Juanito

I subscribe to the mag, because I am a serial subscriber to food magazines in general. I am not crazy about it, however. Cooking is art as well as science, and I think they put too much emphasis on the latter, to the detriment of the former. Sort of like trying to reduce sex down to the science involved - I mean, where's the fun in that?

I don't have just one. Each bowl of cereal has to be a blend of two, and mostly three kinds. There has to be a flake, (wheaties, raisin bran) and there has to be a crunchy square.(life, crispix). I almost always add 1 part Cheerios. Then, a handful of extra raisins, and a sliced banana. What can I say.

I don't eat off them. For prep, I use aluminum pie pans, then throw them in the dishwasher.

In Santa Barbara, Chuck's of Hawaii is an institution. It's kind of dark in there, and the salad bar is a bit of a throwback, as is the menu, which is printed on a Lancer's bottle. The steaks are very good, however, and the wine list has some very good values on it. In Montecito, there is a steak house called Lucky's. It is quite expensive, which is the price one pays to dine next to the celebs who frequent the place. The steaks are damn good, though, as are their martinis.

Do you mean "al carbon"? I've never run into carbonara in a Mexican place. True al carbon should be cooked over charcoal, while carne asada actually means roasted, though most carne asada I see in practice is cooked on the char broiler. Also, when I order asada I expect it to come with tomatillo salsa, and when I order al carbon I just top it with raw onions and cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

I agree that bleach loses its disinfecting properties, over the course of a couple of hours. That is why when the health inspector comes into a restaurant, they want to see quaternary sanitizer. If a restaurant has a bucket of bleach solution for wipedowns, it had better be at the proper concentration, or the operator will be written up. There's no need to guess at this. Restaurant supply houses sell test strips, and they are inexpensive. I suggest that those of you that believe your bleach still has "the power" after hours or days test it with the strips. While you are picking up the test strips, do yourself a favor and pick up some quat sanitizer, and start to make your solutions with that rather than bleach. It's a much more stable product.

Ever curious, I was wondering which seating arrangement e-gulleteers prefer when dining out with s/o's. I have always preferred the face to face matchup. I always tell Mrs Juanito that it is because I want to gaze at her lovely face during dinner, but in reality, it's because I can't stand to have anyone sitting on top of me while I eat. She seems to think the side by side thing is more romantic, which, after 14 years of marriage, is a moot point anyway. I think the side by side thing looks a bit silly, when only two are at the table. What do you think?

Well, my friends would probably tell you that it's my macaroni and gravy. That's not really what I want to be known for, but it is my default signature dish. If I were picking the dish to serve, I think I would make steak a poivre, accompanied by red creamers, pan roasted in a cast iron skillet, and brandy glazed carrots. There would be a nice green salad with a simple vinaigrette, and an assortment of cheese and fresh fruit for dessert.

It did happen to me, not too long ago. I was at the Richmond airport, and went up to one of the concessions for a barbecue sandwich. They had a tip jar on the counter. I put the sandwich on my Visa card. I did not include a tip on the charge, because I put a dollar bill into the jar. I remember this because I had to ask my companion for the dollar, as I didn't have change. When the statement came, the charge for the sandwich was a dollar more than my receipt. I always reconcile my statements, but, as you say, a dollar wasn't even worth calling the CC company, being put on hold, etc. Wasn't a TV chef/restaurateur/cookbook author implicated in a similar scam a few years back? I seem to remember him getting in trouble for altering the tips on cc receipts.

My mom's family hails from Naples, and my Dad's from Abruzzo. I grew up in the Bronx, via East Harlem. The Sunday meal was macaroni, which could have been one of half dozen or so cuts, topped with gravy, which was a tomato sauce in which meatballs, sausage, braciole, and a hunk of something on a bone had been simmered for many hours. The slow simmering meat thickens the sauce, which may be where the term gravy comes from. The macaroni was served dressed with the gravy. When that course was finished, the meat was fished out of the remaining gravy, and served as a second course. This was followed by green salad, and then fruit and nuts. Gravy is completely different from ragu, at least to me. Ragu is meat sauce; the meat and sauce are one and inseparable. Think Bolognese. To my mind, sugo is something else again. If I put some fresh or canned tomatoes in a pan, add basil, garlic, and seasonings, and cook it quickly, then that's sugo. So on any given day, I might top my macaroni with gravy, ragu, or sugo. Unless it's Friday.

I just make an "x" in the bottom skin, throw em in pie tin, and roast at about 350F or so - watch them, because they will burn. I'm guessing 15 minutes will get it done, but it's been a year since I've made them, so I'm out of practice. If you smell burning, they've gone too long.

I'll almost always give the restaurant a second chance. The exception would be if I get any kind of snotty, we don't need your business attitude. Then, I don't look back. If the establishment tries to please and just falls short, I'll come back and try again. If they blow it twice, though, I'm gone for good.

Indeed, it is. Someone was bound to get a bad meal at the Ballard Inn. Why did it have to be on my recommendation? I'm glad you had a good time. Come back soon!

Many, many commercial kitchens that I walk into have an 18 liter box of "Chablis" and an 18 liter box of "Burgundy" on the counter near the line. Usually, it's mass produced stuff like Wm Wycliff, or Franzia. I wonder what they use it for.............

Great. No pressure. Seriously, I'll be interested in your impressions, so I hope you'll report back.

There's nothing west TOWARD Lompoc - you have to go INTO Lompoc to reach anything. Once there, you have some choices. Saletti's (weekdays only) Sissy's Uptown - some nice food here Thai Cuisine - you'll have to hunt for this one - but it's worth it - it's behind Walgreen's on H Street Mad Mack's BBQ Taco Loco - Mexican in a fast food setting Back to Buellton, A-Ru sushi is very good. There's also the Firestone Tap Room, but their menu is a bit limited at lunch. Ellen's Pancake House is typical rib sticking diner/coffee shop food, and across the street is Taco Roco - see Taco Loco, above Have fun tasting.

Re: Jocko's - you may find the steaks delicious, but not on a level of a Spark's or Luger's, IMO. The raw material simply isn't the same - they don't use Prime, they use Choice. There's nothing really special about the meat they buy, their location in cow country notwithstanding. They buy pretty much the same meat as any other restaurant up and down the street, IBP choice, which is shipped in from the midwest. No special specifications, just the same stuff you could buy at Costco. So whatever you are tasting when eating there, is derived from the seasoning and cooking over the oak. They offer neither a steak house feel, nor the traditional sides one would expect at a steakhouse. I think in a discussion about the best "steak houses", anyplace not using dry aged Prime really shouldn't make the cut. And the 1500 degree salamander really does make all the difference - I don't think that can be replicated at home.

I'm a distrubutor representative. I've been one for 20+ years. I've watched folks open restaurants so many times, I can't count them all. I'm telling you this as a friend. You're in deep doo doo. Please reconsider. At the very least, do not, I repeat, do not use any of your own money in this venture. I'm really not trying to be a wet blanket, but I have a bad feeling about your concept. I hope you prove me very wrong.

Just to further confuse the issue: Maytag has a Gemini series range that has the requisite high BTU power burner (16K?) a simmer burner, and two, seperately controlled ovens. We're considering it for our remodel.

See for yourself!

Thanks for the help. I think the small intestine hog casings are what I'm after. We'll see how it turns out.

Any home sausage makers out there? I have a question regarding the Italian sausage one typically sees in butcher shops. Usually, the sausage is offered in the thick ropes (both hot and sweet) and then in thinner coils, which are often made with cheese and parsley. If I want to make the standard thick kind, I suppose I would use hog casings. But what about the thinner kind? Is there a special casing I should be looking for to make those? TIA J

My grandfather lived on that block (114th bet 1st and Pleasant) in the late 60's early 70's. We never ate there, but the people we know that did, always said the food is just like what we made at home, and not as good as my Mom's. There's probably a ton of neighborhood joints with food as good or better, but they don't get the ink because they don't get the celebs. Frankie P has turned his trademark no into quite a schtick.

Yes, there is a name for it. It's called the "Sullivan Nod" and it was developed and promoted by a restaurant consultant named Tom Sullivan. ( I think his name was Tom) I attended one of his seminars. Anchor Foods (Poppers, anyone?) now McCain Foods, employed him to train servers to push their line of deep fried appetizers. There was even a video available for operators. He had a whole exercise where he would show servers how much extra money they could earn by suggesting appetizers.

All this reminds me of a funny comp story. My wife and I were vacationing in Maui. Before we left, a client of mine told me to be sure and go see his buddy at Kimo's, and say hello for him. To that end, he wrote a short note of introduction.....this is my pal Juanito, be sure and take good care of him...blah, blah, blah So we get to Kimo's, and it's jam packed. We are seated, and order our dinner, at which point I ask for this guy. They respond that he no longer works there, and that he is now managing the Napili Country Club. After our dinner, a mud pie dessert appears, complements of the house. I thought that was pretty cool. The next day, my wife and I take a drive out to Napili around lunchtime. We enter the dining room, and ask for this fellow. Someone goes and gets him, and when he comes out, I introduce myself and hand him the note. A big smile comes over his face, and he has us sit at the bar. Plate after plate of appetizers come out, along with a couple of rounds of drinks. When we get ready to leave, we find everything had been comp'd. The whole afternoon was on this manager. Then he tells us, "you guys have to come out for dinner tomorrow night. I'm making reservations for you." So he does, and the following night we arrive for dinner. He recommends wines, and apps, and all sorts of things. We're thinking the whole thing is going to be on the arm again, so we're just going along. This place was more than we could afford at the time, but who were we to question our benefactor? When the check came.........you guessed it. Our new friend was nowhere to be found. It was probably the biggest check I'd ever seen at that point in my life. Thank God for my Visa card. It all seems pretty funny now, but we weren't laughing then.