The chef and owner of Houseman in Hudson Square, Ned Baldwin, is often called a cook’s cook. Which is to say he knows a lot about cooking, but really relishes the feasting part of a meal. That’s at least partly why Houseman is one of a handful of neighborhood places in New York that have, thanks to word of mouth, turned into quiet destinations.
There are regulars who live in the neighborhood, and regulars who, as one diner put it, “wish they lived in the neighborhood so they could be a real regular.” They come for a menu composed of what Mr. Baldwin calls “every day” American food: roasted chicken, burgers, grilled meats, and lots of local produce and fish.
Mr. Baldwin, a third generation fisherman, has a knack for cooking with what’s available. Often, that’s by-catch, or fish that is usually thrown back. Before he worked in restaurants, he made abstract sculptures using supplies from hardware stores, and techniques like upholstery and lamination.
Toyama, Japan, to visit my friend, a chef named Sotohiro Kosugi, who has a restaurant there. But also Wuhan, China; Taiwan; Singapore; Norway. A lot of people told me Norwegian food was bad, but I went recently and it was crazy good. The key is meeting and talking to people, and then eating like they do.
I’m a fisherman year round. I fish on Long Island, and the landscape is spectacular. I think about what the fish are eating, how to cook them, how to catch them, what I want to eat them with. Fish doesn’t travel well, so local fish makes the most sense to me. Context is critical in cooking, and fish give you so much context, so much to work with.
I come back to local fish a lot. I caught a lot of bluefish this spring and have been thinking of making a sort of Long Island fish stew with it, inspired by bouillabaisse. I like making a rich broth with bony bodies and using some seaweed that comes in with the catch, and Japanese ogo, which is sort of like sea frisée.
I can’t answer in the singular. First, the Nero Wolfe Cookbook, which is this real cookbook based on the dishes created by the chef Fritz in Rex Stout’s series of detective novels, published from the 1930s to 1970s. The way he describes food was thrilling to me. Then, I love reading old Escoffier. Richard Olney’s books don’t disappoint. And I love how Alice Waters shared the stage with her chefs in all of the Chez Panisse books.
