Suzanne F

The timing of this thread is very interesting to me. You see, on Wednesday this week we had a gas pipe relocated as part of the renovation of the building's lobby. This pipe feeds 2/3 of the apartments in the building. Needless to say, we were very very worried that: 1) something could go wrong and the building blow up, or 2) a resident might panic before their pilot lights were relit and call the gas company. Number two is the more serious problem in the long run -- the gas company would shut us down and walk away, and it could take months to get the gas back on (no cooking! ) (Number one mattered less to me, since I'd be blown up with the bldg, as would HWOE. And then I wouldn't be Board president anymore ) Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch. But yes, gas is scary.

But would he then have to go up against Diane Forley and Michael Otsuka's pets? And who knows who else? That would be tough, no?

'Nuff said.

Are you referring to the trendy molten chocolate cake? If so, then you are right. However, the old-fashioned souffle in various flavors that used to be ubiquitous is now found in only a few French bistros. Souffles are also available at Bayard's.

This is not the first time Bittman's "Minimalist" recipes have been discussed here: quack here. Um, maybe he's just not that good?

Equally useless -- and messy -- is the T-shaped thing with a little ledge on the bottom, meant to fish out the cork that's floating in the wine in the bottle because you either broke it or didn't have any way to pull the cork out in the first place. They never quite hold the floating cork straight up enough, and even when they do, they're too thick to just pull out of the neck of the bottle without the danger of exploding it.

Doesn't Eccles have the bunny rabbit, and Bluebottles have the pussycat named Ruffules? Or is it the other way around?

$29?!?!?!? Do tell!!!!!!! We haven't been in years and years, and then only for a special promotion through Remy. I remember adoring the smoked salmon variations, about 3 or 4 different styles. What a great opportunity to go back. (Let's see, the next time we're at Carnegie Hall is April 22 . . . )

Makes sense: as salting watermelon, or combining watermelon and feta (if you haven't tried that, DO!!!). Glad it worked out, Marlene. Now I know I MUST get convection when I replace my stove. That crust on a roast is the best part! Let us know when you do a chicken :drool:

Oh, Clink, of COURSE! One long lengthwise paperthin slice on the mandoline. (and I used to make something like that, too! )

Johnjohn -- the only smell I get is that lingering aroma of . . . popcorn. And I also use canola. What's the smell like that you get? Do you sometimes burn the kernels? That can happen if you don't shake the pot enough to move them around.

We used to use the Screwpull exclusively. But it doesn't work on synthetic corks, so now we use a waiter's friend for everything. It was a giveaway from a now-defunct internet company; the wine knife is a hell of a lot sturdier than the company was. We also have a lot of inexpensive metal ones -- they work just fine. I'd love to have a beautiful one like Laguiole, but I'm cheap.

Steve -- I don't really know very much about the site. I remember it started out really hot, but then seemed to flounder. They started new discussion forums within the last year, but have not yet recovered their poster base. And they are aware that the forums are almost impossible to find on the site; they've got a re-do in the works to bring them out more prominently. From what I've seen on the forums, big deal. (That is to say, right now, I think the forums suck. ) I mostly use the site to get to James Beard stuff. But I really didn't want this thread to be about Starchefs; I want to hear the informed and informative opinions of my eGullet brethren (and sistern??) about DC chefs. My motive is purely selfish: since I'm in DC more often again, I want good advice on whose food to eat. Anyway: regarding the "Rising Star" thread there: the criteria are pretty free-form, as you can see here.

I don't know about tiramisu -- don't eat it much -- but Arqua has ethereal gnocchi.

Which kind of cucumbers are you using? Peeled or not?

This may sound like brown-nosing, but . . . I think Fat Guy deserves kudos for running that piece. This is the sort of content that sets eGullet apart from the rest. It takes a brain to conceive of stuff like that, and guts to run it. Thanks, FG, you are one sensitive New Age Guy.

W O W !!!!!

Ah! They've learned from Hollywood movie blurbs!

Show-off!

I assume you are talking about the risotto. A long simmered pureed soup can't be made to order at the last minute, but even making the risotto with vegetable stock would assume there was a vegetable stock on hand. There's no reason to believe that a complex vegetable stock might be available in any particular restuarant if there was not a dish on the menu that made use of it. I'm not sure if this is Cafe Boulud or Craft Bar, but a good vegetable broth takes longer to make than does risotto and it's the sort of thing a restuarant makes during prep time and not when every station is busy with preparing orders. I hate to disillusion anyone, but I doubt many restaurants make their risotto à la minute. Follonico did not; Le Bernardin did not, when I was there. Generally risotto is partially cooked and chilled, and then heated and finished at serving time. So if it is normally started with meat stock, Ajay would be out of luck. If, however, it is started with vegetable stock and only finished with meat stock, his request would be easy. (Vegetable stock is one of those staple items you always have on hand, if you use it at all.)

Yeah, well, my guy WAS an aerospace engineer. He wanted to be the first Jew on the moon. Didn't make it, for which I am eternally grateful. He kissed HIS frog. Jeez, you are a tough act to follow. Great, great writing.

I'm actually a little surprised, since lack of criteria has rarely seemed to stop anyone here before. For the purposes of THIS THREAD, you may define "rising star chef" anyway you like. Just give your definition, please along with who and why. My guess is that Starchefs will use the age parameters that the Beard awards follow, but allow even those who have been nominated in the past. Different organizations, after all. If I were actually answering instead of asking, I would include chefs of any age who are getting to be well known locally, and better known outside their city/area/region. Chefs whose names now mean something to diners, who engender high expectations.

To go back to Kate's original questions -- remember these?? Should the restaurant have listed caul fat on the menu as part of the dish, or should the server have mentioned its presence before Kate ordered? Hell, no. If they alerted customers, how many orders do you think they'd sell? Not even everyone on eGullet knows what it is, and how it improves the dish it's in by keeping the food moist -- so how would the general public react? Probably with horror. Granted, the server's disingenuousness -- and incorrect information -- didn't help any. But if she had not said anything, would it have mattered? Not to a person who perhaps had never encountered caul fat before, but would suffer no harm (physical, emotional, psychological, or moral) from the knowledge or fact of having eaten it. However, a person who eschews animal products should always ask, especially at "relatively high end restaurant" where up-to-date cooking might be practiced. Kate's second question: we've all been focussing on the "wouldn't eat" as equal to "couldn't eat." Most of us seem to agree that in a case of possible death, the consumer has the right and responsibility to ask very specific questions and the establishment has the responsibility to respond fully and correctly. Likewise with less drastic but real physical consequences, and with statements of principle, and maybe even in cases of strong aversion for no reason other than personal taste. If you don't want to eat something, make sure it's not in the food you order. Simple: just ask clearly. I believe in asking a lot of questions about the preparation of dishes I'm considering, and I'm a lucky omnivore. Anyway, unless you have a long, long list of foods you don't like, how hard is it to ask "What EXACTLY is in this dish?" and ask a followup question or two if necessary? If it embarrasses you so much to ask, maybe you should just try to get over the aversion. The whole point is, never assume ANYTHING.

I ran into the CEO of Starchefs last night at the IACP do. She mentioned that they are about to put up a query for their participants: Who are the rising star chefs working in and around DC these days? Whom do eGulleteers consider to be in that category?

Hey, Fat Guy is right: you ARE funny!