BryanZ

I finally found some Neuske bacon that most everyone raves about. Just thought I'd add my two cents and say the the stuff is damn good. A great balance between "cure" and "porkiness."

Shalmanese. It's been found that after melting most frozen shapes assume a circular form. So while I think a pyramid might be out of the question, a doughnut shaped thing could be cool. In terms of the liquid toast, Chef Cantu has done the doughnut soup though I'm not sure how easy that would be too alginate and spherize. I do like the idea of the hot/cold tomato. People have made tomato caviar, but the acid might cause some problems.

Just thought I'd start this. They'll be opening on the 12th if all goes according to plan. I'm not sure how significant this place we be, but it is nice to see some higher-end dining on 9th Street. I walked in today to see how the room was shaping up and it seemed alright, if a little smaller than I expected. I don't want to pass any premature judgement, so I won't say anything further. Supposedly the space is now owned by a South American couple, possibly hinting at a South American style steakhouse (though not in the rodizio style). I'll try to get more info. in the coming days.

I think the idea for a mac and cheese croqueta is a good one. Perhaps it would be better if they made them smaller and served them in orders of three or four. The filling doesn't look all that appetizing in this version, but it could definitely work.

This would be a great thing for me to do but given my current circumstances it's impossible. I chair the dining advisory committe at my school, so I'm intimately in tune with the tax issues that the dining services faces when money/points start moving around. Even if I could, the equipment is very expensive (ie card reader, printer, etc). I'm up to my ears in schoolwork and writing for the newspaper and trying to start a consulting firm. You should come anyway. It'll be a good break.

slbunge, go to eBay. You can find commercial quality free-standing hobs for not much more than a cheap model sold at places like Amazon and the like.

Interesting. Does anyone know if this type of product is available in the States? I'm trying to think of something similar but can't come up with anything.

You definitely do not need the 0.1 control and you'll be fine without circulation.

Pontormo, I definitely staying in school, no doubt. This is just another project of mine. I like doing my own thing, so I create opportunities for myself with varying degrees of success. Tess, the food is intellectual; that's one of the aims. The problem is getting people to hear about it. I have a good deal of interest but people seem unwilling to take the plunge, so to speak. Viable suggestions anyone?

It was more from a sytlistic standpoint. I think it does say something that they're looking to move east (to, yes, more people, but perhaps also to more adventurous gullets). That's all. I also agree this isn't everyday food. I'm not trying to change the way people eat, I just want them to have the opportunity to be exposed to new techniques and ideas. But enough of this...

If you guys actually come and eat with me, we can have less theoretical pseudo-sociological discourse and start talking about food. Yay!

This is a very valid point, but I think going somewhere new and out of the ordinary adds to the experience or, at the least, makes it more memorable. In the future, however, I may be able to do this. We shall see.

I understand how my statement could have been construed as crass and even offensive. Of course, statements like that aren't directed to members of the eG community, who obviously are deeply invested in all food-related pursuits. On the whole, however, diners in the South and Midwest (save Chicago itself) are less open to new cuisines/ideas/etc. I realize this is again a generalization, but as a generalization, on the aggregate, I fervently believe it's the truth. This has been unofficially documented here on eG in countless threads. Just look at the brilliant chefs at the Keyah Grande (ideasinfood). I'm not speaking for them, but it does say volumes that they're looking to move *east* to set up their own destination restaurant. Conversely, look at StudioKitchen, located in metropolitan Philadelphia. The food there, roughly similar to that of the Keyah Grande, received ardent support from that local foodie community. I realize these aren't necessarily analagous examples, but I do believe regional geography does have something to do with it. To make matters worse, I don't have the means to focus my "marketing" to those in the surrounding area who do have ambitious tastes. It blows my mind how people still call Magnolia Grill extremely creative. To say nothing of the quality of the food and experience that that venerable restaurant provides, I cannot say that it represents truly creative food today. Again, I respect the restaurant immensely for its influence on the Triangle's dining scene, but we NEED something other than New Southern. In my opinion, Bin 54, a steakhouse of all things, is currently offering one of the most modern and creative dining experiences in the area. I think this says something about the dining market (though not neccearily just in NC). I stand by my original statement and hope that those who I am able to reach who do care enough are adventurous enough to try something new (be it cuisine, location, experience). ETA: One could also aruge (as has been done many times over) that people everywhere aren't ready for this type of food; though honestly (as I've said many times over) the stuff I do is NOT all that out there). Regardless, that's a risk I'm willing to take. So while I am somewhat singling out Triangle area, my statements could theoretically be expanded to include, well, everywhere. That said, there is a chance a project like this may be more successful in somewhere like NYC or Philadelphia for a variety of factors (population density, public transporation, affluence, more adventurous diners on the aggregate).

I guess it depends on what you want. If you're truly after "fine dining" and "reputation," then Fearrington is probably your best bet. This isn't to say, however, that there aren't good, lower-key restaurants that are more in tune with the area/community.

But it was only like $2. How could you not get something just for bragging rights.

I would say Fearrington House. It's got the best reputation of anything in the area, Relais Chateaux and all that, so you're probably best of looking there. I'm quite sure they take on externs.

I've been having some problems with the design in terms of getting it to work on a variety of computers. On my and my webmaster's Macs running OSX 10.3.9 and 10.4, using Firefox 1.5, it looks about right. Outside of that, the guessing game starts. I find this to be quite annoying.

So far I've only had one. Others are in the works. I'm kind of in soft-opening now. Once I start receiving guests I'll have more to show. Once I've settled into school, I'll start experimenting more and revitalize my blog. The problem with this experimentation is that it costs money, which I don't have a ton due to the expenses of getting this off the ground. Again, obviously this is not how one would run a proper business. Good thing this isn't one. In the interim, I have several hurdles to clear. 1) Can't advertise traditionally due to cost and other issues 2) Community of students on site does not have disposable income 3) Immediate area is not exactly affluent or into food 4) Surrounding area has money, but I have no way to reach them (see #1) and they are not used to this kind of food and not all that experimental in their tastes These are the most pressing issues. I'm doing what I can to spread the word, but it's a fine line, so to speak. Ideally my menus change everytime because this is the way I want to cook. If however repitition is called for, then I might have to do that. It's all about trade-offs.

As I've said, I'm not sure if NC is ready for this. I would love to be shown that it is. I'd say about all of my food is not "avant garde" as an end in itself. It does taste good, and the techniques I most frequently use simply allow me to fabricate better food. This is in no way clearer than in my love of cooking meat proteins sous vide. The results are great and highly repeatable and have almost zero chance of error. The same can be said for my usage of xanthan; it creates great and interesting results. Yes, I mess around with other stuff, Activa, alginate, etc, but fundamentally I sincerely believe my food tastes good. It's creative in theory, yes, but also tasty in reality. The latter is what ultimately counts the most and what I hope will attract guests.

Of course, this is a valid point. At least personally, I realize that I'm taking that quote (and all that's implied with it) out of context.

A totally random question, but what do you think of that chocolate in the orange wrapper? I don't know much about chocolate and can only tell the difference between "good" and "bad" chocolate but not much in between. I ask because I can get that orange stuff at school on food points (ie "fake" money). Is it okay to bake with, complex enough to serve on its own?

My favorite food in the whole wide world, and I love all foods. I agree with Docsconz, however, in that you should probably try some at a good restaurant before you let yourself loose on your own ducks. That way you'll know if you like it and if it's worth the extra time investment.

nope, butter is a fat. it may flow (that means it's fluid), but liquid means water-based, which means (to bring this back to cooking) that it can't get above 212 degrees, and therefore provides a gentle cooking medium. As an aside, I'm quite sure that liquid refers to anything that's neither solid or gaseous. That said, I'm siding with Jan here. Yes, the butter-poached technique is kind of like a quick confit, but in terms of semantics, people are more likely to understand "butter-poached" than anything that has "confit" in it.

I resent that. Joking. Well, kind of. The fact that this person is getting paid, makes his/her writing from such an uniformed perspective completely unacceptable and even irresponsible. Small town or not, why accept or make excuses for such a grave illustration of ignorance? Why not? It's a reporters job to have a solid understanding of what he chooses to write about about. If the reporter doesn't adequately understand the subject at hand how can he skillfully articulate the concept to his audience? This is wholeheartedly agree with. I'm not taking issue with you MarketSt, but incompetence like this makes me so very sad.

This makes me want to die.