Hot Times at Old Town

Appearing below are selections from the hard copy Hot Times. The objective is to highlight activities at the School and in the larger community, especially those featuring or of special interest to teachers and staff. Your suggestions are welcome. Enter a comment (under any item); it will come to me rather than automatically appearing.

The Stuff of Heaven

The Stuff of Heaven

OK, I work at the School for music, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. Man cannot live my music alone. Nor can we be satisfied, week after week, by the pretty good food served at our nearby restaurants, or even the wonderful but limited menu at our own Cafe.

Ever think of having a dinner comprised entirely of bread? Let’s not be picky about it — what about having a lunch of bread? Some folks say bread is the staff of life, but how about calling it the stuff of heaven?

The need overtook us recently, so we went to our favorite place to indulge. If your tastes incline to Indian cuisine – and its breads – head over to the Bombay Kabab House, 1901 W. Howard St. This wonderful restaurant ranks with very good restaurants on Devon Avenue – but surpasses them by offering sixteen “Tandoori breads,” including offerings like bhatoora (leavened, fermented bread fried in hot oil), onion kulcha (stuffed with onion and fresh coriander), a nan stuffed with pineapple, cherries, and walnuts, and a “special bread” stuffed with nuts and raisins. A basket of 6 varieties is $12.95. Very nice folks, wonderful food including a luncheon buffet daily, 11:30 am – 3 pm, and dinner buffet Monday-Thursday, 6 pm-9:30 pm.

Since we’d last visited, they’ve expanded the buffet — even the lunch buffet — by a few items, including a yogurt/bread/ potato/pea appetizer and a third dessert. For the future, I have my eye on their Chef’s Special “Tandoori Mix Grilled” which includes tandoori shrimp, tandoori chicken, chickern malai kaba and Bombay lamb boti kabab served with dal makhani nan and rice ($16.95). Wow.

Hope you’ll the Bombay Kabab House a try — they seem to be doing ok, but in this economy, who knows? The best way to keep them with us is to help them thrive! (I’ll continue to do my part!)

Filed under: Interesting dining by Skip | August 29, 2009 | Comments (0)

Café Menu Item of the Month (Conceptual)

We periodically identify “insider” menu items. Each is named in recognition of the Old Town School staff member or teacher for whom this is a regular order. These menu items are made public both to honor their designee and in the interests of culinary transparency.

This month, Chef Miki breaks new ground in proposing a selection that is entirely conceptual: “The Barb Silverman,” says Miki, “is ordering the same thing that the person ahead of you ordered.” This is a menu item? “You just have to get your mind around it,” he says. “She does it all the time; it’s her speciality, and she deserves the honor. ”

Filed under: Interesting dining by Skip | May 2, 2008 | Comments (0)

New Years Eve: Fiddlehead and The Punch Brothers

Going out for New Years Eve but not sure where? If so, the School’s Punch Brothers shows (7:30, 10:30) will be a great choice. And consider dinner at the Fiddlehead.

The Punch Brothers have the energy of bluegrass along with gentre-breaking creativity of Chris Theil. Thile has earned respect and musical credibility far beyond his 26 years. His continuous forward motion helped generate the popular success of his Grammy winning band Nickel Creek along with a prolific list of recognized solo work and collaborations. This will be an exciting evening. And the second show will include champagne! (Check out the details: oldtownschool.org.

As for dinner, what about dining near the school? Right up the block at 4600 Lincoln is Fiddlehead, a neat restaurant on the corner where Square Kitchen used to be. We liked Square Kitchen, but we love Fiddlehead. They’ve got cheese flights, wine flights, a wonderful duck confit sandwich, a nice steak with three kinds of french fries, and great desserts. AND in addition to their regular menu offerings, they have two New Year’s Eve tasting menus (and wine options for each); and one is vegetarian. (Vegetarian!) As these menus are not (as far as I can see) on their website, below is what their email says. (The individual prices are, I gather, what you pay if you want individual items from that menu). Some of the combinations sound unusual but we’re trusted their judgement and our experience has been very good.

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Filed under: Interesting dining by Skip | December 15, 2007 | Comments (0)