Rachel Perlow

Welcome Gideon. Feel free to poke around the rest of eGullet as well. We're "'brutally honest'" about everything!

Current RSVP list: Alanz + Lauren & Joshua - enigmatic pasta (3) Andrew Fenton & the Mrs. - Banana Pudding (2) Curdnerd & family - mac & cheese + supplying the location, that's enough (Cheese Shop will be open for the first hour or so of the event) (5) Dbrociner + wife, Stephanie, and daughter Sophia - sweet potato casserole and garbage bags (3) docsconz + wife & kids - home-made fresh apple-cider (5) Double 0 + family - collards and maybe a tray of mac & cheese* (*see Curdnerd's post about mac & cheese) (4) dumpling - non-alcoholic drinks and/or dumplings and/or wicked good blueberry PIE (1) Elyse (took johnjohn's offer of a ride) - bringing pecan pie (1) Fat Guy & Ellen (2) Fink - bringing the cooked pig(s) at the reduced price of $4 per person (1?**) herbacidal - bags, extra plates & forks & stuff, Sarcone's bread, infused vodka, chinese dumplings (2-4?) hillbill - (offering rides from Staten Island/Ferry) - (maybe 1?**) howard88 - Cole Slaw (2) Hscottk + wife - baked beans (2) Jason & Rachel Perlow - name tags, ice, homemade sorbets/ices, maybe ice cream (2) jmcgrath - (1?**) jogoode - maybe (1?**) johnjohn - brownies (1) (offering rides from NYC or Long Island to Elyse...) Jonathan Sibley (1) JosephB & Donna, (sans puppy) - corn and tomato savory pastry (2) KatieLoeb - Pastitsio (1) Kim WB + guest - dessert from Pierre at Wegmans and a case of bottled water (2) Lisa1349 + guest - PA Wine, Mint Juleps and Victory Beer from Downington, PA (2) Liz Johnson + husband - Dr. Pepper Cake,a table? (2) LReda & Sue & children (2-6?**) =Mark - ice, marinated grilled portobella mushrooms, Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce, table & chairs (1) pnapoli + guest - cornbread & chili (2) Randi + friend - fresh fruit and a dip for it (2) rlibkind (Bob & Jean Sue) - baked beans (2) RockADS21 + Mrs. Rock (2) Rosie & Lowell - napkins, health salad (I think that's some kind of cole slaw) (2) sabg - grilled vegtables, chairs, table (3) Slkinsey + bergerka - Ginger Snaps (needs a ride from NYC), derby-style bourbon pecan pie (2) SobaAddict70 - spicy marinated olives, French kisses, Oven roasted tomatoes, Wilted greens (1) South Jersey Epicurean (Gary Kritz) - (making the pastichio/moussaka with Katie Loeb) (1) Suzanne and HWOE; potato salad of mysterious ethnicity (2) Suzilightening - since she's planning on arriving late, she should probably bring a dessert (definite maybe) (1) Tommy & the Mrs. - non-food stuffs (ice, paper plates, cutlery , napkins, cups, garbage bags) (2) wawairis - (1?) Right now we're at 75-81 approximately. **Please confirm your numbers, especially if there's a question park next to your entry above. To Summarize Curdnerd's post/rules: 1. No Dogs. 2. Making mac & cheese. 3. Kids Welcome - someone needs to organize some kid activities and parents need to supervise them at all times (we're up to 10-15 kids) 4. We're going to be using lots of small tents. 5. Cheese Shop will be open for the first hour or so of the event. 6. place marker. (perhaps a cap on the number of people? or parking instructions?) Other notes: 1. We must completely clean up after ourselves. Everyone bring an extra bag or two and leave with some garbage, please. 2. Tents (not camping tents, party tents), tables & chairs -- the more the merrier. 3. The pig is $4 per person (kids count too) 4. Remember to check the RSVP list for what you offered to bring -- and before posting that you are thinking of bringing baked beans , I think two people making baked beans is enough. Excellent suggestion, tommy. If you are bringing your food in a cooler, take note of above. Current Menu: The menu, so far.* If you are still trying to figure out what to bring... Some iced tea and lemonade would be nice. More appetizers maybe? Beverages home-made fresh apple-cider bottled water BYOB PA Wine, Mint Juleps and Victory Beer herbacidal-infused vodka Appetizers Dumplings (dumpling) chinese dumplings (herbacidal) - the more dumplings the merrier! fresh fruit and a dip for it (or is this a dessert?) marinated olives French Kisses (dates & foie gras???) Mains ROASTED/SMOKED PIG - that is the point of this whole thing, right?) Pastitsio Chili Sides Starchy enigmatic pasta mac & cheese sweet potato casserole baked beans (2 people are bringing baked beans) corn and tomato savory pastry potato salad of mysterious ethnicity corn bread Sarcone's bread Veggie Collards (Double 0), Wilted Greens (Soba) Cole Slaw marinated grilled portobella mushrooms health salad Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce Oven roasted tomatoes grilled vegtables (peppers, zucc, corn etc - sabq) Desserts Banana Pudding blueberry PIE pecan pie homemade sorbets/ices brownies something chocolate from Pierre at Wegmans Dr. Pepper Cake Ginger Snaps derby-style bourbon pecan pie Misc (aka the more the merrier (TMTM)) Dry goods tables, chairs, tents ice * If what you offered to bring isn't on the list, please PM me with edits.

OK - I'm going to start working on the next RSVP list update now.

But as others have pointed out, the restaurant will be successful simply because of the publicity and curiosity factors. I don't think Rocco will need to worry about his "future earning potential" (as in, having to worry about being hired by other restauranteurs) because his future will probably include a string of "Rocco's" across the nation, including Las Vagas, and a cooking show on TVFN with his mom as a frequent guest star.

Did you chill your samples to examine the strength of the gelatin at the various time points?

Excellent idea -- we're looking forward to your analysis. You can actually have three products to compare - the meaty, the boney, and a mixture of the two. My prediction? That the mixture will have the best combination of gelatinous mouthfeel and meaty taste.

Given the above, I stand by my suggestion of La Tasca. I can't guarantee they have mongafolo (description please), but they are likely to have local food, if not on the menu you could always ask for it.

Fink does it again! The new Barbe-Cuban trumps even the Barbe-Reuben for improving on the original. This was the best Cubano I've ever had. Jason always orders them whenever we go to Cuban places, but I never saw the appeal. Most are skimpy on the meat and DRY. Fink's version takes his smoked pork, dressed with Goya bitter orange marinade instead of BBQ sauce, Smithfield ham, Cheese and a generous slice of Pickelicious Pickle. Pressed in a Panini grill, it is gooey with cheese and juicy. Fabulous. Even the accompaniments are perfect. The black beans were made with the Smithfield ham bone and the flavor comes through crystal clear. A generous pile of maduros completes the plate. We also sampled the Gazpacho and the flavor was spot on. A little heat from several varieties of chilies, nice acid and sweetness from the ripe tomatoes, and the perfect amount of cilantro -- just barely enough, even Rosie* could tolerate the cilantro level. I think the texture of the soup could be improved upon. I prefer a more pureed base with diced veg garnish, the tomatoes were a little 'shreddy' IMO. Not bad, but I just had to think of something to critique! I think Fink should continue with the cold soups as specials for the rest of the summer -- Vichyssoise anyone? *Rosie is a member of the "cilantro tastes like soap" brigade (as is Fink).

Just my opinion, but it's not cool to throw around accusations from behind a psuedonym. At least Uzay had the guts to post under his own name. Hear hear! Edit: Here here! (which is it?)

You're welcome. And welcome to eGullet. Oh, and zenial, you should ask about 'who' is specifically going to be 'where' privately. Answering questions like that can be dangerous in a public internet environment.

Such raves and no link to the recipe? click here or here* for the article. And, click here or here* for the recipe. *Two different links that lead to the same place, in case one expires before the other.

So, what did you end up doing with all that lovely crab?

Um, because I grew up with a rack in the sink and I've always had a rack in the sink? Hmm. I've gotta think about this one. A plastic coated rack in a porceline sink is necessary to protect glassware & dishes from breakage. But do I really need a metal rack in my metal sink? What do I use it for? The main purposes seem to be: 1) To keep glasses & dishes elevated off the sink bottom - either for cleanliness or to protect the sink. Both of these reasons are irrelevant. The dishes are usually dirty when they enter the sink and I'm not concerned about little scuffs and scrapes in the metal. After the first few small scratches you've just got to admit you can't keep these things looking new for long. 2) As an actual dish rack when cleaning dishes (i.e. vertically supporting the edge of plates as you hand wash). I very rarely hand wash, having a fancy schmancy dishwasher and all, so only use it for this purpose occasionally. So, back to the original question, do I really need the rack? No, probably not. But I like having it for the occasional times I need it and I am just so used to having one, it would feel weird without it. Cleaning it is no problem. Most times when I run the dishwasher, I just add the rack to the upper level (horizontally over the glasses and misc items). Doesn't interfere with the cleaning of anything else and cleans up just fine there.

If you do get one of the higher end sinks with the off-set drain, be sure to get the dish rack that is designed for your style of sink. The generic ones you can get at Bed & Bath or somewhere like that will not have the hole in the right place.

My Blanco sink has drains that are in the back center position. Not in a corner, but not in the center of the sink either. I'm sure there are more affordable versions out there too.

Since you want people to confirm their attendence, I thought it might be handy to have the current RSVP list at the end of the thread rather than a couple pages back. Anyway, so far Jason and I are still planning on driving down. I'd say we have about an 80% chance of coming. We will reconfirm mid-Sept.

look at the pictures again.

KT will be going on vacation shortly. The restaurant will be closed for about week starting Saturday, August 9th. They will reopen for dinner service on Tuesday, August 19th. Also, Saigon Republic was once again written up, this time in NJ Monthy magazine, here's a link for the online article, Think Globally, Eat Locally (page down).

I understand exactly what you are saying Bux. And since the communication I and others received was that it was going to be a tasting menu, with accompaniments, I think we are justified in being a little disappointed. In fact, one of the gentlemen I spoke with on the way out said he specifically asked if it was a full dinner, and was told it was a tasting menu and there would be side dishes. I won't go as far as Jason as to say it was overpriced (but to nitpick Rich, it was 4.5 cases of wine (including the champagne), not 7, unless there was another table of wine I didn't see?), but most of the meat portions were tiny, those are not life-sized pictures. I understand their reasoning for changing their mind about it, but still, it would have been nice to have been served a salad at some point, maybe a scoop of sorbet as a concluding palatte cleanser? I didn't leave there hungry exactly, but I needed something anything green. Jason was actually hungry (he seemed to get the smallest tastings of every meat), so he ordered a chicken and a noodle dish, but it was only the plate of sauteed mixed green vegetables I ordered that we finished. That out of the way, the Wagyu (Lobel pronounced it Wag-oo) was the most interesting meat last night. Very beefy, with a lot of fat marbling. The problem with the wines paired with it was that they were oaky, leaving that caramel tasting film in the mouth. This was not conducive to cutting the fatty taste left in the mouth after the beef. At $80+/lb, I don't think we'll be making it a frequent purchase. However, it was the ultra-prime filet mignon that was something I could see going to Lobels to purchase. What we were served was more of a slice from further up the loin, than the mignon, but it was tender, beefy, well marbled, delicious, this is not the bland soft filet mignon you get at the supermarket!

On the Rt 10 corridor, my favorite is the Whippany Diner, way better than the Brookside Diner (also Whippany) or Golden Touch in East Hanover. Oh and my mother told me never to bother going to the Morristown Diner, I trust her, so I haven't. Current fave is the Oradell Diner formerly known as Haglers with a Haglers sign still on the building. We also frequent the Royal Cliffs in Englewood Cliffs and occasionally Matthews in Bergenfield. Not the Tenafly Diner. I don't know if we'll ever go back there again. We kept giving it second chances and it always disappointed.

What about Topher (?), the gay blonde excellent waiter?

Oh! You're doing a street cart. Well that makes things a lot clearer. Obviously then you have to keep your menu simple. What you are considering making sounds well thought through and will keep your costs down. Skip the babaganoush at first, since it is more complicated to make (need an oven or a grill), and the eggplant will cost a lot more than chickpeas. I agree that you should probably search out a falafel scoop to keep your product uniform and compact. I also found a good recipe for you to check out on the web, click here, along with a great article about falafel with exerpts from Joan Nathan's book, The Foods of Israel Today. Also, at some point here on eGullet we had an extensive discussion about pushcarts/streetcarts/hot dog carts. Talking about how much the vendors make, the carts themselves, etc. I've done a search but can't find the thread. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, it would probably be a good thread for Xavier to read.

Did you bake the pizza on a rack positioned above the tiles? I thought you were supposed to bake the pizza directly on the tiles on the lower rack. Yes? Anyway, I just bought the 6x6 red quarry tiles at Home Depot. $1.20 per square foot, or $8.40 for a box of 28 tiles (30 cents each). 12 fit on our oven rack, so I lined the rack fit into the lowest level. Hmm, maybe I should have washed them first? I'm planning on getting a couple cut so they fit in our spare tray for the toaster oven. That way I have a convenient way to heat up leftover pizza too.

Any more comments? Just that I think it's a great idea, especially for the touristy area of Old San Juan. When you are walking around on a hot day, nothing sounds better to me than a take away cup of fruit salad. Perhaps you could offer fruit smoothies as well? That and pitas stuffed with falafel or just salad ingredients (lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, etc) plus including hummus and babaganoush, will be a large enough menu. I can just picture your little store-front now, with a chalkboard out front tempting people with cold fruit smoothies & your fabulous falafel! Sorry I can't offer more help with perfecting your recipe. Just practice and test! Good Luck!

Ah, see there's the rub, you left out the details -- that it would take 90 minutes to turn it down, etc.