Life in the Fast Food Lane
Much has been made of how many of New York's finest restaurants have lowered their prices, introduced promotional dinners and opened bistros to cope with the recession. But it's one thing for an investment banker to do a little belt-tightening by dining in the Grill Room of the Four Seasons rather than the Pool Room. What of the mighty who have really taken a nose dive? The Olympia & York executives driving cabs? The former Drexel traders, struggling to make ends meet? For them, skipping the appetizers at Le Cirque won't do the trick. They may be compelled to dine out where most Americans eat – at fast-food joints.
The problem is, a decade of lunching at "21" might have left them out of touch. How could they be expected to know what KFC Hot Wings are? After all, when Drexel started to make money in earnest in the early 1980's, hot wings were not even a gleam in the Colonel's eye. Walking into McDonald's or Popeye's might be as intimidating as the first day at a new school. It would provoke an intense fear of committing a faux pas – such as inquiring about the specials-of-the-day or complimenting the chef (who is probably in Chicago or Louisville). The fast-food industry would be well advised to launch a program to make these former yuppies feel at home.
Our generously marbled ground chuck is sculpted into two patties which are seared on a cast-iron griddle. The patties are then ensconced in a domed sesame-studded roll, topped with fresh iceberg lettuce, tranchesof pickled cucumbers, a slab of cheese, and finished with our specially herbed sauce.
On the side, the chef recommends an order of frites, served with our foil-wrapped tomato coulis.
Our fixed-range poultry is slaughtered under strict hygienic conditions. Each fowl is then carved into serving pieces which are dipped in an egg-based batter and coated with pepper, herbs, and crumbled yeast bread. Finally, they are plunged into a searing-hot vegetable oil bath to retain their moisture. Served with puréed potato under a chicken stock based sauce, a biscuit, and marinated fresh cabbage julienne.
*10 cents supplement for all white meat.
Our poultry is carefully deboned and then only the breast and thigh meat are selected. The meat is minced and blended with eggs, spices and stone-ground cornmeal. Our chef then shapes the mixture into boulettes which are plunged swiftly into sizzling vegetable oil for a few moments, then allowed to drain before serving. Served with a quartet of sauces: Mustard, Sweet 'N Sour, Honey, and Barbeque.
Our hard-wheat dough gets a healthy dose of fresh yeast and is encouraged to develop at its own natural rate. The chef stretches and spreads the rising dough, massaging it into a thick galette. It is then coated with herbs and a swirl of reduced tomato purée. Next the chef sprinkles the top with freshly minced cheese, beef and pork, and complements it with slices of pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and onions. It is baked in a scorching hot oven until crisp. Served with a traditional cola-flavored sparkling water ($.79)
We make our own tortillas from fresh ground whole-grain American corn. They are folded and then quickly crisped in searing-hot oil. The curved "shells" are first filled with a layer of ground beef infused with chili pepper essence and preserved jalapeños and a reduced tomato purée. They are then showered with fresh lettuce and sliced tomatoes and finally topped with a thin layer of shaved American cheese. Available with a side order of "El Scorcho", our cayenne pepper salsa.
We select only the largest Idaho potatoes which we slowly bake in our steel ovens. Just before serving, the potatoes are sliced open and stuffed with a farcie of steamed diced broccoli and a melted cheese béchamel sauce.
An escalope of fresh-frozen Icelandic cod is coated with bread crumbs and submerged briefly in scalding-hot vegetable oil. It is then glazed with herbed mayonnaise and placed inside a light, airy, delicate bun. Served with Sauce Tartare on the side.
