Kansas City: Arthur Bryant's Barbeque

In the 1970's, the writer Calvin Trillin called Arthur Bryant's possibly the world's best restaurant. That was enough for me to divert my cross-country drive to visit Kansas City and, in particular, a low-key brick building. What I found there was a revelation. Their spectacular barbeque was the result of a team of people with clear devotion to their craft, which they pursued with quiet pride and without a hint of glamor.

It took me 35 years, but I finally made it back. I have had Mr. Bryant's famous sauce quite a few times over the years, but it took this sandwich to drive home that it was made for pork shoulder. The pairing of their tender pork with this cumin-laced sauce is a perfect wedding of flavors. If you are lucky enough to make it here, this is the dish I suggest.

The ribs are great. The meat responds to a gentle tug to come off the bone. Eating these ribs is a rewarding experience.

The onion rings are fantastic: big, crunchy, soft on the inside. By the way, Mr. Bryant's prices are very reasonable. They would be fair even if the dishes weren't huge.

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Eating Around Georgia Tech: Ecco

Our Texas Instruments colleague Cathy Wicks was gracious enough to host several of us at Ecco tonight. This is one of those restaurants that has been on my list for a long time. Even though it is within easy walking distance of Georgia Tech, I hadn't made it there until tonight. The menu is a combination of Italian, Spanish, and French that make use of some local Georgia ingredients. The combination of those three countries is sometimes a little forced, although the georgia ingredients (fruit, cheese) were all great and perfectly appropriate. We started out with a meat and cheese board. This actually reverses the French tradition, where cheese usually follows the main course. Everything was excellent. The Georgia cheese was a big hit, as was the French cow/goat cheese. I thought the sauscisson was very subtle and very good. The waitress said that the roast pork pasta was their signature dish, so I had to try it. It had traditional broad pasta (fresh, of course)

Pressure Cooker Candied Ginger

I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b

DCA: Cava Mezze Grill

Cava is a DC area chain with light Mediterranean food. Saibal encouraged me to try lunch at their airport location and I was very happy with the experience. I ordered falafel on SuperSalad with assorted other toppings. The falafel was tasty. The SuperSalad was light, flavorful, and very easy to eat. Overall, a healthy and enjoyable lunch, something you can't always say about airport eating.

Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

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