Jason Perlow

Rum, like any cask aged spirit, does not age after its been bottled, though. Once its out of the cask, its flavor is frozen in time.

Given that we are hearing all over the news of companies like Krispy Kreme and Ronzoni feeling major financial pressure due to the recent popularity of low-carb diets, what is your impression of how artisanal bakers should cope with the situation? Are artisanal bakers, due to the nature of the products they make and their intended audience, somewhat immune to this trend? Or do they need to start making some changes to their business and business model?

Actually, if they value price their coffee drinks (like a buck or so beneath Starbucks for comparable stuff) and use decent grade beans from the zona cafetera, I could see them being successful. I would definitely go with a much simplified menu than Starbucks though, in order to streamline the operation.

Goslings is a unique product in that it is really the only "black" rum that is on the market -- although its blackness is largely added as a coloring not for taste. Its not a bad rum at all but I would not regard it as a premium product per se, its primarily a cocktail mixer. I myself prefer more aged rums -- sometimes the darkness comes from aging and the barrels used, sometimes not, most frequently from caramel color, as in the case with Goslings, which uses an ungodly amount of it. The darkness of a rum is not an indicator of its quality or its age.

Saturday evening we ate hamburgers on the grill with friends. Lots of heavy rain on Sunday and Monday. Last night we went out for Chinese food. Today we ate leftovers. I griddled a few hot dogs for lunch today, because it seemed the right thing to do.

Welcome to the site -- the best discussion here occurs when you have a question to ask.

Yes, the pillow shaped ones in lotus leaf like you describe are the kind I get for Dim Sum. I didn't realize they were a different thing entirely.

I order these almost every time we go out for Dim Sum. I agree, having many different kinds of stuff in the sticky rice really brings out an interesting flavor. Chinese sausage mixed with chicken and dried scallop along with shitakke is one of my favorites. The Malaysians make an interesting version as well, which has a curry flavor.

James (and others): What are your thoughts on the quality of goods made in Wood Fired/Brick Hearth type ovens versus gas or electric ovens used in commercial baking? Which kinds of breads do better in one or the other? Is it possible to produce only certain types of results in a Brick oven? Or is this one of those things where the skill of the baker comes into play? Thanks for joining us.

Kyoto is also very pretty, but is known for its Ryokans, not its restaurant culture.

Osaka, definitely. Once referred to as the "Kitchen of Japan". Well known for Takoyaki and the origin of Udonsuki noodles and Ozaka-sushi. However, I found this about Hokkaido, which piqued my interest: http://kanko.pref.hokkaido.jp/kankodb/foreign/e/trv_i002.htm

James MacGuire Bio James MacGuire was born into an Irish-American family in Manhattan in 1951. At the age of sixteen, he landed his first summer job as a dishwasher at Porky Manero’s Steakhouse in Westport, Connecticut. He was quickly promoted to salad boy -- preparing iceberg lettuce with bottled dressing – and soon got hooked on the pressure-cooker high of the professional kitchen. He continued to work in restaurants while attending McGill University in Montreal but quit after two years to wield a knife full time. MacGuire’s culinary career then brought him back to the States. He worked in San Francisco (Ernie’s), Los Angeles (The Biltmore Hotel, Le Chambord), Dallas, Ketchum, Baltimore, and finally back to New York where he worked at The River Café under Larry Forgione. Next came a sojourn to France where he toiled in the kitchens of L’Auberge de L’Ill in Alsace, Orsi and Bernachon in Lyon, Auberge Henri IV in Chartres, and Jean Delaveyne in Bougival. At his final stop in Tours, he worked for the man he still describes as his mentor, Charles Barrier. “Barrier remains a great friend and huge influence,” says MacGuire. “He made everything in-house, and was totally unafraid to delve into charcuterie and other specialties. He did things right, including a professional bread-making operation to make bread for sixty customers at lunch and another sixty at dinner. When he wasn’t satisfied with the results, he called on his friend, bread expert, Raymond Calvel, who has since become a friend of mine and my biggest influence on the baking side.” MacGuire then returned to Montreal, where he opened Le Passe-Partout in 1981. The thirty-seat restaurant featured a small changing menu of cuisine du marché. Almost everything was made in-house. He later added a bakery, where his bread and viennoiseries were considered the best in the city. In April 2004, after 23 years in business, he closed both operations. MacGuire now works as a consultant and teacher, and has held bread seminars for The American Institute of Baking, The Culinary Institute of America, and The American Breadbakers’ Guild. He also contributes articles and cookbook reviews to Ed Behr’s The Art of Eating. With Dr. Ronald Wirtz, MacGuire translated Professor Calvel’s last book, The Taste Of Bread (Aspen Publishing, 2001) into English.

James MacGuire Bio James MacGuire was born into an Irish-American family in Manhattan in 1951. At the age of sixteen, he landed his first summer job as a dishwasher at Porky Manero’s Steakhouse in Westport, Connecticut. He was quickly promoted to salad boy -- preparing iceberg lettuce with bottled dressing – and soon got hooked on the pressure-cooker high of the professional kitchen. He continued to work in restaurants while attending McGill University in Montreal but quit after two years to wield a knife full time. MacGuire’s culinary career then brought him back to the States. He worked in San Francisco (Ernie’s), Los Angeles (The Biltmore Hotel, Le Chambord), Dallas, Ketchum, Baltimore, and finally back to New York where he worked at The River Café under Larry Forgione. Next came a sojourn to France where he toiled in the kitchens of L’Auberge de L’Ill in Alsace, Orsi and Bernachon in Lyon, Auberge Henri IV in Chartres, and Jean Delaveyne in Bougival. At his final stop in Tours, he worked for the man he still describes as his mentor, Charles Barrier. “Barrier remains a great friend and huge influence,” says MacGuire. “He made everything in-house, and was totally unafraid to delve into charcuterie and other specialties. He did things right, including a professional bread-making operation to make bread for sixty customers at lunch and another sixty at dinner. When he wasn’t satisfied with the results, he called on his friend, bread expert, Raymond Calvel, who has since become a friend of mine and my biggest influence on the baking side.” MacGuire then returned to Montreal, where he opened Le Passe-Partout in 1981. The thirty-seat restaurant featured a small changing menu of cuisine du marché. Almost everything was made in-house. He later added a bakery, where his bread and viennoiseries were considered the best in the city. In April 2004, after 23 years in business, he closed both operations. MacGuire now works as a consultant and teacher, and has held bread seminars for The American Institute of Baking, The Culinary Institute of America, and The American Breadbakers’ Guild. He also contributes articles and cookbook reviews to Ed Behr’s The Art of Eating. With Dr. Ronald Wirtz, MacGuire translated Professor Calvel’s last book, The Taste Of Bread (Aspen Publishing, 2001) into English. ****** Posters should bear in mind that MacGuire's point of view has, of course been greatly influenced by Raymond Calvel, so he has asked two friends to look over his shoulder: -Hubert Chiron, of the INRA in Nantes, France, author with Philippe Roussel, of Les Pains Francais: Evolution, Qualite, Production ( Mae-Erti Editeur), a clear and extremely useful book which takes the science of things as far as most bakers would want to go but also reflects Chiron's love of baking history. - Jeffrey Hamelman, Head Baker at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont, and author of Bread, A Baker's Book Of Techniques And Recipes (John Wiley and Sons, due out this fall) In cases where either's input goes beyond approval of MacGuire's own answers or if opinions differ, they will post their answers following MacGuire's.

Mousakka burgers maybe? seasoned lamb pattie on a bun, followed by grilled eggplant, tomato sauce and bechemel? Served with greek fries (french fries tossed with lemon juice and oregano)

Or, you mix the Pacific Farms stuff in with a touch of french mustard, and slather it over burgers or roast beef sandwiches.

If I had a large jar of homemade mayo, I would make lots of BLTs, and have a lobster roll party.

For me it depends on the type of rum. For the older rums which I drink neat, I use a brandy snifter. For younger rums which can take a touch of ice to release their flavor or to mellow the fire, I use rocks glasses.

Oh wow, World of Pocky. Man would I love one of these in my local mall.

Yeah, the markup on Japanese food goods in the US is insane. But I must have my Pocky.

And thats only 17 varieties of Pocky-like products. I think we bought over 30 that day. We couldn't fit them all in one shot.

According to Otaku Grocery, the Orange Chocolate is already in short supply, even in Japan.

That's interesting. In what way does it show a different Adria or at least a different view of him? I guess I've read so damn much about him by now that successive posts tend to tell me more about the poster than about Adria. Most of what I've read may well have been on eGullet, but if eGullet still has the power to develop Adria in a more rounded way, we're doing something right. Actually Bux, after watching the show, I now truly feel I have a grasp for Adria's personality, his thought process and what the food is really like -- just following the threads on eG didn't seem to make me "grok" it in its entirety.

Have you guys seen this yet? http://www.otakugrocery.com/ "Where Pocky is a Food Group" The Pocky prices are actually very good (albeit limited selection), but I bet you would have to order a lot to not get killed on the shipping. There's also this meta-list of Japanese Snack online retailers: http://www.japanesesnacks.com/storereviews/onlinestores.php

I beleive it was about $2.40 per box, which makes that 265.30 Japanese Yen. Pocky G was also onsale for $1.99, so I bought two boxes of it! What does it cost in Japan? And yeah, two boxes of Corn Pretz as well. I like Corn Pretz. It tastes like Corn.

We purchased these the other day at Mitsuwa in Edgewater, New Jersey. The coconut milk flavor sort of tastes like Girl Scout Samoa Cookies. Very coconutty. Would go nice as swizzle sticks for Pina Colada or stuck into a Thai sticky rice dessert. The Orange/Chocolate flavor "Tastes like the chocolate dipped orange peels you eat on Passover" according to Rachel. I liked it, nice Orange/Chocolate combination flavor. Kris, have you tried the Pocky G "Special Cacao" flavor yet? I'm looking forward to this one, as the regular Pocky G is still my favorite by far.