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moosnsqrl

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by moosnsqrl

  1. i second that. ← Wow. I have had 2 experiences there (both work-related) which put them among the most aggregious offenders of chain syndrome. Dependable, yes. Decent, not-so-much. Took reservations but would not seat us until entire party was present. If entire party was not present within 10 minutes, they would give the table away. Taking into account Plaza parking, essentially they were saying all 12 of you better leave work an hour before your res, just to make sure you accomodate our policies. Taking into account the salaries of those present (and, no, mine wouldn't make a dent one way or the other), that would make chartering a helicopter seem reasonable. Gave us a bleeping electronic thing (kinda like Martha had to wear on her ankle for 90 days) to summon us from the patio when our exalted table was ready. Their portions are absurd. I mean really. I have nothing against leftovers but if they weren't entirely about reaching into your wallet, they would offer two portion sizes or allow splits without penalty. A restaurant that sends everyone out the door with a grocery-sized bag full of plastic is overcompensating for something, IMHO. If my boss made it a condition of continued employment I wouldn't go back. Seriously.
  2. KC Media Digest for week of January 12-18, 2006 In the Kansas City Star Food Section Lauren Chapin reviews Mark Bittman's newest release and likes what she sees; -enthuses about the increasing availability of ethnic foodstuffs in mainstream groceries in our area; -and highlights a few newly released local products. Jill Wendholt Silva suggests using a slow-cooker for a warmer winter awakening. In The Star's Preview Magazine Lauren Chapin's visits to Cafe des Amis in Parkville are comme si, comme ça; -and they're not wearing roller skates (yet) but, if you really have to have 'cue and can't get pry yourself from the driver's seat, the car hops at Fiorella's are there to help. The Pitch Charles Felitzia reviews Ferruzza's (er, something like that); -and the wine tipping controversy rages on. eKC Lisa Waterman Gray visits Avelluto's in Mission. In Lawrence (KS) I wish I could find a "proper" review but I am hearing so much buzz about this I would be remiss if I didn't pass it along, so check out what the folks on lawrence.com are saying about Cafe Beautiful (quick, while you can still get a table!). <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some area media outlets, which do not 'go to press' before we do, will be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you. <><><><><>
  3. No, you're the ONLY ONE...you must be spending a lot to keep all of those places in business single-handedly. I am AWFUL. I'm not allowed in certain places without an escort. Between tablewares, linens, kitchen gadgets and baskets (a related addiction, since they are functional pieces, at least at our house) I am not to be trusted. Space constraints are my only salvation and I really think if I get some of those cabinet optimizers at organized living I can fit a few more sets in. I have found myself especially drawn to non-round pieces (squares and triangles) lately, and think how many more of those you can fit in the same space as the round/oval ones! Whatever you do, don't stop at hobbs in Lawrence on your way to KC, jgm - they have collections of dishes from old restos, country clubs, railroads - ou name it. It's sheer torture.
  4. moosnsqrl

    Turducken

    Leave it to The Onion to kick turducken up a notch Turhumanheaducken
  5. If I can count Lidia's I'll play along (the woman is a cottage industry, for heaven's sake, and if you throw in her kids it's more of a 'castello industry'). Also The Thai Place is taking on chain-like proportions (they have at least 4 locations and I think I've heard of a 5th far east of the state line but before you get to St Louis). If not, I would seriously have to go back years. Oh, I did go to M&S for a birthday in August (b-day boy's wife bought) but we chronicled that a while back. No dire consequences but remorse from thinking about the wonderful meal we could have had for the same $$ elsewhere (here is an old thread where we unintentionally ruined poor KatieNell's b/f's birthday dinner...still feel badly about that but it wasn't mean-spirited, honest, Z and I had just both come-off of ho-hum experiences there). See, my anti-chain thing isn't snobby...I avoid the high-end ones with the same enthusiasm as the middle- or low-end ones. But I do have a question...I had honestly heard good things about whatever Mexican place was near Whole Foods (91st & Metcalf in OP, KS) and intended to try it but they closed before I ever made it. What was it and did they all close or just that location? Anyone know what happened there? Maybe everyone else was too full of WF samples to bother eating - that's what stopped me a time or two.
  6. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen! (Oh, I guess that was your whole point, sorry).
  7. OMG, Ronnie, revoke this man's access immediately! It's funny that we spent all of this time talking about whether it is a pleasure or a chore but never even considered the cooking-challenged. Do you at least have some funny "disaster" stories to back-up this outrageous claim? I do know some people who, try as they may, don't seem to catch on to some of the basics on which all else is founded.
  8. I searched and searched on "ignorant" and "git" but didn't find either in the thread anywhere. I think, if you were to start your own sea and wait to harvest your own salt, that might be marginally slower than growing your own olive oil. But I'm confident that someone more scientifically astute will correct me. Yes, I feel fortunate that I enjoy cooking (and felt all the more-so when we lived in less dining-friendly areas), regardless of my state. If I didn't, I'm sure my idea of what constitutes acceptable destinations would be far, far different.
  9. Nonsense, of course I want to know the details! When my mother was still living I cooked for her a lot and while I enjoyed doing it and she enjoyed eating it, she could never (NEVER) stop saying "you're going to too much trouble" or "I could just eat anything" or the like. She disliked cooking so much that it was absolutely unfathomable to her that I was doing it because I wanted to. I'm glad your parents are still around and able to enjoy dining with you, even if it means OG. Enjoy it while you can (their company, I mean, not the food ).
  10. jgm, I think we exchanged PMs a while back about economizing on the day-to-day to support fine dining. That would be my second biggest problem with eating at OG...I find cooking therapeutic so I would rather go home and make fresh pasta (takes about 10 minutes and costs <$1.00 - even with organic flour and free-range eggs) and even if I just adorn it with a splash of good olive oil (from the Napa Valley Manufactory, as often as an obscure Tuscan villa), a clove of garlic and a shaving or two of "the undisputed king of cheeses" (sorry, cracks me up when Mario says that) I am far happier with that than I would be at OG. Essentially two of us eat for a couple of dollars (exclusive of wine, of course) versus, what, $20 or $30? I don't even know what it costs to eat there to be honest. Any time I start to waiver in my resolve, I think about my favorite servers (and chefs) and figure if I stay out of mediocre places 2-3 times, I can rationalize a good meal. And I personally would go to Angelo's daily because I like it a lot (for what it is, which is ItalAmerican) and the $$ stays in town. Not putting a guilt trip on you. Just me, my taste and my predilection.
  11. These are the best I have found in this area, and are available online: Chris Elbow's hot chocolate If you mouse-over the bag icon on the left, you'll see the two selections they offer.
  12. OK, I know I'm going to hate myself for asking, but how did this, um, tradition get started? And I second the Chris Elbow rec, very sensual and beautiful stuff. I would have it shipped next day (he probably does that routinely anyway, since he makes a point of discouraging people from refrigerating them).
  13. Good point...maybe the judging problem will take care of itself.
  14. Will do. I mentioned his restaurant at a birthday dinner Friday night (9 of whom were Lawrencians) and no one had heard of it but all seemed interested. I hope they go, but only in parties of 2 or 4 (not 11). But that's another topic.
  15. That was kind of how I felt about it, and why I started this thread. Obviously I was unable to taste the food so I wasn't meaning to impune their decision and I did notice that WD won the originality points (no huge surprise there). Based on some of the chatter, the looks on their faces as each dish was being described, body language as they tasted, I was already giving WD a snowball's chance in hell after his first course. I just wondered if I was alone in that sense. And your Indian analogy was spot-on. I understand that some people have a low tolerance for spiciness and that's OK but I certainly wouldn't pick them to judge a chili contest; and that's what I think happened last night. No slight to Mario, though. I would happily eat anything he cooked, any day. Even tilapia.
  16. I am curious to hear what others thought of the Iron Chef battle between Batali and Dufresne. I couldn't decide if the judges just didn't "get" WD's cuisine. I know, it's silly to even care or second guess, given the hype and staged nature of it all, but I watched this particular battle with more interest than most because of the decidedly different styles. I've eaten Mario's food but have not [yet] been to WD50 so I have no idea (apart from the obvious use of the circulation tanks and a few chemicals) if what he did was typical or representative of his cuisine, but I also had the feeling that the judges weren't of the molecular gastronomy fan club .
  17. I have been dying to get there (actually, kicking myself for not getting there when he was still in his home, before the code police busted him). Thanks for the report. Maybe it will be the inspiration I need.
  18. So, do you mean to tell me that there are people who don't have personal chefs? How sad. How *do* you get by?
  19. In the Eden-like city of Lawrence there is no reason to use such a word, hence my mistake.
  20. Katie, did you ever find any info? I've pinged a few people with Manhattan connections but have yet to hear back from any of them (insert durogatory joke about KSU alums here ). I'm guessing from the name that it's Tex-Mex-ish?
  21. Sorry for the delay, this fell off of my radar. It is on Santa Fe in old downtown OP, where The Schoolhouse once was. And I'm assuming you've read about some of the service issues and are going in with your eyes open. I still stand by my good food experience but have quieted down recommending this after several fellow posters experienced fairly aggregious service gaffs.
  22. No question; you caught me. I was just trying to straddle the issue by providing examples which defy generalization. =R= ← Regardless of your intention, you did bring up an interesting point. When a favorite spot is successful and begins to grow, how do you react? The original Pizza Hut had decent pizza but IMHO went downhill fairly rapidly because of the need to standardize. It was a textbook example of giving up quality for consistency. If someplace I know and love succeeds I should be happy for them, right? But then it begins...multiple locations mean the proprieters and A-team staff are spread more thinly, less time to pay attention to detail. When things head downhill, do you mention this to them? Or will they just think you're stinging because you don't get the same attention as before? Anyone else been an eye-witness to this phenomenon?
  23. Right you are, Brooks, we can thank Wichita for White Castle, Pizza Hut and several smaller or now-defunct chains and good ol' Applebee's has its HQ here in the KC area. But please don't ask me to be proud of it! I have a good healthy anti-chain rant at least once a day and, lucky for the Society, I've already had mine today. I think it's all been said here already but I would reiterate that my greatest objection to chains is that they have a very dominant affect on the marketplace and it is extremely difficult for indies to compete with their deep pockets. The Country Club Plaza, once uniquely KC, has become a glorified mall with all of the usual suspects, and it's because they are able and willing to pay rents that are simply prohibitive to locals. I included a link to an article from the KC Star Biz section in last week's media digest about the same thing happening in the still-conceptual Power & Light District. I'm just not sure the world needs another Hard Rock Cafe and as we're subsidizing (call it what you will, but with tax breaks, etc, we are) the project was sold as something new, exciting, unique. Long live the KC Originals and the many shops that are even too small to justify the expense of joining them!
  24. I've been threatening to do something similar for years, although I haven't any family left to speak of, so it would have to be friends. Since my friends are mostly older than I and starting to face health challenges and dietary restrictions (and I'm known for healthful cooking), I've been urged to make collections of flavorful, fresh foods for the cooking-challenged. I think the scrapbooky thing, hand-written. I, like you, still use some of my grandmother's recipes and chuckle at her handwriting, spelling and margin notes (including the occasional catty remark about the neighbor who gave her the recipe -- I apparently come by my sarcasm quite naturally. And it may not be aesthetically pleasing to everyone, but I kind of like some of her cards that clearly bear the marks of having been on the countertop when she was cooking. The sugo card really *should* have some reddish, tomato-y looking stuff, don't you think? Maybe strike a balance and, instead of going "sloppy" you could press a leaf of the main herb onto the page, or dehydrate a thin slice of citrus and glue it to the page if the recipe calls for it? We should keep this alive, on or offline, and guilt each other into getting it done. I need both carrots and sticks to make me follow-through on something that will likely take the better part of a year. Oh, one other "Martha-like" thought...gather some foliage typical of each month (or season), dry it, and incorporate it into the pages (especially if your book takes on a seasonal theme). You could actually turn the book into a kitchen calendar if you were so inclined.
  25. Great, another reason to avoid McD's like the plague that it is. Hotscakes and Diet Coke (with or without the ®)? I don't recall Lisa and Olivah [sic] having soda with their hotscakes. Eb maybe. Put me down as an Arch Enemy ™. And stop taking poor Mama Fresser there for breakfast. She's suffered enough, already.
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