budrichard

Our present world is based on fossil fuel reserves accumulated over eons. The only non-fossil sources are geo-thermal, sunlight, wind and Nuclear. Geo-thermal is limited, sunlight still expensive, wind not consistant and Nuclear is not socially acceptable at the present. The best one can due is NOT to purchase that SUV or 'hot' vehicle, conserve with energy rated furnaces and appliances. Anything else is not even a proveriable 'drop in the bucket'. We missed our chance in the 1960's when it was common knowledge that our fossil reserves were limited and populations would outpace production. What was not known at the time was the new deposits that were to be found of fossil fuels. Individuals and their governments never faced the hard questions and never took decisive action despite what resulted with CAFE. Now we drive huge SUV's, live in houses that would house many more people than live in them and take delight in our electronic world. These electronic games, phone, computers don't come without energy usage to build. I don't see a single responsible corporation trying to improve our world, I see earnings per share as the ONLY indicater of success. CO2 less cooking is not even a start. Give up your SUV, large house and all your appliances and then we can talk. In short, we have screwed up big time and now we are and will reap the consequences.-Dick

There are different types of Panko flakes. Tthe type we use is called a 'Honey Panko' from Japan and gives a nice color and nice taste. All others are flat when compared to this type. -Dick

First of all, there is no best. What you need to do is find knives that fit your hand and your budget. Wusthof knives handles vary in size acording to blade lenght. What is correct for me will not be correct for you. Then consider how much maintenance you want to do. Carbon steel requires more upkeep and sharpening, typically cheaper knives of 440C are difficult for the average person to sharpen and not worth much. Purchase 1 knife of what you come up with in an attractive lenght for you. Hold it when you get it. If it doesn't fit your hand send it back. This is an iterative process that only you can solve by trail and error. All else is pretty much not going to help-Dick

Have yout thought about asking what the manufacturer of your Wolf range reccamends rather than some salesperson that probably could care less about what is correct for your model? -Dick

The Viking we installed about 12 years ago has been a virtual tank. -Dick

You need to understand the Japanese grading system and then purchase your Wagyu beef with that in mind. If you only purchase what is termed 'Kobe' beef' or American Wagyu' without any grade level, you can usually do better with USDA Prime. -Dick

"We all know it will be expensive, great, and worth every penny! " I seriously am interested in what forms the basis of your statement? I find my ability to fortell the future limited. -Dick

The cost of having dinner at his new retaurant IF it actually happens wil take your breath away, literally, if not max out even a Black AMEXO card. Not only the start up costs but the cost of having ingrediants never seen in Chicago flown in from around the world and from France will be astronomical. Ever see a Bresse chicken for sale in Chicago? Seriously, there may be a market for it in Chicago but not for me. -Dick

In Wisconsin, we just usually step out the back door and shoot something! Seriously, its all junk thats available. -Dick

Since we fought a war and essentially occupied South Korea, i always assumed it came from the GI's to the Korean table.-Dick

Go here http://chefshop.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=6093&Tp= Sounds like hype to me at almost $16/#! Or if your really crazy, you might buy into this hype and salt! http://www.emamerica.com/data/products/rej...ating-sea-salt/ -Dick

Don't wait! I asked the question over a year ago. They don't have an analysis and the rest is all hype. By the time that stuff gets packed off the mountains on yaks, dragged through the marketplaces, who knows what organic contaminants have also been introduced. -Dick

Yes, but who would want to view Rachel Ray through it? -Dick

I emailed the distributers and asked if they had an analysis for heavy metals and other contaminants. No answer has been forthcoming. Unless you have an analysis, all of these types of salts are suspect. -Dick

The place on the north side of Chicago is Heat. The proper presentation actually severs the main nerve and the fish is served Sashimi style with the head on the plate with the mouth open looking up at you. What is the problem? The fish is dead, just the same as in any other sushi bar? -Dick

I believe i have just about every piece that Falk sells in the USA. Be aware they are heavy. Large saute without lid 8# 11.6 oz, w/lid 10# 3oz Large fry 5# 10.2 oz Large two handled shallow 6# 6.5 oz It would be a mistake to use cheap lids rather than the Falk copper ones. The lids are SS on the bottom and clean very easily as do all the Falk line. Of these, the Large saute is used the most. I hardly ever use the two handled. If weight is a concern, you may want to go with the medium sizes. Of course they will come with rivited handles! -Dick

"There's nothing lightweight about Demeyere or Sitram cookware. I'd venture to say that, pan for pan, if All-Clad is heavier, the difference is probably roughly equal to the weight of . . . the rivets (Falk, using all that copper, isn't eligible for this contest). I have a 9-quart Sitram sauce pot with, yes, a welded handle. It would have been nice had they included a helper handle, but they didn't, and if the weld breaks, they'll replace the pot for as long as I'm alive. "Before I took over the kitchen, we had a motley collection of pots and pans, mostly Calphalon. The Calphalon pots and pans being constructed of Al had all warped bottoms from heat. The pots were sturdy enough but cleaning was a chore. I remembered the cookware my mother had was all stainless steel. Then came the era of aluminum and non-stick coatings. I decided to find something that would give the best performance. After a review of the literature and Internet search and I ordered a fry pan from Falk. Now here was a pan, solid 2.5mm copper with SS interior, no retinning, and a brushed finish that didn't require polishing. I was skeptical about cleaning at first but quickly found that this pan cleaned easier than any Aluminum non-stick pan or pot we had. What gives? A little thought led to the reason. In order to make a cheaper product, the manufactures had resorted to aluminum but unless you had some sort of anodizing or non-stick treatment, the pan would be useless. The consumer had been sold crap big time. Many including All Clad advertized a copper bottom and then later a 'Copper Core'. An email to All Clad asking for the thickness of the copper core, resulted in my being told that this was propietary information. BALONEY! I cut a deal with Mike Harp for a discount for a LARGE $$ order (that resulted in his present pricing structure) and have been absolutely satisfied ever since. Every other type of pot and pan we had went out the door! My daughter who is slight of build likes All Clad for the weight. I purchased her a Copper Core fry pan. A semi quantatative test of an All Clad versas a Falk (same size fry) with the same volume of water on the same burner yielded about a 25% faster boil for the Falk. Not hard to anticipate. Some where i have the weight differential but am just too lazy to look it up. With the modern fabrication methods available, one can sandwich in a layer of copper with a cheaper layer of Aluminum and then a SS outer and inner if desired. This allows a cheaper pan which is also lighter. I seriously doubt that the use of copper in these pans makes any difference at all over all aluminum core construction. It's just there for advertizing. The pan may certainly be suitable for restaurant use, especially since restaurants want both long lasting and cheaper pans but and this is the big BUT, the best cookware is still copper which is heavy and requires rivits. So if discussion of Falk is out, then i will bow out of this and all future discussions about pots and pans and leave the discussions about cheaper pots and pans to you folks! -Dick

Replacement coupons for crap? Crap is crap, no matter how many coupons you get. I don't think the change was Federally mandated. SC Johnson acquired the company and saw a chance to make some fat profits by reformulating to a cheaper product, keeping the name and charging the same. I absolutely don't use Saran anymore!-Dick

Bicycles? Steel frames are brazed, that's where the lug designs came from, to allow one to see the braze flowing along the joint not just for a design. Al came along and was TIG welded but the joints are subject to fatigue failure and at one time Cannondale offered a discount on a new frame if you turned in your old one. Any accident on an Al or Carbon frame for that matter is time for a new frame. Ask George Hincapie after Paris-Roubiai! I ride steel on both my 'Yo Eddy' Mtn bike and my racing road bikes. I never worked in a bike shop but was a USCF road racer (my son rode on the track) and did all our own maintenance. Did i mention degrees in Nuclear Engineering with Graduate study and research in Metalurgy for credentials? You are talking apples and oranges when you compare the different welding techniques and applications used in other products to pots and pans fabrication. You simply can't equate the stress on a tube joint in bicycle fabrication to a handle on a pot. Sure for a light weight pot, a spot weld or some other sort of welding process may work for a while on cheap light cookware, but I guarantee that it will not have the durability of a rivet. -Dick

Kuni's hands down. We have been served by Kuni since he was at Hatsuhana in the 1970's. Kuni is clasically trained in Japan and has stuff for regulars. Heat and Mirai are also very good. Be aware that most Sushi bars are like MCdonalds now, run by Korean's not clasically trained. They can be good but if you have to fill out a little form, its not authentic Japanese. Katsu gets high marks. Sushi Kushi in Lake Forest is good but they are used to dealing with individuals with no knowledge of Sushi/Sashimi and you have to tease anything worth while out of them. BTW, if you have fish allergies why go?-Dick

Koop's without a doubt for custard. I once had the oportunity to sample 'Pralines N Cream' from both Koop's and Leon's on consecutive days. Leon's had small broken bits and Koop's had large full pieces of Pralines. Indeed for many of the flavors where the large flavor pieces can't make it through the machine, they keep a bucket to dip the cone in. There really in no comparison in butter fat content either. Sanford's can be hit or miss (so far it is miss for us and we don't go anymore) and has an absolute no BYOB even with corkage citing some obscure wis statute that they interpret to thier own advantage. Solly's for famous 'Butter Burgers'. Jake's on North avenue makes a great corned beef sandwich and would not be considered anyhting but a very good sandwhich in New York except in Milwaukee, all the so called corned beef is machine cut into thin slices with no taste. Jakes uses Vienna right from a steam table hand cut. Don't go at night though!. Dancing Ganesha's is first class Indian fare with the only problem price. They charge for every little condiment. After being used to Chicago buffets, its hard to pay the price. On 16th St is Taquaria Jalisco, a small joint right next to SuperMecardo El Rey. The Lingua (tongue) Tacos are to die for. Excellent cusine and the area is relatively safe for Gringo's. They have outlying restaurants in the burbs but these places always suffer from Americanization in one form or another. We live about 40 miles south of Milwaukee and rarely ever go to any of the expensive places because the value is so much better in Chicago. Many of the small 'ethnic' places try to hold the costs down by substituting ingrediants which would not allow then to exist in Chicago where the ethnic population requires authenticity. Maders is a tourist trap, plain and simple. But in the same area is a Hofbrau House. either buy some stuff at Usingers across the street and have a brew or have them make you a sandwich or lanjeager as they use Usinger products. Be advised that you will need a cab if more than one 1/2 liter. Karl Ratches used to be our favorite spot but we haven't been in ages so I can't comment on the quality at this time.-Dick Have fun.-Dick

Thanks for the reply. There must have been another label in English around the bottle because i remember the website picture you provided the link to. The bottle is empty but I am going to take it to Mitsuwa, the next time I go to purchase another. It is certainly the best I have ever tasted. We used a variety of shoyu with bonito extract for sashimi/sushi before finding this one. Now that's all we use for dipping. I think it's too expensive to cook with! -Dick

Spot welding which is actually accomplished by a potential difference to transfer an electrical current to fuse the metal is good for non stress bearing connections to hold things together. Where there is sufficient stress the spot welds will break. Welding on thin material which is what pots and pans are, is very difficult to avoid blow through. Brasing is just not strong enough. Riveting is economical, strong and lasting. I use Falk exclusively and I guarantee, without the rivets, the handles would not be attached very long if attached by any other method of welding.-Dick

I have ordered from most of the above. I ordered a whole strip loin from this source and it was the best Wagyu beef I have eaten. A few other particpants echoed that sentiment. The source I used does not seem to be available now. Here is a link to my study: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=77791&st=30 If the source you are considering does not use the Japanese grading system, the best you will obtain is comparble to USDA low Prime in my experience. Certainly not bad but certainly not close to Kobe beef. BTW, the #12 Wagyu I purchased did not come from Japan. I don't think they were selling imported Kobe at that time.-Dick

With the current emphasis by manufacturers on light weight knives with thinner blades, I purchased two Wusthof knives in the Cordon Bleu range. The knives are pictured here with other Wusthof knives. From left to right: 13" Bonesplitter 25.7oz 12" Wide Cook's 22.2oz 10" Wide Cook's 12.1oz 10" Cook's 9.7oz 10" Cordon Bleu 7.9oz 7" Cordon Bleu Santuko 5.8oz The Bonesplitter is used as the name implies with the rear edge marked for splitting and the front edge marked for cutting. Useful for obtaining marrow and splitting lobsters among other things. The 12" Wide Cook's is only useful for processing large amounts of ingrediants fast. you can line up 6 carrots and cut them all at the same time. Of course you need the strength to go with the blade. The 10" Wide Cook's is what i use the most in the kitchen. The 10" Cook's was my first Wusthof and will do just about everything you need a Cook's knife to do. The 10" Wide Cook's will just do it faster. The 10" Cordon Bleu certainly subjectively seems to make cutting easier but the blade bends under some tasks such as pressing down on garlic cloves to make removing the skins easier. I haven't tried to process 4 or 5 carrots with it, but I think the 10" Wide will do the job easier, at least for me. I also am not sure what 'easier' means. It is all somewhat subjective. It does dice an onion very nicely. The 7" Cordon Bleu Santuko is a joy to use to process small amounts of ingrediants for Asian style cusines. The blade is too flexible to ever be used for pressing down on things like garic cloves and I would not cut any type of bone with it. The 10" Cook's and above are better for those tasks. As one can see, the blades definately get thinner and lighter as one goes to the right. The question is, when is light weight too light? I think your body type and the amount of processing you want to do at one time enter into the determination.-Dick