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Kent Wang

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by Kent Wang

  1. Dale Rice recently reviewed Cooper's. To be honest, I think this review is not very helpful at all. No shots of the meat cut open, no quantification of the depth of the smoke rings, no description of the rub used. The only thing useful about this review is that it summarized the menu. I could've learned the same thing by just giving Cooper's a call. BBQ is fairly standardized, there are only so many cuts of meat and only one way to cook it, as opposed to the variations in the menu of any two, say, Italian restaurants. The standard restaurant review just does not cut it for BBQ. Anyway, whether the review was useful or not, I still have Cooper's on my to do list as so many of you regard it highly.
  2. November 11, 2005 Austin Chronicle Interior Designers by Claudia Alarcon Fonda San Miguel founders Miguel Ravago and Tom Gilliland, pioneers of interior Mexican cuisine, are publishing Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, written by Austin Chronicle's Virginia B. Wood, as they're celebrating their 30th anniversary. "To cap an amazing anniversary year, Ravago and Gilliland plan another first for Fonda: They will be open on Thanksgiving from noon to 7pm, featuring a Mexican Thanksgiving menu ($38.95), as well as their regular menu." Austin American-Statesman Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que by Dale Rice Review of classic, famed BBQ joint in Central Texas. "Pork and beef ribs and chicken are just some of the meat sold by weight in the no-frills joint, a longtime tradition in Llano." This thread is for food media DIGEST entries. If you want to discuss one of these news items, please start a separate discussion thread.
  3. Quality Seafood sells sashimi-grade farmed Atlantic salmon ($7/lb) and Ahi tuna ($16/lb) but the quality varies. Some days, it's about as fresh as what you might find in the sushi boxes at HEB, other times it is quite good but still not on par with what you would expect from a good sushi restaurant. The species variety is restricted to salmon and tuna. You can request hamachi and a few others but the minimum order is 10 lbs. Central Market also sells salmon and tuna, but at significantly higher prices though I have not tried them. I'm skeptical that the quality is any better Quality. Where else can someone buy good sashimi-grade fish? I know it'll be difficult to match a sushi restaurant as they have special purveyors and the logistics make it difficult for the retail buyer to have access to very fresh fish. Don't get me wrong about Quality Seafood, though. The salmon is always a good buy. If it's not fresh enough for sashimi, you can always make a roll or just cook it. I'd just like to have access to some more variety and superior freshness.
  4. Not too fond of Shiner, but here in Texas it is the lowest common denominator of beer. If you go to party you'll always be welcome if you bring a case of Shiner. I'd never buy Shiner for drinking at home though.
  5. Any updates on potential changes to the line up? I like Trois Pistoles and Fin du Monde, myself.
  6. First, I want to clarify that I think there are plenty of lower-priced restaurants that are worth going to. Mirabelle, Castle Hill, Quality Seafood, John Mueller's, Hut's and a number of ethnic places come to mind. I listed Driskill, Vespaio and Aquarelle as examples because I think there is much more consensus that those are excellent restaurants. Anyway, sure, individual taste will vary and some people might really truly love chain food even given exposure to better alternatives. Hell, I know a lot of people that will only drink Bud Lite, fine beers are repulsive to them. It's certainly their right to their opinion, but the point is that this segment of the population is not the kind that is interested in food education and have no need for a restaurant guide. It is a very bizarre and tiny fragment of the dining population that is passionate enough about food to write about it but yet remains enamored with chain restaurants to which the Saturday Dining Conspiracy belongs. I truly wonder just how many people actually use their guide and find the reviews helpful.
  7. To be honest, I find neither the pomegranate or blood orange sodas anything special. Very sugary, not a lot of "genuine flavor". I tried mixing the pomegranate with Crown once. It was not very good. I was pretty desperate -- and wasted -- at the time of course. What do you think it would mix well with? Rum, gin?
  8. 'What is fine dining' is indeed a good question, but one that I'd rather not get into. What I'm particularly exasperated about, though, is why they would bother wasting time and money reviewing places like Carrabba's, Brick Oven, or Johnny Carino's. Hell, with some of these chains they even review multiple locations. No matter what you define as fine dining, I think most eGulleters will agree that those restaurants are not worth going to. Instead of going to five of these chain places, they can go to Driskill or Aquarelle once and actually review a worthwhile place. In my above post, I described their list as comprehensive, but I need to revise that characterisation. The sheer number of restaurants that they have reviewed is tremendous, indeed, even more than the Austin Chronicle has but the choice of restaurants is horrendous. A review guide that excludes Aquarelle, Driskill, Vespaio, et al can in no way be considered comprehensive! A guide that covers 200+ mediocre restaurants is worthless compared to a guide that only covered 50 well-chosen restaurants. I'm not even totally sure they have bad taste. Maybe they actually have good taste, but are just going to the wrong restaurants. But as they have not reviewed any restaurants that I actually like, I can't tell!
  9. http://www.realtime.net/~stainles/sdcindex.html I was introduced to this website by an Austin Chronicle article a few months ago. To be honest, I think these people have quite poor taste and/or simply uninterested in true fine dining. Just looking at their index, the only upscale place they've been to seems to be Hudson's. No Aquarelle, Driskill, Vespaio, or Siena. Hell, I would never consider going to the majority of the restaurants on their list. Also, their thoughts on Chinese restaurants are typical of westerners uninterested in traditional cuisine. Of course everyone has a right to their opinion, and I do applaud them for putting in the no doubt immense work of writing those logs but it just seems a shame that such a comprehensive review site is of so little use to me or -- if I may be a bit presumptuous -- any true gourmet. I'm sorry to start a thread with so much negativity. Maybe you have a higher opinion of this site.
  10. No, they're not on the the merchant listing on website either. I suppose the page is a bit outdated. When I go next weekend I will get their info for you. Are you interested in their honey or their bison? They have most cuts, ranging from steaks to ground. They also make a bison jerky. Not the best but I'm hardly a jerky connoiseur.
  11. Hopefully these photos will motivate you to check out the farmers market. If you have been, I'd love to discuss what you think of the various products sold there. Full Quiver Farms: Best pork chops I've ever had, much better than anything from Central Market. Fatty, well marbled, very flavorful. Also sells other pork products and chicken. Directly to the left of Full Quiver Farms, presumably his father. Cheeses of many kinds. Directly to the left of the above. Many kinds of vegetables. Round Rock Honey: As far as I know, the closest honey farm to Austin, so it would be the best for combating allergies. I have a jar. Shape O Ranch. Bison products, guajillo honey, very faint, floral flavor. I have a jar. Spiceburst: Seasoned salts. I have three different jars. Fresh roasted peanuts. There are a number of food vendors. My favorite is the Belgian waffle stand. Unfortunately they didn't come today, so all I have is just a pic of a Liege waffle from last week. Soft, sweet, thick dough -- almost a bit raw. Topped with strawberry preserves and whipped cream. Overall, a little too sweet. I think I'll skip the preserves next time. Some crafts vendors. A lot of people bring their dogs -- and not just ugly ones either. The average handsomeness of the dogs there is much higher than anywhere else I have been.
  12. Does anyone else go? I go nearly every Saturday. It used to be called the Westlake Farmers Market. http://www.westlakefarmersmarket.com/ Highlights: Waffle stand. Real Belgian and Liege waffles, worstebroodjes, hot cocoa. English cucumbers. Free-range pork, absolutely the best pork chops I've ever had.
  13. They sound very qualified! Is it common for a restaurant to have two sous chefs?
  14. I once "drank" a seafood gumbo in the car, no spoon.
  15. I enjoy eating honeycrisp apples in the car.
  16. As per Restaurant openings, closings and changes, I checked out John Mueller's today and it's definitely still open.
  17. Let's use this thread for restaurant openings, closings and staff and ownership changes. Please post verified information here, or PM me with word-of-mouth, rumors, etc. that I may be able to check out. It is important that we not post mis-information here, because it can have a negative effect on a restaurant and all the people who work there. To start, I'd like to dispel the rumor that John Mueller's BBQ is closed. I went today and business is as good as ever with customers lined up outside the door. More to come.
  18. Which tools do you find to be the most dangerous? I think mandolin, followed by box grater. Even more dangerous than knives or burners.
  19. NOOO!!! I will stop by tomorrow to investigate.
  20. I wonder if anyone broke out their Le Creuset.
  21. What's Susie's? I've never heard of it, nor is it on the Austin Chronicle restaurant guide. Google didn't turn up anything either. Perhaps you have the name wrong or mixed it up with another city?
  22. Kent Wang

    Fat-Free Roux

    Cornstarch is completely different. In large amounts it will make your soup gooey, not just thick.
  23. I don't like it. It makes it too Southeast Asian for me. I like my Chinese food Chinese. On occasion I'll make a lemongrass marinade for a pork loin. The result is sort of a bastardized pan-Asian fusion dish, the type that Westerners often dream up. It tastes okay but I always feel a little dirty doing it.
  24. Wow, that is nuts. I must have one as well. Are you currently fueling it with propane or from your gas line?
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