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I didn't ever visit Pere Jeanty, so can't comment on the accuracy or inaccuracy of the Bauer review. However, barman paolo comments did pique my interest enough to dig it up on the sfgate website. Behold, the harsh and unfair dagger of Michael Bauer! http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...CMGH94KE8V3.DTL To me, restaurants stand or fall based on my last visit, not the reviews in the paper or comments on eGullet. -Erik

Yes, indeedy, it is quite warm up there. I was in St. Helena a couple days last week, and the high temps were over 100 both days. It's a dry heat, though! It was good to get back under my fog blanket! -Erik

Beautiful pictures, Susan! My wife and I are heading to St. Paul, MN for a wedding in a couple weeks, and hope to visit my in-law's cabin in Minocqua, WI. It will be nice to get a break from the city. -Erik PS. The leaves of Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) are poisonous, if ingested. So no adding them to salads!

We were there in April and Wappo was open then. Personally, I was very sad that Catahoula closed at the begining of the year. Also, what used to be the smokehouse, is now a Spanish (tapas) restaurant. We had dinner at All Seasons and quite enjoyed our meal. One of the desserts was even "deconstructed", which was amusing to run into in Calistoga. We also had a nice breakfast at Hydro. -Erik edited to add link to Wappo's website.

Wow! What an amusing and useful website Fish. has. I'm really impressed. Wish more restaurants would invest in similar (non-flash!) sites. Can't wait to take the ferry over and give it a try some weekend. -Erik

Picked up a bottle of the Herradura 92 proof blanco. Some first impressions. It is an attractive retro bottle. From their website, it appears they are moving to these bottles for almost the whole Herradura line. I was a little disappointed that they use a fairly flimsy screw-on plastic cap. Doing a side by side comparison with the regular 80 proof was interesting. The flavors are fairly similar; but, the added proof really intensifies the bouquet of the liquor. Honestly, drinking it from a wine glass at room temperature, the intensity of the smell from the newly opened 92 proof is almost overwhelming. The floral and grassy character of the tequila are really accentuated. Be interesting to compare it with Herradura's Hacienda del Cristeros product. Will do some mixing later this week and report back. -Erik

Verjuice, I haven't been to that particular festival in Berkeley... The SF bay area stone fruit was a little watery early in the season, due to the late rains; but, is really coming into its own now. Sampled some truly yummy stuff at yesterday's farmers' markets. If you like peaches, nectarines, and plums, you picked a great time to visit. -Erik

To be strict about it, there are just 4 things in beer, Water, Malted Grain (Barley usually, sometimes wheat), Hops (the aromatic flower of a vine), and yeast. The bitterness comes from the hops. I think you'll find most American micro or craft brewmakers tend to use a lot of hops and therefore are fairly bitter. German beermakers tend to take a more balanced approach between the flavors of the malt and hops. You may well find many German beers are more to your taste than a lot of American beers. In any case, the best beers are almost always the local beers, so don't be afraid to experiment. What you find appealing in Germany may surprise you. One hint might be to order smaller beers when you are out. If you are unsure if you will like something, ask for a small or even a taste, before taking the plunge on a pint or half liter. As long as the barman isn't too busy, they should be happy to oblige.

That sounds like a great idea, if I ever saw currants here. Boohoo! Sorry if this is a dumb question. I didn't have much luck with google. What exactly does "crème" mean in the name of a liqueur? I know it doesn't literally mean cream. Is it more like "crème de la crème"? Ultimate expression of an ingredient? Chambord is a black raspberry liqueur, not cassis, BTW. I guess it would be a high class "crème de mure"? -Erik

All the legal requirements of the various states and countries do make things confusing. I recently discovered, in CA, any fermented grain beverage with an ABV greater than 4%, (might have been 4.5,) cannot be called "beer" on its label. It has to be called ale or something else. -Erik

That does sound very tasty, except I don't really like milk. How about coconut milk instead? Anyone ever used that in sorbet or gelato? -Erik

Or Kir Breton with a lovely dry French style apple cider! mmmmm....

I assume everyone else here can google "tequila blight" just like me; but, about the best source for information I've found is Ian Chadwick's Tequila site. This page of Industry News had a great breakdown of the history and challenges the tequila industry is facing. http://www.ianchadwick.com/tequila/news.html

Herradura silver has been my favorite for years. I was toying with switching to some other brand, due to the price increases. However, I've read they are a responsible company and believe I will continue to support them. Mexican owned, bottled, and farmed. Sauza Hornitos used to be a favorite; but, I don't like the new packaging of the Sauza brands or billboard advertising campaigns I see for them here in San Francisco. They just changed hands in a massive transaction between several international conglomerates, and I think are now owned by Pernod Ricard. My next liquor purchase is going to be Herradura's 92 proof blanco. Wheee! -Erik

Here's a few I know about... From what I've read, most fruit based liqueurs should be consumed within 6 months or so after opening. My bottle of Chambord even had a warning included in the box. Which reminds me, it's about time for a kir royale... Homemade fruit liqueurs may last a year or two unopened. They will probably fade faster than commercial liqueur once uncorked. Depending on proof, it's also probably not a bad idea to keep these refrigerated after opening. The herbal liqueurs like Benedictine and Chartreuse keep much better. I'm not sure what the common sense time limit for them is. Unopened, they keep nearly forever. Since they are basically just flavored wine, aperetifs like Vermouth and Lillet should be refrigerated once opened and consumed fairly quickly. Given their alcohol content, most won't go bad, the flavors will just fade. Heat and oxidation are the big enemies. -Erik Edited for awful grammar. And I hadn't even had a cocktail!

Well, you can always try. Though, I think tapping it for Agave nectar might be more do-able. It is a different species of Agave, though. Agave weberii (weberi) vs. Agave tequilana. Weber Agave vs. Weber's Blue Agave. I don't think A. tequilana is grown much as a landscape plant. You do know yours is going to look like this some day? 5' Tall and as wide... http://tucsoncactus.org/plants_db_images/a...eri.kk.7-04.jpg And that's before it puts up its 30' tall flowering stalk...

Mojito Sorbet Serves 8 as Dessert. If you want a light green sorbet, stick with clear rum and regular sugar. Amber rums and/or Washed Raw Sugar (Demerara, Turbinado...) add flavor and character; but, color the final product. I served it with a garnish of fresh mint chiffonade and a splash of chilled rum. I based the procedure on a recipe for lavender sorbet I got from Linda Stradley's What's Cooking America website. 1 c Sugar 2 c Water 5 Sprigs of Mint 1/4 c Lime Juice 1/8 c Rum Zest of 2 Limes 2 T Mint Chiffonade In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mint sprigs. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand approximately 10 minutes. Place a fine strainer over a large bowl and pour syrup mixture through (straining out the mint). Add lime juice, rum, and lime zest to the strained syrup mixture and stir to combine. Chill. If you have an ice cream maker, process according to manufacturers instructions. About 5 minutes before it is finished processing, add the mint chiffonade to the freezing mixture. Store in a sealed container in the freezer. If you do not have an ice cream maker, chill an stainless steel or pyrex pan in your freezer. The sorbet mixture should not come up more than an inch along the side of the pan. Add mixture to pan, and stir with a fork every hour until well frozen. After it freezes process in batches in a blender or food processor, stir in mint chiffonade, and store in a sealed container in the freezer. Keywords: Dessert, Ice Cream ( RG1340 )

Mojito Sorbet Serves 8 as Dessert. If you want a light green sorbet, stick with clear rum and regular sugar. Amber rums and/or Washed Raw Sugar (Demerara, Turbinado...) add flavor and character; but, color the final product. I served it with a garnish of fresh mint chiffonade and a splash of chilled rum. I based the procedure on a recipe for lavender sorbet I got from Linda Stradley's What's Cooking America website. 1 c Sugar 2 c Water 5 Sprigs of Mint 1/4 c Lime Juice 1/8 c Rum Zest of 2 Limes 2 T Mint Chiffonade In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mint sprigs. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand approximately 10 minutes. Place a fine strainer over a large bowl and pour syrup mixture through (straining out the mint). Add lime juice, rum, and lime zest to the strained syrup mixture and stir to combine. Chill. If you have an ice cream maker, process according to manufacturers instructions. About 5 minutes before it is finished processing, add the mint chiffonade to the freezing mixture. Store in a sealed container in the freezer. If you do not have an ice cream maker, chill an stainless steel or pyrex pan in your freezer. The sorbet mixture should not come up more than an inch along the side of the pan. Add mixture to pan, and stir with a fork every hour until well frozen. After it freezes process in batches in a blender or food processor, stir in mint chiffonade, and store in a sealed container in the freezer. Keywords: Dessert, Ice Cream ( RG1340 )

No problem! I made it for the 4th and it turned out outstanding for me too. I used washed raw sugar for the syrup and an amber rum, so mine was a little brown-ish. The only change I made was to use all lime juice and bump up the amount to 1/4 cup. I was worried, if I increased the liquor too much, that I would end up with a frozen drink instead of sorbet. I poured some chilled rum over the sorbet when I served it. I like the extra mojito garnish idea, too. I did get a lello gelato jr. and it did an excellent job with the sorbet. It is a bit bigger than it looks in pictures and pretty heavy. However, it was nice and fast (~25 min) and it was great not to not have to futz around with making the granita in the freezer, and then run it through the blender. I'd gotten pretty proficient at the freezer procedure, so the end product was about the same. I'm looking forward to trying some true gelato, soon.

Enjoyed the article; but, was frustrated that aside from the Anchor, Sierra Nevada, and Flying Dog beers they mention, none of them are available here. A friend decided to have a Pale Ale tasting party, so I composed a list of West(-ish) Coast Pale Ales. XP Pale Ale (Bear Republic) Full Sail Pale Ale (Full Sail) Poleeko Gold Pale Ale (Anderson Valley) Blue Heron Pale Ale (Mendocino Brewing) Acme Pale Ale (North Coast Brewing) Dogtown Pale Ale (Lagunitas) Untouchable Pale Ale (Speakeasy) Steelhead Extra Pale (Mad River) Alaskan Pale (Alaskan Brewing) Liberty Ale (Anchor) Pale Ale (Sierra) Mirror Pond Pale Ale (Deschutes) Stone Pale Ale (Stone Brewing) I've never seen this at a liquor store or bar here. fixed spelling

Hi... Generally, I drink Chinese "Green" Teas these days. My favorites are Lung Ching Dragonwell, Gunpowder, and Hubei Silver Tip. I get them from a local coffee seller which has now expanded to a small national chain (Peet's). I spend $6-$15 per 4oz. Seldom more than that. I've found I enjoy Indian Black Teas, as well. Not so much Chinese Black Tea (Keemum, etc.), though I did go through a Lapsang Souchong phase quite a few years ago. -Erik edited to clarify.

I see Lyle's Golden Syrup in quite a few places here these days. Check food stores that specialize in British Imports. Whole Foods and other health food places seem to carry it as well. Looks like you can even order it from the Amazon Gourmet Food Beta. Doing a bit more searching, it looks like Steen's Cane Syrup is available from a third party store (Cajun Grocer) on Amazon, as well. -Erik

Little bump to this thread... My wife and I quite enjoyed "2003 Hewitson "Miss Harry" Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre" this week. It is a nice reasonable wine with softer dark berry/currant flavors and a decent tannic spine. The makers describe it as a rhone style blend. I'm not sure that they really quite have that style down. However, the fruit was much more restrained than many other Australian wines I've tried and it is interesting enough in character that I would certainly buy it again and recommend it. Erik

I'm thinking about a "mojito sorbet" for 4th of July. It's based on a successful herb lemon sorbet I made earlier last month. Do you think this will work? Erik ----- Here's my idea for prepartion. 1 cup sugar 2 cups water A bunch of Mint 2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime/lemon juice 1/8 cup rum chiffonade of mint lime zest In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Add the mint; stir until mixture comes to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand approximately 10 minutes. Place a fine strainer over a large bowl and pour syrup mixture through (straining out the mint). Add lime juice, rum, mint and lime zest to the strained syrup mixture; stir until thoroughly blended. Chill and run through your favorite ice cream or gelato maker procedure.

Personally, I'm all for the smoking ban in restaurants for a bunch of reasons. I'm a bit more ambivalent about the bar smoking ban. We have one here, and frankly, a lot of bars smelled better with the stale tobacco smell covering up the stale beer and restroom sanitizer (among other) smells. Erik