Daddy-A

I look at a grill cover the same way I look at covers for cars. I think they're more for show (and add-on sales). "Wow. Arne's grill has a cover on it. Must be really fancy!" Are they going to stop corrosion? Nope. But do they protect your investment from direct contact with the elements? Yup. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on you and the type of "elements" your grill will face. I have a stainless steel Jackson Grill and keep the cover on it when I'm away from the house for extended periods (out of sight out of mind, savy?) The rest of the time I leave it off. I have a cover for my Weber Bullet (came with) that I rarely use. A.

AWESOME! The Cowichan is one of my favorite parts of BC. We're in for a real treat. Ann, any chance you'll be visiting some of the wineries? There are some real gems over there. A.

Yeah ... and they keep the best Slurpies at the Winnipeg 7-11's too! Pam?? WHat do you have to say for yourself? A.

Must be ex-TO. Kinda like when I was there 4 years ago, and somebody asked me how things were in the 'Couve. Longliner is my seafood go to. A.

Ditto for canucklehead & I. Had to settle for lunch at Watermark. Not happy. Nothing horrible ... just not tacos. A.

I'd be willing to try either! A.

You mean they don't? That was my first thought too Jason. Granted, I'm a self-confessed Bullet-head so I may be as biased to the WSM as Susan is to her kettle. Bottom line ... for idiot-proof smoking (and I oughta know), the WSM is the way to go. In a pinch, you can also use it for regular grilling. A.

Sounds like sour grapes to me. And what would he find interesting? Having the chef come out and head-butt you in the chest? A.

Just under 3 weeks to Brewfest! We're staying at the Hotel Delux this time (couldn't get into Inn @ Northrup) and have reservations Friday at clarklewis, and Saturday at Andina. Let the pre-diet begin! A.

Hmmmm ... I'm gonna be near Brochon early October A.

Not sure what you mean. I was pretty clear about US mexican restaurants not being represantative of whats really in mexico. Sorry if I somehow offended. ← I'm not Drew, but I believe he meant that many posters use the argument "I've been to [country] before, therefore I know [country]'s cuisine." Personally, I'm getting really tired of the "authentic" argument. Citizens of a given country can't even decide what's authentic within their own country. How can we even hope to do it here? Even though Bellingham isn't under the "umbrella" of this forum, I respect Mr. talents opinions and will be making a pit stop next trip down ... authentic or not. A.

How about le vendanges in Cote d'Or ... does it fall on an exact date, or just when the grapes say "pick us"? And does this have a significant effect on visitng the chateaux (i.e. they close since everyone is picking). Should I just grab a basket and help out? A.

I use EAT! more as a resource than anything else. i.e. it informs me of new restaurants, suppliers, festivals, etc. For example, the issue that featured the 3 reporters going down to Portland, OR. As I travel there at least once a year, I was interested to see where they would go. It was well writen, well researched, and read more like "information" than "review." Any source of restaurant review (published, broadcast, internet, etc.) is IMO subject to a certain amount of suspision. Some moreso than others, but not even Jamie Maw reads completely unbiased to me. As such, reviews that are overly positive (eG has been accused of this) are no more or no less usefull to me than those that are overly negative (Gillster are you listening?? ) You either find a reviewer in whom you feel you have found a kindred culinary spirit, or you read a lot and make up your own mind. EAT! simply does the best job of covering the food scene in this area. Reviews are only a small part of that. A.

Nah, you just need to sic your Jack Russel on them. No dog hair on the Prada! IC!! A.

Jason, if it weren't for that amazing parade of meat that followed, the inclusion of a salad bar would have almost certainly disqualified this place for "man food." Good God! My cholesterol jumped 20 points just looking at the pictures! Nice work. A.

Thanks for clarifying Andrew. Guess that's why you're the writer. A.

Monday or Tuesday of next week. Everything's ready, but city hall is being difficult. I know where I'm going next weekend! A. ps - WTF is up with grfon1? 1001 posts? Not much to do in Silver City eh?

Okay, this is getting beyond eerie My wife & I are going to France as well ... leaving on Sept 16th and returning October 8. You have to be the 5th or 6th couple we've "met" going at the exact same time! Our itninerary is as follows: 1st week - Paris. We've rented a place on Isle de la Cite for a week. That's all we've planned, but suffice to say we'll be doing to usual touristy stuff. I also have my dining wish list that we'll fit in where possible. 2nd week - Dordogne walking tour. We start in Montignac (near Brive) and wind our way through the valley, ending up in Sarlat for the Saturday market (which I've been told is quite excellent). This is the only "structured" part of our trip ... but the tour is set up so that we do it at our own pace. 3rd week - Beaune & Cote D'Or. We've booked a hotel for 4 nights, and will rent a car for 2 of those days to go visit the area. I'm also under the belief that we'll be hitting harvest, so I just may have to go volunteer Nothing else planned, although there are a couple rec's for dining in Beaune we plan to check out. Last 3 days - Paris. Do some last minute shopping/eating. Perhaps join up with the Paris Roller on Friday night. Like John said, your method of touring is going to be very personal. Both my wife & I are very much laissez faire types. Paris is going to be day trips using the RER and the Metro (and of course our feet). But Dan's idea of choosing a central area and shooting out from there is sort of our plan as well. The trains in France go everywhere. Get yourself a pass and go exploring! A.

We have a "luau" every May long weekend (Victoria Day), and have been doing pulled pork and various other smoked pig items the last couple years. We ALWAYS end up with at least 2 or 3 lbs of extra pulled pork. IMO this is not a sickness, just really good planning since neither my wife nor I gets much of a meal during the party as we're the hosts. Absolutely nothing wrong with leftover pig A.

Whiner. Seriously though, congrats on the glowing review. I was thinking something along the lines of "Must be nice to have those kind of problems!" Congrats from J & I too. Been too long between visits and unfortunately our next one will have to wait until November. A.

Good catch! Absolutely right ... don't brine a self-basting bird. (Does anyone know why not? Is this just a case of guilding the lily or is there a more scientific reason?) The whole bird technique lcdm mentioned ^ is awesome! There's a thread in this forum somewhere where a number of us used it ... not gonna search right now. World Cup's on. A.

Personally, I would have told the waiter to shove his superior cheeses up his arse. Dear God, if you have an item on the menu, it bloody well better be something any server could recommend. My first question to the server would have been "Then why is it on the menu in the first place??" Cheddar inferior? Surely the armageddon is approaching. A.

You're cooking to done-ness, not a temperature. Turkey's done at 165F. More than that and it WILL get dry. You should also consider brining the breast. Turkey breast is not known as a moist meat, so anything you can do to add moisture is going to help. Any time I've done turkey (whole bird only for me so far) I brine it for 12 hours or so, and then smoke it. I'm a dark meat guy, but the turkey breast done this way was really nice. A.

I don't see why not. In fact, when faced with a butt that's stalled longer than my guests can wait, I've been known to finish it in the oven. That would be a matter of preference I think. However, since you're not going to have the added flavour of the smoke, I'd be inclined to brine the butt, then finish it with the spray (for colour as well as taste). Let us know how it works out. A.

They were nagged into it by a woman? Do you bite your thumb at me, sir? There you go again. Talking about eating. Myself, I just ate me a damn fine hamburger for dinner. Now that the eatin's done, I suppose it's okay to talk about it A.