Varmint

Deep frying!!! How could have I overlooked that????

Goat cheese. Hmm. Grill slices of yellow squash. Top with goat cheese and olive slivers? This is helpful. Keep the ideas coming, as I'm headed to the grocers in 10 minutes!

My sister-in-law is coming for dinner and bringing me tons of yellow squash. I told her I'd use it in the meal, but my menu is done and I'm not using any squash. Help me come up with a relatively simple hors d'oeuvre using yellow squash. I need ideas within the next 30 minutes. HELP!!!!

One funny side note: when I'm dining alone, I tend to get far better service if I take notes about the meal. I do this so I can remember what I've eaten, not to pretend like I'm some sort of critic. However, the improvement in service is startling.

Do go back, and talk to Matt. Ask him what's good. He's very passionate at what he does, and I think he's turned Vin Rouge into a damn fine neighborhood restaurant. He's been there since the beginning of the year, I believe, but it took him several months to re-orient the inertial forces that had caused the restaurant's quality to decline so much.

An overly busy salad of watercress, cucumber, fava, morel, sea beans and squid with a roasted tomato and garlic vinaigrette. For dessert, peach-raspberry cobbler with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

Neo China is known for the freshness of their food. They have never claimed to be an overly "authentic" Chinese restaurant. It's mighty tasty; I go there often; but it's really Chinese-American food.

As I posted on this thread,

I picked up 3 cases of Blenheim's at South of the Border this past weekend. Strangely enough, the family who owns SOTB also owns Blenheims, so you can find it there at $12.95 a case. My current drink of the summer is to muddle some mint at the bottom of a tall glass (pint-sized) and add some ice. Add a couple ounces of agave tequila, about 4 ounces of fresh lemonade, and then about 8 ounces of Blenheim's hot. Damn, that's a fine summer drink.

Absolutely correct. In fact, it is just the opposite-When the very rare occasion occurs that some social misfit wants something other than tea, they will need to ask for "hot tea", otherwise they will get regular tea (iced). They will also most likely get a cup of luke warm water and a bag of Lipton. One of the worst things that happens in restaurants concerning tea is when the tea is served in giant pitchers with tons of ice in them. THe ice slowly melts and causes the tea to become brown water. I am a much happier camper when I see a couple of tea urns on the service station or behind the bar (sweet and unsweet) as I know that I have a pretty good chance of getting a delicious, refreshing beverage to accompany my meal instead of some brown water with too much ice. I can't recall the specific place, but one restaurant just gave you a bucket of ice and a pitcher of warm tea. That was a great set-up, as you were assured of getting the maximum dose of sugar from the tea.

I stopped by South of the Border yesterday and picked up a case each of the diet, hot, and regular Blenheim's. They sell them at $12.95 a case, which is more than what I pay for beer!!!!

I second the motion. Hot Blenheim's and bourbon are made for each other. And on the ice tea, you have to have a sprig of mint. (And yes, it is Ice Tea, not Iced Tea.) I recently gave Fat Guy some of the hot Blenheim's as well as some of its milder sibling. I informed him that the red-top was spicy, but being the tough guy that he is, he poured a bottle into a glass of ice, took a big swig, and yelled out, "MOTHERFUCKER!!!!" After his skin tones returned to a normal hue, he continued to sip his ginger ale, praising its merits. It was a very nice scene. By the way, Blenheim's is now owned by the Schafer family, who also own that wonderful land of kitsch otherwise known as South of the Border. If you're headed on I-95 and crossing the NC-SC border, do stop by and try to find the Blenheim's plant. And if you have a head cold, buy 2 six packs of the hot stuff! And Kathi, we don't really call it Ice Tea, either, you know. It's just, "tea."

Matt Kelly is an eGullet member who posts on these fine boards from time to time, but perhaps more importantly, he is the chef at Durham's Vin Rouge. This French bistro is owned by restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias, and I must admit that I've never been a big fan of Bakatsias' establishments -- they focus on the trendy, food is up and down, and in the end, there's more style than substance. Matt Kelly appears to have turned a failing restaurant upside down by focusing on the classics, with attention to detail and most importantly, taste. Kelly is a young 28, but his credentials are pretty damn strong. A grad of the Culinary Institute of America, he has worked at the Inn at Little Washington, the local institution, the Fearrington House, and most recently, my favorite Raleigh restaurant, Fins. His dream restaurant has always been a French bistro where he can cook "like a grandmother." Kelly's dream came true when Bakatsias hired him several months ago to see if he couldn't save Vin Rouge, which had lost most of its customer base and could have easily folded. Kelly welcomed the challenge, changed the way the restaurant thought about food, and has created a restaurant that I would be proud to have in my neighborhood. A brief mention of the space is warranted: the kitchen is exposed to the dining room where the bar is located. There is a second dining room which appears to be much more peaceful. Vin Rouge has a huge outdoor dining area, much of it covered from the elements with ceiling fans to keep the air flowing. It was on this back area where I dined on Kelly's fare. I started with a salad of figs picked by Kelly earlier in the day, quickly pan roasted, and served with arugula, walnuts and bleu cheese. Oh, I forgot to mention that the salad is served with a leg of duck confit where the skin was crisped perfectly. I could eat this salad several times a week for dinner, and would be a very happy man. At less than $10, this salad is a steal, too. I then tried a whole, grilled rouget served with a tapenade and pistou, complemented with a fried zucchini blossom. Kelly gets whole fish, and this specimen was seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper. The classic French condiments went well with the fish. My only complaint is that I wish the rouget had been boned, as such small fish leave tons of annoying bones to deal with. My final course was pan roasted ivory salmon, served with crab meat, braised cabbage and a whole mustard beurre blanc. I'm a sucker for braised cabbage, and I was very pleased with Kelly's version. The fish was most excellent -- very moist, not overcooked as is the case with most salmon (yet keeping a perfect crust), and carried enough flavor to handle the sauce and cabbage. Each of these dishes was a special, and it's obvious that Kelly's specials are showcases for what is fresh and what he likes to do. You can't go wrong with any of his specials. The regular menu at Vin Rouge reads like a greatest hits of classic bistro faire, including onion soup gratinee, mussels, house-made pate, sole meuniere, steak frites, and sauteed calves liver. Based on Kelly's commitment to freshness, I have no doubt these items are as good as his specials. The French bistro genre is often tired, primarily because of the lack of attention to simple details. It's easy to do a crummy bistro, but it takes someone with a lot of passion and guts to create something out of the ordinary. Matt Kelly has succeed with Vin Rouge, and I hope he keeps on doing his "grandma cooking." Vin Rouge 2010 Hillsborough Road Durham, NC 27705 919-416-0466

Had lunch at Landmarc on Monday and would be pleased to have such a place nearby. The gazpacho was pureed, which is usually a strike against it in my book, but served with rock shrimp, it made for a delightfully simple summer soup (with clean, biting flavors, however). I wish they had added some form of crunch to the soup, just for textural variety, but it was very, very good. I had the burger with gruyere, and it was an excellent burger -- nicely charred on the exterior, but medium rare in the center. I'd eat one of these a day if I could. As others have noted, the bun was way too large for the burger itself. Why can't they get this annoying little problem fixed?? The fries were perfect. I tried the blueberry crumble for dessert. It was fine, but as is often the case with blueberry desserts, overly simple in flavor. They need to throw some blackberries and raspberries in with the blues as they come into season.

I believe Steak n Shake was the model upon which they relied (and improved, I'm betting).

They plan to be open until 10:00 most nights, but that'll be once they're in full operation mode. I'm a big fan of frozen custard, having tried many different places across the Midwest, and I think the Shake Shack's product is spot on when it comes to maximizing the flavor, feel, and unctiousness of the custard. They're working out some minor kinks with their current machine (they're getting a second -- and better -- one soon), as I discovered a couple of ice crystals in my sample yesterday. However, the new machine and some additional experience should solve any problems remaining. I am amazed at Danny Meyer's operations. I managed to have lunch at 11 Madison Park, followed by a sample of the Shake Shack's custard, and then dinner at Tabla. Each of those establishments set the bar so high with respect to product, service, and customer satisfaction. When someone can hit a home run on hot dogs, custard, barbecue, and fine dining, we need more people like Danny.

Tee hee. I'm going to Maine this Friday, and I can't wait to get to the Jordan Pond House for tea and popovers!!!

It'll be interesting to see the EPA's results with the 5 extra air monitors. Much of Davidson County is rural, so I hope these monitors are representative of the county as a whole, and not just the Lexington area.

Davidson County is a non-attainment area for particulate matter. Mecklenburg and Wake Counties are attainment areas. Here are the 2002 populations of these counties: Mecklenburg: 737,950 Wake:675,518 Davidson: 151,238 The traffic in Mecklenburg and Wake Counties is awful. I don't think that we can truly blame the cars for Davidson Counties non-attainment for particulate matter.

A cover story in today's Raleigh News & Observer focuses on the air pollution of Davidson County, North Carolina (the county where Lexington is located), and local officials think that the high number of barbecue restaurants in the region has caused this problem. The City of Raleigh and many other municipalities across the country have very strict emission standards that limit the ability of barbecue joints to have open pits. Damn, I hope they don't have to make changes in Lexington.

Oh, Lantern's website is http://www.lanternrestaurant.com/.

You shouldn't have a problem getting into Lantern if you get there early. Go ahead and give it a try -- I think you'll love it. I ate there a couple of weeks ago, but failed to report back here. Let's see if I can recall what we ate. Pork and chive dumplings, bang-bang chicken, a calamari salad, some raw tuna dish, and another special that I can't recall. These apps were very tasty, complex, and well done. The entrees were also excellent. I had a tea-smoked chicken with Lantern's own XO sauce. My wife had a fairly bland seafood sandpot dish. Our friends had a lemongrass barbecued pork tenderloin and a whole fish. Desserts were very, very disappointing, but we may have ordered poorly. Go elsewhere for dessert if you don't want to take a chance. I think you'll like Lantern a lot. And please report back here, unlike this slack ass!

I'll have to respectfully disagree, Fat Guy. First, Ed Mitchell's approach is to start his hogs at a much higher temperature than most recommend. If I recall correctly, he gets his cookers up to about 300F, which is at least 60-80 degrees too high in my book. Second, he cooks with a combination of charcoal and hickory chips. The purists will cook with wood that has not been aged and dried -- "green" wood. Using green hickory or green oak or green pecan ensure a much smokier environment. The cooker is nothing but a glorified smoke chamber. This wood puts out a ton of smoke while not getting very hot, too. I'm not claiming that the smoke flavor permeates the flesh to the core -- no barbecue every approaches that level of smokiness, and it might be inedible if it did. However, when done properly, you can get the true smokey flavor that is a measure of the wood itself.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, a barbecue was an event where grilled meat was the feature. The food was never referred to as barbecue, except for chicken with barbecue sauce. "Joe's having a barbecue on Saturday. He's grilling some steaks and chicken on his new Weber. I think he made some good sauce, and that's great, because I love barbecued chicken."

Don't worry. We'll be happy to continue using the word as we think is the common form. Folks in the South haven't worried too much about what the rest of the country thinks anyhow.