phaelon56

I didn't know they did dinners at the Heights. My GF went to some sort of Cornell sponsored lunchenon there a year or two ago and said it was good but she didn't rave about it. Maxie's - at least when I've gone - has always been fairly good with decent gumbo, jambalaya etc.. But it's not the kind of place where I have a burning desire to revisit and try a number of other tiems ont he menu. It's more like a reliable moderately priced place that I'll visit when I want that specific type of food. And I have been meaning to try ZaZa's Cucina but I'm waiting for the right occasion. I did revisit Dijon Bistro again about three weeks ago and was more than a bit pleased. The food was excellent and service good.

Glass lids on many rice cookers have a very small hole in them that allows enough steam to escape such that the lid isn't completely fogged and you can see the contents adequately without removing the lid.

I was in the city the week before last on business and made a trip to the new Cafe Grumpy location in Chelsea. It's on 20th between 7th and 8th - on the south side of the street and a quick walk from the 23rd Street subway station. It's a small and sleek place - plenty of curvy wood, good light and a very pared down look. This is the new generation of coffee bar and it bodes well for the future. There's a three group Synesso Cyncra espresso machine, a few grinders and not one but TWO Clover brewers. No conventional drip or press pot coffee and no airpots - just a simple menu of six or eight single origin (mostly single estate) varietals. The Clover brews coffee by the cup one cup at a time. It can be programmed for different temperature, steep time etc for each bean in order to bring out the best and most subtle nuances of each different bean type. This is, literally, a revolution in coffee brewing and the coffee isastoundingly good. I had a cop of Kenyan that was complex, slightly fruity andsmoother than just about any coffee I have ever consumed despite a very big flavor profile. I started with a triple ristretto espresso - about 3/4 to 1 oz of crema laden goodness - so sweet it definitely didn't require any sugar (which I usally add to my straight espresso). The espresso I tried was that week's special - Bin 35 Mountain Top espresso from Australia. Yes... they grow coffee in Australia and this was spectacular. It was expertly roasted by the good folks at Ecco Caffe and ranks up there among the top three espresso shots I have ever consumed. Definitely on a par with the shots you'll get at Cafe Vivace in Seattle and that's really, really good. I followed that with a machiatto and a cappuccino made from the current house espresso- a blend from 49th Parallel Roasters in British Colombia. If you're in Manhattan I suggest putting the new Grumpy location on your must-visit list.

Kim - Nice report - thanks so much for sharing that with us. You said: That is SO true. I was fortunate enough to finally get to Paris a couple years back and my GF was amazed that I had so many little culinary gems lined up in advance as the right places for us to eat - it was all thanks to eG. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kye - I'm curious - where do you buy chocolate in NYC?

There was an annual Buckwheat festival for many years in Penn Yann NY - the Finger Lakes area (also very close to Naples - home of a regional specialty known as Grape Pie ). They weren't the first ot the only Buckwheat festival but for awhiel coudl boast of annually making the world's largest buckwheat pancake (which required a forklift to flip if I recall correctly). The area is still home to Birkett Mills - the world's biggest buckwheat supplier. A few miles closer to me is the redoubtable New Hope Mills - in business for 179 years and still grinding with water power on the same rollers since 1892. If you're a lazy Saturday morning cook like me they offer a very good Buckwheat Pancake Mix only of water.

No malice perceived. Obviously I am speaking from my very limited experience and with a statistical sampling of exactly two (I have a childhood friend who went through thje same curricular path as the young man I spoke of upthread but she burned out on pastry work after two years... went to Hotel and Restaurant Admin school and left the front end of biz to go to work for a food conglomerate. I am curious however. I'm guessing based on some of your statements that you are doing / learning /acquring skills on the "hot side". Now that you're out in the field with experience.... would you pursue the path to where you're at any differently than by the way in which you have already arrived there? (assuming that you could go back and follow a path again from an earlier juncture).

There are certainly exceptions to that but admittedly - they are in a small minority. Friends of mine have a son who is currently doing a year in the pastry chef program at CIA. But he stayed on to do that after finishing the standard curriculum first. He's running circles around most of his classmates on many projects because so many of them are there JUST for the pastry program. They lack the much deeper background in cooking fundamentals that he has already acquired by virtue of his interest, aptitude and education. But that's the point - he stayed on for an extra year because he has a thirst for as comprehensive a knowledge base and set of skills as he can acquire before jumping out into the real world. Question: Is it possible that the most successful pastry chefs and the highest percentage of successful ones have a prior background that encompasses far more than just pastry work? That they evolved into it after first experiencing other parts of the working culinary world? I'm curious because I've gotten the impression (perhaps erroneously) that a fairly high percentage of people who attend only a pastry program but have not gone through a standard culinary program (e.g. CIA or Johnson and Wales) end up either not working in their "chosen field" for any significant period of time.

I make mine with cornsyrup, brown sugar and also some maple syrup in place of a portion of the corn syrup. Yum.

Call me a libertarian (if you must) but I think it should be up to the restaurant. If there's enough of a public concern and outcry I have no issue with legislation that prohibits foie gras production in a given state. It's not that I'm dodging the issue but when it's still legal to serve it let people vote with their feet. There's a local bistro owner in my area who has always steadfastly refused to serve any red meat on her menu. Chicken and fish yes - but no read meat. This is a fairly conservative blue-collar town and many people like their meat 'n potatoes. I know of people who refuse to dine in her establishment because they think i'ts unreasonable for her to draw the line on what forms of protein she chooses to serve. I think they're both right. She made a choice based on her beliefs and taste and knows full well that she'll lose some cusomterts by making that choice. And the people who choose not to dine there are equally justified in their decision. But did I mention that she recently added skirt steak to the menu at her newer place? There were some customer flow issues due to an ecelectic menu - one which I liked but didn't generate enough regular repeat business in this area. And if I had to guess I'd say it's the grass fed humanely raised skirt steak available from a purveyor who raises and slaughters the animals locally. I've had foie gras exactly once in my life and liked it well enough but not so much that I'd go out of my way to have it. But I can't see the rationale in making a big deal out of telling a restaurant why I won't go there if it's something I disagree with - I can think of better ways to spend my time.

Pongsri - nicer atmosphere than the average Thai place but I was not overly impressed by the food and the one near the Theater district is just overrun with people for the pretheater rush. Have not been to Wondee and I was less impressed with Pam than many others are. Was with a party of four and none of us were wowed - also it's a formica table / bright flourescent light kinda joint. Not that that's a knock but for a birthday dinner I would drag him out to Queens. Sripraphai expanded a year or two back and is much nicer in terms of decor than they used to be. Not fancy but nice. And the food is great - really really good.

I can see it happening in a few hot markets at certain restaurants. I think they'd have to "sell" the available tables based on desirability of the table itself, how close to the dining date the reservation is being made and how many open tables are still left and available. Airlines have played the seat price game for years as have many hotels for room pricing and even Amtrak does it now. The fewer seats the number of seats remaining on a given train when you buy... the higher the price is.

It's most likely the pressurestat - probably a Cema. Espresso machines - both commercial and home style - may have properietary boiler designs and some other parts unique to the brand or model but such items as solenoid valves, pressurestats (or thermostats) and the like are made by a handful of companies (usually Italian) and used on many, many brands of machines. Talk to the repair/tech department at Chris Coffee . They don't sell FrancisFrancis but if you can identify the part or get them a good digital photo of it they probably have one that fits. And if the cema fits you're best to upgrade to a Mater.

The lack of bottle deposit recycling laws for non-carbonated beverages is a huge issue outside the scope of this discussion but there are only a few states with such laws despite many having bottle deposit laws of all carbonated products. I can easily recall the days before the deposit law in NY state - soft drink and beer bottles and cans were a huge litter problem. Not anymore - at a nickel a bottle there are peopel spending long days scooping them up. I know that is not the ultimate solution we should work towards but it's beter than seeing them go into landfills. And in many states the standard practice is to toss them out. Where I live most conscientious folks recycle all plastic containers but not everywhere (when I lived in NJ it appeared that few peopel in my community bothered to do so). True - and I rarely buy bottled flat water - I reuse bottles and refill them from a filtered source. My GF lives sixty miles away - just outside of Ithaca NY (she is on well water). Her water is so bad you wouldn't even dare to cook your pasta in it - it's not drinkable even with filtering (unless your taste buds were destroyed in some tragic industrial accident). We don't all live in places where it's possible, practical or even remotely desirable to drink the tap water. I'm lucky that I do.

Everything2 has a few entertaining and insightful posts on the topic including this remark Makes sense to me.

Update. I had a weekend guest several weeks ago who used my home when I was out of town. She had some of her grandchildren over to visit and bought frozen pizza's to serve them - one of which was left in my freezer uncooked. It was labeled "Mama Cicco's Self-Rising Pepperoni". Looked to be similar to Di Giorno and the like but I think maybe it's an Aldi's generic type brand. I baked it for the suggested time duration and until the cheese and crust looked to be similar to the way I've cooked Di Giorno or Freschetta. But it was truly disgusting. The cheese and sauce were bland and almost flavorless and the dough had a weird sort of wet spongy characteristic even though it seemed properly cooked on the bottom and the edges. Even the pepperoni was below average. Avoid this one.

Moderator's Note: Let's keep this discussion focused on Varietal itself including any specifics about the recent review and comments on that review. Discussion of a more general nature regarding approval or disapproval of Bruni's reviewing style belongs here: Bruni and Beyond: NYC Reviewing (2007)

I don't disagree with the environmental impact concerns but where does a restaurant draw the line? Should a geographic boundary be set and absolutely no foodstuff or beverage ever be used that comes from outside a certain distance? I'll hazard a guess that Chez Panisse continues to sell and make a hefty profit on European wines. When I go to dinner my dining partner and I typically share one or two large bottles of mineral water as our only beverage. Are we somehow doing more envirnonmental damage than people who drink a bottle or two of French wine? Sure... one could argue that it's apples to oranges but the fact is that not all tap water is created equal. I'll drink tap water over bottled water in NYC and a few other places where the tap water is very good. But even then - proper filtering is required to allow tap water to taste palatable to some of us. And in some areas - including many parts of California and New Jersey and most if not all of Florida - no amount of filtering short of reverse osmosis can make the tap water taste remotely tolerable. And - we're talking about plain old flat water here - not carbonated and not mineral water. I don't partake of alcohol but when I'm out for dinner in a good restaurant I prefer having chillled mineral water with my dinner versus tap water. If Chez Panisse chose to voluntarily donate the profits from all bottled water sales to projects that help provide potable water sources to villages and communities in developing nations - I think it would go much further towards solving a tangible world problem that few pay much attention to. The big multi-national corporation who are cashing on on bottled water sales to people who can ill afford it are certainly not going to step up to the plate to help in that area. And although I have great respect for what Alice Waters tries to embody on her business model the cynic in me tends to think this is a bit like the Whole Foods live lobster ban - an underlying business motive would appear to be at work just as much as environmental concerns.

In my neck of the woods the term "bake" is used very loosely. "Clambake" involves steamed clams, boiled corn on the cob and boiled salt potatoes as the primary foods although other items are served as well. "Lobsterbake" (less common here than in New England as lobsters are pricey in this area) is identical to a clambake but with the addition of boiled lobsters. Lastly - far less common than the preceding two but still offered on occasion as summer fundraisers by local rural volunteer fire departments - is the "steakbake". It's nearly identical to the clambake but offers a more limited amount of clams and instead focuses on unlimited Delmonico (small boneless ribeye) steaks. They are typically sauteed in clarified butter and then finished on a grill.

A knish at Yonah Schimmel's.... some kinds of smoked fish at Russ & Daughters.... definitely something from a Halal cart.... an Ess-A-Bagel and an H&H bagel (you'll want to compare and contrast) . And of course the pizza is a must. Lombardi's, Grimaldi's or the Bleecker Street John's are all good bets for coal oven without making a major schlep but for the classic NY slice select carefully from the thousands of places offering them. A handful such as famous Joes or one of the Ray's (there are so many different "Ray's" that I'm not sure whcih is good and which isn't but I think it's Rriginal Ray's down in the Village that is better than average). I guess the hot dog things is classic NYC but I come from a town where superior hotdogs are the norm and NYC dirty water dogs just never impressed me much. But Gray's Papaya or Papya King are good for a quick bite cheap. And how about cheesecake? Junior's of Brooklyn has an outpost in Grand Central Terminal. Oh... and a bag of those Hot Nuts from a street cart. It's not as if the item itself is uniquely NY but it's so typical of the the street food available there that you won't find in too many other US cities.

Your questions about pizza stones (yes - heat retention is a big issue) and flour types will be addressed in detail on the above referenced threads. And using a reduced amount of yeast with minimal kneading and 24 hours in the fridge has, in the estimation of many of us, considerable value in producing a great crust with minimal effort. I don't recall that the option of using a big cast iron skillet has been discussed. It certainly warrants some testing but i think the result would be closer to thje griddle cooked style of pizza such as that served at one of Mario Batali's NYC joints - Otto Pizzeria. I've tied the gelato there (which was insanely good) but haven't tried their pizza. It's a thick crust cooked on a cast iron griddle and has - from what I understand - a distinctly different texture than pizza baked in an oven on a brick or stone surface. It's often described as having a crispy almost cracker-like texture. Keep in mind that with any cooking surface and process - heat retention can be a crucial issue. Both the mass of the surface (their massive griddle vs. your frying pan) and the heat source (commercial range burner vs. your range and oven) will impact this. I'm due to make pizza this weekend. I have a 3/4" thick stone but I think I'll do a comparison and try one in a cast iron skilley as well.

Your questions about pizza stones (yes - heat retention is a big issue) and flour types will be addressed in detail on the above referenced threads. And using a reduced amount of yeast with minimal kneading and 24 hours in the fridge has, in the estimation of many of us, considerable value in producing a great crust with minimal effort. I don't recall that the option of using a big cast iron skillet has been discussed. It certainly warrants some testing but I think the result would be closer to the griddle cooked style of pizza such as that served at one of Mario Batali's NYC joints - Otto Pizzeria. I've tried the gelato there (which was insanely good) but haven't tried their pizza. It's a think crust cooked on a cast iron griddle and has - from what I understand - a distinctly different texture than pizza baked in an oven on a brick or stone surface. It's often described as having a crispy almost cracker-like texture. Keep in mind that with any cooking surface and process - heat retention can be a crucial issue. Both the mass of the surface (their massive griddle vs. your frying pan) and the heat source (commercial range burner vs. your range and oven) will impact this. I'm due to make pizza this weekend. I have a 3/4" thick stone but I think I'll do a comparison and try one in a cast iron skillet as well.

Wow - great minds think alike (or almost alike). My list has three of those five - Marie Sharps (the original NOT the "fiery hot"), Matouk's original and Sriracha. I'm inclined to replace Tabasco with Crystal or Texas Pete's and I am, regrettably, not familiar with Bello. But I think my fifth would be Marie Sharpe's Hot Green Habanero Pepper Sauce. The prickly pear and Key Lime juice lend it a complexity of flavor I rarely encounter in other sauces (except Matouk's but they are very unlike one another).

I can't picture consuming milk during the same meal as any food with a tomato based sauce. I picture it curdling just thinking about it.

I'm with Ludja on using boiled potatoes that have been in the fridge overnight. I was raised in a household where we had boiled potatoes (in the skin) several times every week. The home fries /has browns my dad cooked on weekends were always made from those potatoes and they were much browner and crisper than any of the local diners around here can/will deliver for me. I try not to use too much fat or oil to cook them and also agree with FG's comment about adding butter towards the end. And I've never been crazy about the process of cooking in the pan starting with raw potatoes. That last reservation is irrational on my part but I suppose I just stick with what's always worked for me.

This past Autumn I had dinner in the restaurant at Elderberry Pond Farms just outside of Auburn NY. The grounds and the dining room itself were gloriously beautiful and worth the trip - the meal was adequate but uninspiring. But the fingerling potatoes served with the dinner? Spectacular! I can't recall how many times in my life and in how many styles I've eaten potatoes - it's at least 10,000 or more - literally (I'm from an Irish family). But these were different. The texture was so delicate - firm yet smooth - and the taste so rich - it was almost as though they were infused with butter. But they were not infused and hadn't been cooked in any kind of fat. They were just REALLY good potatoes. It's enough to make me want to re-explore a food I no longer eat much of.