eSkillet.com

Thanks for that mizducky. I have also come across some interesting sites during my research. I'll add them for others to enjoy. http://www.travelbyfood.com/ http://www.streetgrub.com/ http://www.roadfood.com

I look for some pan de yuca recipes godito. I think I've come across a similar item in Cuba. I'm thinking of doing a "Pattie sampler" with various mini versions of patties, empanadas, samosas etc. with appropriate sauces.

Good list. I won't have a problem with ingredients. I'll ship everything I need in. The only limitations are on some indiginous produce but I can work on substitutes.

I like the huli huli chicken. That should be easy to adapt. Cheese steaks on the other hand might be a bit more of a challenge. Perhaps a modified beef tenderloin on a pastry base.

Mexican and South West foods will figure heavily I think. Mainly because the flavors would be and easier sell around here. I love tamales but I can't figure out a way to work them into "fine dining" without looking cumbersome on a plate. Soft tacos are a definate possibility.

The doubles definately look good. They are on the short list. I want to be as true to the native preparation of all foods on the menu as possible. I will have to use a little poetic license on some items to make them fit into an a la carte menu theme. I already had the grilled corn on the cob on my list. Had some spicy corn from a vendor in Jamaica and loved it.

Nice links Lyndel. Thank You. Kerry, I like the socca. Do you know if they have any traditional fillings for it or is it just served with black pepper?

Milagai and Tweety, thank you for those links.

First of all, I'm not opening a restaurant based on street food. My restaurant has been open for many years and is very well established. The menu changes completely quarterly. I chose the street food theme because I have eaten street food on six different countries and I love it. I hardly consider this to be a "gimmick" and I doubt my clients will either. I see nothing wrong with doing research outside of one's own experience when developing a menu.

That's exactly what I'm going for. Thanks for the replies so far.

I'm working on my new menu and I have about 3 months or so to develop it. It's a fine dining restaurant but I've decided to use "Street Food" as my theme. Does anyone out there have any recipes they can share or even food ideas without recipes that you have experience during your travels? I'm looking for food items that you would typically find at street vendor booths. There seems to be lots of resources for Asian street food but not too many when it comes to the Caribbean or Central/South American and other places. Any help would be appreciated.

It works at killing them. My point is that if there is no food source then there will be no fruit flies. I can go for days without seeing a fruit fly but as soon as I leave a glass of wine out on the counter they suddenly appear.

Exactly. All of these methods of "trapping" them, ie: wine, vinegar, sugar etc. are effective for collecting fruit flies but would they not by nature also contribute to the population problem to begin with?

If anything conditions are more sanitary today than ever before. Therein lies the problem. We live in a sterile world. Any little anomoly in our food chain and we get sick because everything is so sanitized. I have eaten chickens from Guatemala markets that have sat unrefrigerated in the hot sun for hours and I have eaten pork purchased on Cuban street corners cut up on wood blocks which have not been sanitized for days. Never a problem. But if you take the average person out of their sterile world and make them eat similar products they will become sick.

As far as I'm concerned Gordon Ramsey is a cariciture. If he is anything like the dickwad he plays on his "reality" show then he has no place in our industry.

No Alcohol Policy??????? How does this balance with reality? To the OP, there is no substitute for real life experience. You are more than qualified to be a culinary instructor IMHO. I have been through "instructional" courses such as CAE but I really consider them to be a waste of time. We are a practical based school with about 20% theory content. Classroom instruction is really secondary to hands on experience. What's even better is that you can design your program in such a way that you are constantly learning from your students' research.

I'll go ahead and disagree with both your suggestion that a steak needs to be a minimum of 2" to cook it to properly rare and your description of what a rare steak is. A rare steak is red in the middle, not pink.

Well, this reply is unacceptably late but better late than never. First of all my condolences go out to all of the victims of Katrina. It was a very distrubing experience to watch the events unfold on TV after spending time at the Convention Center and many NO restaurants only a short time before the hurricane. Best wishes to you all and I hope things will return to some level of normality for you. I had a chance to eat at many great restaurants throughout the city. The food was outstanding but out of respect for many restaurants that are still closed I will refrain from rating my experiences. Suffice it to say I enjoyed my stay, enjoyed my food and most of all enjoyed the wonderful Louisiana hospitality.

Thank you all for your recommendations. I will be trying out as many as I can. I will definately be trying the fresh king crab.

I want to try a real hurricane. Not one made from a mix. Willie Mae's is on my list. No way can I pass up on the real home cooking.

Hello All. I will be visiting New Orleans next month for a few days to attend the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting. http://www.ift.org/cms/?pid=1000501 I am an instructor at the Culinary Institute of Canada and I'll be researching for our new 4 year degree program. We will also have a student competing at the show. Anyhoo, all formalities aside, I would like to have your opinions on the best places to go in New Orleans. I have eaten at the best restaurants in many of your fine states and cities and New Orleans I'm sure will not disappoint. Here are the criteria I am looking for, for the "Best in New Orleans" Best Fine Dining (Commander's Palace keeps coming up but is there a better less know recommendation?) Best Oyster Po-Boy Best Gumbo Best Muffaletta Best BBQ Shrimp Best Hurricane Best anything else to eat or do in New Orleans. I am in the process of reading the many threads in this forum regarding NO cuisine but I would love to hear your suggestions.

I think the best way would be to sear both the burger and the foie gras. Stack it with whatever vegetables you want to use and serve it on a good sourdough bun.