Jason Perlow

I've actually had good Cola/Coffee sodas before. So it IS possible to make a good one. A couple of years ago a case of Zydecola came into my possession -- I thought it was excellent. It was made in New Orleans, I was never able to get any more because they took it off the market. I think that if a drink like that was re-introduced and some sort of Katrina/New Orleans benefit were associated with it, like if part of the proceeds went to the reconstruction, I bet it would be a huge hit now. Maybe if Cafe Du Monde or Community Coffee were behind it.

El Paso in Englewood on Palisade Ave. Mexican Coke does rock. If it came in 16oz glass bottles it would rock even more.

Recently, while purchasing some foodstuffs from a local Mexican bodega, I came across another soft drink that is also likely to share space with my Mexican Coke -- Mexican FRESCA. Apparently, Mexican-ized Fresca is a relatively new import into the US, at least in the NY metro area. While American Fresca is a diet soda, its Mexican cousin is not -- its made with cane sugar, like Mexican Coke is. I like it a lot -- if you're looking for a great grapefruit flavored soda, this is the one. Mexicans seem to really like Grapefruit in soft drinks. In addition to Fresca, they've got Jarritos Toronja -- which is also pretty good. I also think Squirt, which is traditionally a Lemon/Lime flavor, has some Grapefruit in the Mexican version. Mexican Squirt is also a pretty kickass soda in and of itself.

Silver Pond is a consistently solid dim sum place -- I haven't been there for dinner in a while, but their Cantonese seafood stuff is excellent. I prefer China 46's style of cuisine, but I have nothing bad to say about Silver Pond's dinner menu -- its classic Hong Kong food, albeit a bit pricy at dinner though. Its a bit of a toss up to say which restaurant is better for Dim Sum -- Silver Pond or Dim Sum Dynasty. I think DSD brings some interesting new things to the table that Silver Pond doesnt have, and some stuff they hit a home run on (like their Char Siu Bao) while others are just OK (like their rendition of Nor Ma Gai sticky rice -- the Silver Pond version is superior). Its definitely good to have choice and to be able to alternate between the two.

I want to see a hardcore Israeli Falafel stand. Hey, its deep fried, its even topical.

Third Century B.C.E. Barbecue restaurant?

Its kind of like the Mandala tantric sand painting made by Tibetan monks to represent the beauty and impermanence of life. Immediately after making intricate colored sand patterns that take days to complete, their work is destroyed by sweeping it up and handing it out to the worshippers. The only difference is that in the case of Jello molds, you get to eat the destruction.

Obviously a slow news day at Yahoo and AP Newswire: NEWSFLASH! Chinese Food Popular During the Holidays

Here are some Tamales that our housekeeper Socorro (Soco) made for us and her family for Christmas: These are Chicken with Mole sauce... and they are VERY spicy due to a large amount of Chile de Arbol.

Some Han Ah Reum shots from today: The Infamous Rice Cake Slammer Delimanjoo!!!!!! Yujacha Tea Sampling Kimchi Land The awe-inspiring seafood area Produce Aisles and Aisles of Asian goods

Some shots of Dim Sum we had today at Silver Pond in Fort Lee: Yuba Bean Skin Mushroom Wraps Fried Seafood Dumpling Pan Fried Pork Dumpling Fried Shrimp Balls Duck Spring Rolls Shrimp Paste Wrapped with Bacon Scallion Pancake Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce Pork Siu Mai Steamed Char Siu Bao Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls with Red Bean Paste Nor Ma Gai (Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf) Exterior/Interior Superior Soy Sauce Noodles

No tuna was harmed in the making of that Jello mold.

I'll second that. Three and a half months later and that is the thing I remember most from the Pig Pickin. Good to look at, good to eat. ←

Yeah, I have to say, with few exceptions, all the mainstream supermarket chains are doing universally bad in keeping their produce fresh. If it wasn't for Korean fruit/veg stands and Asian markets, and Farmers Markets during the summer, I'd be out of luck. Shop Rite in NY/NJ seems to be doing a pretty good job overall with their produce, but they frequently run out of stuff.

The New York Times and Frank Bruni is again high on my list this year. I'm willing to cut James Beard some slack since they seem to be cleaning up their mess. If the New York Times wanted to clean up its mess they should toss Bruni like 3 day old shellfish. He stinks. Second would have to be Charlie Trotter because of his laser-focused campaign to destroy the Foie Gras industry in the United States, his hypocrisy, and his absolutely horrendous behavior towards his peers in Chicago. Third would have to be Emeril Lagasse for not making a more public presence of himself and helping out more during the Katrina disaster. New Orleans gave Emeril so much -- where was he in its time of need? Fourth would be Darren Star for producing the peice of crap that is Kitchen Confidential, which had so much promise and could have been the best new sitcom on TV. Even with the censorship limitations of network TV, they could have done a lot better. Now it is history.

I'm looking for primo quality grapefruits and oranges of all kinds at reasonable prices... who has 'em and can ship?

El Bandito is a very well-known and long established Mexican restaurant in Spring Valley. I've been to it at least half a dozen times, consistently good. El Bandito Mexican Restaurant 27 Central Avenue Spring Valley, 10977 Rockland County (845)425-6622

Well, I don't think that Jambalaya -must- have tomatoes. I personally like it with tomatoes, I guess because I've never had Jambo outside of New Orleans -- all the versions I have tried have at least some tomato in it. The version above definitely has some tomatoes in it -- tomato juice from a 14oz can of roma tomatoes (although Ro-Tel would be better if you have any), about half the tomatoes from that can, plus chicken stock. There are recipes that call for a lot more tomatoes , like 2 cans to 2 cups of rice, which i think would be too much. I think the Jambo we made above could have easily taken the whole can of tomatoes plus the liquid without it being overkill as it was 2 cups of rice plus the stock and about 3 cups of liquid (2 cups stock, approx 1 cup of tomato juice from the can). Some recipes also call for actual tomato paste. The result above was not overpoweringly tomato-ey. ********************* I've never tried it, but Austin Leslie's Jambalaya recipe sounds very good (and flexible although somewhat meat-heavy - you could easily cut the meat by 1/2) and also not overpoweringly tomato-ey: Saute/Brown: 2 lbs cubed Ham (type not specified, I assume he means any kind of ham, including Tasso) 2 lbs sliced Smoked Sausage (type not specified, I assume he means Andouille or even Kielbasa) 1 Large Onion, chopped 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1 stalk of celery, chopped Then add and cook for 30 minutes covered on low heat: 2 cups of uncooked rice 2 lbs Deveined Shrimp 1 16oz can of whole tomatoes (he says to mash them up in the pot, I presume if you used a canned variety that was already cut up like Ro-Tel this would work equally well) 1 tsp thyme 2 bay leaves Salt and Pepper to taste 2 cups of stock (he specifies shrimp stock, but I assume you can use any stock) Stir in after Jambalaya is cooked: 1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced 1/2 cup of parsley, chopped ******************** One of my favorite Jambos was at Crabby Jack's, the casual restaurant owned by Jack Leonardi of Jacques-Imos fame: This is a plate of fried oysters (killer) with Jambo. Note that it too has tomato.

Last Night: Jambalaya Tonight: Stuffed Cabbage with Kasha Varnishkes:

The dining area is finished and he has his C/O, but they are not officially open yet -- they will be by the second week of January.

I'll treasure it always. That meal with Austin was literally the Last Supper.

Actually, would you mind seeing how Wayne Jacob's Smokehouse is doing? Their operation looked a bit more fragile than Jacob's Andouille. And I'm not sure you've had the opportunity to try their stuff yet in comparison, I think its better. Their tasso and beef jerky is phenomenal, too.

Its a medium grain rice that we use for making Arroz con Pollo or Paella.

We needed to clean out the freezer tonight, so in addition to finally doing something with all those poultry carcasses (making stock) it was time to start using some of the older stuff in our feezer inventory. Here's a Jambalaya we made this evening: It has Andouille from Wayne Jacob's Smokehouse in La Place, and tasso and chaurice from Poche's Market in Breaux Bridge.

I hate to tell you, but $29 is par for the course for parking garages in NYC. As a despised "bridge and tunnel" person I'm actually quite happy that dedicated restaurant parking is avaliable. In some parts of NYC, its not unusual to pay $40 for parking, sometimes $50. So I think the restaurant is being pretty damn reasonable. $29 for a whole evening which ensures the safetly of my vehicle is not a big thing for someone like me to swallow.