phaelon56

Yes it's entirely possible that I did not have truly outstanding Korean or Indian food but in part it may just be taste. I have never tried Korean food anywhere in NYC. I have had Indian food down around 12th Street in a few random places and found it okay not great. I had better indian food in Chelsea of all places - place with the natural wood window/door frames across the front and a red awning (sorry I cannot recall the name). My former GF is pretty well attuned to Indian food, having lived in Hydrabad (sp?) for six months on a business venture. She dined with me at Satish Palace in Montclair NJ - it's the best Indian food I've ever had but she still seemed to appreciate it far more than I did.

Is it using a gold mesh style filter? If so, you might try a paper filter in its place and leave it for a finer grind setting. The grinders on such machiens do not create the consistent particle size that you tend to get on a higher end burr grinder (in which case the grinder alone typically costs as much or more than your Capresso). Using a finer grind setting and a paper filter will likely get much better results unless you have an issue with the unit not gettign the water hot enough, in wihich case there is little that you can do. You might also want to check the Coffegeek Discussion Forums consumer reviews Plenty of Capresso reviews from individuals - some are very detailed and you may get the answers you seek there if a filter change doesn't help.

It takes little to make me laugh at any time of the day - this one is priceless - thanks for the link!

There's a Moroccan place called Medina on Park Ave in Rutherford NJ - about six miles west of the city. Atmosphere is nice enough but I was unimpressed with the food. I went shortly after they opened - perhaps it's better but I have not heard any raves. Not in NYC but if you ever get down to Phily try a place called Tangeringe - wonderful tagines and appetizers, very sensuous atmosphere and we found the service to be very friendly despite the sheen of NYC hip one detects upon entry. The portion sizes are large - they actually encourage sharing of entrees. We shared an entree, an appetizer and each had a soup. It was all very good.

I am no longer a beer or stout drinker nor do I still consume alcohol but I do know that not all draught Guiness is equal - certainly not here in the US. Some places don't have proper delivery systems or don't fully understand the necessary procedures in maintaining them and the manner in which the pints must be drawn. That said.... Syracuse NY, my current residence, is blessed in that there's a long local history of ale production and and consumption that was steady long after ales in general had been replaced by lagers. Many of us guys (and gals) my age (mid 40's) drank plenty of Labatt's 50 ale and Molson Export ales back in the 70's when it was known mostly just in the central and upper portions of NY state - this ata time when Miller and Bud lagers were at the top of the heap. In more recent times we've had a local specialty microbrewer appear - Middle Ages Brewing. They make excellent traditional English style ales - I think some are cask aged. Locally we have a handful of places serving both English style ales and Belgian, including the Omegang (spelling?) that is produced near Cooperstown. Great destinations for beer lovers passing through the area are: Clark's Ale House The Blue Tusk Both are in the Armory Square "entertainment district" of downtown Syracuse. Offering a much smaller selection but very authentic (for the US) pints of Guiness is Coleman's Pub, just west in the Tipperary Hill neighborhood of Syracuse. Middle Ages Brewing has a retail store at the brewery with tasting samples, bottled beer and growlers to go.

My local espresso bar is carrying it. The owner is into all sorts of natural rpoducst and especially those purported to have health benefits (I'm sure that sme of them do). More specifically.... there's actually a yerba mate cafe that just opened in Ithaca NY, about an hour away from me. I go down that way once a month or so. I'll try to check the place out and report back on what I find.

My brother is now into breadmaking and asked for my assistance in finding the crucial ingredient for making real pumpernickel bread. Local markets have only standard rye flour, which is just a shade darker than whole wheat. He has found recipes with standard rye flour that use molasses and other colorants and flavors to achieve the pumpernickel effect but he's looking for the "real thing". A description I found is paraphrased as follows: The rye flour typically found in the local grocery store supermarket may be labeled as dark, medium, or light. It is a is a degermed product - the dark flour contains more bran the the light types. Flour sold as "pumpernickel" is a dark brown and coarsely ground rye meal. It includes coloring and flavoring agents. So..... anyone know of a source? Prefer something cheap as shipping is likely to drive up the price (we are on the East Coast).

Costco's beans are cheap enough that you should not expect a discount for buying them green but they actually make out better. There's a slight loss of moisture content - a pound of green yields a bit less than a pound of roasted beans. Add that fact to reduced labor and energy costs for them and it's a win/win all the way around. Definitely talk to the manager and mention to him that other Costco's are doing this.

Oh. So - yet another thought I had that was far from original? Not the first time and won't be the last.... I really did start this thread on a lark after hearing yet more political crap in the media but if Andrew Fenton started the whole thing at some previous point or coined the phrase let's give credit where credit is due

We don't have Costco in my area but if you do.... check with them. Some guys over at Coffeegeek mentioend buying green beans at Costco and said the prices were really low. I just buy mail order from Sweet Maria's. Green beans keep for a year or two if properly stored and SM's has such an incredible variety that I buy about ten pounds at a time and that way the shipping charge is spread amongst a larger quantity.

The jacket, amazingly enough, after extensive and careful blotting inside the pocket with paper towels and water, seems to be okay. I have worn it in some moderately warm weather and have not yet encountered any skunky funky spoiled dairy smell. Now the 16 oz whole milk latte that I spilled on the carpeted floor of my Toyota years ago.... different story. Never did entirely eliminate that odor.

possibly this was in the days when you might still get margarine made with pork fats, and there may not have been much of a difference. Yes.... it was in the 1930's - the very early days of margarine. That said, my grandmother was not one to be trifled with when it came to food quality. Fifty years before packign plant contamination and Mad Cow became hot issues, my mom was reuired to choose the cut of chuck at the neighborhood market and watch the butcher grind the meat for ground beef - Grandma did not trust any meat whose provenance she was not absolutely certain of. As a city dweller, she was also lucky enough to have not one but two separate fruit and vegetable suppliers who came by the house on a daily basis. I'm told that these fellows got a bit antsy as she hand inspected every single ear of sweet corn, every potato etc. but she bought generously for a family of eleven and it was worth their while. When I think I've had a busy or stressful day just taking care fo my own personal business I stop and reflect on what I've been told of those times - makes life today seem pretty easy (says the guy who had microwaved Marie Callendar's lasagna for dinner last night because I still haven't installed my new stove!).

In "nicer" establishments it would seem appropriate to do this discreetly with no flash simpely as a measure of courtesy for maintaining the ambiance that people are enjoying and paying for. If a particular situation calls for use of a flash, I'd do as others have suggested and check with the server or manager. It seems that nearly all places love free publicity - if you're taking pics of the food it generally means you're impressed with and enjoying it - the fact that the pics might eb posted in a public forum along with favorable comments should make any restarauteur even mor favorably disposed.

With the preceding thought in mind.... are there any categories of restaurant or food types that are unappealing enough to you that you simply choose not to review them? Perhaps this is best rephrased as "Do you think it's possibly offer a reasonably objective review of a cuisine that you simply don't care for?". For example, I write occasional reviews of restaurants in my area (strictly amateur stuff for Web posting but no one else is doing it and there's a need/niche to be filled). I have tried both Indian food and Korean food on many occasions in a variety of restaurants and have never really savored or truly enjoyed it. In all cases I found it passable and edible but suspect that I'm simply not attuned to the nuances of these cuisines. For this reason I have chosen not to publish any reviews of these two cuisine types. Might the ability to develop and have some sort of appreciation for or at least objective qualitative understanding of nearly all types of cuisines be a hallmark of a truly competent reviewer?

I can see that we'll be on different sides when the huge food conflagration begins. I enjoy raisins in a green salad but experience is really complete when crumbly blue cheese is also involved. Not kidding (about the raisins and blue cheese).

You never had them fixed the way my mom prepared them? The Irish way - boil until limp and serve. I only tolerated okra until I had it properly prepared. I'm open to change but need convincing on some things.

I think I need to remove asparagus and replace it with lima beans. It's either that or my axis grows to four items.

Yeah. That was indeed the same place where I tried it. I think it was the Travesty Cafe.

Getting an electric drum style roaster or an electric fluid bed (aka hot air) roaster will quite possibly add a convenience factor and if you ahve the right model, might let you use a longer roast time, which typically creates a mellower flavor profile. Simple hot air roasters typically have about a f to 6 minute maxiumum roast tiem and deliver a somewhat bright finish to the beans. Some folks prefer this, especially for particular varietals. Others among us prefer the flavor profile less of slower longer roasts, particularly for espresso blends. Chaff removal is often simplified with commercial home roasting units but if you're satsified with the skillet method, it's not terribly inconvenient for you and the smoke/chaff is not an issue - chances are you wont see significantly better results from other methods. Soem of the absolute best coffee I have ever consumed was in Ethiopian restaurants when they do the Coffee Ceremony. They typically roast it at the time you order the coffee and do it in a beat up old saucepan on the kitchen stove.

Really? Where'd you hear that? The greens are good for yah too! Actually.... I heard it on the radio - the source of all my most well-informed and also un-informed and erroneous information. They were referring to Harvard Beets - the type that I specifically detest. Please don't confuse me with facts - I am very comfortable with my opinions

Hardwood floors with poly finish can be successsfully buffed out and recoated every few years if and ONLY if they are never cleaned with anything other than plain water and a few drops of dishwashing detergent. I have not yet used it but folks in this forum have been raving about Dawn Power Dissolver. Check the label to see if it's safe for your floor. Doesn't sound that bad to me 'cause I'm the fool who mistakenly left a Raspberry Yoplait yogurt in the pocket of my leather jacket along with my uncovered cellphone and then jammed the jacket into an overhead bin on an airplane. Now THAT was a cleanup job (amazingly - the phone still works).

OT but worth relating": when my mom was a kid during the depression my grandmother decided to try margarine for the sake of economising. In those days the margarine came in a translucent white form and had to be colored with a yellow colorant that was mixed in at home after purchase. One of my mom's many brothers had the assignment that day and mistakenly colored the block of lard instead, then served it at the table. Not a single person noticed. When my grandmother discovered the error the next day she vowed to never allow margarine to darken her doorstep again (she lived to age 93 and stuck to her promise).

No one has mentioned cherries

I would have included bets because they'e reputed to be one of the only foods analyzed that is proven to have absolutely no real nutriotonal value. The thing is... the best evil axis must be limited to three items - right? Not to mention - I've now heard that if they're roasted, beets can actually be quite delicious.

What's in yours? Which poor, unfortunate foods have you decided are a threat to your stomach's contentment? I'll start. Brussel Sprouts (I like cabbage but I swear these really taste different) Asparagus (I can sort of tolerate baby tips just sauteed and drenched with lemon juice but I still don't see the appeal) Tripe/Tendon (I know they're two different things but they both start with the letter "T" and I dislike them equally). Looking back at my post I see that the axcronym for my axis is BAT. I'll bet that's another food that I wouldn't like. I'm thinking that it tastes like chicken but has to many bones to be worth the trouble.