gfron1

I recently dried some and used it like panko - rolled a ganache ball in it and fried that sucker! Probably not what you need in a bakery however.

I did get to those threads which were very informative - but we were pretty well stuck here in the palm area. And we were very happy with our meals, and probably enjoyed today more than the previous days because we adjusted our expectations. I think there are probably many hidden gems in the area that are waiting to be discovered.

I was playing around on my trip to Palm Springs. I didn't have any scales, measuring cups etc, so it was a bit over gelatinized. This was inspired by a bar of soap! Celery, lemon chiffon mousse with ginger, over sour cherry gelee, topped with Italian meringue and macadamia granola. It was really good. I'll work on a stronger celery taste and toning down the gelatin.

We're done - and stuffed like pigs. For lunch we explored, and found the Cafe de Beaux Arts on El Paseo. I had the quiche lorainne, potato leek soup; others had the caesar, crepes with mushrooms. We all thought this was the best meal of the trip. Dessert was a "flan" but it was more like a flan cheesecake - very good. I also had a wonderful wine with mine a Chardonnay Fortant. Then we were killing time before dinner (after the zoo and art museum) and stumbled across La Quinta Baking Co. What a find! While their pastries weren't over the top, they were certainly solid and I even bought a whole apple tart which is unusual for me (I don't like the commitment of a whole tart) - but it was so beautiful! Dinner was at Mexacanli as highlighted above. Another super meal. We did get the campechana that someone earlier had talked about - it was good. The rellenos were also the best I've ever had - and I've had a lot. But the highlight was Chiles Gueritas Rellenos de Camaron (Fried yellow peppers stuffed with shrimp) served with mayo and soy sauce - I know! Odd huh?! But, man was that good eatin'! They refused to give us any insight into the recipe or cooking method, so I'll be tinkering around to try and recreate it. So again, I highly encourage exploration and reporting by anyone who visits the Palm Springs area in the future. I drove by a dozen places I wanted to try and didn't because of time. Just start fresh and see what's out there.

Great report underfoot - thanks for taking the time to do it. They really came out great and its making me regret not ordering one last night at my dinner (went for a Napoleon instead).

Mark - I am really loving your photo style these days. It is perfect for the great colors you're using in your creations. and PJM - where have you been! That's gorgeous! I hope you'll post slightly larger pics next time so we can really see the detail. Is that orb on top blown sugar?

...when you're on vacation with family, and the family on the last day says, "Enough already! We aren't eating four meals just so you can try every restaurant on the eGullet list." I haven't given up yet...the day has just begun!

Tonight we went to Zin American Bistro. It was another good meal. I had the stuffed zucchini blossoms for an appetizer, and for entree a monkfish wrapped in prosciutto. The wine was a Landmark Overlook 05. Dessert was a banana cream napoleon. Service was good although not well informed. I asked for a wine pairing with the monkfish and was offered a merlot...I'm not wine expert but that seemed odd. Lunch was at Native Foods, a 4 store local vegan chain. We all enjoyed our meals there. As I go into my last day (which my family is revolting that I have 4 meals planned for tomorrow) I think anyone reading this topic in the future should basically throw out the list and start over. The meals we've had have all been good, but I think there might be enough changes that it would be worth digging up some new winners. We kept driving by places that looked interesting, but couldn't work them into our schedule. My other recommendation is - in case you don't know it (I didn't) Palm Springs, Palm Dessert, Indio and the other communities are basically one from a tourist perspective, so be sure to read all the various topics about the different communities.

Another idea that would add some uniqueness to a competition. Gnocchi. You could make chocolate gnocchi, boiled, pan seared in butter, then served with a rum chocolate sauce. Or any other flavor combination to go with the rest of the meal.

I wanted to love this place because I root for the little guy, and the owner was very nice. I wasn't looking for fancy, just a good solid meal. I got that, but only that. It was good down-home cooking. Anyway, tomorrow we're aiming for Zin for dinner and the vegetarian place for lunch, so we're raising the bar on our expectations. EDITED TO ADD: I think a lot of my opinion is bellied in the fact that I had no idea what this area was about. I had this vision of fast cars, the jet set and fancy meals. What I'm finding (not to say that version of reality doesn't exist) is elderly retirees and rich who lean toward more conservative dining. So this incongruence has been skewing me. Today, having had this awareness, I'll be dining with a different lens and I'm looking forward to some great meals.

HERE are a bunch of topics on Phoenix dining - let us know how it goes.

We tried out a little place in Palm Springs today for a late lunch - Euro Cafe. I really wanted to love this place. Its obviously run by the "little guy trying to make it." He serves hungarian/Greek/Bosnian style foods. When we walked in he called his wife down to start cooking again. Three of us had cabbage rolls and one had a spanakopita. We all enjoyed the meal, but it was certainly not fancy.

Last night we were too tired to explore after the long drive in an incessant rain. Since we're staying at the Marriott resort in Palm Desert, we went a block up the street to the Cork Tree. It was a thoroughly uninspired and average meal. With our wine we spent about $50 pp plus tip and we were all happy with our food, but not excited. To me it was an upscare bennigans-type restaurant. I had a foie brulee which just tasted like liver to me. Anyway, not one that I would say to avoid, but not one that I would recommend either. Wait staff was very nice and very attentive - thanks Ricco.

I just finished Day #1 of the festival (there will probably not be a Day #2 for us - we're pretty tamaled out). We drove in from NM in rain the entire way (very unusual) and so we were very stressed as we entered the valley. This was my first time in the Palm Springs area and I'm not so impressed, but we came because my mom loves tamales, and my spouse has never had one he liked. Overall, the event was fun and worth the few hours we spent there. It started with a fun and colorful parade Then the gorging proceeded. I decided after eating 17 tamales that I liked it when they opened and sauced it for me: And I decided that tamales are not the most photogenic creatures no matter how you stack them: Okay, on to the serious stuff. First, we never could get a tamal from Grandma Lupe's. Her line was always no less than a 45 minute wait: But we did get the winning tamale: Which we decided it won because of the amount of grease: It was just okay. Sweet corn was one of our favorites: The vast majority were traditional varieties, but a few had unique ones: This is the blue corn with chicken, ginger, mango and habanero. It was good. After about 12 I started on the sweet ones. First was an award winning strawberry tamal. We all agreed that this was disgusting and tasted like Nestly Strawberry Quick with lumps. But then we had this strawberry one which was great. I think they used brown sugar in their masa: This Chocolate Raspberry was as good as it looks...which wasn't saying much: And finally a pineapple, raisin which was a bit doughy but very nice: Don't take my critiques too harshly - we had a lot of fun and would recommend this event.

Ikea has the best deal in town. They only have a few stores in the US and none in Shreveport, but I think they do web sales. Very cheap and nice. For example

I don't know what your salsa selection is, but ours takes nearly a whole aisle at the grocery store. There absolutely are good jarred salsas. Last year my store did a side by side taste test with customers of 20 different salsas, and with only a small handful of exceptions, everyone loved Salsa Patria - super fresh tasting, chunky, just the right amount of heat. But if we're talking Ortega...I agree with you.

I appreciate that story Stephanie. I've just started watching Heroes on DVD and I need to be the dude that reads minds. I think in this case I may get blank space with this guy, but it would be good to know what he's up to. We've pretty much moved beyond him however. We have someone we know and trust, and want to nurture her business as it grows - and eventually grows beyond us. Our focus now is figuring a way to grow together, but stand solid (not slip) when her business leaves our space. And leaving really is the only option with our existing space, but it would be nice to ride out two or three years with her.

Any finalization on this?

It is rare that I make it to a restaurant without hitting their site first. And when they don't have a site, I still will have googled them for directions. All of the things you are talking about sound fun, but all I ever click are (in this sequence): menu (checking for items and prices), hours/days, directions (including cab rider friendly info), and reservations. I can only think of one exception to this which was a Japanese restaurant in Denver that the page pics peeked my interest enough to look for more pics of the building which was very unique. Otherwise, my bond and interest is never strong enough with a restaurant that I would care enough to read a blog. That said, if you're doing outrageous things then I might. What might draw me to a site (although probably not) are specials. Focus on making sure no matter how people search for you, that 1) you are found quickly and 2) they are driven to the website. An example of this - I'm traveling to Palm Springs tomorrow. Yesterday I spent a good hour searching eGullet for recommendations, then I googled the various restaurants. Checked prices and locations for anything I was interested in - if they had a site, and if they didn't found anything I could about them - usually review sites. That's my typically traffic pattern. Hope it helps.

How fresh? - Can you make a mini ceviche shooter and not fear mass sickness?

Topics and posts with useful conversions: Recipe weights and measures Gelatin Baking pan to pastry form Bread in convection oven Loaf pans Egg sizes Altitude baking

Dystopian - you do such an amazing job on your decorations. There is such precision in what you do - thanks for posting them - it keeps inspiring me.

Who needs Beard when you have the eGullet lists! I'm a bit surprised by Sahni, but I won't lose sleep over it.

I did some deep digging and only found one post talking about it. THIS topic might be helpful, and reply #20 talks specifically about resteeping. I think the challenge with this search is that others may call it a "second steep" or a "subsequent steep," etc., so there are 41 pages of replies that contain "steep" but I'll let you dig through those in your free-time. Thanks for making a topic!

In my store's tea room we tell folks to resteep based on what our supplier (Ming at Vital Tea Leaf in San Fran) suggests. We have no problems with this except some of the sweeter (naturally sweet) teas that lose most of their sweetness after the first steeping. The best example that is coming to mind is a jasmine pearl. It is so sweet on the first steep, but the second has very little sweetness, which is why most people buy it. This also plays into the teas that they need to rinse or decaf first, where much of that initial taste is washed away or reduced.