Jump to content

jsmith

participating member
  • Posts

    138
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by jsmith

  1. Not sure how available they are south of the border, but the unibroue beers can all be aged. Every time I buy a six pack I put the date on the top of one with a sharpie and drink the other five.

    The web page lists how long they can be aged for. Somewhere on the web page there was a writeup on aging as well but I can't find it.

    http://www.unibroue.com/products/bieres.cfm

    http://www.unibroue.com/our_beers_eng.html

    The above two links are both from the manufacturer's web page, but sometimes list different times for the aging of the beer. Very confusing!

  2. Interesting responses. Nakji, that is what I meant by fluffing. When I watch people make rice, at least half seem to fluff it, half don't.

    Prawncrackers, I'm talking about mostly white jasmine, basmati rice, and short grain asian (sorry not sure the type) rice cooked in a rice cooker. I've never fluffed it as it seems to form smaller clumps when I do that, but I'll try in the future.

  3. Is there a general rule of thumb on fluffing rice?

    Always/never fluff? Fluff the long grained, leave the short grained unfluffed?

    I generally never fluff rice, I find the texture goes mealy and the rice loses it's moisture earlier and becomes crunchy. My wife always fluffs her rice, she thinks I'm crazy for not fluffing mine.

    Am I missing out on what could be better rice? A quick search on google seems to indicate most people are like my wife.

  4. I had to laugh when I saw this thread-I started a thread years ago called "Is tipping big the new black?"  I'm on to another idea now, that will eliminate all the painful gyrations on both sides of the check-I don't tip, I stiff.  And I'm starting a crusade to eliminate the humiliating practice, often for both parties, of being forced to leave or accept a 'tip'.  Last night I stiffed two different bartenders, and basically got the same reaction I get when I leave a tip-a blank stare.  If a beer is $6, and I give the bartender $6, the sales tax has already been figured into the price.  So why not include the tip, too?  I'm starting with bartenders because there is usually a good one-on-one with the customer, if they want to let it rip.  Then it's on to the rest of the staff.  Remember the sign in old bars that used to read "Tipping isn't a city in China".  Well, neither is Stiffing! 

    Stiffing is the new Black!

    I think if you were really serious about this you would only frequent places that include a service charge. If enough people did this it would pressure restaurants to change.

    Stiffing the service staff doesn't offer any incentive for the restaurant to change their business practices. You're just saving 15-20% on your meals, paid for by the people serving you.

  5. Just curious, sorry for taking the thread off track - Is most fish sold in Canada previously frozen? The fish sold as fresh in the summer is much higher quality than the fish sold as previously frozen in the winter. Does the fish degrade while being held at freezing temperature or something? If the fresh fish was actually previously frozen it doesn't make sense to me that the quality would be so much lower in the winter.

  6. We recently moved into a house with a really smelly fridge. After some internet research I tried the top three results I kept getting:

    1) Spray about 500ml of 99% rubbing alcohol into the fridge, making sure to cover all surfaces. Keep the fridge running for about three days with the door closed so the alcohol circulates through the varius hoses killing all bacteria.

    2) After that got a bag of charcoal briquettes and put them on varius plates and left them in the closed (still on) fridge for three more days.

    3) After that I filled the fridge with crumpled newspaper and again let it run for three more days.

    I'm not sure what made the smell go away, but the fridge was odorless after that. I think the baking soda might work as well, but I'd spread it around multiple plates to get maximum surface area.

  7. I find this topic interesting as I will be buying a grill soon. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the cost of a decent charcoal grill is much much cheaper than a decent gas grill.

    A quick question if you don't mind me derailing the thread, what do you do with the lit charcoal when you're done cooking? Do you just hang around waiting for it to die out, or can you extinguish it somehow?

  8. Well here is my well guide.

    Rye; Alberta Premium 39.95 for 1.75l ( i live in alberta canada ) but if you can find it, it is worth it.

    There is a 25 year old version out right now that is $30/bottle. Not sure if it's all 25 years old, or just some of the blend but it's good and cheap.

    Also, I'm jealus of all you American's with your different priced liquor. We have very little variety in pricing up here. It's mid level pricing or high end pricing. The cheap stuff costs the same as the medium stuff. We also have very little selection.

  9. I tried the Angus burger the other day and must admit I was really impressed.

    I got the bacon cheeseburger version and a milk which set me back $8 and some change.

    The burger is really big. The cheese is real. It's just crappy orange cheddar, but much better than the processed stuff. It was topped with slices of red onion and tomato, with whole leaves of lettuce. There was some bad sauce on it I would skip next time. The meat was so so (came out of a steaming tray). I found this burger very comparable to what you would get at a generic chain restaurant (not fast food). Not the best burger I've ever had, but decent and miles ahead of anything else I've ever had at McDonalds.

  10. ....That's interesting, I would think that the toast settings were governed by a timer.  I'll have to look inside my toaster to see if there is a probe or sensor.

    I've been thinking about this...what if the difference is due not because of a sensor but because of the ingredients in the bread? I wonder if that could cause the difference in toasting (where is that eGullet Food Science board when you need it? :raz: ).

    Could a higher sugar content in the hazelnut wheat bread be to blame for it toasting more than the double-fiber bread which may have less sugar in it? I'll have to go back to the grocery store and compare the ingredient labels to see if there's that much of a difference.

    What else could cause one bread to toast perfectly and the other to almost burn using the same heat setting?

    I would think that you would be able to taste the higher sugar content if that was the case, perhaps it's the type of wheat flour? I'm grasping at straws here.

    Maybe the fat in the nuts conducts the heat better?

  11. Gordon: Is Fresh the one you mean? (Ignore the off-point google map please). It's at the corner of Queen and Crawford, west of Trinity-Bellwoods?

    jsmith: damn. are those pages crashing on you, or not loading? sigh.

    Anyway, I just came back in to note that apparently we're releasing our Patio Guide on May 15. Don't know if you can wait that long...!

    It's working now, looking forward to this years issue!

  12. Summer is just starting, and I'm ashamed to say that in my two years here I've yet to find a great sidewalk patio.

    My requirements are:

    Lots of foot traffic for people watching (interesting people is a bonus)

    Street is not so busy it makes it unpleasant

    Decent beer

    Decent food

    It would be nice if it was south of Bloor, and west of downtown, but I'm willing to travel. Something in Kensington Market would be perfect.

    Any favourites you want to share?

×
×
  • Create New...