markemorse

Well then I guess I know where I'm drinking in Providence, don't I.

Typically when one has work one "needs" to get done, one doesn't go to a bar, do they? Unless that work is drankin'. Of course the same argument could be made over how badly one "needs" to get their nails done, but regardless: I feel like a freakazoid posting so many times on this topic, but I really can't believe that there's such limited appreciation of what makes bars the wonderful refuges they are, or at least what makes them different from nail salons and schools. ETA: and airports and Panera and Starbucks. +++

Sorry, you said you'd talked to them on the phone...

You've got an appointment at a nail salon, making the issue of them turning you away after not having told you about the policy over the phone significantly more uncomfortable and definitely less defensible. Unless Chris had an appointment at this bar.

Not retail, but I run a school and spend a great deal of time talking with people about our stated, documented policies. When someone accidentally violates one of them for the first time, we cut them some slack and let them know that, next time, the policy will kick in. That's true, of course, unless safety or health are at issue, which -- unless there's something about laptop computers that I don't know -- isn't the case here. Hmmm...if I'm remembering school correctly, it may actually be the dialectical opposite of a bar.

Maybe we're talking about two different kinds of bars here. Pegu Club is not really what I'm thinking of when I hear the words "cool bar"... Regarding justification, can't get past the "whose needs are more important" perspective. What justifies his action is bringing your sizeable (6 or 7 pounds?) home electronic device to an place designed for eating, drinking, and socializing, and insisting that the owner accommodate your ambience-affecting desires because you bought a 9 dollar drink. The customer is not always right and, amazingly, not everyone wants to be Danny Meyer. And what's this obsession with the half-emptiness of this bar? My favorite bars are half-empty...how can you get any conversatin' done in a packed-to-the-gills bar? ETA: qualifications.

Ah, Chris. I do hate to disagree with you on this. But....have you ever owned a retail business? The above description pretty much reads as if you walked into someone's place of business, ordered a drink, then did something unusual that no one else was doing, something that made the owner uncomfortable, he asked you with a smile and a friendly tone not to do it, and you were insistent about doing it. I'm not sure that I would've been any nicer about it. And...also: laptops do bother people in non-work public spaces, I'm one of them. It's like carrying a TV around with you. Socially toxic vibes, even to a geek like me. ETA: adjective tuning.

Don't change your name, it's beautiful and distinctive. People will learn to pronounce it if you make it worth pronouncing.

I'm a big fan of the "my bar, my rules" policy...and not a huge fan of laptops in bars. When I first fell in love with hanging out in bars, they didn't have laptops or cell phones in them, and that's the way I like them. Color me out of touch. ETA: unless you're in an airport.

Hi Tepee! There is a recipe for sayur lodeh (minus tempeh) in the CoF book (and he mentions serving it with lontong)...I couldn't quite figure out how the tempeh was prepared in the recipe you linked to, so I can't tell if it's one of the tempeh preparations in the book.

And if you feel like tequila just isn't "Thanksgiving-y" enough, you've still got time to do a homemade cranberry-infused tequila...

Our families have used Patron Silver tequila in the past to great success.

I'm willing to wager that 20 years from now there will be a common term for the person who chooses to eat primarily non-animal-derived foodstuffs and also considers "rich, fulfilling food" a priority. "Vegan" may have accumulated too much militant, ascetic baggage to be that term, but to imply that gourmandism requires the consumption of animal products ignores the increasing numbers of non-hardcore among us who try to prepare exceptional vegan/vegetarian food on a daily basis. ← Markemorse, many thanks for that spirited response to that closed-minded post. ... using the cheap shot of calling others 'hardcore' or 'deprived' seems a way to justify themselves... ← This was my primary objection to the post I responded to: the dismissive implication that if you're not using animal products, you're not really eating... (then there's the suggestion that this kind of daily commitment is just too hard to stick with through the "realities of adult life"....an excuse that can pretty easily be extended to cover any kind of socially responsible behavior, but whatever...that's for another forum )

Yeah, our server was pretty green and some of the plates looked a bit manhandled by the time they got to us, but this really didn't contribute to my overall dissatisfaction (unless our server was responsible for the "sittin' around" look my pork had).

I'm willing to wager that 20 years from now there will be a common term for the person who chooses to eat primarily non-animal-derived foodstuffs and also considers "rich, fulfilling food" a priority. "Vegan" may have accumulated too much militant, ascetic baggage to be that term, but to imply that gourmandism requires the consumption of animal products ignores the increasing numbers of non-hardcore among us who try to prepare exceptional vegan/vegetarian food on a daily basis.

Let me emphasize that it wasn't bad, it just felt like the components of these smartly-conceived dishes weren't all being executed with equal conviction/attention, and as a result it ended up giving the impression of a near-miss. Probably just an off-night. As I said, I'd give it another chance if I had more time here and found myself in North Scottsdale.

Hmm...just returned from Zinc Bistro where we had an OK meal, and the fact that it was just OK was rather disappointing because I'd been really looking forward to it. Ultimately it felt like the concepts and recipes were on the mark, but the execution was a bit haphazard or loveless: some elements of the platings weren't really integrated from a temperature or seasoning perspective, and general salt levels veered off into stratosphere occasionally...I don't know. We had: FRISEE, SAVOY SPINACH, WARM POACHED BACON-EGG Dill, Lardons, Sherry Bacon Vinaigrette ONION SOUP GRATINEE CALIFORNIA SQUAB AND FOIE GRAS Cipollini Onion Honey Glaze, Tennessee Grits AHI TUNA "STEAK TARTARE" With Cornichon, Fleur De Sel And Mustard Rye SEARED DRY PACK SCALLOPS Spanish Chorizo, Roast Corn, Arroz Calasparra BERKSHIRE PORK COUNTRY RIB Brandy and Apple Syrup, Juniper Marshmallow, etc. +++ Looking back, nothing was truly bad, and some bites were really excellent-tasting: the grits and squab were just about perfect; the tuna was zing-y and fresh. You could tell that the pork rib dish could be superb, but it really seemed like mine had been waiting for some other item from our order to finish cooking: my syrup/jus had a coagulated sort of skin on it, the pork wasn't especially juicy or warm. The scallops were cooked perfectly but the rice underneath was distractingly salty... Anyway, it was 6pm on a Sunday, don't know who was in the kitchen. If I had more time in Phoenix maybe I'd give it another visit but for now it's being filed under slight bummer. +++

i'd still like to find something a tad more southeast asian to grease these wheels with...although now i'm remembering that ketchup really does seem to have roots in the same word that ketjap comes from.... regardless, i think my next task will be the tempe kering since it's something i eat pretty regularly back home, as well as the shrimp satay since no one seems to have done that yet. i also bought some squid yesterday because i was sure there was a squid recipe in CoF, which it turns out there isn't, so i don't know what's going to happen with that....

Another related option is Dick's Hideaway, owned by the Richardson's people and right around the corner. We went for a late lunch and we were the only people in the place, which is a dramatic contrast to my Richardson's experiences. Food was just as good though, if you stick to the southwestern stuff (avoiding the pizzas, for example, which seems obvious, but...) photos are here because ImageGullet doesn't want to upload my pictures today... mark

hey robin! glad you and tempeh are finally getting to know each other.... about tempeh keeping? i don't know, because we always buy it in these 350 gram blocks that are pretty much a two person serving. so, no leftovers, ever. the other thing about tempeh that i'm reminded about every time i cook it: it's really really important to brown it to within an inch of its life. undercooked tempeh tastes pretty nasty. did you eat the tempeh with the eggplant stew, or with the dipping sauce, or by itself? i really think that this tempeh needs some kind of dipping sauce or lubrication to make it appealing to tempeh newbies. and: your eggplant looks amazing! mark

At long last, I have procured a copy of Cradle of Flavor. Of course, I am now carless in Phoenix, making it much harder to get my hands on ingredients than it is in Amsterdam... But whatever. I made something super easy that I have made many times in my pre-CoF life: Garlic-Marinated Tempeh. I usually make this for breakfast in Amsterdam, today it was an afternoon snack. But yeah, here's the not-so-authentic part: ketchup is my condiment of choice with this tempeh. It just works! I'm open to other suggestions as well.

thanks, gfron1, but.....I don't think I can get away with borrowing the car for that long. yes, i'm 38 years old and asking mom for the car keys....sigh.

Yesss! What is it with cutting in line in Italy?! And it's so blatant! We've literally been elbowed aside so someone can wedge themselves into a perfectly orderly line. What's the protocol there? Can you call them on it? ← of course you can, but how's your italian? i suppose you can just tap them on the shoulder and point them to the back of the line, i've seen it done hundreds of times here. ← mmm, you go first. no way am i touching a nonna i don't know. the protocol is: suffer silently and imagine their karma balance dropping or become a line-cutter yourself.... +++

hi again, sorry for the recent flurry of activity here, please feel free to return the favor if any of you find yourselves near amsterdam.... my question this time: can anyone recommend a good, honest old-timey bakery in town that does homestyle pies? cherry, blueberry, pecan, lemon meringue, etc. by honest and junk-free, i mean not made in a factory using 25 ingredients.... thanks! mark

hi all, getting ready to make the pilgrimage to bianco in the next couple weeks, and wanted to check: is 4:30 still a reasonable time to get there? thx mark