DTBarton

First time in 4 years we didn't do Fish House, we love the smoked fish there We were a little earlier this year and it wasn't lunch time until Fishcutters. Can't go wrong either place. Stayed longer in Key West this year (6 days). That gives you enough time to get around to pizza!

We just returned from a timely trip to south Florida and Key West as we deftly avoided what will probably be the coldest week of the winter. Enjoyed some good food as usual Michy's in Miami was great as described in the adjacent thread. On the way to Key West, we stopped at Fishcutter's at mile marker 25 on Summerland key. We had noticed the fish market there but didn't know about the restaurant until an egulleter posted about it last year. Based on their recommendation, we had a grilled garlic snapper po' boy and it was an outstanding sandwich. Wife had fried snapper that was excellent as well. They make a mango cole slaw that really complements the fish. I don't think you can go wrong there, everything I saw come over the counter looked good. Enjoyed meals at old favorites in Key West like B.O.'s fish wagon http://hollyeats.com/BOsFishWagon.htm and Opera http://www.operarestaurant.com/. Had delicious tapas at 915 Duval http://www.915duval.com/ the signature tuna dome was fantastic. After walking by a couple of times and smelling good smells and seeing good pies, we tried Upper Crust pizza http://www.uppercrustkeywest.com/pizza.htm The crust was thin, blistered and flavorful, the sauce was very nice. Really good pizza in Key West. 611 Duval next door to Opera. Finished with a birthday splurge at Joe's Stone Crab in South Beach. Yeah, it's touristy and pricy, but the service is impeccable, the Lyonnaise potatoes are decadent and the stone crabs are the best anywhere. They oughta be for the price! http://www.joesstonecrab.com/

Add another positive voice, nyokie6, maybe we saw you there, we went on January 28th also. I got a reservation for 2 at 7:00 PM on Open table.com on the Wednesday before. More kudos for the polenta with pancetta and egg. The polenta alone was very garlicky, but this dish was meant to be mixed, it was great when all stirred together. The duck confit was also wonderful as was the steak/frites. The only mediocre dish was the conch fixed escargot style. Definitely overpowered with garlic (and I like garlic!). The pear tart was delicious and we had one of the better bottles of Rioja I've ever enjoyed. It was a 2001 Remellari and it matched very nicely with the food.

Tried a wine yesterday recommended by a good local merchant, Wine Cellars of Annapolis. The maker is Philippe Portier and it's a varietal Sauvignon Blanc from Quincy. The label says White Loire Wine. One of the best pure examples of Sauvignon I've tasted in a while. Very clean and fresh with balanced citrus and grassy notes, this 2005 vintage was reasonable at about $15 and delicious with a light shrimp scampi.

My home state of Maryland enacted such a law last July. I haven't availed myself of it yet as I usually finish my wine . The law went into effect without much fanfare and I suspect a fairly small percentage of state residents are even aware of its existence. It's nice to know you can do it if you like. A quirk of the Maryland law states that the open bottle must be secured in a locked compartment, i.e. trunk or glove compartment. I would guess that that provision of the law is roundly ignored by those who are taking advantage of it.

Perhaps you could pay homage to both cities at once by serving corn dogs with lots of condiments. And, National Corn Dog Day is just around the corner! http://www.corndogday.com/node?from=16

During my stint at Gino's (fast food burgers and KFC) in the late 70s, we had the french fry initiation. The first time a new kid was working the french fry vats, someone would slip a little ice from the soda fountain in the vat when he/she wasn't looking. During the ensuing bubbling eruption in the vat, everyone would come running over yelling "What did you DO!!!" Someone would show up with the fire extinguisher and tell them "if we have to use it you have to pay for it!" Always good for a serious deer in the headlights look and generally made the females cry, briefly.

My wife's family has a condo at the Jockey Club (111th and Biscayne) so we get down there from time to time. We have enjoyed Little Havana mentioned above. For breakfast or lunch there's a very good Jewish place (not kosher, they have dairy and pork stuff) that has good bagels, sandwiches, etc. Can't remember the name, but it's on the west side of Biscayne at about 109th street or so, I kind of remember a blue awning with the word "bagel" on it. We get pastrami sandwiches to take on the plane home there also.

We go to Charleston pretty regularly and I don't think of it as a barbecue town. Perhaps a local person can identify a hidden lowcountry gem. I haven't been to Bessinger's on James Island in years, but I never thought their barbecue was all that good. However, if you're driving down 1-26 to or from Charleston on Friday or Saturday (they're only open Friday and Saturday), it's worth taking a several mile detour through Holly Hill to Sweatman's. We went last year and it was great. Holly Hill is north of I-26 about 75 miles from Charleston. http://hollyeats.com/Sweatmans.htm

Modern agricultural techniques and refrigeration have pretty much made trichinosis a thing of the past with commercially prepared pork. Some data points: I saw Ina Garten on TV cooking a pork loin roast and she took it out of the oven at 137 degrees. Still had some pink in it, looked good on TV. I buy Berkshire heirloom pork sometimes from a farm in Minnesota. It has a higher fat content, more like "old fashioned" pork. They recommend cooking their loin roasts to 150 degrees. I've been taking them out at about 145 and there's not much pink and boy do they taste good!

As one who lived in Virginia for quite a while and who's in-laws never cook a Smithfield ham, I can say that I believe they are safe to eat straight from the bag. And I do believe that Smithfield hams contain some nitrates/nitrites. For me personally, I prefer to cook them because it removes some of the over the top saltiness and creates a more tender meat. I do the classic scrub/soak/braise method. I am a big fan of Scott hams from Kentucky and they do state that heir hams should be cooked. I believe this is because the Scott hams do not contain any nitrates/nitrites. They are delicious and less salty than Smithfield hams. In Virginia, some companies have taken to producing hams that are somewhat less dry and salty than Smithfield style. I've seen this kind of ham dubbed "Williamsburg" style. But I'm sticking with Scott until someone shows me something better. http://www.scotthams.com/store/

I've been thinking of getting a meat grinder, primarily to grind my own hamburger. Looking for a simple, manual one that's reasonable to buy and easy to clean. Anyone know of such a thing?

I have to disagree with his dissing of frozen spinach, I use it a lot. The great advantage is it is pre cooked. Fresh spinach cooks down to next to nothing, so if you're going to cook it, you need a LOT. A pound of frozen is a usable pound and I find it tastes pretty good. I also like frozen okra. Toss some in soup and stew. Guess I'll have to revisit some of the others.

I agree with the notion that facts are facts. However, I agree with Andrew about the notions of people with ingrained beliefs. Folks who are activists for their cause actually take on their beliefs, whatever they may be, as a secular religious faith of sorts. Therefore, if you try to disagree, even when facts and logic are on your side, you can't win because not only are you disagreeing, you're questioning their faith. And that makes you, to the activist believer, not only wrong, but a heretic as well. It's a fight that can't be won, like arguing that the sky is purple.

It does look good. It's a bit of a hike, though, since it's in Charleston, West Virginia! Perhaps they deliver!

I agree that the woman has a right to express her opinion just as the restauranteur has the right to take it into consideration or not. This situation is hugely superior to the idiotic notion of local governments dictating to food providers (private enterprises) what they can and can't serve or use in cooking their products.

I'm at a disadvantage with respect to knowing what's available at the store in Kingston Ontario. I always like, when having a wine tasting party with folks who are interested, but not big time winos, to stick with varietal wines so people get to taste the different grapes. Here's a few ideas if you don't want to do the all Tuscan route.

One other thing: If you have the bones, save them, salt and pepper them and lay them over the meat as it's cooking.

Cut it in a spiral pattern so as to make a flat piece (bones have to be removed if they're there). Get some plastic wrap and a mallet and pound it out to about 1/2 inch thick. Stuff it with whatever you like (a stuffing mixture of sauteed pancetta (or bacon), onion, apple, celery and bread crumbs moistened with butter and/or stock is nice). Roll it up and tie with cotton string. Hit the outside with salt, pepper, and your favorite herbs. Brown in a Dutch oven. Add a little stock, a little wine and a little milk to the Dutch oven (not too much). Cover and put in a 350 oven until internal temp hits about 145 - 150. Remove meat and let it rest. Reduce pan juices for sauce. Serve with roasted veggies and potatoes of your choice.

We go to Key West every year. Downtown is definitely restaurant/tourist shop stuff. There are many good restaurants. But for food shopping to stock the hotel room or something, when we do it we go to the big regular grocery stores on the other side of the island. There's a Publix and a Winn-Dixie on North Roosevelt Boulevard. Probably some local markets in the more residential areas but I haven't searched them out.

Hoppin' John: http://southernfood.about.com/od/blackeyed.../r/bl80308c.htm Or for a smooth soup, use dry lentils which will break down much more quickly. Use your ham bone for the "rib" and definitely use stock instead of water: http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/artic...pes/lentilsoup/

Any more info on Cazon? A quick web search came up empty. Thanks.

I don't have OFAC but I do have Larousse and use it occasionally. I like it for getting information on things I don't know much about, and I like the fact that most of the things in the encyclopedia come with a recipe of some sort. I've used it mostly to get ideas of flavorings, herbs, etc. to add to ingredients or dishes as opposed to using the recipes verbatem, but then that's how I use a lot of cook books. Don't use any as much as I used to since I got in the habit of going on line for ideas. I like the Larousse paella recipe that uses a good bit of squid, yum.

One good thing to try is to go to a seafood store or grocery that has a live lobster tank and ask if they can get dungeoness crabs. Sometimes they can special order from their distributor. My local sefood store in Maryland will get me anything he can get from his suppliers, haven;t tried for dungeoness, but it's a good idea!

Another local fave in Baltimore is Matthew's pizza. Been there a couple of times and had good pie. http://baltimore.citysearch.com/review/4989982 While not a restaurant, get the best fresh kielbasa I've ever had at Ostrowski's on Washington Street in Fell's Point. http://ostrowskifamous.homestead.com/index2.html