mascarpone

Several weeks ago I was walking with my girlfriend at 9:30 PM in Washington Heights/Yeshiva U. area when we discoverd, among a plethora of hair salons that were operating at full capacity (I found it intersting as it was 9:30 PM on Saturday), this tiny bakery on Saint Nicholas between 184 and 185 Street. The name of the place is Triana Bakery. Among other things, they have excellent flan and Quesillo as well as other Domincan sweets (dulce di coco and arepa somonara) that I have yet to try. I can't remeber the price of the individual slices, despite the fact that I have been back there several times. Where else can one find great Latin American pastries?

Kim-Bop Take Out @ 2W 32, 1st floor (Manhattan) 212.594.1466 Fresh, made to order Kim-Bop: Jalepeno Roll Beef Roll Spicy Tuna Roll Tuna Roll Kim-chee Roll Cheese Roll Vegetable Roll Mushroom Roll Squid Roll Each Roll and a Miso Soup is $4.50 and quite filling. I just discovered Kim-Bop Take out this week and have gone there every day for lunch. The Spicy Tuna Roll is superior IMHO, and the Squid Roll is also quite good. The place is so small it is easy to miss. There is no place to sit down but there is a counter where you can stand and eat. They also sell Fish Cakes in broth (I have yet to try this). Very nice proprietors.

Interesting...What is the address, price range of this place?

Fairway has good prices for Callebaut. 4.99/# for small quantities, but I recently purchased 20kg for $125 ($2.84/#). Jaques Torres' 1kg bars are $20, but they might be a little pricey for Fondue. ← Thanks, R Washburn.

Where would I get the best value if I am interested in purchasing two pounds of a) milk chocolate b) semi-sweet chocolate destined for fondue?

Thanks, Caroline for the facinating feedback. As a first timer at making fondue I appreciate it. I will definitely explore the wines you mentioned in future attempts. As it was my first try I thougt it prudent to use a less expensive wine in the event that something might go awry and then there would be wasted good wine and even more guilt. At any rate, the Sauv sure was a step up from the Hirsch! From earlier feedback it seems that next time I should try a Riesling or Alsatian vintage. Do you ever use any local labels for Fondue?

Interesting, how did the base wine perform? How would you describe its taste? I only used bread. Did you rub the garlic on the sauce pan or did you throw them into the mix? How did your guests react ? How did the other wines taste?

212-777-0303 is the main number.

Thanks, Bux, for your information. The Fondue turned out well enough. All the neigbors were impressed. In the end, I used a dry Petit Bourgeois 2003 Sauvignon Blanc in place of the Swiss wine mentioned in the recipe. The wine salesperson at 67 Wines said it would work for the Fondue and wouldn't set me back as much as Swiss wines (which he incidentally said were generally overpriced). I also added Kirschwasser instead of Hirsch. Personally, I thought I added to much freshly ground Nutmeg but nobody else mentioned or even commented, "Oh I love the Nutmeg in the Fondue". Overall, with the suggestions and help, thanks to Bux, Gifted Gourmet, Carolyn Tillie, Suzanne F, bloviatrix, Susan G (I threw the whole garlic clove in!!!), making Fondue was not difficult and acutally went very smoothly. As for the Hirsch, it was a contrast to the Cream Sherry that was served earlier in the party. This is a very inexpensive sparkling white wine that has an absurd picture of a deer sticking its tongue out as if it were saying, "Nah-Nahnie-boo-boo... you mistakenly bought Hirsch instead of buying Kirsch". I didn't have any positive nor negative reactions, to the Hirsch probably as I had a glass later in the evening after consuming several other alchoholic berverages. So I refrain from commenting on the Hirsch due to prior intoxication.

Other have taken care nicely of the pot problem; and places that sell the pots probably sell fuel. But, um, you do mean Kirsch, right? Just about any good liquor store should have some. AKA Kirschwasser. Cherry brandy. There are many variations of fondue, as you are probably aware. But basically, you shred the cheese and toss it with a little flour or cornstarch. Rub the inside of the pot with a garlic clove. Heat some wine to bubbling in the fondue pot. Add the cheese, a cup or so at a time, stirring gently (in only one direction, says one of my cheese books). When all the cheese has been incorporated, season with salt if necessary, and plenty of freshly ground pepper and some freshly grated nutmeg. Finally add a splash of kirsch. Or you can make it in a saucepan on the stove, and pour it into the fondue pot. What cheese did you buy? ← The idea to do a fondue popped into my head as I was at Murray's Cheese Shop on Bleecker in the West Village after I had picked up some Speck nextdoor at Faicco's Pork Store at 260 Bleecker. The nice lady who served me told me to get (what I thought she said was) Hirsch which I found at a liqour store near the Port Authority (Hirsch 2003 Gruner Veltliner Kamptal Austria--it looks like a cheap white wine). I got Cave Aged Swiss gruyere and emmenthaler cheeses at Murray's for the fondue. The lady also told me to use cornstarch but to follow a recipe (I guess I looked like the type who did alot of fraternity cooking experiments in college). Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone. I will let you know how it turns out.

Today I just had the idiodic idea of making cheese fondue for a small holiday pot-luck on Saturday with some neighbors (six people to be exact). So far I have purchasd cheese. Any suggestions on where to get a good deal on fondue pot (inexpensive), hirsch and heaters. As I have never done this before, I would appreciate all suggestions (including tips on recipe).

It is a toss-up; they are both good.

Hey, Pan! I have also had the Bulgogi Soup. It is a unique dish as I have not seen it on any other restaurants in the area. I think it is an interesting place because it has several distinctive dishes that set it apart from other such establishments. Despite the fact that the menu does not have the depth of Kang Suh or Kum Gang Sang, I think the place really does have merit. I would be interested to get your take on their dumpling soup as some point.

Thanks for the suggestions mjr_inthegardens and johndr. A reservation has been made at Scopello for the pre-theater prix-fix. We will have to check out those other bistros on our next visit to Fort Greene. Cheers!

Yes the name is Thomas Beisel at 25 Lafayette. Has anyone been?

Thanks mjr_inthegardens. I just looked up Scopello and it does look interesting. I also found a Deutsche/Wiener style cafe that was opened by a chef who used to work at Cafe des Artistes. I have not yet been to Bistro St. Marks.

Wow, I am suprised that there have been no responses yet to this inquiry of places to eat near BAM. Perhaps an establishment that meets my specifications does not exist near BAM. If anyone has any leads, they would still be appreciated as the dinner si scheduled for tomorrow evening.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music is located at 30 Lafayette Avenue between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn

I am lookng for a quick (have to catch a 7:30 PM concert), delicious dinner for two this Saturday near the Brooklyn Academy of Music. My budget is $40 total or less for two. I like ethnic and spicy, French, Middle Eastern, Italian, Central and Eastern European, American, Greek, Indian, Thai, Nouvell, Chinese, Carribean. Any and all suggestions welcome.

I also have a problem with "no menu, no price" situation where the tab is just recited at you at the end of the meal. It happend to me at Dominic's at Arthur Ave. I walked out with a bad taste in my mouth (not from the food, however).

More history on the origin and meaning of "blue laws": 'Along with many other long-lived customs, the Puritans brought a strict form of Sunday observance to the New World that influenced how the other British North American colonies developed their own blend of Sunday regulation. Sunday laws--know as "blue laws" because of the supposed color of paper on which they were published in colonial Connecticut--emerged out of widely shared respect for Sunday. Both law and custom set the day appart from the rest of the week; even Quakers (who were suspicious of civil laws regarding religious belief and observance)passed a Sabath Law in 1705 in Pennsylvania, and Catholic-dominated Maryland did so shortly thereafter. By no means was Sunday observance uniform--Virginians raced and gambled on horses, the enslaved in North and South tended their own plots and went to market in nearby towns, and fishermen in Marblehead, Massachuesettes, repaired to taverns rather than church. It was, however, common.' McClossen, 10. The designation "blue laws," which colloquially refers to those laws that regulate morality, suggests Puritan and Pilgrim influence. Sometime during the first part of the nineteenth century, many Americans came to believe that "tradition" included abstinance from alchohol, strict Sunday observance, and rigid separation of the sexes, and either rejected or cleaved to these imagined traditions. The association of strict Sunday observance with Puritanism persists to this day.' McClossen, 11.

It is a facinating read. McCrossen really did a first class job.

Some interesting history from-- Alexis McCrossen, Holy Day, HolidayThe American Sunday. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000. 'During the middle decades of the (nineteenth) century, "the Continental Sabbath" augmented the cosmopolitan Sunday of disorder and crime, rallies and lessons, libraries and lectures. As cities swelled with German, Irish, Jewish, and French immigrants, certain neighborhoods came alive each Sunday with a variety theaters and dance halls, small entrepreneurs offering chances to win prizes in games of chance, "museums" displaying midgets, Indians, or treasures from far-away places, and daguerreotype establishments where a portrait could be made. New York City's "Kleindeutchland" (Little Germany)--with hundreds of beer halls, saloons, and wine gardens--provided public space for the intensive social life of the Geman community. Staten Island became the home of several lager breweries, which built lavish resorts. Sundays were especially busy in these places, for it was then that entire families went to drink beer, visit with friends, listen to music, and dance, just as Gemans and others did in Europe. It was widely assumed that "rhine-wine is the religion fo those [Germans] who can afford to pay for wine, and lager-beer of those who can't." Passion for the Continental Sunday ran deep. When the New York state government introduced a police force to New York City in 1857, crowds, incited by rumors that beer would no longer be sold on Sundays, rioted. After nearly a decade of conflict over Sunday drinking, many Germans cast their ballots in favor of the Democratic Party during the elections of 1866 because Republicans had passed laws forbidding the sale of liquor on Sunday.' 'In reaction, some native-born urbanites denounced the efforts of Germans in American cities "to have our method of keeping sunday done away with, and their method adopted in its stead." An essay titled "The Foreign Movement on the Sunday Question, " published shortly before th Civil War, neatly expressed the differences between the "traditional" American and the newly imported Continental Sabbaths. It contrasted native-born Americans' regard for Sunday--"as a day of rest, of religious exercise, and of abstinence from labor and public diversions of every kind"--with that of the "natives of Continental Europe," who dared to make it "a day of pleasure and enjoyment." Patriotic Americans were called to fight a battle against German, Irish, and French newcomers who were trying to "regulate our social life, make us open theatres on Sunday, substitute lager bier saloons for churches," and turn American cities into "German towns." It seemed as though the "holiday of despotism"--smuggled into the United States by refugees from war, tyranny, and oppression--would obliterate the "holy day of freedom". The "American" Sunday deserved protection. The passage and enforcement of Sunday laws was considered the best approach to this vital task. During a fictional family discussion, one participant exclaimed that the Continental Sabbath "does not suit democratic institutions." Rest, not recreation, cultivated virtue among the citizenry. "If the Sabbath of America is simply to be a universal loafing, picnicking, dining-out day, as it is now with all our foreign populations," he argued,"we shall need what they have in Europe, the gendarmes at every turn." Powerful groups of Americans believed the Continental Sabbath threatened American liberty and democratic institutions.' McCrossen, Holy Day, HolidayThe American Sunday (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000), 42-43. We've come along way, baby!

I went to Devi this evening with my girlfriend and my parents who were in town. I liked Devi better than my Restaurant Week meal at Tabla. The Chefs Amuse was a delicious Spinach and Potato Cake with a hint of chutney. I ordered the Trio Samosa and the Mongolian Cauliflower as appetizers for the table. Both were well received by all. Next came the Crispy Beef, Lotus Seed in Cashew Sauce, Sheik Kabob (?) and a Pepper Chicken dish that I could not remember the name of. The best of these was the Lotus Seed dish --a real standout. Excellent Nan and Crab Paratha as well as a trio of South Indian Rice came with the meal. Although the portions were modestly measured, everyone at the table was very well satisfied by the time dessert came. We ordered the Mango Cheesecake and Falooda which was sort of an Indian Sundae consiting of Ice Cream, Sorbet, vermicelli, fruit (Mango or peach?). The Marsala Tea was excellent--very spicy. And the Riesling recommended by the manager, something from Mosel, Germany was, although sweet and fruity, a nice compliment to the cuisine and very popular at our table. As some dishes do not come with rice, there is a real a la carte feel to the menu. I tried to campaign for the tasting menu, but as my father was in control of the tab, it was decided otherwise. The decor was very charming, and if the interesting Indian folk/pop music were turned down a bit ,I would say the place could even qualify as being romantic. The lighting is such that it is difficult to read the menu. I noticed several solo diners among the couples and groups. As the vegetarian selections are very resonable and some of the best dishes on the menu (ie Lotus Seed), I would say that Devi can draw a wide range of customers--from Haute / demi monde to students.

Thanks very much for the information everyone. I always appreciate lively discussion/debate.