Roadtrip to Ruhlman and Ramen
Ruhlman started out writing non-fiction books on a variety of topics (all-boys high schools, wooden boat building) but began spending more of his time focusing on food after he did a stint at the Culinary Institute of America, then wrote about it in The Making of a Chef. Fourteen years and several more food-related books later, he has released his latest tome, Ruhlman's Twenty. Inside, he details a collection of the basic, no...essential techniques you need to make yourself into a pretty decent home cook. Some of them are ingredient based (Salt is vital! Onions and eggs can do amazing things!) and some are techniques (poaching, braising, chilling). His point is that the great chefs of today perfect their techniques and use of ingredients and then build and improvise based on those refined skills. Now, this doesn't mean that if you read his book, you can skip the CIA and just apply for a job at The French Laundry, but it will at least get you in the kitchen, encourage you to think about your food, and help you make it taste better.
Anyway, Ruhlman's been doing a book tour to promote Twenty, and he stopped off at the Columbia Branch Library up in Lorain County last Saturday morning to give a talk about how he ended up becoming a food writer. (Hint: like many things, it happened through a combination of good timing, luck, and lots of passion.) My travel/food/writing cohort SK and I made plans to go up for another Cannonball Run-style adventure and see the talk, fight the expected throngs and maybe get a book signed. Turns out, the expected throngs were really about 25 people at a very lovely and intimate discussion where Ruhlman talked for a bit then took questions from the audience. He emphasized a few points: that becoming a chef changes not only the way you think about food, but the very way you approach life--you are constantly striving for improvement and efficiency, and that you must, must respect your ingredients. Your dedication to your dish and your ingredients make (or break) your meal. Makes sense, no?
At one point during his talk, his wife called, and he answered, thinking that something was amiss. Turns out, she had forgotten he was giving a presentation and just wanted to let him know that she had picked up a big pork belly at the farmer's market to make some bacon. My friends, if that's not love, I don't know what is. After the Q & A, he spent a good half hour signing books and chatting with guests, and then, finally, SK and I presented him with some tokens of Columbus love: macarons from Pistacia Vera and mead from Brothers Drake Meadery. With luck, we convinced him to come back down to Columbus (he's already been a few times) and hit up some of our more recently opened restaurants and cocktail joints.
It was a really nice way to meet someone who's writing and research has so profoundly affected how I approach food and cooking. One guest succinctly (and accurately) summed up why Ruhlman's writing is so great when she told him that when she's reading his books, she feels like he is standing next to her, talking to her directly. His passion to his crafts (food and writing) are inspiring and he couldn't have been more gracious to two random ladies from Columbus. Ruhlman, we'll see you again soon.
After the Ruhlman love-fest, SK and I jumped back in the car, and zipped up to Cleveland proper where we dashed through the Westside Market (I'd never been!) taking time to snap some pics but that's about it. The WSM is pretty impressive...much bigger than our beloved North Market, with a variety of butchers, bakers, veggie vendors, and poultry purveors. However, since it was super crowded and our collective blood sugar was getting dangerously low we didn't spend a lot of quality time there. Also, I failed to bring a cooler to stock up on goodies.
(Assorted deliciousness available at the WSM.)
Based on SK's research, for lunch we headed to Johnathan Sawyer's Noodlecat, a ramen joint just around the corner from the his other excellent restaurant, Greenhouse Tavern. And since this post has already gone on for too long. I'll keep it simple. If you're in Cleveland, eat here. The ramen bowls are big, creative, and delicious (that's the pork belly bowl below, with rice "tater tots") and they have the to-die-for chicken wings similar to those served at Greenhouse. (Note, they are a little different, but still richly flavorful and fall-off-the-bone amazing.)
Finally, I really enjoyed their decor...a series of comic book-style paintings of a battle between the evil "Processasarus" and the hero of our story, Noodlecat. Awesome. Jonathan Sawyer and crew are are totally cool, and turning out some really delicious, really fun food.
So, Cleveland, as they say, rocks. Get thee to Noodlecat, order the kimchee salad, the chicken wings, and oh, the pickled veggie assortment was great as well. Pickled quail egg? Who knew you were so delicious?
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