col klink

When it comes to deep frying twinkies, you have to dip them in a light batter first. If I had the recipe, believe me, I'd post it.

Are you saying that not even another paper can pick your reviews or hire you?

Although Shiro's is the first place I've tried ama ebi (and it was really good and I order it every chance I get ), Shiki is the place where I've had the best ama ebi. Ken Yamamoto knows that the only thing better than having live sweet shrimp under the bar is having live shrimp on the bar, with a full *freakin'* tank available for everyone to see. Go to Shiki for ama ebi and fugu.

You're lucky I live in Minnesota.

Ugh, I hope your thread takes off better than mine -- Why don't they deep fry the plate too? As for the PI, I liked that they don't batter the fish, but they overly spiced it and thus overpowered the fish. The chips have alwasy been damn good. I have a long and great history with the PI (please don't ask) and I'd order the fried shrimp/prawns there before the fish and chips. Please tell me they changed Woodchuck Pear Cider back to Woodchuck Granny Smith!?! Please.

In the past, we've more than enjoyed the menu at SCCC. But what have you done for us lately?

No need to move out of the way! I certainly understand your concerns, but if you get a good leg of lamb it should be almost gamey and thus should take to the smoke well. In my experience (with a wood smoker which is smokier than coals and chips), I can never get enough smokiness in my lamb. When I smoke lamb, it's for around an hour and a half at around 175 - 200 F.

I don't know if this came through, but I thought it was a good meal and I'm sure that the off wine was a fluke. I just don't think the meal was transcendant. One thing I forgot to mention was that we thought we were a little rushed. Not really rushed, but when we spend that kind of change on a meal, I like it to last longer than it did. We were in and out in around an hour. I keep thinking how great it would be if Naha did a tasting menu -- getting to see more of the menu, slower pace, more hootch . . . Something along the lines of Chef's Station in Evanston. Their food is well thought out and nearly perfect in implementation -- all at extremely reasonable prices. However, the atmosphere is more laid back. Who uses denim pockets to hold silverwear? Naha is definitely more "upscale" but more cramped and far noisier.

I've smoked many legs of lamb in my day and I can definitely recommend it. I like to marinate mine in rosemary, garlic, ground pepper, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and usually another fresh herb or so -- ideally overnight. I smoke mine at the lowest temp I can keep the fire going and still get smoke, that way the meat can get the most exposure to the smoke, and thus the most flavor before it reaches medium rare. If you can, leave the bone in since bone heats up more slowly. I give a more complete recipe in my Inaugural Pacific NW Smokeout thread. Make sure to have a digital temp probe!

I hit Pho Tau Bay today and although I enjoyed the banh mi (especially the specially ordered shredded pork, damn, that was good), the pho wasn't as good as Pho 79. The broth wasn't as beefy or spicy and seemed to be saltier. It wasn't a bad broth, but it wasn't as good as Pho 79's. Not only that, Pho 79 bowls cost as much as the small bowls but are as big as the regular bowls which go for $1.50 more. As far as pho goes, Pho 79 wins hands down. But for banh mi, Pho Tau Bay takes the proverbial cake. Oh yeah, I think my bowl of pho today caused me some lower gi problems. As for the rest of the menus from both places, I'll have to wait for my wife to come to try them because try as I might, all I can think of ordering is the pho. edit: The first time I went to Pho 79 I thought the broth was good but a tad over-spiced. I now realize after having probably 5 bowls that it isn't usually that spiced so I shouldn't be so hard on Pho Tau Bay. Luckily since I'm moving to that immediate area I'll have plenty of points on the graph to plot.

John, where's Saigon and do they make their banh mi to order or not? Likewise do they have different sandwiches? edit: From the Pho 79 thread:

D'oh! I forgot to list the address Pho 79 2529 Nicollet Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55404 612-871-3226 I can't wait to try Pho Tau Bay and Quang's. I'll have myself a pho-down! What are their addresses?

Country style ribs actually come from pork shoulder or "pork butt" -- butt refering to the butt end of the shoulder. Shoulders make excellent sausages since you want at least 1/3 fat in the sausage. I've gone by the rule of thumb that shoulders contain 20% beautiful pork fat and would add more fat to reach 1/3. It's especially important to add more fat if you're making venison or any wild game sausage.

During my recent visits down to the Twin Cities for job interviews, I’ve been very lucky to find Pho 79. Pho is a Vietnamese beef (or chicken or seafood, but mostly beef) noodle soup that is comfort food for me. I first began to truly cherish pho in Seattle when I realized it was the best meal for a hangover (your mileage may vary). It provides much needed re-hydration and necessary electrolytes to get you on your way. With an iced coffee (café su da) and provided you can stomach the tripe and soft-tendon, you’re ready for a new day and bouncing off the walls. For my birthday my wife and I celebrated by getting pho at a Vietnamese place in Duluth. Now she did some advance scouting so I knew that you wouldn’t be getting fresh basil, sprouts, jalapeño slices or lime and I acted accordingly by bringing what I could, jalapeños and lime (I don’t normally go for the sprouts and Thai basil is impossible to find in Duluth). But of course it was a horrible downer – I almost cried. I'm dead positive they just opened a packet of ramen in the back of the kitchen. Luckily, Pho 79 has given me hope that damn good pho can be found in the Midwest outside of Chicago. Don’t let the tripe and soft-tendon scare you away from a bowl of pho. The basic bowl (what Mrs. Klink always orders) is just eye of round or a similar tender cut of beef that is added raw to the bowl where it is left to cook. If you’re smart though, ask for the beef on the side so you can control how it gets cooked. A good pho joint will have many, many verities on the menu and Pho 79 doesn’t shy away. Mostly they are different combinations of the ingredients included in the “Special Bowl” which happen to be eye of round, fatty brisket (yeah!), well done flank, meatballs (hit or miss), tripe and soft tendon. The latter two can be somewhat of a challenge for the un-initiated but at some point you should definitely try the scary stuff. I’ve been to Pho 79 several times now and I’ve been impressed with their stock. It’s beefy with just enough spicing (star anise) to let you know it’s there but not overpowering. And the price is hard to beat, most bowls go for $5.45 with the Special going for $5.95 (though I’m used to paying only $4.50 for the same size bowl in Seattle and getting a cream puff). Upon further visits I’ve tried ordering something else so I can say I’ve at least “sampled” the menu but that never happens – as soon as the waitress comes all I hear out of my mouth is “special with the raw beef on the side.” And for those of you trying Pho 79 soon, directly across the street at the meat market there's a most adorable kitten. My wife picked it up and walked all around the store with it chewing on her sweater. I can't tell you how lucky I am when she realized that we don't need another cat!

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for. Does it often taste of paint thinner?

Mrs. Klink and I recently had a very pleasant meal (one that we are completely unable to get in our home town) but were surprised by a couple of things based on earlier reports. We found the tables to be a little too tight and there wasn’t enough sound baffling so it ended up being rather loud –making it difficult to have a conversation without yelling and including the other patrons next to us. But I’ll go on to the food. I was surprised that the menu has hardly changed since Ronnie went as far as we could tell. However, what they serve with a dish has changed (i.e. different sides/sauces). But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing since we definitely wanted the foie gras. I ordered the cannelloni appetizer to match and was pleasantly surprised by the cheese and spinach – a very simple dish that was complemented beautifully by the fine Chianti selected by our server. A Russian River Valley Muscat dessert wine -- very sweet and very tart – balanced the rich foie gras that was crispy on the outside and rich and succulent on the inside. The foie gras was served on toast points with a tarte tartin of something along with some fruit. If I had to find a fault with the dish I thought that they were trying to do too much with the sauce and all of the fruit – my standard for foie gras is still Harvest Vine in Seattle. All in all though, we were off to a fantastic start. I ordered the lacquered duck breast (medium rare) on a bed of greens (possibly mustard) with what I believe to be a veal reduction spiced with anise. I’m definitely sure about the anise and I appreciated the simplicity of the sauce. The duck was tender and perfectly cooked to medium rare while the sauce enhanced the flavor without overpowering it. But considering the dish was $29 I expected a little more than a duck breast on a bed of greens. I'm not sure what "lacquering" means but the skin was nice and crispy, almost carmelized, but a little chewy. Though from experience, I know it's rather difficult to render the breast skin well without overcooking the meat. I’ll get to the wine pairing later. Mrs. Klink ordered the baby chicken with parsnip mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, brussel sprouts and acorn squash squares. Now I’ve roasted quite a number of chickens in my day so I can speak with some authority - this was a decent chicken. The breast could’ve been a little juicier and the thigh was slightly underdone, but both were serviceable. Unfortunately the skin wasn’t as a crispy as I like but the dish as a whole worked better than the duck (though Mrs. Klink would say the opposite). If the chef had brined the chicken and crisped the skin, it would be a great chicken. I liked the parsnip taters and the brussel sprouts but I especially liked the mushrooms. The squash on the other hand seemed like it was steamed to al dente and all I could think about was how much better it would’ve been if the squash was roasted so the sides were crisp revealing a soft and sweet center that melts in your mouth. Our server paired a Californian Merlot that probably tasted a lot better than it was because it went so well with the dish. After we left Mrs. Klink felt a little sheepish about ordering the chicken since we roast so many at home and I've turned her into a chicken snob -- not to say that it wasn't perfectly acceptable chicken, but we both know chicken so well that's it's hard to be surprised anymore. Unfortunately for me, I received a Californian Pinot Noir with my duck breast that tasted awful which is a real shame since the other three wines were beautifully paired. To be more specific though, it tasted of paint thinner. I couldn’t decide whether or not to make a fuss so I lived with it. Mrs. Klink had a hard time recognizing it but it was unmistakable to me. It was only after about 20 to 30 minutes and I had finished my duck that most of the paint thinner taste had gone but by that time the wine was incredibly boring. Since I don’t have enough wine experience I didn’t know what to tell our waiter and after reading all sorts of horror stories about sending wine back after not liking the bottle and still being charged, I played it safe. We contemplated sharing a dessert but nothing really jumped up at us and the wine kind of soured me on ordering anything else. One other thing I was hoping for was a tasting menu -- with the creativity the chef has, she should easily be able to come up with one and give a more rounded experience to the customer and allow her to come up with more creative dishes. As to the wine, I probably should’ve mentioned something and I’m guessing that was a new bottle that they had opened. But to surmise the meal, we both left pretty happy and fully sated. I could easily recommend this restaurant to anyone and if it weren’t for the fact that there are a number of other restaurants that I still need to try when I visit Chicago, I wouldn’t mind going back.

I'm with Dave, cook the roast slowly at 120 or 130 for 6 to 7 hours and finish under a hot broiler. However, if you need your oven for dishes, this makes it more difficult. However, this gives you a chance to work on the sides the day before, giving you more time with your guests the day of. But this tidbit of information may be a tad late to be helpful.

I've had 20 lb brined birds finish in less 3 hours so I've noticed a large difference. Remember folks, go by the temp -- not the time! Though knowing generally when the bird is going to come out does help in presenting the whole meal.

What kind of nasty? I sautee asparagus quite often in my cast iron though I do have a preference for roasting and I don't have any off flavors. Maybe you're not using enough evoo? Is your cast iron seasoned well? How often do you use it?

Sorry to hear that man.

D'oh! Those are the prime poker hours! By the way, those pictures of your work are really amazing. Did they have any play in getting you an interview or did the school help you out with that? I wish I could get down to Chicago before you leave.

Last spring my wife (to be at the time) raided City Kitchens when they had electronic scales on sale for $30. We went in only for that and left spending over $250! They had a sale on open stock house knives (they're very nice). I picked up a 10" chef's knife and a carving knife both for around $35 a piece. I can't remember what they're prices on Le Cruset are but you can make a killing during their sales.

Really Nice posted about his bacon makin' experience in Pork bellies in my future. Notice the use of two smokers. Alas, I have yet to make my own bacon. However, I just found a really cheap smoker that I could easily convert to a cold smoker for only a $100! Now if only we could get rid of all this snow.

Yes, thank you for the kaiseki lowdown. My wife and I already decided to do it the next time we're in town. I knew it was going to be good and this is a great confirmation!

Spare ribs only need about an hour or two in the standard brine. If you want to brine ahead of time, you certainly can do that. If you do it a day in advance you can also dry rub them which is what I like to do.