Mayhaw Man

Heh, where do you think that you are? Sheesh.

that was a really good dish. I mean, what's not to like? Bacon, eggs, deep fried, more eggs, pasta? Hell, what more do you need? Ketchup! That's it! I'll call Donald Link immediately!

For Sazeracs, both for the atmosphere and for the quality of the cocktail, I would reccomend Tujague's. They are prepared perfectly and the atmosphere at the old bar in the front is really nice. And while you are there, you might as well have some gumbo. They have one of the more interesting examples around.

From the BevWorld piece: I'm pretty sure that this is a clear indicator that they are making the beer and will, as with many other AB products, be making it themselves. It's hard to imagine, given their brewing standards, that anything other than Rolling Rock will ever be brewed in Latrobe. So, to me, this means that they bought the beer in the bottle as part of the deal. But, of course, it's entirely possible that I completely misunderstood what you are talking about.

They are very nice, but I suspect- and of course I could be completely wrong- that the bowls will cost, basically, what a decently priced KA mixer costs. They are clearly very proud of their products, judging by the pricing sample that I just did on their site.

Actually, I think that it's probably a smart move on AB's part. I am sure that they were looking for a brand to compete with the bizarrely resurgent Pabst Blue Ribbon (not that their market share is huge-it's not-but it's likely people who would otherwise be drinking Bud or Busch who are sucking up PBR-kids who drink beer and aren't particularly interested in taste but in pricepoint and what others percieve as hip) and this is not a bad one to battle back with, as most people, other than industry insiders, people in PA who care, and a few online beer geeks (nicest possible meaning to this otherwise slanderous term) will not know or care that RR is owned by AB. It's a cool little brand that comes in a neat looking (albeit not very good for beer-i.e. green bottles) package and has a fair amount of cachet and will benefit from IBev's promotional efforts over the last few years. Take all of that, add the fact that many of the AB wholesalers will likely be happy to have the brand and the added company marketing push likely to come from AB, and it's a pretty good buy, I think.

I wasn't smuggling, this was a legal import. I declared it an no one batted an eye clearing customs. ← I only used the term smuggling in the best possible way.

Did you eat the Tuna anyway? What kind was it? Why was it so good that you smuggled it back? American Tuna? Not good enough for the likes of you? Something smells fishy. Perhaps this spillage is just karma- And, on a more serious note, I am crazy about Simple Green-you can clean your car engine with it or you can get stains and odors out of clothing with it. The stuff is magical, I tell you. Magical.

Though I know a bit about the voting procedures, they do not have them online at this time (coming soon, so says the site). Beard House does have the procedures for chefs wishing to apply to cook at the Beard House. Cooking at the Beard House The one thing that I know for sure is that in order to vote for a restaurant, voters must have eaten there-which would, I think, probably give the edge to NY chefs and restaurants as most people end up going to NY during the year, but not so much Scottsdale or Dubuque. Of course, I could be entirely wrong, but I know it's the case with the folks that I know who vote (and I know quite a few). And while many of you may think otherwise, these awards are a HUGE deal to the people that win them and regardless of the current system, they are, for now, a really big deal to nominees and eventual winners in terms of recognition and in most cases, income and opportunity.

I've always thought that bars that serve lots of these (The Carousel Bar at the Monteleone in New Orleans, for example) would benefit by having one of those king-hell paint can shakers behind the bar. A couple of minutes in one of those babies and things would be just about right. It's a drink well worth mastering. Plus, they look very cool in some nice glassware. Delicious and nutricious.

I greatly enjoyed lunch yesterday at Bistro Bis. We were in a hurry, as I was headed to the airport, but not much of one, so a lunch at the bar seemed in order. We split a most excellent (actually-THEY SPLIT-more places should be this nice about splitting stuff) Endive Salad Chardenoux and a charcuterie plate . The salad was really good and perfectly dressed (meaning not drowning-overdressing is something that I have come to hate and I will impose stiff penalties for this egretious crime when I am finally in charge of the world). Both were really good and the bartender/server was excellent (sorry, I don't remember her name, though I should). Also, no matter what you order, order up a cone full of frites. They are really, really good. Pretty close to perfect. Anyway, great place for a quick, not too expensive, lunch in very pleasant, well appointed surroundings. You could do much worse.

Well, I had some time to kill on Tuesday in DC and I rode the Metro to the Smithsonian stop, got off, and marched over to the History museum. I had two plans-see the excellent country music photographic exhibit by Henry Horenstein and also to see Julia's kitchen. The kitchen is one of the most interesting, and oddly inspiring, museum installations that I've ever witnessed. I was pretty much stuck to the floor in front of the thing for an hour or so. All of the little details (she had a serious knife fetish, among other things) were interesting, but really struck me was the simplicity of the place. Sure, the much talked about peg boards were cool (and a great idea for small kitchens), and her very simple collection of cookbooks were pretty interesting-Larousse, her own stuff, the Joy of Cooking, some of the Time Life series books, and that's about it. They also have a video display running of her old shows and while I was there she was making boeuf bourgogne. Well, as I was cooking dinner on Tuesday night, I was completely inspired. Back on the Metro, down P Street to Whole Food, and then on the bus to Mt Pleasant with a load of beef shank, onions, red wine, and other accoutrement needed to make that very satisfying dish. It turned out great. I should make it more often, as it satisfies almost every food wish that I have-simple yet complex, straightforward, but technique driven. Awfully good. But that Whole Food? Yikes, I know that you don't call them yuppies up there, but the people watching opportunities for a simple country boy such as myself made it worth the trip. If they put a block on Blackberries in there, they wouldn't have any customers as every other one was yacking away while shopping for prepared food (not too many grocery buyers, but lots of shoppers buying ready made stuff). Anyway, I highly reccomend a trip to see that kitchen. It's worth the price of admission (free).

Excellent piece on Donald Link, Boudin, and life in Southwest LA in The New York Times Donald Link-Louisiana Boy

I usually just hold them tightly in my palm until they melt and them just lick my hand until it's clean.

Superior Supply has a good, not great, but reasonably large selection of glassware. Actually, I buy all kinds of stuff from these guys. It's cheap. It's well made. I like them. Beer Glasses

I would just get some more veal bones, do some more hacking, and call the thing a serrated knife.

I would probably take stuff that I would eat in the dead of winter. Warm soups, chili, braised meats, you know, stuff for icy weather. I would also take a wet suit, heated socks, a parka (if I had one or knew where to buy one-I'm pretty sure that, no matter how hard you look, that you can't find an official parka in New Orleans-even in the best of times) and lots of warming beverages. It's snowing still? And you're going to the lake? You, my dear, are more of a man than I am. Have fun. I know you're all going to have a great time, but for the life of me, I don't see how.

Beers, all beers being made over any period of time, have constantly evolved and no matter how hard they try to keep them the same, or affect subtle changes over time, they change. That's the nature of making something that is derived from an agricultural product. As far as the use of rice goes, the brewers at A-B (disclosure-I worked on some projects with them a few years back and know a number of the master brewers and have, across the board, the highest possible degree of admiration for their skills in this craft) believe that the use of rice gives beer a crispness (read clean finish on the palate) that all malt brews do not have. When one is trying to sell as much beer as possible to as many people as possible, this is an important consideration. On the other hand, Bud has changed, flavorwise, over the years and I am glad to see that they are going back the other way with it. I do take minor issue with the term "chemical beers", however. Say what you want, but they make a clean product that has NO additives and NO preservatives. I don't know what the other brewers do, but I can tell you that the raw ingredients that go into the beer are the best of the best. In most cases, not only are they the best, but they are so crazy for quality control that they grow, or have them grown, almost everything in the beer. It's pretty amazing really. A-B is the largest consumer of rice in the US, using over 8% of the entire crop grown in the US. A-B Facts

I love yogurt. Three brands in particular, not always in this order: Fage! Stonyfield! Bittersweet Plantation Yogurt!

Nothing against pie. I like pie. Just not as much as cake. And I ate some fruit today. Scale's Fruit Salad (with coconut) today at the NOJHF. Fruit is delicious. Come to think of it, I also had a mango freeze. That counts as fruit. But, as far as "what the editor says" you're right. Even better, just type the words and let them put it however they feel most comfortable with.

I only capitalize when it's something that's really good. For example: Coconut Cake or perhaps Caramel Cake or German Chocolate Cake When it's not so great, I don't capitalize: like this: apple pie or blackberry cobbler It's really a very simple thing. I find that learning by example is so much easier than all of those pesky grammar and capitalization rules.

OK, so after a series of disasters and complicated family situations I have written off today (though I will be there tomorrow and all of next weekend). What I want to know is WHAT DID YOU EAT and maybe, if you happen to have been unable to make it this weekend, what are you looking forward to eating next weekend? Also, what is your favorite food at the Fair Grounds?-you can have more than one-this isn't pie or cake . I'll start. I will, as soon as I can get in the gate, get a big rosemint tea, and get to the booth, order up a couchon de lait po boy. I'll eat it at one of the big round cable reel tables and then, only then, will I be on my way for some activities unrelated to food-though I could and often do argue that music is simply another form of food-I believe that good music feeds the mind just as well as good food feeds the body. See you on Sunday. I'll be the guy in the Hawaiian shirt and the straw hat with the SFA and HWY 61 and HWY 49 buttons on it. You shouldn't have any trouble finding me.

At dinner tonight, remember these two words if you are not able to remember any other words in the English language Pecan Pie You can thank me later

I could easily be led to the dark side by a woman appearing at my doorstep bearing a well made Boston Cream Pie. And I'm sure that my sons would not behave much differently. Face it, men are easily led astray. We are but simple creatures who, ultimately, are only looking for some very simple things.

Pedro, Napoleon Dynamite's chick magnet friend knows what women want: Napoleon: (in reference to the dance) Who are you gonna ask? Pedro: That girl over there. Napoleon: Summer Wheatley? How the heck are you gonna do that? Pedro: Build her a cake or something.