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Since it has such lovely clarity, I'd probably make a gelée and pair it with something that likes chocolate (not necessarily sweet).

I've been in Charlottesville several times over the last couple of years. I did a bit of research here and on a few other boards. In no particular order, here are a few places I've enjoyed: Zocalo , 201 E Main St. It's a "Modern Latin" place. The tuna tartare app is nice: OXO, 215 W Water St Oysters in Champagne: They seem to like to play with somewhat exotic herbal flavors. Service was a bit flustered, possibly because I showed up quite early in the evening. Ivy Inn, 2244 Old Ivy Rd Nice little amuse, Virginia ham on a tiny biscuit: I had a hell of a time finding this place, but it was worth it. Talented young chef. C & O, 515 E Water St Here's a squab app: A fun, funky place. The food is good and the owners are quite charming. Let them know that you have an adventurous palate and they will love you. If the weather is decent ask to be seated in the patio. My strongest recommendation is to go to Palladio, the restaurant at Barboursville Winery (17655 Winery Rd, Barboursville VA). This time of year you might want to go for lunch rather than dinner so that you can enjoy the beautiful grounds in daylight. Here are some snaps of a summer luncheon menu from 2007: Ligurian Chickpea fritter. Sounds simple, but this was one of the best dishes of 2007 for me. Veal Sweetbreads over Rissoto. Braised Beef Ribs. Nathan, I trust that you will post your impressions over the next few months. Looking forward to hearing what you think of C'Ville.

It's slightly (not cloyingly) sweet. I think the ginger syrup has a touch of habanero in it. That, combined with the ginger and cinnamon, moves the flavor profile toward the spicy and aromatic side. Also, I'm not sure that the proportions in the published recipe are an exact match for what they serve at VTR. Katie, I like the Luxardo amaretto better than the di saronno, but it strikes me as a touch sweeter. Not sure what I'd adjust in the recipe to compenstae. More citrus, maybe?

Thanks for posting the recipe, jneu. I had a Spicy Chica last night in the back room at VTR. I usually lean toward gin-based drinks, but jsmeeker's post reminded me that I hadn't had a Chica in a while. I'd forgotten just how tasty it is.

There's room in my world for both browned and un-browned. I love the depth of flavor that comes from searing or roasting meat. No doubt about it, the Maillard effect adds a lot of flavor. And sometimes the crisp exterior of roasted or grilled meat is part of the appeal. But I see a place for steamed or poached meats as well. One of my favorite ways to prepare pork ribs is to steam them Chinese style. Put cross-cut (flanken-style) ribs in a shallow dish with some chopped-up fermented black beans, garlic, chili pepper, soy sauce, and shao xing wine. Steam in a bamboo steamer for about ten minutes. Drizzle with sesame oil and scatter some thinly slice green onions on top. Delicious. Not sure if it was from Tower, but I remember hearing about poached beef fillet some years ago. I tried it out - poached the fillet in a nicely clarified consommé. The pinkish-gray color of the meat may be a problem for some, but I have to say that the flavor was wonderful. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.

Probably too late for Jeff, but I'd second Nancy's recommendations and add a couple. I stopped by Lolita last night with a friend after the theater. We didn't have reservations so we sat at the bar. There are a couple of items that aren't on the web menu yet. We had an appetizer of lamb sausage stuffed in a (surprisingly hot) Hungarian pepper. Tasty, but the heat of the pepper got to me after a while. We also had the roasted marrow with salsa verde. This is served with little crostini and a narrow spoon for scooping the marrow out of the bone, which is split lengthwise. If you're a fan of beef marrow this is a must-get. There's a little pile of pickled onions to cut the richness of the marrow. Perfect!

That was hilarious! Safer and less wasteful than lopping off the top of the bottle with a chef's knife.

The place I linked to sells mainly to restaurants. They have a small retail operation sort of as an afterthought. I'm pretty sure that they get fresh lobsters in at least once a week. I'll ask them if they are seeing the prices drop of late.

My local seafood shop has Maine lobster at twelve bucks a pound. They drive a truck several time a week to Boston to get their stuff - I assume that they deal with one of the big wholesalers there. I hadn't checked the prices recently. They're down a bit, but I don't know how quickly they respond to changes at the supplier level. This situation really sucks for the lobstermen.

One difference between this book and the FL cook book is that the latter placed a great deal of emphasis on the food suppliers and philosophical aspects of the restaurant. The essays interspersed throughout the book were as important as the actual recipes. Under Pressure is much more focused on technique. There are explanations of what CSV is good for, how to use it appropriately and safely, etc. It's a big, pretty book, but I see it as being more of a practical reference than the FL book was.

I'm less disappointed than RobC seems to be, but then my expectations may have been different. The super-crafting thing is classic Keller, and yes, it's a lot like the FL and Bouchon books in that respect. There are a few exotic ingredients used (Transglutaminase, anyone?), but much of it should be pretty easy to source, if a bit expensive. There are quite a few recipes that call for liquid in the bag, which is a pain if you're using a Food Saver or such. I didn't spot any instructions for using a clamp machine, but I've only had time to scan the book during my lunch break yesterday. I'll check tonight to see if there's anything there about dealing with liquids with consumer equipment. Of course, we've got endless discussion of that on the Sous Vide thread here, so maybe it's a non-issue for us.

My copy arrived today. I only had time to browse through it a bit, but I must say that I'm impressed. It looks like there's a wealth of technical information, and the recipes look wonderful.

There's an odd post on Eater: If that's true I imagine it will be a madhouse.

The Free Press has a bit more info about Roast at the Westin Book Cadillac: So still no opening date, but it looks like they're getting close. There's a photo of the custom-made rotisserie grill - that's something you won't find in his Cleveland restaurants.

Ron, I'll second r'n'r on the Lola recommendation, if it's within budget. Getting in on a Friday night may be tough, but it's worth a try. They're on Open Table, but your spouse could just call them if there's nothing on O.T. just to see if they can squeeze him in. Another interesting place within walking distance is Crop Bistro. There's a new Vietnamese place across the street from Lola that has gotten good reviews (haven't been there myself).

My book arrived last week. I've barely had time to browse through it, but I have to say that it's living up to my expectations. Lots of useful information, well-organized, but with a relaxed tone. The recipes look terrific. I think I'll have to make "Cellinis and Martinis" for the name alone.

Michael Symon's upcoming restaurant in the Book Cadillac is getting some help from the city: Roast restaurant gets loan

Heh. I just hope that the existing content is still there after the makeover. One of the best chef-blogs ever.

The Juliet & Romeo gets a mention in Salon Magazine's Summer Cocktail Contest.

Spice rub for chicken This is an approximation of the spice rub used for the "chicken and waffles" dish at the eG Heartland Gathering 2008. At the gathering I used a pre-made batch of Barbara Tropp's China Moon Ten-Spice that NancyH brought, plus a lot of additional Szechuan pepper, clove, and coriander. I've adjusted the recipe to account for the most important flavors from the ten-spice. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=117871 4 T Szechuan peppercorns 4 T coriander seeds 1 tsp whole cloves 2 T black peppercorns 1 tsp fennel seeds 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 T salt Toast the first six ingredients in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Dump into a dish to cool, then place in a blender or spice mill and process to a fine powder. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Keywords: Hot and Spicy ( RG2138 )

Coconut-Curry Sauce This is the sauce that accompanied the "chicken and waffles" dish at the eG Heartland Gathering 2008. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=117871 4 14 oz cans coconut cream * 6 shallots 1 stem lemongrass 1 two-inch piece of ginger 6 small Thai chilies 1 three-inch piece of galangal (fresh if available) 3 pieces fresh turmeric ** 1 fresh lime 3 T peanut oil or vegetable oil 1 tsp salt Peel and chop the shallots and set aside. Peel the ginger and galangal, chop roughly, and add to the blender jar. Peel the turmeric. Wear gloves or use a towel to hold the turmeric unless you want yellow fingers! Chope coarsely and add to blender. Stem four of the chilies, chop coarsely, and place in blender. Cut a two- to three-inch section of the lemongrass. Trim off and discard the root end and the tough outer leaves. Chop the inner part and add it to the blender jar. Zest the lime (Use a micro plane or fine grater), then juice the lime. Add the zest and juice to the blender jar. Add the salt and 2 T of oil to the blender. Pulse the ingredients in the blender to make a smooth paste. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Add the reserved chopped shallots and sweat until translucent. Add the spice paste to the pan and continue cooking over medium heat until fragrant. Add the coconut cream and reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking until heated through. Be careful not to scorch! Strain the sauce or return it to the blender if you want a smooth consistency. Garnish with the remaining chilies sliced thinly. * freshly made coconut cream would be nice if you can manage it. ** If you can't find fresh turmeric, substitute 1 T dried ground turmeric. Keywords: Hot and Spicy, Sauce, Blender ( RG2137 )

I have a few pictures of the Ethnic Tour of Niles: Impressive selection of seafood at Uni-Mart: Prepared foods at Uni-Mart: Sausage making at Schmeisser's: The chicken we bought for the chicken-n-waffles course: The Leaning Tower of Niles where we stopped for some yummy ice cream Lots of good stuff at Niles Polish Deli MMmmmm sausages flat bread at the Indian buffet galub jamun for dessert (not too sweet!)

I posted a picture of Randi's salad way back on the first page. The Vita-Mix is a champ. I've brought it along to the last three Heartland Gatherings, but this is the first time it really got noticed. It sped up Alex's gazpacho process considerably, and it saved me a lot of work making the aromatic paste for the coconut sauce.

I'm going to take partial, secondary-source credit for this innovation. (...) ← I saw Nancy's post earlier but didn't get a chance to respond. We started realizing well before "show time" that the grill wasn't going to work out. We were eying the oven as a compromise solution, but that didn't sound too appealing. Besides, there was already a traffic jam of dishes going into the oven, so the timing was doubtful. I was concerned that the oven wouldn't give us the nice crispiness we were looking for. Don't know why I didn't think of using the flat-top. It was barely a month ago that Steven and I were sitting at the counter at Noodle Bar commenting about how incredibly efficient their flat-top-plus-oven technique is. So credit Chang and company for the idea, but credit Fat Guy for remembering it when it counted.

A few pictures from the bread workshop. Chopping olives Weighing the flour and the olive oil Start mixing Then kneading Check the dough We learned about the various types of preferment, the effect of adding fat or sugar to a dough, how to judge when the gluten is developed enough, and so much more... This workshop was everything I hoped it would be - a practical, hands-on experience with lots of useful information. Many thanks to Tom for a fantastic workshop.