ScorchedPalate

I'd say we could tackle both "flat" and "gourmet" categories. Folks who are only interested in one or the other could choose their RSVPs wisely.

I feel like there was a wedding reception thread a while back.... A couple of ideas that went over really well at our reception for snacks - Fancy chicken salad (herb mayonaisse, sliced almonds, etc.) in endive spears - Flavored foccacia / flatbreads

I never would have guessed how much I use my KA stand mixer. Even if you're not a baker, it's worth having. Check eBay for used KA grinders, but make sure you get a relatively modern one; one of my friends has an ancient KA mixer and its grinder has an (intentionally) dull blade. It makes terrible sausage and won't stuff worth a damn. And -- slightly off-topic -- in case anyone was wondering: the pasta plates for the KA grinder are utterly useless. ~Anita

'Tis not for the Friends of Chuck / Patty Patrol / Ground Roundup to make proclamations about beverage choices. I propose the following bylaws: 1) You must order a burger. 2) Once you've RSVPd, call or PM if you're not going to show. 3) Split the check fair and square. 4) Other than these, the only rule is "Do whatcha like. As for the name: Given that we have a Chuck among us, I think "FoC" is perhaps a little too confusing... much as I like it. Shall we start a new thread, start planning a date, etc? ~Anita

Since this won't be an official incarnation of Burger Club, I suggest we don't lay down any such rules. Except, perhaps, that all in attendence *must* order a burger. Toppings, degree of doneness, fries vs. salad. vs. rings ... these are all highly personal decisions. I'd say we start with Palace to give us a good baseline. Plus, they have that cool room to the side for large parties. Once summer comes, we could do a potluck grill-your-own, too. ~Anita

The one that always cracks me up is "I'll be your cashier when you're ready" -- as though I were going to head to the front of the restaurant and look in vain for the little blue-haired lady to ring me up. (Have only seen one of those in the last 10 years at Cyndy's.) This phenomenon seems to be unique to Seattle. I almost miss it when we travel. Ok, not really. ~A ps: And -- as you may have guessed from my current sig line -- the pet peeve du jour is servers who correct my pronunciation. Especially when they are wrong.

"Ground Roundup" is fantabulous! (I also just thought of "Friends of Chuck") As for frequency: Definitely no more often than every 4 weeks... I don't know if my system could handle multiple burgers in a week, much less a day.

<laugh> This reminds me of my favorite retort: Server: "My name is Susie if you need anything." Me (not out loud): "And what is your name in case I don't need anything?"

Based on the activity level in this thread and others of late, I wonder if we have enough interest here to do something similar to -- and note here that I am looking over my shoulder and whispering -- Burger Club here in Seattle. For those of you (blissfully) unaware, the original BC premise was to gather a group together to try burgers at various locations, evaluate them. There was a (somewhat draconian, IMHO) set of rules -- including things like "no bacon" and "no meat but beef". As I recall, the whole thing devolved into controversy and catastrophe on the NYC board, but I think that the London group still meets, somewhat irregularly (We had some burgers with them last winter) and there's apparently a Vancouver chapter as well. I think it would be fun to do something similar. We'd just have to call it something else. Maybe "the Committee for Not-So-Mad Cows" or "Patty Patrol" ~Anita

I feel the same way about the one in Lower Queen Anne. I really want to like them, but <shudder> we've had too many terrible meals there. Not to mention the time I watched them try to douse a kitchen fire with all manner of flammable materials. ~A

Glad to have made another Palace burger convert. Yes, it's dark in there! I, for one, love Palace for those nights when I don't feel like doing the whole hair-and-makeup thing. (You probably won't find this as compelling, oddly enough...) Speaking of gender-specific benefits: Next time you go, have Amber tell you about the larger stall in the ladies' room. It's almost as much fun as the burger. ~Anita

Hi, MmmFood. Welcome to eG! Thanks for the descriptive writeup. I've only had korean food once, long ago. I have this strange feeling that once I try it, I will have another new addiction (like szechuan hotpot!). I keep meaning to get up to Edmonds to prowl around 99 Ranch -- maybe combining shopping with dinner will get me motivated. Thanks for the tip, ~Anita

I have two burger categories -- let's just call them 'flat' and 'gourmet' -- that I judge completely differently. A flat burger should be juicy, tasty, and at least a bit messy. Aside from violently overdone, there's no allowance for doneness in this category. It also shouldn't cost more than $5, with cheese; fries can be extra. Minimum condiments here: lettuce, mayo, ketchup, cheese. There should be fries available, bonus for those made on the premises. A gourmet burger should have, at a minimum: - beef ground on the premises - hand-formed patty, thick enough to allow for measurable degrees of doneness - juicy, beefy-tasting meat - a bun that adds to the experience - a full roster of condiment options. I'll condone reasonable additional cost for things like cheese, bacon, mushrooms, and the like. Minimum list in this category includes lettuce, ketchup, good mustard, mayo or thousand island, good pickles, onion slices. Extra points for interesting cheese or house-made condiments, with the distinct exception on ketchup, which must be Heinz. - Good fries, made from scratch. A small salad should be graciously offered as a substitution, at no or minimal charge. - Price isn't a big issue here, but I get cranky if it's more than $15 with the fries and add-ons. Not that I have strong opinions. ~Anita

Cam and I finally made it to CC's Gourmet Burgers this weekend. We always seem to get the burger jones on a Sunday when they're closed, but this time we thought of it on Friday. Yahoo! Despite the name, this is ain't gourmet fare... but then, for $4.25 for a cheeseburger, I am not complaining. They do a damned tasty rendition of the 'seattle smashpatty' style of burger (a la Dick's, Burgermaster, et.al.). It was certainly tastier than a lot of $10 burgers I've had in restaurants. If your tastes run to the gargantuan, then perhaps an "Every Thang Burger" -- patty, bacon, hotlink, grilled onion, pepper jack, and American cheese -- might hit the spot, for a mere $6.25! Their skin-on fries are a tad soggy, but the fact that they're made on the premises (and not bought in a huge frozen sack at Cash n Carry) makes up for a lot. Next time I might try the onion rings... The decor was sparse but bright and clean as a whistle; the service was genuine and friendly, and the clientele was a cheerful mix of locals. As we finished up, I was moved to quote Samuel L. Jackson: "Mmm-mm! That's a mighty tasty burger." CC's Burgers 2600 E. Union (at 26th Ave) Seattle, WA 98122 206/324-2119 Hours: Monday 12-8pm Tues-Fri 11-2:30 and 3:15-8 Saturday 1-8pm Sunday closed

I like this format: Picking a type of soup and letting everyone pick their own favorite (or want-to-try) version. Oh, this is one of my favorite old-school cookbooks. My mom gave me a copy when I first moved out of the house, and I am continually amazed at how often I still turn to it ... not only for "pea soup andersen's" but for Little Joe's spaghetti and meatballs, El Cholo's chiles rellenos, and a number of other family faves. (It actually has 2 recipes for lentil soup: one from a priest at Our Lady of Malibu parish, and the other from Sportsmen's Lodge!)

We've taken to cooking for ourselves on New Year's Eve the last few years, then having friends over on New Year's Day for a "bring-your-hangover party." On NYD 2003 we made our first cassoulet, for ourselves and 5 good friends. Our sit-down meal started with 3 dozen oysters and a big green salad, and ended with a long walk! After skipping the festivities last year (we were moving into a new house) we decided to revive the cassoulet/new year's tradition, but go a step further and add choucroute garnie and invite more friends. This time around, it was an all-afternoon open house, which was simultaneously easier (not having to find 14 dining chairs or matching plates) but more difficult (how to keep a cassoulet hot but accessible over the course of the afternoon). So, for a guest list of 12, we had: - Nibbles: Assorted homemade pickles, store-bought olives, and marcona almonds - Cheese: normandy camembert, bleu de basque, p. jacquin chevre, and petit agur (sheep)... all served with Essential Bakery baguette crostini and assorted crackers. - Cold roast meat platter: turkey breast roulade stuffed with pork-sausage, chestnuts, and green olives; "mock porchetta" pork roast (from the Zuni recipe) - Choucroute Garnie with wieners, bockwurst, smoked pork loin, and smoked pork shank (meats from Pike Place Market's Bavarian Meats), served with wholegrain and stone-ground mustards. - Cassoulet with home-cured duck confit and super-garlicy bratwrust from Uli's Famous Sausages (another Pike Place favorite). We had two super-large bottles of belgian beer (Grande Chouffe and Chimay blue)and many smaller belgian-style ales (Reinart wild ale and amber, Fin du Monde, Don de Dieu, Ephemere, Chimay cinq cents, etc.) plus Rieslings (from the northwest) for the choucroute and a couple of bottles of Madiran that our friends brought for the cassoulet. There were plenty of leftovers... not that I am complaining! We're heating up some choucroute for lunch. I think the cassoulet will get polished off at dinner with a BIG salad. By tomorrow I should be ready to eat something without pork in it. ~Anita edited for a run-on sentence :D

I'd be up for a weekly soup-a-thon. :) Favorites here, some mentioned already: - Chicken (our house standard is from The Best Recipe, topped with hubby's dumplings ) - Tortilla - Potato-cheese - tom yam kung (and/or tom kha gai) - cuban black bean ~Anita

So did we. Man, that is one of my favorite recipes of all time. ~Anita

Get thee to Palace Kitchen. ~A

Cam just posted a trip report on the Vancouver board, in case you wanted more detail. ~Anita

Hm, I didn't notice that. But I'll cop to having a preference for not-so-scalding drinks. That said, you could always order your café "extra hot", no? [Pardon the diversion. We now return you to the the topic...] ~Anita

It's not exclusively a coffee house, but Essential Bakery Cafe on Madison and MLK serves excellent lattes and 2 draught beer (usually Hale's and Manny's) plus wine and port. ~A

Our recent resolution is to stop going to mediocre places just because they're convenient. Less Coastal Kitchen, Maguire's, and their ilk; more Cafe Lago (ok, that's just not possible), Harvest Vine, and Seven Stars Pepper. We're going to vote with our pocketbooks, even if that means repeating ourselves and/or driving farther. ~Anita (edited for clarity)

Chefshop's retail store is closed for the whole week, FYI. ~A

Cam and I went to Vancouver for Christmas. We had scallion pancake and dandan noodles at Szechuan Chongqing for Christmas Eve dinner; assorted dim sum at Kirin for Christmas brunch; and beef curry, punjabi dal, kale-and-potatoes, and cumin rice from Rangoli for dinner, prepared in our hotel kitchenette. ~Anita