jsmeeker

by that, do you mean home cooked dry aged steaks you buy from a local butcher or do you mean steaks you actually dry age yourself at home?

Was this after the renovation of the restaurant?

I haven't seen/read any of the Kennedy books. But I am a big fan of Rick Bayless. I have his "Mexican Everyday" book. I think it's great. My favorite part is all of his suggestions for changes, substutions and variations for the recipes. He calls them "riffs". They are really great and help you understand that the recipe is just a starting point and not something set in stone. Not sure if he does the same in his other books, but I suspect that even if he doesn't, the other books are great. I plan to pickup at least one more. Not sure which one, though.

There is a local area butcher in Plano that claims to do 6 week dry aged prime beef. I wonder if I should suck up the cost and buy one or two steaks to try it out. Do you cook a dry aged steak that differently than a "conventional" steak? I have never cooked a dry aged steak like that before.

I wouldn't go THAT far.. But I think you are right that you won't find places in Dallas that are like the good NYC places. The suggestion for margaritas isn't half bad. But even then, you have to be careful to make sure they use fresh juice and not a bottled mix.

Tableau at Wynn is currently undergoing major changes and is scheduled to be the new home of An American Place by Chef Larry Forgione. The opening is tentatively scheduled for late December. The former Chef at Tableau, Mark LoRusso, is moving over to Encore to open a steakhouse-"Botero Steak." ← Interesting news about Tableau. I always heard good things about it. I actually went over there for breakfast in June. Should have sat inside instead of out, though.. Still, I thought it was a really nice place. I wonder if what replaces it will be opened for three meals a day like Tableau is. You know, as much as I LIKE a nice steak, It's hard for me to get jazzed up for a steak joint these days. I feel like I've seen it all and that there is not much "new" in steak houses.

I haven't been there. I wonder if it's a newish place? I used to go to Mockingbird Station regularly to get my haircut.. But my stylist moved to a different location, so I don't make it there anymore.. I guess you could call and ask to see if they take resos.

yeah.. Little digital scales. They place the measuring glass or tin on it, zero it out. then they can measure out by weight.

they use liquid measure and scales.

when does Encore open? I'll be in Las Vegas in December just after NFR. Who is on tap to be in Encore? Will there be as many places there as there are in Wynn proper?

Is this a very sweet cocktail? Looking at it, I see an ounce of a not-exactly-dry rum, an ounce of sweet (1/4 amaretto plus 3/4 syrup) balanced with only 5/8 ounce of citrus. ← I found the one I had to be fairly sweet. I am thinking there must be some simple in there, too. That is, unless their ginger syrup isn't nearly as potent as what I make these days. If I could have changed anything about what I was served, I would have wanted it less sweet. Of course, I have been drinking fairly non-sweet cocktails lately, so my palate may be different than what it used to be.

Just a quick heads up to TiVo (and other DVR users, I suppose). Looks like this season of Top Chef is called "Top Chef: New York" in the guide data. My previous Season Pass for "Top Chef" isn't picking up this new season. I had to create a new SP for "TC: New York"

awesome. I actually have some Gosling''s rum on hand. I have Black Seal, and I think that's what the bartender said she used. I wonder how they make their ginger syrup? I make it myself fairly regularly and have two different methods for doing so (though these days, I am sticking to the method I learned more recently). All I really need is some Disaronno

I hear it is good, not great. The space was formerly the home of "Corsa Cucina." Managment apparently wasn't happy with the place, so they made the change to "Stratta." Basically they kept the Italian theme and asked Chef Stratta to lend his name and advice to the menu. I think he's actively involved, but certainly not in the kitchen every night. His primary focus is at Restaurant Alex. ← Understood.. But is seems like a decent choice for Italian. I am staying at The Mirage this time, but like spending some time over at The Wynn when I am in Las Vegas.

How is Stratta at the Wynn? I believe it had a previous name under a different chef, and is now run by Alex Stratta (of two star "Alex", also in the Wynn)

I was in Cleveland last weekend and as fortunate enough to visit the fabulous Velvet Tango Room for a second time in as many years. I had a drink called the "Spicy Chica" It was a killer sour. Rum based. used egg white, as is typical for sours served at VTR. I believe there was some ameretto in there, too? Anyone here have the details on this drink?

Not totally suprising. It's located very close to where I live. But I never went. Just had no desire to. It was located in a spot that was previously another restaurant, but was vacant for some time. Not sure if it's the location or that Dallas is just over saturated with steakhouses, or what.

OK.. I am back from Ohio, where I dined at Lolita on Friday night. Here are some food pics. I didn't take pics of dessert. Just the savory stuff. Everything was really nice. roasted bone marrow. This was very delicious. duck confit pizza. loved the egg on this pizza. on the left, a shrimp appetizer. On the right, chicken livers. I really like they have stuff like chicken livers and bone marrow on this menu. Good stuff. The shrimp were OK. Nothing really special about them in my opinion. meatballs.. These were delicious!! Very good. pork chop. The peaches in there worked really, really well. Not really a fall fruit, but still, it worked. roast chicken. This was my entree. Really nice. Not sure how they did it, but the skin was a beautiful golden brown. I suppose it wasn't roasted whole, rather cut, then seared off, then pan roasted. Anyway, nice roast chicken. and there was a lot of it. It must have been a half a small chicken. There were some side dishes there too. Didn't get pics of them. I had polenta with my chicken. There was also a nice corn dish. And one more thing, but I can't recall exactly what it was. My dessert was a chocolate pot de creme. Really nice and simple. But tasty. Anyway, very impressed with Lolita. Great food. Nice, cozy neighborhood feel to the place. And so very reasonably priced for the level of cooking and quality of ingredients here. Really good dining value.

That's too bad. I liked him a lot as a reviewer.

What would that retail for outside of Maine? Say, in Texas? I've never ever cooked lobster at home. Not totally sure why, though price probably has something to do with it. That, and I am not sure how to cook it without a giant pot to steam it in.

I'm heading back to C-Town on Friday. I was there this time last year and went to Lola. Now, I am going to Lolita. What can I expect from MS in the fall?

I tried to find this new show on my TiVo, but couldn't. After poking around a bit, I noticed Travel Channel is listing this as an episode of "No Reservations" This seems to mesh up with ABs comments that someone posted above. So, if you can't find a listing for a new show name, don't fret. Look for it as an episode of NR.

I've done the CI onion braised brisket before. Thankfully, brisket is easy to come by in Texas. The giant, completed untrimmed ones are readily available cryo-packed in many supermarkets.. Now that the weather is cooling off, braising is in order once again!

it's spread out. You'll need a car. I don't know much of anything in Ft. Worth that I can recommend other the already mentioned Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana. I just don't ever get to Ft. Worth. I can recommend more places in Dallas.

Anne really likes that salt. I think I've seen her salt more than any other TV chef/cook/personality.