Phillip Retuta's Blog

The Life and Times of a Filipino-American

Archives for August 2016

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My Uncle Emy.

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My uncle is about to pass. My uncle, who allowed me to live in his house when I first moved to New York. My uncle whose daughter gave me my first full-time job after grad school. My uncle who would send me and the rest of my cousins $20 each Christmas, despite each of us pushing 30. My uncle the Scrabble competitor and trash talker. My uncle who would buy Blue Label Johnny Walker during family occasions. My uncle who had the best goddamed steak recipe I’ve ever tasted and passed it down to me.

I’ll miss you, and thank you for everything.

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Cosme.

Cosme_Hero2This past weekend I had a brunch date with Diana at Cosme, the NYC-based restaurant of Enrique Olvera (he opened up Pujol in Mexico City, where I ate during my friend’s birthday trip). The prices were decent for the large of amounts of food that we ate, compared to Olvera’s flagship eatery where my 6-course, 2-hour meal cost me about two-hundred US dollars. Of course, everything at Cosme was served family style (or at least it could be; Diana and I shared plates), and the portions were more than adequate for two people. Here’s what we had:

Cosme_MicheladaDrink: Michelada with Geyser Gose. Hands down the best Michelada I’ve ever fucking had — and I’ve drank a lot of Micheladas.

Cosme_ChilaquilesPlate 1: Chicken Chilaquiles with Salsa Verde. It was a bit messy trying to scoop onto my plate, but that’s probably because I’m a klutz. Still, it was your standard chilaquiles, and I was very impressed by the very fine slices of jalapeño peppers.

Cosme_DuckEnmoladasPlate 2: Duck Enmoladas with Mole Rojo and Creme Fraiche. It was so good with the duck cooked to perfection, and the mole sauce was very reminiscent to the flavors I had at Pujol (though I reckon the mole wasn’t age for a year as opposed to Olvera’s famous Mole Madre).

Cosme_ChurrosDessert 1: Churros With Mexican Hot Chocolate. I think these were better than the ones I’ve had at Pujol: a nice, crisp exterior and such a delicate and fluffy inside.

Cosme_HuskMeringueDessert 2: Husk Meringue and Corn Mousse. Perhaps the best dessert I’ve had in a long fucking time. The flavors were intense: a nice saltiness with a subtle sweetness. The texture is what you’d expect from a masterfully-crafted meringue, and the corn mousse was delicious.

All in all, if you’re in the Flatiron area, go here.