phaelon56

Update from the Dinosaur BBQ office as of today: After wading through the boondoggle of NYC legal/zoning/code issues they are making great progress. There was some wading through water in the basement as well but it appears that the mechanical problems have also now been resolved. Opening date is scheduled for mid to late October. There will be a soft opening and they are very open to / interested in having a group of eGulleteers visit for a group meal during that period (or after that time if we can't arrange a group for then). Current photos will be up on their web site in a few days. When I get a definite confirmation of soft opening date I'll post a proposal in this forum for an eG group outing and see if we can get some folks together to try it out.

I can't speak to the availability of cheeses in Raleigh but I will begin checking out what's available in Charlotte, as I am visitign there regularly. There was a Q&A a month or two back with the cheese guru from Fairway Market cheese expert Steve Jenkins. He proposed wrapping cheese loosely so it has a chance to "breathe" but I've had drying out experiences similar to yours in the past. My new system seems to work pretty well. I immediately take the cheese out of the grocery store shrink wrap when I get it home or if it's cryovac packaged I'll do my rewrapping after the first time I open it. Wrap the cheese in a piece of parchment paper (the cooking type which is available by the roll). NOw place the wrapped piece in some aluminum foil and fold that over to cover - not crinkled up tight on the seams but folded well enough to keep the parchment paper in place. I've had some soft stinky cheeses that seem to keep much better this way than they have with any other method and my Parmesan Reggiano and Pecorino Romano seem to be holding up well also.

The only traveling we did was by car but I can recal my mother fussing over what to wear onyt he one occasion she had to fly somewhere back in the mid `1960's. Getting dressed up to go out to dinner was a given as it's something we did only a couple times each year and even then it was not at what I'd call upscale restaurants. But we got dressed up anyway because eating out anywhere was indeed a special occasion.

Ahhh... a dish that included crispy skin on fish. Someone was very happy that night, wasn't she? Sounds like a wonderful meal!

One word: Melitta I would say I'm not knocking percolators but I am - they make wretched coffee once you're accustomed to decent coffee. French press is nice but not for everyone's taste. More of the coffee oils end up in the cup (a good thing for some as they are very robust but flavorful) but so does some sludge. If you're looking to make something more or less equivalent to auto drip coffee, Melitta is the way to go.

Many, many years ago during my stint as a waiter the restaurant I worked in informed us one day that we were all to be required to stay for an extra 2 - 3 hours to polish brass and clean windows because a photo shoot would take place the next morning. We were making "restaurant minimum" of $2.15 per hour with no tips - none of us were thrilled at being exploited but we gritted our teeth and did it anyway. The next week the trend continued. Management announced that they were having their first ever "nouveau Beaujolais" party, to which many movers, shakers and local dignitaries were to be invited as non-paying guests. It was slated to run for three hours, from 5:30 to 8:30, at which point we were supposed to clean up and then open for a late dinner seating. Once again - we were advised that we'd be working for restaurant minimum and no tips. In retrospect, what followed was not a good choice but I still chuckle.... There was a bit of a quiet mass revolt in which the entire wait staff and most of the kitchen help decided that we'd maximize our forced labor and gain some returns by drinking as much nouveau Beaujolais as possible during the party. Many, many bottles were consumed (straight from the bottle no less). Among my fuzzy memories of the night are sitting at a customer's table to take their order.... which I promptly lost.... delivering the wrong dinners to another table.... and walking back to the pickup counter only to look up and see the hairy ass of "Miss Burgene" (the guy who was our head line cook) shaking around as he stood on the small shelf in front of the Viking range and sang Rolling Stones tunes while mooning us. They restructured the party the following year and decided it might be wise to pay the staff for working

No.... but I can attest to being a convert. The only sauerkraut I'd ever tried until a few years ago was Silver Floss and some other grocery store brand that's popular i this area. They were both much like the stuff that dirty water hot dog carts have available to put on your dog - not very good. Then I began frequenting a small local Polish restaurant where every order and all the food is made by hand and to order. What a revelation! Their kraut has just the right balance of crispness and to be positively ethereal. The place where it really shines is in the potato pancakes that are made with sauerkraut and bacon mixed into the batter. I'd best stop all this blather as they're not open on Mondays and I'm only torturing myself.

My body ain't no temple but it is generally a "no spiedie zone". There are just too many other foods I need to focus on at the fair. But next year I'll try one.

Hendrix is a given (not mention being a gift). My first munchies food experience and by far the most memorable: eating an entire box of Nilla Vanilla wafers. During my high school years we would get stoned in the bushes most Friday nights, go to see indie films in the auditorium at Syracuse University and then make a late night stop at the legendary Abe's Donuts, where the Bavarian Creme's had just come out of the oven and been freshly filled. It doesn't get much better than that although I no longer need any exterior influences to enjoy the food.

A few things I forgot to mention.... both Justin's (P Diddy's place in the Flatiron district of NYC) and The Shark Bar (west side of NYC at the upper end of Midtown if I recall correctly) fit the category of upscale restaurants featuring Southern/Soul food oriented cuisine but both appear to succeed mostly because they're "scene" places for a primarily black urban profesional clientele - it's not reaally about the food. I've never heard raves (or pans for that matter) of the food at either place. Here in Syracuse our market in general , especially the black urban professional segment, is far smaller and typically has less discretionary income than the larger metro areas. We did have some folks from nearby Utica who opened a white tablecloth style upscale Soul food place called the House of Soul. Many cognizant people in the community, both black and white, made an effort to patronize this place and show support because they believed on the value of the concept and wanted to see it succeed. Sadly, it flopped and lasted less than a year but it was because of mediocre food quality. An acquaintance of mine expressed it succinctly: " Don't charge me $18 for fried chicken with greens and give me burnt chicken and frozen greens - the food had better be as good as what I can make at home or I ain't showin' up.". And he didn't. And I didn't return after one visit either. Not to mention that the service sucked.

Your points are well stated Jaymes. My perspective is very uninformed as I'm a native of the Northeast and although I've traveled extensively in the US, it's only in the past couple years that I've ventured south (I think Florida doesn't really count as "the South" in this context. I suppose my interest could best be described as targeted at the phenomenon that was posited at the beginning of this thread - most specifically about the nature of peoples experience's at upscale restaurants outside the South, where this cuisine is now appearing in upscale establishments (and it is indeed a relatively new phenomenon for places in the Northeast and Midwest). This thread actually started in General Food discussion and perhaps might garner some good feedback if we can split it and get some discussion going there. It is in fact about some issues with Southern/Soul food outside, not inside, the South.

There's much wisdom and truth in your husband's advice. It is possible, in some coffee producing countries, to find good coffee but even if one does there's a good chance it won't be prepared properly. If you're in Cozumel, Playa del Carmen or some other parts of the "Mexican Riviera", it's often easy to find Caffe Chiapas in some of the tourist oriented stores. It's a high altitude organic alturra (sp?) and makes an excellent cup but you'd best have your own grinder and drip filter system (I also learned the hard way). I also had some truly wretched coffee in Guatemala. I went on such an odyssey to find decent coffee in Cozumel that I felt compelled to write a little journal of my experiences for coffeegeek.com Seeking Espresso In Cozumel

The next real food expedition probably won't be until January, when my GF and I visit Paris for a week to celebrate our birthday together (I'm so lucky we were born on the same day - now I just have to marry her on that day and remembering important dates will a cinch! ). She humors me and tolerates my food interests but I don't think a detailed photo report on food will be forthcoming from that trip (at least not from the more upscale places). That said.... here's a plug for the Coffee & Tea forum: starting sometime next week I'll begin posting text and photos periodically on a thread about my migration into the world of commercial coffee and espresso. It's been a serious hobby of mine for the past several years. A confluence of events has now given me a chance to try out the commercial aspects of it. I recently began doing machine servicing and maintenance for a local cafe owner and also started doing their commercial roasting (about 500 pounds of beans per week). As of early October I'll also be working FOH for a new location they're opening. It will by far be our grandest location yet and they're not scrimping on this project. We'll have a state-of-the-art espresso machine that is probably one of only a handful like it on the East coast, are featuring Stickley furniture in our seating and lounging area (Stickley headquarters is nearby so we get a bit of a discount but it's still a huge furniture investment) and.... a full size pastry kitchen and walk-in freezer. It may be a number of months before we have a pastry chef on board but plans are already being formulated. I think that's pretty cool and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. Edited to add: I'm not giving up my day job - just shifting my starting and finishing time by an hour each. It will make for a busy schedule for awhile but it fits well with my current long term plans so off I go.

When I looked at the thread title I was thinking of the de-crusted black bread, watercress, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches we used to serve to the gray haired ladies back when I was a waiter. Not good to impress a new man. But I like the way you think. Win him over with food (it always worked well for me with women but now tha I have the right one I have to keep cooking well enough to keep her ).

I think it's a "big deal" in a sense to any number of us who didn't grow up eating it. Yes it is "home cooking" here as well but with the exception of Southerners who migrated north and cooked it at home or the small neighborhood places, typically in African-American neighborhoods or communities, it was rarely found outside of the South. With fresh ingredients and proper care taken in its preparation it can truly be a revelation to some of us who didn't experience it until adulthood (count me as being among that group). With an increased focus on and awareness of indigenous "American" cooking (accepting that there are many outside influences in Southern and Soul food cooking, e.g. Africa and the Caribbean), many are recognizing its character. The fact that it's now being elevated in some respects by being served in more upscale restaurants (i.e. white tablecloth type establishments rather than neighborhood joints or more informal settings) begs the question of whether the food maintains its character and authenticity. I've had better fried chicken for $10 with two sides in a simple restaurant than I had at the Soul Cafe for $25 with two sides. I was paying for atmosphere, panache (which this place has plenty of) and a Manhattan address. I'm curious as to whether simply transporting this cuisine to a fancier setting has more than fad appeal to a long term paying market. But I'm far more interested in the possibility of hearing about and trying places where Southern/Soul food cooking serves as the jumping off point for an inventive and intelligent twist that might offer a new cuisine. Maroon's, which I mentioned earlier in this thread, does a little bit of that but not much. For those of you who don't check in on the Washington DC/Maryland area forum, I suggest checking out the comments and descriptions of the food at the recent eGullet dinner at DC's Colorado Kitchen. What they're doing sounds to me very much like the evolution that I'm thinking of: traditional Southern or Soul food dishes but with some updates and variations that truly lend it a character of its own. I'd like to know who else is doing that sort of thing and where.

Perhaps it's changed since my drinking days but I recall Tanqueray as being 86 proof in the US and 94.6 proof in Canada (and likely elsewhere). I haven't looked at a bottle in a long while. is that still the case or do I have my proof and countries reversed? (it was well over twenty years ago when I had both a US and a Canadian bottle side by side and the memories were fuzzy even the following day but there was definitely a difference).

And do they still give you the $20 off if you give them a crappy review? Granted, that would imply that returning for another meal was not desirable but still...

I sincerely wish that I could visit Japan but it may be about two years before such an opportunity presents itself. I'd be delighted to try this coffee and offer my candid opinions. At home I use whole bean coffee only which I grind when needed by the pot or if making espresso I grind by the espresso shot. My general preference for a roast level is for something just a bit lighter what is generally known as Full City. This would be medium dark with perhaps a few drops of oil visible here and there on the surface a few days after roasting but not really a dark roast. I will forward you the other appropriate information by PM and also to the address suggested for yankeemama.

Yes.... if you eliminate the variables (i.e. you have consistent tamp pressure, brewing temp, cleanliness, always strive to achieve the same shot volume, use beans of known qualities etc), the one thing remaining to be done is maintain the ideal brewing time of 22 to 27 seconds (or a trifle longer on some E61 machines where pre-infusion adds to the overall time). Maintaining the desired result is achieved by adjusting grind - if all else continues ot be done correctly on the grind needs to be adjusted . In a busy shop that's following proper procedure and actively monitoring the pull time of their shots, weather fluctuations may prompt a need to adjust the grinder setting many times in a day. In places where humidity fluctuates wildly the grind may sometimes neede to be adjusted on an hourly basis. (Syracuse, where I live, fluctuates as much as Seattle does in this regard except during our long artificial heating season).

Yes I have. I've eaten at Soul Cafe in NYC (42nd Street just west of 9th Ave) on two occasions. Once with a Jamaican friend who's a good cook and knows food, the other time with an African-American friend who spent part of her formative years in the south (but she is far less discerning than many here when it comes to nuances of food quality). The food at Soul Cafe was good but I couldn't get past the feeling that it was a tad overpriced simply because of ambiance. $5 for a a side of mac 'n cheese or a side of collard greens and $20 for fried chicken? That's steep (the chicken comes with rice or yams but collards or mac 'n cheese have to be ordered separately. In terms of overall food quality and authenticity I thought Soul Cafe did a good job. My dining companion declared it to be "okay but not all that". My other experience is also in NYC - Maroons on West 17th (or 16th?) in Chelsea. They have a menu that is mixed - some Jamaican food and some Southern/Soul food. It's consistently good and my meal was IMHO a good value. A bit less pricey than Soul cafe, more intimate and really well prepared food. My dining companion on that occasion was another Jamaican friend who was very pleased with her seviche style warm fish entrée but was disappointed by the collaloo. Outside of Jamaica collaloo is general prepared from frozen or canned material. Maroon's was a fresh green. I liked the hint of bitterness and the manner in which it was prepared (done sort of like wilted spinach) but my friend insisted that "whatever it is it's not real collaloo". She lived in Jamaica until she was `18 and they grew most of their own vegetables at home - it's quite possible that terroir issues or plant variations cause US grown fresh collaloo to taste different than the stuff back home. I wouldn't rush back to visit Soul Cafe - it's okay but not my style. Maroons is a different story - I will always go there for a meal when I'm in NYC and have a the time and $$ - it's my kind of place.

Yes it did. I'm really wishing I'd tried that instead of the deep fried Oreo's but there's always next year.....

Late August and early September in the Syracuse area always means one thing - a summer wrap up food orgy at the NY State Fair. If it's unhealthy it's there - count on it. More significant is the fact that most of it tastes good, some tastes great and one can always expect to find a new item or two. I went twice this year and finally followed up on a promise I'd made to myself to document both my intake and some of what others were eating. I left out a few obvious suspects like roasted corn and the ubiquitous Agriculture Building baked potato (still only $1!!!). Here are some highlights. No, I didn't eat all of it but I made a valiant effort. It's the least I can do for eGullet. Gianelli's sausage sandwich with peppers, onions and sauce (Tryska take note - jealous huh?). They also make the only really good Italian style turkey sausage that I've ever tried. But this is the Fair. Pork is must. It has to be pork. Soul food from Tunura's - a local Muslim family. I love this stuff. Pictured starting at the top going clockwise are salmon patties, bean pie and a vegetable fritter - all good. The NY State Maple Producers Association booth - my favorite! I scored a solid 1 lb block of maple sugar candy for $6, had a maple sugar snow cone and bought a big jar of maple cream. I passed on the maple sugar cotton candy 'cause it made my teeth hurt just thinking about it (okay - I did have a sample). They have a little motorized curly-cue style whipping device and use it to cook down and churn the syrup into maple sugar candy on site. The girl pictured is releasing some fresh candy from the molds. The Villa Pizze Frite. It's just a two foot long stick of fried dough rolled in granulated sugar but aficionado's seem to think there's something mystical about it. At $2.50 per stick I just can't imagine how they make any profit Some people take entire bags full of this home at the end of the day. Yeah... I had one. You have to. Norman's Salt Water Taffy. I never buy any but I'll eat it if you give me some. Any flavor - I don't care. When I was a little boy I used to stare at the taffy stretching machine with slack jawed fascination. Now I've learned to keep my mouth shut. Except when you give me taffy. The SPAM-mobile. People were very disappointed when it wasn't there last year. They're so happy it's back. My sandwich tasted suspiciously like SPAM and the recipe card was.... a waste of a good tree. But the food was free. I like free food. Mexican shrimp cocktail. Boom Boom Burrito, sister company of Boom Boom BBQ, has the only real Mexican food at the Fair and it rocks. Lupe Bryant makes great food and this new item has potential. It includes diced tomatoes, hot sauce, onion, fresh lime juice, cilantro, parsley and shrimp. Kind of like a Bloody Mary with no horseradish. It was really good but I'd like to try it with better shrimp and perhaps a dash of horseradish. I didn't have any of the BBQ but her husband Tom does a good job. They spend their summers in Lafayette NY and their winters in Lafayette LA. Tom used to be the director of the French Cultural festival in Lafayette LA but he just does the food gig now. Shea butter. It comes from Africa and is derived from a legume similar to a peanut (so I'm told). It's great for your skin, hair etc but I'm wondering.... can you cook with this stuff? I didn't taste it. It doesn't really grow inside the giant gourd - they just ship it that way. In NYC there's a guy who sells it right from the gourd on the Houston Street sidewalk. Scoops it into old butter dishes. Mmmmm. Most of the prize winning veggies on display had been sitting on display in a hot room for days and looked very sad. These gourds were an obvious exception. I was taking one for the team when I tried the deep fried Oreo's. I'm here to report that they may have potential but you must get them when they're just out of the fryer. Mine were a bit on the rubbery side but uhhh.... interesting. This particular booth is deep-fried headquarters. Here's the "stuff-on-a-stick" section - coated marshmallows, chocolate dipped frozen cheesecake and the master stroke of marketing: beef pops! On to the Beekeeper's & Honey Association booth. I bought a pound each of Buckwheat honey and Blueberry honey. This guy works the booth every year and really looks the part. At least to me. He should be in some kind of creepy, scary movie about beekeepers. But he's not really creepy and scary - he just loves honey. Everybody loves pork. It's all about the pork. Dennis Morgan and his wife own Mountain View Restaurant and Hog Wild Catering in Preble NY. They have a pig roast stand here every year. He insisted that I had to show you all his new sign: "Have you been porked lately?" [edited to add: my spellchecker didn't recognize the word "porked" and suggested "poked" as the replacement for "porked". What's up with that?] That's one hell of a pig roaster - it sure ain't your grandfather's Caja China and it could probably kick the ass of a Cajun Microwave (all due respect to Mayhaw Man). By the way.... their phone number is (607)749-PIGS. Figures. He strips the pig of the skin and the excess fat, chops the meat and then mixes with a BBQ sauce that is a combination of a commercial base and his own proprietary additions. Let's face it - it's all about the pig.... sauce is just sauce Dennis gives away the skin for free and people line up for it. This guy insisted that it's better than sex. Well it is free and you can have it in public at the Fair. I'm talking about pig skins of course. Speaking of people named Morgan.... I ran into another one a few minutes later. I've never cared for "fair fudge". It's always had a gummy and chewy quality that lacked the fine crystalline structure and texture of good home made fudge. Spotted these guys making "Mackinaw Island style fudge" and decided to try some because it looked like the real thing. It is. It's all done in the traditional manner - cooked down on site in big copper kettles, cooled on 300 lb marble slabs and then whipped to the right consistency by expert hands. In this case the hands belong to none other than Brian Morgan, the owner of Morgan's Fudge. It's good - really, really good. He had a couple retail stores but sold them off and does a handful of state fairs every year plus a bunch of corporate conventions such as Proctor & Gamble et al. I wish I worked for a big company with a sweet tooth - I'd go to the convention every year. Apologies for the lack of clarity in some of the fudge photo's - wrong setting on the camera but it does give you the overall idea of how it's done. Did I mention that it tastes really, really good? That's because it's made from all natural ingredients. It must be good for you More fried dough. It's a staple and people love it. Some call 'em zeppoles and some call 'em elephant ears but it looks like a flat round Pizze Frite to me. But these are served naked and you chose your own topping. Powdered sugar seem to be the most popular. Let's move on to blatantly false and or at least somewhat misleading advertising. "The Salad Boys" serve just a few salads every now and then but they shovel up big mounds of London Broil all day long. Shouldn't they just be "The Broil Boys"? And about "Cafe Cappucino".... guess what they don't serve? You got that right - cappuccino! The guy gave me a blank look when I asked for one. I think he wasn't even sure what a cappuccino is. But the name is catchy, huh? Next up is Dinosaur Barbecue. Many folks who've lived in or near Syracuse or Rochester know of them and they'll soon have an outpost in NYC. They partner with Gianelli for this absolutely massive booth. The row of smokers is a sight to behold. I think they go through about twenty face cords of hardwood every day at the fair to fuel the smokers. That's a stack 18" wide by 4 feet high by 160 feet long. It's a lot of wood. Have to hand to these guys - they know how to handle volume. The counter has about 30 people working it on the two open sides to accommodate orders. It's fast and efficient. The pulled pork was not quite up to the same high standard as what I eat in their restaurant but decent enough for the fair. It is a tasty looking sandwich, huh? At 25 cents per 8 oz cup, milk in the dairy building remains one of the great bargains at the fair. They pump directly from those giant stainless steel tanks up on top. Two glasses of chocolate for me please. I believe in tradition - the Fair is not the fair without a sausage sandwich and two glasses of chocolate milk. I was excited when I heard that there was a crawdad stand this year. The only thing that could possibly top that would be a fried okra stand, right?. Wrong. They use frozen crawdad tails (supposedly crawdad) which are breaded, fried and served in a stingy portion size on top of some curly fries. All for only $6. Did I mention that they will sell it without the fries? Same portion size but only $6. Whoopee. Can't tell you how it tasted 'cause I just took pictures. I saved my money for pork. There's even a giant Centauri 68000 computer that does handwriting analysis and tells you all about your personality. I was afraid to try it lest something about gluttony should appear on my print-out. Those Centauri's must have been really advanced for their time - they've had this same model here for the past 40 years or so. Impressive. I suppose after-dinner cigars are food related if they're smoked after a meal, right? This guy hand rolls cigars from real Connecticut tobacco. He's really amazing - doesn't even need to use a knife to de-vein the wrapper leaf the way most people do. He wraps the leaves around his wrist, pulls the vein out and unfurls the leaf off his wrist on one motion. I think he's been doing this for awhile. Connecticut is one of the leading tobacco growing states. Who knew? I didn't. Saw this place on my way out and couldn't resist snapping a few pics. It's sort of a Monster Garage merges with the Sopranos to sell "butterfly chips" at the Fair. That really is a big power drill he's using to shave the potatoes into the butterflied strands. At $4 per plate it looks like a bargain but it's really just one big potato that takes up a lot of space on the plate. Just when you thought nothing could yield a higher profit than fried dough - along comes butterfly chips. By the way.... his shirt says "Guilty" on the back. He told me I owed him $100 for taking the first picture and $1,000 for the second one. All I had left was bus money home so we'll have to settle up next year. Unless they break my legs first. Always saving the best for last.... I present the 2004 Butter Sculpture. It's not as impressive as the Dwight Gooden they had one year or my all-time favorite of the Cow Jumping Over The Moon but it is a neat little farm scene with amazing detail. And it's made of butter. I think I'm hungry again.

Geetha - It's a pleasure to have you here and I hope we can help. Until relatively recently, very few Indian coffees made it to the US. Even today, most of those go to the independent roaster market such as local micro-roasters and regional specialty roaster. Dr. Joseph John and his wife Urmila operate the Josuma Coffee Company and offer the best selection of Indian coffees generally available from a single source here in the US. They offer a trademarked low-acid blend and also a shade grown single varietal that is said to have very spicy overtones in the flavor but the coffee they're famous for is the Malabar Gold espresso blend. Josuma Coffee is a wholesale only operation but there are a number of suppliers who roast and sell the Malabar Gold blend in small quantities. The lowest price I've seen is $9.95 per pound not including shipping at Coffee Wholesalers (they do sell retail). Other suppliers charge anywhere from $12.95 to $17.95 per pound. Malabar Gold is comprised of all Indian coffees including Monsooned Malabar, which has a very distinct and rich taste, as well as at least a small percentage of high quality Robusta. The Robusta adds to the amount of crema produced when making espresso and adds a bit of bite. I have not personally tried Malabar Gold but hear good things about it from others. I do use Indian Monsooned Malabar and also Indian Pearl Mountain Peaberry in one of my home roast blends and enjoy it greatly. Apart from info on where to obtain Indian coffees, are you looking for advice on best methods for coffee preparation, apart from Moka coffee? There are widely diverging opinions on this topic but a good place to start if you want good quality with minimal investment is a manual drip system such as Melitta or Chemex. Can you share with us what you know about typical coffee preparation methods in the south of India?

I was interested in attending one of those dinners but was a bit disappointed in the lack of response from them regarding a question I had. I'm not inclined to pay for wine pairings because I'm a non-drinker. Their phone number has a standard outgoing message and suggest contacting them through the web site. I emailed regarding the possibility of attending the dinner at a pro-rated price without wine but never received a response. If it's just something they don't do I'm cool with that but replies are always appreciated.....

I ate at Mina in Queens ona Friday night when it was unusually busy for them (my dinign partner had eaten there on many prior occasiosn and said this was the first time she'd ever seen them busy. Despite that fact, our service was better than what bergerka is describing at Angon, the wait times were shorter and the food was half the price. Just curious - has anynone here tried Mina since she left and moved to Angon? Some other family members are still there and I'd have to think that the food might still be very good.