Kent Wang

We are paranoid about SARS. And avian flu.

But aren't Iberico pigs allowed to roam in the forests?

Is it common elsewhere to dilute with so much water? I do prefer to dilute with water than to compensate with more sugar.

I buy only Tito's. Once someone gave me a bottle of Grey Goose so I've been secretly refilling that bottle with Tito's. I did a blind tasting and really could not tell the difference. My friend who swore he could also failed. Why use vanilla vodka? Why not just add vanilla? Liquid vanilla usually has alcohol in it anyway. Vanilla-flavored vodka is basically the same thing diluted by a bunch of added vodka. It seems like the many uses of vodka can be replaced with Everclear. Why not?

Guerrilla tactics.

I know many of you are also vodka haters. Have you had success minimizing the use of vodka or completely eliminating it from your cabinets? The only vodka cocktails that I make are White Russians and Bloody Marys. I think I can use white rum in the White Russian and maybe gin or tequila in the Bloody Mary.

Dale Rice claims that First Chinese BBQ has better BBQ than Din Ho. Shocking! I've never had such poor BBQ from Din Ho as Rice writes about. The First Chinese duck that I've had has been slightly inferior to Din Ho's, but the pork was quite bad, very dry and not even warm.

I've seen "day boat scallops". What does that even mean?

Thank you, sir. Excellent explanation. What is the rationale behind placing the 79% maximum? I tried to Google this but failed to turn up anything, though I stumbled upon the Code of Federal Regulations pertaining to US alcohol labeling laws. An interesting read.

What are your thoughts on Hirsch? I have the 8 year and it is very light and smooth, akin to the way Canadian whiskey compares to Bourbon. Really, it is too light and tasteless for me. What percentage rye is it? Wikipedia says that the Canadian laws governing what can be called rye whiskey are not as stringent as the American ones. Does percentage rye composition really matter? Is there a strong correlation between quality and "rye-ness" and the percentage rye composition? What percentage is the Wild Turkey Rye?

Smitty's has some serious devotees! The meat wasn't very good though. Both the brisket and ribs were too chewy, probably cooked at too high heat, doesn't fall apart the way slow-smoked meat does.

Seltzer’s (Pennsylvania) Beef Lebanon Bologna, Sweet Lebanon Bologna. I'm not sure why these are called bolognas as they are more like German-style sausages, not very finely ground like Italian bolognas are. They are wetter and softer than most German sausages but also not nearly as soft as Italian bolognas. Both are not unlike summer sausages and I prefer them to the Schaller & Weber summer sausage that I've had. Beef Bologna: Very lean, mild spice, mild sour (like sauerkraut) note. Sweet Bologna: Similar to the regular version but has a very unique sweet character. Not overwhelming, not cloying, really quite perfect. Sweet balances nicely with sour. Adding substantial amounts of sugar to a sausage sounds like a precarious and often catastrophic move; this is maybe why I have never seen any producer do it. Seltzer, though, does a fine job and offers a completely unique product.

I've enjoyed all that I've learned in the brief year or so about cocktails from this forum and find that my knowledge has already well exceeded the average level of most bartenders in my fair city. Most bars I enter cannot even make an Old Fashioned! I've been contemplating moonlighting at a cocktail lounge, because I enjoy making cocktails, bartending and have the appropriate sociable personality. I have a nine-to-five and don't really need the money, so I'd like to work slow nights. Is this a crazy idea? I have no previous experience in the restaurant or bar industry. I want to work at a place where I can make interesting cocktails, not make vodka sours all night. The cocktail lounges I've considered are all staffed by fairly experienced bartenders, most are late 20s, early 30s and the few that I've spoken to have been bartending for over five years. I've heard that hotel bars have lower requirements for entry, and I suppose Four Seasons, Hyatt, etc would still be better than working at Chili's or Bennigan's. I would definitely not work at a nightclub-type establishment pouring vodka Red Bulls all night. When applying for a position should I explain that I know a lot of recipes and cocktail history? I wouldn't want to come off as a snob and earn the disfavor of the other bartenders.

A distant relative of mine did this watercolor of lychees.

That pork skin and thick layers of fat is so beautiful!

Eagle Rare 10 year is now available at my Costco for $40 for 1.75 L which is equivalent to $17.14 for a standard 750 mL bottle. Maker's Mark is only $3 cheaper. I agree with everyone above that Eagle Rare is a remarkable deal. I think I'll buy a gallon this time.

Maybe the idea is to have men eat the wings. Though, of course, if they don't have any men around then they're already destined to be spinsters!

I think he tossed an ice cube into the plate with the fish.

The Gin Lane and Beer Street engravings are pretty funny. You can buy them for $40.

A current favorite of mine is Hendrick's Gin (image, official site), which looks very much like a bottle of medicine, recalling the way gin was sold out of pharmacies in Victorian England. A medicine, indeed, that will cure you of the disease of sobriety. The way the label and the text are rendered are also very Victorian.

I was always told that the rule only applied while actually aboard a boat. We often flipped the fish at home. It's not messy if you do it right and have two people helping.

I like Caesars. Fun things to add: Old Bay seasoning, sriracha, liquid smoke, oyster sauce.

My mother told me that there is a Chinese superstition that if one is eating a fish while aboard a boat, one should not flip the fish over as it would cause the boat to flip over as well. One should instead pull out the skeleton and continue to eat the fish without flipping.

Very vibrant colors, especially the green contributed by the scallions.

My family often made tomatoes with scrambled eggs. Only seasoning was a bit of salt and, for that Shanghai flavor, sugar. This was in fact the very first dish that my mother taught me to cook and so it will always hold a sentimental spot in my heart. Is this dish common to find in other Shanghai or Chinese households or is it more an eccentricity of my family? It is usually made with fresh tomatoes but I made these with roasted, marinated tomatoes I purchased from Central Market. I had them for breakfast (as you might tell from the bleak lighting) but we usually had this as a dinner item.