HungryChris

Daniel, Great job, great photos, great subject. I am thankful, as a resident of our little 'nutmeg state' to see a New Yorker rercognize the fact that we are not 'just flopping turkeys here!!!!' I hope your photo journey inspires more posts in a similar vein as they offer enlightenment along with entertainment. Bravo Daniel! Cheers, HC

The first steamer clam given to me as a child seemed to me, to be an evil trick. The first clam on the half shell for me was quite unpleasant. There was no such thing for me as a nice piece of fish, bleh! I worked in a seafood restaurant while in high school and saw so many people who absolutely loved everything from the sea and I desperately wanted to as well. Over time, I did develope that appreciation. Go figure! Cheers, HC

I was recently in Home Depot buying new grates for my 12 year old Weber Genesis 1000 gas grill and decided to go the extra mile and get the rotisserie. I have done a rotisserie chicken three Mondays in a row since and they have been outstanding. I fill the body cavity with garlic and lemon slices, make up mixture of olive oil, sea salt, ground black pepper, Hungarian Half sharp Paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little light brown sugar. I tie the chicken up so that the legs and wings are tight against the body, paint on the mixture and roast at 400 deg for about an hour and ten minutes, before checking for an internal temp of about 165 deg. Next Monday I will brine the bird, but even without that they have been just killer. There is nothing better than a few slices of that chicken after it has rested for about 10 to 15 minutes, just nothing better! Cheers, HC

Can anyone who has been to both the 55th st and 45th st Menchanko Tei establishments offer a comparison. I have only been to the one on 55th street and just realized there was one on 45th st as well. I keep telling myself that I will try something other than the Hakata Ramen, but just can't seem to bring myself to ask for anything else. The last time I went to the one on 55th st I had a Sapporo beer with my order, what a great combination!!! I have been trying to find Sapporo near where I live since, without much luck. Cheers, HC

As for cleaning and prep, you snip off the very front part of the shell so as to cut a straight line just behind the eyes. Then you lift up the point of the shell on each side and remove the gills and they are ready. Cheers, HC Edited to add: Remove the little flap that extends from the rear towards the front in the center on the underside of the shell as well.

I too think it's great to be able to pick fresh herbs and moved many of them up to a big wooden container on the deck off my humble kitchen. That works out well for me. I did purchase a little pot of mint many years ago and before long I couldn't go out there without a whip and a chair. It seemed to thrive on any method I tried to get it under control. Then I read that mint hates wood ashes. That turned out to be valuable knowledge. I emptied the wood ashes from my wood stove on the area one winter and it worked like a champ. Mint is now kept in strict 'lock-down' in my yard. Cheers, HC

I like to flip my steaks 3 times. I place a steak on the hot part of the grill, let it sear long enough to get a good grill mark, flip it the first time like you would open a book. Let it sear about the same amount of time then I flip a second time and rotate from portrait to landscape so that the first sear marks are now being crossed then flip a third time so that the marks are crossed on the other side. I like my steak rare and sometimes the steak is not thick enough to tollerate that much time on the heat and not progress past rare in which case, I have to compromise on the crossed grill marks. I don't care much about grill marks with hamburg, but only cook them rare if I have ground the meat freshly myself. Cheers, HC

I have a Weber Genesis 1000 that just turned 12. I have replaced the 'Flavorizer Bars', just ordered new cooking grates and had to buy a new propane tank. I switched to propane because I cook on my deck all year and just feel funny about having a bunch of charcoal up there. I just got the rotisserie for it (a long time dream) and discovered that when they say 'If you wish to save the drippings for gravy, place a drip pan in the center on top of the Flavorizer Bars before positioning the rotisserie and food in the barbecue.' What they really should say is something like 'If you would like to make a gravy and or would rather not have to deal with your food item being set afire by the drippings and have to replace the burnt strings on them in what has become an uncomfortably hot environment, place a drip pan in the center on top of the Flavorizer Bars before positioning the rotisserie and food in the barbecue.' One thing I just got from reading the June issue of Consumers Guide, which covers grills is the fact that there are good and bad alloys of stainless steel. One thing they mention is that the cheep stuff is magnetic. If you are out looking for one, it might be a good idea to bring a refigerator magnet with you and if it sticks to the stainless item in question, keep looking. Cheers, HC

Wow! The Berkshire pork trio and a nice glass of chianti is going to haunt my thoughts all day. Great photos! Thanks Jason, HC

For about a year I'd have to pick Deb up at TF Green every Friday afternoon as she returned from Washington and we would often drive into Providence to Whole Foods (University Heights). I got in the habit of making the rounds through the store to see what the give away samples were and then another round to see which had been refreshed. Quite often I would avail myself of these samples to take the edge off my hunger in the interest of shopping more responsibly (at least that is what I told myself at the time). Cheers, HC

I think it is the Publick House. We will be heading up there for the Brimfield Flea Market next Fri ( weather permitting) and I hope to post some pics of the show and our on-sight tailgate lunch. I am still working on the menu. Cheers, HC

I was once one of those who was not fond of Bluefish because folks would give my dad a fresh one and it would stay wrapped in aluminium foil in the freezer for months. When my mom did get to cook it it was .....well.... cooked bait is all that comes to mind. I caught one myself in Stonington Harbor (CT) one April night and was so hungry by the time I got home, it ended up under the broiler. I was just plain blown away with how good it tasted and I got my mind right after that! As I recall, the cheeks are harvested with a sharp paring knife. Use your index finger to locate the cheek muscle under the eye and cut in a circular pattern around the muscle about three quarters of the way around. Then the whole muscle is removed from the cheek of the fish and peeled from the skin that was covering it (this makes kind of a tearing paper sound). What you end up with is a kind of conical sea scollop looking piece of flesh which when dregded in seasoned flour and deep fried until it floats will change your life! Cheers, HC

OK, Here is my 2 cents. There is a little place on a dead end side street off Hanover called Ida's. Great veal (that is all Iv'e had there), great atmosphere ( like you were in a family's home). That is where I would go. Cheers, HC

johnnyd, I hope you do get a chance to try them, cause they are killer and with a properly developed market, I think could easily command over $10 a pound. There are folks like myself that would gladly pay that now for a dependable, good quality supply. Cheers, HC

Seahorse restaurant in Noank, CT used to have a Bluefish cheek dinner that was just great, but AFAIK they no longer do. I worked one summer at the fish market that supplied the cheeks to the seahorse so I got to see how they are removed. Because it takes 5 or 6 good sized fish to amount to more than an appitizer what you really need is a place that processes a lot of them. Most fish markets in this area simply don't sell that much. I get them on a hit or miss basis from friends who do a lot of fishing and at annual bluefish nights at the Elks, but even then it's a secret handshake to get into the kitchen thing. Wish I could be more help. Cheers, HC

There is a box in the lobby where I work that is for donations for a local charity kitchen and they will occaisionaly post a list of items they would like to have. They will often put together packages of easily prepared items and necessities to send off with some of their clients. On one occasion they asked for mac and cheese kits. Deb and I were shopping and noticed that they were on sale so we bought quite a few. While we were in line I noticed quite a few folks were eyeing the contents of the cart and just as we put the mac and cheese kits on the belt, my ex neighbor tapped me on the shoulder to say hi. I made a mental note to wear the Groucho glasses with the built in nose next time. Cheers, HC

Fried Bluefish cheeks! To those of you who have had them, you know how unforgetably good they are. I can't believe Bluefish cheeks haven't become the Kobe Beef of the sea rather than the lobster bait they've been relegated to so far. Cheers, HC

A good fish sandwhich is one of those things that when described in words....well it just doesn't sound that good. When experienced, however, it's another thing all together. The first one I ever had was at a lunch truck outside the gate at Electric Boat in Groton, CT. It had cheese and tarter sauce on it and had been wrapped up hours before, yet, it had enough merit to it to lay the groundwork for more research. One of the problems with an item such as this is the fact that when you are trying a new place out for the first or second time, a fish sandwhich is usually not what you would go for, unless they were famous for it. In other words, by the time I try the fish sandwhich at a place, it's safe to say I've already hit the other menu items pretty hard. Village Pizza in Preston, CT has a pretty darned good rendition of it. Cheers, HC

I like them spread on rye bread with a little mayo. A trick my mother taught me is to cut a bermuda onion in half and scrape a butter knife kind of digging into the cut part of the onion so that the onion juice lands on the sandwich just before it is closed up and eaten. They are also good with chopped onion on a saltine. Cheers, HC

I am surprised that the inevitable controversy between the 'hot' lobster roll and the 'cold' lobster roll, the former being a hot, butter based and the latter being a cold, mayo based has not yet sprung up. Some folks insist that the mayo based cannot even be called a lobster roll, but a lobster salad roll. My personal belief is that hot or cold, it must be served on a butter toasted Nissan or Nissan clone NE style roll. The first 'lobster roll' I ever saw was of the cold, mayo type, served on the appropriate butter toasted Nissan roll, so that is what I go with. Having said that, I'm sure it's clear that the roll I posted a picture of on the 'best fried clam' thread was a non-contender in either category, good, but please, rules are rules! Cheers, HC

Inspired by this thread, we took a ride up to Essex, Mass last Saturday. We've been to Woodman's and the Clam Box a few times so we decided to give the Village Restaurant a try. This is not an order at the window kind of place like the aformentioned and there was no line. We tried the appetizers of oysters, fried clams, calamari and intended to split a lobster roll. Two rolls were served and I decided not to protest. The clams were first order. They were the perfect size, had a light and crisp golden coating and were sweet as could be. They did not clump together ( I hate when that happens) and the tarter sauce they were served with was a perfect complement for every other clam or so. I was reminded of how long this winter has been. When asked what the breading was, the server replied "It's corn meal, I think." I think it was corn flour because it was light and formed a thin, flavorful coating. The calamari were also the perfect size and delicious with the same golden coating. They were served with cocktail sauce. The oysters were fresh and shucked with an eye for ease of slurping and glistened with their liquor. The clams were on a small plate and we had some before we took the picture so it is not a true representation of the appetizer size. After a bit of poking around the town for antiques I couldn't resist the urge to do a bit of comparison at the Clam Box (no photos, though). We got there just when the sign said they were changing the oil so we waited for about 20 minutes. The counter guy said they were filtering it which I think is more accurate. Let me preface this by saying that the clams at both places were excellent on Saturday and I would have been happy with either one. The Clam Box version had a bit more substantial breading and the dreaded 'clumping effect' was evident. They were also of the perfect size, but were just slightly more chewey than those at the Village, which in my vote, had a slight edge that day. Cheers, HC

How about a cabinet, and does the name Salty Brine do anything for you?

That thought occurred to me as well, but I wasn't really sure it was just a NE thing. I was never much of a 'user', but those advertisements were ubiquitous (like Bosco) in my more formative years. My parents were of the volition that coffee was just not for kids so the only times I had it was at the homes of my friends with more liberal thinking parents. I did like a good 'coffee milk' at those haunts, though. There was a bird version of Mr. Peanut in the adds, wasn't there?

How about great big bowl of 'steamers' or a 'regular grinder'. Either of those will pretty much bring me home from wherever I am. Cheers, HC

We went to Jing Fong on Saturday for a dim sum lunch. I knew it would be awkward because we didn't really know the protocall, but I figured we had to at least get our feet wet. We were seated and accosted (in a good way) by the 'cart people' even before we settled in. In a flash, we had agreed to a fish soup (pretty good, but not great) and 'Beef Balls' (even less tasty than they sound). About that time we were turning everything else away for fear things would get worse. Communication was a real problem, but not an unexpected one. I noticed that other tables had the necessities, like water and menus, but we did not. We left with the feeling that there was probably good food to be had there, but we just didn't know what it was. Any reccomendations for what is good there? Cheers, HC