Varmint

One of my most memorable meals came when you were at Gramercy Tavern, and the connection between the front of the house and y'all in the kitchen was superb. It seemed as if our captain and runners were able to convey every important detail to you to make our meal a better experience, and you were able to translate that onto the plate (including a most delicious dish of boiled peanuts -- but that's another story!). What do you look for in your front of the house staff? Is it about experience, or is it really about a good fit with your personality?

First, don't think this is a hideous recipe, because it ain't. Nevertheless, the combination may sound terrible to some people, but I am dying to try it. A friend recently described to me some truffles made by our very own phlawless from Magnolia Grill that consisted of chocolate, peanut butter, and bacon. I WANT SOME!!!

In North Carolina, everything is a "coke" or a "drink".

In North Carolina: Almond Duck Currie Dillsboro Cranberry Cognac Citron Cherry Charlotte Fork Fruitland Frying Pan Landing Graham Gumberry Gum Neck Mint Hill Mount Olive Mulberry Otto (for you New York "pizza" fans) Peachland Peach Tree Porter Sugar Grove Sugar Hill Sugar Mountain Spot Shallotte Sea Breeze Scuppernong Rockfish Toast (my personal favorite) Troutman Turkey Walnut

Cold and wet, with a trace of snow today. So I made chicken and dumplings. To me, there are few finer cold weather foods.

OK OK OK, Brooks!!!! I know you were, but if folks just read the current page, they'd misunderstand this thread. Plus, I'm still trying to figure out how to explain to the majority of North Carolinians who eat gas or electric-cooked barbecue that it ain't barbecue!

If you haven't already done so, please go back and read this thread from the beginning. I mention this because we weren't trying to discuss the different variations of barbecue, but whether we could come up with a single definition of barbecue that applies to each of its variations.

Rockford was there a month ago when I had lunch. But it IS hard to find if you're not sure of the exact location. Pasta Bella is under fairly new ownership, and I have heard that they're doing a lot to distinguish themselves in this relatively homogeneous market. Keep an eye on this place!

Welcome, SML!! Glad to see that your first post was in the Southeast forum. It's a pretty darned friendly place, and we look forward to lots of insight from you.

I've looked at this thread for the first time this morning, and I must insist that any reference to "pulled pork" for Greensboro or Raleigh or Durham be replaced with the term: "Barbecue" (by the way, Raleigh and Durham are two separate and very different cities). No North Carolinian refers to our pork specialty as anything but barbecue. Moreover, although Raleigh's "specialty" may be barbecue, I find it curious that Raleigh doesn't have a single solid barbecue restaurant, and neither does Durham (Chapel Hill does, thank goodness). Finally, I have no problems with the Greensboro area listing "Western NC style barbecue" as its food, but recognize that the more common name for this is "Lexington style", as Lexington is the home of a number of great restaurants serving this type of barbecue. Greensboro and Winston-Salem collectively have about 1/3 the number of decent barbecue restaurants as Lexington. Finally, I've never thought of sweet potato pie as a dish representative of Raleigh. In fact, I can't think of any dish that would constitute my town's "signature dish." Biscuits?? The problem is that Raleigh, as is the case with many Southern metropolitan areas, has changed so much over the past 20 years that it's lost a lot of its heritage. It's hard to point to a single type of food and declare it as quintessentially representative. Except for okra, perhaps.

These types of cookbooks can be sponsored by all different types of organizations. In the South, however, a much higher percentage appear to be church-affiliated cookbooks, whereas in the North, the sponsoring entity is a civic organization. Why is that?

Okay, I gotta know... What's on the sandwich? Cole slaw and hot sauce, of course. What else do you put on a barbecue sandwich?

Most expubidantly (that's yes). A perfect meal:

I did not quantify how much less that I needed to eat and drink. So don't read too much into that particular statement.

Response: 1. I did not pass out into the ragout. 2. I had too much to drink. 3. After eating the ragout, I started sweating and shaking profusely and exited stage left. 4. I realized that I had eaten way too much rich food, and in combination with the alcoholic excess, I was in for major GI trouble. 5. I took care of the immediate problem. 6. I continued to sweat and shake. 7. I sat in the living room chair some time before midnight; sweating and shaking did not diminish. 8. I woke up in said living room chair shortly after 3 AM. 9. I went to the guest bedroom. 10. I fell asleep in said guest bedroom. 11. I woke up in said guest bedroom at approximately 7:45 AM. 12. I continued to clean up the kitchen. 13. I went to my own home at 9:15. 14. I continued to have GI problems. 15. I need to eat and drink less. Sworn this day, the 11th of February, 2004. Dean M. McCord

Of course! And many people do their barbecued chicken that way, too. I just never heard of it for pork shoulders, and I'm thinking of all kinds of fun things to do now!

Eric Asimov's review of Alias in today's Times mentions a dish where a pork shoulder was braised and then grilled. I've never really thought of taking a slowly braised dish and then throwing it on a super-hot grill to add to the crust. Is this a standard technique? Anyone have experience with it? It sounds fantastic.

Yes, I'd like to see how much Mr. Klapp embellishes here. I'll then post the truth.

Although my palate was quite dead by the time Random Alias' dish was served, I'm thinking that the richness of the duck (man, that was GOOD) overwhelmed any subtle flavor differences the toasting made. I'd like to try the toasted penne with just some EVOO and sea salt. There's a lot of potential for bringing out some caramelized flavor here. Those of you who were in a better (and less obnoxious) state than I, please chime in.

Well, here are some pictures. Unfortunately, we don't have any shots of dessert, as no one bothered to get a picture after the photographer passed out. edemuth is ready to attack some grapefruit. phlawless letting the world know not to mess with her (beef) cheeks. Mr. and Mrs. Random Alias. Scottie deglazing the pan with the double magnum Bill Klapp brought. Some wine. Well, this is the stuff that just I drank. Phlawless' bagna cauda. Phlawless' grilled marinated baby octopus. This was kick ass! Scottie's rhombi with EVOO, broccoli rabe, pine nuts, pancetta, and aged asiago. Close up of Scottie's dish. My spaghetti with calamari, roasted and dried tomato, chilis and bottarga. Phlawless' beef cheek ravioli in beef consomme. Weka's fettucini with porcini and black truffle. Random Alias' toasted penne with duck ragout. Bill Klapp telling everyone what he really thinks. Phlawless' wine glass was growing something. Mr. and Mrs. Weka with Mr. & Mrs. Random Alias. Fun was had by all. I'm worn out. And I still didn't get that dessert.

Sorry, y'all, but I won't be able to put up photos until tonight at the earliest. I have too much to do today. Bummer. Everything was great. The grilled octopus, the salumi, all the pastas (including phlawless' consummate consumme), but not the dessert. The dessert sucked. Well, actually, I'm sure the dessert was awesome, but I was asleep in the living room and missed the dessert, which sucked.

Let me put it this way, I sat down to take a brief nap just before dessert and didn't wake up until 3:30. I'm still at my in-laws -- Mrs. Varmint and the L'il Varmints are at my house. It was a great evening. Photos will be posted when I can re-attach my head.

This looks like the final menu: Bagna cauda Salumi Pasta with EVOO, Broccoli Rabe, Asiago, pancetta and Toasted Pine Nuts Spaghetti with calamari, chiles and bottarga Beef Cheek Ravioli in Brodo Tagliatelle with truffle and porcini Duck Ragout w/ Toasted Penne Grapefruit sections with honey Pink grapefruit-rosemary sorbet Cornmeal-nut biscotti It's a pretty well rounded menu, altough we have neither a baked pasta nor a cheese pasta. Maybe next time!!

Will do! The L'il Varmints will be occupying the beds, but there's floor space!

What the hell sort of wine goes with roasted tomato, calamari, and bottarga?