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Mayur

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Posts posted by Mayur

  1. 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.

    • Like 1
  2. 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.

    • Like 2
  3. so if you only get one chance to eat delicious Chinese in NY, would this be it? Or would there be a better choice? (Yes, I'm planning a trip an there's only so much Chinese my family will let me make them eat. :wink: )

    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.

  4. 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.

  5. Are there any bitters that are at least partly oil-based?

    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.

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

    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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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?

  9. The arabic/xanthan combination works very well together. But one thing I've found is that you have to have a very light hand with the Xanthan gum or you run the risk of a slimy texture.

    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.

  10. The arabic/xanthan combination works very well together. But one thing I've found is that you have to have a very light hand with the Xanthan gum or you run the risk of a slimy texture.

    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.

  11. You lose a LOT of flavor, is the problem. Heat does break down menthol. Blanching is great across the board (IME) for herb syrups, but not a good pre-infusion technique.

    Citric acid is a nice booster for a mint infusion, as is some light muddling. I also think that two charges at 30 seconds apiece are required, or else the infusion is just too weak. Minimum 360ml spirit, and you definitely want higher proof here (100+).

  12. Mayur, we are definitely looking forward to the Bittermen's liqueurs reaching our shelves (you can't mail them to us here in Massachusetts). I definitely am glad that an Amer Picon-like spirit will be available for I find it a sin against mankind if someone cannot mix up a proper Brooklyn. Any word on the price point for these liqueurs?

    We are looking at $24.99 per 375ml bottle retail. Not cheap, I know, but these are ingredients that are largely used in half-ounce pours, so the overall calculus shouldn't be too bad.

  13. Very interesting Mayur! Is this more or less a Suze-alike? Or similar enough/in the same family enough to make a workable substitution (like, say, using Cinzano sweet vermouth instead of M&R)? Or is it more of a unique product?

    It's definitely similar enough to substitute; we've been using it for white Negronis and Arawaks and Mayahuel had it in their Suzie Q. It is slightly bitterer, the difference being almost entirely, if I may rather self-promotingly speculate, in the quality and type of gentian (the brix is identical to that of Suze and the HB Gentiane de Luxe, with the pH maybe a nod less acid). If using in large amounts (say, drinking it on the rocks with soda), I would recommend adding 1/4 tsp simple per 2 oz pour if you want the milder gentian feel of Suze itself. But for cocktail applications, it's basically a 1:1.

  14. I think this will do very nicely as a sub for original Picon, with perhaps a lighter, less sweet profile...

    It definitely registers as lighter and bitterer largely because of the proof (30% ABV compared with 18% for Picon Biere and 21% for Club or Amer). Old-formula Picon is a bit sweeter, but we decided to produce something that was a bit more drinkable by itself (78 proof Picon is pretty syrupy).

  15. If you have an iSi siphon, you can use the N20 infusion trick described here, which works quite well for mint and other delicate herbs. (I believe Eleven Madison Park does a julep with a mint-infused whiskey using that technique.) You avoid oxidation that way and the flavor extraction is quick and clean.

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