bleachboy

I'm not so sure about this. (Disclaimer: Never Been To France) Wasn't there an essay in one of Jeffrey Steingarten's books about how bakers from the US won some sort of French baguette contest a couple of years in a row?

I'll be damned, I hadn't a clue. And I'm from the South.

It doesn't bother me really, although I would be taken aback as well if somebody asked if I was really leaving a 75% tip or whatever. Usually if I'm eating "cheap", at a bar or something, I have enough small bills to leave a decent approximation of a 20% tip.

I'll be honest. I've never eaten the heart, liver, gizzards, etc that come with poultry. But I'm game. My chickens never seem to have those parts, but my ducks always do. What's the simplest way to cook them for a "snack"?

Interesting... Who invented cheesecake, anyway? Was it the Americans? The Italians? Italian-Americans?!

I have the same 10" Shun that Varmint got -- although I hadn't kept up with the blog and it was pure coincidence. I got it about a week ago, and so far it's my favorite knife by a lot. It's ridiculously sharp and seems to hone perfectly. My wife thinks it's too big, though, so I might buy one of the 8" Shuns for her. I would not hesitate to recommend the 10" Shun Kershaw.

And speaking of New Orleans drinks, and the Monteleone in particular, the drink I always order there is the Gin Fizz. I don't really think that drink is in any way native to New Orleans, but it's one of the few places where you can order it and get a really great one.

Off topic, but what does this mean? Fifi, you do seem to know your onions.

Yeah, I'm confused, too. My wife loves to cook asparagus on skewers in the grill pan. She's doing some this weekend, and I'm gonna ask her to make it in the cast iron skillet just to see what's up. Whereas asparagus does have some wierd (pee-affecting) chemical properties, I really don't see why it would come out "tasting really nasty". Maybe it was just bad asparagus? edit: Don't type whilst intoxicated.

Dang, and I was counting you! So just three that I know of. Myself, chefseanbrock, and pogophiles (I think).

Hear hear! MobyP, very very well done indeed!

I know of only four, including yourself. By the way, I haven't actually been to Tayst. In fact, I had forgotten that it existed before you mentioned it. However, I drive by it all the time so maybe Marissa and I will get down there sometime within the next week or so and I can post a review. The short bit they had in the Scene mentioned braised short ribs with foie gras, so it might be pretty damn good. Speaking of Nashville eGulleters, were any at the Gunderloch tasting last Friday night with Fritz Hasselbach? Great wines, and he brought a bottle of their 2002 "Nackheim Rothenberg" TBA that was to die for. It was a very educational tasting.

Indeed!

Word.

I never even heard of spatchcocking until I found eGullet. So I tried it, and I am sold. Seriously. Learn to do it. It's easy, fun, and will make roasting a chicken about as difficult as frying bacon.

In the Southern US, I've seen this quite often, but consider it forgivable. I had a boss one time that ate like that, and I mean he would really shovel. He'd be done eating two minutes into the meal. I asked him about it (we were buddies) and he explained that lots of folks who grew up on farms, with big families, developed this habit because eating defensively was the best way to ensure a second helping.

Alton Brown style is easy and great. At risk of sounding like a broken record, the basic recipe is: brine, spatchcock, very hot pan. Here is the detailed recipe from the FoodTV website. I usually use white wine instead of red for the jus, and I have frequently experimented with different under-skin seasonings -- my favorite thus far is butter, rosemary, lemon juice, and lots of salt. Seriously, try spatchcocking your bird. Once you've got it down, it takes under a minute to perform, and you'll never even think about trussing again.

Well, for traditional "fine dining" there's only three choices that I know of -- your place (The Capitol Grille), The Wild Boar, and Arthur's (at the Union Station hotel). That's also the order in which I'd rank them, although The Wild Boar does have an incredible wine list and a very knowledgeable sommelier. Other good places that may be of interest include Margot, Zola, Basante's, F. Scott's, and probably many others I forgot. Nowhere near fine dining but places that Marissa and I frequent due to good bars include The Trace, which we like to visit on Sunday, when the lounge lizards are away, and The Bound'ry, where the bartender is a friend of mine (the pizzas rock there, too, and there's occasionally some very interesting menu items, but somewhat hit-and-miss due to the daily-changing specials).

Wow. Everything about that product is just so remarkably frightening.

I'm not sure if there's a different Charlie Palmer restaurant, but Aureole at Mandalay Bay is very good. It's not a steak place, though. If you're at Bellagio, you're already there. Prime is the best steak place I've eaten at in Vegas. It's ridiculously expensive, but their steaks and sides are outta sight. Get the shellfish platter too, which is great.

Long story short: Cooking is fun!

First off, thanks to Ronnie Suburban for the type of post that makes eGullet such a joy to frequent! Now, does anybody have a good on-line source for good quality paprika? I think I will order one sweet and one smoked and one half-sharp and do my own experimentation! AFAIK, there's no source in Nashville for this kind of thing...

Excellent article! Sorry I didn't know who you were -- I'm stranded in Nashville.

What website? URL, please... Thanks.

ROTFLMAO!!@!1!