Cookin' in the 'Cuse

Lombardi's--A Syracuse Gem

Local Gems of Syracuse is a series of posts designed to highlight the unsung heroes of our culinary life.  Each of them, in their own way, elevates the food scene of Syracuse.

Lombardi's is a veritable Syracuse institution.  When I first moved here I would hear about it all the time.  Co-op staff would stop in the aisles of the Co-op, thrust a piece of waxed paper holding something delicious toward me, saying "You gotta taste this!"  Inevitably I'd find myself chewing on some proscuitto salami, saying--"oh my God--where can I get this!?"  The answer was always Lombardi's.

Lombardi's Fruit and Produce on Butternut Avenue on Syracuse's North Side reminds me of the kind of Italian salumeria I grew up with in Brooklyn and Staten Island.  I remember the smells of well-aged cheeses, cured meats, and fruit--and walking into Lombardi's brings it all back.  I also remember the sounds of people ordering their "regular" and the man behind the counter knowing exactly what that was.  Like those places of my youth, Lombardi's is only partly about the food--it is about community.  It is where the local news is shared, where everyone feels like they are known and where the staff care to spend the time to help you choose from the dozens of vinegars, oils, pastas, cheeses, and salumi on offer.  In fact, they may have the most comprehensive olive oil and vinegar section in all of Syracuse.

I went in to browse around recently and decided to bring home some of that proscuitto salami and whatever else looked good.  To my surprise the man behind the counter was Vince Lombardi himself.  Lombardi's is a family business and Vince presides over the store as a doting father--knowledgeable about everything on the shelves, and invested in making sure customers (doesn't even seem right to use that word) find just what they're looking for.

Take proscuitto for example.  I've been eating proscuitto for a long time and all I ever knew was that Parma Proscuitto was the best.  But Vince says, "you gotta try this".  He sliced some San Daniele Proscuitto, it melted on my tongue and I said, "I'll take a 1/4 pound!"  As Vince explained how San Daniele Proscuitto is made from the finest pigs and is the very best there is, I thought--this is the value of a place like Lombardi's.  You just don't get this kind of expertise and time in most supermarkets.  When I asked about some good balsamic vinegar to go with it (not $100 good, but you know, good) Vince led me down the aisle and compared bottles and described tastes and helped me make the best purchase for my money.  I grabbed a package of some of their house-made pasta and was all set. 

The thing about writing about Lombardi's is, most folks who have been around Syracuse a bit know how great it is.  It has been written up in the Post-Standard over the years and generations have shopped there.  But it is exactly the kind of locally-owned business that is so fragile in today's marketplace.  It is uncertain whether the next generation of Lombardi's will take over and the competition is fierce for business.  But as many readers of this blog know, Lombardi's is the kind of authentic place that makes Syracuse great.  It is not as ritzy as a Balducci's or Zabar's (both in NYC) and it is not a one-stop shopping place like Wegman's but the food is fantastic and there's always a genuine smile on Vince's face when you come in the door.

Fearing Your Food

After just catching up with Tuesday's Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper, I am sitting here doing deep breathing exercises to control my frustration.

The headline on the front page of Tuesday's Local section read: 

Don't Eat Any Fresh Spinach

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

The article, written by staff writer Pam Greene, begins:

Don't eat any spinach from a garden.  Don't eat any spinach from local growers.  Don't eat any fresh spinach--period.  That's the message that Onondaga County Health Commissioner Cynthia Morrow and FDA emphasized Monday.

I read on, waiting for the punch line...but there was none.

Apparently on Sunday the FDA had increased the spinach recall to include all fresh spinach--not just the prepackaged kind.  Somehow I missed that.

I hardly know where to begin.  Well how about here:  why would I trust the FDA to tell me not to eat the spinach growing behind my house that I've been lovingly tending throughout the growing season?  I'm just trying to operate with a little common sense here.  I understand that the known facts were few earlier this week, but why would I worry about locally grown spinach (if we could get it at this time of year) when there wasn't any evidence of people getting sick from locally or garden grown spinach?  And while I appreciate Pam Greene's reporting of the warning, she would have done well to flesh out the information a little more.  I want to know WHY my garden spinach should not be eaten?

Now of course, we are in a different place then we were Sunday or even Tuesday, and have a better understanding of the source of the E.coli problem--I'm still waiting for the big headline telling me it's okay to eat MY spinach.

Okay, I'm being a bit cheeky here but I hope you get my point. 

As an aside, allow me to mention that yesterday's Post-Standard Business section led with a story that Few Farmers in CNY Grow Spinach; Crop Has Shrunk.  Now I don't know those statistics but it is interesting that Bobbie Harrison from the Cornell Cooperative Extension is quoted as saying, that so few grow spinach locally that he couldn't name a single farmer who planted the crop.  I can and it's not my job to know.  A cursory search on the Local Harvest site reveals several farms in our area growing spinach--I believe our beloved Green Rabbit is one of them.  But I digress.

This whole spinach episode is a case of the worst kind of fear-mongering.  It is not helpful to tell folks not to let local spinach touch their lips without giving solid reasoning.  A few sentences explaining the connection between California-produced bagged spinach and the local CNY soil based spinach crop would have done us a great service.  And if that connection can't be made DON'T TELL ME NOT TO EAT THE FOOD I GROW!

Furthermore, if the FDA really wants to protect the public from possibly tainted food, it might begin by putting appropriate warning lables on the industrial agriculture/factory-produced poultry and meat, and pesticide laden produce that pass for groceries in most supermarkets.  THAT would be doing the public a favor. 

Okay--I'm putting away my soapbox now.

For some solid information about growing prepackaged spinach, read this piece by an organic farmer in California from Chez Pim's blog.  Thanks to Jen at Life Begins at 30 for alerting us to this post.

Also, check out the great letter Stefanie from Couteau Bonswan wrote to the local media.

Stones Throw Farm at the Regional Market

This past Saturday finally gave me the opportunity to run through the Central New York Regional Market to meet the folks at Stones Throw Farm.  I was there all of ten minutes but, apparently, it was the place to be. 

In addition to meeting Megan and daughter Kaitlyn of Stones Throw, I finally got to meet Kathy Barry and I ran into several other friends and colleagues from around Syracuse.  Did I mention that I was only there for ten minutes?

Now that I've found them, I plan to go back next week in hopes that they will still have some of those beautiful breakfast radishes on offer.  They expect to have more tomatoes and those beautiful potatoes and beans as well. 

So allow me to announce my conversion.  I haven't been to Ithaca in a month.  This is partly because I've been too busy driving other places on Saturday mornings but it is largely because the urgency is gone.  I will always love the wonderful vibe of the Ithaca Farmer's market and I will continue to advocate for a more purely organic and local market here in Syracuse but I now know how possible it is to eat well from the Regional Market and to support the local, organic farms right around the 'Cuse. 

Thanks to all of you who pushed me to look a little harder at the Regional Market.  I hope others will be converted too.

Update (9/21/06):  Kaitlyn is not Megan and Brian's daughter but she is an all around super star and honor student and is of the family that brings us that luscious Toad Hollow Compost.

Spinning the Spinach Controversy

If ever there was an impetus to want to know where your food comes food, the E.coli scare on bagged spinach should be it.  This episode raises all sorts of questions and we would do well to listen out for what is not being said as well as what is being reported.  I want to know 

• why is it so difficult to trace the source of the problem?
• what does it mean that so many brands rely on so few producers for their spinach crop or that one company packages so many brands?
• why, especially here in CNY, are folks not being urged to purchase spinach from local farmers or, better yet, to grow their own?

This issue is near and dear to my heart because the first food I ever grew was spinach.  After moving to Johnson City in the late 90's after living in Berkeley, CA for three years where elaborate spinach salads (yes, made with bagged spinach) were the mainstay of my meals I found that said bagged spinach was difficult to find year 'round at the Johnson City Wegmans down the hill from me.  So I purchased two very long planters, carved out some space on my little apartment balcony, and began to grow my own.  I've been growing it ever since.

The thing about this food safety scare is that the media don't seem to be raising the issue of the vulnerability to our food supply when it is so largely centralized.  Despite the nice photos on websites depicting family farms, the majority of conventional and organic bagged spinach sold in this country is produced in California and Mexico--which is pretty odd when you think of how well spinach does when there is a little chill in the air.  If we get over the idea that spinach is a year-round crop (and yeah, it took me awhile to get there) then we would find that it is perfect seasonal produce for our area.

In the end, I don't think this is one we should take laying down.  We have an opportunity to question the USDA, Natural Selection Foods (the folks who recalled their spinach) and our federal government and demand greater transparency about our food supply.  Kate, over at Accidental Hedonist, is keeping close tabs on this story as it develops.

A Great Day for Champagne--WBW 25

My first glass of sparkling wine went down like this:  I was 18 years old, a freshman in college, and wanting to play sophisticated.  So when the annual Winter Festival came around--aka more excuses to party--I decided that while I dressed up in my semi-formal finest I would listen to music and sip champagne--I mean, sparkling wine. 

I sipped, got dressed, sipped, put on my makeup, sipped and...fell asleep.  I never made it out of the house.  I can't even remember what I was sipping but I was in college so you can probably make a good guess that it wasn't anywhere near as good as the Billecart-Salmon I've been sipping on tonight.

Today (and not last week as I thought) is Wine Blogging Wednesday, and this month's host--Sam of Becks and Posh--put out the challenge to write about a glass of Champagne--meaning sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France.  There weren't many options in the wine shops of Syracuse for Champagne under $50.00 but I found this half bottle of Brut Rose and now understand how good sparkling wine can be.

The beauty of Champagne--like all good sparkling wines--is that it is the go-to drink when you aren't sure what to pair with dinner.  In fact, bringing a glass of sparkling wine to a dinner party is a sure way to hit the right note no matter what is being served.  I sipped mine with some wonderful antipasti from Lombardi's--it goes great with proscuitto. 

This Brut-Rose is made with a combination of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir grapes with a little extracted skins to give it a golden rose color.  It is fruitier on the nose than on the tongue--with a nice dry finish.

This half bottle was just under $35.  A little more money than I'd spend on an everyday drink, but yummy enough for me not to wait for a special occasion.  And that's my big lesson about Champagne.  It really is too good to wait only for a celebration.  The last time I had sparkling wine was on my birthday last month--a nice bottle from Shinn Estate Vineyards on Long Island.  But today I'm celebrating a day filled with great yoga, wonderful colleagues, and amazing parishioners--just a regular day deserving a fantastic flute of something deliciously bubbly.

Billecart-Salmon, $34.95 available at Pascale's Liquor Square on Erie Boulevard, Syracuse

Link Lane

This is what I call catch up.  Over the past few weeks several local, sustainable food producers and interesting websites have come to my attention.  So here is a brief list of the newest additions to my bookmarks;

Organic Home Delivery.  This is my oxtail connection--which I've usually picked up from the Syracuse Real Food Co-op.  But their main deal is home delivery of all sorts of organic dairy, meats, poultry and dry goods.  If you want a dozen cups of Evans Farmhouse Creamery yogurt dropped off at your house--Rick and Teri Fessenden are the folks who'll get it to you. 

Stones Throw Farm.  I'm still waiting for a chance to get back to the CNY Regional Market---did I just type that???  Yes I did because I haven't made it to the Stones Throw Farm stall yet.  These folks are real local for Syracuse--growing organic produce right down in Nedrow.  The farm is on my "must visit" list but you can check them out at the Regional Market over by the "north eaves" of the E Shed--the one closest to the train station.  And if you check their website they will tell you what they're bringing to market each week.  Photos coming soon!

The Independent Food Project is based in Maine but has some great writing and interesting projects in an effort to encourage the growth of local and sustainable eating.

Edible Nation is a new blog that tracks news coming from the folks who produce Edible Communities publications.  If I had more time (and money) I'd publish an Edible Finger Lakes or Edible Central New York.  These quarterly publications are doing great work at raising awareness, educating consumers, and celebrating farmers in local communities.  I read Edible Brooklyn and Edible San Francisco just to keep up with the foodie news in my old haunts.  Check it out and if you think you want to produce one for our area--Call Me!

Weary--But Coming Back

Okay.  So the start of the new academic year has kicked my butt.  Well, my blogging butt, anyway.  It's not that I haven't wanted to post--I've just had no energy.  So if you've been checking in and wondering what's up--that's it.  The thing is, I've got lots to blog about and really want to get back into my rhythm. 

Today, however, is Wine Blogging Wednesday and somehow I've got to work up the energy to open, taste, and write about a bottle of champagne.  Oh, the difficult life of a food blogger...I'll be back and posting more regularly soon.  Thanks for sticking with me.