MichBill

I know you are all in denial here, because there is some unexplainable worship of Bourdain, but all of the shows are very shallow and not very informative. He has fallen into the celebrity trap where he believes that his snarky comments is the story and he fails to be able to see the incredible opportunity that he has. What a wasted opportunity

- Sitting down at a dirty table (so you not want me to give you a good experience?) - Snapping their fingers or whistling! (I'm about to snap that finger off!!) - Talking while the menu is been presented (more so at upscale restaurants) - Informing the waiter that you, as a guest, do in fact pay my salary (Duh...) - Finishing the entire meal even after you've been at the table asking if everything was alright and then complaining that the meal was to cold, no cooked enough, etc. - Ignoring the waiter as he/she comes to the table to take your order. Sorry Benjamin the Bartender we are paying for you to take care of us that does not make you our slave, but it does prioritize our worth in this relationship -Have someone to control the flow so we do not have to decide where to sit. If i have to stand for 20 minutes or sit at a dirty table - I'm sitting - Tell me how to get your attention so that I do not offend your delicate sensibilities. I do not think that I should have to stare at you for five minutes so that i can get your valuable services directed towards me - I am there to have a nice time and socialize - you need to wait until I am done with my conversation - I do pay your salary - Do not ask me at the end of the meal if i liked everything - unless you want to know the answer - I'm paying - you wait until i am ready to give you my order You are all about what is wrong with eating out now. You are in the business of providing a nice experience for me. That is what I pay you for. I do not have to worry about if i made it a nice day for you at work. Find a job you like.

I also have the soft cover edition that was first published in 1996. I use it at least weekly and it is still in mint condition. It is not so much a paperback as the cover/binding is quite durable. It really is the best guide I have found on flavor pairings.

Thanks. I did try the rice method extensively and even after that there was still an occasional grit problem. It seems to have lessened significantly with some more use and can be eliminated entirely if you use a wooden pestal or spoon instad of the stone one.

Marcel can truly be a little irritating, but the response of Sam and Betty and Ilan to the irriatiation is really out of bounds. I mean, how many of us have a coworker that rubs us the wrong way, and how many of us could get away with dealing with it by screaming insults and shooting off personal attacks as a legitimate response? If it really is a top chef cometition, then in addition to cooking, a chef has to be able to deal rationally with other people.

I had a little different take on it. I thought that it was really one of the most self-serving books I ever read. It is apparent that MPW has made an important contribution to fine dining and has accomplished much, but seldom does one see such a flagrant self-promotion.

Actually according to the CDC (MMWR April 14, 2006 / 55(14);395-397) The majority of cases of foodborne gastroenteritis in the United States are caused by noroviruses And (from MMWR April 15, 2005 / 54(14);352-356) In 2004, FoodNet cases were part of 239 nationally reported foodborne disease outbreaks (defined as two or more illnesses from a common source); 138 (58%) of these outbreaks were associated with restaurants. An etiology was reported in 152 (64%) outbreaks. The most common etiologies were norovirus (57%) and Salmonella (18%).

I have seen recommendations to - Grind dry rice in several batches until there is no more grey seen in the ground rice Grind coarse salt in serial batches until the ground salt is no longer grey Grind rice in several batches and then grind various mixtures of garlic, coarse salt, cumin and black pepper Grind the mortar with the pestal until no more grit is found Just use it as it is And various permutations about whether or not to wash between grindings

I recently recieved a molcajete (mortar carved out of lava) and have received conflicting instructions from various sources on the internet on how to season it prior to use. Can anyone let me know how you did it and how it worked for you? Thanks.

This link references and article on CNN reporting that around 300 people have become ill of an yet-undiagnosed food born illness associated with an Olive Garden in Indianapolis. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, fever. Three people are hospitalized. Olive Garden

Botulism does not require a complete vacuum, only a very low level of oxygen (as found in oils) and has been caused by garlic infused olive oils.

The start time of 11:00 PM Eastern is not exactly prime time, although it looks like it starts at 10 PM after that. I thought that last season this was one of the better reality cooking shows. Looking forward to this season.

I believe that Brian retook the last day of the exam, but was not successful. I think that you can only take the exam twice.

There are a couple of qualifiers in this, but Zehnders Restaurant in Frankenmuth Michigan claims that they are the largest family owned restaurant in the US, and the second largest independently owned restaurant. They seat 1,500 and serve about 20,000 meals a week (1,000,000 per year). Here is a link to their website.

There is a nice interview with Tom Collichio on the Restaurant Guys website in which he talks at length about his experience on the show. http://restaurantguysradio.com/sle/rg/bin/...1.colicchio.mp3