A New Season of Neighborhood Kitchens!

Have you seen the show Neighborhood Kitchens? I just watched it for the first time last night. Loved it!

The episode that I saw, which is the video above, was about the local restaurant Orinoco. They have locations in Brookline, the South End, and Harvard Square.

During the episode, Chef Carlos Rodriguez and the host of the show, Margarita Martínez, made three dishes: Panela-Marinated Salmon, Arepa Portobello, and Torta Fluida. My mouth was watering watching and I want to eat this entire meal!

Chef Rodriguez uses sweet and savory combinations of ingredients in the main dishes, which is the way that I cook and my favorite way to eat! Hopefully I'll get a chance to have a meal at Orinoco one of these days. It would be really fun summer dining!

Also, I'm looking forward to watching more of Neighborhood Kitchens. Their second season premieres this Saturday, April 13th. The show is on WGBH several times during the week.

For the premiere episode for this season, one of my favorite local chefs, Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery + Cafe and Myers + Chang will be in the spotlight. It's going to be good!

I'm giving you all a heads up in advance, so you can see the show. I know many of you will want to watch!

*Updated 4/14/2013* I missed the first couple of minutes of the show, but it was great! Below are links to recipes and video if you'd like to take a look.

Flour Bakery's Lemon and Ginger Mousse
Myers + Chang's Scallion Pancakes
Myers + Chang's Pork and Chive Dumplings
Behind the Scenes at Flour Bakery + Cafe

Also, not only does Joanne Chang know her sweets and savories by heart. She has a good heart too. I just read this article written by her about how she is happy to provide health care coverage to her employees, whether she is required to or not. Here's an excerpt from the article below.

My business has absorbed the costs associated with the new health mandate in the same way we absorb rising fuel surcharges or higher prices of flour. They cut into our profit, sure, but when I weigh the cost of paying staff to cover for chronically sick employees who don’t see a doctor because they don’t have one, or the pressure of knowing that my 24-year-old barista can’t afford coverage because he only makes $10 an hour, I willingly take the cut to my bottom line. ...

Naively, perhaps, I couldn’t believe that a thriving business would take those measures to reduce costs. But then a few days later I read that the Darden Restaurant Group (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Capital Grille, among others) was test-running an almost-identical plan in select markets. They were cutting full-time staff to 30 hours per week in order to avoid paying health benefits. ...

I’ve had to pay more to insure my staff and I accept that. In addition to creating a healthier workforce, it’s important to establish fair expectations from employers. And in the final analysis, I would not consider profit made on the backs of uninsured workers well-earned.

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