Varmint

Just . . . ate . . . Klink's . . . smoked . . . brisket . . . for . . . third . . . consecutive. . . meal. Need . . . professional . . . help. Had a grilled sammich for lunch on seeded rye with Emmantaler. Yumm. I think I'll give my GI system a break for dinner tonight.

I've been pushing him on the bacon, and he laughed because he said you were doing the same thing. How is Klink's smoked fish? I could do with a whole Copper River salmon. Or lamb? Or goat? Cabrito, anyone? Damn, it's lunch time here on the east coast. Time for the 4 minute drive to Chez Varmint!

Varmint here in Raleigh, North Carolina, reporting on the Smoked Corn Beef craze taking the state by storm. I received my package in the mail yesterday, and although I hadn't planned on eating dinner last night due to a 6:30 basketball game, I could not resist the calling of the meat. At 8:45, EST, I pulled out two slices of rye, some spicy polish mustard, and the "black brick o' meat." It was the Brisket of Klink. The first thin slice was all fat, totally black on the outside and pearly on the inside. I sucked, I tasted, I drooled. That was the best piece of fat I've eaten. The smoke flavor was clear and direct, an honest smoke, but not overwhelming. I promptly sliced another 12 super thin shavings of the beef, piling it high on the rye. Mrs. Varmint, who was watching Law and Order and does not eat any mammalian flesh, grimaced at the sight of my creation. As I began to eat MY sandwich, I quickly became very grateful that she does not eat beef. The meat was tender, streaked with fat and flavor. Salt was there, but it was not salty. And the smoke. Mmmmmmm. I ate a few more slices, impressed with the fat/flesh texture and flavor. Klink, give up your job hunting. Stick with smoking. When the alarm went off at 5:15, my first thought was not how sore I was from basketball, or the fact that my bladder was excessively full. Nope, I woke up thinking of KLINK BEEF. I managed to slap myself out of this delirium and showered, dressed, woke up the 4 L'il Varmints, and prepared their breakfast. I broke out the brick o' beef, and cut an ultra-thin slice for the Oldest L'il Varmint. He, too, was very pleased. I then cut up 6 somewhat thicker slices and threw them in a frying pan, slowly watching the fat melt off. Friends, what I ended up with was concentrated smoked corn beef, explosively flavorful. It needed potatoes, or eggs, or just a damn baguette. Today, I'll have co-workers over for lunch. Klink, it may be time to get a second smoker to keep up with demand. Signing off from Raleigh, North Cackalacky (but wanting more Klink Beef) . . . .

I just received my alotment. I'm playing basketball at 6:30 and hadn't planned on eating dinner, but it looks as if I might have to have a Klink sammich tonight. On a funny note, one of our couriers brought me Klink's package from the mail room. This guy is vegan, so I made him wait and watch me open it. He turned a bit green when I explained to him what it was. It's so much fun to pick on a vegan!

Kopps? It's been years since I've had Kopps. So sad. So blue. I need a good cry now.

A father of 4 KNOWS his pop-tarts. As far as butter on pop-tarts go, it's quite good on the unfrosted brown sugar cinnamon variety that has been heated. The butter is a nice contrast to the overly sweet filling. That's pretty much the only way Mrs. Varmint will eat a pop-tart.

I grew up in Bradford and Titusville, and can say that Straub's was my first beer. Very light body, but it's quite quaffable. I grab a couple of cases whenever I visit my family up there. They were one of the first breweries to indicate on the label when the beer was brewed.

As Fat Guy pointed out, this restaurant is not one of the harder tables in town to get. When I was in DC a couple of months ago, I was able to walk in at 6:30 on a Thursday without a reservation. When I left shortly after 8, the place was still half-empty. I thought the place was outstanding. Steve really didn't even talk about their drinks -- I had the best mojito I've ever been served and then a somewhat cloying, but highly refreshing, passionfruit cocktail. Yeah, it was a girly drink, but I enjoyed it anyhow. I have 4 kids, so I don't have to worry about my masculinity.

Since I started this thread, I'll go ahead and set the tentative plans: Wednesday, April 2 7:00 PM Dinner at The Helmand -- great Afghan food Thursday, April 3 App. 4:30-ish PM Dinner at Faidley's in Lexington Market -- CRABCAKES! 7:05 PM Baltimore Orioles v. Cleveland Indians -- Oriole Park at Camden Yards The only thing set in stone right now is the time of the baseball game and the fact that we want Faidley's crabcakes. The time that we eat can move depending on the majority's opinion. Lexington Market is a food lovers' destination in and of itself. Come for one night or two! Let me know about The Helmand, as I'll make dinner reservations later this month. PM Vengroff with baseball ticket requests. Faidley's is pretty darned casual.

Damn, Heather's on top of the site lines at Camden Yards. Vengroff, coordinate with her, please. Just tell me where to send the money.

Hell, I'm up there for a conference, so the particular day makes no difference to me. And I wouldn't be making comments about "work", Mr. 8,934 Postsman!

The Section 29 seats at 25 clams a pop would be fine with me, but I'd be happy in the cheap seats, too. One thing to remember is that Ticketmaster will gouge the hell out of you with service fees. I've sat way up high behind home plate before, and it's a pretty cool view of downtown Bawlmor -- a bit too far from the good food, however!

Katie- Holly Moore has said he'd probably be coming down the second night, so perhaps you could get a ride from him. Wow, our numbers are growing!! Or would you prefer to get a crew to come down for some awesome Afghan food (it really is quite good!)?

OK, we've now got hjshorter, vengroff and Holly Moore. C'mon, there has to be more DC folks willing to make the trek! If not for crabs/baseball, then at least for dinner the night before!

It looks as if we'll be doing crab and baseball on Thursday, April 3. Let me know if you'll be joining us, as we'll need to get tickets. As far as Wednesday is concerned, we're still working on the plans. Right now, we're considering the Helmand, a great Afghan restaurant (Website), along with the choices above.

Actually that's the Flora-Bama & most people don't go there to eat. You go to toss mullets! Mullet Toss at the Flora-Bama! Debi How do they get the mullets off of peoples' heads?

Permission granted -- but recycle instead, please. Signed, Varmint, Savior of the Environment and All That Is Good.

Y'know, that may have been the post that made my skin crawl the most. Eek.

Plates with chopsticks.

Now this is the type of thinking and creativity that I was looking for! As nasty as breakfast cereal is, it packs a big flavor punch. Plus, the textures are varied but relatively unique. Chefg? Steve Klc? Anyone else?

I had to get into the office early this morning, so I scarfed down a quick bowl of raisin bran. As I was eating, I started to wonder whether any breakfast cereals could be used in cooking high-end meals. Now I'm not talking about corn flake crusted fried chicken or rice krispie treats. I'm wondering, how Grant Achatz would used puffed rice or shredded wheat?? Could Steve Klc make something interesting with Cap'n Crunch or Apple Jacks? There's got to be tons of possibilities out there (perhaps none of them worthwhile), but if chefs can do something creative with the concept of caramel corn, why not with Honey Nut Cheerios??

Too much information, thank you. Although I am wondering about your monitoring methods . . . .

I've never eaten at Thali, but I do have over 1,000 posts on eGullet, so let me tell you how great Thali really is . . . .

Mrs. Zeb A is on the warpath!! You don't mess with her, I can say with confidence. Zeb, what do you think the letter will accomplish? Why didn't you volunteer this information then, when you could show the proprietors the problem you were having? Keep us posted, as this is an interesting issue regarding how restaurateurs deal with legitimate complaints.

Or, of course, the masses will storm the place. It is Raleigh, you know.