phaelon56

Where in Charlote is it located? Also... any idea when the Whole Foods in Elizabeth is slated to open?

Thanks FG... for injecting that dose of common sense perspective into the discussion. I have yet to try Korean food that I actually enjoyed (apart form some rockin' kim-chi). I also never tried Indian food that I really enjoyed until I visited Mina when they were open in Sunnyside Queens. I'm not a professional reviewer (that's an understatement!) but I wouldn't dream of wasting the bytes or the ink to post or print my comments on a cuisine that I don't fully understand or oen in which I lack the ability to discern qualitative issues. Thus you do not have my reviews of Korean or Indian restaurants to look forward to (but you'll all get over it rather quickly I suspect) I suppose the "BBQ" that I make with my cheap electric H2O smoker is not "real" BBQ either but that little $70 Char-Broil with some proper rib prep, a good rub and some hickory chips for smoke consistently delivers ribs that blow away everyone who's tried them. Invariably people tell me they'e the best ribs they've ever eaten. That doesn't mean they compare to ribs cooked with traditional prep methods over nothing but hardwood embers but they're still pretty damn good. I do agree that the Dino sauce tends toward the sweet rather than the savory but for cryin' out loud - just ask for it without the sauce if that's your deal. My only comment on the NYT "$25 and under" review is to note that "Meet The Fockers" was the #1 box office draw three weekends in a row. Despite having been trashed by nearly every major critic out there it has been wildly successful because people like it. I saw it - thought it didn't quite measure up to the original but it WAS funny and provided a welcome does of comic relief. It was worth the price of admission. I went because people whose opinions I respect had seen it despite the reviews and told me they enjoyed it. NYT and Village Voice reviews will come and go but people will keep coming to the NYC Dino. Tell me this.... could all the eGullet members who are food fanatics and have posted generally favorable and in some cases glowing comments about the Dino all be wrong? I think not.

No contest. Melkor is right (as usual or should I say most of the time). Not only are the grinders in "combo" machines inferior to any stand-alone grinder like the Rocky, the Rancilio Silvia is hands down a far better machine than the Saeco for espresso and steaming. It offers better construction quality, much higher reliability, better steaming, a commercial grade portafilter assembly... the advantages are almost too numerous to list. Also - if you're lookign for advice, support or info on ways to coax the best possible performance from your Silvia... that ever nefarious Internet is just chock full of info such as Pepe's Hot-Rodded Rancilio Silvia ... but you don't need to do all that to get great shots from your Silvia. I'd grab the Aabree deal before the price goes up but also check 1st Line Equipment in NJ and Chris Coffee in NY state. All three of these vendors have good reputations but working with a vendor on the same coast is sometimes a good idea. IN the event you ever have repair issues that invlove shipping gear the cost and time is far more favorable from NC to NJ or NY than or is to OR or WA. As mentioned - all three have good reputations but I have personally had fantastic after the sale support experience with Chris Coffee. If their overall price is the same or even close to what the others charge I'd grab the gear from them. Now is a good time. Existing stock was often purchased before the dollar plummeted - expect prices at most vendors to go up soon if they haven't already.

I guess it's really a big liquid candy bar served hot... correct? I'll be curious to try it but will most likely split it with my GF - in her words I'll be "saving the calories for something more worthwhile" (that's how she stays so skinny! ) My first task is to check out what are reputed to be the best hot chocolates in Paris when I vacation there next week. Then I'll try a Chantico and try to make a comparative assessment.

The building dates back to the 1920's or 1930's, havign been a neighborhood grocery and meat market for years and ending its career as a karate studio. Numetrous mechanical issues and deterioration left the landlord with a structure that was essentially unrentable. There's a tenant in the back end (a musical instrument shop) whose presence was enabling utilities be kept on but it was the long term commitment of the coffeehouse that enabled the rehabilitation. The front windows (which are energy efficient replacements for the original plate galss windows) are actually large expanses of glass uninterrupted on the vertical axis. The internal wooden framing allows the individual panels to be positioned and secured in place. Business is still ahead of projections but the early morning rush is slower in developing than it has been at our other locations. Daytime business is intermittent but very good and weekends are jammin'. Interestingly enough, Starbucks plans to open less than block away from us on the other side of the road are rumored to have been put on hold or delayed due to technical/zoning issues. Not to worry - they're still intent on flattering us and have now announced new plans to open directly across the street from one of our other locations

"Premium" coffee is a relative term. Typically it means all arabica beans rather than some dreadful Robusta blend but arabica beans alone do not assure one of great cup of coffee. The larger the volume any vendor must purchase.... the less selective they're able to be about which lots of arabica beans they receive. Places such as Starbucks, Caribou Coffee and Dunkin Donuts are among the many purveyors who sell "premium" coffee but it doesn't always mean that a good cup will be had on every visit (or even any visit depending on who you visit and what your tastes are). I'm not sure I understand this. In the US market it's absolutely essential to offer coffee and espresso drinks in "to-go" cups. 90% of our weekday business (three locations) is with people who get the coffee to go and are generally in hurry to get the coffee and get on with their day. Weekend days see us with a far greater percentage of folks who want to linger at a table to enjoy their beverage but Monday - Friday people just don't have the luxury of hanging out. We do offer ceramic cups but few people take advantage of them. Intelligentsia is one of the premier regional roasters in the US and doesa great job but I think you're underestimating two things 1) The potentially huge volume of beans that an operation like McDonalds would consume with their thousands and thousands of outlets 2) Price issues. Places like Intelligentsia typically mandate a quality standard first and then adjust the price to meet profitability needs next. It's not that they aren't price conscious from a competitive standpoint but they sell based on quality, not price point. You can expect a place like McDonalds to buy the beans themselves on contract and sub out the roasting to some huge operator that uses fluid bed continuous conveyor roasting systems rather than traditional drum roasters. It's all about "productivity" and price point.

I think Buffalo is much like Rochester, Albany, Syracuse and others cities of that size or a bit smaller. Not large enough to have a "Chinatown" but the majority of the Asian markets will be in one end of town. It's also worth noting that although most Asian markets in these cities will stock goods for a variety of ethnic cuisines (e.g. Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai), they'll have a tendency to focus most heavily on the cuisine that is native to the owners of the store. I can find some Japanese items at our area's largest Asian market but the really good selection (and better quality) is to be found in another store that focuses more on Japanese and Korean goods. Likewise, some basic Vietnamese items may be foudn in all these store but to get the more esoteric items it's necessary to head to the other side of town to seek out a small Vietnamese grocery.

Keeping coffee warm on the electric heating plate of a drip warmer will not only heat it but also ruin the taste by scorching it after it's been on there for about five minutes. After brewing I immediately pour off my vac pot coffee (would do the same if I was using a French Press) into a cheap thermal carafe. A one liter carafe will run anywhere from $7 - $30 depending on source and brand. I usually preheat mine by leaving it full of hot tap water while the coffee is brewing. The carafe coffee stays nice and warm but with no degradation in flavor except for the inevitable one that occurs with time (most folks find it less than optimal after 30 minutes but some will drink it unitl it's gone no matter how long that takes!). The serious coffee lovers I know who live in NYC have told me that it's very difficult to consistently find truly fresh roasted coffee in Manhattan. Oren's might be a good bet if you can find out their roasting schedule and pick it up at the location where you'll get the realaly fresh stuff. Whole Foods roasts their own on-premises - I think there are better coffees arounf but I'll take an average coffee fresh roasted over a more select varietal that's ten days old or older - anytime. Another option is "America's Oldest Coffee Merchant" - Gillies Coffee in Brooklyn. Their web site is bit awkward to negotiate but they offer extremely fresh coffee and a good range of varities. Prices are also very competitive.

Different teas require different steeping temperatures and most are much further below the boiling point than the temp coffee requires. Teasource.com has an excellent tutorial on Preparing Tea that covers it in good detail for various varieties.

Bagel Supreme on Park Ave in Rutherford NJ, where I purchased my bagels from '99 until '03, is owned and staffed by Colombians. I happen prefer their bagels to H&H but I haven't tried Ess-A-Bagel and can't make the other obvious comparison. When they expanded their space to being offering a light lunch menu they also added some outstanding empanadas to the menu, replete with homemade hot sauce for those who request it.

I get the impression that people don't pay much attention to the "unit price" signs on grocery store shelves but perhaps they're not mandated by law everywhere as they are here in NY state. I rarely remember the overall retail price of specific items I buy regularly to the penny but for some reason I have a recollection of the unit price. I do agree that it's sneaky but in some cases I'd rather pay the same overall price and get a slightly smaller package rather than have go up dramatically for a package. Edie's ice cream went ot a smaller package - I think it's about 1.75 qts in the container that used ot be a half gallon (2 quarts) but for some reason they now run them on sale 2 for $5 at my local store whereas before the smaller size it rarely went under $2.99 each (thus my unit price is about the same because I buy on sale). As for coffee prices.... buy from a local/regional microroasters and in most cases you'll buy a "pound" and get a real pound. Not to mention that you'll usually get far better coffee than you can find in a grocery store.

Andi - are you suggesting this just for the sake of trying the technique without first committing to a large number of orange peels or can this be done with a much larger number of peels?

So you're either not a chemist or just not willing to take the time to discover a new enzyme or two? For shame. I hope your cat likes coffee cherries.

I was nosing around on the Trung Nguyen Coffee web site today and stumbled across this info on their new Legendee Blend For those unfamiliar with it, "Kopi Luwak" coffee (sometimes spelled Luwat) is thought by some to be total hype and others consider it to be real. In various parts of Southeast Asia and Indonesia an animal, in some cases the civet cat and in others said to be a variety of fox, eats ripened coffee cherries that have fallen on the ground and excretes the inedible part - the coffee bean itself. The various enzymes that are part of the animal's digestive system are supposed to affect the bean in some way that produces a tantalizing and unusual flavor in the roasted and brewed beans. There's unquestionably plenty of fake cat-poop coffee sold in various places because the high price of the beans (it is the world's most expensive coffee) leaves it open to such practices. Trung Nguyen is the "Vietnamese Starbucks" with over 400 franchised locations serving their coffee. I've had their regular coffee in iced form with condensed milk here in the US and found it to be excellent. The "Legendee" coffee, also referred to as Fox-Legend coffee, references that story and describes using Two questions: 1) By chance have any of you tried it? 2) If there is a chemist among us... what enzymes or substances would be used?

Stop into just about any Cuban owned diner and get a Cuban sandwich for lunch. Mmmmmm. Many of them have take-out windows on the street also.

I forgot to take pics of the food (drat!) but my former GF and my current love (and future wife I think) seemed to genuinely enjoy meeting each other and dinner was a success. The crabcakes became crawfish cakes when I discovered a half pound of crawfish tail meat in my freezer. IIRC it was a Paul Prudhomme recipe. They turned out very well but I had to coat the outside in cornmeal rather than bread crumbs as I'd used up all the bread crumbs in making the cakes. My guests loved them but I'd like them to be a bit spicier and with bread crumbs on the outside. First time I made any crab/crawfish cakes at home and was fairly pleased with the results. They seem to freeze well too. The chix liver mousse wasn't done in time and we had it for dinner the following day. I altered the spinach salad to one with bacon and taosted chopped pecans with a bacon fat./cider vinegar dressing and crumbled goat cheese. Very nice. I tried an English cheese (whose name escapes me) that had many green veins throughout - it was a sage flavoring and that cheese was bland and uninspiring despite looking great. The Stilton with Apricots was a big hit - it's tad on the sweet side but my lady friends both loved it. I stuck with the aged cheddar, which always works for me. I had a couple Meyer Lemons someone had given me and used them to make a lemon butter for the haricots verts, which were setrved with sliced toasted almonds. The wild rice never got cooked but that sea bass recipe is truly a winner. It['s incredibly easy to prepare. After a five hour marinade and an hour at room temp before cooking, the filets were placed about 6" under a low broiler until a caramel colored glaze developed (about six minutes or so). I flipped them over until a similar finish developed on the other side and then served. Folks, I have to tell you, it was the best piece of fish I've ever eaten. Perfect texture, great subtle flavor and perfectly cooked from edge to center even in the thickest part of the filet with nary a dry spot to be found. Credit goes not to the chef but to the recipe. Try it sometime.

I don't know about Murray's but when the Union Square Greenmarket opens in the Spring there should be a vendor there who has 5 year (5X cheddar). There was someone selling it last time I breezed through there in the summer (overheard at that market from a conversation between two younger folks: "oooh... white cheddar cheese - it's not orange like cheddar is supposed to be - I wonder how they make that?"). You might also check locally in Zabar's, Fairway or other stores for either Black Diamond five year cheddar or Cabot's five year product. The former is Canadian and the latter from Vermont. Both are among the better mass market cheddars. IMHO it's important to allow the chunk you're going to sample to reach close to or just a bit below room temp - the subtle but distinct changes in texture and flavor that comes from longer aging in cheddar dont' seem to be nearly as noticeable when it's served cold.

I haven't a clue but will be in Paris the week of January 15 - 23 (my first trip there and really looking forward to the visit!). I've added that to my very short list of places to check out coffee and hot chocolate and will see if I can get a handle on what equipment and espresso blend they're using. Thickish consistency usually indicates a ristretto shot (slightly finer grind for restricted water flow). A ristretto shot will typically be pulled in about the same time as a standard shot but will yield a reduced volume of fluid - anywhere from .75 oz to 1.5 oz for a double shot vs the 2.0 to 2.5 oz size of a "standard" double shot. A thick or almost syrup consistency also usually indicates an abundance of crema - the reddish thick foamy substance floating on top of the shot - it's where the most intensely flavorful componenets of espresso are carried and delivered to the palate. "Sweetness" (a relative term since some people think all espresso tastes bitter - even the sweeter shots) is usally a result of both dead-on temperature accuracy in the shot pulling process and also the type of beans and roast level of the blend used. Not sure if I'll really glean any useful information but I'll have fun doing the research and you just informed me of what may be my best bet for decent espresso in Paris (something that other peopel have told me is very difficult to find).

If you have them sell you beans directly from the big five pound bags they use in the store to fill their own espresso machines and brewers you might get reasonably fresh beans but it can be hit or miss on the pre-bagged 12 oz or 1 lb packages. Some of those may have been sitting around for awhile and their date code system can't be deciphered by us ordinary mortals (I do know a guy who can decipher those codes and says he's been shocked on occasion by how old some beans were, especially those in overseas locations that had been roasted here in the US and shipped out). Ouch for the local independent places - they really need to get their act together. I'll go to Starbucks in a pinch anytime when I'm traveling but have not been impressed with the Dunkin Donuts around here - their milk based espresso drinks are horrid. But one of my co-workers gets a double shot of espresso there and asks for a cup of hot water on the side. He gave up trying to order an Americano because they just didn't get it. But he says the Americano he mixes himself is not bad for the $1.55 that it costs.

We have a local vendor, Buttercup Dairy (Sodus NY or thereabouts), who buys in bulk from Cuba Cheese (Southern Tier of NY state) and does their own aging. They have a fantastic 5X five year aged cheddar but their 7X doesn't seem to taste noticeably different. Doc - where in Ontario is the 10X from? My dad used to bring home "Medieval" cheddar from the Harrowsmith Cheese factory in Ontario (Rideau Lakes region) when he was fishing up there but I think the Harrowsmith outfit may be long gone. Their "Medieval" was amazing - sort of melted in your mouth with a tanginess that is unrivalled by any other cheese I've tried.

Perhaps not but have you seen the prices for firewood in the NYC area? Metro NYC area based suppliers can make a fortune selling firewood by the cord to individuals - I doubt that they'd come uop with really competitive wholesale prices for a restaurant. I'm not familiar personally with Shut but wood prcies in Syracuse can be really low if you hook up with the right people (folks who own or have really good access to a woodlot). I'll guess that it's cheaper to pay a Syracuse supplier to make the drive for a good sized load than it is to buy it in NYC with local delivery. Not to mention the peace of mind that comes from dealing with a vendor who is a known quantity and has proven to be consistent and treliable. It ain't all about price.

Yes, yes, yes and YES!!!

I'm a regular visitor to Charlotte (and a future resident - planning to relocate there in early 2006). Living in a small traditonally blue collar city (Syracuse NY with population of 150,000 and 200,000 in surrounding suburbs), I've been accustomed to having a dearth of good ethnic choices (apart from a few good Viet and Thai places) and a glut of medicore Italian places of the red-sauce variety. Although some of the more family oriented residential/commercial areas of Charlotte such as University park City (where my GF resides) are infested with chains, Charlotte really does have an encouraging diversity of ethnic and traditonal choices (many already mentioned in the excellent previous post). You'll find at least two or three Cuban restaurants, some great little taqueria's, a few decent Indian restaurants (including one that is all vegetarian) and even a Brazilian rodizio place. The limited time I'm able to spend on my visits and the cost of flying down and back has us eating at home much of the time at present but there are some upscale options I'm interested in exploring more of in the future. Some of those are discussed in this thread Bonterra Restaurant, Charlotte NC; Has anyone been?

Unless Apple's moved after the one time I was there I think it may be a different space. When I visited Apple's (which was a surreal experience that did not include staying for a meal), I remember it being a few blocks off Grove on the side of Bloomfield that's closer to Rte 3 - the mapquest link in this thread shows the site as being on the other side of Bloomfield. Apples was in a semi to mostly residential neighborhood in an older wooden structure that also housed an antiques or furniture store. Apart from a take-out customer it was empty when I visited at dinner time and the two older ladies in the kitchen ignored both the take-out customer and me for a protracted length of time. That fact, combined with high prices and a weird atmosphere (e.g. fancy wallpaper and ornate formal dark wood dining chairs with lacy tablecloths but clear covers over the tablecloths and glaring flourescent lights hanging from the ceiling) prompted me to walk. Does Little Saigon still have that appetizer with the sort of birds nest dish made from matchstick julienned sweet potato deep fried and served with a few grilled shrimp in each? It's the one where you pour on the sweetish oil/vinegar/hot pepper sauce and eat it in folded lettuce leaves. I love that dish and have yet to ever to see it in any other Vietnamese restaurant.

I haven't tried the food there but having been stuck with standing for an entire performance (and a bad standing position at that), I'd be inclined to take my chances with the food. There seem to be enough favorable remarks here to warrant that approach. The sound is fantastic and the setting intimate - the best music venue that I've yet been to in NYC. It can't be any worse than the food at the BB King club on 42nd Street. I ordered the fruit platter that cam with "breaded deep-fried balls of brie cheese". Sure enough they were deep fried but a few days before I ordered them and arrived ice cold just like the fruit and the other cheeses on the platter