IlCuoco

I've had great success with this book; I'll second that the bolognese is outstanding (I made it for some Italian friends and they gave it the thumbs up). I'm also partial to her proportions for making pizza dough. I made the fish cooked in red wine for a dinner party and it was marvelous. I did it on the fly and it came out perfectly. Just a great cookbook. And for the record, her portions are fine if you're serving the pasta as a primi (it pretty much assumes after pasta will come at least one, if not two, mains as well as some finishing plates. If I'm serving the pasta as a main, i almost double the portion sizes).

I started writing this long post and realized that a great wine shop is simply a great shop. Most of the things I recommended apply equally to jewelery or fine food clothing. Generally, I don't think any wine shop can treat wine like a mass commodity (although some of it is) and be great; there's too much enthusiasm, knowledge, pretention, etc to make that a viable approach for greatness. However, beyond that most of my thoughts apply to what makes a great shop, they all translate beyond the world of wine. Generally, I think that the areas that have the most impact on making a wine (or any) shop either great or horrible are (in order of importance to me): staff customer service skills, staff knowledge and passion, general service, price policy, selection consistancy. Do these things really well, and you're on your way to legendary status, do them horribly, and you're on your way to infamy. Let's start with Service Skills and Knowledge; in the end, a retail business that bases so much of it's knowledge on customer interaction (as compared with a grocery store where folks generally want and expect to be left alone) requires exceptional floor and back office staff (for obvious reasons). I think this import is hightened for products like wine where 1) many of the customers are VERY knowledgeble and VERY informed and many others are not yet each of them wants to leave the shop with exactly what they want/need. Consider (as others have pointed out) that the wine enthusiast looking for a new find, the party goer in his/her 30s looking for a gift for the host, the young kid looking to impress his date, the couple looking to stock up on dependable wines that are "good" just to have around not only all have different needs, but all need to be approached very differently. Thus, sales and service skills/knowlege come slightly ahead of wine knowledge. Know how to interact with a customer to help him or her understand what they want and help you help them. Also, remember that the most knowledgeable staff member who is either obtuse in his erudition or, even worse, makes the less informed/interested feel intimidated or foolish will ruin the shopping experience far more readily than a moderately informed but customer focused floor member who is interested in helping me get what I want. Likewise, I don't want to go to a wine shop and feel that because I'm not dropping serious coin on a high-end bottle, that I'm a cretin or that my time isn't valuable; I feel that being "upsold" in a wine shop is even worse than being "upsold" in a restaurant (and I hate it in restaurants). Sometimes the right wine is not the most expensive wine.Also, items like wine are sensitive purchases, particularly for folks whose experience/interest is fairly limited; people in a store surrounded by bottles, not knowing the lingo and fearing ending up with a "bad bottle" either as a gift or to drink with dinner, don't need to be pushed into spending more money - I think success here is defined as each customer feeling that they were treated respectfully and individually and that the store was happy to have their business. Of course, the staff needs the wine knowledge to know and understand wine and to engage with more informed customers in a productive way. One pet peeve I have; walking into a wine store, asking for a recommendation (based on other wines I like, tastes I enjoy, etc) being given one and, when asking more about it being told "oh, it's great" or "it's a really good wine"; tell me about flavours and aromas and finish and mouthfeel, compare it to wines I may know (particularly the ones I used to baseline my request for a recommendation), if it's unexpected (I asked for a Bracchetto and you're suggesting a white Chilean that I've never heard of) tell me WHY it's a recommendation. The only ones who can get away with the "trust me, you'll like it" approach are those that I've done so much business with that I trust their judgment implicitly. As you can imagine, however, those folks are the ones who tend to provide good descriptions and take the time to explain recommendations. Also, don't be afraid to tell me that you don't have what I want; I once went looking for a Moscato D'asti and the salesperson tried to push a Condrieau on me. Granted, Condrieau is a great wine but it's not close to the same wine; I would have left the store with a better impression had they simply said that they didn't have it and that I might look in XXX down the street. When things like this happen, I'm left feeling that either the staff think's I'm an idiot or that they really don't know wine and are just pushing what's on the shelves. The deep wine knowlege also helps with less informed/interested consumers as you need to understand, based on often vague descriptions, what is likely to please someone who only knows they want something "good" or special; asking the right questions (as above) is only as helpful as having the depth of knowledge to translate the answers into solid recommendations. Finally, I rarely see knowledgeble staff that are not also passionate staff. If you have knowledgeble folks, they'll be interested in the product and that interest will come through. Also, for the more regular wine buyer, I want to talk wine with my sales person; you'll get another mixed case out of me if you take a few minutes and talk. General service is another thing (and where your back office shines); have the capacity to special order, to get that unique bottle or that wedding reception size quanity as needed. Have the (recorded) knowledge of your customers to be able to make custom recommendations and to contact special customers when certain items come in/become available, have staff on hand to help carry large orders out to the car - no wine shop is full service unless it can do these things. Don't forget delivery (if allowed by your state/municipality); a huge boon for those ordering in bulk. Run tastings (as others have said, staff only) and explain what you're tasting and why; be a resource for your customers, not just a vendor. Do run specials and don't make them an excuse to get rid of the garbage in your storeroom. Wine tours, introductions, etc are also nice and I think a necessary service for your best customers at the very least. One positive experience I had in this regard; I had been searching for a particular wine for a long time. It was hard to get (limited production and most of that went to restaurants, etc). I asked my favorite shop if they could get it, they tried and failed (I appreciated the effort they put forth, however). About 8 months later, I was in the shop and the owner came out with a bottle for me. A new distributor had come by, the staff had remembered what I was looking for and managed to get a bottle from him. It was the institutional effort and memory (I wanted the wine, they had already tried and failed, I would have never known if they hadn't tried again) that reminded me why this shop got most of my business. I'll also point out I told dozen's of folks that story and made sure they ALL knew where to find that shop. Price policy is next: I don't want the cheapest place per se but I don't want to feel like I'm paying a huge mark up in exchange for good service. If you have good wines and good staff then I'll gladly pay more but only to a point. I think this is more important for regular wine consumers who have a sense of prices and know when the mark ups are approaching restaurant level. Fair prices will ensure that you have repeat business and will help reduce "13th bottle syndrome". I put selection last because it's a double edged sword; so much good wine is being made now that most half-way decent shops have "good wine", also, it's impossible to have everything - heck, it's even difficult to compete with the "wine superstores (Sam's in Chicago, Martingetti's in Boston, etc); of course, you don't need everything, just enough. Rare wines on hand are less important; I want to know you can GET them (as above) but I'm willing to wait a few days/weeks/months (depending on how special or how rare). I know few people who walk into a wine store off the street and need a case of '82 Petrus asap. I'd rather know that I can get a good selection of everyday and "special" wines. Also, be consistent in your selections. Don't have a great selection of little known Italian's one month than be strictly high-availablity wines from across the world the next. I like a shop that has a bit of a specialization (particularly good at one region, varietal, etc) but it needs to be consistant (this is less of an issue with bigger stores). The rest of the stuff (a cheese counter, fancy foods, even crystal) are nice but I can't think of a single wine shop I consider "great" where those items even enter into the consdieration (which is not to say that these thing's aren't welcome). One of my favorite wine shops has these things, another doesn't; they're both great to my mind. As always, Fat Guy put it as well as anyone and much of what I wrote is just more blather that fits into his brief, efficient list.

Are the two "sides" of this debate really mutually exclusive? It seems to me that there is some natural synergy between wines and foods of a given region and that both the regional wine styles and cuisine styles evolved "together" to a degree, starting with the rustic (the analogy of the wine maker marrying the farm wife sums it up far better than I could). On the other hand, I don't think anyone is suggesting that ONLY those wines from a region should go with that food; far more wines (and food) from far more places are available today than even 50 years ago (to say nothing of 100 or more) and, if the quality of the best is lower (and I'm not saying it is), the quality of the mean is much higher (that is, on average, food and wine are of better quality now than in the past) so other pairings will work as well, heck, maybe even better. It's not one way or the other...

Just another voice to the "it's all personal" chorus. I suggest finding a good knife shop and handling a few different brands. Any good shop will, at a minimum, let you rock the knife on a board before buying (if they won't, don't shop there). For the record, I use shun and wusthof. I think Cook's Illustrated recommended the Forschner, which is pretty low end comparatively. A few general things to look for: Weight - a good quality chef's knife should have some heft Blade Flexibility - a good chef's knife should have little to no "give" in the blade. Heavy and stiff are the orders of the day (yeah, I know how that sounds). Handle - comfortable in your hand and reasonably easy to hold when it or your hand are wet, sticky, etc (nothing will be great here, but some of the metal handled knives are (in my opinion) almost impossible to hold when there is the least bit of slickness around). In the end, though, it comes down to what's right for you. Buy a knife like you buy shoes, if it's not comfortable enough for you to use a lot, skip it; I don't care if it's considered the greatest knife in the world. You'll use this tool more than almost any other piece of kitchen equipment, so buy based on what you'll feel good about months or years down the road.

I always like a bucket of ice and water. Let it chill for 20 or 30 minutes, then open it (gently, please - let the gas ease out the cork, don't pop it open).

More's the tragedy, they were connected only by landlord. Z, when it was open, was a lovely place featuring Italian wines (although they had some nice French and US stuff too). The kitchen was small but they were a member of slow food and sourced locally whenever possible. Even made their own Limoncello. It was a great place and it just NEVER took off (again, I'm convinced everyone thought the same as you). Right before I moved back overseas, the owners were selling out. Don't know if it remains or is as good but the original was outstanding. *sigh* edited to correct stupid spelling error. there may be others...

ahh, the abbey lounge. That place is only good if you are very drunk and some dingy punk rock band is playing. The last time I was there (I think a year ago) the Jabbers played - ex members of the Queers and GG Allin's band. After I left the show I saw the lead singer blowing lines in his car with his girlfriend in plain sight. sorry, not food related but yeah, head on over to bukowski's and have your fill of belgians on new years eve. Triple Karmeliet, corsendonk christmas, and delerium noel will all be good to start off with. ← See...now that's part of the Abbey's charm. The coke, the dirt, the noise. Also, they get very nice straight ahead rock as well as punk. You know, there used to be a great little wine bar (Z) right next door; I'm convinced they struggled in part because it looked like part of the Abbey (Abbey Lounge and Wine Bar? What?). I don't care for Bukowski's as a bar but I can personally vouch for the Corsendonk Christmas beer as we opened a magnum sized bottle at our Christmas Party last week. A good time had by all. Sheenagreen, you're my kinda people!

Well, I've never had NYE dinner at East Coast but I've eaten there countless times and always had excellent food and a good time. My guess would be NYE there will be noisy, crowded and fun and the eating will be first rate. As for the rest of Inmann, Ryles will almost certainly have something either jazz or latin in nature which is nice. If you want to slum, the Abbey Lounge has some great local rock (it's the dive bar all the other musicians go to to hear live music). I'm old, NYE at East Coast followed by Christina's Ice Cream for 2nd dessert is fine by me

Any Bruxelle recommendations? The only place I know is Comme Chez Soi which would be lovely but has likely been booked since January 1, 2002 or so.....

Poor IlCuoco indeed, the loss of a lovely apartment in Rome along with the well laid plans would definitely have my sobbing in my pillow if the prospect of a guest from home hadn't put such a twinkle in the eyes of LaCuoca. Still, thanks as always for the help. Once more, you are my Dutch bodhisattva (and, doubtless, a young and hip one)!

I'm a big fan of the Oxford Wine Companion and the Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia. I'll be honest, I have the WB but don't really love it. I tend to look to those other books when I want information, etc. Obviously, just my Euro .02.

Hey All, Due to some last minute chaos, our New Year's travel plans seem to be impossible, as such we'll be in The Netherlands for the big night. I could use some suggestions. High end is fine, likely there will be 4 or 6 or us. I know, I know, it's late. Don't get me started. Any suggestions?

As a user of both AllClad Stainless and Demeyere, I recommend them both without hesitation. I probably use the 12" Sautee pan from AllClad more than any other pan I own (including my cast iron). Also, I recently had a small problem with one of my pans and AllClad had a replacement shipped to me in Europe within a week. From Cannonsburg. That's customer service for ya. AllClad stainless. Great stuff (although my demeyere sauciers are also really, REALLY nice). Do what I did, buy both

For the record, I agree with you. There are some good Italian-American bakeries in Boston and its environs, but I don't consider Mike's to be one of them. Even in the North End, I prefer Maria's, Modern and Cafe Napoli.

I generally dry them (I leave them on a clean towel, hanging off the counter or over a chair back) for a bit before nesting them for storage. That could make the difference....

So, at a dinner party last night, I decided to give two of Chufi's recipes a try, stoofperen and advocaat. To set the scene: dinner guests were a mix of expats and Dutch and all good friends so I decided it would be a good night to experiment (the Dutch would know if I got the taste "right" rather than just good and everyone was close enough that if I really messed something up, no biggie). The main dish on the menu was a daube of beef (yeah, I've become a bit too addicted to egullet. What's your point?) and the pears were served as a side dish. I've poached fruit before so I wasn't very worried about technique here, the difference seemed to be in those lovely Dutch pears that Chufi recommended. I was able to find them pretty easily; gave them the peel and slice then gave them about 5 hours on the stove with sugar, cinnamon water and wine. Keep things to a low simmer. I did switch it up a bit by adding some brown sugar about 3 hour in. I also took care to drain all the liquid off the pears then reduced that down to a thick syrup which I poured back over the fruit. I have to say, they were fantastic. The fruit took on a nice color and kept it's shape very well. They were soft but still had the tiniest bit of toothiness to them. The flavor was outstanding. These will definitely become part of my winter table. Easy to make and very tasty. I might even try and make a stoofperen tarte. The Advocaat was different and more interesting. First, finding the brandywijn was a bit of a challenge; when I went to my local, small liquor store, they didn't stock it. I was able to find it at Gall and Gall. The clerk was curious as to why I wanted it and when I told him, was quite surprised - he assumed I didn't know any better and told me that I could buy it pre-made. When I further explained that I WANTED to make it myself he sort of shook his head ("those crazy buitenlander") and told me that the last person he knew who made it was his grandmother. So, the custard came together great and I had none of the seizing that Chufi faced. I took it off heat when it was the consistency of a thin creme anglais and it set up just fine. Served it after dinner in small, wide-bowled glasses with whipped cream. As to the taste....well; to be honest, when I took it off the heat it tasted like a nice custard cut with paint thinner and the resting time did very little to mellow it. I was really worried and almost didn't serve it. However, when it hit the table, the Dutch folks really seemed to enjoy it (a couple of rounds each and one person asked to take some extra home, we gave them all of it). They all said it tasted both good and like advocaat (comments included "oh, my mother would really like this...." and "is there more?"). Expats (myself included) thought it tasted like custard with paint thinner. Therefore, I'm willing to say I made a good batch of advocaat but I don't like advocaat I think I'll try to make it again, but reduce the amount of brandywijn (I may also switch it out for rum). I also wonder if Chufi's seizing and unseizing kept it on heat long enough to burn some of the booze off and thus mellow it. Still, the guests lapped it up so I'm happy. Thanks again to Chufi for the recipes and inspiration!

Ah yes, Oishii. A friend used to live right on Hammond so we'd walk across Rt 9 and get a few pieces between innings during Sox games. Great place indeed! Also, I forgot to give a mention to: The Wine and Cheese Cask (Washington Street, Somerville) - good little wine shop with some unusual bottles available at times. Also, a new Savenors has opened across the street Brookline Liquor mart (Comm Ave, Brighton) - despite looking like a cheap packie, this is one of the best wine shops in Boston. Large selection, knowledgeable staff, good with special orders and delivery. A bit pricey but good. Also, free tastings twice per week (Saturdays and maybe Wednesdays?) I also like The Wine Bodega in the North End. It's on Hannover, right in Tourist Central but they're not bad. Free tastings on Friday which is nice.

I'm surprised to read those quotes re: canned v. fresh pumpkin puree. I use fresh pumpkin (and sweet potatoes) quite a bit; the only thing remotely difficult is splitting them down the middle when raw (I use a rubber mallet, a cleaver and the hope that I will retain all my digits). Split, scoop out the seeds, roast (I usually throw some wine, ginger and sage in the cavities) the puree or put through a food mill. It's really simple (also, roast more than you need for pumpkin risotto, ravioli, etc) and, in my experience, MUCH better than the canned stuff (let's put it this way, I'll eat roasted pumpkin with salt and butter, I wouldn't grab a spoon and eat the canned stuff the same way). Go fresh

Generally, I'm a pretty big fan. I agree that his recipes are not always the best (although his mac and cheese remains the inspiration for mine) but I like his focus on science, technique, etc over rote recipes and I like that he takes on, for the most part, useful items. He's definitely for the beginner cook and as I cook more, I find him more limited and his advice less useful but for friends who want to start cooking, he's the first one I recommend. I'll also usually check his episode index out before I try a new ingredient, etc just to see if he's covered it.

Another vote for C&B porcelain (and likewise, I'm not generally a fan). It's relatively cheap, looks great and mine has held up like a champ (including a trans-Atlantic move). We use it every day, dishwasher, etc. This is the set I bought. I'll also mention that I've bought a bunch of other stuff at restaurant supply stores and if I needed to reload on everyday dishes, etc; I'd almost certainly start there.

The Spago in Munchen used to be open most holidays and when I last ate there (granted, about 3 years ago now) was pretty good. Give 'em a ring.

Sometimes, they folks working customs even do you a favor: This summer, I returned from Crete with a bunch of stuff; wine, honey, olive oil; most of it made by friends. I'm at the airport and get pulled aside by a Cretian official. He opens my first bag and sees two of the bottles of wine. He asks how many I have in total and I tell him I have 8. The following exchange took place: "You're only allowed to bring back two bottles" "Really? (my face falls)" He looks around "So...How many do you have?" "...two?" "Have a nice flight"

When starting with a small shop, it's difficult (and very expesive/bad for margin) to stock everything and I'd echo what folks said about having a good selection of basic tools and some high end stuff. Knife sharpening is a must as are knowledgeable staff. One thing that many shops fall short on is the ability to special order. If you can develop the practice with your suppliers, being able to get that high-end sous vide gear etc on order might be a nice compromise. I had one shop back home that was outstanding with S/Os and now that I'm not able to use them anymore, I really feel the lack.

Thanks one and all. My friend's lived in Eindhoven for about 4 years and his lack of success in finding good fish there has been a steady source of annoyance. Of course, if folks know of good Eindhoven, Den Bosch or Utrecht fish markets, please send word! I'll send along the other names; that way they can take a trip to A'dam when the family arrives. Thanks again!

Another ex-pat talking here... I, of course, have found your advice incredibly useful so I think starting a business and thus cutting me off from it is a horrible idea For serious: I just want to echo the idea of different "curricula" for different needs. When I first started living overseas, what I needed was very basic: 1) What are things called (language, different butchering styles for meat, etc)? 2) What are substitutions/like substances? 3) What is the same/different about making meals/living in your new environment. This was a HUGE adjustment for me when I first started living abroad. Simple things like size of refrigerators/ovens, what you can find at supermarkets vs. small shops, expected business hours, even questions about how easy it is to find the same things over and over again are all real questions that most new ex-pats eventually face. Further, some of these questions only come up after a bit. Having a set of classes about this would have been amazing. I also want to echo the sentiments of one poster that the needs of families with children are even more pronounced. At my employer, there is an informal network of ex-pat wives who help out the new kids, share info, etc but there is no doubt that having access to a more formal (to say nothing of more exhaustive, dependable, etc) source for this kind of information would likely prove VERY popular indeed; based on a few years now (in different places) of informal, dinner conversations as well as standing orders for stuff when I head back to the US to visit, food is a major stress point for many an ex-pat family. A few, more tangible, suggestions: 1) See if you can get relationships with relocation firms. These groups are usually hired by firms to help ex-pats relocate and settle in. If nothing else, they know who the new folks in town are. Further, you could become part of their offering, included in their marketing, etc. all while remaining independent. 2) Even if you focus in Amsterdam, try to advertise in some of the other large towns. Eindhoven (and surrounding area) has a large Ex-pap population (thanks to Phillips), Rotterdam and Utrecht have large consultancies, universities, etc. and many of these folks choose to live in Amsterdam and commute (this is very common where I work). 3) Advertise on all the websites you can find (the only one I know is expatica.com. I don't like it much but a bunch of folks do use it), also reach out to groups (I believe Amsterdam and Rotterdam both have ex-pat organizations, including ones specifically for wives/those keeping the home). Much like the relo companies, these groups can provide both leads and opportunities for you. 4) Remember, new ex-pats (and here I mean new to living abroad at all, not new to Amsterdam), often don't know what they need to know. Free form offerings are good but don't be afraid to offer some more structured stuff; a side benefit is that many new arrivals want to feel "taken by the hand" in this way. 5) If you are going to work with families, make sure your offerings can work with the day-to-day efforts of childcare. Either be able to do what you do with children in tow or offer times when both partner's have time to watch the kids. I'll echo those who think it's a great idea!