Schielke

The baby octopi are definately an experience. I thought they were pretty decent, more interesting than tasty. I do think that mashiko's does enjoy messing with its customers when they ask for omakase. I enjoy being messed with, but I have to be in the right mood.

The only freaky problem I had there is when I got a dish of 'silverfish' a japanese delicacy of tiny baby fish. It tasted fine, but I kept imagining them alive inside my stomach. Ahhhh!!

A shame

What kind of freaky problems have you had with the omakase? Ben

My recent trip to Charlotte You gotta go to the Coffee Cup for at least lunch if not breakfast and lunch. Ben

Yes, they are vey good. You can check out some reviews other users have posted by doing a search for Mashiko. Search for Mashiko

Just curious.... have you tried Hines Public Market Coffee. It's a bit off the beaten path relative to other Seattle espresso hotspots but I"m hearing that it's amazingly good and very consistent. I'm reading so many positive comments about people's coffee experiences in France. Not having traveled there (yet), I'm curious - is there a predominant roast style and prep method? Is it a dark roast and press pot ? (which would seem too easy an answer as we know those items as French Roast and French Press here in the US). No, I have not tried them out. I will be sure to go the next time I am in that neighborhood. It does sound intriguing. I looked it up and just for the record they are located at: 2243 Eastlake Ave. E Seattle, Wa

I have yet to do the european coffee thing, same with the JBM, but I do live in Seattle and the best place to get coffee by a far margin is Cafe Vivace. They make fantastic espresso and even do lattes and mochas well if you are in the mood. Ben

Does anybody have an Aga cooker or has anybody ever worked with one?

A friend and I went to the Redmond Malay Satay Hut this last Friday and had a great time. We had: Roti Canai- a standard by this point, very crisp and tender at the same time. The dipping sauce is nicely spiced and rich. Malaysian/Chinese Porkchops- Tender cuts of pork with a sweet spiced glaze. This was a fantastic dish. Dry Curry Crab- After we ordered this dish we looked at the Crab tank to see a Crab desperately trying to escape from it's prison. It was almost enough to pull a heart string and spare the little bugger...almost. The dish is a whole crab cleaned (possibly steamed) and then stir-fried in a nicely balanced red curry sauce. The curry was slightly spicy and garlicky. The dish was of course messy to eat but worth it. My dining companion ordered a young coconut drink and was promptly brought a freshly hacked open whole coconut with a straw inside. Nice. I need to go back here more often, the menu is very large with some quite interesting options. Crispy pork intestines anybody? Ben

I tried this last week and liked it. I do think it is more suited to mixing with other ingredients. Ben

Il Fornaio is by far one of the best chain restaurants in the country.

From the writeup, the dinner did not sound all that dissapointing.

How would a slice of foie do in one of those bags?

In no particular order Harvest Vine Mistral Le Pichet Salumi Cafe Juanita

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Woodford Reserve Bourbon Fantastic and roughly $30/bottle

Anybody remember those instant oatmeal packets that also had a tube of sugary goo (maple syrup, or strawberry sauce, etc...) that you could squeeze on top? Those were so great! I also was a fan of toaster struedels. I gotta give props to my mom, she never got pop-tarts and went for the higher quality toaster streudel.

Uhh, if you read further, you will find that this type of guy is Jewish.

Golden Ghrams The monster cereals are one of my favorites too, I thought they were off the market but I randomly found them again a few years ago. The next week they were gone.

From what I understand it is not acutally whole grapes, rather some part left over from winemaking. I think it might be the seed. Hangar One Vodka is a really great product, I highly reccommend it. Ben

Dude, you dont want to know...

Thanks for the map links! After looking at them I am still trying to decide on an itenerary. Here is what I am tossing around right now. Fly into Venice, stay for 3 days Somehow get Firenze (rent car or train) stay for 4 days Drive from either city to Villa Minozzo, stay for 2-3 days Drive to Milan and drop off car, be tourists for a day and head to paris on a night train Train to Paris stay for 3-4 days Fly out of Paris Questions: Is there a direct train from Venice to Firenze? Any thoughts on rearranging the schedule? Would the reverse of this trip be better? Thanks a bunch! Ben

Does anybody have a link to good maps of Italy online? Ben

What is the best way to cook a chuck steak? Isn't is designed for a braise or the like?

Mmmm, cougar gold. My sister was a cougar (I was a husky) and she would bring a tin home for the hollidays. Very good stuff. You can get a good deal on the end cut tins from the creamery. These are tins that are filled with about five 1/2 inch thick disks as opposed to the one big wheel. Ben