Lady T

Miso soup. Yogurt. Sympathy.

Ryne, if you find yourself near a Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop (like the one in Evanston, IL, for example), order some cheese grits with breakfast if they don't come on the side already. Lovely stuff.

He'd followed me the entire time: right through the Washington Library while I pondered reading matter, into and out of Sam's while I selected wines, all the way around the produce section of Treasure Island. Tonight, he'd shadowed me through the dark stormy night, his car just behind my cab, straight to the very door of Charlie Trotter's. He was sticking to me like honeyed dates, and I knew he was trouble. So I killed him. The Chef forgives his patrons many things, but I was about to find out whether the impeccable servers would get the blood dry-cleaned off my suit jacket by the time I'd finished my eight-course degustation...

Do, please. I'm going there tomorrow night, and now I'm wondering what to expect.

A partial fix is in...still can't make the "tours" work, but I can now get into the site. How's it working for other folks?

McWho? I am soooooo elsewhere.

I just called the restaurant and left word about this. No estimate on when the fix will be in place. It is a very nice home page, I suppose...

I certainly do!

I'll be in on Wednesday night. It'll be fun to compare notes...dang it, that website isn't working for me either, not in 7.0.

I need to see about getting off my church job on the Sunday and getting a sub for myself; then find out what the other Heartlanders are doing as to travel/hotel arrangements...call me a 'maybe' too!

Hm. Adding up the charges here... The righteous side: I do go out of my way to stay away from Jewel/Safeway/Dominick's plastic foods and spend my money instead at neighborhood places, Whole Foods (rightly nicknamed 'Whole Paycheck'!), and Treasure Island, for the freshest, most unscrewed-up organic goods I can find. I do grind my own black/green/white peppercorns, by hand, to spec. I do chop/mince all my own fresh organically grown herbs by hand. I do chop/mince/now-and-then brunoise my own fresh shallots and garlic, by hand. I do juice all my own fruits and veggies with a hand reamer. I do shred all my own cheeses to desired fineness as needed, by hand. I do my own bread/muffin/pie baking, from scratch. BUT: I do occasionally use canned beans, particularly for fast white-bean salads in the summer that don't require stove/oven use. I do keep a shelf full of canned low-salt College Inn stocks. I do use bottled jalapeno salsa sometimes, instead of chopping my own whole jalapenos as needed. I do get chopped liver from a local deli instead of making it at home myself. What's the verdict, kinfolk?

More power to you all; I can get the football shape with my paring knife, but not in any stinkin' seven sides. More like 22 by the time I get a semi-respectable (and embarrassingly small) shape! Awhile back on one of the Cooking with Claudine TV episodes, I did see Pepin demonstrate the cut on some cucumbers, which were cooked to go with salmon. Also saw him do the same on one of the Julia's Kitchen episodes -- when Pepin had finished his own faultless example, Julia Child looked at her own lopsided attempt and promptly ate it. I should probably practice more.

Pad ki-mao with shrimp from My Thai Restaurant at 30 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Eating at my desk while posting on eGullet about eating at my desk...

Is that fall date for substantial completion of the building, FG, or for occupancy by tenants, or for retail openings? Those are potentially three very different dates, and I would imagine the buildouts for Keller and Trotter would be somewhat intricate even as restaurants go. That's before one even gets to the problems of getting permits and working with contractors in NYC.

I doubt this too, at least for any time soon. Rumors have been circulating for six to eight years now (that I can think of, anyhow) about Trotter looking for a suitable place in NYC. It's hard to imagine a group of investors that can/would offer CT a deal he'd accept with the total control he'd want, for the length of time he'd want it, in this economy. I'll believe it when the paper's signed...hmm, no, cancel that. I'll believe it when they seat me and I can dig a fork into it.

Brother. Now wouldn't that be The American Table?

I bought it last month, and am still rereading the good bits. Marvelous stuff!

I also notice that author Neil wasn't acting like the customer that all servers dream of making happy. The service people I encountered in NYC when I visited there last month were at the very least polite, and most often pretty genial. Now I begin to wonder if that's simply because I mostly remembered to preface requests with "When you get a moment..." or "Would it be possible to..."?

Michigan Avenue, is it? Can you steer them gently to Bistro 110? Barely a block away from that stinkin' Cheesecake Factory below street level at the Hancock, if they just gotta have the cheesecake fix too.

Well, maybe try a spot like Berghoff's or Miller's Pub or the mid-scale Italian Village restaurant: Chicago tourist destinations to be sure, but not chain-owned and sources of more than halfway decent, interesting food and wine.

On mornings when I want a savory breakfast, taramasalata on toast is frequently what results. I make a lot of it during the summer.

Beautiful review! Looks like I'm going to have to start the list for my next NYC visit...

Madam, I do. The Boul Mich lights during Christmas season are most particularly gorgeous. Fair disclosure: Not everything I eat ends up on the board...

Move it to the top of your list. Chef Gamba rocks, and the only thing cooler than the view from a table by the windows during the day would be the view from a table by the windows at night!

Damn, am I glad I'm flying to NYC tomorrow, or what? This is gonna be fun! Shouldn't there be a coach house out at the back of the Foundation property to house visiting chefs/journos/eGulletarians? With a sliding scale of payment depending on income? Where on the second floor will the infirmary be, by the way, where cooks can go to have their slashes stitched and their burns treated free of charge (and the painkillers are plentiful and gratis!)? (Edited to include the afterthought)