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Michael M

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Everything posted by Michael M

  1. 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!
  2. 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!
  3. 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!
  4. Good suggestions! Now I can eat breakfast all day. I'll report back!
  5. Exactly the kind of place I was hoping for! Thanks.
  6. Thanks for the information and the links. I'll look into them!
  7. 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?
  8. 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?
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 323 3rd Ave. The former Bar Milano space, according to Chow.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Thank you everyone for your help. We just returned from our far-too-brief trip, but managed to stretch out the dining experiences each day by sipping and noshing at a bar early, then walking on to dinner afterward. Perbacco is more than a wine bar, but we sipped on some Prosecco and Vespaiolo and snacked on their nicely made frittura and later a pleasant cheese plate with honey and some neo-mostarde (like celery). The service and wine list were great and we can't wait to have a full meal there. Quite a lot of Italian being spoken by guests and workers. Amex/cash only. 'inoteca is a place we've been to at two locations, this time in the Bowery. The food is not spectacular, but not bad. Last visit to the more northerly location we had a fava bean salad, followed later that day by a similar salad at Terroir, the latter of which was far superior. But the 'inoteca list is weighty, including the carafe offerings. If nearby and thirsty, we might stop by again, but other places seem to beckon more. The Tarallucci e Vino location on 18th st. turns out to be the "wine bar" we'd visited and couldn't remember. I was somehow conflating it with the other location, which we go to for breakfast, not realizing this Union Square location has more to offer. We weren't there for wine, but will return for just that - they had a nice glass selection and I recall loving the salumi plate. They do have some of the best pastries there for breakfast, by the way. Once again, thanks for the tips.
  16. Should have put this in my wine bar post, but I travel to Italy regularly but live in Chicago. Not really many good places here that can provide a similar culinary experience to what I eat in Italy, or can just as easily make at home. I hate loud restaurants, so have always avoided Babbo. I have liked Bellavitae in the past, but want to stretch out a little on this NY visit, and have considered Insieme. Are there others, probably smaller, chef-driven places I should consider? Consigliatemi, per favore. Thanks.
  17. Thanks. I've been leaning towards In Vino, anyway.
  18. I've been doing an exhaustive review of my notes and maps because I can't remember or find reference to a great restaurant/wine bar we went to last year. We had drinks and salami, Italian themed, long room with a long bench in the back beyond the tables, with wines by the glass listed on a black board in chalk. I thought it was in the East Village more or less. Visits to NY Mag and Metromix haven't jogged any memories. If anyone knows this place, could you let me know? Otherwise, I'll take recommendations for great wine bars in that area. I've enjoyed the deep Italian wine selections at 'inoteca, liked the knowledgeable bartenders at Terroir and have heard good things about Ten Bells. I'll be hitting up Chambers St. Wine on this trip and love to talk (and drink) wine. Any suggestions? Thanks!
  19. Thanks for your responses. I was hoping someone had already tried adding pb to a French, Swiss or Italian bc. That looks like my best bet!
  20. Though I don't dislike the peanut, I'm much more into hazelnuts, pecans and almonds. But a friend of mine loves them. I once created a banana cake (recipe from here) with caramel hazelnut buttercream; she loved it. But she loves peanuts more. I could add some to a chocolate ganache, I'm sure, but I'd like to make a chocolate-free dessert. I'm thinking peanut brittle whizzed in the fp, then added to buttercream. I'm wondering if creamy pb with whipped cream and something (gelatin) as a stabilizer? Or add straight pb to my (french) buttercream? Any ideas? I like the idea of using the creamy texture of pb somehow!
  21. Geez, I'm already hungry. Thanks for the recommendations!
  22. Thanks to both of you for the additional suggestions!
  23. We finally have 4 days and nights to visit Portland in October (please let the weather be nice!) and are specifically there to hike, eat and drink wine. I'm especially interested in local food products and wine and want to be steered towards places that might focus on these. We're especially interested in the wine scene in general. We'll definitely get to both the Thursday and Saturday farmer's market and Liner and Elson. Other ideas culled from various sources are: Apizza Scholls Le Pigeon Pix Patisserie clarklewis Higgins Andina (not a wine place, but looks intriguing) Pok Pok Park Kitchen BREAKFAST places: Ken's Artisan Pearl Bakery Genie's Mother's We'll stay downtown-ish somewhere between the river and Washington Park so a nearby breakfast spot with well-made coffee would be a plus. And we're from Chicago with many good Thai places, but maybe Pok Pok might not be necessary. Feel free to steer me toward or away from choices given that criteria. I've already bookmarked extra MSG's website (thanks!). Thoughts?
  24. You are so right, eat2much, it's a compromise. We don't want to build out a section of our basement because we plan to move soon, and wherever we end up we'll want to take our time creating a good wine cellar in the basement, so this unit tides us over for the really good bottles for the time being. the others are under the basement stairs or still on racks. Plus, we do drink them!
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