daisy17

A Treacle contains apple-juice (dark rum, sugar, bitters, apple juice, ice), whereas a Rum Old Fashioned for me, doesn't (rum, sugar, bitters, ice). ← Then it's a good thing I don't call it that!

This isn't really going to answer your question, but I do often order a rum old fashioned (which I've also heard referred to, but not always, as a treacle). I don't know if this is weird, but it's what I do. As far as understanding families of drinks, I also highly recommend Joy of Mixology. I had been struggling with relating cocktails to each other for a couple of years ("this is like X, but Y") and Gary's book really put it into perspective for me.

I love Spotted Pig, but I tend to prefer to go in the afternoon over at night - not that it's really less crowded during the day, but it feels that way. If you go during the day you can get the cubano also, I highly recommend. Gnudi rock. If you go for dinner and you're with a kid I'd go on the earlier side.

Totally agree.

I thought Stahl's approach was mocking at best, and to my mind missed the point completely. I'm pretty sure that Waters' food philosophies don't include buying big organics from China at WalMart. The conversation about the grapes the farmer was selling could have easily mentioned the importance of supporting local farmers and caring about the impact our food system has on our environment. While doing *everything* Alice Waters does would be really difficult for most people to attain, I do think that we can each do some of it. The repeated "how are people ever going to be able to afford this?" from Stahl proved that she just didn't get it. Lost a lot of respect for her on this one.

Exactly. When I tried their stuff, I found the "regular" pizza mediocre at best, and the signature pizza one of the most revolting things I have ever attempted to eat. ← Yet they were lining up around the block. ← It happens. Magnolia cupcakes.

huh? I generally derive an enormous amount of pleasure from dining out; stress is not part of that usually. Having the waiter not write an order down is mildly stressful for me (again, not on a deuce, but on a four top or more). When the waiter writes down our order I can during that time enjoy my cocktail or wine, or look around the room, or whatever. When he's not writing it down, I feel like I have to pay much more attention to the whole ordering process. If he doesn't write it down but tries to recite the whole order back before leaving the table we have the same result. I just don't find it relaxing as a diner.

Having the order read back to me stresses me out too.

Wholeheartedly agree. I visit Telepan due to its proximity to Lincoln Center, not otherwise. Some of what I've had there is very good, but it's not Blue Hill. Being sued and settling the lawsuit does not mean they are guilty of the alleged conduct. There are plenty of good reasons to settle a lawsuit. There have been similar allegations at several NY restaurants; I personally have no idea to what extent they may be accurate, but I would be careful about accepting that as truth.

There are a lot of other people in food on twitter (some are not chefs) - I (@daisy17) also follow Amanda Hesser, Gail Simmons, Martha Stewart, Richard Blais, Mark Bittman, Pete Wells, Louisa Chu, Kevin Zraly, Michael Ruhlman, David Leite, David Leibovitz. Some of them are on egullet too. I heart twitter. Are a lot of non-food professional egulleters on it?

On a deuce I'm not going to worry about it too much, but on a four top? Drives me nuts. You're going to remember apps and entrees and maybe a special instruction AND position numbers? Probably not. I don't see how it could be easier for a waiter. You have nothing to go back to in the event you've forgotten, or the kitchen messes up or has a question. I think perhaps it's supposed to seem impressive, but to me it's just a source of mild anxiety.

Reviving this thread - a friend of a friend has asked for suggestions for Italian. This always somehow comes to mind, but I haven't been. Anyone?

See, he's always right.

As usual, I second most, if not all, of Sneakeater's comments. Def yes on Katz's and J-G. On my last few visits to Momo Ssam for lunch (there were a bunch for me in December) I'd concluded that the lunch menu was getting good. Lots more variety than previously. And I heard that Noodle's menu was getting weirdly limited. For breakfast, I love City Bakery on 18th bet 5/6th aves - counter service w/ great pastries and other options (oatmeal, fruit, yogurt). Pretzel croissant is not to be missed. You can feed your cookie craving there too. Not special coffee though. Downtown in manhattan I like Joe and 9th St. Espresso for coffee, also wichcraft has very good coffee and pastries (there are multiple of each spot). If you want a livelier sit down kind of thing Balthazar is quite entertaining. You could get coffee and food at the bar without committing to a giant meal. Balth's take out place right next door has great pastries too, you can sit on the bench outside only though. For lunch, Ippudo. Cheap and delicious. Consider Gramercy Tavern's tavern room for a lunch? Maybe more than $25, but I was there for lunch last week and it's still so damned good. Spotted Pig: yes yes yes. There's no wrong time of day for a pint at the Pig. I prefer Sunday afternoons myself.

I can attest to its deliciousness on meatloaf and burgers.

Oh, yes. Had a burger there (also after D&Co, shocker) over the summer and thought it was excellent.

This video is awesome, and I thought that before I even got to the Tom & Jerry part. (off topic, but I've been buying Sky Top Farms milk for a few weeks now and it's been a revelation. Certainly didn't understand what homogenization meant. And now I want a cow.) And Audrey's tip for getting the tins apart is going to come in handy!

Had a very solid dinner tonight at the bar at Apiary. I agree with much of what ewindels said about the spot, the ambiance and the food. The restaurant was full from about 7:30 on, and they're now doing no corkage on Monday nights. Finding food at this level on 3rd Ave is a welcome surprise. We shared the scallops, succulent and crisp, a delight. The menu reads "diver sea scallops, madras curry, apple puree" - I'm not sure that I got much curry, but the sauce was a both tart and sweet, and lovely with the scallops. Also had the pork loin (with shaved brussels sprouts and slightly sweet calvados sauce which complemented the pork perfectly), and the roasted chicken with polenta and mushrooms, which I might not normally order but did so at the suggestion of several of the staff. Both were extremely flavorful, hearty preparations, perfect for a cold night. Devoured the side of brussels sprouts with shallots and bacon, as did my dining companion who heretofore "hated brussels sprouts." I was a huge fan of Scott Bryan years ago at Indigo and later at Veritas. He's responsible for a very significant food moment for me - the first time I ever tasted foie gras was at Veritas, and it blew me away. This isn't a foie kind of place, and while eating Chef Bryan's food again made me wistful for those days, this is a down to earth, reasonable spot that I can (and will) return to often. Tonight's dinner was excellent, especially given the price point (with two glasses of wine, not including dessert (which was comped) but including tip, under $70/person).

You wouldn't expect them to be, as there just aren't that many brilliant chefs in the world, and those who are don't necessarily make it onto this show. It also can't be emphasized enough that the contrived and time-bound nature of the challenges makes every chef on this show appear worse than he or she really is. In "real life," some of them are probably pretty good. But whatever skill level they may have as chefs, I would expect them to be worse at mixing cocktails unless that's something they do regularly. ← In past seasons it was pretty clear that there was very solid talent in some of the contestants. Richard, Hung, Stephanie, Harold - they all were impressive throughout the competition. I can't imagine that editing (or time, which is always a limitation) is making this pool look altogether unimpressive. Also, the judges did call out some of the cocktails as bad.

It would have been awesome if someone had pulled a Sazerac out.

I really surprised by their lack of understanding of balance in a cocktail.

I like this. But I don't think I will join in. I live alone in NYC (small kitchen, not a lot of storage space) and I don't buy a lot of prepared/packaged/canned foods. I also don't freeze proteins, I just buy what I need when I need it. (I've been cooking a lot lately, but what I buy gets used up pretty much immediately.) At any given time all I have in my freezer is an Amy's burrito and half a pint of frozen yogurt. So I would probably die. But I look forward to reading your results. Fat Guy, do/can you freeze milk? I've often wondered about this when I'm standing in my kitchen on a Sat morning with the coffee in the french press and realize that my milk is spoiled and I really don't want to go out and get more.

It's not you. He is an ass. I'm amazed at Carla's performance in the past few episodes. I'm happy for her, but surely not convinced that she should win the competition.

That is a crazy story, but I believe it. He somehow instills that attitude and approach in all the staff I've encountered over the years at his restaurants. Which reminds me, I need to read his book.

I can tell you how...try to prepare squab and peas for Jacques P. and roast chicken with potatoes for Lidia B., on TV, in 2 hours. ← But that's the TV/celebrity element, right? Look, I love Lidia and Jacques. But where is the food/creativity/talent part at this point for the remaining 5 contestants? They didn't even do a bang up job while omitting creativity as a requirement! The judges tore apart the salmon (and not in a good way), disliked the hollandaise, and . . . . do you know that I can't even remember what Hosea made? Something with a tomato that Jacques said wasn't properly seared. That's how bored I am.