HungryChris

I have noticed the same thing. It is almost as if they have changed their approach to seafood. There has been a definite drop in the number of seafood items offered in the store near where I work in CT. They still have a fish counter, but the display is more ice that anything else, lately. Then Stop & Shop opened a new store in a nearby town and like you say, no fish counter whatsoever. They just had preportioned fish in a little area devoted to seafood. It is as if they have given up on the concept. I fully expect the fish counter to go away in the older store at some point. I thought they had made great strides in the past few years offering pretty fresh fish. I guess they were not getting the profit margin they were looking for. HC

The first one I tried was Squid brand. It is funny how reluctant I was to use it at first. It took courage to shake out the first few drops into a dish. Over time I have come to depend on it as a staple in a lot of cooking. I now measure it out by the shot glass so it is ready when just when I need it. Based on what I have read, Golden Boy and Tra Chang are on my list of primium brands to try. I have been searching CT, MA and RI for the last few weeks and have not seen any of those brands. I hope to visit A dong's in West Hartford soon and I expect to score at least one there. HC

I wonder if this is anything like the crispy rice in the Lotus of Siam's famous Nam Kao Tod? I am sure I am not alone in wanting to try a hand at making that dish. I was under the impression the rice was cooked to the point of forming a thin brown cake on the bottom of a large skillet. Then scraped up and formed into balls which were cooled and deep fried, drained and broken apart to serve. There is a saltiness to it that I assumed came from fish sauce. The sour sausage and crispy rice are the two great mysteries in that dish. HC

I have a little "cool down" chair out on the deck just outside the kitchen that I use a lot in cold weather for the purpose. I like to use the climate to whatever advantage I can. Once it's as cold as the fridge, in it goes. In the summer I use some cold well water as a "chiller". HC

My 22 year old gas range had an oven that never was any good, even when it was working. I had to keep moving things around to compensate for hot and cool spots. For the past two years the oven has not worked at all. This Christmas, I bought myself a Jenn-Air. 5 burner, dual fuel, double oven range with convection setting. It was hooked up on Christmas Eve. HC

We ended up getting the 4 cup version of the one in your Sur La Table link, weinoo, and what a beauty it is! We got it at Zabar and it came with a free lb of espresso, which was pretty nice. Our thanks to everyone for all the ideas! HC

Although I must confess to never having had a martini, I'm neither shaken nor stirred by this gyzmo. HC

We will be in the city next weekend and are in the market for a stovetop espresso maker. I have a gas range and am happy with the little 3 cupper I got on the internet because I can turn the flame down to just the right size. Deb, however has an electric range which quickly melted the handle off the one I got for her. I was thinking we could look around upstairs at Zabar, but wondered where else we could go in Manhattan for a variety to look at. Thanks, HC

Frankly Sam, as someone who travels to Manhattan regularly from rural CT for many things, among them food, I find this statement of yours in support of FG's original premis. Furthermore, you are a lazy Manhattan foodie!!! HC

I was listening to a crab boat operator who was participating in the cleanup speak on PBS tonight. It was heartbreaking. He and his crew members were trying to do whatever they could to aid in the effort. He mentioned that the market for his livelihood had crashed. You could hear the fear for his income and saftey net for his family repeatedly rise to the surface in the course of what he was trying to keep as a professional conversation with the media. My heart goes out to them.

I have always found it a good sign, in a market that sells oysters, to see that someone has taken the time to place them all cup side down. It is just a subtle indication that they know what they are doing and the odds are better that you will be getting a good product. I knock them together and listen to the sound that each one makes. A solid knock like a beach stone against another is what you want to hear. A hollow sound is the alarm that there is a problem. I arrange mine in a bowl in the crisper of the fridge cup side down and enjoy them for as much as a week. That is the extent of my experience with their preservation. They still must be scrutinized when upened for lack of freshness. A robust quantity of clear liquor and clean aroma is a green light. HC

While it is not fine dining nor a bargain, Battista's Hole in the Wall http://www.battistaslasvegas.com/ is a relaxed and fun place that kind of grows on you. It is an easy walk from the middle of the strip. The little guy who plays the accordion and then waits for his ride home is a trip. HC

I am no authority on ramen. We did go on a months long search for what I liked best a few years ago and found Menchanko Tei on 55th btw 5th and 6th. The first day that we ate there (for a cold December lunch) it was superb. Deb made the comment: "That was one of the best meals I have ever had."as we left and strangely enough, I knew just what she meant. We have gone back many times since and it was usually good. On occaision, not as steaming hot as I believe it should be as it arrived (of course this is all based on the movie Tempopo, which prompted the ramen search in the first place). We liked the Hakata ramen the best, with its combination of rich broth, slices of roast pork, black fungus (cloud ears or tree ears), red pickled sushi ginger and fresh chopped green onions. It was a meal we looked forward to. The last time we tried to go, just a few months back, it had been shut down by the board of health (both locations). Yikes!! I don't know if it has reopened, but my guess is that the next time we go for ramen it will be somewhere else, perhaps the new Hakata chain mentioned upstream. HC

I suggest getting a players club card at Paris. It gets you a coupon to the breakfast buffet that changes a good value into a great one. That is unless you choose to show up there at 10 am when the long wait will take some of that value back. If you have a car, the lunch or 'small plates' at Rosemarys are a reasonably good value. Lotus of Siam is a personal fave and a great value. Also there is Lindo Michoacan (2655 Desert Inn rd) that I think offers great Mexican at a good price. Having a car really opens up Las Vegas riches and I think is well worth the expense. If, however you have never been before, there is enough to do in and around the strip without one. On subsequent visits, a car becomes a big plus. Have a great time! HC

Why do some fast food places have a small, medium and large soft drink with unlimited refills? HC

I go because I like looking at all the things in restaurant supply stores. I was a line cook for a few years quite a while back. I got used to using sizzle platters for just about everything that went into the oven or under the broiler. I searched in vain to buy an assortment for my own use. An interesting note here is that it was one of those on-line searches that somehow turned up Fat Guys web site and ultimately led me here, but I digress. It wasn't until I saw all the places along Bowery in Manhattan that I finally scored a supply. I still return from time to time and buy the odd item I discover I must have. HC

I used to work with a Polish woman who came to the US to make a better life for herself and her siblings. She was not much of a cook, but loved the foods of her past. She introduced me to a store that sold golumkis (golabkis) and after my first one, I knew I had entered a new part of my life. Since then I have made hundreds of them and found that they, with some mashed potatoes, freeze well and make a great microwave lunch for work. I am all over this one! HC

I used to live near a grove of Shagbark Hickory trees. I would collect bags full and let them cure. As the nut meat cures and dries it becomes more tasty and easier to remove from the broken shell. It's not at all like cracking a commercial walnut or pecan, but it can be addictive. I used to sit on my patio for hours cracking and eating them. This will be the last one......OK, this will be the last one, OK, OK this will.......... HC

I get them on occasion at a local chain. I have cured them in kosher salt, turning and refreshing the salt regularly. After about two weeks I simmered for about 2 hours with a few bay leaves and some black peppercorns, let it cool and peeled off the outer skin. The flavor is good, but they have the color of well done pot roast. I then bought some "curing salt" also called "pink salt". Because it contains sodium nitrate it is tinted pink so you don't confuse it with table salt. I brined for two weeks using that. After cooking as before the result is a wonderful, tender and rich meat. It has the flavor of the finest corned beef and makes great sandwiches and grilled Rubins. I had some tacos in Las Vegas that were made with fresh, uncured tongue that I'm guessing was simmered in much the same way as I do and they were quite good too. HC PS As for the brine, I expected to get some good direction whith the pink salt, but it wasn't that good. I was able to figure that I needed about a third of a teaspoon for a gallon so I mixed a gallon of brine by adding 2 cups of kosher salt to a gallon of water and added about 1/3 tsp of the pink salt.

Clams are usually run through a meat grinder for many chowders. Some of the sea clams used would not really be that great when encountered whole. I would not want to be the one taking customer complaints if that policy suddenly changed in any New England establishment. HC

It's funny, but I have my diagonal sammies as well as my straight across ones. Just tonight I had a liverwurst with mayo and onion on a fresh bread that was so soft that I couldn't risk the diagonal cut, but went for the straight across. This brings me to another issue for which I have had eyes rolled at me countless times. I am a firm believer that in the grand scheme of things there are sandwich contents that should never come in contact with other ones. For example, if you were to examine a sandwich from top to bottom, layer by layer, a proper sandwich could have bread or toast, mustard, meat or cheese, some veggie like lettuce, cuke or tomato then mayo then bread. Never, ever mustard on the veggie side or mayo on the meat side. Cheese is the one exception to the rule as it goes with both mustard or mayo. Hey it's the law of the universe, everyone should be aware. HC

I get to Fairway about once a month. I have become addicted to their cornichons which are unrivaled anywhere else I have been. The last time I was there I noticed that they had changed the layout of the area where they are kept. It was often difficult to get to them because they were in an inside corner and access was often blocked by indecisive patrons. That is now improved. The area where the olive oils can be sampled has undergone the opposite transformation. That area is particularly important to me when the new oils come out in the fall. I am interested to see how that change works out as that time grows near. HC

I have done skinless, boneless breasts pounded out thin stuffed with a mixture of raw spinach tossed in olive oil with a bit of minced garlic, some crushed crisp bacon, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and a few pine nuts. The whole thing is secured with tooth picks, dredged in lightly seasoned flour then into an egg wash followed by seasoned panko bread crumbs and baked until golden brown in a 400 degree oven or gas grill. Remove the tooth picks and serve. It is surprisingly good. HC

Get a players club card at Paris and receive a coupon for their breakfast buffet. With the coupon it is a steal. Without it is still a great deal. Have a great time! HC

How about sitting at adjacent sides? HC