joiei

You might want to check these out then ... the $ indicates the price range: Bonefish Grill ($$$) City Grill ($$$) The Classic ($$$) Dawson's At Rose Hill ($$) Eastside Grille ($$) Jimmy's Uptown Grille ($$$) La Jolla Restaurant ($$$) The Olive Room ($$$) Serrano ($$$) Vintage Year ($$$) Not a KFC nor an IHOP among them ... ← has anyone been to any of these places and are they any good? I will pass on the info on the Sahara, what type food do they serve?

have you tried The Lake Place with Chef Jim Richard? It is definitely worth the stop. And it is hard to believe that Sandor might retire, I first met him when he had a place over on 9th Ave in P'cola. Incredible food and an all around nice guy.

thanks for the link but when websites are filled with mostly chains, I dismiss it. I am looking for local chef owned places like Frank Stitt's places in Birmingham. Surely there are places like that in Montgomery. Like where to get the best fried chicken in town that is not KFC, those sort of recommendations. Thanks.

My nephew, who is pretty food savy, has just been relocated to middle Alabama. Is there anything beyond chains that I can send him to. Fine dining, sushi, bbq, thai, or is he stuck having to run up to Birmingham to Highlands or Hot and Hot for a good meal?

you can make your own, here is the recipe

Oh yeah, I'm a fan of Don Pablos' grilled chicken fajitas. Chevy's is pretty much identical to DP's, but I give DP's the edge. I used to like Chi-Chi's years and years ago, but they must have went downhill or something, cause towards the end they were god awful. I guess that hepatitis scare was the nail in the coffin. ;-) Anybody like Carrabba's? They're also a pretty good chain imho, although they're food's pretty heavy/greasy. ← I tried Don Pablo's and was dissapointed. Way too many good non chain tex-mex's in this area to eat at a chain. And the kitchen manager at our local Carraba's rocks. he can cook a perfect medium rare salmon fillet. So i go there for that only. Do not care of the rest of the menu.

Can we petition the JB to give Chicago its own catagory and let the rest of our very talented chefs in midwest have the chance for some well-deserved recognition? I do not think that would be too much to ask.

When gentlemen wore hats and overcoats, it was because they looked at themselves as gentlemen. In the 50's, they took them off in a restaurant. I grew up being taught that a gentleman never sat if there was a lady standing and to always take my hat off indoors. Seems pretty simple to me... but I'm 61 years old. Jack Tyler ← I think you hit the nail on the head when you observed that we were taught. I do not think there is enough teaching by parents today. Oh, have we gotten that lazy.

I am in Oklahoma, The Brown Derby in Springfield does not stock it. I am waiting to hear from a wine shop in Dallas. Kansas city would not be too far to go.

If anyone knows of a wine shop in the lower midwest regions that has Chateau de Maligny Chablis on the shelf, please let me know. I could use a case. I have been charged with finding it after my boss has some in Toronto. And they will not spring for the plane ticket to go there to get it. You can pm me if you like.

The parsley is coming in, the mint is big enough to pick, the chives are doing well, especially the garlic chives. My Kale is beautiful this year. And this weekend is the beginning of the Herb Festivals that happen every year in the spring in this area. That means I can pick up some curly leaf parsley, some basil, some dill, and what ever else I see that interests me. The tomatoes went in the ground this week with 'Wall o Waters'. It is supposed to get cold tonight, but I don't think we will have a freeze. To add to the garden, we have turned in some soil we picked up at the mushroom farm up near Miami, OK. Maybe we will have a few volunteers? And I made 6 half pints of orange marmalade yesterday. The oranges look a lot like kumquats, but have a different flavor. It took 167 of those suckers to get the 6 jars that I did get. I hope everyone appreciates the labor when they are eating their english muffins later this year.

OnlytheBest, go ahead and get your teapot. My bet is that you deserve it. Make up a pot or two of your favorite tea and enjoy the afternoon. If you do detect a taste that does not appeal to you then go with something else. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And if you can, send us a pic of your lovely new pot.

When I had dinner at Aurora in Dallas earlier this year, on my tab of $75, I left $120. It was worth every penny. ANd I can hardly wait to go back.

Fifi, I just googled mayonesa and this is what came up. I thought it was pretty funny.

Susan, thanks for the update. I love McGuire's, period. I think it is one of the funnest restaurnats in all of Florida. I don't know if it still gets a golden Spoon from Florida Trend magazine, but the la ti da guys down in the south of Florida never understood how a place like McGuires could rate a golden spoon, it was not stuffy or expensive. It just did the best job of anyone in the state showing folks a good time. I can not think of anyplace in the south of Florida where one can kiss the moose.

suggestion, try to find the hottest hangout and check it out.

Gainesville exists only because of the college. I would not expect anything other than places catering to the college crowd. It if is cheap and plentiful seem to be basic drivers for this group and can they drink plenty of beer with it. So I would go with the bbq places and ethnic and college budget types of places. I would not try to find fine dining beyond chains. Have fun.

OK - while this is completely the wrong board, it sort of relates, and it's a fun story. This was shortly after J-G had opened, got the four stars and was the talk of the town. Had to call a month to the day to get in, yada yada. So I make a reservation to take my SO there for her birthday. I'd lunched but not dined there because I worked for a company that did some business with him - though I didn't work directly with J-G. About two weeks before our reservation, our beloved corgi takes ill, requiring some scheduled surgery - alas, on Leslie's birthday - so I cancel the res. Long story short (or, at least, less long) the vet has a family tragedy so calls the day before to postpone the surgery. (Sidebar - Dylan, our beloved, had a dramatic recovery, sans surgery, and continues to charge around to this day - about seven years later, so it was all a blessing in disguise.) So we commute to NY for work on Leslie's birthday, no dinner plans in hand. It's a Friday, too. I call the person at my company who works closely with J-G and ask if there is any chance she could help us get in the restaurant - all I'm looking for is two seats. Later that day, I get a call from the restaurant - they have nothing in the dining room, but we can eat at the bar if we'd like. OK - great, it'll be fun. I get to the restaurant ahead of Leslie, check in, and start watching the time. Leslie's is late, and later, and still later. The hostess comes out and I think 'we've lost our bar seat.' Just then, as Leslie is launching herself out of her cab, the hostess says "we have an opening in the dining room, if you'd like it." Some days you are just living right. So we sit down, and are treated wonderfully, like royalty. Make the mistake of saying that J-G does not need to whip up something special for us. No tasting menu. We just order some terrific grub a la carte and a nice but reasonable bottle of wine. It too far back now for me to remember what we had, but, at the time, it was the finest meal I had ever eaten. And what I especially recall was the atmosphere of the place. Very buoyant, everybody happy, adults being kids, sort of. I may have since had a handful of finer meals, but that atmosphere was the best! All light and buzz. So we have our dinner and our cheese and our dessert and everything is perfect. The service is perfect, the food is perfect. Everything perfect. And since we commute from the 'burbs, we admittedly start thinking about train schedules. And for the first time all night, we can't get the attention of the staff. And as I get slightly anxious about making the train (not what you should be worrying about on the SO's b'day) I have to admit that I started to add up the tab in my head. It's great, but man this'll set me back four bills (and that's 20th century money). Finally, the maitre d', a wonderful fellow who had set us up, sees my flailing hand and comes to the table. "Check, please." With the raise of his finger and the single word "no!" I suddenly realize what's happening. Clearly, my colleague had suggested that I had, well, in my small way, contributed to the coffers of the burgeoning J-G conglomerate. All I could say were the truest words I have ever sputtered out "but I only wanted a table!" I almost felt guilty about what was happening (funny, because knowing what I know now, I probably wouldn't!) The maitre d', with what I can only describe as the world's most dignified shrug, replied "sometimes Jean-George, he doesn't let you pay!" It came out in a way that almost suggested a 'guest of the night' program - and we just happened to draw the lucky number! It was the ending of endings to our wonderful dinner. Of course, we thanked J-G profusely, as we worked our way out of the place (and who cares what train we catch?!) To this day, when we have a spell of luck, big or small, one of us will invariably utter the "sometimes J-G..." line. Final lessons learned - when you go out for dinner, always carry enough cash to cover the projected tip, even if you plan to use your credit card! And always let the chef cook for you, if he offers. ← Great story, may I borrow the line sometime?

This reminds me of the time several years ago with KSAN radio gave away an April Fools contest prize, the first place was a weekend at the Holiday Inn in Milpitas, 2nd place was dinner at that Holiday inn in Milpitas. At that time, who went to Milpitas?

With the blessing of an early Oklahoma spring, I already have stuff coming up. I have already harvested the first tarragon, my mint is getting big enough to start picking, the tomatoes are going in the ground with wall o waters this weekend. Have you started planning this years gardens, if so what are you planting?

I think you will find that Islamorada is a very low key place, time passes much slower there than it does in Key West or Sanibel. The restaurants tend to be a lot more casual and for some fun, Holiday Isle is just down the road with the real beaches. Season is coming to an end so your prices should be dropping. Personally, I love the keys. I have worked at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo 3 times in Culinary. The property is beautiful, but clubby. The food is clubby also. I have not eaten at Cheeca Lodge since Dawn Seiber was chef, but it always had a good reputation. There is a larger range of dining options in Key Largo, but it is not that far.

There are a couple of fun things to do in the city while your there. The Crescent city classic, the most civilized 10k around, get a wagon, load it with some beverages of your choice and walk (you can walk) through the garden district and uptown to a great party at the end with good music and local foods. Also, you will have at least two easter parades happening in the French Quarter on the 27th. Try to catch the historic french quarter parade, it is well dressed ladies riding in open cars and buggies in their easter finest before ending up at St Louis Cathedral for services. For that lunch, try high tea at the Windsor Court Hotel. Have a great time and try to ride the ferry at the foot of Canal Street, it is free for pedestrians. French Quarter Events edited ot add this link

I have never been to Le B, but after making several things from Chef Ripert's book, I would go willingly, review or no review. It is way easier to make flashy over the top, and incredibly more difficult to keep restraint and good taste in control. I have loved everything I have made. Now I have a reason to go to the city.

I can't help myself, I grew up just south of there and it is spelled Conecuh. I have been to a couple of outstanding dinner on the grounds up there. Those country baptists can really cook. Here are some pictures of the grocery in Burnt Corn, Conecuh County, Alabama check out the Bear Bryant coca colas. In fact, our church choir sang in the Bethany Baptist church during one revival.

careful now. I am proud of my florida cracker heritage.