guzzirider

I think I'm going to have to be the dissenting opinion on Tinto. LaBan seemed one step closer to God with each bite, but we went in for dinner there not too long ago, and it really didn't do much for me. Two things that I really loved was the dish of kobe beef and a truffled poached egg in consomme, which was outstanding, and also the La Peral blue that was on the cheese plate - wow is that good cheese. On the flip side, a loser for me was the mussels. You can find some really good pots of mussels in this town, and after some of those, this tiny crock of mussels was a bit of a let-down. Generally, the food was quite good, but in the end, I couldn't shake the feeling that we just dropped 250 beans on a bottle of wine and some appetizers. I wouldn't mind going back to sit at the bar and just have that kobe dish with a glass of wine... but beyond that, I'm just not that into it. Sorry... I feel that I've blasphemed... I need to go beat myself with a scourge now... __Jason

I was wondering about this as well. I'm guessing they use a combination of butter and shortening. My guess is that it affects the texture. __Jason

Interesting piece on KYW today: http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/603012.php?co...ontentId=628577 The story that they broadcast had a bit more information as well. Mark Stock said that they've been experimenting with various recipes that eliminate trans fat, but they simply can't re-create their famous pound cake with any of them. They're going to put together a petition seeking an exception from the trans fat ban, and will be visiting city council with 2 pound cakes - one original recipe, and one trans fat free, so that the council members can experience the difference first-hand. Although I'm not a fan of trans fats, I'm personally against this ban. Let people make their own choices. This is very different from the smoking ban, as someone sitting next to me eating pound cake has zero effect on my health. ETA: Stock's pound cakes are gooooood... ;-) Oh, yeah... their doughnuts too... __Jason

I've been getting it from Wegmans Mt Laurel. When they first got it in, it was quite good, but I think its gone downhill over the past couple weeks. I think the price has gone down as well. They do have some gorgeous looking sockeye that I'm going to have to try. Their sockeye right now looks much better than the king color-wise, but I've been buying the king still because I like the nice thick fillets. Sockeye fillets are much thinner. Made some of the king again tonight at home, incidentally - pan roasted, crispy skin served over a salad of field greens and avocado, dressed with an orange/shallot vinaigrette. Even if it wasn't the ideal piece of salmon, it was still pretty damn good. __Jason

Sorry... wasn't intending to imply otherwise. Just a general comment on raw egg phobias. __Jason

Try not to think of it as "raw egg". Rather, think of it as "sauce that comes in single serving packages". Mmmmmm... delicious "sauce"... __Jason

What makes you think the kitchens in his "real" restaurants are anything like this? I think I read an interview with one of his staff once that basically said something along the lines of him being hard on new people, but once they are "trained", that's it. He doesn't yell and scream at his real kitchen staff, because he doesn't have to. I'd wager that his real restaurants run like a well oiled machine, relative to what we see on HK. I sure hope so, at least... __Jason

I couldn't help but stare at his eyebrows anytime he was on camera. What the heck is going on with those things? __Jason ←

Well, after a sublime dinner at Twenty21 last night, we found ourselves (for reasons somewhat out of our control) at Devon tonight, where I noticed they also had Copper River King on the menu. Just for giggles, I decided to try it. Well, I can sum it up in one word... "unfortunate". The menu said "pan seared Copper River King, with fiddlehead ferns and morels". I verified with the waiter that it would be served medium-rare, but when it arrived, it was more like medium-well. The sad thing is, that even though the fish was overcooked, the skin was still flabby. Oops. The fiddleheads didn't have much flavor (sort of suprised they're still in season, actually) and I guess they substituted roasted potatoes for the morels, as I don't recall seeing a single morel anywhere on the plate. Lesson learned. My bad. Soooooooo... to reiterate what I said last night... go to Twenty21. Get the salmon. Be happy. __Jason

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment...at_Pasion_.html I only ate there on a couple of occasions... I'll always remember the scallops wrapped with octopus bacon that we had as part of one meal. Octopus bacon... mmmmm.... __Jason

Made it in to Twenty21 tonight and had a chance to partake of Chef Wentz's Copper River King... it was all that and a back of crispy salmon skins. Really... just perfect. I think last week I posted about some king salmon I picked up at Wegmans being the best I've ever cooked... well, the salmon we had tonight was the best we've ever eaten. With that said, I wanted to add that every other course we had tonight was similar quality... everything was stellar, course after course. A couple standouts were the Rodenbach braised pork belly I had, and Cherie had the Rabbit Pot au Feu, which was so good it sort of made your eyes roll back into your head. Good stuff. OK, so that last part was a bit off topic from the Copper River King, but just wanted to say... Townsend knows a thing or two about food. If Twenty21 isn't on your radar, it should be. __Jason

I couldn't help but stare at his eyebrows anytime he was on camera. What the heck is going on with those things? __Jason

If memory serves, the king at Wegman's is going for ~$24/lb... but don't quote me. __Jason

Picked up some at Wegman's today. I definitely want to try V's method, however, this time around I just did a real simple pan sear, medium-rare. Definitely the most righteous piece of salmon I've ever made. I used to believe I wasn't a big fan of salmon, but I think I was a victim of farmed salmon, and lack of cooking skills. I've since sworn to only buy wild salmon, and I've also learned how to cook it without brutalizing it, and as a result, I now have a renewed love for salmon! __Jason

Funny... I've ridden past Dilly's on the motorcycle more times than I can count, but I've never actually stopped there. Perhaps I should... __Jason