Michael M

Thanks for the help here. As the party is tomorrow, I'll have to go with what I have (non-removable bottoms) but will not butter them and use alcohol instead of water. Thanks for the tips!

I tried once before to make a regular pie/tart dough and put it in my 2.5" (or 3") individual fluted, non-stick tart shells. I made some sort of fruit tart (without pastry cream). Most were very difficult to remove. I buttered the shells as well. Would a higher sugar content be helpful? Pate sucre? I'm making sour cherry tarts and I'd like to have them come out! Otherwise I'll just make one large one. I'm just an amateur, btw, but a frustrated one. Cute little tarts are so appealing at dinner parties!

We usually drink traditional wines, ones that are well-balanced and go well with food. We often vacation in France or Italy and often visit wineries. This year we're headed to San Francisco with the intention of heading north and hiking along the coast. I don't drink much Californian wine, but am sure many of them make wines I would like. If I give you a list of typical wines in my cellar, can you come up with some alcohol-appropriate, food-friendly winemakers in the Sonoma (or Napa?) regions? I'm thinking Sonoma might be more likely? Whites producers like Donhoff, Vatan, Guiberteau, Domaine Wachau, Cotat, Droin, Pinon, LaPierre muscadets, Prager, Campanian or Northern Italian whites Reds Guiberteau, Clos Rougeard, Marchesi di Gresy, Scavino (a little modern here), Silvio Grasso, Breton Beaujolais, Oddero, Podere Rocche dei Manzoni, Joillot, Cavalotto, Foillard, Lapierre, Clos du Solomon. Where could we visit? Thanks!

Good suggestions! Now I can eat breakfast all day. I'll report back!

Exactly the kind of place I was hoping for! Thanks.

Thanks for the information and the links. I'll look into them!

We're staying at Hotel Vertigo near Hyde and California and looking for great breakfasts, which we love (and tend to have early). Components: good coffee (Intelligentsia in Chicago, Stumptown in Seattle), interesting breakfast items (perhaps beyond the usual pancake/egg, or at least well-done versions of the basics) and perhaps near public transportation (though we love to walk). Any ideas?

Thanks to both of you.

Thanks, I've heard good things about these restaurants. I expect we'll try to eat before the concert, then. In that case, would No. 9 Park be a reasonable option in terms of proximity?

Hey there Bostonians from a Chicago eGulleter. I've got tickets to a BSO concert on a Saturday in October and want some options about pre-concert dinners. We're staying at Nine Zero or something like that, and will do all traveling on foot/public transportation. In the immediate vicinity of the concert hall in Chicago are the type of restaurants that seem to cater to suburbanites coming in to the city, and I'd like to avoid that if possible in Boston. We prefer a chef-driven place, someone into seasonal produce given that it will still be a good time for harvests. Trendy is not necessary (but not always avoided, either) and good service and well-designed space go a long way. We don't mind walking! Any ideas pop out? Thanks.

3rd Av. is not the same as 3rd St. I thought you might have been confused but wanted confirmation, because though Rivington St. is close to me, 3rd is closer. ← Oops, of course. Thanks for the correction.

323 3rd Ave. The former Bar Milano space, according to Chow.

I'm wondering if you can be a bit more specific - is the location you went to on Rivington and Ludlow? ← Sorry; probably don't know my neighborhoods well. We went to the one on 3rd street twice on a previous visit, and the one on Rivington this time.

They added bechamel to carbonara? ← You shouldn't! Some add cream to the recipe, also unnecessary. My not-too-clear point was that there was not only cream/milk in it, it had the heavy consistency of gooey, cold bechamel. I don't mean to slam them too much; we just didn't get the best dishes, perhaps.

We just returned, and thanks for everyone's help. We ended up dining at Lupa and having a great meal at the bar. Well made pastas, good quality ingredients, great talk with the sommelier, and a very knowledgeable bartender. It's worth a reservation next time we're there. Our other meal was at Barbone and luckily we had visited 2 wine bars before arriving. Pleasant service from the staff and (presumably) the owner, and a wonderful surprise in the Vernaccia Nera we found there (just when you thought you knew all those obscure varietals), but the food was subpar. The two pastas (spaghetti carbonara and a ragu) were incredibly salty, and I say this as one who likes the sodium. The carbonara was that type where it seems bechamel has been added, and with a heavy touch on the flour. But, when they saw we weren't eating it, they brought a free dessert and some dessert wine, which was a good response, though I wish they'd just removed it from the bill, as we hadn't eaten any. So, Lupa was great. In the Italian Wine thread I also talked about Perbacco, which I would also recommend, though without having had a full dinner there. Thanks again.