markk
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I bought some imported Sour Cherry juice at my local supermarket - the brand on the juice is BBB and it's imported from Bulgaria, and two of the ingredients are E150d, which is "Sulphite ammonia caramel", and E122, "Azorubine; Carmoisine".
I looked them up and found the descriptions horrifying (at least the word 'sulphite' in the first one anyway), and everything about the second one:
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E150d
Sulphite ammonia caramel
These colourings, which range from dark brown to black, are made by controlled heat treatment of sugar beet or sugar cane (with or without the presence of alkalis or acids) but as it is possible to use sugar from maize starch which may come from a Genetically Modified crop. The caramel group of colours are the most widely used group of colours, comprising some 98% of all colours used.
Between them they can be found in beer, brown bread, buns, chocolate, biscuits, brandy, chocolate flavoured flour based confectionery, coatings, decorations, fillings and toppings, crisps, dessert mixes, doughnuts, fish and shellfish spreads, frozen desserts, glucose tablets, gravy browning, ice cream, jams, milk desserts, pancakes, pickles, sauces and dressings, soft drinks particularly cola drinks, stouts, sweets, vinegar, whisky and wines.
Not recommended for consumption by children.
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E122,
Azorubine; Carmoisine
A synthetic red azo dye used in foods which must be heat treated after fermentation. Also found in blancmange, marzipan, Swiss roll, jams and preserves, sweets, brown sauce, flavoured yogurts, packet soups, jellies, breadcrumbs and cheesecake mixes.
It appears to cause allergic and/or intolerance reactions, particularly amongst those with an aspirin intolerance. Other reactions can include a rash similar to nettle rash and water retention.
Not recommended for consumption by children.
The Hyperactive Childrens Support Group belive that a link exists between this additive and hyperactive behavioural disorders in children.
Whilst being a commonly used colour in the UK, its use is banned in Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United States.
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Does anybody know anything about these?
Would you drink this juice?
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Does anyone here brave Auchan during the festive season to stock up on festive staples of wine, champagne or even foie gras?
For a number of years I used to spend the Christmas period in Alsace, and we'd always go to the Auchan on the outskirts of town (a beautful store) to stock up on goodies for the hotel room. It's only a little crowded then...
Once or twice we went on December 23 or 24, and waited 90 minutes on line each time.
I've bought cases of wine there that were part of the "theme" displays that they have at the front of the store, and once during a Southwest of France promotion, I bought a thoroughly delicious red, although I can no longer remember what it was. If I had had a bottle while I was still in France, I'd have gone back for lots more. But I've had very disappointing wines from there as well.
As far as foie gras, in Alsace there are better places to eat and get it, so I've never had any from Auchan. But I love all the foodstuffs that they sell - for sure, it's way better, or way more fun, than what we get at supermarkets in America !!
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I mentioned this on the Miami thread, but having just eaten three dinners there in nine days, I think that this place is worth its own thread.
Michy's (I just learned) was picked as one of Gourmet Mag's Top 50 Restaurants in the US this year, and the chef, Michelle Bernstein, is quite well known (neither of these had been known to me).
But the food is just spectacular. Most dishes come in half and full portions, the idea being that you can order several halves and create a tasting menu for yourself. But what most people do is order many dishes and share them around, for a genuine pig-out.
Interesting to note that the food is so good, that when you're on the banquette, the people on both sides of you (no matter when, no matter how many times the tables turn), will turn to you and insist that you have what they're having, and get into a discussion of the food. (This only happens, and happens a lot, in restaurants where the food is exceptional, I've found.) In three dinners we had serious food conversations with about 7 sets of people.
On to the food. Here are the various dishes we lost our minds over:
Blue Cheese and Jamon Croquetas; Fig Marmalade
Truffled Polenta; Poached Egg, Crispy Bacon
Crispy Duck Confit; Shaved Brussel Sprouts, Mustard Aioli
Crispy Sweetbreads and Veal Cheek Ravioli; English Pea Puree, Veal Jus
Fettucine Carbonara "My Way"' Crispy Pancetta, English Peas, St. Andre Cheese
Spaghettini Pasta; Tiny, Diced Fresh Seafood, Roast Tomatoes, Seafood Nage
Short Ribs Falling Off the Bone; Creamy Mashed Potatoes
There are more things on the menu, a total of 24 in fact, but we just kept having these over and over again.
One of the reviews I had read, the Miami New Times, I think - a very trusted source for great restaurants, said that Michy's was like a one-star bistro in France. I would add "at the very least!"
The wine list is spectacular, too. Well and intelligently chosen, and very carefully so.
And the desserts are pretty fabulous too. We only had the Apple and Fig Tarte Tatin with Zabaglione Ice Cream and Caramel sauce with Fresh Thyme and Sea Salt, because we simply couldn't get enough of it.
If you're going to be in Miami, and you love great food, this is a must.
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Did they stick to the shell? Had they been frozen? Or just kept around too long?
We had a really bad cold front come through most of the state on Sunday/Monday and it wouldn't surprise me if the crab/shrimp/fishing fleets couldn't get out for a few days (didn't clear up until mid-day yesterday here in NE Florida). Robyn
I'm guessing just kept around too long.
They didn't stick to the shell. But whereas when I used to eat them there, they had a pristine freshness, a juicy sweetness, and that "of the sea" quality that is talked about, and wheas they used to explode in your mouth with a combination of fresh, fresh flavor and perfect texture, these did nothing like that. It started with the smell as you got them close to your mouth - not exactly terrible, but certainly not fresh smelling for sure.
This was Christmas day, a Monday, so it's possible they were 3 days old. But they really should have said they were out of them or something, because all they did was lose 2 fairly regular customers. When I complained about them, they should have offered us fresher ones if they had them (and were just trying to use these up), or they should have explained that they were from the previous Friday (which they probably were) and offered us something else.
I can't tell if they'd been frozen, but they always insist that in season they don't do that, and in fact, they close when the crabs are not in season and can't be served fresh.
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We decided on the spot not to be upset about it.
This was just a curiosity about restaurants.
For what it's worth (and the way everybody in the restaurant, and I do mean everybody, knew about the goose), I'd be willing to bet that the waitress let the chef (in a totally open kitchen, by the way) know that one went uneaten.
It was just the second guessing of the restaurant that intrigued me.
I will tell the story that not too long ago, we went to a favorite local restaurant back at home (NJ). We were as tired as could be, from an exhausting day, and when we arrived looking totally beat, and separately (one of us was trying to find a parking place), the restaurant's owner asked if we were fighting (which we absolutely were not, and before anyone asks, we don't ever do that, and certainly we don't take things like that to a restaurant, so his question wasn't based on any prior experience).
Anyway, after the meal when we asked for the check, we were told that there wasn't one, that we were guests of the house that night at the owner's whim. I know this guy well enough to know that he genuinely thought that maybe we were in bad moods (we were just exhausted), and decided that rather than have us leave the restaurant in a bad mood, he'd comp us dinner and then we'd remember the restaurant fondly no matter what our mood was.
I've seen restaurateurs do similarly interesting things, sometimes incredibly wise things, and I'm always intrigued and sometimes very impressed by them. That's why I was surprised by the charge for the goose, that's all.
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So, when it comes time to deliver the bad news, you fall back on general rules of constructive criticism and hope for the best:...
Thanks. I wish I'd thought of all these.
In retrospect, what we did was offer praise, but because we didn't really mean it, it didn't come out especially enthusiastic or convincing. In fact, I'm positive that it couldn't have been taken as more than polite and politically correct - one of those situations where everybody 'says' the right things and still everybody knows what's really going on.
Now for my next question... Especially since they didn't offer the other geese as specials, I'm sure they tasted them. And on top of that, I'm sure that they knew all that they needed to know from having tried to slice through them to serve them. And as I pointed out, one portion went back virtually uneaten (and since the whole staff made it clear they were aware of the special for us, from the people who greeted us, to all the servers who mentioned it to us,) and I'm sure that the chef who was nervous about it asked for feedback, and I'm sure he saw one uneaten portion... do you think it was strange that they still charged us eighty dollars per portion, which is just about double their most expensive main course?
I should point out here (without giving the name of the restaurant) that a few years ago when we ate there one night, we were served a main course based on shrimp, with shrimp that were really not up to par, and again, my patner barely picked at his dinner and left most of it uneaten. At that time, when the server cleared it, he properly asked "was it not to your liking?" and Richard responded "the shrimp were really not very good"; when the bill arrived that night, there was no charge for his uneaten main course - that's the type of restaurant it is, with everybody being really attentive, noticing problems even when customers don't point them out. Their ability to do this always is one of the things that makes this an espcially pleasant and pampering place to dine.
So, all of this consiered, do you think it was strange that they still charged what they did as if the dish had been a success?
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I learned about Billy's some time ago right here on eGullet, and have eaten there several times since with great satisfaction.
We ate there last night, and the stone crabs were not good. They weren't rancid, but they definitely weren't fresh, and they definitely weren't enjoyable.
Worse, I mentioned just that to our server, who responded "Uh, I don't know..." and filled our waterglasses and walked away.
He also didn't pass the comment along to the owner, who was by the door. I had thought they'd care, and switch them for fresher ones if they had them, or offer us something else, but that didn't happen.
I think they may have stopped caring about the quality of what they serve. The certainly lost a customer here.
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Now what happens when another customer asks for something special, and the chef remembers how much Mr. & Mrs. markk loved that delicious goose preparation and found it well worth $80 a plate?We were complimentary to the chef because he had ordered the geese and made them especially for us, something that a lot of chefs and restaurants wouldn't do, and I asked for it because I had had great faith in them to cook it right. So I rewarded their willingness to please a regular customer with praise and gratitude.Honesty would have been the lesser evil, I think. (And you know, there's always a chance an employee at the restaurant is going to read your post, put two and two together, and take it back to the chef . . .)
Oh, there's no question that you're absolutely right! I just couldn't come up with anything to say. I knew that being honest was the right thing to do, and not just for the reason that you give.
But let me digress a moment. When we got there, the chef told us that the goose was roasted, and he rather nervously, and humbly, and sincerely, said "I hope you like it."
I had spoken with him a few days earlier, and he said that he had gotten in several geese and was going to offer them as a special. When we got there, there was no goose listed on the insert of daily specials. The first thing that came to my mind was that they had gone badly, and that he had decided not to serve them (I've developed a 6th sense about these things over the years with restaurants.)
After it was served (he served it himself), he came back a few minutes later nervously to ask if it was okay. I just didn't know how to tell him it wasn't.
(The other reason I wanted to tell the truth is that any chef worth his stuff knows how good or bad a dish is that he's made. If he knows it's terrible, and the customer actually likes it, he can think things like 'well, that guy obviously doesn't know anything', or 'people, what do they know!'. I always think it's the best thing to tell the truth, and that way at least the chef knows that you know what you're eating.)
I did ask him at that point how come it wasn't on the specials list, and he said he'd been surprised at how few portions he got out of the few geese he had ordered, and that it wasn't nearly enough to offer as a special. That means that for sure they all ate some and knew.
But considering all the trouble I'd put him through, I didn't know what to say. I really am surprised that they served it, and considering that one of the portions went back uneaten, I'm surprised that he charged us eighty dollars each.
But I would be very eager to hear how you would have handled it, and what things you would have said, if you'd be so kind. I actually broke my rule of never lying, something I hate to do. But for perhaps the first time in my life I was at a loss for what to say.
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And I thought I'd report in, having had the goose last night.
The restaurant was beautiful as always.
Several little dishes were sent compliments of the chef to start our meal - a smoked salmon canape with a green onion sauce, and a fresh oyster baked with a wonderful and plentiful lump crabmeat stuffing with a port wine reduction drizzle.
We started with a hot, sauteed foie gras offering, a colossaly large slice of excellent foie gras, seared to perfection, and served with a roasted pineapple condiment and balsamic vinegar reduction - all of which, especially the liver, was simply outstanding.
The goose, which had been slow roasted in portions, was, well, it was a mis-step. It was served with the breast meat sliced and fanned out, aside a whole roasted leg, all of which was cooked just long enough to be dry, not fatty and juicy, but not long enough to be falling off the bone tender. I'm not expert enough in cooking geese to say how it should have been done, I just have enough experience in eating them to know that this was simply a bad choice and bad execution. It was accompanied by a very excellent bread and fruit stuffing, and two kinds of potatoes, and string beans and otherwise, it was an enjoyable and lovely dinner.
We were complimentary to the chef because he had ordered the geese and made them especially for us, something that a lot of chefs and restaurants wouldn't do, and I asked for it because I had had great faith in them to cook it right. So I rewarded their willingness to please a regular customer with praise and gratitude.
Then when the check arrived, and the portions of goose were eighty-dollars each.
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Indeed, a big wine like a Zinfandel might go well with the crusty end-cuts of a prime rib, but if you're going to have a subtly flavored rare, or medium rare inner slice, a subtle, delicate red wine would be the better choice, because the simplicity of the meat will let a wine with lots of understated interest shine through - for example, a Bordeaux with some good age to it, preferably one of the communes of the Haut Medoc - but at this point in time, you'd need to be in a reputable wine store that is knowledgeable in French wines, and tell them that you'd like a wine from one of the communes of the Haut Medoc that's had some aging, and you'd just have to trust them (unless you're really up on your vintages in that region, which it sounds like you may not be).
But in fact, when you approach this from the other side, as in "I have a bottle of '82 or '86 Bordeaux- what should I cook to serve it with?", you realize that something simple like the flavor of slow roasted rare beef is a perfect match for an older wine such as Bordeaux.
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my husband and i will be on holiday in florida (our first ever visit) over the christmas and new year period and i was wondering if anyone could recommend a restaurant to have dinner at on christmas day itself.
I'm in Miami for the same period, and we're going to Emeril's Miami Beach, which is in the Loew's Hotel in South Beach. Emeril's is an extremely beautiful, extremely comfortable restaurant, with a winning, winning staff. By special request (from me), the chef is making Roast Goose for Christmas, and from the way he described it to me, I think it'll be sensational. There will also be a hot foie gras preparation, which there usually is most nights anyway, and which is always sensational. If you've never been to an Emeril's, it's absolutely nothing whatsoever like Emeril is on tv, and it's a very pleasurable experience, casually elegant, (somewhat more elegant than casual, yet totally casual at the same time)with the friendliest and most professional service you may ever encounter, especilly the Miami location. Their specialty is pampering. And if you stick with the daily specials, which are always extremely interesting, you'll also dine quite nicely.
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OK, someone brought up the difference between "jus" and "au jus" so bear with me! I am one of those (apparent) idiots who actually really enjoys the jus served with the prime rib at restaurants, so how can I make it at home. I'm of the "low and slow" camp and love doing a rib at home but there just isn't enough jus to share. I've looked up recipes that suggest low sodium beef broth but....ewww. How do restaurants do it?
"Jus" is the French word for 'juice', and it's exactly what you're thinking - it's the roasting juices. The term "Au Jus" refers the the presentation of the roast, when it is served "with" the "jus".
You can find a perfect recipe for making it in Julia Child's "The Way to Cook".
But I can also share a secret with you: Buy a container of "Pacific" brand organic beef broth (high end supermarket or natural market or health food store), and reduce it by about 25%. You'll never spend time making it again from the roast juices!
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\Am I alone or are their other cookbook addicts out there that share this trait? I'm not troubled by this - just curious.
Porthos Potwatcher
The Unrelenting Carnivore
I do the same thing. I buy cookbooks left and right. I also buy books about food, and books about restaurants. This year (I counted up on Amazon and half.com) I bought more than 200 books in these categories (!!!)
But I don't cook from recipes, because that takes all the fun out of it for me.
If I'm craving a food that I'm not all that familair with cooking, I will consult my book collection, primarily to learn how that ingredient behaves when cooked, and what types of cooking it takes best to (I rarely get flavoring ideas from books, though), usually a few days in advance of making it. And I'd say I do this a few times a year.
So, you're not alone.
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With just hubby and I, the only time I buy a small roast is when it is on sale and then I cut it into steaks when I get home. Maybe there is a way to roast a one rib roast that gives you decent results?
I make small roasts, and one-rib roasts all the time. In fact, that's how I got in to searing the meat (blistering hot peanut oil or melted beef fat), because there'd for sure not be enough time in the oven. When I do the single rib, I make sure it's getting a super crisp, because that's about all it's going to get. Then I put it in the oven with the temperature probe (mine is connected to the oven, but one of these probe thermometers with a digital display and beeper outside the oven would of course be indentical), and stop it a the desired temperature. With a one-rib roast, I would figure that the internal temp would rise more (because the outside surface is closer to the center) so I'd stop cooking when the inside reached a few degrees less than usual - figure 117 or so).
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I believe the evidence is in – Low heat method is the way to go. 225-250 degree oven – 125-degree internal temperature. Any further debate?
Since you put it like that, yes, there's plenty further debate!
I like my prime rib really crusty on the outside, as well as rare on the inside, so I sear mine in blistering hot peanut oil or rendered beef fat (the smoking point of olive oil is way too low for this), and then I roast it at 500 degrees with a temperature probe that stops the cooking when the internal temp is around 120. I get a much more enjoyable crust:
And though I didn't snap a photo of the interior of that roast, this is how my insides come out - (in fact, with the high roasting method, I can have incredible crisp on the outside, and perfectly rare on the inside of the end cut)
(This roast was Australian grass-fed beef, which is extremely lean, which I chose on purpose for reasons of cholesterol, but sadly meat that lean can never crust like a fatty piece; yours was indeed a gorgeous piece of beef!) I think you'd have gotten even better results with my method, bearing in mind that an internal temp of 115 is 115.
But after it roasts, and before I carve it, I put it in a 115 degree oven to rest for a good 25 minutes, so it doesn't bleed.
And as far as "frenching" the bones, I'm weeping at how you took away the best part of the roast!
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Primarily, it depends on what cut you're using, but you didn't say.
I make an Italian-style pork roast with fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage, plus fresh garlic and lemon zest, and I roast it to nice and crispy, then add a lot of white wine and chicken stock to the pan, cover it (or tent it), and let it sit in a low oven (the pan still has a lot of residual heat) for an hour; the liquid steams the meat to juicy tenderness, and also deglazes the pan for a great "spremuta". Step by step photos are here, where I posted all about it in the dinner thread last year:
I made my "Steam-Table Pork Roast" which I invented by accdent many years ago when I had just finished roasting a crispy pork loin and had to go out on an emergency - so I added some wine and broth to the pan, covered it, and left it in a warm oven and hoped for the best. I got a tender, flaky, crispy and juicy roast with lots of great "jus".Now I make it that way on purpose, although with the way pork has gotten so lean, I think I'd like to find one of the fattier breeds (for when I do eat it) or perhaps it's time to change cuts.
I stud the roast with garlic, fresh, rosemary, thyme, sage, and lemon zest, and sear it in a pan. Then I rub it with the same herbs and set it to roast long and slow until it gets real crispy (but of course, the leaner it is, the harder it is to get a crisp!)...
This is actually not the original roasting pan; at one point after several hours the original pan was thick with dark bits and glaze (not burned, because of the slow temperature of 325) so I deglazed it on the stove with white wine, chicken stock, and more herbs and lemon zest and left it to reduce while the roast went back in the oven in this pan. Then when it was as crispy as it could be, I put it in the pan with the "jus" and covered it, brought it to a simmer, and set it back in the oven for 40 minutes with the heat set on "warm".
Here it is after the 40 minute "steam"; as I say, in the old days when pork was fattier, it fared considerably better.
And here it is plated in its incredibly rich "jus".
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You'd be surprised at how many people you probably encounter every day who would gladly accept and drink such a bottle. In my building we have a very large number of employees (door staff, maintenance people, porters) who are not such discerning drinkers as we gulletteers are, and who are very happy to receive all the unwanted wine and spirits that I pass on. Very happy.
Some years ago I received my standing order of 4 cases of an Alsace Pinot Blanc, but it was the vintage after the heat wave in Europe, and many lesser whites fared so terribly as to be unpleasant, at least to my taste. I just never thought to taste a bottle before I took that year's order - it's a wine I've been getting for ten years now.
I gave the cases to my head doorman and explained that it wasn't bad, just not what I enjoy, so he put them out in the staff room for people to try and take what they wanted. Everybody who took a first bottle to try came back and wiped it clean by the second day.
So you never know who will get great enjoyment from the bottles you don't want. Spread the holiday cheer!
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I made reservations at a favorite restaurant for Christmas week, and asked if they'd be having Roast Goose. They said they'd check with the chef, and when they got back to me, the answer was "no, but the chef is going to order two portions and prepare it for you." (Let's just say that they have a very winning attitude that way.)
Now, I was partly joking in the title of the thread - they're definitely going to get uncooked goose - or so they think - and cook it. My question is, can you / can a restaurant buy just two portions of raw goose? Or are they going to be in for a surprise when they go to do it?
(Edited to add:) Has anybody even heard of any prepatations of Goose that are made with a "portion" or let's say a quarter of a raw goose, instead of roasting the goose whole?
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I don't know if you'll be on the beach, but we ate at Michy's on Biscayne Boulevard when we were down a few months ago - it was really good.
I'm glad I saw this. I'll be down there week after next, and I never heard of this place. I did a quick Google, and it looks great; I found their site, and it looks even better, so I've got a table reserved for when I'm down there. Thanks for posting that.
(It was the Miami New Times Best New Restaurant this year, and they've never steered me wrong, what with that and their "Best Restaurant When You're Paying" category. Thanks to them, I've found Chispa, Timo, and Plein Sud, all of which are great.)
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I'm a little curious about these responses... Someone on this board posted a question about how to prepare foie gras, since he had a number of ducks/geese and wanted to utilize the liver. The guy said there was no need to force feed them, since they pretty much force fed themselves at that time of the year.
I was scrolling through the thread to get to the end to post this same thought and I see that Grub beat me to it. The geese definitely gorge themselves twice a year, and we don't know that this isn't one of them.
I've had non-fattened duck liver, and it's pretty delicious in its own right.
But I think RDB should ask the farmer if she's selling the livers because the geese have recently gorged themselves, and buy them anyway to taste.
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I was intrigued, googled them, and found their site. It looks great, and I was just about to order some meals, when I checked the ingredients.
In one pork roast meal I found disodium inosinate, disodium guanlyate, BHT, and several kinds of partially hydrogenated oils.
Am I the only one turned off by these things?
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[...]
I went in and did my best to convince them what I wanted, and the owner came over and said "Hi - so you're the guy we used to make the bok choy leaves for! We can't do that here, because we only get the white parts of the bok choy." Strange as that seems to me, I've had other Chinese restaurants tell me that.
That does sound kind of strange to me. As we are in California, most of the Chinese vegetables are so readily available around the year.
But I understand it may not be the case in other part of USA.
May be you can suggest them to do BBQ pork / vegetable stir-fries with some non-Chinese green leaf vegetables. Such as lettuce. Which is pretty tasty for stir-fries too.
Yes, I'm very familiar with stri-fried lettuce of all kinds (and I make it all the time in the context of Tuscan-like meals), and how I learned of it was from a fabulous Chinese restaurant that used to be right in the lobby of my high-rise, and which featured such things as steamed whole fresh fish, and all kinds of vegetables - in fact, that's where I discovered ong choy and most of the Chinese greens I love to this day - one night they were out of everything, and sauteed some dark lettuce and surprised me with it.
What's weird is that this place is actually a pretty low-end takeout place, and you really have to pick and choose carefully. So, why they should have such excellent char siu is really inconsistent, and a mystery. And how they're feeding their own staff of Chinese cooks withouth having green leafy vegetables to sautee may be an even bigger mystery! But if they're not having those things for themselves, I can't imagine why they'd have lettuce, though I can ask.
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This has all been most, most helpful. Thank you all !!
I guess it hadn't dawned on me that they're keeping it refrigerated, that's the first thing.
I'm in Northern NJ just about one mile from midtown Manhattan, so I guess they get it from Chinatown in downtown - I know that most such restaurants go there on a daily basis, if for nothing else than that's where their staffs live.
I guess the best idea is to explain to them that I'll take it cold and experiment with heating it myself. Sadly, what I cannot get them to do is make me a green Chinese vegetable, because they don't have any there for themselves. Otherwise, some char siu and a leafy vegetable would be an ideal meal to me. At their other location, they used to save the dark leafy parts of the bok choy when they prepped it, and they'd sautee it up for me, something I'm quite fond of. But when they closed the other place and I started ordering from this one, I went in and did my best to convince them what I wanted, and the owner came over and said "Hi - so you're the guy we used to make the bok choy leaves for! We can't do that here, because we only get the white parts of the bok choy." Strange as that seems to me, I've had other Chinese restaurants tell me that.
Oh well.
And thank you all again - I learned a lot about this from your posts !!!
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You (and especially the kids in your daughter's French class) should know that a very, very, very French dessert is Pain Perdu , which is nothing more than what we know as French Toast, and although it's served here for breakfast, it's only served in France as a dessert. And at Christmas time, they make it with the flavorings of pain d'epices (spice bread), which is nothing more than those spices sprinkled over it. It's a most traditional, and most delicious dessert, and might also be a great lesson in French culture for the kids:
I've spent many a Christmas season in France! (Although I don't have too many memories of being all too conscious at the end of a French Christmas-Week Dinner, this being a combination of the foods and the wine.)
(The above version was served at the restaurant A l'Arbre Vert, in the village of Ammerschwir, in the Alsace region, where they take Christmas eats especially seriously.)
Gaming the Chinese buffet
in Restaurant Life
Posted
The best way to get the least-plentiful (i.e. "premium") items is to ask. And I wouldn't wait a long time to do it either. I mean, if you assume that the lobster or the peking duck will be coming soon, you may wind up waiting 30 minutes and then wishing you'd asked sooner. If I don't find what I came for, I ask immediately.
And to be perfectly honest, if I see fossilized dregs of an item, or at any rate, remainders of an item that are too old for anybody to take, I take them (and leave them uneaten on plates at my table), because for sure, they're going to feel justified in not making more of something while there's still some of it left on the buffet.
I have experience with 4 different Chinese buffets, each of which has different "premium" items, and all of which differ in the size of the operation.
I find that asking the runners does no good whatsoever - they merely carry out what the kitchen prepares. The only thing that helps is to identify a manager (at the larger operations), or the person who seems to be in charge at the smaller ones, and to ask them. I also find that at the first request, you may be told "it's coming", without them conveying any message to the kitchen at all. But I'd also tell you that if the item you requested doesn't come out within a very few minutes, to present yourself to that person and let him (or her) know that the item never appeared. This always works for me. I certainly don't wait more than five minutes before I ask again.
At the various Chinese buffets I go to, the premium items are lobster (sometimes), blue crabs (not snow crab claws), Peking duck, dim sum dumplings, and for me especially, real Chinese green vegetables. I can easily make an enjoyable dinner out of crabs, duck, and greens.
There's one buffet I go to that has excellent duck, and they're frequently stingy with it. There's a display of those fluffy white steamed buns at the duck station, but I don't take them because I don't like them. Once when I went back for more duck, the fellow told me that I "had" to take buns, becuause I couldn't have just duck. So I took as many buns (spread with hoisin sauce and scallions) as I wanted pieces of duck, and only ate the duck when I got back to the table. (I mean, it's their rules. If they want to waste food, which I'm opposed to, by insisting that I take it, I will, but of course, they can't come to the table and force me to eat it).
I find that at the places I go, these items are usually quite good. And while there may be 50 other items that they want you to fill up on, I just never take those.
But I hope this answered the question about how to get the good stuff - start asking for it as soon as you get there and there isn't any, and don't wait more than a few minutes until you ask again.