MikeHartnett

I initially was going to tell you that Hansen's is only open May through August, but upon double checking, it appears that they've extended their season and are still open. Good luck for you! ...and for me...

Agreed. I started curing my own bacon in college. Definitely doable.

The feeling kind of developed after thinking about how badly we were ignored by our waiter, and how slopped on a plate our food was, especially given the raves by regulars. Then, instead of following "Mike, your experience was an anomaly" with "give it another try and I'm sure you'll see the real Galatoire's," you followed it with "don't go back. It's not for you. " I understand and appreciate getting top notch service when you're a regular at a place, but I don't understand shunning and half-assing service for others at all.

Maybe I'll have to give them another try, but I haven't had a truly good tomato yet this year. I keep thinking about the delicious tomato salads I made last year and shuddering when I think about making them with the terrible tomatoes I've gotten so far this year.

Maybe it's the attitude that Galatoire's patrons, as well as Galatoire's itself, would rather not have me there if I'm not a regular.

Hot Potato, Cold Potato.

Unless you're leaving late or driving slowly, you'll hit Memphis by lunch or late lunch. I can't see any conceivable way you'll be in Mississippi for late lunch or dinner driving up 55. I wish I could be of more help, but since this has always been the case for me, I've never stopped for food in Mississippi.

After evacuating from Gustav, I thought a nice dinner would take the stress away. I could hardly have been more right. My girlfriend and I arrived at Eugene about 35 minutes early, planning on having a cocktail before dinner. We ended up with three each. The bartender was so enthusiastic (and did his job so well) that we couldn't possibly stop at one, and we didn't sit down for dinner until 20 minutes past our reservation time. The service was fantastic. Our waiter, whose name I cannot recall, was superb the whole way through. Personable and friendly, but also efficient and very professional. The food was even better. We did the 5 course tasting, and every course was memorable. We started with a Maine diver scallop, topped with julienned green apple, set over lady peas. Perfectly cooked scallop, with surprisingly complementary flavors. The next course was grilled swordfish over a deliciously vinegary panzanella. Very terroir dish, with very nice results. I want a big bowl of that panzanella. Shockingly, though, the standout for me was probably the third course: Painted Hills Farm ribeye with potato gratin. Shocking because I don't normally go crazy over a steak and potatoes dish at a fancy restaurant, but this was a home run. Flavorful charred steak with a creamy, cheesy gratin. It just worked too well to discount for perhaps being unoriginal. The cheese course was very good, with a cow's milk, blackberry, and walnuts, served with bread. I was a bit disappointed by the cheese choice, as it was a bit overwhelmed by the accompaniments, but maybe we didn't look like cheese people. Who knows? But any tiny misstep in that course was forgotten quickly with the coming of honey creme brulee, house made donut, and blackberry preserves. When creme brulee is done right it can be so good, and this was. The donut was yeasty and amazing dipped in the preserves. A little coffee and some passionfruit gelees rounded out the great night, putting us well on our way to forgetting about Gustav. I have to add my one critique, though. Eugene emphasizes its use of local and seasonal ingredients, but gets its ribeyes, for example, from Oregon, or its scallops from Maine. Also, I didn't really get a whole lot of seasonality from the meal. My request is that if you're going to make a big fuss over it, you really should stick to the mantra. If they didn't claim to rely upon seasonality and local products so much, I would never have thought twice about it. That said, I would wholeheartedly recommend Restaurant Eugene. All the components come together perfectly, in a way that doesn't happen often. Don't miss it.

I just want to clear up a few things. One, if I made it sound as if I disliked the atmosphere or thought it was too loud, I apologize. I was merely noting that the reason I didn't comment on my sister's dishes was that she was across the table and didn't comment much herself. Two, I knew going in that it was a la carte, that I wasn't getting sides. I just didn't know that I had to ask for a little salt and pepper on the fish. If there was a single grain of either on the fish, I'd be shocked. Completely bland. When you send out an ungarnished, unaccompanied item, you better do it right, because there's nothing to distract from it being screwed up. Also, multiple pieces of shell in the crabmeat on both pieces of fish is plainly unacceptable. Hey, it happens from time to time. But not like that. Completely unpicked.

glad you enjoyed it!

Completely agreed. I just graduated, and most of my friends never made it past Fresco's. DON'T go to Fresco's, btw. Get to Bywater for Bacchanal's weekend events for cheap food in a great environment. Get to Esplanade in Mid-City for Lola's, Liuzza's by the Track, Cafe Degas. Magazine for Casamento's. Best oyster loaf, bar none. If anyone disagrees, ignore them. Mid-range: Cafe Granada on Carrollton. Excellent tapas and sangria. More high end, go for Stella! or Iris. Both are fantastic.

http://www.hungrymag.com/2008/08/19/yats-all-folks/ Whoa.

Are you a Maroon, Hungry C? Let's hear the Scholarly Yell!!! ← Maroon, hell no. I'm a proud SEC alum thru and thru. Geaux Tigers. Hot boudin, cold couche-couche, and all that. Went in dumb, came out dumb too, just like Randy Newman says. I can sing the alma mater and both verses to the fight song. I did graduate from TU as well, but the Hullabaloo is the dumbest cheer in all of college football. And docsconz, you walked right by my office window today. Too bad I'm home sick or I would have given you a campus tour myself. Thanks for considering the Wave....to make this food related, some of the best NY style pizza in NOLA is located just off campus at the Dough Bowl, with a cute little creperie just a few fe et away from it. ← Varsa Varsa Tee Ay!

Do you have any details on the alaskan king crab dish? ← It was delicious... basically fairly large chunks of crab, with a "sheet" of what I'm sure was more than just plain butter, small pieces of popcorn, and baby corn. Our server presented it as "things that go with butter." The cube in the middle was some sort of citrus gelee, possibly meyer lemon? Oh, and there were also mushrooms, and certainly some things I'm forgetting. It was absolutely delicious though, even though it was super rich. ← Thank You. That dish looked awesome and I wanted to know what all the tiny components were. ← Ndy, it was awesome. Let me know if you'd like details on anything else.

I felt very full, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. And "very rich" is quite different from "too rich." Very rich means it was delicious, and richly so. Too rich means they pushed it too far and I didn't enjoy it, which I most certainly did.

Do you have any details on the alaskan king crab dish? ← It was delicious... basically fairly large chunks of crab, with a "sheet" of what I'm sure was more than just plain butter, small pieces of popcorn, and baby corn. Our server presented it as "things that go with butter." The cube in the middle was some sort of citrus gelee, possibly meyer lemon? Oh, and there were also mushrooms, and certainly some things I'm forgetting. It was absolutely delicious though, even though it was super rich.

Just to clarify- I absolutely did not find them TOO rich. Just extremely rich. Not a bad thing... But I did get very full by the end, which may have been due to the full wine pairing...

I actually responded to the same thread on that other forum... I have no relationship with Chef Bowles at all, but I've been to both Avenues and Graham Elliot, and I'll eat what he's cooking wherever he's cooking it. His food has repeatedly blown me away, and while I enjoyed the atmosphere at GE, I would look past it if I hadn't.

"You've got some [restaurant raters] that will include you only if you use high-quality silverware, fancy tablecloths—they've got checklists. Well, [i summarily reject] that." It looks as though Vittel didn't appreciate that comment. Oh well. I found it to be fantastic, and I'm a huge fan of what Chef Bowles is going for. This seems to be one of those cases where you either go for the stripped-down, just for the food approach, or you don't. I do. Phil doesn't.

Wow. Last night, I had my first alinea experience. I don't really have a lot to add verbally, other than "wow," but I do have pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29434392@N05/...57606676195583/ I think the Black Truffle Explosion changed my life.

I don't agree with this analogy at all. Hearing is very difficult to "turn off." Sight, on the other hand, is not at all. Avoid looking at the photographers and the problem is solved. I don't have a problem with food photography at all, and 99.9% of the time, I don't do it. However, I am easily able to ignore it if others are doing it, and rather than being bothered by it, it shows me that someone else in the restaurant is as concerned with food as I am. If you don't care to know that, just concentrate on your own table!

Thanks, Brooks. I'm in Chicago for a week, but I'll check it out when I get back. I made some killer watermelon pickles last week, and I think I might be forced to can some.

Go Green Wave! Ummm... Anyway. I agree on the pork cheeks. Didn't do it for me, and I really wanted them to. However, I disagree on the service. I've never had very good service, and I've typically had ditzy waitresses who weren't helpful and weren't around all that much. I'm glad you had better, though.

I like the tart lemonade.

That's a pretty awful mistake, especially considering it's made painfully clear in Charcuterie that you're not using sodium nitrite. It helps a bit though that they suggest to buy it at Butcher-Packer and tell you the product name.