Suzanne F

Well, it wouldn't have been the first time Wallace Shawn played a food critic (of sorts) -- remember My Dinner with Andre? One of our favorite lines of all time was uttered by Wally, when he looks down at his plate of quail and says, "I never knew they were so small." But really, food writers will only be bores if they are bores, period. You know the type, who drones on and on about his/her area of expertise, waxing rhapsodic about [whatever] long past the tolerance of casual listeners. So it's only tit for tat when a cusinista uncorks a boring food writer. And then can't get a word in edgewise.

Oh my. lxt, I respect you opinion, so I'll have to pay more attention the next time. (We haven't been since 2/2. Honestly, we are there at least 3 times a month, sometimes every week.)

Tea Time, 74B Chambers Street, just west of Broadway.

I'm speechless. Maybe I need a dish of Cough Medicine Sorbet?

I guess it's one of those "Love it or hate it" places. HWOE and I love it (and my defense of its staff got me banned from chowhound some years ago); others now departed hated it. I cannot say that everything there has been nectar and ambrosia (on rare occasions, the soup stock has been a bit funky), but on the whole, I find the food fresh and reliably good. We even had our first experience of Chinese tablemates asking what WE (very definitely non-Chinese) were eating because it intrigued them (for the record, it was the lamb and bean curd skin casserole, which is always delicious).

Jarnac, 328 West 12th Street at Greenwich Street (way west). the chef there was a teacher at the school I went to, so I have a very soft spot for Jarnac. But in any case, the food is excellent. La Petite Auberge!!! Used to go frequently with my parents, but haven't been there in ages. Oh, the lobster Americaine! which one could get drunk on. The souffles. Again, makes me miss eating French food out.

The last of my duck confit -- breast -- sliced on top of salad of hearts of radicchio, boston, and red romaine, plus mixed sprouts, watercress, mint, and cilantro; dressed with duck fat and lemon-thyme vinegar. Accompanied by "potato chips" cooked in duck fat with thyme and pepper. Rancho Zabaco Heritage Vines 2001 zinfandel

But perhaps the skin cannot be crispy, by definition, because the rotisserie chicken sits too long after cooking. Or worse yet, gets packaged right away into one of those sealed plastic coffins, from which nothing -- especially excess steam -- escapes. Hence, non-crispy skin. On the occasions when I have bought one, I cut it up and reheat under a broiler flame. Voila! crisp skin.

Thanks so much for reviving this thread! My earliest memories are of sitting in a high chair, eating the meat off chicken necks left over from soupmaking. Now (many, many years later) I love to feast on the roasted neck of birds, all sorts; the crisply fried or roasted bones of fish (which one can still get in Chinatown, thank god), and the burnt ends of lamb chops and pork ribs. And wing tips. And shrimp shells (exoskeletons, ya' know). I'm not crazy about the cartilage, but HWOE loves it.

A word of warning: do NOT stay in the house while the onions are cooking; you will become so hungry you will eat everything in sight! Yesterday I sliced up 2 large white onions and threw them in the slow cooker with a half-stick of butter. It took great force of will to ignore the siren smell wafting through the place (I work at home, so going out was not an option).

Looking over that list, all I could think was, "It's been ages since we had real French food." I've been to 7 of the 19, but not for many years.

Thank you for starting this thread, Extra! I was at a loss yesterday for what starch to make for dinner, and was inspired to cook off some quinoa, absolutely plain. It was a great foil for the grilled pork steaks topped with tamarind glaze and caramelized onions. Nice and nutty, and a good sponge for the juices.

Now I know what NOT to order if I ever go to Juniper. I don't understand his self-contradiction: if fillet cooks more quickly, why does slow baking improve it? And the chef gives away his ignorance when he talks about the "blood . . . cooked throughout the meat" -- it's NOT blood, never was, never will be.

Gourmet Garage carries it.

Extra, when you use if for breading, do you prep it in any way? I've always believed the story that quinoa needs to be thoroughly rinsed to remove some bitter coating, so I've never thought of using it unrinsed. How do you do it? Helen, I'm a little surprised you can find it in Japan -- only because I have read that after WW II it was a main (if not THE main) source of protein available, and now people can't stand the sight of it. Maybe they've forgotten? But that's okay, because it IS great stuff, very high in protein. I've seen but never tried quinoa-based pasta.

Just as Mudpuppie does: On occasion I have found packages of small artichokes on special -- 99 cents for 10! That's when I'm glad I had to turn artichokes at work: now I can do it pretty fast. Take the little guys down to just the tender leaves and bottoms, cut into wedges, steam in a spiced water/white wine bath. When cooked, pack in jars with the liquid, top up with olive oil, and I've got marinated artichokes for a couple of months. But that's not the end of it. Being the cheapo that I am, I cannot simply throw out all the leaves that were removed. So I steam them (separately from the hearts) in plenty of water, puree the solids, load them into a cheesecloth bag and hang it over a bowl to catch the liquid and mushed flesh. Requires very little hands-on time, and I get "artichoke stock" for use in soups and stews.

Yes! Why on earth do they think that you will ever, EVER want their product again? I've gotten coupons for facial tissues (large flying bug ironed into the paper); granola (cobwebby pupae hanging in glassine bag), and hotel upgrades (a very long and complicated story, with each of the hotel's screw-ups -- the last of which was plastic wrap still on the piece of fish on a freebie make-up dinner -- causing a larger "reward" for me). For a very funny take on making this happen, try to see the play alternately called Nourish the Beast or Baba Goya, by Steve Tesich. In which they say, - We could really use a new car. - Okay, get out the typewriter: Dear Mr. Ford . . .

Actually, the title of this thread is a bit misleading: there was a period in the mid-1900s ('60s? '70s?) when Gage and Tollner was closed. Then Peter Askenazy (someone please correct the spelling, but I'm pretty sure that's who it was) bought and reopened it. I know I ate there in the very early 1970s and then again in the late 1980s? (when Township Fever was playing at BAM at the Majestic) and not again until just last year. Somewhere in there, though, it was closed. I wholeheartedly agree with Jason, that it should be preserved. I'm not sure (and the Landmarks Preservation Commission website is way out of date) but maybe the interior has been designated? It should be.

How about a hot pastrami sandwich at Lou G. Siegel?

How can you be a spiritual leader if you don't know sin? Well, that wasn't quite what led Rabbi Ribeye to his First Drunk . . . maybe it was because the lovely Sheila prefered Eli the Israeli? I passed off my first drunk as food poisoning at a ladies' guild-catered pot luck for the staff of the theater where I did my first college co-op at age 18. For all I knew, it might have legitimately been food poisoning. But my excess Burgundy consumption was certainly not limited to the beef stew. Fortunately only my fellow co-ops witnessed the consequences, not any of the REAL actors and techies. When and where and how was YOUR first drunk? * * * * Be sure to check The Daily Gullet home page daily for new articles (most every weekday), hot topics, site announcements, and more.

We have G & T to thank for introducing us to what is now one of our favorite wines: Dr. Konstantin Frank Dry Riesling. When we ate there with Jason and Rachel and SobaAddict, the manager there suggested it instead of a more-expensive riesling we were about to order, and it was love at first taste. And now we'll have to find somewhere else for fried clams (the reason for that dinner).

Yes indeed! How could there be potted chicken or brisket without garlic?

Hey, it's probably your best writing ever. IIRC, the spelling and grammar required very little fixing.

Here's a brief, unillustrated report on our lunch at Otto (Marlene will supply the pictures once she's home, thanks to her husband Don's photographic assistance). It will also be a test of my memory, since I did not snag the bill listing what we ordered. The group ended up as 3 eGulleteers (Marlene, hannnah, and yours truly) and our respective spice (Don, David, and HWOE). Pan, unfortunately, was too croupy to come after all. But we still had enough people to make a reservation, and so had a lovely large round table. Too bad it didn't have a lazy susan in the center, as in Chinese restaurants; would have been very helpful, since we shared everything. Before any of our stuff arrived, we were supplied with three condiments to go with the cheeses we had ordered: black truffle honey, brandied cherries, and a sort of apricot chutney with chilies. Then and there, we knew we'd be happy -- David said, give him some bread with those and he'd be all set, a sentiment echoed by all. Marlene was even able to taste a bit of the honey, on the assumption that if the truffle in it turned out to make her sick (mushroom allergy), she'd die happy. Fortunately, she seemed to have no ill effects other than sticky fingers. The cheeses we ordered were robiola due latte (a special), gorgonzola dolce, and parmigiano reggiano. The robiola was as unctuous as any good brie, but not as strong as a really runny brie; gorgonzola was indeed dolce; and the parmigiano reminded us why it has such a good reputation. The portions were tiny but the flavors so clear that we all got a good idea of why these were great cheeses. We also started with the large meat assortment: prosciutto, testa, and various sausage slices. All were excellent -- and the testa could surely make the headcheese-haters turn around: very little gel, a subtle orange-zest flavor (can you tell I love it?) The 4 fish-eaters among us also shared antipasti of anchovies (actually alici, the pickled white anchovies, with herbs and croutons) and calamari (itty bitty ones in a spicy salsa verde). I for one was glad that there were only 3 other people sharing those, instead of 5; more for each of us. And then, THE PIZZAS: marinara, lardo, margharita, quattro formaggi, and pepperoni. Yes, the crust IS different from before: closer to what we are used to as a standard crust, and by now it has a bit of salt in it, so it has flavor. The entire table loved the crusts. As for the toppings, the marinara was a clear winner: tomato, garlic, chilies, and herbs; no cheese. Just spicy enough, with a good garlic kick and tomato flavor. Margharita -- the classic tomato, mozz, basil -- was also simple and elegant. Four cheeses were exactly that: on a base of tomato sauce, one quarter each with a different cheese: mozz, taleggio, cacio, and ricotta. How it tasted depended on which cheese you got. Not a great item to share with so many (2 would probably be the limit). The pepperoni was very good (I didn't like it as much as HWOE, but maybe because I'm used to spicier, greasier, non-artisanal pepperoni). And the lardo was . . . different. Razor-thin slices of pork fat covering the crust, with a healthy sprinkling of chopped herbs. The others may disagree with my taste, but I loved it. The fat supplied more mouthfeel than flavor -- the flavor was of the other 2 elements, the crust and the herbs. Well, I loved it. The only difficulty with dessert was deciding which gelati and sorbetto to get extras of; otherwise, just bring us some of everything: caramel chocolate vanilla coffee ricotta olive oil orange-date hazelnut stracciatella pistachio coconut Meyer lemon with blackberry gelati; tangerine blood orange grapefruit with Campari sorbetti. The caramel (HWOE's favorite from a previous visit) was a hit. Meredith, the pastry chef (known here as Wingding) happened past as we were about to decide, and allowed as how that was her favorite. (I think she was just being polite, because how could one choose among all those fabulous flavors?) Beverages at the table were a bottle of a 1999 Montepulciano, Masciarelli, from Abruzzo, and a pinot grigio from Umbria the name of which sounded more German than anything else (something like Konererhofer??). Each was enjoyed by half the table. As were the caffe latte, espresso, and cappuccino. Well, the second cappuccino that came to the table was enjoyed; the first was the victim of a spectacular, slow-motion upending and fall to the center of the table. No time for Don to pull out the camera to capture it all, though. Ah well, no breakage, no splashing of people. And of course, the conversation covered food and restaurants, but also the hazards of driving in snow, hints on preventing rashes when traveling (carry your own bed linens), and other such wide-ranging topics. It was again a delight to meet eGulleteers in the flesh, and share a good meal with them.

I almost always brought sandwiches to NY Knicks' games at Madison Square Garden -- surely you don't expect us to eat extortionate Blimpies??? After 9/11, when they were checking bags and wanding everyone, the security guys always said "You're not supposed to bring in food," to which I would reply, "You want some?" and they'd wave me in. And no, I never had to share.