FabulousFoodBabe

Skyline on 5th? I have been a denizen of downtown Cincinnati for nearly 40 years (32 -- this week I might add -- since my first job downtown) and I don't ever recall a Skyline on 5th Street. Where was it? Could you be thinking of the Southwest corner of 7th and Vine? If so, we probably have met. I worked in the bank across the street for a couple of years in college. ← Probably! My memory of it all is a little foggy; it's been awhile. No, really I was at P&G downtown for a few years. Maybe I saw you on Fountain Square? If Edward's had Hathaway's chicken salad sandwiches, they'd be more Cincinnati than they are now. Of course, you could never duplicate those waitresses (and shouldn't want to!). Megan, what is Yorkville? Chili? I hope? Skyline from the freezer just ain't the same. H du Bois, "please" is very, very sweet, I agree. It's weird to have it pop out every few years! And Happy Anniversary, MichaelB. Thirty-two years is terrific; wishing you many more.

I so agree with wondering why in the heck he bothered with McDonald's usual menu. It would be different if he headed up to Bar Harbor in July and had a McD's lobster oll. We only like Sonic, Chik-fil-A, and In&Out Burgers. Fortunately, or not, none are nearby. So, Mr. Bruni didn't like Gold Star chili? It's Pete Rose's favorite! And, it's an acquired taste. But Skyline's best.

I prefer to blame Big Corporations. Have it your way, yanno. The customer is always right. The answer is yes, now what was the question? Feh.

Apparently, it has "Cincinnati nights." Whatever that means. I thought Graeter's was so tight with their distributions. I have got to check this out. So, Mr. Bruni didn't like Gold Star. As my kids say, "Whatev." It's an acquired taste, and an acquired stomach. I wouldn't expect him to get it. We used to go to the Skyline on 5th for lunch twice a week. They had a big, BIG, Greek-looking maitre d' named Al Smith. No kidding. Al Smith. Now that I know it's there, I've got to go. Anyone?

Thanks Nancy -- what a great thread! I've posted a request for updates from everyone. I don't think concrete will work for me, but I'm liking soapstone. I don't have any lab flashbacks to deal with (my 'lab' was stainless steel, and I'll have plenty of that, thank you!).

German! Whatever that means ... Seriously, Germans settled Cincinnati and for a while it was called Porkopolis because of all the slaughterhouses, pork and sausage factories. Kahn's is based in Cincinnati, or was. I think of Brats, Metts, pickle loaf, balogna, sauerkraut, headcheese, all of which my German uncles made. Most of my food influence was from the Italian side of the family. The famous chili is Greek, though. Chili-spaghetti-cheese. Never, EVER say "chili on pasta!"

O-M-G. Another one of us! "Please?" is Cincinnati for, "say what?" or "Do what?" (<-- Southern). It comes from the Germans, who say "Bitte?," or "please?" when they want you to repeat something. I worked in a restaurant a couple of years ago with a Cincinnati-born chef, and we'd talk about the old place every so often. Then it happened ... someone asked me something and I said, "Please?" Ack! Ack! I've been gone from there for nearly 18 years, and it keeps dragging me back ... Chili spaghetti with cheese. Three-way, dry. Do NOT say "chili with pasta." No doubt they'll have LaRosa's pizza (my first restaurant job, on Boudinot Avenue), but I wonder if they do it on the hearth. Geez,I remember it all so well. Fabby, a Westside girl forever.

I was directed to this thread and wonder if anyone would care to update? I'm in the throes of countertop selection right now, and this discussion has been very, very helpful. Every time I think I have a decision made, I change my mind.

Okay. Now, soapstone. (Yeah, I'm still waffling.) If anyone has these in their house, could you please tell me (a) how it holds up in really heavy use, (b) if the seams are visible, and © if it's relatively soft or hard? I've been researching and found that no material exists that does what I want: look like porous, natural stone; be available in 10'x4' slabs, stand up to everything we (and 8-10 students, 5x a week) do to it, and require NO maintenance. Firelsate is half the cost of honed granite, probably more for the 1.25" thickeness I"m hoping for. The samples I've been abusing for weeks have held up well (our water is no doubt part of the equation), though they seem to chip a little when I hit the edges really hard with a pot. I don't have to make this decision any time soon, but I want to. Thanks in advance,

Deborah, I'm loving your blog like a $2 whore (<--gratuitious Gilmore Girls reference). It's beautiful and making me want to come to Vancouver, when firstborn goes for his marine bio stuff this summer. What great friends you have; were you friends before eG? the "shout out" when you come in the front door of the restaurant is so cool!

Okay, this is almost more than I can take. A Cincinnat-themed restaurant in the city? Mr. FFB just got an invite to some business deal, being held at Edwards restaurant, which his contact calls a Cincinnati-themed restaurant in Tribeca. Who has been, how is it? (I'm a native Cincinnatian, and my husband was working in Cincinnati when we met.) Do they serve Little King's? One Kingie-Dingie ... Seriously, I'm amazed that there are that many people around here, who would appreciate Cincinnati's finest cuisines! (I searched but could not find this on any forum; apologies in advance if the thread needs to be merged.)

...and when they run the little guys out of business, is this also good? When they discover cheaper ways to produce what were once artisan products, like adding preservatives, transfats, etc, is this also good? Ummm .. no. I didn't say that. I said (look up there and see .. ) I also think everyone here can name a small business that was not "run out" by the BBCs (big bad corps.), and not only pizza places. No. Maybe not. I dunno. What's a groovy chain? Ehh, I can't get mad at anyone for taking years of hard work and selling to a big corporation. In some instances, it's the only way the name can be preserved, and it helps to have a *living* testimony to all the sacrifice.I think what bugs me most about this thread is the tone that corporations are gobbling up little artisan cheese makers and bakeries, and forcing them to product Velveeta and Wonder Bread. No one is forcing anyone to sell. They could just as easily fold up and leave the market completely. Every time a Scharffen Berger sells to a Hershey's, that opens the market for another Scharffen Berger.

The first purpose of any business is to return a profit to its investors. I can't imagine anyone going into business to NOT make money. Anyone who's owned their own place knows that the scramble for working capital can be draining, and that it can take away from, um, running the business and getting a good product out there. If a big corporation can back someone and make them all more profitable (and make the product available), good.

I think mine was more being forced into it at a young age, and then choosing it as I got older, once I realized that the kitchen was where I felt most comfortable. My own mother was just a lousy cook (and thought she was amazing), and she hated to cook dinner. Just hated it, so it became pretty much my job. My grandmother was a wonderful cook and I learned a lot from both of them. I went through a period of time when I first married, where I didn't cook dinner because it was expected of me (not by my husband, but by my mother and MIL, who fretted constantly over my lack of homemaking interest and the money we wasted by doing stuff like eating out, even though it was my job.).

Hey, it looks like my first apartment! Wonder, you really do need a sink to do what you want to do. Go to paper plates, takeout, and relax. That first meal in the new space will taste sooooooo good.

What a terrific gift! Hey -- I always travel with my own knives (hint: Check 'em with your baggage if you're going by plane). I also bring a cutting board, because most people have glass or Corian or some other "durable" cutting board that'll ruin the edges of your knives. It's an extremely cool thing to bring along, and to unpack.

Oh, yeah. What she said. Mine were traveling on planes before they were a month old, among many other things. Grandmas made dire predictions that never came true. Anyway. What I've learned from working with people from different cultures, is that the people in their countries don't get sick from doing things a certain way, so they aren't nearly as concerned about neatness, sanitation, handwashing, keeping dirt off stuff, etc. It doesn't affect the way I shop or buy, in the least. If the product is good, and not spoiled, I buy it.

I'd love to hear more about that! ← Oh, yes, please. I've been offered six months in Italy, and wonder about your experience. Will you share?

Which they do (expose themselves to NY media, I mean). But beyond that, what else *should* a chef get? The idea upthread that it should return their investment somehow -- kind of like buying a good review or an award -- doesn't make much sense to me. I do wonder what criteria are used to judge what is a Best restaurant, chef, writer.

mmmmm. Daniel Boulud. Seriously, I like it. I wound up doing mashed/chunked potatoes with buttermilk and black truffle butter for Saturday night, and that took care of half of the potatoes. Even though they've been under cover for a week, a few are starting to go green on me. My plan: Do some twice-baked (thank YOU, Mr. Perlow), stuff with the leftovers from Saturday, and freeze them. Next will be some sort of gratin, and I'll reserve some for milling and adding to bread or gnocchi. If this kitchen had better ventilation, or if we could have done the party outside, I would have done chips. Maybe I still will tonight. Hmmmm. Shame I can't use them for the sushi class I'm teaching tonight!

they remind me of those Fisher Price kitchens that our kids had when they were toddlers -- everything nice and compact. I've seen a few things that solve the "need kitchen stuff but don't want to cook or can't fit it in" problem. I think it would do well in guest quarters, for us 'burbanites.

Well, definitely the mother sauces (ahem: Parent sauces) are part of this. Heh. Makes me think of my golf teacher: one basic swing, many clubs and terrain.

I still have a Chicago Cutlery 8-chef that I got for a wedding gift in 1983, and I use it all the time. Holds an edge like you would not believe. My fish chef at school had a CC filet'ing knife that he'd had forever and ever, as well. It put those fancy Globals to shame (and I like a couple of the Globals, very much).

I hope this is slightly on-topic: Does anyone else out there find it odd that a 24year old is a "sommelier?"

Okay, now I'm feeling like I did, in fact, fall off the turnip truck last Monday. What return on the investment do you (or anyone else) feel is due a chef who cooks at the Beard house?