jsmeeker
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Posts posted by jsmeeker
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Looks delicious. I wish I could have made it this year.
Did any body get a good root beer float?
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In the past couple of weeks Caesar's announced some new restaurants. Probably one of the worst kept secrets in town over the past 5 years was when would Bradley Ogden close and what would go in the space. Then once Gordon Ramsay landed at the Paris Hotel with his steakhouse, the worse kept secret was when Gordon would open a restaurant in the Bradley Ogden space. Apparently such issues as contracts take an incredible amount of time, and money, to become something tangible in Las Vegas. Goodbye's were passed out to Ogden and his staff last week, (apparently then actually welcomed the final word), and within two days I received a press release announcing Gordon Ramsay's Pub at Caesar's Palace. One hopes it's far better than the Pub down the road with the name of Todd English over the door.
Caesar's then announced a few days later that the long awaited reconstruction of the buffet, (formerly known as Cafe Lago), will open in September under the name of Baccahnal Buffet. It sounds like its going to top the bigger and more lavish buffets in Las Vegas.
I'm seriously considering hitting up Gordon Ramsey Steak at Paris on my next trip to Vegas in November. Looking forward to seeing what they do with the gastro pub in the old Bradley Ogden space.
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I dined at Robuchon last Feb when I was staying at the Imperial Palace. I was told a gold cadillac labelled MGM Grand would pick me up, but it didn't appear. The attendant asked who I was waiting for and I said the Robuchon vehicle. He directed me to a black SUV, no labelling whatsoever. Felt like I was in a spy movie. Food was good, although the atmosphere was more Versailles than one would expect in Vegas in this era. I kept expecting Marie Antoinette to come out and offer me some cake.
lol.. Staying at the IP and going to Robuchon at the Mansion at MGM Grand. That's a big change in environments.
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Just a bottle of Tanqueray. Nothing exciting. But now I can make more Negronis using the bottle of Carpano Antica I have.
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Tell us more about how you plan to use the peach with the bourbon. I've made a bourbon old fashioned using peaches before. But that's it.
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Seems like a neat trick.
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I'll be in Las Vegas in a few weeks. I wonder if any of the steak joints on the strip will have it on the menu by then
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I gotta get to Freddy's. I think Fatburger is coming to Dallas. But not sure when. Of course, it's possible that it's here and I just didn't get the memo.
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can you give a basic explanations of the major styles of rum? I know it's more complicated than white, dark, gold, spiced. I see this "rum agricole" , but don't understand what it means. Same thing with "overproof" rum. Then there is Jamaican. Is there something specific to it beyond being made in Jamaica?
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large chains? I would say none of them. Especially if you talk about chains that are only or primarily delivery.
If you go extend to places like CPK, then that is a decent choice if you like the style of pizzas they have. Grimaldi's is very good, but the number of locations they have is fairly limited. But if one was in the area, that is where I would go.
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The website for the Local Milk product has one more specific comment about pasteurization, buried in a different FAQ answer:
"What’s the difference between your milk and organic milk?
The biggest difference between our milk and any other milk is that it’s fresher and tastes better. Most organic milk has a 60-day shelf life because it’s ultra-pasteurized, while our milk has 17-day pasteurization. Organic milk is more about the farmer’s agricultural practices and how the herd is fed than the purity or quality of the milk. In terms of the use of antibiotics, we believe that when a cow gets sick, you should remove it from the milking herd and treat it, and once it’s healthy and the antibiotics have been washed out of its system, return it to the herd. Organic farmers don’t have this option and must remove the cow completely. If they choose to treat the cow, they can’t return it to the herd."
Interesting. My google searches for low temperature milk pasteurization gets lots of hits. When I get one for a dairy, they all seem to specifically say their milk is low temperature pasteurized and give the specific temp and time. I wonder what Local is really doing. Bases on limited research, I would say if they were really doing low temp pasteurization, they would actually tout by directly mentioning it.
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Hello All
I am back chasing my dream again. I wanted to let everyone know that all is well. It took al little while and had to scale things back a bit. Since the last time I spoke to you, My oldest son went off to college!...Wow, it has been a long time! Well. I finally have the spot that I want in Ann Arbor after mixing things up with the City and Health Department requirements.
Thanks for giving us a update. Glad to hear things are moving along.
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How about a food truck/trailer/cart?
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Thin Mints for sure. they are the only cookie I eat frozen.
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I was at Whole Foods today and needed milk. I happened to spot milk from a fairly local dairy that was low temperature pasteurized and non-homogonized. As I was drinking some of it, I looked up what exactly was involved with low temperature pasteurization. It talked about the temp and time (145 F for 30 minutes). And talked about enzymes too. That made me think of this thread. I re-read through it and saw that you did use some milk from a local dairy. (I think that is the Local brand milk pictured above) I looked at that their and website and it simply said it was pasteurized.
I wonder how well it would have worked with the milk I picked up today.
I think this was a cool experiment. You learned a lot about variables. Things that are variable that you probably weren't thinking would be. Like milk. I think most of assume that milk is more or less a commodity item.
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You are right. Lots of good beef to be had. But it's pretty much all on the same level (there are some exceptions like that really well dry aged stuff they have at Carnevino) Of course, I love really good beef. And so do my friends. So, I try to find a steak house that puts some effort and thought into the appetizers and sides.
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That artichoke soup from Guy Savoy was yummy. If no one was there sampling it, I would have parked myself there all night knocking back "shot" after "shot". And with Chef Savoy there at the booth? Even better.
I'll be back in Las Vegas in a few weeks. No plans to hit Ramsey's steak place quite yet. I have an odd feeling about steak places in Vegas. In general, I try to avoid them. But I realize they are very popular with my friends. So, when we DO go, I try to select one that is interesting. Maybe Ramsey's place will qualify. I'm sure I'll eventually get there on one of my trips to Sin City.
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We hit Franklin today. Bypassed the line and wait by pre-ordering. They make you do it by whole briskets. We go two. Wound up with 9.85 lbs of awesome BBQ goodness.
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I'm back in Austin for another BBQ run. Friday wasn't spent in Lockhart or Luling. Not in Taylor or Elgin. It was spent all within the city of Austin. And we didn't even go to Franklin. But we had some great BBQ.
First up is J Mueller BBQ. A cart/trailer setup on South 1st street. John Mueller has an interesting past. Descendent of BBQ royalty in Taylor, TX. He had a place in Austin several years ago. But that closed. Now he is back. And it's great. Very good brisket. Some of the best lean I've ever had. The sausage? That was the best central Texas style BBQ sausage I've ever had. Good beef rib too. The family's signature heavy with black pepper rub is present here. I'm a big fan of it, so it works for me. But others are less enthusiastic.
After J. Mueller, we headed to North Austin to Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew on North Lamar. Not sure how long this place has been around. But if you have seen 'Dazed and Confused', you are familiar with the actual building. Stiles Switch is located in what was the pool hall in that film. There is no pool now, but there is still beer. And some very respectable BBQ.
BBQ in Austin proper is getting better. And that's a good thing.
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Great write-ups, David. Glad your experience at Comme Ca was a good one. I enjoyed mine last winter. Had a table along the windows with a very good strip view. No noise issues that night as the restaurant wasn't that crowded. Totally agree on the cocktails there. Very good. Just like they are at the other casino bars in the Cosmo. I think people who like the casino bars in Cosmo should be sure to head to Comme Ca, even if it's just for a drink.
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So excited about this too! I've been wanting to go since 2007! My husband & I will be going to the Thursday dinner with Francois Payard, Friday Grand Tasting, and Saturday King of Cabernet.
David, since you've been so many times.....how should we plan our attack for the Grand Tasting? Come early, wear stretchy pants, and stay late?
You better be able to deal with big crowds. Certain areas of the pool deck get really crowded. But if you are patient, you'll get your food. There will be plenty to eat. You won't be able to eat from every booth.
Have fun.
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To me, In-n-Out has all the GOOD qualities of chain fast food joint like McDonalds (quick, reasonable price, consistent) without the bad qualities (crappy food).
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I finally got to an In-n-Out today (in Ft. Worth). I got two double-doubles, one Animal Style and one with mustard, pickles and onions. The toppings on the Animal Style were good: fresh, with a nice flavor, even from the tomato. The beef had good flavor, but doesn't deserve all the praise it gets, in my opinion. It also suffered in the texture category. Maybe it's just the new locations in Texas, but if this chain wasn't so famous I wouldn't have even bothered posting about it. It was good: it was NOT great. And the fries had a half life of about thirty seconds.
I've found the quality of the In-n-Out burgers in Dallas to be just like they are in California.
it's STILL better than McDonalds, Burger King, Jack In the Box, Wendy's etc. etc. while being just about as fast and just about the same price. Sure, there are better burgers. Like Smashburger, Five Guys, etc. But you are jumping up a level in pricing for them.
PS: You are right about the fries. Even in their "prime", they still suck.
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This should be waiting for me in my mailbox today. (from Netflix)
What's good to eat in Cincinnati?
in The Heartland: Dining
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I am still making trips up to Cincinnati. In fact, I am here now. Been here every week this year. Except one.
We have been to Hyde park. We like the burgers at Arthur's. And of course, we have checked out the Graeter's location there as well. Been to many different Graeters locations.
We did get up to a place in Mount Adams. Can't recall the name of it, though. Maybe Mount Adams Bar and Grill?? I dunno.. Anyway, didn't really like what I had there/ A very flavorless patty melt. But it looked like a good place to have a few drinks. Are there some other places you would recommend in Mount Adamns and Hyde Park?