CharityCase

Having recently rejoined eG after several years, I'm pleased to report that my Magnum pepper grinder (which I ordered after reading this thread) continues to hold up well. It's aesthetically unattractive, and the plastic shell doesn't feel as regal as the peugeots do but it seems to put out a consistently good grinding. Occasionally the tension screw on the bottom needs to be re-tightened (probably slipping due to regular use) but no complaints otherwise.

An admittedly late contribution on this but having watched it and enjoyed it, I thought I would recommend it again to those who haven't seen it yet. I agree with Alex that it could've been trimmed somewhat. Thought the movie gave a pretty good overview of some of the non-food traditions in Japan (which I admit to not being familiar with) such as the rites of the first born to follow his father's footsteps. Wasn't sure if that was just some PR from Jiro to cover for the fact that he volun-told his son to follow him.

Hi, A group of guys are hitting the non-stop excitement of collingwood this weekend. It's a mix of foodie and non-foodie folk. This isn't a nudie bar bachelor party affair but there will be drinking. Right..ahem. Could someone recommend a moderately-priced resto in either Collingwood proper or at Blue mountain that could entertain 5 people for moderate prices (mains under $20)? One of my issues of Toronto life mentioned Centro as well as Motorcycle Café...thoughts on these or anywhere else worth trying would be great.

I gave Penang a try tonight. It was packed, I took that as a good sign. It was pretty solid, the roti canai was fresh and satisfying but the Prawn mee was...so so. The pork and shrimp were past their prime and the broth was too sweet for my tastes. I walked past Bukowski's but the huge banner turned me off of it. I may try that tomorrow though I'll be in Cambridge for most of the day so perhaps I'll try some of your recos for that area.

It means that I have a per diem (good) but that I work for a charity (bad...rather good but also bad) AND I'm getting married in a few months (terrible...as in terrible for the pocketbook). So I'd like to keep my lunches to $10 - $20 and my dinners to $30 excluding a beer or two. Thanks for the other reco's folks!

Hi, I'll be hitting your town the weekend of April 12th and I'm staying at the Radisson downtown. I'm not going to have too much leisure time on account of work but I do need to fit in a saturday dinner and a Sunday lunch. I was in Boston exactly once in the last 10 years and I didn't think ahead to where to eat so this time I'm hoping I can lean on you for help. I'm on a pretty tight budget so high-end things aren't really doable. I won't be entertaining others so I'm fine with cramped shacks and sitting at the bar. I kind of like commotion instead of quiet come to think of it Here in Ottawa we have way way way too much middle eastern food so I'd prefer something a little different (and having seen many recommendations for Oleana I thought I'd mention that). But as your fair city is reputed for seafood I figure that'd be good. Any suggestions?

Well I found the above method was perfect. half a package took 3-4minutes off the heat, and followed by a quick rinse they were good to go. Thanks all!

Hi, I'm a seasoned food person, and goodness I've eaten alot of rice noodles in my day. But just as pitchers sometimes forget how to throw a curveball, I seem to have forgotten how to prep rice noodles for soups and thai curries. I most often have these kind/thickness lying around: I've soaked them in hot water in the past, but then I find I slightly overcook them when dropped into boiling water for 30 seconds or so. I also think I shouldn't need to boil them if they're sdoaked properly. So, for this thickness (about 1 or 2cm..I'm usre you know what I'm referring to) what is your preferred method for prepping rice noodles for a soup or stew? How do you get them to that just-rght semi-chewy state?

Hi Pam, I will check the brands I have at home but in general I have not enjoyed any of the store-brought brands (ex. Unico, Italpasta). I've been very pleased with the italian-made brands though..I don't know what the exact difference is but the consistency is closer to an all-white flour and holds up alot better cooked. I was able to get these at an Italian deli...you should be able to too.

I love the flavour of what's labeled Whiting here. Last time we had some our monger cleaned and gutted them, and clasped the tail in the mouth of the fish, forming a circle. WE bake them on a bed of chopped fennel, carrots and onions. They only take 10 minutes at about 400 or 450F and when they're finished you can carefully yank the whole bone piece out. They could conceivably be cooked like smelts too..floured and pan fried and served with a lemon wedge...yum!

Well, the citrus-scented Tuna was a huge hit...so much so that the birthday girl didn't even get to try it! The presentation was beautiful and the only thing I would do differently next time is cut back slightly on the lemon juice..it was a tad on the acidic side. The seared tuna on starfruit was ok...I found the accompanying aioli underwhelming though.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm going to do the Citrus Scented Tuna Tartare as above and will report back on the success. There's some other fun stuff on the menu (scallops and caviar, grilled shrimp, oysters with a smattering of condiment choices) so fingers crossed this will go off well. Incidentally, I found an interesting seared tuna recipe on the Food Network's website that I'm also going to try out: Seared Tuna on Star Fruit

I'm doing a party on Saturday that will have a few different seafood apps...oysters, shrimp, scallops and the like. I'd like to do a tuna tartare but I would love some suggestions other than soy/wasabi and asian flavours. I say this only because I've had it/seen it very often and surely in the wealth of intellect on eGullet there's someone with a novel idea for this? I don't think that tuna would suit all the acids of a ceviche...maybe you've got other ideas? In either case the format should be easy to handle as an appetizer and not too messy. Many thanks eG folk!

So by that you mean turn it off in the middle of the brew cycle, let it sit and fire it back up to finish brewing? I hadn't thought to do that but it sounds like a good idea.

Hi, We use a Hamilton Beach Brewstation at work, and because we brew 3-4 pots a day with it the buildup of grinds and coffee residues demands cleaning it quite regularly. there are numerous suggestions through a google search: vinegar and water at varying strengths, denture tablets, citric acid, the pre-packaged solutions (ex. Urnex)...as we use water from a filtered water device I think the problem is with coffee residue and less so with deposits and scaling. Is there something tried and tested that you use to keep your drip coffeemaker fresh? A no-fail solution? Or are the commercially available mixes preferable to vinegar and water for some reason?