NancyH

A great topic FatGuy! I have two vintage Magnalite roasters that are aluminum. I've always been afraid to cook anything acidic in them. Yet my friend Scott, who acquired the smaller one for me on Ebay, makes chili in his all the time. And my friend Linda does her holiday brisket w/tomato sauce in one. I wrote to Magnalite and asked them about it - and got a lot of newspeak and doubletalk instead of an answer. So - I eagerly await to see how others weigh in on this topic!

What? No picture??

Ethiopian on MacDougal? I clearly haven't been to the Village in too long - someone, do please tell whether this is worth seeking out!

I loved the round so much I don't think I ever tried the square. My loss.

As this thread demonstrates, New Yorkers are nothing if not passionate about their pizza. My perspective is a little different. I was raised in the suburbs (Long Island), on pizza from local steel deck oven pizzarias - I can't remember any that I didn't like. I lived in NYC for several years in the 1980s - Rays (11th & 6th) was not only my go-to slice joint, but every pizzaria in the neighborhood benchmarked its slice price by what Ray's was charging - Ray's was always able to get away with a little bit more per slice - and the day it went over $1.00 per slice, it was a big deal. As a poor student, I ate a lot of pizza - but mostly by the slice, which is why I didn't get the whole John's thing (even though I lived in the Village). Ben's on McDougal was a favorite, more for their cheesy Sicillian style than the round. I then spent six years in Montclair NJ, again eating lots of local steel deck oven pizza by the slice - all similar to the stuff from Long Island and some of the Manhattan places. Then, I moved to Cleveland. I've lived in Cleveland 14 years now, and whenever I visit home, the first thing I gotta have is pizza. Pizza from Chef's in East Northport, or wherever else my mom decides to get it from. My point is -you "fussy eaters" don't realize how amazing all NY area pizza is until you leave it behind! The stuff that passes for pizza here, for the most part, is pathetic, and I expect that's true in a lot of the country (and explains why pizza chains have thrived; I can't touch the stuff). So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, go easy on the "average" NY pizzaria - what you get there is still miles ahead of what's available in the rest of the country. I'm a born and bred New Yorker and I still love Famous Ray's - but that doesn't make it "better" or "worse" than other local pizza, though of course there are standouts that folks are talking about here. Its just so funny to read people trashing the "average" of what is available there, without realizing how awesome and special it all is once you can't get it anymore.

Not sure what you mean when you say this - you went inside when they had first opened their doors for the day? ← Yes- we actually had to wait a few minutes for the pizza to finish cooking, so it was right out of the oven.

Raji - when we were there (the Famous Ray's at 6th Ave/11th St) a year ago - that was all ancient history. The people there didn't even know aobut the London pizza airlift. I just did my best to Google it - and learned that "According to noted pizza authority Scott Weiner There seem to be about 40 pizzerias with the name Ray's left in New York City, nine of which are part of the official chain. The one on 11th street was sold in the '90s and resold several times, and the quality has gone down quite a bit but the ambiance is still there . . . " Article Still - I have to say that the slices my hubby and I had last year were heavenly. Guess we were wise to catch them when they opened. Too bad - I love that stuff. As much as I love a crusty Neopolitan. As we say in Cleveland - oh well.

We did hit Famous Ray's right at their opening on March 13, 2008, when I took this shot: This slice was like a slice of heaven for me (I had to have a small nibble before I could take the photo). As I say, this was my "go to" for almost 10 years - and gosh dang it, I like it! I was at NYU when they airlifted dozens of these to American students in England who were missing their Famous Ray's. And another thing to keep in mind while discussing this - though there is one or more multi-unit operation in NYC with "Ray's" in the title - there is only one Famous Ray's, and that is 6th Ave. & 11th Street. I love, it and I'm proud.

No fair! Now I gotta get me some - good thing I'm visiting NY soon!

Doc - The Famous Ray's is still alive and kicking (or it was a year or so ago, when I last visited). Even though the place has changed, as have the people making the pizza - the formula is the same as when I was an NYU student in the 1980s and I still love and crave it. I actually have occasional dreams that I walk to NYC from Cleveland for a slice.

As a rule, Asian eggplants do not need to be salted because they are not bitter; Italian eggplants do need a salting (or as Alton Brown describes it, "purging") to reduce bitterness.

Thank you for this info!

Steve - when in doubt, throw it out. 2 hours is the absolute max for something like that to be at "warm" room temps - less for food that wasn't cooked to start with. Cooking it doesn't undo the time/tempurature abuse thing.

Devotay - you must stop into Jonathon Sawyer's Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland! www.thegreenhousetavern.com. Also Matt Mathlage's Light Bistro (http://www.lightbistro.com) and Steve Shimoler's Crop Bistro. http://www.cropbistro.com/

No shredder blade! If you want a truly creamy kugel - use the cheese grating wheel for the potato (you can use the shredded or the chopper for the onion) - I've written about that upthread, I'm sure. It gives you pudding instead of hash browns. And you don't have to squeeze water out.

My matzoh balls came out terrible - I'm going to make another batch today. I used "homemade" Mato meal to use up the last of last year's Matzoh - it made a batter that was too dense - even another egg and seltzer couldn't save them.

Percyn - that photo has me drooling!

Why is the cooking liquid white? The dish looks positively fabulous - I am so hungry now!

Don't you dare throw that out - schmaltz is awesome for almost any frying application! One of my favorites - fried rice. Authentic Chinese fried rice is always made with lard - chicken fat is the next best thing!

New topic for this thread: Chirashi. I recently enjoyed a delicious Chirashi lunch at Pacific East, near Cleveland Ohio: Underneath those beautiful strips of fish was a ball of rice. What is the proper way to eat this? The fish slices seemed larger than they would be on nigiri - too large to eat daintily in one bite. And do you put rice on the fish, or eat the fish like Sashimi and then take some rice? How are chopsticks to be used? I felt silly that I knew how to eat everything else on the menu except this! Thank you EGers for filling in the gaps in my knowledge!

Re judges - I have to disagree a little. ICJ always had at least one judge on the panel, usually a female, who was clueless about food, but pretty and giggly. So long as it's only one "celebrity" judge per panel.

Yesterday's breakfast: what my mother called a "Fried Egg Sandwich" while I was growing up. Two local farm eggs mixed with a little milk, kosher salt and ground Tellicherry pepper, omeletted in Ghee, and served on fresh Challah bread with a touch of local roll butter on the bottom and Heinz Organic Ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup - yay!) on top. The "rear" view.

Great post! Thank you.

Ummmmm - homemade cheese!

Please, please, please - photos and method - please?