plattetude

I do find myself going to TBT's orange bitters pretty regularly, and I think their lemon bitters work really well with St. Germain. Haven't sampled any others in their line. Christopher

Turns out that Padama really does love her some burgers. In one of her cookbooks she talks about her love for bacon cheeseburgers and how her mother could smell them on her when she was young. And in a People Magazine interview she says, "I grew up a vegetarian. Then, because I grew up in the states, I started slowly eating meat. First it was bologna sandwiches, or pepperoni on pizza. As a teenager, [my friends and I] would always go have burgers. I would scarf them down!" ← Which I'll point out again is totally consistent with her talk and behavior on Top Chef. So I really don't see any cognitive dissonance. C

Even if she might *gasp* actually think it's a good burger?

I can totally imagine her eating these in real life, with or without the gratuitous, near-pornographic commercial to hammer home the point (not that I'm complaining -- great synergy of her foodie persona and sexuality to sell the product, IMHO). After all, she's made it clear on a lot of the Top Chef challenges that she gets the munchies as bad as anyone. Christopher

Very very strange. Just the other day, I'd read a comment on hulu.com that Three Sheets was picked up by another cable channel, to be announced imminently, and Zane Lamprey's website said the same thing. As of today, Zane's site has no mention of it. There *is* a fourth season in the can, ready to air, if only it would find a home.... Christopher

And the scallop with cauliflower/raisin/caper. Christopher

I'd try subbing it for Campari in whatever Campari cocktails tickle your fancy. That's what I've always wanted to do, but I haven't grabbed a bottle of it yet. Christopher

"Cheap" is a relative term, but I'm assuming the $1k for Crate and Barrel's offerings is too spendy. See this post for links (and other related discussion). Note that, to date, my wife and I have not gotten any home bar solution, since we have a workable built-in solution already. Christopher

Well, the point of conserving isn't necessarily that it saves the individual an appreciable amount of money or resources, but that the cumulative impact of millions of people using more energy than they need to can be substantial. Per the article: But hey, whatever floats your boat. Or your pasta. Christopher

It's less about saving water than it is about saving energy. Boiling 2 quarts of water takes a lot less energy (and time) than boiling 6 quarts. Christopher

Particularly since you're already used to upping the bitter quotient in your standard manhattan. Christopher

I was inspired to do a simple gastrique this past New Year's, when late in the game, I found out that one of my guests was lactose-intolerant, and my first course was planned as turbot in fennel cream with apples and celery. I kept the course as planned, but in addition to the fennel cream, I threw together a gastrique of apple cider vinegar, sugar, some straight-up apple cider, and a splash of sherry vinegar. I did 1:1 on the vinegar:sugar ratio, and didn't do a caramel -- just dissolved in the cider vinegar over heat, then cooked down a bit. It didn't thicken much, but I did really like the flavor as it all came together. Christopher

Jeff's cucumber mojito was pretty roundly praised, as I recall. The color apparently comes from the cucumber, which is pureed with the rum, sugar, mint, and lime, or, um, "mojito mix," according to this blog (about 2/3ds down the page). I'd have to assume if Jeff goes the extra mile to make his own sausage, he'd make his own "mojito mix" with real juice too.... But as to whether it would work with food, I'd think the cucumber would add a bit of an herbacious, savory note that would make it work well with food. The rest of the cocktails did sound pretty wretched, particularly Fabio's bell pepper martini, which sounded very interesting in concept until we learned that it wasn't anything at all like a martini. But Carla's spritzer sounds pretty creditable -- recipe here. Christopher

I'd expect the goodie basket was provided, at least in part, by the producers, given the extremely prominent shots of the Korbel (read: product placement). The fairly staged "toast" was probably required for all of them. Christopher

After I polished off my Tailspin, I realized it was appropriate for the occasion from an "evolutionary" standpoint -- being a Bijou with a mutation of a splash of Campari, giving it an evolutionary advantage to my taste. Edited to add: It actually had another mutation, in that I subbed Genevieve genever for gin. And I'd call that another evolutionary advantage. Christopher

I like! But wouldn't you call St. Germain an alto? Maybe a mezzo? It's pretty full-bodied in its own right.... Christopher

I'll add my recommendation for Les Crayeres as well, but with the caveat that it's based on a honeymoon stay some 6 years on, when the Boyers were still running it. As such, we hadn't experienced M. Elena's menu. Nevertheless, the grounds, the rooms, and the experience of staying there was nothing short of magical. My wife and I still wax rhapsodic about the sumptuous and lavish breakfast, let alone the dinner. Christopher

Not to quibble, because if you didn't like the food, you didn't like the food. But I'm not sure you can complain about it not being enough food if you weren't finishing what was served.... Christopher

I've never had the Ango, but from what I understand, it's punchier than the other two. That's what I'd go with. Otherwise you'll need a good bit of dashing of the Regan's or Fee's to notice a difference with the Benedictine there. Christopher

For the Superbowl, I put together a quick drink list that included cocktails aligned with each team -- The Cardinal, a cardinal-red concoction of Campari, Lucano amaro, gin, and Cointreau (good, but not great), and Big Ben (as in Roethlisberger), which was designed to be big and brawny enough to cut through a crush of linebackers. Hence the doubling up of the spirits. That drink was a major win, I thought. Big Ben 1 oz rye (Rittenhouse BIB) 1 oz genever (Anchor Genevieve) 1/4 oz Benedictine orange bitters (Bitter Truth) Christopher

Well, rents in Park Slope ain't cheap, but neither are they Manhattan level. Plus, while the selection at Bierkraft is pretty phenomenal, the prices are not. Christopher

Great shape, but kinda big though, no? 8.5 oz is way bigger than I've grown accustomed to.... Christopher ← i would guess that is how much the glass weighs rather than how much liquid it holds. ← I would guess, based on knowing (and owning some of) Crate and Barrel's other cocktail glasses, that it's volume and not weight. I don't recall ever seeing glassware listed by weight. But who knows? Christopher

Just outside Salzburg nestled in among the Alpen peaks is the quaint village of Werfen, and the two-Michelin-starred Obauer, which is both a superb restaurant and cozy hotel. Phenomenal dining, and the breakfast was fantastic too. Sigh. Christopher

Great shape, but kinda big though, no? 8.5 oz is way bigger than I've grown accustomed to.... Christopher

Actually.... Plus, even earlier in the thread, the "Riesling Soup" story.... Christopher