Rachel Perlow

A little. It is also alliterative. All these cute Kaola Bears deprived of their food. Maybe that's why they are on the endangered spcies list I think you are thinking of pandas. Pandas eat bamboo, Koalas eat eucalyptus. Also, pandas live in China, Koalas live in Australia.

did I miss something? What appliances are you getting? No, I didn't outline that here. I think that Paul heard about the appliances at one of the eGullet dinners. To spare Jon I'll simply list stuff here: Garland range, Kitchen Aid fridge, Miele dishwasher. I've heard the Miele is so quiet that new owners frequently open it during a cycle to make sure it is actually running! Actually, I could use some advice on Garbage Disposals, we haven't bought one yet. Our house is located in NJ. I would be most happy to give referrals. I wish we had started eGullet before we designed the kitchen and I could have gotten advice here during the planning stage! I'd leave remodelling to professionals and reduce your ulcers I agree. See my previous post for reasons we chose Expo. the REAL reason why the fridge and the oven are being switched As you can tell from the pictures, the oven is opposite the end of the peninsula. As many of you know, Jason and I are big people and I felt it was unsafe to have the oven by the limited pass through area. Also, it is more convenient to have the fridge closer to the dinning area (to get more drinks, condiments, whatever). It didn't matter that there was not a functional kitchen for several weeks because we didn't have to live there, and our daughter, who is our permanent tenant, was out of the country and didn't return until after the job was completed. That would be the ideal situation indeed!

I was watching the Tokyo episode of "A Cook's Tour" last night. I've noticed that you smoke cigarettes in previous episodes, but smoking seemed really prominent in that one. Especially interesting was how the Traditional Master Sushi Chef was smoking right in the fish vendor hall, indeed his cigarette practically touched the prize piece of Toro for which he was negotiating, as did the vendor's cigarette. Have you experienced any sensory loss due to smoking? Why do you think so many chefs are smokers? In your voiceover you compared the Japanese reverance for their ingredients, versus the American disdain. Don't you think smoking a cigarette fractions of an inch from the top of the best piece of a fish indicates a lack of respect for that ingredient?

Why didn't your companion (or you) indicate that you didn't want any more wine? I don't drink much wine (I'll usually take just a short initial glass), so am frequently having to tell servers not to give me any more. No one's tried to give me more after I've asked them not to.

Wow! Your remodel sounds fantastic. I wish we had the room for an expansion, but the configuration of the house and property really don't allow for it (we have a pretty small back yard). I suppose if we were moving our plumbing & major appliances to a new location that area could have been set up before demolition, but it isn't feasible with our layout. You really should post your location (or at least your state) so if someone else is in your area they can contact you for referrals. When we started our planning, we really didn't have anyone to turn to for recommendations. Also, I really liked the designer we had through Expo. She also helped with an update to the master bath (just painting and replacing the sink/mirror, lighting), and that was without charge (for her services). And we had a local electrician/handyman do that work. It looks like there will probably be a delay in the start of our construction due to the missing sink base. I don't completely get why, but at least they didn't dismantle the kitchen and then realize they had to wait. I'll keep you all posted.

There are a few more pictures added to the original picture link above. These mostly document the chipped sink and water damaged countertops. Also, I'm glad I didn't hold my breath cause it looks like they're not starting today.

Thanks for that comprehensive list, Rosie!

Hooptie! (veering off the road warning)

Oh yeah, I definitely don't like sweetbreads, the intestine part was OK, chewy. But the sweetbreads? :blech: (should look like raz, but with big open eyes)

I'm not 100% certain, but they may have been hiding out in the baking section. The primary use for these cookies is as crust and some weird "cake" made with Cool Whip.

Thankfully, we're not knocking down any walls or anything. The only thing we are really deprived of during the project is our garage and a convenient kitchen layout; the fridge to sink to grill/burner triangle is non-existant! I have used my Weber for more than grilling. The book goes into detail about baking for example, and I've cooked a whole turkey on it before. And we have a pretty big driveway.

Everything I hate, Jason loves: Blue cheese, olives, caviar Conversely, I love things he hates, like cooked fish. And liver, but only chopped chicken liver, or pate. But not beef liver. And neither in their original form, sauteed or broiled, with or without bacon. Liver is one thing bacon can't salvage. Oh, I don't like runny eggs either. If I get eggs benedict, or any other type of egg with a runny yolk, I just eat the whites.

Part of the reason we chose to do this through Home Depot Expo is their lifetime warranty on the construction. As this is the very first time we are doing such a major project I was leery of using some local contractor who could be out of the business the next year. Also, our designer and project supervisor really seem to trust the contractor doing the actual work. When we were ready to begin the project again after our requested delay, they were insistant on using this particular contractor, saying he was the best one they'd worked with. My supervisor is actually on vacation this week, so he sent a co-worker (another Expo project super) to examine my cabinet delivery. He was very thorough in checking each cabinet & finish and wrote down anything that wasn't perfect for replacement. When he asked who was my contractor, he also said that that one does very good work. I've also met him several times and he's a real straight shooter. I feel I am in good hands. Did you remodel more than your kitchen? In there, were you having your floors redone too? What kind of counter top do you have? How could you use your kitchen after they removed your cabinetry? floors? We are also reversing the positioning of the stove and refridgerator, this will require some plumbing/gas line work in the basement crawl space. After this and the electrical work in the ceiling and walls the town has to do inspections, which incurs some down time, where they can't install the new stuff until the inspection is approved. Also, we are saying 2 months, but know that is an approximation. It should take 8-10 weeks, a lot depends on the amount of down time because of inspections. The towns around here are really a PITA when it comes to these things. Some inspectors only go out for inspections once a week. If you miss that day, you may have to wait until the following week for the inspection. Did you have any downtime due to these types of inspections?

As Jason mentioned, Expo outlines the cost of every little thing in advance. We made a small down payment when we began the design process. Paid for the various orders (tile, then appliances, then cabinets, with all parts & accessories) as they were ordered. But all orders were put on a Home Depot credit card. Six months, no payments or interest. Approximately half the project was paid off last March. We put the other half of the project on the card last week (had to be paid before delivery of goods). This includes all construction costs. However, we have six months to pay this amount. And if this project isn't finished by the time I actually have to put out the cash in December, someone will suffer! So, no we're not as naive as Jason made us sound. We set up a temporary kitchen in the den area of the basement. Keep in mind this is a split-level house, so the basement is just six steps down from the kitchen (see the stairs to the left of the fridge). Our offices are off of this room. I set up some plain shelves from Ikea and have the microwave, toaster oven, blender and ice cream maker (all the essentials!) on that, along with mixing bowls, a big pot, 1 saucepan, a non-stick and a cast-iron skillet. We have two sinks, in the bathroom and laundry area. The dish drain board is on top of the dryer, overhanging the laundry sink. The fridge will be moved down there before demolition. We also have a Poland Spring water cooler. Outside is our Weber Grill with Side Burner (we spurged for the side burner last year in anticipation for the project). We will also probably eat out a lot.

Wow, Jason put up all the photos I took. I was going to put them in some semblance of order, but I guess that option is out. When we first saw this house in October of 2000, we loved the contemporary feel of the split-level design. But the owner before the previous owner remodeled the kitchen in a very 80's formica/plastic cheap-crap way. We knew we were going to need to re-do the kitchen. We started planning, using an Expo designer, even before we closed on the house the following March (2001), finalizing the plans last summer. Everything was in the warehouse last fall, but we delayed construction for personal reasons. We were ready to begin again last February (2002), but then the contractor was busy. Now we are finally about to really begin. Everything for the new kitchen was supposed to be delivered last Wednesday. The only thing that arrived was the tile. And part of that order is missing and has to be re-ordered. On Sunday, June 9th, I packed up the kitchen with some help now most everything is in boxes in the garage. On Monday, all the rest of the stuff was supposed to be delivered, just the cabinets came. About 20% of the doors had some defect (scratches, poorly matched wood) and are being replaced. The sink base didn't come. It's been re-ordered. The appliances are now scheduled to arrive next Monday. Expo has a thing about everything for the project being onsite before they begin. However, demolition is scheduled to begin tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath! {Edit: On 7/1/02 I edited the above link, deleted some photos and added captions.} Here's some more information about the pictures at the link above. Obviously these are the "before" shots. I took a lot of pictures, I hadn't intended for them all to be online, so I won't bore you with details of every shot. The entire kitchen is 12' x 21', including the Dining Area which is open to the Living Room. PIC00001-2 show the Dining Area. The vertical blinds are in front of sliding glass doors to the back yard. #19-20 show the cheap crap lighting fixture. #10 is a pretty good shot of the working area of the kitchen, and Truffle coming upstairs to see what the heck I'm doing taking all these pictures. #15 show all the scratches on the front of the stove. It doesn't show the rustiness on the storage drawer. #26 shows the PITA over-the-fridge cabinets. The future cabinets should be flush to the front of the fridge. I didn't bother taking pictures of the fridge interior. Suffice it to say, no ice maker, broken door shelves, noisy, etc. #12 & 13 show the desk/peninsula area. This will be replaced with a narrower peninsula and pantry. There will be no seating over-hang to the peninsula (giving another 1/2 foot of space in the work area) and the corner cabinet will have back doors that open into the dining area so I can actually make use of the currently dead corner. #22-24 show the broken state of the desk. #16 & 21 document how uneven the cabinet doors are, we couldn't get them to hang level. Oh, and notice the lovely plastic door handles. #25 shows the sink area, looks nice enough, but the sprayer is broken and the enamel sink is chipped inside. Can't show this in a picture, but to close the dishwasher, I have to kind of shove the door to the side while I close it. Now, I'm not complaining, I just want to document the reasons why we are doing the renovation (other than we just want to). We are looking forward to having all of our shiny new appliances, stone countertop and tile backsplash, etc. These will be discussed in future installments. PS - I will answer questions, as I've noticed them accumulating already as I preview my post, but I will probably react negatively to other people second guessing our decisions. I don't know how the process may turn out, but frankly I'm not too anxious about the process (this is unusual for me), and am being optimistic.

Nope, wouldn't matter if the reviews were all perfect and duplicated my opinions exactly. 1) I've found that when I've subscribed to newspapers they just start to pile up and then I have to deal with recycling. I prefer to read on the web, and I'll go out and buy an individual paper when there is really something I have to have in print. 2) I usually don't like to read restaurant reviews unless I'm standing in front of the restaurant - and then it is only for ordering suggestions/warnings.

I hadn't thought of it in that light. When we first moved to Bergen county, I wondered about Binghamtons. More than one local told me not to bother, but it would have been good to see a review in the newspaper too. Regarding reviewing NY places, like Xaviar's, to me it is acceptable occasionally. I don't know if the review in question was focusing on the Garrison or Piermont location, but since Piermont is a shorter drive from where I live then Mahwah, for example, it is useful for me to have Piermont & Nyack (which are definitely worthy destinations) restaurants in the paper. Then again, I am not a print subscriber and usually don't read reviews other than online when they are mentioned here, or if I am doing research for a particular restaurant or type of restaurant I'll look to see if there's a review online.

We've had them made by our Chinese friend's mother. She stuffed a pork mixture between two slices, battered, then fried them. I'll email her this thread to see if we can get a recipe.

Jason and I had dinner at a Thai place in West Palm Beach, Florida, that did this. It was the only thing memorable about that dinner.

I just had the most beautiful green bean salad with my lunch. It came from a local lunch place, I'll have to find out which and get a recipe. But, I wanted to tell you about it. Blanched green beans with diced red and yellow bell peppers, white and black sesame seeds with a sesame oil based dressing, maybe with a little rice vinegar. Simple and delicious and visually stunning. Are there any salads, or other dishes, you make primarily for their visual appeal, but taste good too? Tell us about them, recipes welcome.

Ooh, just remembered there is an ice cream store (I don't think there's any place to sit) in a residential area of Ridgewood. Does anyone know the name/address?

I was going to move this to General and leave it here as well, but Jason has asked that the coordinators not move any more threads until after the upcoming site upgrade. I suggest someone who feels this is worth discussing in General start a new topic there in addition to this one, which will be reserved for discussing NJ restaurants.

I wasn't going to post that, but since you asked, $250 (incl tax, tip, 2 glasses of wine).

Mark, I got a request via email for directions using mass transit. You seem to know the system pretty well, could you post bus/train info here?

Bennies has about 10 tables, and we've never had a reservation or a problem being seated. Has anyone been there on a weekend night since their NY Times mention? Is it busier then?