Season of Decadence

(Originally appeared in the Albany, NY Times Union)

Once upon a time, there was a magic, strawberries-and-cream place.

Gentlemen and ladies sipped champagne in the afternoon sun as they watched magnificent horses gallop by. They stayed in colonnaded hotels or large houses bedecked with fanciful architectural gingerbread. At night they danced and gambled and ate.

And ate.

This was the Victorian heyday of Saratoga Springs, in which everyone lived by Oscar Wilde’s dictum, “Nothing exceeds like excess.”

The Saratoga Springs of today is hearkening back to that era. In the land of the health-conscious, the fat-reduced and the cholesterol-free, Saratoga remains a haven of nostalgic decadence.

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Consider the creme brulee at Sperry’s, the narrow ‘30s-style restaurant on Caroline Street. A tiny, 4-inch ramekin sits on your plate, wafting to your nostrils the delicate aroma of caramelized sugar. Pick up your spoon. As you would with a soft-
boiled egg, break the sugar shell; dip the spoon deep into the soft yellow custard within. Shell and filling enter your mouth, the first crunchy and sweet, the latter smooth, creamy, rich with the flavor of vanilla fresh from the bean.

What you’re eating here is heavenly. Don’t even think of the ingredients: the egg yolks, the heavy cream, the sugar.

“When people come to Saratoga Springs, they want to do it up properly,” says Gustav Ericson, who for the past nine years has created the creme brulees, lemon meringue tortes, and blueberry bread puddings that have tempted the palates of Sperry’s patrons.

“Maybe Saratoga is a little indulgent,” he adds. “Myself, I’ll eat cheesecake once every six months. Here, we sell so much white chocolate cheesecake I can’t keep up.”
Beverly Cone, proprietor and chef of Beverly’s on Phila Street, agrees that sweets seem largely exempt from the emphasis on healthy eating.

“For lunch,” she notes, “I see them eating a lot more salads this year, more turkey breast, more salmon. Much less beef than they used to. But when it’s time for dessert they’ll order a slice of chocolate Chambord torte. They still go with the
chocolate. When they come here, they want to treat themselves.”

And it’s not just the summer visitors who come to Saratoga to indulge. Cone says that business (after a blustery, blizzard-filled winter) has been booming since April.

There are two types of dessert popular this season in Saratoga. On the one hand, you have what you might call healthy decadence: the fruit tarts, the raspberry confections. Beverly’s specialized in this kind of dessert, which combines the
healthful freshness of fruit with the caloric blast of French cuisine - like apple bourbon cake with bourbon butter sauce.

And then there’s chocolate. Chocolate exists for its own sake. A chocolate Chambord torte makes no compromises. It is decadence of the purest sort.

“The people who come out for chocolate always look for the best chocolate,” notes Peggy Boyl, the pastry chef at the Adelphi Hotel. Boyl, who now lives in Ireland, has returned to the Adelphi - the last of Saratoga’s grand old Victorian hotels - this summer, after a nine-year absence. She whips up several options for the lover of deep chocolate, including a chocolate whiskey cake that is an international treat, combining 14 ounces of Belgian chocolate with one-half cup of Irish whiskey.

This is chocolate as it’s meant to be eaten: a long, three-inch-deep wedge of midnight, closer to a fudge in consistency than any mere devil’s food cake. Garnished with ruffles of chocolate that Boyle makes by hand, this chocolate could be savored over an entire evening. It’s a pity most people can’t hold themselves back, instead devouring it in under 5 minutes.

At the 43 Phila Bistro, pastry chef Lena Favalloro has managed to combine the two genres of dessert, in a white chocolate raspberry tart with almond pastry crust.

White chocolate does not possess the strongest of flavors – the stuff is abjured by rabid chocoholics as little short of heretical. In this case, the chocolate is completely overwhelmed by the raspberries, but that’s just fine. The result is something akin to an extremely creamy, rich, fruit custard, with a blend of delicate flavorings, including the trace of chocolate and hints of almond from the crust.

Purists can split off either way at 43 Phila, as Favalloro also makes a sinful chocolate hazelnut coconut tart and a light, creamy lemon-champagne zabaglione. The zabaglione (pronounces zah-bah-yone) is another masterful marriage: tart lemon, fresh blueberries and champagne for that extra zip.

For the quintessentially Victorian experience, though, go for the marjolaine at the Adelphi, straight out of Gaston Lenotre’s classic text of French cooking, “Desserts and Pastries.” Thin layers of hazelnut torte are layered with three different buttercreams: chocolate, hazelnut praline and almond. Smothered in chocolate and garnished with caramelized hazelnut ornaments, this is not just a dessert, it’s an adventure. As the layers blend on your tongue the tastes shift and shimmer as hazelnut blends into almond blends into chocolate.

Try it on the back patio, sitting on a wrought iron bench. Look up at the open, star-studded sky above, and know: this is a true taste of heaven.

What's going on in Gaza?

Good article here. .

Money graph:

“I see separation coming,” Fatah legislator Muheeb Awwad sighed as he sat in his Ramallah office chain-smoking cigarettes under a portrait of the late Yasser Arafat. “Hamas is keen on establishing a mini-state in the Gaza Strip. What I'm worried about is that this idea is accepted by many sides.”

I'd been wondering what the hell was going on, and why the IDF was standing by and allowing this to happen. This could be it:

“All red lines have been crossed,” Mr. Awwad said.

He said that intellectuals were mulling over the possibility that the West Bank could enter some sort of confederation with neighbouring Jordan, leaving a Hamas-run Gaza to go its own way.

This has been an Israeli goal since Golda Meir's time (note: I'm a big SUPPORTER of Israel) - rather than have to deal with a Palestinian state, have the West Bank Palestinians confederate with Jordan (which presumably would keep them in line). It was a pipe dream then, it's probably still a pipe dream now. And somehow I don't see a radical, Islamicized Gaza as much of a step forward toward peace.

Going Solar

(Appeared in the Iranian Jewish Chronicle)

"Going Green" isn't just good for the planet – it's good for the pocketbook, too

We've been hearing a lot lately about "saving the earth". But the Jewish concept is much older. We call it "Tikkun Olam," and halachically, it's the idea that G-d didn't finish creation, but put each of us here to do our small part to complete the work.

One form of saving that's come into prominence this year is solar power. It saves energy, it saves money, and it's a growing part of the work to save the planet.

Technology has been moving forward, but the biggest change in the solar environment comes from the political side: at both the state and federal level, governments are encouraging people and businesses to go solar.

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Putting money where their mouth is

"California has shown some incredible leadership," says Isaac Hamadan, of Solar Energy Exchange. "The California Solar Initiative makes direct grants that cover 23 percent of your costs."

On top of that, the Federal Government provides direct tax credits for 30 percent of the total bill for homes and businesses (although home use is capped at $2000 right now). Plus, you can depreciate it over five years. And of course, it provides electric power, cutting your power bill by 80 percent or more depending your configuration.

"The cost of electricity is going up every year," says Abe Moradian of Beverly Hills, "so I think I'll get my investment back sooner than they think. Living here, my bills are particularly high. I've had months where my bill is $300, and months when I'm heating my pool where it goes as high as $600."

As president of AMC International, a trade consulting company, Moradian knows how to figure a balance sheet. But, he says, making this decision was about more than the bottom line.

"It's clean energy. And it's good for energy independence, and that's good for everybody."

Moradian is a pretty typical solar customer: he's doing an installation on a pre-existing home, with panels built on to the roof, plus he's getting a passive solar heating system built around his pool.

Pool systems run around $5,000, and can pay for themselves in just three years. Full-house systems run from $20,000 to $40,000, and can pay for themselves in 10 years or less. Plus, Hamadan notes, you can finance them with a home equity line of credit, they add value to your home, and they're property-tax-exempt.

Doing good and looking good

For those who don't relish the though of industrial-looking black panels overlooking their front yard – the past couple of years have seen some amazing new products hit the market.

"I now have solar panels that are terracotta colored, so they don't stand out like big black panels," says Rick White, or California Solar. "We specialize in photovoltaic panels that are integrated into roofing tiles. They match the roof, and they're built right in, totally integrated with the other roofing tiles."

Likewise, for those with shingle roofs, there are now solar panels that match those. The solar becomes just one component to a standard roof. Plus they last longer than standard shingles or terracotta – and unlike standard roofing which bakes in the sun on hot days, these panels take the sun's energy and turn them into power – making a significant dent in air conditioning bills, as well.

"The system panels I install are warranteed for 25 years," says Hamadan. "That's confidence. How long will they actually last? We think 30 years or more."

Becoming part of the system

One of the most exciting things happening now is what's called "Grid-tied" systems. With this setup, your solar system is linked in with the power grid. During the hot mid-day hours when you're generating lots of power, the excess flows into the power grid, actually running your meter backwards! You're credited for the power during the day; after the sun goes down, you pull the power you were credited back in from the grid.

You can also get a system with full battery-backups, so you can store the power yourself. Or, you can combine the two.

"The other cool thing," says White, "it'll manage your energy. Some people, especially businesses, are on time- of-usage charges – buying electricity during peak periods will charge you more than at 3 a.m. when demand is low. This system fills up the batteries in the middle of the night when energy is cheap, and then you use it during the day when energy is expensive."

Becoming part of the solution

It's nice when you can combine doing the right thing with doing the smart thing. Most forms of Tikun Olam are like that, when you look at them closely.

"I believe it's the future," says Hamadan. "It's the only way we can really survive – we can't move forward with all this usage of crude oil. Electrical demand keeps rising – we can meet that with solar, instead of building more plants that burn coal and oil and gas, and pollute the air our children have to breath.

"This is much better for the earth, and for us."