411, Chapel Hil

411 west, chapel hill ©411

Our family met in Chapel Hill over the weekend to celebrate Mom’s birthday. The location—411 West (located at 411 West Franklin Street) was her choice, and it happens to be one of my absolute favorites. People more familiar with Raleigh know 518, located in Glenwood South. That’s 411’s sister restaurant. They have nearly identical menus, with one very important exception. And it’s one that I’ll drive to Chapel Hill for. Beef Carpaccio. More on this later…

Have you ever considered what you would eat if you knew when your last meal would be? I’m a food-centric person. So I ask this not to be morbid, but to be idealistic. My meal the other night at 411, and what I get there every time, would qualify as an ideal last supper. First, it’s in one of the most beautiful towns in the country. The atmosphere and company is lively and bright. And the food is filling and delicious. And they serve three of my very very favorite dishes.

In addition, 411 has a little place in my heart. Throughout my years at Carolina, when Mom and Dad came to town to visit, it was a popular place for them to take me and my brother. Or Mom and I would share girly dinners there, splitting a little bit of everything. We could enjoy good conversation over good food. Or on special occasions or 1/2-price wine night, it was a nice place to go with friends or dates. There are plenty of great memories and meals shared at 411.

My traditional order begins with the beef carpaccio. Beef carpaccio comes from the tenderloin and is prepared either completely raw or seared rare. It is chilled, usually in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving. Then it is sliced thinly, and thinned out more with a meat mallet. At 411 the carpaccio is topped with an arugula and field greens salad, capers, scallions and grano padona cheese. Crostini and a horseradish creme sauce come on the side. I recommend dressing the salad with just olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, in each bite you try to get a little of everything—it’s truly perfectly balanced. Sweet olive oil, slivers of tender meat and aged cheese, salty capers, peppery greens and crisp and tangy onion. A little bite of crostini with horseradish sauce adds a nice zing! But I prefer to simpler flavor of olive oil on the beef.

carpaccio

The first time I ordered beef carpaccio was at a roommate’s bidding in Florence. It’s not something I would normally select for myself. But I fell in love with this dish. There was a small cafe close to our school, located at the intersection of Via Giglio and Via Melarancio.

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We called it News Cafe, though I’m not sure it has a name. It does have a prime location. The sign just says “News Cafe Bar Tabacchi.” Bars in Italy are more like coffee counters, and a tabacchi is a place that sells tobacco products, stamps, etc. We walked past it everyday, so it became a popular spot to grab an espresso or a quick bite for lunch. There lunch counter included panini, salads, baked pasta dishes, fresh bread. And their carpaccio, served with just arugula and olive oil was heaven. Eat outside on the little sidewalk and…tear…I can’t continue.

Next up at 411, Lemon Linguine—that’s shrimp, scallops, roasted tomatoes, garlic and scallions sauteed in white wine, lobster butter and clam broth.

the lemon linguine

Look at those beautiful scallops. While that is a perk of the dish, the real highlight is the broth. It’s light on filling, but sweet and tangy and full of flavor. The pasta is homemade—substantial, not flimsy. And then…the roasted tomatoes (which I once asked about…something like they’re marinated in orange juice and zest before roasting) taste like candy. They’re sweet and acidic and a perfect in every bite. Seconds please!

chocolate espresso pots de creme

And to finish the meal: Chocolate Espresso Pots de Crème. This is like a creme brulee, but without a crispy, torched top. Instead, the chocolate cream is topped with whipped cream and espresso bean wafers. Holy freakin cow—this dessert is fabulous. It is rich and smooth, and has the perfect hint of espresso to accentuate the chocolate flavor. And it wouldn’t be right to skip on a cappuccino.

cappuccino w/ semi-sweet chocolates

Everyone has a favorite dish at 411. My brother always gets The Crab (Red pepper papardelle pasta in a dill cream sauce with crab meat and a saute of mushrooms, scallions and bacon); Dad likes the Shrimp Carbonara (Shrimp tossed with penne rigate, shallots, bacon and garden peas in a traditional carbonara sauce); Mom’s with me on the Lemon Linguine, and the Whole Wheat Fettuccine is a favorite for many. There’s really something for everyone.

This post on favorite Italian food has inspired me to revisit my journal from Florence and write up some of my favorite places to eat in the city. It will be a fun trip down memory lane. Coming soon…

Anyone have an idea about what you’d choose for a last supper?

Mez

I dedicate the carne featured in this post to LG, who celebrated her birthday Monday.

My folks were driving through Raleighwood this past week and we decided to meet up for dinner at Mez, the contemporary Mexican restaurant in RTP operated by the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group (411 West, Squid’s, Spanky’s in Chapel Hill and 518 West in Raleigh).

I had been here before, so I was pumped to return. Last time I got the Tacos de Pescado, which were lightly fried tilapia topped with a cabbage slaw, salsa and a spicy aioli. I highly recommend that entree. It’s a good serving size, balanced, and an all around good rendition. From that former trip, I can also recommend the chips and salsa sampler with three different salsas–roasted tomato-pepper, fresca and avocado-tomatillo green salsa.

Back to this more recent visit. My family ordered diversely. Dad got the beef fajitas (flank steak with red rice, onions, peppers, served with flour tortillas, guacamole, crema and chimichurri). Fajitas are always a winning order because they can be customized! Make it just how you like it.

una fiesta en la boca

Mom got the scallop special. These large sea scallops were seared delicately and to perfection: still very tender, like butter melting in your mouth. The scallops came with a jicama/carrot/cilantro slaw and a coconut rice ball, lightly fried. This plate was beautiful and healthy, but more in line with a small plate, not an entree. Serving size = weak.

seared scallops & coconut rice

Well, Mez did not fail in the serving size of my 14 oz. Rib Eye Adobado with sauteed spinach and poblano mashed potatoes. My stomach feels full just thinking about it. The steak was seared to a crisp outside finish with a juicy inside and rubbed with ancho chili, cumin and brown sugar. Then, perched on top was a dollop of a wild mushroom butter.

classic case of eyes > stomach. but yeah, i ate it. all.

I felt like Liz Lemon devouring the steak in front of Jack following his secret heart attack. “A dog took it..it came out of nowhere…!” The steak was the hero of the plate, but the spinach was insanely good. Bright and seasoned well. The mashed potatoes were Yukon golds, so they naturally had a delicious buttery texture. I didn’t notice much poblano pepper flavor though.

What an enjoyable experience. It’s also worth noting that Mez is North Carolina’s first restaurant designed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards for site development, water conservation, energy efficiency and construction materials. Mez collaborated with UNC-CH students and faculty during planning stages.

Some differences you may notice in the restaurant’s operation: the use of local organic ingredients, mostly natural lighting, washcloths (not papertowels) in the restroom and hybrid vehicle designated parking.

Because of their commitment to recycling, community involvement, and green operations, the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group was named the 2007 Sustainable Business of the Year by the Foundation for a Sustainable Community. Hoorah! What a great example to set for high quality food (The Foodiest Small Town in America, Bon Appétit), environmental consciousness and green advances in engineering.

Kitchen Adventures

I tested out two, new adventurous recipes recently. My motivation was to experiment with new techniques, and to make something I’ve never made before.

The first was Scallops in Parchment, en papillote if you’re fancy. I love this technique, having admired chefs on television demonstrate it, and having been a very young Girl Scout doing the more hardy, aluminum foil version over a camp fire. Cooking in parchment is super easy, not messy, easily versioned and elegantly rustic. A great dinner party idea would be to have everyone BYO fish, while you supply the herbs, veggies, wine/stock and parchment. Guests could assemble the papillote to their liking. When it’s done cooking, place the steamed pack on a plate, rip open and enjoy! Makes for easy clean-up, too.

For my Scallops in Parchment, I trimmed down the recipe for one serving. I added baby bok choy to up the greens content, and to take away some of the emphasis on fennel, which I don’t love. I asked the fish guy at The Freshmarket for a 1/4lb of fresh sea scallops (that came to 2 big guys, but in my price range, too). Here’s the assembly process!

gently toss all ingredients (except scallops)

place mixture on 12x12 parchment, stack scallops on top

first you roll it, then you bake

tear it open!

i added couscous and lemon juice

I did not have white wine on hand, which I would have added to the package, but the veggies and scallops produced enough moisture to steam themselves. The couscous I made on the side because I wasn’t sure how the steam bag would handle cooking it thoroughly. Overall, this meal was a huge success. Like, I said, I’m not a huge fan of fennel. The baby bok choy was delicious, as well as the tomatoes. I love when grape tomatoes get hot, burst and produce that highly acidic, hot juice! That is divine. Now that I’ve tested out this technique, I’m ready to try different ingredients, switching up the recipe with asparagus, zucchini, carrot slivers, peas, salmon, snapper, etc.

My second recipe test-drive: Homemade Pizza. This is mostly a no-brainer, so the dough was the emphasis. Major roadblock, I’ve never bought yeast, and wasn’t going to make a trip to the store just for that. So I’d have to go the no-yeast dough route. Yeah, sort of a cop-out. But my next pizza adventure will most certainly involve proper, yeast pizza dough. And maybe even whole wheat flour next time. Here’s how the assembly went.

flour, milk, olive oil, baking powder, salt

after kneading

nope, don't own a rolling pin.

all rolled out, with olive oil on top

now for the fun part: choosing the toppings

The toppings include (building from bottom to top), pesto, mozzarella, grape tomatoes, capers, sun dried tomatoes & bacon (leftover from this BLT dip), Parmesan and parsley.

before baking

golden brown. dinner time!

This pizza was ah-mazing. Granted, I normally don’t have these kinds of ingredients around, but it truly made all the difference. So much great flavor. I will definitely make this again because it was so easy and beat the hell out of delivery. And DiGiorno. One mistake I made was not spraying the baking sheet. I lost some of the crust trying to get it off the pan. Or, use a Silpat, which I also do not own.

spinach salad with grape and sun dried tomatoes, capers, marinated mushrooms and artichoke hearts

Here’s my lunch the next day, using some of the antipasto ingredients that made their way onto my pizza. Note the container by Oggi (set of three nested containers at TJMaxx for less than $10). They have great design sense with functionality (date slider on the side to mark when you made the contents). Love it.

Finally, I made some of my favorite salad dressing. Before I was limited to fresh ginger dressing when dining out at sushi bars. Now I can make my own, and avoid shelling out cash for the fancy bottled versions. Here’s the recipe for Carrot Ginger Dressing. I highly recommend it.

combine in blender or food processor

More kitchen adventures to come. I loved trying out these newbies.