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Everything posted by Chris Amirault
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Most excellent, Rebecca of 263! I demand more cereal poems!
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You go! Click here for some very helpful advice from eGulleteers concerning my first full-on attempts at bibimbap. I'd go for (brace yourself) ten pounds of spinach, about ten medium cucumbers (or thirty kirbys, or five "English" or seedless monsters), about fifty medium carrots, and five pounds of bean sprouts. I'd also add some seaweed, which you'd just have to reconstitute in warm water, and a nice, fat pickled daikon, which you'd just have to julienne. You must post photos!
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Well, then, it's settled: go to Flo's for lunch, get a clam roll, hit the Mansions, Second Beach, and Ocean Drive, then head up to Champe Speidel's Persimmon in Bristol. You will be happy, my Jersey friend.
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How was it? Did it cook all the way through?
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I read the article and appreciate the typically compelling discussion here. I have two questions for y'all: The article implies that terroir and uniqueness are, in the world of US consumer wines, basically irrelevant or on the way to being irrelevant. As someone who really enjoys trying different grapes and wines in a variety of styles from across the globe, I find this pretty sad. Are things that dire? How accurate is that implication? The article also makes it clear that Enologix serves producers of big ticket Cabs. Does Enologix also serve producers of other wines -- say, big, oaky chardonnays? rhone-style reds for dining? Or is this service only built to produce one style of one wine?
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Golly moses -- I'm not talking about Michelin stars here. I'm talking about stuff that doesn't swim in old grease, chicken that isn't overcooked and dry, pea pod leaves that don't require chicken fat for flavor and umami. I would've ordered that scallop recipe but it wasn't on the Peach Farm menu that night, but given what we did eat, I'm not convinced that would have been transcendent. However, I do eat transcendent Chinese food very regularly at a place here in RI, and I'm beginning to think we're very spoiled. Save for some great Chinese food I've had in London, nothing compares to Lucky Garden. But Lucky Garden is a very simple place: good ingredients cooked well. Their pork belly isn't an exercise in Keller-esque experimentation; it's just fucking good pork belly. Ditto their char siu bao, scallops and tofu with black beans, and, yep, pea pod leaves.
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I'm certainly not going to subscribe. I've been a very big Penzey's fan for years, but here's what I don't get about One and their catalogue. Everyone that I know who gets Penzey's Spices is a very devoted cook of many cuisines. They don't just get oregano, chili powder, and peppercorns; they get stuff that they can't get at their local supermarket and make interesting things, usually from across the globe. Check the backs of your best recent cookbooks, too, where the authors tout the wonders of Penzey's. So why do Penzey's catalogues and One read as if everyone's terrified of remotely interesting cuisine? I mean, come on: "Delicious Saltines" (Zestas with chocolate chips melted on them)? "Shawn's Noodles" (ingredients: two packages of shrimp ramen noodles, water, hot sauce, and pepper)? Admittedly, there are a few international recipes in here, but give me a break. They're completely ignoring a core component of their market. And don't try to sell me on some middle America argument, either. I got to know Penzey's while living in Milwaukee, and I knew a lot of Cheeseheads who toiled weekends to make curries and moles using their Penzey's stuff. Harumph.
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I made a pretty simple "carbonara" (in the Calvin Trillin, not-trying-to-be-authentic-anything mode) from Boar's Head bacon, shiitake, sugar snap peas, bit of garlic, cream, and parm reg, using a very black peppered fresh spaghetti. Plopped a fried egg on top of the whole business, too, just to be sure that we had all of the different animal fat bases covered.
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Seems to me like truer words have ne'er been said -- but I wonder, Steven, if Richard Coraine is typical or unusual, in your experience, within the profession of restaurant management?
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What's the most delicious thing you've eaten today (2005)
Chris Amirault replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
Leftover lamb curry. -
Great post -- and it suggests to me that satisfaction for diners and professionals alike is grounded as much in the quality of human relationships as it is in the quality of the food.
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For those interested in discussing the bigger questions raised by these sorts of incidents, please click here for the thread on resolving conflict in restaurants.
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There have been many threads in General Food Topics on the subject of diner disgruntlement. Many, many, many. They are among the most active in the forums. You've probably created or posted to one yourself, haven't you? Here's the basic scenario: Unhappy eaters from drive-in burger joints to starred Michelin restaurants come here to vent (always without naming names, of course), and then the threads take a pretty predictable turn: other members question their version of events, motives, taste, awareness of authenticity, tolerance, and so on. Some threads slip into ad hominem attacks, and others play like a poorly structured game of Rashomon, but we rarely get to the big questions. So here's a thread about some big questions. How should one resolve conflicts, address problems, and otherwise deal with negative situations when dining at restaurants? What are effective techniques? What are not? And to what end? Is getting exactly the food you want while pissing off the FOH an effective resolution for you? Or would you rather write off a bad dish or crabby server at a favorite haunt now and then in order to maintain a sense of community-minded appreciation for the people whose small business seeks to serve you? What approaches do you use when travelling? When at your neighborhood hang-out? When at a well-reputed place? What if the meal is expensive? mid-range? cheap? Mom-and-pop? National chain?
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Cookbooks – How Many Do You Own? (Part 3)
Chris Amirault replied to a topic in Cookbooks & References
Let's be creative here. Can your son wash dishes, scrub potatoes, or do molecular gastronomy? Maybe instead of just getting rid of him, you could trade him to Ferran Adria: have him do a few stages for free in exchange for, I dunno, the set of El Bulli books or something. -
I've been to many, many restaurants in Boston's Chinatown over the years. I've had some horrorshow meals, and a few pretty good ones. But... they were also greasy, usually reheated, and not nearly as good as they should be. Not a single place I've been is even in the same league as our wonderful, humble Lucky Garden here in North Providence. Why do Boston Chinatown restaurants all seem to be so mediocre? (Boston Chinese restaurants in general, perhaps, deserve the same criticism.) Are there any truly fantastic places and dishes? Don't be telling me about Peach Farm's hot pot chicken or East Ocean City's lobster with ginger and scallion or any of the dim sum parlors, either, chum, 'cause I ain't buying that, no how.
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Lunch: eat fried clams at Flo's Clam Shack (click). Dinner at Spiced Pear -- or drive up to Bristol and hit Persimmon, which is excellent.
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What cuts did they make, Daniel? Anyone know why?
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Can someone give a basic overview of the service system in place at Per Se? If only one person greets, takes the order, serves, clears, and checks out each table, then the idea of rewarding individuals based on performance might make some sense. But if it is as I suspect -- a variation on a European model that emphasizes a team-based approach to service with a more relaxed style of interaction -- then the idea of rewarding individuals based on performance is nonsensical. How, exactly, can a diner assess the performance of an individual who works by necessity as part of a team? As someone who runs a preschool, I know that the individual teacher who often receives credit for a "job well done" from a parent is merely one of many who have collaborated unselfishly to do that job. Just because the "consumer" doesn't recognize that team work is not justification for me to do the same. This isn't communism; if anything, it's a version of maximizing efficiency as a team that Ford would find admirable. Even if it were communism, I'd agree with Steven: it sounds like Keller gets what it takes to manage a group of people so that they can take pride in their work together.
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A lasting and enduring love affair: ranch dressing
Chris Amirault replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
I think viva's got a winner right there.... -
What's the most delicious thing you've eaten today (2005)
Chris Amirault replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
C'mon, Ling, the gig is up: we all know that you're not really going to fire up the oven and bake a damn thing! That dough is gonna get in yer belly uncooked!! Meanwhile, back to the thread at hand: I had a fine carbonara tonight with fresh black pepper spaghetti, some tasty Boar's Head bacon, and a few other fine things involving cream, eggs, and lots more heart-healthy stuff. -
Yard Sale, Thrift Store, Junk Heap Shopping (Part 1)
Chris Amirault replied to a topic in Kitchen Consumer
Well, if it's in really bad shape, you can sand or use steel wool to resurface, but then you have to reseason and begin a new life for the pan. ← I've also heard that if it's yucky dirty, you can jump-start the cleaning process by putting it in your oven for a self-clean cycle. However, my ovens have always been of the "self-clean? Clean it yourself!" variety, so I have no first-hand experience. ← Click here to reveal all. -
For oils, etc., go to Angel Foods at the far end of Commercial Street. Great macaroons and other baked goods, quality but limited meats, lots of other goodies. Angel Foods 467 Commercial Street, Provincetown 508-487-6666
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Cookbooks – How Many Do You Own? (Part 3)
Chris Amirault replied to a topic in Cookbooks & References
I'll wager January 3: after a good 24 hours of post-Xmas and New Year counting. -
Bumping this up to ask about saucing your fresh pasta. I'm trying new recipes for sauces for fresh linguini and/or spaghetti (when I have more time, not a work night, I'll be filling ravioli or tortellini). What are people's tried and true recipes? Feel free to include everything, from basics to more involved.
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What's the most delicious thing you've eaten today (2005)
Chris Amirault replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
A thoroughly wonderful scoop of butter pecan ice cream at Gray's Ice Cream in Tiverton Four Corners RI. Made the sun burn burn less...