NewYorkTexan

Great pictures. I have always like Gibsons for ‘guys night out”. Will the camera ever turn on the famous awbrig?

The ketchup and honey squeeze bottles that are designed upside-down so the opening is on the bottom of the bottle. It is such a simple yet helpful idea I can not understand why no company marketed it sooner.

I guess that really depends on the type of smoked meat. I think Syrah and Zin are the classic pairings for brisket. I know folks who swear by champagne, although I have never tried that combination. You might want to look at the Blue Smoke wine list for other ideas. Danny Myer was quoted that he put a lot of thought into crafting a wine list that paired well with the menu. Blue smoke menu/wine list

Paper towels and cold beer. Everything else, including silverware, is superfluous.

What a creative idea for a dinner party. Perhaps it would be too casual for your dinner party, but one thought would be to do pizzas on a grill. Prepare the dough in advance and have a guest handle the toppings and grilling. Grilled prawns using rosemary skewers on a bed of broccoli rabe. You can go in several different directions for the base, polenta…pasta…other vegetables.

I recently read that all 50 states now have wineries as define by state regulations with the ability to sell their wine. California, Washington, Oregon and New York jump to mind as the top states producing quality wine. Here in Texas there is a sizable and growing wine region, but the wines themselves are rarely ever better than just drinkable. Do you see any other states with potential to produce very good, maybe even great wine? Are then some hidden gems out there from obscure states?

Zinfan- Welcome You will find your first few posts are often the beginning on a slippery slope to spending more time here.

The delivery came yesterday. To be blunt............holy shit this is good. Could not help myself and took a few slices right away and it just melted in my mouth. For dinner we had some of the best corned beef sandwiches of our lives. This morning for breakfast I made hash. The smoky flavor permeated but did not overwhelm the hash. The fat cap on the corned beef added an incredible succulence to the hash. The only down side was after breakfast I had to take a nap to sleep off the food coma. The beauty of having a home office Tonight we are going out for dinner, but I am already thinking about hash tomorrow morning.

Brighton Coffee Shop in Beverly Hills serves good omelets. It is small so there is usually a wait for tables on weekends. I have also liked Nat and Al’s in BH for breakfast, if you are in the mood for a deli type breakfast. The terrace at Barney Greengrass is also a nice location for a leisurely breakfast. The ambiance is 180 degrees different the one in NYC.

I have notice several wine shops have been offering blanket reductions on all of their California 1998 cabernets. Must be to clear the shelves of the less heralded vintage and make room for the stronger 99s. Are they any 98 cabs they were especially good that year and maybe could be a good bargain? For example I saw 98 Jordan for $36 marked down from $55.

I hope I am not too late to the party to add my 2 cents. The Ritz Restaurant in Newport Beach always worked well for business meals and private events. It is an old fashion forma; restaurant that has a continental menu and fantastic service. They have separate dining rooms and I think private rooms. Not cheap, but always consistent. putting on the ritz Another thought is the private dining room at the Ritz Carlton in Dana Beach. It is their wine cellar room and holds up to 20 people. Perfect business setting for a group of your size.

Salt Lick update Would you like a lai with that BBQ?

While certainly not a foodie designation, the Mall of America could be a good way to kill a few hours. They used to have a free shuttle to and from the airport and the mall is only about 20 minutes away. What I used to do at that airport is go to the “rent a dvd” store. For about $10, you can rent a portable dvd player and a movie. The have a decent but not great selection of movies, including many current ones. The store used to be in the main concourse, near the food court.

I am also a big fan of Smitty's, but I do not believe they ship. Many of the great ones like Smitty's, Kruez and Meyers in Elgin do not ship.

In Texas, brisket and sausage are king. When comparing BBQ joints, brisket is the common measuring stick. I am sure there are folks who can talk with more authority about ribs since I almost never order ribs. It is almost impossible to find good beef ribs and I have had better pork ribs in NC that anywhere I have tried in Texas. I’ll let Shaw talk for himself about the SL, but I was there with him. That is an interesting point about some BBQ re-heating better than others. Hopefully I will never have to experience that

As a follow up to a post on Plotnicki’s outstanding year in review thread on the NYC board, I wanted to list a few alternatives for “real” Texas BBQ. The options are limited since many of the best BBQ joints do not even have web sites. Let’s be serious, for some of these places indoor plumbing is considered high-tech but they sure know how to smoke their meat. The Salt Lick is fun, but not exactly worthy of being a benchmark. Their sausage lacks real flavor and the brisket never achieves greatness. I do like their sauce. You can even find a Salt Lick outlet at the Austin airport. In terms of airport dining options, they are incredible. For authentic and great BBQ places that ship, here are two options: Coopers in Llano Coopers is my personal favorite. Their brisket is great, really great and the pork chops are succulent. Their sauce is only average, with meat this good the sauce is irrelevant. Black's in Lockhart Excellent sausage and brisket. I do not think the ship their smoked ham but that also is very good.

It is almost painful to read that wonderful post at 4:30 in the afternoon. Too early for dinner but long enough since lunch that the keyboard is looking tasty. Klink, please put me down for an order with your next batch. After that post and the resulting drool on my desk, I am definitely going for barbeque for dinner…maybe even drive down to Lockhart.

Is there a noticeable difference in using grape seed oil for cooking as compared to more generic vegetable oil? I thought I read somewhere that its very high smoking point makes it useful for cooking and frying.

Great review. Did you order any apps? I do not get to restaurants on South Congress very often, but I need to go to Lamberts.

There is a relatively new Hungarian restaurant in Pflugerville. I am curious about it since I have not seen any reviews in the Chronicle or the Statesman nor do I know anyone that has been there yet. The dinner menu looks promising. European Bistro 111 East Main Pflugerville, TX 78660 (512) 835-1919 Their web site There might be some decent places in West, Texas. I drive by the city going to Dallas and there seems to be several Czech restaurants. Most look VERY touristy, but maybe there is one gem hidden in the area.

This is the same discussion we had last year. I have used H&D for holidays mailings to business associates and clients for years. It has never been about the fruit. Their fabulous customer service and packaging is what sets them apart. It is similar to going to Union Square Café for a business meal. Could you have a more exciting meal at Craft, most likely, but USC is more appropriate for a business meal. The menu is more appealing to a wider audience, the food is simpler and great service is a given. This is why steakhouses are so popular for business meals. If I want a great meal, I will enjoy it with friends where the food and wine can take center stage. For a business meal, the menu should be approachable for non-foodies with the food taking a secondary priority. The same concept applies to H&D. When you send a H&D package, you know it will be delivered on time, look nice and there will be no surprises. One of the packages I sent was left at the recipient’s front door, only to be consumed by their dog, even the enclosed card. He called H&D to find out who sent him the package and they immediately sent him a new gift basket. It is that strong customer service orientation that makes them a great vendor for business gifts. I guess I could send out airline tickets to NYC with a gift certificate to Fairway, but it would be too hard to wrap.

Maybe it is not the same one, but I thought Dot's was only open for lunch? Are they open any other nights besides Friday? I went there for the first time a few weeks ago and it was a good hearty meal. It is not an easy place to find, but well worth the hunt. All about Dot

Good question. A few meals and dishes stand out. Dinner at Clay Pit with fellow egulleters. There was a review in today’s statesman Review of Clay Pit Wink - Foie gras with quince/pear bread pudding. Roasted antelope on fresh cranberry beans and wilted greens with herb-cabernet sauce Mirabelle - Had a wonderful saffron lamb dish Roy’s - Dim Sum Canoe (I am a sucker for the presentation) Huisache Grill (New Braunfels) – grilled portobello mushroom sandwich Lucky Dog - Beef sandwich w/cheese fries Saccone’s Pizza Biggest disappointment was Starlite. Average meal and their tiny wine list just sucked.

I agree that Louie's 106 is in decline. There was a time I went there on a regular basis. First any sense of creativity left the menu and now the kitchen can not consistently execute on even the most basic dishes. There are so many more attractive options in Austin that I have not been back to Louie’s in a long time.

Like many others here, I am limited to how creative I can be with my menu by family considerations. Growing up I did not know that cranberries were actually a fruit, I assumed that the only way it came was as a solid red log. Putting together the menu I was also careful to address salt & sugar issues for my Dad. Instead of trying to be too fancy, I decided to focus on the execution and make everything from scratch. The only item that I am not making from scratch is the yeast rolls------I guess you can also include the turkey. Waldorf salad with dried cranberries and pecans served in radicchio cups Yeast rolls Smoked Turkey from Greenburg with gravy Wild mushrooms with chestnuts in a cream sauce Smashed sweet potatoes (I think my wife would leave me if I did not top them with marshmallows and pecans) Sage cornbread and bacon dressing Cranberry salsa Traditional cranberry sauce Homemade Pecan pie Homemade sweet potato cheesecake Subject to change, but I might serve a 2000 Kunin Zinfandel-Danti Dusi Vineyards