Jason Perlow

On Saturday we got to the restaurant around 7:30 and went to the 11pm show. Traffic sucked and no hope of a taxi so we walked the 10 or so blocks to the AMC. blech. We wanted to go to the 10pm show but it got sold out so we hung out and had green tea at the Yoshinoya across the street. The bastards at the AMC wouldnt let us hang in the cafe for an hour and a half. I didn't like the movie, I felt it was a contrived peice of crap. Very disappointing compared to Malkovitch.

Interesting. Jhlurie, Rachel and myself went to the same GSI branch on Saturday and saw Adaptation at the AMC afterwards as well. I have to say that while the other two dishes we ordered were very good, their "Freshly Killed No Long Time Refrigerated Kung Pao Chicken" was quite off that night. Cornstarch was used as a thickening agent for the sauce, making it somewhat gloppy -- and a finer dice than usual amplified that effect. Mostly brown meat was used for the chicken (its usually mostly white) as well as non-premium peanuts (a much smaller and inferior grade was used). And while it was there, it had far less taste of sichuan peppercorn than it usually does. I brought this to the management's attention and they freaked out, offering to give it another try, insisting that nothing had changed (in fact, they did admit they lost one of their line chefs a few months ago but it wasnt their main prep chef) but we were already full and had to see the movie right after.

Thats Beavis (of Mike Judge's Beavis and Butthead) doing his Cornholio character.

Thanks Ed for a great week in Chinese food! I am sure our users are hungry for more, so don't be a stranger!

Pecan.

You may want to ask this question of our new Special Contributor Monica Bhide, who is taking questions in the India forum for the next two weeks. She is based in DC.

Doesn't Stolichnaya literally mean "Seat of Government"? Ivan, its interesting that you say the finest quality russian vodka is made of wheat and only the cheaper vodka is made of potatoes. I was under the impression that Potato vodkas were few and far between. My personal favorite vodka at the moment is Belvedere Chopin, which is a potato vodka made in the Polish style. The regular Belvedere is made out of neutral spirits. Stoli is my standard mixer vodka.

Hmm. Niman Ranch Schwarma. Felafel with ossetra caviar tahini.

Note to self: do not give any more large donations to liberal arts colleges.

Cool. We could use a resident beer expert for sure.

jason's description, of both the color and the sensation, is right on. although, putting your tongue on a 9v battery really doesn't do much, does it? Try it.

No. Not chile oil. Its greenish yellow. In fact the owner of the restaurant and the chef explained us the technique and showed us the peppercorns he used. We've tasted this condiment straight and it gives you the WEIRDEST numbing sensation if you do. It makes your mouth feel like you've touched your toungue with the terminals of a 9V battery if you then immediately drink a glass of cold water following it.

I've also seen the "essence" of Sichuan Peppercorn extracted into an oil and used as a condiment. At China 46 in Ridgefield (click), New Jersey (a top-notch Shanghainese restaurant where the NJ board had a gathering shortly after its review in the NYT) the chef cooks the pepper corns in oil (vegetable?) to extract and concentrate most of the flavor. This is then tossed with finished dishes such as their "spicy capsicum cellophane noodles" , a cold noodle dish of clear mungbean noodles mixed with shrimp, chicken and pork and cilantro, one of my favorites. Apparently though, not all chinese people like this flavor.

Oh, its definitely there alright. That mouth numbing sensation doesnt come from anywhere else.

I haven't eaten the Kung Pao fresh killed chicken at Grand Szechuan Int'l Oh my god, Ed, this needs to be remedied immediately. Steven Shaw's GSI Midtown Review (click) and Kung Pao Worship Yeah, I would imagine it probably is their unique version. Its got a lot of sichuan peppercorns, dried sichuan chiles, and a TON of ginger in it. Its the essence of Sichuan food on a plate, in my humble opinion.

I love the mouth numbing effect of Sichuan peppercorns and the subtle flavor that adding even a small amount does for a chinese dish. Do you have any favorite recipes that use it? Or favorite restaurants that make notable dishes featuring it? My current fave (and Fat Guy's) in NYC is Grand Sichuan International Midtown's "freshly killed" Kung Pao Chicken. Which by the way, I would love to try to emulate at home.

What, you dont like Black Sesame Balls? I just love saying that. Sticky rice is great.

Rachel actually made skillet cornbread for thanksgiving, using bacon fat and crumbled bacon. Awesome. Everyone loved it, the stuff disappeared real quick. The only thing I could think of to improve it would be to add mexican cheese and chopped jalapeno chiles to it...

There's a site called Superlager.com (click)which rates all the super strong beers. He doesnt much like EKU 28 but he has some interesting material up there.

Wow. 666 calories per bottle. Apparently it isnt the worlds strongest through. Samuel Adams Utopias beat it at 24 percent. But still, you could really get hammered on these. I like the concept of christmas beers, and some I actually like drinking, like Samiclaus Dark, a swiss beer at 14 percent alcohol which -WAS- the world's strongest beer before some of these microbreweries started getting creative like Dogfish. Another super strong beer I like is EKU 28, a German which is 11.6 percent.

Yes, because we havent eaten there in a while.

I'm a pumpernickel guy myself.

There was a episode on that short-lived Jefferey Steingarten/Ed Levine TV show (New York Eats) on the Metro NY cable channel which featured a taste-off of Jewish rye bread. Anyone have Steingarten's or Levine's contact info?

i have an idea for the next NJ egullet (unofficial of course) event. Satin Dolls on Rt. 17? Or Frank's Chicken House in Manville?

Well, home made hot sauces are not going to yeild the same results as commercialy made ones. McIlheny's Tabasco for example, actually ages chiles packed in heavy salt (with other seasonings and the vinegar) in oak barrels for 3 years to actually CURE the mixture. Personally I try not to add too much salt to a home made sauce, which is why I say to taste it as you go. You want just enough to add flavor, the vinegar acts as a natural preservative, but its not gonna be totally cured like Tabasco is. Adding fruit like mangoes or citrus, or canned chipotles in adobo, may require adding more salt and vinegar. Its highly open to experimentation. I like to keep mine in the fridge just to be safe.