Kevin72

Now, I've not been, so grain of salt and all that, but it just seems so weird to have such a top-notch bar attached to a barbecue joint, upscale bbq or no. Props to Pope or whomever it was for really putting the care and effort into the bar side of the equation but the two just seem so incongruous. It's like taking the already risky concept of upscale barbecue and then pushing it that much further. I guess personally, I have a hard time wrapping my head around having a Manhattan and then tucking into a pulled pork sandwich (which isn't to say that I won't when I go, but still . . .). Doesn't it seem like the bar would be better suited for T'Fia? Maybe do microbrews or something instead at Beaver's? Would or do people come to a barbecue place just for the bar scene? Would they know to? Don't want to be one of the naysayers here, I truly admire Pope's efforts and impact on Houston as I said earlier in the thread. If anyone could pull this off, I think it's her. But every time I read about this place it seems pretty uniform that the bar is tops but the food is much more mixed. Has this been commented on by Pope or others associated with the restaurant? Thoughts?

My parents went and were decidedly unimpressed, but I can't remember why. That didn't help any. So, to make up for it, I'll post Allison Cook's thoughts (mixed) from her blog: A First Visit to Beaver's

There's a Roman version I've done that has anchovies and chilies in the aromatic base and doesn't have the lemon at the end. It's like pasta e fagioli, only with chickpeas.

E-Rians pride themselves on hand-kneading and rolling their dough and getting it so thin you can read a newspaper through it. So I'd imagine there's a much longer kneading time and level of care that goes into the product, and pasta rolled and cut by hand has a great deal more texture even than homemade pasta put through a roller. It may be that way elsewhere, but it really seems to be an art form in Emilia-Romagna. But they do use OO flour and eggs.

AVClub Interview with Anthony Bourdain Not sure where else on eG this would go. As with much of what AVClub does, this is a great interview that goes beyond the usual "So why don't you want to order fish on Mondays?" interviews. One of the best with Bourdain I've read, anyways.

There certainly seems to be a boom in Asian markets in Plano lately. This one is next to the perpetually awesome Jasmine Thai. Pretty disappointing, though, from my first visit. The produce looked old, wilted, and beat up. There's also already a strong seafood smell when you walk in, and it's been open less than a month? I guess the cool thing is that it's a Korean market, mostly. There's a whole section of kim chi and lots and lots of dried fish and meats. Still, it makes me appreciate how spot-on the Asia World Market just a couple blocks over and up at Legacy and Chase Oaks is.

I liked this show quite a bit, as well. The stuffed peppers sure seem to be a winner. It's so weird having FTV put an instructional cooking show out there again after all this time without any gimmics. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Wheeeeeeeeeee!

Does Austin have halal markets or middle eastern grocers? They often sell all kinds and parts of the lamb. Failing that, maybe an Asian market . . . ?

That's really lame. yeah, I know, they own it and it's their rights, blah, blah, blah, but . . . just a shady move on their part. They'd still have him if they hadn't chased him off or wanted him hosting people's backyard barbecues. Then again, on the plus side, hopefully I'll get to read Tony's thoughts on this pretty soon once he gets wind of it . . .

I'm pretty sure he gives the details in the back of Nasty Bits as a post script to the Adria writeup. I'll check if you haven't already!

Who cares? They sound great! I really like that touch of the red-wine steeped cherries. Maybe flatten them into patties to pan fry. I remember when I made arancini worrying about how to cook them best, but actually deep frying did work the best (though you still lose some rice into the oil).

Ah, the Holidays sure seem to bring out E-R's finest dishes, don't they? Good job Elie!

I thought he had already shot the Ferran Adria ep as a kickoff for season 3 of ACT, then negotiations with FTV fell apart and he kept the episode independent of them . . . ? Is this right before "Decoding Ferran Adria"? Bourdain has balls. ← Not sure what you're asking - the A Cook's Tour issue was ongoing in 2002-2003, while AB was shooting the series. He shot the Ferran Adria documentary/episode in 2005/2006, I think (although it didn't air until much later, as an episode of NR). ←

We were always a fan of the appetizers. I've never been able to break out from the pizzas here until this time though. Still haven't tried their lamb shanks. There definitely seems to be more variety and novelty to them, though.

Ate here on a whim with the family over the Holidays. I was just dumbstruck at how good it was. They really seem to "get it" here. We had a bunch of the apps: prosciutto, capicolla, green bean salad, roasted beets and horseradish, mushrooms with ricotta and mint. My wife had spaghetti with clams and chickpeas, I had bucatini with octopus and chilies, the rest of the table split the prosciutto pizza and a special, a porchetta pizza with fonduta and mushrooms. That last one would probably send most Italians running out the door but dammit it was so good. Almost didn't need the porchetta. I thought my bucatini with octopus was good, but a little heavy on the tomato sauce. This is another clear Mario/Babbo inspiration and I think it really would've benefited from the mint used in Batali's recipes. But otherwise just a solid, relaxing, and thoroughly enjoyable meal.

Closed.

Interview here. Good on him. He mentioned in TC that he wanted to do an Italian restaurant so hopefully that's still in his considerations. Could've done without the swipe at Hage and I see he continues to use truffles a bit too liberally, though.

As Maureen said, cotechino is typically served on its own with lentils on New Year's. It can also be a component of bollito misto, cooked separately. It's also sometimes rolled into a flank steak and braised (I thinK) after pre-cooking. It also seems fashionable lately to grill it, or at least it is in America and Canada. Typical codiments help to cut the fatty flavor: salsa verde, mostarda, or balsamic vinegar. It does grow on you but it is quite different than what you'd be expecting if you thought it was just a sausage. When served with beans, they compliment it well and tame some of the richness.

They typically list the origin of the salt and I'd imagine there's various trace minerals in there to make it different colors.

Honestly, I don't have much fault in the FTV circa 1999 lineup: Sara Moulton/Cooking Live East Meets West W/ Ming Tsai Flay's earlier, better grilling shows Molto Mario Taste The cooking shows also covered a good spread of interests. There was the Mexican cooking show (Two Hot Tamales?), a vegetarian cooking show, Asian was well covered . . . Emeril live was just starting and Taste of Emeril was pretty tolerable. Throw some PBS notables in there like Pepin, and I'd like reruns of Julia's old shows, and I'd be pretty happy.

It's a pain, but it's worth it. I used to not parboil and just bake them with the sauce, then I tried it the traditional way once. It was amazing about the difference. The noodles are much firmer and more of a presence.

I read that the CM in Southlake was doing this, and then just finally noticed it at the one here in Plano: in their bulk section, the last part of the jarred spices are taken up by different types of exotic salts. One particularly caught my eye: a black, smoked salt that I'd imagine is unbelievable over simple seafood or maybe a steak off the grill. Anyone checking these out?

Wow. Like Bree I knew something was up when they moved him but didn't think it would be this soon. Seems kinda cold. When's E of E even on? Also echoing others on this thread, I'm dreading whatever even more sanitized, worst-common-denominator dreck they replace him with.

Bill Addison wrote a review lamenting the lack of business this place gets, and he's right. Sparsely populated at lunch with everyone hoarding over to Blue Goose. At any rate, it's solid, solid food. Nice cocktail menu, too. Now I'm really torn what with Little Szichuan, 1st Chinese, and this place to choose from when the mood strikes. We just ordered apps for a nice sampler lunch: the dumplings, spareribs, beef skewers, and crab puffs. Everything was remarkable. My wife's a sucker for crab puffs and these were a little different and much better quality than I've had most places. The dumplings were the standout: these are the kind Bourdain had on No Reservations when they went to Tibet. They have a little gelled consomme in them, then in the process of steaming, the consomme liquifies again so when you bite into them you get this squirt of soothing, savory soup.