KateinChicago

According to Steve Jenkins "Cheese Primer" the use of the name "livradois" "is an example of a phony Morbier made in the Auvergne region". With respect to the ashline he notes "The horizontal dark line of ash separating the halves should be bold and evident. If it isn't, the cheese is probably one of the several Morbier imposters - not overtly bad, just bland." I hope this helps. Kate

That's sad! The first time I ate at Cafe Gray my SO kept yowling "I hate this place. It's too noisy..." I kept murmuring "remember our first meal at Lespinasse when you ordered the braised short ribs" I might add I probably used the words "pedestrian tastes" when he ordered these (this was many years ago at the beginning of the short rib boom) until I tasted those ribs. Heaven on a plate. I purchased his "Elements of Taste" hoping to replicate the signature braised short ribs. No such luck as that cookbook is for experts but it does give you food for thought. Anyhoo... the meal we had at Cafe Gray was wonderful. As soon as the food arrived a beatific look came upon his face and he forgave me for taking him to a place that embodied all of the things he hated in NYC restaurants. We still argue about staying at the Peninsula or the St Regis but I understand that that argument is moot. I've had lunch there alone and dinner a few times with the SO. He still hates the space but we both still adore the food. Kate

Classy restaurant response. Unclassy customer. First the owner declined the coat check. Mistake number one particularly since the coat owner displayed awareness of the risk of something getting spilled on his/her coat by placing the coat lining side outward. Not something you would ordinarily do unless you recognized the risk and were interested in mitigating your damages (legal alert ) in the event a mishap occured. Second the damage to the lining of the coat, after two cleanings, in no way renders the coat unusuable or unwearable. Its' value may have diminished slightly in an almost purely subjective way. And that's what the customer is entitled to. Deminimus compensation probably covered by the cost to the restaurant of the cleanings. That the restaurant offered to give this lout a $100 gift certificate was really laudatory. I wouldn't want this customer back! Kate <-----lawyer

You've gotten some good suggestions. For ideas about the ethnic neighborhoods you might want to pick up a copy of Marilyn Pocius' "A Cook's Guide to Chicago" It's a little dated, originally published in 2002, but still full of good information on the food markets etc. I've lived on the gold coast, basically, for the past 26 years, when I moved here as a student. It's a great and convenient place to live but it ain't cheap ! It has great restaurants and variety but not too many dives or cheap eats. One of my best friends from school and I had a tradition until she got married of spending our Sundays in a different ethnic part of the city. We did Sundays in Poland Sundays in Thailand, China, India, Italy etc. which is a great way to get to know the city and enjoy the relatively inexpensive and diverse offerings available in the city and burbs. If you can afford to live near north it's wonderful. If you're a relatively poor student (my school was on the gold coast and I worked in the loop) you might be living on mac and cheese and Mr Jays Dawg & Burgers for a few years . I know that I did! Kate

It was recently reincarnated by Lettuce Entertain You in Northbrook, Illinois and, according to their website in Minnesota as well. I don't get out to the suburbs much but I may make an exception for a Magic Pan crepe Kate

I can't believe that I have managed to miss this thread thus far! I have cooked extensively from both Bouchon and TFL. I agree that Bouchon is the more accessible and the one I most often repeat from. I tend to use TFL for fancier entertaining and special occasion cooking. I agree that the quiche is a revelation. It really blew me away and made me regret every calorie laden, keeping-me-out-of-my-skinny-jeans, bite of the inferior quiches of my life. I mean it makes you want to cry it was that good. Luckily I had the mold called for so the first came out beautifully much to my surprise since I am generally frightened of making pie crusts. Onion soup was very good but cutting all of those onions ... not so fun . The herb gnocchi are absolutely wonderful. I prefer the pate choux to the potato version generally. They are so light and versatile. I've always got a bag in the freezer now. I vary the cheese and the herbs for different preparations. I used to make this with someone else. We'd alternate with one of us doing the piping and the other the cutting over the cooking water but now I think nothing of making them at home alone. The roast chicken is fabulous and simplicity itself. His technique is almost identical to Judy Rodgers in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook (with the difference being brining versus pre-salting). I frequently make this with the bread salad from TZC which I really like. I haven't tried the pig trotters and frankly never thought that I would until I read the posts here. There next on my list! I made the duck confit about two weeks ago. Eight of them are destined for a Superbowl Party cassoulet. I will probably use the remainder for the brussel sprouts recipe in Bouchon but not until I've gotten this cassoulet bug out of my system. I wish TK had a cassoulet recipe. But I've cobbled something together from ideas in eG and several of my other cookbooks. The same friend who has shared the gnocchi making with me is doing the cassoulet with me. It should be fun as it's my first from scratch cassoulet! GO BEARS! The beef bourguignon recipe made me want to smack myself - several times - very hard! His recipe is almost exactly the same as what I do. It's something I've really thought about over the years. It is a royal pain in the a** because it never occured to me to separate the vegetables from the meat using cheese cloth. No, what I have been doing for way too many years is removing every single piece of meat, by hand, from the pot. Then straining the sauce and vegetables. Then cleaning the pot and returning the meat and sauce to the pan and discarding the vegetables. I cannot believe I actually out-analled TK!!! Kate