ScoopKW

Whether buying cheap chickens, organic chickens, kosher chickens, or mutant chicken-like creatures from the planet Krypton, it's almost always more economical to buy the whole chicken. Butcher the birds, wrap and freeze unneeded sections. And freeze the bones. Once a good supply of bones has been accumulated, make stock.

I've read this from the beginning. 1) Get a bunch of Oxo good grips stuff -- silicone spatulas, a grater, a zester, measuring cups, teaspoons. Basically, whatever you don't already have from the "essential" category. These aren't sexy like knives and blenders, but I reach for a spatula 50 times a day. Don't buy the unusual gadgets -- egg seperators and burger presses, for instance. See if BB&B has a Microplane in their gadgets sections. Can't go wrong with one of those. 2) Pyrex containers, Storage containers. Buy a lot of heavy "fridge to oven to table" containers. Also buy containers for AP Flour, bread flour, bread crumbs, sugar, etc. Bug-proof, humidity-proof containers for raw ingredients. I'd spend at least a couple hundred on this. 3) Does BB&B sell a fire extinguisher? If so, buy one if you don't have one already. May you never need it. 4) Tea towels/bar rags. Buy a stack of them. Home cooks NEVER have enough towels. 5) Nice wine glasses. BB&B sells Riedel. The glass doesn't really effect the taste. But I still like a nice wine glass. 6) Souffle crocks, ramekins, escargot crock, et cetera. All those ceramic baking items. Of course, if you don't eat snails you can skip the escargot crock. But everyone uses ramekins. And a souffle crock makes a dandy serving of mac and cheese. It's better to buy this stuff at a restaurant supply store. But then again, it's better to buy ALL this stuff at a restaurant supply store. You're just trying to blow through some gift certificates. 7) A stick blender. I know BB&B sells a cuisinart set which also features a useful "mini food processor" attachment. 8) AND I CAN'T STRESS THIS ONE ENOUGH -- A food mill. Forget the food processors, blenders, and everything else. If you have a food mill, you can do damned near anything. BB&B sells a stainless food mill for around $200. That's the #1 thing I would get. You will thank me every time you make mashed potatoes or salsa. Based on the knife brand restrictions, I wouldn't buy any knives. If you're going to buy cookware, go with a heavy stainless skillet and a heavy stainless saucepan. Heavy. All-Clad copper core if they sell it.

OK. Let's see how many professional winos are in the house. (No Googling allowed.) 1) What's the word? 2) How's it sold? 3) What's the jive? 4) What's the price?

Arbor Mist anything. Tastes like someone pureed an air freshener and added it (and a cup of sugar) to the wine.

But is it lovingly sprinkled with glucose?

I second Costco. I find it FAR better than the national chains. It's not great. But it's still FAR better than the national chains. I think it's a stretch to call Papa John's "food." Let alone "pizza." EDIT -- My question about these chains in general is, "Were they always so bad?" How was the pizza that John Schnatter made in 1984, for instance? Surely these places didn't get so big by originally offering the inferior products that they currently sell.

It's a Chinese in-law thing. The amount of snacks necessary for a simple shopping trip would have lasted the Donner Party for weeks. It's ingrained. A standard greeting in Mandarin is "Did you eat yet." My mother in law, who lives exactly one mile away, asks me this every time we visit. "You've lost weight. Looks good. Did you eat yet?" I've become used to it.

Not necessarily. The College of Southern Nevada's culinary program is very highly regarded. And for an in-state resident it is inexpensive. Hell, it's cheap. Seriously -- $5,000 out the door with your sheepskin. After taking two years of classes, I was hired at a casino and then worked my way up. Now I work for a very well known chef at a restaurant that just about everyone here knows. And I spent less than $2,000 for that. But CSN doesn't advertise on TV. Nor do they employ recruiters. See if there is a community college program that might do it for you. There's no reason to go broke learning a trade that doesn't pay a hell of a lot.

School or straight to a kitchen? Why restrict yourself to one of the other? Do both. You're young. You can probably take it. When you work at a kitchen, you learn to do things the way the chefs want -- which is not necessarily the "classic" way. But it gets the job done. You also learn the nuts-and-bolts "get through the crush" mechanics of cooking. But at school you learn techniques that aren't likely to be taught at your restaurant. (Unless your restaurant focuses on doing the classics correctly.) I'd like to echo the previous members who advise that it is irresponsible to go to one of the "for-profit" schools advertising on television. Taking on that kind of debt to go into a field not normally known for a high salary can break you financially. I know too many people who paid more in tuition than they'll make in salary in years. Any school that promises a great-paying job after graduation is probably the wrong school. I'm lucky in that my community college has a very well regarded and inexpensive program -- out the door for around $5,000. But Las Vegas is a different animal when it comes to a culinary career. The thing about culinary school is that you will likely learn most of the basic kitchen tasks ONCE. It's up to you to practice and become more efficient. Some techniques you'll use over and over and over. Others are just nice to know. I'm still halfway through my culinary education. And it's basically on hold. I was able to get the job I wanted without finishing school. I'm happy I went. And I would really like to finish. But I wouldn't give up my job to do so. So I guess you can say that culinary school was good for me. It got me where I wanted to be. (And at the end of the day I already hold a degree that I'm not using. I wasn't in culinary school for the diploma. It was a stepping stone to get me to where I am now.) EDIT -- One last thing. Your education never, ever ends. If you quit learning, you basically quit living. It's impossible to put a price on a solid education, particularly in the liberal arts. Reading "Candide" isn't likely to make you a better cook. But it will make you a more well-rounded person. Knowing the history of France will give you a better appreciation for their cuisine. And you can replace "France" with every other country with the same result. There's no downside to throwing yourself headfirst into history, language (particularly Spanish, considering your career choice), literature and art. Chemistry is certainly a good discipline, as is physics. I'm of the mind that there is no such thing as "useless" knowledge.

Mac and Cheese here, too. And the restaurant where I work makes some of the best. Works for me.

I would CERTAINLY have the nerve. I would demand that the bartender open a NEW jar of olives and remove one without touching it. Did the bartender conspiculously (and properly) wash his/her hands prior to fishing out the olive? No? Then that's just nasty. "You have been touching money, credit cards, bar rags, and every other damned dirty thing in this bar. And now you're grabbing my olive with your grubby hand? I don't think so!"

For me, jerk seasoning. Busha Browne's is superior to anything I can whip up. (And I'm occasionally called into one of the casino's kitchens to "whip up" a jerk rub. All I do is try to recreate (albiet unsuccessfully) the glory that is Busha Browne's). Mustard is another one for me. Coleman's makes some fantastic mustard mixes -- like their tarragon and thyme mustard. I'll take that any day over one of my homemade mustards. Especially on a steak. And I'd rather squirt some Thomy mustard on a bratwurst than anything I could make. Most pepper sauces are better store bought -- I can make them, but it's a pain in the sinuses. I'd rather just open a commercial sauce. I disagree with store-bought mayonnaise because I don't like the commercial brands. I prefer making my own emulsion. I also disagree with buying prepared curries, because I nailed it a couple years ago.

Please. There is a substitute, it's called Hellman's. Completely reasonable for about 90% of my uses of mayo. And since my backyard has a disturbing lack of hens in it, I am forced to make even homemade mayonnaise from either store-bought or friend-provided eggs, but I gotta say it still tastes pretty good. OK, you're right. That came off as elitist. I should have said, "Considering how easy it is to make mayo, the only advantage to store-bought is it's stability." Incidentally, I don't have any chickens in my yard, either. The HOA would go nuts. But my mother in law has enough to provide free eggs for us. Major difference using a freshly-laid egg and good quality oil. Mayonnaise was once called "the king of sauces." I can't think of any store-bought mayo I would describe as "king sauce." EDIT -- Should have multi-quoted. I don't think Hellman's is "almost as good." I think it's like the difference between a lightning bug, and lightning. I would NEVER dip a french fry in store bought mayo, for instance. A cup of fresh mayo lasts a few days. I'll come up with an excuse to use it. Jerk chicken sandwiches on sourdough bread is my favorite vehicle for mayonnaise.

I have tried every mayo listed on this thread with the exception of Alacena. I have even tried McCormick's Mayonesa, which is very popular with Las Vegas Mexican-Americans. There is simply no substitute for eggs collected from your hens in the back yard, and oil selected for the mayo task at hand -- I use olive oil for aioli and canola for more "traditional" mayo applications. If we lived in a world without blenders, I could see the store-bought thing. But this is just too easy to make at home.

People have said that some Fatburgers are better (and worse) than others. But the two I have tried in Las Vegas have been outstanding and consistent. Their burgers are the closest any fast food burger has come to giving me a product that is as good as I can make myself. Plus, free blues and R&B in the jukebox. Considering how much bicycling I need to do to work off a fast food meal, I only have one if it's worth it. I am not an In 'N' Out fan. Problems include their cheese (probably the worst cheese of all fast food joints), the fries that have the shelf life of a mayfly (but that is a problem with MOST fast food joints), and their proselytizing on their wrappers. (Granted, it is the most low-key proselytizing ever. But still.)

#1 Fatburger #2 Tommy's Original And that's the end of my list. I'd rather pull in to a Roberto's or similar Mexican fast food joint than bother with the other hamburger chains. I will certainly try Freddy's when they open in Las Vegas. I went to Five Guys. It was OK. But it wasn't Fatburger or Tommy's by any stretch.

I know one of his culinary professors from UNLV. This professor wasn't particularly kind about Mr. Ferry's skills as a cook. But, let's face it, he's the one making the big bucks shouting catch phases ("I'm taking the express train to flava town!"), while looking like a photo-negative of Mr. T. So in that regard, he's quite successful. Who knows what's he's like when the cameras stop rolling...

The anti-foie people are at it again. This time taking telephoto pictures of California chefs' children and sending the pictures to them. How absolutely creepy. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/foie-gras-ban-protests-bourdain_n_1509604.html

In-N-Out is OK. Agreed, better than the big chains. But it still has some problems. One, the cheese. It's really nasty. Almost like plastic. Two, don't order a large fries because they're only good for about 2 minutes after they come out of the fryer. If you're going to eat their fries, eat those first. Before they wilt like old parsley. Are there any fast-food joints that make proper pomme frite? Poaching in one fryer and then frying in another?

Seriously? You think that people only make messes in bathrooms that are already dirty? That's nuts. No, but I think normal people who wouldn't dare foul a clean bathroom will foul a dirty one because they don't want to come in contact with previously fouled surfaces. They attempt the "squat over the toilet without touching it" thing, with varying degrees of success. As with most things, it's easier to keep something clean than it is to clean it after it's been seriously polluted. I've visited many, many countries. And the worst bathrooms have been in Europe for some reason. Can't really speak to why. But that's just how it's been.

I dislike quoting an entire post. I think people are smart enough to go back and read a post that is on the same page, if necessary. I tend to quote enough to jog people's memory. But I digress. The reason people "behave irresponsibly" in restrooms is because that restroom is dirty in the first place. If the restroom was clean, they wouldn't resort to "bathroom gymnastics" trying to void without touching anything. That just adds to the mess. The problem is business owners who think they're too good to clean a toilet. And Las Vegas is NOT the only place that takes public restroom seriously. Just about every tourist town in America does. I've lived exclusively in tourist towns. And providing a clean bathroom is just part of the cost of doing business. Checking the bathroom every hour or so is just part of the job responsibilities. If someone doesn't want to clean restrooms, that person shouldn't be in the service industry. Take a road trip across the United States sometime. Every few miles you will see a billboard for some business up ahead -- a gas station, a restaurant, a gift shop. They will extol the cleanliness of their restrooms to entice people to pull over than stop there. And some people will stop. And go. And then leave without buying anything. And that's just how it is.

No, if it's enforced, then it is no longer a "favor." It is a requirement to do business in the municipality which enacted the law. You want to do business in our city? Great! Then you WILL provide a clean bathroom to the public. Not just your customers. Everyone who walks in needing a restroom. Otherwise, find someplace else to do business. And we have code enforcement officers that will shut your business down if you try to skirt the law. Restrict bathroom usage at your peril, business owners. (Well, at least where I live. Not every city feels the same way.) EDIT -- As for "dirty public bathrooms," please by all means visit Las Vegas. Enjoy our public facilities. All the restrooms are public restrooms. And if they're not SPOTLESS, then casino management wants to know about that. We'd be horrified to discover we offered a guest a bathroom that didn't surpass their every expectation.

In the US (I realize that many thread participants are not Americans), most cities have statute in place that businesses which provide food or drink must have a public restroom. Some go even further that a business that is open to the public will provide a restroom. So, for a lot of people here, it's not a favor. As an aside, I know people who own McDonald's franchises. When he was still alive, Ray Kroc would head straight to the bathroom when inspecting a McDonald's. If it wasn't clean. He'd clean it himself. And then he'd dress down the franchisee for offering the public a dirty bathroom. PS -- Perhaps our philosophy on public restrooms is different than the rest of the world's. My travel experience bears that out. Kind of like tipping. We have different expectations here.

Well, find time then. You are going to wish you had if you try to open a restaurant with nobody involved having any experience. I can guarantee that much, at least. Working in a restaurant requires FAR fewer hours than opening one. And there is a very real good chance that either you or your partners or everyone involved learns that they hate the restaurant business. Then what?

Thanks for that info, Chris. I checked the Freddy's website and they're opening a Las Vegas franchise "soon." I'll try one a few weeks after they open and report back.