58 replies to this topic

[Jason Perlow]

Col Klink: If you like that, you should check out this prison-uniform supply place, owned by our very own H. Moore:

http://www.pxdirect.com/

I really dig the padded cells and the stainless steel toilets. I gotta outfit my basement with those.

[Rachel Perlow]

I don't think so.

(you guys think he's joking...)

[Fat Guy]

That's between you and your analyst, Tommy.  :p

[John Whiting]

Steven, there are not many food/travel writers I read with both admiration and envy. After that, you're one of them.  :)

[macrosan]

was i the only one waiting for the

"tommy:  scr*w you"

Nope, he got me too, Tommy. He must have been paying for his internet access by the minute, and he concluded that gratuitous insults weren't worth the extra nickel.

Or maybe he's just enjoying himself so much, he is starting to get warm feelings about you.  

[Fat Guy]

Thanks, John. And you're okay; I don't care what everyone else says about you.

[John Whiting]

Steven Shaw writes:

I don't care what everyone else says about you.

It's time you listened -- they're right!  :D

[macrosan]

Steven, I guess you're getting close to thread #2 (well I hope so)  :)  John has made me feel curmudgeonly, because I realize I omitted to say how much I enjoyed your superb post. That's the sort of material we're all used to paying money for, and it's of a quality which would make us happy to have spent it.

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you're going to maintain that standard of reporting, then please stay away for as long as you like  :)

[Jinmyo]

please stay away for as long as you like  :)

And the further the better.  :D  

How about Spain, next time? Or Kyoto? After all, with decent Web access, it doesn't matter because we're all here no matter where we are.

[Liza]

When you get back to NYC, check out the Berkshire hog products at ....wait for it....Union Square - Ted Blew's High Hope Hogs/ Oak Grove Plantation sells only organically raised Berkshires.

[Blue Heron]

Those are my lounging-around pants, which come from a chef-supply place:

http://www.chefwork.com/pants.htm

They're similar to the ones worn at Nobu, though in a different color. I got addicted to them when doing various kitchen stages. I think I have three pair.

yeah, great.  it's a good look.  'specially with clogs.

I had never really heard of chef's clogs until eGullet (I learn the most amazing things on this site).  Anyway, today I was reading the May issue of Food & Wine magazine, and was pleased to see on p. 96, famous restaurant architect David Rockwell (architect of Nobu, Monkey Bar, Emeril, & other restaurants) was singing the praises of my latest favorite shoe, the Merrell Jungle Moc.  He gave a pair to chef Gray Kunz as a gift, saying he prefers them (with their rugged, cushioned soles) to chef's clogs.  I can speak as someone who has a hard time finding comfortable shoes, these shoes are completely comfortable, and slip proof...great for walking or working on your feet.  I practically live in my Jungle Mocs (when I'm not in sport shoes).  www.nordstroms.com carry's them, and I see they have a lighter spring/summer mesh style out too (Merrell Equinox) that I'm also thinking of getting.

[rockefeller666]

Hey Steven... More pictures!!!!!!

[Fat Guy]

You should see what David Rockwell has done in Florida. More on that in the next installment, or perhaps the one after.

Pictures, yes, they're fun. There are limitations: First, because I'm working over unstable dialup connections (and, for the past few days, I've had cellular modem access only at slower than 14.4) it's hard to do the uploads so I've tried to limit it to essential photos (indeed, I'm waiting for a better connection to post the already-written next installment -- maybe tonight). Second, there's a question of time -- it takes maybe 15 minutes to select the best photo from the 10 or so Ellen shoots of everything, crop it, adjust it to look decent on the widest variety of monitors, FTP it to my server, and drop the link in a post. I just can't accommodate more than a few photos in each installment, if I actually want to participate in the trip as well. Which I do!

[jaybee]

I just can't accommodate more than a few photos in each installment, if I actually want to participate in the trip as well. Which I do!

Not to worry Steve. Reading your descriptions, one word is worth a thousand pictures.  I wouldn't want to sacrifice your narrative for graphics.  But then I was born before TV.  Calvin T, move over, Fat Guy is comin' through!

[tommy]

I had never really heard of chef's clogs until eGullet (I learn the most amazing things on this site).  

jeesh, i thought mario batali made them famous worldwide!!

kidding aside, he is the first guy that i noticed wearing clogs.  after that, i started looking down more often in kitchens and found that they are extremely popular.  who knew?

[Blue Heron]

I've never looked at Mario's feet before, but I notice he's always in shorts and a pony tail, and I like him.  From now on I'm looking at chef's feet to see what they are wearing!  I did make a point to look at what shoes Tony Bourdain was wearing the night we met him, and he was wearing nice cowboy boots....wonder if he wears them in the kitchen?  probably not.  I was wearing my Merrell Jungle mocs that night (as usual!).

[tommy]

I've never looked at Mario's feet before, but I notice he's always in shorts and a pony tail, and I like him.  

along with his pony tail and shorts, his clogs are his "trademark".  they are generally orange.  :)

[Blue Heron]

Thank you for the pictures of Mario.  In retrospect, I don't know how I could have missed his clogs  

[stellabella]

love participating in your virtual vacation

hope it keeps on being fun and i look forward to the next installment

what are you & ellen reading while on the road?

i am almost finished with holy days--great recommendation

[macrosan]

Tommy, why is Mario carrying maraccas ? Does he make his staff work to a samba beat ? And why does he need more than the regulation two ? And who says he's wearing shorts under there ? Did you look, Tommy ?

[Peter B Wolf]

I had never really heard of chef's clogs until eGullet (I learn the most amazing things on this site).  

jeesh, i thought mario batali made them famous worldwide!!

kidding aside, he is the first guy that i noticed wearing clogs.  after that, i started looking down more often in kitchens and found that they are extremely popular.  who knew?

Well, Peter Wolf knew, I started wearing them in the early sixties (buying them in Germany), don't know if Batali made them "world famous". Kidding aside, they are the best for long time standing on tile floors (as chefs/cooks do). I still got varicose veins over the years anyway (remember: "BIO 48yrs")

[tommy]

Well, Peter Wolf knew, I started wearing them in the early sixties

well aren't you just great peter wolf.

i've noticed hostipal staff wearing similar shoes.  it's hard to believe that in this day and age (as opposed to when peter was young) that they can't design a shoe that is comfortable to stand in and doesn't look so bloody silly at the same time.

[Steve Klc]

Steven--did you get the sense that the Charleston Grill valued pets more so than dessert?  I re-read your wonderful post and wondered how the meal ended--wondered whether you felt some of Bob Waggoner's whimsy, advanced technique and successful re-invention in the dessert or, sadly in too many of my experiences, got a typically underwhelming rustic New South dessert--some type of bread pudding, pie or crumble completely unrelated in either skill or interest to the savory cuisine that preceded it?

This actually is a larger issue than just one experience at the Charleston Grill.  Chefs in NYC, let alone around the country, are either taking control of the desserts themselves or de-emphasizing desserts and/or pastry chefs in general.

How successfully did Bob follow through all the way to the end?

[ernestegg]

Hey fat guy.  sounds like a dream trip. Great descriptions. Are you being sponsored on this adventure?  Also send my best to Ellen.  Tell her Eric Zamore says hello.  I'll be following your x-country journey.

[yvonne johnson]

Here you are. I was waiting down in Adventures to learn about the trip. We stayed at Planters Inn a few years back (rooms sparsely decorated, a little too much of a modern nothing for me), and I'd completely forgotten--we had dinner at the Plantation Inn (in Planters). I wish I kept a food diary, because I do not remember what I had to eat, though it was quite good. Sticky Fingers really stands out (as I said below in other thread) as does the Fish and Chips place that Wildrid mentions (a few doors down from Sticky Fingers). We were happy with the food in Charleston, but, overall I preferred Savannah because of its ragged-at-the-edges beauty.

[Rail Paul]

Savannah...

Like a dream, emerging from the swamps. Magnolias, oak lined squares, Elizabeth on 37th, Mrs Wilkes, hush puppies hissing as they emerge from the deep fryer.  The movie only caught a glimpse, and I only had a shred of that...

But, as shreds go, it was pretty good. Ate well, saw some interesting railroads, and rolled my way onto the airplane to go home.

[Fat Guy]

StellaBella: We're reading maps!

Steve: If there were weaknesses in the Charleston Grill meal, they were in the desserts and also in some of the savory sauces. Actually, there was nothing wrong with the sauces, but I thought they were too heavy. As for the desserts, well, the restaurant would certainly benefit from the aid of a serious pastry chef -- as would most restaurants with chefs who either think (wrongly, with very few exceptions) that they can do as well as a real pastry chef or who think the pastry department is an easy place to cut corners. There was for example a very nice fruit cobbler on offer. But it was, as these things tend to be, somewhat one dimensional. A real pastry chef would take that dessert and run with it, perhaps making the cobbler part of a larger plate with contrasting textures, flavors, and temperatures, or perhaps incorporating some savory seasonings to give it some balance. Otherwise, it's just a lot of sweet at the end of a big meal.

Ernestegg: I'll do that. As for sponsorship, I wish! This trip will cost many thousands of dollars and we'll have to sell a lot of stories afterwards just to break even (especially since we're still paying rent on our New York City apartment, etc., while on the road). We are however the grateful recipients of a lot of hospitality from friends, aquaintances, friends-of-friends, and other contacts along our route, which takes a bit of the financial edge off. And I do have a couple of story assignments in the works that should help get some expenses covered on some phases of the trip.

[Wilfrid]

Savannah indeed.  Bars serving vast buckets of crayfish, shrimp and crab.  Simply low country boils of shrimp, corn and the local sausage.  Mmm.  Oh, right, he's not going there...

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

Enjoyed "Stinky Finger" dry ribs while I was there.