaurant, “Hana” is near the Crossgates Mall and Colonie Center. Mind your step, please. I’d like to give you a little taste of what’s inside. Afterall, It’s in my top 3 places to go out for a nice lunch or dinner. If you want the Sunday happy hour, come in at 4:30 pm. We don’t partake in alcoholic beverages outside of Church communion, so we won’t discuss that.

Like some Japanese restaurants, they have 2 sections: 1 for regular dining and 1 for Hibachi. (Where the chef performs a comedic trick show while preparing your meal) Actually, if you get the table next to the sushi counter, you can see into the Hibachi dining rooms so you can have a glimpse of the show without the potty-humor or the hibachi price. It made it on the news once for suing a hibachi restaurant for squirting her with the “pee-pee boy” water gun.

My first look is at the tea section. Waitresses and waiters always ask about that first. If you would like a small pot (~4 cups worth) of green, Jasmine, peony or fruit, order that first. They don’t come with cream, lemon, sugar or honey, so you might want to ask about that, but traditionally, cream never goes with green tea anywhere. The small tea cups look like the pencil holder I made for my dad in middle school in green with a dent for a small hand to fit just right. They stay hot the whole time. I usually hold my cup and check if I can see the steam or not before I sip so I don’t burn my tongue. I’ve been caught putting ice from my water into my tea to cool it down because I can’t wait to drink it.

Now for the appetizers, the majority of the sushi appetizers have mayo or spice, but there are some safer options that I enjoy for example, the Yuzu Tai, (fish & chip lovers, please say “yes” to this one without the frying oil) chef’s choice sushi pieces and the sushi sandwich. If you have a sweet tooth during dinner, you can have the maki combo. Eel is always served in a super sweet sauce, similar to plum. Be warned, sushi rice will fill you up fast. We did a sushi post once, HERE it is.

The clear and miso soup, and the gyoza are simple enough that I can make it at home. Don’t take the chicken fingers and onion rings that are sold everywhere as sides and/or a family meal. It’s just not worth it. When I go out, I look for things that I can’t cook myself or I can only get at the restaurant I’m in. Shumai is my go-to appetizer for those reasons. Those are nice tiny snack dumplings steamed in a small pot with a leaf at the bottom. The dish originated in China served with pork fillings, but Japanese style is ALWAYS full of pasty shrimp. Ours came with baby shrimp on top. They were so cute! The peanut dipping sauce is great for that extra zing of flavor to balance the fat. We were dipping our fingers in it after we finished the food!

Sushi entrees are wonderful to look at, and taste scrumptious in my opinion. Honestly, I would love to try the new sushi for 2 dinners and the special love boats, but we were in the mood for something warm and comforting. I had the pad-thai. It’s loaded with peanuts which compliment the pork and the noodles are like thin ribbons, while the mushrooms and vegetables are shredded and topped with egg, just the way I like it. I had the beef last time and man, did I chow down. It was too good to just let it sit there. There is one duck dish too, so I had to really think which one I wanted. I enjoy duck, but it’s a delicate cook to get it just right and render out ALL of that thick fat. I save that for when I’m not trying to be good after February’s chocolate mousse. 

I on the other side of the table, had a bowl of Nabeyaki Udon soup. Udon is thick wheat noodle. They have to be eaten with chopsticks because they’re so long and slippery. I found myself piling one noodle at a time onto my spoon to eat them without waving them over my mouth. The Japanese may think slurping is okay, but I hate the sound too-too much! I liked the zucchini while it was still firm, but the pepper brought it all together, otherwise, that chicken would’ve been bland. BLAND MEANS BORING! Thank goodness for sweet red bell pepper slices and green onion. Best of all, I didn’t get a salty stock taste or a sodium overload from the broth. It was just right. If I get a headache after 1 bowl, that’s a red-flag waving me to the car. 

I remember liking their ice cream, but I have far too much in the home freezer, so don’t forget to grab a pear-flavored candy from the host. They come in handy when you run out of lozenges and honey, or if you want to melt them, paint with the goo and lick it off after it hardens like in Willy Wonka. I give the Albany Hana, a solid grade A. Pricing is satisfactory, servers are kind and gentle, and the chefs know how to put on a show. The food is tasty and original. It’s also clean and the music is soft enough to hear, but not overpower. Well done, Hana. You are the flower of my heart, or should I say, stomach?

Check out Hana’s website. They take online orders! ….https://hanaalbany.com/