BryanZ

The Spotted Pig Classy, Frank, classy.

I would try to go on informational interviews at local places that you know and respect. Perhaps the top-notch places aren't for you, but you could try looking one or two steps down. Call restaurants, stop by, be persistent, and get to know people. To be quite honest, knowing someone influential or well-known in the area to put in a call for you might at least convince a chef to spend some time talking to you. Also, offer to work for free. If you're persistent enough you're probably going to find something.

In Durham there's a bunch more options. Magnolia Grill is recommended by most everyone but could be a little crowded for your purposes. Also there's Four Square and Nana's. On the hotel dining side there's The Fairview at the Washington Duke Inn but that might be a little expensive for your budget with wines. Back in Chapel Hill there's the Carolina Crossroads, which is relatively similar to The Fairview in feel.

Ha, credit, yeah right! Unfortunately we don't get credit for working on the newspaper, or any other student organization for that matter, nor do we even have a journalism major. So I guess it really sucks for those kids who want to go into journalism but aren't getting any official recognition for it. I think the people who are saying "get paid" are somewhat jaded. It may help keep wages high, but that's about it. It's not likely that many local newspapers are going to pay an 18-20 year old writer all that well. I'd say get whatever experience you can, beg, plead, all that jazz, and if you're good you'll eventually get somewhere.

YOU'RE GETTING PAID??? We need to form a student food-writers union! edited to add: Good luck in the job hunt, my friend. If you were on my coast we might be competing head-to-head. The problem is that most publications just don't take that many college-aged interns, especially since food writing isn't exactly a popular career path. Another problem is that large magazine publishers own a gamut of different magazines, from the food/wine stuff that you're interested in to Women's Home Journal and Sport Hunter's Digest. It's relatively difficult to specify in exactly which magazine you want to work within the context of a publishing conglomerate.

I'm sorry that I don't have any experience with octopus sous vide, but I'd love to hear if you make any progress with it. It seems very interesting and I have no idea how sous vide would work on that type of protein.

That's got to be about the least useful thing I've ever read on eG, no personal attack intended. People may be willing to help a young ambitious person, but are pretty unlikely to help an ambitious person without a college degree. Try even getting in the door of any reputable newspaper or magazine without a college degree. I assure you that in today's job market it's not going to happen.

As someone who's doing many of the same things as you, let me make a couple suggestions based on my experiences. Obviously, read, write, eat, research. That goes without saying. Also, you seem to write predominantly about Asian cuisine and trends. That might be what's available in your area or what you feel most comfortable with, but I encourage you to branch out. You're writing to college kids who aren't going to notice if you're writing a little bit outside of your comfort level. Exposing yourself to new cuisines and really researching them can only help. The same idea extends toward searching out that obscure Ethiopian restaurant or the hole-in-the-wall taqueria. By becoming more and more familiar with the wide variety of cuisines in your area, you'll only become a better, more experienced writer. Since you're writing for a student newspaper, perhaps you might want to be more whimsicial. (I liked the line about the ridge-y Foreman pancakes.) This may be a function of your newspaper's journalistic style, but it's hard for a college student to read through 500+ words on the merits of one blend of tea over another, or the nuances between different pho broths. By making your writing more fun you might garner more readers who might get a laugh while also learning something valuable about food. I also might suggest

I would tend to agree, but undeniably different, as well.

And Docsconz beats me to the punch yet again. This is becoming a trend. But yes, what he says seems to be accurate according to my research. Since 113F/45C is a rather low temperature, over long periods of time--a few hours--there is a greater chance for the growth of harmful bacteria. With that said, if you cooked a piece of fish at that temp for 3 hours would you get sick, probably not, but that long of a cook time isn't necessary. An hour should certainly suffice for a decent-sized piece of fish without completely changing the texture (in a bad way).

I'm not sure this is the case. For super long cooks, perhaps, since a couple hours at 52C isn't likely to make that much of a difference in the context of 28 more hours at around 55C. For fish and other shorter cooking items, however, certain reactions may not take place if the protein only reaches the target temperature for say a few minutes out of a 20 minute cooking process. In my experience, only a couple degrees makes a huge difference in fish, on both the + and - sides. To mess with that wouldn't product very accurate results.

Just call a month to the day before exactly when the reservation line opens and you'll probably get something. You just have to be flexible with your times.

I also use an OXO and find it to be merely okay. It's certainly functional, but I wish the blades were sharper.

I make a very similar dish but stuff a mixture of shiitake mushrooms and bread crumbs between the loins. It's more labor intensive, but the presentation is really cool.

I know this has been brought up in other threads, but does flatiron steak have other names. I'm interested in Marc Olson's results.

I stand duly corrected, as I haven't been there during Restaurant Week. I agree with FatGuy's point that USHG seems to do the best job with the event, but as jogoode astutely points out, the $25 investment might be worth it just to give it a shot.

Thanks, Chef. I don't take it personally at all. Sous vide is in reality a simple basic technique, however, it is the subtleties that make it great, such as spicing the dish and finishing it. The only thing making it difficult right now is the relative hassle and expense of the equipment. ← A Ronco® Seal-a-Meal and a Crock-Pot cost how much? ← That's not an entirely fair point, though. While one can sous vide cook using just a stove, thermometer, and some plastic wrap, that's not exactly the best way to go about doing it. The same can be said for the Crock-Pot and a bargain vacuum saver. If you really want to do it right you're going to want to get a set up like nathanm, and that, undoubtedly, is a significant investment. Even striking a middle ground, say finding a decent water bath on eBay and getting a decent Tilia FoodSaver is going to be a few hundred dollars. This is a lot to most people, especially considering the fact that this method is pretty "untested" by most home cooks--you don't see Better Homes & Gardens publishing sous vide recipes every month.

I think going with a 66C cook vs. 55C cook will give significantly different results. The 65C is closer to a super low braise, I think, and gives that softer, braised texture. The 55C method seems to maintain and concentrate the richness of the short rib while making the texture more akin to a good sirloin or strip steak. If one just wants really soft short ribs, then a normal braise works well. The sous vide process at 55C with that type of meat creates a texture that distinctly unique. At 65C you probably won't get much of that attractive pink color.

I find that it's hard to go wrong at Cafe Boulud. Restaurant Week is a good time to capitalize on that fact.

This doesn't really tell anyone a whole lot.

If one hasn't visited a restaurant it's kind of hard to pass such a judgement based purely on a concept. Personally, I don't care if the restaurant was founded by survivors, friends, family, whatever, but to prematurely condemn it without any leigitimate grounds is rather foolish.

Looks good. Mahi mahi is not a fish I would think to prepare sous vide.

I think that this review most accurately sums up what is, in my opinion, the true essence of Per Se. Be the dish simple or complex, at least one individual ingredient seems to stand out and really draw attention to its true essence.

I was there a couple weeks ago and found it to be operating normally. I feel like they may have toned down some of the spice in their dishes, but this type of moderate inconsistency is not radically different than numerous other visits.

Umm, ditto to the above again.