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Schielke

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Posts posted by Schielke

  1. An Indian buddy of mine from Kansas City will be in town for the next month and he has been starved of good Indian Cooking for the last few years.

    Which places do you view to be the most authentic Indian food in Seattle/Eastside?

    I understand that Raga is good, and have been to Ceaders numerous times.

    Thoughts?

    Thanks,

    Ben

    p.s. he is hindu and is thusly vegetarian so good meatless dishes are a plus.

  2. If you live in Seattle, you can get fresh durians at Juyjamaya (spelling) in the International District. I think they come in a little bag so you dont have to hold onto the spines and risk dropping it.

    Not sure about the price either since I knew I wouldnt buy one. It is very interesting to me that some people dont mind the smell. I do think it is horrible, but that is probably a personal thing. :raz:

  3. I would love to hear eveybody's thoughts on durian fruit.

    I have tried a smoothie made from durian and nearly vomited from the smell alone. We had to cover it up between our brave sips so the smell wouldnt overpower the room. I would discribe it as a cross between dirty diapers and propane.

    Anthony Bourdain tried it in his Cook's Tour series and he seemed to enjoy it... that sick bastard. :laugh:

    I read a legend about it that described the fruit's fall from grace. A king was going to throw an awesome party for some reason and he had his court magician make the most delicious fruit in all the land. The magician did so and the king was very pleased. For some reason though the magician was not invited to the party so he put a curse on the fruit that made it spiny and smell horrible, yet still taste delicious.

    Another tidbit is that in some places where the fruit is available, you cannot take it on public transportation because it could break open and stink up the bus! :laugh:

    What are your experiences with this interesting fruit?

  4. In Seattle, check out Pochi Bubble tea and Crepes on 50th and University Ave (right by the saturday farmers mkt!).

    They have really nice bubble tea. A favorite of mine is the fresh strawberry "smoothie" with milk pudding added. drool.... This mix is also a good way to introduce people to the idea of a textural component in a drink.

    Their food is ok, the toasts and crepes are fun!

    For the adventurous or insane, try a durian bubble tea!!!!!!

    Ben :laugh:

  5. Hi Everybody,

    I will be in LA next week for business and wanted the scoop for places to eat.

    I will be staying at the Hilton Carson Inn (2 Civic Plaza Long Beach CA 90745) and working in Carson during the day.

    I am looking for some good lunch places in that area in the $5-12 range and then for a couple places to go to a fairly nice dinner in the $15-$20/entree range. The dinner can be anywhere in the LA area.

    Thanks for the help!

    Ben

  6. I also have to put in the reccommendation for Mistral on 1st and Blanchard in Belltown. It is my absolute favorite place to go in Seattle. It is a price fixe dinner only ( ~$75 for seven courses or $90 for nine) and is wonderfully prepared.

    Chef William is very personable and I have never recieved anything but the best service from him.

    The food is simply amazing. Every dish I have had there has been executed perfectly. I cannot reccommend them highly enough.

    Mistral's Web site

    Enjoy!

    Ben

  7. What kind of garnishes do you prefer in the presentation. Unfourtanately we dont really have much of a cheese scene around here (other than a few small shops and Whole Foods, which do offer tons of great cheeses) and thusly I have never seen a cheese cart!

    My only experience with cheese courses is at Mistral in Seattle where as part of the tasting menu, a cheese course with about 5 or 6 different selections is given to the table. This plate usually has some kind of fruit that goes with the cheese.

    Thoughts?

    Ben

    Edit: Duh, by around here I meant Seattle. oops.

  8. About the eating instrument post:

    There is a children's book written about a mother and father (japanese and american) who were telling their child about how they met. The whole crux of the story was that the father did not know how to eat with chopsticks and the mother did not know how to use flatware properly.

    They were both affraid that they would embarass themselves at the meal, but they eventually worked it out.

    Yay!

  9. I too have been olive phobic for some time. I hated them as a kid along with mushrooms, pickles, and raw tomato. I think alot of it is a textural thing. Most times when you eat all of the above they are kinda slimy or floppy, which I hated. Most times I think this is because they are poorly prepared or of low quality. All of these items could be found on various fast food or pizza and I can see how they would be poorly represented.

    I have been trying to give these ingredients a chance lately with fairly good results.

    Olives- Ate at well... Olives... where they brought out two tapenades: black and green. I really liked the saltiness of the black, but still shyed away from the green. The only other place I eat them is at my favorite restuaruant in Seattle, where I know that all the ingredients will be accurately represented.

    Mushrooms- I have been opening up to them, I never disliked the flavor but the texture is still a bit odd. I have only been eating them at said restuaruant above.

    Tomatoes- I have been trying to start eating them in raw form more and more, I am starting to like them too.

    Pickles- Still hate pickles. :wacko:

    An odd note though- I really love blue cheese! :laugh:

  10. Another format that you could do is have a child character who is traveling around New York to all the different shops that sell food from many cultures.

    Something like:

    "Our next stop was at a place that served food from France, the man gave me a sandwich that had melted ham and cheese (note: you can elaborate here for the sake of imagery) and he called it a Croque Monsieur. I really loved how the cheese oozed out of the side!"

  11. Ahh, I see...heh heh get it!

    Very interesting either way. Perhaps this would be another thread, but how did all of you start your ventures into the realm of "variety meats?"

    I am still a bit of a novice, but am somewhat intriqued by the different textures offered. There is still a bit of a gross out factor involved in thinking about some of it.

  12. Yeah,

    Good Eats (and his recent book) is great in the sense that it is mostly all technique focused. Sure I can watch some jackass put a spin on some old recipe, but I would rather learn the techniques that allow me to be that jackass...but not as highly paid :laugh: !

    I wish FTV started doing more technique based shows. It would really be great to see a series that did an indepth look at physical techniques. A knife skills show would be great, how to select your tools and then how to implement them in different methods.

    -Ben

  13. If I remember correctly, you will be between redmond and issaquah. If you drive north a few miles you will be in woodinville where some of the better eastside dining is.

    Some purported great places are:

    The Herbfarm- Very pricey price fixe dinners, you need reservations. This place is really a seattle institution.

    The Barking Frog- "Casual Upscale", I have heard very good things about this place and it is probably one of the better bets on the eastside. Fairly expensive.

    My favorite Eastside dining experinece is at Cafe Juanita in Kirkland. Really great northern Italian cuisine influenced by local ingredients. A must try if you can make it over to kirkland.

    Good Luck, and tell us how you fared!

    Ben Schielke

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