Kent Wang

How do champagne stoppers work? Can I not use a vacuum top -- would that actually make it worse?

For Fearless Critic we have ratings from 1.0 to 10.0 for food and feel. It seems like a major problem with a lot of guides like Zagat (and I think NY Times, to a lesser degree) is that great casual and ethnic restaurants never get a high rating. We say nuts to that. Our Austin Top 10 has three barbecue places and two southern cuisine places. Really, if you come to Austin and you want to know where you should eat, barbecue and southern cuisine are going to be where you want to focus on, instead of high-end New American that you can get anywhere in the country. And we use the full range 1-10. For a lot of other guides 7 is the lowest rating they give, so then you're only having a 3 or 4 point scale. We also break out ratings for wine, beer, and cocktails for restaurants that have a significant program. So that includes restaurants with great wine lists and wine bars that make a big fuss of their wine program but really suck.

Tell me more about the "diver scallops".

Certainly looks like a good competitor to the SV Magic (mine's in the mail; can't wait to use it) but I agree with David that the SV Magic is a little cheaper and would have more functionality as a rice cooker.

I think we're going with craft cocktails. None of these definitions are perfect but this one makes the most sense for a general audience. What's the term that the New York Times is using? They seem to be on the same page as we are (though many other papers across the country are not) and are writing for a general audience. That's certainly the term that I use amongst people that have the same definition of "good cocktail" as me.

I think I read this in another thread: Cuiz (pronounced kueez) - to put in the Cuisinart. Ex: Combine the ingredients for the dough in a bowl and cuiz it for 15 minutes.

I do like craft cocktails. In meaning, it seems like it would be the same as gourmet cocktails, but I think craft is more apt here. Gourmet has a more food, and not booze orientation, and is rather overused. My editor has suggested "nostalgic cocktails". What do you think?

This is for a general audience. I'm liking "classic inspired".

This is a wonderful idea. You might want to also include something like "Please serve me the same dishes you would a Japanese. I will eat anything. Chopsticks, no forks."

I'm writing an article and have run into this conundrum: What would you call the kind of drinks Death & Co., PDT, etc. are serving? "Classic cocktails" implies actual classics like the Manhattan, while these bars are primarily serving new creations. "Innovative" or "modern cocktails" could be mistaken for chocolate martinis and the like. Perhaps modern cocktails in the vein of classic cocktails? For brevity, would you simply say "classic cocktails" anyway?

I eat quite a bit in one sitting (8 pieces of sashimi) and have never had a problem, and none of my friends have either.

Escolar is delicious, widely-available, and fairly cheap. Everybody wins!

Scofflaw was created at Harry's New York Bar in Paris during Prohibition.

Quite a wealth of information here, Peter. Keep it coming.

Could you just infuse it with regular tea (what kind?) and cinnamon?

I want to buy Chinese low mein noodles and Japanese ramen and udon noodles. There are many different kinds at the Asian supermarket. I prefer thicker types than stay al dente. I don't know if this is desirable by Asian standards, but I'm used to Italian pasta. I have heard that ramen connoisseurs prize al dente-ness and try to eat the noodles as fast as possible before they get soggy. Should I buy the frozen or dried ones? Are the frozen ones actually fresh (not dried) and then frozen, or are they dried, cooked, and then frozen? I know the latter seems pretty silly but considering the variety of convenience foods available, I wouldn't be too surprised. Are there any brands you would recommend?

My guess is that the the FoodSaver would only pump out a neglibly greater amount of air than a hand pump. I have a FoodSaver and would also consider inconvenient to have to take it out each time to use it. I have a hand pump in a drawer, while the FoodSaver is in the pantry. Here's my system: I buy Dolin, which is only available in 750 mL (around here anyway). I have a bunch of 375 mL bottles from NP and M&R. I pour the Dolin into the half-bottles and put vacuum tops on them.

Why did all those delivery operations die off? Rise of the supermarket? Increasing cost of gas?

I wonder if liquor distilleries would have a use for this.

How do you calculate hydration percentage? Is it by volume or weight?

I like Gerik's more than Czech stop, too. Central Texas barbecue sure is something else. Shame you didn't get any really great brisket (you remember to ask for it moist?). All the photos looked dry. City Market looked the best. But brisket is always the least consistent everywhere you go. I recently had some take-out from Cooper's in Llano that a friend brought over. Wow, that was great. That would be the fourth or fifth time I've had Cooper's (including once from the legendary Mason location). Definitely reaffirms my belief that they are one of the best.

What cocktails traditionally call for Jamaica rum? The Alpenz website lists some recipes, including the daiquiri and planter's punch, but did those recipes specifically call for Jamaica rum? Or more importantly, what cocktails benefit most from the S&C? Certainly, the daiquiri is so flexible a recipe it can showcase any type of rum. Any others?

Wikipedia has a short primer about this term, though it's not well referenced and accuracy is uncertain. Is bottling in bond still a practice? I saw a show on TV about grappa production in Italy and it was done in a government-padlocked warehouse, so the practice is certainly alive somewhere. I understand the history and motivation of bonding, but it seems that in the modern age, adulteration and other forms of "cheating" by distillers is no longer a problem. For example, you don't see bottled in bond vodka. The two bonded products that I can think of are Rittenhouse and Laird's. They both make cheaper bottlings that are not bonded. Why is the Rittenhouse 80 proof not bonded? The Wikipedia article states that "bottled-in-bond whiskey must be the product of one distillation season, one distillery and one distiller". Does that mean that in addition to a lower proof, it fails to meet one of the above criteria, or that the distillery just didn't want to go through trouble and expense of having it bonded? How much does bonding cost? The distillery probably pays the government a fee for its services.

Briefly discussed in Cocktailian Ingredient Trends, Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum (Haus Alpenz profile) is now available at the Spec's in Houston. I had a chance to taste it at Anvil (a bar in Houston) and I can say it is indeed very funky, and has a strong vegetal, sugar cane aspect like a rhum agricole. Really, it's even funkier than any rhum agricole I've tasted like Barbancourt and St. James. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stop by Spec's while I was in Houston to pick up a bottle and it's only available at their headquarters store for now. I imagine you lucky folks in New York and California already have access to it? What do you think?

How do you think Fever Tree compares to Q Tonic? I did a side-by-side tasting and found that I preferred Fever Tree. Can't remember why. Portland Food and Drink has a lengthy comparison though it doesn't draw a winner.