NewYorkTexan

I think comparing Magnolia to PL is a big freakin leap. There are some establishments that define their category, Peter Luger=steak, Katz's=Pastrami, etc. but I think Magnolia falls short of that mark. I only have one data point, but the cupcake was so bad I could not even finish it. The frosting was fine, but the cake was dry and crumbly, devoid of any real flavor. Maybe I got a bad one, but if they are going to define the cupcake category, their product should not be off by that much.

Interesting article in USA Today about the new store USA Today article

I scheduled a meeting downtown this afternoon just so I could get a look at the store. The good: Outstanding selection of well priced and delicious looking prepared foods. baked goods looked wonderful, especially the breads The bad: chaotic. People with shopping carts dodging people carry trays with prepared foods looking for tables to sit at mixing with tourists strolling the aisles. Friendly but not very knowledgeable staff (the staff by the cheese counter is a clear exception, they are great) The ugly You do not feel like you are in Texas when you are shopping there. The shopping experience was the same as the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle. It was a generic chain like experience. I felt like I was going to a mall, complete with an underground parking lot (there are almost no underground parking lots in Austin so it is a novelty)

Yes, I think you're referring to the Berghoff Cafe, an offshoot of the original Berghoff. ← Yup, that is the one

I have to think that in discussing airport dining options, it is all relative. There are few if any dining options that I would consider destination restaurants. Most frequent travelers are so accustomed to the standard generic fast food/chain options prevalent in almost every airport that anything which is different, local/regional or just damn good will be memorable. Most major international airports will have at least one acceptable dining option. DFW and JFK may be exceptions. SFO in the international terminal, they have a decent Japanese restaurant and a Lori's diner that has a good breakfast menu. I was never a fan of the chain in the city but after a week or two in Asia, a substantial American style breakfast tastes amazing. Terminal E in Houston intercontinental has a Pappadeaux seafood restaurant. At O'Hare they have outposts from Billy Goat Tavern and an established German restaurant that serves a good corn beef sandwich. LA has an outpost of the Daily Grill and the funky spaceship theme restaurant. Newark has a diner with standard burger platters. This diner may pale in comparison to "real" diners, but it is a welcome sight during a layover.

Did you have a chance to try their bag valet? My understanding is that after you leave the cashier, you can drop of your grocery bags at a kiosk. The bags are tagged and then sent via a conveyor belt to the parking structure. As you pull out of the garage, you show the attendant your receipt and they place your shopping bags in your trunk for you. Perfect for us lazy shoppers.

Had a few friends over for dinner. Onion Tart hor d'oeuvres Crudite No pictures of the salad with Bibb lettuce, pecans, goat cheese, blood oranges with black fig vinaigrette Black drum on a puree of roasted garlic and tomato water, layered with oven roasted tomato and topped with tomato confit. Served with wilted greens and mushroom risotto

The Jimmy Buffet brand frozen Jerk Shrimp you find at Costco is really good. Pair that with the rice that takes 90 seconds in the microwave and you have a damn fine meal in under 10 minutes. Zatarain makes some good frozen entrees, they are easily my favorite supermarket option.

A chance to share one of my favorite stories. A few years ago I struck up a conversation with Tobin James in the tasting room. He started talking about some land he purchased across the road. TJ: I am going to open up a B and D Me: What is a B and D? TJ: A bed and donut Me: You mean Bed and Breakfast? TJ: No, Bed and Donut, I will be damned if I am going to cook anyone breakfast TJ is an incredibly nice guy who loves spending time behind the antique bar in the tasting room. When I was there a bought a few bottles of the dessert Zinfandel. a good not great inexpensive dessert wine in a very cool bottle. I wonder if he every opened up the B and D?

Just herad about htis website cooking for engineers Gotta love the flow chart recipes

I just made about 7 quarts of wonderful turkey stock from the carcass of a large smoked turkey (compliments of Greenburg Farms). There is a excellent smokiness in this stock, making me think I should make soup with it. The question is what kind of soup would compliment richness of the stock? I am open to any kind of soup except cream based ones?

Terrace 5 is a neat space with a good sized terrace, 8-10 tables, that will offer a great view when weather permits them to open it. Service was frustratingly slow even after factoring in it was a crowded Friday night (Friday nights are free). They offer one of the more stylish hot chocolates I have ever seen. Sharon felt the drink was too thick, but it comes with a tasty macaroon and quality marshmallows. The desserts looked good, but we did not try any.

Are you talking about Radisson Seven Seas cruise line? I am taking one of their cruises this spring, departing from Monte Carlo, going to Spain, Portugal and France. My attraction to this specific cruise is the focus on food and wine,specifically on Spanish and French cuisines. I signed up for the Cordon Blue cooking program, limited to 16 attendees as well. I think it was around $400 for a one day session and includes an apron, cookbook and some other goodies. I was told it is mostly a demonstration program, but the executive chef of the ship will teach the class. I am more excited about the excursions to Bordeaux, Bilbao and Lisbon. It is a few months away, but I will also report back.

I am bringing this topic back to the top looking for some new ideas. There were some excellent ideas listed already. Results from recent hunting trip Birds are a little hard to differentiate from the leaves on the ground. About 20 pheasants and 12 chuckers.

Let me jump on the Cite bandwagon. The three course pre-fix for $69 with unlimited wine is an amazing special. They aggressively fill up you glass and encourage you to keep drinking.... Started with a good size crab cake appetizer, followed by a huge bone-in ribeye with red velvet cake as dessert (low point of the meal, the cake was awful). Unfortunately I do not remember the details on the four wines, there was a nice champagne, a Chardonnay, a domestic red (2001 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve) and a wonderful Italian. Total bill was under $100 per person. Considering the steak costs $37 on the menu and the quality of the wines offered with the pre-fix, it is a very good value.

Let me second Verlet. They had a fantastic selection of coffees for purchase by the pound or presspot drinks. It has been a few months, but I think I have their coffee menu somewhere at home.

Brad- All excellent questions.....unfortunately I do not have any answers. I am trying to help a friend who lives on Long Island. My assumption is that the event is targeting parents who either enjoy wine or are willing to buy tickets for this event to support the PTA. I am going to guess attendance will be in the range of 25-35 drinkers, but this is just a guess. Since the wines will be donated, there is probably a budget for tasting accessories, items to raffle off, snacks, etc. Does this help?

Some great suggestions, thanks so much.

A friend emailed me for suggestions on ways to make a wine tasting fun. It is a fundraiser for her PTA. They will have the wine donated and attendees will be all over the map in terms of wine knowledge. I suggested using wine aroma wheels like these Wine wheel Any other suggestions??????

That is what four years of college is for! Outside of college reunions and the hunting/fishing trips with the guys, shots are best left for younger crowds........ It does make a difference what you are drinking. Some mixed drinks like Kamikazes (for the Cornell alum, Wednesday night at Dunbars ) are easier to handle that Bourbon or tequila. You might as well just focus on jello shots if you want an easy way to get drunk 2 ounces at a time.

Breakfast with friends at Scobee Diner as the sun comes up. You can subsitute any traditional Greek diner.........but boy, do I missed diners.

If you look around the Texas are several helpful threads, here are a couple of good ones: some must eats in Austin for ACL 3 days in Austin

What I made this year were miniature Alsace onion tarts. These are easy to make, travel well and and are served at room temperature. I brought them to a party in Dallas and the only hard part was not eating them on the drive up. Lutece Onion Tarts Instead of a full size tart, I use the minuture phyllo cups you can buy in almost any supermarket to create a perfect size cocktail snack. Top each one with a small piece of crisp bacon and they look good as well. It took me a total of 30 minutes to make 45 of them.

I am a big fan of deep frying turkeys. The bird came out incredibly moist and flavorful. Comparing it to perhaps the finest smoked turkey you can buy, it was no contest, frying wins. The 11.75 pound bird took 33 minutes to cook and came out a perfect dark mahogany color. Pro: flavor, moist meat (both white and dark meat were very moist) crispy skin and short cooking time. Con: you need the outdoor space to set up the fryer and disposing of 5 gallons of oil afterwords. In my case, I recycled the oil for the eGullet event and we deep fried oreos, pickles and peeps

Thought I would follow up with pictures from T-Day. Foodie52 and her husband joined us along with my parents in from Queens The menu (it would help if I zoomed in so you could read the menu) The table setting one of the birds coming out of the fryer Plated salad of arugula and oranges with Parmesan pecans topped with micro greens from the farmers market. It was served with a black fig vinaigrette. The buffet spread The fried turkey carved. I brined and injected it with a spicy compound butter The smoked turkey from Greenberg spiced and roasted baby carrots. roasted broccoli with Ancho butter fresh cranberry orange salsa Foodie52 broght this wonderful tamale stuffing in a pumpkin Foodie52 also brought a traditional cranberry sauce smashed yams with bourbon and marshmallows….Yes I know, I left them under the broiler too long and they became slightly “over-caramelized” Apple pie with raisins, soaking the raisins in Cointreau really helped. I served it with Dulce de Leche Ice Cream. 2 kinds of biscotti , raisin hazelnut and cinnamon black pepper. The small dark things are roasted cacao beans covered in fine chocolate and cocoa powder. our dog marshamollow relaxing after a big day.....