Chris Amirault

Hi, Vice. A few quick responses. Loie Fuller info above. You could also check out Bacaro (seems iffy to me), the new team at Temple, and -- hope upon hope -- see if Local 121 has pulled it together enough to follow through on an entire meal. Standbys (La Laiterie, Chez Pascal, Gracie's...) are worth a visit too. I'm eating at Tini, Germon and Killeen's new place next to Gracie's, on Saturday night, and I'll report back on that. And, if you've never been, I am increasingly convinced that Sun & Moon is, for the family I have, the best bet in town.

Tom called that a "Goodnight, Chris" -- no relation, though he made it for me once. As fate would have it, this is precisely the drink I made for myself tonight, with Rittenhouse BIB, the whiskey-barrel-aged Fee's bitters, and a lemon twist (old, dry orange wouldn't do). It's not for everyone, but I love it.

Having listened to Dale's presentation (with Dave Wondrich) at the NY Food & Wine Festival a few weeks ago and talked with him afterward, I don't have this sense at all. In fact, iirc, he referenced dry shaking when talking about the Ramos Gin Fizz, suggesting that it is, indeed, a good thing to do. In addition, in his new book, he makes several references to his handmade foams and directly compares his work to Adria's. Methinks that this article plays up angle in which the disgruntled inventor poo-poos the new kids on the block, and it's just not that simple.

You might have a problem getting it fully defrosted and down to room temp by Sunday, particularly if you take Dave's advice.

Sam, where did you find it?

I'd say something else. Peaty and smoky scotches are tops for me, but they ain't funky on my tongue.

I think that the Nevada is a great base from which to experiment. There's lots of room for interesting stuff in there: dark rums, other bitters, different syrups (demerara, e.g.).

Thanks, Bob. I made the order. More when it arrives.

I find myself leaning toward the Gekko at JCK.

Okay, okay, all kidding aside...your requirements are a tad unrealistic. Yes, I realize that -- they were hyperbolic. I had just read that New Yorker article about the knives that cut through inch-thick rope, a few beer cans, and then shave your arm hair. However, there is one condition: Right now -- or, rather, by Christmas. I think that I'm starting to realize that I should spend a little less to see if this the style of knife that I want to have and then upgrade to the superblades later if so. I also am increasingly thinking that I should get a few in my hands before making this decision, but damned if I can find out how or where. ETA: Not Stoddard's in Chestnut Hill, I'm afraid.

I would be able to accept that. I was just about to post that my new bottles of Chartreuse, both colors, aren't funky at all, but the 30+-year-old ones with muck at the bottom....

Musky I can get behind.

Well, I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe. I was not offended. I definitely taste something funky in the Rhones I love, too, but I'm not sure if it's the same thing. I'd have to grab a bottle to see.... Nutty I get, but not quite sure about vegetal or peppery. For example, I taste the last two in all tequila, but most tequilas I have wouldn't qualify as funky on my palate. For me, though, neither Boomsma isn funky at all whereas the Genevieve is very funky. Malt, though, seems about right. I wonder if in my mouth it has to do with malty, yeasty tones. So, like the heads and tails in the arrack, it's about extra weird stuff left hanging around? Say more. In reading up a bit on esters, I am sensing that they're primarily fruity. Do they provide a more yeasty, malty fruit character? Could be.

Do you know which dry vermouth? (Sorry -- I'm very interested!)

Is the apple a garnish or somehow incorporated into the drink more fully?

Looks great, indeed! Yeah, I think that disinfecting is easy to be anal about, and I made some outstanding peperoni in plastic box in a corner of my moldy basement where my coonhound regularly peed. I'm just sayin'.

I'm not sure how a knife can be stupid, and the wide variety of styles out there would suggest that different people have different needs. There are lots of different ways, for example, for someone to hold a knife, and facilitating one over another is a design decision, not an acknowledgment of ineptitude. In addition, as someone who has mastered most classic chef knife techniques, I can say that there are times when I appreciate the thinner, smaller blade to my larger old boys. Variety, spice of life, all that.

Robert, I'm hoping you can comment on this sentence: It seems to me that one of the joys of sitting at the bar with a top cocktailian bartender is that they play so many roles: executive chef, line cook, maitre'd, and -- yes -- sommelier. Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli at Eastern Standard is one of many good folks out there who have walked me through appropriate choices for different foods or moods.

Can you say more about the differences between the two? What characteristics are gained/lost in the new one?

I got some good news yesterday, and when I got home I decided to make myself a special drink. Snooping through the cabinet, I spied my bottle of Erik Ellestad's Underhill Punsch and realized that I needed a Biffy Cocktail, a great way to bring out the special character of the Batavia Arrack in the punsch. Tonight, I hankered for a drink of similar character. I've been addicted to the "Improved Holland Gin Cocktail" since I saw it mentioned here on eG Forums in a post on Dave Wondrich's Killer Cocktails. As Wondrich puts it in Imbibe!, "For those who have ever had one, to contemplate it is to desire it." And desire it I did. However, I recently picked up a bottle of Depaz Blue Cane Rhum Agricole, and started wondering whether an Improved Rhum Cocktail would be worth a try. I'm finishing it now; the answer is yes, oh yes. These drinks don't have a lot in common on the page, a punsched-up gin sour on the one hand, and the mightily improved old fashioned variant on the other. But in my mouth they share something quite important in common: they are both terrifically funky drinks. I'm not sure what I mean by "funky," mind you. It's not bad at all; quite the opposite: I apparently love the funk. Not everyone does around here, though; things that funk you up are much less likely to be finished than, say, a smooth, luscious Sidecar. That's fine with me, though, as I get to polish off whatever the guests leave in their glasses. Given my addiction to the funk, I'm hoping that in this topic we can get a better handle on what it actually is. I don't think I'm alone with this funk jones, either, for many people around here use "funky" as an adjective to describe a pretty specific set of libations. To wit: Genevieve and a few other genevers: Batavia arrack and Wray & Nephew overproof rum: Wild Turkey Bourbon: Luxardo Maraschino: And, by extension (at least to my tongue) Cynar: I can. In fact, I must have the bottles on that list available in my liquor cabinet at all times. (Given how much I'm loving this funky Depaz, that's going on the list too.) So what is this funk of which we speak? Is it a result of some ingredient or process? Are their chemical elements shared among this disparate group of spirits? What else might qualify for this good, earthy funk? Are these the feety matsutake mushrooms of hooch?

It's the soaps, I tell you. Back here I quoted Russ Parsons from his How to Read a French Fry, the relevant selection of which follows:

Some deep frying tips I've learned hereabouts and elsewhere: Toss in old oil whenever you're using new oil; 10% is a good amount. It helps to crisp up the food. You want a little breakdown. Use your ears. Deep frying is about oil and water; when the latter burns off in the former, the sound changes from a bubbly rumble to a slight hiss. Oil temperature drops 50-75F when you put in a batch of stuff, so heat the oil higher than you want it.

Indeed, you can get bolsters ground down by any machine shop or grinder for dirt cheap or free. I have a 25-year-old Wusthof that I took to a grinder for this very purpose a year or so ago. Smart move.

I've moved the Ken Onion discussion over here. Octaveman said, So for a user who thinks these are all stunning, expects to use the knife five or six times a week, can spend in the range of all, and wants to sharpen it every 4-6 months max: the winner is...?

Well, it's been a while, and I'm now in a bit of a dilemma that I mentioned over in this discussion of nakiri knives. I mentioned, To which I got a few replies, which can be summed up as, "Just sharpen the damned thing." So I think I'll be moving forward with the Edge Pro sometime soon. But there's no need to push me. Really. Thanks. Meanwhile, the KO Shun chef's knife is a regular part of my rotation. I still am a bit particular about it: it sits on its little throne above the rolling cart in the kitchen, not on the magnetic strip with the rest of the knives. Anyone else want to fess up about their Ken Onions?