In essence, the restaurant seems to be upgrading its aesthetic and culinary consciousness, offering retro-clubby delights (from fried-herb versions of Tater Tots to a roaming martini cart) and a tongue-in-cheek TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising campaign that will suggest it's in sync with the way New Yorkers eat and drink now.
Here's a cheesy, herb-flecked version that you can adapt for more or less any stew or casserole.
Pies are traditional peasant food, but this deeply comforting, herb-laden version adds a layer of luxury to the cabbage and potato with rich cheese and smoky lardons.
So there is a smoky bowl of roast carrots splashed with an herb-forward version of the Mexican seed sauce pepián, with a smear of tart cream just under the rim; a dense disk of tart crust layered with stewed oxtail, orange and bitter dressed greens; cockscomb-shaped pasta tossed with a lightened puttanesca sauce; and a Malaysian-leaning dish of curried grilled prawns with peanuts.
Made in Taiwan and looking roughly like milk crates, the planters come in three varieties: shallow boxes for growing leafy greens and herbs; a deeper version for turnips, carrots and potatoes; and raised planters that are easier on the farmers' backs as they tend to their plants.
Things perk up when Cliff gets serious, reminiscing about "clean springs" and "natural herb", and sending energetic versions of Vietnam and Save Our Planet Earth in the general direction of Bush and Blair.
Cassia a busy, bustling megabistro loved for its clay-oven flatbreads with snails or chickpea curry, its grilled lobster with Vietnamese herbs and its versions of Singapore classics like seafood laksa or the coconut braised beef called rendang.
Cassia, of course, is no sandwich shop — it is a busy, bustling megabistro loved for its clay-oven flatbreads with snails or chickpea curry, its grilled lobster with Vietnamese herbs and its versions of Singapore classics like seafood laksa or the coconut braised beef called rendang.
Mexico's cartels and enterprising individuals are purchasing the finest version of the herb from legal labs and dispensaries in California, Colorado and other states, and bringing it south of the border for consumption by discerning Mexican consumers.
