Jason Perlow

Anyone catch this? Sounds like the basis of a "Kitchen Confidential" episode on FOX! Bistro du Vent Orgy

Diverse, lively restaurants dress up Hackensack Comprehensive peice on ethnic dining in the town, with mentions of some eG favorites and new places I definitely want to try.

Neither is Harpercollins!

That would be Esteemed Executive Director and Co-Founder of eGullet.

I think it should be something involving the remainder of the summer harvest, to use up tomatoes, zucchinis, etc. How about some sort of stuffed fresh pasta thread? Like raviolis? Manicotti? Or perhaps a slight return of Pizza, in Foccacia form?

I have extra, including habanero tequila. Want to have a taste off?

Tonight, we made Phyllo Pizza, a la Snowangel: The topping is basil and arugula, fresh from our garden, as are the tomatoes.

Yes, some if not most of the Monograms are made by DCS.

Depends on whether or not you think you can live with the burner output of a regular, non-prosumer range. A DCS you are going to get like 14,000-17,000 BTU plus infrared broiler. Your average GE or Maytag is going to be like 9,000-12,000, in a 30inch. http://www.dcs-range.com/indoor/detail.php?id=91

The East Village, as Pan suggests, is also a good alternative to Little Italy or Arthur Avenue. Babbo and Otto and Lupa are the three that are the heavy hitters there, all owned by the Batali/Bastianich restaurant group. With Arthur Avenue, however, you have the advantage of other Italian things to do besides eat dinner at Robertos. The Arthur Avenue Retail Market is a great thing to do with family. Little Italy in Manhattan is really Chinatown now.

I believe egg in potato salad is optional, and I am not opposed to the addition of it. However mustard is MANDATORY.

If you want some really nicely inspired Italian with some new american stuff mixed in, I would go with Hearth, on E 12th and 1st Ave. I just had an amazing meal there this evening.

There's only one "very nice" choice in the Belmont section of the Bronx (Arthur Avenue), and that's Roberto's.

It is certainly possible to have a good thanksgiving "out", but you need to be very selective about where you go. I am sure that where your sister lives (Boston? NYC? DC/MD/VA?) with enough research and lead time, you could find a very nice restaurant that is doing thanksgiving. But I would insist to your sister that you come up with the place, not them, since you are the resident food expert.

The thing is, even if you aren't shaking MSG itself into your wok, many of the condiments that are essential to Chinese cooking themselves contain a good amount of MSG -- Oyster Sauce and Superior Soy Sauce, and Mushroom Soy Sauce for example. So its kind of misleading for a Chinese restaurant to say they don't use MSG, because they really are.

I love that crunchy Bimbo toast though.

I freaking LOVE MSG. The more of it, the better. Heck, I have been known to eat the remaining salt at the bottom of a can of smoked almonds. MSG is so integral to the enjoyment of Chinese food that it's not even funny.

I think that flamboyant Malaysian cooking show guy, Chef Wan, should get a job on The Food Network. I'd watch him all the time, even if I can't understand half of what he is saying. Heck, pair him up with The Evil Mr. Sang, and you'd have countless hours of enjoyment.

As we've discussed before on other threads, Korean Americans in Hawaii have their own evolved Korean food traditions, especially with plate lunches like Bulgogi. It wouldn't suprise me that they have their own version of Bibimbap as well. The "miso paste with red chile" is very likely Saemjang, of which there is a lot of variety between brands in terms of actual ingredients used . Gochujang (Wikipedia) as it is commercially sold in Korean supermarkets is mostly red pepper paste (yeah, its got rice powder and a small amount of fermented soybeans as well) which is added to other things to add spice, and there are a number of gochujang-based sauces as well -- a lot of Korean-style steak sauces contain it, as does korean-style "sashimi sauce". Saemjang, on the other hand, is an almost entirely fermented bean condiment that is used on a lot of dishes including bulgogi and kalbi, and again, there are some differences between brands, particularly in how fermented it is or how chunky it is. There are other variations of it, such as cheonggukjang which is even more fermented and is actually used to make a certain type of soup (jigae). My wife and I call it "funky sauce" for lack of a better description, its an acquired taste to be sure.

Umh, right place, wrong event. We'll have enough main dishes with all the pork and chicken. Trust me on this one! We're trying to maintain some level of authenticity with the pig pickin', and since I'm the anal-retentive host, I do get to control the menu somewhat here! ← Philistine.

I saw this really cool recipe today for hot dog and hamburger casserole on Colameco's Food Show. Apparently it even originates from the south -- You cut up a whole bunch of hot dogs, mix it up with some ground beef, mix in some molasses and brown sugar, a big ol can of baked beans, and you bake it in a casserole with BACON on top. And you hit it with a shot of Bourbon. I'm thinking this would be the perfect venue to try this one out.

If you are looking for fried belly clams outside of New England, particularly if you live in New York or New Jersey, Legal Seafoods is definitely where its at. Its always my first choice if fried clams is what I am seeking. Their clam chowder is also quite good as well. The two locations in my area -- In Paramus NJ at Garden State Plaza and in the Palisades Center Mall have had consistently good service and food quality. I'm also quite impressed with their wine list being so reasonably priced and so well selected and having such a large choice of half bottles.

Manresa for a blowout meal -- you can get 22 course tasting menus there if you want, and sit and eat for 5 hours straight. I liked Danko, but there is no comparison.

Its very high proof and I use it as a mixer.

Which is very much unlike the guy who wrote it!