Fat Guy
-
Posts
28,458 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by Fat Guy
-
-
Caroline,
I was thinking the same thing, and then I read your post. You said it all. I remember watching that show occasionally when it was just in Japanese. I called out to Jason "you gotta see this!" Even without the translation, you could see how serious the chef's took the competion, and how fascinated the commentators were. It was surreal.
Rachel
-
I'm a bit curious how you tell when someone is laughing at something instead of with it. But you certainly have a point that the show is all about ratings. But how do you explain the success of the show in it's native market? If it were strictly a parade of racist ideas, would it have success in Japan?
Sure, it can seem funny to see lip synching. But if non-Japanese see any humor in it, I feel it comes far more from the somewhat absurd idea that cooking can be a "battle". You are 100% correct that the show doesn't put the best face on cooking or adaquately promote or educate the process of cooking. But since the show is mostly a product of Japanese producers and made with a Japanese market in mind, I hope you can be tolerant of someone's opinion that because the show is a bit odd that perhaps Japanese culture is a bit odd. I don't think there is any hate behind any of these reactions from people, and I think the smarter ones among us know that there is much more to the culture than a single silly TV show.
-
I recently purchased "Hot Sour Salty Sweet" by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, after reading the review in either Cooks Illustrated or Saveur. It is a huge coffee-table book, but has great recipes and stories.
The book is basically a travel diary of the couple's travel down the Mekong river with their children. The recipes are straightforward and usually simple, although the emphasis on making your own pastes and spice mixes sometimes makes the ingredient lists long. I also enjoyed the stories about the people they met and the places they stayed. In addition, there are lots of photographs, not just of the food, but of the land and its inhabitants.
If you are into either travel books or cookbooks, are interested in Vietnamese and Thai cooking (and the surrounding cultures as well), and/or planning a trip to this region of the world, then I highly recommend this book.
It is available on Amazon.com for ฯ.50 new, ฬ used, I paid ส for it (incl shipping) on half.com in June.
-
I bought the second issue of Gastronomica a couple of days ago, and I’m pretty pleased with it. So maybe it is worth sticking with journals (as well as restaurants) for a while following the launch.
Of particular interest are the photographs by Catherine Chalmers, whom I’d never heard of. There is a series of six terrific close ups (a page apiece) of a tomato. Insects are involved and you may never eat a tomato again. Actually, I thought I might not, but I quickly got over it.
Second, there are photos of two massive sculptures by Janine Antoni. The first is “600 pounds of lard before biting”. The second is “600 pounds of chocolate, gnawed by artist". Quite stunning. Like huge brown and white icefloes.
I happened to have seen two of Antoni’s works that were in the care of Sandra Gering http://www.geringgallery.com/ (whom I know) in 1994. These were two busts of Antoni-one made of soap, the other chocolate. The one made of soap had been used by the artist (in her bath of course), and she'd licked the one made of chocolate. So, here's an artist (unlike Chef Keller, discussed on other thread bec he had not tasted his dish of oysters and tapioca before serving it to his guests) who goes to great lengths to eat as many of her creations as she can.
Anyone up for discussing the articles? The one on how coriander needed to be rehabilitated (because it was wrongly associated with bed bugs) looks interesting.
-
Preet Baba: I share your views. I got the first issue which is beautifully presented and illustrated, though the writing, on the whole, left me cold. I'd feared it would fall into the post-modern trap (if I hear much more talk about discourse, narratives and Lacan, I'll deconstruct) but it hasn’t really. Seems there’s still an objective reality out there. I found several of the articles too long and not very stimulating.
The exception is Rachel Laudan’s "A plea for culinary modernism: Why we should love new, fast, processed food”. She intelligently argues that we have developed silly stereotypes of “the artisanal/rural” versus the “industrial”. The latter is exemplified, some might say, in Eric Schlosser’s “Fast Food Nation”. Covering some of the same ground that John Thorne (in his critique of Schlosser in Thorne’s “Simple Cooking”), and Steven Shaw (in “Commentary”) do, Lauden points out that processed foods have many merits (e.g., keep well) but, most important, food made with machines can release people from servitude. Laudan writes about the time before the tortilla machine was invented in the 1950s:
“In Mexico…women without servants could expect to spend five hours a day—one third of their waking hours—kneeling at the grindstone preparing the dough for the family’s tortillas” (p. 41)
Not only do we idealize the past, but , according to Laudan, so-called culinary purists hypocritically forget that their kichen cupboards are full of factory-made pasta and canned Italian tomatoes.
The journal is pretty pricey. บ an issue in the stores. (You do get 25% if you order on line).
I'd be happy to give the 2nd issue a go if people want to discuss it here. But maybe we should spend our dough on something better?
-
Since reading the informative posts on Armagnac, we've invested in a couple of bottles:
Larressingle VSOP.
Chateau de Laubade, VSOP.
Both are really good value, mid-ฮs. The first is prune-y and the second, to me, has a hint of vanilla. Great after dinner digestif as Spirit Bob said. On re-reading the advice for drinking it, I’ll use different glasses next time.
-
Jason...
Looks like you are going to have to p*ss off the wife again and go shopping for Armagnac. :)
But putting evangelism aside for a moment, Jason is right that if you want a good affordable Cognac, Pierre Ferrand Ambre is the way to go. Dump your Remy Martin, Couvoissier, etc. in the river. :)
I won't argue that the various low-end Armagnacs might be better since I don't have experience with them yet. I'm simply giving a recommendation of one quality lower end Cognac that isn't a rip off for what you get.
And yes... to the unitiated it might all taste like gasoline at first. If you like the Cognac warm you do indeed have to learn to savor instead of gulp to get past that. Heck, even after years I still always find my first few sips slightly repulsive, but after a few sips my nose kicks in and my tastebuds seem to register a completely different taste.
-
We have a few wines in our collection from NJ. A friend dragged us to a wine festival at the Alba Vinyards last summer. We picked up a few frivilous fruit flavored wines, some rose for my brother and dad who are addicted to white zin, and even a port, but the one I'd recommend is Alba's Reisling, which was surprisingly good. It's the only one we are actually out of and I'd like to buy again. Unfortunately it is impossible to find in a wine store, they don't mail order, and I don't feel like driving an hour and a half to get to the vineyard.
-
Manny Shapiro: very good idea.
I’m glad Prosecco was mentioned. Yesterday, I bought a bottle of Santa Margherita, di Valdobbiadene (Brut)(around พ). Good for the days when you’re not splashing out and celebrating with champagne, but want something that holds its sparkle more than home made white wine spritzer. Worked well as aperitif and accompaniment to spicy food.
-
What a hoot. 44,007 english pounds drinks bill. That made my day.
-
A recent favorite is Homung Nangmyom. A Korean restaurant at 570 Piermont Rd, Closter, NJ, 201-750-1010. The food preparation and quality is similar to Shin Goon Jin in Palisades Park, but the service is so much better and friendlier.
-
Carolyn: I agree. Moscato D’Asti is quite refreshing. I find it a little sweet, tho, and prefer to drink it with a dessert rather than as an aperitif. I Coppi (Italian restaurant in the East Village, Manhattan) has it and it was lovely with an olive oil cake (it resembled pound cake).
Spirit Bob: I'm going to try a bubbly rose next time I have eggs. Thanks for the tip.
-
I may have solved something that had been puzzling me. I couldn’t find a wine (red or white) that went well with spaghetti carbonara. I discovered that red and rosé Sancerres do. The rosé Sancerre 1999 La Ports du Caillou accompanied this dish very nicely.
And thanks for all the recommendations above.
-
I’ve been trying a few rosés lately. I liked the fruity Châteaux Grande Cassagne (2000) Costières de Nîmes. More flavorful than many rosés I’ve tasted. Great on a hot evening.
Last night at the restaurant Village (in the Village) I tasted my first red Sancerre (I’d had only white sancerre before): Les Belles Vignes (1999). This was served chilled and went well with both fish and meat.
For the w/end I have a Sancerre rosé, a 1999 La Ports du Caillou, going for around ฤ. I’ll report back.
Any other thoughts? We've got to survive August yet.
-
Preet Baba: You’re the kind of colleague I’d like to have.
You reminded me of something. Several years ago I invited a boyfriend (now my husband) to stay for the first time at my parents’ home in Scotland. As my boyfriend emerged from his bedroom one morning around 9am my mother said to him:
“Now, help yourself to your morning if you want one. I left it out on the table”
Boyfriend, who’s English, hadn’t the foggiest idea what my mother was on about.
“Excuse me?”
“Your morning dram”, my mother said.
He didn’t live that one down going instead for the coffee. Not real men, those English.
-
In Scotland, blended whisky (Bells and Grouse are very popular) is often mixed with water or lemonade (not the real sort, more a sprite-type drink) or even a very sweet soda called “Irn Bru”
http://www.geocities.com/athens/cyprus/6388/IrnBru.html
(comes with a jingle about this Scottish soda)
Mixing blended whisky with one of the above seems to be more popular with older people. (An aside, in Venezuela I saw people drinking whisky with Pepsi. They said the Pepsi was safer than the water.)
I’ve seen a couple of people in Scotland mix malts with water, but, in my experience, younger folk drink both blended and malts straight.
-
Every Northern Jerseyite has at least heard of Manna (well, not really, but its nice to say...)!
To tell you the truth, I love Manna, but can only stomach it every few months. Why? Because it is so addicting that I over-buy and stuff myself silly. And being pure red meat and cheese... well... even of the highest quality it can wind up not feeling so good later on.
Really its the meatball into onion into cheese process that makes the thing. The completely irraplacable cast iron grill--"seasoned" with the leavings of approximately a million meatball sized burgers--is the other half of the equation. If the idea of the "seasoning" of a million other meals sickens you, I'll understand... but they've got a real good scraper.
White Castle, the "slider" being alluded to elsewhere--is a far far second place comparitively.
(Edited by Jhlurie x at 6:02 am on Aug. 5, 2001)
-
One more thing... a drink called a "Fruit Fizz" was also very good, although for you purists I'm betting its not as "authentic" (whatever that means) as the Mango Lassis.
-
Something Jason didn't mention in his Kinara review was the overwhelmingly fantastic Mint-Chili-Cilantro Chutney that's given almost as a throw-away with the various breads you can order. The Tamarind and Onion Chutneys were also impressive, but the Mint-Chili-Cilantro had an almost perfect balance of spices that was very very memorable.
Also, to reinforce something he spoke about, the Lamb at this place was just out of this world. I'm used to Indian food with taste, of course, but it's very rare that you can use the word "succulent" to describe meat preparation at NY-NJ area Indian restaurants--where, to be honest, the focus is usually more on the sauces and not on the preparation of the meat. But its the only word I can think of for both the Karahi Lamb and the Lamb Sikh Kebab at Kinara.
-
People always swear by Callahan's in Fort Lee. This is confused by the fact that Callahan's tried to enfranchise itself years ago and it sucked, so the original owner of the first one bought 'em all back and shut most of them down. Anyway, the dogs there are pretty good. Huge suckers too.
(Edited by jhlurie at 8:09 pm on July 27, 2001)
-
I think that branch is probably not a good one. Not all restaurants in a chain can be considered equal. Given the high standards of restaurants in Englewood I am sure this one is probably an outstanding example.
Quote: from jhlurie on 11:45 pm on Aug. 4, 2001I ate at the Jackson Hole near Laguardia Airport a few months back and was NOT impressed. The burger was as described by Jason--conceptually at least--but not in execution. If it was steamed grilled, it doesn't fully explain how the cooking was so uneven.
Maybe I just went on a bad night though...
Strip House
in New York: Dining
Posted
Dinner last night at Strip House (13 East 12, opp Gotham, 328-0000). This was my third visit. On my first visit in September 2000, I was very impressed by the succulent strip steak. On my second visit things weren’t so good. Happy to say, it is just as good as it was on my first visit. The torchon of foie gras was silky smooth (tho unsurprisingly this was not up to the standard of the foie gras pâtés I had in Bordeaux a few weeks ago), my strip steak was terrific and I especially liked the crunchiness of the black pepper on the outside. The steaks appeared much bigger than before. The creamed spinach was garlic-y, and the pots cooked in goose fat were lovely. Service was OK, tho maybe a bit on the abrupt side. The décor remains oppressively red (this used to be Asti's and not much has changed)and the play on “strip” is a bit tiresome. Call me a prude, but I do not like those tacky napkins with the striptease silhouettes. Sadly (not that I had room for dessert) pastry chef Wayne Harley Brachman (I’m a big fan) no longer works there. Does anyone know where he is?
Business is certainly picking up here. It was pretty full. All in all a very good meal.