picaman

Judy Garland Casey Stengel Harry Truman Randy Shilts Jamie

I completely agree. Great hamburgers and incredibly good fries. Jamie

Technically, I'd argue that the reverse is true, if you look at it from the point of view of a unique approach to food. No other restaurant mentioned on the thread does what Zen Palate does, in terms of philosophy, preparation, and ingredients. From strictly a taste standpoint, I've been generally happy with what I've been served there, but I agree that individual preferences make that disputable. Jamie

Croissant

Not sure how this would work as there's not as much fat content (I think...) but we can try it! Jamie

That's it. There was a noticeable difference in the taste of the final product. Jamie

Interesting food and pretty tasty but no alcoholic beverages (i.e. wine) if that matters to you. Jamie P.S. Welcome to eGullet!

Sounds good to me--I don't have to clean I can still bring some of the harder things to find if necessary--rennet especially. I have two kinds of rennet, so we can experiment with that a bit if we want. I like this--maybe everyone could volunteer to bring a different kind of milk. Regular whole milk from the grocery store is fine, but I made it once with milk from the Union Square greenmarket (the purveyor escapes me at the moment: R-something Dairy?) to very good effect--their milk is not homogenized which makes a difference. Goat milk would be fun to try too, as would raw milk if anyone knows where to get some--the ideal is supposedly milk that is neither homogenized nor pasteurized. Anyway, how about the evening of the 17th? Jamie

I always sound like a broken record on this subject...but... Roberto's, Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Jamie

Kirk and I will be happy to host, if everyone doesn't mind the schlep to Inwood (upstate Manhattan @ 207th St.: ~1/2 hour from midtown on the A.) If everyone brings their milk, I have everything else. Jamie

And actually, now that I think of it and am ignoring geography Daniel has a vegetarian tasting menu, though I think they only do it for the entire table. Never had it, but I'd imagine it would be pretty brilliant. Jamie

Definitely in someone's kitchen. To make mozzarella the way I do, we'd need: --a stove --a microwave --a big cooking pot and a bowl --a gallon of milk per person --a wooden spoon --a thermometer --cheesecloth --a large strainer/colander --Junket rennet tablets --citric acid --buttermilk powder/buttermilk --salt I think that's everything. I have plenty of all the odd ingredients like rennet etc. The best milk, of course, would be buffalo milk, which is available at Gourmet Garage and other places, but it's relatively expensive. To be honest, when I make it, I just use a gallon of whole milk from the grocery store. I made bocconcini in olive oil for holiday presents that way this year, and no one complained Jamie

Not exactly in the area you mentioned, but if you want a dazzling vegetarian tasting menu I'd highly recommend Amma. Jamie

Exactly. Looks like a great sig line to me! Jamie

Aaaaargh. Pizza Makers Consider Low-Carb Dough Jamie

I'm putting my two cents in for Red Cafe (78 5th Ave @ Warren Street in Brooklyn, a block from the Bergen St. stop of the 2/3) which I discussed in this thread. The chef, Mark Shenk, is an old friend who ran Astray Cafe in the West Village for about 20 years, until he lost his lease. I hate when that happens! Anyway, if you're in the 'hood, I'd recommend it. Small menu with everything from interesting sandwiches and salads to full appetizers and entrees. And always get the soup of the day--it's consistently amazing. Jamie

I make mozzarella all the time and would be happy to get together somewhere with whoever, whenever, and make some. It's pretty easy. So I think you should definitely plan this...I'm in! Jamie

Maybe you could tell us how you lifted the top half of the skulls off the live monkeys. What I found out later was that they get the monkeys drunk and when they pass out the chef slices through the skull basically using a bone saw. You then just lift the top off and there you go... To be honest it's not something I'm in a hurry to do or try again!!! I've always thought that this was an urban legend stemming from a faked scene for the movie "Faces of Death." Maybe not--nothing about it on snopes.com. I learn something every day! My wackiest menu items: possum (or for the spelling nags, opossum), squirrel, rattlesnake, chitlins. Can you tell where I grew up? Jamie

Here is a link from 2001 on this subject that I stumbled across while searching for something else. The info may be somewhat outdated but there are some extremely extensive lists in this post. Jamie

Good to know. Jamie

I agree with Sam's working hypothesis completely. I don't necessarily agree that there is an "abundance of extremely mediocre pizza coming out of coal-fired ovens in the City." That's why I'm interested in his opinion of where these pizzas are. Jamie

The hypothesis sounds good on the face of it, but I didn't think there were more than a handful of coal-fired ovens operating in NYC. Maybe I'm wrong about that. Can you be more specific about which places with coal-fired ovens are producing mediocre pizza? Jamie

Before Saturday, I would have said the same thing. But, if nothing else, the pizza at Di Fara puts the lie to this argument. Dom's pizza is miles better than what many coal-fired ovens are producing -- quite a bit of which is not all that good (e.g., non-Harlem Patsy's). Interesting--I'll have to give this place a try. There's an exception to every rule, I guess; so I gather that your opinion is his prep and care with ingredients overcomes the advantage of a crust baked in a coal-fired oven? I will grudgingly admit that perhaps DiFara is the only exception to the rule, pending perusal of the pie Jamie

A small note--the older man who used to be so cranky and close up shop when the dough ran out in the Coney Island Totonno's is now deceased. His son (I think) runs the place now and is actually a very friendly guy. We chatted pleasantly several times last year--Totonno's is my regular stop before Brooklyn Cyclones games, and you have to go through the kitchen to get to the men's room. And they actually keep regular business hours now! Still no slices and cash only. For my money, it's the best pizza I've had in NYC. Their coal-fired oven definitely makes a difference. I sincerely believe that you could limit your pizza search to the places that have those ovens, if expediency was an issue. Which, of course, it isn't! Thanks to everyone for a very interesting thread. Jamie

Kirk and I will be there. Jamie