Squeat Mungry

Ah yes. 24th between Alabama and Florida. Try the "pupusas de maiz con queso y chicharron". They have elotes as well. Their chicken mole also rocks.

I just had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch, then I come back and there's this thread! (Okay, actually they were linguine, but still.) It was really good, too: the meatballs were moist and tender, with good flavor, the sauce was very tomato-y, and they didn't oversauce the linguine. Nice!

If you do decide to go north along the coast (Muir Woods has redwoods, too, and is about half an hour from the City), you might consider eating/staying at the Pelican Inn. It's charming without being cloyingly cutesy, and the restaurant does a bang-up job on Brit-style pub/comfort food, as well. Cheers, Squeat Jinx, Janet!

Well, Laksa, if I wasn't out of the Macallan 12, I'd lift a toast to yer blog. Oh, wait, I'll do that anyway! Thanks so much to both of you, Squeat Edit: Duh.

I think that squeat was saying they preferred people to order them during that time rather than during evening hours. Nullo, mjr is spot on. Bloody Marys eat up behind-the-bar time like you wouldn't believe, unless you've set up beforehand specifically to produce a lot of them, which is usually done on weekend mornings at places that specialize in them, like the bar I worked in at the time. When the random orders for BMs (pardon my french) come in on a slammed evening shift (usually from people joy-riding in the city who can't think of the name of a real cocktail), it can really throw a wrench into an otherwise swingin' and profitable night. As far as Perfect Manhattans, or Perfect Martinis for that matter, I have pretty much given up on being able to order one in any bar at all, except for a few hotel bars here in San Francisco and one excellent neighborhood bar which is fortunately near my home. I certainly wouldn't order one in a town or city I was unfamiliar with, although I hope and trust there are still places in New York City that could comply with my request. Cheers, Squeat

Julia Child was about French cuisine in America. More generally, she was about high-quality, well-prepared food that the general public could prepare for themselves at home, at that time a rather foreign or 'European' idea, if considered at all. The French had no need for her, and she didn't address them. Her impetus was from an experience she had in France; her generosity compelled her to create a beautiful legacy for America. (The parallels with Alice Waters resonate.) Cheers, Squeat Edit: (sigh) punctuation

You know, I've been eating in Korean restaurants for over 20 years now (not exclusively of course, but fairly often), and cannot recall a single male server. Odd. Never really considered that before. Edit: Posts per day: 2.7 New goal: a life!

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Food Section -- August 25, 2004 Karola Saekel profiles Eric Lee, chef at Simi Winery in Healdsburg. A recipe is included for Rack of Lamb with Moussaka & Herb Oil, which Lee developed to complement Simi's new 2000 Alexander Valley Landslide Cabernet Sauvignon. Georgeanne Brennan recreates a Mediterranean BBQ she remembers from a vacation on Crete. Recipes are given for Fresh Peach Flan, Grilled Toasts with Garlic & Smeared Heirloom Tomatoes, Lamb Shoulder Chops with Lavender, Rosemary and Sage Rub, Warm White Bean Salad with Arugula and Lemon. Grilled Calamari with Persillade. Barbecued Oysters, and Ratatouille of Grilled Vegetables. Whew! Janet Fletcher looks at Ted Hall's family produce farm, bucking the vineyard trend in Rutherford. What's New introduces Traci des Jardins' new pet project, Mijita, just opened in the San Francisco Ferry Building. The biggest buzz in the Inside Scoop is the definite word that Charles Nob Hill is no more as of Sunday. Manrique and Condy will reopen the space in six weeks as C.A.L. Steak House. Also, Mission stalwart Bruno's endures yet another makeover. There's more, of course. Tara Duggan, the Working Cook, perks up panzanella with a recipe for Bread Salad with Chicken and Arugula, This week's "Now & Later" is Beaucoup Sherry Gumbo. Diane Teitelbaum has wine pairings. In a feature called South to North, Jacqueline Higuera McMahan explores squash blossoms and young zucchini. Recipes are provided for delicious-sounding Oaxacan Well-Dressed Squash Blossoms, Zucchini Cakes, and Poblano Chiles Filled with Grated Zucchini. Finally, Amanda Berne reviews the cleverly-named Vietnamese restaurant Bodega Bistro, which is heavy on the French influence: Sounds like this one will be worth at least one visit. Berne awards 2-1/2 stars overall, and 2-1/2 to the food.Cheers, Squeat

They certainly were in our family, though we just called it 'brittle'. And I know it wasn't just the generation before mine, too, because my Mom used to talk about her daddy making candy.

Odd you should bring this up, Brooks. In my mom's family, all the women were terrific cooks, and did all the day-to-day cooking, but it was the men who always made the candy. I never even wondered about it before now -- that's just the way it always was! Squeat

Actually, though you're to young to remember, when that phrase was coined in the early eighties, it referred to "young upwardly-mobile professionals". Though acronymfinder.com does say "urban", American Heritage (dictionary.com) has this: At least for the early part of the life of the term, at least as many if not more 'yuppies' lived in the suburbs as in the city. I know. I remember! Cheers, Squeat

Here's the scoop on Charles Nob Hill, closing on Sunday to reopen as C.A.L. Steak House. I'll have the complete Chron digest later today. Squeat Editt: speling

I was waiting for the Adria reference. Where is Jinmyo? Anyway, I like to watch. Thanks for the unprecedented coverage of Alinea. I've never been to Chicago (or Roses, or anywhere in Spain, for that matter), but I am a huge fan of experiment and innovation, especially when it is geared to provide a unique and unforgettable culinary experience for the diner. Thanks to chefg and everyone involved for documenting this development on eGullet. I will be watching with great interest. Squeat Mungry

Bacon Grease should never be left in the past. I leave mine in the pantry above my stove. In my family it was traditionally left ON the stove in a wide-mouth jar, at hand for the random okra emergency, and myriad other circumstances that would call for its ready availability.

I had a feeling that was it. I haven't been, but yeah Bauer sure seemed to love it. I think it's funny that it's where Red Tractor used to be!

Hest88, can I ask which place this is? I was just thinking about this. I think Northern California may be a bit different than other areas. I mean there are terrific restaurants here in town, but the French Laundry is in Yountville, Chez Panisse is in Berkeley, and even Marin has a history of one or two restaurants that make for destination dining for City-ites. I'm thinking of places like the Lark Creek Inn (years ago), and more recently Roxanne's and (remains to be seen) Antidote. The only area around that has no name restaurants I can think of that people would actually drive to from the City to eat at is the Peninsula, but that also seems more like a "typical" suburban area to me. Even there, though, there are exceptions like Koi Palace in Daly City. I can't even imagine trying to sort out urb and suburb in Southern California! Cheers, Squeat Edit to spell my own state's name correctly. Sheesh.

Todd, please do. I for one find this perspective fascinating. Your remarks on Craig Claiborne remind me that Dorothy Parker is probably no longer remembered as a theatre critic, and yet she is remembered and respected, even revered. As far as the 95% closure, thirty-six years is a long time. I read just recently that only 30% (on average) of restaurants survive beyond 10 years. Cheers, and welcome to eGullet, Squeat

Okay, I'm stumped at "WW". "Wild West"? "Wonder Woman"? "Why-don't-you-live-on-a-lovely-island-the Way-I-do?" Oh, never mind. I just remembered. Duh. Laksa, your dinner tonight was almost exactly what I made for myself last night, except my steak was rib-eye and my noodles were linguini al verde. I was thinking I made up steak on noodles! Thanks for the terrific blog. Like everyone else, I'm learning so much. (I drank scotch.) Squeat

Ham drippin's makes it gravy. Coffee makes it red-eye.

I've never heard of making red-eye gravy with water. In my family, the drill was: 1. fry your ham while the grits are cooking. 2. remove ham to a warm plate. 3. add one cup or a little more black coffee to the ham "drippin's" (the grease left over from frying the ham -- if you don't have ham, you can take a tablespoon or so of the bacon grease from the jar on the stove) 3a. the coffee is usually not this morning's coffee. it is left over from last night. 4. reduce a little, but not too much 5. season with salt and pepper to taste 6. serve over grits (if you have been too lazy to make grits, just have it over bread) When I was little, I had no idea why it was called red-eye gravy -- it wasn't red at all! At some point I started assuming it was a description of the person(s) who were making and/or eating it -- either a hangover or just general morning bleariness. I still make it sometimes if I'm having grits. Usually at night these days, though, since I generally don't eat breakfast. In that case the coffee is left over from the morning. Cheers, Squeat

Redeye gravy has no roux: just ham grease (or bacon grease), black coffee, salt and pepper. Yum yum! Eat it on your grits, or just on bread. Squeat

Anthony Bourdain visited Le Veau d'Or earlier this year. I believe it's still there.

Well, you would have loved the burger I was served at lunch today, which I ordered "on the rare side of medium rare". It came well done. Very well done. Like dry and crumbly well done. This has happened to me twice now at a place that does a good job with most other things. If I ever order another burger there, when they ask me how I'd like it done, I'm going to say "alive" and hope it comes out with at least some pink in it. Anyway, I forgot to say that I also usually hate ketchup. Oddly, though, I actually crave it about twice a year or so, and really enjoy it that one time with some good fries. The rest of the time, however, I really can't stand it. Maybe partly because it causes my eyelids to sweat every time I eat it, which is kind of freaky and unpleasant. No other food causes this particular phenomenon. Cheers. Squeat

I'm almost positive I read about this in some magazine several months ago. Maybe Food Arts? So I think this has been going on in London for a while. I wonder if there have been any lawsuits? Anyway, add my name to the list of those to whom this sounds like a rather silly fad made up by marketers and generally a bad idea.

Clementine, even though I think there'd be a chance to walk in on a weeknight, if you've definitely decided to go I'd go ahead and make a reservation, especially if it's a weekend. Have fun and be sure to report back! Squeat