ulterior epicure

My California days being long over, I unfortunately, do not... in the Midwest where I've been for the last few years, it gets so humid (during the warm months) that walking to the mailbox is like taking a hot swim... u.e.

Don't tempt me... *obscene gelato slathering noise* We'll see how my chums are feelin'... send a special prayer up to the gelato gods for me. u.e.

Nancy. Thanks for the suggestion... but I was specifically wanting to know about dried fruits. Dried fruits function in ways that frozen fruits just can't - say in a bowl of cereal, granola, or just straight eating... while frozen is better for cooking, stewing and baking... There's also a lovely concentration of flavors and sugars that you get with dried fruit that can't be found in frozen products. Thanks for the thought though!! u.e.

Oh yes, Otto - where I can slather olive oil gelato across my face in a hurried frenzy to get it into my mouth!! That's definitely not Midtown - you're right... I suspect it's a bit farther than either of my companions would be willing to travel for food... If this were up to me, I'd be hitting WD-50... personally... Hmmmm.. ko roa, mmmmm... talk about slathering.... Thanks!! Keep the suggestions coming if you can!! u.e.

Thanks everyone... okay, so I'm pretty sure that this will be a safe bet for dinner Friday... unless raji can woo me away with his photos and report from his dinner tonight at Aburiya Kinnosuke, which I had also been considering before I came across Grand Sichuan Eastern. My only hesitation on AK is price... I'm sure GS would be cheaper? If it's not, then I think it's a toss up. Would appreciate any other suggestions for a good, yet affordable, dinner for three in Midtown East on Friday night. u.e.

I'm needing simple but good dinner around 8-9pmish on Friday in Midtown East. I just found Grand Sichuan Eastern on the New York online restaurant search engine. I noticed it was a critic's pick and one of the magazine's 101 Best New York Restaurants 101. I have scoured the eGullet NY forum and found the restaurant mentioned here and there. Soliciting for reviews, comments, commendations, disappointments, etc... Thanks all! u.e.

John. Excellent link. Thanks! I found on Raintree the exact berry cultivar that I had in Luxembourg!! It's listed simply as "Wild Strawberry." Unfortunately, the hardiness zone is just one off from mine - Boo!! u.e. [edited to add: The name of the cultivar is fragaria chiloensis]

That's good advice. I'll add some encouragement. U.E, I don't know where in the Midwest you are, but I can assure you that wonderful strawberries grow wild in the woods here in Northern Minnesota, and some people cultivate those same berries. I don't know if they're the same as the Alpine berries (my attempt to grow that cultivar failed) but they look much the same. Alpine or no, I can tell you that good strawberries grow up here for a short time. We're almost as far north as you can be in the Midwest while remaining a Yank...so if you're from southern Minnesota, even, or farther south, yes - you should have the climate to grow good strawberries. Talk to your extension agent about the proper soil, sun, planting, etc. Hmm. The cultivar is important. When I go home to central California (inland from chardgirl) and get strawberries from the stand, they're usually a bit smaller than the grocery store strawberry-flavored styrofoam things, which are (I suspect) grown on some equivalent of strawberry steroids. (No, I don't know if there's such a thing, but the idea of berries pumped up like Conan the Barbarian appeals to me.) The locally grown strawberries, when they finally hit their season, are smaller than the farmstand berries of California and considerably smaller than the supermarket variety, but they still never could be mistaken for wild strawberries. ← Nancy. Thanks for your reply. 1. Yes, I am farther south than you. I know that strawberries can grow here, as I remember picking them in my back yard as a child growing up (my parents grew them). But, I have not attempted to do so since a disastrous run at them about 15 years ago... 2. Re: picking wild wooded strawberries. When/what time of year is optimal for wild berry hunting? Are their any stray, potentially poisonous, or harmful doppelgangers to be weary of? 3. Re: Steroid strawberries. I have seen longstems the size of adult fists. Scary... u.e.

Thanks - will do! u.e.

Thanks Mr. & Ms. Chardgirl. Those of us in the tree-less flat prairie plains are full of *fistshakes* of envy for your Big Sur mountain jewels!! I lived in that region for a while and never made it up to the wooded mountains... *sounds of self butt-kicking.* Any idea if alpines would grow out here among bluestems, wheat and corn? u.e. [edited: for spelling.]

YES!! Thanks cg - alpine strawberries does sound right!! They were longer than fat and maybe half the size of a regular (American grocery store) strawberry but slightly larger than the round beauties pictured on your plate... Where do you live to have such gorgeous fruit lying around your woods!?!? u.e.

Having grown up consuming over-sized styrofoam strawberries in the U.S., I was appalled - APPALLED - to taste a true wild wood strawberry. It was the last days of a wonderfully temperate summer and happened through the heavily wooded region of Europe near Luxembourg. At Mosconi Restaurant, I had this bowlful of the most splendid strawberries I had ever tasted. So foreign were the tiny scarlet red beauties to my Americanized eyes that I mistook them for dehydrated strawberries. They were intensely sweet and and had the texture of meaty olives. Meaty. Not loamy, not styrofoamy, not vapid, not tasteless - sweet, meaty, and woodsy-sweet... 1. I have NEVER in my farmer's market days seen such jewels. That being said, I am from the Midwest and have only spent limited time shopping in farmer's markets around the U.S. 2. Anyone have any clue what these strawberries are? Can I grow them? Where can I get the seeds/starters? Thanks! u.e.

Yes, maybe I should do it over simmering water instead of boiling. I don't have a dehydrator... boo. However, if I do get one, or find success in some other method - do I need to add any sugar or is there enough sugar in the fruit itself to preserve it? Also, how do I safely store the moist fruit without it growing mold or other unwantables? u.e.

This question applies to dried fruits in general, but specifically, I'm interested in dried berries as the seem particularly susceptible to over-dehydration. 1. I didn't properly store my lusciously moist dried blueberries that I got out of the beautiful pharmicist jars at Dean & Deluca's and they've gone dry - they look like over-sized large purplish-blue peppercorns. I'd hate to throw them out as I know that while probably not good for straight eating, they'd be good enough for baking or in a bowl of oatmeal, etc... How can I gently (this being the key word) reconstitute the berries. When I reconstitute figs and other larger fruits, I often find they end up overly moist - indeed soggy - with juice. I don't want that. 2. Can I dry my own berries. Sometimes I get greedy at the farmer's markets when they're in season and I over-buy... and they go to waste (surprising given the rate at which I consume them). If I can - can anyone provide instructions or a link to instructions? Thanks! u.e.

greensNbeans You're welcomed. I'm thrilled that all of my time spent posting and commenting isn't a waste (although I'd do it for my own personal records anyway). u.e.

... and another thing... I'm assuming the "avoid sushi on Mondays rule" doesn't apply to Yasuda? u.e.

vinobiondo. thanks for that excellent report. did each of you have a different offering at each course? was this ordered? or was this the normal format? thanks u.e. [edited: nevermind, i just looked at their online menu and i see that diners have a choice for each course. sorry.]

Pardon me if I'm reduntant... but I believe that Jean Joho of Chicago's Everest (and Las Vegas's Paris) was also recognized among the James Beard "Who's Who." u.e.

Nothing to do with the "popping-style." Rather, it has to do with the shape of the popped corn. The next time you pop popcorn, take a look at the shape of the white fluff. You will notice that some look like mushrooms - usually with a head, and what I call a "skirt" underneath - er, kinda like an octopus with a tutu on? The "butterfly" popcorn look like spread angels' wings (nothing at all like butterfly in my opinion). There is usually a center to the puff which divides two roughly mirror-imaged "wings" that extend in opposite directions from each other. Most (who know, or evaluate popcorn after learning about the difference) find the butterflies to be better than the mushrooms for a number of reasons. 1. Butterflies are just aesthetically more pleasing. 2. Relatedly, because the popped butterflies "fluff" out more, the same quantity of butterflies will take up more space than a bowlful of mushrooms. 3. Most significantly, butterflies somehow leave less "hull" after popping, so you get more fluff-crunch and less tooth-jamming shards of the hard outer shell of the corn. Personally, I like them both, but I do admit that eating a bowl with a higher mix of butterflies does go easier on the after-eating tooth-picking. I do know that if you buy those generic 2lb. bags of popping corn at your local grocer, they're predominately mushrooms. That's why they're cheaper than some of the name brands. For instance, I do know that Orville Redenbaucher's popcorn has a specially blended ratio of butterflies to mushroom - leaning heavier on the butterflies. Have you ever seen those commercials where O.R. claims that their popcorn pops up "fluffier." He's not necessarily talking about his product yielding less unpopped kernals than other leading brands (which, actually, I happen to find to be true anyway), he's mainly talking about the simple fact that he uses more butterflies - which fills up more space. That's why O.R. seems to be more expensive than the other brands. IMHO, deservedly so. I hope this helps. Now, can anyone tell me where I can source butterfly popping corn exclusively? Better yet - how I can with the naked eye tell if a kernal is butterfly or mushroom? Not every type of corn is poppable. I have no idea how to i.d. poppable vs. non-poppable corn by just looking. Can anyone jump in on this? u.e.

Thanks raji. 1. Well, then it sounds like we went luxe with the o-toros, unique whitefish, kampachi, 3 anagos and fresh mackeral (I don't know that Yasuda serves not-fresh mackeral - or anything else ), uni (although I'm not sure it was optimal season) - and oh yes, forgot, we did have oyster. Don't remember softshell crab... hmmmm. I think I'll be okay with just eating at restrained leisure. 2. ...so, no sawagani at Yasuda? Boo. 3. Re: Ankimo. Yes, that was a special request by moi. I think it was what tipped Yasuda off that I was a little beyond "green" with sushi-eating. We definitely got more relaxed and personable service after that. The ankimo was simple, but oh-so-spectacular. u.e.

raji! 1. I look forward to your post and pictures. 2. We won't be drinking - three people... do you think we could make it out 120 total? 3. Reservations recommended? 4. Any recommended dishes? Bruni swoons over the "tuna collar." u.e.

... So, what are the uber luxe nigiri? Have you ever had Sawagani there? u.e.

True... but as I recall from my meal (a year-and-a-half ago), we had some pretty luxurious stuff throughout (ie. we didn't skimp) and somehow we still made it out under $150 p/person. If that's still the case - then I wouldn't be worried... I'm just afraid it could get outa control as there's not "set price." Last time, we had o-toro both on nigiri and in roll, we three types of eel, two types of squid, uni, ankimo, white king salmon, tuna, kampachi, hamachi, eel roll, and probably at least five or six other nigiri that i can't remember.... u.e.

raji. I do wish your computer would reboot faster! I'm considering a visit, but I'd like to get some eGullet reactions. Would love to hear your report/see pictures. Also, any other eGulleters, feel free to chime in with recent visits. Also, would appreciate price points. My party and I will be flying in on a Friday... and hopefully can get checked into our hotel by 8pm. I'm sure we'll be famished and I thought that A.K. would be a convenient, yet satisfying option for us (hotel in Midtown East). Trying to keep prices low and affair relatively simple since we'll be at Per Se the following day. Thanks! u.e.

I just called the restaurant to put a money limit on the Master Yasuda experience and was told that this is not possible - we just have to tell the master when we are "full." Indeed, this is how it was the first time I ate with Yasuda. But, at that meal, I wasn't paying and the sky was the limit. I would have to say that we had one impressive meal for around $120 p/person... so I would venture that I'd be okay just sitting down and eating with my guests with abandon - but I'm just a little afraid that it could get ugly after the bill comes... Is it really possible to put a "limit" on a Yasuda experience? While I don't want to offend the Master, I also do want to make sure I don't walk out broke either. Anyone actually done the "limit" request? u.e.