slbunge

I still haven't gotten to Sardine, but the local weekly included yet another story about it. The article also offers some thoughts about why Madison has few top-notch restaurants. ← I was there two weeks ago and was not terribly impressed. From a design standpoint, the restaurant is quite attractive. Definitely not romantic because it is loud and the tables are close together but not on an off-putting way. Bustling. I had the sardines which were, by far, the best thing we had from the menu. Nicely grilled and quite meaty. From the looks of it, though, I may have been one of the few ordering this dish (we were within sight of where the food was coming out of the kitchen). It will be too bad if there isn't enough demand to sustain this dish on the menu. The rest of the food was pedestrian. Had to send scallops back because they were cold. Odd because it wasn't that busy. The deserts were totally uninspired. I think the buzz around this place, based on Marigold's reputation, is unwarranted. I'd rather eat at Cocoliquot (which was dead on the same Saturday night we went to Sardine) or even the new Fresco.

That's true for the hardcore Norwegians. I like it because of the intensity of the caramel flavorings. I think of it as a breakfast cheese. Best served with a yeasty roll and a schmear of fruity jam, apple butter, or pear butter.

I grew up in Wisconsin and the state fair fried cheese curds are as emilyr describes them. You have to be a bit careful because the best of these items are actual curd that is battered and fried. As opposed to just hunks of cheese (typically mozzarella). The best raw cheese curds are served at room temperature for maximum squeak. They are also quite salty. Best when they aren't more than a day old.

Dude, you should have called. I went last weekend. I have no photos but I had cheese curds, a falafel (from King of Falafel), deep fried pickles, and a deep fried twinkie on a stick. Washed it all down with a couple of beers and got to hear Brave Combo pump up the jams. A swell day.

Has anyone purchased a freestanding induction hob recently? I'm looking for recommendations based on current models. Would be willing to pay for a Cooktek if it is a significantly better performer than the cheaper models at Amazon. Just not sure where to start my evaluation.

Thanks -- the Gourmet gang makes the exact same recommendation. There's a "European" market here (Eastern European and Russian) that I'm going to check out for them, too. ← There are lots of Eastern European canned version of Baltic Sprats. The only caution is that the sprats I have had in the past (fresh, not tinned) has been much larger and meatier than tinned anchovies. I say this only because you may have to macerate them to get the same texture as what you had last night. Another anchovy/potato combination is having chunck of potato as part of the vegetables for dipping in bagna cauda. Roasted fingerlings or tiny boiled red potatoes (or chunks of larger ones). I steer clear of Yukon Golds because I think their flavor doesn't match well with the buttery/oily/anchovy-ey goodness of bagna cauda.

Good stuff in the blog so far. I would say definitely peaches. All of the other stuff is available locally (for you) at many other times during the year. But local peaches for you right now must be spectacular.

I was just in Wellfleet, staying in a rented house in the woods. While, I agree that the ferry is a good option in terms of speed, the problem is that unless you are planning on ONLY being in Provincetown you need a car on the Cape. There are great ponds in the area for swimming. The water is warm and there tend to be shallow spots for little ones to jump around and splash. I seem to remember the beach at Gull Pond as being particularly kid friendly. To bring this back around to a food-related post, if it rains one day or your are tired of being outside and need to shop for porvisions to take home, people rave about the Atlantic Spice Company in Truro. I didn't go but some in the party I was with went and thought the quality and pricing was very good. Looking forward to seeing the photos of what you find to cook and eat out on the Cape.

Perhaps, because of flamability, it would not have been a good idea...but did you grill one post-soak and dress it up in a bun with fixins? Nice work.

Another thing to remember when substituting is that cured meats add lots of salt so don't skimp on the salt if you want to approach balance. I've cooked many meals for vegetarians and often where there was a crumble of bacon called for and I substitute very salty and crisp fried shallot or onion (takes only a minute in a skillet on the stovetop).

I tend to eat plain potato chips with cottage cheese rather than flavored. Continuing with thoughts of cottage cheese, another of my favorite "Huh?" combos is Spaghettios with a dollop of cottage cheese.

Does Neptune serve their lobster roll hot or cold? I seem to remember someone saying 'hot'.

Not much clam chowder in the North End except for Neptune, as Jason has already mentioned. I never had the chowder, but people sorta rave about it at Union Oyster House. In fact, curiously, I have heard by numerous people that pretty much everything else at the restaurant is not so good, but the chowder is excellent. I do know that it is where JFK used to eat lunch and they have some sort of booth identified as his favorite. B&G Oysters in the South End had a decent bowl of clam chowder but the price was a bit steep. Their lobster bisque was decent as well. I think the key, as Jason alludes to, is that the steam table is very much not the friend of chowder. Find a place that does a fairly brisk business in chowder. I'd bet the best bowls may be found in the small restaurants outside of Boston to the north. Just a thought.

Thanks for the information about the neighborhood. With all the play that gelato gets I want to be sure that visitors to the North End do not miss the lemon slush at Polcari. Not too sweet and very refreshing. You'll see the slush cooler, disguised as the 55 gallon drum that it was made from, out in front of the door.

Definitely get off at Haymarket. For me, walking from Haymarket across the future greenway is the better way to enter the North End. I lived in Boston for about 15 months and was in the North End regularly to source cooking provisions. The good stuff is still there but I share your concern about high-end oysters and high-end gelato (and even the extravagent make-over at Modern Pasty). In the past, there was always a barrier to the neighborhood gentrifying: the central artery elevated highway had cut the neighborhood off from the rest of the city. So, it was a tourist attraction, yes, but it was not a desirable neighborhood for the swanky condo dwellers who want access to the financial district. That has all changed and time will tell how the neighborhood fares. It is hard. I think that Neptune is a fine restaurant and, though I haven't been to the gelato place from Jason's posts, I'm sure they produce a good product. But too much of the 'high end dining' touch and you change the dynamic of the neighborhood. Because, even with all the tourist pressue, until recently, it was very much a working neighborhood where Italian immigrants old and young (and even those who had move to suburbia) ate at the restaurants in the neighborhood (particularly Umberto's), stopped at Maria's for pastries, bought dry goods at Polcari, bought their vegetables at Alba's greenmarket, bought their meat at either Sulmona or Abruzzi (and argued over who was better), bought their fish from Frank Guiffre, and their two-fer Italian red wines at Martinietti. All of these fantastic shops and restaurants are tiny (except perhaps Umberto's and Polcari) but vibrant and all are on about a three block circuit. So, I'm glad you went and photographed. I'm glad you had a great meal. I'm just nervous for that great neighborhood and couldn't sit on my hands. edit: clarity

Perhaps instead of 'people' you mean 'PETA'. Because, regardless of whether you believe that production of abnormally large goose livers should be banned, we should all agree that it is a pretty great thing that we the PEOPLE have the power to elect lawmakers and then influence them to act on our behalf.

Perhaps it is not too long of a longshot in NC since there may still be some sawmills, but the only way that I can see getting a decent flat surface on something as thick as your big butcher block would be to take off the legs and load it like a log into a travelling bandsaw mill. Then you could saw the top down flat (or even saw it into multiple flat pieces. After that, the sanding would be pretty easy and all it would need is a healthy drink of mineral oil and some good heavy knife work to get the patina back. Ask around if there are any boutique hardwood companies or companies that are still getting submerged logs up from the bottoms of rivers. They may have a machine big enough. Would be worth a drive to make such a nice piece usable again. All other normal woodshop equipment would not be large enough to handle the piece. And using a handplaner on something like that would scare me.

New Glarus Brewing's beers are indeed available in Chicago and they do have lagers that could have made the list. I think that the list they chose is a bit odd. You would have thought that they would have selected a couple of regional beers or microbrews to round-out what seems to be their two-tiered approach: big-named imports; big-named domestics. I see their point about wanting drinkability in the summer and choosing a smooth lager, but there are regional beers such ast Point Special that are very available in Chicago and very drinkable in the heat. Another beer that is worth trying for summer if you want to stray from the 'popular' imports is Zwiec from Poland - most definitely available in Chicago since the importer is there. I know, I know, they are a populist newpaper.

It seems like the focus here is on the tomato-based chilled soups. I don't want to hijack the thread, but 'gazpacho' either means (or has come to mean) pretty much any soup of Spanish origin or even marginally Spanish-inspired. With that in mind, there is a good recipe for Almond 'gazpacho' from Malaga in the August 2002 Gourmet (recipe and picture here). Great mild white creaminess with a bit of body from the bread and tangy green grapes. Nice for those hot days before the spectactular garden tomatoes of summer have arrived for the tomato-based chilled soups.

Those look like anchovies to me. Actually, when (if) you do return to the states, be sure to ask you favorite fish-monger if you don't see fresh sardines. In general, they are readily available to east-coast wholesalers but not many markets display them because it takes valuable space away from the steak fishes you mention. When I was living in Boston, Whole Foods had them in the display a couple of times a week because there was still a fairly sizeable Portuguese population that knew how good they are. As for anchovies, the only place I have seen them sold at a fish market is in San Diego so you may be out of luck but I would still ask. Get back to the eating.

I think this statement/question cuts to the core of this issue. First off, people have been living off the land in MN for a long time. I know it isn't as sexy to go down to the root cellar and retrieve storage onions and open a jar of home-canned tomatoes to make sauce in the dead of winter, but it is very satisfying to try to be aware of how to eat seasonally. I think that many of us have become lazy in our cooking at home, expecting that we can make an asparagus risotto just about any time of year now. In fact, it is sad to to be devoid of the sheer thrill of getting that first bundle of asparagus from the market in spring. But, alas, a home-cook like me does have a different relationship with food than my forebearers on the plains and in lush central Missouri. So, while I do focus on buying locally and putting up all sorts of the fresh foods of summer (corn, beans, tomatoes, etc) there are things that I want from very far afield. I want outstanding olive oils and vinegars from high-quality producers. I want superb bean varieties that are not available here. Somewhere in there is a balance. We each need to find it. As for Whole Foods taking the lead on this issue, I believe that even if they jump in feet first they are taking the lead only in the 'big grocery' arena. I think the movement toward local food has already taken hold. The popularity of farmers' markets everywhere is soaring. The food coop movement is also very strong. So there is already a surge upward. I think that WF will only be able to ignore that for so long.

Cognitive dissonance is pretty much exactly how we operate when it comes to meat. We all do. And it has nothing to do with PETA. The world is now very well set up for us to be this way, particularly at this stage in the food distribution revolution, with all cuts of meat in shiny shrink-wrapped packages. If cognitive dissonance is not in play with cows and sheep and pigs why in the world is it taboo in this country to eat guinea pig or horse or dog if not for the fact that we (the collective 'we', not you and I) can't gain enough distance from the fact that these are well-loved companion animals for many people. That is not to say that cognitive dissonance is a bad thing. I mean it would be hard to enjoy a nice pork shoulder if all you could think about were the details of the slaughter of the pig whose flesh is on your plate. I think the article is fairly thought provoking, particularly in light of what FatGuy noted: some day technology will bring us to this point and, very likely, at that time enlightened souls will think that slaughter is unacceptably cruel. Will be a sad time for us, I think, but it will come.

Not sure where you'd find it in the Twin Cities but I swear by Carbona Stain Devils. They come in small yellow plastic bottles and are specific to various stains. Check the 'stain removal' aisle of a large grocery store any you may be able to find it. I've never had a problem with it damaging the fabric but a test would be a good idea. Their website has some more information.

I've been to Phoenicia a couple of times years ago and never was too impressed. It was cramped, with barely room to move around and a bit out of my way. Seems like that has changed, well except for the location I guess. I am looking forward to checking this out now. That olive bar alone promisses to be worth the trip. Hopefully I can stop by at some point next week and report back. I would love to check out their butcher department as well for good lamb or chicken. Has anyone been recently? Any comments? ← Three weeks ago when I was in Houston for business, one of my colleagues told me about the new Phoenicia. Since I liked the foodstuffs at their previous store I high-tailed it over there for provisions prior to leaving town. The new store is almost overly roomy. But you cannot beat the selection of mediterranean foods. From Spanish pine nuts (far superior to the Chinese versions) to canned fishes (including Baltic sprats) to pickled everything it is a great market for staples. Since I was travelling, I didn't really investigate the bakery, deli, or dairy in any great detail. I've heard the head of the bakery has some substantial credentials but that is about the extent of what I know. In general, if you were cramped at the old store, this one will make you happier. Definitely worth a trip.

I was thinking of putting it in my bag to take to a party. ← Actually, I always keep a couple of well-rinsed screw capped empties around the house for use as a transport receptacle, typically to take on a boat and go sailing. Not advisable for your best wines, but perfectly acceptable for a picnic or other event where a tight seal is needed to keep you from spilling the goods. As for the glass, it would be similar. I've had wine from such a bottle at a bar one evening but I've forgotten the winery. The bartender indicated they were seeing more and more of them. A properly design o-ring seal, such as these, should have very long lives for re-use or re-sealing.