Varmint

And I must say, I'm growing quite fond of the EZ-peel shrimp, particularly when it's on sale for $2.99 a pound. With a quick 10 minute brining step, this stuff is pretty decent.

I hit Vivace for lunch, and this place will be a big hit for a long time to come. First, it's a great space where all the pretty people will want to hang out. Second, the chef is very talented. Jeremy Sabo came out and talked to our table a couple of times, probably because we ordered so much for two people. We ordered their salumi and cheese plate, which had some great homemade fig mostardo (I think it was fig), honey still in the comb, and an amazing selection of olives and almonds (they had some citrus element added to them). Cheeses were intelligent, and served with some great bread, I was quite pleased. A simple bowl of mussels steamed with wine, garlic and tomatoes had a depth of flavor I haven't had in ages. This dish alone showed me the chef really knows his chops. I had a pasta dish with smoked chicken (dark meat, for once -- thank god at that!), very earthy mushrooms, and sun dried tomatoes. I rarely enjoy sun dried tomatoes, but they really helped cut through the richness of this dish. I wish he'd substitute half the cream with chicken stock, but that's a minor complaint. My friend had a chicken saltimbocca panino, and he raved about it. This place is happening, and if you don't grab reservations for the weekend nights days in advance, you'll be out of luck. As the chef told me, it doesn't hurt that on the weekends, all the beautiful women show up, too!

Hmm, let's work the variables. It's a Wusthof, so that most likely means X50CrMo15 steel. Broken down, that works out to 0.5% Carbon (X), approximately 14% Chromium (Cr) and .5-1% molybdenum. It's a good kitchen steel -- high carbon (but just barely), highly stain resistant and with good carbide formers. On the downside, most Solingen manufacturers tend to treat their steel to 54-56HRC (Rockwell C hardness). This isn't bad, but it ain't great either. It is softer than I like. It is easier to sharpen at home, but doesn't hold its edge as well as harder steels. On the other hand, in a cleaver, toughness is more important than hardness. A little rolling of the edge is infinitely preferable to chipping. As for edge angles, the folks in Solingen tend to be very, very conservative. They set chef's knives at 20 degrees per side (which is about right for a splitting axe) and cleavers even more obtuse. Even with 54-56HRC steel you can go down to 10-12 degrees per side on a chef's knife with a vast improvement in performance with a negligible impact on maintenance. A cleaver (I'm estimating here, bear with me) can easily be set at 20 degrees per side or even steeper before needing an unacceptable level of maintenance. And, oddly enough, the easiest thing to do is to set a too-steep angle and then back off from there. If you start out obtuse and work downward, you may never find how sharp/acute you can get the edge angles. The real trick is to set an angle that is slightly too acute then back off a degree or two until it is stable in repeated use. So try starting at 15-18 degrees per side and see how that works for you. If you see chipping, indentation or impaction, change the edge angle to 18-20 degrees per side. It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes on something like an EdgePro, a little more on other systems. If you're doing this by hand on benchstones, just remember, a 1 degree angle subtends an arc of 1 unit at a radius of 60 units. The 1-in-60 rule is close enough for many purposes, particularly sharpening at low angles. The math is surprisingly easy. Divide your blade width by 60 to get 1 degree of angle lift. So, for a chef's knife 1.5 inches wide you'd divide 1.5 by 60 units for .025 as 1 degree of back edge lift. As 1 degree is impossible to hand hold and undesirable for an edge angle, go for a more realistic angle. So 5x.025 =.125 (1/8") for a 5 degree angle, .25 (1/4") for a 10 degree angle or 3/8" for a 15 degree angle. How wide is your cleaver? If the blade width is 3" the math would work out to .05 for 1 degree of spine lift, .25 (or 1/4") for 5 degrees of spine lift or .5 or 1/2" for 10 of spine lift per side for a 20 degree included angle. For 20 degrees per side, lift the spine 1" off the stone There ya have it, basic instructions for putting any level of edge on any knife or cleaver. Hope this helps, Chad edit: metallurgy correction ← And this is why I'll just let Chad sharpen my knives for me.

Let's not get off topic, but unless meat is freshly ground on the premises, burgers must be cooked to medium well. Fortunately, I know lots of places where they grind it themselves. Moreover, many places will cook it the way you want regardless. But this is a food safety issue, not a moral one. So back to the discussion on foie gras, which I just might have to have for lunch today.

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned pizza -- pizza pie, that is. But again, I digress.

And to open another can of worms, we have crabcakes and chicken pot pie. Pasties, too. But then, we must also consider the scourge of savory pie, also known as "Hot Pockets." But I digress. We're talking desserts, not savory items. I must admit to eating toasted pound cake for breakfast quite frequently. This morning, for example. But then, I had no pie available. One additional vote of support for pie can be attributed to how difficult it is to make, as evidenced in the song "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" from Annie Get Your Gun, when Annie and Frank exchange: "Can you bake a pie?" "No" "Neither can I." Even further evidence for pie comes from the movies. A search for the word "pie" in movie titles (see Internet Movie Database) resulted in 117 selections. A search for cake only resulted in 55. We also have Don McLean's "American Pie" which everyone will admit is a vastly better song than "MacArthur Park", where someone left the cake out in the rain. No one would ever leave pie out in the rain.

I joined Nibbs at Serena for lunch today and had their fried egg sandwich, which I've now put on my list of all-time favorite egg sandwiches. Granted, that's a short list because I don't eat lots of egg sandwiches, but this one was great. It's two fried eggs, slow roasted tomatoes, melted fontina, and sobrasada on a ciabatta roll. It comes with a side for $5 even, so it's a nice bargain, too. I'm anxious to try some of the other items on the menu.

Pie, because there's a lot more different types of pie that I can think of than there are cakes. Pie, because lots of cakes are actually called pie (Boston Cream Pie, e.g.). Pie, because there's no better convenience store snack than a fried pie (ok, a Moon Pie is also good, but again, it's a "pie"). Pie, because I'm really, really good at making them. Pie, because they named a number after it. Pie, because it's what the diner waitresses with the stacked hairdos who call me "hun" and "shug" serve me. Pie, because as the seasons change, so do the pies. But cake ain't too bad, either.

As a member just reminded me, one of the most comprehensive guides to "ethnic" markets in the Triangle was composed last month by the N&O's Greg Cox. Click here for the March 15 2006 N&O Guide.

Therein lies the problem, as you need to drive a bit farther to find top-notch barbecue. Allen and Son can be quite good -- actually, extremely good -- but it's also inconsistent. There are several other decent places in the Triangle, but nothing that makes me want to go out of my way to try. If you want good barbecue, you're going to have to make a longer drive. Pick a date, and I'm there. Hell, we can do a mega-tour of NC barbecue institutions!

BigHoss is spot on. Having made a ton of Eastern-style barbecue (and frankly, we don't call it pulled pork), you do need to slow cook it with hardwood. It can be done, but to be truly authentic, it should be whole hog, rather than just a butt or a ham. That's why it's so hard to find good, authentic Eastern-style barbecue -- few places go to such efforts to cook entire pigs over a wood-fired pit (and by the way, Eastern-style barbecue is usually cooked directly over the radiant heat -- the wood -- rather than an indirect smoking process). The other distinctive part of Eastern-style barbecue is the sauce. It's really just a simple mixture of vinegar, hot pepper flakes, and some other elements that vary from place to place. This sauce should be used sparingly, so that the flavor of the smokey meat shines through -- the vinegar taste should almost be an afterthought if done correctly. We're here for you, but you're looking at quite an endeavor!

Frankly, I'm tired of the Cary vs. North Raleigh vs. any other suburban area debate. Southern cities sprawl and have lots of commercial areas filled with strip malls and big box developments, and none of the suburban areas are any better or worse than the other. You'll find better high end restaurants, on average, in the cities and more "family" options in the suburban areas. Cary, North Raleigh, Garner, Durham, RTP, Morrisville and Fuquay pretty much all follow the same pattern. But as far as where Trader Joe's or Costco go, I'm just glad they're coming. If they build it, we will come . . . .

Great post, Ed. I need to come join you in the Park for lunch more often, as it's an area I generally avoid for lunch. However, there are a ton more options than what we have in West Raleigh, so consider yourself lucky. As far as barbecue is concerned, I understand and even accept your position, particularly when you limit yourself to a 15 mile radius. If you want to truly learn about NC barbecue, you must take off from work for a barbecue trek. When you have done two of those (sampling the best of both Eastern and Western styles), your opinion might change, but you will recognize the distinctiveness of our native dish and appreciate it for what it is.

Does the dollar sushi at Sushi Thai work for take-out? I thought it was a dine-in option only. Seeing the Raleigh branch of Sushi Thai is one block from my office, this means I could have another take-out option available!

I've now had my new kitchen for a year, and for those who saw my old kitchen, they completely understand how happy I am today. What is great about my kitchen is that I don't have to think as much anymore about how I'm going to accomplish a particular task -- I just do it. I don't have to worry about smoke, as my hood has eliminated that issue. Prep and clean-up are much easier. So, yes, I'm happy. And yes, Arne helped a bit with my kitchen, too (although he has never seen it, before or after the renovation).

Unfortunately, I don't get out to dinner nearly often enough. But I will try my best to get there before too long.

I'll report back with the details later, but after eating at Frazier's on Wednesday, I want to nominate this restaurant as one of the best dining values in the Triangle. Impeccable food, great service, and entrees starting aroung $15.

Chris, I'm no expert when it comes to what wood creates a particular flavor, but I think that if you look at the fruit and nut trees first, you'll end up with some great flavors. Hickory is the gold standard for smoking NC-style barbecue -- you'll want the wood to be a bit green. I also love pecan and walnut. I've not smoked with chestnut. Apple, pear and cherry all have good, not too harsh flavors. Then there's oak and maple, which have strong (but not overly so) tones. Give them all a try and report back here.

Wendy, of course, you could have the fine members of the eGullet Society help you design the kitchen, as I did here. And here's the link to the fine-tuning of the design and the construction itself. I even included my actual costs for the kitchen.

I haven't visited Mariakaki's in ages, so I can't really offer any opinion. The seafood place you're thinking about is Tom Robinson's, which was discussed above. I remember visiting that place over 20 years ago and seeing his sign that said "Good seafood isn't cheap, and cheap seafood isn't good." I carry that message with me to this day!

Here's a story about Meats Etc. Hmm, might we have an actual butcher shop in the area???

I know nothing about this place, but I just saw an ad in today's News & Observer for Meats Etc. in Clayton. They advertise that they have free range, dry aged beef. Interesting.

Sorry I've been absent for this discussion, but y'all have identified the main seafood and meat sources. When it comes to wine, I'd strongly recommend Carolina Wine Company. This is not your standard wine shop, as the best bargains won't be found in the store itself (which is completely climate controlled) -- you need to subscribe to their email list. They also don't carry many of the wines you'd get at Total Wine or any of the other major retailers. They like to find the smaller producers, seeking out value. The State Farmers Market in Raleigh is what I'd call the Target of farmers markets. You'll find the produce that is in season (go to the vendors in the outdoor building), but you won't find esoteric items or much in the way of organics. It's open year-round, and at this time, you'll find mostly greens, sweet potatoes, and apples. If you can, try to go during the week, as the weekends can get incredibly crowded. Specialty meats? Hmmm, no great choices that I know of. For Italian stuff, you could try Capri Flavors in Morrisville. It's a fun place to visit.

I also made Becca's recipe and can say it was fantastic. It did fall on me, however, but that's a small problem that I can work out. Most of my company thought it was one of the best pound cakes they ever tasted. Mrs. Varmint thought it was a little sweet, but she was in the distinct minority with that opinion!

I'll be using duck confit! Mmmmm. No real recipes -- just following the basic parameters y'all laid out here. And I'll use whatever kind of andouille I can find around here. Nothing like the real, Louisiana stuff, methinks.