rockandroller

I'd love any other more recent updates or opinions on Cafe Gray. Am planning a dinner in their private room (which hopefully will negate both noise and service issues) in the Spring and am worried about the posts saying they have cut both salaries and lunches.

I would love to know more about this. Even via PM.

Some years ago, my mother and I both noticed how salty restaurant food is and have remarked on it ever since. Now that I think about it, this is around the time when we both quit smoking. I wonder if smoking is one of the reasons why restaurant food is so salty?

Doesn't that pretty much describe the St. Regis itself?

This is absolutely my favorite, I cannot stop laughing. And I too really like "klepping." Can I borrow?

Wow, I think that WAS one of the best interviews I've read with him. They're normally so predictable and annoying I can hardly stand it. This was a good one. I can't WAIT for the ep where he goes back and works a double at Les Halles.

Hi! I really know nothing about the geography of St. Louis or Missouri, so forgive me if this isn't helpful, but I found this: "American Pasturage, Inc. supplies meat from livestock raised on grass pastures year round. During inclement weather, the animals receive grass hay right in the pasture. The Elysian Veal calves are left with the cow in the pasture from birth to market. Our farm uses no chemicals, pharmaceuticals, grains, or blended feeds in production of our meat animals. A supply of Elysian Veal, Pasture Purefect Beef, and lamb is available at most times right from our farm. The USDA-inspected meat is vacuum-packed and frozen. Shipments can be made to any location in the U.S. The meat can also be found at the Greater Springfield Farmers' Market on Saturdays from mid-April to the end of October. The veal, beef, and lamb are available in popular retail cuts. We try and maintain a year around stock of whole ground beef that runs 90% lean or better. "We don't observe regular business hours, so call us anytime." American Pasturage, Inc., Rick Hopkins, P.O. Box 190, Marionville MO 65705. (417) 258-2394. E-mail: rdhopkins@americanpasturage.com Website: http://www.americanpasturage.com" Found on this page: http://www.eatwild.com/products/missouri.html

I'll play. Lessons learned: - acidic juice + cast iron skillet = purple-gray brussels sprouts. - 10 pound bird takes WAAAAY longer to cook than 2 hours. Possible problem with my oven, as at nearly 3 hours the outside was way overdone (despite covering with foil) and the inside was still barely 160. I estimated 2 hours, so all the side dishes sat for nearly an hour til we finally had to pull out the bird and hack pieces off it immediately so at least we could serve the dinner (so no sitting/resting for the bird either, no time). I will also never cook it on top of veggies again, the bottom of the pan was completely dry and there was nothing to baste it with. I know, basting is not supposed to be essential, but to me it's not thanksgiving if you can't baste the bird at least once. My sweet potatoes also seemed to take a long time to bake and in my haste I mashed some before they were probably 100% mushy which resulted in lumpy mashed sweets. I just had my oven thermometer thingy replaced like a year ago, I can't believe that's it already but it sounds like it must be given the problem with the sweets and the bird, so I am going to get that checked out. This was the first year I tried high temp for the first hour and then lowered it for the remainder of the time, maybe that contributed? I dunno, but next year I'm going back to 325 the whole time. Also, my idea of "deconstructed" deviled eggs was tasty and interesting but way too time-consuming and next year I'll just make them the regular way. The advantage wasn't significant enough or interesting looking enough to bother doing it this way again. Also, note to self: radishes pushed way back to the back of the fridge will freeze, then they are dry when they thaw out. And there is such a thing as too much celery and carrot, especially when dealing with limited room in the fridge. All in all, the table was beautiful and most of the food was really great.

Having waded through about half of the book (essays and then picking around in the glossary), and having seen Ruhlman speak in person a couple of times, what I get the impression he is trying to do, with this book, with his in-person talks supplementing the book, the occasional cooking class and yes, including some of his previous books as well is to let the reader in on some secrets, surprises, tools and insight he has been privy to that many "average" home cooks like me will never be privy to as we will never cook in a professional kitchen (as he has) or go through the CIA's training (as he has). In writing this book and in his discussions, I get the feeling he is trying to share that knowledge with us, which I much appreciate. I get the feeling many of the reviewers on here are not really the right audience for the book and thus are tearing it apart in criticism that, to me, seems off base. It's just my opinion, but reading the book and hearing him speak, it seems he's trying to do many of us a favor by giving us an expanded "lesson" beyond the peeks and glimpses he has given us previously about what some of the important (in his eyes) take-aways are when going through training at the CIA, that "us normal folk" might otherwise not know. I for one appreciate the supplemental lessons, insight and information he imparts, and am enjoying the book quite a bit. Just my opinion, but speaking as someone who I think is more the target audience for the book, getting some reviews from the more amateur people like me might be good balance to those reviewing it who are clearly more advanced like Steve/fatguy and chrisa.

depends on what you don't have and need. This would be a great way for you to buy a lot of your Xmas gifts, even if you never left the housewares department. Right now, the "housewares" department is expanded and can include things like digital picture frames, DVD players for $60, homedics chair massage pads as well as the "gifty" type items. There is a blossoming iced tea maker that comes with 10 teas that would make a great, inexpensive gift. In the martha stewart line, there's a pretty nice salt and pepper grinder that comes with the grinders and containers of coarse salt and peppercorns. You could stock up on holiday-themed dishes such as serving bowls and candy dishes, etc. Let's just say I'm pretty familiar with what they have, and I wouldn't recommend spending it on any sort of pans there, they just aren't that high-end. But if you need a new turkey roaster or want to replace your blender or something, there are plenty of choices like that.

Hi! I'm in Ohio but we buy from someone who gets Jaindl turkeys from PA, they are VERY good. http://www.jaindl.com/ I don't know if it's too late to get one from them though.

Give poor chef Symon a break. It's not like Paris has a "truffle store." Oh wait... ← Did they indicate whether the contestants were restricted to shopping exclusively at "Chairman's favorite places" ? It wouldn't surprise me if there was such a rule imposed on them. At least they don't have constant "product placement" like certain other chef contests... ← I thought it was clear they were required to shop at the same places, don't know how they were selected (though knowing that would have been nice). I mean, what are the odds of everyone running into each other at the same store all through the shopping experience if they weren't all going to the same stores? and why would they go to the same stores if given a choice to go elsewhere, particularly Besh, who is probably most familiar.

What a great story of your trip, I'm so glad you got to visit two of our best gems, Lola and VTR. We hope you are able to craft many reasons to return!

Welcome! Again, it's JMO about Sokolowski's. Denigrating it is akin to bad-mouthing one of our sports teams, but I calls 'em like I sees 'em. And given that I've been there with other people who felt the same way, I can't believe it's just me.

I want you all to know that because of this thread, I sought out Popeye's. Imagine my surprise when I found there was one less than 15 minutes away from where I live, which I had driven by on several occasions and never gave it a 2nd glance as it's among several other fast food places, and generally speaking, we don't eat fast food. Good fried chicken would be the exception, but we didn't know where to get any until I read this thread. All I could remember was that the sides were not the greatest so we just got a box of chicken (I did remember to get the spicy). MAN. It was greasy of course, but not as greasy as KFC and the chicken definitely seemed to be a better quality. Next time we'll add biscuits too. Thanks everyone!!

Yes, the line at Luigi's can get long on the weekends, but it actually moves pretty quickly. The service is pretty speedy there and not overly friendly as they don't want to encourage table "campers." The only time that wait is excruciating is when it's snowing and blowing and about 25 degrees. I did that last winter and every minute felt like an hour As to Middle Eastern, I think that Maha's trumps Aladdin's and I'm a big aladdin's fan. There's a stand in the west side market, also a location in strongsville. You should also try the authentic Cuban sandwich at Leolai bakery, which is only a few steps from the WSM, they are the BEST. Get the small cup of flan for dessert and you have a great, cheap meal. JMO of course but only go to Sokolowski's for the kitschy atmosphere. The choices and portions are huge but the taste and quality are really poor IMO. I recently took 3 co-workers there who had never been but heard about it on No Res. I said nothing about the food in advance. Every single person left at least half to 3/4 of their food on their plate, and everyone got different things. It's really not good food. For some reason, it seems people who grew up in Cleveland have a fondness for the place that in their minds seems to translate to their stomachs and makes the whole thing "good," but I've been there 4 times myself (the most recent with the co-workers being my 4th, the last visit I took my Mother, who was also curious, she also pushed away her plate early on and agreed the food was really bad) and have never had anything good. I'm sure you'll get a lot of dissenting comments from others as the place is well-loved and a Cleveland institution. To each his own, as they say.

Hi white lotus! For inexpensive and extremely tasty pizza in a completely Ohio-kitschy feel, you must go to Luigi's. Very informal. Cash only.

I also really dislike the lack of the follow-up visit, like there is in the BBC version. Turning a restaurant around means nothing if they don't stick to it. The follow-up visit is what would make me actually want to check out a place if I had access to it, not the initial makeover; it shows whether or not what they learned has "stuck." Oh, and to the person above who mentioned the shirt-changing scene, this is standard in the BBC version, we always laugh when they have the obligatory shirt-changing scene. It could be a drinking game. Finish your drink when he changes the shirt, and before and after that happens, everyone drinks everytime Gordon says "f*ckin' hell."

Wait, Tony is in a TUX? My eyes! My eyes!

anyone know when this will actually start to air? I keep checking Tivo but all it has is last season.

I've never heard or used "how does it taste" though I have heard the "suggested spin" line, "Is everything tasting great for you?" which I think is stupid, but it doesn't really bother me. I usually just asked "How is everything?" Or, if it was a nicer place or seemed a more upscale table, "Is everything to your liking?"

Around here those are called "sarma". They're a fixture at every local wedding buffet and funeral dinner. There's always been a big dispute whether they should have tomato in the sauce or not. ← It can't be a coincidence that where I grew up, they were called "sarmi," which I believe is a famous Bulgarian dish (though my grandparents are Greek and Macedonian, they all borrowed from each other in cuisine). We always fixed them for new year's.

That sounds great Edsel, thx for the heads-up!

We always had bread on the table, always. My grandmother did this too, I assume that was handed down from her.

To most of us in flyover country, we'd never heard of Rocco before The Restaurant. In learning of his pedigree it was exciting to hear of the show, to tune in and see a restaurant developing since I have years of FOH experience and my husband BOH. That's why we tuned in, and is why we tune into pretty much all the food-related shows we watch, including the lately unwatchable Hell's Kitchen and the much more watchable Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, not to mention TB's No Res. In fact, these shows DO draw people like me and my husband to their restaurants when we visit the bigger cities, and we initially planned to visit Rocco's next time we got to the city. But he seemed, to those who hadn't "seen" his history to be the perfect celebrity chef "student," one whose goals were not cooking and serving great food to the masses, but CELEBRITY above all else, including quality, responsibility, proper management, integrity, you name it. No Reservations doesn't have Tony cooking anything, but you LIKE him because what he's trying to do is communicate with the world through their cuisine and cooking and to bring that home to the viewers (that's my take anyway) and I think it's a great way in to being curious about and understanding other cultures, and he does it in a very likeable and often respectable way, or at least with a good amount of tongue-in-cheek humor which brings a smile to the face. It has been that show for me anyway. If Tony treated everyone like some crap underling and all women like whores and managed his crew and show like a spoiled rich teen being given a cruise ship to run and then using it as his personal party yacht, you wouldn't like him anymore either. He comes off as likeable and not doing what he's doing for the purpose of fame, the opposite of how Rocco came off. Rocco resembled that old SNL skit with Sandler and Rob Schneider acting as waiters and licking all the female customers' faces while calling them "bellissima." I also think he continues to not care to "work his way back up" or jump in and do any real, hard work anymore. Why would you, when you can sit at home blogging about TV shows and sell stuff on QVC? Everyone stumbles. Emeril is annoying and clearly a showman but he still has great restaurants and continues to work very hard in all aspects of his business, and while I don't care for his show, I respect him. I don't feel that way about Rocco.