Know Your Noodles, Eat Your Ribs

Posted by Jacqueline Church Aug 13, 2008

First our Noodles

Rin: like angel hair. Seiro, smooth but heavier. Inaka, roughest, deliberately chewiest. This according to Frank Bruni reviewing Matsugen - the new soba shop in TriBeCa. "Shop" may be the wrong word, it sounds like more of a temple of worship.

This spot is the lovechild of Jean-Georges Vongeritchen and Taka, Yoshi and Masa Matsushita. The Matsushita brothers run the kitchen. It was a conscious delegation of responsibilities Jean-Georges wanting to ensure a purely, Japanese soba experience, not simply a Japanese aesthetic experience.

Natto in the dish? That's the real deal. This is one aspect of Bruni's review that strikes me as authentically Japanese: an unbending honoring of tradition. No California rolls. No dumbing down for the American customers. Matsugen: 241 Church Street (Leonard Street), TriBeCa; (212) 925-0202.

Ribs for Republicans or Dems

While PETA urges the Republicans to honor their elephant mascot's vegetarian ways and serve ribs of celery versus ribs of beef at their convention (as if!)...Virgil's Real Barbecue(152 West 44th) celebrates Woodstock's 39th anniversary with "Ribstock". Did I miss something? Were a lot of hippies BBQ lovers? I'd have guessed they were the celery rib types, if they ate at all...Go figure.

Real ribs...Bison Ribs

My first Bison ribs from Wild Idea Buffalo were fantastic. Further evidence that this heritage meat, humanely raised and slaughtered, grass-fed is a terrific alternative to beef. Try some bison y'all. Write me for a killer recipe for BBQ sauce and techinque! (Secret: father-in-law's sundried tomatoes replace ketchup as the base.)