Breaking My Own Rules

Jul. 8th, 2008

By Dana McMahan FoodConnect Louisville dana@foodconnect.com I have a rule when I travel that I don’t eat twice at the same restaurant. Sometimes though, you have to break your own rules. I recently spent nine days in San Jose, California, for work. I had no time to sightsee, but luckily I got time away for dinner to enjoy some culinary touring in the Historic District. On my first night in town, four of us ate at E&O Trading Company, a Southeast Asian grill in the Historic District, on the recommendation of our colleague who’d eaten there the night before. From the house libations list I settled on a pear and ginger cosmopolitan while we discussed whether to order a mixture of “small plates” and “large plates” to share. With one strict vegetarian, two of us who eat fish but no meat, and my allergy to mushrooms, we decided to go the individual route. The tantalizing smells wafting over from the grill made it difficult to concentrate but after much study of the menu’s hot, sour, salty and sweet combinations reflecting simple and delicious dishes from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia, I settled on Ahi Tartate with lemongrass, ginger and chilies, with a side of steamed jasmine rice. While we waited for our meals we dug into spicy sweet potato naan with zucchini mint raita and mango chutney that one colleague ordered for the table. Chunks of sweet potato studded the warm flat bread and provided a perfect opening to my small plate to come. They may call it small but I found the portions generous. Small cups of butter-leaf lettuce held beautiful tuna tartare which I supplemented with another colleague’s corn fritters – some of the tastiest fried food I’ve ever had. I left just full enough and determined that I’d return. A week later, we did. This time I tried the E&O Mojito, a sweet and lovely rum, mint and fresh lime concoction that I could have happily made my dinner. I decided to fortify myself a little more for the evening’s work though, and ordered the Crispy Shrimp in lime and ginger crust small plate, again with jasmine rice. The four of us shared an order of the light and crispy corn fritters while we rehashed the week at work, and couldn’t resist our server’s suggestion for a second round of drinks after we ate. I left happy to have broken my rule and obsessed with the corn fritters. Luckily for me and you, I have acquired the recipe from Executive Chef Bruce F. Bowers. Enjoy! E&O Indonesian Corn Fritter Batter Ingredients: 3.5 Cups Corn - cut from the cob by hand .5 cup Celery-diced ¼” .5 cup Green onion-1/8” slice 3 tsp. Garlic- minced ½ cup Flour-all-purpose ½ tsp. Ground black pepper 2 Eggs Combine all ingredients except eggs. Mix well and hold for service. Add eggs and mix well. Once eggs are in batter there is a 1 day shelf life. Without eggs there is a 2 day shelf life. 1. Using a large ladle place batter in hot peanut oil. Using the back of the ladle flatten out the fritter. 2. When corners of fritter starts browning flip over and continue to cook until they are a light golden brown color and floating. 3. Remove fritter from oil and let sit on a wire rack to remove excess oil. 4. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with a chili soy sauce. eo.jpg E&O 96 South First Street, San Jose, CA 95113 408.938.4100
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Dana McMahan Dana has eaten her way from Inverness to Istanbul, and from Monaco to Morocco. A food and travel writer, she lives to explores the world and tell stories of foods discovered and meals devoured in far-flung lands. She once hand-carried a tagine across three continents in order to recreate a Moroccan feast, her backpack smells of spices, and she has been known to smuggle butter home from Paris. Her most recent adventure was learning all about the duck at Camp Confitt in Gascony, France. When at home in Louisville she dishes on restaurant news for her column in the Courier Journal.

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