phaelon56

I'll have to c heck out Monkey Royale - it's in the same neighborhood as Higher Grounds - another place I've been meaning to visit that is rumored to often deliver great shots. It's not being snobbish to look for and expect great crema on an espresso shot - the cream is where it's at... where the intensity of flavor gets delivered. I agree thatI don't relish the thought of getting coffee from Illy pods but it's often a damn sight better than stale coffee that was ground hours and hours before. If you reach for a predictable common denominator there is such a thing as a predictable blend, even for espresso. I know because the folks I work for have a house espresso blend that is very simple and comes from beans that are extremely predictable from lot to lot and year to year. But there's a problem with that. Such an espresso is always "decent" but never stellar. It works great in milk drinks (which is literally 99% of our espresso business) but as a straight shot it lacks both the subtlties and WOW notes of many other blends I've tried. I'd rather shoot for greatness and accept the changes that come from season to season and crop to crop. Getting open-minded about coffee includes accepting the fact that the varietal you loved so much this season when a particular crop was available may not be at its best next yer. This is where good local and regional micro-roasters enter the picture. They constantly cup , sample and assess new offerings to ensure that they have the best of any given varietal. Those that offer espresso blends will also tweak their blends to deliver the best possible results and as much consistency as can be provided. You just can't get that kind of attention to detail from the major suppliers - such an approach works contrary to the mass market business model.

I drink two or three double ristretto shots of espresso most weekdays (each containing about 1.5 oz of espresso). On occasion I'll just have a 12 oz cup of coffee instead. Sometimes such as during my recent vacation, I might have only two espresso's per day, one in late morning and one before dinner. I suppose I'm just constitutionally blessed but when I stop drinking coffee for a few days or longer the only noticeable effect is a very mild headache mid to late afternoon the first day. One Tylenol fixes that and on subsequent days I detect absolutely no change. I do recall a time in my life when I was drinking 8 - 10 cups of cheap coffee per day and getting way too jumpy. Back then I found myself instinctively cutting back. It's worth noting that higher quality coffee (arabica in general) typically has less caffiene than cheaper coffee (robusta) and per "drink" (a 1 oz espresso being equal to a 6 oz cup of coffee), espresso has much less caffiene than drip coffee or French press.

The key to freezing it is to split your larger bags into smaller portions each good for 3 - 4 days worth of consumption. Take them out one smal lbag at a time the night before you need to use them and.... here's the key.... never ever open the bag until it's fully thawed Moisture is one of coffee's primary enemies (until it's brewed). Keeping coffee in a larger container in the freezer and repeatedly opening and closing that container introduces moisture into the beans every time. Opening a frozen package before it's thawed will do the same thing. I've done plenty of freezing and have even (accidentally!) had the opportunity to do my onw A/B tests. Freezing works. It's not a substitute for getting freshly roasted coffee locally every 4 - 5 days but we don't all have access to a good local microroaster.

Glenn is likely far too humble to just spell it out but yesterday I enjoyed the best cup of coffee Jersey City has ever offered and more is soon to come. I was there to install and set up the coffee brewing equipment at Melt, a cafe that Glenn is opening on Jersey Ave. He did lots of research on coffee vendors and wisely settled on George Howell's Terroir Coffee The coffee we tested with will be, if I understood correctly, the standard house coffee when he opens later this month. He'll be selling it by the pound in addition to offering a few other varietals by the pound. The bean we brewed and drank was Guatemala Huehuetanango. It tastes even better the best Guatemala Antigua's I had years back (in recent years the Antigua has sometimes been inconsistent). There was a perfect balance of body, acidity and flavor. Even on the ride home 45 minutes later when I was sipping from a cup that had cooled off to ambient temp, there was absolutely no discernible trace of any bitterness. That is a very good cup of coffee.

With the exception of The Mud Truck by Union Square, Klatch on Maiden Lane and Gimme Coffee in Brooklyn, I think that is more or less the rule in NY. I'm sure there are other exceptions but I more or less gave up trying to find good espresso in NYC. I either drink drip coffee or go to the dreaded Starbucks and get a short cappa when I'm visiting.

My fiancee and I just returned from our first trip to Paris. Despite recognizing that I'm quite possibly a less discerning eater than many on this board and unquestionably possessed of far less "fine or finer" dining experience, I still had some concerns that I might be a bit disappointed. If I had the depth and breadth of experience that folks such as Bux or John Talbott do, I'd likely be comparing experiences of years past to what's available at present and might find a number of disappointments. Instead, my reference point was the "better" restaurants presently available in my current location (a smallish blue collar city in central NY state) and also the lower to mid level places I've dined in NYC (and even a few of the finer dining experiences I've enjoyed in NYC). We ate at L'Epi Dupin, La Boussole and Les Clos du Gourmets (apologies if I've botched the spelling). The price fixe for three courses was 31, 25 (or was it 28?) and 33 Euros respectively (not including wine). The total bill for two, always including at least one coffee, a large bottle of mineral water, one apertif and one glass of house wine (and in one case two supplemental charges) ranged from about 83 to 108 Euros. All three of these establishments were radically different from one another in their ambiance, decor, approach to food and style of service. All three were recommendations from this forum and did not disappoint. I've always considered NYC to offer a reasonably good value per dollar spent on food in restaurants. IMHO, my Paris experience, despite the dollar weighing in at 74 cents per Euro when we were there, offered far superior food for the money. With tax and service charge included (although we typically always tipped an extra 10%) our meals in Paris were a tremendous value. There were also, outside of touristy areas, many neighborhood bistro's we happened across and would love to try on future visits. The daily plats in many of those places were sometimes as low as 10 -12 euros for a two course or 15 - 18 Euro's for a three course. These were in most cases fairly casual and humble places, often with country style food (cassoulet and the like). But my experience indicates that the food in many would be far better than what I'd find most places in the US. Here in the States I can't eat that cheap even at a mediocre chain restaurant. Was there a downside? Yes - we immediately found most of the restaurant offerings we encountered uopn our return home to be disappointing and throughly unappealing

I tend to agree although I can attest that, apart from needing a knockbox/bucket in which to dispose of the pucks or spent grounds, there is almost no mess when the Swift grinder is used. There are small bist of loose grounds around the outer edge of the portafilter but simply tipping it over the knockbox allows these to fall out. I really do wish that more restaurants would use good quality pod coffee. Those who use individually wrapped/sealed pods and ensure that they get fresh stock can deliver a satsifying shot of espresso. I just returned from a vacation where I drank a fair amount of Illy as it was the brand most likely to be "okay" of those that I saw available. In every cafe I visted (Paris) the drinks were being dosed from a doser full of grounds that had obviously been ground earlier in the day. The coffee was not offensive but was consistently flat and lacked crema (not to mention that no one was tamping). Freshly opened pods would have made a far better cup.

One of their menu items was called "Pineapple Payoff with Basil". That should have been a clue

Wow. "Vig-free Fridays". If they offered those at casino's I might even try gambling on occasion (or more often than the once every years that I do now).

I'd go all the way back to Paris to hear him. Definitely. Edited to add: I just checked the Rick Steves guide book and the restaurant/club I referenced above si the place he mentioned. The full name is Le Cave au Franc Pinot. I hardly consider Rick Steves as a go-to source for food info but of all the jazz clubs they listed it's the only one mentioned as having good food.

I do almost all available light shootign for both food and other subjects with my little Canon Powershot A70 digital. What has worked really well for me in the absence of a tripod is to use the 2 second setting on the self timer to activate the shutter. My biggest problem seems to be moving the camera when I depress the shutter release because the camera is so small and relatively light. I also try to brace the camera - either by placing my elbos on something solid or against my body and also to get the camera pushed against my forehead while my eye is looking through the small optical viewfinder. I did quite a bit of this on a recent trip but did find that in some cases flash was absolutely essential due to low light levels. I'll edit this post later to illustrate the challenge and what I found to be a moderately successful ad hoc solution.

No... I have seen their kitchen and their cooking equipment (I installed their commercial coffee brewer just a week or two before they opened and had to run new plumbing in the kitchen. They are using carbon steel paella pans and it appears that the dish is cooked in the pan. Its' availabel only in a "one pan per person" size and the pan is socorchign blazing hot when they bring it out (it has a cloth napkin wrapped around the handles and underneath to prevent burns. I don't believe they're cooking it separately and transferring it - I've had plenty of paella in Newark cooked that way however. They don't even have room to cook it in another vessel and transfer - the kitchen is tiny. The owner does not believe in serving red meat of any type - only poultry and fish. When I chatted wit the chef prior to the opening he was planning to have chorizo availabel for those who requested it (the cured type - there's a decent commercial supplier in RI whose product is availabel locally - both chorizo and linguica). Not sure if the owner nixed that plan but when I inquired I was advised that they didn't have it that night. We have a vendor at our local weekly farmer's marklet who sells fresh rabbit. I think I may have to get busy and start making my own again.

Yes... back to my original question is a good place to go. All of the rice was sort of dark brown and it was oily. I have no problem with the oiliness but the oil seemed to have a slightly burnt taste that dominated the dish. There were a few areas that were a trifle crispier towards the bottom but it was not a true socarrat and there was some residual broth to be found here and there interspersed with the other ingredients. It seems conceivable that it's very tricky to get the cookign of the rice just right, especially in a busy restaurant setting. I'm impressed by the fact that the type of rice, the cooking vessel etc are all being selected with careful attention to detail. It was also only their second week in business and I recognize that patience is necessary. I absolutely could not taste the saffron. I know they are using real Spanish saffron and I'm sure they're not skimping on the required quantity (these folks do not skimp on quality). It seemed as though the carbon steel pan got so hot that perhaps the heat just got away from them?

I'm not absolutely certain but I think this may be the place I was thinking of. I can't vouch for the food but this being Paris, it's likely to be far better than the deplorable food offerings I've seen in US jazz clubs (the Triple Door in Seattle being the happy exception to the rule). Franc Pinot 1 quai bourbon, Ile St Louis, Paris 75004. Tel: 01 46 33 60 64 [Tues-Thurs: Piano/Vocal 8.30-12.30. Restaurant/bar/cocktails in Parisian 'cave' with vaulted ceilings in the heart of Paris!]

Commercially produced cigarettes have all kinds of horrible chemicals. Plain old natural tobacco, even if it were freshly grown by organic methods, will still harm your health if ingested regularly, especially if by smoking. I accept that and will mourn when a dear friend dies of emphysema (which she will - she's already been diagnosed). Recognizing and accepting that.... I wonder if there are specific natural chemicals (apart from nicotine with its addictive qualities) in tobacco that would be cause for alarm in regards to it being used in the culinary ways mentioned in this thread? Please note that I'm not interested in OT discussion about the evils or lack thereof related to tobacco and cigarettes. I am simply curious as to whether the leaves themselves can safely be used for culinary purposes. An attempt to Google for the info brought up much info about tobacco but nothing in this vein.

Hopefully I kept the Rick Steves guide book in my bag when I returned last week from a Paris vacation (my fiance my have it - will have to check tonight). I distinctly recall seeing a listing for a jazz club described as being possibly the only jazz club in Paris where good food was available - I think the music may be downstairs from the dining room but it sounded like a good scene. I recall that it's on either Ile de la Cite or Ile St Louis and is at a corner by a bridge where the Left Bank connects to the island.

I once worked for an upscale catering service that always added an 18% charge to every customer bill and labeled it as "service charge". Most cusotmers would and did assume that it was a gratuity to be disbursed among the staff but none of us ever saw a nickel of that money - it went to "service related expenses". That said... the business owner paid us more than the prevailing service wage (about $7 - $10 per hour back in the early to mid 1990's) and if a cusotmer tipped over and above the service charge we all recieved an appriorate portion of that money. I just returned from a trip to France. The nature of table service is very different there but we generally tipped about 10% on all of our meals, despite the fact that the service charge was already built into the price. We received good service from seasoned professionals and I felt that they earned the extra money.

Growing up in the Northeast I did enjoy raw clams (Cherrystones in particular) many times over the years btu never "got it" when peopel raved abotu raw oysters. The few times I tried them (once or twice here in central NY state and once at the Acme Oyster House in New Orleans) they were the large slimy things. Then I tried some raw oysters in Seattle. Wow. The taste fo the ocean was so immediate and so intense that my opinion was changed forever. But I'm still very particular about what type I eat and where I eat them. Speaking of seafoood revelations... I'v e had "moules frites" (mussels with frites) on many occasions at a few French and Belgian places here in the US and found the mussels to be okay but not thrilling. I had the good fortune to finally manage a one week vacation in Paris recently and ordered moules frites one evening as it was a ubiquitous and moderately priced option in most cafes. These mussels were tiny and sweet with barely a trace of the messy connective tissue and other glop that typifies the large aquaculture mussels typically found here in the US. It was as much or perhaps an even more of a profound awakening than the first time I tried good oysters.

People can and do cook with tobacco, typically using it sparingly as an herb. Shortly after the NYC ban on smoking in public places went into effect, I heard a piece on NPR about a Manhattan restaurant using tobacco in its food as a reaction to the change. I was unable to find a link on their site but found this mention of it in a student journalism article from Northeastern University's web site. from "Smokers Beware" by Amanda Murphy

Given your three choices, arborio. Uncle Bens in the trash bin. Basmati is too fragrant, unless your looking to make an Indian style Paella. ← I fyour local grocery doesn't have authentic Spanish paella rice there is a brand grown in California which I've tried and found to be very good. Can't recall the name but it comes in square plastic jars - pricey but worth it. Otherwise I agree that the arborio rice is the closest. If I couldn't get that I'd use Canilla brand but never Uncle Ben's.

If I make dough that's on the really moist and pliable side when it's fresh and then freeze some... when I use the rest of that thawed batch it often has the same problem. If I use it when it's still cold and less pliable I seem to avoid the issue.

Long a fan of paella, I suspect that I've never had the "real deal", having never traveled to Spain or Portugal, but I do have a concept of what some variations are. For years I've made my own at home from a Jeff Smith recipe (the Frugal Gourmet). In general, the better the ingredient quality (e.g. using authentic Spanish paella rice rather than Canilla long grain rice, etc.), the better my results. I've always made a practice of doing a prolonged saute of the rice in the olive oil so it gets partially cooked and gains a golden lustre before adding the other ingredients. I've made it in vessels ranging from a big dented Revereware frying pan to a Cusinart 5.5 quart saute pan to an Calphalon paella pan. The only vessel I've never tried is an authentic carbon steel paella pan. My taste preference is for a drier paella - one with less broth and a better texture to the rice. Much of what I've been served in the Portuguese and Brazilian restaurants in Newark NJ's Ironbound District has been heavy with broth and used cheap long grain rice. The taste was good but texture was lacking. On one occasion I had an outstanding dry paella at Iguana Cafe in NYC, a joint better known for its bar pick-up scene and downstairs dance floor action than for its Mexican food (yet it was actually the best paella I've ever had apart from my own). A new bistro just opened near my current home. I know the owner both as a patron of her other restaurant and by virtue of a business connection (I installed their coffee brewing equipment). The menu features Spanish, Mediterranean and Moroccan inspired cuisine - a welcome change in a town overrun with chain restaurants and mediocre Italian joints. I was thrilled to see Paella Mariscos on the menu - they're using real Spanish saffron (not the cheaper Mexican stuff that I use at home), real authentic Spanish paella rice, fresh peas, top quality shrimp etc. . My reaction to their paella after dining there is mixed. I'm not sure if it's an issue with their method of preparation or whether their style is closer to the authentic article and one I'm just not accustomed to. The entire dish, particularly the rice, was nearly dark brown rather than golden in color and had a smokiness so overpowering that it almost seemed burnt. I was not able to taste the saffron - the nearly scorched character of the rice seemed to dominate. I'm inclined to go in and discuss it diplomatically with the chef but don't want to overstep my bounds. So.... how smoky should smoky be and is "authentic" paella more akin to what they are serving or closer to what I've had elsewhere?

In that case... perhaps I should be using Kopi Luwak "cat poop" coffee for best results? ?

Oh gosh. No disrespect to you Moopheus because I know that FAQ was likely not something you wrote but it appears to contain some misleading info about decaf. Legally, here in the US, coffee may be labeled decaf if it contains anywhere from 2% - 15% caffeine per 'cup". Various medical sources Googled listed 2% - 5% and 2% - 6% as the typical range - well below what the FAQ listed . If we're referring to mass market cheap supermarket coffee it is true that "most" decaf is treated with methylene chloride to remove the caffeine and is in fact made from Robusta beans (which are inherently lower in quality and higher in caffeine content than the more costly Arabica beans). But there are alternatives. SWP (Swiss Water Process) decaf is generally available from any quality conscious regional or local roaster and will typically be made from all arabica beans. In what may seem to be a a conundrum to many folks.... you'll get the lowest caffeine content per serving by getting decaf espresso. The extremely short extraction time for espresso (22 - 28 seconds) allows the crucial flavor components to be extracted and leaves behind lots of the bad stuff including some of the caffeine. A one ounce espresso has less caffeine than a six ounce cup of coffee made from the same beans.

It's not really a trick question (at least I don't think so). I think I know the answer but hope there's a fix. It's also worth noting that not one single geek over at Coffeegeek Forums replied with an answer when I posted. Surely there's an eGulleteer with the expertise to help me I've been using the smaller version of the glass manual Bodum vac pot for about six months and absolutely love the results. I typically use about 40 grams of coffee to 25 ounces of water and allow the grounds to steep in the water for about 3:00 to 3:30 minutes after the water has moved north to the top of the pot. It then takes about another 00:30 to 1:00 minute for the water to return south to the serving vessel after heat is removed. A friend just gave me a Bodum Mini-Santos electric vac pot - the orange one that's made of Lexan or some such thing. It has the same capacity as the manual pot and I use the same amount of grounds and water. The water heats up more quickly, moves north faster and then it automatically shuts off and allows the water to return south after no more than two minutes or so of steeping. The result has very consistently been slightly underextracted and weak tasting coffee. I even tried bumping up the weight of the grounds to 50 grams but with little improvement. I love the convenience of the electric pot - I can just set it up and walk away until the coffee is done but I'm unhappy with the quality of the results. Is there a way to tweak/hack the automatic timing feature to lengthen the steeeping/brewing time? Yes I've read the directions and no mention is made of such an adjustment option.