Reader Question: Fresh Basil?

Image via Wikipedia A reader asks:

Do you know where I could buy fresh basil in bulk? I am making a large qty of pesto and have used everything from my summer garden already. Thought you might know.....I have already tried Trader Joes, Fresh Market, Kroger, Marsh, Costco.....it's very expensive and I would have to spend alot to get what I need....not really sure why it's so expensive in the store. My $3 plant grew like a weed this summer!

Well, it's out of season, but you knew that. I recommended she try Ron Harris at Locally Grown Gardens. Saraga will also have it. Anyone else have any sources for our pesto-making pal?

Weekend Open Thread: What's On Your Mind?

Just a few observations this weekend as I'm taking a break before the big Thanksgiving jams/chutney push.

*I found a chicken in my freezer I'd forgotten about. I love it when that happens. Roast chicken for dinner this week.

* Ran up to Trader Joe's for the first time in weeks. Maybe I've been shopping at Fresh Market too long, but the prices seem significantly lower at TJ's these days. Maybe I've just noticed more of a price jump in my day-to-day items at Marsh, but considering the quality, prices seem comparable or lower at Trader Joe's these days. The grocery total was a pleasant surprise.

* Are a lot of restaurants along the 86th street corridor in trouble? It seems like many more than usual have banners flapping in the breeze advertising specials. It just looks like they're doing anything they can to get customers in the door. Maybe I've watched too many episodes of Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, but when a place starts plastering signage with lunch specials or new hours, it gives me the fear. (This goes double for fine dining restaurants -- banners advertising steak specials or lunch hours look desperate. Are they?)

Holiday menus, prices, openings, closings. What's on your mind this weekend?

Roasted Garbanzos

Have been cleaning out the freezer and ran across a bag of those green garbanzos from Trader Joe's. Love them but OD'd on them weeks ago. These were looking pretty haggard. Enter Bittman's How to Cook Everything and a recipe for roasted garbanzos. Just spread cooked beans in a roasting pan in a single layer. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Roast at 400 for 30 minutes or so. They'll be crispy on the outside. Perfect for dinner or snacking. Add curry or other spices to finish. (I used ras al hanout.) Bonus, roasting gets rid of the stale freezer burn taste. I should clean out the freezer more often. Last week, I turned a package of stale frozen lavosh into crispy flatbread crackers. (Each sheet at 10 minutes in the oven.)

Three Latest and Best

Michael Paley's Proof: On a recent trip to Louisville to tour the 21C gallery, we stopped off for a drink and nosh at Proof on Main. This trendy eatery would look just as at home in NYC or Chicago and the menu offered a fresh and welcome change. In the bar, while sipping unusal cocktails (mine, a "Sweet Tea" with green tea vodka, chambord, and muddled basil), we snacked on housemade pates as well as a quartet of unique vegetable spreads. The star? The green pea and mint puree with pancetta (although the grilled fennel with orange was pretty damn good, too.) Perfect for Louisville in the summer.

Prime Rib Sammich at Harry and Izzy's: While I'm not wild about Harry's (and I'm sure Harry's not wild about me), I am learning to find a few things to appreciate. Over lunch, I took the opportunity to try the highly recommended burger -- and I agree! Finally, a great steakhouse offering! And while opinions differ, I liked my friend's prime rib sandwich even better. More like really juicy roast beef (bordering on fatty) with au jus and horseradish, I'll get my own order next time.

Smoked Jack from Trader's Joes: Nothing says love like the cheese case at Trader Joe's. And my latest infatuation? The smoked jack cheese black on the outside with a slightly burned flavor. Great melted on French bread and really great just eaten in thin slices while waiting for dinner.

Two-Minute Warning: Yes, I know. I had no business going to La Jolla to begin with. I *know* the food is terrible! But the weather was so nice and we were so tempted by that big see-and-be-seen open deck in Broad Ripple that I thought I could stand it. (I go through this *every* year.) However, you'd think I would have learned long ago that getting what you want (say, a Barbie Dreamhouse or an ice cream maker) isn't always everything it's cracked up to be. And somehow, even knowing I hate everything at La Jolla, I returned, thinking that maybe this one time, I'll find something that doesn't suck. Alas, not this time. The drinks? Famously weak. The food? Notoriously horrible. Salsa? Straight from the jar. And the chips? Stale as a week old loaf of bread. When we asked our waiter if they had any other chips, his answer? They're all this bad. (Dude, how is it possible that they're all stale if they're coming fresh out of a bag or warmer each time you bring them to my table? Shouldn't they at least be fresh for half an hour even in this humidity? Don't answer. I think I already know.) After our meal and two margaritas, I left sunburned, buzzless and having learned my lesson for another year.

Clean Out the Refrigerator Stew

Organics, Slow Food, and Local Eating: The March 12 edition of TIME magazine covers eating local, what they call better than organic. (Thanks to Scott Hutcheson for the pointer.)

Fighting the Good Fight in Indiana Wine: Jeff, over at the The Good Grape, talks about the battle a state-wide group -- Vinsense -- faces in promoting open out-of-state wine shipping for all consumers. But they have a good start. Helping consumers get wine directly, with or without the help of distributors, is a topic we know he's passionate about. More at The Good Grape.

Food of the Week: OK, Trader Joe's, it's official. You are evil! You are evil for putting those dark chocolate covered pretzels out there for me to buy. They should be illegal. At least my hips think they should be illegal. Maybe my hips should be illegal.

The Issue with Steakhouses: Frank Bruni at the NY Times has the same issue with steakhouses that many of us do here. While they may be popular, very few do everything well. Considering that two of the three worst dining experiences I've had in the past week involve steakhouses, I can't say I disagree. Service, drinks, steak, seafood? What are the trade-offs? Bruni from Diner's Journal.

Austin City Limits: Christine over at My Plate or Yours is just back from Austin where I'd argue she ate even better than her recent trip to Paris! Chilequiles (red and green), refried beans, and ... wait for it ... Shiner Bock ice cream?!!!! (My eyes just rolled back in my head for a minute.)

Hey, Dad, Can I Borrow the Car? Ruhlman's done it now! He's given Tony Bourdain his own password to the blog ensuring all of us can benefit from Bourdain's crazy, wonderful, and always spot on rants. If you weren't reading Michael Ruhlman's blog before (what, are you crazy?), then make sure you add it to your list now. And while your at it, read Ruhlman's interview and commentary on Grant Achatz and his take on molecular gastronomy.

Give 'em an Inch and They Take a Mile: And last but not least, PETA is upset with Al Gore. They've taken a break from setting up their Upper West Side office in NYC for the upcoming NY foie gras fight to criticize the country's best known environmentalist. Their issue? If Gore *really* cared about the environment, he'd stop eating meat. Hey, PETA, bite me. I'll be the one wearing a mink coat with a fork-full of foie gras in my mouth.

Three Latest and Best

ShelBi Street Bistro: What a find in Fountain Square! Perfect little pizzas, great sandwiches, and rich salads grace the menu at this eclectic but sweet cafe across the hall from the Fountain Square Diner. And bonus, they do the food at the rooftop in the summer as well!

Fried Oysters at Mo's: We all know what Mo's, A Place for Steaks does well. I mean, they dry age their own Prime. But my new favorite dish? The fried oysters in a blue cheese sauce on a bed of spinach. Dinner in a bowl. Don't forget the bread for sopping.

Food of the Week: Pre-cooked steelcut oats from Trader Joe's sweetened with a little maple syrup and brown sugar in the frozen food section. Each box has two pre-cooked, pre-measured portions of this yummy, breakfast goodness. Just pop a hockey puck of this hearty oatmeal in the microwave, and viola! Healthy!

Two-Minute Warning: Last night, with every downtown bar filled with Pacers fans, we scooted over to Vitesse for some peace and quiet -- that and a healthy dose of snark since we knew what we were getting into. First, there was no wines-by-the-glass list. They were "doing inventory" and not able to tell us what they had (which is difficult when, you know, selling wine is what you, um, do.) Vitesse is supposed to be known for their massive by-the-glass list although it was only 43 at my last count. When we weren't impressed with a few names our waiter rattled off in the Cabernet department, we finally gave in and asked for the wine list by the bottle settling on a nice Benton Hill Pinot Noir. It arrived, he doffed the screw cap with a flourish (it really does take something out of the wine presentation), then proceeded to pour us both full glasses. As we commented that we hoped no taste was necessary (because neither my dining companion nor I are shy), he quickly covered the mistake by agreeing with our suggestion that screw caps reduce the risk of spoilage. Then there was the menu. Not only was the menu laughably typo-ridden ("crustini" anyone?) but what we ordered was not what we got. After we worked our way through the bagged mixed greens salad (complete with brown ends) that was billed as "frissee and arugula", we moved on to the pork belly and macaroni and cheese which was really a very non-fatty piece of center cut pork chop over a mac/cheese that turned into an oily mess in the bowl. The poor waiter -- a victim of poor training and worse management -- was stuck in the middle. When we said, really more his information than anything else, "you realize this isn't pork belly, right?" He said, somewhat sheepishly "I know." My only question was "then why in the hell didn't you tell us?" Geeze. They've got problems over there. But hey, without the Conrad who else would we complain about. That's part of the fun. We drank our wine in a couple of cushy leather chairs out of the hustle and bustle of the city enjoying the nice little pinot on a rainy night. More on the menu later.