SobaAddict70

Thanks, Kristin. It was a pleasure to be with you this week. (Sorry about no Kappabashi, maybe next time. ) Tune in tomorrow when the next installment of the eGullet Foodblog will be up and running. Soba

One of these days you'll need to tell me what Jack Daniels tastes like. And no, I don't plan on trying it out anytime soon. Soba

Sounds to me like Peter Luger's and Wolfgang's don't have much to fear...., at least not yet. Capital Grille (Frank Bruni) Soba

The other night I had Kung Pao Scallops. Think of stir-fried scallops with veggies, chiles and peanuts in a nice tasty brown sauce. Perhaps a bit oily but nothing spectacular. It wasn't bad, it was kind of....meh. If the classic Sichuan standard is the kung pao chicken at Grand Sichuan here in New York, redolent with Sichuan peppercorns and scallions and chiles, how can restaurants elsewhere and everywhere aspire to the gold ring? It seems so impossible to reach, given the tendency to standardize everything. What next? Kung Pao Tempeh? I can just see it now. Share your kung pao stories and other tales of Sichuan cuisine, good or bad. Soba

Just wanted to bump this up again. The other night, I had...drumroll please...Kung Pao Scallops (not bad, I will post about this in another thread) and General Tso's Shrimp. Kind of like GTC except that the shrimp were deep fried in a water chestnut powder kind of preparation and then coated with the usual sauce. I want some more. Soba

The problem is that usually the $25 and under places aren't really $25 and under. However, that's a topic for another thread. Soba

ok....something tells me I shouldn't ask, but I'll ask anyway. what's the challenge? Soba

okay, the chicken feet soup story I was fourteen or fifteen at the time and we were living in suburbia, New Jersey. I remember this episode because it was the first time I had even thought of something like chicken feet as food. Mom cooked it in a soup with medicinal Chinese herbs. It certainly *smelled* good. But eating it was a different story. Talk about not much meat and stringy cartilage on lots and lots of bones. It was a complete disaster. We ended up tossing the pot of soup out and having something else for dinner. Fast forward seventeen or so years later and I was at a dim sum event in NYC Chinatown (it may have even an event organized by me through eGullet, I can't remember) and I saw chicken feet with black bean sauce and bitter melon on the table. It was okay as far as I'm concerned. There's very little about Chinese food that I won't eat or gives me pause....although some of the pics in Ellen's Beijing installment of her Mongolia foodblog qualify as candidates. Those chicken embryos, for one.... btw, for the record, I am Filipino/Chinese -- being of Chinese ancestry, and born in the Philippines. However, the generational difference in my family is such that sometimes my Mom and her generation see me as ABC. Soba

Convivium Osteria (Frank Bruni) Soba

Welcome to eGullet, TotallyNutz. I'm Filipino/Chinese, and it took me a while as well to get over chicken feet. Remind me sometime to tell you all about the chicken feet soup story (but not in this thread ). Soba

oh, btw, natto and Mrs. Dash go well together, especially as a topping over soba. Soba

You can't imagine how much I've been looking forward to your blog redux, Kristin. Blog on! Soba

We forgot to mention that there will be five lucky winners of Mimi's book, "Eating My Words". The recipients are: daniellewiley Michael Ruhlman MiguelCardoso Geetha Brent Kulman Please PM me your mailing addresses. Congratulations! Soba

Can someone explain to me why ham is usually served with or cooked with something sweet? Soba

Only lately have I discovered that fresh ham has nothing to do with the pink colored stuff that I usually associate ham with. It also doesn't taste anywhere near like it. I've had ham studded with cloves, glazed with maple syrup and once, rubbed with a dry rub and Cajun seasonings. (It wasn't very good to be honest.) There is Smithfield ham, Virginia ham, Boar's Head ham and deli ham. There is maple-cured ham, smoked ham, Black Forest ham and dry cured ham. What I'm most interested though is stories, dishes and ideas involving ham in Southern cuisine. And perhaps one o' y'all will teach me to finally understand exactly what it is that makes a ham GREAT. I have a confession to make: I can get bacon, but I've never quite gotten ham. Soba

I wonder what a Q and fried pork skin sandwich would taste like? Those photos are making me very hungry. Soba

I think that when you're making a statement that Restaurant Z is overrated or underrated, that you need to be very careful that you're stating an opinion and not categorizing something as a rule. (Sorry, my hackles rise when I see statements like these.) I've never been to a really top echelon place such as TFL or Gary Danko or Per Se...yet. I hope to one of these days, expenses allowing. However I'd never go so far as to say "Top Echelon Restaurant Z" is overrated based on my lack of personal experience there. That's just me. Snausages, apparently you've never had an experience on *cough* Northwest (that's Northworst to folks who've been on their domestic flights). One "lunch" was a ham and cheese sandwich (roll, neon pink ham, bland American cheese, tube of mustard) and a plastic cup of water. Soba

Overrated or underrated perhaps to Person X. But not to the vast majority of restaurant-goers. This is part of the reason why as above, Lupa and/or Olive Garden are packed. A blanket statement such as "China is overrated" isn't exactly helpful, merely being provacative. You can make a rule that says Restaurant Z is overrated or underrated, but ultimately the rule is only applicable to a certain limited set of people unless supported by a sufficient body of evidence. Soba

All of the restaurants quoted above are good in their own way. I wouldn't say one is rated more or less than another. And besides, isn't this all about subjectivity anyway? Soba

Slice off the stems and pan-grill them that way. Do not dry, as it will lose all its flavor. Keeps firm about 8-10 days in paper bag or wax paper in the crisper drawer of your fridge or cook with butter or oil and freeze. As with truffles, be careful not to cook too long as the aromatic intensity decreases with cooking time. Soba

Matsutake isn't called "the king of mushrooms" for nothing. Best pan-grilled or sauteed, with maybe some butter or sesame oil, and served with gohan (Japanese rice). Maybe some gomasio (sesame salt) or a squeeze of lemon. Soba

Thank you, Mimi, for participating in this Q&A with us. I was wondering what was your take on the differences, if any, regarding institutional food (particularly in hospitals and in-patient care) over the years. How much farther do such places have to go? Soba

Lure Fishbar (Frank Bruni) John McDonald and Josh Pickard, of Lever House, present "marina chic" in the revitalized space that used to be Canteen, deep in the heart of SoHo. Soba

I'm all for more fast food. Soba

All right, my burning question is POM. What exactly is it? I've seen bottles of it....is it just bottled pomegranate juice? That can't be it, is it? Why is it so popular? Soba