LaNiña

Go ahead, tell me there's a steakhouse worth shlepping to SI for, better than Luger's. That does a black and blue steak the way it's supposed to be, better than Luger's or Keen's or....?

I have never been served anything but superb, delicious steak at Luger's, and I've been there many, many times, as well as to the other major steakhouses in NYC. I have never had to wait long for my table, I have always had decent service, and the atmosphere is what it is - I happen to like it. I order my porterhouse medium rare, and over the years, it has never, not once, been anything but marvelous. I think the fact that they maintain that level of quality, consistently, is incredible. Now a specific steak question for y'all: my beau likes his steak black and blue, but says that he has a very hard time finding a steak done truly black and blue - charred on the outside, extremely rare on the inside. I've had black and blue steak at Keen's, but never at Luger's...any black and blue steak recommendations? And please, don't be telling me about New Jersey or Saskatchewan steakhouses. I'm only interested (right now) in black and blue steak, in Manhattan, Queens, or Brooklyn. Ok, maybe the Bronx.

Mabat has a way with meats, that's for sure.

You have an amazing talent for overlooking the obvious. Bridges, both literal and figurative, take you nowhere. What they offer are opportunities to "go from one place to another." Whether or not you take advantage of those opportunities is another story altogether. But it's not up to the bridges. Soba Addict: mazel tov, you have crossed the bridge! If something is cooked well, it will taste good. If it is not cooked well, it won't taste good. Kosher, halal, etc. is not the relevant factor. Cake dear, that's not always true. In this case, Plots is right about some kosher meat. It's salty as hell. And it's frequently hard to get the salty taste out of the meat, no matter how you might rinse it or cook it. So it does have an effect on the flavor. That's a fairly well accepted fact.

When I use plums, I frequently use a plum brandy. Eau de vie de mirabelle, or even slivovitz - but I use less than the recipe calls for, because their flavors are really strong.

I know you asked Adam, but here's the basic clafouti recipe I use a lot...I switch fruits depending on mood and season: http://www.saveur.com/SAV_Main/1,3136,18-1...fromBookReview=

That's the most telling thing about yourself you've ever said.

It's a demand issue. Most truly kosher observing Jews just don't care so much about getting *those* cuts, so it's not being done. There's no market for it. It's that simple.

SP, sorry to contradict, but a rabbi doesn't have to be present during the slaughter. A shochet needs to be certified. A rabbinical authority must certify the slaughterhouse, but a rabbi doesn't have to be present at all times - a mashgiach is the person who has to be present. And it's not about rabbinical board in this country. The original laws of kashrut mention the sciatic nerve. Has nothing to do with the US. I believe it's a matter of money. It's difficult and time-consuming to remove it, therefore the kosher slaughterhouses would rather not remove it, and sell those therefore unkosher parts to other meat distributors. It's just easier for them, and more cost-effective.

I think it would have to happen at the slaughterhouse level, not at the kosher butcher. But maybe a kosher butcher would know why it doesn't happen.

She knows best. Clearly.

Tall AND Jewish? Well she'd be a fool not to, ya know what I mean?

Man oh man, I love Pineau. I still have some from France, but I'd love to know what people buy here for when I run out.

Oh yeah - I forgot the sweet Primitivos I've been drinking. Yum.

I have a couple of really good bottles of Mombazillac that I shlepped back from France last year. I love that stuff. The good Mombazillacs are not cloying at all.

Rich, "dolce" just means sweet. So dolce what?

Az iz a yid, s'iz a shmear.

I love Jurancon too. And: Mombazillac Malvasia sweet sherry (PX) Muscato d'Asti Muscat

True, true. But I've bought some excellent kosher meat in the grungiest looking butcher shops in Boro Park...proves your point. It's the skill of the "picker"

Fischer Bros. is fine, but they're getting their kosher meat from the same places every damn kosher butcher around here gets their meat. They just package it all purdy and have a clean shop.

Yeah yeah but then the sarcasm would be lost.

ah. i missed that bit. goy do i feel stupid. seriously though, chuck and brisket can be kosher, but not sirlion? http://kosherkooking.com/What%20is/what_is_kosher.htm Also: "The meat and poultry must be further prepared by properly removing certain veins, arteries, prohibited fats, blood, and the sciatic nerve. In practical terms this means that only the front quarter cuts of red meat are generally used. " It's not that sirloin isn't kosher. It's just difficult to remove the sciatic nerve, so those parts of the cow aren't usually used. But if the sciatic nerve is successfully removed, then it's fine.

tomorrow you shall die.

bullshit. whiting has been consistently rude to me, judgemental, and unpleasant. i have every right to strike, and state my feelings. and don't you give me shit about what's appropriate - you of all people, who posts here in a completely un-self-censored way (mind you, I like it)

Thank you, SP.