phaelon56

Warm weather is finally here again in the northeast (although it will plummet into the 20's tonight!). After countless experiments in the past trying to duplicate but also do better than the Starbucks frozen frappuccino drinks... I'm trying a new approach. The clone of a frozen frappuccino involved use of extra strong coffee and/or espresso mixed with some sugar. A bit of pure vanilla extract, a small amount of chocolate syrup (not enough to really be tasted as chocolate) and a dash of salt were then added along with milk. Just before blending with ice, a tiny bit of carageenan was added as a thickener (about 1/8 teaspoon per 20 oz of liquid drink total). The drink was generally pretty good but it does not lend itself to commercial preparation and the consistency was difficult to control. I have tested the Jet brand liquid milk based vanilla drink base. It's better than some - uses natural vanilla, Parmalat style milk and has beet sugar as a sweetener. But it's too sweet and too expensive. Also has too strong a vanilla flavor and the milk is not quite right to my taste. It uses guar gum, locust bean gum and carageenan as thickeners and stabilizers. Also looked at the Big Train powdered mix used by many cafes. It has the coffee (powdered freeze dried) flavor already in it (yuck!). Also has high fructose corn sweetener, powdered non-fat dry milk, hydrogenated oils to add the mouthfeel/taste sensation of fat, and lots-o-artificial ingredients. The Goal: a low-fat frozen drink that tastes great, stays together and is easy to make on the fly. Possible ingredients: for the powdered base - powdered non-fat dry milk, vanilla powder, carageenan, tiny amount cocoa or chocolate powder for the liquid - regular milk and some Toddy cold coffee concentrate for the sweetener - either confectioner's sugar mixed in with the powdered base or possibly simple syrup added by the drink to taste Questions: - are guar gum and/or locust bean gum helpful or are they in the Jet concentrate just to help the liquid ingredients stay stable in storage and before blending? - is there a natural powdered sweetener other than confectioner's sugar that might be useful in the powdered base? Ideas and /or comments?

Oh where to start.... where to start.... 1) Jason - your photos are great. I've noticed a huge leap in quality of lighting, aesthetic composition and overall appeal during the past year or so. Keep up the great work! 2) The Jerk is a good name but I keep thinking of the Steve Martin movie. How about a nod to the one-hit wonder band The Nationals and call it the Cool Jerk? (Glenn - I KNOW that you know that song!) 3) Glenn - don't be so shy about your background. Glenn worked at some high profile restaurants in NYC for years on the fiscal side of the house. It's remarkable what one can learn by watching people run a business.... into the ground It appears that Glenn learned plenty about what makes a hospitality business work. Sure... he's got a great concept and a good menu but it's his focus on and attention to people and his willingness to change things when necessary that will help him make Melt a big success. I also know first hand how tirelessly (I would say obsessively but I'm oh so diplomatic!) he researched his product selections to ensure that he offers the best possible quality.

Back when I was a beer drinker I always preferred beer from bottles rather than cans. I was convinced that I could taste a difference. Chances are that only a blind A/B test could convince me otherwise but having subsequently tried Snapple in cans and finding it less enjoyable than Snapple in bottles I've begun to wonder. Does it really make a difference in some subtle way or is it just a perception issue? Jon - have you tried the Jones soda in cans and does it seem the same to you as it does in bottles?

You can always ask people if they want the "complimentary green salad" to be included on the plate or not. People who don't customarily eat salad won't expect to pay less for not having it included but most of them may actually tell you to not include it. Those who typically do eat it will still have it included and a few will continue to leave it partially eaten. And this is The Melt thread

Oh heck... I'd spray it on for free and even pay a couple dollars just to watch some fool eat a pepper sprayed burrito.

I'm not inclined to dispute the lovely and knowledgeable MsMelkor but Rogan's just doesn't hold a candle to Roma . That said.... Rogan's is one of the better pizza's in the Ithaca area and I think Roma was better known to the locals than to the on-campus crowd. I did a coffee brewer install in Cortland about two months ago. The client had a training session in progress that day and had Pudgie's pizza and wings delivered in. It was as bad as I remebered it or worse. So true. I grew up in a household where pasta and anything else with red sauce was verboten because my Irish-German father wouldn't eat it. Our family tradition was that each child got to choose the dinner menu on their birthday. There were no limits in item or price btu all I wanted was pizza - every year. More often than not it was Chef Boy-Ar-Dee and I loved it. Better than good - it was one of the culinary highlights of my childhood.

I've also been involved in a discussion of this over at the Barista Guild Board of the SCAA Forums. It was correctly pointed out to me that the intended usage of the locator tool is to provide a comparative listing showing the disparity between the corporate behemoth and the independents. The develops released their database with all current US Starbucks locations already plugged in. These appear on the right side of the page and the indies (if any have been entered for that zip code) appear on the left. I think the intended impact on the viewer is a bit lost in the translation. Until a large enough number of people enter the locations for independent coffeehouses the delocator seems to work best as a Starbucks locating service - a bit ironic don't you think?

Hard to believe and I don't know what happened but Joe's Restaurant is closed. How a place that was busy damn near every night year round could go under is baffling to say the least. Never tried Scuteri's but I used to enjoy a few ribs and some BBQ chicken every now and then from that joint with the big plywood chicken out in front. You know the one.... the shack on the road heading out of Watkins Glen? I don't think the food was all that but the funky bare-bones atmosphere was the real deal. That is SUCH a disturbing statement. What do they make chain pizza from in Kansas? Industrial waste products? Pudgie's offers one of and quite possibly the most vile and disgusting excuses for pizza that I've ever come across. Their sheet pizza (do they even make any other kind) might even be worse than Little Caeser's. That's bad.

Syracusans (at least some of us) have long lamented the passing of Arturo's Pizza - known for "cold pizza and warm flat beer (in reality anything but). Cosmo's on Marshall Street near the University is often a contender in the classic NYC style (i.e. not the super thin coal oven type but a great classic slice to fold over and eat). But consistency is lacking. The medium pies are never as good as the large and the crucial balance of cheese, toppings and sauce varies depending on who's working that night. Johnny's Pizza in the Julian Plaza on Colvin Street was my long time local fave but "Junior", the owner ,sold the business to someone who lowered the quality standards and eventually went under. Junior is reopening the joint on April 11th featuring the classic recipe his dad (a former longshoreman in Staten Island) brought here in the late 1950's when they built Suburban Park, a long since defunct amusement park. Remember the kind of walk-up slice you could get in NYC back in the days when a slice was really a slice? That's what Johnny's serves. April 11th can't get here soon enough. I'll throw in an honorable mention for Roma Pizzeria in Ithaca. It's all that and a bag of chips. I never did get around to trying the pizza at the Nines in Collegetown but I can't believe it's all that and definitely not a bag of chips (them's fightin' words to some folks - of that I'm certain). I think people are so dazzled by the fact that the pizza arrives at the bar coming up on a dumbwaiter that they don't really taste with an unbiased approach.

I'm just on pins and needles waiting for the upcoming 39 week PBS series... Food: a Film by Ken Burns

I did a bit more reading. It supposedly started as a sort of an art installation / community initiative with folks entering stuff into the database for CA only. It's up to the rest of us elsewhere in the country to enter the independent cafe's that we love and support (or are employed by!). But it does not allow editing if you make any data entry mistakes and it allows Starbucks to be entered and located. I've gone ahead and added the the locations for the folks I work for part time but unless people take it on themselves to do that it won't be of much help to those of us who travel regularly and are always searching for a good cup. It gets worse... I just entered 94597 for Walnut Creek CA where I'll be for a day next week on business. It pulled up a grand total of two "independent cafe's, both located in not-so-nearby Oakland, one of which actually appears to be a tamale joint. But it also listed 24 of the Green Mermaid's locations!!! For the heck of it I entered 10010 - a central NYC zip code. It show 19 independent cafe's and 110 Starbucks. Ouch. Did the 'bucks pay someone to write a script that entered every single one of their thousands of locations? What's up with that? Here's where it gets interesting. The opening reception for the delocator.net project was held just a few days ago on April 1st, 2005 in San Francisco, supposedly funded by a generous donation from an independent cafe. It's difficult to believe that even the 'bucks could have caught on to this so quickly that they got countless locations added by "volunteers" and interested members of the community - unless there's more to the story. Now it gets REALLY interesting. I did a "whois" search for the delocator.net domain name. However owns the domain name has paid for the "whoisprotector" service that shields their corporate or personal identity from those curious enough to look into it. Hmmmmm......

Cool idea. I think I was actually there first with my espressotravelguide.com but with lack of money and no programming skills to speak of... that site is in limbo (but I still own the URL). I love the of dea of delocator.net but their stated mission is to help folks find independent cafes. Two problems exist until they tighten up the engine... 1) You must enter the exact zipcode where a cafe is located. if it's in that general area but just over the line in another zipcode the locator will not show you "nearest to this zipcode". 2_ The first and only listing it brought up for 13210 (my old neighborhood) was a Starbucks. Huh? I thought it was supposed ot show you everythign but Starbucks or other corporate chains. But guess what.... when I entered 13224 where I live... nothing. I enter 13210 and get Starbucks ( I live one block from the edge of 13210). Now I enter 13203 where my employer has not one but TWO independent cafes in the same zip code. But guess who appears? the Starbucks form 13210! It shows as "nearest to 13203" . That negates my complaint in #1 but it's still a problem.

They're already doing that without the benfit of irradiation at the end. I once spent a summer as a laborer on a tomato ranch. Our field were 1/2 mile wide and 1/2 mile long. Do you really think all the stoop laborers and cultivator drivers were going somewhere off the field to a porta-potty when they needed to relieve themselves? They didn'tdo it then and I suspect they don't do it now. In the big picture I accept the fact that most food products, particularly those coming through the agri-business food chain (our tomatoes went directly to a Contadina cannery), may be suspect. I try to eat as healthy a diet as I'm able to without major incovenience and try to avoid heavily process foods but I end up buying plenty of mainstream mass market priced groceries items like most folks do. If irradiation will improve the safety and longevity of these food producs and can do so safely without polluting the environment then I'm all for it. I don't recall seeing it mentioned yet in this thread but it's my recollection that many spices fall into a different food consumption labeling category under FDA standards and have been getting irradiated for quite a few years now - with very little publicity about that fact.

I always tip based on the pre-tax total. The tax is not a good or a service that I purchased and someone provided - it's a tarriff that goes directly to the government. It's also worth noting that tax rates for restaurant meals vary wildy in the US from as low as 4% - 5% to as high as 10% - 12%. As for what percentage I tip... it's not only a function of service but quite often related to the dollar size of the tab, the level of service required and the nature of the service provided. On larger tabs I generally leave 20% or a bit more and as high as 30% for exceptional service. But if I eat at a local diner and get the $3 eggs/toast/home fries special and glass of juice for a bill that totals $4 - $5 pretax - I'll leave $2 for decent service.

A subject close to my own heart as my 82 year old mother will buy nothing but Folger's or Maxwell House (whatever is cheapest) and it must be decaf (osteoporosis concerns - valid or not - she is concerned). 1. If they won't spend more there's little room for improvement. But if you can get them to try the 8 O'Clock brand French Roast, which is available in many supermarkets, they'll find it to be a trifle more expensive than the cheap stuff but far superior in flavor. And it's far less costly than "gourmet" or "specialty" coffee. 2. See #3 3. Just make sure they have a decent airtight container for storage and encourage them to buy in 12 oz or 16 oz packs instead of the giant 2 lb cans so it gets consumed a bit more quickly before the next batch is purchased. 4. Buy them a Britta pitcher and stash it somewhere. Pull it out when you arrive and offer to make the coffee (I'm lucky that my parents live in a place where ordinary tap water actually tastes pretty good). 5. You're lucky - a clean machine helps. Finally.... clench your teeth and just tolerate it. I made coffee after Thanksgiving dinner this year - freshly roasted and freshly ground high quality decaf blend - brewed in a vacuum pot. It was the best cup of decaf I've ever consumed. They definitely appreciated it and could tell the difference but they happily went right back to drinking swill at home the following morning

Good news for those of us whose geographic limitations or schedules haven't yet permitted a visit to Melt - they'll be featured in a segment on tomorrow's evening news between 5 PM and 6 PM on NYC's WABC Channel 7 television. Apparently they'll be filming Glenn and his chef at work and the news crew will then eat four of the sandwiches. Yet I don't even get one but then again... it's a four hour drive for me - I have a good excuse

Can we assume you're referring to the category of machine known as "superauto"? These are the neat little devices that grind, tamp, dispense the espresso and then discard the used grounds into a bin all at the push of a button. Even the very good ones are not capable of making "excellent espresso". You could buy an entry level good quality espresso machine (e.g. a gaggia Carezza) for about $225 and an entry level espresso-capable grinder (e.g. Solis Maestro) for about $115. Take that $340 package with freshly roasted beans and a bit of practice and you'll be able to make better espresso than a $2,000 superauto can produce. But home espresso gear of the traditional variety does require some patience and practice to yield best results, some diligence to yield consistency and also has the "mess factor". Furthermore... it does not lend itself to hammering out a quick latte just before you head out the door on a weekday morning. Don't rule out the superauto category completely. It has a huge convenience factor and the better machines (typically those in the $1,000 to $2,000 category) will make excellent Americano's or "regular" coffee fresh brewed by the cup and passable latte's or cappuccino's. In most cases, assuming freshly roasted beans and a bit of practice on milk foaming techniques, you'll be able to produce drinks at home that are consistently superior to Starbucks and better than many independent cafe's. We have a little Saeco superauto in the office at my "day job". I think it was about a $500 machine but we bought it as a factory refurb for about $400. It makes a decent 6 - 8 oz cup of coffee or can be used to make a passable Amerciano but the output is not what I'd call "real" espresso. The steam it produces is so wet and underpowered that we don't bother using it for milk drinks - it's a waste of time. The good news is the fact that it's been cranking out about ten drinks per day, five days per week for close to two years and hasn't given us a bit of trouble. For $1,000 I think you may want to look at Solis (or possibly Jura if they offer one in that price range). Steaming performance on thoise models should be much closer to what you'd get with a conventional espresso machine and you should be able to make a decent latte or cappa. But if you're looking for the golden nectar of a truly excellent straight espresso..... you can spend less and get more albeit with more effort involved.

My dad's mother, who was hardly known for her cooking (apart from her excellent baked beans) always baked it not only with bread crumbs on top but with a small peeled white or yellow onion baked in the center. We're talking Northeastern US so it's hardly applicable but some friends I have up here in NY state who are from southern families or spent time their during their youth have an interesting twist. It won't rest easily with many but they have a practice of adding a packet of the yellow powder cheese sauce mix from Kraft Mac ' n Cheese into the bechamel sauce and grated cheddar. I'll have to admit - it does give a certain tang and a burst of yellow color that is often missing on some preparations of this dish. If you ever go to a church supper or a potluck where soul food is being served and there's a mac 'n cheese that's very yellow and has lots of tang - that might be how it got that way. It also adds a significant measure of economy to the dish as it keeps the cheesy aspect but allows one to reduce the amount of cheddar.

If you're heading home for a meal later that day after stopping at CC, there's a nice little Italian bakery on the right hand side just before the end of Park - good bread to be had there.

Lots of great discussion but isn't the traditional answer to the original question something along the lines of... I actually had some email correspondence recently with someone who was puzzled when I mentioned chopped liver in self deprecating humorous context. It's still not entirely clear to me how the phrase came to have its non-food related meaning although I'm well familiar with the phrase.

Nice web site. I'm a bit surprised that you're not open for the morning trade. Is it impractical due to the hours you're already putting in or do so many folks in the area take the train/bus to the city that the volume wouldn't be there?

Vertically challenged I am not but they darn near make me tower over people. As other have pointed out, the finish on some brands and types such as my black Dansko's, is darn near indestructible. A quick wipe with some polish and a brush and fast rub with a polishing cloth makes them look almost new. Mine are about 2 - 3 years old and wear like new. By the way - in my experience they are not good for walking long distances in one fell swoop. I walked about 5 or 6 miles one long evening in NYC in them and it wasn't good.

Ricky's Blue Heaven restaurant in Key West Fl often has a shrimp 'n grits dish on the breakfast menu that is truly sublime. The shrimp are large succulent fresh Gulf shrimp and the grits are blended into an almost creamy texture with Vermont white cheddar. As good as the pancakes are at Blue heaven (which is phenomenal for pancakres).... the shrimp 'n cheese grits is even better. Lava Bistro in Charlotte (off Keynes Drive in the University Park area) has a really good shrimp 'n grits dish on their brunch menu. The shrimp are okay - not spectacular but the grits really shine. They make some sort of mixture with grits, Asiago cheese and other ingredients that help it to bind together and bake/fry/cook it as a large wedge shaped piece of grit cake. It's about the size of a slice of pie but stands nicely on edge - crispy on the outside and very light on the inside. I've tried several times to replicate it at home but with no success. The Asiago cheese is a good touch - it adds some cheese bite and pungency but without creating a heavier texture.

Guppy - it's called New Century Vietnamese Restaurant and it's located in Syracuse NY (central part of NY state). Mrbigjas - On occasion I have ordered quail with caramel sauce and it tasted as though it was probably the same as the one in the linked recipe. I would consider the fish sauce to be essential.

My dad was a big Shari Lewis fan - he called me "lamb chop" when I was very young and "pork chop" as I got a bit older.