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SLM contributor Byron Kerman weighs in regularly on local food events, happenings, and dining news of note. Look for his wit, wisdom, and whimsy every other week both here and in SLM's e-newsletter, On the Burner.
Good Mood Food
Blue Ocean Sushi owner Chai Ploentham explained that he offers but one variety of ramen on his menu, and that when we tasted it, we’d understand. Okay – we understand. The broth used in his tonkotsu pork ramen is unbelievably rich, like a stock and a gravy were joined on the Island of Dr. Moreau. Making this deeply flavorful dish, Ploentham said, requires 72 straight hours of low-heat cooking on the stove. The resulting “cloudy” soup is anointed with slow-roasted pork, a tender one-hour sous vide egg, and other floating delicacies, but it’s the broth itself that’s a revelation. Another revelation: at Blue Ocean Sushi, you push a button at your table to summon the waitress. Genius.
The Devil’s Breakfast
Every foodie worth his pink Himalayan salt will surely be supping and moaning at Kegs and Eggs III at the foodie rumpus room, the Quincy Street Bistro. For a scant two hours, from 9 to 11 a.m. this Saturday, March 8, Q.S.B. will host a festive and boozy breakfast with a one-day-only menu featuring items like “Clogged Arteries on a Bun,” consisting of breakfast sausage, fried green tomatoes, and cheddar-jack mornay sauce topped with a sunny side-up farm egg and served on a brioche bun with breakfast potatoes. The “Q.S.B. Hangover Remedy” has breakfast potatoes, pimento cheese, house bacon, pickled jalapeno, and two eggs smothered in country gravy. All entrees come with your choice of one craft beer on draft. Um, can we go back to sleep after this?
Older, Better, Foodier
One of the benefits of advancing age: you get to register for super-creative classes at OASIS. The new line-up of classes for lifelong learners (age 50 and older) includes a series of cooking classes called “Food Along the Silk Route.” The hands-on sessions, led by instructor Katherine Adamchick, are an unusual look at the history of trading and introducing new foods to old cultures, “from Renaissance Europe to modern-day India.”
Three budget-friendly ($23 each) classes to explore...
-- Europe--March 26: Venetian cicchetti, Portuguese massa de pimentão (red bell pepper paste) and Dutch speculoos (spice cookies)
-- The Middle East--April 2: fattoush (bread salad) and dolmas (stuffed grape leaves)
-- Asia--April 9: an Indian vegetarian curry made with tarka (spices fried in oil), fun with Sichuan peppercorns, spiced peanuts, and kopi jahe (Indonesian coffee with ginger)