TAPrice

Richman responded on Robert Payton's blog: Appetites.us: Interview with Alan Richman

With all due respect, what are you talking about? If you're suggesting that people on this thread are criticizing Richman without reading his work, then you're just wrong. Brooks, Nina, and My Confusing Horoscope and ludja all say that they've read the piece. I know Robert has. David doesn't explicitly say that he has, but I get the impression that he has. Anyway, it seems the majority of people commenting clearly read it. I'm no fan of the too frequent debates on the internet about articles and books that no one has read. I just don't think that's happening here. Now, if you talking people outside of eGullet, then you may be right. On the podcast he clearly says that New Orleans has no reason to exist. As a resident, I feel dissed. He also says the city exists because it's pleasant to live by the river. No, it's not. In fact, that's just stupid in the case of New Orleans. It's rare that you ever see the river in this city. Know why? Because one of the largest ports in the world blocks the view. It's always been precarious to live by the river, but it's also been incredibly valuable and lucrative to this country.

It's not a po-boy exactly, because it's serve on Texas toast, but Casamento's fries the best oysters in town. What are you missing? Everything below fine dine and all the wonderful neighborhood joints of New Orleans. Got to run at the moment, but I'll give you some suggestions if no one else chimes in. Also, take a look at Jason Perlow's thread on eating in New Orleans.

The GQ article isn't online, but this podcast covers most of the same ground: http://odeo.com/audio/2235181/view

Unless you're going to Metairie, I would stick with Cafe du Monde for beignets.

Yes, we may have to admit that even Rachael Ray feels pain. (But when she does, she never stops smiling!) Hopefully I can catch the show on a repeat this weekend. It sounds like fun. What are the other cities in the first season?

It wasn't a lot different before the storm. Austin Leslie, who died shortly after Katrina, was at Pampy's and cooking in the Creole Soul tradition. He hoped to train a new generation of black chefs at his restaurant. Leah Chase ran Dookie Chase (and soon will again). There are probably a few more that I'm not thinking of. There are certainly many black-run neighborhood restaurants, although fewer since the storm. I don't have an answer to why there are few African-American chefs in the U.S. or New Orleans. In New Orleans, there aren't a whole lot of attractive economic opportunities luring away young talent.

There are actually very few African-American executive chefs in New Orleans. A few months back, a friend and I came up with this list: Breannan's (Chef Lazone Randolph) Muriel's (Chef Erik Veney, now Ex. sous at Stella) Upperline (Chef Ken Smith) Morton's Steakhouse Roux Bistro at Sheraton Hotel (Chef Christopher Brown) I might be forgetting someone and there might have been changes recently, but only 5 (now 4) African-American executive chefs in city where African-Americans built the culture and the cuisine is sad.

I was also put off by the title, but some people seem to love it. I just don't understand the title. Are we united as a nation by arugula? Not that the title is that important. Having seen friends publish books, I know that sometimes the marketing department passionately embraces a bad title and there is no way to get rid of it.

Reports of the reopened Commander's have been glowing. I would try to switch the reservation.

Before he went into the hospital, Apple filed this article on 10 international restaurants worth visiting. It was scheduled to run in the fall, but the Times ran it today instead. From the lede:

Brooks, I believe this is the piece: TP: Apple's New Orleans

From NYT editor Keller's memo to staff (posted on Romanesko ): The article mentioned above is this piece on Singapore.

Very sad news, but it's hard to imagine anyone leading a fuller life than R.W. Apple. He certainly appeared to have taken advantage of his time on earth. R.I.P. I always admired his truly global perspective. I really believe he tasted everything. I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but some mutual friends of mine were once seated next to him at Herbsaint in New Orleans. Somehow they started talking, and after a few minutes he invited these perfect strangers to join him and his wife for dinner.

I hear you loud and clear. As I am not an expert in shrimping either, I wouldn't bet my house on this issue. However, this retailer is one of the few good guys out there, and I tend to trust what he puts out. He is also quite adept at sourcing, so I think if anyone in this area would have a hard to find, perishable item, it would be this place. But, again, I wouldn't bet my house on it... ← Yeah, I've learned time and again that many things are both unlikely and completely true. Food and everything else sometimes gets distributed in ways that you would never expect.

I think mislabeling is pretty common. I seem to remember a NYT articles about widespread mislabeling of farmed salmon as wild salmon. From all I've read there are two issues. It's not just that shrimp is perishable, but there is very little never frozen product. Most large, commercial shrimpers stay out several days and flash freeze the shrimp on board. The day shrimpers who don't freeze their products are literally mom and pop operations. With the double hit of Katrina and Rita, a lot of them are still struggling to resume operations. I'll say up front that I'm not a shrimping expert. I could be wrong about how widely non-frozen shrimp travels. I sent an email to a friend who knows a lot more about the industry. I'll let you know what she says.

I'm not sure what you mean by "fresh" here. The Gulf shrimp was certainly frozen if it made it all the way up north. It might have been frozen onboard the boat. The only way to get fresh shrimp is to live in an area where day shrimpers work. I'm pretty sure that any boats that stay out longer than a day will be freezing their catch. They may put some on ice the last day, but that would have to be sold in the area. I paid $4.50 a pound last week for beautiful, head-on fresh shrimp at my local farmers market. The truly fresh shrimp are a wonder, and I bought them directly from the family that caught the shrimp.

Hey, I'll say it (sort of). I hate the house blend (too astringent for me), but some of the seasonal blends are excellent.

For posterity's sake, here is a link that won't disappear into the archives after seven days: NYT: In Search of Grocery Store Gems [Totally off-topic, but useful. Paste NYT articles into this site New York Times Link Generator and it will give you a link that doesn't expire in seven days. It's a service the NYT set up for bloggers.]

There was a 2002 Wall Street Journal article saying that Starbucks was good for independents. The mega-chain grew the market and drew customers to the area. I can only find an abstract of the article, so I can't provide hard numbers.

Could you elaborate on how the method of displaying the potatoes encourages them to green? What changes could be made?

Can't say I have. How big are we talking about?

I was reading Saveur's review of "The Sushi Experience" in the October issue and wondered about two points. In a sidebar, the article offers this tip from the book: Personally, I've never worried about raw fish. This little article, from the Student Health Services at Columbia University, confirms that we have little to fear: Can I get sick from raw fish? In a nutshell, it says that ill effects are rare and almost always temporary. It also says that heat or freezing are the best options for those concerned. Surprisingly (to me at least), a strong dose of acid, such as in ceviche, won't kill off worms or bacteria. Is there any reason to think that tea would kill off worms or bacteria? The review, quoting the cookbook, also says that fish for sushi should be line-caught, transferred alive to a tank, allowed to rest in the tank overnight to relieve stress, and then slaughtered instantaneously. This sounds, well, lovely. Almost impossibly lovely. Like popping a rare ortolan into my mouth while blindfolded. Could it be true? Is fish really treated with such care in Japan? Can such fish be found in the U.S.? If so, where? If you have tasted it, how does it differ from more average fish?

For what it's worth, Google returns the results: 76 hits: The little wine bar that could 162 hits: The little bistro that could 1,040 hits: The little cafe that could 2,330 hits: The little restaurant that could 2,890 hits: The little bar that could Edit: How could I forget: 262,000 hits: The little engine that could ("I think I can, I think I can").

Fair enough, but Nina was talking about someone stealing her specific language. I would say most ideas are public domain, on the internet or elsewhere. I can overhear an idea, and then go and writer about it. I can read about on the internet or anywhere else, and go and write about. What I can't do is take the language (even changed slightly) and reproduce it.