sadistick

I have what I believe is a port glass/dessert wine glass...I am not sure if thats the correct term for it, but I used that last night, and I found that if I put my nose too deep, as I would with wine, I found it a bit strong. However, if I swirled it a bit in the glass then wafted my nose over top, I caught a ton of vanilla and fruit aromas, quite amazing. And boy, if you like Tequila, this stuff is amazing....extremely smooth!

I still remember when we were deep sea fishing in Aruba, were out there for 3 hours, and not even a nibble! Just as we were about to decide to pack it up, one of the rods got something...something BIG! My dad and I took turns reeling this sucker in for a good 20 minutes, finally brought this 35lb Yellowfin Tuna on board...captain comes down with a reeeal sharp knife, slices the thing up right on deck, washes it off, hands us each some with some limes... Now thats fresh!

It actually is that fresh Kev, the stuff is shipped overnight, and gets there in the morning and is on display that day... What I mean is they use the same name for the fish as it would be called where it was caught. I have yet to find a better fish place in the city, if you can find one, do let me know.

So... I was just given a bottle of Reserva De La Familla, and being somewhat new to the world of Tequila, I was wondering what the best type of glass would be to enjoy this stuff straight up. Second question, would you put anything in it? Ice? Cheers. -Justin

Avocado and Sundried tomatoes work quite well, as long as the tomatoes are thinly sliced, or chopped... I like a rough avocado salad with lemon AND lime juice, s&p, some type of jalapeno (preferably mexican) hot sauce, blanched red onions (to remove some of the harsh raw flavour) and finished with the sundried tomatoes... Eat as is, or scoop up with tortillas, or corn chips.

I believe so...at least one of the first times I was there my Venezuelan friend there told me everything is flown in fresh that day...in particular we were talking about the Porgi and Branzino from Italia

I dont know many places that serve small plates, unless of course you are getting a tasting menu with wine pairings, that may satisfy your hunger for a variety of tastes and wines...however, it may not satisfy your wallet I'll second mkjr's recommendation of Splendido. PS - mkjr - what is Turley? Excuse the ignorance, as I am somewhat of a wine newbie!

Not many ideas on Hotels, as I live here, but the Four Seasons is always reliable. I would have to discourage you somewhat from using one of your two evenings at JK - You can get much better and more interesting food elsewhere...IMO - JK is just a lot of hype.

Honestly folks... This show is so rigged it is laughable... For it to be taken seriously is an even worse crime!

The staff may be portugese, I know one guy I am friendly with is from Venezuela, who knows, I think the owner may be Italian...regardless, most of the fish they have are called by their name of origin, hence Branzino Kev - Have you tried their vodka smoked salmon!?

Risotto was probably one of the first recipies I learned to make really well at a young age, passed down from my uncle. The key to risotto is the liquid used to make it. Where it gets all its flavour from, so make sure the liquid is well flavoured. One of my families favourites is Tomato risotto, (with wild mushroom, artichoke, and truffle peccorino coming in close behind) For the Tomato risotto, simple make a well rounded tomato soup. (I use fresh or out of season fresh/frozen tomatoes, but have also done it and got good results with good quality canned products) Strain it through a fine mesh strainer, pound the remains of the strainer to get all the flavour, and use that as your liquid. Usually finished with a mixture of cachcavale, peccorino, and regiano.

Hehehe Sorry, just used to those Italian names since being in italy, and gettin all my fish from City Fish now... PS your link is dead.

KevVVvv Sorry to hear about the mum in law... Congrats on the bayb...is it your first? boy? girl? That stuff sounds interesting, maybe with some BBQ'd Branzino or some fresh fish...or even as a app dip, maybe ill play around in the summer... For now, Im knee deep in horse shit (literaly!) trying to get the garden ready for planting! Got lots of stuff this year, and just dug out a new 25X6 foot bed...so much work to do tomorrow.

I think thats nonsense regarding compost and tomatoe plants... We have had our own compost heap for years, and besides horse sh!t, there is nothing better for tomatoe plants, or any plants for that matter then some good healthy compost! I just dug up a 25X6 foot bed for veggies, cant wait to start planting!

Kev where have you been!? Do post more info on this Romesco sauce...never even heard of it, at least not by that name!

I have NEVER, and will NEVER understand the pairing of roast beef and horseradish...Classic shmassic, the horse radish just totally rolls over the flavours of the roast beef. My dad tried to get me to eat it together when we had our last roast, I tried a little of it to please him, and promptly removed any remainning horseradish from my plate.

I have never seen any recipies which stand out to me in the LCBO magazines, I wonder instead of spending so much time and money on these lack luster publications, lower the prices on the insanely high mark up'd wines. If Philly has enough buying power to give up to $40 discounts (example, the 2001 Newton Epic Merlot I got for $19.95 regular $60) then the LCBO being the biggest liquor purchaser in the world should be able provide even better deals on GOOD wines.

Good to hear the price went down, still wouldnt sway me to ever go back there. Interesting idea for the free corkage theme every last sunday of the month...too bad most of the good Californian wines I have are still too young to drink

First off, for $110 at Susur, how many courses do you get in that tasting menu, what is it, 4 or 5 I believe? Now compare that to Splendido where its typically 7-10 depending on the night. Secondly, when you have dinner, do you not have wine as well? Take a look at the OUTRAGEOUS markups of susurs wine list (and the LAUGHABLE $60 BYOW cost) vs Splendido...Then you will be able to see where I am coming from. PS - What is the splendido BYOW evening? They offer wines for the BYOW? I thought they were full time BYOW...???

I cant see how either Jake or Gordon can say that Splendido is either 'upper middle class' or a place that wont 'wow' you...both those statements couldnt be farther from the truth. I have been to NY many times, and have eaten at some of the "top" places there, and although they are quite exceptional, I do believe Splendido can hang with them with out any problems. As far as Susur goes...I would NEVER go there again, and consistantly tell people who ask me that they can have 2 equally if not better meals at Splendido, or even a few others places, for the same price.

Hehe, yah, the 77 Magnum was really nice...definetly one of the better ports I have ever had. I didnt like many of the other ones to be honest, thought the next best one was the Taylor Tawny port. Kerry - I told them of the tarts ahead of time and they planned accordingly. The pictures are done, they look really good...website should be up soon! If you want to try some tarts, you can always PM me and I can give you ordering info Cheers.

Manolo - You sure did... You actually had the one pictured here (Linzer Torte) as well as the Swiss Chocolate Fudge Tart. Where were you sitting?

jgm - I do give all ingredients for butters a rough chop before pulsing them in the cuisinart...They freeze quite well, but some, the mushroom mostly, dont keep for THAT long once taken out. Hope this helps.

Ok ok...just a little "taste" to keep you interested...We had our plated shots done today, and will be getting the website done very soon! Pictured is a shot of the Linzer Torte, a traditional Viennese tart, which consists of ground roasted hazelnuts and pecans, with a thin layer of apricot jam at the bottom. More to come...

I would second the suggestion for NOT going to susur, as well as their shitty service, their food is VERY inconsistant. To have inconsistant food at such stupid prices is a pure waste of time and money. My vote is for Splendido - A CONSISTANT winner, and one of the best places in the city.