mamster

You're right, Brad, by no means do I want to imply that actual frat boys are allowed into Big Time or any other bar. But it is kind of testosterony.

Nine months is a pretty long lag, but in the magazine world, articles can kick around for a while. Restaurant reviews don't sit around, of course. Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I noticed that Vivace Roasteria has a liquor license app up. And I like World Cup a lot -- I don't remember why it didn't make the article, probably timing. Matthew

Holy carp that fish-oriented dinner looks good!

I, too, skipped this thread, thinking you were talking about CPK. I live around the corner from Extreme Pizza and have had it a couple of times. It's definitely mediocre chain pizza, and yet it's the kind of mediocre chain pizza I remember fondly from my youth, and it's quite reasonably priced. I'm sure I'll be back.

Tonight we introduced Iris, age 19 months, to larb. Actually, she'd eaten it once before, but she was too young to remember, which is good, as it was a mediocre takeout larb. I larbed beef, with shallots, scallions, fish sauce, lime juice, Thai chiles, cilantro, and lots of rice powder. Iris was interested in the cabbage leaves and somehow even managed to eat some, despite the fact that she has no back teeth. But lord does this kid love larb. She pulled out a string of shallot and said, "Noodle!" I explained it was a shallot. She said, "Shallot," and ate it. Then she looked at her plate and said, "Shallot! Nother!" and ate that one, too. She also liked the beef, which she called "pork," probably as a result of many happy experiences with the ground pork in Ants on a Tree. She ate almost as much larb as I did. Later I asked what she thought we should have for breakfast tomorrow. She thought about this for a moment and answered, "Larb." Sounds good to me. I realized during dinner that larb is a lot like sloppy joes. Kids the world over should cry out for larb.

If they're already on Powell, just drive east to 122nd and the truck is there every day. It's a very stable one, I think. $1 tacos, Jarritos, good pickles.

I've eaten several times at a good truck on the southeast corner of 122nd and Powell, but that's a long way from downtown.

FYI, I'm not applying for the job, but thanks for the kind thought. No write-in campaigns!

Hey, I was there last night, too! I was eating early at the bar, so we probably didn't cross paths. I was going to get a calzone, but I decided it was too hot for a calzone and had the primavera instead, which was great as always.

I went for lunch yesterday, and I liked it a lot. To start with, the place is immaculately clean, which is saying a lot on the Ave. The burgers are of the cooked-through ilk, but there's a good choice of toppings and good buns, similar to Franz BBQ buns if not actually Franz brand. I had my burger with cheddar, sauteed mushrooms and onions, and hot sauce, with onion rings. The rings were quite good for frozen. You get a free soda if you buy rings or fries. I think the total price was $6.50. I'll definitely go back.

I don't have a lot of culinary prejudices, but I'm allergic to food made by people named "Phred".

Not a waste at all, elswinger. Here's what I usually do. Preheat the oven to 500. Using a cast iron pan or a nonstick pan you don't particularly care about, put a dash of oil in the pan and heat over high heat for a couple of minutes. Salt and pepper the salmon well on both sides. Place it in the pan skin side up and sear it for about a minute. Flip the salmon and transfer the pan to the oven. For a thick king fillet, about seven or eight minutes in the oven gets me to medium-rare, and the skin is perfect. I learned this technique from a Mark Bittman article, and now basically any time I cook salmon another way, I wonder why I didn't do it the usual way.

Sur La Table at the market has them, or at least did last time I looked. edit: For that matter, I have more than I'll ever use, if you just want to borrow a cup.

Maybe you could pulverize the Oreos at home and bring them in. And get thrown out of Tully's. edit: stoopid typo

I tried the Oreo shake. It kind of sucked. You could see the Oreo crumbs but you couldn't taste them. Stick with the mocha shake, and get an Oreo Blizzard down at the DQ. Not on the same day.

I really enjoyed our visit to VT. The primavera was superb, and looking over the pizza list, I didn't see anything that struck me as more appealing (it's not a very diverse list, but that's not a criticism). We were in a hurry, which is why we didn't order a calzone, but we'll definitely do so next time. I think more pizzas should have salad on them. In fact, I think salad is underused as an ingredient. I've never enjoyed a standalone salad as much as a salad on top of pizza or steak, or a salad under a piece of fish.

In my experience, Joe, there are only two places you really need to try: Noodle Boat in Issaquah May in Wallingford Noodle Boat is more like a hole-in-the-wall curry and rice shop and May more like an upscale Bangkok restaurant.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I should point out that I got one detail wrong: the shochu is Japanese, not Korean, vodka. There is also soju on the menu, which is Korean vodka. However did I get this wrong? There's an energy and comfort level about Maekawa that I think I didn't really capture. It's hard to imagine ever turning down an invitation to go there.

Yeah, I'd like to find these people who think Broadway is intimidating, knock them over the head, and take their wallets.

The new Tully's shake this season is the espresso Oreo shake. I haven't tried it yet, but if you're on the pro-Tully's side, what are you waiting for (other than the sun)?

David Rosengarten recommends making beef bourgignon with beef cheeks. Now I can give it a shot.

Laurie and I went to Brouwer's last weekend, and I don't have a whole lot to add above what's been said so far, but I'll see if I can fill in a few cracks here and there. HamHocks is right that a bottle list is absolutely mandatory. Yes, they'll have to update it every day. Boo hoo. That's what laser printers are for. I had the carbonnade, which was pretty good. The meat could have braised a little longer and the sauce had too much flour, but otherwise I liked it. I also had to try the endive gratin. This is not supposed to be a subtle dish, I suppose, but the prosciutto was sliced too thick and the cheese formed a crusty peel-off layer on the top. But not bad, either. Laurie had the mussels, and I thought they were okay. Freshness was fine. Not enough broth. I had a glass of Delirium Tremens, which was great, and I don't really have a problem with the beer prices. Above all, again right along with HamHocks and others, the fries and the bread totally suck. The bread can be fixed instantly. Grand Central baguette would be fine. The fries clearly need a total overhaul. I'm not sure exactly what they're doing wrong, but boy is it wrong. I'm going back tonight and hoping for the best. I'm not reviewing the place, so I'll feel free to bring some of these things up with them. Has anyone sat upstairs? It looks really cool. edit: Oh, and HamHocks, why don't you mail them your post anonymously?

Eden, I totally don't remember how I modified the recipe, except that I think I omitted the dried shrimp, because I can never find dried shrimp that are any good, or maybe I'm only in the mood for dried shrimp in Thailand. Something like that.

Hi, Tamiam. For phad thai I think it's unlikely you're going to find anything that beats the paste. You can get it seedless, though, which makes it a little easier. You do still have to strain out a bunch of solids. The pods are more expensive, harder to deal with, and don't taste any better than the paste. The concentrate is more at home in Indian curries. It seems like you might be able to make tamarind water with the paste and then freeze it in ice cube trays. Anyone tried this?

I should point out again that the supposed "mamster recipe" is cribbed almost exactly from that same July/Aug 2002 Cook's Illustrated.