Offbeat Eats

A bout of last-minute shopping resulted in another trip to Marylebone High Street, and for lunch we decided to duck over to Baker Street and have a Jewish lunch from Reubens. Reubens is your basic Jewish Deli, not really all that different from it’s counterpart in, say, New York. The biggest difference is in the terminology: in Britain, what we would call “Corned Beef” in the US is called “Salt Beef” over there (the term “Corned Beef” in England implies the pre-cooked nasty stuff in the tins). The difference goes a little deeper than that as well, since the spicing is definitely a bit different as well, with UK salt beef definitely having a lighter spice and more beef flavor than the US counterpart (not unlike the subtle difference between a Montreal “Viande Fumee” and a New York “Pastrami”). Now that you mention it, I feel like I could probably do an entire book comparing the pickled and smoked beef products of several Jewish communities…

(Closed) One of my favorite breakfast item is corned beef hash. And, as I mentioned recently in my review of Bode’s, it’s one of those dishes that’s easy to do poorly, but hard to do really well. It’s also one of the food items that I get a lot of recommendations for. I’ve often had people recommend places to me for good CBH, and a majority of the time, I’m disappointed, since I usually end up with something that’s either canned CBH, or a faithfully executed homemade replica of canned CBH. So when one of my homebrewing friends gave a strong recommendation for the Gold Star Restaurant in Worcester having the “best hash ever,” I responded with some skepticism, but put it on my hit list.

When it comes to breakfast, one thing I really like is a good Corned Beef Hash (CBH). It’s one of those breakfast items that really tells you how good a kitchen a breakfast joint really has. Some places just serve pre-made canned CBH right out of the can (which can actually be quite good if cooked well with a nice sear, actually). And many places make their own. Sometimes the result is ambrosial (Al’s Breakfast in Minneapolis). Sometimes the result is mediocre (I’m talkin’ to you, Denny’s!). And, sometimes, inexplicably, a restaurant will go to all the trouble of dicing potatoes, grinding meat, and making spices, going through all the right motions, but somehow end up with something that’s nearly indistinguishable from the canned stuff. It truly baffles me, since I’ve been to all sorts of places that people have highly recommended for their homemade hash, and gotten something that easily could be mistaken for Hormel.

I’ve held off for a long time on review Lou’s, for a number of reasons, including (a) it’s in downtown Hanover, so it’s obvious, and (b) it’s probably the most-reviewed restaurant in the area. But for completeness, and since that’s where I ate this morning, I decided it was finally time to write it up. Lou’s is quite the institution in Hanover, having opened in 1947 (so I’m expecting some minor press next year as the restaurant turns 60). And it obviously has quite the following with both the Dartmouth crowd and the tourist traffic, since the place is universally packed after around 9am every morning (and generally, forget about going there on a saturday). Some would call it small (but by Upper Valley standards it’s pretty roomy), and having a long queue of folks waiting for seats gawking at you while you eat your meal is part of the charm.

Over Memorial Day weekend I was visiting my grandfather in Rhode Island, and used this as an excuse to visit one of my favorite breakfast joints down that way. The Modern Diner is tucked away in a quiet corner of Pawtucket, RI, and is your classic Streamliner “diner car” diner that’s since been augmented with some additional kitchen space and seating. The Modern sports quite an extensive menu, including several dozen specials posted on the wall by the entry. Pretty much anything I’ve craved for breakfast, they’ve had, including most any type of fruit-covered waffle, and about a dozen varieties of Eggs Benedict (including lobster). They are also pretty inventive, I’ve seen some pretty fancy french toast dishes here as well…