OnlyTheBest

Thanks for your suggestion... i would love to also find a place that has Thai and Vietamese as well all things Chinese..... any other suggestions ? i will definitely stop in to Osaka today!

I am off to Richmond tomorrow and i am dying to go to one of those HUGH Asian markets that has EVERYTHING ! You know... a great kitchen in the back... great selection of all things bottled and canned and all kinds of produce. If you have ANY suggestions tell me becuase i know there are LOTS of markets but i dont have alot of time to search out the best one. Thanks so much for your help.

WOW ! thanks so much for the suggestions...looks like i have a TON of stuff to wade thru. I will be moving in a few weeks... if anyone has a regular dining ritual in the richmond area i would love to hook up for a meal and get to know more about the tasty things avilable. send me an email or message. I dont know a soul in vancouver...but as a writer i feel it helps to live and eat in different places so i like to move around alot. Thanks again for your help and if you have anymore MUST TRY suggestions please tell me. thanks Ann

Hi I know this has most likely been asked OVER and OVER again....so if you can point me to a thread....i would appreciate it. I am moving to a beach house in Pt. Roberts and that makes me about 20 minutes from Richmond. I have NO experience with the area and I LOVE good Asian food. Can anyone point me to any places that i MUST try ! I love noodle dishes and I LOVE Vietnamese. HEY! Its ALL good ! And whats this i read about the Richmond Public market? where and what is it? Any Vancouver suggestions would be fine too. I'll be asking alot of questions in the next month or so as i source out good artisan bread and pastries. Thanks for your help...i a dying for good Asian i have not had any REALLY good stuff in a LOOOONG time!

I purchased a bottle of the Laphroaig 15 (being a fan of the 10). I poured a glass, and then gave the rest away. For my taste, I found it lacking character and not nearly as complex or interesting as the 10 for whatever reason. I feel the same way about Laphroaig. The 15 year "refines away" some of the unique funkiness and character that makes Laphroaig so special. This is not to say that I don't like aged spirits, but I do find that the longer spirits age the more they tend to sacrifice their uniqueness and gravitate towards an "aged" sameness. I feel the same way about Calvados, where I tend to find the younger specimens more evocative of apples whereas some of the older bottlings might as well have been made from grapes. ← that is a good point about the older malts heading towards a sameness i didnt look at it that way but i can see what you mean. i do hate things boring. what others do you like then tell me?

i saw the connemara yesterday but didnt think about it as there is so many others i want to try first. what would you recomend then as a collection of bottles for a variety of tastes that are good changes from the islay malts? I am finding that i am needing an occasional change from the intensity of peat...i love it but i need variety. STILL though i like the flavours of chocolate heather orange peel etc. whatever it is...i love intense flavour....cant have it boring at all. any recomendations? Yes, I have had the Ardbeg Uigeadail, a very nice malt. The 17 YO is about to go of line for a while (I prefer the 10 YO, so not a problem), there is also a 'Very Young' 6 YO cask strength Ardbeg, which is very sweet, but a little coarse. Of the Islay malts Ardbeg is the has the strongest combination of sweet/smoke. Caol Ila was a similar smokey aroma, but always falls short on the taste to me. Laphroaig I find a little boring, but nice enough, Bunnahabhain and Bowmore ditto. Lagavulin and Bruichladdich would be the other two distilleries that I would target, although they are very different in character. Not much smoke in the latter. If you want to stick to smoky/sweet single malts, possibly one of the more similar to Ardbeg isn't from Scotland at all, but is an Irish Whiskey, "Connemara". This is an interesting malt, but can be over priced, so look around for it. There is a 40% and cask strength bottling, the latter is sweeter, but I prefer the former. ←

I have not tried the bowmore but i have seen the 12 and was thinking about trying that as well. have you had the laphroaig cask strength? i keep hearing alot about that too. I need to try the 15 as well. I know its all good but i would just love to find that smoky peaty taste with some sweet fruits or chocolate. thanks for your opinion

I'm a huge fan of the Lagavulin 16 year. Has a strong finish, and isn't overly sweet. By the way, if you haven't come across it yet, check out the following web site: http://www.islaywhiskysociety.com/. ← It has been a long time since i have the lagavulin but i remember that i liked it alot i was really interested to know about some of the others that i had not had like the Ardbeg but i may buy a bottle of the Lagavulin 16 i did REALLY like it.... just looking for that sweet smoky flavour. thanks for your opinion

Thats interesting you say that about highland park i have a bottle of it and dont really care that much for it. which of the Caol ila did you find had the most peat flavour along the sweetness. I love laphroaig ..love the taste of the sea now if i could find THAT with some notes of chocolate and fruit...maybe orange that would be fantastic Thanks so much for your opinion.

I love the Islay malts I would like to know if anyone has had Ardbeg Uigeadail? i like the idea of the sweetness and the smoky flavor of the peat together. Which Ardbeg do you like the best there are so many to choose from. My favorite flavours together are sweet and smoke...what have you had that you like alot....not just Ardbeg but others with that intense peat and sweetness and taste of the sea..leather chocolate and orange peel as well. YUM! I love a long finish too. Has anyone had Caol ila? How about Lagavulin 16yr? I know its not Islay but how about Ben Nevis? Thanks so much for your input.

WOW... thanks again for the recipes. Unfortunately I can tell the difference between the quick stuff and the from scratch fancy high brow homade stuff. HAHA! I just got some really good freshly ground grits and i want to do them right. make them plain and have them with eggs..the first time.... THEN i am gonna try gettin fancy. Thanks again for your input i am gonna be in grit heaven !

← Oh MAN!!!! 2005 is turning out to be a BAD year !!! What a GREAT loss !

thanks SO much... i really appreciate it. NOW.... how about your BEST cornbread recipe !! I have some fabulous cornmeal and i want to make sure i have the perfect recipe!

I just got freshly milled grits and i want to make sure i do it right...whats the BEST way to do it? thanks.

What about my favorive place for boudin...The Best Stop. Does anyone know anything about it??

← Thanks Suzy... i dont see Baumer foods on there but i am now fully stocked up on Crystal for a VERY long time. By the time i run out they should be going full tilt boogie again. thanks for the list.

Yes of course...losing a food product is no big deal compared to what others have lost.... i was NEVER suggesting that. I was just thinking about all the things that we take for greanted that come from NOLA like.... crystal. I like tabasco too but to me... crytal and tabasco have different uses. I am going to buy a few extra bottles of crystal...just in case. i go thru them at about one ever 2 weeks anyway so even a case would never go to waste. Hard to say about the cafe du monde coffee and all the other stuff .... all these businesses have no workers if they are located in NOLA.... so.... what's the logical conclusion? Very sad. All those lives built into all the city had to offer. who knows what will happen.

I got to thinkin about all the things i use on a daily basis even though i dont live in NOLA anymore...like crystal hot sauce and it made me wonder about Baumer Foods. Since the plant is under the interstate ...and the city is being evacuated so there's no workers.... where is the hot sauce gonna come from? are we looking at shortages of things like that? Stuff that is made in NOLA that has been drowed by the flood? Does Baumer have another plant elsewhere if they are out of comission in NOLA? I can't live without my crystal for all my foods. Do i need to go buy a case of it to last me for the next 2 years?

Thanks Jason... I used to buy their BBQ shrimp sauce by the tub and make my own at home...that way there was no end to the quanity i could have and as long as i had some fresh shrimp i could feast on it any hour of the day or night. When i lived on that street for the time i did i never ate better. I was face down in lovely fresh seafood 5 days a week since it was just a short walk up the road. I can't believe it's all gone. new orleans was my home for quite a number of years and when i worked in local media down there we all use to joke that if we ever moved away from the city we would all starve. everytime i would return for a visit i would realize how true that was. only when i had a mouthful of some local creation did it hit home to me that i WAS starved. In all possible was.....losing the this city is an unspeakable horror.

I use to live out on Lake ave near Deanies and all those great seafood places....was that area washed away? and what about Foodies and that great place next to it...that grocery store... i can't remember the name but I use shop there 5 times a week. They made the best stuffed artichokes. Their hot food take out in the back of the store was fabulous !!!! If anyone has any information on this i would love to know. This is all so so sad.

GREAT show tonight Tony....LOVED the suit... LOVED your expressions....LOVED the food ! and LOVE the attitude. You know what? I think you are the only guy that does and says what the f%*k he wants .... you smoke ... you dont care what the food police think.....you say shi*ty things about people.... and you honestly DON'T care if any of it offends ANYBODY thats watching ! I LOVE IT!!! There are times when the camera catches you with a cig hanging from your mouth I'm reminded of some of those old french and italian films from the 60's. Nobody else can carry it off like you can.....of course... thats why we all love you.

i find it odd that someone in the broadcasting business for that long would characterize someone as successful as Rachael Ray as "stupid". ← Uh.... you're kidding me...right? Are you gonna tell me that stupid people DON'T manage it make it onto TV programs? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YEAH!!!! laugh laugh laugh !!!! The airwaves are FULL of morons!!! I think her programs are sucessful by default....and YUP it might seem odd to YOU that that someone thats been around the business as long as I have would say that. But... let me tell you something.... i am NOT the only one that thinks so....i am just the only one thats saying so. I have seen this all before...this is nothing new. I do have the reputation of not keeping my mouth SHUT.....but i dont care. its my opinion.....and it is shared by MORE people in my business than you think. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Thanks for the laugh! ← I wouldn't hold back so much. This is a very open forum, please feel free to say what's on your mind. ← Yes Rich.... i think so. Look.... RR may be a good cook.... i dont know... like i said... i cant get past HER to see what she is making. Everytime i try to watch the show ...her presentation is SOOOO annoying... i cant go any further with it...and i am not EVEN gonna get started on $40/day ! But hey.... we are all here to share our opinions. I know it's very PC these days to keep your mouth shut about things but forums like this invite comment....and i have never been one to shut up. If i hadnt seen this thread... i would have never said anything....but... i came accross it and it really struck a nerve. We all have the right to our opinions....and anyone can like or dislike anything they choose. I will defend ANYONE thats chooses to like something i dont. Thats up to them.. isn't it...to each his own. So... if you like RR... good for you. i am VERY jealous i dont have a stronger stomach for it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

i find it odd that someone in the broadcasting business for that long would characterize someone as successful as Rachael Ray as "stupid". ← Uh.... you're kidding me...right? Are you gonna tell me that stupid people DON'T manage it make it onto TV programs? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YEAH!!!! laugh laugh laugh !!!! The airwaves are FULL of morons!!! I think her programs are sucessful by default....and YUP it might seem odd to YOU that that someone thats been around the business as long as I have would say that. But... let me tell you something.... i am NOT the only one that thinks so....i am just the only one thats saying so. I have seen this all before...this is nothing new. I do have the reputation of not keeping my mouth SHUT.....but i dont care. its my opinion.....and it is shared by MORE people in my business than you think. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Thanks for the laugh!

I just noticed this thread. The first time i saw RR ...i could only watch her for about 10 minutes. The woman comes off as SUCH an IDOIT that i couldnt even concentrate on the food! The facial expressions and the tone of voice are like friggin NAILS on a BLACKBOARD!!! Honestly... does this woman really SEE herself???? Can't she see how BAD things are??? AND the constant GIGGLING!!!!! I mean WHATS THAT all about??? It was like watching some kiddie show....plus all the dumb comments. Can this woman REALLY be THAT STUPID that she doesnt see what kind of crap this is ! She may be a good cook....who knows? I , for one, cant get past HER to find OUT!!! I have been in the broadcasting business for almost 30 years..and her stuff ranks as some of the WORST shows I have EVER seen!......ALL of them....ESPECIALLY $40/ day ! But hey.... thats just my opinion. What do i know....... I like Nigella!