phaelon56

You didn't even like Friday fish fries with haddock? Maybe from the Jean's potato chip factory on East Fayette Street or Penisi's? My dad fished in this area less often than yours and although I love fish to this day I was never taken with Northern Pike or bass. I recall having walleye's only a few times and don't think I was enthused. But now that genuine sea bass is endangered I've been informed that the most similar substitute fish for making my favorite Miso Glazed Sea Bass recipe is none other than Walleyed Pike. You really should come to visit soon - William's restaurant out in Rattlesnake Gulch is having their annual "all-you-can-eat" bulhead dinners

"They" could do that for waitstaff, baristas and many other tradespeople in the service industry but apart from few folks like Keller who switched to a built-in gratuity at Per Se - I don't see it happening anytime soon. I don't get to cocktail bars in my travels mostly because I don't drink. But in dive bars where soft drinks are a buck I'll tip 50 cents, in upscale places where the cusomter volume is lower I tip a buck on a soda even if the soda is only $1.50. And when I order and pay for alcoholic drinks for friends I generally tip 20%. I agree with the sort of scale I've seen here with 20% as a good average for cocktaiel bars and other places where drink prices are higher. But what if one orders... let's say... a rare single malt whiskey at $30 per glass or has the bartender bring a $100 bottle of champagne to the bar? No sommelier service... no extra effort any different than pouring any other drink (actually far less time and effort required of the bartender than making a frou-frou or blend drink). Do you still tip a flat 20% "just because"?

I don't think it's that far off topic. To address a primary question in the starting post I'll state that I don't automatically choose to buy food related products that appear to be made by smaller independent companies unless I know for a fact that they are what they appear to be (and I rarely know that. I don't believe big corporations are inherently evil any more than I believe that small independent outfits can be assumed to always be ethical and quality driven. For me it's a balance of quality, value and convenience that drives many of my food related purchasing decisions. I think Starbucks is a good example of a company that appears to be a good corporate citizen, is widely regarded as a beneficent employer and has done much to raise awareness about better quality coffee. But the bigger they get the more their product quality declines. I've never ever cared for their "signature roast style" (it's no accident that people call them Charbucks!) but their massive growth has caused some tangible changes in practice that affect quality. 1) Most stores now use superauto "push the button" espresso machines rather than the traditional grind, tamp and conventional machine. They've accepted a mediocre level of quality that's consistent in place of the better quality but less predictable shots that can be achieved by a dedicated and trained barista using traditonal methods (in their defense - with 5,000 or 10,000 stores worldwide it's tough to find enough dedicated people and keep them properly trained and supervised). 2) They no longer grind coffee in the store from whole bean in order to make each batch of brewed coffee. They have instead gone to using factory pre-ground stock for making brewed coffee. Big freshness sacrifice. 3) I don't know what "best used by" dating scheme they used in the past but their prebagged coffee - both whole bean and ground - now has an expiration date that is six months after date of roasting. Can someone say "coffee gets stale starting about two weeks after roast date even in a factory sealed bag"? My food related purchasing decisions, when I have the option, are driven by the choice between local and national. If I have the opportunity to buy from a local producer who is part of the economy in my local area or region I will do so even at a slightly higher price than I'd pay to buy product produced elsewhere - but the quality has to be there. To address the issue of the small producer selling out to the bigger producer.... 1) I agree that the quality of "artisanal" products (a horribly misused term - Arby's is now advertising "artisinal" bread for their newest sandwich) usually declines when a bigger company takes over. Often there are conscious choices to cut quality for profit or more advantageous market price point but there are also products that just don't scale well to mass production. 2) Many if not most "artisanal" producers struggle to make ends meet for years, pour their heart, soul and financial resources into their companies and often have no fall back position for their later years unless they keeep working or sell the company. I don't begrudge them the right to cash in when the time is right. The Boston Globe had an excellent article on this recently - sparked by the discussion occurring when toothpaste company Tom's of Maine sold to a much larger firm. There's some good food related merger/buyout discussion in the article as well. Selling Out or Buying In?

I feel obligated to point out that really high quality coffee that has been properly roasted and brewed is not bitter. But most people including, I suspect, many eGulleteers - have never had really exceptional coffee. A sweet tooth... ahhhh... a blessing and a curse.

It's available but doesn't get discussed much. If it used pods other than Nespresso brand that might change but Keurig for K-styel cartridges and Senseo for pods seem to be the biggest pod style machiens at the moment. There's also a sizable market for a variety of pods used by folks who have a pod insert in a standard sem-auto espresso machine. Illy has made a big marketing push for their pods and have partnered them up with Francis Francis mahcines at the lower to mid price range and the Pasquini Livia at the higher end. Thomas Keller even uses Illy pods at Bouchon Bakery (both in NYC and CA) but the espresso is just as flat and uninteresting when his staff makes it as when anyone else does.

The ONLY fish market in town that sells sashimi quality fish is Fins & Tails on Erioe Blvd next to Liquor Square - corner of Thompson Road and Erie Blvd.It;'s not much of a detour. You take Rte 690 east off 81 N in Syracuse and go to about the thrid exit - Thompson Rd South. A hundred yards off the ramp you're at Erie and you'll see Liquir Square across the street - just drive straight, turn right around the back side of the building and there you are. Tom Farmer (coincidentally enough a good buddy of mine from about age 3 to age 6!) owns it but he buys only from Foley's opf Boston and is closed on Sunday and Monday because Foley's does not deliver on those days. Another possibility but I'm not sure if thjey';re open on Sundays (but most likely are) is Bob's Barbecue 87 W Main St Homer, NY 13077 (607) 753-7098 Take the Homer exit off Rte 81 North and as soon as you get off the ramp turn on to Rte 11 N. It's not too far up and they have darn good chicken. Syracuse also has an excellent Italian import market - Lombardi's - but they are not open on Sunday. In Skaneatles I forgot to mention Doug's Fish Fry. Other people seem to love it. I enjoy their onion rings and chowder but they use generic white "scrod" style fish instead of real haddock for their fish fry. Not my cup of tea - haddock is far better.

Some say that but I don't think so. I'm very careful with insertion of the filter when I make drip coffee and equally careful pulling the basket out when it appears that the brew cycle has ended. But what really baffles me is folks who insist that they want or need "cool touch" steam wands on espresso machines. I've been making steamed milk drinks four days per week for 2.5 hours per day going on two years and have never been burned. It's a matter of handling the equipment properly and having great respect for the heat of the water and steam. That said... accidents do happen and I'm sure luck has been n my side as well.

Are you leaving early enough in the day on Sunday to allow a detour off 81N to Ithaca? (you would take Rte 79N from Whitney point to Ithaca and then Rte 13N from Ithaca up towards Cortland to rejoin Rte 81N) Ithaca has a fantastic farmers market... loads of local organic produce, interesting prepared foods, a great espresso bar by Gimme Coffee, local artisinal cheesemakers, great baked goods etc. But the detour there and then back to 81N will add a bit over an hour to your travel not including time spent at the market. If, OTOH, you're passing by Syracuse in late morning I highly recommend brunch at Alto Cinco or L'Adour. My favorite Vietnamese restaurant in town, New Century, is open from morning until at least 9 PM every day and is also worth a visit. Nearby Solvay has an excellent and very authentic Polish restauirant, Eva's, that is well worth a visit even if only to get some of her European style pies, tarts or cakes to take with you (but their fresh sauerkraut, peirogies and latkes are excellent).

I'll start a separate thread to point folks to information about CoE competitions - also known as Cup of Excellence. The first Colombia CoE competition was held last year and met with great success. Reports on the coffees were excellent and auction prices, if I recall correctly, hit record highs. I'm not aware of any fall-off in Colombian production but the vast majority of their production is targeted at the C-Grade market and doesn't get discussed much in the specialty roaster business. That said, Colombian Supremo is a very consistent bean from year to year and is very useful in blends where price is an issue. I've seen it tamed nicely by adding a Sumatran or Sulawesi to the blend and a bit of complexity is offered by using Colombian roasted to two different roast levels. I also have a soft spot in my heart for Colombian because it was responsible for my first true coffee epiphany - which happened back around 1979 or 1980. My girlfriend had gone to Cali Colombia for the year to teach English but returned for Christmas. She brought home a one kilo bag of dark roasted pre-ground coffee from some sort of export store where they sold the highest grades (as with many coffee producing countries the highest grades were reserved for export and not available to the local markets). I made a small pot with my Mellita cone and was blown away - it was so rich, smooth, fragrant and lacking in bitterness that it begged to be consumed straight black with no half 'n half. Until that day in my life I'd never tasted a coffee that was remotely close to being that good (and I had tried other straight Colombian). It was years before coffee and espresso became a passionate hobby for me, eventually leading me into the business on a professional level, but that day was the catalyst that started me on the path.

Costco has a reputation as an ethical retailer who is also an exemplary employer. I already belong to and shop at BJ's and Sam's Club. If Costco were in my area I'd most likely shop there as well. I'm not questioniong Costco's practices. But I am stating unequivocally that if the price for a certain type of coffee looks too good to be true then it is too good to be true. It could be a coffee broker, an importer, a roaster or even some unscrupulous individual in the supply chain at the country of origin. And there's no way Costco could know that. The Kona coffee debacle occurred in 1997 and the settlement was reached in 1999. Kona farmers are actively working for better protection of their brand and product (which is costly to produce). But the same thing could still happen today and there's no way the US government can enforce it unless the individuals who knowingly duped others in the supply chain happen to be located in the US. In the Kona case it all happened in the US but if an unethicall middleman in Jamaica decides to repackage low grown Jamaican coffee or some Central American beans in bags with phony "100% Certified JBM" and then packs them in containers to be shipped to the US.... who is to know? And I can state with assurance that the Peruvian organic Norte Balcones I've been drinking lately tastes as well balanced, smooth and delightful as any JBM I've ever consumed. And it's not expensive. From the Class Action Reporter dated 1999

Can you clarify your travel path a bit better? Rte 90 runs north from NYC/NJ area towards Alabany and then heads west towards Buffalo, passing through Syracuse on the way. Rte 88 runs in a northeasterly direction roughly from Binghamton to Albany and Rte 87 goes north from the Albany area straight up through the eastern edge of the Adirondacks towards Canada. Then we have Rte 81... which runs north/south and passes through Binghamton and Syracuse on its way to Canada and it is the closest major highway to Fort Drum. I may have some suggestions or ideas but it's all a function of your specific route.

With the passing of the old guard at places like Zabar's, a lot of this isn't being done as well as it used to there, either. Or maybe I'm just getting old and crotchety... ← Or perhaps both statements are true On to another food that seems to be the same at so many places in NYC. It's the cheese that a large majority of pizza places use on their pies. I'm not referring to the better quality places such as Grimaldi's, Lombardi's, Totonno's, John's et al but rather to the ubiquitous slice joints. My suspicion is that they're using a cheese blend rather than straight whole milk, low fat or skim mozzarella. The blend is discussed here in the eGullet Q & A with Peter Rinehart It has, for my tastes, a weird melting pattern and a taste that I can tolerate but don't really care for.

Tosing the sugar in while the beans are roastring is done only when roasting in an open pan. The sugar is tossed in close to the end of the roast and in Haiti (as the process has been described to my by Haitian friends) the beans are taken to about a Spanish roast level - so dark they are almost charred. Regrettably, like much else in that country, the coffee industry is in a state of disarray. Most of what is grown is consumed locally and the little that has gotten out to other markets in recent years has been poorly sorted, processed and graded. At one time, not so long ago - up to the 1940's I think - Haiti was one of the biggest coffee producers in the caribbean and produced classic island coffee. We can only hope and pray that they are able to restore that industry and bring sorely needed revenue to a struggling people.

Did you notice if they tossed some sugar into the roasting pan during the process? In some places, including in the "countryside" of Haiti, this is a common practice. The sugar used is from sugar cane but it's a less refined grade than the with sugar we see here in the US. And the roasting process caramelizes it onto the surface of the bean. It lends a smoky sweetness that is quite different from just adding sugar to the brewed coffee.

Yes. There are a few others to consider but Elderberry and Mirabeau are high on my list already. There aren't too many offerings of much interest out Skaneatles way - I think those of note all been mentioned up thread already. I haven't tried it but some colleagues of mine are very fond of the menu at Arad Evans Inn Brian Shore, a local chef who operated the well regarded Kettle Lakes Inn until recently, has returned to their staff as of a few months ago. Just a few blocks up the road, also in Fayetteville, is my faovrite local place - La Cena - North African, Spanish and Mediterranean influenced food. If you're looking for a place that's a bit out of the ordinary for this conservative area it's a very good choice. I've had one good bistro dinner, a very nice lunch and a number of excellent breakfasts at L'Adour - but food savvy friends who've been more recently have complained of poor service and inconsistent food quality. That was all for the bistro area - I've never heard a single negative remark about the "fine dining menu" that is served upstairs on Saturday evenings. If you like a crowded big city casual bistro atmosphere and a Mexican influenced menu (but not exactly Mexican) check out Alto Cinco. Same owner as La Cena and excellent wine selections properly served are available at both. Another good choice - perhaps not highly inventive by larger metro area standards but certainly progressive for Syracuse and getting consistently good reviews from all I've spoken to (I've had terrific meals there on several occasions) is "bc" This area has scads of red sauce Italian joints - a few good and many not so great but for northern Italian I like Grimaldi's Luna Park. The atmosphere is unremarkable but the food is excellent. If by chance you can get down to Ithaca (about a 45 - 55 minute drive from Skaneatles) you'll find good food at Willow and in a more casual atmosphere you'll be able to sample excellent food and world class espresso drinks at Carriage House Cafe Should your interests include ethnic offerings (Thai, Vietnamese, Indian etc.) just indicate that and I'll give you the skinny.

I'm surprised by the nu,ber of Tuesday closures. Monday is the standard day off for most restaurants in the general area but Tuesday as well? And it's nice to see the positive mention of Hosmer wines. The owner - "Tunk" - grew up in my neighborhood (actually on the same block as France Forum host Bleudauvergne if I recall correctly) and his wife Maren and I attended the same high school. They've beeen at it for a quite a few years. On a separate note - it's too bad that the Blue Stone Cafe is less than appealing. I'd been hoping to visit but am now disinclined.

I dislike asparagus and butternut / acorn squash. I grew up in an Irish-American household where veggies were boiled to death. Apart from corn I found them all unappealing during my childhood years but as I began havng opportunities to taste veggies that were properly cooked my palate expanded. To this day I have yet to try a preparation of asparagus in which I can comfortably state that I like the flavor. Likewise with butternut / acorn squash. Such dislikes don't seem unusual to my non-food-savvy friends but here at eGullet I suspect that I'm in a small minority.

The price of real Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is in a completely different category than "C-Grade" or commodity coffee. It's based on demand, which is very high, and on total production output in any given year due to climate, weather etc.. When crop yields are lower the prices go higher. But demand always stays high - especially in markets such as Japan where they will pay markedly higher prices than the US or most of Europe will for certain items. Whether you choose to believe it or not - the total annual output of true Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee grown in areas such that it legally qualifies to carry that name - is low enough that they have no need or reason to enter into restrictive futures contracts that guarantee them only a low price. The bulk supplier who packages coffee for Costco (I'm fairly certain that it's Magnum Coffee out of MI) could try to contract to buy the entire annual output of Blue Mountain on a futures contract... save money on shipping by importing it directly without brokers.... use highly automated roastign/packaging facilities... add on only a 14% margin.... and they STILL couldn't sell it for less than about $14 - $17 per pound if it's the real thing. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee definition Among the restrictive and definitive factors: In other words... if it does not have the trademark or it did not come from a US importer and roaster who can document the provenance of the beans - and most particularly if it's selling for a lowball price - you can be assured that it's not the real thing. That doesn't mean that there isn't any Jamaican Blue Mountain in the blend - it's possible that the Costco coffee contains as much as 5% genuine Blue Mountain by volume - but probably less than that. The Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica has no authority or power to control use of the phrase Jamaican Blue in the US. And the FDA could care less - it's not a big enough or hot enough issue. If shysters are allowed to sell pills on TV or radio that claim to make you lose weight while you sleep... what prompts you to believe that every label on a Costco bag of coffee is 100% true? There are no federal laws prohibiting this deceptive practice! Here's an article well worth reading - it explores the crisis faced by Kona coffee farmers who are battling for regulations that will prevent anything other than true 100% Kona coffee to carry that label. Kona Coffee farmers lobby for truth in labeling One pertinent comment from the article: In other words.... a bag of "Kona Coffee" at Costco can contain no more than a percentage point or two by volume/weight of real Kona coffee yet still carry the Kona label. Yes... some of you will still insist that the stuff you buy for $5 or $6 per pound (or less) is really the real thing and 100% authentic. But it's not. A single coffee tree produces only about one pound of green beans per harvest. Land and the cost of living are both expensive in HI, farmers must pay US minimum wages etc to all workers and furthermore - coffee is one of the most labor intensive agricultural crops that exists (other than monkey picked tea and they don't pay the monkeys all that well ). Do the math - the numbers don't work. But after all this - I'm not denying that the "Jamaican Blue Mountain" you buy at Costco or some other wholesale club tastes good. It probably tastes great and it's likley to be a pretty darn good coffee. But authentic Blue Mountain its not.

Belhurst Castle - lovely place for a drink - yes indeed. Have not heard great things about the food. best bets: Ithaca - Willow (near Fall Creek Cinema down by the end of cayuga Street. There's also a new place called Blue Stone cafe that looked interesting but have nto tried it. Skaneatles - Mirabeau Inn is pricey but good (think $60 - $80 tasting menu), have always heard good things about Rosalie's Cucina (Italian) and you might also try Kabuki for sushi and Japanese.

Here in Syracuse we had one casual but good local steakhouse that aged and cut its own USDA prime beef on premises for years. But the rising costs prompted them to switch to Choice about five years ago. Rumor has it that there's a new higher end steakhouse openign here soon but I'll be very surprised if they have prime - not just because of pricepoint but due to lack of availability. As a matter of fact - our local Wegman's stopped carryign Prime in the meat department last year but still stock it in some more affluent markets. I'll guess that they had adequate demand here bur could more easily support higher prices elsewhere (e.g. the Princeton NJ store). But how about the quality of the average Choice steak sold in restaurants that are not upper tier steakhouses? Have any of you noticed a decline in quality there?

Woiw. That is one heck of a nice gift box they sell you with the coffee - maybe it's a $68 box and the coffee is about $6? "Luxury" coffee? They don't even tell you what single origin varietals are used or what estates or countries they're from ... ohhh... wait a minute... it's arabica... ohhh... wait another minute - that's just a bean type and there's crappy arabica and good arabica (and plenty that's in between). But there's more: Ahhhh.... that must be it. The don't overroast or underroast - THAT must be why it cost so much At those prices you don't need a sucker born every minute- just a handful each day with a few of them buying coffee from you.

This has been discussed extensively on another thread but any coffee with "Kona" or "Blue Mountain" in the name that includes the word "blend" and does not say 100% can legally contain only 5% of that coffee and still carry the name. Some of those coffee blends are certainly very tasty but 100% Kona or 100% Jamaican Blue Mountain they are not. I'm a coffee roaster and real Blue Mountain purchased direct at wholesale prices unroasted from a broker in 50 pound barrels was about $14 - $15 per pound last time I checked. But it may have gone up. Kona is sometimes a bit less depending on what farm it comes from but not by much. But "island coffee" in general has a less bright flavor profile than Central American coffee. "Bright" and "acidic" are coffee qualities that people often confuse.

If they limit kids to watching TV for no more than an hour each day, curtail the amount of time spent on the Internet and playing video games, mandate some fruit and vegetables in their diet every day, push them out the door to play outside unless the weather is intolerable... it might be a good place to start. Heck - that sounds like my childhood although there was no Internet nor were there video games. Despite all that and the near total absence of ice cream trucks in my neighborhood (one of our neighbors threatened the ice cream guy too many times so he avoided our street)... I was till on the stocky side as a kid. Ice cream trucks would appear to be far towards the bottom of the list when it comes to obesity in kids or anyone else.

I nearly forgot about my worst ever coffee mishap - from back in 1978 when I was in the first few days of my first real waitering job. I yanked the filter basket out of the Bunn brewer to empty and reload only to find that the filter had folded over, the hole clogged and the basket full to the brim with scalding hot water came pouring out over my hand. One of my quick thinking co-workers grabbed a huge leaf from a nearby Aloe plant (we were a "garden" cafe with lots of huge real plants). Sliced the leaf open, wrapped it around the burn and then tied a towel on tight over that. Great stuff that aloe - I had almost no damage form the burn and three days later it was as though it had never happened.

If you're in the Boston area check with your local Whole Foods to see if they sell Terroir Coffee's Daterra Reserve espresso. They should stock some with the roast date on the bag. If not you can buy it online from Terroir Coffee. They sell it online but shipping costs add up quickly. I think there are a few other Boston area retailers who carry Terroir but you'll have to call them to check on who.