SobaAddict70

Well, he IS cute. I'll give him that. This was in the 5 or so minutes I saw -- shortly after, some girl said she was leaving (I think she had long brown hair.) A longer stream of invective I've never heard. Hell hath no fury like an FOH-person scorned....I think she was an FOHer. Somebody help me out here. Soba

tommyf, next time you're in town, try Jewel Bako and let us know what you think. For a thread on Jewel Bako, try this one... Cheers, Soba

Don't have cable, so no. (Yes I know who the Osbournes are, but then again, four letter words are normal on cable. This is normal TV land, where four letter words don't exist, according to the Establishment.) Soba

Indian food kick continues: reheated leftover coconut rice steamed broccoli sliced, broiled paneer, along with a little EVOO drizzled over roasted tomatoes and onions iced blueberry oolong tea Soba

thanks Jason I'm afraid people get up way way too early for me to ever take part in all of this. I'm not a morning person. I have no idea how the rest of you manage to do it though. Maybe next weekend, if I can drag myself out of bed. Saturdays are for sleeping in. Soba

heh I think I like Tony's review a helluva lot better. As an aside -- T -- I'm reading Kitchen Confidential, which is, for all intents and purposes my introduction to you (even though you've been on the site for ages and ages, and yes I know who you are. I just haven't had exposure to your writing other than on eGullet.) Has anyone ever told you that they're your fan? Well, get used to it. I'm your fan. Soba

em, having a late dinner. just walked into the living room, and sure enough, my roommate has it on. In the five minutes it took me to serve myself, I've heard more beeping than ever on a regular TV show. Maybe they should've named the show "Beepville". Soba

Have to raise a question for this type of reality tv. When you come to think about it, "The Restaurant" is really a focus on a certain type of job sets that tends to be high-stress oftentimes, and with a high degree of variance at any given point in time. Sure there are other types of jobs out there that are similar, both in the stress factor and the variance factor, but not too many come close that are remotely entertaining in typical Hollywood fashion -- e.g., teaching elementary or high school and air traffic controllers are two examples that come to mind. A third might be "walking a beat as a cop" or "acting as a firefighter", but other views may vary. And this is the reason, in my view, why all of what I've read thus far -- keep in mind I haven't yet seen the show -- why most of the action, has focused on FOH with a little BOH thrown in -- that is, that type of BOH action that doesn't get in the way of what most people in the BOH are concerned with. Carry on. Soba

The Mr. Softee trucks are ok....unless you hear that annoying jingle TWENTY TIMES in an hour. (I'm not making this up. I used to live in Jackson Heights, and I swear to god, I heard that jingle ten to twenty times an hour on average. I used to think there was a hidden conspiracy of three or four trucks outside my apartment building. In truth there was only one, but it had a very limited radius.) Anyway, now that I live in Manhattan, I see them quite infrequently at best...which is just as well. Soba

REALLY late lunch: chicken noodle soup carrot juice shredded broiled boneless skinless chicken breasts which have been sauteed with chopped onions and tomatoes, along with the addition of a little ghee, garam masala, and shredded coconut coconut rice (basmati rice cooked in coconut milk; cooled, and then fried with a little ghee, black mustard seeds, asafoetida and some caramelized onions folded in at the last minute) sliced tomatoes, with sea salt and EVOO I expect dinner will be a ways away tonight. Soba

LOL behold my new signature line (which will be edited for length) priceless, Jin SA

Steven, in all your buffet outings, is there one item that takes the top prize for appearing most often? And also, is there anything that wouldn't dare make its appearance? I'm curious. (like for example, sashimi?) Soba

So what's this about a second part coming out? Is there one? (btw, I still haven't seen a single episode -- minus the 10 minutes of whining I observed as noted above -- otoh, reading this thread has filled in all the gaps as far as I'm concerned, not to mention its more entertaining.) Soba

Jin, not all skinless, boneless chicken breasts are bad. The ones I make aren't. (God, I hope not.) Here, have some. Soba

NYTimes Weekend Report Friday, 8 August 2003 -- Sunday, 10 August 2003 Gastronomic Repasts in Bath, England (Jacqueline Friedrich) Quaint Charm and Romance at Hope and Glory Inn (Adam Nagourney) A Tour of New York City's Red-Sauce Restaurants (Mark Rotella) Wine Chauvinism (Craig S. Smith) Pushing the Culinary Envelope (Arthur Lubow) FreshDirect -- Where Freshness Rules The Roost (Jennifer Steinhauer) A Greek Restaurant That Strives For A Little More Elevation Among The Pantheon Of Greek Restaurants (William Grimes) Restaurant Capsules: Steak, Steak And More Steak Wine Under $20 Have a good week, folks. Soba

You're joking, right Katie? Spinach doesn't taste off-putting and I've never heard of anyone complaining of spinach pasta (equivalent for me per matzoh balls). But then again, I'm not Jewish...I can't imagine seeing someone complain about that. I mean, it's not like you're making spinach gnocchi balls. Soba

I was thinking of "The Fish" and "Ariel" actually. "Stasis in darkness." That sort of thing...heh. Soba

a visit back to the Philippines, circa 1981. I was 10 at the time, and we were visiting my grandma's home in inner-city Manila. I don't remember all of what I ate one evening, but I do remember the lion's head meatballs (AMAZINGLY scrumptious -- I think my grandma uses fresh water chestnuts as part of the meatball mix), congee with stewed pork, ginger and banana blossoms, paksiw (milkfish and vegetables, stewed in either vinegar or tamarind -- the important thing about paksiw is that the sauce element should be sour) and pakbet (vegetables and either pork or seafood in a fishy/salty sauce). Paksiw and pakbet are pretty standard fare in much of the Philippines, but this was the first time I'd had crab/milkfish paksiw in a tamarind base, and also the first time I'd had pakbet with my grandmother's bagoong paste. Bagoong is salted shrimp or anchovy paste. Powerful stuff -- not for the weak of palate -- an eighth of a teaspoon will flavor an entire bowl of rice. My grandmother likes to deep fry a bit of this paste in some peanut or vegetable oil, fold in A TON of garlic -- she told me later that she typically uses two cloves, finely minced --and cook the paste until the liquid has evaporated, and the paste has browned and turned crumbly. Sometimes she adds the garlic towards the end of the cooking so the taste isn't mellowed out. Sometimes she adds it in the beginning. I think I've cherished this memory, not only because of the elements of the meal, but also where I ate it -- in the house where I lived most of my early childhood, after my father and sister passed away. Soba

I am thankful that I've never had a meal as bad as these (excepting my one time experience with chicken feet as noted above). I hope to god I never do. I think Katherine and NeroW should get together and compare notes. Their ex-es seem to have been switched at birth? (See quote and link below) Horror Stories Of A Different Flavor Soba

I prefer Elizabeth Bishop and Sharon Olds, no offense. Hell, even Robert Pinsky in all his T.S. Eliot-esque glory. All this meter makes me think of trochees and dactyls.... *ERK!!!* OTOH, its kind of fun in a weird kind of way. Soba

Peach panna cotta. Peach and buttermilk ice cream. Sliced poundcake, topped with caramelized peaches, spiced simple syrup (simple syrup, star anise, white pepper) and shaved white chocolate Caramelized peaches tossed with fresh berries, served over mascarpone, splash of light cream or cassis. Peach, kumquat and Champagne fruit soup. Want me to continue? Soba

My roommate and I have a couple of rules: 1. Buy and/or make your own food. 2. Ask before mooching. Seems to work out pretty well. Of course, on occasion he takes what he thought was his when in fact it's the opposite -- but then he pays for what he takes, so it's fine by me. As long as he lays off my ice cream and chocolate. (I get Godiva chocolates as a yearly anniversary gift from work. These usually last about four to six months. It's a BIG box.) I'll cook an occasional breakfast and lunch if and when the mood strikes me. Usually I make enough for the two of us, and then some. (Otherwise, I usually cook my own breakfast. My roommate seems to subsist on an endless diet of Special K, doughnuts and Chee-tos.) When it comes to dinner, the kitchen is MINE, MINE, MINE; he, like cabrales and others, doesn't know how to cook -- not even how to boil an egg; his favorite culinary activity is to eat Ovaltine straight out of the can....his most annoying culinary activity is to leave the unwashed spoon on top of the can for hours. I've made mention of this several times, but true to form, he forgets all about it in an hour. He usually cleans up after dinner and lets the dishwasher do the rest. He'll split the dinner cost 50/50 with me. Leftovers are not a known quantity -- I think my roommate might beat me for Human Leftover Disposal Machine. Soba

Heh. Elizabethan literature was never my cup o'tea. Maybe maggie can change that. We'll see. Looking forward to it, Lady Smackdown. Soba

Or the Village Voice, for that matter. Check out The Voice of Sietsema for weekly coverage of The Village Voice's restaurant critic, Robert Sietsema on both cheap eats and high-end cuisine. Soba (NYTimes and VV beast of burden)

Grimes gave two stars to San Domenico because of the lapses in service that he found while dining out there on many occasions. He mentions the service lapses in at least two places in his review. Clickety for the review -- scroll down for the relevant link. Soba