Immigration Crisis?
Have half of you stopped reading already? Isn’t it enough work to sort through the immigration policies of the 20 or so presidential candidates?
This crisis is much more personal than that, and more fitting in a food blog. Until a wall, a moat, or a bubble are built we will have immigrants. And, Low End Larry will take advantage of their entrepreneurship. A night out with big portions and cheap prices? This is always a good thing, and it’s easy to find if one excludes those restaurants opened by French immigrants. Viva la difference? Non!
Where’s the crisis, you might ask? Well, I mostly write about my stomach, but I do have a heart. I may not be an immigrant, an entrepreneur, or a gourmet, but I think I know a non-starter when I dine in one. When that happens, invariably I try to, perhaps single-handedly, keep the establishment in business. And, no one person CAN keep a New York City restaurant in business, particularly if one of the distinguishing traits of the restaurant is its unfathomably low prices.
Do you do this, too? Does empathy affect your dining choices?
When I was young and capable of eating more, I did not miss a day at Armando’s Pizza. Located basically between nowhere and nowhere, I somehow got myself there every day for three months. The wait for a slice was interminable since I’m fairly certain that no one had placed an order since I had, 24 hours previously. Mercifully for my waistline, Armando’s closed in three months time.
Raclette, a restaurant or a cheese?
Recently, the NY Times wrote about Raclette, a new restaurant that is easy on one’s budget. The review described how this tiny restaurant, with a tiny menu, prepared food for tiny prices. Here are the two reviews as well as the comments on Yelp.
http://www.nytimes.com/restaurants/1248069043911/restaurant/details.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/dining/buried-treasures-at-raclette.html?_r=0
http://www.yelp.com/biz/raclette-new-york
Raclette is both a cheese and a dish, and now the name of a restaurant.
The dish consists of scraping melted Raclette, a Swiss cheese, across a plate of meat and vegetables. At Raclette, the restaurant, one can order a few different varieties of this dish, along with a ceremoniously presented “second scraping.” The meal is that much better because you can BYOB! This just doesn’t happen in NYC.
The most expensive dish was $13.95. Here is the beauty of the place and here is the root of my crisis: how can a restaurant survive with eight seats and such a cheap menu? Are you thinking they’ll make it up on alcohol? Oh, right, it’s BYOB. Perhaps the rent is very cheap. Oh, right, it’s in a ‘hot’ neighborhood, the Lower East Side.
Perhaps, the restaurant has a plan like that of Lucille Ball when she tried to convince Ricky that she could make money by selling vast quantities. Oh, right, it has eight seats. And, there is the problem of selling a highly caloric, high cholesterol dish on hot summer nights.
I’ve been to Raclette twice this month. Why? Because the food is great? Yes! Because the prices are great? Yes! The main reasons, though, are because I feel sorry for the owner and because I don’t think I will have too many more months to indulge my philanthropic nature. I can only hope that our candidates are as diligent as I have been in applying their brains, their hearts, and their stomachs towards solving this crisis.
I usually end these posts by including one of Holly’s recipes.
Raclette is not strong in the dessert department. Perhaps a diner might want to go home and prepare Holly’s fondue recipe. Would you be happy? You bet! Would you be able to walk the next day? I’m not as sure but since her recipes are trim and terrific, at least you are ending the evening on a good note.
| Servings |
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups cold skim milk
- 3 tablespoons margarine or butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon butter extract
Ingredients
|
- In nonstick pot, mix sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt together. Add skim milk, stirring well.
- Over medium heat, bring to boil. Lower heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add butter, vanilla, and butter extract.
Calories 63, Protein (g) 1, Carbohydrate (g) 12, Fat (g) 1, Calories from Fat (%) 15, Saturated Fat (g) 0, Dietary Fiber (g) 0, Cholesterol (mg) 0, Sodium (mg) 37 Diabetic Exchanges: 1 other carbohydrate
Quick Tip
Reheat chocolate fondue in the microwave. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, and repeat until melted
Check out Holly’s easy, healthy recipes.
Shop my Cookbooks
Leave a Reply