Chris Amirault

Thanks -- that's useful. To clarify about the lists, as I said above, I'm of the Hess school of thought on stocking the bar, building it a bottle at a time and expanding from there. The lists wouldn't be definitive but idiosyncratic, and would focus on the process of building your own killer cabinet, not what "should" be in there.

I wasn't expressing optimism. I was dreaming a ginny little dream.

I'll be happy to share them when they're done, for sure.

So: does this mean that the colors indicate fruiting of beneficial mold (which in turn may indicate an insufficiently dry environment)? In addition, is it appropriate to say that you don't want to eliminate the mold but rather wish to curb the fruiting? dougal, do you have details on this? What are the "green and hairy" things that are unwholesome? Perhaps "green and hairy" is a both state of beneficial mold and a kind or state of unbeneficial mold. All a guess, but I'd say that it was about 65F in there, notably chillier than the other A/Ced shops, and about 50-60% humidity, notably drier than on the street (90F & 85ish% humidity iirc).

My battles with green mold are well documented here. For example, I present a few sticks of particularly memorable sopressata: Following the advice of basically every book ever published in English on the subject, in which green mold = deadly, horrible failure, I tossed them out. There are a few exceptions out there; members here mention washing it off and rehanging it, but only at the early stages. Shortly after that disappointment, I went to Barcelona, where I had this experience: Still no answers. Fast forward to August 2009. Chris Hennes and I are hitting the outer boroughs in search of good food, and we arrive here. The justly famous Calabria Pork Store, on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. The place is the holy shrine of cured pork on the east coast, and it smells hog heavenly. Hundreds of sausages, sides of pork, hams, you name it are hanging overhead. However, when you walk a bit closer to the product, you see this: These sausages weren't speckled with green mold; they didn't have a bit here and there. Most of the product in room was coated 40-50% with fuzzy, green to blue mold. Our jaws dropped. We asked the counter person three or four different times what the story was, and he looked at us like we were nuts. We got the sort of reaction you'd get if you tried to ask a crab on the ocean floor why it was so humid around here. Meanwhile, Hennes and I ate about as much of the free sample plate as we could eat without being arrested. The stuff is fantastic: funky, rich, deep flavor that only the best cured pork gets. And we're not dead. Something, clearly, is going on, and I'm hellbent on getting to the bottom of it. Here are my questions: 1. What, exactly, is this "fuzzy green mold"? What distinguishes "fuzzy green mold" from "chalky white mold"? 2. What effects do these molds have? How do you determine which effects are detrimental, beneficial, or both? 3. If, as all the books indicate, this "fuzzy green mold" is so terrible for you, why in the world is a premier salumeria displaying it overhead for all the world to see? For starters, does anyone have any access to actual facts?

I had the same thought, and have been drafting a set of handouts, including four home bar lists (starter/good/better/killer), a bar equipment basics list (starter/better), "Books to Get Your Whistle Wet," and "Boozy, Well-Shaken Websites." We'll be providing starter kits for cost as well.

Adam, John Deragon (johnder) was hosting our party, and he detected gentian as the base bittering agent. Care to comment?

Nate making a Martinez at PDT Monday night: He used, I believe, Hayman's Old Tom gin, Carpano Antica Formula and Dolin rouge vermouth half-&-half, and the rest you know. Delicious.

Family of four, in the $600-700 range. That's going to drop this year with my wife entering grad school.

What else did you get?

I'm in.

The silence is deafening. I got to work right away. Vodka begat Russia, of course, and I started thinking about flavors that work within that cuisine. Which lead me to beets, which lead me to borscht, which lead me to flips, which lead me to... The Borscht Belt 3 oz vodka (Tito's) 3/4 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz simple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters 1 small beet (Shaw's) 1 T egg, beaten Muddle the beet with a fork in the vodka, lemon, simple, and bitters. Add the egg and dry shake until foamy. Add plenty of ice; shake; strain. Blurry -- focused on the vodka, appropriately -- but still informative shot: It's beautiful, even tasty.

Bill Keller weighs in on the anonymity question here: But... for many of the most high profile restaurants in the most high profile restaurant city in the country, the people who "are plenty busy doing their jobs" are "on the lookout for critics." And what is this "intelligence" exactly? Whatever you believe about the anonymity issue, this feels like a dodge, not an answer.

Paul Clarke over at Cocktail Chronicles has been organizing a monthly online cocktail event he calls Mixology Mondays: This month's event is being hosted by Felicia's Speakeasy and the theme is Vodka is Your Friend. Wait! Come back! One note: flavored vodka is permitted. (I'll be using gin. Joke! Joke!) If you would like to participate, please post any vodka cocktail, borrowed or invented, this topic before Monday, August 10 at midnight. I will compile a list of cocktails posted and mail them to the organizer. Now, off to the store to buy a bottle of Tito's Handmade.

Big article with Guy Fieri in the ProJo about Liberty Elm. Never thought I'd be glad to see that guy show up in town....

I ate my way through Chiang Mai for nearly two weeks last year, and Sripraphai can stand with the best of them. Lunch (ordered off the full menu) yesterday with Chris Hennes was great. Merely good drunken noodles -- note problems above, which were there but not to terrible effect -- but everything else was excellent. The ground pork soup with turnip greens was fantastic, an excellent pork stock supporting high-quality hog and greens. The chicken larb (made with thigh meat, I believe) was the best restaurant larb I've ever had, as was an outstanding eggplant and pork dish. Fans of chile heat should be sure to say "Thai spicy" or something like that. We needed that soothing soup for the blistering larb, whereas a couple of guys at a nearby table were complaining that stuff wasn't hot enough.

I was one of Steven's guests the other night -- or, given that the entire meal was comped, perhaps I should say Chef Loughhead's guest -- and had a similarly favorable impression. Weird, Bruni-esque stuff first. I liked the decor, personally, especially the titanic midcentury modern lights that hovered like benevolent UFOs over the room. I'm hard of hearing and sensitive to noisy restaurants, and it wasn't nearly as bad as many other places I've been to, even with a boisterous table to our left and the world's greatest brides getting ready for their close-ups out the open door on the patio. I don't really get the bathroom agita. Sure, they're down a set of stairs (or an elevator), but that's the case for a lot of hotel restaurants. In addition, there's a strange rapport that you develop with others waiting to relieve themselves as you stare at the hallway of unlabeled doors wondering what to do. I took to saying to diners heading down the stairs, "Choose any one; you'll understand," which turned into a fun sort of game after a while. I've no ability to judge NYT stars with any care, but my rough sense is that 2ish to 3 makes sense, and that zero stars is frankly bizarre. The food top to bottom was very good to excellent, and, unlike a lot of newly opened places, the a la minute mains were, to my mind, stronger than the prepped-ahead appetizers. Something's going right down there. The smoked pork chop deserves all of the praise that Steven heaped on it. I've devoted a few dozen hours to brining, smoking, and grilling pork chops seeking that level of precision and care and failed -- though not nearly as badly as most restaurants at which I've ordered such chops. The alder smoke, in particular, was both sweet and savory, and played off of the salt (again, I think it was brined, but not sure) and quality meat deftly. The table agreed that it was a bravura performance from farm to table, so to speak, with every step nailed. Lots of other smart decisions throughout the meal. Pairing the octopus with the sweet celery hearts and salty olives was spot-on. When I saw the branzino had been pan-fried, I got worried, but someone knows fish down in that kitchen because it was perfectly done. Other people weren't as wowed by the lamb terrine as I was, but that may be because I ate most of the pickled tomatoes, which paired well with the fatty lamb. And I was on the pro-corn risotto (c'mon: embrace the creamed corn) side of the fence, myself, though I'd have loved to have had three times the number of guanciale crisps atop. Even the slight food missteps were promising. The rabbit sausage, overpowered by a whole-grain mustard accompaniment, was nutty and flavorful without it. Change the mortadella name (it's more like a summer sausage in texture and cut into cubes) and I'd eat that daily. I wanted that cauliflower crisped by, and not merely tossed in, the duck fat -- but as Steven said, it's hard to complain about cauliflower in duck fat. Desserts were great, too, with the pistachio & white truffle macaron really making a statement -- a salty one, of course. The beverage program needs some work. The Ca' Del Bosco came to the table teeth-numbingly cold, and whatever the design scheme, NYC humidity demands coasters for chilled drinks. The cocktail program certainly isn't up to the standards being set elsewhere around town. I am ready for the salt levels there, myself, but If I were T8, I'd be building the greatest straight-up gin cocktail menu I could muster; their salt bar concept would pair incredibly with gin drinks like Aviations, Martinez Cocktails, Pink Gins, and of course actual dry Martinis. Add a few sherries, a few vermouths, a couple different house-smoked nuts, and you could while away the hours on jamon de iberico, duck prosciutto, and so on. One last point for denizens of NYC: the view from the roof of the hotel, where many catered events are held, is absolutely breathtaking. Maybe that's where the gin bar should be....

Gawker's working on disguises.

Grub Street just posted a Sam Sifton Reader. Their take on his oeuvre: Grub Street doesn't expect much of a change from Bruni based on their quick review. More at the link, including excerpts.

Just added a bit more detail over in the planning topic: click. Here's an annotated version. I'd be glad to get feedback, especially on the parentheses: September 28: The Basics, or, How to Make the Best Cocktail in Town. Quality, Not Quantity (basic brand list: the Sidecar). Ice Is God (size, cold, enough). Fresh Ingredients (juice, vermouth, soda/tonic: The Manhattan). Balancing Components (French Pearl). October: Pucker Not: Sours, Rums, & the Art of Balance. Sour Ratios (Embury’s, DeGroff’s, Regan’s...: the Daiquiri). Rums. Simple Syrups. The Seductive World of Tiki Drinks (Surf Room Mai Tai?). November: A Bottle of Gin IS a Lot Like Love. Gin Varieties (London dry, old tom, genever: Aviation). Vermouths (the Martinez). The Martini, Shaking vs Stirring, & Garnishes. Gateway Gin Drinks (Aviation, Gin Gin Mule, Intro to Aperol). December: Tis the Season: Nogs, Punches & Champagne Cocktails When & How to Bottle Drinks & Serve Them (when age does & doesn’t help, ice molds). Basic Punches (Brandy Punch, Swedish Punsch? Regent’s Punch). Dairy Punches (Milk Punch, Egg Nog). Popping the Cork: Champagne Cocktails (French 75, Bellini).

His photo is sure easy to find -- and up in the kitchens of every restaurant in the five boroughs already, no doubt.

A little snooping around revealed this NYTpicker blog entry about Sifton, who dissed star ratings systems in a Wall St Journal article: When asked about the NYT's restaurant rating system, he said that they were "the exception that proves the rule here." As NYTpicker cracks, it's good, I guess, that they're not golden spatulas.

NYT Diners Blog just announced that Sam Sifton will be the new restaurant critic. Sifton has been Culture Editor for the paper (he had also served as dining editor there) and will be replacing Frank Bruni. (Deep breath.) Thoughts? ETA the dining editor bit.

Shrimp Curry This was the first dish to which I contributed more than mise prep. Ami was squeamish about shrimp, and there was much discussion about how much to cook them. When I suggested chilling them quickly ice water after blanching, she thought that was too much work, so we settled on this approach. Sweat 2 c minced red onions in some oil & butter over medium heat with a bit of salt until translucent. Add 2-3 minced chile peppers and stir until fragrant; add 3-4 T ground coriander and stir until fragrant. Then add a scant 2 T each of garlic and ginger pastes and cook thoroughly. You want a rich, smooth sauce without the bite of either but no browning. Add a diced tomato and 2 T almonds, heat through, and remove from the heat. Meanwhile, peel & devein 2-3 lb shrimp and save the shells. Make a quick shrimp stock with the shells and ~1 c of water; bring it to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Strain off the shells, and, using that liquid, boil the shrimp over high heat, stirring constantly to keep the heat evenly distributed. If you're chilling in an ice bath, cook them until they're done; if you're not, cook them until they're a bit underdone, as they'll continue cooking off heat. Strain and reduce the shrimp stock by ~75%. Blend the cooled sauce ingredients until smooth and add 3 T coconut powder. (Alternately, add 1/2 c or so of coconut cream.) Add the reduced shrimp stock and the shrimp, and bring the stock to a simmer, stirring. Add 1/4 c roughly chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

Thanks, Nancy. Website here. What sorts of things has he ordered from them?