Writing With My Mouth Full

Where to eat in Princeton, New Jersey: Olives

I never thought I’d eat the best Reuben sandwich in Princeton, New Jersey. We drank until 4am during the reunion party, so we were naturally hungry after only a few hours’ sleep. We stopped by Olives to look for breakfast but instead we salivated and bought a big lunch.

A Reuben sandwich is made of grilled rye bread, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing. It doesn’t sound much–Thousand Island dressing? That’s so 1980s!–but Olives made their version look so good that we had to order it for our first meal of the day. The bread was grilled with butter which made it even tastier. It remained crunchy and toasty until we had our last bite. The Swiss cheese melted as we split it in two. Melted cheese in a grilled sandwich always brings back pleasant high school cafeteria memories. The corned beef? Superb. I could only think of Wylie Dufresne’s corned beef carpaccio as I devoured my half.

The dolmades, or stuffed grape leaves, were also delicious, especially with the orzo with grilled vegetables and pine nuts. I wasn’t exactly in the mood for Mediterranean food, but then again, I also wasn’t aware I could find a satisfying meal in Princeton, New Jersey. Sometimes, life is full of nice surprises.

Olive’s Deli & Bakery is at 22 Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. There are no tables inside, but you can call 609/921.1569 and order ahead for pick-up.

Rib-Eye Steak with Red Onion Pickles

Tony tore a page off his psychiatrist’s copy of Departures magazine before he got kicked out of her office. The page had a steak recipe on it. And after the bloodbath in The Sopranos last night, I could only think of eating a thick rib-eye steak for dinner. After an hour of push-ups, lunges and sprints in Central Park, I walked to the Fairway supermarket to pick up a $26 rib-eye steak. I will never know what recipe Tony wanted to replicate, but maybe Carmela will put these red onion pickles on the side.

Ingredients:
1 pound rib-eye steak, excess fat trimmed
2 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil, salt, pepper

For the red onion pickles:
2 large red onions, peeled, sliced into thin rounds, separated into rings
1 bunch of red beets
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
salt

1. Pickle the red onions ahead of time. In a saucepan, cook the beets in boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes. When the beets are cooked, remove from the pan. Save 1/2 cup of the beet juice in a large bowl. In this bowl, combine the red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and 1 cup of water. Add the onions to the bowl and make sure they are completely submerged in the pickling liquid. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
2. Rub salt and pepper all over the steak. Drizzle with some olive oil. Using a knife, make several slits on one side of the steak and insert garlic pieces. Set aside until ready to cook.
3. Heat an oven-proof frying pan. When the pan is hot enough but not smoking, sear one side of the steak for about 8 minutes. Slowly lift with a pair of tongs and turn over to cook the other side for another 6 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and broil on high for another 5 minutes or until medium-rare.
4. Remove the steak to a chopping board and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice against the grain when ready to serve. Top with red onion pickles.

Skirt Steak with Grilled Endives

I love endives in the spring. It may feel like summer in New York City, but the spring vegetables are still available in the market. When I’m in the mood for beef, I can’t help but serve a medium-rare steak with grilled vegetables. It’s too hot to be using the oven for longer than ten minutes so adding them to the same pan your steak is grilling is just perfect. If you are without an outdoor garden like me, use a dependable Le Creuset frying pan to get the handsome grill marks.

Ingredients:
1 pound skirt steak, excess fat trimmed
4 Belgian endives, quartered lengthwise
3 sprigs of rosemary
3 sprigs of thyme
half a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. In a large baking dish, combine all the ingredients except for the steak and the endives. Place the steak in the dish and turn to coat both sides with the herb mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. When ready to cook, heat an oven-proof frying pan. When the pan is hot enough but not smoking, sear one side of the steak for about 8 minutes. Slowly lift with a pair of tongs and turn over to cook the other side for another 8 minutes. Save the marinade.
3. While the other side cooks, brush the endives with the remaining marinade and place on the same pan. Turn when one side is charred enough. 4. Remove the steak to a chopping board and let rest for about 5 minutes. Slice the steak on the bias about 1/2-inch thick and divide slices among serving plates. Serve with the endives.

Salsa Verde

All the herbs in this salsa verde, or green sauce, recipe is available in the spring and early summer. Wash them thoroughly and you can make almost two cups. I put mine in a small glass jar my father picked up from Ikea and stored it in the fridge for up to a week. It’s a great side with steak.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, washed
1 bunch of mint leaves
1 bunch of basil leaves
1/2 cup of capers, drained and rinsed
2 salt-packed anchovy fillets
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine everything except the oil, salt and pepper. Pulse to form a coarse purée. While the motor is running, drizzle in the olive oil to form a smoother purée. Season with salt and pepper.

Where to eat in Princeton, New Jersey: Teresa’s Cafe Italiano

We ran from the NJ Transit train to the Dinky platform in the rain while the bright, white lights flashed against the dark sky. I’ve never seen lightning like that before; never seen them flash one right after the other. For a moment, I wondered where I was. Was this really New Jersey?

Cameron and I walked across her alma matter’s campus and ended up at Teresa’s for dinner. We were famished and wet from the downpour. We just wanted to sit so we could eat and drink at the same time. There was already a group waiting for a table with their wet umbrellas. We stood for less than ten minutes to be seated at the bar but it felt longer because the maitre d’ let another couple behind us sit first. We kept our New York cool and didn’t make a scene until another couple tried to do the same thing. It was time for some dirty martinis.

We started with the fennel and arugula salad with shaved black peppercorn cheese. I often make this salad at home but I can never seem to say no whenever I see it on the menu. It’s so simple and satisfying. The meat and cheese plate consisted of some prosciutto and soppresatta, plus small wedges of hard and semi-soft cheeses.

It took a while for us to finish both plates because we were chatting, but as soon as we cleared our plates, our pasta dishes were served. We knew one bowl would have been enough for both of us but we always end up ordering more than we can eat whenever we’re together. We ordered the linguine with mussels, Manila clams and scallops. We also ordered the ricotta and Berskhire sausage-filled cannelloni. The former was better than the latter. The pasta had a clam juice taste and gave the dish a little bit more oomph. The cannelloni was just so-so even with the tasty sausages in it. It was more substantial with all the ricotta. I’ve never been a big fan of a big bowl of pasta with red sauce anyway.

Since we were sitting at the bar, we didn’t really get exceptional service. We interacted with our young female bartender twice: as soon as we sat down and when she asked me if I wanted another martini. (I said yes.) Our bill was about $80 without the tip after three cocktails, two appetizers and two pasta dishes. It was substantially less expensive than any complete meal we’ve paid for in the city. The rain was all worth it considering we just wanted a simple meal.

Teresa’s Cafe Italiano is at 23 Palmer Square East in Princeton, New Jersey. No reservations needed but their number is 609/921.1974.

Related post/s:
Olives was a very good lunch option