mamster

I could have sworn that I posted to this thread earlier, but now I can't find my post. You can't always find them, but we often get wonderful green mangoes in Seattle. I've gotten to the point where I can tell from the weight, size, and firmness of the fruit whether it's going to be adequately green. It's a pretty versatile tool, suitable for a variety of savory dishes. If you don't see them at your local Asian market, ask--they may be able to get some.

klink and I had the crabs. Boy, that didn't sound right. Let me start again. Yamamoto served some fried river crabs to me and klink. Klink specifically asked for them, but it sounds like you did also. Maybe ck just exudes a sushi savvy to which chefs can't say no. The crabs were awesome, by the way, crunchy little explosions of crab flavor.

Too much information! Just kidding. Thanks, Suvir. I realized after I posted that of course I do know the ubiquitous thin tamarind chutney. There is so much to say about tamarind, I should make it a series of articles. By the way, I have here some tamarind extract imported from India, and the brand name is TAMCON. I love this futuristic-sounding name.

It's Bouchard Pere & Fils La Vignee 2000. Currently $9 on the dreaded card. They also carry the Coron pinot noir, which I usually drink when I go to Cafe Campagne. It's about $10.

Oh, you can put Le Gourmand (and French Laundry) on my list, too. And Genoa in Portland. Shilla was a favorite family vacation stop when we would come up from Portland when I was a kid. We kids loved the bulgogi. I was there recently and was afraid that I wouldn't like it anymore, but my unagi donburi (eel and rice) was perfectly acceptable. It's still a nice place.

I love almost any dish with tamarind in it. And more to the point, I am working on an article about tamarind. I'm familiar with how tamarind is used in Thai food, and to a lesser extent in Mexican food, but beyond vindaloo, I know little about how India uses this wonderfully sour fruit. What kind of dishes feature tamarind? Are tamarind drinks popular? What about desserts and snacks?

Yes, I forgot to mention that I can't remember the label and will go to the store to check it out. Stay tuned.

Hmm. I am itching to go to Earth & Ocean, Oceanaire, and the new Malay Satay Hut. I'm also looking forward to Salumi tomorrow. I think today I'm going to have lunch at Monsoon, because I need some of their sour shrimp soup. (It's for an article I'm working on, but also I haven't had it in a while and it rules.) Incidentally, Laurie and I had a really good meal at Thaiku in Ballard the other night. It's the place that used to be the Fremont Noodle House. We had miang kham (the appetizer wherein the diner fills up a betel leaf with various flavorful bits) grilled chicken with sticky rice and papaya salad; and a bowl of Chiang Mai curry noodles (kao soi), one of my favorite foods and done really well here, although they put a few too many fried noodles on top. They put sichuan preserved vegetables in their kao soi, which is a really smart thing that I haven't seen done elsewhere. Highly recommended.

Now I know where to stop on the way to Portland. Welcome, lastsupper!

I'm not sure how much of which type of CRS I'm going to buy, but I will definitely be drinking Pinot Noir with it. There's an inexpensive red Burgundy that I've been enjoying from QFC (I make Beef Burgundy with it as well as drinking it), and I find that Pinot Noir with salmon is a cliche for a darn good reason.

Suvir, I don't have any pink peppercorns on hand, or I already would have done a taste test. But there is a spice store in downtown Seattle that I keep meaning to get to, and when I do I'll get some pinks and see what they're about.

Thanks for the clarification, Suvir and Adam. Sounds like it's one of those oregano vs Mexican oregano things. If I make it to India I will look for the "real" pink peppercorns.

Suvir, I was under the impression that pink peppercorns were not Piper nigrum but are the berry from a different tree; I poked around on the net and some say they are Schinus molle and others (including Dave DeWitt) say Baies spp. I don't think I've ever tasted a pink peppercorn outside of a spice blend, so I'm not really sure what they taste like and whether they taste anything like black or white peppercorns.

My old peppermill couldn't handle the large Tellicherry peppercorns, but my new one (the Unicorn Magnum) can. I think I can tell the difference--the Tellicherry are hotter, to start with--but haven't done a blind tasting. The peppercorns are from India, of course. I should put in my usual plug for fresh green peppercorns, which are unavailable in the U.S. but something I love to eat in Thailand (they're thrown into all sorts of curries, particularly northern and northeastern ones). Suvir, are unripe peppercorns used this way in India? I find they taste like a cross between a peppercorn and a green vegetable, just a wonderful thing to find in your curry.

There's a great political reporter and columnist for the Oregonian, Steve Duin, who switched over from sports. I think the best writers at any given paper are often in sports. Whether this qualifies them to become food writers is a conversation we've, well, had.

The U District Farmer's Market is starting on the 26th; since I'm not much of a forager (except for restaurants), that's when I start thinking about local goodies. Hey, shouldn't that Copper River salmon be here any minute? Thriftway and Larry's usually give away free samples; I'll post when I figure out when this is happening. BH, I've had delicious ramps in New York but haven't seen them here. I know they're grown in Oregon, and I assume that means Washington as well. I'll ask around. The stuff you made with your morels sounds outrageously good. I expect fresh morels will be available (if they're not already) at Whole Foods, but probably at ludicrous prices. I once saw fresh porcinis there for $30/lb.

Happy birthday from me too, MsRamsey. Have you been to the E&O bar before, or was this your first visit? A while back I heard about their truffled french fries and have been meaning to get down there and see what that's all about.

I don't think anything is unquestionable. A lot of people enjoy Andy Warhol's work even though they can't afford to buy it. I won't deny that there is often an elitist aspect to what ends up considered "great" art, but a lot of people simply think that Andy Warhol's work (including but not limited to the soup cans) is totally cool. Here's what needled me about your post: You set out your credentials as an art expert in order to say that a particular artist is no good. I reject this vehemently. To try and bring this back around, I agree with Steve P that this doesn't have much to do with dinner 99% of the time. The idea of cooking as high art has been largely injurious to the pursuit of good eating, just as the idea of architecture as high art has helped to produce plenty of expensive, bad architecture.

And rock and roll is a bunch of meaningless noise, barbecue boring meat hunks on a grill, and....

One time I went into 88 and he was out of pork. I think the guy (bad mixed metaphor ahead) runs out of things like a fox to keep people coming back. Not that I am complaining. GC, the chicken sandwich from Saigon Deli was definitely moister than the typical pork. 88's pork is quite moist, though. Has anyone else tried the "charbroiled pork" from 88 or elsewhere? It's quite a different thing, these tasty pink meatballs.

Sorry you didn't like Ezo, tsquare. I have to say that of all the places I recommend to people, this is the one where I get the most responses like yours. About half of my recommendees like it as much as I do, and the other half say, "Well, that was boring." I guess I did make such a disclaimer near the beginning of the thread. The best dishes at Ezo are the Ezo ramen, pork gyoza, and fried noodle, if that helps.

Yes, I get fresh Alaskan halibut, which is available most of the year in Seattle. Is east coast halibut a different species?

I'm willing to wager that the answer involves, "The food is good and they wanted to put me on the radio."

It occurs to me that I have a halibut-related question, too. Several sources that I've read (such as Bittman and, I think, James Peterson) say that because halibut is so easy to dry out, they prefer wet cooking methods like poaching or steaming. It's true that halibut is easy to dry out, but I've tried poaching it a couple of times, once in a very strong soy sauce blend, and it came out the essence of insipid--mushy fish poorly integrated with the sauce. Is this just a preference, or might I have erred at some point in the process?

I've had good luck with a Bittman recipe for halibut with curry powder and lime. Rub a filet or steak with salt and homemade or good store-bought curry powder, saute in vegetable oil (keeping the heat moderate so the spices don't burn before the fish is done, or finish in the oven), then deglaze the pan with a squeeze of lime juice and pour over the fish. One time when my mom was out of town, I went over to my parents' house and cooked for my dad. I brought my jar of Penzey's Madras curry powder and got a halibut fillet and a lime on the way. He was pretty impressed that I was able to create dinner with sauce from these ingredients.