What's In My Fridge: Decades-old goose fat and Pepto Bismol for Top Chef Anita Lo
Chef Anita Lo, a contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters," recently received a three-star re-review from the New York Times for her eclectic Greenwich Village restaurant Annisa. Lo lives in the West Village with her two dogs, Mochi and Adzuki. We recently took a peek inside her fridge:
I am presently apartment-bound due to a recent knee replacement surgery so my refrigerator is particularly flush, as I've had many visitors bearing edible gifts. It's good to have friends who are chefs!
The first cook who worked for me, Suzanne Cupps, who is the morning sous chef at Gramercy Tavern, stopped in with delicous soup, beluga lentils, pickles, sandwiches and rice and beans that she made. There's haddock chowder from April Bloomfield, fresh bread from Elizabeth Falkner, arugula pesto from Heather Carlucci and taramasalata and tzatziki from Amanda Cohen. If it weren't for the considerable pain and lack of mobility I'd almost go through this again for the food!
For simple ingredients, there are eggs from Heermance Farm, pepper bacon from Ozark Trails, cultured butter from Vermont, brown rice, and arugula, grapefruit, oranges, garlic and a lone onion.
Among my lengthy collection of jarred/canned goods are perhaps a dozen different hot sauces from around the globe, several mustards, a can of goose fat that I got in Paris in the late 1980s, apricot preserves that my friend Monika Caha brought back from Austria, soy sauce, yuzu kosho, oyster sauce and various pickles.
On the beverage front, I have a bottle of hard cider my friends and former employees Lisa and Tim made, a half bottle of Gruner Veltliner, two bottles of beer my ex made, four bottles of sake (one of which was given to me by the owners of Sushi Nakazawa to congratulate me on our recent review from the New York Times), a bottle of vodka, two splits of champagne (you never know...), and a bottle of amontillado. Non-alcoholic beverages include a can of Goslings ginger beer, various soda stream bottles, Vitamin Water, coconut water, 2% milk and a half bottle of Japanese grape sipping vinegar.
And no New York City refrigerator is really complete without a can of dog food (Wellness duck and sweet potato for the shih tzus), and a bottle of Pepto Bismol.
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