Varmint

Don't worry, Thrak. Any fairly new user here who starts to display a backbone by making opinionated posts just has to go through standard indoctrination procedures. You've passed.

Thanks for the response, Thrak. I think you've managed to taste some bad NC barbecue, and that's a heck of a lot easier to find than the good stuff. If you're ever in the Raleigh area, let me know, and I'll show you how a vinegar-based sauce can enhance, rather than mask, the flavor of the pork. And keep on posting!!!!

I use Muir Glen tomatoes on average 3 days each week. They're damn good canned 'maters.

I'll do some variation of the ultra-traditional meal I did last year, but I think I'll need to hire Klink to smoke some goodies for me. Klink, doing any sausages this year???

I get the distinct impression that Thrak has an utter disdain for vinegar. How about pickles???

Thrak, I hope your comment was made in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner, as you certainly know how much pride comes into play when it comes to regional variations of barbecue. Regardless, if you still believe that Memphis barbecue is superior to what we produce in North Carolina, I'd like your reasoning why, including why vinegar ruins the dish. I recently held a pig pickin' where I made both eastern and western style NC barbecue, and the many out of town guests who were a tad suspicious of the vinegar unanimously declared my barbecue to be the best pork they ever had. Regardless, I look forward to a friendly debate on this particular issue. If you were joking, then I apologize for missing it -- I'm tired!

Barbecue sandwiches (I managed to freeze some barbecue left over from the pig pickin', but due to a premature thaw, I had to eat it today!)

Do you mean intentionally flammable???

Thanks, soupkitchen, and welcome to eGullet. Of course, no mid-sized market will have the opportunities of a city such as NY, SF or any other major metropolitan area. But when you consider the lifestyle trade offs, do you think it hurts long-term to work at a place such as Fearrington, Magnolia Grill, or one of Scott Howell's joints??? Does working in this environment actually inhibit a career?

If he has a 6 course tasting menu that allows the diner some choice, would that be a Pick Six Mix??

Rieslingfan, Jim got that deal from Carolina Wine Company, perhaps the best wine shop in the Southeast. I encourage you to sign up for their email alerts, and you'll find lots of great bargains, too. Plus, they're willing to ship!

You set 'em straight, Kathi. And don't fall asleep in one of those rockers.

120???? OH MY GOD.

Oh, yeah, lots of latkes, but there are so many variations, that I'd love to get the quintessential latke recipe. I think Fat Guy actually won a latke contest once.

He doesn't like mushrooms, but he'd be more likely to try them if they're in a potato dish. He'll try anything if the focus is potatoes.

The oldest L'il Varmint is a potato freak. For his 9th birthday dinner, he requested -- and received -- an all potato feast. I'm now trying to figure out new ways to serve him potatoes and gradually introduce other elements into a mostly potato dish. Here's a mostly comprehensive list of what he's had: Boiled potatoes Mashed Oven roasted Hash browns Home fries Potatoes Anna (had those for first time on Saturday, and he was in heaven) Croquettes Potato Skins French fries Scalloped Multiple gratins Baked Twice baked Oven roasted with cabrales cheese (at Jaleo -- he's not ready for blue cheese!) Creamed new potatoes with peas I'm sure I left out some others. Any suggestions for new offerings?

I don't mind the calculators. I'd rather find out exactly what I have to pay rather than to pay for my share plus some more because someone was an idiot (or cheap) and didn't leave enough for their share of the tax and/or tip. I don't see it as being cheap, necessarily. I like to put a positive spin on it and think it's only someone being anal retentitve. When someone does that, I ask them to calculate everyone's contribution. That makes the tip issue a bit easier to handle. Plus, it embarrasses the hell out of the geek.

Although this crazy North Carolinian hasn't read through this thread until today AND although this crazy North Carolinian's wife doesn't eat red meat (thus, I'll do the other dishes), I'd like to join in to some extent if permitted. I may have missed some of the ground rules, but I'll fake it for awhile. Oh, and I have made creme brulee several times. Cooks Illustrated recipe actually works well for the custard.

Yeah, Mark knows how sensitive I am when it comes to North Carolina barbecue when he put out bottles of his wonderful, but tremendously out of place, "Carolina Mustard Sauce" on the table at the pig pickin'. Mustard sauce turns outstanding North Carolina barbecue into outstanding South Carolina barbecue. Seeing I live in North Carolina, we just couldn't have none of that here.

Thanks, Ron. And keep posting about SC establishments and its cuisine. We need more involvement from the Palmetto State here!

Why don't you share that new list with us once it's completed? Then we can see how a small, but thoughtfully selected, wine list developed by a supplier can enhance the restaurant. Thanks, basildog and slacker!

I think those are great points, BD. I'd much rather have a restaurant use a knowledgable supplier who is trying to benefit the restaurant and the pairing of wine with food than a misguided or uninformed restaurant/chef who can't choose properly. In the US, however, I think the majority of suppliers do not pay as much attention as slacker does.

Not only because this restaurant is in my town, but also because it has brought a fresh approach to wine service, I nominate Enoteca Vin in Raleigh. Although the breadth of the list is not extraordinary, all wines have been very intelligently selected. Moreover, the pricing is not substantially different than the selections' respective retail prices. They're able to do this because the co-owner, Chrish Peel, also is the owner of Carolina Wine Company, which boasts the largest temperature-controlled wine warehouse in the United States. The thing that makes Vin so extraordinary to me, however, is their "by the glass" offerings. Tastes come in three sizes: 1.5, 3, and 5 ounces. Thus, if you want to sample a superb burgundy, you can do so affordably.

Damn, and I did think those were just the pork rinds in your pocket.

It's easy for me. Mrs. V doesn't eat red meat, so I rarely eat it at home. When at a restaurant, however, I often order some lovely mammalian flesh.