prasantrin

Most people who eat sushi are not sushi connoisseurs. So what's the point of your point?

I'd do it! I think it would be fun. Except I don't really care for sushi that much (other than uni, ikura, and hotate, all of which I could eat all day every day), and only eat it once a year if that. And I might have to forego the kaitenzushi places, because I only like sushi if the fish is really good, and most kaitenzushi places don't use really good fish. I don't remember ever seeing a Japanese person in Japan eating sushi with his or her hands, but I'm not sure why that is. I know it's acceptable, but I guess the people I hang with just prefer to use chopsticks. The last time I had sushi (which was Osaka-style rectangular sushi and some makizushi), I was the only one eating with my hands, and I only did that because I didn't want to waste the waribashi (plus I was too lazy to eat with chopsticks).

Could it have been salted fish (usually fried and crumbled/flaked)? I also like fried garlic.

I'm one of those who suffered from confusion! I'm not sure. I had thought the one on South Osborne closed after they had those problems a couple of years ago, but maybe it was a different restaurant owned by another family member. (Sorry, I made a mistake, and they spell it "Sawatdee" not "Sawadee".)

Just Desserts on Provencher is closed, and Sawatdee Thai will be opening in the space. Anyone know what happened to Just Desserts? I haven't been there in a few years, but the last time I was there, I thought it was good.

Today my mother, a friend, and I went to Promenade Bistro for brunch. We walked in, and were prepared to be disappointed. I expected the place to have a little bit of panache, but it was more like a refurbished Red Lobster. The front dining area was very much like a diner, and the back area (where we sat) was a bit nicer--we had a table with chairs (as opposed to fast-food restaurant-like benches), and tablecloths. But the space was dark--all the blinds were down, and though some were open, not all were, and most of the overhead lights (all flourescent panel-type lights) were off. It seemed cheap to me. We really had breakfast, not brunch, since between 7 and 12 (on weekends, 11:30 on weekdays according to Marion Warhaft's review, but she got the address wrong, too, so take her word with a grain of salt ) they only have a breakfast menu available, with very breakfast-y foods (omelets, bacon and eggs, etc.). It's quite a small menu, and nothing seemed particularly interesting to us. I ordered eggs benedict. I always order eggs benedict apprehensively because in my opinion, the best EB are from Al's Breakfast in MSP, and I can't imagine any others could live up to those. I still order them at other places, because I always have hope I'll find a good version closer to home. In my experience, however, they're never as good, and these were no exception. I had requested runny yolks, but I could tell as soon as the plate was placed in front of me that I would not be having runny yolks. These were clearly eggs that hadn't been poached, but eggs placed in one of those metal "poachers" and cooked. To me they're a very different animal, and not one I like. The yolks were not completely hard, but definitely weren't runny. The hollandaise sauce was very thick and barely warm. There was no lemon-flavour to it at all, and very little flavour period. The potatoes were moist, though they could have used more salt (easily added at the table, but I think they should have added more salt to the water they used to boil the potatoes, so it could permeate them better). I liked the English muffins, though. Both my mother and friend ordered the crepes with hazelnut spread (which I assume is Nutella, but I don't know if they do, in fact, use Nutella)' my mother ordered it with strawberries and my friend ordered it with bananas (both fruits were an additional 45 cents--quite reasonable, I thought). You can't really tell from the innards picture, but the strawberries were in the crepe, not added as a topping. I'm not 100% sure, but I suspect the crepes are made ahead and perhaps microwaved before being filled. Regardless, they were good, but how can anything with hazelnut spread be bad? I would order these again...if I ever go there again, that is. Service was friendly, but I wouldn't say satisfactory. My friend ordered coffee, and was not asked if she wanted a refill until after we had finished our food and our plates were being cleared (and the clearing of plates didn't happen for 10-15 minutes after we finished eating). None of our water glasses were refilled. When my mother ordered her crepe, she was asked if she wanted fruit. She then asked if the strawberries were sweet (we had just purchased some very tart strawberries from the farmer's market the day before, so she was wary of them). The server told her, "You know, I don't know, but they're mixed into the filling, and it's so sweet I don't think it matters if they're sour." Ahem. Ever eat something sour after having just eaten something super sweet? It definitely matters. She did say it in a friendly way, though. Clearly, I was disappointed with today's brunch. I had high hopes since I've had Gojko Bodiroga's food before, and thought it was very very good. I don't think he's there at breakfast (I didn't see him), but since the place is associated with his name, I think the quality control should be better.

From the UK Food Standards Agency: I've been eating improperly stored cooked rice all my life (it's an Asian thing, I guess), so ymmv.

A conversation with a friend yesterday: Me: OK, we'll have brunch at 9 tomorrow. Friend: 9? What is brunch? Me: Have you been reading my food group? My friend thinks brunch should be no earlier than 11 because of the breakfast/lunch combo, but says I, "I get up at 5. By 9, it's time for brunch!" We're meeting at 10, by the way. I eat anything anytime, but for me, brunch is more about the foods that are served than the time.

Maybe he was Filipino and really liked his grandfather? (Across all Filipino languages (I think), "lolo" means "grandfather" and "lola" means "grandmother".) Mmmmm...I want that! And the bacon appetizer, and the beef short ribs! I have to think of a reason to go to Cleveland.

About the sandwiches...this is a picture of the lunch set at one of my favourite bakeries. It's a croque monsieur, but their quiche set looks the same, as does the French sandwich set (I can't remember what it's called, but they have some very simple French sandwiches on baguettes). The salad is very lightly dressed, and at 1 o'clock, you can see some mini treats. With the lunch set, they give little tastes of some of the sweets they sell (usually a couple of small tasting-sized pieces of things like pound cake, cookies, madeleine, fruit cake, etc., but if they have something like a very small slice of their very yummy chocolate tart, then it will only be the one piece). The mini treats change all the time, depending on what is available. It's a great way to get people to try some of their goods they may not otherwise try. In that picture, for example, there is a slice of French bread covered with caramel and baked. I'd never have bought those, but after trying one with my lunch set, I discovered I loved them, and I have bought many bags of them since. That lunch set, by the way, was Y750 and included the drink.

Flying Beaver! That was it! Yes, it should have been a clue, but it was not my choice (and I try to be accomodating about these things, especially if I know I won't be paying). Fries were lukewarm, and my aunt's salmon burger was real salmon, but the patty wasn't very thick and the bun was bigger than the salmon. My calamari was greasy and quite salty, and the accompanying dip was very very garlicky (in a sharp unpleasant way--my poor seatmates on my connecting flight!). My aunt's friend had a mushroom burger (which looked decient, though the burger looked like one of those pre-formed frozen patties), and salad that contained wilted lettuce too far past its prime to be served. But we were in a hurry, so we didn't complain, and the service was OK (but my aunt only tipped just over 10%!). I'd rather have gone to Globe!

If I were to make it, I would use freshly ground pork that I ground myself. Many of the recipes at Import Thai are actually uncredited recipes from the late Colonel Philpott (from his wife, actually, though he wrote the recipes), and he would never have posted a recipe that wasn't trustworthy. Ingredients and environment are different in Thailand than elsewhere, though, so use the freshest ingredients possible if you do try it.

My +1 wants to join the ethnic tour, but has no car so probably won't be able to get out to Evanston until 9 (assuming the meeting place is Evanston--we're staying in Chicago, so will either do public transportation or catch a taxi with others at the Hyatt).

It did? I thought it was supposed to reopen. So what's Chef Fowke doing now?

Back in the Winnipeg News topic, Dejah asked about Indian food in YWG, so I decided to make it one of projects this summer. We were going to do a review of Indian buffets around town, but I prefer to focus on a couple of dishes because...well...I like to eat things I really like.This year, the focus is on palak paneer and samosas. Last night, as is our tradition, we went to a restaurant straight from the airport. I just wanted to go home, but my mother seemed disappointed, so I obliged. First stop, India Palace. I have always wondered how they managed to stay in business. When they were half of Bombay Snack House, the restaurant was in the more "happening" part of Ellice, but now it's further down, located in the space where they used to hold banquets. They've been in this location for quite some time, but I haven't dined there in a very long time. They're still quite busy, though. Not so much with diners (at least not on a Thursday night), but they were doing a lot of take-out orders. We ordered bhujia, samosas, palak paneer, chappati and mango lassi. Bhujia is often referred to as pakora (I've been to Indian restaurants where I've asked about bhujia, and I've been told, "It's the same as pakora."), but in my experience, pakora are more like tempura--vegetables dipped in batter and fried. At India Palace (and its predecessor), it's different. It has always been a mash of things, including chickpea flour, that has been fried. I've only had it at India Palace (and BSH), and have never even seen it on the menu of other restaurants. I love it. But not any more... The patties we had last night were thick (about 1 cm, possibly more) and dry. They used to be thinner, and fried up much darker and crisper. They also used to have more cumin in them, and that's one of the things I loved about them. The current version is not bad, and if I had never had the previous version, I might have enjoyed them more, but still, I was disappointed. And even greater disappointment was the tamarind sauce. I think they're using tamarind concentrate to make it! It used to be made with real tamarind! It's much sweeter and more syrupy now. Samosas came next--again, not nearly as good as they used to be. The pastry is much thicker, though is still crispy. The innards were an even bigger disappointment. I didn't see a single piece of whole coriander in the thing! Or taste it! It's still spicy, but perhaps they add some sort of powder now, because I didn't discern any chile flakes (as there used to be). Palak paneer (spinach and paneer) is one of my favourite dishes. This version tasted a little watery, to me. It was still thick, as I think palak paneer should be, but perhaps they didn't strain the spinach enough, or perhaps they don't use as much spice in it...I don't know. But it didn't have the depth of flavour (or even much flavour at all) I'm used to. The chappati were thin and delicate, and loaded with ghee. They didn't stand up well to being used to eat the palak paneer, but on their own they were fine. We were also served rice, which was moist (I don't think it was basmati) and tinged with tumeric. It was fine. Mango lassi could have used more mango, but was good. I was talking to my mother about my disappointment, and she mentioned they now hire others to make the food, whereas they used to make everything themselves. I think it's great they're doing so well that they can hire staff. But I miss the old food. I think what they serve is probably still good, but I probably won't go there again. Unless the other places in Winnipeg turn out to be worse, that is. We also took out two gulab jamun. I wanted jilebi, too, but they were out. I haven't tried them, yet, but will report when I do.

Sweet(s?) Palace on the 1400 block of Pembina Highway is closed, and there's a Chinese place in its stead. I guess that's even more reason to hit Clay Oven when it opens.

We didn't go to Globe. We went to a restaurant where the water planes (what are they called?) are located, a less than 10 minute drive from the airport. Food was crappy.

The proper and correct way to eat sushi is with your hands and to use your chopsticks for sashimi. Steve himself has said this, and he's a writing a book about asian dining. ← You'd take Steve's word over a Japanese person born and bred in Japan? I live in Japan, and I'd agree with Hiroyuki. Ask a wide-assortment of Japanese people, and you'll hear a wide assortment of answers. There is no consensus. Not only that, but if eating sushi with your hands were the most "propper and correct way", you can bet most Japanese people (especially women) would be eating it that way, and they don't.

To me, Al's Breakfast epitomizes MSP. It's not the food (you can get eggs benedict anywhere), but the atmosphere. It's as far from pretentious as you can get, and I've met the nicest people standing in line while waiting to get a seat. It's not a dinner place (closes at 2), though, so it may not be what you were thinking of.

What's the difference between som tam with catfish and yum pla dook foo? Does som tam with catfish have more som tam and less catfish?

If I were going, I would do smart casual for Blackbird and the Violet Hour, although you probably could get away with jeans. Jeans are definitely OK at Lao Sze Chuan, which is very casual (and I assume we are going to be in their private room anyway). By the way, those of you who've decided to skip LSC...you don't know what you're missing! ← Thanks! I should be OK, then. And why, pray tell, are you not going on Thursday? Think of all the food!

I've got a relatively short stopover at YVR, and some relatives want meet me at the airport. I'd like to confine our visit to the airport, which seems to limit our lunching options to Globe@YVR or the Jetstream Bar. Given that I'll have just come off a 9 1/2 hour flight, I don't think I'll be dressed in "business casual"--does that mean Globe is off-limits to me? I won't be looking like a bum, but I'll probably be wearing casual black pants, a plain black t-shirt, and black sneakers. I looked at the Jetstream menu (at least what was available online), and absolutely nothing appealed to me except the cheese plate. It all seemed like a really bad '90's "fusion" menu. Globe's menu seemed more tolerable to me, but what's up with the dress code?

Do you add anything like cider vinegar to the mayo, or do you just use straight mayo? I think the mayo needs to be thinned in order to get the texture you want. Also, if you serve it straight out of the fridge, it will probably be clumpier than if you let it sit for a bit. ETA: Do you rinse your pasta? IIRC, when you serve pasta cold, it should be rinsed to reduce the surface starch.

There are no absolutely correct manners associated with this. Probably most people, including me, place the tail on the wooden tray, plate, or bamboo leaf on which the sushi was placed. The chef will replace the wooden tray, etc. with a new one. ← Is it OK to eat it? I noticed Japanese people don't usually eat any part of a shrimp shell except the head (in tempura, especially). I often eat that part (I'm intentially refraining from writing that I "eat t***"), and I sometimes wonder if Japanese people think I'm weird.

Just spied today--sakurambo little kitkats. I hope it's good!