jhlurie

Bangkok Garden - except for the fact that they don't have Moo Ping (a big oversight), the appetizers ARE better at Bangkok Garden than Wondees. But EVERYTHING else is better at Wondees. Except possibly the Beef Salad--which IS excellent at Bakgkok Gardens. If it wasn't across from Wondees, Bangkok Gardens WOULD be worth going to. But its across from Wondees, so unless I'm really in the mood for Beef Salad or appetizers, I'm Wondees bound.

A nobody with a Beard. Figuratively, of course.

Corn is a "new world" ingredient, so it makes some amount of sense to suppose that the types of corn available in India originally came from here. Then again, that doesn't mean that it's a type of corn most commonly used here. The corn most readily available in U.S markets has been further bred towards sweetness, and tenderness, and the rougher types of corn are reserved for other uses (animal feed, corn starch, corn flour, etc.) As you say, the other types of corn have certain advantages. It's just that the U.S. market always assumes certain preferences ("sweeter is better", for example) and tends to stick with it. I'm sure that a better variety of corn is available through organic markets and channels if the resulting difference in the dish is really that great.

er... where are they? Is that 68 Prince Street in Manhattan?

I was only present for the lunch buffet--not the dinner--but for $10 it's an unbeatable deal. Galbi is present in unlimited amounts (spelled Kalbi in their restaurant), but several of the seafood "dinner" items described by Jason and Rachel were missing. The best non-cooked item had to be the spicy lettuce. I've now decided that lettuce is inherently useless until it is marinated in a Korean red pepper brine. Well, not quite, but the spicy lettuce sure is good. It's crunchier than kimchee. Points for both Lighthouse and NJ BBQ: -The NJ BBQ ribs are at the quality level of Lighthouse, and more plentiful. One for NJ BBQ. -Lighthouse is cheaper for dinner, if you aren't in an all-you-can-swallow mood. One for Lighthouse. -Other hot items are good at NJ BBQ--Lighhouse's non-meat hot items didn't impress me much, except for the Soups. One for NJ BBQ. -Lighthouse still wins for Tofu specialties, but NJ BBQ doesn't even seem to HAVE Bulgogi. Much missed. One for Lighthouse. -Free soft drinks at NJ BBQ! One for NJ BBQ. -NJ BBQ gets all smoky inside. One for Lighthouse. -NJ BBQ has a nice view of the Hackensack River. It also overlooks a Train bridge--but the train is actually entertaining--not too loud. One for NJ BBQ. -Lighthouse's fantastic spicy pickles are not present at NJ BBQ--another sacrifice. One for Lighthouse.

Actually, indiagirl's chewy/flaky thing has some validity--although my terms, reactions and examples are a bit different. I see three extremes, not two: 1.) firm - full mouth feel (chewy) but solid 2.) soft, gummy or oily - full mouth feel, but slippery, not solid (many types of fish qualify) 3.) flaky - light mouth feel, but solid I like #1 and frequently #3, but almost never #2. Indiagirl sounds like (so far) she likes #3, not #1 and she hasn't said much about #2. A good example of category 1 to me is a good thick steak. A lot of fish falls into category 2 for me--mainly the ones I don't like--although also ones I do (like Salmon). Some types of game I don't like also fall here, and dark meat chicken borders on it. Category 3 includes white meat chicken, and some fish. If the fish gets TOO flaky--in my opinion--it also gets a funny mouth feel. The rare piece of fish--like Marlin or Swordfish--could fall midway between #1 and #3. Pork Chops also fall somewhere between #1 and #3. Lamb, for me, sometimes falls somewhere between #1 and #2, but I still like it.

Suvir, just curious if your culinary reactions to rain differ in the Northeastern U.S. from in India. In the Northeastern U.S. we rarely get two days of rain in a row, except for about a six week period in April and May, and even then three days of even partial rain in a row are rare. In recent years we are desperate for rain because of water shortages. Different types of rain like a nice dramatic thunderstorm, or a warm sunshower, are both sometimes enjoyed by people. In India the rainy season is longer and more consistent. In fact, the rain can be an enemy more than a friend sometimes. Do the different rainy periods of these two areas affect you differently?

No soup for you! I mean Cerviche. One year... come back!

In a previous discussion of the Whole Foods chain in the New Jersey forum a few people found this link of interest: Click here for a nice Whole-foods provided road map of their progress in their climb to global domination. And yet I'll still shop there. My location (Edgewater, NJ) is one of the "good" ones--monsterously expensive except for sale items and the 365 store brand, but great bakery, deli, BBQ, produce, fish and prepared food counters.

I've heard it both ways. People in Da Bronx ARE capable of pronouncing single syllable words. Like "Youz".

Actually the phrase is "buttahbuttahbuttahbuttahbuttahbuttahbuttahbuttahbuttahbuttahbuttah-swing". At least in Da Bronx.

Siam Thai Cuisine - Fort Lee. Mid-range in both price and quality. Very nice atmosphere (it's got big glass windows), but the parking is a bit difficult. You can achieve very spicy food with the condiments they give you, but for me it's never quite as good as a place where it's cooked to the spicyness I want. Wondees I don't have to go on about. Rachel and tommy have done it for me.

I sense a mamster alert. Calling all mamsters!

You know, it's funny. I'm a lover of spicy food. But my opinion of the Sichuan Peppercorns so far seems to suggest that I'm going to like the sensation that they give much better without the addition of red chiles. The ginger I had accompanying my one experience was much more UNUSUAL.

I don't know. On a whim (and a total cost of 50 cents) I bought some from a deli a little while ago. Lemon flavored. Frankly, it tastes very similar to ANOTHER Gatorade product called (who knows why) Gatorade Ice, but with much less sugar. 2g/8ou. vs. 14g/8ou. Both are clear "light" fruit flavored concoctions meant to taste less "artificial" than classic Gatorade. I wasted some money on something called Glaceau Fruit Water once. The "Propel" seems to have more sugar than THAT stuff (actually it had NONE... but the "Fruit Water" tasted like the worst, flatest destilled water you've ever had--Propel actually tasted considerably better with its little tiny bit of sugar). The whole thing is fairly amusing, I suppose. This pretense that you are buying flavored water to substitute for soda or something like that. When I want water I'm fairly undemanding--I'll have something fairly "common" like Poland Spring (esp. since I don't like seltzer, or any type of carbonated water). When I want something to substitute for soda, it's either one of the two or three diet sodas I actually like or one of the two or three Gatorade flavors I actually like. Fruit juice is for special occasions--and then I usually go whole hog and try to get fresh squeezed. Oh. And funniest by far are these "super-oxygenated waters". Brands like O2Go, which no doubt Propel is competition for, except Gatorade doesn't go quite as far with the bogus routine of actually claiming health benefits.

Hey, indiagirl, happy birthday! This topic seemed the logical place to post this.

Ah. So at last we get to the heart of the mystery of the Sichuan Peppercorn (is it just me, or does that sound like the title of an old Perry Mason book?). We've all had different quality peppercorns! It made absolutely no sense to me that I've never had this before. Now it's clear that I could have... and just not had high quality ones. The sensation was very clear--VERY unmistakable.

Hey, has anyone tried the new "Gatorade Water". It's called something like "Propel". I find it a bit amusing that Gatorade would side track into the water business.

Well, I don't really think it was "numbing"--at least to me. I didn't have ANY trouble feeling my lips or tongue. They just felt different. It's also possible that the quantities were different. The main taste it competed with was the fresh ginger, and a good amount of cilantro, in the dish I had.

Accch. Please... it's an Oriental flower bud. Please don't suggest any illegal possibilities!!!

A new weird item. Can Ritz and Smores ingredients work together? I have no idea... I just spotted this. Ritz Bits Smores: Click here ("work" warning: includes audio)

moderator. Please see if you can change the topic title to "The mystery of the Sichuan Peppercorn". I'll bet Cecil really DID say that most Shanghai people don't like it. Now that comment makes MUCH more sense! It's odd. I've had TONS of Sichuan food in my life and never had this. I guess they keep it in reserve. It's intensity in that 5-spice mixture (which I'm sure that I've had lots of times) must be much less. Pure, it's a whole different experience. And its not even a peppercorn. Interesting.

Okay. So about a week ago the Perlows call me up and ask me to meet them at China 46--the site of the second NJ eGullet dinner. Jason, out of a perverse need to try everything on the menu at least once, notices that there is a dish we haven't tried yet. I'm not sure of the exact name, but it was a boring name--something like Capsicum Beef. The dish was FAR from boring. In fact, it's been the source of something of a culinary mystery for Jason, Rachel, myself, and now tommy and mrs. tommy. Actually, to be accurate the REAL source of the mystery was the accompanying condiment (which was also apparently a marinade for the dish as well). Describing it afterwards, I explained it to tommy, via the Messenger, as follows. Please excuse my worse than usual command of the english language... tommy and the mrs. have had this now, and by his reaction they seemed just as pleased, but mystified, as the rest of us (except Rachel Perlow, who hated it) were. I still think my description to tommy was somewhat inadaquate, but after eating it tommy thinks that my description isn't that far off. Anyone have any idea what the heck we are dealing with?

Mark Stevens could probably wrote a novel-sized reply on this, but I'll keep it short. Thai hot peppers are indeed on a far different heat scale than what we call "hot" around here. More subtle than Habeneros, if you've had those, but far above the anchos, jalapenos, cayenne\tabascos and similar breeds we are used to. Of course, "Thai pepper" is just a broad category. There are thousands of varieties.

That's easily solved, if the New York and NJ groups call for seperate reservations for the same day under seperate names (assuming that any of the selected days have "room" for more than 20 people at all...). The tax rate in Putnam is the same as the rest of the state.