SobaAddict70

If you've ever worked "front of the house" (FOH), this is your thread to tell it like it is to those of us who've never done it. Share your ups and your downs. Waitstaff, hosts and hostesses, sommeliers -- have at it! Famous last words: how hard can it be? I was never good at Concentration-type games. Now's your chance to remind me why.

Wonder if they got their start like these?

Those of you who have purchased the 2 May 2005 issue of TIME Magazine may have found the following article of interest: Much of the article is old hat to regular readers of this thread, but for those of us who haven't experienced Chef Blumenthal (either in prose or directly), it's illuminating. Madman In The Kitchen (Josh Tyrangiel-Bray) (note: access to the article requires registration at TIME magazine's web site.)

I'm reminded of a post made by someone who had eaten at that famous place in Berkeley (for the uninitiated, it's Chez Panisse we're referring to), who had a pluot served to him in a wooden bowl, for dessert. He remarked "is that all there is?" Personally, I think that people should just let the food speak for itself. Bollocks to hype.

Is it possible that you weren't impressed by this particular chef and his concept of cuisine? Fancy shmancy food used to be defined as classical French haute cuisine. I daresay that the term also encompasses post-modern cuisine as defined by the likes of Adria and Achatz. A little Keller goes a long way too. I guess my point is that there's a whole universe out there. I wouldn't let one experience ruin it for me. I hope you don't.

The Modern at MoMA (Frank Bruni) Related discussion regarding Mr. Bruni's reviews and the star system can be found here.

Well, yes, but for a different reason. I check out what other people have in their shopping cart because of the health snob that I've become.

Oh, I have stories to tell, lol. Here are a couple from the archives: There was the time I threw out a tin of foie gras that my then-roommate had brought over from a trip to Paris...except that the foie gras was over three years old, and the tin unopened. Mounds of ice left to accumulate in the freezer. It took me a little over four hours and countless pots of boiling water to break the glacier that had formed in our freezer. You'd think it was The Day After Tomorrow, it was so bad.

Dinner last night was broiled skinless boneless chicken breasts and roasted potatoes. As usual, the potatoes stole the show. I love roasted vegetables. The aroma that fills your kitchen as the vegetables cook is well worth the price of admission. What comes out of your oven is even better. These were unpeeled red skinned potatoes, quartered, drizzled with EVOO and sprinkled with kosher salt. I tossed in sliced onion, some chopped oregano and rosemary needles, and a handful of garlic cloves. This went into a pre-heated oven for an hour at 350 F. I could easily make a meal of roast vegetables and pasta, with a little grated Parm-Reg or maybe some herbed fried breadcrumbs. If it were winter, soft creamy polenta would replace the pasta. No matter what the season, there's always a vegetable or two that begs to be roasted. And then, there is roast cauliflower, eGullet's answer to French fries. What's your story? Soba

I don't remember when it happened or the menu in particular, but once I was working a particularly long all-nighter at my previous firm and a lawyer mentioned in passing that she was hungry. A couple of phone calls and half an hour later, we had quite a feast between six lawyers, two paralegals and one over-worked word processor. Most of it ended up in the pantry. I never heard the end of it after that. Soba

Ok, that's it! This Foodblog has officially become X-rated. C'est magnifique!

One If By Land, Two If By Sea (Frank Bruni) Related discussion regarding Mr. Bruni's performance as main restaurant critic for The New York Times can be found here.

An Oysterless Future (R.W. Apple, Jr.) (from the NYT DIGEST update for Wednesday/Thursday, 27 and 28 April 2005. Scroll down for the appropriate link.)

New York Times Weekly Update Wednesday, 27 April 2005 and Thursday, 28 April 2005 Dining In/Dining Out Section The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling!!! (Keith Bradsher) The Long Goodbye (Jacques Pépin) Click here for related discussion. Cheese, Glorious Cheese! (Dana Bowen) Sidebar: If you point your browser to the article's web page, you can see a photographic slideshow on the allure of cheese. Click on the box entitled "An Obsession Realized" to begin the presentation. Click here for to discuss the article. The Pour (Eric Asimov) Where Alice Waters Would Be Proud (Kim Severson) The Minimalist (Mark Bittman) Bonus: If you navigate your browser to the article's web page, you can view an online video presentation on Mark Bittman's experience with Chef Gary Danko, of the restaurant Gary Danko, located in San Francisco. Click on the box entitled "Mark Bittman Cooks For Gary Danko" to begin the presentation. An Oysterless Future (R.W. Apple, Jr.) Click here to discuss the article. Florent (Frank Bruni) Click here to contribute your experiences. Click here for related discussion regarding Frank Bruni's performance as main restaurant critic for the New York Times. Land Thai Kitchen (Peter Meehan) Bits and Pieces (Florence Fabricant) Wine For Women (Patricia Leigh Brown) Recipes in this week's update: 1. The Minimalist's Crisp Braised Duck Legs With Aromatic Vegetables 2. Lemon Herb Duck Breast 3. Duck Legs Confit 4. Confit Spice 5. Duck Confit and Potato Hash

Time for bumpage. I feel like a roast chicken this weekend, but I'm not going for 40 cloves of garlic, herbs or lemon. I'm looking for new ideas, so if you've got any to share, let's hear them.

You could always go the Craft route and just combine them with a knob of butter and a little salt/pepper. El Gordo has it right -- simple is best.

*lobbies Jason for a drooling emoticon*

I have quite a few favorites, too many to list here...but my absolute favorite is one that's not mentioned much these days, and more's the pity. Ellen's travelogues, in particular her series on Mongolia take first prize. I'm sure you'll agree. Absolutely breathtaking. Go check it out.

It used to be cream of wheat until the day I decided to top mine with crushed pineapple. Big mistake. Now it's just oatmeal or grits, with a knob of butter and some milk.

I knew the topic of gefilte fish would rear it's head eventually. Behold the power of the search function: Ronnie's gefilte fish thread I can't imagine what gefilte fish for 100+ would smell like though. Soba

Anything with Mrs. Dash. Ok, ok, hiyayakko: chilled cubes of silken tofu, usually topped with scallions, bonito flakes and grated ginger or daikon. I try to prep the ginger and/or daikon far in advance because doing these things just doesn't lend itself to ten minutes. Not unless you're Jinmyo. Soba

I have had my share of roommates over the years but these two are particularly notable for their food fears: **DISCLAIMER** The names have been changed to protect the innocent....or the just plain weird. There was Caroline who could not stand the sight of tomatoes -- be they ketchup, chopped tomatoes, tomato pulp, crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. Sun dried tomatoes were all right if memory serves; very occasionally pasta sauce if it didn't look too tomatoey. She attributed this to a childhood of growing up on Campbell's tomato soup, but was otherwise a perfectly wonderful roommate. Hell, she introduced me to the joys of Bette Davis. There was Raoul who was allergic to both garlic and onions. Can't have garlic: makes me break out! Ditto for onions. Gave him heartburn. Thai food was out of the question. Spicy? Couldn't stand the smell. And woe betide me if the kitchen smelled like cabbage. I'd never hear the end of it. Somehow even bacon could smell like cabbage. Soba

Hmmm... around here it's two Jews, four opinions This is exactly where the 2 Jews, 3 opinions comes in. For almost every Jewish law there are different levels of observance. Some very observant Jews will have two seperate kitchens. Some will have different sections in their kitchens, with two of everything - one for meat and one for milk. Other people will use the same counters and sinks for both, but will have different pots, pans, dishes and utensils. Yet others will have differnt pots and pans and utensils but will have one set of dishes - if they are glass. Glass is non-porous, so it doesn't absorb any food particles and may be considered neutral - by some . At work we have different sections in our kitchen where we process meat/milk. We have different ovens, utensils, pots, pans and sinks. I'll try to get some good kitchen pictures by the end of the week. Though our company name is Desserts Plus, we do full-line catering. Our newspaper ads always used to be Desserts Plus What? Desserts Plus..... appetizers, Desserts Plus... Entrees.... ect. You'll see a bunch of stuff this week. ← I've heard of the spoons with holes in them (to denote if used for milk or meat). I was wondering if that was the case with respect to your family's company? I guess we'll find out but I wanted a preview of sorts. Call me impatient, or something. Soba

BLT Fish (Frank Bruni) (placeholder link for Wednesday's DIGEST update) Related discussion with regard to the review of BLT Fish per se can be found here. Soba

Nonsense! Spew away. Soba