European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 18, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Udg1ng a meal by its bread by Dena Kleiman new York times ome people crave ice Cream. Others cheesecake. Still others find Solace in fudge. I love bread. There is just something about its chewy starchy consistency that instantly makes me Leel Happy something about its Aroma that makes me eel secure something about actually preparing a loaf of bread at Homo that makes me feel accomplished even in these dog Days of summer i d happily sacrifice my Kitchen to a hot oven for a fresh loaf of Challah the traditional jewish braided White bread. Call me a bread Holic but i often judge a meal s Worth by the bread i m served. And it does t have to be fancy. Just fresh and honest. Or sliced. Packaged White bread for example is obviously wrong. But i go wild for popovers Salt Sticks biscuits bagels dinner Rolls Cornbread sourdough seeded Rye. Even a proper breadstick will do. As far As i m concerned opening the Napkin on a bread Basket at a dinner table is not unlike watching the curtain go up on a play. That first glance is everything setting the tone for All the rest to follow. It s not so much that i m a bread snob. In fact i think too Many breads these Days banana Walnut Raisin muffins Zucchini Pecan loaves pineapple bread Are trying too hard to be something else. Cake maybe and i have a real antipathy for oat bran. When it comes to bread i think health should be beside the Point. Besides How can anyone be passionate about a bread made of something that tastes like sawdust but  see Bead As a statement a reflection of what a chef thinks of himself sort of like the shoes one chooses to Wear to a Job interview. It is As close As a diner Ever gels to discerning a chef s attention to detail even before sampling a morsel of food. It almost never fails Good bread is a sign of a serious Kitchen or at least a Kitchen that cares. K the bread is Good chances Are the salad won t be Sandy and the oysters won t be stale. In any event Good bread almost always sets the right mood. Still. I be noticed that a lot of new York restaurants these Days Are cutting Back on bread. There Are fewer pieces in the bread Basket and a lot less Choice. Alt this makes me want to return to restaurants like Ratner s on the lower Easl Side of Manhattan where i often went As a child. There beckoning from the tables even before the menus arrived was a Mountain of onion Rolls Rye bread Salt Sticks and Pumpernickel which we wolfed Down even before we ordered. The Basket was refilled no questions asked and at the end of the meal my grandmother Felt entirely comfortable slipping what was left into her purse. Perhaps because of people like my grandmother restaurants these Days Are fighting Back. Yet i still think it is sad these Days that in certain of the More expensive restaurants bread baskets have been replaced by hovering waiters dispensing Rolls with Longs All of which i find an intrusion. For one thing i Don t like someone other than me keeping track of the number of Rolls i eat. For another it interrupts the spontaneity of being Able to reach across the table and grab. But there is also something else waiters can t provide when it comes to bread. There is something intimate about a bread Basket something that permits reaching out to one s dinner mates something that affords a connection not unlike sharing from the same bottle of wine. I have found Over the years that i am not atone in my passion for bread. Who does t have a favorite Type or a deep conviction about whether or not they Are partial to the crust who has t derived a sense of Well being from holding a warm Roll in the Palm or from the Rush of steam pouring from a hot freshly Cut loaf anyone who has Ever baked knows the satisfaction of measuring mixing punching wailing molding and finally biting into thai first luscious chunk. Given just How Universal bread is what country or Community does t hold claim to some form of indigenous bread it is just unfortunate that bread is not used More in the global efforts for peace. When one thinks about it even the symbolism of bread is Worth preserving and fighting for. In this Era of Quick fixes and instantly met demands it is one of the few foods that still takes planning workmanship precision patience. And More often than not it is Well Worth the work. How about a Buffalo Burger by Scott Charton associated press High in exotic Appeal and Low in cholesterol the water Buffalo is hitting health food shelves and haute cuisine menus in the United states. To father and son ranchers Oley and Tom Olson the smelly unsightly of like animals Are gentle giants with the potential to alleviate world hunger. To Mitch Nia yesh vice president of Pilarica game  a. Kubalus Bubalis is pleasure for pampered palates at up to $17 a Pound. I always have a Freezer full of  said Hugh Popenoe director of the University of Florida Center Lor tropical agriculture. Popenoe who is studying expansion of the Breed also has acquired a taste for Rich Mozzarella made from water Buffalo milk. And the people who be eaten water Buffalo hamburgers say they re much better than beef burgers because they Don t shrink he said. A lot of people say the hamburgers Are outstanding there Are hurdles however to water Buffalo reaching an important place in the american diet. First there s the Small Supply there Are Only about 3,000 of the homely critters in the United states. And regulations make it costly and time consuming to import animals from Asia Australia and other sources. Nonetheless Pilarica a san Francisco gourmet Lood wholesaler managed to sell about 20,000 pounds last year Nia yesh said. When Domestic sources ran Short he brought the dark coloured lightly marbled goods from Australia. His customers ranged from Golf and country clubs to Swank restaurants and hotels he sent 30 pounds to a los Angeles Bash honouring the King of Sweden these Are Middle to higher income people. First they wanted to have something different. Then they realized it s a Good meat. Now they re using it where they used to use beef he said. He now Sells about 400 pounds a week of water Buffalo tenderloin the most preferred Cut. The 2v club in new York has served water Buffalo on special occasions for regular customers although it in t a regular offering said Don Krindle senior vice president of the posh restaurant. As people become aware that they have got to watch their cholesterol they Are going to turn to an alternative he said. If it can be marketed or prepared right who knows maybe Well have water Buffalo burgers grilled As opposed to  during Blind taste tests Popenoe said it comes out tasting about the same As beef or people can t Tell the  the olsons who tend a Herd of 19 water Buffalo say there Are Many differences Between water Buffalo and the Hereford cattle on their ranch near the Arkansas Texas Border. The water Buffalo have 50 percent less cholesterol 25 percent less fat but we think a lot More intellect said Oley 67, who retired to the ranch from a Chicago lumber business " Tom. 30, said it s easy to think of the water buffaloes As pets since the family has concentrated on Breeding to build the Herd and not slaughtering. -. They d come right in the House and watch to. They Are dirty and scruffy but so gentle docile. They re just a fabulous animal said Oley they seem to grow about twice As fast As our cattle said Tom. They also Cost about twice As much $1,500 for a water Buffalo Bull is. About $700 for a Hereford Bull. A pregnant water Buffalo brings about $3.500. Offsetting the Purchase Price the olsons say is Low maintenance. _ they be never been sick because they re so sturdy and they eat about anything leaves weeds any kind of grass whatever but it s just a Drain right now. We Aren t making anything from them he said. It could be a big moneymaker some Day Popenoe said. There is a sizable population that would be interested in meat with Tower cholesterol the largest growing segment of the . Food Market is exotic and ethnic and this would fit nicely. Page 16 the stars and stripes Friday August 18, 1989