rstarobi
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Posts posted by rstarobi
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Has anyone ever had durian? I have heard funny things about it.
I had it for the first time last week in Minneapolis, actually. I'm not sure if the smell is overrated, or if it was a denatured batch I had, because it was bad smelling, but not as powerful as I had been led to believe. It was a creamy taste, not tart at all, almost like a pudding (American usage, not British). Tasty, but too sweet for me.
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I eat Indian around once a week/two weeks - and I cook it around once every month.
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Call me crazy, but when cooked to spec, McDonald's are perfect.
-yb
I would tend to agree with that, but when Mcdonalds switched to vegetable oil from beef tallow, they pretty much screwed the pooch on their fries for the most part. They now use some kind of beef flavoring to get a similar desired effect.
I'm partial to the fries at Nathan's franchises. Totally different kind of beast.
Also, I think Chik-Fil-A (a southern chicken sandwich chain, which has a few locations in NJ) makes really good Waffle Fries.
Jason, I've only tried the Chik-Fil-A's in Indiana, but I recall them being over salted and a bit unflavorful - all in all, pretty good for fast food, but not anything special. They stand out in my mind because the owner, an evangelical christian, demands that the franchises be closed on Sunday.
My faves in NY of the Frites type are Les Halles & the place on W. 4th, I think - just around the corner from the BB sandwich bar. Not so many sauces, but the fries are amazing.
Molly's on 23rd & 3rd does very good fries too as I recall.
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Sietsema calls it a "Pizza Romana" in this article in the Village Voice:
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Smoked beers
in Beer
I had one of the Schlenkerla beers about a year ago. It was too smoky for my tastes - almost like drinking liquid beef jerky.
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"Let the fools have their tar-tar sauce."
Has McDonalds's food become more dry in the last few years? The burgers used to be at least somewhat juicy back in the day.
Only fast food sauce I really enjoy is the mayo/ketchup blend on the Whopper.
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The historic reason for the difference between Guinness in Ireland and export Guinness is that Irish beer is/was taxed on alcohol level. Domestic Guinness is brewed with a very low alcohol level to reduce tax costs, whereas export is more alcoholic.
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Thomas Keller's "Ice Cream Cones"
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Hehe.. I actually ended up missing the show to go to Les Halles. Irony?
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I'm a big fan of Gulden's mustard and the el cheapo "Balsamic" vinegar that you can get in supermarkets in the New York area.
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This caught my eye in your original post. Maybe I'm some kind of oddball, but I never harbored this notion. Even in childhood, I was always looking for food that tasted "different". Growing up in a multi-ethnic city (NY), I used to wrangle invites to the other kid's homes just to sample food from other cultures. I can distinctly recall tasting some new flavor combinations and/or spices for the first time, and feeling something akin to getting high. I like what's considered "spicy" food, but I can also appreciate subtle flavors. I can discern quality ingredients, and refined technique in cooking. But in general, I can't say I've ever encountered a cuisine that I didn't like or appreciate, assuming it's well prepared (and yes, I know there's a range there). So my question is, are people like me (I'm sure there are others) better or worse food reviewers?
The Camille,
I agree there - I'm the same type, who went after ethnic foods for years upon years before even realizing that they were what I was looking for. Obviously I'm somewhat biased, but I don't think that an appreciation for, and desire to seek out the new is a hindrance any more so than an aversion to the new. I think that both have a tendency to create bias in any reviewer, but a good journalist will acknowledge his bias and account for it (I've been reading a lot of Stephen Gould recently).
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Steve
Comparing Diwan with Tabla is missing the point a tad as they are both trying to different things ( with varying degrees of success ) and I would not even recognise tabla as an Indian restaurant.
Better comparisons ,and you are in the position to make them, are between Tabla and The Cinnamon Club in London ( both fail equally in my opinon as the concept is flawed and the execution of the dishes inept ) and Diwan with an equally mid - high end place ( I am not sure there are any places in Manhattan that are at that level, Perhaps Nirvana, but that was a grave disappointment also ) such as Zaika or to be more fair the Red Fort ( MId Level )
I would not say that Diwan's dishes were "over spiced" they were however inexpertly spiced. nina is incorrect in saying that food from India lacks subtlety. I cooked, in my own inexpert way, two dishes for her at a recent supper which showed the breadth of possibilities. She is just eating at the wrong places. The butter chicken dish I had at Diwan was bland and lacking in the necessary spice. I found its use of spicing to be the level of a fairly standard UK curry house. Fine, but not worthy of pages and pages on Egullet.
Of the two, I would return to Diwan before Tabla, but perhaps only if Suvir was ordering ( and paying
)S
Simon,
I haven't been there, but would a more apt comparison to Diwan in the UK be the Bombay Brasserie? At least in terms of simple food presented excellently, rather than complex food present haphazardly.
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Bernard Loiseau piece in the NY Times
This requires registration.
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As for Luger, well my young friend from Paris, you screwed up. Members of your party ordered the steak medium and the staff and PL doesn't like that. It has been my experience that the truly great steaks are reserved for those who order blue, black and blue, rare or memphis. You may also get a great steak if you order it medium rare (try to emphasize rare in comparison to medium there).
Ok, I get black and blue, blue and rare - what's ordering your steak memphis?
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Don't get me wrong - I like some of the varieties of Sam - the lager doesn't do it for me though. All my experiences with Bud have been unpleasant.
The taste-test sounds like a good idea though. Maybe throw in one of the godawfuls - Keystone or Schlitz or something to balance it out. Maybe a wild card from the high end, like Weihenstephan lager? I haven't tried it yet, but it could be an interesting (semi) mass produced lager.
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I went for the burger over the weekend - my first time at PL in Brooklyn too. It was way over-salted, to the point where I really couldn't taste the meat. This might be in part to a relatively high level of salt-sensitivity in my palette, but I thought it was still excessive for a burger. Bacon & fries were excellent.
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Inspired by the French beer thread:
Are there any mass produced lagers worth drinking out there? In the US, Sam Adams is the closest to respectable, but their lager is still fairly dull. Budweiser, Schlitz, etc. are not even worth mentioning.
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My eyes glazed on the ingredient list - does anyone know if the McNuggets are still cooked in beef tallow?
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Jason had a Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout (6.00), which was a very dark beer. I could taste the chocolate in it, but it mostly tasted like beer to me (I don't like beer).
Rachel, just a nitpick - the beer actually does not contain any chocolate - it uses a special blend of malts to give it a chocolate-y flavor. Pretty neat, actually, though I don't think this year's batch is quite as good as last year's.
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French Beer
in Beer
Arrrghh, thanks guys. I believe my misunderstanding was that when my friend told me it was a Belgian beer, I misheard and thought he'd said a Breton beer. Ah, damn language barriers. But yes, it was a lambic, I've had the kriek and the framboise (I don't know the word for raspberry in Flemish). I typed in 'lambic' on google just now, actually, and I guess that is a truly Belgian way to brew beer, which many of you probably could've told me; but I did not know.
At any rate, this beer is (I think) very yummy, and regardless of origin, it's quite available in France!
No problem, Fritz - I'm a big Lambic fan myself. My favorites are the gueze variety - they're more like champagnes than beers, really. Framboise is the French word for raspberries - I think Frambosen is the Belgian word, but I'm not 100% sure about that.
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French Beer
in Beer
At this time i don't remember the exact name, but there was a lovely Breton beer that came in cherry and raspberry flavors. I want to say "Krieg" or "Kriec..." I know that the Belgians also makes this type of beer.Fritz,
Kriek is the Belgian word for sour cherries. They're often used in the lambic style of beer to make a sour, cherry flavored kriek-beer.
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Just a quickie post - had another really amazing meal at Diwan last night. This time in the back room. Hemant came over and said 'hi' again, as did our waiter from last week. We had an absolutely stunning sea bass dish brought to us as a gift from Hemant. Really another amazing meal (four in a row there, now).
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I really liked Crystal Pepsi while it was around.. that didn't last too long though.
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My first drunk was on coconut rum - Captain Morgan's, I think. To this day, the smell nauseates me. On the other hand, I have a friend who lives for Vin Rose - the $5/gallon stuff.
'wichcraft
in New York: Dining
Posted
Saw a paragraph review of this in this week's TONY. Has anyone been yet? The under $10 aspect is very appealing.
For anyone who hasn't seen the review: Tom Colicchio has opened up a sandwich shop next door to craft called 'wichcraft. (groan)
The place serves breakfast, cold and hot sandwiches, none of which total more than $10.