mkayahara

Glad to hear your tools finally arrived, Chris. Sounds like there's a story here! How did it come back to bite you? This made me chuckle. Sounds like the workshop went well!

I'm sitting here drinking a Starry Night. It's a remarkable drink, with the flavour of the pear eau-de-vie coming through loud and clear while also marrying with the Chardonnay and the maraschino. Beautiful.

Interesting comments on the maple syrup. I've heard that a lot of maple syrup in Quebec these days is processed using reverse osmosis, rather than boiling, though it might be a combination of the two. And, of course, producers are pretty cagey about the process, since the images of boiling the sap over an open flame are terribly romantic, and romance sells. It's good that you have a dehydrator, since it opens up the ability to offer crisp textures. Also, didn't Charlie Trotter do a raw food recipe book? I've never read it, but it might be worth checking it out.

That's a lot of restrictions! I don't have much experience with vegan desserts, much less vegan, gluten-free, raw desserts, but my gut instinct is that the only thing that would really fit the bill and still be delicious is a top-notch piece of fruit. But convincing restaurant guests to pay for that is a little trickier. I think mgaretz is on the right track with sorbet; if you can't go cooked, go frozen. I wonder if you could do other frozen desserts, as well: semi-freddo, granita, etc. A juicer could be useful in this regard, too. Do you have access to a dehydrator, or does that count as "cooked"?

The way I see it, it can never hurt to give a restaurant notice of such issues as early as possible. That way, they can plan accordingly and on their own schedule. I'd have the reservation holder make a point of calling.

Looks like it was a great time, Stu! I agree with all your observations about the importance of precise knife cuts, the difficulty of plating, and the fun of sharing food with friends. I especially like the look of the yellow course, and it sounds delicious. I would say you certainly succeeded at the monochromatic theme!

I sure hope that happens for me someday! Until then, I would say there is no "reputation maker" in my repertoire.

I second this. If a Gin Stinger isn't your style, Wondrich's Picador (basically a Rum Stinger) or even a Vodka Stinger would work just as well.

How about the Khymos recipe collection? ETA: You might have some trouble finding a comprehensive list of ingredients and techniques, because this stuff is all so new, and so oriented around individual creativity, that very little of it is codified (perhaps apart from a few specific techniques, such as spherification). There is no "Escoffier's complete guide to the art of molecular gastronomy". There are lots of books that have come out in the past year or two that have examples of some avant-garde techniques - Alinea, Fat Duck, Dessert Fourplay are three that come to mind - but they all reflect the creativity of the individual chefs and kitchens that produced them, rather than a comprehensive overview of the techniques in question.

I've never known wine to grow mold or, for that matter beer. Then again, I haven't ever left beer unopened for a few months. Can anyone report as to whether beer does indeed get moldy? Oh yes, beer will get moldy. As anyone has learned who's ever found some empties that weren't rinsed out.

If you do go with the cooked purple cabbage, keep in mind that acid (e.g., vinegar) can help set the colour. Also, walnuts, while not purple themselves, seem to have a tendency to turn bread purple when baked in it, but I'm not sure what the mechanism at work there is.

That's for amateurs. The hardcore among us googled eGullet and reread past threads in Google's cache!

How much gum arabic are we talking here? Looking at the recipe for gomme syrup in Imbibe!, which calls for 1 lb. of gum arabic, I always assumed you needed a lot to get the emulsification and texturing properties. Is that assumption incorrect?

The other nice thing about Volume 2 is that it has a combined index for volumes 1 and 2, so you don't have to ask yourself, "Which volume was it in?" before hitting the index. It's a nice touch. I'm always baffled when people recommend Les Halles for beginners. Don't get me wrong; I love it, especially for Bourdain's inimitable voice, but I don't think it's a very good cookbook for someone who's never cooked French food before. There's too much reading between the lines that's needed in order to make sure the recipes come out properly. It sounds to me like the OP's mother is interested in techniques and building blocks as much as full-on recipes, in which case I would add The Cook's Book to the list. These days, I find myself turning to it frequently for basic information, especially sauces and meat-cooking techniques. I bought the full version so I could Ferran Adria's chapter on foams, but there's an abridged version that might work just as well for a beginner.

So the word in the Twittersphere is that Eben Freeman is leaving Tailor. Can anyone confirm and/or provide any information on where he's headed next?

Have you tried Cumbrae's?

I think I've heard or read that the spouts are supposed to prevent less-scrupulous bars from refilling brand-name bottles with less-than-premium spirits, but I'm not sure whether or not it's true. I did notice the other day that Robert Hess decries them in his video for the Anejo Highball.

There's actually some pretty good info in the vanilla extract thread on alcohol-free extract. Two key terms to search for are "glycerine" and "paste". Good luck! (Edit: I suspect you already searched, but "glycerin" doesn't turn up any results, whereas "glycerine", spelled thusly, does.)

53, give or take. (Some of them I've only tasted out of someone else's glass.) I think most of the drinks on that list have a reasonable claim to being there, though there certainly seems to be some repetition: why have both the Bijou and the Tailspin? Or, as was pointed out above, the Whiskey Skin and the Toddy? The two things I would add are the Moscow Mule and the Black (or White) Russian. I think it would have to be a Martini.

Having recently had a Riviera at The Violet Hour and a Rathbone's Delight (sp?) at Flatiron Lounge, I'm now convinced that there's some serious alchemy that goes on when Campari and pineapple juice meet. Anyone have any other drinks that use this combo?

Are these two bitters actually interchangeable? I contemplated buying one of them the other day, but the Bittermens ones were really expensive, and I hadn't heard any reviews of the Fee Brothers ones, and didn't want to take the chance if they weren't very good. I subsequently tasted both (just in the palm of my hand), and found them to be quite distinct, with the Fee Brothers ones much more chocolate-flavoured, though nicely bitter, and the Bittermens ones more integrated and spicy, like an aromatic bitters.

Thanks so much, Toby!

Stopped by TVH last night, on our last evening in Chicago, and had a great time. I think the lineup out the door when we left speaks volumes about the bar's quality. I made sure to have the Tongue in Cheek based on the recommendations here, and loved it. But our favourite cocktail of the evening was this one: Any chance you'd be willing to share the proportions, Toby?

Is it safe to add Domaine de Canton to the list of trendy resurgences? Also Cynar, though I suppose that could fall under the already-mentioned category of amari. One thing I'd like to see is a Canadian-produced straight rye whisky in the American style. Not because it's necessarily historically accurate, but because it might mean I'd have access to rye without having to cross an international border. Edited to add: On second thought, maybe it would be enough to see the revival of an older incarnation of Canadian whisky. I've never had a vintage bottle, but by reputation the category used to be a lot more interesting than it is now.

"Favorite Word" sounds good to me! I was thinking about a tequila version as I was drinking this last night. What kind of tequila works best: silver, reposado, anejo?