Agree
Tahdig at Javan (no longer).
The black rice at AOC.
Crispy rice from a Thai place in NoHo, the name of which eludes me right now (edit: I think it was Sri Siam! Thanks, @Nemroz).
Soboro rice at Takuma (it is not a technically amazing dish but is simply really homey and comforting).
If they get enough sauce to soak through, I like the rice portion of the pork tonkatsu bowl at Kaido better than I like the actual pork itself…
yea, my girl brings me that crispy rice salad from Sri Siam. we’ve had it at Luv2Eat and at Night Market and prefer Sri Siam’s
I still love the shrimp fried rice at DTF.
In Vegas the Nam Kao Tod at Lotus of Siam is wonderful.
Zereshk polo at Shamshiri.
Love the crispy rice salad Sqirl. Plus cute dogs.
Longonisa garlic rice with fried egg and spam from rice bar is a mighty good lunch
Abhiruchi chicken biryani.
I’m not a huge fan of Indian food, but this is an excellent rice dish. Subtle and balanced flavoring, and each component is cooked nicely.
Oh lord. The “spill” on that is amazing!
The dish was really perfection. The mix of the broth, cheese, and “al dente” rice was as good as I have had anywhere - including Venice. And, of course the roe and caviar take it to a whole other level.
I am not familiar with the term “spill” vis-a-vis risotto. Can you enlighten me? TIA
Brother from another mother, CB. I was just about to go there tonight.
Oh. This may be a case of me making up a term, as I can’t recall where I got it.
What I mean to say is that texture of the risotto looks perfect. It looks like it runs on the plate just enough. It’s not a tight starchy clump nor is it too liquid-like. I don’t find restaurants get it just right very often. This one looks dialed in.
By the way, what is the green oil on top?
Bummer - could have shared some!
We also had a trio of roe - trout, salmon, pike - with warm buckwheat blini and a streak tartare.
All beautiful.
Gotcha. Yes it was the prefect texture - just as you describe. I rarely order risotto as few places get it right. I have often wondered (as a non-chef) if that is:
— a patience/time problem (in a busy kitchen time is money), or
— a technique problem, or
— a know-how problem, or
— an I don’t give-a-shit (because my customers are too dumb to know the difference) problem.
Is the proper technique so hard to aquire? The “know-how” would seem like anyone with internet access (or, “Madonna,” a cookbook) should be able to learn.
It’s a small dab of CHIVE OIL that worked wonders.
No, I pretty much mastered it after a couple tries. And it’s way easier than all those breathless food sites and cookbooks make it out to be. I make risotto as an afterschool snack sometimes.
That’s the one. Most restaurants pre-cook risotto to a hard al dente and cool it on sheet pans. During dinner service, portions are finished per order. I suppose a lazy cook can mess it up, but that once again ties into the not caring part.
P.S. That is a very vulgar word, especially when talking about food. The eff word is much better.
I think Bookwich nailed it. It’s the technique required by the kitchen to be able to serve a risotto without excessive waiting. Risotto is usually par cooked, then finished a la minute. If the technique is solid, the risotto can be just as good as homemade.
Chive oil. Brilliant.
Kim chee fried rice with spam and egg. Always have these ingredients at home and the kids love it. Crushed nori from Costco on top.
I’ll plug some of Little Saigon’s best…
Chao Long at Cho Tam Bien, Sausage and Pork Offal Porridge
Chao Ca at Canton Restaurant, Fish Porridge
Com Tam at Thanh, Broken Rice Plate