ludja

Where do melons come from this time of year? I usually buy melons only from, say, July through September. I usually have luck with most melons bought at that time of year. I'm not sure where most melons are grown in the US, but that would seem to be the season.

What about Yuet Lee for Chinese? I've heard of it for years but have never been...

Keeping it in your neck of the woods, have you ever checked out the Jimtown Store cookbook? Lots of great casual recipes. I don't know if it could be the *only* cookbook though!!! Other cookbooks I turn to often for great, dependable recipes: Patricia Well's "Bistro Cooking", Chez Panisse Vegetables and Chez Panisse Desserts, Bill Neal's Southern Cooking and for baking, his "Biscuits, Spoonbread and Sweet Potato Pie". For everyday Italian I like Viana La Place and Evan Kleinman's "Cucina Rustica".

It is a very interesting article. Make sure to look at the link to some tasting notes at the bottom. Here are the wines that they provide notes for: French Cabernet Franc Bernard Baudry Chinon "Les Granges" 2004, $12-$16 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie 2003, $30-$35 Le Petit Cheval 2002, $60 California Cabernet Franc La Jota Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2002, $60 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc 2004, $22 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2003, $70 Robert Sinskey Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2001, $36 Rubicon Estate Cabernet Franc 2003, $44 New York Cabernet Franc Schneider Vineyards Cabernet Franc Le Breton 2004, $24.99 Virginia Cabernet Franc Barboursville Vineyards Cabernet Franc Reserve 2004, $18.99

Nice photo... We had the sauce with a more strongly flavored NY strip and thought that they complemented each other well, but I can appreciate that it would overpower a more delicate cut like a filet. The F&W article mentioned skirt steak which is also often paired with stronger sauces/flavors.

This is a great variation as well as it would have a completely different flavor. I was wondering if I should keep the oregano in with the cilantro version? Too many competing flavors?

Thanks, I checked them out. I liked one of the serving ideas they gave for an Argentinian, "parillada" or mixed grill. The combination they suggest sounds good: chorizo, chicken, chicken livers and skirt steak. Also, the sweet paprika version with just olive oil, paprika, garlic, lemon, s&p sounds interesting. Thanks for pointing out the 'nouveau" green onion-ginger chimichurri as well, bilrus. That sounds like it would also be great with shrimp or fish.

There is some previous discussion and some recipes (for a brown and non-brown sugar version) here. (I also glanced at Paul Prudhomme's LA Kitchen and noticed that his version is also of the brown sugar/cream variety.) One poster notes in the previous thread that there are as many different praline recipes as there are pronunciations of the word... )

Now I want individual gugelhupf molds! The recipe also sounds like an interesting variation on the traditional recipes, legourmet.

Well, I admit that they don't exactly sell my style of desserts as well. (The only thing I've sampled a few times is their coconut cream pie.) Interesting idea about the Satelilites. Since they only serve coffee and pastry it could be an opportunity to offer a cleaner, more elegant style of dessert. I wish I knew some secure investors! I might be tempted to make a career change and open a Viennese coffeehouse/bakery. Think that would sell in Albuquerque? I"m not sure it would fly in the Bay Area although NYC has a little burst of Austrian patisserie offerings. (I guess these all really come down to one guy, Gutenbrunner) Sorry to muse and post off topic!

I really wasn't sure where you were coming from at first, but then thought maybe you were thinking about French pralines rather than those of the American South. There is a style of Southern praline which includes butter, brown sugar or a brown/white sugar mix, pecans, vanilla and cream. (This is similar to the recipe in Bill Neal's Southern Cooking.) Also in an American sense, I make "praline cookies" with brown sugar and pecans. (Looking online I also found some Southern praline recipes that use only caramelized white sugar.)

Great idea; you just wisk the egg (or yolk) in at the end.

Good point! I grew up there and had forgotton about them! It is a real diner too. Besides their more ambitious offerings they are famous for the regional (that part of CT) steamed burgers! This may or may not fit all your criteria, but Zia Diner in Santa Fe also has more upscale offerings. I haven't been there in awhile. Zia Diner

Nice suggestions, annachan. Just to avoid any potential confusion, the cafe is called Cafe Trieste (corner of Grant and Vallejo). It was a hangout for Jack Kerouac, Ginsberg and company along with Vesuvio's (bar) and the City Light's Bookstore. Nearby on Colombus, I like to stop by Stella Pastry for a fresh filled cannoli or some other Italian pastry. Molinari's Delicatessan on the corner of Colombus and Broadway has great Italian coldcuts for picking up a sandwich to go or some other Italian goodies. Well--and if you're in the area and looking for other good cheap eats, I like Brandy Ho's Hunan on Colombus just south of Vesuvio's, City Lights and Molinari's. Farther south on Colombus a block or so is the San Francisco Brewing Company (now a small brewing company but based in a very old bar) and across the way, Bocadillo's, a Spanish/Basque-inspired sandwich shop that also has a nice selection of wines by the glass.

He posted earlier on this thread as cigalechanta mentioned above. It is post number 5. If you go there and click on his user name it will bring up his personal information. You should have the option then to send him a personal message (pm) or email or both.

I just picked a word to capture your general displeasure with the service, sorry if it was felt to be a misrepresentation. Do you think the fact that it was a tasting menu iwith many courses had an impact or were you comparing it to other similar tasting menu experiences? (My friends said the service was a bit more intrusive on the one occasion they went there with a larger group which included six people as opposed to their other experiences with two to four people.)

It would be interesting to hear details if you remember some of the miscues. edited to add: This is of course separate from your experience, but two good friends of mine who lived in France for over five years and had occasion to dine at a range of French-starred restaurants thought the service was comparable between TFL and the french starred restaurants. (They've been to TFL 3 or 4 times.) Interestingly, they do have a friend who is not native to France or the US but spent a bunch of time in France and now lives in the US who makes it an article of faith that no US restaurant can match the service in French starred restaurants. It wasn't surprising when his preconceptions were fulfilled in his one visit to TFL... Again---Truly, I'm not saying this story has anything to do with your attitude or experience. It just reminded me of this guy b/c he also made a comparision to French starred restaurants. In his case, the fact that service at TFL would be less than a French star restaurant was an "idee fixe" before he ever went there though!

tan319, I can't remember if you are back in Albuquerque, but what about the success of the local "Flying Star" chain? While they also have other non-dessert food, they seem, in some ways to almost feature themselves as a dessert place and seem to be different than a typical coffee shop or bakery in concept. For people not familar with Flying Star, they feature a daily array of desserts, which I believe are made "in-house" and that range from things like Coconut Cream Pie, cheesecakes to various cakes and tortes. They also, of course, had a full coffee bar. http://flyingstarcafe.com/index.htm edited to add: I know this is different in style and scope than the high end experimental, plated items offered at the "dessert bars" you started this thread with. I just thought it was another interesting version of the phenomena and one that could spread to many other markets beside large urban centers like NYC.

Thanks, this would be fun to try sometime as I'm a big fan of dacquose as a cake by itself or as a layer between other cake layers.

Nice review, Carolyn. I've been to Piperade 3 or 4 times, once for lunch and have always had good interesting food and service there. I think it is a pretty space for lunch as well with the sun shining in at the front. (Nice Roussane from Tablas Creek. I visited the winery last year and was impressed with their offerings, includng their white and red "Cote de Tablas" rhone blends.)

Cool; I bet it does taste great. Did you end up using the same amount of nuts and sugar that would be used with a "typical" almond/white sugar dacquoise?

I had read about Dano's Heuriger and wondered if anyone had checked it out. Here is an article written earlier this year that I had clipped: Dano's Heuriger The menu looks pretty authentic and interesting with a few non-Austrian items thrown in. It also looks like they have a nice selection of Austrian desserts including Linzertorte, Poppyseed Torte and seasonal fruit Strudels.

Thanks, CheGevera! Nice to see an Argentinian's recipe! I did refer to it as a "South American" dish in the first post because I wasn't sure about it's exact roots or the different variations in different countries of South America. For instance, I think I've seen or heard that in Chile the tendency is to include cilantro? I guess beef is king in Argentina, but is chimichurri commonly served with other meats or seafood in Argentina as well? Also, is it usually used just as a condiment or else also as a marinade before cooking/grilling?

Beautiful tempura, ChryZ!

I disagee. At least, that's not how I would interpret the terms. To me, the term "ethnic market" has always meant, very simply and just as the dictionary would seem to imply, a market that specifically caters to a particular group of people associated with a particular geographic derivation or ancestry. That would include, for example, the local Italian or Armenian or German or Polish or French (or whatever) markets that are largely run by, and cater to, caucasian persons. I've never understood "ethnic market" to mean "market catering to nonwhites," and I don't think that most other people do either. ← I appreciate much of the other thoughtful posting on this thread, but must also say that I agree with the point Patrick S makes. "Ethnic" grocery would mean to me a grocery that carries items from another ("not American") culture or country. It is not a coded descriptor for skin color. For instance, where I grew up the most common ethnic groceries were Polish, Italian, Puerto Rican, and Austrian/German. (I guess in that time and place, "ethnic" could have been a code for Catholic by non-Catholics!) That being said I can see Pan's and Khadija's point regarding the use of a term to "just lump" a bunch of dissimilar cultures and ethnicities together as "other". It may be better when possible to just use the actual descriptor. I guess as someone that grew up with a strong "ethnic" identity I don't see anything negative about the term so when I use it I don't feel it is a negative descriptor. My family *did* come from another country. That *does* give us a different viewpoint and experience from Americans that have been here for at least a few generations. Regarding cleanliness in markets which focus on produce from other countries and cultures (err.... ethnic markets) I've seen the whole gamut of markets from nicely clean and pleasant, which is different than the sterility of a large chain supermakert, to very grungy. I would definately mark the line for goods in which the packaging was compromised or for items with a shelf life that look tired or are stored very improperly. We have a bunch of Russian markets around here now and there is quite a difference in the cleanliness, care and general upkeep of the different establishments. I might buy preserved cherries in glass jars in all of the stores but I might not buy coldcuts or meat in some of them. I'm not interested in hyper-cleanliness or no dust--but it makes me wonder about the handling of non-sealed food items when for instance the floor looks like it has never been cleaned. I would apply the same standards to any market.