onocoffee
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Posts posted by onocoffee
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It seems like an absurd question to ask: "what's the big deal about crab cakes?"
Like any part of the world, there's going to be a local debate about whatever regional specialty is "best." There's the perennial fight over Eastern and Western North Carolina Barbecue. Who's fried chicken is best? Who's grits? French Laundry or The Fat Duck? Coke or Pepsi? Corn flakes or rice Chex? Pat's or Geno's?
I've found that my life is more fulfilled by not wasting my time trying to understand those personal whims of people which I do not understand.
That said, I've tried crab cakes all over and one of the best I've sampled was a couple weeks ago at Fresh Fresh Seafood on York Road in Towson.
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Bobby29-
You're thinking of the old Tako Seafood. That place is now closed.
Fresh Fresh is on the block between the Towson Circle and Pennsylvania Avenue, between Beach Bums Ice Cream and the Towson Artist Supply.
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Speaking of crabcakes...
Took some friends visiting from Philly to Fresh Fresh Seafood on York Road in Towson last week. I go there from time to time since it's close to my shop and the fish is always fresh and good. Husband and wife team that love food and make some tasty meals. The ambience is nothing to speak about but the food is good and that's what's important.
One of my friends ordered the crab cakes and they were spectacular. G&M and Mama's On The Half Shell have nothing on these crab cakes. If there was any filler, I couldn't tell and the thing was made completely of lump meat. Amazing. Hands down the most amazing crabcake in Baltimore.
I'll head back there later this week just to be sure.
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Spencer- I gave a bit of details during my presentation about the milk. Of course, the music and the audience were a bit loud so people may not have heard what I said.
Anyway, I would love to share more details about the milk. However, if you listen to the newest podcast (70) you'll hear that perhaps I shouldn't have said that much about it since it's still in the formulation stage. With this in mind, I'll have to refrain from discussing specifics until things get sorted out.
But I will say that the milk steams nicely and is wonderfully sweet.
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Personally speaking, when I'm critically tasting coffee, no milk or sweetener will do. However, from time to time, when I'm drinking for my own personal pleasure, I do enjoy a demitasse of sugar and a little color of half and half.
However, I did have the recent experience of trying out a new "coffee formulated" milk from a Northern California dairy at the United States Barista Championship in Long Beach, Ca. It's a new processing (and blending) of milk that, initially, signals some very exciting times ahead for milk and coffee.
In the coming months, I'm looking forward to working with the dairy (and hopefully one here on the East Coast) to develop a milk that will help to highlight the coffee whether used straight or in a cappuccino/latte.
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A good friend of mine recently spent $600 on a pretty fancy propane grill at Costco. It's got a lot of bells and whistles, like a side pot burner, storage and a rotisserie InfraRed capability. So far, it seems pretty decent and well wearing - although it's only about 9 months old.
For myself, I've got a Home Depot $115 New Braunfels barrel-shaped charcoal grill with side box. After having gas for many, many years and then getting cheap and buying this grill, I've decided that this is the way I prefer to grill.
If you can splurge (or find one at an auction), I do highly recommend the MagiCater propane grills. After using one at my old bbq shop, it's become my secret indulgence and the one I would buy for my home. The BTUs are fantastic and the water pan completely eliminates flare-ups. But at $2K they're pretty pricey.
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I last visited The French Laundry in January 2005. I had a late lunch at Bouchon and wandered over to TFL just to peer in the windows. A server saw my gawking and invited me to tour the restaurant.
After my tour was concluded, I asked if there might be a chance to dine. After checking their book, they said they could most probably accommodate me. Unfortunately, I was leaving on a 9:30pm flight back to the East Coast. It was 5pm, they were just about to start service and a 3.5 hour meal meant that I wouldn't make my flight and I had to decline.
So, I think it is possible (especially if you are a solo diner) to obtain a last minute table. Of course, your mileage may vary.
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LEDlund-
The service at Les Halles is pretty good. Of course, I go there enough that the staff knows me and treats me pretty well so, YMMV.
But I do enjoy eating there enought to make the trek from Baltimore on a regular basis. Who knows, I might even get down there tonight since the weather is so enjoyable.
I like the food at Les Halles better than BdC and prefer the environs at Les Halles as well. Neither place is subdued when busy but Les Halles layout creates a somewhat intimate and comfortable feeling that isn't possible in the warehouse-like BdC.
When it comes to the food, Les Halles has yet to disappoint. From the onglet to tartare to duck confit and everything else I've tried, just about everything is on the money for me.
When I go it's usually with a group of friends and we order a wide variety of items to keep it interesting. The larger our group, the more we order. It's usually a minimum of three or four of us and it's not unusual for our table to order the steak tartare, moules mariniere, mac n cheese, foie gras, onion soup and escargot for the appetizer round. We follow that up with individual entrees and then dessert.
For entrees, the onglet is a steady standard. But when the mood strikes, I'll go for the cote du beouf, couscous (with lamb shank), cassoulet or any of the other menu items. So far, I've found very little to be disagreeable on the Les Halles menu.
I just wish they would bring the ribeye, as well as the coconut ice cream down from their Park Avenue NYC location.
I'd like to recommend Central but I haven't been there yet. My old Les Halles buddy, Aicha, now works at Central and she's been inviting me down. I just haven't had the time yet. Best thing about Les Halles - no reservations required.
I just avoid Fri/Sat nights since they're usually jam-packed. Instead, you'll usually find us there on a Sunday or week night.
Be sure to let us know the places you end up eating.
PS - And I've heard that Sitka & Spruce on Eastlake is supposed to be quite tasty.
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Coffee in DC?
Still a bit tough - especially if you're used to the icons of Seattle coffee, such as Hines, Zoka, Lladro, Bauhaus, Victrola and Vivace.
But, if you're willing to trek a little, head on up to Capitol Hill's Eastern Market and visit Murky Coffee (www.murkycoffee.com). The owner was originally trained by David Schomer of Espresso Vivace and their crew is really into coffee.
A plus: Montmartre, a French restaurant, is right next door and quite tasty.
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Some places to check out are in Baltimore.
La Scala - excellent Southern Italian/Sicilian menu.
Boccaccio - excellent Northern Italian menu.
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Perhaps I'm the heretic here but I prefer Les Halles (1212 Pennsylvania NW) over Bistro du Coin. Good food with a decent server staff. I'm there at least twice a month - and I drive in from Baltimore.
Bistro du Coin is a nice choice - and since you're staying around DuPont Circle it's a bit closer to your hotel than Les Halles.
But I really recommend Les Halles over du Coin. And they actually will seat you at 11pm (been there, done that).
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Marge-
I currently own a coffee place in Towson, Maryland.
Hope you find a brewer to your liking.
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Looks like I'm a bit late to the party.
For what it's worth, there are some factors to consider when making coffee. Number one is grind and number two is water temperature.
Like I tell my staff, we might have some of the best equipment in the world but they matter not if we have a poor grinder. If you're buying pre-ground coffee or using a whirly bird grinder, you're doing yourself a disservice.
When it comes to home coffee brewers, just about every model in the consumer market is inadequate. Meaning they just don't reach the proper temperature (200F) for coffee brewing. This will always result in underextracted coffee.
For the best results (with the least amount of fuss) the Technivorm mentioned above is the way to go. It's a drip brewer that achieves the proper water temperature.
It's definitely a bit pricier than the rest but it's a tough machine that should last a lifetime, making it completely worthwhile.
It is my choice for a home coffee brewer.
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slkinsey-
The poignant question is whether or not the smoking ban pundits care about workers' health or just their own personal experience?
I say that they only care about their personal experience and use "workers' health" as the angle to skewer the general public - what legislator would go on record saying that they are against the health and welfare of the worker? None.
That said, the ban cronies push their personal agenda on the American public.
The problem with the current situation of "the smoking ban" is where we are heading. Corporations are starting to enact rules prohibiting their employees from smoking. Not just in the workplace, but completely. The rationale is that we now must protect the health of the individual, the cost of healthcare and the profitability of the company (by stopping smoking, resulting in lower disability/hospitalization/mortality). Violation of the smoking policy can and will result in termination.
Now, how does an employer figure out if its' employees are smoking? By their health assessment test. The presence of nicotine is rated on a Y/N basis - a Y mark resulting in a rating of "extreme risk" and the grounds for termination.
The ridiculous thing is that the requirement is for a "presence" of nicotine and not some percentage. This can be absorbed by merely passing through a room with smokers - as noted to my executive friend at CareFirst in a letter from the laboratory doing their employees' health assessment tests.
Of course, I'm a cigar smoker. This means that I'm not "pressed" to smoke like those addicted to cigarettes. I enjoy the luxury of picking and choosing when and where I would like to smoke. I'm not an advocate of forcing all spaces to welcome cigar smoking. I am an advocate of allowing the people to choose for themselves whether or not to permit smoking in their establishments.
Let's face it, we're supposedly lucid, educated adults who, ostensibly, are able to make informed decisions for ourselves. No one forces anyone to work anywhere. We're not talking about slaves or indentured servants who have no choice. There are plenty of places where people can serve that do not welcome smoking.
We're not talking about forcing smoking on non-smokers. We're talking about leaving those who choose to smoke enjoy their cigars in peace.
The freedom to choose - isn't that what America used to be about?
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Perhaps we should recuse ourselves from the "protecting the workers" routine because, let's face it, this kind of legislation doesn't move forward because of altruistic beliefs.
Why do any of these people really want a ban? Is it because they care about the anonymous worker? Hardly. They care about themselves and their personal whims and desires - and they're more than willing to impose their personal whims and desires on the rest of the citizenry because their selfishness knows no bounds.
What we should be reviewing is our freedom. Yes, that elusive quality of life in America that we are supposedly waging war over: freedom. What is it? To my mind, freedom is the ability to choose. Without choice, we are not "free" but rather slaves.
Until the ban, we had freedom. We had the ability to choose a smoking friendly venue to dine. That no longer exists today.
NYC is a poor example because of its' sheer density. A December mid-week, late-night trip to the Park Avenue Les Halles found it packed. Is this a result of the smoking ban? Hardly. It's a testament to the sheer volume of New York - a city that can support ten restaurants on an avenue block.
But let's return to the bottom line. Those who want a ban are the type eager to impose their will on others, i.e. their desire for a smoke-free environment no matter where they go. These types of people tout health benefits for hospitality workers or the safety of children as "do good" leverage in the media because it defaults the opposite side as wanting ill-health for workers or harm to children. Very disingenius but fodder for the flock.
If we're truly interested in societal health as it is promoted within the hospitality industry, these "do gooders" would actually do real good by working to ban alcohol across the board. Especially considering that alcohol is a major factor in the injuries and deaths of thousands of Americans each year. Of course, that would mean banning the same alcohol that you personally enjoy with your meal and I can see how these people might be reticent to force a ban on something that they enjoy - regardless of how many people suffer because of alcohol.
As for me, I enjoy a wonderful cigar with a beautiful meal. I'll just have to enjoy it elsewhere.
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I find it curious, not to mention outright scary, how the mask of totalitarianism is slowly pulled across America the longer the memories of the Soviet Union fade into the past.
But what I find truly horrifying is our readiness to accept compromise on our freedoms.
However, that's not only what this thread is about. It's about the economic impact on DC restaurants.
I live in Baltimore and used to make bi-weekly (sometimes weekly) trips to Les Halles in Washington DC because it's one of the very few places where I could enjoy a cigar and a delicious meal at the same time. Each weeks' outing would range from two to eight friends coming together to enjoy a weeknight evening together. Depending on our actual size for the week, our bill would range from $135 to $650.
We routinely spent more eating while smoking. From bottled waters to multiple bottled cokes to bottles of wine to cocktails and after-dinner drinks. We ordered robustly from the menu to create a mosaic of flavors to match the cigars (some smoked cigarettes) and indulge ourselves. We ate on weeknights because the weekends were just too busy to go out and be served properly. We brought serious business Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
DCs draconian ban has brought that to an end. In the three months since the ban went into effect, I've been down to Les Halles once. There's no longer the sense of celebration enjoying a meal a cigar. That's lost. And so is the business we used to bring on a regular basis.
So when dictators preach how the ban is "helping" the industry, I think of our $650 tab and our $130 tip that we no longer spend at Les Halles and know that it's a bunch of baloney.
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I would list these shops as some of the more noteworthy when it comes to delivering a focus on quality coffee in the NorthEast:
Gesine - Montpelier, Vermont
The Carriage House - Ithaca, NY
Gimme! Coffee - Ithaca, NY
Simon's Coffee - Boston, MA
Joe The Art of Coffee - NYC
Ninth Street Espresso - NYC
Cafe Grumpy - NYC
Cafe Collage - NYC
Cosmic Cup - Easton, PA
Max Crema's - Fleetwood, PA
Chestnut Hill Coffee - Philadelphia, PA
Artifact Coffee - Baltimore, MD (soon to open)
Murky Coffee - Washington, DC
- I would have noted Spro Coffee in Towson, MD but since I own that shop it might seem a bit contrived to list.
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Another happy opening the impending arrival of Artifact Coffee in the Clipper Mill complex. Featuring some of the world's best coffees by Counter Culture Coffee of North Carolina the coffee house is being brought to you by the folks who delivered Joy America Cafe and GrandCru.
Look for the possible opening next week!
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I work in a narrow niche of the specialty coffee industry whose "trends" tend to take a different direction than the mainstream. Trends within our segment include understanding origin, coffee purity and a tighter focus on understanding espresso production - which is vastly different than the mainstream trendings towards frappuccino-style beverages.
In my own mind, I'm concerned with pushing a trend of coffee in a culinary perspective. How can we take a non-traditional approach to coffee and combine it with new techniques to create something different? Coffee can be more than simply a beverage paired with cream, sugar and/or a flavored syrup. It can be combined with other ingredients, like beef or tobacco to create something unexpected but delicious.
There's also a trend of bringing respect to the craft of coffee-making, aka barista. I see coffee-making much the same as the restaurant world of twenty-five years ago when the chef was lightly considered and nowhere near the level of respect and celebrity that he is today. That "credibility" was bourne on the backs of forward-thinking chefs and I think the same is starting to emerge today in the world of coffee and the barista.
Many in my circles bemoan the fact that the majority of restaurants serve coffee of questionable quality (to put it nicely), with very little forethought or understanding on the final course they're serving their customers. But I see it a bit differently, it's up to the coffee professionals to wrangle the respect needed for that final course because most operators (and chefs) don't really know or understand the difference.
There's been a trend in the specialty coffee industry of working with farmers to produce better coffee. However, I'm finding that we are taking a less than ideal approach to this because very few of the farmers in need of greater economic opportunity, as well as those coffee people visiting them have neither the educational or agricultural background to really improve farming conditions and the resultant crops. In order to produce quality coffee, we need to take an approach similar to wine where the farmers educate themselves in viticulture so that we're not just taking wild shots in the dark by telling wet process farms to try their hand at dry processing because it will give their coffee a different "character."
These are some of the "trends" that I see emerging over the next couple of years in coffee.
Sweetening cold drinks, simple syrup for Iced tea?
in Coffee & Tea
Posted
1- I'm sure there's a way, but I don't know how.
2 - Yes, that would be nice. Simple syrup makes sweetening iced tea so much easier.
3 - Yes, those bulk bags of Splenda will tell you the sweetness ratio compared to sugar but you can just follow the normal simple syrup procedures.