Jason Perlow

That meatloaf was actually prepared for TOMORROW night's dinner. Tonight we had: Pineapple Roasted Chicken marinated in "Soy Vey" with Wild Rice Pilaf and Stir Fried Vegetables

Meatloaf with Meatball Garnish

As you can see, I was trying to address that very issue of generalization. However to be fair, most of these cuisines are not seen outside of India, so its very hard for most of us to talk about specific genres of Indian food from lesser known provinces without actually having experienced it.

To quote Marvin the Paranoid Android: Oh God, I'm so depressed.

I think his technique is KC, but the actual style of BBQ is texas, hence the inclusion of beef ribs and beef brisket. Over the next week I'm planning to go in there prior to opening to document the whole process of how he preps all the different meats, etc, and hope to sample more of the other Q varieties prior to the soft opening, which we will probably be attending as well.

Stickey's won't be ready on Monday (probably towards the middle of next week) but here's a sneak preview for NJ eGulleteers: This is a sample of the 3rd rack of pork Kansas City cut ribs (Hatfield, sourced independently by SYSCO) to come right off his brand new smoking rig. They were tender, tasty, and had a nice balance of smokiness to rub seasoning. Stickey's formulation of BBQ rib sauce (he has about 3 different BBQ sauces that he has patented) is added for glazing in the last stage of cooking to finish the product. Its a little sweet with some good tanginess.

I think that on the whole, it has to be either Thai or Indian (and there is some leeway here as to what subset of Indian cuisine we are talking about) that is the "Spiciest". However I would also say that TRUE Sichuan cusisine is probably much more aggressive than either of these two cuisines in usage of extracted and concentrated chili oils and frequently in combination with Sichuan Peppercorns will put you way over the top. True Hunan cuisine will also blow your head off if prepared authenically and to native heat levels. It also depends on how you define spicy --there's complex use of spices (Indian food wins hands down, theres not a cuisine on this planet that comes even close to using as many spices in any particular dish as they use) and then you've got usage of chiles in different forms. Indian food uses dried and fresh chiles, but so does mexican and thai and chinese. Various chinese cuisines such as Hunan and Sichuan use extracted chili oils in combination with dried and fresh chiles in the same dish frequently. Malaysian and Indonesian food can be like this as well. Indian Chinese is also unbeleiveably spicy -- take all the aspects of Sichuan or Hunan dried and fresh chili usage, along wih extracted oils, and combine it with heavy usage of spices... very dangerous indeed.

This is one of the grand mysteries of the univese as to why they both exist in the first place. They do taste somewhat different and have a different mouthfeel, though. I'm wondering if the Seltzer/Club Soda thing is a East Coast/West Coast thing or if it has to do with cultural differences in mixology.

I realize this sounds like an inane question, but when would you use one over the other? Are there particular drinks where one is more suitable than the other? (Note for those who think they are the same: They are not. Seltzer is just carbonated water, whereas Club Soda has other additives as well, including sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, sodium phosphate and sodium citrate in it.)

The terroir probably cannot be duplicated since the European truffles exist in a unique symbiotic relationship with the flora and fauna in France and Italy, but mainiy what I am insterested in if its a good product in its own right -- forget comparing it to the European variety.

Just dug out my unopened bottle of Hendricks and cracked it open. It says "Since 1886" on the bottle. But I wonder if they have been continually bottling since then. Damn good gin by the way, I should have opened it a long time ago. Having some on the rocks right now, but I'm making a martini with some Tribuno Extra Dry for my next one.

http://www.cucumbergin.com/main.html hasn't this gin been around for a REALLY long time though? Or is the victorian style label a dead giveaway? EDIT: Was referring to the Hendricks, not the Malacca.

Make a kickass stuffing. Instead of Stove Top.

And don't get me started on Hearth...

Panzanella salad with steak.

You like-a da brajol? No? we break your 'friggin legs.

Today's entry on the Upsaid Eurotrash Blog has some uh, colorful things to say about Amanda's Spice Market review.

What about a "novelty" gin like Hendricks?

Central America is becoming a hotbed of super premium rum production, with Nicaragua and Guatemala leading the pack in some of the most prized rums in the world (FDC and Ron Zacapa). I have Flor de Cana's 7 and 12 year old, both are really fine examples of super premium aged rum.

I've been to the North Bergen location and its a really good Spanish restaurant. I was unware the spot you are referring to would be their Englewood location, I thought it was on the other side of town, closer to the theatre.

Well, so much for the Italians and their Negronis!

http://www.bevmo.com/storeinfo.asp?area=storeloc&store=12 Beverages and More, which is a huge liquor store chain and carries a large variety of rums, should be local to you. I went to their stores in the San Francisco area a while back and was able to pick up some pretty nice things there.

i have to disagree. i've eaten very good burgers and i think the whopper is a pretty good burger, or at least used to be. Gotta' go along with Mixmaster Tony B. here. BK may be marginally better than Le Clown Burger. And in the 1970's it may have been a tiny bit better yet. And Wendy's may be even a tiny bit better yet. But I can go to an assortment of neighborhood bars and get something twenty times better in maybe only twice the time. Still, I agree that a dedicated chain like In & Out stands the best chance of getting close. No distractions with Chicken fingers, Taco salads, cheese sticks, etc. etc. etc. Having never been to an In 'n Out, I cant speak for what they taste like. But my personal favorite fast food -chain- burger will still always be the Nathan's Superburger. Its grilled on an actual friggin grill, right in front of you, to order. How bad can it be.

Asopao is totally underrated. When we went on our trip to San Juan about 5 years ago, we probably had it 3 times. My favorite by far is Crab Asopao. Its awesome when prepared well -- like a Puerto Rican version of Cajun Gumbo.

I completely agree with this, but I think the political cllimate is wrong for it now, with thi s fast food witch hunt thats in favor with society at the moment.