Varmint

Here's a little blurb about Jibarra from the N&O's Greg Cox: http://www.newsobserver.com/987/story/380265.html I'm pretty damn excited about the place, myself. I'll need to try it soon.

A friend of mine is in NYC with his family, and he's been loving the strike. He's been able to walk in and get immediately seated at Nobu, Per Se, Jean Georges. He's also been able to get the best seats in the house at the theaters for $50! He's one of the few who will be saddened with the end of the strike.

I can say with a fairly high level of confidence that the perfect dishwasher has not yet been built. I have two dishwashers, an ultra-quiet, high performing Bosch and a fairly high-end Sears Kenmore. With the Bosch, you get an amazingly quiet machine that does a great job with the dishes, but it was not designed for American households. What I mean by that is that the Bosch doesn't have a drying cycle and it's harder to arrange the dishes in it. It's sort of like a Mercedes: great performance, but their cup holders suck. I love the Bosch, but my wife prefers the Kenmore for the reasons stated above. One day, someone will combine the best of both worlds for the perfect dishwasher.

Well, for one reason or another, Charlie Deal (aka "detlefchef") has decided to break his ties with Giorgio Bakatsias. As a result, Charlie will be the sole owner and operator of Jujube, whereas Bakatsias will run Grasshopper and the wildly successful Bin 54. This was a very amicable situation. I spoke with Charlie today, and he informed me that Jujube will be opening next week. He's excited that he'll be able to put all his efforts into one restaurant, where he'll have tons more space to cook than what he had with Grasshopper. Expect the food to be top-notch, too.

I am overly prone to sarcasm, but after this lovely blog, filled with wonderful writing, imagery and life, I have nothing but praise to offer. Thank you for sharing, Jamie. Thank you for including us. It has been an extraordinary treat.

Yes, I can see that a good patting down was quite necessary.

In previous discussions with Chef Owner William D'Auvray, he didn't hide his desire to move his restaurant downtown. He loves the people who venture into North Raleigh to sample his great food, but he thinks that the place to be is downtown. Well, according to the most recent Triangle Business Journal, it looks as if this move may be closer to reality. This would be a major coup for downtown. Frankly, I'd prefer that they open a second restaurant, but knowing how much of hands'-on owners William and Lisa are, I find it unlikely they'd try to run two restaurants simultaneously. Regardless, I wish them well.

I've deleted some posts that had nothing to do with the burgers from Porters. Let's stay on topic from here on.

I agree that the burger at Porters is excellent. I also was mildly surprised when they asked me how I wanted it cooked, and they didn't limit that choice! The burgers are almost too large, as they start to fall apart, but that's a problem with which I can live.

It's a chain. There's one here in Philadelphia too. Great place for a pint of Guiness. BAD place for food. ← Actually, Katie, this restaurant is not part of that chain. It's been independently owned and operated in the 6 or 7 years since it opened. They created an initial buzz, but the food went downhill in a hurry. There's only so much demand for "traditional" Irish pub fare.

We're having a small crowd for Thanksgiving this year, as many of my in-laws are away. Plus, I keep things simple to ensure the kids will eat. Green Tabasco Roasted Turkey Wild Mushroom stuffing Manuka honey-glazed carrots Pink lady applesauce (smooth and chunky to appeal to both camps) Roasted green beans Buttermilk mashed potatoes Gravy Braised collards Smoked paprika devilled eggs Pickled okra Orange cranberry relish Buttermilk biscuits Sour cream apple streusel pie Boubon Pecan pie Whipped cream Homemade vanilla bean ice cream

It's funny how some of the area restaurants work out. Magnolia Grill's savory items are usually quite complex and sometimes challenge the diner, but their (I mean Karen Barker's) desserts are for the most part fairly simple items. They're not necessarily meant to be thought provoking or unusual, but they are clean, honest and tasty. Enoteca Vin, on the other hand, has a straightforward approach with their apps and main courses, totally ingredient driven. Their desserts, however, deviate from that approach and appear to be intellectual exercises of gastronomy. They just don't satisfy me like the rest of the meal. Maybe we should have Karen Barker start working for Vin!

I went to Vin again last night, and we had one of the best dishes I've eaten in the past year or two: on a bed of white beans, tomato, and greens was served duck confit, rare slices of duck breast, and topped with some crunchy duck skin cracklin's. This was outstanding and was served to us because I let Ashley know how much my wife loved duck. Yes, it was off menu, but it's this type of special attention that Ashley Christensen loves to offer (it even says so on the Vin website) and that is distinguishing Vin from the other places in the Triangle. I also can say that the wine service at Vin is head and shoulders better than any other restaurant. No, they don't have the largest selection, but it's the most intelligent and accessible wine list I've seen. Plus, they have Scott Luetgenau, who is their (fairly new) general manager and sommelier. Scott knows and loves his wines, and his enthusiasm is utterly contagious. I'm a wine ignoramus, and Scott had me sample a Sagrantino with my short ribs last night. When I informed Scott I had never even heard of that grape, he went out of his way to include with our bill a print-out with information about this great wine and grape. This level of service is not limited to just the wine, it's the way Vin works.

No photos for this meal, but it was great nonetheless. Simple cod marinated in mirin, sake, soy and ginger, pan fried, and served with basmati rice and a green lemongrass and basil Thai curry. For dessert, white chocolate bread pudding with caramelized roasted bananas and vanilla ice cream. Very simple, very decadent, and quite good.

Ronnie, how was your dinner? I ate at Sanford a half dozen times, but that was over 10 years ago. Nevertheless, all my meals there were great.

Not an advertisement at all, Charlie. It's this type of interaction between the public and members of the industry that help us all.

Chicken fried pork chops with melted sharp cheddar cheese. The fried chicken would work well, too.

Great comment, detlefchef. I started a new discussion about this very topic that can be found here.

Member detlefchef raised an interesting point in a discussion about Durham, NC's Magnolia Grill, which is known for its creative complexity of flavors. He agreed with another member that he prefers the appetizers over the entrees at Magnolia Grill, stating: Any truth to this? What would Grant Achatz have to say about this? Or Paula Wolfert?

I know that Grasshopper and Bin 54 have been open for some time now. Has anyone visited these places? Any reports? Detlefchef, could you give us an update?

On the counter: a KitchenAid mixer and a toaster oven, the brand of which I can't recall. That's it. I love my kitchen! Now the coffee maker and grinder come out regularly and stay on the counter over the weekend.

As one of my children said several years ago when she was about 3 years old, "My mommy is a doctor and my daddy is a cooker." I've always liked that comment. I'm a cooker.

Exactly; find your own discussion for damn ham. Seriously, corned ham is not pretty. It is not pink. It is not "hammy." It's all about the pork.

I've made tons of slump or cake type cobblers, and they're perhaps the simplest way to go. I was able to put together a peach cobbler for 30 to 40 people at my last pig pickin', and it was well received. The key to me is to use melted salted butter -- this helps create a somewhat crunchy and chewy top that has just a bit of a salt kick to it, which is needed to offset the overall sweetness of the dish. But yes, this dish is best served the day it is made -- preferably within a couple of hours after coming out of the oven. This is one of those dishes that is great to have kids make -- it's incredibly easy, they see an amazing transformation with the rising of the batter and the caramelization of the top, and then they get to eat it.

Sorry about not keeping up with this discussion. Bill Smith of Crook's Corner is currently on a mini-book tour, but when he gets back into the kitchen and is ready to prepare a corned ham, I'll join him with camera in hand. I have not made a corned ham before, so I can't offer any advice. However, I don't think it's all that difficult. I would stay away from any curing agent other than plain old salt -- this pork does not have a true "ham" flavor, but just a much more intense pork taste. It's a bit salty, but only to the extent that it enhances the porkiness (one of my favorite words). As far as it being pork crack, I must confess that I may be guilty of hyperbole, as pork crack is the uber-crunchy skin that has been cooked on the whole hog for 18 hours and turned to a brittle, intense snack. In fact, my friend Malawry called this treat "pork brittle." It looks like a hard, crunchy caramel, but it tastes purely of pork.