Daniel

I dont know why but this reminds me of a Charlie Trotter plating.. Really pretty..

We arrive the night of june 12th.. Just in time to go to there show.. http://www.myspace.com/kermitruffinsmusic

I always see on the flight mags the perfect weekend in various locations.. For my girl's birthday, a pretty monumental one, we are headed over Thursday night and staying for the weekend.. We have been there a bunch of times, I am just curious what are peoples favorites.. Most of the times we go there, we stay at Hotel Lafayette.. We love this place, the large rooms, the friendly folk.. We normally get the same room. Some of ours are: Liuzza's Shrimp Po Boy Galatoires for brunch Antoines for brunch Vaughn's for music Willy Mae Scoth House Obviously the list goes on.. But would be interested in hearing some places for great music.. We are going in June... We want to go to a crawfish boil/ music place.. Anyone have anything in mind? Just looking for some help...

Sounds like its still doing well.. Glad it is.. Really nice people there..

Hey Dr J, I have noticed on a lot of your dinners you make all of the courses at once.. Do you then eat them all at once or is there a way you keep them warm?

Roasted two pigs on Sunday.. Making Cuban Sandwiches for dinner tonight.

Baja Style Fish Tacos.. I was suprised they had shredded cheese a la gringo.. But the taco itself was good..

New Update.. Is now: Its done so well that you can't really tell but, they seem to have put up a really sophisticated awning cover.. Place now is a Mexican Restaurant.. You have to order tacos in incriments of 5.. 5 tacos for $6.37 Inside is the same with the exception of a few Mexican Decorations and a few new Saints.. Shitty photos.. I got Lengua, Carnitas, and Pastor.. Carnitas being my favorite, Lengua was really good however.. Pastor was just eh.. Besides tacos they have a fairly large menu.. I think there is promise here.. They served a salsa verde and this creamy red salsa that was pretty damn spicy.. This place definitely deserves further exploration..

I recently went to an expensive restaurant and no one came by to see how anything was tasting, how anyone was doing, or anything of that sorts.. My steak was over cooked and I needed another gin.. If someone is annoying I can get rid of them, if someone isnt around, nothing I can do..

Spike thinks he is great? Really.. He seems so humble and talented..

I just dont get a lot of things about the episode.. Firstly, no one forced them to make these dishes so, if you are going to make anything you want, how could you possibly serve something that sucks.. I thought chick (Lisa) should have gone home because she volunteered to make this dish and she obviously had no idea what she was doing.. She also made the stick rice that sucked too.. Dale blew it but, putting blame on him because Lisa f*cked up a soup does not make sense.. Does anyone know how to take smoke out of a dish? Yes he is executive chef, but with short amount of time, he had to trust that she was going to make at least an average dish.. So say he tasted the Laksa, what should he have done if it couldnt be fixed.. This is a competition mind you and not a real restaurant, I would have been more then happy if a fellow competitor screwed up something.. Lisa also has a real shitty attitude, as does Dale.. I just like Lisa less..

I have a green egg which I love.. But my goal is to get a backwoods.

Ahhh, glad to see someone is paying attention.. Rosewood. Rosewood Restaurant & Banquets www.rosewoodrestaurant.com 9421 W Higgins Rd Rosemont, IL 60018 (847) 696-9494

Took a customer here the other night not knowing much about the place.. Its pretty, though its more of a sophisticated steakhouse, business suite type spot.. Man in suit greets us and is very friendly.. Seats us in a large leather circular booth.. We order a tuna appetizer that was good for this restaurant.. Served charred on the outside rperfectly rare on the inside with a spicy pineapple chutney, huge amount of piped wasabi that offered nothing past presentation value, and something else.. If I stopped eating after this dish, the place would have been pretty good.. .. Next up, I ordered rack of baby lamb chops and the person I was dining with ordered a filet.. I ordered my chops medium rare to "blue" I say.. My companion ordered medium well.. I having never dined with this person, was put off by the medium well request.. But hey.. We also ordered a side of spinach and mashed potatoes.. My lamb chops were poorly cooked.. Actually, they were supposed to be crusted with nuts and shit but, I asked for them plain.. No reason to cover up the taste of baby lamb with some chef's "creation" It was a wonderful piece of meat but, the person cooking it had no clue.. It was medium well... However, the filet was medium rare.. At no point during the course of the meal did someone come by to ask us how dinner was.. If everything was ok.. The mashed potatoes were a disgrace.. Served out of an ice cream scoop and plopped on the plate, they were hard.. When the waitress did come by at the end of the meal, I showed her my half eaten lamb and said this was not cooked correctly.. The other filet was eaten around the edges because it was uncooked in the middle.. Mind you these were like 30 or 36 dollar plates of meat.. She took the plate and gave no response.. I orderd a cafe au laite after dinner and it was terrible.The foamed milk was bubbly and when the bubbles subsided there was scum left on the side of the glass.. I dont know how they frothed the milk but it was like water.. Reminded me of the crap thats left on the side of a glass if you were to blow air into your straw in a coke float.. A really bad way to end.. Dinner for two was like 180 bucks.. Place was expensive and loud.. A stereotypical old boys business restaurant with poor execution.. In the area you have Gibsons, Mortons, Nick's Fish Market and a couple of other steakhouses.. I would happily go to any of those before going back here.

I mean the place is a step up from the Chinese Food court places with a lot nicer decor..I think the best thing might be the lettuce wraps.. Its a Chain. Same crap different spin..

Yeh well, that didnt last long.. When discovering the full details, I decided to put an end to that one.. Last night made 1)green curry mussels with string beans and potatoes.. 2)Peanut fed pork chops with roasted fennel and orange...3)cheese plate, 4)black and white cookies..

If anyone is interested, I just found that Goya sells Passion Fruit Pulp.. I found a bunch this morning at a Spanish Grocery.. I am making that granita shortly so I will tell you about the quality.

Yeh, it makes you a better cook.. Starve yourself for a little and then think of things you would die to eat at that very moment.. And then cook it when you are able to.. Its like a food vision quest!

Last night was my last meal for a few days.. From now on its tea, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.. But last night we hit up Casa Mono.. 1)Razor clams a la plancha,2) duck egg with truffles, serrano and fried potatoes.. 3)Pork pate with truffles, spreadable sopressata, and boiled ham leg.. We then ate 4)fideos and clams, and a few other things.. The party is over..

Last night grilled some food.. Skirt steak marinaded in garlic, parsley, and lime juice.. Served with a red onion, watermelon salad, with ,jalapenos, mint, and champagne vinegar.. Vegan Lasagne, and these beautiful grilled King mushrooms from the Asian Market. Homemade strawberry pie and cupcakes...

Its all about the charcoals, as you know... Looks great, glad to see you are still cooking beautiful meals.

I dont remember really. But, if I were to do it today, I would just make a mayo and add uni.. Sorry..

I made fried oysters with uni mayo a year ago or so.. I havent had it since but, it was great..

The one chocolate cake was pretty fugly.. But to bang out a wedding cake that pretty was amazing.. I am assuming she bought the icing at the Chef's Warehouse or whatever that place is called.. But still its looked really pretty.. Richard seems to be a really nice guy and I am happy to see that his cooking has been received well.. My one experience at Element in Atlanta was not a good one.

My favorite line was when someone told Spike his fish was excellent or really good and Dale said "It should have been, he spent 3 hours on it" I think Spike is too aware of the camera and too aware of himself.. He doesnt seem to be all that good of a cook.. It seems like that other guy, Spike's roomate, is the next to go..