marinade

I seem to be burning out spice grinders at the same rate I’m going through paper shredders (no, I’m not cutting pasta with the shredder, but it is a thought). The last one went after an hour of grinding smoked (and dried) red and yellow bell peppers. Can any one recommend a real heavy-duty spice grinder? Would grain mill attachments for Kitchen Aid mixers or Champion juicers be an alternative? Another thought would be an immersion blender. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. (edited for spelling)

May as well throw in Art Culinaire. Art Culinaire The site basically contains a bit of rah-rah stuff but does have indices of past recipes and chefs.

Hi Sara, There are a couple of places that we hit when we're in the area. There's a pleasant Greek BYOB at the Bryn Mawr Train Station: Louridas Greek Tavern (50 N. Bryn Mawr Ave. (610) 520-0288 Another stop is Citron Bistro (818 W. Lancaster Ave (610) 520-9100) right down the street for a nice menu of small plates (Tapas-style). You can park right behind the Bryn Mawr theatre and be in walking distance of either one of these, although the walk from Louridas back to the point might be 3 or more blocks. After the meal it will be good to walk off dinner. I like Carlo DeMarco’s food at 333 Belerose, I know him from Bridget Foy’s on South Street. His food is a lot of fun (wine list is overpriced, however)and if the outside patio is open it would be great for a nice Spring night. But I’d recommend sticking close to The Point because the seating is first come, first served. It can be a real Oklahoma land rush when the doors open. Enjoy Tracy Grammar. Jim

Hey gang, thanks for the food hits! I found out over the weekend that the player I'll be picking up at Logan is in concert at Lexington that evening so it will be a straight drive outa town. The recommendations will probably be channeled into my lunch choices(which cancels out ECG). Is there anything edible in Lexington?

Got the Gauguin tix about a month ago. I'd like to do East Coast as a benchmark. I've always enjoyed Schlesinger's stuff. Their brunch menu maybe the thing to do if I break camp early Sunday. Redbone keeps coming up on the radar. Got me thinking about a driving up the night before just to play. Once I'm in camp, it's tougth to do commutes back to Boston. Thanks again

Great stuff galley girl. I'm heading out of Philly around 7:00 that day and may try to get into Boston around 1:30. Shwarma King looks like a nice possibility for lunch. I would definitly dive bomb into Rincon Limeno if I were on my own, but I don't know the eating preferences of my passenger. I'll mapquest directions to some of your recommendations. Thanks again! BTW, what's the spin on East Coast Grill and Redbone?

In the middle of May, I'll be at Banjo Camp North in Groton, Mass. It's a weekend where a few hundred 5-string banjo players get together with weapons of mass distraction (and yes I've heard the banjo jokes before). I'll be in Boston the day before and thought I'd do the Gaughain in Tahiti exhibit. There’s something about French Impressionists in Hawaiian shirts that I happen to think is kinda cool. Anyway back to the grub, I’m looking for a place to eat around the Boston Museum before the exhibit. Then I’ll be picking up another player at Logan and we’ll be heading out to Lexington for a pre-camp concert. Looking for decent joints along the way. No problem with good bar food. I screech breaks for ethnic eateries (especially Turkish) and/or BBQ. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance. Jim (Copy edit on last line)

This sounds like Déjà Vu all over again! I was talking about the restaurant on 16th and Pine. Lot of crazy stories about Sal Montezino (sp?) both real and imagined. I was going to Temple (mid 70’s) at the time and there had been a coffee house at that location. Unbeknownst to my girlfriend and I, overnight the place had morphed into Louis XIV decoring-white-tablecloth-burre-blanc-sloshing-high-end-fancy-ass–restaurant that we walked blindly into. Sal handled it pretty well and actually served us some coffee along with some Amuse Bouche. Mentioned he was getting a few folks walking through the doors with banjos and guitars. While we’re at it. Who remembers Jim Quinn’s rants in the Collegiate Guide(s) to Philadelphia? They took no restaurant advertising or prisoners as well. This was pre-restaurant-renaissance stuff that championed the idea that to open a restaurant all you needed was talent and a storefront. Dem were the daze.

This is soooo Pre-9/11! You’d be surprised how I carry on when I really carry-on. This was back in March of ’91 and I had to hook up with my publisher’s rep to do demo’s and food samples at Chicago’s Mc McCormick Center House ware’s Show. I needed to bring along three gallons each of Red Zinger Sorbet and Ginger Sorbet. The trick was to get if from Philly to O’Hara and keep it frozen for four days. At the time, I had I had a 5-gallon Emory Thompson batch freezer hard wired at 220 volts in my basement. So turn out was no problem. I ran the sorbet batches and froze them in 1-quart deli containers, I lined about six 11x17x9 thick ply cardboard card boxes with a plastic trash bag. And lined the sides and bottom with ½ “ Styrofoam cut to size. I got 6 containers in each carton, filled each carton with about a foot square of dry ice (each) broken. The cartons were sealed and reinforced with packing tape. I roped the cartons three high, and I checked them into luggage. They went through without a hitch. But the on back end ….well. At O’Hara I was bracing myself for my inevitable arrest for smuggling sorbets across state lines. At the top of the baggage chute the first of the cartons reared its head, the cartons came down still roped together, somewhat battered, and emitting wisps of white vapor. People at that point were staring and repositioning themselves to the other side of the conveyor. The next batch came along with my luggage, which I paid a Skycap $20 to grab the smoking cartons and meet me on the taxi island to make my getaway. Now as long as I didn’t open the cartons, the sorbets would hold temperature. The sorbets were fine, but the dry ice stated to give up on the third day. I found a dry ice house in Chicago’s Southside. The neighborhood was pretty mangy, and I had to convince the cabbie to wait for me (again another $20!). Again the staring when I came back to the cab with a “smoking” box. I’m living a calmer life these days. My smuggling is down to bringing back Bourbon from Louisville, KY. The bottles light up like amber stain glass in the x-ray machines. In exchange I have to smuggle about 10-12 pounds of German charcuterie (mixed sausages) to my son-in-law for bird-dogging bourbon for me. Any suggestions?

Usually when we travel to another city I've used Zagats, eG, CH, and friends (who actually ate there) as a cross references as to how a town shakes out. Sometimes I use archive posts as well as starting threads of my own. I take all my sources with a grain of salt as well they should take mine. They're just opinions. Sometimes they're dead on... and other times, well....

Hol, That being said the same holds true for this site as well as the other one.

You might try checking out there folks: TeaBagPaper Mountain Rose sells herbalist supplies including tea bag paper which will able you to infuse finely ground herbs or spices into your sugar syrup.

Hi Brooks, Emailed my Bogalusa source, Dave. Thought I'd share it with the rest of the class: I'm trying to remember which fish house we went to...it's been a while, and some of them have closed, re-opened w/ different name, owner/manager got caught humpin' the fry-lady....you know, typical SE Louisiana behavior...never dull! The one north of Bogalusa is Thomas's Fish House (still there, and I ate there when I was home in Jan. for my Mom's surgery. But, when you were there, I think we went to Poole's Bluff on the Bogue Chitto River...and I think that oneis called the "Poole's Bluff Fish Camp," but I'll try to find it out from Virgil....although, he won't be able to remember exactly which one you may have gone. Any of these joints clang any Cajun triangles for you?

That's one of the nicest things I liked about LA is that they had dedicated restaurants around a single technique or food item (po'boy). Two of our best friends are Louisiana natives (one is from N'Awlins and her husband is from Bogalusa) and when we would go to down for Jazz Fest we would hang out with families. Boiling Point sounds exactly what it is: boiled seafood, like Guiding Star. A little off topic because it's north of Lake Pontchanterain is a fry house in the middle of the woods outside Bogalusa. They have seven or so deep fryers going at the same each devoted to a separate food item so as not to mix flavors. Gawd, I miss that state. Mayhaw, we were at the plant in'89 right after lunch at the Star and it was loosey goosey kind of a tour and the grounds were indeed beautiful. Sort of a safe swamp tour.

Thanks, the pH measurement helps a lot! The CDC report gave me better info than the USDA sites. Still curious about the garlic issue. What if garlic is pureed and infused into oil and then drained. Let's assume that there is no acid present other than what you may find in something like extra virgin olive oil. I've been giving some serious thought to dehrydrating and then infusing.

Can anyone safely answer as to what level of pH needs to be present to shut down botulism?

Speaking of crawfish. There is (was) a place near New Iberia close by Mc Ilhenny's Tabasco plant called "Guiding Star". At the time when my wife and I hit the place (in Spring of '89), the owner of the Star was getting the residule mash (after the sauce was drained off) from the vats at the Tabasco plant and using it for his boil. The mudbugs were huge!! We were getting claw meat. This place was a cinder block building, interior picnic tables, and neon beer signs on the windows. Pretty nondescript, but great crawfish. Do any of you locals know if they are still open?

Sante Fe! What an excuse to use up some frequent flyer.

Thanks Mayhaw. When we would hit your fair city we would always hit these three places. Anywhere Graham was cooking, Brigstans, and Rock-n-Bowl to dance it off!

John Stage is in the middle of opening another branch of Dinasaur Bar-B-Que in West Harlem (I believe) , NYC. If you were there last year at NXNW, it was an awesome feast coming from those two large Klose cookers parked behind the restaurant.

After posting some Book and the Cook info on the Pa forum, I was thinking back on one of the guest authors who really seemed to get it as guest in other restaurant kitchens. When my wife and I were in town for Jazz Fest in the'90', we would do Windsdor Court and later Graham’s which I think was in the Warehouse District. Any word on what Graham has been doing lately?

The schedule is now up and running. Some interesting surprises in the'burbs this time out.

Peanutbutter

No, these are astoundingly useful for use on ginger. For some reason they work great on ginger in spite of its fibrosity (isn't that the technical term for being really fibrous?) Fine Dave. Useful it is. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll swap you mine, specifically for the key that goes with the Aston Martin key ring. Here’s the specs: It needs to be the maxed out gray Aston Martin DB5. Yeah, the one with the extras. Here’s what I would do with it. I’d fill the oil slick tanks with extra virgin olive oil; I would replace the Ben Hur type axel wheel choppers with wire whisks. I’m not finished, I would replace the front-end machine guns with pepper grinders (white and black peppercorns respectively) and rewire the injection seat with heating coils to toast and pop up bagels and English muffins. Finally I would line the revolving license plates with mini martini canisters so that my refreshment is shaken…. not stirred. Now that my friends this is a truly useful kitchen utensil. Should any of you see an Aston Martin DB5 at a yard sale or whatever and would be willing to swap it for my never used truffle shaver, contact me off line. “Goldfinger….do you expect me to chop?” “No Mr. Bond….. I expect you to dice.”

Truffle Shaver. This was a gift (or a tease). To get any real use out it I'd have to blow a week's take home pay. About as useful as an Aston Martin key ring without the key that goes with it.