Jason Perlow

Isn't that also called Labneh in other countries? Or is Labneh fundamentally different? I found a Turkish recipe for "Creamy Yogurt-and-Walnut Dip" http://www.sudairy.com/mer/recipes/creamy.html Labneh is a yogurt cheese. I think it is usually plain. You're right. I got it confused with "LEBNI". Actually there seems to be many kinds of Lebnis, with the walnut one being the most prevalent.

Only to the turkey ... I actually think Turkey can make a decent burger, but not ground turkey breast. Has to be ground whole turkey, or combined with ground pork, because it needs substantial fat content. Ground pork actually I think makes a better burger than turkey, and you can do some cool stuff with it, like make asian-flavor burgers. This is a Pork/Turkey burger that I made Vietnamese/Thai style, using this seasoning recipe for "Larb Balls" http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r563.html

At Brandy's I tend to stick with their Hunan-styled dishes such as their noodles, their dumplings and anything which has two stars, i.e. spicy. None of that stuff seems very Americanized to me.

Mario Batali believes that olive oil is as precious as gold, that shorts are acceptable attire for every season, and that food, like most things, is best when left to its own simple beauty. To that end, Mario creates simple magic night after night in Manhattan’s West Village and Theater District, dividing his time between his many Italian hotspots, the flagship of which, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, an upscale dining room where Batali has seamlessly combined traditional principles with intelligent culinary adventure since June 1998. Ruth Reichl and Frank Bruni at the New York Times hailed Babbo with three stars, and the James Beard Foundation honored it with “The Best New Restaurant of 1998” award. Mario and his team also own a Roman-style trattoria called Lupa (170 Thompson Street) with Jason Denton, as well as a wine shop-just off Union Square- called Italian Wine Merchants, at 108 East 16th Street. Esca, a southern Italian seafood trattoria, opened near the Theater District in April of 2000. In January of 2003, Batali and partner Joseph Bastianich opened another downtown eatery, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, located just a few blocks from both Babbo and Lupa. In January 2004, Mario and Joseph opened two Barcelona inspired eateries- Casa Mono, a sit down serving classic Catalonian cooking and Bar Jamon, a stand up tapas bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mario, whose original career path had him studying the golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University, took his first bite of culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu in London, from which he withdrew almost immediately due to a “lack of interest.” An apprenticeship with London’s legendary Marco Pierre White and three years cooking and learning in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne, population 100, gave him what he needed to return to his native US and plant his orange-clogged foot firmly in the behinds of the checkered tablecloth-Italian restaurant establishment. Among his many culinary accolades, Mario was named “Man of the Year” in the Chef category by GQ Magazine in 1999, and in 2002 won the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: New York City award. In addition to steering his businesses through their successes, Mario Batali hosts his own programs, “Molto Mario” and “Mario Eats Italy” on the Television Food Network. His new series “Ciao America” premiered in October 2003. He has authored Simple Italian Food (Clarkson Potter 1998), as well as Mario Batali Holiday Food (Clarkson Potter 2000); his third book, The Babbo Cookbook, was released in 2002. Batali lives in New York City with his wife Susi Cahn, of the Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and their two sons, Benno and Leo. Mario is also one of the recipients of the 2001 D’Artagnan Cervena Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in American, a prestigious lifetime achievement award. Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages The Babbo Cookbook **** Note: This Q&A will be moderated, and will initially be set so that only the Special Guest can reply to topics. Your questions will not appear immediately after submission, they will be reviewed by our staff for appropriateness, topicality and if they are duplicative. 3 Copies of The Babbo Cookbook will be given out as door prizes by Clarkson Potter.

Mario Batali believes that olive oil is as precious as gold, that shorts are acceptable attire for every season, and that food, like most things, is best when left to its own simple beauty. To that end, Mario creates simple magic night after night in Manhattan’s West Village and Theater District, dividing his time between his many Italian hotspots, the flagship of which is Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, an upscale dining room where Batali has seamlessly combined traditional principles with intelligent culinary adventure since June 1998. Ruth Reichl and Frank Bruni at the New York Times hailed Babbo with three stars, and the James Beard Foundation honored it with “The Best New Restaurant of 1998” award. Mario and his team also own a Roman-style trattoria called Lupa (170 Thompson Street) with Jason Denton, as well as a wine shop-just off Union Square- called Italian Wine Merchants, at 108 East 16th Street. Esca, a southern Italian seafood trattoria, opened near the Theater District in April of 2000. In January of 2003, Batali and partner Joseph Bastianich opened another downtown eatery, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, located just a few blocks from both Babbo and Lupa. In January 2004, Mario and Joseph opened two Barcelona inspired eateries- Casa Mono, a sit down serving classic Catalonian cooking and Bar Jamon, a stand up tapas bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mario, whose original career path had him studying the golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University, took his first bite of culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu in London, from which he withdrew almost immediately due to a “lack of interest.” An apprenticeship with London’s legendary Marco Pierre White and three years cooking and learning in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne, population 100, gave him what he needed to return to his native US and plant his orange-clogged foot firmly in the behinds of the checkered tablecloth-Italian restaurant establishment. Among his many culinary accolades, Mario was named “Man of the Year” in the Chef category by GQ Magazine in 1999, and in 2002 won the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: New York City award. In addition to steering his businesses through their successes, Mario Batali hosts his own programs, “Molto Mario” and “Mario Eats Italy” on the Television Food Network. His new series “Ciao America” premiered in October 2003. He has authored Simple Italian Food (Clarkson Potter 1998), as well as Mario Batali Holiday Food (Clarkson Potter 2000); his third book, The Babbo Cookbook, was released in 2002. Batali lives in New York City with his wife Susi Cahn, of the Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and their two sons, Benno and Leo. Mario is also one of the recipients of the 2001 D’Artagnan Cervena Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in American, a prestigious lifetime achievement award. Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages The Babbo Cookbook Click Here for the Mario Batali Q&A

I disagree with Pim that Brandy Ho's is "Americanized". It sure as hell is not. Its authentic Hunan.

Where, oddly, the dill is often absent. Really -- check out most brands of "dill pickles" and you won't find any dill. I guess they realized people really don't like Dill.

The garlic and lemon, definitely. Oregano and Mint, yeah. Dill? Ick. I hate it when they put dill in Matzo Ball soup too.

Oh man, I SO do not like dill in Tzadziki. Or on any Greek food for that manner. Come to think of it, the only thing I like Dill in is pickles.

Bacon, definitely. Tomatoes and RAW onion, preferably Vidalia or Bermuda. Also cooked/caramelized onion, so you get both flavors. Horseradish mixed with mayonnaise and mustard.

Isn't that also called Labneh in other countries? Or is Labneh fundamentally different? I found a Turkish recipe for "Creamy Yogurt-and-Walnut Dip" http://www.sudairy.com/mer/recipes/creamy.html

Is there really a recipe to Tzadziki? Get some medium thickness plain yogurt, peel a cucumber, remove seeds, shred it, mix in to yogurt, add lots of minced garlic. Maybe some mint or some lemon juice and a small amount of olive oil(or I prefer to put this in the actual marinade for the meat) Let sit in refrigerator for several hours or until the next day. Pork Souvlaki -- marinate pork loin cubes in yogurt with salt and pepper and herbs and a little lemon juice. Grill. Is there anything else required?

The Oyster Bar has been one of my favorites, but I haven't been there in a while.

The Koreans are the only Asian culture I know of that do not eat rice with chopsticks or on plates -- they eat with a spoon, and with bowls.

I agree with this to a point -- but I like pepper-infused vodkas, they work well in bloody marys. Also freshly-made Honey Vodka (which is really more of a cordial than a Vodka), like the kind that is served at Firebird Restaurant in NYC (I have never been able to successfully duplicate this recipe despite multiple interrogation attempts with the bartender). Even if you never, ever eat at this restaurant, go up to the parlor sometime and have a few drinks of this stuff. Its unbeleivably addictive.

Ha! Aftershock and Goldschlager. Known in my circle of friends as a "Red and Gold". Popularly served in a split shot glass, the red Aftershock and gold Goldschlager are representative of our professional engineering fraternity's colors. And yes, it's every bit as horrible as it sounds. I *knew* I was missing something in my opening tyrade. --C.S. OT GB674 Aftershock is just plain BAD. Its like doing shots of Cinnamon Scope. Actually, I think Cinnamon Scope tastes better.

I can't agree with this in substance. I know Batali can make a good Bolognese ragu' in his reataurants -- I've had it, its good -- as can Bastianich at Becco and any number of good places specializing in freshly made pasta in NY. You just need to know where to go.

Robyn, you can't sear a steak on a Weber with the same kind of crust to the extent that Peter Luger and Wolfgang's or any other professional steak house can with real salamander-type infared broiler equipment. Actually, you have a much better chance of getting closer results to a steakhouse in a semi-pro type Viking or Wolf or DCS range with the built in broiler than you will on your Weber.

Oh man, those burgers look fantastic. I bet they were good.

Cavatelli with Broccoli, Sausage and Sundried Tomato.

Seabra's Mediterranean Manor on Jefferson Street is still my favorite. I think the saltiness is fine, but some people can be highly sensitive to it. You want to go on a busy weekend night when the meat turnover is high.

I've had Korean barley tea (Boricha) in both hot and cold form -- and I actually perfer it cold.

Fried okra in tomato sauce, baby.

Actually Barb, we've had a very long and informative thread about Target's line of ChefMate cookware, which has gotten a lot of praise on the site for its affordability and durability: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry206940 As to the extreme dislike of Rocco on this site -- a lot of it is coming from food professionals and his peers -- and if you check the Season 1 thread, his own kitchen staff.

The quality of the steak was sufficiently covered: I guess I am expecting more of an eGullet-type analysis then. My standards have been set too high. That isn't enough detail in my book.