=Mark

Had my hunk O' shroom tonight! Broke and sliced into bite sized pieces, sauteed in a great gob of butter along with some diced shallots, hungarian paprika and cracked black pepper. Quite tasty and I haven't died yet! Would post a picture, but I ate it all up...

My brother Rich wants to thank all the eGulleters for a great time. I'll get him registered yet... He rode off into the sunrise this morning riding shotgun on a case of Zinfandel and a hunk of wild mushroom...

As StefanyB and Rich help clean up, Maria proceeds to butcher the wild mushroom she had harvested earlier. Large portions were wrapped up for each of the eGulleteers to take home.

About 6:30 pm. A brisk Spring breeze blows over the hors d'oeuvres...

The Chocolates arranged for the Tasting:

The Stevens Bros with Piquant Salmon Rolls and Shrimp Tarragon Pasta Salad.

A nice tasting of Stinky Blue Cheeses!

StefanyB and Sandra pose around a huge hunk 'O wild mushroom that B Edulus hacked apart and insisted we take home and eat. If we start showing major signs of behavior change let this be a heads up...

Look at the space we had to work in! A 5th floor loft in lower Manhattan. Here Jason checks out Soba Addict working out in the Kitchen, which is a major part of the main living space...

Sorry, I'd have driven over there and told you all about it and then punched you out for not showing up, but my radiator decided to spring a major leak. My Bro Rich showed up and wowed the crowd with a great shrimp & pasta tarragon salad with broccoli and grilled proscuitto with grape tomatoes and red onions. You also missed the foie gras and red currant jam sandwiches and Mango sorbet. This is only the beginning, recipes and more photos to follow! Pictured above from left: My Bro Rich ,Rachel, SobaAddict, ahr (Alan), =Mark, Stefany, Sandra, & our wonderful host Maria. Turn your monitor around and you'll see Cabrales taking the picture... The menu: spicey smoked salmon rolls tasting of bleu cheeses fois gras mousse and red currant jam hors d'oeuvres Shrimp and pasta tarragon with grape tomatoes and grilled prosuitto fettucini with brussel sprouts Liza's special green market salad millionaire chicken with szechuan peppercorns braised lamb shanks white bean puree souffleed carrot ring spicey zucchini casserole mango sorbet strawberry blondies blintzes chocolate tasting

Stop by the 90.5 WBJB radio booth between 2 & 6pm and say hi! I'll be sporting my eGullet tee shirt...

Just a reminder. Festival starts tomorrow at 5pm...

This is often the case with homemade Vs commercial. I've found this true of BBQ also. The worst hommade BBQ is nearly always better than the best commercial BBQ, with a few exceptions at some authentic places in the Carolinas and Texas.

I gots no mail! Am I being shunned?

From a more southerly perspective over by the shore I'd have to go with Bella Luna in Belmar, Il Picolo Forno in Long Branch and Buona Sera in Red Bank.

I have to agree with this as I genuinely dislike beang seated facing a wall (Unless it has a mirror... ) As for lighting, my eyes aren't what they used to be. Several places have the lights way too low. Paladar in the east Village would be pitch black except for the teeny candles on each table. I would have liked to have brought in a Coleman lantern and fired it up. The noise issue seems to become more of a factor with larger groups where one end of the table can't hear the other end. If the din gets to the point where you can't hear the person next to you, it's pretty much intolerable. It is interesting that many ownes/designers seem to try to increase the noise levels with lots of big windows, plaster, glass tabletops and tile floors. Of course no discussion of restaurant noise would be complete without mention of loud cellphone blather or squalling babies...

I've also been wondering if he'd been waylayed by a band of Canadian Gypsies. Whatever the case, this weeks log (his first installment for canada.com) can be read by clicking HERE.

Not familiar with them. What kind of music do they play?

I'm not going to be on the radio, but I do volunteer work for the station (Coerce unwary folks to join up...) Of all the places I'd probably have to choose Mumfords.

Come check out the biggest outdoor festival in NJ! On the banks of the beautiful Navesink River, this annual event has been blowing folks away for more than a decade. Great music and great food! 2 dozen local restaurants preparing portions of their signature dishes. This is definately not your typical fair food! Get there early to avoid the crowds. Bring lawn chairs. Check out the Jazz and Blues Festival website by clicking here. PS - Come over to the the WBJB NPR Radio (90.5 The Night) stand and pay me a visit on Saturday Afternoon between 2 and 6pm!

As with any recipe, this is more of a guide than an equation, feel free to adjust the ingredients as you see fit. Frankly I don't think that adding the equivalent of a teaspoon of salt to 4 pounds of meat and more than a quart of liquid is a real concern. I feel that in recent years the western world has vilified salt as being somehow toxic, and has regarded it's use as an ingredient with undisguised disdain. That being said, I have to admit that I generally don't use salt, and in savory dishes that might need some I generally use soy sauce. Even on corn on the cob I use unsalted butter and fresh ground black pepper... Good french fries do require salt tho...

I will get in touch with the owner and try to arrange a similar setup as was done at the previous eGullet meals. Since most of the dishes except for the soups are served family style already, this should not be a problem. The only quandry I can think of is how to determine the proper level of heat and spice. I know my preferance would blow some folks away. Do we go totally mild or somewhere in the middle?

Well, I called Mie Thai and they no longer do Lunch on the weekend, so it looks like it will be dinner. I'm shooting for June 30 at 5pm. Let me know who is interested.

Direct from the official BBQ Mailing list, check out misplaced Texan Kit Anderson's Bad Attitude Chili The eyes of Texas are upon you!

So, has a location been determined for this soiree?