NulloModo

This is interesting... I always assumed that at restaurants the staff would just be given an entree free from the menu if they had to take lunch (or dinner, or whatever) at the restaurant... Odd that that isn't the case.

In this case I would definately have to side with the manager. After all, I could see a point in the customers' case if perhaps there was just one item they all found loathsome and left, but if everything was getting this routine, they were just being wastrels. I do have issue with the Sushi places and the rice thing though. If they don't want you to create your own Sashimi, they should go ahead and put some out there.

Pcarpen - Wow, that whole dinner looked positively amazing... and sounds even better. Steve Martin - That arrangement of lamb and potatoes is positively phallic... but very tasty looking. Dinner Tonight (Wednesday) - Bok Choy sauteed in butter and garlic (with a dash of kosher salt and pepper, simple, and positively delicous to me). And I broke in my brand new cast iron (first one ever) pan - Top sirloin, again simply prepared with a little kosher salt, black pepper, EVOO, and cardamom. Seared on the outside and red and juicy on the inside.... I am in love with this pan already....

Wow... I have just read through this thread, and I am awestruck. Is this the general fashion in which most people in France dine? Such elegance from a school cafeteria has left my jaw upon the floor.... What type of school is this at which you teach?

I have to admit, I was quite surprised to discover all of the chain-hate on this board. For as long as I can remember I, and everyone I know, has dined primarily at chains, Fridays, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc. It is even to the point where what we would consider a 'higher end' restaurant would be simply on the slightly more upscale end of mainstream, such as the Macaroni Gril. Now, I have to say that I have had very few bad meals at these places... but as somone said earlier in this thread, perhaps I have just never had a wonderful one either to compare it to. Perhaps my range of experiences lacks entries in the sublime and thus my scale is warped such that well executed mediocrity excites me. I have in my life dined at two establishments I would consider 'fine dining' although perhaps they don't at all compare to where some of you have been. One was a Sullivan's Steak House (I had no idea this was a chain until reading this thread), and the other was the Green Room at the Hotel DuPont (probably the finest hotel and French restaurant in Delaware... not that that is necessarily saying much). I have to say I was incredibly impressed with Sullivans, and I easily saw how it was much better than Outback (which has never impressed me in general), but the Hotel DuPont left me wanting.... Perhaps I didn't order the right entree, perhaps I was just not prepared for high end French cuisine, or perhaps the place simply is not as wonderful as it is hyped up to be. What really surprises me is that I have always found Olive Garden to serve up fairly good pasta (even if it is apparently not authentic Italian). Living in the northern Delaware shadow of Philadelphia little Italian Sub/Steak/Pizza/Pasta shops are a dime a dozen, and I have sampled the offerings of many, and from most it was not as good as what you get from Olive Garden or the Macaroni Grill. Perhaps I actually need to drive into the city to find the real deal, or maybe I just don't know what good pasta should taste like. I would assume that what tastes the best is the best... but maybe that is also a flawed assumption. All in all I have become very interested in both learning how to cook as well as learning what fine dining actually is, and hopefully expanding my horizons some. Having browsed over the 'dinner' thread and seeing the wonderful creations that Jinmyo comes up with is certainly encouraging me to seek out more exciting foodstuffs, I have never encountered anything remotely similar to the quality of what she appears to create on a menu anywhere. So while I do see more chain visits in the near future as I will be dragged when the choice is up to friends and family, I am hoping that I can also add in some better alternatives, and maybe start to catch up on what I have apparently been missing.

Monday - Italian Sausage slow simmered in white white with onions, then dusted with ground habenero and cayenne and fried to give it a nice skin.

Ahhh. but you have Skyline Chili.... Perhaps we can barter some crabs for that wonderful substance...

When everyone else is asleep I make do with what I can prepare without using the stove/oven/etc. Lately it has been slices of cheddar with some Blair's After Death sauce spread on top.

Most Thai places can make some fairly spicey food if you can drill it into their heads you want the version they would serve to a Thai customer. I find that often you need to go to the same place multiple times and overcome numerous objections of 'oh no, that is very very hot, are you sure?' before they give you the full whammy.

Friday: Rueben Casserole (decidedly low-class compared to what most of you are eating ;) ) Today: Chicken Sicilian (Chicken sauteed with onions, olives, mushrooms, cherry peppers, and garlic) and Escarole sauteed in butter stewed with chicken stock. (yes, I was inspired by Rachel Ray)

I will never again... ... put my mixing bowl into the microwave to soften the cream cheese and butter _after_ I have added the eggs. ... name the lobster I picked up from the grocery store and chat with it on the way home to pass time im traffic before _trying_ to bring myself to boil it. ... use a jar of 'Georgia Moon' corn whiskey in a marinade of anything. ... try to recall any of my father's old recipes completely from memory when I could just call him up and ask... (this resulted in a bizarre concoction of white sausage gravy, red-eye gravy, and ham glaze. The dog wouldn't even eat it.)

I feel compelled to cook even when there is no one around to eat it. For whatever reason about a week I was stricken with a desire to prepare Moussaka, and forthwith I found myself in the produce aisle picking out eggplants. Today, one week later, I have finally finished the casserole filled with Moussaka, and dread the thought of it again any time soon.

Being a Delaware resident I make it a point to enjoy softshell crabs as often as possible. Although I believe it is not the traditional means of preparation a local seafood restaurant serves them sauteed (with no flour or batter) in butter with a hollandaise sauce, I find this to taste incredible.

Hello All, I figure this is as good a thread as any to first poke my nose out into these forums. For what it is worth I have been lurking and reading the old threads for the past month, trying to get a feel for the place, and I have already learned a tremendous amount. I also went out today and picked up a cast iron frying pan and a copy of 'How to Cook Everything', so I really can't wait to get started. This probably seems woefully amateur to most of you, but I simply can not seem to make a Caesar salad dressing work. The texture is always quite watery and thin, not thick and creamy. It tends to work if I let it refridgerate for a while, but I believe the thickness then is a result of the cold, not a change in the dressing. Someday... maybe my new book has the answers.