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sweintraub

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Posts posted by sweintraub

  1. The 2007 HG (Heartland Gathering) Committee has just decided to set up a dinner at Light for the Thursday preceding the weekend (July 19) - so please keep an eye here if you are interesting in joining us (or PM me)!

    Now that the cat is out of the bag, I'd better get my act together and contact the restaurant.

  2. Chef Matt,

    After the wonderful dinner you prepared for the group last summer, and the beautiful pictures here, I'm really looking forward to eating at Light. My girlfriend has promised a birthday dinner there in early-mid April, so I guess I've got a while to anticipate.

    --Scott

  3. I also noticed a reference to Pho Hoa upthread. As you can see by the link, it is a chain, but not one that I'd shun, particularly if one is looking for a healthy alternative, since they're really predictable and user-friendly. I do prefer to eat where my Vietnamese friends like the food, though, and that usually means it will have a little more fat to it. I did eat Vietnamese in Cleveland when I lived there, but I didn't know much about the food then, and it was a long time ago, so I don't remember the names of any of the places I tried.

    Our Pho Hoa recently changed its name (to what, I don't remember), I suspect because the chain you mentioned didn't want them using the name. The place here is pretty small, cafeteria-like, and does not have a huge menu. The Pho, however, is quite nice.

  4. Cheese platter.  I believe this is the platter that went out before dinner.

    Sweintraub put this together.  I made the fig jam.

    gallery_25969_665_278616.jpg

    Im not familar with the cheeses, anyone else?

    and, Tom's( tino27) bread in the backround.

    This is another view of the Camembert, White Cheddar, and Lincoln Log.

    By the way, Palladion and Deborah helped me pick all the cheeses, and Deborah put this tray together while I chopped guanciale for an hour. I put the more obviously-engineer-decorated tray above together.

  5. Hey Scott- I misplaced the reciept you gave me with the cheese names on it - can you tell us what's what?

    I wish I remembered all of them. I didn't take notes while I was at the deli, and then couldn't remember half of what I got. I know the soft goat log was a Zingerman's cheese called Lincoln Log, of which there is a small piece in the middle. The top right was a white cheddar, top left, Point Reyes Blue, bottom left, a camembert. The top middle remains a mystery except that it was gruyere-like. All of these were american made.

    As a special treat, I added a non-American sample of 7 year aged gouda, bottom right.

    Next time, I take notes!

  6. I will make enough bread for 35 people.

    To be clear, enough for 35 eGullet Society members equals enough for 175 normal people.

    Thanks for the reminder. Whoever has the absynthe better start diggin' deeper - I think it's going to be popular after all of the "thirsty work" we'll be doing. :wink:

    Sadly there is but the one bottle. Since there may not be enough to go around, any thoughts as to how it might be an ingredient?

  7. Oh, and I'm pleased to have the Heartland Gathering as my excuse to open up the "party size" jar of foie gras pate that's been in my cupboard since last fall.  It was a gift, and I simply haven't had an event that required *that much* pate in the intervening few months.

    I promise this will be better than the sea urchin pate I inflicted upon all of you last year!

    On a related note, I happen to have an unopened bottle of Absinthe (the real northern wormwood variety) sitting around that I was thinking of bringing. Rockandroller gave me the idea at the same time she told me about this gathering to start with. Too bad she can't make it.

    Anyway, would that be an appropriate thing to bring with me?

  8. Taza recently opened in Eton Collection, and is a somewhat upscale version of Aladdin's. I think the food there is quite good, the atmosphere is appropriate for a nice dinner out, and I don't think the prices are outlandishly higher than Aladdin's, tho I haven't actually done a comparison.

    The do have a few things on the menu that Aladdin's doesn't. These tend to have a little more of a gourmet twist. Also, the hot fresh pita they serve at the beginning (ask for more if you want them, otherwise you get standard pita) are amazingly good.

  9. In the survey, I asked about having a cheese tasting as a part of the wine tasting, and Tammy suggested that instead, I put together a cheese course for the dinner. So, thats what I'm going to do. I'm hoping to concentrate on american artisinal cheese, since if I remember right, Zingermans has a good selection of them.

    What do people tend to like as accompaniments?

  10. Cool survey, I have just filled it out.

    I have also made reservations for Shannon_Elise and I at the Best Western for 2 nights.

    Will we be able to make changes to the survey later?

    For example, Since I don't drink alcohol I don't really plan on going to the wine tasting but if everyone is going to be doing it I don't want to be left out.... :biggrin:

    Yes, you can make changes later. Or, more precisely, you can fill out the survey again, and I'll only take into account your later response.

    I should note that the wine tasting will be held here at Great Oak, the same place where we'll be doing the cooking and eating, etc. So if you don't drink, you can still hang out with all of us lushes who do. But you don't need to sign up or pay - that's just if you want to imbibe.

    Som how are the surveys going?

  11. thanks for all those replies.  i haven't been to several nanchyh mentioned, haven't been to classics recently or giovanni's.  i'd love to do a story on what the best restaurants here are and have the cash to do a good job of eating at and evaluating these places.

    i agree that it would be tough to have a restaurant of a three or four star restaurant in cleveland because of financial reasons.

    a big part of it too is the difficulty of finding really good and experienced service.

    cory, i hope you like cleveland.  and what's the word on takashi--i heard he was unhappy in vegas and was moving, is this true?

    Michael, if you need company to 'help you evaluate' these restaurants, you know where to come.

  12. but nancyh, in your worldly, new york informed opinion, which if any of these restaurants would belong on a list of the top 100 in the united states?

    You have to admit, Cleveland having even one restaurant in the top 100 is pretty unlikely. A chef/staff capable of a top 100 restaurant is probably making a mistake opening it here. There sadly just don't seem to be enough clevelanders who appreciate excellence in restaurants at appropriate prices to keep them afloat.

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