GUD BLOG

Hippo’s — An Occasional Coney Dog Alternative

Ask any local what singular dish is quintessential Motor City snacking and their likely answer is the Coney dog. Whether you’re feeble with a hangover or just plain hungry for a big plate of unhealthy, there is nothing quite as satisfying as a natural casing hot dog slathered with beef heart chili, minced onion and yellow mustard in a spongy, white-bread bun. It’s a dog remarkably impractical to eat with your hands. In fact, if you can pick it up without making a mess of yourself, you might as well call it a chili dog.

But on the rare occurrence you might feel like a change, look no further than Chicago. Actually, Chicago is kind of far, so look no further than Rochester Road, slightly north of Maple, for a Hippo Dog.

Hippo’s crafts an authentic Chicago-style dog. It starts with a steamed, Vienna Beef wiener resting in a poppy seed bun and then “dragged through the garden” by topping with mustard, onion, shockingly green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, sport peppers and a dash of celery salt. It’s a heady combination of soft, warm, comforting, crunchy and fresh. Don’t even think about ketchup. Save that for your fries.

Like many of Chicago’s hot dog stands, Hippo’s is spare on the inside. Seating consists of a counter that runs along two sides of the building beneath large windows. Walls are adorned with accolades, signed photos of local news celebrities and nods to the Windy City. Bright yellow is the color scheme. During the busy weekday lunch hour, it’s not uncommon to see toolmakers rubbing elbows with mid-level executives. The cheerful staff is always ready with a greeting, and there’s a stack of newspapers near the door if you like to read a bit as you lean into your lunch.

In addition to a diverse menu of other styles of hot dogs (including the Coney), you can chomp a char-broiled Polish Hippo, Cajun sausage, Italian sausage, bratwurst, a Maxwell Street Polish sausage covered with grilled onions or a Chicago Avenue Polish sausage complete with sauerkraut and a pickle. Hippo’s has an entire library of tube steaks, most of which cost less than four bucks.

But the real draw is the classic Hippo dog for only $2.15. Being a Detroiter, there is no way I could ever admit that a Chicago-style hot dog is somehow superior to a Coney, though it is nice to have a place like Hippo’s around for an uncommon diversion.

Hippo’s is located at 1648 Rochester Rd. in Troy and a newer location at 35520 Groesbeck Highway, Clinton Township.

Posted on 2012.02.16 by Todd Abrams at 12:00 pm | Be the first to comment

You Will Like Cauliflower Now

Cauliflower is one of those foods that a lot of people in their 30s seem to have loathed as a kid, right alongside brussels sprouts, beets, cabbage, and the others in the Pantheon of Vegetables Rejected by Parents in the Eighties. My mom thoughtfully coated her oft-steamed cauliflower in generous doses of butter (then margarine, then “Smart Balance,” then… well, you get the idea), so I never hated it – but I never really liked it.

Until a few years ago.

My friend Noelle has written about a similar transition she made as a result of some cauliflower I made at a dinner party about a year back, and I have to say, that recipe is still one of my own favorite ways of preparing it. I decided to make it tonight, so despite our somewhat unintended decision to not frequently do recipe write ups here, I’m throwing down a recipe post.

Ingredients

• Shocker, I know, but you need a head of cauliflower
• A tablespoon or three of capers
• 1-3 medium sized cloves of garlic to taste
• 2+ tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 table spoons white balsamic vinegar… or not.
  Note: Any white vinegar can do here, but the higher the acid flavor, the more you might need to cut back on it or add more oil to diminish the intensity. I’d even so far as to add a pinch of sugar if it seems too bright.
• Salt and pepper

Cookery & Shit

• Fair warning: I don’t generally measure anything except when baking or making ice cream, so the quantities here are kind of made up.
• Pre-heat the oven to 450 F
• Cut or pull the cauliflower apart into florets. Not too small, or they just get soggy between the long cooking and the dressing later.
• Toss it in olive oil inside a baking pan of some kind until gently but entirely coated.
• Roast the veggies for about 15 minutes or so, pull them out, toss them around a bit, and get them right back in there for another 10-15 minutes.
• While that’s cooking, mince the living shit out of that garlic. I mean, cut that up like the garlic ran over your dog or your sister or something. It’s not getting cooked, so fineness is key. And use less if you don’t love garlic. (Duh.)
• Mix the garlic in a bowl with the remaining olive oil and the vinegar. It should be a bit acidic but, especially if using the balsamic, very round in flavor. This part is really just a balancing act, and you need to balance it to your taste.
• Mix in the capers. I use a fairly immodest palm full of the little guys because the briny flavor is what actually makes this whole dish go. But whatever you want.
• Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
• When the cauliflower’s done, toss it with the dressing.
  Words of caution: (a) Don’t toss it too much because the capers will fall to the bottom of the bowl, and you want to EAT THE CAPERS because they are DELICIOUS and (b) don’t use all the liquid dressing if it looks like it’s too much. I mean, that’s obvious, but still. Soggy cauliflower is sad cauliflower.
• Serve it up to your guests, who will probably take one little floret just to be polite, and then they’ll eat it, say nice things to you, and take more. (If that doesn’t happen, you have quite probably screwed the whole thing up.)

I wouldn’t be so brazen in extolling the virtues of this super simple cauliflower dish except that: (a) Noelle and about 4 other people really, really seemed to like it, so I know I’m not alone, and (b) I realized in trying the cauliflower at Girl & the Goat that the principle behind this is really quite sound: roasting earthy veggies and giving them bright accent flavors kicks ass. Mine is nowhere near as good as Stephanie Izard’s, of course (she puts pickled peppers and mint in it… mad genius) but it has the same general idea behind it. And it’s a good fucking idea.

Hope you actually enjoy it as much as I do! Now I’m going to finish my delish Beaujolais. How’s that for a Wednesday?

Posted on 2012.02.08 by Evan Hansen at 8:54 pm | 3 Comments

The Brinery’s New Turnip Pickles

Ann Arborites have been able to sink their teeth into the naturally fermented products of The Brinery for some time. David Klingenberger, owner and crazy mad genius of the old school lacto-fermentation process, has been selling at the Ann Arbor farmer’s market and working with Washtenaw County restaurants. Thankfully, he’s now at Eastern Market and those of us a little closer get regular access to his goods.

His most recent offering is made from a turnip of Japanese origin. And it’s amazing.

Hakurei turnips (pronounced, as I understand it, hah-kur-eye) are, in Klingenberger’s words, “the honeycrisp of turnips” — sweet, crisp, tender, and juicy. He’s routinely made turnip pickles in the past, and they’re perfectly delicious with a nice earthy flavor and cut thickly for a nice combination of chewiness and crunch. It is evidently the ideal turnip for consuming raw and doesn’t even require peeling, a notion espoused by plenty of blogging salad lovers.

Given The Brinery’s natural fermentation process whereby the raw veggies are preserved by bacteria (rather than by cooking and vinegar), these would seem to be pretty well suited to pickling.

And indeed, they are: Their new Hakurei-based pickles are shaved exceptionally thin and remain quite crunchy. Klingenberger sources these from Ann Arbor-based Garden Works, a certified organic 4.5-acre truck garden and greenhouse farm, but the turnip is a hybrid developed in Japan in the 1950s.

The pickles are irresistible on their own, or throw them on a little baguette sandwich if you can keep your hand out of the jar. Fans of fermented goods can pick them up on Saturdays at Eastern Market or check out where David will be selling his products next at The Brinery’s website.

Posted on 2012.01.22 by Evan Hansen at 12:47 pm | 2 Comments

Thomas-Labaille Sancerre

Louis-Dressner imports a lot of youthful, sometimes funky wines – wines that I love, but that sometimes lack the austerity and gravitas I occasionally crave. In fact, much of the cult following surrounding Dressner is built around a host of inexpensive wines, funky natural wine, and heirloom grapes grown in uncommon places. And rightfully so. But they also bring in a few more traditional gems that are true values.

Tonight’s absurdly delicious Dressner import? Sancerre from Thomas-Labaille.

I’ve been in love with this wine since the first time I tasted it as part of the 2005 vintage. There’s no point in repeating what’s already easily available and accessible elsewhere, but in brief, the flagship wine from this producer comes from vines 30 years or older and the vineyard, Les Monts Damnés, is generally regarded as the top site in the entire region of Sancerre.

What’s always drawn me to this particular wine is the uncommon combination of a smooth, supple, round texture and an acidity in the finish that goes on for an eternity. Aging on the lees explains some of the weight, but still, this exceedingly pale sauvignon blanc is paradoxical in how it feels almost viscous but is actually light and tastes minerally but also incredibly tart. It just screams with natural, real fruit flavor, delicate early and puckering late.

Try it with goat cheese. I was introduced to the combination with perhaps my second bottle or so, and in reading up on Sancerre, I saw that Labaille is made near the village of Chavignol, a town famous for its crotin that doesn’t have its own sub-appellation of Sancerre but is obviously home to significant food and drink production. Once again, the rule of thumb that food and drink from a long-standing culture and geography probably work together.

The 2010 vintage just showed up here in Detroit back in December. Ask your local retailer for some. It’s not “cheap,” but it’s hardly a pricey bottle especially for the quality you get. The most intense but elegant sauvignon blanc I can think of for the money.

Posted on 2012.01.18 by Evan Hansen at 11:57 pm | Be the first to comment

Mocha Flip

Ever want a nice silky mocha when all you have is rum?  Happens to me all the time. And everyone else too, I’m sure.  Here’s the solution.

Mocha Flip

• 2 oz El Dorado 12 year aged rum
• .5 oz creme de cacao
• .5 oz coffee syrup*
• .5 oz milk
• Whole egg
• A chunk of dark chocolate
• Chocolate bitters (optional)

Dry shake the first 5 ingredients. Add ice, shake, and double strain into a cocktail glass. Dash chocolate bitters on top. Use a microplane or grater to grate some dark chocolate over the top of the drink.

* – Make coffee syrup by combining equal parts brewed coffee and sugar in a bottle larger than the combined volume and just shaking (for a long while) to combine. It’ll last in the fridge for quite a while. Use a lighter roast or cold brew to minimize bitterness. (A coffee liqueur could be used instead of this, but it’d have to be exceptionally high quality or homemade. Use Kahlua or an equivalent at your own peril.)

Posted on 2011.11.29 by Evan Hansen at 9:09 pm | 2 Comments

Second Annual Detroit Holiday Food Bazaar

Don’t miss Detroit’s premier pop-up holiday marketplace featuring a variety of independent food vendors on Friday, December 9, 2011, from 5:00pm until 11:00pm.

In its second year of operation, the Detroit Holiday Food Bazaar has expanded and moved to the historic Eastern Market District. The list of vendors includes: Leopold’s Books, Love’s Custard Pie, Drought Juice, Detroit Institute of Bagels, Miette, Pete’s Chocolate Co., El Azteco, RG Distribution, Hugh, The Rogue Estate, Perkins Pickles, Beau Bien Fine Foods, Native Kitchen, Al Meida, Marvin Shaouni Photography, Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company, McClure’s Pickles, Simply Suzanne, Suddenly Sauer, Corridor Sausage Co., Gang of Pour, and Porktown Sausage.

Not only is this a good way to support local small businesses and startups, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase some of the most finely crafted food products available in our city.

Ink it on your calendar and RSVP to their facebook event page.

Second Annual Detroit Holiday Food Bazaar
Friday, December 9, 2011
5:00pm until 11:00pm
2448 Market Street Detroit (above Cost Plus Wines)

Posted on 2011.11.29 by Todd Abrams at 3:07 pm | 2 Comments