phaelon56

I believe that using either whole milk or 2% wil be the best choice. Non-fat milk tends to give lots and lots of froth but even when produce with steam power that froth separates far too readily form the milk and collapses quickly. By the way - if you're not already aware it's worth pointing out that one should not heat the milk past 155 degrees F and 140 - 150 is considered optimal. In that temp range the natural sweetness of the milk is enhanced by the heating process but beyond that level it will begin to taste scorched.

And if you put a "piece" of Krispy Kreme wedding cake in your freezer to eat on your first wedding anniversary just imagine how light, puffy and delectable it will be (NOT!).

In conservative markets such as the one where I live the "but it's too spicy" misperception describes how most people perceive Afghani, Persian, Vietnamese, Thai, Jamaican and darn near any other cuisine that they have never tried. On a business trip I actually convinced three of my colleagues ot join me at a Morroccan restaurant in Chicago. Had them finally convinced that it would not be "too spicy" and we'd already begun enjoying some mint tea with honey. Then the boss and a senior manager showed up and dragged us off (quite unceremoniously) to an Italian restaurant. Bummer. But very typical.

I didn't get the impression that Slate was "casting its lot with the anti-foodie" crowd but the article was a well reasoned defense of Ray based on what her merits as an info-tainer are. It's easy enough to bash her but she does provide a useful function in the TV food entertainment market. Plus she's so damn cute and perky Where does this observation come from? I've seen her show perhaps a dozen times in the past several years (never all the way through but at least half of each episode if not more). I've never gottent he impression that she disses those whjo love to cook for the joy of it, thee relaxation, therapy or art from but her focus is on showing non-foodies how to get acceptable and reasonably tasty meals on the tabel without consuming loads of time. Now that I'm working 65 - 70 hours per week (not including projects around the house that suck up an extra 20 hours per week) I coudl use a few 30 minute meal lessons. Plus she's so cute and perky.

I once used one of the little French press type frothers and heated the milk before doing the frothing. It worked "okay" but you really end up with a layer of froth and some milk underneath rather than truly textured or microfoamed milk (which can only be achieved with the steam wand of an espresso machine). I have been intrigued by the battery powered "Aerolatte" frother that shows up here and there in online ads. Have been giving some thought to putting together a travel kit for making a decent facsimile of cappuccino or latte by using a Velox portable elcetric moka coffee brewer and one of those Aerolatte's for the frothing. But too many other projects have intervened. I'll be traveling again in the fall and will get my kit together for that trip (which is on a cruise ship where good coffee and espresso is non-existent).

I've never seen a glass lined travel mug but the Nissan product is always a good choice. There are many cheaper stainless steel travel mugs out there - some have plastic lining (yuck!) and others have a lighter grade of stainless than Nissan and the betetr brands. Look for what appears to be thick walls - means it's double walled and retains heat well. Also might as well stick to 18/10 stainless. I've seena few that are 18/8 grade and are cheaper but by a good one once and it will serve him well for years. I have a Starbucks travel mug that I bought about 7 - 8 years ago (I believe it was made by Nissan) and it's still performing well. Give it a good rinse with some boiling water and baking soda every now and then to remove the coffee oils. And I've never detected a metallic taste with mine.

Hmmm... when I visited Paris in January my GF of that time ordered a Kir before dinner the first evening (she hadn't had one in years) and felt that it wasn't the drink she remembered. I spotted a Kir Royale on the menu the next evening and she tried that instead. It was what she sought and I have a distinct recollection that there was in fact another ingredient apart form champagne and creme de cassis. If I recall correctly it was Cointreau - exactly what Holly mentions enjoying in his. Can one of you well traveled folks confirm that this is how a Kir Royale is often made in France? I think the formula that had the third ingredient showed up on more than one menu.

The small city I presently live in may not be representative of all the non-major metro areas of the US but in some respects it think it's typical. We have some other cuisines that are well represented here despite the relatively small immigrant population in this area. For example - three Vietnamese restaurants despite a total local Viet population that is only about 2,000 people, three Indian restaurants with an Indian population that's nearly as small and 5 or 6 Thai places with equally small numbers of Thai folks. But when it comes to less mainstream ethnic cuisines there's a tendency in some smaller cities (our city is conservative, traditional blue collar with a population of 150,000) for certain ethnic cuisines to show up as "influences" on the menu's of restaurants that may feature dishes from several ethnic cuisine types. We have one local joint that has a menu with Spanish, Moroccan and Mediterranean "influenced" dishes and another place that features "Pan-American" influenced dishes (e.g. Central and South America with a bit of Caribbean and Mexican thrown in). In a small and conservative market an ethnic restaurant may not draw enough groups of customers on a repeat basis to be profitable in the long term. But if one keeps a few really interesting dishes on the menu and also offers some that are either dumbed down or more pedestrian in nature (i.e. more recognizable as mainstream menu items).... it's often easier to meet the varying tastes of groups of diners. There are a fair number of adventurous eaters like me in this community but a far greater number who will venture out to more exotic places but always search for the "safe" dishes. I'm not endorsing it but I have seen a pattern over the years in this area: independent local restaurants that can cater to a reasonably broad range of tastes yet still retain some measure of integrity and uniqueness continue to thrive despite the uptick in chain restaurants that the area has seen. But ethnic places that are true to their roots struggle if they even manage to stay open for more than a year or two.

Try sprinkling it on buttered popcorn - I kid you not - it's really good that way. I use low fat vanill afrozen yogurt as a base but also add ice which gives me the liquid and frozen component while reducing calries a bit (or at least helping to counteract the calroies of the frozen yogurt). Can't imagine using apple juice as a base because I love cider but hate the juice and every time I try a "juice blend" that I don't like it always turns out to have apple juice as the base. It's probably just me but I can't use more than about 1/4 of a banana in a smoothie or it totally dominates the flavor. And the "special secret ingredient" that the smoothie stand in my local mall uses is simple syrup.

I've never had exceptional Vietnamese food in NYC but have had it elsewhere. I know that some but not all of the Vietnamese restaurants in NYC are run by Chinese people who may or may not at one time been been residents of Vietnam but are not ethnically Vietnamese. That's not meant in any way to say the Chinese restaurateurs can not produce excellent Vietnamese food but stylistically it may be different. Most of the dishes at the place I frequent most often here in Syracuse are not salty nor is the sauce heavy but there are a couple exceptions on the menu. Sorry I can't recall the Vietnamese names of these dishes but one is chunks of boneless fried chicken with an insanely hot sauce that is thick. Not syrupy but thick. The caramel sauce on their quail is thin and not overly sweet or salty. The "house fried rice" (a special entree) is a bit salty but it uses salted dried shrimp that account for that fact.

I suggest checking Chris's Coffee or 1st Line They both retail Rocky grinders and also do service (Rancilio does not have factory service in hte US - it all goes through retailers or distribuotrs). Neither has the part listed but one or the other ids likley to carry it. Espressotec may also have it but they're in Canada and shipping may be prohibitive.

I think that for many of us it's a combination of things - our tastes have changed but Starbucks has also declined in quality. Their espresso has declined in part because they switched to super-auto machines but more so due ot the beans and roasting style. When you're as big as they are you can't always get the smaller more select lots of beans and not blend them. Also - the bigger you are the tougher it is to gewt beans to all your stores fresh and get the stock turned over and the inventory rotated constantly. I had a quad shot latte (12 oz size) from a Peet's store in Walnut Creek CA a few weeks ago - just down the road from Berekely. Any good independent shop can do better but it really wasn't bad - it was a decent drink and they were using traditonal machines (Faema E71 to be specific). I don't think properly made espresso is "oversaturated". rather, it can be or should be the "essence" of what the coffee bean is in terms of flavor components. In the words of espresso pundit/guru David Schomer - a great shot of espresso should taste the way great coffee smells. I know so many people who love the way coffee smells but don't care for the taste... But some coffee varietals, much like the case with grapes, are great from drip coffee and not so good with espresso and then there are those whos greatest appeal shines most brightly when brewed as espresso - or it's just very different from the way it tastes as drip coffee.

I've read reports from people who've tried them but the smoke is a big issue. bettert results have been obtained with the "Stir-Crazy" popcorn popper but even better results with using outdoor propane BBQ grills.

I'm in DC for the weekend visiting friends but made a two hour detour on my way - just to visit Melt. Glenn is indeed a gracious host and I love the way the place turned out (I saw it during construction phase but had not yet eaten there). We had a Fizzy Lizzy bottled sparkling fruit drink, a Barritt's Ginger Beer (excellent ginger beer without the bite that I associate wirh Goya or D&G brands). My sweetheart had the Happy jack and I had the Great Dane. This is the smoked turky, horseradish havarti cheese and mango salsa combo - on multi-grain bread. Hands down: best sandwich I have ever had in my life! Cajun fries were excellent and we took two milkshakes for the road. I gave Glenn instructiosn for a mocha milkshake: Half coffee ice cream, half chocolate ice cream, three squirts of chocllate syrup and then add iced coffee (without the ice). No milk needed for this if you're using a ricj ice cream like the Barrett's. These shakes were so darn good I won't be surprised to see him add it to the menu. Great going Glenn! I wish Melt were in my town instead of being 250 miles away....

Not sure if this counts but on my trip to Paris this past January we ate a a small neighborhood creperie on our first night. It was called le Quimper - a classic neighborhood joint on a side street and only one waitress spoek a smattergin of English (good complement to my paucity of French). I can read just enough French to recognize a banana split when i see on and indeed - that dish was on the menu. I don't knwo the origin of the banan split but wouldn't think it to be French. By the way - it was the best banana split I've ever had.

From our fabulous and ever helpful Espresso & Coffee Topics Index (it's a pinned topic at the top of the main Coffee & Tea Forum page) Cold Coffee Drinks; Tips and techniques

I attended our free local jazz festival last weekend (actually a regional event with some big names) and the wine tent was offering product in the very boxes that you describe. Each box held about as much as a split but was selling for less than the price of two "glasses" (all serving done in plastic). With wine at $4 per "glass" and $7 for the box it was a no-brainer (yes it was cheap wine). The boxes appeared to be outselling glasses at a 2 to 1 ratio.

I have eaten at Thai Cuisine for years but felt that the quality of the food slipped a bit when it changed hands a few years back. If I understand it correctly it's now owned by the guy who owns Lemongrass in Syracuse whereas it used to be owned by his brother. I think it's still better than Little Thai House (which is also in both Syracuse and Ithaca) but not up to the standard it once carried. I'll confess to not having been to taste of Thai since several months after they opened but I had a service experience there with the hostess/owner that bordered on bizarre and have chosen not to return for that reason. First she refused to accept a printed coupon with a valid date and when we politely suggested that we would just dine elsewhere (no sarcasm - we were very polite) she suddenly decided the coupon was valid. Then I noticed a huge horrible greasy spot on the plate that was at my place setting when I sat down. I asked the hostess in quiet tones (doing this so the folks at an adjacent table would not overhear) if she would kindly get me a new plate that was clean. She replied in loud angry tones (that now drew the attention of the nearby table) and informed me that "plate not dirty" while she was grabbing a cloth napkin of an adjacent table and wiping the grease off. It was so bizarre I almost felt as though I was in an SNL skit. And the food was okay - not bad at all - but I had no desire to return.

I haven't tried it ther than to take a sample of a grilled salmon caesar that one of my former GF's ordered but it was actually much better than a chicken Caesar to my tastes. And I'm lucky enough to live in an area where the tap water is excellent straight formt he faucet and nearly all the restauranst int town automatically serve a glass for all at the table without being asked.And have a busboy or assistant waitperson who walks around keeping all the glasses topped off.

I will finally make it to Melt one week from today barring travel complications - we're heading to DC for a long weekend and will detour a couple hours out of our way to go there but I'm sure it will be worth the drive. Suggestions other than the Great Dane... which I've heard so much about? Let's hear them!

If you're referring to the comment I made a post or two up the page it's actually Vietnamese I refer to. The place in question ss called New Century - it's on the North side on Kirkpatrick Street several blocks up form Salina. I did have Thai last night at Erawan on Erie Blvd and have to admit that it's the best Thai in town. I've often just gone to Little Thai House (also on Erie Blvd. East) because the atmosphere is nicer and it'sa easier to get a tabel there without a lengthy wait. But we guessed correctly that the hot weathe rmight make thigns slower at Erawan and we were correct. Bangkok Thai in Liverpool has nice atmosphere and very good service tno to mention that they offer "Thai Hot" on a 1 to 5 scale if you know to ask for it (all of which is hotter than "American Hot". But the portion size at Bangkok is pitiful. Last time I had chicken in curry sauce there was about two tablespoons of chicken in an $10 entree - perhaps less. Perhaps in a bigger city in a very upscale restaurant you coudl pull that off but not around here. And it wasn't even good chicken - just that crappy flattened frozen stuff that most Chinese take-out places use.

I've tried so many but sooner or later I usually come back to the good old Melitta cone manual drip-over. But I do love my vacuum pot and try to put it to use at least once a month or so (which is a fair amount for me since I usually make coffee at home only once per week)

I wholeheartedly agree with John. If one had the time to pore over the thousands of pages of New York forum posts many non-NYC threads will become evident. But the number of actively participating members who engage in discussions of non-NYC threads is limited and such threads are indeed outnumbered by the NYC threads. But of the 17 or 18 million or so people who live in the state about 5 million live in Manhattan and darn near as many folks (if not more) visit there annually and have dining on their agendas. One could argue for a separate forum that would have only non-Manhattan discussions but it's a bit of the cart before the horse. If we had such a sub-division it might conceivably push those discussions into an area where they're even less visible than they are now. As it stands, the popularity of Manhattan oriented discussions and the large number of users active in them simply pushes the non-NYC threads down to lower pages rapidly. Until a larger number of active members from New York state begin posting here I think things may remain as they are. "Coquus" said I'm not sure where "up here" is - I'm in Syracuse 250 miles northwest of Manhattan but I know NY'ers who think that White Plains is "upstate" There's some validity to that statement regaridng "few bastions" but it's also important to note that this forum is by no means limited to or focused on discussion of "fine dining". There are scads of moderately priced and mid level restaurants scattered throughout this state that do as good a job if not better than many comparable level establishments in Manhattan. And when it comes to ethnic dining you might be surprised at what you'll find - every here and there throughout the state there are pockets of surprise. Syracuse happens to have a Vietnamese restaurant that consistently surpasses the quality of any Vietnamese food I ever had in NYC (and I tried most of the available options).

$3 is not outrageous for an oversized dog. Most if not all of the casual restaurants here in central NY state (where income levels, availability of discretioanry money and prices are all lower than NJ) charge $2.00 - $2.50 for a standard sized Hoffman's or Meier & Ranz dog. Oversized dogs are typically $3.00 - $3.50. Sure there are cheapies available at ice cream stands and a few street carts but your prices are completely reasonable. Stick with the cheap bun. I consider the bun to be no more than a vehicle with which to hold the dog and keep the relish or mustard from getting on my hands. It's really just a disposable hotdog holder that happens to be edible - plain and bland is good if not desirable. I feel completely differently abnotu hamburger buns - a good thick juicy burger needs both the support and the complementary aspects of a proper roll and cheap generic rolls don't cut it for that. If you wanted something with a bit more texture and substance than what you've been getting I should think that one of the Portuguese commercial bakeries in Brooklyn could provide it but the unit cost would kill ya and I doubt that it would help sell more dogs. Not to mention that kids (if that's a part of your consideration) seem to be totally cool with bland rolls on hot dogs - it's all about the dog.

When I worked in Ithaca NY back in the early 1990's there was a local operation called Danz Cookies that started from a guy's kitchen and grew to be a decent sized commercial outfit. They made a killing selling giant chocolate chip, oatmeal-raisin and a few other varieties of cookies to Cornell students with a late night delivery program that included the option to get milk with it. These cookies in some cases were as large as 12" to 14" in diameter and IIRC about .75" to 1" thick. On a few occasions a colleague ordered one or two with a birthday candle when we had a staff member birthday. Don't know how they pulled it off but the results were very consistent and impressive - good texture, good flavor and never overly dry or unevenly cooked.