Gigi4808

A big thank you to Fat guy for the Souplantion link. All this week we have been mopping about that there where no souplantions near us- and low and behold! Guess y'all know what I'm having for dinner.

Just an FYI, Travel channel will be running "Decoding Ferran Adria" on July 3'd. Set those DVR's kids.

I heard a rumor there is an Atlanta episode in the works, can anyone confirm that?. And if you are going to be here Tony- I totally offer to take you for curried goat brains (ya know you want to).

I am just pushy and tell people what we will be tipping and that is evenally divided amoungest the number of people. I have only had this be an issue a couple of times and those who don't believe that good service should be tipped as much as I do get an education on what the servers make (as an average of course, it's not like I know on an individual basis) and how the tips are split. With the exception of one person who would just not change their view that 10% is more then good enough I have found that most people just don't understand how servers wages work and how tips can get divide (example when the server has to tip out other staff) I like to think that I have done my part to help educate. And Angela that is EXACTLY my point with Rachael Ray's "tipping"

I think "Hidden Treasure" might be the best superlative for it. It is off of the beaten path in an ATL 'burb called Woodstock. The first time I went to be honest I was doing my husband a favor because prior to Ken (the cook/owner) I was not a fan of Indian AT ALL but the husband is so I went in figuring if nothing else there was always Naan to fall back on. Ken made me a Fish Tikka Marsala and I have been hooked ever since. To look at it for the outside it is unique to this area if for no other reason then we do not have alot of Indian places (the Valley this is not). Once you are inside Ken himself is the best sign that you are in for something special. He makes a point to talk to each guest both before and after the meal and he goes out of his way to make sure everyone is comfortable. The first thing that you notice when you walk in is the fact that you are not knocked out by the stench of over used, old cooking oil and cumen that seems to hang in the air of most Indian places. You do smell meat roasting in the Tandor or a gentle spice but it is comforting rather then over powering. The menu it's self features just about any standard Indian dish you can think of, if you are unsure of what to order Ken will come out and discuss your likes and dislikes with you and make suggestions from there. For those who prefer they're spicing a certain way he will adjust the heat up or down for you. Everything is made fresh to order and there is no use of frozen or premade products. At this point I do not even use the menu to order I just tell Ken to have at it and bring me whatever he likes and he has not steered me wrong once. I can not say enough good things about that mans food. I don't want to thread highjack (because I could keep going on) but please feel free to PM any questions you have.

Congrats! If you make it Atlanta there is an Indian place that should not be missed and I will be happy to point you in the right direction.

Not the most imaginative but to not make a clam sauce would be a shame. Oyster po' boys Mexican style shrimp cocktail- so refreshing on a hot day. Maybe do a mix of "shooters" using your various shell fish with different sauce concoctions.

Hostess fruity pies. Alittle pocket of sugery fried happiness it is!

I am a friend of the man who wrote and posted the Vinegar Boy story on CS. What you see on the site currently is destilled down for clarity, but I can tell you that the tale is 100% true. Even years later I can't see a bottle of malt vinegar without thinking about Aaron. Aaron to this day remains a hero to many on the site and his tale is a testament to just how stupid people can be.

Hold on! I'll grab my checkbook. SB (aspiring network bigshot) ← Guys just be sure not to leave out incessant giggling, you can't have a show without giggling!.

Caught me!. I profess to love eating the liver. Yeah, I know it's gross, yeah I am sure it probably is not very good for me but I don't smoke, don't do drugs and only drink in moderation. You have to live dangeriously somehow and this is as good a way as any. The only time I did not eat the liver- or the rest of the lobster was the one I opened to find instead of ther normal lobstery delights a pitch black goopy liver (I guess). I never did find out what that was (if anyone knows please enlighten me) and it may have been perfectly fine, but it DID NOT look good and I just could not bring myself to eat it. For the record the store I bought it from said they had never seen that before and gave me a refund so it was not a complete wash. That actually kept me off lobsters for about a year.

If I am understanding the question, The benchmark of "authentic" Italian for me is memories my grandparents Italian cooking. Any Italian food that I eat is compared to the memory of they're cooking as to how things should "really" look or taste. My grandmothers cooked Northern style and my Grandfather cooked Southern. NO red clam sauce has ever measured up to "Gramma's" and what I consider polenta to be is closer in terms of look and texture to cheesy southern grits then it is to the polenta found in most restaurants. And if I have misunderstood the question well it wasn't all bad now I am dreaming of clam sauce.

Are those new episodes or simply the reruns? link by any chance?

I know it sounds weird but it tastes great!. I had that at a recent dinner out and now I am hooked on having it at home. BTW Tony, I am also in the group that wants to hear more on the lassi. And I would like to thank you for a great episode. It was so refreshing to see a show on India where the host didn't sound stoned out of his overly "enlightened" mind (Piven, I am looking at you).

Pim's addict here, as well as all flavors of Milano's. But my secret addiction: Grandmothers peanut butter cookies. You know the ones that sell at gas stations and 7-11's. Chewy yet soft and the peanut butter flavor is not too intense. Gee I think my car needs filling...

I just tried the cookies and cream... not impressed. The cookies tasted oily and the ice cream it's self seemed more full of air then anything else and reminded me of "store brand" ice cream. Is it possible that I got a bad batch or is this just not one of the good flavors?. Willing to give it another go if anyone has any suggestions.

I like the watermelon flavored icee's from Sonic (actually it is the ONLY thing I like at Sonic). But QT (kinda like 7-11's) has somke good falvors too. Last one I had was a sour apple that was good.

In the same vain as Shannons post about Panera- I think they make a killer cinnamon roll -they call it a bagel but they don't seem to know bagels from a hole in the ground. Please don't tease me with the word "bagel" if you are really just goign to give me a large roll.

How about when the waitstaff pronouce shrimp as "sch-crimps"?!. Makes me cringe every time.

The what won't you make at home thread inspired this. What are foods you will only make/eat at home?. For me it's whole lobster. I love lobster- IMHO the best way to eat it is simply steamed. No seasoning, no butter. Just pure red shelled happiness. I like the tamale, I know where every piece of ediable goodness is on them and I will dig them all out- it can be messy and I like to take my time so it is best had at home.

I KNOW! I try not to be such an ingrediant bitch but I can't help myself...

Many good points. The one thing that has been brought up several times that I think is a losing situation for everyone involved- other then the offending party- is the issue of unruly children. Unfortunately short of asking the family to leave, there are not many options open to the staff. Now I realize that there is no child that is going to be an angel 100% of the time and for young kids I place the responsibility for they're behavior on the parent rather then on the child. It is not like the average five year old kid turned to their parent that morning and says "How about The Gilded Truffle or The Rusty Barnacle for dinner tonight?" they are more or less along for the ride with where ever their parents have decided to go. And to be fair, there are parents who take it upon themselves to either not put the child in the type or environment where their presence may not be appropriate (for both the sake of the kid and the other diners), or who will take whatever actions needed to bring the situation back into their control should the child become disruptive- but we are not talking about those parents. We are talking about the clueless- or worse the careless parents who share our mutual dinning space. Those parents tend to not care that everyone else's dinner is being effected by little Damien's glass shattering screams, they don't care the person at the next table does not want to be told that they're dinner resembles the innards of the younger brothers diaper and if the waitress did not want to spend the rest of her day covered in ketchup- well she should have gotten a different job. And of course the hazards that are involved if the kids are actually running around or climbing on things. What they DO care about is that someone on staff (and God help the server if it was them) dares to ask them to control the fruits of their looms. From personal experience if the server is lucky they will merely be given rather loud, graphic advice on how to spend their lunch break (possibly involving members of their immediate family). But it can escalate to even larger scenes, threats of physical violence if not actual acts of violence and even then the problem can still continue. And there is the ubiquitously law suit threat. Yes, you could ask the party to leave but you are guaranteed that at least one of the above scenarios will happen. And many of the powers that be who are in charge would rather have everyone deal in the house deal with the Children Of The Corn then risk the ire of the one unruly table. In one location I worked we were told that we were NOT allowed to say anything or attempt to calm the situation in any way- and from what I have been told by other servers that is closer to the norm then the exception, did I agree with that?, no (and I still do not). Should it be allowed to happen?, no. A valid complaint, but my sympathies/empathizes on this lie with the servers.

Life is far too short to eat cheap ice cream. IMHO one of the worst things you can try to force upon me is ice cream filled with tons of mystery ingrediants. Yes, I realize you can get 5 gallons of chemically frozen "goodness" for $2.99 but if I am going to suffer through the intestional discomfort dairy brings it had better be for the best.

Being seriously short (under 5'0) I would love to have an adjustable work space- it would be alot more practical then having everything brought down to my height (the S.O. is 6'0+).

I love tea but it does not love me back so I can't drink it nearly as much as I would like to. I have found that the one kind I can have with minimal discomfort is the Tazo Passionfruit. It tends to be too bitter for my taste hot, but iced and served with a dash of mint simple syrup it is excellient.