phaelon56

Thanks for providing the update and feedback. I'll guess that you've now discovered just how friendly and down to earth the typical espresso fiend is. We love to talk about coffee and espresso.... pull shots... compare notes... and share with friends (new and old alike). I think coffee is really the true social lubricator - the heck with alcohol!

Guppymo - I live in Syracuse NY - a relatively small city that does have a few decent sized Asian markets and two small Vietnamese oriented markets but as of six months ago none of them carried Trung Nguyen. It's just killing me here... Spagetttti can come all the way to the US from Indonesia and get Trung Nguyen coffee to take home but I live here and can't seem to find it!!! I am planning to develop my own blend for making Viet style iced coffee (I'm a home coffee roaster by avocation and also work part time running a commercial coffee roaster). Thus far I'm not confident that I've been able to source the right quality level of Vietnamese arabica beans here in the US. I did try some Laotian beans last week - I could only get them already roasted and the coffee was okay but not all that memorable. What is intriguing to me about Vietnamese cuisine is the way they manage to so seamlessly incorporate the four fundamental experiences into a meal - salty, sweet, sour and hot (do I have that right - those are the four... correct?). I also love those crepes - around here they are often called "Saigon Pancakes" and are very, very different from one restaurant to the next. Touregsand asked Again... I am no expert (this is a major understatement!) but one thing I know for certain - pho is served for breakfast lunch or dinner and typically always includes rice noodles. many other dishes are served with rice noodles as well. Sometime they're of the relatively thin variety such as that used in pho, many other dishes are served atop vermicelli and I've had a few that incorporated broader and flatter rice noodles as well. I generally see a good balance of proteins and starches int hese meals along with a moderate amount of fresh lightly cooked vegetables and plentiful amounts of fresh herbs and greens (lettuce leaves and mint to wrap around certain dishes, lemongrass and Thai style basil etc. A number of the dishes I order, typically stir fry dishes rather than those with grilled ingredients, are served with steamed rice. My favorite local place, New Century Vietnamese Restaurant, also features the option of having "broken rice" in place of regular steamed rice. I've been able to find limited information about broken rice on-line but it appears that it's more popular in certain regions much less so than others. It's a bit stickier and starchier than regular steamed rice - much less fluffy. It also has a slightly sweet taste and a more distinct flavor, at least to my palate. I've never seen it on the menu elsewhere but it's usually my preference when ordering. Certain dishes on New Century's menu are listed as being intended to be served with broken rice just as they separate the vermicelli dishes. But they do allow substituting broken rice for steamed on any dish. Now I'm hungry again.

By chance I stayed in Newark for one night last month on a very short trip. Arrived a bit late and walked over to Ironbound for dinner - happened to stumble on Cafe Brasilia and was suitably impressed. At $18.95 the rodizio includes a very generous hot and cold buffet salad bar... it appeared to be a killer deal. Neither my friend or I were very hungry so we shared a bowl of garlic shrimp and also the grilled chicken from the "light menu". Their definition of light is about a pound and a half or more of grilled chicken breast with a huge pile of perfectly cooked fresh veggies and a mountain of rice. Plus the potatoes - I mean really.... who eats rice without potatoes? Oh... the bill including two soft drinks was about $18!!! More NY rodizio updates: The Turning Stone Casino in Oneida NY (quite the juggernaut of entrepeneurial ventures in this region) has just added an upscale (i.e. linen tablecloths etc) rodizio restaurant to their many dining offerings at the resort. The ticket is $34.95 not including beverages or desserts. Like most of their upper end restaurants, a substantial portion of the business will be comped players or folks there for conventions but I anticipate that it will do well.

Oh my gosh - I'm soooo hungry now looking at these gorgeous pictures! Toliver asked I know for a fact that my ability to describe the nature of Vietnamese cuisine is woefully limited but I vastly prefer it to any of the other Asian cuisines mentioned. When people ask why I like it my response is usually along the lines of.... "It's light, not overly seasoned or too salty, does not rely much on fried foods, emphasizes the use of fresh vegetables and herbs and is not typically overly "hot" (as in too spicy). And then there's the iced coffee with condensed milk - that stuff should be nominated to become a major food group!" I can tolerate Chinese cuisine but often find it too oily and enjoy Thai but get a bit bored with curries and am less enamored of the coconut/galangal/kaffir lime flavors than some folks. I have eaten Korean food on many occasions but apart from kim-chi have never found a dish that I had a strong desire to order again. It was never bad - just not my cup of tea. I also find Viet food to be intensely flavorful but in a subtle way. It sounds a bit fuzzy as a definition but so be it. Nearly every dish illustrated in this thread is familiar to me, having been a fan of Vietnamese cuisine for many years. I do admit to being a bit surprised by the black and white rice crackers and have never tried the green papaya soup. I'm also more familiar with a different style of chicken salad - one that looks like yours but also contains shredded cabbage. It's usually listed as Goi Ga ont he menu. I'm well aware of how blessed I am to have not one but three Viet restaurnants in my small city, one being exceptional and the other two vacillating between decent and good on various days. It's not a fluke - there was a non-denominational church based resettlement program that brought many Hmong people here in the 1980's who were later followed by other Vietnamese groups. I still can't quite get the coffee to come out the same way at home as they serve it in the restaurant so I visit them about once a week. The coffee is my excuse for going there to also have a good dinner. Perhaps someone here knows where I can buy the Trung Ngyuen brand of coffee on-line? I'm not so fond of the Cafe du Monde brand used by most restaurants but my favorite joint here in town uses Trung Ngyuen and it rocks.

bainesy - thanks for the link. It really is a bit of information overload but if you can get the hang of all the acronyms it's quite helpful although the "Comments" section just gets a bit TOO dense with acronyms! They don't provide commentary on noise level of the grinder - actually a useful thign to know if you have family or housemates who get up later and don't want to be disturbed in the early morning hours by the sound of the grinder. I'm not certain that the Iberital /Nemox Lux/Aerolatte grinder is available in the US. If so I think it's not widely sold. There are some little issues such as static that I don't think about too often (mostly because Mazzer's are not prone to it) but it's a useful thing for potential purchasers to consider. Personally.... I'm not convinved ot the value of the doserless or "doses direct into portafilter" feature. Unless you have a grinder where the portafilter actually locks on and doses/tamps automatically (e.g. the La Marzocco Swift)... you'll still end up with some grounds on the counter or in the grind tray. I've gotten accusotmed enough to using the mazzers that I have minimal spillage - about the same as I'd have with a doserless model.

It's also worth noting that the most commonly perceived shortcoming of hot air roasting (too bright a flavor profile due to very short roast time) can be almost entirely mitigated by doing some hacks that allow the fan and het to be cycled on and off indepedently of one another. You can also buy a heavy duty voltage regulator (aka Variac) for about $80 - $100 but some of us aren't into hacks etc. By the time you spend that kind of money it might make more sense to buy a dedicated roasting device such as the one discussed in this Hearthware i-Roast thread

I don't know what they call it in English - I've never seen it called anything except sofrito.

Now you've piqued my curiosity. Are they exhaust fans and perhaps you'll be featuring Durian smoothies?

Lonnie - it's so good to hear that it finally worked for you! I was lucky enough to get good results on my second try with a vac pot and was blown away by the results - it really is a superior brewing method when you get it right. I think you'll really enjoy the coffee from Sweet Maria's. Tom Owens picks out excellent beans and also does a good job roasting.

Perhaps so. A well organized group could at least encompass Syracuse, Rochester and Ithaca. Gimme Coffee in Ithaca does their own roasting, Spin Caffe in Rochester does and Freedom of Espresso in Syracuse likewise. That provides three separate places to meet/visit, each with their own style and approach to roastign and espresso preparation. It might indeed be workable. We could reach out to Utica for participants but I think the few significant places there offering espresso get their beans from Freedom of espresso already. This is a concept that eGullet members might want to explore and develop in their own regional area. Event announcements can be posted on the eG calendar and announced here but all organization discussions etc. whould take place off-line byt way of PM's or emails.

Thanks for pointing out this new offering James - and welcome to the Coffee & Tea forum! I haven't personally tried or handled an Innova grinder but just scoped out the multiple Coffegeek Innova Grinder Consumer Reviews. The consensus seems to be fairly consistent - it's a great grinder for the money but not a true competitor for the Rocky. If you can grab one for the $155 - $175 price point that many people seem to have paid It appears to be a far better value than the Solis Maestro Plus is at $150. Innova has only been distributed in the US for a couple years or so but it's a Spanish company that has been in business for many years and has a decent reputation. Spain has been known in recent years for producing some espresso gear that performs as well as the higher end Italian consumer/prosumer machines but costs a bit less (e.g. the Expobar espresso machine). Pro's for the Innova: Stepless grind adjustment Price point Con's for the Innova: Fit and finish Lighter build quality Stuck grounds in doser chute Moderately noisy Stepless grind adjustment means you're not locked into a click stop numbered setting for the fineness of the grind - this can be very helpful if you're trying to "dial in" the exact grind setting needed to get your desired pull time for an espresso shot (when all other factors are properly controlled the grind setting is the one variable in quality espresso production and more flexibility is always better). Of the ten users who weighed in with consumer reviews, one reported the adjustment ring "drifting" slightly when grinding. Not good but this may be an isolated incident. The only other consumer level grinder available with stepless adjustment (that I'm aware of) is the Mazzer Mini - in a different category at about $400 - $500 retail price. There were some comments about the ruggedness of build quality - the forks that hold the portafilter in place when you're dosing the coffee appear to be a bit on the light duty side and some people reported getting brand new units with a few scratches or other flaws on the paint finish. A few people also reported that the grind tray (collects spare bits of grounds that fall off when filling the portafilter) slips off to easily at times. The Innova is a "doserless" unit and Rocky is available with or without doser feature. Let's face it - all espresso grinders can be a bit messy and IMHO the doserless feature doesn't really buy you much. I've become accustomed to just pulling the doser lever a few extra times because I grind per shot but when I have company it's nice to be able to grind enough for four or five drinks and just keep dosing. I like that. But nearly all users reported that a substantial amount of grounds can get stuck in the doser chute of the Innova - as much as 3 - 4 grams. if you're doing a single shot at 7 - 8 grams or even a double at 14 - 17 grams.... that's a LOT of stale coffee that comes out into your portafilter if you're making your first shot of the day and failed to clean out the chute after grinding the previous day. Grinders like the Rocky and the Mazzer Mini get perhaps a 1/2 gram or so left in the chute and it's easy to clean out with a quick swipe of a brush. Pro's for the Rocky: Excellent fit and finish Appears to be more rugged construction Proven track record Reasonably quiet Con's for the Rocky: Lacks stepless grind adjustment Higher price point In summation.... if I was really pinched for money and would be for awhile I'd buy the Innova but the Rocky has a big following for a good reason. It's a well designed unit that's been around for years and performs well. Paying an extra $100 is not much when buying a good grinder. An investment in a grinder like the Rocky is literally a lifetime investment and the Innova is probably built well enough that the same case could be made for it. But in the long run... especially with a piece of gear that gets daily use... I'm always in favor of spending a bit more to get better usability features and better durability. I'll also note that although I haven't used the Innova I do have enough experience with grinders to assess the reviews I've seen and offer opinions. I know many happy Rocky owners. I've owned and used a couple different models of Solis gridners and presently have three different models of Mazzer grinder.

Dr. Frankenfurter's (The Doctor Is In) or perhaps just The Rocky Hotdog Picture Show but seriously... Perfectly Franks is great. For a hotdog place I think that's as good a name as Melt is for a grilled cheese joint (and Melt is a damn good name).

I think the reason for adding it in the first place is because this dish is being prepared in a restaurant kitchen where a wood fire is an absolute impossibility. I'm not sure whether they're toasting the saffron or not but I think the suggestion of ordering it with regular rather than smoked paprika is a good one. That will surely answer the question. I'll also ask for a towel or cloth napkin to cover the dish and let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes after they serve it. They brought it straight to the table from the oven and some of the liquid had not yet been absorbed. I also just discovered that another local restaurant, whose menu has always been upscale Italian bistro oriented, now has a chef who grew up in Spain and learned his craft there. He's convinced the owner to add a number of Spanish dishes ot the menu, paella being among them. I think it's time for a show-down

It's important to stick to the right type of popcorn popper if using it for coffee bean roasting. The original West Bend Poppery and the Poppery II are ideal because of the pattern of agitation and bean rotation.

I think the example of Landmarc that Sam pointed out earlier in the thread shows that a good balance can be achieved. Put a slightly higher price ($1 - $3 per entree) on entrees and accept, on average, a lower markup on wines than many other places charge. If wine sales are much stronger and this strategy achieves overall higher revenues, it becomes the rare case of the cliched "win-win" scenario. Customers are happier because they can order wine with dinner more often or more liberally without feeling gouged, the restaurant makes a larger overall profit and everyone wins. As for this remark If there was no profit in food, specifically in the sit-down restaurant business (encompassing everything from moderate to high end dining), how would so many restaurants in "dry" towns like Rutherford NJ (where I lived until recently) survive and apparently prosper? Rutherford has a slew of restaurants ranging from lower end places like The Village Gourmet, mid level like Paisano's and Corrado's and high end such as Cafe Matisse. Alcohol cannot be sold by a restaurant and there are no bars but wine and liquors stores are allowed. A few of these places have a separate on-site wine shop that will sell you the wine and allow you to bring it to the table (Village Gourmet has always been this way and Matisse added a wine shop about 2 - 3 years ago). Obviously the few places selling wine are making money on it and they all make a few $$ on corkage fees but food is where the real revenue and profit comes from in all of these restaurants. Granted... rents are lower than in Manhattan but it's still not cheap. I agree that there's profit in food. The % of profit depends greatly on peripheral factors already mentioned but I disagree with the notion that there's no real money to be made on food and therefore excessive wine markups across the board are sensible. I won't go so far as to attribute the high failure rate of restaurants in NY and elsewhere to an inability to see the big picture (too many other factos are more significant) but high markups generate only hypothetical; profits until you actually sell the goods.

The negative comments regardng their wine shop offerings, pricing etc. are most likely well taken (I'm not a wine drinker and also have not been to the VA stores and am guessing) but keep in mind that Wegman's is very new to the retail wine arena. By law, wine cannot be sold in grocery stores in NY state - only in liquor stores. Until recently, nearly all of Wegman's stores have been in NY. I think it's reasonable to assume that they don't yet have the requisite experience to have a fully developed wine department. I can't see them attempting to be price competitive with Costco because they don't need to be but they also don't yet have the same buyign power for wine. People buy all kinds of products in Wegman's that are available a bit cheaper elsewhere - if you get pulled in by the prepared foods department, the produce offerings, the pastries, the beef selection etc..... sometimes it's far easier to just pick up those few extra items while you're there instead of shuttling around to different stores. Can't speak for anyone else but I know that with my schedule as busy as it is, I don't mind paying a slight upcharge to be able to get most of my grocery items in one stop provided that the key items are good quality and the peripheral stuff is not grossly overpriced.

Just one question.... why couldn't you have opened when I still lived in Rutherford and the best espresso/coffee in the entire area was at Starbucks on Rte 17 South? (and it was pretty crappy). Congrats on the pending opening. I plan to make a weekend trip to NYC and also to have a meal at Melt in Jersey City - I'll have to stop over at caffiene central also. I really shouldn't complain about having been stuck with crappy coffee sand espresso when I was in NJ. It was that very dilemma which forced me to start doing home roasting and also acquire the proper gear and techniques for making killer espresso shots at home. I've now parlayed that into a lucrative part time job as a roaster and espresos machine technician with a career path open into the business. Would you be kind enough tp post about this in the Coffe & tea forum and offer a few details for the coffee obsessed among us? I'm curious to know what kind of machines you're using, what beans -source and varietals if you're willign to share that) , what prompted you to get into the business etc. By the way... I think the idea of theme rooms and baking on premises is very good business!

I recently got a confirmation from the owner of the referenced restaurant that they are in fact using a liberal amount of smoked paprika. I'll revisit them soon and request that they cut the smoked paprika by 75% or so and see if that makes a difference. I'll also bring my own chorizo for them to add since they won't be stocking it and I want that flavor in my pan.

I'm sure you dids but I refer to the "malt sandwich" that typically also contains hops and a fair amount of alcohol Glenn is not serving alcohol so you'll have to BYO but he does have killer chocolate milkshakes from what I understand. Best to leave the Milo at home.

Although I haven't touched alcohol since the late 1980's (for all the right reasons) I've been enjoying that peculiar funky tart quality of Rose's Lime Juice for many years. I began drinking it in Gimlet's circa 1974 when my drinking career began in earnest and continue consuming it to this day (a tall tonic water with a generous splash of Rose's is my favorite apertif). I'm certain that Rose's was still made with sugar rather than HFCS in the 70's and early 80's, was it not? US soft drink bottlers did not begin making that change to HFCS until around 1980 or thereabouts. I do find that I can tolerate smaller mounts of Rose's in my drink these days than I could back then. Possibly in part due to the fact that the peculiar sweetness qualities of HFCS are much less to my liking than cane sugar sweeteners. But I still love that funky tart/sour aspect - I agree that Rose's has changed but there's a fundamental characteristic. I have had my tonic with the Giroux Lime Juice on a few occasions when Rose's was not available and I didn't like it as much.

If you want your own malt sandwich you'll have to bring that as well

Rail Paul - thanks for the review. It's nice to get some first hand feedback from folks who are now able to check it out. I plan to do so but it's a four drive and will have to be part of a weekend visit to NYC this spring (spring already being present for most of you but here in central NY it's still winter ). Glen commented I think publicizing some sort of "to go" breakfast special might work well but much depends on people's path to work. We're creatures of habit and many people who are far more selective for lunch and dinner will grab what's easiest for breakfast and closest to their home or office. I should think that with a panini you could make a rockin' bagel sandwich or croissant sandwich. You may want to look for a local homeless shelter or other not-for-profit facility that will take the unused pastries and bread products off your hands - get a receipt and it should be a totally legitimate write-off. In some places breakfast just doesn't fly. I have a friend who started a fresh pasta restaurant here in Syracuse years ago (his widow now runs it and it's still doing nicely). When he opened he offered a fantastic breakfast for relatively cheap - French toasts made from fresh dipped hand cut Italian bread.... fresh strawberries for the waffles.... low salt bacon obtained from a local small scale farmer who raised his own hogs.... real maple syrup..... After two months of struggling to get people in the door he decided it would be cheaper to give everyone who walked in for breakfasts $2 and send them down the street to the diner where a $1.99 two eggs w/toast and home fries special was running every day. The solution of course was to stop offering breakfast but I undrstod his point - it's a tough meal to make money with. That said.... you are in a very different socio-economic market in JC than we have traditionally had in Syracuse - there may still be potential there for a breakfast trade.

I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on that issue. Arabica is grown at a variety of altitudes ranging from not so far above sea level to high mountain grown. As a general rule, the arabica grown in mountain areas tends to be of higher quality than that grown in lower altitudes. I think the great majority of Robusta coffee is grown closer to sea level although it can grow in higher altitudes.

That attitude alone, coupled with your business background.... will get you 90% of the way to great success. Hard work is the other 10% and you've already got that covered. Congratulations!

I can't speak to availability on the Canadian market but Sam's Club here the US has been stocking somethign similar to that for awhile. Also - Magnum Coffee has an online retail coffee service that sells it for about $10.25 - $10.50.