mamster

awbrig, they're safe to eat. There's just an import ban because they might contain some kind of citrus parasite. If you're not a citrus, chow down. Yes, Land of Plenty is the American edition of Sichuan Cookery. And yes, markstevens, they're the lip-numbers.

Can you really wear jeans to Rover's?

I'm bringing this back up, because I recently got the incredible book Sichuanese Cookery, by the perfectly named Fuchsia Dunlop. It's billed as the first authentic Sichuanese cookbook in English, and I don't know whether it's that or not, but the recipes are awesome. Of course most of them call for sichuan peppercorns, so now I really need some, and some good quality stuff that will numb my whole head. Who's got a source for the good stuff, the kind they use at Grand Sichuan International? I smell smuggling.

gc, thanks for giving this thread a good kick in the ass. I realize my original post was bitchy (not to mention underinformed). Perhaps I was reminded by Penelope Corcoran that a food critic should be the local restaurant scene's best friend and worst enemy in one. In my more pessimistic moments, I think "That's not good enough" should be the restaurant critic's stock phrase. Has Seattle dining improved? No doubt. Could it be a lot better? Same answer. Of course we shouldn't strive to end up like New York, SF, or (god forbid) Paris. I think we can improve our standard of service and food without becoming stuffy or exclusive. (And even New York isn't always like that--one of the best meals I've had there was at the Gramercy Tavern, in dockers and a polo shirt.) Look at Vij's in Vancouver, for example: an exemplary level of service that makes every customer feel cool.

Maybe tighe's meal at Babbo was on a night when that clumsy New Yorker writer was puttering around in the kitchen. nightscotsman, boy are you right about a European patisserie, although I'd argue that the Dahlia Bakery is a very good American bakery. The ubiquity of good bread seems like an auspicious sign. I agree with those arguing that our neighborhood restaurants help make it worth living here. If we didn't have more than our share of good ones, I would have quit the Neighborhood Deals beat in disgust a long time ago. It would be so nice to have a place like the Madrona Eatery on my street--they have great salads, and the flank steak entree I had last time was inexpensive, perfectly cooked, and on a plate with some good starch and veggies. Their burgers and pizza were kind of weak, but most of the time, at least, you got the sense that the cook was asking, "Is this the best possible food that could be leaving my kitchen?" and answering with an honest yes.

I think Delouvrier is probably making a double stock. As I've heard the term used, a double stock is simply stock made with stock rather than water. If that makes sense. I've also heard of triple stock. At some point you've got to wonder whether it wouldn't just make more sense to reduce it and make some more stock tomorrow.

Sorry it took me so long to notice this. (Hey, try Googling for 'Bangkok street food' sometime). Frankly, I don't know if I can tell the difference between restaurant-method risotto and "real" risotto. I make it the authentic way at home, but only because I have no reason to do it any other way: I get hungry, I think risotto, and I start some up. Anyway, I went to Risotteria one time and enjoyed it a lot. They did a surprisingly good job with chicken, which sounds like an obviously bad risotto ingredient, but roast some flavor into it and add at the last minute, and it's a worthy addition. If I worked or lived (I think this is Laurie's all-time dream) nearby, I'd probably go a lot.

That reminds me, Fat Guy, I finally remembered to bill you for my time on eGullet. Let's see, a thousand posts at $1/word.... We sure do [lighting cigar]. We sure do [sound of feet clomping up on desk].

Oops! Thank you.

Unlike those other restaurants where a reservation doesn't guarantee you a spot. Has anyone mentioned this thread to the restaurant management and invited them to come over and defend themselves? I read back over the thread but didn't see any mention. I'd be happy to do it if no one already has. (I'd especially like to see that guitarist here defending himself, because I hear he's from the Conservatory.)

Over on that Herbfarm thread, there was some discussion about how the food at the Herbfarm compares with top restaurants nationwide and beyond. tighe argued that Traunfeld's cooking is, in its own way, truly world-class. Let's broaden that discussion to top Seattle restaurants in general: in terms of service, decor, and above all food, how do they measure up to the best that Vancouver, Portland, New York, and other cities near and far have to offer? I have a strong opinion on this matter, but it's largely uninformed. I've eaten in maybe half a dozen "name restaurants" in town and almost always come away unimpressed. I'll give an easy example, easy because the place is closed. A couple of years ago I had a birthday meal at Saleh al Lago, a place locals seemed to adore, and I went with my whole family on the strength of these testimonials. The food wasn't actively bad, but it was crushingly mediocre--boring, in fact. Sure, it could have been an off night, but nothing suggested that: the service was fine and people around us seemed to be enjoying their meals. (Incidentally, my parents have since had several meals at Nell's, in the same location and retaining some of the same staff, and report that it's much better.) I've had similar experiences with restaurants that are still open, but because my feelings are based on single meals taken over a year ago, I don't want to name names. If I revisit them, you'll hear about it. On name we've named is Cascadia. Clearly it's possible to have a good meal there--I trust Laurie's judgment, bien sûr--but I trust nightscotsman's judgment too, and his criticisms track those of some of the posts on Chowhound and Citysearch. Cascadia holds itself out as among the best Seattle has to offer (3.5 stars from the Seattle Times), but it's possible to go there and pay big bucks for an underwhelming, underflavored meal. At the same time, I've had dynamite meals (and reports from people I trust) in Vancouver and Portland, and plenty in New York as well. Who here has made the comparison and wants to back up my impression or blow it away? I'm particularly curious about Rover's, as it's the only other place in Seattle besides the Herbfarm that trades on a national reputation. How does it measure up? Portlanders, I want to hear from you, too: are your local heroes as good as they should be? (Laurie and I are going to Genoa this month; I can't wait to see how it lives up to the hype.) If you agree with me about the state of Seattle, what's the problem? Are local critics not tough enough? Are our tastebuds dulled by too much coffee? Why are our neighboring cities eating us for lunch?

I'm really curious how this is going to turn out. I don't have much to add to the discussion at this point, but my breath is certainly bated. Southern Girl, please keep us posted.

Oh, I remember that Moroccan place on Olive, although I never went. I do like Marrakesh in Portland, or at least I did in high school. I miss Ezo till it hurts, and I miss Noodlehead in southeast Portland. (Clearly noodles and I go way back.)

Something funny happened yesterday. I had a meeting in Pioneer Square yesterday at 5, and I need a snack, so I stopped in at 88 for a BBQ pork, which I ate while walking down to the meeting. I finished it just as I arrived, and when I got there, one of the other people at the meeting said, "Hey, I just read your thing about banh mi!" And I'm thinking, "You read about me eating a banh mi just now? What the hell is going on?" Then I remembered that my review of Seattle Deli was in the paper that day.

I rarely cook a whole chicken so I don't accumulate parts. trillium, thanks for the info on Chinese stock. I'll admit I'm cooking out of ignorance here, not design. The stock ended up quite good (definite sauteed chicken flavor) and made a good hot and sour soup and some red-cooked pork belly (which I'll talk about on another thread when I have time). Do you have a method for a more traditional Chinese stock? I'd love to try it next time.

Tonyfinch, as Bourdain said, I'm a huge proponent of eating meals on the street. I can go on at interminable length about the great meals (especially breakfasts) I've had on the streets of Bangkok, about how I would stop on the way to lunch in the rain to get papaya salad from my favorite vendor. The nuance you're missing, however, is that one place can have far more food poisoning than another, but food poisoning will still be relatively rare in both places; you just don't get poisoned at every meal even in a real hellhole. Thailand (this is just the example I know best, and it's no hellhole) faces serious problems with food-borne illness, way beyond the occasional E. coli outbreak we get in the US or UK. Perhaps you've seen the billboards in northeast Thailand that say (in Thai), "Isaan doesn't eat raw fish!" (wishful thinking, that) because so many people get liver fluke from eating the delicious homemade fish paste pla raa. I don't want it to sound like I'm being a party-pooper here, and I agree completely that you are no more likely to catch something on the street than in a restaurant. I got mildly sick the first time we went to Thailand, but since I was eating constantly, I don't know what got me--maybe just the benign local flora. For me, the choice is easy: when I travel, I eat whatever looks good and whatever the locals are eating because that's where the flavor and the fun is. I'm absorbing some level of risk this way, but I'm young and healthy and my immune system kicks ass. If I were immune compromised for one reason or another, I would probably tread with greater care. Then again, other than sticking to overcooked American fast food, I don't know what you can do other than use your vaunted common sense: eat cooked food at places with high turnover and a long line of locals waiting to get in. (I've heard that raw papaya sitting out on a cart all day is a magnet for pathogens, but I'm choosing to ignore this rumor.)

Scary, isn't it? Soon I'm going to start thinking he has a pointing about living in Vermont with all his weird made-up neighbors.

BH, my Thai granite mortar and pestle is easy to clean (it tends to take on colors easily, but doesn't hold flavors); I just use water and then brush it with a juiced lime half. I've put things like garlic and shrimp paste in it and subsequently used it for more delicately flavored items and not noticed any contamination.

OK, here's how it turned out. The bag contained all chicken backs. Whole backs don't fit into my pot very easily, and I wanted to do a quick extraction stock, so I broke them down. I went down to City Kitchens to buy a cleaver, and in talking to the woman there (the one who's always there, maybe an owner), she convinced me to get an expensive pair of poultry shears instead. These worked, but they made my hand hurt, and while I was snipping away and feeling like I was doing some kind of kindergarten craft project, I nursed images of myself whacking meat with a cleaver. By the time I finished I had decided to exchange the shears for the cleaver, although maybe I should just hang onto the shears and get the cleaver another time. It's a really good sale at City Kitchens, by the way. I've returned to making stock because it tastes better, of course, but also because we now have more freezer space (our old fridge died in the summer heat and the landlord gave us a larger one). I promised myself that I would only do this regularly if I could make it easy and at least as cheap as canned broth. Back when I made stock a few years ago it ended up being a kitchen-sink affair with various aromatics that was a lot of work and expense for not much gain over canned. Anyway, following tips from Cook's Illustrated, I broke the backs (four pounds) down into 2" segments, browned them in three batches, and sweated them for twenty minutes. I added two quarts of hot water and simmered another twenty minutes with ginger and scallions and a bit of salt (I may reduce this and can always salt later if necessary). I went the Chinese stock direction because I've been wanting to cook from Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuan Cookery. I cooled the stock (the best way to do this is to fill a gallon Ziploc with ice and toss it into the pot, although you waste a Ziploc) and refrigerated it until the fat congealed on the top. I skimmed the fat, filled half a mug with stock, and heated it in the microwave. Excellent stock--moderate gelatin, mild ginger-scallion flavor, full-on chicken flavor. The last time I made a stock this good was with a whole duck carcass. Total cost (not including those poultry shears): $3 for two quarts. I think the big can of Swanson is $3 for 1.5 quarts, so I think I've done well. Time: one hour. Tomorrow I'm going to make kung pao chicken and hot and sour soup...or maybe dandan noodles.

Great installment as always. What seasonings and flavorings went into the phad thai?

I think you're on to something, tighe. French restaurants tend to get lost in the shuffle, probably because French food has been hopelessly unhip for years. I wonder if that will change now that people are starting to become convinced that butter won't kill you.

So, then, why would the recipe call for either salt pork or fatback? How could those things be interchangeable?

There's an unlimited supply of fatback at the Asian groceries in Seattle, which leads me to believe that if you have a Chinatown in your town, give it a try. It sells for under 50 cents a pound here.

Thanks, Malawry. Well, these will be thawed out tomorrow and I'll see what I've got and whether it needs to be broken down. I've been meaning to get a cleaver anyway, mostly because I envy the people who chop up the Chinese roast ducks.

I stopped off at University Seafood on the way home from the farmer's market today and got a four-pound bag of necks and backs, enough to make probably two quarts of stock, for $2.40. They even asked whether I wanted more necks or more backs. Now I realize I need a cleaver to hack them into manageable pieces; luckily City Kitchens is having a sale.