eipi10

I had the exact same reaction about ten years ago. I thought I could never like it--too salty. Now I don't find it too salty to enjoy. I don't find it particularly wonderful either, and I don't think it mixes well with food because it's so strong. But I enjoy a little bit.

Interesting. My favorite onigiri is natto. At first, I wasn't a natto fan. Unlike you, I wasn't repulsed, but I thought it just wasn't interesting enough. The revelation came when I purchased an onigiri triangle with natto, and a soy sauce packet was attached. The natto really comes alive with the soy sauce. Delicious! I agree with the people who want to get rid of mayo. I don't think it belongs in any Japanese food. The same holds true for cream cheese.

Am I the only person who is thinking of "magic mushrooms"? Some experiences make the finest dining experiences seem like dinner at the Walmart snack bar.

I like drinks with texture. Horchata isn't quite chunky, but it leaps to mind. There was an Asian shop in Berkeley that made the most amazing chunky drinks, and I haven't found another place like it. Stuff like warm grass jelly, by itself or with chunks of something like taro, sago, and red bean. You could get fresh fruit shakes with chunks of many different "jellies" (e.g. lychee). And of course bubble tea (the boba, when done right, should be tender but not mucusy).

In Adams Morgan, DC. A Spanish restaurant with a menu I had eyed with interest many times as I walked past. This would be the day. I tell the waitress just one, but first I have to use the restroom. From outside I smell something. Hard to place. The door shuts behind itself. I fumble for the light. I find that the toilet is infested with hundreds of maggots, and the putrid smell of god knows what overwhelms me. Did I get maggots up my nose? I decided to eat elsewhere.

About $1,000/month. I'm rich--OK I'm living on student loans in an 8x10 dorm room. But still, I won't eat anything below a fairly high standard. I wouldn't mind cooking, but small dorm kitchen + no car + Whole Foods being 2 miles away makes cooking impractical.

I'm definitely for. I like both subtle foods and incredibly flavorful foods, but when I crave something, it's usually extremely spicy and complicated Asian foods. Sensory overload. I think people who don't make a conscious attempt to eat spicier foods are really missing out. Hot chilies add great depth of flavor, and for me their spiciness is a bit like "mouthfeel"--a vindaloo that doesn't burn is like a Bordeaux without tannins. It's a question of whether you want to mentally attack the food in your mouth or if you want it to attack you. Top or bottom. Both are good. I hate "upscale" Asian places that spice everything down so I can concentrate on the subtle flavors of broccoli. Life needs variety.

excuuuse me? Where might you reside, eipi10? Is this possibly simply national stereotyping? Americans have a wide range of tastes, not unlike their foreign counterparts, I'll wager. Not every Frenchman whom I met while visiting France was exactly a gourmet ... ← I'm American. Yes, it's national stereotyping. Obviously there are exceptions. Still I think the typical European eats better than the typical American. Fresh breads, complex and varied cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables compared with Fruit Loops, Kraft singles, and salads composed of iceberg lettuce and one eighth of a tomato, drowned in ranch dressing.

I guess my cynical response is that Americans have terrible tastes. Witness the typical American supermarket.

This is actually an interesting legal question--reminds me of stuff I learned in Contracts. (it could be argued either way). When you order a meal, you effectively form a contract, but implicit in the contract is that the meal is up to a reasonable standard and is served in a reasonably timely fashion. However, upon rightly rejecting a defective meal, the diner has a duty to give the restaurant a chance to correct the meal in a reasonable time. http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-314.html http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-508.html http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-309.html The law seems pretty fair. It's just a question of what is a reasonable time to reheat your food. I'd say ten minutes is borderline. Obviously thirty minutes would be too long but three minutes would be too short. Ten minutes...hmmm...

Mine, too. I recently tried a Scharffen Berger milk chocolate bar and a bittersweet dark chocolate bar. My immediate reactions were "Yuck, why is it so sour?" and "This doesn't even taste like chocolate." I felt really unsatisfied after eating it--none of the happy chocolate brain waves were going. To me Guittard bittersweet is the epitome of chocolate flavor. And I live near a chocolatier who uses Guittard coverture for all of her creations I'm the luckiest girl in the world. ← Interesting. I'm wondering if cacao beans are like coffee beans in that lighter roasts are more acidic and fruity, and darker roasts have fuller flavor and better mouthfeel. Maybe Scharffen Berger is a "light roast" chocolate.

Scharffen Berger 70-80%. I find it more fruity and complex than the chocolates I've tried from Valrhona, El Rey, Hachez, etc. (stuff you can find at Whole Foods). I'm wondering if there's a super-elite chocolate I'm unaware of that is substantially better than these brands.

Thanks for this tip. I think it's essential to rinse Nishiki, or it will be grossly starchy.

This is a cool site! It's very interesting to look at the TDS and ph's. Nobody can reasonably argue that "water is water" when, even among still waters, the ph's are differing by 2 points and one water may have thirty times the total dissolved solids of another. I do believe there are significant differences among bottled waters, and it is definitely worth spending $1-2 for a tasty bottle, even on my student budget. I've tried so many it seems, but from that site it's clear I've only scratched the surface. Anyway, my preferences among the widely available waters I'm familiar with: Still Fiji Hildon Evian (agree with the person who finds it oily, but I like it--sort of like the oil from flower petals) Panna Volvic (ultrapure...too pure) Sparkling Pellegrino Apollinaris Ramlosa Gerolsteiner (a little too salty) Calistoga Perrier

I'm not a big fan of cocktails, but mojitos can be delicious, much more than a cover for inferior spirits. The best I've ever had is from Chez Henri in Cambridge, MA. So much better than the norm. What makes it special: Lots and lots of mint. Mint leaves line the entire glass, adding not just refreshing flavor but also a fresh appearance. What a gorgeous drink. Granulated cane sugar. Sucking up these little bursts of crunchy flavor in a straw is wonderful. Plenty of lime, with bits of pulp too--adding even more texture and freshness.

I'm gob-smacked at the list. Its amazing that a restaurant would be so generous to say drink as much as you want. I think a few rules need to be applied for you to glean some sort of knowledge from the experience. Keep in mind that good tequila deserves to be enjoyed, sipped, enjoy the aroma - DO NOT SHOOT IT BACK. Don't ask for a full shot. I might go from silvers to resposados to anejos or settle with one style, silvers for example. If the restaurant has any concern for liquor costs, they won't be serving full shots in the first place. This sort of offer -open bar - could turn ugly real fast. I'd go early and leave early. I also don't think that the most expensive tequilas are necessarily the best. ← A law firm is paying for it :). I assure you I will sip them slowly!

I'm lucky to be invited to an open-bar reception, where I can drink as much as I want of any of the tequillas on this list: http://www.rosamexicano.com/menus/dc.beverage.html. The problem with these receptions is that after a handful of shots of straight spirits it becomes difficult to taste the differences. And no, it doesn't not seem like good form to use spitoons. So the question is, which three to four should I absolutely try?

Bluntly, you wont find the variety of foods available in DC. You may want to find online sources for the things you can't do without. The main drawbacks are convenience and shipping and handling. But you can find great cheeses, coffees, teas, wines, oils, etc. online--much better than in DC even. Along with the fresh fish and produce, you could eat quite well. The worst thing for me would be the dearth of good restaurants, especially ethnic ones. These people with positive things to say about Kroger are comparing to Piggly Wiggly, I think. But Kroger is closer to Piggly Wiggly than to Whole Foods.

Why I think authentic is better than non-authentic: Because the reason ethnic restaurants make dishes non-authentic is to cater to local tastes. This implies making things taste more like what I'm used to. But as a food lover, I seek to explore all sorts of new flavors. I don't want what I'm used to. The slippery slope of the non-authentic dining world ends with Cantonese, Sichuan, Thai, and Vietnamese indifferentiable. There's just Asian--stir-fried veggies and meats without spices that Americans can't handle. Many wonderful things in life require an adjustment period. A person drinking wine for the first time will probably like Woodbridge more than Margaux. But becoming adjusted to complex aftertastes and tannic body allows the person to derive much more enjoyment from wine--it could become a lifelong obsession. I think a similar thing is true for, say, Thai food. I am certain that the pleasure I get from very spicy, more authentic Thai curries is greater than typical people get from blander, more Western versions. All that said, if a dish is non-authentic but just as interesting, I'm perfectly happy. Very rarely have I found this at ethnic restaurants.

Those brewers you mention might brew great beer but they have little to no distribution outside of Nebraska so they have little chance to make it on to a list like the RateBeer Best. In my travels as a beer lover I am always amazed at the gems that are hidden away in cities and towns that I have never heard of. But without wider distribution there is little hope that these gems will ever be reconized beyone the locals and the few that happen across them. Also, states that have more absurd alcohol laws (i.e., no growlers, strict bottling requirements etc...) will never be able to step into the spotlight. (I am usure of Nebraska's laws this is just a general statement, and one that is readily apparent in the SouthEastern US). ← Wow, it's amazing that you've tried 48 of the top 50 brewers, considering so many have only regional distribution! I've never even been able to try AleSmith. Even when I was living in the SF Bay Area I couldn't find the Speedway Stout. I agree that Stone and Three Floyds are a bit overrated. I'll agree with the comments that RateBeer tends to overrate strong beers and underrate more subtle, balanced beers. But you can make this criticism of wine ratings as well. Perhaps you could make the same point for music and for visual arts. It's understandable that greater complexity leads to better ratings though, and the "less is more" concept may be antithetical to human nature. Except the Japanese.

I think many of the best beers in the world have alcohol percentages around 10%. Most notable are the Strong Belgian Ales, like those made by the Trappist Monks. My personal favorite beer in the world, also the highest-rated beer on http://www.ratebeer.com (with 620 ratings), is Westvleteren 12. The highest alcohol-percentage beer I've had, I think, is Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (18% alcohol). It's easy to find bottles of this for around $10 in many cities. It's definitely worth trying--tastes like thick, luscious chocolate-covered bananas. I don't remember it being overly alcoholic. How do they make beers so alcoholic? I think it's simply more malt and less water. Indeed, these high alcohol ales are generally much maltier and less hoppy than what most people consider "beer."

The best beer site on the web is www.ratebeer.com. If you're truly interested in learning more about beer, or just German beers, you can find a mountain of information there. In my opinion, German beers are overrated. It's true that Germans love beer, but the basis for their love is suspect . Nevertheless, I am a big fan of two German beers, both of which are widely available in the US: Ayinger Celebrator and Schneider Aventinus. Unfortunately, neither of these is a starter beer if you aren't used to strong/sweet beers. Most German beers can be divided into two very distinct categories: wheat ales (hefewiezens) and lagers. Paulaner has a tasty German hefewiezen you should seek out. Its predominant flavor is banana, very characteristic of wheat beers. Hefewiezens are always, in my experience, light and easy to drink. In the lager category, there are bocks (more malty and less hoppy) and pilsners (more hoppy and less malty). The classic pilsners are Czechvar and Pilsner Urquell. Neither of these is German--they're both from the neighboring Czech Republic--but German pilsners aren't that great. Both are fine starter beers. I haven't tried that many light bocks, so I can't give any suggestions. My favorite German beers, though, are in the "doppelbock" category ("double" strength bocks). These taste somewhat like stouts, even though they're totally different. Celebrator is awesome, and Maximator and Optimator aren't all that far behind.

There are many Buddhist-influenced vegetarian Chinese restaurants that use faux meats. While they range widely in quality, I used to greatly enjoy one in Atlanta. In some cases I find the faux meats tastier than the real thing, and the textures can be excellent. You could possibly look at these dishes as authentic rather than faux copies, because I believe they stem from a culinary tradition in Asia. To answer your question, I usually would rather have the faux meats than a simple vegetarian dish in east-Asian food. In fact, the best Thai dishes I've ever had used seitan as the "meat," which was wonderful because it soaked up the spicy coconut-milk curries. But it shouldn't be taken too far. I'm not a big fan of many vegetarian restaurants. I'd much rather have a falafel sandwich or an Indian vegetable dish than a tofu dog or Tofurky. I don't think it's hard at all being a vegetarian. There are tons of delicious things to eat without stretching culinary imaginations.

Oceanic is good. Another place to try out is a seafood shop on the east side of Dale Mabry, north of the stadium and south of Waters. (yeah I know that's a long stretch). If I had cooked more in Tampa I could vouch for the quality. I did havea good feeling about the freshness and variety. The Fresh Market is a great place for a foodie to get his/her hopes up. Still it's worth checking out. I didn't try much fish there, but I bought the sashimi grade tuna several times, and it was quite good.

It's a good sign that so many people agree there's a problem. The oak and tropical fruit punch flavors in typical California chardonnay aren't just distracting, they're unctuous and nauseating to me.