RachelAnn

As a server, I agree with the corkage analogy by which someone might pay a fee to bring in their own tea, because it is a little annoying to spend time that might be allocated to other guests preparing something that is not being paid for. However, I make my living by accommodating people, and I think that many guests would feel taken aback by being charged for hot water service. Servers live on tips, as our paychecks are usually for $0 (because of the taxes taken out of our declared tips). To me the extra effort of accommodating a guest and getting a decent tip versus the risk of them balking at the charge and tipping me badly is well worth getting them some hot water and honey or cream, despite the fact that my restaurant carries s variety of high-quality loose leaf teas. Furthermore, some people follow certain diets or have mandatory dietary restrictions; I would never feel comfortable charging a guest for tea in this type of situation, nor would I question if health restrictions were why they were doing this. If someone brings their own tea into my restaurant, I have no right to ask whether it is for health reasons or for personal preference. My message to people who bring in their own tea to a restaurant: be polite about asking, and tell the server what you need with the tea so they don't bring out cream or honey unnecessarily. Also, when tipping, consider the extra service you received that was not reflected on the bill. This type of behavior is karmatically rewarding, as you will get better (anticipated) service when you go back.

This meat is raw and is supposedly flash frozen. The most info I have found is that it could have been chilled for a while to loosen the membrane that holds the meat in the shell. The membrane releases pink pigmentation when it disintegrates. It seems strange that there is so little info on the web about this!

We serve west Australian lobster tail where I work, and we noticed today that some of the tails had some pink discoloration. I know pigmentation in scallops varies, so I wonder if this is similar or if it has to do with the freezing conditions of the tails? Does anyone know if this is something we should be wary of?

omg, blood oranges and rosewater are two of my favorite things!! please share your sorbet recipe!! thanks!!

thank you so much for the post, craig. i had found that your farm did the beer thing but wondered more, and I am so happy that you enriched this thread!

so it's not a common practice to give the pigs beer and massages like the kobe catttle?

As a server in high-end restaurants i have become familiar with the term "kurobuta pork;" just as one of those recognized names for a quality product, like muscovy duck or jidori chicken. recently i have become more curious as to what the term actaully denotes as far as what it technically means as opposed to merely a general style or quality. i have learned from internet research that kurobuta is merely the japanese name for the berkshire pig which was given to japanese diplomats as a gift from the british in the 1800s. most of the info i have gathered from my online research, which has not been very fruitful as far as providing specific details, has largely been from bristish/scottish publications/purveyors. i have gotten the impression that japanese breeders of kurobuta/berkshire pork have not actaully been feeding their pigs beer, but that european breeders, inspired by the kobe beef method, are feeding their pigs beer and engaing their muscles in an alternative way by letting them go swimming. conversely, the US kurobuta pork providers' sites have mostly extolled the quality of berkshire aka kurobuta pork without mentioning this type of treatment. what i am wondering is, do US producers do the whole beer-feeding thing, or is it just regular berkshire pork that we call kurobuta because that's the name that has made it trendy? the chef at my current job is less than forthcoming about certain details, and i feel like that's because he doesn't really know. one time he told us our mahi mahi was long-line caught. he explained that mahi are like dolphins so they can be dragged for ling distances. i wanted to shout, "are you an idiot?? they are also called dolphinfish but are nowhere near being 'like dolphins,' which are MAMMALS!" anyway does anyone have any information as to whether american kurobuta pigs are given a special treatment, or if they are only called "kurobuta" because it sounds fresher than "berkshire?"

the dill-looking greens of fennel bulbs are great added to sauteed spinach or added to salad. i think people too often throw that part away, it has a really nice flavor

Thanks, Lori. And to follow up on my avocado night, the soup wasn't so great the next day, I put too much basil and mint- too strong to enjoy as a soup. But it turned out to be an excellent sauce over toast with heirloom tomato and a soft poached egg...these experiments have given me so many new ideas!

I have been reading this thread for the past couple of days, and yesterday my friend called and told me that her boyfriend had been given case of very ripe avocados. They had made lots of guacamole and didn't know what else to do with all the fruit. I told her to give me a couple hours and I'd make them an avocado feast. I made roasted garlic-avocado spread with toasted baguette, a caprese-style salad with heirloom tomatoes and avocado with goat cheese instead of mozzarella with some macerated shallots and fresh basil, evoo; a marinated mushroom salad on endive leaves topped with avocado slices; a quesadilla stuffed with fried avocado, roasted corn with truffle oil and chives, cilantro, and topped with sour cream, a parfait of crab with shallots and chives, and mint with a wasabi-avocado mousse with taro chips, and a chilled avocado soup with thai basil and mint. It was delicious, I will make it all again, especially the roasted garlic spread. It was so simple and delicious, I can't wait to try out more variations! Next time I'll have to try a dessert...