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david coonce

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Posts posted by david coonce

  1. Locally I can get meat (Chicken, Beef, Elk, Bison, Pork, Lamb, Turkey) from at least a dozen sources. Between my garden and the farmer's market, I can get lots and lots of vegetables (in season, which for Indiana is May-November - after that it's just squashes) .So I do the best I can. I only buy local meat, I try to just buy vegetables in season, and the rest I have to go down to the grocery store.

    It's not perfect, I acknowledge, but it's certainly better than nothing; there are people who buy all their food, including meat and fresh vegetables, at Wal-Mart. Any little bit that I can do to not buy into the mass-food production culture is a personal triumph.

  2. Dare I recommend Chicago Diner?

    If you go to CD, two words: bring salt. There is some obsessiveness among veg. restaurants to not season their food, and Chicago Diner is the worst. Frankly, I think their menu is stuck in some time-warp, also. Portabella caesar wrap? Tempeh Shepard's Pie? That stuff is so '70s. There's great, innovative vegan cuisine. CD isn't it.

  3. Don't know how I missed Lula. Great choice. No reservations accepted, so during prime dinner hours the wait can stretch quite a bit.

    Green Zebra is a great higher-end place, but you may want to call ahead with a vegan joining you; most of their menu is pretty rich for vegetarian fare, and I would guess there's a fair amount of dairy coming out of that kitchen.

    I'm an omnivore and loved every meal I've had there, so no real worries about the lack of meat on the menu (they offer a chicken and fish dish, generally)

  4. I watched Paula Deen once, and she was making some dish, and she said this, for real:

    "I'm just gonna throw some butter in there, not because the recipe calls for it, but just because I had some out here on the counter and just thought I'd throw some in"

    Seriously. And this is, pretty much, what her entire show is like. Bad food that's bad for you.

  5. Lots of great choices up on Devon - Hema's Kitchen, Arvya Bhajan (I know I'm spelling it wrong), Semiramis, some people like India Palace. Not sure if Sabra Nehari ever rebuilt after the fire but that was a good place.

    Indian/middle eastern is probably the way to go, since you don't want to have anything to do with Chicago's "vegetarian" restaurants - they're all relatively lame.

    Irazu, over in Wicker park/Humboldt square area - it's not fancy at all, super cheap, but really tasty costa rican food, lots of veggie/vegan options, as well as good meat stuff, too.

    In chinatown there's Lao Sze Chuan which has a vast menu and plenty of options. I've never had a bad dish there. The atmosphere is pretty cool, too, lots of multi-generational chinese families having dinner together. I've heard good things about little 3 Happiness, also in Chinatown, but I never had good food there. People also rave about Ed's Potsticker House, but the service there is terrible.

    There's plenty of great inexpensive thai - my favorite would have to be kitchenette, on Ashland, formerly called Mr. Thai. Best green curry I've had, and great meat dishes too - the marinated skewered pork and Crying Tiger Beef are really good. Thai Pastry is really good, too.

    I've always brought my vegan friends to these places in Chicago and skipped the Chicago Diner/Karyn's/Soul Veg/Handlebar axis of vegetarian blandness. They never complain. Good luck.

  6. again, not to beat a dead horse, but all our costs are spiralling. Fuel costs, mostly, but basic commodity stuff is through the roof. I use organic cucumbers. Thre months ago they were 25 bucks a case; now they're 67 dollars a case. That's something I have to pass on to my customers; same with grains and flours. An increase of 25-50 percent is not uncommon.

    And if you're a fan of mid-eastern cuisine, beware - tahini has increased about 400 percent just this year....

  7. I was making a mental list in my head the other day of significant wine regions in the world, and realized that I had never had nor heard of any wine made/grown in the UK. Googling it didn't give me any more information, so now I'm curious. Is there any sort of significant wine industry in the UK? If not, why not, and if so, why are they not exported/available. I'm curious, since there seems to be so much great food coming out of the UK restaurant scene these days, it seems odd that there is apparently not any kind of wine culture also evolving there.

  8. Regarding reservations:  We begin taking a calender month of reservations two months previous.  So on March 1 we begin taking May reservations for the entire month, and so on.

    1)  The cost of the wine pairings begins about 2/3rds the cost of the given menu you are having.  I approximate because it does vary from day to day slightly based on what bottles our Sommelier team is opening that evening.  We also have reserve pairings available, and occasionally open some rare or older vintages that we pour by the glass supplement. 

    2)  For the 12-course tasting it is usually around 8-9 different wines.  For the Tour it is about 16 or so different wines.  They are poured largely to the consumption of a given diner, rather than a set amount.  There is nothing I hate more than going to a fine restaurant, ordering the pairings, and then getting a tiny pour of each wine, often not enough to carry you through a particular course.  So our sommeliers try to gauge your intake and re-pour as needed.  That said, with that many different wines we do not wish to over serve anyone... do try to pace yourself, especially on the Tour.

    3)  We have a fine list of over 650 different selections from around the world, beginning at about  $45.  For larger parties we often suggest purchasing a wine from the list if you have a particular favorite and we can insert it into the pairing, adjusting the cost of the pairing accordingly.  Of course, you can always create your own pairings as well... though with 24 courses and Grant's combinations I encourage you to think creatively.

    Thanks so much. That answered all of my questions! Can't wait to eat there.

  9. I have a question or three about the wine pairings - there is no discernible info on the alinea website about wine at all.

    1) How much are the pairings?

    2) How much wine do the pairings consist of? Obviously with the tour I am assuming there are not 24 different wines, so are the courses/wines matched in a way that one glass of wine complements three or four courses? Or are some courses unpaired? Or are there actually 24 wines?

    3) Is there an extensive wine list (bottles/glasses) outside of pairings to choose from? And are these wines listed anywhere online?

    We will be visiting Alinea this summer and I just want to know what I'm getting into.

    Thanks!

  10. Thanks, all again.

    In response to the question about my preferred cuisine, I am a chef and pretty much like any and all food. I prefer stuff that is either inventive or else very authentic. For example, one place a friend of mine mentioned was Chino Latino, but their menu looks dull and super-dated. Fusion is generally not what I'm into. I prefer slow-foods type places but am not wedded to them. Of the recommendations, 112 looks pretty great, as does the Vietnamese place xochi mentions. Since the conference I'll be in town attending is food-related, I'm sure some of the locals will know some hole-in-the-wall type of spots.

    Also, are there any hmong restaurants? I know there's a big population there, but is there a distinct cuisine?

    As far as Al's, I remember eating there years ago, as a young traveling punk rocker with too much time on my hands and a proclivity for cheap greasy spoons. I'm gla it's still around.

  11. In addition to the choices by ulterior_epicure I would suggest:

    Heidi's - www.heidismpls.com

    Cafe Maude - www.cafemaude.com

    JP's Bistro - www.jpamericanbistro.com

    Grand Cafe - http://www.grandcafempls.com

    Those are moderately priced, byt if you are looking to splurge a bit, then check out Solera - www.solera-restaurant.com and La Belle Vie - www.labellevie.us (same owners, BTW).

    112 - www.112eatery.com remains the top choice for many diners in town, but it's hard to get a table - you can always eat at the bar, though. Great menu, and reasonably priced, although not cheap by any means.

    One place not to miss is Pizza Luce ( multiple locations) - just stay away from the downtown joint after bar close.

    I wouldn't recommend any African eateries, but if you feel adventurous - TamTam on Cedar Ave, there are also a few others nearby - but again, you are most likely to be dissapointed...

    Also, we have what's Called Eat Street - Nicollet Ave between downtown and 28 street - many great choices, esp. Asian. If you like Pho (Vietnamese soup) - Pho Tau Bay is  da place!!!  Cheap, good and hearty. BTW, Twin Cities asian community is quite vast.

    If you are looking for a place to hang out - Town Hall brewery brews to die for beer -www.townhallbrewery.com, don't forget to cross the street for a hot dog @ Bullwinkle's - www.bullwinkles.net. Both places are close to the UofM campus, so try  check'em out on weekdays, or not... ;-))

    Do you know where you are going to be staying? I may suggest a few more places close by.

    I'm staying in a hotel near the airport, but will have a car and my wife lived in Mpls. for a year and knows her way around fairly well. So no location is too remote.

    Thanks, all.

  12. I'll be in Minneapolis on business for three days in early April - the middle of the week. Any recommendations for a good, moderately priced type of place? Can't find anything on here for Minneapolis. I'm thinking Tapas or slow food or bistro types of spots, although I'd be fine with an awesome african place (I've heard there a large Somalian population there) or anything else.

    Also, I ate at Al's diner in Dinkytown about 15 years ago. Is it still there? It was a little lunch counter, barstool seating only. I suppose I could look it up...

    Thanks!

  13. I can't find a thread on here dealing with authentic Native american recipes. I've found several online references but wonder about their "authenticity." I'm helping cater a multicultural festival next week and the organizers wanted "authentic" recipes from a number of cuisines, most of which I am familiar - asian, african, south american, etc. But native american, not so much. And fry bread is out of the question- this is a huge, several-hour event and the food has to sit in chafers. Anybody have any ideas?

  14. occasionally veal sweetbreads (what I assume you're talking about when you mention "beef sweetbreads) need to be cleaned, not by soaking, but by removing a thin membrane around them. Often smaller butchers or meat processors are unfamiliar enough with them that they don't remove this membrane. The "muddy" taste you describe could be the membrane or veins or gristle. It could also be poor-quality meat, or indifferently handled.

    The easiest way is to soak the sweetbreads, which is necessary to degorge them, then blanch and immediately remove to ice water. Then peel off any membrane, veins, etc. Some chefs then press them overnight to achieve a more uniform thickness, so they can slice them and saute like foie, but you don't really have to do this.

    I like them sliced and sauteed with sherry vinegar and clarified butter.

  15. I know that I've always told not to re-freeze meats, but...why?  Especially ground beef - does it really matter?

    Each time you thaw the meat you lose some of its moisture. Do it more than once, especially to a relatively lean cut, and you'll end up with horrid, dry meat that no sauce can cover up.

    Freezing meat should be done as infrequently as possible, period. (I say this as a person with 30 pounds of local pork in my freezer right now - I understand that sometimes it's necessary)

    From a safety perspective, bacteria on the meat will not be killed by freezing - it will simply slow their growth, and then when the meat is thawed again the bacteria will multiply more rapidly. Not a concern if you're cooking your meat to 165 degrees, but who eats burgers well done? Why not just stick a piece of charcoal in there?

    Seriously, though, don't re-freeze. It's just not good for the meat at all. And if we're going to be eating part of a once-living animal, I think we should treat that part reverently and with the utmost care and prepare it properly.

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