Varmint

The slices are about 1/4". I had some on a burger last night, and they were great.

I sent him an email, so I hope to hear back soon.

Oh, no, she won't be eating with me. I'm on a business trip, but one where I can't really justify expensing the cost of this meal. Oh, well, I'll just have to resort to honesty and candor.

Of course, Steven owns lots of Frito-Lay stock. That's the intent behind this discussion. That, and he wants us all to send him some Munchos.

Will I really need to put something totally foreign like mashed potatoes to get this to hold together? I want to be able to cut into this croquette, and juicy, oozy meat flows out. What did Shola do?

I've now had that Monogram for over 2 years, and I still like it a lot. It's not the easiest sucker to clean, but a range should always be a bit dirty, eh? One thing that I've learned is to not flip over the burner grates for woks. If you do that, the wok is too far away from the flame and doesn't get hot enough. Instead, I just remove the primary grate over the burner, leaving the outside grate frame (made of the same material). My wok then sits right on top of the burner and gets a LOT hotter. Finally, I absolutely agree that you MUST get a good hood, and get used to cleaning it. When you have a range with this type of performance, it puts out lots of vaporized oils and smoke, and your hood will suck them up, where they'll quickly deposit. But it's all worth it. Have fun!

I'll clearly break all my records when I eat at Alinea this weekend. The question is, how do I keep that amount from Mrs. Varmint?!

I'm shamelessly copying a dish Shola Olunloyo recently prepared at Philadelphia's M Restaurant: Lamb two ways: loin and braised lamb croquette. Here's a picture of his version of the dish. I can handle the loin and any side dishes without a problem, but I've never made croquettes out of a braised meat before. Do I need to add any binder or other fillers? I'll do an egg/flour/egg/bread crumb crust, but even that's up for discussion. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

I totally love egg salad sandwiches, but my oldest brother despised them. He called them "fart sandwiches" because of their smell. More for me, I guess. I like a bit of diced onion in my egg salad.

I also made some pickled red onions last night. I combined a cup of white vinegar, a cup of water, and a cup of sugar. Brought it to a boil, added mustard seed, celery seed, fennel seed, bay leaf, some red peppercorns, and some salt. I then poured this over the sliced red onions and have let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Sweet and sour! These will go with a simple goat cheese, bacon and beet salad on Saturday.

I made bourbon marshmallows last night for a "deconstructed rocky road sundae" I'm serving for dessert on Saturday. The marshmallows weren't as airy as I wanted, but good nonetheless. I'm also making a bittersweet chocolate sorbet, candied almonds, roasted bing cherries (and sauce) and an almond tuile as part of the dessert.

The burger at South is pretty much the same as at Porter's.

I'm constantly doing light-flavored fish (sole, cod, tilapia) with vegetables and aromatics. I typically do a bunch of asparagus, topped with some garlic, the fish, some fresh ginger, other vegetables (halved grape tomatoes, zucchini, carrot sticks, green beans, whatever!), lemon juice, salt and pepper. Chives or other fresh herbs are good, too. Wrap it up, bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on the fish, and it's done. You end up with a fair amount of tasty juices on the bottom of the foil, which you can pour over rice/grains, if you choose. There is absolutely no clean up, as you don't have any cookware (that is, if you forego the rice). We eat this a couple times a month.

Sure, whenever you get into a "best of" discussion, subjective tastes definitely come into play. But I have trouble even beginning a debate on best pizza, as I've had troubles finding a solid example of any type.

Crickets chirping . . . . . . Yeah, I'm having a bit of a problem coming up with a good candidate in this category. Why, oh, why is pizza so damn mediocre around here? Someone please help me, as the single best pizza I've had was at a friend's house -- you know the type -- the one who cut off the lock from his oven so he could bake the pizzas on the self-cleaning cycle. Now those were good!

Oil, as in the oil that is used to deep fry rolls. Ick. I just don't like rolls that are cooked. Now I can handle some softshell crab that has been deep-fried and put in a roll, but not the entire damn roll itself!

Crabcakes are everywhere. Good crabcakes are rare to find in restaurants, and frankly, folks just wouldn't be willing to pay for top-notch specimens. They're quite easy to make: jumbo lump (NOTHING else will really work), some egg, mayo, Old Bay, the slightest amount of bread crumbs to hold it together, and any herbs/scallions that you want. That's it. Don't make them too big, as you want a great crust with complete cooking throughout. The question was, "What's the big deal?", and I agree with that for 95% of the crabcakes out there. Maybe 99%. But the 1-5% that get it right, well, it's the best. Yeah, it may work out that the cost is 4-5 bucks a crabcake, but these are the way god intended crab to be (all apologies to Busboy and his messy table notwithstanding!).

These types of threads are ubiquitous across the internet, but I wanted to start a series here on the eG Forums. Who has the best burger in the Triangle, but more importantly, why? I'll start with my nomination of two places: Porters and The Raleigh Times. Why? Because they both grind their own meat, and you can thus order the burger as rare as you want. Plus, they both have decent buns. However, neither burger is perfect, as that requires a much hotter griddle/grill/pan. I want a bit of a crust on a burger, and neither place achieves that. Also good is Abbey Road in Cary. That's just a HUGE burger and very tasty. Overrated? Char-Grill, for sure. It's just fine, but it's just not all that great. Guilty Pleasure? The sliders at Cloo's in Raleigh.

Boy there was this one time I had really great eastern style whole hog right in Raleigh.....now where was that again....called something like Dean's Semi Annual tracey ← Semi-annual? Hardly! But for those who attended either of the eGS-sponsored pig pickins, you saw how much work goes into making barbecue the right way. It's just not a simple, commercially viable business. Wood is expensive, and the labor costs aren't getting any cheaper, either. Few people want to work in ultra-hot, smoky pits for hours at a time. So, enjoy the few remaining "old school" barbecue joints while you can.

Although Prissy Polly's, like many barbecue joints, does not cook with wood. They use electric cookers and pump in smoke. This approach can result in some tasty meat, but is it really barbecue. Nevertheless, having both NC styles in one place is unique.

As I started to read this, I found myself laughing out loud, as I was also born in 1963 and remember the days when I would put sugar on my Cocoa Puffs and eat an entire box of Apple Jacks in a single sitting (and the roof of your mouth would pay dearly for that). I thought of how great it would be to eat like that again, without fear of diabetes or obesity -- where the biggest fear was being punished by your Mom when the cool Quisp Cosmic Clouder gun that shot out poofs of flour made a mess of the sofa. But then as I read on, I realized how we are forced to make those adult choices, where our bodies demand us to forego our childhood desires. I find myself choosing the breakfast cereal that has the least offensive taste. I find that adding blueberries or bananas to the cardboard flakes makes them somewhat manageable. Oh, and it's skim milk all the way, too -- whole milk will kill you and bind you up! Of course, I still grab a small handful of the kids' Cinnamon Swirls, knowing that I'll never eat an entire bowl. And I find myself thinking, "Man, how can they eat so much of those sugar bombs?" I still have the desire, but not the ability. Yes, I may be becoming a cereal curmudgeon, but I won't let go all the way, as I always have that perfect compromise waiting for me in the pantry: Frosted Mini-Wheats. All the fiber with the bonus sugar, too. And even better, the kids ask me for a handful of those little fiber-packets now and then!

That's Tom Waits, Ice Cream Man

I've heard complaints about Lisa's attitude, but I've never experienced them. That might be because she knows I might write something about the restaurant, but frankly, in this era of the blog, every customer has the potential to write. That's an issue I'll have to ask her about next time I'm there. Of course, it's always hard to fire your spouse! I've also always received very good, well-informed service. I do know that the restaurant struggles to find good front of the house staff, particularly when so much of William's food is not in the normal continental style.

Yep, it's the Progress Energy building, on the ground floor at the corner of Wilmington and Davie Streets.

I went there for lunch a couple of weeks ago and was dazzled by the new space. They actually have a lunch menu with sandwiches and salads!