Mayur

Good suggestions from MaLO though a bit fancier than mine! Also, if you can make it, I'm 100% behind the idea of going to 69 Colebrooke Row for a cocktail. Not super-convenient to you but quite accessible via taxi/tube. Moti Mahal is super-convenient to the Prince of Wales theater and is excellent. So's Barrafina; it's a madhouse but you can drink yourself silly while waiting for a counter seat. There's also a lovely spot called the Ape and Bird that just (re)opened with a new menu right across from the Palace theatre. Haven't eaten there but their beer is fantastic.

St John. Barrafina. Either Rasa (Malayali food) or Gymkhana (Indian modernized a bit) or both. #s 2 and 3 are super-close to you; St John is worth the trip. These are obvious spots but absolutely worthwhile. You should also go to Borough Market; it's obligatory for anyone visiting London who likes to eat. Grab a glass of bubbly, have some oysters and whole scallops, eat your way through all the ham at Brindisa, and look into the pie, sausage, and game selections.

The word "family" makes me think this is not the best option. Annoyingly enough, this place is pretty much impossible to visit with the 4-6 - person party I tend to prefer for eating this type of cuisine.If you can't leave Manhattan, I'd say Hot Kitchen, X'ian, or (for a more upscale alternative) RedFarm. In Queens, the list is gigantic; consult the eG Flushing threads for some suggestions but at minimum Hunan House is worth a visit. MCF is very good, but I have to say that it isn't a unique exemplar of its cuisine. I don't say that as a bad thing; I think it's a testament to the diversity and quality of Chinese restaurants in NY. But getting in is a royal pain and the food is only bare justification. I must confess that I'd rather burn my ridiculous wait times on Torrisi.

It also has alkalides, which are the real problem in developing a stable foam via shaking in a drink. OTOH, I find that egg white powder works fine in cocktails, and actually might be a superior alternative. I haven't done the side-by-side tests, but I probably will this week. Given that excessive water is the enemy of stable egg foams, I feel like it may be better for, say, a Ramos to use powdered sugar, egg white powder, gin, lemon and lime juices, and cream. Will test this evening.

Commercial? No idea. Is it possible? Absolutely. Our liqueurs use citrus oils, for example; I see no reason why one couldn't take the same macerations we use and simply dilute with water rather than redistilling/filtering/sweetening. The more straightforward thing to do (if it is in fact the case that tobacco has different and more desirable fat-soluble compounds than alcohol-soluble ones) is to infuse into fat, drop the "tobacco oil" into a separatory funnel with some booze, let it fat-wash, and then titrate/strain out. Note: Iam not recommending that you make tobacco infusions! Just an idea.

I use an Iwatani blowtorch before cooking. I use the lowest temperature that my oven can be set to which is 170F. I use a probe in the meat to gauge progress and periodically turn the oven off for a little bit if it looks like things are moving too fast. Min/lb is not a reliable way to go since the shape and actual dimensions of the piece of meat are what determines the time. My last roast cooked faster than expected. It came out great, and our guests loved it, but I felt like it would have been even better if the meat had stayed under 110F for a longer period of time. After resting the meat for 45 minutes, I did stick the roast under the broiler for about 2 minutes with a ball of foil under the ribs to make the fat cap the part of the roast closest to the flame. The result was an extra crispy fat cap without cooking the meat at all. The last time I did this, the roast took about 4.5 hours to get to 120. I'd like to see if I can extend the time under 120F by another coup,e of hours to see if it makes a difference. I see. Do you find that covering the roast vs. not covering makes a difference? I would think that at such a low temperature, you would really be bleeding moisture out of the meat rather than boiling it internally.

Also, do you still cover the pan tightly? Any water in the roasting pan?

e_monster: Do you use a blowtorch? Any changes in the LTLT cooking time (still 200 F for 30 min/lb)?

Okay; looks like I'll shoot for 56. My feeling is that I can pull one of the pieces and check it before pulling the others and shocking them (I'm pulling them out of the bath Christmas eve, serving Christmas dinner) so if they seem "underdone," I can try rendering/finishing conventionally even if that does compromise the sous vide texture.

Thanks for the replies! To those of you leaning to 56 C: Do you still do 48 hours or lengthen the cooking time? Twyst: I must say those look gorgeous at 60 C! Your 56 C results must have been truly epic.

So, I've got a batch of short ribs ready to get vac-packed and thrown in a water bath, and a quart full of David Chang's Momofuku Cookbook marinade. What I'm concerned about is optimal cooking temperature. The book says 60 C for 48 hours, but all the short rib cooking on the old eGullet Sous Vide thread and the tables in MC seem to suggest that 56 C is a better approximate temperature. Does anyone have experience adapting the Momofuku recipe to different times/temps, or a strong informed opinion either way?

Two things: First, I was off with the ratios. It's 0.1% xanthan, 0.03% locust bean. Second: You can hydrate the gums in hot syrup, but I don't see the point. It's just as easy to heat the water, hydrate the gums in the water, then add the sugar and blend.

I prefer xanthan/locust bean (for this and for pastry apps). 0.3% xanthan 0.1% locust bean Percent of what? Total syrup weight (i.e., sugar and water combined) or only water or only sugar? Total syrup weight.

I prefer xanthan/locust bean (for this and for pastry apps). 0.3% xanthan 0.1% locust bean This makes an absurdly kick-ass shaken drink syrup. Weirdly (I'm looking into the science on this) it also locks in the color on herb syrups.

There kinda are. http://bittermens.com/products/x-series/peppercake-bitters/