Chris Amirault

I'll bite. I submit this revision to Toby Maloney's Ginger Square, which is a liquid ginger snap: 2 oz cognac 1/2 oz Licor 43 1/2 oz blackstrap rum 3/4 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz ginger syrup 1-2 dashes Regan's orange bitters 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters

Thanks for the news flash. My point, obviously, is that ranking cities for pizza suggests quality that doesn't exist. As I said, Al Forno is hit-or-miss, at best -- and pricey to boot -- while B&Ts has been pretty lousy each time I've gone. That means that two of Richman's top 25 can't deliver consistently, even in their own dining rooms.

Providence 5th? Gimme a break. With a few exceptions (Al Forno when they aren't preheating the crusts, Fellini's when it's right out of the ovens), Providence pizza coasts by on reputation. Bob & Timmy's has been mediocre most times I've been, and many "famous" joints are flat-out uncaring. (You hear me, Casserta's?!?) If Providence is in the top five, the US is in a sorry pizza state.

A main for sure, at home growing up and now and also at area restaurants. There are, in fact, at least two famous mac & cheese mains in RI restaurant lore, the fancypants one at Al Forno and the low-rent one at Red Fez.

I take it that Taranta has been certified by the Green Restaurant Association, which has a set of standards for declaring something "green" or not. (Not sure about "ultra-green.") Is that the standard here, or can anyone put up a sign saying that they're "green"? Meanwhile, those LED "candles" give me the creeps.

Just ordered the Riviere Cambodian Cooking book Peter references above, in anticipation of my own Kmher fest over the next several weeks.

Lamb ribs confit: that sounds just about right.

That's a good call, Richard: I have had the Republic of Tea Big Green Hojicha a few times and really like it.

I'll give it a try. Absolutely. Two very different things, and I love both of them.

I think that Paradise, Hon's, and Horn's (the last two owned by the same family, I think), are all solid pho joints. Minh Hai is the top step of Vietnamese places, though: another incredible goi con, chicken hot pot, and more today. Best coffee too -- after years we can't figure out how they do it -- and Minh himself is a peach.

With a twist, a 3: or 4:1 martini with Whitley Neill gin, old NP, and a half n half orange bitters (Fee's and Regan's) is just the thing with a lemon twist. I tend to make Fitty Fittys or 2:1s with Tanqueray or Junipero and the old NP if I want to add three olives. I like the old NP. What can I say.

Mitch: where's "here"?

I make some small fraction of the good Dr. Sconzo () and I can't afford to hit Daniel or French Laundry on a regular basis. My budget allows us to eat out once a week, and that's usually one of our regular rotation of excellent "ethnic" spots. However, I've saved my pennies prior to trips to make meals at, say, Alinea possible, especially when traveling out of town. I've also learned that, in many cities, you can eat excellent, compelling food at restaurants that are not at the highest price points. (Jose Andres's Zaytinya, in DC, is a great example.) In addtion, many other higher-end meals often aren't as expensive as people think. My trip to StudioKitchen, documented here, cost $100 pp, I think -- not Mickey D's but certainly in the neighborhood of high-end New England joints. I coudn't drop $100 pp every week, but I can do it once in a while, especially if I am pretty sure the meal will be worth it. So: yeah, priorities. I'll eat rice and beans for a month for a crack at Alinea. In fact, I think that I had to eat rice and beans for a month when the bill came for Alinea....

Um, yeah. Have worked in and have observed kitchens where it happens all the time. Cameras rolling or health inspector there, sure, it's all spoons. But otherwise... let's just say that recent grads were the only ones with a bunch of clean spoons stuck in their clothing, and they got dogged for it. It's on the stove and needs a test for seasoning, salt, acid, whatever? You don't look for a tasting spoon. You taste it with your asbestos fingertips, right?

I use Lunazul silver, which is apparently 100% agave and cheap enough to drop into the bucket o' berries. As I mentioned over here, I'm trying to find ways to use this amazing Branca Menta I've got. After fiddling with Stinger/Goodnight, Irene variants, I've found one that is based on a poor man's cognac, combining rye with Licor 43 as a substitute. Meet the Stingier: 2 oz rye (Rittenhouse BIB) 1 oz Branca Menta 1/2 oz Licor 43 Stir, strain over cracked ice, orange twist around the rim and over the top.

Been trying to find recipes with Branca Menta. Audrey Saunders's Goodnight, Irene (2:1 bourbon and Branca Menta with crushed ice) is outstanding, but I crave more. Sam suggested using it as a substitute for creme de menthe; I haven't made the Delmarva Cocktail he suggests, but would be interested to know more possibilities.

Anyone been to Sra. Martinez this spring? I'd be interested to see what's going on lately.

Any updates? I'll be in Miami Beach but will have a car and would be happy to travel a bit. No fear of urban neighborhoods, either (I live in one ).

Your response answers the question: I think many would read that simile and believe that "like Mr. Rogers" means "like a friendly patriarchal adult talks to children, with an all-knowing, superior tone that guides our behavior and teaches us how to grow up."

A telling quotation from the Hartford event worth noting: That speaks volumes for why she drives some people crazy, I'd say.

Katie, what tequila do you use for your lover's infusion? I'm eager to get more of my own put up as soon as I can get a non-styrofoam strawberry.

Still there, and called Mekong Market.

Todd did yeoman's work both behind the scenes and in the forums, and his keen insight and bright wit were a boon to us all. Laissez les bon temps rouler, mon cher.

I just made an outstanding chana masala with some garam masala made by a friend of mine (thanks Meera!), and it ranks among the best food gifts I've ever received. What are the gifts that rank at the top of your list?

A year ago I nailed kielbasa using the CIA Garde Manger recipe on p 290 of the third edition, called "Kielbasa (Polish-Style Sausage)," more or less: That recipe calls for 2.26 kg of pork butt and 860 kg of fatback -- but because the butt was very fatty, I didn't add the fat. This time, with what I thought was a leaner shoulder, I made another excellent batch, but I added about 450 g of fat into the mix. It's also excellent, but the texture is quite different, more like a summer sausage. No big mystery to solve there. It prompts me to ask: how do you measure the ratio of meat to fat? Do you trim your shoulders, chucks, and butts beforehand and weigh it all out? Or what?