Tag Archives: Steven McDowall

Street Team Reports: Toro — The Priciest Fish in the World

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©WWF

In episode 181, we talked about bluefin tuna, in particular, two instances in Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market that were sold at high prices in 2009 and 2012.

One was around 282 lbs and sold for $104,700 (±$371/lb) in 2009 and the other 593 lbs and sold for $724,000 (±$1,220/lb). Ray, Lea, and I talked about how good could it really be and was it worth that much money. Street Team Steven McDowall, who is our go-to reporter for all things Asian cuisine did a little breakdown on the history of bluefin tuna. From Steven:

Why is Bluefin (large) Tuna so expensive — especially in Japan??   A few things.

1 — Pure supply and demand play a large part. Supply is very very limited — it’s an endangered species after all. It also takes a lot of handling in Japan (extra steps) and to get it to Japan in pure form. Also, the “Toro” part (which consists of Otoro and Chutoro) makes up only 0.5% – 1% of the whole fish!!!

2 – -Obsession. The Japanese are obsessed (and hence, so is everyone else who likes “Sushi”) about Otoro — THE most prized piece of fish in the world for Sashimi (and Sushi). Otoro is the belly fat of only bluefin tunas. The other part of the underbelly is called ‘Chutoro’ and is also quite prized but not as rare or “good.” So, they are buying this giant fish to get mostly all the extra underbelly part. and the larger the fish, the more you get and since it’s not used to move the fish (and they are cold weather), the big fish have as good or better quality and certainly more!

3 — Japanese Tastes. The is sort of an “Ego” thing about rich Japanese about buying very expensive bluefin’s to “brag.”

I’ve had a small bit of Otoro and Chutoro in Japan and in San Francisco. They tasted the same to me… very mild and unctuous. I had it in Sashimi (i.e. naked). Like 3 slivers in Japan for like $150 and in San Francisco, a nicer 2oz for like $100. Luckily I wasn’t paying 🙂

Oh! The most expensive fish ever was a 650lb bluefin which sold for $2,3M! Yes, in the same market in Japan. So $3500 / lb!

Thank you Street Team Steven for your always welcome knowledge of the world’s cuisines!

The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 173

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In Episode #173, proudly recorded in The Less Desirables Studios (South). Zoom sponsored by Bull’s Tavern:

Tim, Ray, and Lea talk about:

  • Street Team Steven talks with the podcast crew about their excursion to Taste of the Triad and his experience with Bootleg Ramen.
  • Tart Sweets closes.
  • City Beverage.
  • Bobby Boy Bakeshop
  • Bootleg Ramen.
  • Other local restaurant news.
  • Tim and Lea talk about “List” updates.
  • Winston-Salem Strong. This website includes the food and beverage list that we have been forging and resources for businesses and individuals that are needed at this time, including unemployment, SBA loans, tips for servers, and many other services. All this in one place. Winston-Salem Strong!
  • Food holidays and history.

Don’t forget our sponsors:

Carrabba’s Italian Grill.  Healthy, grilled meats, wood-fired pizzas, fresh ingredients, and phenomenal wine dinners. That’s just some of the offerings of Carrabba’s. And, Daniel Butner, the local proprietario, is salt of the earth and a pillar of good in the community. Go taste the goodness that is Carrabba’s and see why Tim and Ray are always talking it up!

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

Bon Appetit!

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Street Team Review – 237 Fifth

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Last weekend, with no warning to the everyday layperson, Burger Batch (which had been closed for renovations for a week or two) suddenly became 237 Fifth. The new location is now a “Raman, small plate and sake” restaurant.

237 Fifth (@Steven McDowall)

Street Team Member Steven McDowall tried it this weekend and here is his review.

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Got there just before 6 PM .. and the doors were locked .. which is ok .. not open yet!  🙂

Just before 6 PM, a pretty decent crowd was forming behind me (I was first in line) — and at 6ish we all heard a “Click” and the doors were open!

So I stepped inside and the woman behind me asked the front manager (who goes by the name “Cheese”) if they did take away.  Answer “No”.  So, no take-away yet.

I was seated and presented my shot of “hot” sake .. except — it was nothing like hot sake.  Tepid Sake really.  My server (a very nice woman named “Anna”) admitted that they hadn’t turned on the sake heater early enough.  Oh well.

The first thing I noticed immediately — is how DARK this place is.  I mean, bat cave dark.  I had to use my iPhone Flashlight to see anything!  It was also just a bit too loud with the music (Rap of some sort) that, to me, didn’t quite go with the dark theme (the loudness of the music).  Did I mention I started a spelunking expedition mid-way through the meal?

“Not Gyoza” dumplings (©Steven McDowall)

So, I did order a nice Carafe of one of their monthly sakes — the slightly dry Tozai Ginko style .. one of my favorite styles. And also ordered what, for me, is one of the signature makings of a Ramen restaurant — Gyoza.   I also ordered the Steamed Pork Buns, cuz.  Those are obviously not authentic “Ramen” since they are Chinese but they are Asian Snack Food and I love them so.

Pork Buns (©Steven McDowall)

Well, they came out (see the pics) and the pork buns looked and were really good. Addictive.  I gave one away to another solo eater next to me to try and we both agreed these were quite good ($10 for 3 I think… why I didn’t take any photos of the menu is beyond me.. sigh) Editor’s note: There was a menu available on their Instagram but, now it is gone – Tim

Now, the gyoza… well, they are not in any way Gyoza. (See pic).  I appreciate a little bit of “liberties,” but this really was beyond going fusion.  These were SO not gyoza .. I need to give them an “F” as GYOZA.  Now, as tasty dumplings? I liked them a lot.  Solid “B” for sure. They weren’t pan-fried as much as I would like, but I am not even sure they should be pan-fried.  I honestly never encountered a dumpling quite like these before and I have eaten maybe 50+ dumpling types in my life from all over.  They had a nice filling of meat and cabbage and sprinkled with sesame and green onions.  The dipping sauce had a nice little bite I liked (could have used more black vinegar but that is my preference). So again, for being NOT GYOZA, I would eat them again. I am just a bit peeved they called them gyoza. And, they don’t have real Gyoza on the menu (probably my favorite dumpling).

On to the Ramen:

So, I was convinced to order the totally non-traditional in anyway Beef Broth w/ Oxtail and Bone Marrow Ramen.  Again, Ramen is really Japanese fast causal food and there are a ton of variations. I never had this one but it certainly was in the “ballpark” of ramen. I tried to get it with my favorite Ramen Addition: Corn. No corn to be had. Tried for a Fish Cake. No Fish Cake. How about some Nori? Yes! They actually have Nori in a ramen restaurant!  Woohoo!

So this brings up the point: I think they are missing the fundamental idea of a Ramen joint.  It’s to let people customize their experience to things they like. Most ramen joints have a section below the ramens listing at least 6 if not 12 “add-ons” so you can customize your own bowl. Corn, Black Garlic, Bean Sprouts, Nori, Enoki Mushrooms, etc. There is a little surcharge but that’s ok.

Here, your only option is extra noodles – unless you order the Vegetarian then you can add the “Marinated Egg” for $2 (we’ll get to the egg in a moment).

Ramen (©Steven McDowall)

So here comes my ramen, giant marrow bone and all!  Looks pretty good actually, but where the hell are my eggs!?  It was to come with one of the “Marinated Eggs,” which everywhere else would call it an “Onsen egg,” being the appropriate term.  I mean of all choices of words to use “Marinated Egg” sounds… horrible.  And it’s not. It’s amazing! Slightly soft boiled then marinated in Soy, Mirin, etc.  Anyway, Anna apologized and brought out the eggs and I added them to the soup .  Now we’re talking ramen!

So. The noodles. There has been controversy about the noodles here. I even specifically asked multiple people in the restaurant if they were authentic alkaline ramen noodles. All said yes, emphatically. I still ordered my ramen with “al dente” noodles. The result, as far as I can tell, these were very good ramen noodles with just a nice chew, etc.  I have no complaints at all with the noodles in my bowl. Not sure if they found a new supplier or what, but no issue at all.

The broth was tasty. The marrow (and I LOVE bone marrow) was delicious. The oxtail was tasty but what a pain in the ass to get the meat off the bone using nothing but chopsticks and my large ramen spoon.  I resorted to using my fingers but the effort was worth it.

Now, there are two (again so standard it shouldn’t even be needed to say) table condiments in ramen shops: chili oil and “Sichimi Togarashi” (otherwise known as Japanese 7-spice powder).  237 Fifth has nothing on the table for condiments. However, I happened to ask if they had Sichimi Togarashi (my go-to topping for just about any soup) and they did! Anna brought out a nice little container and I was in a much happier place. I didn’t want to add chili oil (didn’t even ask) because I liked the soup the way I had doctored it. But certainly having a little bottle of chili oil and the 7-spice powder on each table would be a nice addition too.

So the net, this place is pretty darn good. I think they could improve a few things (but not service, that was awesome) and of course, I didn’t try everything but what I did try (with a bit of doctoring) was good.

237 Fifth Interior (©Steven McDowall)

I hope they bump it up a notch and allow more add-ons, offer both “real” Gyoza and that interesting dumpling, put 7-spice and chili oil on the table, and chopstick holders on the table (although that last is optional it would be a nice touch).

So price-wise, not a cheap meal by any means. But, we are taking downtown WS.  The ramen was $15(?) for this bowl (Pork and Chicken cheaper). The “dumplings” (I refuse to call them Gyoza) were $10 for 6.  Pork buns .. $10 for 3-ish. My total with sake was near $40. But, I did order a lot that could be split.  Again, not a cheap date night but not horrible in my opinion for a ramen night out.

Now for lunch, I think that pricing would be way too high even for WS. I don’t think people are willing to pay more than $12 – $15 total for lunch, which is why maybe they aren’t open for lunch.

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Thank you, Steven, for this great review. I know you have spent a lot of time in China and other Asian countries and have a lot of experience with this style of food.

Guest at the Table: Butcher & Bull

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I have decided that I have a “street team” and that I will let them describe some of the fantastic foods and/or restaurants that I haven’t been to, yet, I haven’t been to in a while, they go on my recommendation, they find something new or anything else that pertains to “food news and views.” They may venture out beyond the confines of good ol’ WSNC. Seems like a good idea to me. 

Butcher & Bull
by Steven McDowall

I went to Butcher & Bull last Tuesday, at around 6 PM.  Not very crowded (alas).  My cohort in crime was having a drink in the bar and we grabbed our table. The service was prompt and friendly!

I’ll get the one negative thing that I didn’t like out of the way now — the atmosphere is… odd.  It’s sort of austere and very very open.  It did not (to me) resonate with a “steak/chop house” as I have come to know them around the US,

especially not Chicago or NYC.  I wish they would have closed the restaurant from the hotel side with a wall and a door .. and maybe more wood or something.  Oh well.

 

Okay, on to the food!

Overall? Solid A-/B+.

Bone-in, dry-aged ribeye

The shrimp cocktail was an awesome presentation, presented under a smokey dome. There were four very large shrimp and some truly good cocktail sauce.  The shrimp had just a wee bit of smoke flavor; not overpowering at all. In fact, the only complaint was that these did need the cocktail sauce.  Once the smoke flavor dissipated, the shrimp didn’t have much flavor to them by themselves.  However, they were perfectly cooked and did I mention they were so large I think they were probably eating small animals as they were growing? B+

We then had the Gem Salad (with Avocado) and added some lardons, because they had lardons on a different salad (the wedge) so why not every salad, I mean… BACON!! right?  Solid salad. B!

Mac-N-Cheese

The main course was the 22 oz bone-in dry aged rib-eye, which we split.  Thank goodness.  This was a perfect thing of art. The 40-day dry-age was perfect and made the steak so tender and flavorful.  It was cooked absolutely perfect!  Great char, great flavor!  Maybe the best steak I’ve had in W-S.  A+

We also had the Mac & Cheese — they have a nice selection of sides, but 2 people can only eat so much. This was spot on the style of Mac & Cheese I love. All it needed was some fresh black pepper which was easily obtained.  Of course, I think all Mac&Cheese needs more/any black pepper.  A-

Cheesecake

I also appreciated their wine selection.  They have a nice range of wines that are really not that horribly expensive for the quality. We were able to find a very nice bottle of Rodney Strong, one of my favorite guys, for $35 or so.

And dessert!?  Again, simply the best cheesecake, other than my wife’s, that I’ve had in W-S, as well.  A!

So yes, this is a legit and great restaurant. Chef Richard Miller came by to say hi and mentioned that, in the future, he plans to build his own dry aging facility down in the basement where he could do other things too!  Should be pretty exciting.

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Butcher & Bull is located 425 N Cherry Street, in downtown Winston-Salem, in the Marriott Hotel.

To be clear, the writers for Guest at the Table posts are not compensated by me. They just love food and they like talking about it. Whether or not they gain their own compensation from outside sources, that is up to them. Also, the views and opinions of each writer are theirs and do not necessarily reflect mine, Stephanie’s or Ray’s thoughts or opinions of said establishments, events or activities. All pictures included are © the specific Guest at the Table.