bleachboy

Ooh, that does sound good. I would use a mild goat cheese, and definitely add some of Iowa's finest. Goat cheese also makes a fantastic souffle. I love quiche, although I should really make them more often. My problem is that I always insist on making the crust from scratch, and in my tiny apartment that requires a full cleanup so that I'll have enough space to roll it out. I need to learn to love store-bought crusts, I guess.

Actually, Copeland's was started by Al Copeland, the same guy that started Popeye's. It's awesome food as long as you think of it as a "Super Popeye's", and not the kind of upscale place they try to market it as here in Nashville. Thanksgiving in New Orleans was a blast! We had lunch/dinner at Mr. B's Bistro (the "B" is for "Brennan"). We ate early (1:30) so as to procure the choicest cuts. Two of us had the smoked free range turkey, myself included. I had never tried free range turkey before. It was served as two huge half-inch thick slabs of breast meat, and served with a scrumptious cornbread stuffing, pureed sweet potatoes, and haricots vert. I was really impressed with the flavor of the free range turkey. It was definitely richer in flavor, though tougher and less juicy, than the turkey I prepared last Thanksgiving (organic, brined, deep-fried). Next year, I'm definitely going to use eGullet to source one of these turkeys out! One of my other dining companions ordered a decadent pork "roll" - sausage wrapped in tenderloin wrapped in bacon. Oh my! She traded me one of her pieces for a piece of turkey, and I have to say.. well, what do you think? Three layers of pork heaven. My wife got a trout meuniere, being a vegetarian - it's exactly what you'd expect for a poisson meuniere in New Orleans. Tasty. The wines were not included, but that was okay given that the dinner price was very reasonable and included an appetizer (I had a delicious squash bisque) and a dessert. I sprung for a bottle of champagne and a bottle of pinot noir and a bottle of riesling. Some of our food plans were laid to waste by the Bayou Classic. This is the second time I've been in New Orleans during this stupid football game, in which the French Quarter becomes so packed with people as to be completely inaccessible, especially if you are like my wife and I and can't deal with huge crowds. So Saturday night we went to Cuvee in the CBD. I had been here before, actually, and was yet again impressed, especially with their sommelier and wine list. I was dining with four other people this time, and he helped me choose a bottle of sparkling, a white, and a red, that were quite delicious for right around $100 (for all three). Now that's a sommelier! Thanks again for the advice, Mayhaw man! We were not disappointed! Want me to give you a call next time I'm down there? Dinner's on me! (My employer's office is in Poydras Center, so I'm down there about 6 times a year for meetings and junk).

Wal-Mart is just plain evil. Here in Nashville, they wanted to dig up a prehistoric Indian burial ground to build a SUPER Wal-Mart. Just unbelievable. As much as it pains us all to admit it, the reason you won't get Americans to stop eating their McDonald's is that many Americans frankly don't give a damn about fine cuisine. And they won't give a damn no matter how much you "educate" them because they're simply not into it. I frequent TimeZone, a message board for watch-enthusiasts. Frankly, I'm shocked and appalled that many of you are wearing quartz watches instead of the vastly more interesting mechanical models. And I'm not being facetious, it really shocks me. However, many of you don't care.. at all. Nor do many of you want to pay three times as much for a less-reliable watch that requires more maintenance just because it has more soul. Similarly, the guy who heads out to Applebee's for the fucking repulsive looking Bleu Cheese Steak Skillet really, really doesn't know or care a whit about anything going on in the minds of most eGulleters. I bet we have all taken a friend out to a very good restaurant, one with delightful, inventive cuisine, and heard the dreaded words: "I'll have the filet, well-done please."

I drink it every so often. At least in the Southern United States, it's available pretty much everywhere. If my taste memory serves correctly, it tastes a lot like the punch you see a lot at parties that's made with 7-Up and Hawaiian Punch.

When I'm down in NOLA for work, I'm about a block or so away from Lemongrass (my employer's offices are in Poydras Center). We eat there sometimes for lunch, and it's always been quite tasty. I often stay at the hotel that Lemongrass is attached to (the International House) - it's a cool little hotel. Go sit in the hotel bar, and you can order spring rolls and things from Lemongrass.

The sushi is coming close to contacting nasty Girl Germs!! DUH!!

Pick a restaurant with a good chef where you're a regular. Ask the chef if he'd make sweetbreads for the special one night next week. I bet he'll take you up on the offer. Sweetbreads are one of the things I'll order any time they show up on a menu, rarely seen but greatly appreciated.

Home-ground hamburger with Iowa bacon and Kewpie mayonnaise (on a bun).

I live about five minutes from all these places - next time you're in the area, drop me a line and I'll take you out to some of my local favorites! I agree about Darfons. My wife and I used to go there occasionally, but I would always get tempted and order prime rib, then be disappointed because there's much better prime rib to be had for an extra five minutes drive. But their salads and appetizers and sandwiches are fine (but still nothing to write home about).

I want to be in Survivor: Provence too! ;)

The "salad" is a very small portion, served with a tiny spoon that looks like a baby's spoon. It's a melange of variously flavored ices, including arugula, radicchio (IIRC), oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper. The "salad" in other words, is basically just shaved, flavored ice. When you put it in your mouth it tastes dead-on like a really well prepared salad. My wife and I burst into laughter at the first taste.

To play the devil's advocate, it should be noticed that sodium chloride is sodium chloride. In the book Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky (a fun book by the way, link here), the author notes that the bare-breasted virgins who harvest Fleur De Sel with their quaint wooden rakes won't eat the stuff themselves, because the "exquisite flavor" of the salt comes from mud and seagull shit, and other impurities introduced into the salt mixture during long-term exposure to the elements. The main reason to choose your favorite salt, in my opinion, is to get the texture you want. I think we'll all agree that Morton's, sea, and kosher all have different "usage properties". Any other differences are moot, as far as I'm concerned. Jinmyo will undoubtedly call me an ignorant plebian, but so be it.

I want to buy a rice cooker for my wife for Christmas. She loves to make sushi at home, and I think she will love it. Does anyone have any specific recommendations as to what brand/model of electric rice cooker works well? We would prefer a model with a small footprint, as our kitchen is not too big. Finally, recommendations of online ordering sources are welcome.

Those stupid "wine charms" - little pendants you're supposed to wrap around the stem of your wine glass so you know which one is yours. I get them every Christmas it seems, as they're cheap and lots of people know I like wine. I have never once ever, in my entire life, experienced "wine confusion". Does anybody really use these things?

I like martinis, and I buy the small (375ml) bottles of Noilly Prat, vacu-vin them after each use, and store them in the fridge. Vermouth goes way off after opening, just like wine, but this method definitely keeps the bottle tasting fresh for at least as long as it takes me to consume it. Things made kind of like wine, especially cognac and Grand Marnier, I try to drink within a reasonable amount of time, maybe a month, and I typically vacu-vin them too. Stuff like vodka, gin, scotch, etc. never goes bad. Definitely invest in a vacu-vin and a dozen stoppers, it will do wonders for the shelf life of any beverage prone to the effects of oxygen.

Can you tell us why?

Gamay is a really terrific grape. Given the number of posts passing it off as "uninteresting" or "grape juice", I think there are a few posters in here who have some kind of unexplainable bias against light-drinking wines.

I don't know that I would label CT in that way (I have never been to those restaurants you mentioned either). I ate the same meal Adrober did, and thought it was definitely tasty. Charlie Trotter's focus is more on sourcing out unbelievably good ingredients. Nobody should ever go into a fine dining place and expect unbelievably, soul-satisfyingly good food, manna prepared by god himself, and lots of it. Food just doesn't get that good. For that, they should find a really good burger or pizza, IMO.

On the topic of "hard liquor before dinner": It seems to me like this is a "rule" followed by only a few. Charlie Trotter being one of them. I have been to numerous fine dining establishments that offer cocktails before dinner, and have never gotten the impression that to order one would be a faux pas. As Robyn correctly pointed out, however, the staff's job is to make you comfortable. If you want a martini before dinner, I say knock yourself out. I don't believe that alcohol "dulls the palate" any more than it dulls every other part of your body. If you are a 16 year old schoolgirl I would not recommend hard liquor before a fancy meal. Otherwise, I doubt it would hurt. That being said, I recommend giving serious consideration to starting your meal with champagne. It's always elegant. I was at Trio recently for my birthday. The first food/drink item they served was a highball with about two ounces of Noilly Prat (French vermouth), some ice cubes, and a lovely pear slice for garnish.

What gives you that idea? What is it that you think they know? Perhaps the American clientele knows something the Japanese don't, such as "this technique has non-nigiri possibilities". Sushi means "rice", right, not "raw fish"? I don't see why people label California rolls and crunchy shrimp rolls and the like as "American" or "not real sushi" with a derisive tone. I think many US Japanophiles deride western sushi tastes for purely romantic reasons. To me, the idea that Japanese sushi preferences are superior to American sushi preferences just because the Japanese "invented" sushi is a logical fallacy. Americans invented the assembly line, the television, and the telephone, yet we don't make the best cars, televisions, or cell phones.

This is coming from the guy that had the "word" wisdon in his signature for quite some time, yes? I must agree, however. It's like saying "puhsketti" instead of "spaghetti" - don't flaunt your speech impediment, please.

For a beginner, I give my wholehearted approval to The Wine Avenger by Willie Gluckstern. (Disclaimer: If I did my URL right, I think eGullet will get a commission if you click on that link.) Read the book, then find a good wine shop. Here in Nashville, TN, my favorite wine shop is Village Wines. Make friends with the person there who knows the most about wine. In my case, it's Hoyt, the owner, and a sommelier. Let the knowlegable person know what you like and don't like in wine. Then ask them to make you up a "mixed case". They'll likely ask you about how many red/white you want and what average price you want, and leave the rest up to them. Remember you almost always get a substantial discount (usually 10-15%) for buying by the case, even if it's a mixed case. Then go home and drink the wines. Buy a Vacu-Vin and taste different wines with different foods. Make a point to cook at home often and always attempt your own "wine pairings" with each course if you want. You'll learn fast!

I wouldn't give it a second thought if I saw someone eating asparagus with their fingers. I don't do it myself, but it wouldn't bother me. I don't exactly understand why the French custom evolved that makes it okay to eat asparagus with your fingers, however. It's no harder to eat than any other vegetable, really, with a knife and fork, and certainly easier than certain popular peas and/or beans. Iron Chef seemed to imply during "battle asparagus" that it was eaten with the fingers so as not to damage the "delicate" vegetable, but this sounds like hooey to me.

For example, does anybody know whether K-Paul's serves Turducken on Thanksgiving? (bump)

This was linked on fark.com just today. I'm assuming that's what brought about this thread. p.s. link to vintage cereal database