JPW

Ah ha, further evidence of the ubiquity of the miniburger. ← AAAAHHHHH!!!! Down with Mini-Burgers

I actually stopped by Polonez about 2 weeks ago. Even though it was after closing time they turned the lights back on and gave me a tour of the place. The kielbasa will rock your world. My personal fave was the Hungarian, which has a hint of paprika. They also have some great looking salamis and Polish cheese. The pastries look pretty good, too.

The grit is part of it. The Strip was (and to a large degree still is) Pittsburgh's warehouse district. Best place in the 'burgh to find good products for cooking, but until the last decade or so not a place where anyone would be found after dark. It all started changing when the first nightclub, Metropol, opened in 84(?) but for a long time Metropol was the only place down there. The bigger problem is that there is noone in the high income demographic that lives in the area. The people that would normally support a high end joint like Eleven live a decent drive away (Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Fox Chapel, Sewickley). And while twenty-somethings may think nothing of being in what is still a somewhat seedy area, older folks with the money to afford Eleven may be wary of being down there. Many of them would have to drive through some even worse neighborhoods to get there. In addition, how many people want to share a fine dining experience with the several thousand drunk college students that flood the area on the weekends? But that's just my 2 cents. I wish them the best as Pittsburgh has very few really good top end restaurants.

Probably better off to wait until spring and do it outside. But then again, I'll sit outside and eat a roast pig and drink beer in the snow.

PS - Since it's bound to come out eventually -- Yes, I do admit that when I got everything off possible with a knife and fork, I started pulling the remnants off with my fingers. However, in my own defense - 1)I asked my fellow barflies if they minded before doing so 2) Contrary to what you might hear, I did not pick up the bones and start to suck every last molecule off the carcass

This chicken is just that. damn. good. 'nuff said

LittleWing, Look through this. They make the good suggestion that you can use Labneh (available in most Whole Foods, or at least the one in SS) to substitute. As Malawry posted, Total ran into problems with their paperwork for customs and has been unable to export to the US. I've also been known to take some full fat plain yogurt and let it rest in a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a bowl. After a couple of hours, you have something resembling the viscosity of Greek yogurt. My favorite dip is to mix with some minced garlic and slivered dried apricot. It only gets better the next day.

Maybe because the salamander was once reputed to live in fire? It was considered a magical beast in medieval times. Yah, salamanders live in wet, rotten old logs. Put a log like that on the fire and the little beastie will come crawling out as it heats up; hence, medieval folks believed that they live in fire. Re: the cooking implement. I believe I saw an old-tyme salamander (like that andiesenji describes) at Monticello: didn't Jefferson (OK, his cook) use one when he introduced crême brulée to America? ← I was always led to believe that the name came from the circuitous route of the burner as it bends back and forth across the underside of the roof.

And a good Monday morning to you too Don.

Look here in Southeast forum

Depends on how late I am stuck at work.

Snider's is my every day grocery store. Their deli pickles rock (as does their deli counter in general). For a small place, they do carry some good stuff - e. g. you can usually find canned whole San Marzano tomatoes.

And for the Thanksgiving edition.... Lesson learned - Things in blenders tend to expand upwards when you turn on the blender. For my cranberry sauce I had been simmering some fresh cranberries in ginger ale and OJ for about 30 minutes. When to puree it with my immersion blender only to find that the thing had conked out. Mrs. JPW had the good idea of just using the bar blender. So I poured the hot bubbling mixture in, filling it almost to the top. Place lid on and hold hand over lid. Flip switch and ..... OOOOUUUUCCCCCCHHHHH! That fucking hurt!!!! Force of expanding mixture forces top off and sends cranberry exploding out. Somehow I managed to force the top back on and turn machine off, but not before turning my white kitchen into a white kitchen with ruby red polka dots and giving myself a couple of nice burns. We're still finding bits of cranberry in places.

Well, I managed to down two orders of spring rolls last night. And some of Mrs JPW's beet and goat cheese salad. Delicious. PS - Corduroy gets Peanut's seal of approval

Same to you Fero. Here I am, hungover, sitting at work, and dreaming of spring rolls and a glass of Syrah.

I always thought that of all their high prices the produce prices were the most egregious. I've also noticed the two different types of cashiers when it comes to produce. There are the ones who look up absolutely every item (I mean come on I can't be the only person who has bought Japanese eggplant, conventionally-grown chicory, and Anaheim peppers today). They've only got 1000 produce codes to memorize. What gives? Then there are the ones who just punch whatever code they think it might be in and move to the next item. Even when you try to correct them they just look at you and snort. Not that I have a problem with paying $2.99 /pound for Shiitake mushrooms, but I feel like I have to make at least a token effort. You do, however have to watch out the other way!

Super Fresh is still alive and well in suburban DC. There is one in the city (way out in NW) and several in the MD burbs. I've stopped off at the one out in White Oak which just happens to be right near three stores I spend alot of time in - Target, Home Depot and BabiesRUs. The one I've been in is a nice newish, big store with a nice selection. Nothing to go too far out of your way for, but pretty good.

I guess I should chime in since I started all this. Mrs JPW and I decided that we needed to rest so we decided to stay at home instead of driving to see the relatives. I'm definitely looking forward to the four day weekend. Plenty of football on and the bar is fully stocked. I'll be cooking a bird and other stuff. We have a couple of friends coming over for dinner and might have a few neighbors drop by for cocktails. There's usually someone unexpected who shows up, so I always have an extra place set. It's sort of a family tradition around the holidays. Like Busboy said - you're welcome to stop by -- if you can find my house! PS - Deepest apologies to those who must work. We'll be thinking of you during our gluttonous orgy of overindulgence.

So what are everyone's plans? What are you up to? What are you looking forward to? Staying at home, traveling, or hitting a restaurant? Which relative is going to get drunk and be a complete pain in the ass?

Swerving off topic for a second two words to go with Thai Derm - Nam Sod. Try it.

As for my breaking my no posting on the weekend policy. Well, I'm at work! We were so incredibly well treated last night that words escape me. We were a motley party of 5 (with one joining later). 3 orders of spring rolls, 2 orders of goat cheese, an order of scallops, a round of pumpkin soup and a round of banana ice cream and many glasses of wine. All I can say is that I think that next week, I might have to go down and start ordering spring rolls and have them keep coming until I can eat no more. Rissa's mom deserves to be sainted for this recipe. Pumpkin soup like nothing you have ever tried before. Just perfect. The only problem is that now I don't think that I'll ever try to make pumpkin soup at home. I'll inevitably be disappointed. The syrah by the glass actually managed to wrap itself around all of the dishes. (If one of the Corduroy folks could PM the complete info on the bottle I'd be greatly appreciative) It was great to meet Ferhat, Rissa, and Chef Tom. Kudos to the bartender (whose name I did not catch) for putting up with us. Any city in the world would be lucky to have this place, I'm just glad that it's in DC.

It's going to cost me some serious babysitting duties over the next few weeks, but I'm in for happy hours at Corduroy tonight. Will show up at about 6.

It looks like I may be able to slip the leash and join.

The only way to get a real gyro at home is to a) buy the vertical spit and roaster b) call Kronos in chicago and have them send you a cone mmm..... gyro.....