phaelon56

What's the texture like?

Among the multiple Urban Dictionary definition entries for "crumb-believable" is this one - which beats the others by a landslide (84 thumbs up and only 7 thumbs down): And yes - I do buy crumbled blue cheese - I actuallly seek it out over the wedge type. I use a minimal amount on salads at home, buy it sporadically and don't use it very quickly. I can never consistently get a decent crumbly texture from wedges of blue cheese. It comes out as odd sized chunks when I chop it with a knife and the chunks have to be pushed or scraped off the knife with another utensil or my finger. Andd try crumbling it with your fingers sometime - now THAT's a messy and losing proposition. In the store where I shop generic crumbled blue cheese (store brand) is only 40 or 50 cents per pound higher than the solid chunks - and I buy at most a half pound container at one time. The producers of this either have a) a magical industrial crumbler maker that ordinary citizens can't possibly afford to purchase (not to mention that it's likely to be the size of my entire kitchen) b) a crumbler plus some really nasty additives that allow the cheese to stay crumbled and not get all gummed back together. Either way - I don't eat much of it and I'll stick to precrumbled blue or gorgonzola. But I'll agree that these - Kraft Cheese Crumbles - don't make sense. I can grab a hunk of sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack etc. and shave off enought little chunks for a salad in about 30 seconds. Not to mention that unlike the pre-crumbled blue I buy - these products have a dramatically higher unit price (not to mention that the cheese itself just isn't as good as similar varities I can buy in solid chunks from cheesemakers who produce a better product than Kraft).

Oddly enough... the best Vietnamese restaurants in the NYC area are in... New Jersey I've eaten at a few of the Chinatown Vietnamese plces and wasn't impressed. At the time I was living in North jersey just outside the city and we had a couple very good ones over there (including Little Saigon in Nutley which burned down but has since re-opened elsewhere - I think). Now that I'm still in NY but up in the central part of hte state I once again have fantastic Vietnamese food available. We have a decent sized Cambodian, Hmong and Vietnames community here and as a result have three restaurants to choose from. All are fairly 'authentic" but only one is really, really good.

Total Eclipse: 1.5 oz pineapple juice 1.5 oz. orange juice 2.0 oz Mt. Gay Eclipse Barbados rum Shake with ice and serve over ice oe strained. Fresh fruit juice is nice and a dash of cranberry for color is an option but it's refreshing as is.

I know many people around here swear by Roma Tile and Marbel on Wolf Street but when i did some granit work a few years back I used Vallar Tile and Marble 400 N Midler Ave # 1 Syracuse, NY 13206 (315) 463-7251 What I appreciated is the fact that they worked with me for very good pricing on scrap pieces that were long and narrow. Might be worth checking when your'e down this way. And if you plan to visit the Ithaca Farmer's Market this season (which anyone living within a two hour drive of Ithaca should do) .... then take the back route from Homer / Cortland. Instead of going through Dryden to Rte 13 go over McLean Rd (turn off Rte 281 by Doug's Fish Fry)through McLean to Freeville on your way to Ithaca (BTW - much faster than going through Dryden!). There's a kitchen tile, stone and marble place on the corner in Freeville and they have a big outdoor lot about a half block away that has loads of stone. If your'e flexible about cooler the scrap can sometimes be affordable (in relative terms).

Okay... will somone please tell me how much this really sells for at retail in what cup size? if the large green tea was $3 or less thatn it has a medium plain cup of fropzen yogurt (I asusme this is soft serve - correct?) coming in at between $9 and $10. That's totally outrageous in any US market - even in Manhattan or the most grossly overpriced tourist locations (granted - in some areas Manhattan is a grossly overpriced tourist destination ) Then I see ned's comment: ned - are you referring to Pinkberry? I've never bothered to try Coldstone and it is ice cream rather than yogurt but as outrageous as their prices are - they still don't come close to $9 or $10 for a medium plain cup.

Hmmmm.... I'm not a tea aficionado but based on my very limited experience I would have picked Earl Grey as a good match. I do recall trying a Christiian Constant chocolate a couple years back that had either an Earl Gray infused filling or an Earl Grey infused ganache. Can't recall which it was but in either case it didn't make much of an impression on me.

I don't get back down to Charlotte these days but am glad to see this thread stilll alive. I haven't heard anything about Java Passage closing but did hear some word of mouth rumors a month or two back about a coffee/espresso operation in Charlotte being up for sale. When I was down there regularly Java Passage was the only game in town for really decent espresso but I had hopes that more good shops would open. I do suggest checking out the shoestring place mentioned upthread. If they serve Counter Culture coffee there's a high probability that they do a good job with both coffee and espresso. Teh place that I know for certain is open at night and has some comfy couches and chairs with tables is Jackson Java on University Blvd out past Harris (heading out of the city) Coffee is decent and espress drinks are hit or miss - contingent on what barista is workign. but the atmosphere is nice and you'll find many people, mostly UNC students, in there at night. Coffee Cup has a pretty decent lunch as well as a good breakfast - bruing a good appetite as the portions are huge. I didn't get to try To the Bone - they opened after I stopped visiting. Byt my former GF (who still lives there( says it's decent. More of a greasy spooon / fast food feel for soul food is The Chicken Box. It's on Tryon a mile or two out of downtown (uptown) on the right before you reach To The Bone. When they have them their fried green tomatoes are really good.

Can't speak for the other two but RestaurantGirl's blog has a link for contacting her about advertising on the blog. And there are plenty of ads there. Perhaps not enough to pay the rent in Manhattan but if she's getting enough page views and click-throughs it mugh be a nice bit of supplemental income every month.

Hmmmm.... that feedback does not sound encouraging. And I have the impression that Maytag in general is no longer the paragon of reliability that they once were. I may have to look into a retrofit and a commercial range - I'm on an outside wall and have the space to do it.

We have a "high end" (by local standards - much different than a major metro area) restaurant in town that has at least one entreee on their menu that comes staright from a frozen Sysco package - sauce and all. They also have a "specialty bakehouse" at a separate location that "makes" their desserts. The fact is that some are made and some are pre-made. The scones are fresh or at least from a fresh dough mix. But the cookies and croissants come from the freezer. It's their business whether they make it form scratch or not but I resent any restaurant that claims to have "home-made" desserts but is peddling something else. I've eaten some Bindi and Sysco desserts - sometimes knowingly and more likely other times not knowing - and they satisfied my sweet tooth at the time. But I much prefer going to a place with an unambitious dessert menu that rarely changes but has very high standards. Creme brulee.... chocolate mousse.... lemon tart and a few others come to mind. Easy to buy.... tougher to make it from scratch really well but even more demanding to make it really stellar AND consistent. And you can do that without a pastry chef but it does mean accepting some serious restrictions on the range and variety of your dessert offerings.

I also read that review as positive. She found fault in a fisherman's stew and one dessert item but appeared to be very favorable about everything else. That's not bad for a place that's been open for awhile but surprisingly good for a place that's on its first night. But I also found the complete omission of any comments on the service (good, bad or indifferent) to be a bit suspicious.

The dilemmma with restaurant gear is that true commercial gas ranges require very specific venting and heat protection for the areas surrounding the install. It is possible to install one in a home but if you're retrofitting rather than doing a new build-out the cost of installing one will cancel out the savings achieved by gettting a more-for-less commercial range. But I am also interested in the Premier product. I haven't seen one in person but it looks like a good fit for me as I have a 40" space - ideal for a 36" free-standing range. And like MarkIsCooking I was very underwhelmed but the 30" ranges I saw at Lowe's yesterday for $1200 - $1600. I have yet to see a Premier in person but from the photos on the Lowe's web site like they're more about function and less about styling. I also noted that the burners are in general larger and more suited to my desired uses.

If I know the desserts will be average to mediocre I don't care at all. But if I know they'll be really good I'll gladly skip soup or an appetizer or even share an entree instead of having one of my own - all in the interest of leaving room for dessert. Hmmmm... that would be a cool name for a restaurant

Oddly enough... the only decent paella I've ever had in NYC was at Cafe Iguana on W. 54th Street. They serve "nouveau Mexican" food but are more known for their downstairs night club and as an after-work cocktail hangout for singles who work in that part of town. I met up with a former co-worker for drinks there a few years back. We opted to stay for dinner. Being less than enthused about most of the menu options I chose their paella. It had the nice dry texture and socarrat that absolutely none fo the Portuguese, Spanish or Brazilian restaurants I've tried in NYC or Newark seem to achieve. If you've experienced good paella in Spain or Portugal I'm sure this would disappoint and I can't speak for the rest of their menu (and it's been about five years since I ate there). But given the circumstances I was pleasantly surprised.

In keeping with Spencer's comment abotu enjoying the reactions of others to noticeably improved drinks... I was in Seattle last year on non-coffee related business and dragged my colleague to David Schomer's "espresso palace" - the new Espresso Vivace location at 227 Yale across from the big REI store. My co-worker was one of those guys who thought he didn't like cappuccino's until he had a proper Italian style 6 oz cappa with perfectly stretched milk and a triple ristretto shot of espresso.. It was truly rewarding to watch his satisfaction and amazement as he sipped the drink.

For me the topic can pertain to pretty much any coffee or espresso experience outside of slamming down gas station swill on a road trip or choking down a cup of Folger's to be polite to Mom when I go to visit. There are so many I hardly know where to start but two particular occasions come to mind. 1) Circa 1978 or 1979: My girlfriend went to Cali Colombia SA to teach English for a year. She came home at Christmas and brought me a one kilo bag of pre-ground Colombian Supremo coffee from an export store that sold only to tourists and others on their way out of the country (then as now - the best coffee was reserved for export). Keep in mind that I was already buying a good locally roasted all Arabica blend at the time, grinding the whole beans for every pot and using a Mellitta manual drip to get the quality I wanted. And I had already tried Colombian coffee. But this batch was an epiphany - the first coffee I ever drank that tased far better black than it did with half 'n half. It truly opened my eyes to possibilities I had never before considered (although it was many years after that before I ever tasted truly excellent coffee again). 2) My first experience drinking Clover coffee on my recent visit to Cafe Grumpy in Manhattan.

Just curious - is such an enhancer a hypothetical construct on which research is being done or are such products actually in development in the research arena? Did he happen to comment on that?

That brings to mind an incident I witnessed about thirty years ago when I was waiting table. A gentleman (I use the term loosely) in the cafe section lit up a very smelly cigar to enjoy after his meal. A woman at the table directly across from him (it was a cramped space - whe was really close) leaned across and asked him politely "I'm just starting my meal - will you be kind enough to enjoy your cigar at the bar? The smoke will affect my appetitie and I'll really appreciate it if you'll do that." He refused in a very blunt, gruff and disagreeable manner. Ever so politely.... she requested her check and then poured her entire glass of ice water over his head - extinguishing the stogie in the process.

Onocoffee is far too shy and retiring (NOT!). He recently placed as one of the top three finalists in the 2007 Mid Atlantic Regional Barista Championships - against stifff competition. He also serves up stellar coffee and superb espresso drinks at his cafe. Look for Spro Coffee in Maryland right here: Espresso Map

I think more budding restarauteurs should consider grabbing a defunct diner as a place to start a fine/finer dining operation. Syracuse's best French restaurant , usually the only one in that era (others came and went) was Cafe de Paris. It was in an old greasy spoon diner car next to a junkyard on Erie Blvd East. It was, at various points in time, a diner, a bar and even a strip club. As Cefe de paris they did a bang-up job on french bistro food in an era (1970's and early 1980's) when most peopelo in this market though of French Fries when they thought of French food. The owners retired, closed it down and the building was demolished a few years later (stilll an empty lot to this day).

Standard Italian fare is easy enough to get here in Syracuse - not to mention that I make a darn good lasagna at home. Thanks for the tip. I think we'll both order the shrimp You do indeed. The mystery is revealed (the number part at least - the rest of it is not).

Moderator's Note: Varietal has a new chef and a new direction thus a new thread has been created and this one is now closed. Discuss Varietal, under Wayne Nish here.

I'm still trying to find a store locally that is stocking the new Fanta Orange Zero. We were in VA beach over the weekend and snagged some Diet-Rite Tangerine Zero for the ride home. Not bad but it's tooo subtle. I want that truly artificial-orange-in-your-face that a good orange soda provides (but without the saccharine edge that non-Splenda sweeteners seem to have).

Where I live (central NY state) that sandwich is called a "Pork Carolina" - the assumption around here being that it's a popular serving style somewhere in the Carolina's.