Suzanne F

We wondered what happened to you. Bummer. Somehow the directions got screwed up: Molly's is between 22nd and 23rd. I never even noticed the location was wrong because I already knew where it is, otherwise I would have spoken up. Mea culpa. Food&pen had a camera. Whether any of his shots come out is iffy, since the place was soooooooooooooo dark -- and periodically the lights would dim even more for a moment. I was glad I had a flashlight with me. But look at it this way: the PEOPLE will get together again, so all you really missed was an okay-but-not-great burger. See ya next time.

I recently used some bison ribs for a braise -- they were almost totally devoid of fat, I can't imagine any method except braising. My guess is that under that fat, your tri-tip has very, very little marbling. (Didn't see much marbling in the pieces of bison at the Greenmarket today.) My braise was the usual: sweating diced onion, garlic, carrot, celery; searing the meat; putting it all together with a bottle of wine and some seasoning and herbs in the slow cooker (my most recent purchase, otherwise I'd have stuck it in a slow oven). I ended up with a huge amount of gravy. If I would do it again, I'd use a very, very light red wine, since the meat didn't have a lot of flavor on its own.

They must have been a little tired: they just lay there on the (very crisp) romaine lettuce on the side, some of them with a little blanket of underripe tomato tucked over them. Um, I didn't taste mine, but they looked as though they might have been decent. Hey, tommy, we were very busy without pickles!

Too bad about the webcam, but please please please keep the reports and pix coming. BTW, while you folks were lollygagging and partying, up here in Yankeeland (or Soxland, depending ) we were working hard: weighing, taking temperatures, examining, and having some deeply and seriously scientific discussions of burger criteria. Scroll down for reports on the first meeting of the Burger Club.

At least now we have a point of reference. This burger kind of fell in the mid-range for me: very good on some points (freshness, meat quality, greasiness [none whatsoever, but somewhat balanced by almost enough juiciness]); all right on others (molding, browning, appearance, sloppiness) and abysmal only on one: meat needs SALT. (FWIW, the almost-excellent potato salad also needed salt, as did the excellent onion rings.) And we know some revisions to make on the rating sheet, such as method of cooking, and time from the order going into the kitchen until the burgers start coming out -- just under 21 minutes here, which (since we were the only orders at the time) means the burgers were cooked from the raw state, a very good element. Actually, I think the interior of mine was just a little less cooked than Sam's -- but still, too much of the outside was overcooked for my preference. I think that's why I got a reading of 144 degrees -- I was probably hitting the bottom of the burger, not the middle. Great to see some familiar faces and several new ones. Oh, btw: it was informally discussed that now whenever anyone has a burger somewhere in NYC, it will be all right for them to rate it. Just download the evaluation form to which Picaman has linked (or the new version when that's available), and -- what? post your numbers here, I guess. The interpretation of the rating scale (0 to 5) is totally subjective: if YOU think it's great by your understanding of the category, give it a 5; if you think it's awful, 0 -- it's all YOUR palate. But trust us, it's lots more fun when there are many people to compare notes with. A good beginning. Everybody ready for the next?

Leftovers? You won't have no frickin' leftovers! (not pig, anyway ) Love the little curly tail on the baby! And I admit I was wrong: the 2 Deans are nothing like each other. (So how come we still haven't seen a picture of the 2 of them together? ) And the oldest Li'l Varmint is just as beautiful as her mother!!

Jason, just think of it as Bobolink Farms, the sequel.

We can talk about that in 12.5 hours, my friend.

I asked HWOE to leave the DSL on overnight, in case I wake up and want to see how things are going. This beats the hell out of Cabrales roasting a chicken!

Hey, mind like a steel trap. Or maybe that's my mouth? Are we doing this to console ourselves for not being able to go to Varmint's pig pickin'? Naw, this is a quest!

Sherrie, maybe? Who worried that she's have to look good??

Hey, who's bringing cameras? (or did I miss that somewhere earlier?)

Finally read through this whole thread. Wow. Y'all have a great time, y'hear, now! We'll raise a burger to you tomorrow!

She just needs some advice for the foodlorn.I also dislike the word "foodie" -- not for what it signifies (Webster 10: "a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads."), but for its meaninglessness due to overuse, just like "gourmet." I'd rather be called a "Good Eater," with all the philosophical implications of good as well as eater.

Petite Abeille???? Just one of them, or all the branches?

The one time I ate at Town, it was just as the pre-theater folks were all leaving. But I thought the food was excellent. Pan: Barbetta is on Restaurant Row (46th Street between 8th and 9th). Been there since 1906 (yes, '06!), and is a beautiful place. The ads that used to run on WQXR touted the chandelier "that hung in the palace of the first king of united Italy." The Slow Food Guide to New York City likes its "stellar tribute to Piedmont." But it is expensive.

Here's another vote for "it all depends." I ate there once, last spring, with a group from my cookbook editing class. The plating was very nicely done; the food was mostly well-cooked -- although the puff pastry was very tough; the bread was superb. Overall, it was about equal to the simulations we did at the school I went to. If you go expecting decent, even imaginative food, you probably won't be disappointed at the value. But if you want a spectacular meal, it ain't gonna happen there. Belmont3 was going there, no? Maybe he can weigh in.

What is the threat -- botulism from raw garlic in anaerobic conditions? Since pesto is a raw sauce, I could see lots of threats. My guess is that the stuff on grocery shelves has been subjected to a process along the lines of ultra-pasteurization, which is just not possible at home.

Wow! Having no experience with such high volume, I found it really fascinating, Irwin. Thank you for the information. Is the retaurant still going? Can you tell us where it is, so it can go on someone's list of "Must check out?"

tommy!!! He's yummy.

I'll bet we could take this thread and do a "fill in the blank" on the chef's name, and substitute an awful lot of others, in many different countries. Just guessing, since I don't watch any cooking shows.

Oh, yeah: Sheila Lukens is very, very good. I didn't mention it because I don't have it. But it is excellent, and she is a terrific cookbook writer.

No: you're thinking of Mel Gibson.

In Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables, Elizabeth Schneider says: I've followed these instructions, and they work very well. Schneider also says that Persia is the most likely origin, although no one knows for sure.

Never actually had it, but Edy's makes a decaffeinated coffee ice cream.