Alchemist

Yes Kensington is aged in oak.

There is a gin called Kensington, that is aged. It is a lovely golden color. I would just make wet martini's with it. It's pretty subtle, so keep it simple.

Spotted Pig. So hip it will make your teeth ache. Not hip or all that expensive is the Great Jones Cafe. Great food & bloodies.

Most recipes call for equal parts of gin, campari and sweet vermouth. Since campari works well with citrus, either an orange or lemon garnish is good. ← There is a thread called no more phonie baloney negroni for me, that has in depth discission on negronies.

Since this includes coffee drinks. There is a place in Brooklyn, at the cormer of Roebling and Metropolitan, Williamsburg. It's called Oslo, (Gormet said arguably the best espresso in the five burroughs) and sometimes they make a drink called the defilbulator. I normaly think that putting anything in good espresso is like spiting into challace of wine at church. Or peeing in that thing that holds the holy water. I must confess I was never an altar boy. The difibulator is a small amount of honey on the bottom of a single rocks glass then a shot of espresso. then a little bit of heavy cream shaken briefly with ice and a bit of vanilla bean. That you get hot/cold, bitter/sweet, velvety, and exotic, all in the same mouthful is amazing. A pousse cafe for the wired.

In a couple of weeks I am going to be in Napa. But will go anywhere for tasty old grape juice. I am planning on doing a day (with limo) tour of wineries. I'm looking for the small, interesting producers. Can anyone reccomend places to go to talk to the people on the cutting edge, folks who delve deep into tradition, alchemists, terrior enthusists, madmen and scholars? But if anyone has any reccomendations, I would love to hear them, and have explained why they think it's a good place. I am looking for a well rounded, ecclictic tour. Thank y'all.

I know it's not chinese, but Thai son (It's not Thai either but Vietnamese) on Baxter btw Canal and Bayard is great. #114 Pork chops with lettuce, mint (like build them yourself leafy tacos) And #91 carmalized pork are fantastic. I so miss Sun Loc Kee. I was at New Loc Kee in Flushing last week. The Canonese lobster, and salt and pepper scalops are as sublime as ever.

I think here you've put a finger on one reason the whole idea bothers me. It isn't the hostess or M D's item to sell, so why should they benefit? Shall we extend the practice to busboys to insure clean silverware and refilled waterglasses? No, because it's something we feel we are entitled to when we decided to patronize the restaurant, and busboys have no power anyway. But when it comes to the part when I actually come through the door and ask for a seat, I've got to grease this one person to get there? It's the restaurants seat to give, not the Hostess' or M D's to sell or deny. ← If a bartender gives you "one on the house" do you tip on it?

Pegu Club 77 W. Houston 2nd floor.

Is it morally reprehensible to pay more money for a Maserati (The comfy table by the window) than not spend the extra money for the Yugo? (The table right next to the busser station, by the kitchen, and mens room.) Not being miserly is not a sin. People in the restaurant industry are routinely treated better than the general public. And part of that is that bartenders and waiters tip better than John Q. Public. I have seen chefs, waiters, and bartenders seated before, get cocktails before, other people just on the guess that they will be tipping heavily. So is it morally reprehensible to be in the service industry, and get these perks?

I would infuse some mint, add some lime, something sweet and gin or Pimms.

Do not use cake meal. Cake meal is ground matzah. Potato starch does not work that well in sauces. It tends to get gummy or lumpy. I would not recommend it. Try thickening by cooking slowly and try to reduce the liquid a bit. ← I have cooked it for about four hours. It's that the liquid an the cherries aren't binding, it's not so much that the liquis isn't thick enough. I'll see how it is when it cools.

What is cake meal? Does it thicken like a starch? Will it be gummy, or creepy like corn starch?

I'm trying to thicken a cherry compote, and stay kosher. Any suggestions?

There is a Thai dish called Gang Som. Sour (or rotten) stew. The smell is like large black garbage bags full of peices of wise guy that have been festering on a hot, muggy Bangkok streetcorner for weeks. It is served with fishheads bobbing about, for breakfeast. YUM!

If MSG gives you people a headache why dosen't everyone in China spend all thier time in dark rooms, with damp cloths over thier eyes? (Steingarten paraphrased).

How would you use the vinagar? Salad dressings? To cook pork? Is there a traditional use?

You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take the trailer park cravings out of the boy. I have tweaked the regular Queso recipe. I add a little pepperjack cheese, some Herdez Salsa Carera, and something spicy.

Can anyone tell me where I can find edible gold dust in NY, or online, and how much it usually costs? Also, is there such a thing as edible platinum?

The memorization of any number of drinks is not as important as understanding how a cocktail is constructed. Understanding prioritazation, some basic chemistry (luckily spelling isn't a must) balance in acids vs. alcalines, points of service and presentation will get you much further than knowing whats in a Sloe Comfortable Screw Against The Wall. Also I have worked with a few graduates of bartending school who were quite sure they were bartenders, though they had never worked in a bar. It usually only took one friday night of them in the weeds for five infinitly long hours to prove differently.

I would dehydrate some, and then add it to simple syrup, to use in cocktails. If you want to get exotic maybe a bit of cardomom, in the simple. Then make Daquiris, or gimlets. Or add some (Be careful) chipotile as well as the pinapple to some tequila and make margaritas. Or Dried Mint and dried pinapple simple syrup for mojitos.

I think the cashier method is better for a couple of reasons. First the customer will be reading the menu in line, and have an idea what they want before they arrive at the cashier. And this style will usually have a variety of named items ie. the Pinche Madre Burrito: meat (of your chioce) rice, beans, cheese, pico, guac, and sour cream. It is easier for a customer to say "I want a Beef Pinche Madre, no guac" Than Listing all the ingrediants to in a covayor belt with many umms in between each. As long as you offer a wide variety of combos of ingrediants to choose from it will be faster.

The drink, well shot really, that I hate to make the most is chilled Sambuca. The amount of time, and energy it takes to get the anise smell/taste out of your shaker is not worth the $2 tip you are going to recieve on the four to eight shots. Cement mixers, hate them. And the people who think it's funny to put one of thier "friends" through that experiance. Actually most shots with sweet craemy liquors. One because unsophistocated drinkers don't tip as well, as your average Sazarac drinker. They also are hard to get off your shakers. Not the drinkers, but the sweet creamy liquors. I love to make manhattans. especially when the person knows how to order them. To drag the order out of the a little at a time, ca be frustrating. One shoould not say "I'll have a manhattan" (or martini for that matter) It should go a little like this. "Please, may I have a (Brand name) rye manhattan, up, perfect, with 3 dashes of Angostura bitters, thank you" If you have a term that can be misunderstood, (like dry, does it mean less sweet vermouth, or only dry vermouth) specify. The other thing a would take issue with, in the artical, is the Mojito. In my opnion you shouldn't muddle the mint for a couple of minutes. A light brusing is better, it doesn't bring out the grassy flavor, just the minty.

Yeah, raw tomato guts are of a revolting texture. The seeds are allright, but the slimey stuff that they are suspended in...Vomitious. Gado Gado. This comes because of a brush with death,( oh how I begged to die as a lay twitching on a cold tile floor in Ubud, the screams from the monkey forest infultrating my miserable fever dreams) from a bad plate of veggies. I have also been aon a a Stiengartian quest to purge all food dislikes. In the last year I have forced myself to like olives, meat cooked more than med. rare and fish eyeballs. In the next year I will tackle Kim Chee, canned cranberry sauce and olive loaf. Oh, and tomato guts.

I got this out in Jackson Heights after a wonderful lunch at Jackson Diner. I believe it's called Indian Karela, or bitter melon. The outside is rubbery, and delicate. edited for ludditism