Octaveman

There is a small little strip mall on the corner of Lake Murray and Navajo that comprises of various business offices, donut shop, recording studio and a space for a restuarant. In recent past there have been a few that came and went and currently the space is occupied by a Thai restaurant called Basil Thai Bistro. My wife and I were having a low key anniversary the other night and we decided to try this place out. Nicely decorated, nice table settings, friendly staff and a typical Thai menu. Neither of us were super hungry so we got the hot pot of Tom Kha with chicken, chicken larb and spicy basil beef with peppers. My wife got a Thai ice tea and I drank water. Her drink was super sweet. More so than I've tasted at other places. My water was actually refreshing and didn't taste like it came from the local lake and fortified with chemicals. Now on to the food. First up with the Tom Kha. It was very rich compared to other places I've been. I liked it but I think it was somewhat overpowered with sweetness (trend?). I thought the balance of stock and coconut milk was very good as were the ingredients in the soup. I told my wife that this soup warms the belly. I don't feel that way too often but it really did. Had that down home cold weather cozy up to the fire with a bowl of hot soup feel to it. Next up was the Chicken Larb. It was delicious. Chicken was not cut up as fine as I've done at home but wasn't an issue for me. The flavors were well balanced and they were not scared to make it spicy as it had a good bite to it. Finally the main item came. The sauce was tomato based (had it without a tomato type sauce before) and was very tasty. I asked for medium heat and I found small slices of probably 3-4 thai chilli peppers. Again, this place is not afriad to turn the heat up for you. I had a problem with this dish though. The beef was tough and dry...IOW, overcooked. It tasted like the beef has already been well cooked way ahead of time then thrown in the wok and cooked some more to make the complete dish. Dissapointed me. All in all, I wouldn't mind going back to try other things. We both kinda liked this little place. It's not as good as Tamarind Thai in La Mesa but it was decent enough to try again.

Someone I know is looking for something like this. Two seperate sauce pans that combine together to fit on one burner. I found this vintage one by Swan on ebay. Is there anyone making this kind of thing anymore? I've also found ones that are split down the middle or have 4 seperate compartments to cook different things but removal of contents would be problematic. Thanks for the help.

Yeah, it's the dasher. Okay then, good luck.

The paddle material has little affect on it's ability to freeze the stuff inside the bowl. The compressor and motor do that. Since it was leaking fluid of some kind it obviously wasn't working right. The motor probably didn't have enough strength to keep going nor did the compressor get cold enough to freeze properly. Can't base conclusions on a defective product. I usually make sorbets and it comes out pretty stiff. Almost to the point of not being able to pull the paddle out without the sorbet coming with it. The handful of times I've made ice cream using milk products it froze the liquid pretty solid IIRC. It too took some pulling to get the paddle out of the bowl. The motor will stop on it's own when it's unable to move. Sometimes I get the same back and forth happening too. I just shut it off and put the ice cream in the freezer as it's pretty much ready. A couple of hours later and I have pretty firm ice cream. There are a couple of things to keep in mind. Putting hot or warmed milk or heated syrup (water/sugar) in the bowl will lengthen the time it operates. Has nothing to do with the end result just something to remember as some people complain about how long it takes. Ambiant temperature also affect it's performance. This is the first compressor type maker I've owned so this is all I know. I've never used the freeze-the-bowl type so I can't say why one is different than the other. It's quite possible that motor strength of the two may be different since one doesn't have the compressor to power and one does. That may also be a factor.

I have the ICE50 and it is my first ice cream maker. From what I understood the ice cream was pretty much soft serve and had to go into the freezer to "set" regardless of the machine that made it. Is this not true? Given that it has the compressor and I don't have to freeze the bowl ahead time I can deal with the softness if I have the ability to make another batch right after the last one. Many times I will make a couple different batches in a single day for when friends are coming over or just to make sure I have enough. If I had to freeze the bowl for 24 hours after each batch, it would take me days to do what I want to do. On a side note, I can't recall exactly but doesn't one of the ingredients in ice cream have an effect on how hard it freezes? Sugar? Cream or type of cream? Alchohol? One could add more or change the type of ingredient to help keep your ice cream from turning into a block of ice? I mean, even the ice cream books say certain types are typically harder than others. I guess the point of this side note is that maybe it's not the machine but the ingredients or type of ice cream being made rather than the machine making it. Just a thought.

Uh, is there a question in there somewhere? You're hesitant to exchange a defective unit for one that isn't defective? You want to keep the defective unit? You're not sure if you should spend $50 for the ICE-30 or spend $700 on the Musso or hold out for one for $400+ on ebay?

I've been using a tupperwre bowl but frost/ice keeps on forming on the ice cream. Is this a typical thing? So, there's no specific container made to keep ice cream...uh...creamy (not icy)?

What's wrong with drinking water?

What would be a good container for storing ice cream in the freezer?

What would be a good container for storing ice cream in the freezer?

This may be a stupid question to some but why not? What's the difference between ice cream on the paddle versus ice cream from the freezer when it comes to raw eggs?

I vaguely remember someone having long santoku's but I'm having memory issues today. I strongly suggest to email Koki at JCK.com and ask this very question. If it's available, he can get it. I would suggest 240mm for the length if the guy is a big dude.

The metal container could be put in the freezer I suppose but it would do little to freeze your ingredients without using ice/salt. Certainly the motor should not be put in the freezer. BTW, it's not the "old" method to use ice/salt...it's the ONLY method with your particular unit.

Square? That is a good deal even if round.

Awesome. Thanks a lot for taking the time to post your trip. Very interesting to see how things are done.

I too have a dislike for Santoku's. My first knife was a Santoku and I was even stupid enough to spend extra for the dimples. I sold it on Ebay shortly after buying my 2nd knife...a Gyuto. My main gripe is that they rarely get much longer than a petty knife. I prefer to have a longer knife like a gyuto where the most typical length bought is a 240mm or 9.5 inches. With the size of veggies getting to the proportions of those on the Woody Allen movie Sleeper, I'd rather have more knife than I might use on a regular basis. Then when the additional length is needed, I already have it.

I've eatin at George's on 5th and at Greystone both located in the Gaslamp district downtown. Both my wife and I thought the meals were very good. The Buffalo Tenderlon at Greystone was awesome. These are all upscale places but if you wanted to try a family joint that IMHO has tasty steaks I'd suggest going to Pinnacle Peak. I don't care what anyone says, I really like their steaks...cooked on an open flame with mesquite charcoal...mmmmm tasty. Granted the quality of beef is not top notch but it's hard to find a 22 ounce T-Bone for $19. Or the Trail Boss which is "darn near 2 lbs" for $23. Donovan's...eh. Could've been better overall. My steak was good but my wife had scallops that were dry and overcooked. Had to send them back. Ruth Chris...had a bad experience so I will not recommend. For fish, I've eatin at Kings in Mission Valley several times and felt the fish was very good. Anthony's in La Mesa is decent as Kalypso suggested. More family oriented than upscale though. The Fish Market downtown by the bay (Seaport Village) is nice too. I'm hungry now.

Hi Chad, I know what you meant but the description of the Hiromoto AS might be misconstrued a little. The Tenmi-Jyuraku Series has a carbon steel core but is surrounded by stainless steel so there is a big element to these knives that are stainless. This type of construction means that only the carbon core is exposed at the edge (or about 5mm of it). So it's basically the best of both worlds...stainless sides with an incredible super blue core. As you said, there is a HUGE following of fanatics and rightly so too. I know you know these knives very well but I just wanted to add a little to what you said so people weren't put off by the concept of a carbon steel knife. BTW, if anyone is on the fence about carbon steel knives they are very easy to take care of. Rock on! Edited to add: Do you really think the Gingami is a decent choice for $100 (give or take) level knives? Have you tried it? There aren't a whole lot of Japanese choices and I'm kinda getting tired of always recommending Tojiro to friends on a tight budget.

I see nothing wrong with having two. One could be installed and since you have only a few items that get left out, you could get a small stand alone for the excess.

This is my standard reply to online fish purchasing..... http://www.catalinaop.com/

Yeah, that's the one I found a picture of...the Laos mortar. Thanks for finding it for sale somewhere even if out of stock. I would like one for depth alone as I get tired of food flying out onto my counter as I pound away.

What is the material? Like this one? http://laobumpkin.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html

Yep, mass hysteria.

Devcon 5 minute epoxy. Use very sparingly. Prawn is correct about the hygiene but also thinking long term, water will get down into the handle and rust the tang inside. In Japan they don't seal the handle because the handle is meant to be easily replaceable.

OMG, a Fairfiled County resident got sick? He must've have been the lone eater of tomatoes in the whole state of Connecticut. Thank goodness he's recovered now. (just poking fun) First of all, this HAS been going on for much longer than 3 days. According to Fox News... Secondly, out of the BILLIONS of people that have likely eatin tomatoes over the last month or so only 168 people have been infected (1 in Connecticut) according to the CDC. I call that mass hysteria if an entire country stops serving tomatoes or stops stocking them. I for one did not stop eating them despite the fact that I was one of the few that got salmonella poisoning from the big spinach scare of 2006 here in San Diego**. Did the entire country pull baby spinach from the shelves? Did the entire country's restaurants pull baby spinach off their menu's? No and no. Thirdly, I've eatin food from Tijuana street vendors as well as allyway taco shops that would make most people sick just looking at it. I've also bought locally grown food from small Mexican grocery stores that make you wonder where the meat came from. A few people getting sick here and there in the entire U.S. of A. is not going to stop me. Chances are your favorite grocery store wouldn't stop me either. Fourthly, I think 25 years ago people/grocery stores/restaurants in San Diego for example would not be concerned for their health if there was an outbreak in Kentucky for example. Today, people are so paranoid about every single little thing that happens. A kids baloon pops somewhere and people run for cover. A few hundred people out of billions nationwide get sick off a sandwich with tomatoes in it and Wallmart, Target, McD's and far too many others I care to list pull from shelves and stop serving tomatoes. Good grief. This is why I say it's mass hysteria. **It took about a week but I'm fully recovered now.