MikeHartnett

Janet, I haven't looked through the book thoroughly enough to notice the Cuba Libre, but my look was thorough enough to notice that most of the drinks included are a fair piece more creative than that. Also, the "philosophy" behing the book seems more to be "there is no philosophy, and it isn't all about rules." ETA: It would really surprise me if a standard Cuba Libre was included in this book, given that they explicitly decline to include recipes for drinks like daiquiris and negronis.

I've only briefly glimpsed through it, but I know that the cocktails I've had from it are delicious, and that's enough for me. I'm not a professional, so I don't have much to say re the philosophy espoused, but I like the guys who wrote it, and they make good drinks.

Those labels are awesome. What exactly are these bitters like?

I guess I wasn't aware of Adria's version of "air," but the Alinea version is what I was referring to. Not a foam at all. Nothing is actually eaten; it's a scent that adds to a dish. The concept is solid, and it adds to the dish in a way similar to a cocktail garnish. I think I'd just prefer "scent of rosemary" or something in that vein. "Air" just rubs me the wrong way.

I'm particularly bothered by "air" on a menu, eg "rosemary air." I don't have an issue with the concept. I just find it a little too cutesy, and it comes off a bit pretentious. Also, when restaurants advertise that their chicken is all white meat, as if that's a good thing. Boo to dark meat non-eaters!

Kyle made my Tongue in Cheek, which may account for the differences. The tartness was present, but not assertive, and I could definitely taste the bourbon. I quite enjoyed it. I also had the Art of Choke, which is Kyle's drink, and it was fantastic. It has-- unfortunately-- convinced me that I need to buy both Green Chartreuse and Cynar.

Just got back from TVH, and amongst other things, I tried the Tongue in Cheek from the summer menu. The strawberry was prominent, and it was slightly tart and very refreshing, but the whiskey was still there; it wasn't overpowered by the fruit and vermouth. A great drink...

Not sure how late Cure is open, but their phone number is on the website: www.curenola.com Adn since it's Tales, they'll probably be open as late as there are people, I'd guess. It's going to be interesting to see how many cabs are shuttling back and forth between downtown and that relatively deserted strip of Freret.

I don't have a ton to add to what's been said, but I do have these two things: - It really isn't terribly difficult, contrary to what all the detailed advice above seems to indicate. It just takes practice to do it efficiently. You'll figure it out, no problem. AND, - Drinking and does not an efficient oyster shucking make. Alcohol makes the process a lot slower and marginally more difficult. So if you were tempted to 'loosen up' a bit for this party, you might want to think twice.

From a resident- MiLa or Stella! are your best bets... Neither is going to push your boundaries by being ultra-modern, but they're both interesting combinations of relatively modern technique with southern (MiLa) or classical/asian (Stella!) ideas. New Orleans holds on tight to tradition, so I wouldn't expect to be surprised by technique as much as flavor.

I haven't tried this yet, but I'd imagine the recipes that include sugar are trying to -unfortunately- replicate the commercial "maraschino" cherries

Couldn't you just chop the chunk while frozen, then thaw in paper towels, etc. to absorb the excess moisture?

I'm not sure if this is too obvious, but I've always enjoyed gin Salty Dogs.

I agree with everything above, but particularly this. Every other topic is "first time to NO, help me out!" I'm all for tourism and helping people out, but I'd like to have some meaningful discussion beyond where first-timers should go to get a convincing New Orleans experience. For example, I'm originally from Chicago, which has the fantastically informative LTHForum. It would be nice if New Orleans had something similar.

I am certainly biased in the 'if the food is good, I can overlook a lot' fashion, but I feel like Boucherie is not pretending to be a fancy, meet-your-every-need restaurant. The goal is to serve high quality food at a low price. Every time I've been, they've accomplished that. On top of that, I have NEVER had anything approaching bad service there. Maybe amateurish, or imperfect, but I feel like the price benefits outweigh any minor flaws in the service by miles. ETA: Upon reading the rest of the review, though, I think he essentially comes to the same conclusion as I did. It's worth dealing with the service for the food. While he seems to put more weight (understandably, as a restaurant critic) in the service than I would, the conclusion is the same: the food is delicious.

Please do. When I made mine, there was no oil at all. How are you making yours?

Not drastically removed from the pedestrian, but good nonetheless. Queen's Park Swizzle Oops! Didn't see it above. Sorry, vice. It's good though.

The Bitter Truth makes celery bitters. Not sure if others do commercially.

Haha. Thanks. It really is right there.

Question for anyone who has ordered from this site... What quantity/weight is each herb sold by? It only says "$.85," etc. There's no quantity anywhere that I can tell.

Check out his blog: chefcdb.livejournal.com The Green Goddess opens tomorrow night (Thursday the 21st). And the menu looks fantastic.

Wow, I got a little misty-eyed watching this. ← If only he were that friendly and informative in real life. May be a treasure trove of cocktail info, but the guy is a plain curmudgeon in my book. Asking him to make you a cocktail is as if you're asking him to cut off his left arm. I brought friends to Bar UnCommon (where he works now), and they were shocked by how rude he was the entire evening. As was I.

I'm having the same problem. Does anyone have tips on getting consistently-sized crushed ice?

rocler, Celeste knows her stuff. You shouldn't need much more than what she said.

What's made it possible is the advance of technology, through hybridization and, in some cases, the revival of heirloom species that have advantageous localized traits. Technology also plays a role in our ability to outsource carrying capacity (the maximum population of a particular organism that a given environment can support without detrimental effects [American Heritage Science Dictionary]). For example, air freight has allowed Kenya to become England's (and much of Europe, for that matter) California. Europe is at its carrying capacity -- it has neither the land nor the water to grow the food it needs to support its own population. So unless you're willing to institute drastic population control measures, the local model is not only unsustainable, it's a non-starter. You don't have to be a fan of CAFOs, or not be a fan of local in-season produce to recognize that facts are facts. ← This. I was going to respond similarly, but Dave's done it quite well.