Mitchell, that sounds like a wonderfully warm way to start the holidays, which after all are about coming together and celebrating the light (actual and metaphorical) which is needed so much, now more than ever.
But I have an eternal question about the famous via Carrota salad, never having experienced it personally (though I've been to the restaurant and really liked it, sort of metro version of Nina June), and here it goes: the vinaigrette seems to me to be delicious but quite honestly unexceptional, i.e., very similar to dozens of vinaigrettes around the world. Is the secret to the rave-able salad perhaps in the way it's dressed? As I understand it, every leaf is coated in the saucy dressing, which leads me to suggest that it's not so much the dressing itself as the technique of applying it, leaf by leaf. Forgive my lengthy response but you can tell this is the kind of question that keeps me up at night. Please advise!
Interesting observation. Yes, it’s a typical vinaigrette, the original lower in acidity than most. Rinsing the shallots may also be part of the appeal. There is, in fact, a subtly to it that results in a nice blending and balance of flavors, none stands out. (Last time I was in Paris I noted how much more mustard was commonly used in vinaigrette there, the flavor of Dijon pronounced—maybe because it’s cheaper. I vowed to use more at home.) I think you may be right about the actual dressing of the Via Carota salad itself, which also displays care. Finally, the fact that you can get a giant pile of crisp, well-dressed greens in a restaurant is a rarity in itself, when vegetables are often so sparely used in restaurant meals that you are happy to get a micro green or baby turnip that isn’t drowning in sauce or covered in melted cheese.
Mitchell, that sounds like a wonderfully warm way to start the holidays, which after all are about coming together and celebrating the light (actual and metaphorical) which is needed so much, now more than ever.
But I have an eternal question about the famous via Carrota salad, never having experienced it personally (though I've been to the restaurant and really liked it, sort of metro version of Nina June), and here it goes: the vinaigrette seems to me to be delicious but quite honestly unexceptional, i.e., very similar to dozens of vinaigrettes around the world. Is the secret to the rave-able salad perhaps in the way it's dressed? As I understand it, every leaf is coated in the saucy dressing, which leads me to suggest that it's not so much the dressing itself as the technique of applying it, leaf by leaf. Forgive my lengthy response but you can tell this is the kind of question that keeps me up at night. Please advise!
Interesting observation. Yes, it’s a typical vinaigrette, the original lower in acidity than most. Rinsing the shallots may also be part of the appeal. There is, in fact, a subtly to it that results in a nice blending and balance of flavors, none stands out. (Last time I was in Paris I noted how much more mustard was commonly used in vinaigrette there, the flavor of Dijon pronounced—maybe because it’s cheaper. I vowed to use more at home.) I think you may be right about the actual dressing of the Via Carota salad itself, which also displays care. Finally, the fact that you can get a giant pile of crisp, well-dressed greens in a restaurant is a rarity in itself, when vegetables are often so sparely used in restaurant meals that you are happy to get a micro green or baby turnip that isn’t drowning in sauce or covered in melted cheese.