Carolyn Tillie

Good point about the Tanqueray -- that part didn't dawn on me. I think the Broker's is just a bit too strong to make a good martini (for my taste anyway). And you are right about the Cadenhead... would love to taste it, but not sure I'm ready to put out that kinda cash to find out!

Another business meal out brought us to Espetus churrascaria restaurant last evening. BTW, the Portuguese-speaking inamorato informed me it is pronounced Esh-peee-toos and means 'the spirits.' Having eaten at a number of churrascarias in Brazil, he informed me that Espetus is only mediocre. Having only eaten at a very small churrascaria in old town Torrance in SoCal, I thought Espetus was pretty good. The buffet includes a number of salad items but also a wide variety of sides including fejoida, red beans, olives, salsas, hard-boiled eggs, and cheeses. The meats that are presented on the skewers are fairly extensive; chicken, parmesan-coated pork, five different cuts of beef (sirloin, filet, ribs, etc.), linguica, prawns, and chicken hearts (I had to ask for these as I knew they existed but I didn't really see them offered to others sitting around us). The offering of grilled pineapple was also different for me and quite refreshing. We had started our evening with glasses of caipirinha and Kevin ordered a really great Argentine malbec blend for dinner. We finished the evening with a Tres Leches cake and a chocolate mousse, both were perfectly adequate but hardly inspiring. At $35 per person, one has to be REALLY hungry to get your money's worth, but for a die-hard carnivore, it is an experience that shouldn't be missed.

I like 'em -- specially the knives. If you excuse the pun, "cutting edge" and quite cool.

Very funny - but more a chance it would kill ME before the frog!

Wattacetti - Unfortunately for me, I don't speak any of the Chinese dialects and these folks speak surprisingly little Chinese... I tried, believe me. Now they do sell the pre-butchered frog's legs and that is what I'll end buying, but the idea was to be able to do it all ourselves. Melianne - "Not worth the effort" is subjective. My late Father was definitely one who swooned over frog legs, appreciating anytime I could bring him fresh ingredients for his private consumption. And Hooters would never be an option, thank-you-very-much.

Are the frogs you find in Asian markets caught wild, or farmed? If the latter, then I don't think endangerment is a problem. But I just don't know. ← I'm honestly not sure -- I've just seen TONS of them in Chinatown so I'm assuming they are farmed since San Francisco is not a habitat known for any great marshy areas...

I'm a huge fan of Moose Drool which my boyfriend claims is way too sweet for his tastes...

<LOL> You kidders!!!! <grin>

Wandering around Chinatown, it was easy to get enthralled with the variety of live animals that are available for purchase. I've never been squeamish about butchering my eats, but I have had little cause to have to kill them myself (save an occasional lobster, crawdad, or oyster). How, then, does one go about murdering a frog? I would think that like a turtle or crustacean, the humane thing is to stab it in the neck, but googling didn't come up with anything definitive. Suggestions?

Just stumbled onto this thread. Great that others have discovered 209 as I've been a fan for a while. Also, I tend to go through a lot of No. 10 for my dry martinis. One that we just tried for the first time was Brokers's which, at 94 proof, was a tad excessive for martinis. Kevin was playing around in the kitchen with it and stumbled on a reasonable summer cocktail that works with the Broker's; a combination of brewed tangerine tea, a little simple syrup, a jigger or Broker's... He has been playing with a blender so he blended the amount and added two drops of Grenandine for color and we were quite thrilled with this chilled specialty (getting tired of blending fruit juices with rum). On the lookout for more specialty gins and was shown a rather expensive ($60) bottle that is made with saffron. Sorry, can't recall the name...

Ah, that's why I'm not seeing anything...

Don't discount French Toast as haute cuisine. There was a huge discussion on the now-defunct Winterland's restaurant French Toast as they used a brulee torch to caramelize the surface and served it with an amazing lavender-scented ice cream.

My personal fav...

My boyfriend, Kevin, is a techno-nut. Unfortunately, having to rent an apartment with a hideous electric stove takes its toll on our culinary abilities, including the ability to maintain consistent temperatures in the initial cheese-making procedures. In our recent rash of beer-making, we were using our wort chiller to bring the temperature down on a brewed mash of stout. If we are running cool water through the copper tubing to chill down beer, why couldn't we run warm water through the copper tubing to maintain an even temperature on our milk? Going a step further, he acquired a remote wireless digital thermometer so that while the warm water is keeping the milk at an even temperature, we can be notified (sitting in another room) if the temperature is changing at all. We tried this today for the first time and with the exception of some water spillage (not paying attention to the overflow on the floor!), we seem to have had great success. The proof, obviously, will be in the pudding <ahem>, I mean the cheese. In this case, a goat cheddar which we won't get to taste for another 12 weeks. I'll post pictures of the set-up in a day or so, but I'm curious if anyone else has ever seen anything like this...

For all his much-maligned downfall, I actually give great credit to the introduction of ancient food (to me, anyway) to Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet. His book, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancients Cuisines; China, Greece, and Rome brought the concept of culinary history to this young girl's attention. While simplified and modernized, it is a great start for an investigation before throwing one's self into the actual historical recipes.

I was given a pretty expensive fish poacher but if I'm going to cook fish, I like it broiled or braised or sauteed, not poached. Eight years of this long, covered pan sitting around, I realized it is the perfect size and shape for a stuffed pork loin and has the added advantage of it having the lift tray! I was also given a REALLY expensive, Italian pressure cooker. Almost 15 years after its acquisition and non-use, it was the new-found boyfriend, Kevin, who instructed me in its qualities! Seemed living on a yacht in Panama for a year, this was practically his only useful pot which he utilizes with great dexterity.

So hasn't anyone considered submitting a fake photo to see if there is a response to determine the restaurant in question??? We on the West Coast are dying to know...

One of the most amazing recent texts on Medieval cooking was Medieval Arab Cookery which is a translation of al-Baghdadi by Maxime Rodinson, A.J. Arberry, and Charles Perry. Somewhat hard to find but brilliant reading!

Thank you! Yes, that makes perfect sense as both were silver-skinned. I was a bit saddened that Ino uses powdered wasabi. I was given some fresh wasabi from one of the Japantown store owners (he had it flown in from Tokyo) and feel completely jaded.

I've attended the last four years and can attest that it is an amazing conference -- which typically sells out within a month of its announcement.

I've done both Roman and Medieval "culinary re-creation" events as a caterer while living in SoCal. The whole Medieval thing is prevalent within the Society for Creative Anachronism where I cut my teeth on historical cooking. These people are more than just enthusiasts; they do incredible amounts of research in their re-creations of historical foods. The best website as a resource I have found is the Gode Cookery you listed with subsequent links to those that GG has listed as well as many more. The major difficulty of dealing with the SCA is that it is difficult to only be part of the food contingent; one also has to concern one's self with the costumes, mannerisms, warfare, etc. It is an all-or-nothing gig which was why I decamped. But attending a "war" like Pensic could prove very enlightening if you wish to sample serious recreationist cuisine. Unfortunately, it is not a restaurant-sort-of-thing. It will be through groups like the SCA where you will be able to experience the food first-hand. On the Roman front <ahem>, I can attest that there are a number of occult groups that pursue, prepare, and serve extremely authentic Roman feasts, but that opens a whole other bag of worms.

"Better" is relative! I stopped going because it was way too crowded...

Thanks Hzrt8w! I actually feel a bit guilty in my lack of knowledge on these cuisines... You are right that about the Penang Curry and I'll have to look into Mai's! A little solo dining last evening found me at Ino Sushi inside Japantown (this is the smaller side, near the Miyako hotel -- not the larger mall-walking side). Ino is a very small, innocuous establishment that not unlike Kiss, only seats about 15 people and is run by one chef, Ino-san. An amazing array of seafood, the variety of which was truly astounding, I simply asked for his version of an omakase, not wanting to have to make any decisions. Part of what sets Ino apart is that if one is seated at the counter, one is not presented with a serving platter for the nigiri offerings, ginger, and wasabi. There is a small, 6" ledge between the bar where the patrons sit and the showcase. Upon that ledge, Ino-san places your ginger but no wasabi unless you ask. I had heard rumours he was heavy-handed with his wasabi use so I didn't bother asking, nor was I particularly bothered or overwhelmed by the wasabi that was used. My Omakase consisted of the following: Flounder, albacore Toro Hamachi Ankimo This is where I stopped taking notes, but what I think I was served: Albacore Then there were two fishes that sounded like Haba Kohaba This was a great sushi experience. Everything was incredibly fresh and bountiful. And, with a small bottle of Ozeki sake, came to $44.00. Will definitely return!

Fabulous report with great pictures (that multi-layered drinks looks great!). I gotta admit - I went a dozen years and was really put off by the crowds. Your pics made it seem not too overwhelming and something I might reconsider in the future!

I've had Ace but am a dyed-in-the-wool Wyders fan (I seriously go through a case a week of the large bottles; serves two purposes, I get to drink a lot and they are the best bottles to re-use for our beer efforts). In the fall, by going through San Francisco Brewcraft, we can rent a press and will be making our own!