Gruzia

Thanks for your reply - I'll take the question over to the other forum.

I recently bought a traditional style japanese knife (usuba). My question is concerning the part of the knife where the metal tang goes into the wooden handle - is it ok for there to be some space there or should that opening completely fit snug around the metal? I don't have my camera with me right now or I'd show what I mean. The knife doesn't move in the handle but I'm concerned that water or veggie juice will get into that space and damage the knife. Am I being paranoid? edited to add that I got this knife at Union Commerce off Kappabashi street - the salesperson said it was "Kappabashi" brandname - in any case it was the brand that was available for lefties. I also got a 5000 grit waterstone to sharpen it.

Ugh! what a dissapointment!!! i cant believe she stays! I am so sick of looking at that sour, sour face!!! and spike? what a weasel.

thanks so much - looks like it might work ← That's so funny! I just saw them in the new issue of Saveur - they didn't give a recipe but gave a mail order source - I totally remember looking at them and salivating

Ah! That sounds so lovely! Do you have a picture of it? I am totally tempted to cheat on my diet and make this

To answer your questions and give more specifics: 1. A splurge would be about Y10000-15000 per person, though I couldn't do it more than once or twice. 2. I don't speak/read Japanese, but am willing to smile and point 3. Definately want to do french pastries - I came across a blog (i don't remember the name of it off hand) that detailed places around Tokyo for desserts and it all sounded fabulous! 4. I've been trying to go through the Japan forum discussions for suggestions, esp the pinned lists that torakris thoughtfully provided, though i find that a lot of them give me an error message (maybe too old?). I am particularly interested in going to a really good, pref non-vegetarian, kaiseki restaurant - preferably in Tokyo, since I have more time there. I am going to be in Kyoto for a couple of days (taking one of those overnight buses) and want to try a good soba place. Also, any suggestions for cheap, street food type places would be welcome. I am trying to do research on my own through the forum, but some of the posts are old and am a bit concerned that I don't make up an itinerary based on places that may since have gone out of business or moved. Oh, and I don't eat pork so tonkatsu places, while looking delicious, are off limits for me. Though I would like to try some horse or chicken sashimi.

I love beer! I've been following your travelogue and Popeye is definately on my to-do list

no, the one I'm thinking of would still have been in business in 2001 - it was up from where the McDonalds on College ave was - they really were burritos as big as my head! and for under 3 bucks!!!

is that new orleans style restaurant on college ave still there? what do you think of it? plus - what ever happened to La Bamba??????

I think we're probably going to spend a couple of nights in Kyoto, too And this would be my first trip to Japan, so I'm definately super excited and ready to eat my way through the country!

Hi, I'm going to be in Tokyo from June 4 to 17, staying in a hostel in Ikebukuro area - I would welcome any all suggestions for cheap eats and must-do splurges Also, I'm debating whether I should go to Osaka, too ( already booked hostel for the entire trip in Tokyo, so I'd be loosing money on hotel in Osaka) - I know it's known for food, but am I going to miss out on anything that would justify the extra $100 I'd have to spend for lodgings there? thanks!

my use of the word "west" should be more specified as "european based". also, if we were talking about specific dishes - scapple, etc - i'd agree, but we're generalizing a whole freaking country!

i think that it is pretty, for lack of a better word, "western-centric" to say that mexican, greek etc food can't be upscale. what does that mean, exactly? that those cuisines can't produce dishes with elegant, refined flavors and innovative presentations? or that they cannot be served in expensive white linen napkin restaurants? i mean, are we talking about food or our perceptions of the countries? personally, i think its ignorant to say, as Erik did, that Mexican food is street food only. and damn disrespectful to the range and variety of culinary traditions of the country. As for classic versus influenced cuisine - i mean, when French chefs deconstruct French country cooking and serve it in expensive little portions no one is going "Well, that's not quite French. To me, that's more French-influenced." Looks delicious. But you are, in a way, sort of making my point. To me this would be a Mexican Influenced dish, not classic Mexican cuisine. ← You might be right. I'm certainly not the expert on Mexican cuisine and I was merely looking at the issue from what I found on Chef Bayless's website and the posted menu for Topolobampo. It would be interesting to hear how the Chef would answer the question. This is certainly an interesting topic and one that would be appropriate as a new topic in another forum. But in terms of Top Chef, either way you look at the issue of whether or not there is an upscale or classical Mexican cuisine, most of the Top Chef contestants still didn't follow the directions for the Quickfire Challenge. ←

So i had the opportunity to go there this Friday (3/14/08) and we got the chef's tasting menu, with the specification that there be no pork in the food. so, of course, after the amuse bouche of some ceviche, we get lobster bisque with applewood smoked bacon. the server is pouring the bisque in front of us and telling us what's in it as i stop him after he gets to the bacon part - so they take the plates away from under our noses and hungry, hungry mouths, and we wait, and wait, for our first dish - it was about 1 1/2 hours after we got there that we actually got the correct, pork free, starter. so, while our server was incredibly gracious and had put in the correct dietary stipulations, the kitchen was having some issues - and this showed as our five courses came out in an uneven pace - with some dishes being separated by a time span of 45 minutes while others came out right after the other. our first course turned out to be a canneloni (sp?) filled with crab, sitting on a bed of cabage and more crab in a gastrique type sauce - forgot to take picture of this as i was pretty hungry by this point (thank god for the bread service is all i can say). not that impressed - the sauce was so vinegary that it overwhelmed pretty much all the other flavors. this was the second course - i started eating it before i remembered to take a picture - sorry for the quality but i didn't want to use the flash. A pan fried red snapper fillet with angel hair in a tart sauce and a heart of palm and a smear of a curry sauce on top. so this was a special that evening and i have to say that i absolutely loved the red snapper- cooked and seasoned to perfection. also liked the flavor of the angel hair and the curry sauce - but this dish felt like three separate components of three separate dishes sitting on one plate - a real lack of cohesion and interplay. the curry sauce was nice but when i tried it with the snapper, i couldn't taste the fish, the spaghetti was nice but was, once again, overwhelmed by the curry sauce and where did the heart of palm come from? i mean, i liked everything on its own but it just left me feeling like i picked the food off three other dishes! and i wanted more snapper, damnit! salmon with a veggie ratatoille and lentil puree. not bad - the weird thing about this dish was that the salmon was crispy side down - why? I have no idea. and it had those stupid greens on top of it, which also graced every onther dish, and which, incidentally, added nothing to the entree. there was a green sauce on top of the salmon, too, but have forgotten what the server said it was, and quite frankly, that doesn't matter anyway since it was pretty tasteless. The veggies had a sweet and sour taste that was just a tad too strong to go well with the salmon and the lentil puree, was, well, forgetable. Fourth course - monkfish with wild mushrooms and truffle vinaigrette. This was the first dish of the evening where all the parts actually complemented each other. Very nice savory mushroomy flavor that didn't overwhelm the meaty monkfish. Three things though - the ever present little bits of greens strewn on the plate for no reason, the truffle in the vinaigrette was pretty superfluous since you couldn't taste it, and there were bits of dehydrated mushrooms that tasted like mushroom-flavored cardboard - not sure what they were supposed to do for the dish. palate cleanser - rasberry sorbet with a yuzu (i think) sparkling soda and rasberry inside - tasty and refreshing. dessert - coconut sorbet atop of chocolate covered poppyseed roullade - the cake was rich and flavorful but the coconut sorbet lightened it and turned it into the perfect end to a meal. Their pastry chef is no joke - the dish was really well balanced and a great interplay of flavors and textures. second dessert as a way of apology for the whole bacon lobster bisque thing - a trio of caramel - butterscotch toffee layer cake, creme caramel, and caramel ice cream. yum.

ummm, check out the title, man.

had an opportunity to go up to my old alma mater and had dinner at a new place on College Ave - Cozy Thai. Was prepared to be disappointed by muted Americanized Thai food and was seriously surprised when our food came and everything was fabulous! shrimp curry chicken curry a fish dish in a spicy and sweet sauce. chicken with mushrooms in a ginger sauce. Everything was delicious with bright flavors that were definately not muted!

This is a bit belated, but I thought I'd put my two cents in about this place. We had reservations for a Saturday night, got there on time only to have the host seat a couple that walked in after us, first, ignoring us. When I pointed this out, he told us that they had gotten there an hour earlier and had just returned after waiting for a table. Huh? We made the reservation three days in advance, he ignored us when we come in and then he argues about who was there first? Whatever. So, our table having been taken, he tells us that we can either wait in the restaurant (nowhere to sit, a tiny space to stand next to the door and be subjected to intermittent blasts of freezing cold as it opens) or we can go across the street to The Beehive, a bar where we can wait and where there's no line. OK, so we trudge outside, in the snow, and go to the Beehive only to find that there's a huge line outside with people waiting to get in. What the hell? So we go back to the restaurant and the host is all surprised when i tell him that this place is packed and we remain inside, squeezed in the entrance, waiting for a table. At this point, I'm in a bad mood, ready to snap at the first thing that goes wrong. The host? No word, no offer of "Hey, since i just sent you on a pointless trudge through the freezing winter snowstorm to a place that you cant get into, why don't I comp you at least a little alcohol to warm you back up". We end up getting a bottle of wine, which we drink standing in our coats at the entrance till we finally have a table. So, what I'm saying is that I was less than impressed. This is the point, thankfully, when things took a turn for the better. Our server came, we ordered some oysters and my mood got waaaay better. The oyster selection was pretty good - we got some east and west coast varieties (dont remember the names) but they were the best oysters i've ever tasted. fresh, chilled and evokative of the best beeches i've been on i was starting to get happy. we ordered an appetizer - forget what it was, except that it involved such tasty mayonaisse that we licked the bowl clean. Then, the entrees: Salmon with a vegetable ratatoille (sp?) this was one of my friends dishes - i don't like cooked salmon so i never order it, but i snuck a bite. seriously, wow. i actually could have eaten the whole dish - the salmon flesh was buttery and tender, creamy, almost. completely changed my mind about the fish also, another friend's entree - tuna with greens and beans. fabulous. i'm also not a fan of tuna, but this was beautifully prepared. the greens tasted fresh and bright, not over- or undercooked, and the beans had an almost smoky savory flavor. two of us got the lobster roll - never had so figured to try it. Was not dissapointed - the bread was warm and toasty brioche, the huge amount of chilled lobster lightly tossed with mayo, perfect french fries sprinkled with herbes de provence (or herbes fines? i'm not good with french food), house made bread n' butter pickles, and coleslaw. every component of the dish was perfectly made, and i loved how the tarragon in the fresh herbs played up the sweetness of the potatoes. the kitchen also sent out a little "sorry for the mishaps" oysters rockefeller ( i think that's what you call them) which were ok - i'm a bit of a purinst when it comes to oysters, so if they're not raw and unadulterated, I'm not really a fan. And we ordered dessert, which i don't have a picture of because we ate it so fast - ricotta beignets with a chocolate ganache sauce - the beignets were perfect but the chocolate sauce had broken ( seriously - how do you send out something like that? i'd be embarassed to serve it at home, much less a restaurant!) So the verdict? awesome oysters, (mostly) awesome food but bumps in the service - specifically the host because our server was very helpful and courteous.

shrimp is not halal but also not haram (forbidden). it's in between. i think that people are reading too much into the whole Muslim thing - i mean, there are non-observant, semi-observant muslims out there, same as in any other religion.

Pierre Herme has a similar cake that I made a while ago, involving piping out chocolate meringue logs - if it makes you feel better, mine looked like poop too.

A bit of sour cream and a tablespoon of ______??? I think we're crossing signals here. Tablespoon of butter, or a tablespoon of vinegar with the sour cream and cherry vareniki? Either version sounds like it might be interesting, but I want to make sure I have what I need in the fridge if you don't have time to post the step-by-step instructions with pics. Thanks! ← Oh, sorry! I was a bit unclear - the tablespoon was refering to the sour cream amount. The cherry vareniki are just with sour cream.

so the pelmeni- i don't know the exact proportions of vinegar and butter - i just tend to put in about a tablespoon's worth (for about 15 small pelmeni) and let it melt and then drizzle in the vinegar to taste. As for the type - either regular white vinegar or red wine or cider will work - don't use balsamic or anything sweeter because you want a bit of tartness. the cherry vareniki you just toss with a bit of sour cream and umm maybe a tablespoon (not the measure as above, here i mean your regular tablespoon) for about 10 - see if that is enough when you mix it - you want that creaminess but not globs. i have the next two weeks off, so my plan is to make the cherry vareniki - if i actually do this (i'm a bit of a slacker), i'll post the pics and you'll see what i mean. But there are no hard and fast rules for this, you just do it to your taste - some like a little more and others a little less, as with the pelmeni.

So here are some words on the pelmeni and vareniki: 1. both are types of dumplings, but the dough for pelmeni tends to be thinner and the fillings are, as far as I know, always meat. Vareniki are what americans think of when they say pierogi. And, this my be obvious if you've seen them side by side, the shapes are different - vareniki are sort of half moon shaped and pelmeni are round. 2. traditional ways to eat pelmeni -> butter and vinegar with freshly ground black pepper. Seriously delicious and addictive, should be tangy. My favorite, and ultimate, comfort food. Can put some mustart or horseradish into the butter vinegar mix, too. Can also do the sourcream thing but, to my taste, not as good. 3. traditional way to eat vareniki - sourcream or with sauteed onion and/or mushroom. 4. Must try - sour cherry vareniki - (not a desert dish, you eat them as a savory course) mix them with a bit of sourcream - some vareniki will inevitably leak the sour cherry juice and the whole dish will turn a lovely pink - i guess i should have posted this prior to Valentine's Day because now that I'm describing it, it would make a cool Valentine's Day addition. But seriously, eat these and love them! 5. There's a great restaurant, Gletchek (sp?) in Brighton Beach (NYC) that makes all of these things and they taste as if my grandmother made them! Oh, and Katie, if you're very curious about something but the packaging is all in russian, if you want to take a picture and post it here, I can always translate.

i've been going there for a while now, so some recommendations of my favorites: 1. german kielbasa (in russian: nemetskaya kalbasa) - tangy, a little peppery, 2. Pomegranate juice - Bell's has tons of variety and really cheap price compared to how much the POM brand costs - I get a liter (maybe more) bottle for $3.99 - caveat is that the juice is more tart - tastes more like actualy fresh squeezed, not sweetened (cant stand POM because it's way too sweet) - look for juice from Azerbajian, King's Brand (I think) in glass bottles 3. Sliced herring wrapped around seaweed and a cranberry (or red currant) - this comes in flat plastic packages in the section where the taramasalata (sp) is. try it, really good with some plain boiled potatoes with dill. 4.Milko yorgurt - yummm!!! much praised in other egullet threads and with just reason. 5. Kefir - also sold in other groceries, but lots of varieties here. 6. Good selections of different feta cheese and some of the best prices. 7. Bakery is really good - try their Napoleon - there are two varieties, both are good. 8. Borodinsky Bread - russian black bread flavored with coriander. 9. Pickled tomatoes and red cabbage ummm, that's off the top of my head, there are some other things that i don't know how to describe well enough in english. also, it's very accepted to ask for samples of things, so if you see a tasty cheese, or salami (kalbasa, in russian) just ask for a taste (russian: mozhno poprobovat eto? can i have a taste of this?)

So this weekend i made the flan from CookWise - it called for 7 egg yolks and 4 whole eggs (plus 3 cups milk and 1 cup heavy cream) The texture came out beautiful - it's super smooth and luscious BUT the taste is definately caramel egg! My question - is this because of something i did - maybe didn't bake it quite enough, old yolks, etc - or is this something I should have expected from the recipe given the amount of the eggs it asks for? thanks!

Ah! I love those! We get a similar thing from the russian stores in Philly - interestingly enough they were never available when I actually lived in Ukraine, but that was the USSR era, so there ya go! I am assuming farmer's cheese is the same as the russian tvorog?