adegiulio

La Maison du Chocolat. Need I say more?

As the only one who passionately defended DG, I think I deserve an apology from all of you.. 'Cept Tommy... Now I have a hankering for fried flounder...

I just looked at her profile. She's kinda cute, so let's cut her some slack, huh...

Nice article. Top ten lists (or ten lists) are everywhere, but I still think they are fun... Close, it was En Vogue who sang this song, with help from S&P..

John and Owen, I too read Menton's statement and took great exception too it. I was going to write something similar to what you wrote John, but then I realized (hoped) that Menton was just making a broad statement about what this forum has turned out to be, not what HE thinks it should be. He is right, there isn't much discussion of Upstate food matters. For the most part, it is a Manhattan forum. It's kind of like upstaters complaining because another person from the City just won the lottery...Yeah, they buy most of the tickets. So, don't get mad at Menton. Besides, he lives in NJ, what does he know??

I really miss the old McDonalds Hot Apple Pie. I know , they still have apple pie, but its different. The old one was deep fried and resembled a hot pocket more than its current slice of pie. The old ones were so hot, they seemed to defy the laws of thermodynamics. They stayed hot seemingly forever, or at least waiting for them to cool to a palatable temp seemed like an eternity. I loved 'em. The new pies? Won't even go there...

It's Williams-Sonoma. I think we know the answer to that question. It is a beautiful machine though

Yeah, and whats up with that flag?? Red white and blue?? Gimme a break. And this apple pie crap...Slimy apples in soggy crust?? Don't even get me started on baseball...Do we need another excuse to drink beer and get fat?? What we need is an Australian coming over and teaching us how to live. That will solve things...

I know in my area, lead in solder is not allowed on potable water pipes...I use hot water for all cooking...

What does your company supply, the Jelly or the Belly?? Seriously though...

Yeah, it seems that buttered popcorn is a love or hate kinda thing. My wife hates them. She can't understand why I love them so much. Heck, neither can I..

I'm sitting here eating some Jelly Belly beans, realizing how much I love them. Our grocery store recently put in one of those bulk serve yourself contraptions with about a dozen different flavors. For me they are a guilty pleasure with all of their sugar, flavorings and colorings. I don't care, I can eat buttered popcorn and toasted marshmallow till the cows come home... Anyone else love these thing? Hate them? Wonder how they get the flavors so dead on (for most things)? Are there any other beans that even come close??

I'd like to hear about this too, as I would like to know more about the food culture of Native Americans. Good post!

Don't bother with singles. If you are getting too big of a serving with a double, you're probably pulling your shot too long.

I wish restaurants would stop listing the origin of each ingredient. I don't need to know the coordinates of the plant my jerusalem artichoke came from. I really don't need to know the ranch my beef came from. I'm not going to order something just because the scallop came from the Bay of Fundy. And I think almost all the domestic foie gras in the country comes from the Hudson Valley, no need to call it "Hudson Valley Foie Gras". I saw a restaurant serve California spinach. California spinach?? Isn't all the non-local spinach grown in CA? Heck, I would see CA spinach as non-artisinal as you can get... This of course doesn't apply to items with a legitimate geographical benefit or name. Bresse Chicken. PEI mussels. San Marzano tomatoes.

I must admit, that is a fine looking piece of equipment. Let's see, my birthday is 11 months away...HONEY!! come here, I want to show you something... So, you can load that up with charcoal and cook steaks on it too? I bet pizza on a stone would come out nice also..

If you want to take the guesswork and mess out of smoking, look at the Bradley Smoker. My wonderful wife got me one for my birthday (must have been the relentless nagging). I love it! Click here for smokey goodness..

Yeah, we are here for good...Anytime you want to ressurect the Mina thing (it is THAT good, believe me) we can do that. Swoon isn't on par with Mina, but it is quite good, and something to add a little variety to the mix. A new place on 9G in G-town? I'll have to look for it this weekend and report back. BTW, isn't Lk Hopatcong to Hudson a long trip for you? I'm thinking 2- 2 1/4 hours.. Ant

On the recommendation of a local restaurant owner, we decided to try Swoon Kitchenbar, in Hudson. I had never been to Hudson before then, but I was pretty surprised that there would be any fine dining up there. Well, I was wrong. Not only was Swoon terrific, the main street in Hudson, Warren St., is quite handsome. I'm already looking forward to going back, this time a little early, so we can stroll around and check the place out... But on to the restaurant. It's a fairly sizeable place with a tall, airy feel capped off with a stamped tin ceiling (not sure if it was real, or even tin, but you know the type) The bar itself was nice and big, with an attractive crew and a lot of bottles. It's a very nice room, accented by what appears to be a rather cosmopolitan clientele. To me, Swoon would fit in more in Rhinebeck, or Manhattan. I'm glad it's here, only 20 minutes from home, versus in Manhattan, which is an hour and a half, if I could get a reservation. In my opinion, this place would be packed every day in the Big Apple. The menu was a nice seasonally driven selection. In the Hudson Valley, restaurant owners (at least the smart one) like to flaunt what the surrounding area puts out. I won't bore everyone with long descriptions of what we ate, just be assured that everything we ate was fantastic. You can look at a menu (its a little out of date, but it will give you an idea) on its website here. Combined with a well thought out wine list offering a nice array of grape, this menu is a winner. I could go on and on about the food, service, decor, and so on. I think the better thing to do would be to jump in the car and try it yourself. With Swoon, Mina in Red Hook, le Petit Bistro in Rhinebeck, and a few other secrets, I can sell my stove now... Anyone else been??

Oh, how I pity all of you New Jersey folks. As an almost (moving next week) Upstate New Yorker, we have a pick your own asparagus farm about a mile away. Fresh as possible. Oh, and Curlz, 1.99 is a real gyp. Up there they price it by putting both hands together in a big O...thumb to thumb, middle finger to middle finger. That's two dollars please.... Sometimes I don't even pick it. I just get real low and bite it right off...Can eat a 1/4 acre an hour that way Just when you are tired of asparagus, pick your own green peas are coming in. Pea flavored candy...they are addictive.

We ate there about a month ago...It was truly terrific (with the exception of one of our servers, who seemed like he was in training...we went the whole nine yards, crudo, apps and main course....glad we did. Shea is a terrific chef and we look forward to going back...Just try not to worry about the bill too much...it gets high quick..

wow!!! thanks everyone for the help. the yellow pages link above worked great! we found a landromat a block and a half away...and oh darn, there's three cafes surrounding it... Love eGullet!

So, we are here in Paris at the Hotel Vendome (thanks Mr. Talbott for the advice. This is the second leg of our honeymoon, and we're having a blast... The problem is, we need to do laundry. At 5 euros for underwear and 10 euros for a shirt, the hotel service will cost me dinner at L'Arpege...I asked the people at the front desk, but they don't know. I tried googling, but couldnt find anything relevant. Does anyone know of a good internet based directory for here in Paris, similar to yahoo yellow pages, or superpages.com?? Or even a decent web portal, like Yahoo is in the US. Help!!! We're down to our last underwear!

Fascino also cooked for a charitible event that I was involved with, "Taste of Greenwich House". They did a fantastic job and showed a lot of heart driving into NYC to do it. This restaurant is top notch and the Depersio's are a class act. I think there is a sitcom in their future...An attractive family coming together for good food and lots of laughs. I can see Henry Winkler as Mr. D., Linda Fiorentino as Mrs. D., with Antonio Sabado jr. as Anthony D. Jr., and Freddie Prinze Jr. as chef Ryan...I smell an Emmy!!!

We will be sailing the Atlantic aboard the QM2 at the end of the month. I'll post our impressions then...I've read good things though, keeping my fingers crossed.