nhconner

I agree with Bonne Soiree, but feel some of the most elegant, sophisticated and refined food is coming out of Fearrington House in Pittsboro. I have had many meals there over three chefs, and my last two have been in the top three I have had there. If you do a package with three courses on a Sunday or weekday and then add a course ($10 per) I feel it is a real deal considering the afternoon tea and breakfast included in the charge. If the hotel is not full, they will upgrade you. There wine list also has a lot of interesting bottles in the $50 and under price point. Service is fantastic. Nate

Two questions for Sushi in San Francisco. Best take out Nigiri, Sashimi, Rolls, Creative. Best Omakase, Kaiseki Most is good, but there is too much to try, and the sea of good is drowning me looking for great. Nate

When I have had it, it consisted of smaller plates of menu items and any specials they had that day. Bring some good wine. Nate

White Tuna is Escolar, and if you eat a lot (15+ slices of sashimi) you can start to have gastrointestinal discomfort. Ive been told its banned in Japan for this reason. It has somthing to do with fat that we cannot digest. It is tasty when fresh and cold, but gets weird and mushy the older it gets. Its almost sweet. Nate

This is a classic that works for any game bird, as well as chicken. The trick to dove is that it is easy to overcook. This recipe makes that harder to do. Dress dove and remove breasts. Take the seeds and pulp out of a jalapeno, and cut into thin strips. Wrap a breast (with a little s&p) around the pepper strip, then wrap with a half piece of bacon secured with a toothpick. Grill on medium heat till bacon is done. Place a slice of fresh or whole milk motz on top and let melt. I have seen many variations of this recipe using balsamic brushed on and even a sprinkle of ground espresso. You can make it your own. Another way I like to cook game bird meat and rabbit is to oven poach the meat in olive oil with garlic and herbs, then serve with bitter greens (I like arugula) dressed with the oil and lemon juice. All is all you can cook the breasts the same way you would cook a small piece of chicken breast. Just be sure to cook with some fat.

My understanding is they use about a 3/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper rubbed on the bird about 48hrs before they roast.

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on August 7th at Bibou. Everything went perfect and we loved Bibou. We had, the foie, escargots, cucumber and duck soup, and a tripe special. We also had the pigs feet, and a squab special For desert we had a cheese course and the fig tart. The cooking is soulful and delicious. It was a pleasure for my wife and I to get back to rich well prepared full flavor French food. This sounds silly, but we have been eating so much Asian food and sushi as well as modern cuisine for our special meals. This food was like being welcomed home, and a reminder of why I love eating in the first place. The tripe was extra special and was a stand out dish. Combined with some world class 1999 (our wedding year) French wine, everything was perfect. Clean appropriately sized glasses were served with each wine opened and we tipped for this appropriately as well. This is not Per Se, nor would it receive a Michelin star, but the food is one star and the service was just as it should be and I cant think of a better way we could have celebrated our 10th. Bravo! Nate Conner

As well as doughnuts I was able to hit the market for lunch a few times. I had my beloved DeNics roast pork with provolone and raab twice and it never disappoints. I could eat this every other day for the rest of my life. I also really like to put banana peppers on top as well. Savory, sharp, bitter, sour, crusty, juicy. I want one right now. We had Italian hogies from Salumeria two separate days with everything, house dressing and artichoke hearts. This was a really great sandwich and is the best hogie I have had. What surprised me was the balance, restraint and clean flavors. I was expecting this huge meat stuffed sandwich I could not get my mouth around. What I got was a layer of good provolone, various meats all excellent examples on their own, combined with the clean and flavorful dressing influenced ingredients. O, and the bread was excellent. I would have passed right by this place if I had not read the recommendations. Thanks. I also had a hot pastrami sandwich from Hershals. This was like nothing I have had before (I have not been to Katz). It was juicy, big and saturated with flavor. If this is sin, send me to hell. Cookies at the 4th street we excellent if not a bit overpriced. I got a chocolate dipped c-chip and a snicker-doodle. Cupcakes from the flying monkey were good, but were a bit of a disappointment. The butter creams are all flavored well and are rich and featherlight, but I found the cake to be a bit dry and crumbly. I say this because out of the six we tried all were the same except for a chocolate cake with coconut icing. This one was perfect and if all had been like this one I would say run dont walk. Termini cannolis were as good as ever. My kids had crepes and they are a fine example. I will say I dont think the pizza crepe works with the eggy taste and the consistency, but who is going to argue with what a three year old orders. I love this place and cant wait to go back. Nate Conner

Katie, It was nice meeting you at Oyster House on Friday. We loved our cocktails and found our shellfish to be top notch. We had a Negroni and a Caesar. ----- I was able to sample these doughnuts as well on Saturday and had a few observations. First was the amazing scale and output of the operation. There were about 20 or so folks making, cutting, frying and filling/dusting doughnuts at a break neck pace. This was for a reason. I think they were selling about 50 a minute. It was fun to watch. We got a mixed dozen. They were very good, but a different kind of doughnut than I am used to. While they were soft as meringue, they were also very heavy weight wise. I noticed that the dough was cut, allowed to rest briefly and then fried. This is a different method than the Krispy Kreme style where a ring of dough is allowed to triple in size before being cooked. Overall I really liked the flavor of the dough over most doughnuts I have had before. The blueberry were wonderful and more like cake doughnuts. The jelly were like pillows, but the jelly was a little artificial tasting. The vanilla cream was sweet, but good for what it was. Im more of a custard fan. Lastly, these doughnuts are meant to be eaten within an hour in my opinion. As time passes they get too chewy, and the cinnamon was downright tough hours later. The blueberry and cream filled held up the longest. I can see why this is such a popular operation, and I dont see why this is not a booth. They would rake in the dough. Ha ha. O and the fresh peach ice cream at the adjacent space was pretty darn good too. Nate Conner

There is a lot of crap and Disney and finding memorable food is tough. One place that fits your budget that I really enjoy is Cooke's of Dublin in downtown Disney. Good hot cooked to order fish, chicken or shrimp with decent chips. Its counter service with a small dining area, but genuine good food. This might sound silly, but in the Magic Kingdom, we eat the baked potatoes across from the haunted mansion in Liberty Square Market. They are not bad, fill you up and cost about $3.50. They also sell fruit.

My sister in law will be in Paris for four evenings and I am looking for some advice to give her regarding meals. I have my favorites, but many involve memorable meals with meat. She eats all seafood and is ok with a great sauce having a little animal stock, or eating in any type of restaurant. One lunch will be in L'Arpege. What is the tariff these days on a lunch there? Any recommendations for a similar style lunch if they cannot get reservations? They want to make eating out the evening activity with a drink or two after dinner at a fun bustling not touristy wine bar, lounge or cocktail spot after dinner, any recommendations? They (3 pretty ladies in their late thirties) are experienced diners who frequent the best spots in Philly and NYC, so great food will be appreciated. Any recommendations for a reasonable (50-80 euro per person with wine) restaurant serving exciting yet French focused food in a fun and bustling space. They will be staying in the middle of the 8th. I am also looking for a recommendation for the perfect fruits de mer experience, lunch or dinner. Thanks, Nate

Jim, If you liked the Castilla try Mas Que Vinos, Ercavio Blanco, La Mancha. This has been my favorite airen lately. These simple, bright, full wines remind me of a good $30 New Zealand SB, at a third the price. Also I really like the Conquista white, %100 Torrontes. It reminds me a bit of simple light bodied gewurztraminer, and its cheap. This is on my list of good wines I can find at a Food Lion. Hope all is well. Nate Conner

I Had a great meal in 2007, and told Luis how thankful we were. He spoke of a tedious process with little sleep (reservations). Ill keep requesting though. I do find it nice that a formal response is given considering the thousands of emails that must come mid October for 8000 or so seats. Nathan Conner I received this on 10/29. The demand that we have received at the first moment has again surpassed our limited possibilities for one season and we regret not to be able to full fill more reservation requests. We thank you sincerely for all your interest and we will be at your disposal if you wish to revise the situation during the season, near your available dates as we must confirm all the reservations 10 days in advance. Tel. +34 972 15 04 57 (during the season - after 3.00 p.m.) 2009 Season - Open from June 16th to December 20th Only dinner service 7.30 – 9.30 p.m. except on some Saturdays of September-October-November and December that we will be open for lunch (1.00 – 2.30 p.m.) and closed for dinner. NORMALLY MONDAY AND TUESDAY CLOSED SEE EXCEPTIONS OF OUR 2009 CALENDAR AT www.elbulli.com (see reservations) 2010 RESERVATIONS We do not have information about 2010 season at this moment but we never start the management until we have finished the season before. You will find information at www.elbulli.com see reservations) in December 2009. Sincerely yours, Luis Garcia

Totally worth a meal or two. Maybe the most interesting and best food in Orlando. Good beer and wine list, and sound creative cooking. There are more romantic and refined places, but this place is a local favorite for a reason. My meals have been from good to great, and the prices are reasonable. Nate

More of a street fair than a bbq festival. The bbq vendors are all the same q from what I was told, and it is nothing special. Ive been twice. The draw is all the vendors and some country music headliners. I will not be back myself, but it is decent for a street fair. If q is what you want, get a map and hit Lexington on another date. Dont miss Cooks, BBQ Center, and #1, and then go from there. There is a bit of gas cooking going on there these days, so if there is no wood, move on, it aint real q. Nate