Category Archives: Food

Seconds at Sotto

Restaurant: Sotto [1, 2]

Location:  9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035  310.277.0210

Date: April 26, 2011

Cuisine: Sicilian and Sardinian Italian

Rating: Bold flavors, off to a great start!

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We needed a restaurant to celebrate the end of passover that was very bready. Our first choice was Pizzeria Mozza, but even a week in advance they were booked until 10:30, so that was a no go. Instead we went back to Sotto which has a host of extremely robust homemade pastas and pizzas.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.


Sotto is up there on the new (and admirable) trend of having serious mixologists behind the bar. This is a vodka orange martini of some sort. There is more in there, but apparently it was very good.


And this was a vodka, lime, fresh mint, and some really interesting stuff I can’t remember. Again, it was supposedly really good.


The menu.

This unusual Italian white from my cellars was wonderfully flavorful. Almost bright yellow in the glass it had the kind of interesting floral taste that is completely absent from so many generic whites.


“Maharrones de pungiu (sugo semplice, fiore sardo).” A wonderful homemade take on a simple tomato and cheese pasta. The choice of fiore sardo (a Sardinian cheese) gave it a slightly different tang.

“Casarecce (braised lamb ragu, egg, pecorino).” This was one damn fine pasta. The pasta itself had exactly the right texture and firmness of good homemade egg pasta. The ragu was nicely flavorful and meaty. Yum! I love great ragu, and this was my favorite pasta of the night. Some other great takes on ragu can be found here at Drago or at Capo.


“Squid ink fusilli lunghi (pistachios, bottarga, mint).” These long firm ropes had a really interesting texture. There was no overt taste of squid, just a slight sweetness and a rich nutty quality to the pesto-like sauce. Tasty, but also fairly mild despite the “frightening” sounding ingredients.


“Toasted grain capunti (ragu bianco, black trumpets, rapini greens).” Another great pasta. The noodles themselves had an almost whole wheat quality to them, but they still had the nice al-denta pasta fresca thing going on which is a hallmark of all the Sotto pasta. The sauce was cheesy, earthy and delicious.


“Ciceri e tria (tagliatelle, chickpeas, baccalá).” The last of these ingredients is salt cod, and this is essentially a fish pasta. But without any fishiness. Instead it has a creamy salty taste, one of the better fish pastas I’ve had. The noodles were nice and firm, with a toothy feel and the little grissini added some nice texture contrast.


As we move up to the heartier pizzas, I pulled out this Amarone (from my cellars). “The 2000 Amarone has developed relatively quickly. The fruit remains fairly opulent, but suggestions of earthiness and worn-in leather suggest early signs of oxidation are creeping in. Ultimately the 2000 comes across a touch rustic and four-square. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2012.”


“Pizza Marherita (tomato, mozzerella, basil, EVOO).” Your basic Marherita, but well done. These pizzas have a VERY wood fired taste going on, much like those from Gjelina, they are a little over-fired to my taste. The dough is good, but they taste very strongly of the grill (char, smoky flavors). When I do them on the stones in my hot gas grill (see my Ultimate Pizza) they showcase the dough and toppings a bit more.


“Campagnola (sunchokes, fennel, mozzarella, marjoram, house-cured lardo).” A more mushroomy pizza. It was actually fairly mellow, possibly because we had them leave off the lard (which would have added a definite porky richness). Still it was very good.


“Guanciale (house-cured pork cheek, ricotta, scallions, fennel pollen).” This was my favorite pizza of the night. They have REALLy good ricotta here at Sotto, as good as I’ve had outside of Sicily (although certainly not close to that, which is incredible). The mellow softness of the cheese blended perfectly with the rich fattiness of the bacon. This also was not a hit you over the head pizza, but it was very good.


The dessert menu.


Classic Sicilian cannolis. Because of the quality of the ricotta, these were good, on par with the other high end cannolis in town (like from Drago). Still, not in the same league as those in Sicily, but they never are. A slice of candied orange shoved through them would have pushed it up a notch.


“Bittersweet chocolate crostata, hazelnuts, salted rosemary caramel.” This looked amazing, and the texture was fantastic and very chocolaty. There was a slightly odd flavor tone in here, which might have been the rosemary. I’m not sure it added, although certainly I enjoyed it.


“Sheep’s milk yougurt panacotta. Thyme, honey, almond amaretti.” This was a yummy! Like tangy yoghurt with all sorts of sweet goodies. I love amaretti too.

Overall there is a bit of split opinion among our party about Sotto. Some of us love it for exactly the same reason the other don’t. The flavors are bold, the preparations original, traditional (in their own way), and unabashedly not fully censored in an American way. The ingredients are great too. They could probably use to tame down the burn factor on the pizzas, but I love the rest of it, and the pastas are amazing. However, if you prefer the straight up and simpler tones of boxed pasta and sauces with only a single flavor note, look elsewhere.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.

Also, since this is a Sicilian/Sardinian place, I would like to issue my Cassata Challenge. Above is a photo of a Cassata di Siciliana that I took in Palermo. This is perhaps my all time favorite dessert and I have NEVER found anyone who makes it for real in America. Surprise me! Do it!

For my another of my reviews of Sotto, click here.

Or for a review of Drago, another Sicilian restaurant.

Mark’s Duck House

Restaurant: Mark’s Duck House

Location:  6184 Arlington Blvd # A, Falls Church, VA 22044  703-532-2125

Date: April 23, 2011

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Very very good cantonese.

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This seeming hole in the wall in Falls Church Virginia features some of the best Cantonese food I’ve had in the states. So much so that wine guru (and foodie) Robert Parker is constantly eating (and tasting) here.

You can spot an authentic Chinese restaurant by the unassuming facade.

The minimalist decor.

The menu of sketchy meat cuts unsuited to white-bread American taste.

And the rack of roast ducks!

This was a late night family dinner, so Chinese beer seemed to suite the mood.

I’ve loved hot and sour soup since I was a kid, and this is an exemplary example. Basically perfect.

Classic Har Gow, little shrimp dumplings wrapped in rice pastry. Delectable too, as good as at various Dim Sum joints like Ping Pong, The Palace, or Xino.

They even have their own special sweet and vinegary soy for them.

And the deadly hot chili oil.

But there is one real reason why one goes to a restaurant named “Mark’s Duck House.” The pecking duck! Crispy roast whole duck is carved off the bone and brought to the table.

With the traditional scallions.


And my all time favorite, the plum sauce. This stuff has a sweet and tangy quality typical of Chinese cuisine that I just can’t get enough of.

All of the ingredients are combined in a pancake.

And then rolled into a burrito like shape. This is a delectable mix of textures and flavors. The rich duck meat, the crispy skin, the hot dripping fat off the duck, the tangy sauce, the scallions, the dry texture of the pancake. Yum! And this is as good a duck as I’ve had in the states. We wen’t to a place in Bejing a couple years back where we had three whole ducks each done a slightly different way and flayed at the table by a master carver who could have had a part in Kill Bill. That was some serious duck, and slightly better. Still, you don’t have to go all the way to China for great duck like this.

Lobster, causeway style, in crispy garlic, chillies, and chives. I’d never had this exact dish before, but it was wonderful. The closest I’ve had was at a Chinese friends 20-some course wedding banquet where the lobster was sauteed in a ginger garlic sauce. This version is dry (more or less), a little bit hot, and vary garlicky. But damn good!


Sauteed chive blossoms in oil and garlic. We asked the waiter for a vegetable recommend and out came this seasonal dish. Chive blossoms. I didn’t even know there was such a thing, and it looks like a big pile of chives. It turned out to be one of my favorite Chinese vegetable dishes in the states. Again in China I had some crazy good stuff, including one or two great all vegetable meals, but these were nice and garlicky again, piping hot.

Mark’s Duck House never fails to disappoint, but the menu is gigantic and potentially perilous. There are like 12 pages of densely packed dishes. Abalone, sea cucumbers, shark fin, you name it. One time a couple years ago we ordered oysters in garlic and ginger sauce and got this plate with three monstrous oyster beasts we nicknamed the “Grenades.” Each was about the size of a World War II weapon of the same name. Just the meat of the oyster, the size of a grenade!

Taking back Little Saigon

Restaurant: Little Saigon

Location: 6218 Wilson Blvd, Falls Church, VA 22044-3210 (703) 536-2633

Date: April 22, 2011

Cuisine: Vietnamese

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One of my favorite places back “home” (Washington D.C.) is Little Saigon, a local hole in the wall Vietnamese place with absolutely stellar food. I reviewed it once before, but I’m back again for more.

This is just a page of the 6 page menu, for the whole thing look at the older review.

A nice sparkling wine goes well with Vietnamese.

My dad also brought this old cab. But it was corked, and probably not the worlds best wine to begin with :-).

Table condiments.

This is marinated raw beef, soaked in fish sauce, with onions, chilies, and basil. Not a typical American flavor, but amazing nonetheless.

These are an interestingly different take on these classic soft Vietnamese rolls. Besides some of the usual veggies (lettuce, mint, bean sprouts, vermicelli, shrimp, etc) they also have a bit of spicy pork sausage.

With the crucial dipping sauce. These are really tasty.

This is a four person portion of the rice noodle pork soup with some kind of dumpling. There’s also cilantro, scallions, peanuts and who knows what else. But it’s certainly delicious with one of those complex flavor and texture profiles that is typical of good Vietnamese.

The individual bowl (approximately a quarter of the first bigger bowl).

Chicken wings sauteed in butter and garlic. Basically Vietnamese fried chicken. Sweeter and crunchier than the American equivalent and way strong on the garlic. Very good for sure.

Crispy orange duck. This must be Chinese inspired, but it’s amazing, totally amazing. The duck is perfect, and the sweet/bitter tang of real orange peels (not to mention the schechuan peppers) delectable.

Mixed seafood (all the S’s – shrimp, scallops, squid) in lemongrass sauce. Nice tasty subtle flavor to the sauce. This is a fairly exotic taste, but really good.

Little Saigon never disappoints. And this whole meal was like $80 for four!

Fogo de Chao – Beef!

Restaurant: Fogo de Chao

Location:  133 North La Cienega Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90211-2206  (310) 289-7755

Date: April 21, 2011

Cuisine: Brazilian Grilled Meats

Rating: Meat meat meat!

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I’m not normally a big fan of chains, but Fogo is one that works for me. It took the formula found is various independant Churrasquero restaurants and made it into a solid reliable festival of meat. And at lunch it offers tremendous value, particularly in comparison to a typical good American steak house. In case you’ve been living under a rock, this is a style of Brazilian BBQ where skewered meats are pulled fresh off the fire and carved at the table.


The fully carnivorous menu of meats. Fogo only offers two dining options. Salad bar, or salad bar + meat. Both are all you can eat.


The salad bar is extensive enough by itself, offering not only some token vegtables but a range of cheeses and cured meats.


Potato salad type salads.

Bacon!


Regular salad.


Dressings.

Cured meats and cheeses.


A giant full drum of real parmesan.


More salad.


I go sparingly in this department because I’m really here for the seared flesh.


The way things work at this kind of Brazilian BBQ is that the servers bring by the skewers of up to 15 different meats and cave them onto your plate. Fogo’s innovation here — and believe me it is a solid innovation — is this magic disk. Each person has one and you can flip it over. Above is the stop side.


And the go side. They key here is that you can control the awesome flow of meat onto your plate. Before the disk invention, you either got barraged or you were forgotten. Now, if you need a fifteen minute breather, no problem. Go red, then back again!


Beef sirloin. Delicious pure beef.

Prime rib eye. Fatty goodness! Actually, a bit too fatty for my taste, but many love it.


Chicken legs and pork sausages. They manage to make even chicken taste great, and the sausages are rich, hearty and delectable.


Here is all that, plus some pork rib, loaded on the plate. The rib on top, chicken and sausages on the left, sirloin on the bottom, the ultra fatty prime rib in the middle.


The pork BBQ ribs. This is one of my favorites.


Watch that soft piggy cut!


Filet minion. Lean and tender.


The garlic sirloin. This had an awesomely intense garlic beefyness to it.


Garlic sirloin on the left, filet on the right.


Lamb chops.


On the plate. Super tasty and tender. Sizzling hot.

Chicken breast (left) and filet (right) wrapped in bacon.


bacon truly does make everything better. They chicken might even have been tastier than the beef.


Picanha, one of the house specialties. A bit of prime sirloin seasoned with sea salt.


The bacon-wrapped filet, pork rib, and picanha (left to right). The last is a really tasty cut.


Fogo also throws a lot of sides on the table (included in the price). Cheesy mashed potatoes.


Fried polenta with parmesan.


Fried plantains. There is also cheese bread, but being passover, we didn’t take any and so I don’t have a photo.


The decor is sleek and modern, and they have a lot of hearty wines.


It’s easy to let your eyes exceed your stomach here. This refuse is just one person’s “leavings.” At lunch all this gluttony costs only $32.50, which is pretty impressive. You can easily make an entire day’s meal out of it!

For another take on excessive BBQ meats, see the Japanese Secret Beef joint.

Tidewater Crab

Restaurant: Tidewater Grille

Location:  300 FRANKLIN STREET, HAVRE DE GRACE, MD 21078 410.939.3313

Date: April 18, 2011

Cuisine: Eastern Shore American

Rating: Real crab cakes!

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One of the great things about the greater Washington DC area is the proximity of authentic Eastern Shore crab (and hence crab cakes!). Technically this is a “guest palette” as my brother was the one doing the eating. So the text and pictures are by Mitch Gavin.


An unassuming coastal frontage but a surprising beautiful find.  My parents have been going to this spot for a decade or two. We used to go to a restaurant up the street with a reputation for great eastern shore crab cakes and fried chicken.  I think I remember a s a kid getting a lot of bacon and dipping it in apple sauce.  To be discussed at a later date.  But in the recent past 2 decades M & D have been talking about this place.  I finally went one recent visit driving from DC to Philly to see my cousins.

To start: Maryland Blue Crab Soup.  Hands down my favorite soup and most scrumptious!  Vegetable base with chunks of tomato, corn, green beans I think and loads of crab meat.  Just crab.  Followed by a spicy seafood seasoning.  Something that reminds you of the beach and spiced vinegar fries.  Hot!  I tried to squeeze a bowl in because it’s going to be a year before I taste something this good again.

Now onto the crab cake!  Tidewater is the best crab cake east or west of the Mississippi.  These things are just so truly American, harder to find and worth savoring every bite.  Again you don’t find this in many places, it’s almost pure crab meat, very large and seared in a pan just right.  The taste of crab is so distinctive and Maryland stands alone at the top, athough Louisiana might get the Blue Crab too and be a closer runner up.  Arguably better tasting than the more expensive Maine Lobster this sandwish melts in your mouth.  The chips at Tidewater are unique — just simple strips of baked potato –and great!  The lettuce and tomato are unnecessary because additions just mask the special taste of the meat, so I recommend just lemon and bun.  No tartar was added to this sandwich.  🙂  [ although Andy adds that he loves tartar sauce because “fat == flavor” ]

After a few iced teas, a cup of soup and the oh so lovely crab sandwich the total was only $24.  Sandwich $14, Soup $4 and tea $2.5.


True tidewater country.


Here is another example, this one from Washington area restaurant Clydes.

Clydes crab cake was surprising lovely too, especially after closely visiting the Tidewater as  acomparrison.  It was a little more seared and smaller but very tasty.  They even simplified the platter for you with no lettuce or tomato, annoying not to be given the choice, especially since they have over the past 30 years.  And I’m not kidding people I’ve been going to this restaurant over 30 years; I even had my Bar Mitzvah there in the bright room upstairs in 1987!

Now the true pride in a restaurant in my opinion is not changing something that’s good.  Over the years, Clyde’s has managed to maintain the absolute best Chili I have ever had, and they have been doing so since before 1985.  It’s dark, molassesy, tangy and damn freaking good.  Seriously I’ve had other “great” chili’s but the tang and flavor of this one keeps me coming back year after year (when home on holidays!).

Dad had to leave early so I ordered the Blondie Brownie Sundae (not pictured), which I liked as a kid for mom and I.  The thing used to come in a tall Sundae glass, have a great grandma blondie brownie with carmel and great vanilla bean ice cream, nuts and everything but when the server brought it out on a flat plate the Blondie Brownie had no brown in it at all. It was disappointing as a too sweet flat white pastry looking thing with some vanilla ice cream, whip creme and thick brown chocolate sauce all over it that wasn’t good, maybe some nuts, the ice cream was similar but in short supply.  Thumbs down and unfinished between two.  That doesn’t say much that we then decided we didn’t need the unnecessary calories.  But on a positive note I’ll be back to Clyde’s again for that Chili, Crab cake and a lot of other stuff.  Clye’s gets a thumbs up.

Some other good crab cakes can be found on the west coast at Houstons or, surprisingly, at Capo. But they aren’t quite the same.

Ice Cream & Coffee

Restaurant: Sweet Rose Creamery

Location:  225 26th Ave, suite 51, Santa Monica, 90402  310-260-CONE

Date: April 17, 2011

Cuisine: Homemade Ice Cream

Rating: Very REAL ice cream.

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We were at the Brentwood Country Mart and I noticed this creamery I had wanted to try for a while. They make real homemade ice cream using only the traditional and natural ingredients. None of those emulsifiers and artificial flavors.


The board of flavors.

There aren’t a lot of flavors, but those they have are ver good.

There is even “Caffe Luxxe” coffee ice cream (we’ll see the coffee itself in a second).

This is salted carmel and mint chocolate chip. The carmel was delicious, sweet, carmely, and the fleur de salt on top a perfect contrast. The mint tasted entirely like cream and REAL mint leaves, not that artificial stuff. The chips were nice and rich. The mint in particular reminded me of my Mom’s homemade ice cream from when I was a kid.

My son demanded, “I want chocolate!” so here it is. Rich and creamy.


Caffe Luxxe coffee ice cream underneath coconut lime sorbet. The mix was odd. The coffee was good, but the coconut lime was amazing. It tasted lime Tom Yum Gum (the Thai soup).


Salted Caramel (again).

Then, since it was right here, a quick stop at LAs best coffee place. They have 3 branches actually, all in Santa Monica / Brentwood.

The masters at work.

And the incredible result. These capachinos don’t even taste like normal coffee. The milk is so expertly foamed that it seemlessly blends in to make a completely silky uniform texture. Not a hint of bitterness.

Luxxe also carries Mararons from Paulettes!

For another luxury snack, check out gourmet macarons.

The “Reform Kosher” for Passover Tuna Melt

We were scrounging around for lunch and came up with this variant passover tuna melt. While “passover” compliant it is in the tradition of the Great Trefa Banquet of 1883. You’ll see why. My wife did not participate — for the same reason.


So in making the tuna itself. At home I use this red chunk Italian tuna packed in olive oil which is amazing. Here I only had some Trader Joe’s albacore packed in water. So I added some olive oil (I don’t like mayo with my tuna). I also threw in some chopped cornichons, fresh ground pepper, lemon juice.


And mustard. Now this is a great mustard, but as we searched my mom’s very deep pantry, it came up.


Notice the price on this baby, and the yellowed tag. Today you’d find this tub for around $29, therefore dating this particular example to the 80s. We moved on to a lesser, but “younger” mustard.


The tuna.


The matzah, waiting.


Here’s the Trefa, a little Prosciutto.

Matzah, ham, then tuna.


A nice aged cheddar (goes so well with the ham).


All four.


A little trip to the toaster oven and…


Voila.


Close up. Yum!


Others who aren’t tomato haters used some of these.


As shown.


And after baking.


Our explorations in the pantry also turned up this vintage can of hazelnut oil, complete with archaic french price tag. It might date back to the late 70s!

For a similar non-passover snack, see here.

To see my passover seder, click here.

Passover Seder 2011 – day 2

This year we hosted the first seder (SEE HERE), but my Mom cooked the second. That means a very high bar of quality.


Parker 91 for the 2001 Opus One. “Tasted twice Deep garnet-black colour. Still a lot of primary fruit with dark cherry and blackberry aromas complimented by cloves, cardamom and a hint of mint. The medium to full bodied palate provides a medium+ level of very finely grained tannins and medium+ acidity. Long finish with lingering earthy / mineral flavours. Drink now to 2019. Tasted April 2009.”

The 1998 Haut Maillet was a typical mature pomerol. Tasty, but a bit sour.


The seder plate.


The ubiquitous matzah.


Horoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and other spices.


Mom’s homemade horseradish, sweetened and colored with beet juice.


The fully set table.


The components of the Hillel sandwich, a combination of matzah, horoset, and horseradish.


A sample Hillel sandwich. For more details, see here.


The salad.


Plated, endives, other greens, and smoked kosher trout. Very refreshing, and tasty.


Homemade matzah ball soup. The classic chicken broth and light fluffy balls.


Broccoli Rabe.


Sauteed with pine-nuts and currents


Brisket braised in sweet and sour sauce. Cooked to extreme tenderness.


Extra gravy.


On the plate.

To see the first night of passover, click here.

For the Hillel Sandwich, here.

Passover Seder 2011 – day 1

April rolls around and it’s seder time again, the ritual dinner celebrating the exodus from Egypt. As usual, things have to be done in full Gavin style.

Various ingredients. There are all sorts of traditional requirements to this meal, the most significant of which is an avoidance of any leavening agents, yeast, etc.

Parker 92. “Bachelet’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes – from 60- to 70-year-old vines both below the route nationale and north of Gevrey in Brochon – offers lovely black fruit aromas with hints of anise and mint. A truly palate-staining intensity of vividly-fresh, tart but ripe black cherry and blackberry is underlain by firm, fine tannins (not precluding an emerging silkiness of texture) and augmented by bitter-herbal and stony notes. Although palpably dense and abundantly tannic, this outstanding village wine still comes off as juicy, sleek, invigorating and refined. Put it away for at least 5-7 years.”

Parker 94. “The profound 1997 Barolo Bussia boasts intense aromas of molasses, cherry liqueur, melted tar, licorice, and toast. Dense and full-bodied, with enormous quantities of glycerin and fat, this hedonistic, thick, viscous Barolo can be drunk now and over the next 15-16 years.”

And for those who crave the old school sweet and alcohol finish of the classic kosher wine, the Kesser. No vintage listed or needed.

This is a traditional seder plate. It contains each of the ritual elements of the dinner. Starting at the egg on the right and heading clockwise. Egg, horseradish, lamb shank, lettuce, horoset, parsley.

Hard boiled eggs. Dipped in salt water before eating.

A glass of wine is left for Elijah, the prophet. He gets the cool cup.

Parsley, dipped in salt water.

Matzah, or unleavened bread. When the Israelites escaped from the Pharoah Ramses (check out Exodus if you aren’t clued in on that) there was no time to leaven the bread. So matzah, an unleavened cracker, is eaten in symbol remembrance.

More traditional accompaniments. At the top, Horoset (mixture of apples, nuts, and spices — homemade of course), the green is parsley, the pink stuff horseradish with beets, the white atomic horseradish! Mind bendingly potent. The water in front is salt water.

Another seder plate.

Matzah is traditionally eaten with the horseradish and horoset. This is called the Hillel sandwich, for more on that click here.

Gefilte fish. This is housemade from Pico Kosher Deli. It’s various chopped fish, boiled. A sort of unfried chicken McNugget of the fish world. Yummy with horseradish.

A big dinner requires a big pot.

Matzah balls prior to cooking.

The matzah ball soup. A very tasty vegetable/chicken stock with… matzah balls.

Start of the stuffing for the chicken.

The stuffing. Onions, matzah, peppers, etc.

The stuffed chickens.

On the BBQ. The grill is really the best way to cook whole chickens. You do need something like this foil to protect the bird from the direct heat.

The spread.

The plated chicken and stuffing.

Potato kugel.

Carrot fritters and pesto.

The salad and dressing.

My plate. You can compare to the litany of Thanksgiving plates.

The dessert spread.

The sponge cake in its early stages. Because no leavening agents are allowed, sponge cake is traditional. It’s fluffed up with egg.

It’s served with strawberry sauce (basically strawberries and sugar).

Fruit slices, also traditional.

Cookies.

Matzah, coated in chocolate and carmel.

Home toasted almonds.

The flour-less chocolate torte.

Iced.

Iced, decorated with almonds and chocolate dust.

With finished decoration.

Very full!

To see day 2 of passover, click here.

The Hillel Sandwich

The Hillel Sandwich is a a traditional passover specialty. Simple in concept, it is a potent and delectable seasonal item.

The base is matzah, unleavened bread (cracker-like). Seder participants recall the slavery that reigned during the first half of the night by eating matzo (the “poor person’s bread”), maror (bitter herbs which symbolize the bitterness of slavery), and charoset (a sweet paste representing the mortar which the Jewish slaves used to cement bricks). In the process of fleeing from the wrath of Pharaoh, there was no time to leaven the bread, and hence what was probably a flat risen bread like pita, became matzah (even flatter and denser).

My mom’s homemade horseradish (the pink color comes from beets mixed in). This is known as the bitter herb and symbolizes the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt. This concept is extended to represent the bitterness of any kind of enslavement or bondage, throughout the whole world and all peoples.

Horoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and other spices. This is representative of the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt.

We lay everything out.

Start with the horseradish.

Throw some of the horoset on top, and enjoy.

On the symbolic level: During the Passover Seder (the annual commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt), one re-enacts ancient customs in the Haggadah. In the section of Korech, or ‘sandwich’, participants are instructed to place bitter herbs between two pieces of matzo and eat them after saying in Hebrew: This is a remembrance of Hillel in Temple times — This is what Hillel did when the Temple existed: He enwrapped the Paschal lamb, the matzo and the bitter herbs to eat them as one, in fulfillment of the verse, “with matzot and maror they shall eat it.”(Numbers 9:11) In modern times, when there is no paschal lamb, Ashkenazi practice is to emulate this by making a matzo, maror, (horseradish or lettuce) sandwich. Philo has called this sandwich a “moral migration from wickedness to virtue. Repentant sinners at first brood bitterly (maror) over their past misdeeds. Then matzah, the healing food, brings them to humility and contentment.”

The culinary  interest is in the combination of flavors and textures. The crunch of the matzah, the often savage punch of very good horseradish, and the sweetness of the apples. For me, both the matzah and the apples allow one to withstand a higher does of horseradish. At home I like to mix the sweeter red (because of the beets) radish with Atomic Horseradish. The later is often lethally potent, and good for some good table pounding during the 10-15 seconds required to “endure” the experience.