BeJam

Thanks for the ideas. I did a quick look around coffeegeek but didn't find anything. Barratza replied this morning, but suggested I'd gotten coffee grounds wedged beneath the lower burr. I don't think that's possible given that I'd never taken the lower burr off before. But they are sending me some washers to compensate for the poor performance.

I thought that after three or four years, I should change both top and bottom burrs on my original maestro. (Not the plus.) Anyway, after I worked through the oversize-gasket issue, cleaned out all the old miscellaneous bean parts and got the whole thing back together again, the grind settings were way off. Even at the smallest setting I couldn't grind coffee fine enough for espresso. Before the change, I ground espresso at the 5 or 6 setting. Anyway, I took the whole thing apart and put the old parts back in, but that did not change or the fix the problem. It seems as if I'm missing some mysterious part, but I'm sure I didn't loose anything and am sure I put it back together the same way. I did email Barratza and got a quick reply that didn't help my situation and I'm waiting for a follow up. Has anyone else tried to replace burrs, only to find they've completely messed up the settings?

What about adding a little more binder and treading the meatloaf tires with bacon? You could also sear them in a frying pan before hand to keep them together.

Well owning your own cutlery in the 15th century was definitely a class distinguisher, but, until today, I would have argued that a personal fork and knife set would not have been a class elevator but rather a bit of a status item within a certain class. Just how high up the social ladder is the Swiss Army and exactly how many parts does your little red knife have? Using this Shun knife seems a little similar to brining your own knife/fork to McDonalds, although I have at times taken my own mugs to coffee shops.

butcherapron similar butcherapronbest

Historically, before the advent of cheap cutlery, one was expected to bring their own fork, knife, etc... See Feeding Desire click on Dining on the Move

There are a couple of shops on 9 mile in Ferndale, both just west of Woodward. Neither is especially memorable nor deplorable. I think there's "beaners" on southbound Woodward just north of 9 mile, but I've never been there and think they're going to change their name soon because of the potential offensive nature of their name. I think there are still a couple of independents in Royal Oak too, but it's been a while since I've gone looking for them.

Coffee See this event, it lists several coffee shops I never knew of.

I don't know of any Illy shops, but the only Intellegentsia coffee shop in Detroit-proper is (I forget the name, but something cute coffee like) in the Dime Building downtown. Last time I checked with Intelligentsia, they listed two other shops, but Cafe Detroit is sadly no longer and Jazzy Java in Rochester now roasts their own. Where in Detroit are you moving?

I'd recommend both Alterra in Milwaukee and Intelligentsia in Chicago. Both ship fresh roasted coffee but I find the cost of shipping too high to warrant buying any quantity in less than five pounds.

Wow. I've had an X5 for about four years now and have never had any "major" problems like yours. But, I've found that FrancisFrancis/ILLY customer service not very consistent. You should contact their service company who I found to be very helpful and accessible. However, my machine was way out of warranty when I had to replace the boiler so I had to deal with them directly and they me if they wanted my business. But I would bet an email or phone call asking them what happened would be satisfying initially. Cafewest 888-437-8340

and because of school, I have done so little research on food. Anyone like to recommend anything? Looking mostly for pub/bistro fare. I saw the recs on sushi and Indian. Thanks.

vinegar making I suspect you don't have mother from a grocery-store brand. Those vinegar's are generally pasteurized to kill unwanted bacteria. Of course you may have purchased one specifically unpasteurized or one with mother in it. But I was making some white wine vinegar a few months ago and grew something absurd in it. It was hard and lumpy and looked like a strange fruit. See these previous posts" vinegar making and making vinegar II

I can't say I'm a fan of any of them any more. DD was great in college, but in my area I don't know of any stores that make their own donuts anymore. There seems to be some central station somewhere that supplies the DDs, gas stations, etc... KK's seem to be ok when they're warm, dry when they're not. TH never seemed to be good in the Detroit area, everything was a little heavy, dry, and old-tasting. I can't really stomach any of their coffees either. For my donuts the one or two independants in the area has to be place to go. (Dandee Donuts and Apple Fritter in the Detroit area, Roy's bakery in Houghton.) Forgo the coffee though.

Use them. What's in buffalo wings anyway but vinegar, chilies, and butter. Oh and maybe a bit of (pre-gnawed) celery. Although I'd probably try to wipe off some of the blue cheese.