NewYorkTexan

I have noticed a trend between the NYC Indian dinner and the Austin egullet Indian dinner. At both events there seem to be several guest who were not necessary attracted to the Indian menu, but only went to enjoy the company of fellow foodies. I know my wife and I had the mindset. Guided by such a knowledgeable and generous expert such as Suvir, many people have a new appreciation and enjoyment of Indian cuisine.

Elgin, TX is not a bad drive from the woodlands (under 1.5 hours) and they have the best sausage in Texas. The two BBQ famous places that have great sausage, Myers and Southside are right on 290, one of the major east-west highways out of Houston. It is also close enough to Austin that I am sure several of us would make it. Another thought-Round Top Cafe, about 45 minutes west of Houston and close enough to Autin to maybe attract a few of us. Royers round top cafe

I should have followed up with this sooner, especially since so many people were kind enough to post suggestions. I went with the Mansion recipe. I figured if it did not come out edible, I would be able to blame it on inaccuracies in the recipe and not incompetence by the chef . I made two substitutions, I could not find epazote---yea, I know that it is probably at Fiesta or a dozen places east of 35, but I was lazy-----and used cilantro instead. I also used Claire de Lune from Pure Luck Diary instead of cheddar cheese, a brilliant substitution if I do say so myself. The soup came out great. Excellent body, right amount of spice and a brilliant way to start a fajita dinner. My friends really enjoyed it. Even though they are from New Jersey, they used to live in Austin so they know something about Mexican food. This recipe is defiantly a keeper. I will try some of the other recipes, including the Menger Beef version when the weather finally starts to gets cold.

What can I say....wow. This is an incredible resource. Unfortunately client work will have to wait this afternoon while I educate myself on Indian cuisine.

Here is a stupid question.......... In the recipe from Manson on Turtle Creek, it calls for one cup of fresh onion puree. Does this mean I simply put one cup of onion in food processor and let it get to a paste like consistency? I have never seen the term onion puree before.

If you think his version is good, that it must be very good. I went to the Hotel’s web site and the recipe is listed there. Sometimes they make it too easy for us. Dean's recipe It seems easy to make so I will try Dean’s recipe. Thanks!

Does anyone have a good recipe for Tortilla Soup? I am cooking for friends coming in this weekend (from New Jersey of all places) and they asked for Tortilla soup? I can look it up on recipe web sites, but thought someone might have a proven recipe.

I think the secret is the toast. I use a good piece of toast (the bread has to be toasted otherwise it would dissolve too quickly) that I cut to almost the exact size of the top of crock. The cheese actually sits on the toast, not the soup. When I add the cheese, I have a little overlap to the edges of the crock. This works like a charm.

Isn’t there a significant difference between quitting the race and resigning from the Senate? I do not know the exact legal ramifications, but my understanding is that the Democratic Party would be in a much stronger position if Torch would have resigned from the Senate? The fact that his opponent called on him to resign from the Senate is absolutely irrelevant to this entire discussion. Torch can still resign from the senate, but he seems to be his own worst enemy.

Then why did he forfeit the election? He was not physically incapacitated, if elected he would have been able to serve. Dieing a political death is very different from actually being deceased. He presented no substantial reason for quitting the race except to say that he did not want to be responsible for shifting the balance of power in the senate. Unless I am reading too much into that statement, which I am not, that is an admission that he was going to lose the race. I doubt the actual reason for him quitting the race will matter to the courts.

I question the argument that the voters will be deprived a choice. The only reason that the voters would be deprived a choice is because the democratic candidate forfeited the election. Torch saw he was going to lose and simply gave up. If he really had the Democratic Party’s best interest driving his decision, why did he wait for the 51 day threshold to pass? He could have resigned from the Senate, which would have placed the Democratic Party in a stronger position to put another candidate on the ballot. It seems to me that he brought this on the party and the attempt to put Laundenburg on the ballot is making a mockery of the election laws and a symbol of the arrogance by the Democratic Party in New Jersey.

Has anyone lese notice that they do a poor job of cleaning the tables at Kirby Lane. The tables are always sticky and the floor looks like it needs a good cleaning. I find myself going there only because they are one of the few options for a good omelette at 3 in the morning, especially if you live in the North West part of town ( IHOP does not count). Does anyone know the story of Kirby Lane and Magnolia Café? I heard that one is the spin off of the other, but I have never heard the full story. There are so many similarities between the two that it makes sense there is some shared history.

Too late

I agree that most places simply do not cook their wings long enough for the skin to become crisp. During my senior year in college I helped run a hamburger/buffalo wing joint (Dunburgers if you where in Ithaca in 1989) where we would sell a few hundred pounds of wings a week. Getting the skin very crisp was key. For regular wings it was just butter and Frank’s hot sauce. For hotter wings, I would add increasing amounts of chipotle into the sauce and more Frank’s on the finish product. I used to take pride in being able to bring even the most diehard wing eater to tears if they requested my nuclear wings. Even using the basic sysco supplies, we were able to produce a damn good buffalo wing. The byproduct of my employment is that I can no longer enjoy wings. I used to spend several afternoons every week preparing the wings; which entailed taking 10lb bag of wings and parceling them into 10 count bags. We sold them in 10 piece servings and have the portion prep work done allowed one person----usually me--- to handle the post last call rush. Even the sight of plate of wings reminds me of the afternoons I spent elbow deep in raw wings.

Reales is on 183 and Anderson Mill, in the shopping center. The owners used to live in Queens Village and had a pizza joint on long island. I think they probably have the best pizza pies in Austin. For individual slices, I think Saccones is clearly the best in Austin. They are located just a few lights north of Reales on 183.

Alton Brown did a meatloaf that looked good. Never tried myself, yet. Alton's meatloaf

Went to Wink restaurant last night and they continue to be one of the most innovative places in Austin. We were a group of 12, so there was the opportunity to try almost everything on the menu. The small restaurant was packed on a Thursday night, which is encouraging. I am tired of seeing so many good restaurants in Austin close. The menu Summer Vegetable Soup Chefs garden baby spinach with roasted shitake and goat cheese dressing Baby mixed green with marinated summer squash and heirloom tomato vinaigrette Artichoke with roasted torpedo onion and lemon aioli Duck confit salad with cabbage slaw and pickled beets Searched foie gras on quince-hard pear bread pudding with pomegranate syrup ***Excellent dish. The bread pudding balanced the richness of the foie gras nicely. Roasted sweetbreads with green lentils and wild mushrooms Carpaccio of lamb ***I did not think I would like this, but it was tasty. Skate wing en papillote with mushroom duxelles and leek-carrot “angel hair” Seared snapper on beet pasta with asparagus, leeks and citrus fennel fumet ***Biggest disappointment of the evening, fish was overcooked Grilled chicken breast on crushed Yukon gold with tiny bell peppers and lemon-garlic butter Crisp duck breast on spaghetti squash with wiled kale and duck jus ***They could have crisped the skin more, but still good. Grilled pork tenderloin on warm polenta with okra and grain mustard sauce Pan roasted hanger steak with fingerling potatoes, collard greens and pan sauce Grilled lamb t-bone on celery root puree and snap beans with balsamic reduction ***It was pepper crusted and very tender Roasted antelope on fresh cranberry beans and wilted greens with herb-cabernet sauce ***My first antelope experience and it was a winner, not gamey at all El rey chocolate cake ***Wow, the zinfandel infused cherries made this dish Chocolate soup with milk chocolate-ginger mousse ***The mousse was fantastic, the soup was infused with earl grey tea and dominated the dish. Not visually appealing, looked like you were eating a bowl of Heresy syrup. Crème brulee ***Ok, nothing special Lemon meringue pot Cherve cheesecake ***Heavier use of goat cheese than in other versions of this dish I have had before, the texture was too firm for cheesecake. It was like a cheese course masquerading as a dessert. Plum tart They have a well rounded wine list with some nice values. We did not order it, but they had a 98 Beucastal C-du-Pape for only $98. We drank a 2000 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret C-du-Pape, $39 which everyone liked. It is not easy order wine for a group of 12.

What a detailed and verbose report. Thanks. people know that i have good taste and therefore that comment should suffice. however, perhaps someone with extra time on their hands can describe the food. i, clearly, am a very busy man and have no time for such details. oh

What a detailed and verbose report. Thanks.

That looks a lot like a tool an evil dentist would use. Is the center of it curved mesh or a shallow and flat center? Can not tell by the picture.

Being too lazy to want to stand around and skim the chicken stock, I have success using the method Tom Colicchio describes in his white chicken stock recipe. Place a rinsed chicken in a pot with just enough water to cover the bird. Bring to a boil and let it boil for two minutes. Remove the bird, discard the water and rinse out the pot. Return the bird with fresh water, add veggies and aromatics and simmer away. While there is an added step using this technique, I find it easier than scimming.

Goode is probably your best bet. I think Otto's is better, but Not nearly as convenient for you as Goode’s. I think there is more detailed information on Goode's in another Houston thread.

Don Pomodoro makes a good bottled sauce and I use it when I feel lazy. What attracted me was the six ingredients listed---San Marzano (sp?) tomatoes, EVOO, carrots, onions, Basil and salt---that’s it. It sells for $2.99 a jar and blows away the bottled sauces selling for 3X the price. I usually doctor it up with some garlic.

They sell pre-packaged vegetables like carrots in individual serving bags. Bring in a yogurt or sour cream dip that has a decent shelf life and you are set for a week or two. You can even steal some of the salad dressing that is usually in the office fridge if you do not feel like bringing in a dip. Now that I work from home, my entire kitchen is fair for snacking, 24/7.

We stayed at Pont Royal hotel in the fall of 2000 and had a good experience. We received an upgraded room that was fine, not huge but not small by European standards. The concierge was wonderful, including getting us a car service to the airport during a “sudden” strike that practically shut down Paris. The trip was a last minute extension to a London business trip and I picked the hotel because of the location and value. I check my notes and we paid $215 USD per night. The only problem I had with the hotel was no cab driver knew how to find the street where the hotel was located on.