michaeldauphinais

Taco Bell cancels itself out with word use, IMHO - they used to have the aptly named "Chilito" on their menu (I believe this is now simply "bean burrito"), yet stoop to verbal redundance with "Cheese Quesadilla". Oh, well.

Taco Bell cancels itself out with word use, IMHO - they used to have the aptly named "Chilito" on their menu (I believe this is now simply "bean burrito"), yet stoop to verbal redundance with "Cheese Quesadilla". Oh, well.

Just a navigational tip - "Avenida Del Yaqui" in Guadalupe is what you'll run into if you take "Priest Drive" south, headed out of Tempe.

The cure for food blahs, IMHO, is doctoring, plain and simple. Never underestimate the power of a flavorful hot sauce to do the trick.

Have recently discovered Nimbus' fine brews made right here in Tucson. Love the Pale Ale, the Brown Ale, and most recently, "Dirty Guera" - great taste and fine label art to boot! The Dirty Guera has become my preferred brew to accompany any activity on my Weber kettle. Have yet to try the very reputable "Monkeyshine" also by Nimbus. Perhaps a few other Western U.S./Southwestern U.S. eGulleteers may be able to concur (or perhaps dispute). Cheers!

And after further exploring The Farm's website, I learned that the "Happy Veggie Dirt Patch" is indeed the name of the market located at The Farm. If you go, have your camera handy - there is an amazing wildflower patch on the property!

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Is the "Happy Dirt Veggie Patch" you mentioned the same place as "The Farm @ South Mountain"? If so, I would highly recommend checking it out. They might not have a whole lot of produce available to take away, but The Farm is an absolutely fantastic place to go for an incredibly fresh lunch served in a gorgeous setting. As for Mesa, there used to be a couple of very basic weekend farmers' markets downtown....but we moved to Tucson last summer and are out of touch with that area. I'm thinking Saturday mornings near the intersection of Main and Center, but I don't remember for sure. For great citrus in Mesa, there are several stands along McKellips, I think in the vicinity of Val Vista. Hope that's not too vague for you!!

I'm kind of a fan of the "Pain is Good" line of sauces - the heat is high, but in proportion to their magnificent flavor. Outstanding is the "Garlic Style, batch #37" - it's hard to determine which is more addictive, the heat level or the wonderful flavor. Not that it's anywhere near as hot as some of the others that have been mentioned, but it gets my vote as best tasting in proportion to level of heat.

from the book Martinis by Ben Reed - I just bought this book as a gift and may have to get a copy for myself later. This drink is called the "Tokyo" - "This martini can be a bit scary if it is made badly. Try to find the best-quality wasabi and the freshest ginger." 2 oz. gin 2 thin strips of fresh ginger a small roll of wasabi ginger strip, to garnish "Add the ingredients to a shaker filled with ice, shake, and strain into a frosted martini glass. Garnish with a thin strip of ginger." I haven't tried this yet, but hope to do so soon. If anyone decides to try it, please post and tell us about your results!

half of an "Ocumare" chocolate from Venezuela http://www.chocovic.es/ Eight servings per bar, my ass!

OK, I tried the Marie Sharp's today during the Jets-Steelers game. I really liked it - and kept liking it, over and over..... Hopefully, I won't pay too dearly tomorrow

Herdez...I have to second that. Good, good stuff. yum

My current arsenal contains: Valentina Salsa Picante (found in Mexico - perhaps available in U.S., not sure; very similar to Cholula) Louisiana Hot Sauce (the so-called "Original" - similar to Frank's) Pain is Good, Garlic Style Batch #37 - one of my all time faves Iguana Deuces - OK, but don't go out of your way to find it, IMHO Snake Bite Hot Sauce - from High Desert Farms - nice and smoky Marie Sharp's Habanero Sauce - made in Belize. Haven't tried it yet. Tabasco - out of the Original and the Chipotle, but I do have Garlic, Habanero and Jalapeno. I love the garlic one for pizza especially. Mo Hotta Mo Betta - Red Savina Habanero Hot Sauce. It'll bite back. Trader Joe's Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce - OK, not remarkable Tapatio - another favorite Chili Garlic Sauce - the generic Vietnamese sauce you find in the "Ethnic" aisle at the supermarket. Another standby for me. time to scramble some eggs, methinks.....

Not from a crockpot recipe, but perhaps useful (or at least, interesting) nonetheless: "A cook appeared with a huge steel kettle filled with water, beans, vegetables, garlic, and bunches of cilantro and epazote. This would become the consommé de cordeiro (lamb soup, flavored with the drippings) and it, too, is an essential part of barbacoa. The pot was lowered into the pit on top of the coals. Meanwhile, whole hindquarters or shoulders of lamb were wrapped and tied in flame-scorched maguey cactus leaves. The cook positioned the lamb on a metal rack over the kettle. The pit was then closed with a metal lid whose edges were sealed the old-fashioned way: with dirt. The barbacoa will roast "underground," as it were, for 8 to 10 hours. When it emerges from the pit, it will be tender enough to pull apart with fingers. The herbal-tequilla taste of the cactus leaves, the herb-scented steam from the soup kettle, and the smoke from the wood will combine to produce a lamb with an extraordinary flavor - a lamb unique in the world of barbecue." -from The Barbecue Bible by Steve Raichlen

We made dinner from 2 recipes found in "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen": Spinach salad (very simple, with hot bacon vinagrette) and Sausage and Peppers. Found the sweet sausages at a little Italian Deli - I'll be sure to go back there again very soon! He with the weakness for pig meat, michaeldauphinais

current TJ's addiction: "Mayan Mix" - found in the snacky snack section.

My father just gave me a bottle of this for Christmas. I'm partial to bourbon, and don't know a whole lot about scotch, but I do enjoy drinking the Cigar Malt. Unfortunately, I know even less about cigars than I do about scotch; perhaps someone can suggest a pairing?

Weighing in a bit late on this one, but after several weeks of "research" I must say that slkinsey is right: Beefeater is definitely an underrated gin, and when included in a G&T has become to me one of life's simple® pleasures. Of course, it helps that in Arizona there never seems to be a shortage of good limes!

yesterday, at St. Philip's plaza in Tucson, AZ: Alaskan wild coho salmon freshly-roasted hatch chiles - $4 for a very generously stuffed quart-size ziploc bag quinoa tamales from a bolivian farmer AMAZING corn chowder fresh eggs

I believe that Giroux is another brand of lime juice that I've seen bartenders put into gimlets. I have not tested Giroux v. Rose's specifically, but having stocked Rose's at home and having tried the Giroux at the bar in a gimlet, I suspect the Giroux is slightly less sweet than Rose's.

Tonight I had the pleasure of the company of two friends, including fellow e-Gulleteer Eric_Malson. The three of us went to a bar in New Jersey called "The Martini Bar", attached to (and sharing a menu with) the "Americana Diner". The bar certainly looked promising, and had a very appealing atmosphere and decor. After being seated at a table, Eric ordered a Martini, our friend Rachel ordered a Cosmopolitan, and I, being in the mood for bourbon, asked for a Booker's neat. Several minutes later (probably at least 10) the server, who was probably 19 years old at best, returned to inform me that they were out of Booker's. I then asked for a Woodford Reserve neat. Several minutes later he returned with a tray...carrying three martini glasses. The Cosmo and the Martini were just fine, but my glass was full of cold bourbon, presumably shaken with ice. The ensuing conversation: me: "Um, this is not what I ordered." waiter: "What did you want?" me: "I ordered it neat. This has obviously been shaken." waiter: "What did you mean by 'neat' ?" me: "Does your bartender not know what 'neat' means in reference to serving bourbon or whiskey?" waiter: "We don't have a bartender tonight." (insert rimshot here) At this point I gently explained, as unpatronizingly as possible, how to serve a drink "neat". The waiter took the condensation-soaked martini glass full o' bourbon back to the bar. Several minutes later, he returned, carrying a martini glass - full to the rim with Woodford Reserve. I was at least able to wait until he left to begin guffawing. A camera phone was present to capture the absurdity. I've been reading these forums for awhile, but I believe this may be only my second post. I hope that such a thread does not already exist. Please share your stories of bartenders who had no clue what they were doing! epilogue: I was only charged $8....

I will never again eat dried apricots as if they were a snack food, i.e., "betcha can't eat just one, or four, or twelve...." Suffice it to say, I nearly ate the Whole Damned Bag, which the FDA folks likely said contained about 8 or so servings. I performed said feat of gastronomic intelligence while hiking in Northern AZ a few years back, and complimented the gut-busting snack with a generous portion of trail mix (translation: lots more dried fruit and fiber). After the hike, I enjoyed a larger than life "Greek" salad at a diner. My party and I then piled in the car to make our way back home, a 2.5 hour drive. Within 20 minutes I began to feel the pangs of "dude, that salad dressing didn't agree with me." Not long after that, the sensations quickly evolved from bearable discomfort to "PULL OVER AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE". To this day, I still can't drive past this same rest stop without thinking of the stupidity that I exhibited that day.