fiftydollars

Moose's is definitely worth a trip... especially if you are visiting. It's a classic that showcases what's left of Herb Caen's San Francisco. I went a few weeks ago and had a delightful meal, but the food is only part of the reason for going. The ambience and location are the epitome of San Francisco casual haute dining.

I strongly recommend you give the quality and performance of the mixer more consideration than the price. A broken mixer is the most expensive kind of all.

Good point! Take a look at the menu for this week: http://www.chezpanisse.com/downmenu.html

Upstairs at Chez Panisse they feature a more casual atmosphere with lower prices. They also have pizza, which is a must for any fan of Alice Waters. Downstairs they have a fixed price menu that changes daily. Normally the menu gets more elaborate and expensive as the week progresses into weekend. Mondays usually feature the more modest offerings and Saturdays they pull out the stops... so to speak. I recommend the downstairs dining experience if you've never been because that's the original format and the soul of Chez Panisse.

In SF I recommend you strongly consider going to at least one of the following: Gary Danko La Folie Fleur de Lys These are, in my opinion, some of San Francisco's most consistently outstanding restaurants and you are almost guaranteed to have a great meal there. Zuni Cafe, One Market Street, The Slanted Door, Betelnut... these are also great choices and you won't be dissappointed by any of them. Chapeau! is a new favorite of mine. It is small in a location and neighborhood quite out of the way, but the food and the service are outstanding. Just outside of San Francisco, in Berkeley, there is Chez Panisse and I can't think of any reason not to go there. It's easily one of the best restaurants in the world and you can usually get in by making a reservation 1-month to the day. In Oakland there is Oliveto, which dishes up some of the best Italian food in CA and they can often get you in with only a few days notice. Michael Mina recently opened a new restaurant at the St. Francis and I can bet that it is outstanding given his record at another SF great, Aqua.

Speaking of silicone... Does anyone else have difficutly getting odors out of silicone? I have a few spatulas that I have used in strongly flavored savory preparations and I can't seem to get the smell out. I have tried soaking in hot soapy water, bleach, etc... but the smells often linger. I have started keeping my silicone spatulas for pastry work separate from those used for savory cooking because I can't seem to get the silicone from retaining smells. I soaked them in denture cleaner and it seemed to work only somewhat. The garlic odor was replaced by a mint-like scent... but only briefly. I tried baking soda, but it was not particularly effective. I tried baking soda and hours sunlight... it worked ok, but it wasn't the type of solution I would like for an item I use so often. Any ideas on how to get the stink out?

What the eff is that? A bearded man laying in bed dreaming about his butcher? I'm troubled...

I regularly go to a sushi place where the owner will sometimes give me a couple of new things to try and I greatly appreciate it. This has broadened my palate and has encouraged me to try a lot of things I otherwise would not. I make it a point to always tip well and to let him know how much I appreciate his service. Unfortunately, he refuses to belly dance or do any magic.

I'll have to try Vernor's and Stewart's in a head to head tasting tomorrow when I drop by my favorite deli for lunch.

Stewart's Ginger beer is great! But you have to like a good ginger beer... it's not your typical canada dry ginger ale. It is deliciously strong stuff. It has a nice ginger burn to it and leaves your mouth feeling hot long after the stuff has singed your throat on the way down.

I realize that I am very late on this one. But anyway… I know of a financial planner that chose, or rather rejected, clients on just this sort of basis. He once turned down a very wealthy client because, while waiting for her to greet him at her home for their first meeting, he discovered that she owned a Thomas Kinkade original.

Cold soup.

Obscene is right! The grocery stores are charging $4/lb of shallots. This is effin' ridiculous! SF Bay area or not, that is completely indefensible.

There's a small bakery on college ave in rockridge that makes a rustic baguette as good or better than acme does but I can't for the life of me remember their name. Do you remember approximately where it is? I've seen some pretty good bread at a bakery in Market Hall next to Oliveto... But there are quite a few bakeries in the neighborhood.

Thank you! I feel a whole lot better knowing that my eggs are not actually anywhere near 6 months old... well at least not the ones sitting in my refrigerator, today, anyway. I think it does ultimately come down to a well-informed personal choice. I could choose to not eat eggs, to only eat fully-cooked eggs, or, perhaps, even to eat only eggs that have been irradiated and purchased through questionable black market sources. But I choose to do none of these things. I choose to eat fresh eggs that have been undercooked to my liking, damn it. Why? Because I'm an American egg consumer and I will eat my eggs however the eff I want to...

I think that if my doctor had genital burns, and this was somehow made known to me, I would definitely make a run for it...

I think I see floral tape near the base of some of the flowers...

Okay, now that just doesn't make any sense. Isn't the whole point of their "infused anodized aluminum" deal supposed to be that it's already nonstick? Calphalon says that "Calphalon One Infused Anodized Nonstick is engineered with four interlocking nonstick layers for superior durability." Sounds an awful lot like the old Calphalon Commercial Nonstick for a whole lot more money to me. Or does it have one more layer of (presumably) PTFE than Calphalon Commercial Nonstick? Here is the product page for Calphalon One Infused Anodized Nonstick. I still wish they'd do something about the warping. I think that the coated non-stick is an admission of defeat. They have always claimed that anodized aluminum, when perfectly clean, is practically non-stick. This is obviously not true and it is also not true for their “infused” calphalon one. I also agree that they should fix the warping and I need to send back the single uncoated calphalon pan I have for a replacement as you have often encouraged. I do notice that the non-stick doesn’t warp as much. This is probably because I cook somewhat differently on it (lower heat, etc…) and less often.

Yeah, I saw that. I actually didn’t buy the Calphalon One; a friend of mine did (over my objection). I’ve cooked on it several times, which forms the basis of my opinion (I also own some of their regular uncoated anodized… it’s warped and irreparably stained). I’m sure the non-stick is a whole different story. I am a big fan of their recently discontinued anniversary commercial non-stick. Luckily I picked up a couple of extras at $24, which should last me a while. It’s been said before and should be said again; Non-stick is not forever. OK. I have to edit this to make some sense. When I wrote, “I saw that.” I was responding to, “There's now a coated, non-stick version available.”

I agree that the food still sticks to these pans. They seem to work only about as well as stainless steel when used properly. I also find it is more difficult to keep them clean as is the case with anodized aluminum. They do look great. I like the finish on the aluminum and the design of the handles, but I suspect it is only a redesigned version of their old anodized aluminum line. If there is some kind of technology involved aside from the super smooth surface, it doesn’t seem to work that well when compared to regular Teflon nonstick.

Here are the collagen casings: http://www.butcher-packer.com/pg_sausage_collagen_edible.htm It looks like they have a whole lot of other sausage making supplies. I've never purchased from them, but they were the first thing google pulled up when I searched for collagen casings. Alton Brown used the 36mm casings. They are $6.00 at this site, but the shipping is $7.00. I'm not sure I like that...

The hand-powered meat grinders make a gnarly squishy sound as the meat is ground and also when stuffing the casings… Speaking of which, you might want to pick up some casings while you’re at it. Anyone ever use the soy casings that Alton Brown mentions in his show on sausages? I’ve always used natural casings (pork… I only make pork sausages… not that I’m opposed to other sausages. Just that I like pork so much I haven’t gotten around to anything else), but I am intrigued by casings with an almost infinite shelf life like the soy ones. I have often been moved to make sausages, but just didn’t have the casings on hand and abandoned the project because of it. Sure the ones packed in salt last a really long time… but after a couple of months I get suspicious and invariably toss them out. I have also seen the ones packed in brine, but they come in packages too large for my meager purposes… So anyone try the soy? Do they cook up well?

http://ww1.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm...hop%2Fhme%2Fhme Given your specific request, I second the idea of the hand held citrus press (a.ka., Mexican lime squeezers). Above is a link (that may or may not work) to Williams Sonoma’s, which was the only place I could find a picture. You can pick these up at any Mexican market for about half the price. They come in various sizes from small ones for limes, to large ones for oranges. I have a mid-sized model that will squeeze even large lemons. I like the enameled finish on the WS models. Many of these are made of cast aluminum and I would think they might react with the acidity. These are lean, mean, citrus squeezing machines and they are very easy to store. However, if you are going to make a habit of squeezing large amounts of lemons I recommend you get a large press like aniesenji recommends or an electric model. It will save some wear on your carpal tunnels.

"Don't fry with your pants down."

Laguiole makes some nice pocket knives. Take a look at what PCD has available: http://www.shopping.cutlery.com/pocketknives.html