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Wow! That's quite a list. I'll try to give some recommendations re: San Francisco later today. They have very good home style pie at Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero. They had Olallieberry when we were there earlier this summer. The seafood is also really good, if a bit expensive.

Returned to town for a couple hours and managed to eat at Lombardino's and The Old-Fashioned. I was excited about both of these for very different, but, similarly nostalgic reasons. I grew up in the Madison area and Lombardino's was one of my favorite places to go. My sister and I loved the Wishing well, barking dog, and fountain. The pizzas were good and when I got older I discovered the drinks were stiff. I guess the restaurant fell on hard times for a while; but, now a couple have purchased it, remodeled, and are serving something like authentic Italian food. Unfortunately, I think they fail at this. Instead of sticking to what I consider Italian or even Italian American recipes, they are embellishing the preparations with American comfort food ingredients and flavors. I love the combination of broccoli raab and orecchiette. Normally, this is a wonderful spicy light dish highlighting the vegetable. Here it was served in something similar to an Alfredo sauce and the taste of the broccoli was completely lost. I had a wonderfully cooked beef dish; but, how to explain the honey mustard sauce it was served with? The Old-Fashioned is another interesting experiment. An attempt to create high end dining with a menu similar to a traditional Wisconsin Supper Club. I really liked the appetizer assortments served on Lazy Susans and the cocktails. My wife loved her lake perch fish fry. However, my trout was over cooked and the fresh herbs with which it was seasoned were too strongly flavored for the delicate fish. I would return to the Old-Fashioned and stick with appetizers, cocktails, beer and safe menu choices. Despite a very well prepared Negroni cocktail, I doubt I would return to Lombardino's.

My wife and I had dinner with a group of friends last Saturday night at Custom House. I didn't take copious notes; but, across the board the food was wonderful. A couple of the highlights were a wonderful corn soup and a godlike pork two ways type main course. The menu was a bit terse, and lacking in descriptions beyond an incomplete list of ingredients. I was really happy with my pork dish; but, from the menu I expected something completely different. There were some oddities with service, mostly relating to our waiter. One of my friends described his attitude as, "convinced he was starring in his own hollywood movie". I am something of a cocktail geek, so we thought we would try some of the house cocktails. We asked for recommendations and got a response to the effect, "At my other job I am a bartender, so I would suggest you go with a classic cocktail like a Martini or a Manhattan." Sigh. Others at the table eventually wheedled information out of him regarding the house cocktails. I asked for a rye Manhattan. The waiter then asked me what I meant by "Rye Manhattan". I thought he was winding me up and started to explain that it was a type of American Whiskey. He stuttered something about Canadian Whiskey and ran off to check with the Bartender. Sadly, he discovered they had no straight rye Whiskey, so I settled on a Maker's Manhattan. It was fairly well made. The other house cocktails I got to try were also nice. Some of the cocktails were rather warm. I don't know if their ice machine was on the fritz or if they display their liquor on lighted shelves; but, it was disconcerting. They took them back and chilled them again; but, they then were watery to my taste. The red wine we ordered with dinner was also on the warm side. In any case, aside from these quibbles, we had a really great evening at Custom House. I would be very happy to get the chance to return.

Hey Kevin, I've not been to the Islands, so I can't say for sure. However, I do know "Ti' Punch" is short for "Petit Punch". If you go with the French pronunciation of "Petit", it makes sense to me that it would be close to "tee" than "tie".

Thanks again for the recommendations. We had a great whirlwind 36 hours in Chicago. Wonderful meal at the Custom House and a great night of really good food and a little too much very tasty beer at Hopleaf. Hopleaf is a looooong El ride from downtown, though.

I recently had a very nice variation on a Sidecar which the restaurant called a "Cherry Blossom". Made with sour cherry infused brandy (Cherry Bounce!), cointreau, and lemon juice. Very tasty.

Alexander Cocktail (No. 2) 1/3 Creme de Cacao (1/2 oz) 1/3 Brandy (1 oz) 1/3 Fresh Cream (1/2 oz) Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. I accidentally made the brandy version of the cocktail with the proportions of the (Gin) Alexander Cocktail (No. 1). I don't mind this version, actually. Brandy-choco-licious. There's no way to get around the fact that it is a fairly sweet drink, but shaking it really well gives it a nice light foamy texture. I think original proportions above would be a little too sweet for me. In any case, I'm off for a little vacation in the Brandy Belt, so I thought I'd do this version first. I do seem to recall the Brandy Alexander being a blended or ice cream drink when I was growing up in the midwest, though.

Yes, once you have tomatillo salsa, you can make many, many things, like this delicious looking recipe from frontera kitchens: Tomatillo Braised Pork Loin with Herby White Beans Ooo... That looks good. I'll try to type up a couple of my favorite Diana Kennedy recipes featuring tomatillos and PM them to you.

Double bastard is Stone's, well, Double Bastard. 10% Alcohol, incredibly hopped and very sweet. I think this was the 2005 release. Perhaps, we just weren't in the mood, or the cocktails earlier in the evening had thrown our palates off. I haven't been down to their brew pub, yet. One of these days...

Cool! I've been eyeing the winter melons at the farmers' market and have always wanted to make something with them. This looks like a great dish. Do you cut up the chicken and serve it with the soup? Or use it for something else? I'm familiar with Red Dates (usually called jujube here). Are "Mut Zho" regular palm dates?

Sean, I just started concentrating on learning about R(h)ums this year, and find it a pretty daunting field of study. I think the confusing thing about R(h)um is the number and spectrum of products which can be called by that name. The different countries and their varying laws about labelling also make it a bit more confusing than other spirits. It's easy to get a handle on spirits like Bourbon, because most of the product under that name taste fairly similar to one another and come from a relatively limited geographic area. Even easier with a spirit like Rye, where there are literally only a handful of brands. There are a variety of tequilas; but, they mostly come from Mexico and have relatively consistent labelling controlled by one goverment. There are dozens of countries which produce rums and hundreds of individual varieties and methods of production, from Austria's Stroh to Venezuela's Santa Teresa. Erik

My wife and I shared a Stone Double Bastard last night. We've enjoyed this beer in the past and were psyched about drinking it. But, we ended up not even being able to finish our glasses. Seemed too sweet, and had a harsh bitter note that put both of us off.

Chef Morou Ouattara of the late Signatures restaurant in Washington DC and a recent Iron Chef America competitor was originally from the Ivory Coast. Unfortunately, he lost to Bobby Flay in Battle Frozen Pea.

Sam, That was my initial thought, too. However, when I looked for Albertine recipes which actually specified, the ones I found called for the yellow variety, so I went with that. I've since found a couple versions that call for the green. I dunno if it seems appealing enough to try it again with the green. Maybe if I replaced some of the volume of liqueur with vodka.

Though, after the addition of the squeeze of orange peel to the Albertine, my wife compared the flavor to that of a chewable vitamin. YMMV. I wonder if it should be green chartreuse? That would make it awfully high test, for an after dinner cocktail and also push the flavor far more in the herbaceous direction.

Embury's recipe for the Alaska is one part yellow chartreuse to 5-7 parts gin. Basically the same ratio as his "ideal" martini. That's too much fuzzy math for me to do the ounce conversion. A little more than a Quarter ounce chartreuse to 2 oz gin, maybe? The next cocktail is the first of what I'll call the "party" cocktails. I guess these are designed to be made in quantity and drunk with a group of guests. This one seems to be a dessert cocktail. Most of these use the "glass" measure. I'm going with 2 oz per glass. Albertine Cocktail (Six People) 2 glasses Kirsch (1 oz kirsch) 2 glasses Cointreau (1 oz Cointreau) 2 glasses Chartreuse (1 oz Yellow Chartreuse, per cocktaildb) A few drops Maraschino Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Fortunately, this one was easy to quarter. And I think the size is about right for 3 as an after dinner cocktail. Complex and more palatable than I imagined. Still very sweet! I found it much improved with a squeeze of orange peel over the top.

Why, bless you Old Foodie! I knew there was a reason I should purchase some Navy Rum. This is a perfect excuse! Arrrrr! Indeed!

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, July 13, 2006 Australia's western frontier: Maverick vintners make sophisticated, well-priced wines on the other side of the Outback, Michael D. Apstein Bargain Wines: Revolutionary wines from France, W. Blake Gray Spirits: A taste as sweet as a World Cup title, W. Blake Gray Pairings: Duck game for berries, Pinot Noir, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Duck with Savory Berry-Onion Compote The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, Lynne Char Bennett The Cheese Course: Wisconsin's Buttermilk Blue adds pizazz to summer salads, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Hukilau, Tara Duggan CRITICS' PICKS: Hats -- or heads -- off for Bastille Day, Bill Addison "Frenchmen, expats and Francophiles of all nationalities will join the grand celebration du jour on Friday in honor of Bastille Day. Known as "le 14 Juillet" and "la fete nationale" in France, the day honors the storming of the Bastille prison that sparked the beginning of the French Revolution." Dining Update: XYZ, Michael Bauer

RE: Use of White Onions When I've been out for Chinese food in SF, I've always assumed that the use of white or red onions was an Americanization. But, I see you use them for quite a few dishes. Are they used in some regions more commonly than others?

Article on Limoncello in today's Chronicle. A taste as sweet as a World Cup title I found this quote interesting:

Well, holy crap man! Take care and try to be safe. I was hoping to get a chance to ask you a smart ass question about whether you still had your cook's callousses one day. Or if, like me, you now have baby soft office worker hands.

Really? Especially after adding the bitters, we found it a pleasant drink, even made with more Yellow Chartreuse than the Trader Vic's recipe. Herbaceous and just a touch sweet. Certainly, the Chartreuse is the dominant element. I will try a drier version of the Nome some time (1 1/2 oz gin, 1/4 oz chartreuse, 1/4 oz dry sherry) and see if it is more to my liking. I think Embury's version of the Alaska is even drier than that. I'll have to look when I get home. His method of measuring by "parts" gives me even bigger headaches than the fractions the Savoy uses.

Thanks for the encouragement evilhomer! I agree, the Affinity is a real winner, even not really being a scotch fancier. The next up is the Alaska Cocktail. 3/4 Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeaters) 1/4 Yellow chartreuse (3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse) Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. Sadly, you will note that I got the proportions somewhat wrong. The side trip on this journey was what David Embury called the "Nome". Whose proportions are dictated by, "It can be greatly improved by using less chartreuse and adding 1 to 2 parts dry sherry. This is the NOME." 2/3 gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeaters) 1/6 Yellow Chartreuse 1/6 Dry Sherry Stir. In any case, especially after adding some optional orange bitters per cocktaildb, we preferred the original badly measured formulation and didn't find Embury's embelishment an improvement. Though, I do think this drink should be properly made by stirring, not shaking.

Isn't a Crusta much sweeter than a margarita? Also no bitters in margaritas. Cocktaildb give the brandy crusta recipe as: 1 1/2 oz brandy 1/4 oz maraschino 1/2 oz Curacao 1/4 oz lemon dash bitters plus lemon rind hoo ha A margarita is typically something like... 1 1/2 oz tequila 3/4 oz lime juice (more sour than lemon) 1/2 oz triple sec