Varmint

Finally, it’s important that I thank y’all for all the great input you’ve provided. I’ve listened to everyone’s advice, and whether I used it or not, be assured that I thought about every single piece of guidance. By waiting a year to do a full-blown project, I’ve ended up with as good of a kitchen that I could get for the space I had. We didn’t blow out external walls, we didn’t do anything overly exorbitant. We stuck to a plan that was y’all’s as much as mine. And it was good. Moreover, it wasn’t terribly over budget. Final cost, with all extras related to the kitchen itself and not counting the exterior stuff the crew did, was about $62,000. My initial budget was 52-58, so I wasn’t far off. And we had lots of “surprises” along the way. So, I think a 6-7% overrun wasn’t too bad! Thanks, everyone! You’re welcome in my – er, your – kitchen anytime.

I’ve now cooked in the kitchen for a few weeks, so I’ll conclude this discussion with some thoughts about the flow and overall performance. I’m happy to answer any questions, but then it’s time for this overly lengthy discussion to fade away. I finally got around to having a real, honest-to-goodness dinner party on Saturday. The menu consisted of the following: a salad or red and yellow roasted beets, local goat cheese, spicy candied pumpkin seeds, and 30 year balsamico on beet, mustard and arugula microgreens. This was followed by a light asparagus soup with crab and a roasted pepper sauce. The entrée was pecan and porcini encrusted roasted monkfish served on a bed of green tomato grits, with a wild mushroom, leek and tomato sauce. Dessert was white chocolate panna cotta with a strawberry coulis and a semi-sweet chocolate sauce. Yesterday, I made a good ol’ fashioned southern dinner of fried chicken, buttermilk mashed potatoes, cream gravy, homemade applesauce, broccoli, and biscuits. I actually had 5 different burners running simultaneously. Perhaps the biggest improvement to the kitchen is the ventilation. When I make fried chicken, the house doesn’t smell of it for 3 or 4 days. There is no residual smell. It’s awesome, and I can cook excessively smoky items without any problems. The hood’s pretty noisy, but most of them are, unless you go with a remote blower. I really like my range, with one minor issue: it’s tougher to clean than I expected. It’s actually easily to clean, except when grease or other food splatters onto the enamelized steel, which then hardens. I’ve been unable to get some of that stuff off, and I’ve used oven cleaner, Goo Gone (or whatever it’s called) and other household items. I haven’t tried anything abrasive, which scares me. I’ll double check the owner’s manual for ideas. As far as performance is concerned, I’ve been as impressed with the oven as much as the cooktop. I’ve not noticed any temperature variations in the oven, and I’ve baked several items in there. The temperature appears to be spot on. The cooktop is very powerful, but the secondary simmer setting on each burner is a godsend. It keeps the temperature low enough that the food stays hot, but it’s not burning. Water doesn’t boil immediately, but it’s still pretty damn quick. And this cooktop puts out a lot of heat – again, it makes me happy to have the hood. The second oven also is a good performer, and it’s the perfect 2nd oven. It’s not quite as big as the main oven, but it has more features, such as a proofing setting. I haven’t really tested it enough to provide an overall assessment. The Bosch dishwasher is indeed quiet, and since I set the final rinse temperature at a much hotter level, it dries quite well. My wife doesn’t love it, though, simply because the dishes don’t fit as well as she likes. That is one big difference between the US-style dishwashers and the European ones, is that the US companies understand how we like to use our dishwashers better. Nevertheless, the Bosch is a perfect dishwasher for that location – it’s very, very quiet. And it was a great decision to forego the icemaker in favor of a second dishwasher. The sinks, faucets and disposals have been great. The disposals are very quiet, incredibly powerful, and they have a lifetime warranty. My wife doesn’t love the ceramic floor tile, simply because she thinks it’s too slippery. It’s not that slippery if you’re wearing shoes, but with socks . . . . Of course, it’s not nearly as slippery as wood would have been. I think it’s perfect, but Mrs. Varmint is the main critic! The bigger pantry has been great, as we did lose some cabinet space with the new arrangement. Having the swinging door is ideal. The pantry also has its own A/C duct, so we can keep all our wine in there. It’s not 58 degrees, but it’s no more than 70! We’re waiting for some wine racks to be delivered, so I can store up to 6 cases, which is about the max I ever keep on hand. Plus, this room is dark. Mrs. Varmint added lots more wire shelving, so I’m really enjoying this pantry. The cabinets are top-notch. I was a little worried about buying my cabinets over the internet, but that’s really not what it was. I spent hours (12-14?) on the phone with Ken Ables, owner of Cabinetry Direct. He’s a great guy and understood what we were trying to do. Everything was absolutely perfect. The hinges, the glides, the internal hardware are all top of the line. When pricing cabinets, do consider these guys. I wish I could have switched the hinges on the SubZeros, but that’s not possible on these models. Nevertheless, they look like brand new units for the most part, and we’ve never had a single problem with their functionality. Now, how does the kitchen function? On a scale of 1-10, my old kitchen was about a 3. It got that high of a mark because although it was a maze, you could get a lot accomplished in that small area by the cooktop and sink. The new kitchen is about a 9.5. When it comes to getting the food, it’s about 7 to 8 steps to the SubZeros. The pantry door is 2 steps from the range. Prep can easily be done in about 4 different locations, but for me, most of it is done to the left of the smaller sink. I can drop trash into the pullout or slide waste into the sink to go down the disposal. I have oils and other regularly used condiments to the right of the hood, and herbs and spices are to the left. Wooden spoons are in the top drawer to the left of the range, and some pots, lids and colanders are to the right. It’s all right there. Hot pads are on the top shelf above the spices. Not ideal, but it works well in that location. There’s enough room on either side of the range to move stuff. Plus, I have plenty of room to plate. I easily plated for 10 on Saturday. Desserts were plated in the baking area by the window. The flow to the eating counter or the dining room table is only a couple of steps away. Clean up is a breeze. Dishes come right back to the counter to be scraped into the trash (if there’s bones) or disposal, quick rinse, then right into whichever dishwasher is available. We hand wash so many fewer dishes. Putting dishes away is a piece of cake: 90% of the dishes are stored in the upper cabinet to the right of the large sink and in the top drawer of the base cabinet beneath it (flatware). The lighting is excellent. It’s very functional, and damn, it looks great. I might be proudest of my lighting selection, as I had the greatest angst over it. Perhaps my favorite guilty pleasure about this kitchen comes with the speakers. I love having music in the kitchen. Whether I’m listening to Wilco, Stiff Little Fingers, Sarah Vaughn or the Neville Brothers, I’m having a good ol’ time. Finally, and this may be the most important thing of all, is that this kitchen is so much more conducive to having kids in it, cooking beside me. I’ve taught my 9 year old daughter how to make a béchamel, and how many different uses there are for it (including the base for macaroni and cheese, of course!). My kids can get a peeler and work on some apples for applesauce. They can sit at the eating bar and watch, or stand beside me. I no longer have to worry about tripping over them or having them back up out of the maze. That’s why I really love this kitchen – I can share it with my family.

They covered that with the beef dish with the flavors of A-1. Nice to see the crew still has a sense of humor.

Yowza! So many questions, all of which I'm sure you planned to address eventually. Nevertheless, let me ask a few: 7-1/2 hours??? Was it manageable? How was the overall pacing? Do you think they'll compact that time frame eventually? Obviously, with such an arrangement, there's very little table turnover. The kitchen must be exhausted. When was the ginger used in the meal? It seems that the bubbles' position on a left to right basis may have something to do with the relative sweet/savoriness of a particular dish. How did the specialized serving utensils/contraptions work out? I have a ton of other questions, but I'll wait for your report. Thanks for the awesome photos.

The prices are all over the place. The soup was about 6 bucks, the hot pot was $10 per person as was my octopus salad. Entrees were generally in th mid to high 20s. Between the 8 of us, we had 6 apps, 8 entrees, 6 desserts, 5 or 6 bottles of wine, and a few shots of espresso. Total, including tax and tip, was about $640. I didn't talk about the wine much because I'm a wine ignoramus. They have what appears to be a solid selection, with most of the choices in the high 30s to low 50 dollar range. We had an inexpensive pinot noir (Wallace Brook -- about $30) and a crisp white burgundy (Poillot -- about $38). The service was also very good, and our waiter was very knowledgeable and helpful with the menu.

Review of Fins is posted here.

I’ve said for years that Fins is hands-down my favorite restaurant in Raleigh, and after eight of us dined there last night, I’m happy to conclude that it’s still my number one. What is Fins? Well, several years ago, you might have referred to it as a “fusion” restaurant in that it combines Asian flavors with Western technique. For some reason unbeknownst to me, the term “fusion” is completely out of favor, so let me try to describe Chef William D’Auvray’s cuisine as contemporary East Asian-American. Gee, that’s so much better, right? Rather than wasting time trying to tag some sort of label on the food that comes out of Fins’ kitchen, I urge you to head to North Raleigh and sample it yourself. D’Auvray’s style of cooking comes naturally, as he spent time as a young child in East Asia and learned his chops in the kitchens of Southern California. Most of his dishes contain some form of Asian influence, including Thai, Indonesian, Japanese, and Indian flavors. He combines sweet, sour, salty, and piquant. No one has accused D’Auvray of being subtle (although the flavors of some of his dishes actually are). He’s willing to challenge the diner, without going over the top with ridiculous combinations. D’Auvray knows these flavors and how they work together. D’Auvray prefers to source his ingredients from local purveyors, but he is by no means a slave to that approach -- he doesn’t hesitate to spend whatever is necessary to have the best products flown in from afar. Seafood, microgreens, and specialty meats come from across the country and beyond. We’re the beneficiaries of this extra effort (and cost), as diners at Fins know that they’ll get the freshest fish – as evidenced by the sashimi platter Fins offers as an appetizer every day. This emphasis on the best and the freshest resounds throughout the meal. Yes, the prices at Fins are somewhat steep, but that doesn’t bother me when I know what goes into the dishes. I was fortunate to be dining with a large group celebrating my wife’s birthday, so although I was able to sample a lot of dishes, I focused more on the company than the food. Thus, if my descriptions are a bit cryptic, it’s because I wasn’t wearing my analytical hat. Moreover, I didn’t bring a camera. We started with an amuse of a vegetarian spring roll with a sweet dipping sauce. This has been a standard item served by Fins, and I always look forward to it. A special appetizer was lightly seared bluefin tuna served on a bed of seaweed salad with shiitake mushrooms, with some sort of sweet and sour vinaigrette. This was a perfect example of how Chef D’Auvray is able to perfectly balance the sweet, sour and hot with the earthiness of the seaweed, mushroom and tuna. Mrs. Varmint had a bowl of roasted tomato with peekytoe crab and a plantain chip. I only regret that I had one spoonful of this delightfully simple, but incredibly tasty, dish. I ordered a grilled octopus salad with preserved lemon, Thai chili, sunflower tendrils, toasted almond and tomato water vinaigrette. Although I was worried that the flavors of the salad would overpower the octopus, that was not the case. It was an extremely delicate dressing with very muted flavors, enough to make you wonder what it contained while recognizing how it enhanced the flavor of the octopus. My sister-in-law and her husband had the donabe-style hot pot, but other than using a Japanese donabe, this dish is all Thai -- lime leaf broth and coconut milk with roasted tomato, crab, spinach and chili-basil pesto. This soup alone would make a great meal. All but one of the entrees were smash hits. Lamb was served rare in noisettes in a wide cylinder of wild mushroom-Lyonnaise potato hash, surrounded by roasted red curry cream. My mother-in-law, who claimed she hates curries but loves lamb, raved about this dish. After tasting it, I could see why. The lamb pieces had a crust of mint and pine nuts which alone would have made this a great way to serve the meat. However, adding the potatoes, mushroom, and the curry brought everything together. I don’t know why, but this again was not overkill – the dish worked exactly as Chef D’Auvray had planned. I wonder how he comes up with these combinations. Mrs. Varmint ordered black bass with a tamarind glaze, served with asparagus, trumpet royale mushrooms, tomato conserve, and topped with a tempura-battered lobster tail. The black bass may have been the best piece of fish I’ve eaten in the last several years, with its shatteringly crisp skin. I’m as guilty as the next guy of not eating fish skin, but I’d be glad to eat black bass skin sandwiches all the time if D’Auvray made them for me. I’m also not a big fan of lobster tails, as they’re so frequently overcooked and tough, but frying the crustacean in tempura batter is an excellent way to protect its fragile flesh. The batter itself also offered a great textural balance to the overall dish. Did I mention that the fish skin was perfect? Perhaps the greatest complement to D’Auvray’s cooking, however, came from my 70 year old father-in-law after he dug into roasted pork tenderloin with roasted tropical fruit, Indonesian sambal bakal risotto, and adobo sauce. My F-I-L, a native North Carolinian who has eaten more pork in his lifetime than I’ll every consume, interrupted our dinner conversation to inform all of us that this was the single best prepared piece of pork tenderloin he’s ever tasted. Unfortunately, he truly meant this as he never offered anyone else at the table a taste. I think we can take his word on this. A staple on the menu, plantain-crusted Chilean sea bass, was served with caramelized noodle squash, green mango salad, and a brown butter and tropical fruit vinaigrette. This dish was the only item I sampled that pushed the sweet and sour elements too far without greater balance from earthy flavors -- the brown butter alone didn’t accomplish this. It was a tasty dish, but after several bites, the flavor of the fish was lost. Desserts are all made by D’Auvray (he does everything in this kitchen, including baking his own great breads), and he sticks more to the tried and true Western-style sweets -- usually with a twist. Mrs. Varmint had a rum baba with a caramelized honey pecan topping served with fried banana ice cream while I ordered D’Auvray’s take on tiramisu, which appears to be some sort of cake, lightened marscapone, and dark chocolate served in a tall parfait glass. The coffee element of this tiramisu is not in the glass, however, as the dessert is served with a small bowl of Kahlua and espresso. You take a long spoon, dig in the middle, and pour the coffee mixture into the hole on an “as-needed” basis. It’s fun, original, and, of course, delicious. Even the typical crème brulee offering is slightly different at Fins, as you receive a trio of flavors served in individual sake cups, including vanilla, chocolate, and a clean-flavored ginger. The kitchen was gracious enough to send out a sample of four very good sorbets, including mango, guava, raspberry and strawberry. Unfortunately, Fins still does not have a web presence. D’Auvray’s delightful wife Lisa, who runs the front of the house, informed me that they’re working on building a website, but it just hasn’t been a priority. However, if you want to see a copy of Fins’ menu, they’ll be happy to fax you one. I’ve often said that when I go out to eat at a fairly expensive restaurant, I want to eat something that I wouldn’t or couldn’t make at home. Fins is just that type of restaurant. I don’t have the creativity to put together such complex flavors as William D’Auvray. I can’t get the same ingredients as he does. This is restaurant cooking taken to another level, so if you want to have fun with different flavors, head out Lead Mine Road to Fins. And don’t forget to get some of that crunchy skin. Fins Restaurant 7713 Lead Mine Road Raleigh, 27615 (919) 847-4119

Rather than burying reviews of different restaurants here, lets keep this discussion on general thoughts about the best restaurant. I've moved my review of Crooks Corner to this new stand-alone discussion.

I see Frank Bruni of the NY Times has also discovered the wonders of restaurant bathrooms in an article in today's edition.

Let's see: Nana's: http://www.nanasdurham.com/ Four Square: http://www.foursquarerestaurant.com/ The Cosmopolitan: http://www.carycosmo.com/ Bloomsbury: http://www.bloomsburybistro.com/ Il Palio: http://www.sienahotel.com/il_palio_restaurant.htm Enoteca Vin: http://www.enotecavin.com/ From what I can tell, Fins does not have a web presence. I'll ask them about it tomorrow.

That's what this thread is all about. I hope others will conduct a similar experiment and report back here. We can then crown an official champion of the Triangle!

We'll be headed to Fins tomorrow with my wife's family in celebration of Mrs. Varmint's 40th birthday. Because we're a party of 8, we'll have lots to sample. I always look forward to going to this restaurant, and the owners are always at the top of their games.

I just discovered Honey Bunches of Oats with Peaches. Man, they're so damn good.

I spoke with Ed Mitchell for nearly 2 hours today, and it's quite a story that I'll put together over the next few days. However, Mitchell's is indeed closed temporarily, but they plan to re-open in Wilson in the next month or two. Ed Mitchell has been working on a partnership with North Carolina A&T University to breed and raise heirloom, hormone and chemical-free pigs for barbecuing, and ultimately, this path led to the closing of the restaurant. Ed Mitchell has lots of ambition and good ideas, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him back better than ever soon. And he's definitely going to be at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party for 2005.

If you read above, I've said several times that I like Mitchell's, but it was never great. Even when I ate the barbecue coming right off the cooker, it was just pretty good. As far as the location is concerned, I don't buy that for a minute. People will go way out of their way for good barbecue. To me, if this was a matter of Ed closing down the place because of cash flow, it came down to building up too quickly. This facility was one of the nicest barbecue restaurants I had ever seen, and to me it seemed to be a case of too much too soon. Combining that inconsistent quality, and that created a recipe for disaster. Ed Mitchell is a great man, and I know he'll land on his feet somewhere.

Well, I'm 99% moved into the kitchen. I spent some time with the camera tonight, so I'll offer you my final shots. I'll come back in a day or three to put up some before and after photos, and then it's time to end this discussion. I'm too tired to give any descriptions, so here's a ton of pictures. Brace yourselves:

Please remember to post the details of your class back here, primarily because I'll be in Tuscany for 2 weeks next summer. Yes, selfish motivation reigns supreme!

Hmm, I'll stick with desserts. The honeysuckle sorbet at Chapel Hill's Crooks Corner is perfect. The coconut cake from Raleigh's Hayes Barton Grill and Dessert is the best example of my favorite down-home cake. But perhaps my top dessert by a chef from the Southeast in the past several years was made by Phoebe Lawless, former pastry chef (now on maternity leave) of Durham's Magnolia Grill. The thing is that this dish was made in my home, but was similar to what they served in the restaurant: Pumpkin fritters rolled in cinnamon sugar, served with goat cheese ice cream, cajeta and candied, spicy pepitas.

Actually, the Monogram ranges and professional cooktops have a separate simmer ring. It's quite nice, and a hell of a lot cheaper than Wolf.

The unpacking is not complete, Susan. The houseguests prevented me from getting that done, and I'll not be at home the next two evenings, so it'll be later in the week for those final photos. Sorry for the delay, but I want to get it right! Plus, I need to be sure to get proper camera angles so I can fully capture the before and after effects.

Bisteeya is one of those magical dishes that isn't as complicated as it sounds. However, when you bring it to the table, you get lots of "oohs" and "ahs" because it's a dish not a lot of people have tried before and it has complex, but accessible, flavors. It's one of my all-time favorites. I think I need to make one this weekend!

I'll get the final pictures up later this week. First, however, I must say that it is not a good idea to have five houseguests (and 7-9 dinner guests) on the weekend you're trying to move back into your kitchen. Nothing gets accomplished the way you want it to. Anyhow, Mrs. Varmint has installed new shelving in the pantry, and we're 95% complete with the unpacking. We have a few things remaining that we don't know where to put them, but it should be done tonight. Strangely, I've come down from my euphoria, and don't have any great eagerness to cook much. I'm excited about the kitchen, of course, but until it's completely settled, it's just work. As far as the recessed lights are concerned, rather than using a traditional metal or plastic can, we used a blue glass housing. When the lights are on, the edges glow a nice, warm blue. It's very nice!

Perhaps the coolest thing about this kitchen is the lighting. The fixtures I added to the recessed ceiling lights are the coolest. The edges of these fixtures exude this very cool blue. I'm very pleased with this last minute choice of lighting accoutrement. Dinner is over. We bagged the dessert, as my in-laws brought over some some banana walnut cookies. Damn, they're good. So, I need to hit the "organization" store tomorrow. I need help with the drawers.

I've been moving in as quickly as I can. Am making scallops with mushroom ragout on cheese grits for our guests along with strawberry shortcake. I'll eventually get "final" pictures (and some before and afters), but the place is a wreck right now. I'm actually almost too tired to cook!

VentaHood, 36"w by 24"deep, 2 blowers at 300 cfm each (but they have a higher equivalent due to the VentaHood technology). This is vented straight up to the roof -- only about 5 feet due to the roof's pitch. The cost was mentioned earlier in this thread -- something like $1,500 -- the source is listed there as well.