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reesek

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Everything posted by reesek

  1. seacrotty - i think you're right - that math doesn't make sense. a bottle of wine is 22.5 oz - so we're talking 4 & 1/2 average (5 oz) glasses per bottle - meaning that a $7 glass would be $31.50 by the bottle...not a huge discount - but it should never be cheaper to buy in small units. (haven't they heard of costco?!) the only variable is glass size - if memory serves - they use (what i call) juice glasses - right? (not stemware?) those w/b about 5 oz. if the glasses are bigger than 5 oz -- you guessed it - it's an even better deal to buy by the glass. someone should tell them... edit - learn to read people's names better rk
  2. laura cassidy put in this review in the weekly - not wildly favorable. lark review she said 3 people had 7 dishes and she was not satisfied - i think i would agree that they didn't order enough. she complained about the portion size to price ratio and hated the tuna (which i didn't like either - though i love st. jude albacore). lark isn't cheap - but i don't think it claims to be...she said she would have liked some guidance...why didn't she ask? we did.
  3. mangos!! i had the philipene variety (or at least - that's how they're advertised in seattle) for the first time a couple of years ago. very nice - butterier and smaller than large ones and not as fibrous. i made an accidental and wonderful discovery that real mango eaters probably already know. i bought a case of them to make mango sticky rice for a thai party a month or so ago. i bought the case a week in advance, and they were fabulous the day of the party. the next week - they were even sweeter - and made amazing sorbet...i wish i had more for lassis. i'm craving a sweet lassi.
  4. living - jon stewart, bill clinton, bill maher, & bf - so we could discuss it later. dead - frank sinatra, bette davis, grandpa mitchell, and an ashtray.
  5. religion is often misused to bully people into or out of behavior...god wants this...god wants that - the slope gets very slippery very fast - think david koresh and anyone else who claims they have a bat phone to god. i agree with karen - agribusiness makes me very sad. foie gras production makes me sad - so i don't eat it. that doesn't mean i think everyone should stop eating meat just because they "can." but just because we "can" keep millions of animals in stinky, confined spaces, forced to eat grain laced with their family members, and show them the instruments that will kill them just before they die - doesn't mean we have to.
  6. when i was little it was roy's. my mom used to work across the street from the one on upper wisconsin in DC...i think it's a mcdonalds now. roast beef sandwich. they used to add a little juice to the bun - and it was rosy - not rare but good. the best part about the whole experience was the condiment bar. horseradish mayo & as many pickles as i could heap onto the bun. divine. only ate at arby's once - we all refer to it as the green meat incident. we were in florida and in order to avoid my grandmother's cooking ate just before we got to her house. my mom, sister and i all had roast beef and cheese sandwiches. the meat was so cottony - my sister opened her bun to look at it to make sure it was meat - it was green - not just slightly irridescent but GREEN. we all looked at our respective sandwiches and saw they were the same. never had the urge to try arby's again. i used to love big macs - until i found the whopper. i also used to love the original mcchicken. last week i had my first fast food in a long time. there is truly little in this world more comforting than sharing 2 orders of large fries (+ bbq sauce) with someone you love while very drunk. (BK - MCD's was closed)
  7. are you british? my (english) boyfriend eats "beans on toast" when i'm not around...egg optional but not microwaved. wouldn't the bread get soggy? bf makes white toast - firm and heats baked beans in micro tops bread with beans, eats with knife and fork. nastiness in my opinion - but baked beans - from a can anyway, are the only kind of beans i don't like.
  8. reesek

    Anchovies

    saute greens (curly endive, or kale) with a couple of mashed anchovies, chili flakes, kalamata olives, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, garlic and salt. add a little white wine and cook until just wilted. serve in a bowl with bread to soak the broth, or toss with orcchiette and top with bread crumbs. divine.
  9. i had a great experience at mashiko last night...leads me to a question (then i'll get to the food) are there any other places (like mashiko) that are vastly better when you suspend your disbelief? i don't mean to imply that everything there isn't good but i typically go out for sushi and eat - sushi. i have had better sushi (only) meals at other spots - and now i'm not really sure why. i think i was inclined to blame price or portion or atmosphere or ... something - but i think it was something altogether different...i was driving a porche through the city. sure - drives ok - it's a porche after all - but it's only when you open it up to see what it can really do that you find how exceptional it is. i happened to have a nearly perfect (for me) meal at mashiko last night - my second straight. i think it's because both of the last 2 times i've challenged myself to stray from my normal path and let hajime do what he wants to do. i went with a friend and it was totally empty - much to my surprise. we sat at the sushi bar, had some delicious unfiltered sake (i had a clean light one - last on the list) we started with nigiri - ono, salmon - i think chinook and ALERT - blue fin!!. dear god - the blue fin...then we had a spyder roll and black cod in miso. we were talking with hajime at this point - asking why their spyder is so good there -(they add dungeness) and since he confessed he was bored - we asked him to make us some dishes. he asked for guidance - patti said "no uni. uni is nasty." i chimed in with a less convincing "right - no uni...well - i haven't ever actually had uni - so i'd be willing to try it. but i don't like eel." hajime made us what he called - uni training wheels - scallop topped with uni topped with garlic butter and heated - i think he ended up wrapping it in proscuitto too. while he was heating this up he grabbed like a half pound of the gorgeous blue fin and made us a sashimi salad...with capers and onion and a raw quail egg and olive oil. <whimper> then uni - we ate it and patti said - "that was great - but it really wasn't a fair introduction to uni - and i'm done with it...i'll have eel now" so she had eel (it was better than the last time i had it, but i just don't like it) and i had - more uni. this time it was very simple - plain, raw and on squid. i'm still not convinced i'd order it - but it was ok. the squid and shiso was delicious! i'd never had it so tender. and of course - i'm so glad i've tried it! finally - as we could barely stay at the counter - we had one final treat - hamachi wrapped tempura asparagus... it was wonderful. i think what made it so good was that he matched our mood. i got to feel a little adventuresome, but still got to enjoy a wonderful meal without feeling too challenged. he ended up only charging us for the minimum of omakase - very generous of him. go immediately and eat bluefin! reese
  10. sometimes it's a mystery why relationships fail...sometimes it's not. "ex" sounds like a real prince.
  11. reesek

    Roasted Cauliflower

    jo-mel - do you boil or steam the cauliflower you mash? until it's how soft? soggy? thanks!
  12. agree on salad to start - sherry vinagrette is very nice with toasted pecans and thinly shaved manchego or (if you're lucky) truffled cheese - they have this at whole foods sometimes in the winter (spring?)... alternatively - frissee salad with a poached quail egg and lardons is something i've always thought looked fabulous. there's a recipe in simple to spectacular agree on accompaniments for the dish - rouille is good - i might serve softer bread (not thin toasts) like a hearty country bread. macrina potato to be exact. dessert - berries and cream or creme brulee...? i'm ashamed to admit my love for the cliche brulee - but i do love my torch! and i think it's very sexy to share a dessert so i tend to make something decadent and just serve half portions.
  13. reesek

    Grilled Cheese

    grilled cheese and mustard - i still like that. has to be yellow "hot dog" mustard though. version 1 - the (reese) traditional - rye bread - outside buttered with salted butter - thin sliced onions - sauteed first if i'm feeling ambitious. any cheese will do as long as it's a melter. when i was young - it was muenster or "american". as i got older i've gone with more flavorful options - aged cheddar, pepper jack on occasion...i made one with goat gouda not long ago that was very nice...for me this grilled cheese is about the crunch, the salt and the goo - i'm not picky about how i get there. version 2 - summer only - caprese grilled cheese - i use sourdough for this - sub olive oil for butter - sprinkle bread with salt. fresh mozz. sliced, fresh whole basil leaves, tomatoes from my garden - s&p and a little more oil inside the sandwich - cook low and slow - no touching. great thread - grilled cheese rules
  14. beans - what i wanted was for them to actually care. perhaps the word guise in my last post was misleading - but the lack of any personalization on their part made it apparent that they don't care. that is my answer/resolution. i haven't contacted the restaurant since and i probably won't again. as i mentioned very early on in this thread - i'm a non-confrontational sort. in fact - responding to some of the posts on this thread was hard for me. i don't want to have a 'sit down' with the restaurant. the objective of this thread was to lay out the situation and see where other people fell on the spectrum of reaction (was i crazy - were they wrong - were my expectations out of line, etc) - not to get advice on how to resolve the issue. thank you to everyone who weighed in with an opinion! edited to add the last sentence.
  15. if they'd said that - or anything like it - i would have felt better. but what i got was an envelope with a gc of arbitrary amount. no note - no follow up call or email. no guise of concern.
  16. he says even "the lion will lie down with the lamb," and somehow defines this to mean that carnivores will also be vegetarians...that seems like kind of leap to me...sounds a lot more like it implies freedom than restriction but then - i've never really gotten the religious part of religion. and i have a dirty mind.
  17. let's see... cheesy liver bake chocolate fondue with liver dippin sticks penne marinara with liver nuggets hmmm - i think i'll pass
  18. and right in front (of sisters) in the summer there's always a street performer...sometimes a older guitarist, sometimes a younger guy. a little sunshine, a little live music - not a bad way to spend a lunch hour.
  19. beans that's totally unfair - i'm just asking to be treated with respect. it's really not too much to ask - clearly you disagree with me on what that means, but please don't make me out to be some kind of priss - i'm not.
  20. i have to second the sentiments of ellenc and mags - you rock! i'm touched by your level of support and dedication - your wife is very lucky! with respect to foodstuff - amazon has a gourmet store with lots of high protein options. if you do decide to get miso - there are several varieties from white to brown. the lighter the miso is, the sweeter it is. the darker (or redder) the saltier it is. when i make miso soup (which i'd be happy to give you the recipe for) i use half white and half yellow miso. do keep in mind that when using miso - the more you cook it, the more of it's value is lost - i think heat destroys it nutritionally. it's very tasty though - makes great dressings (chicken salad, anyone?) and is still nutritionally valuable gently heated but not broiled or baked (as in black cod with miso) one caveat on amazon - you can easily get burned on shipping - if you buy lots of stuff from lots of different sellers - but there's a ton of selection - mags i think mentioned eden foods - amazon sells some of their stuff too. GOOD LUCK and please do keep us posted! amazon white miso
  21. melkor - do you always eat so well?! very impressive...and the presentation is gorgeous...kudos to both you and the ms.
  22. tommy - i don't want to have to eat there again to get restitution - that's all. if they wanted to let me drink there - that would have been a possibility - but that wasn't what they did. if they had called, had even inquired after my friends or followed up with even a hand-written note in the envelope with the stupid gift certificate - i wouldn't have felt so angry. i probably wouldn't have used it - but i wouldn't have felt that they'd dismissed me - which is how i feel. they could give a shit about me - they've made that very clear. i won't be returning there. finally - when i emailed them (wisdom of that particular decision notwithstanding) i didn't ask for a refund. i was SICK and i genuinely didn't know protocol other than - notify offenders and they'll take care of it. i imagined "take care" would include but not necessarily be limited to: ensure all employees wash hands check for other cases of illness and examine food safety issues make sure customer is ok make effort to reverse negative experience of customers from their response i'm not confident they did any of those things. i did include my phone number - and never got a phone call asking any of the questions they'd need to have answered for the food safety issues and they were very generic (hence what i term a lack of effort) in handling issues 3 & 4. it's really not the money - it's the fact that they don't care. edited to clarify effort
  23. maybe in the restaurant world - but it's time to wake up to the 21st century. if a client emailed a complaint about me - my boss would take it as seriously as if they'd called or sent a letter...in fact - people who send letters are viewed in my business as not having a need for quick turnaround. in fact the company i work for directs all customers to use email for any comments/questions... i say potato, you say potato - let's just all be clear that the fact that i sent my complaint/comment via email in no way de-legitimizes how serious the issue was. it's kind of moot because i think the restaurant in question would have behaved the same if i'd called, written or sent a bag of barf... however - regardless of what they thought of the delivery of my message - the content is what's important - and they're idiots to dismiss me because i sent an email.
  24. exotic mushroom - i think you hit what (for me) is the absolute crux of my issue. value - as in - what's mine to them? i work for a company that has lots (and lots) of customers. we may not always satisfy every single complaint as the customer would wish (we don't always give them $$ and i do think that a lot of people measure hassle in dollars) - however - we are absolutely customer focused...internally and externally - we are devoted to customer experience. what upsets me about this is that i was the freaking victim here - they offered me a product - i bought it - it was bad. and now i have to be grateful for an inadequate response - or more - i should have known that the email address prominently displayed on the website was the wrong contact mechanism...i'm the one who bears the burden? bullshit. they should take my comments as seriously in email as in person. i guess i'm glad to know which restaurants are cya/corporate/customers are numbers - my money is happier going to someone who cares about me.
  25. i love 3 girls in the market - the soups are wonderful too - and i can almost never leave - no matter how full i am without one of their delicious chocolate drop cookies.
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