rstarobi

Interesting. I guess the only real concern is gas escaping through the plastic or the cap, but that's probably not a biggie. I doubt the plastic would affect the taste of the beer. I think the bigger problem with brewing in plastic (at least for secondary fermentation) is that the plastic is permeable to bacteria which can get in and skunk your beer. Glass doesn't have this problem.

I'm going to Luger's for the first time in about 12 years in a few weeks - if noone's written anything by then, I'll have something to say.

I didn't eat: Bananas Mushrooms Brussel Sprouts (and most vegetables other than cabbage, carrots and tomatoes, actually) Escargot Ham and smoked foods in general chopped liver Gefilte fish Of course at the time, I wasn't really aware of tripe and stinky cheese as eating options - same applies to most non western cuisines (other than generic westernized Chinese and Thai) Since then, I've cut the list to: Gefilte fish Mushrooms (I also am slowly learning to enjoy these) Oh, and anything particularly slug-like - I'm terrified of those things, yet I have no problem with snails.

Clementines, cranberries, strawberries and limes (particularly key limes). On a related note - I saw a different variety of Mango in my produce store today, labeled as "Haitian Mangoes" - these were more yellow than the "Mexican Mangoes" next to them (the usual red/green kind found everywhere). I was in a hurry and shopping with a limited budget, but plan on trying these at some point to see how they differ from generic mangoes.

Marcus, The intention of Mario Batali was not to present authentic Neapolitan pizza, but rather to present authentic Sardinian pizza - different style of crust.

Also recommended dishes: Rock shrimp tempura in a creamy sauce Sashimi in citrus sauce with jalapenos The menu lists several dishes such as Beef/Chicken/Salmon Teriyaki - avoid these like the plague. They're not awful, but definitely not anywhere close to the standards of some of the other dishes mentioned in the thread.

Food: "Bone in the Throat" by Anthony Bourdain Not food: "To Die in Italbar" by Roger Zelazny

Lucky kids - I went to an extremely wealthy public school system on Long Island, where I was treated to the same parade of junk food and sodas that I would get anywhere else. Fried chicken rings were usually the culinary highlights, because they were mostly made of edible, non-gristly meat.

I think I've said it in a few other threads, but this is one of my absolute favorite beers. The depth of flavor provided was stunning (though to be fair, it's the only barleywine I've had yet).

I went to Otto for a late lunch yesterday. As everyone has said, service was polite, friendly and very accomodating. I was dining alone and was placed at a central table in the back room, with a great view of the rest of the room. I ordered the Quattro Formaggi pizza (Mozzarella, Calcio, Taleggio & 1 other, which is escaping me right now). The pizza was very much to my taste - Yvonne, the crust reminded me of a more toothsome matzoh. The sauce was the real kicker for me - it practically sparkled in my mouth. I let myself be talked into having the orange cinnamon gelato with the sherry raisins, which was absolutely decadent. Only complaint with the restaurant: while I understand that Mario is going for the Italian Authentic Experience, which leads to an enormous wine list, the beer list is significantly less interesting: two beers by the Brooklyn Brewery - an amber and a blonde. My waitress said that they were specially made for Otto - though the amber tasted like standard Brooklyn Amber.

Wow - that is over the top. While I was in the borough market in London this past November, I saw a gamier version of a turducken - I think it was a goose, stuffed with pheasant, stuffed with quail. Going for about 30 pounds, IIRC. As an aside - 100th post. Oh no.

As a related question, how well does the whiskey go when served alongside the Indian food? I've had mixed results from beers, with most meals overwhelming lagers, but I've also had several Belgian ales that have stood up nicely and complemented the meals. Do Scottish ales and whiskeys hold up well against Indian food?

I'd also add in La Pizza Fresca (31 East 20th Street) for an authentic Neapolitan pie (or so they claim - I've never been to Naples myself). Otto might be worth checking out when it opens. Edited PS: Oh, and avoid the pizza in the Arthur Ave. area like the plague. Generally flat-out mediocre stuff.

Roberto's in Arthur Ave. is worth trying from what I hear - most other restaurants that I've tried in the nabe aren't (haven't gotten myself to Roberto's yet). But for the Italian-American shopping experience, Arthur Ave. is nigh-unto impossible to beat.

Movies tend not to affect me so much, but my girlfriend's anime collection tends to have a strong effect on the both of us. Ranma 1/2 and The Slayers are both instant food-craving-inducers. Both cartoons have a strong element of eating running through them - usually leading us to order takeout japanese after we're done (or midway through during marathon sessions).

Good question - back when I was in college (all of 2 years ago), I tended to drink 2-3 bottles at a time, when I did drink. Now, I'll have at most, 2 bottles (of roughly 4% ABV). I've got a pretty low tolerance, and I'm semi-dieting, so there's not really much reason for me to have more.

Slightly less on the lunatic fringe: has anyone seen the Advantium Oven ads? What gives with this thing - it claims to "cook with the power of light." Is it just a microwave that zaps at a different wavelength?

Regular Moretti and Peroni, yes - they're both pretty dull, but Moretti La Rosa is nice - nothing amazing, but nice - it's a darker, slightly sweeter beer.

I actually saw a worthwhile episode of Emeril the other day -- Nobu Matsuhisa was on, promoting his cookbook, so Emeril tried to make a Japanese meal for him. It was priceless to watch him squirm in front of Nobu, who had to keep correcting Emeril's screwups, down to the point where Nobu was telling Emeril how to cook rice - I don't think I heard a single 'bam', and only one or two notches were kicked up.

But to the best of my knowledge, this method is only used in the flagship Anchor Steam - not in Liberty Ale, Old Foghorn, or any of the other varieties of Anchor beer.

Haven't tried the Sierra Nevada Barleywine, but the Anchor Old Foghorn is absolutely amazing.

Is Anchor's winter beer a steam beer, or made in another manner of preparation?

I've enjoyed Indian food thoroughly from an eating standpoint (though my tastes are still only barely evolved from total-gringo) for several years, though it's hard to find restaurant food prepared at really high quality in the northern burbs of New York, and I can't really afford Manhattan dining more than sporadically. From a cooking standpoint, I have the same problems most other people have mentioned - ingredients, lack of trust in my ability to differentiate good from bad, etc - combined with an absolute lack of training in any sort of cooking (I'm self-teaching myself ever so slowly). However, I've tried cooking it several times, usually with extremely positive results from my guinea pigs. I don't have anywhere near the level of familiarity with either the cuisine, or even the general kitchen to try experimenting, so I've stuck with pre-set recipes for the most part.

I'm not sure exactly what the scientific reasoning is behind this, but I found it out at Nobu - there's a sashimi dish there that's served with a jalapeno slice and a coriander leaf - you feel the first instant of burn, and then it's almost immediately cut off by the coriander, creating a really interesting sensation.

nolongerlurking, To add to Suvir's comment on the Vindaloo earlier in the thread - in addition to starches, such as rice, coriander leaves (cilantro leaves) are good at cutting the burn of spicy foods.