Heavy Table Hot Five: May 20-26

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Each Friday, this list will track five of the best things Heavy Table’s writers, editors, and photographers have recently bitten or sipped. Have a suggestion for the Hot Five? Email editor@heavytable.com.

shepherd-song-banner-ad-horiz-3The Hot Five is a weekly feature created by the Heavy Table and supported by Shepherd Song Farm.

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Tricia Cornell / Heavy Table
Tricia Cornell / Heavy Table

1-new - oneOpen-faced Egg Salad Sandwich at The Bachelor Farmer Cafe
Scandinavia knows that that second slice of bread only gets in the way. A perfect square of dark bread, brazenly toasted to a crispy, deep mahogany, is all you need. That way, your sandwich can be all about the creamy eggs and sweet pickled ramps. As it should be.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Tricia Cornell]

Sarah McGee / Heavy Table
Sarah McGee / Heavy Table

2-new - twoVeal Sweetbreads from Lowry Hill Meats
When the time came to buy ingredients for a 10-course meal based verbatim on an 1893 menu printed in Erik Larson’s stunning non-fiction book The Devil in the White City, we were a bit stumped when it came to the veal sweetbreads. We called a couple of good butcher shops, and then a couple more. About 10 more shops later, we hit the newly opened Lowry Hill Meats, and lo and behold they had a couple of pounds of frozen sweetbreads for sale at a fair price. We thawed them in the fridge, poached them, pressed them into a form, seasoned them, dredged them in flour, and sauteed them, topping them with a pea-celery-romaine sauce. They were profoundly rich and tender, and suitably divine.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton from an upcoming story about a Devil in the White City dinner]

Ted Held / Heavy Table
Ted Held / Heavy Table

3-new - threePad Ped Bai Kra Prao at Ruam Mit Thai
Better known by its common name, Number 36 ($12.25), the dish is a colorful  bounty of red and green bell peppers with onions and chicken. The vegetables are cooked quickly and on high heat — brushed with char but retaining a fresh crispiness. Jalapeño peppers, quartered lengthwise with the ribs and seeds intact, add an element of danger that you can engage with, or set aside, if you prefer. Thai basil and oyster sauce add aromatics and umami to create a perfect balance.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Ted Held]

James Norton / Heavy Table
James Norton / Heavy Table

4-new fourRhubarb Crisp from Rhubarb Renaissance
’Tis the season for harvesting the living daylights out of your garden’s rhubarb while it’s tender and plentiful. We chop and freeze a good eight to 12 cups of it every year to have on hand for pies (or whatever) and make crisps whenever the need arises. The recipe from Kim Ode’s Rhubarb Renaissance is our favorite: mix four cups of chopped rhubarb with a half cup of sugar and two tablespoons of flour in a baking dish. Then blend a stick of butter, a cup of flour, a packed cup of brown sugar, a cup of old-fashioned oats, a pinch of salt, and add that topping to the fruit. Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350ºF and you’re left with one of the best crisps imaginable: a buttery, crunchy exterior, tender fruit in balance with the topping, and a good sweet-tart balance.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]

Tricia Cornell / Heavy Table
Tricia Cornell / Heavy Table

5-new -fiveLobster Roll from Bread & Pickle
Is Bread & Pickle’s lobster roll authentic? I’m not going to wade into that debate. (Cough, butter not mayo. Cough.) Is it even mostly lobster? Nah. It seems to be at least half shrimp. But it’s hot (the toasty bun) and cool (a light slather of mayo) in the spirit of seaside (or urban lakeside) eats. It feels way more special than a burger. And most importantly, it’s available right now at the newly open-for-the-season Bread & Pickle. Which means it’s summer in the city.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Tricia Cornell]