Foods markets, especially in Third World countries, are where you can really see what the people are all about. In Yogyakarta, the “traditional market,” as my driver Toto referred to the place where locals shop for food and dry goods, is an open-air, multi-level building teeming with humanity—sullen youths smoking clove cigarettes, wizened old ladies hunched over baskets of shallots, krupuk sellers, batik-clad matrons shopping for fish, the occasional leathery homeless man brandishing a tin begging cup. Around the perimeter of the market are countless little stands where vendors and cooks ply their specialties: fresh salads, soups, fried tofu and tempeh, cow skin crackers, grilled satays, iced coconut drinks with green cam cau jelly, sweet cakes made from glutinous rice flour. There is a general din composed of the constant roar of motorbikes, the swishing of beans though bamboo strainers, the clang of metal spoons and the sweet melodies of caged songbirds. I am never happier than drifting through such a place, absorbing it all (even the scary smells), tasting what I dare, interacting when I can and marveling at this daily life that is so unlike my own. I took so many pictures that I’ll spread them over a few posts. This one features the many strange and exotic foods I came across (but did not eat) at Beringharjo market, which was built on the site of a former banyan tree forest in 1758.

chicken heads are skewered and roasted to a crispy golden crunch

among the many kinds of satay are these made with strips of jelly-like fat…

…and these of burnished quail eggs, next to piles of roasted tofu

quail are roasted with the eggs still inside

some serious nose-to-tail eating must be on the menu

although the city is predominantly muslim, the pig was still represented

at first i thought this was liver, but it turned out to be big blocks of congealed blood

there were more kinds of dried fish and seafood than i had ever seen anywhere

napping near a pile of  durian jackfruit

This bacon-chocolate crunch bar was the end to a very porky dinner at Animal in Los Angeles. Does it surprise you to know I’m gearing up for a cleanse when I get back home? For those of you who marvel that the glutton is not obese, I want to point out that I only ate 2 small bites of this decadent dish. Still, I did share several other pork-intensive plates at this popular place opened in 2008 by chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. Since then, they’ve been awarded Food & Wine Best New Chefs of 2009 and received a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant. They also starred in a reality show on the Food Network called “Two Dudes Catering”and came out with a cookbook, “Two Dudes, One Pan.” If you’re interested in reading a more in-depth profile than this one, they were featured in the New Yorker in an April 2010 article by Dana Goodyear called “Killer Food.”

the menu  changes daily

The restaurant is small, dark, noisy and stark, not unlike my beloved Momofuku Ssam, and the comparisons don’t stop there. The menu changes daily, though they seem to keep their most popular pig dishes always available. Three of us shared about 8 plates, including a mini hamachi tostada; the “buffalo style” crunchy fried pig’s tail; an indifferent escarole and persimmon salad; a wonderfully juicy rabbit loin wrapped in bacon; a nice hunk of seared beef with a slick of truffle cream; and pig’s ear sliced thin, served with a spicy-tangy sauce and topped with a fried egg.

pig’s ear is actually quite delicious

Virtually all of it was well executed and interesting enough, but I’ve definitely become spoiled by Momofuku. At Animal, the flavors were simply not as compelling, not as differentiated. They lacked the brightness and sheer imagination that makes a meal at Ssam Bar such a stellar experience. That said, the fried pig’s tail with its slick of blue cheese and Tabasco was a great snack. The chocolate-bacon crunch bar? Don’t think I’ll be doing that again any time soon. We left most of it on the plate and headed back out into the chilly LA night, bellies full and dreaming of home.

a hot pink watermelon radish

I don’t want to harsh your mellow, and I do know that Thanksgiving is a special day, a time to throw caution to the wind and loosen your belt, but I just read that “more than half of Americans will have diabetes or be prediabetic by 2020, at a cost to the US health care system of $3.35 trillion, if current trends continue unabated.” Staggering, no? What trends does this refer to? Too much processed food, too much sugar, too much fat. So I’d like you to reconsider all those cream-laden dips and greasy chips that seem to be so popular for snacking on before the big turkey feast. All those cheese plates and fistfuls of roasted nuts that go so well with the wine and cocktails you’ll inevitably be knocking back. Look, I’m no killjoy. I want you to indulge! But I also want you alive and healthy and fitting into your skinny jeans. So ponder some of these options, starting with a plate of fresh, crunchy, spicy watermelon radishes—in season now!—irresistible when sprinkled with some Maldon sea salt and maybe drizzled with a little green olive oil. That’s a great way to really wake up your palate.

a little cup of butternut squash soup is so chic

I believe I already suggested you pass mugs or little vintage tea cups of soup to all those hungry people hanging around the kitchen. Try this smoky, cheesy celeriac soup; or this spicy yam soup with a sweet hit of peanut butter; or this butternut squash soup (but leave out the cream and substitute a little tangy feta for the garnish).

Prefer something more cool and refreshing? Let your guests help themselves to a bowl of this delicious Brussels sprout salad, tangy with red onion and sharp pecorino.

Insisting on a dip? Here’s a recipe for one of my favorites, a highly flavorful combination of walnuts and roasted garlic, from the former Lever House. Serve it like they did, with a soft flatbread, or with breadsticks, fennel and carrots.

LEVER HOUSE WALNUT AND GARLIC TAPENADE

makes about 1 ½ cups

5 cloves garlic confit (recipe follows)

1 cup walnut pieces

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

2/3 cup mild olive oil

sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

2 teaspoons fresh chervil or Italian parsley leaves

1 teaspoon fresh marjoram or oregano leaves

Combine the roasted garlic, walnuts, and vinegar in a food processor and pulse several times to make a coarse paste. Alternatively, the tapenade can be made by hand in a large mortar and pestle, with some elbow grease.

Slowly drizzle in the oil and pulse a few more times to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the herbs by hand. The walnut and garlic tapenade may be served immediately or covered and refrigerated for up to a week. Bring the tapenade to room temperature before serving.

ROASTED GARLIC CONFIT

1 cup peeled garlic cloves

olive oil, to cover the garlic (about 2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Put the garlic cloves in a single layer in a small baking pan. Pour in enough oil to cover the garlic completely. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the cloves are soft. If they’re not quite done after 30 minutes, continue to cook, checking at five-minute intervals, until the garlic is creamy and completely tender. Be sure that the garlic does not brown or, worse, burn. Cool the roasted garlic in the oil before straining.

Feel you must offer something spreadable? How about my wildcard-winning recipe for Tuscan Chicken Liver? It was chosen during last year’s Food52 competition, will be published in their first cookbook and was also included this week among their top-10 picks for holiday starters. It’s not like grandma’s but—dare I say it?—it may be better. Enriched with wine, capers, anchovy, sage and parmigiano, this is seriously addictive. (Please source your chicken livers wisely.)

better than bubbe’s?

OK, OK, you say you have to offer something truly decadent? I’ve got a real flavor bomb for you. Just don’t let anyone eat more than a couple of these babies. Even though they’re far better for you than Lay’s with onion dip, there’s a reason they’re called Devils on Horseback.

gotta date?

These cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates explode in your mouth with the perfect balance of sweet, salty, umami, creamy and crunchy. Some people substitute an almond for the cheese, and they’re pretty good like that, too. Popular at swank cocktail parties in the ’60s, these have enjoyed quite a comeback, including appearing on the menu at AOC, Suzanne Goin’s tapas-style restaurant in Los Angeles.

DEVILS ON HORSEBACK

(Bacon-Wrapped, Cheese-Stuffed Dates)

serves 10

20 1 x 1/4″ sticks Parmigiano-Reggiano

20 pitted dates (preferably Medjool)

7 bacon slices, cut crosswise into thirds

20 wooden toothpicks

Place oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

Stuff 1 piece of cheese into each date, then wrap 1 piece of bacon around each date, securing it with a pick. Arrange dates 1 inch apart in a shallow baking pan covered with foil.

Bake 5 minutes, then turn dates over with tongs and bake until bacon is crisp, 5 to 6 minutes more. Drain on a paper bag or parchment. Serve immediately, but warn guests that these are molten inside and to proceed with caution!

The very day the Times gave Takashi a rave review, Dickson’s announced it would be co-hosting a special dinner there, featuring an all-beef menu from a single steer it would supply. As a big fan of Dickson’s, conscientiously-raised beef, Korean barbecue and adventurous eating, I couldn’t really pass up the opportunity. Takashi—the name of the chef and his restaurant—opened in April in Manhattan’s West Village, and seems to be occupying a new space in the city’s dining landscape. The food is in the style of yakiniku, a Japanese version of Korean barbecue that originated in Japan during the Second World War, when many thousands of Koreans were conscripted into the Japanese army and brought to the island to work. Chef Takashi Inoue’s grandmother is Korean and runs a small yakiniku restaurant in Osaka. Takashi came to the United States three years ago to study English, met Saheem Ali—then a theater director, now the restaurant’s general manager—and together they opened this small restaurant. The quality of the meat on offer is fantastic. At the dinner we attended, it all came from one steer that had been provided by Dickson’s. It was a real adventure in nose-to-tail eating, and one that honored Dickson’s fine beef, Takashi’s original cooking, and the magnificent animal that made it all possible.

It was great fun to sit at the counter and see the carefully orchestrated act that is a smooth-running kitchen. Beef tartare with a quail’s egg yolk was unctuous and fresh, kicked up with one of the many “secret” sauces that Takashi learned from his grandmother. The palette of ingredients includes soy; dark sesame oil; sharp, citrusy yuzu; smoky red chile paste; and rich, funky miso.

Jake walked us through the courses so we would know what we were eating. For me, the scariest tastes were beef heart and liver, savored both raw and grilled. Neither was what I had anticipated, and I actually like the grilled liver quite a bit. You get to cook your own on the electric grills embedded in the restaurant’s tables. A narrow black exhaust hood whisks away any smoke, so the experience is quite different from the greasy (but still great) affair that is the average Korean bbq joint.

These little marrow burgers were made from meat that had been chopped, mixed with marrow and stuffed back inside the bones before grilling. They were buttery and divine. So simple yet so decadent.

There were just enough vegetables integrated into the dinner to give it a balanced feel. I especially loved these mung bean sprouts, and a dead simple salad of sliced cabbage drizzled with a sweet miso dressing.

We were served tongue 3 ways, including the fleshy tip. My favorite was the thinnest slice, grilled to crispy perfection.

It was such fun to see the master at work, to experience a totally new kind of food and, at the end, to feel sated but not stuffed. The restaurant offers little cones of vanilla soft-serve—a fitting finale to a beef-centric feast—but in solidarity with G (still no dairy for him), I passed. I encourage you to go and try it all, satisfying your appetite for both new tastes and new adventures.

After a long day of work meetings and running around the city (and, yes, a mani/pedi with the Chanel “Black Satin” nail polish I have been hoarding for 2 years), I returned to the Ace and decided to have a late lunch/early dinner at The Breslin to see if I could experience what the fuss is all about. A you may recall, I tried their burger and excellent thrice-cooked fries from room service. And I also had some airy pumpkin pancakes with melted chile butter at brunch the next day that I really can’t complain about. But much has been written about the alleged nose-to-tail eating at this joint, so I wanted to root around in the menu a bit more. As it turns out, I snarfled down quite a panoply of delights, so if you’re thinking of making the trek to 29th and Broadway, press on, gentle reader.

Though I was tempted by the much-lauded “baked 3-cheese sandwich with house-smoked ham,” I was ultimately swayed by the macho posturings of the Terrine Board.

you try taking a better photo in a dimly lit bar with your iphone

I opted for the small board (thank Christ) and what arrived was, in fact, a reasonable portion of each of 4 terrines: guinea hen with morels (luscious); rustic pork (slightly sour and studded with pistachios); rabbit and prune (more prunes, please); and head cheese (more about this in a sec). They were accompanied by some toasted bread glossed with olive oil (could it have been pane Pugliese from Sullivan Street Bakery?), and little pots of cornichons, grainy mustard, and piccalilli—a rather arcane relish made with cauliflower and pearl onions with which I happen to be acquainted thanks to the pickling skills of my sister-in-law Lisa (she of the horsey appetite and skinny little bod). It was all bloody good. If I were to quibble? The terrines were a bit cold. I mean I understand they can’t just be sitting out on the counter getting to just the right temperature for when I come in and order them…or can they? That, and the head cheese was a little gluey/slimy. Confession: this was the first time I have ever eaten head cheese, that I can remember. I am not afraid of it, just haven’t come across it much (although it is on the menu at Ssam Bar). Is this how it’s meant to be? Dunno. Did it taste good? It did. Will I try David Chang’s version? Yep. Next time I’m there. I need to do a taste comparison and then I will let you know if The Breslin’s head cheese erred on the side of slime.

Now, remember everything I told you just the other day about creating balance in your life? Well, I also ordered a salad which I knew contained nice young Tuscan kale and also came with some fresh herbs (I LOVE chervil!) and an unexpected anchovy dressing that was really good (and full of omega-3s). This was the perfect counterpoint to the terrines. And it also paved the way for dessert! YES. I had heard all about the donuts, and they’re only available at lunch, so I figured this was my chance.

Someone had told me they were filled with nutella, but mine were not. (A good thing, really, as I am not that crazy about hazelnut. I’ll eat it, but I prefer my chocolate without.) Despite how large they look in this (fuzzy) photo, they were only about 2″ big and they were hot and filled with dark, molten chocolate that dripped onto my fingers and down my chin. (Fortunately the English dude sitting down the bar from me had already finished his terrine board and left without dessert.) To my credit, I only ate two of the four on offer and pushed the rest away like a spoiled princess. (Those little brown things that look like deer poop? They were some teeny chocolate-covered crispies that are 100% superfluous.) Was I sated? Yessir. Do I need another lunch like that any time soon? Nope. But I’ll be up in the air tomorrow and I don’t like plane food.