Batard

Another example of one man's problem being another man's dream ... Excellent suggestions. It won't use up 3 dozen, but I would make soon-du-boo with some of them.

I usually just buy them from the containers at Whole Food, not in the plastic bags at the supermarket. My assumption is that a.) WF will make an effort to keep the quality high, and b.) they have a pretty quick product turnover. We go through quite a few beans in my house, and at WF they are consistently very good quality. I would also say that they are priced well, but if you are going to make ~real~ cassoulet you are probably not worried about the cost. Costs a fortune to make ...

That would work, "là jiāo" means "hot pepper". If you say "La Gee-Ow" enough they will probably catch on. (Pronounced "La" like Nancy said; "Gee" like in "Gee whiz!", and "Ow" like in "Ow, I cut my damn finger" ...)

← I did a little research. Johnny Iuzzini does a lot of work with charities as I understand, so I guess he's an OK-human-being type jerk. His website also makes me think he might be a little bit out of his mind, in a mad chef kind of way. I think I'll go on in on a Sunday, call him "Doughboy" instead of "Johnny", and start taking pictures of him, just to see what happens. Ummm, I'm just kidding of course ...

Oh, it still is...one lousy service experience does not a bad place make. ← Sound point. Maybe I'm just a teensy bit cynical because I've seen too many places follow that pattern of decline. I'm glad that's not the case with PDT, thanks for setting the record straight. Now that it's on my mind, I know I'm going to end up there in the next week or so.

This used to be a nice place. I don't know who this Johnny prick is, but I can imagine how disappointed you were with the attitude you got there. This happens to all good places, no matter how well and nice they start off, they end up taking themselves way to seriously. I'm a big fan of Wiley too, but WD-50 is a couple of blocks away, he was probably just having a drink after work and didn't go out of his way to go there. Of course if he got seated there before me, I would understand ... Well thanks for the info, I'll pass the word. There's a lot of good places in NY, sorry to see this one picked up such a crappy attitude along with their success. You were way too nice leaving a tip.

That is a great idea! There are many manufacturers, and also white and black truffle varieties. Also, the truffle percentage seems to vary from 3 to 10% or so. Is there one brand that stands out and that you'd recommend? Thanks.

I know what you mean, but since you would be dealing with a small producer and not a big company, I am sure you can easily talk to the owner and make arrangements. He's probably be happy to have a steady customer, and since you can deal with the one on one, it will probably work out better than some anonymous online transaction with a big company. Just on my own experience, I find working with small producers a pleasure. At any rate, you could probably gauge your comfort lavel with the producer after a quick phone call. Good luck.

You're right, Pear Jam is hard to find. I don't know how much you need, but this actually sounds good. Check the ingredient list: Pears, Organic cane juice crystals, Pectin, Lemon juice. Hopefully you can get enough of it for your needs. You could always write to the seller and check availability. http://cgi.ebay.com/Pear-Jam-10-oz_W0QQite...6QQcmdZViewItem I can't quite make out the brand name on the label ....

Aren't Shun knives notoriously difficult to sharpen correctly? I think they are honed to a 16-degree angle, which is hard unless you have a lot of experience and the right equipment. For me, a non-expert, it would be difficult to me this precisely. Those really are beautiful knives though. I am exercising considerable self control right now not buying the Nakiri. Do these knives also have a lifetime warranty, like the Shun classic, etc.? Can you use the 'special' Shun steel on them? Edit: correcting my ham-handed spelling ...

The restaurant is probably run by Cantonese, most Chinese in the US are from that region of China, Shandong. So you may have two problems: 1.) You are an American and they are going to style the food for what they think American's want, and 2.) Cantonese in general do not make or eat hot and spicy food. You need to ask for 我要辣椒, which literally means "I want the hot pepper" in Mandarin. Mandarin is the Chinese lingua franca, so they will understand what you mean regardless of their native dialect. It is pronounced ""wǒ yāo là jiāo" in pinyin, but if you don't get the tones right they will have no idea what you are talking about (Mandarin is a tonal language). Better to write it down and show them at the restaurant, the chance of you pronouncing it correctly without having studied Chinese tone and vowels are slim. You might be better off asking them for a side dish of Chinese hot sauce as last resort. Most Cantonese restaurants have it, but you will have to ask.

I was just there, and Tracey is right! Gary's has plenty of Barritt's in bottles AND cans. Enjoy your Dark 'n Stormys.

Based on what I read here, I just picked up a Togiharu Molybdenum Santoku. Thanks for the the suggestion, I have now bought myself a small Christmas present.

If you decide on a chef's knife -- if I had one knife it should be a chef's or a Santoku -- it would be hard to go wrong with the MAC MTH-80 (just over $100), or the Global G2 (I've seen it as low as $75). I find all the Santoku choices bewildering, and the reviews seem scattershot, so maybe someone can jump in with a recommendation for that: I need one too. MAC MTH-80 Forgot to mention, the Global G2 has a stainless handle. Caveat: You still need to take good care of the blade, but unlike wood you don't have to worry about babying the handle. It's also cool-looking. Right now on Ebay, you can pick up a GLOBAL 6 KNIFE SET including the G2 for $141.00 (no block). That's a bargain. Global G2 (the one on top) Good luck sorting through all the opinions you are going to get ...

Barritt's is on my list of impossible to find sodas, along with Reed's China Cola. You can buy it mail order or find a local distributor by following this link: http://www.barrittsgingerbeer.bm/overseas.html There are other good ginger beers like Bundaberg or Goslings you can use for a real Dark 'N Stormy. I think Gosling's has the same distributor as Barritt's.

Tom also laments the ethical horrors of serving Chilean Sea Bass on his FoodTV blog. I'm sure most places don't really care very much about whether they are getting their product from a sustainable source or not, so maybe Tom and Gail are speaking in general? I only though of 'water' after salt and pepper were the ingredients. Overall, most of the chefs were way too conservative/under-confident when guessing the total number of ingredients they could name; some said they could only name four, when salt, water, and pepper already add up to three. I think they let the "duh" ingredients in there are purpose: the ones who thought about them were thinking outside the box. I have to agree with weinoo's post.

Richard looked disheveled and sleepless from the first camera shot of the show. You could see it right away and through the episode, he looked like he had taken cough medicine or something. He loaded so much pressure onto himself he forgot to have fun, and I think he just clouded over and never got his head where it needed to be. At the beginning of the season people were doubting whether Stephanie's nerves would hold together, what with the shaky hands and all. But at the end I think Richard -- who of the three was the last person you would ever think would crack -- just couldn't keep it together.

You beat me to it, Cafe Matisse is a great place for fine dining in the summer. They have a few cozy tables in a planty patio setting, but a trip here will cost you some $$$$ too. Make sure you reserve a seat outside before you go, they are always booked when the patio is open.

Clam milkshake anyone?

Diana, you mean something like this? http://www.cecilware.com/displayproduct.as...=147&subcat=355 You'd have to juice a lot of oranges to pay for it.

Agreed. I haven't been there in a while, but I'd go to Wondees. It's nothing fancy to look at, but the food is fantastic. http://www.wondeenj.com/

Stopped in today, and I was very impressed. It's smaller than your typical whole foods, but they have a lot of variety and very knowledgeable staff. Aged beef, duck confit, hanger steaks, seasonal mushrooms. I talked to one of the managers and they will be getting Jamon Iberico in next week. I forgot to ask him if it would be the de Bellota. Tried the Jamón Serrano today and expected the skies to open, but was a little disappointed due to my high expectations. The prices are than Whole Paycheck, and the overall quality -- and I am basing this on only one visit -- seems to be the same or better. Definitely worth the trip.

I was at my local Fresh Fields (a variant of Whole Foods) today, and saw that they had fresh "Mexican bay scallops" at an amazing $6.99 a pound. They are "in season". The fishmonger said they were fresh, dry scallops when I asked, and they sure look like it. Has anyone ever heard of this seasonal variety before? I tried searching the I'net, and came up empty. And I have not seen them anywhere else. Any info on this variety would be welcome. Thanks.

Not to take away from your point about the service, but your server was right, all Blue Moon beers are Ales. They do make a wheat beer as well as several others, and they are all top fermented -- hence, Ales. I've been wanting to try LoPinto's food, since I missed him when he was at Fortunato. I think maybe I will wait until his next restaurant incarnation.

Cafe Matisse in Rutherford is also open, but they only have a few reservations left. Regular menu. You could probably still get 3:30 in the afternoon, but that is a little late for brunch and little early for dinner.