MikeHartnett

This. I think another problem is that often, people compare apples and oranges. It typically does cost many people more to shop at Whole Foods, because it costs more to provide organic, local, blah blah blah. When you compare the cost of a product grown conventionally with the same thing grown organically, the organic thing tends to cost more. People notice that it costs more, not that it's different and shouldn't cost the same. And as Celeste mentioned, (and this might just be in New Orleans) but Whole Foods' packaged products are absolutely more expensive.

Male, don't have the books, not terribly interested. More interested in making food that people really eat- that has a story- than making foams and stuff. I realize that's terribly reductive, and I don't have anything against those interested in it. Just not my thing. Ate at Alinea, really enjoyed it, but it doesn't have the same soul that a dish passed down through generations in the old country does. The science is cool, but to me, it isn't dinner. ETA: I own a PID that I've used for sous vide, and it bored the crap out of me. Food is about smells and sights and senses.

Wow, really interesting. Thanks for taking the time to post it. After all, when you think about it, folks were smoking meat long before Mr. Weber or Mr. Big Green Egg ever came along. I would like to point out, though, that if you go this route, be sure to get a high quality electric burner. I bought a cheap one, and it didn't have the power to get the wood smoking.

I guess I wasn't clear above. I'm fully aware of how barbecue is used in Australia. My response was to the OP's apparent request for info on southern American barbecue. Also, I didn't intend to provide a dispositive definition-- merely what are commonly understood to be "requirements" for BBQ. And to Chris Hennes- I'm originally from the north. I'm well aware of how many things are wrong there.

There are as many opinions on what's "right" in barbecue as there are people who make it, but I think it's safe to say that anyone who knows a damn thing about it agrees that 1) there must be smoke, and 2) it must be done slowly, over relatively low heat. From there, you can go a million different ways and not go wrong.

Lately, I've been a big fan of banana, frozen raspberries and blueberries, soy milk, and a touch of grapefruit juice or other acidic fruit juice. I'm not really a soy milk kinda guy, but it adds creaminess without lactose problems.

When was Chris McMillan at the Carousel Bar?

Try some combination of lowering the heat (if I recall, I've done this somewhere between medium and medium-high) and cutting the fries a little thinner, in an attempt to stretch out the time it takes to reach frying heat so that the insides cook fully.

Correct. All the caffeine without all that awful coffee taste!

This is the reason I've heard given for this.

Thanks! I'll have to read up on these more.

I'm really having trouble with the decision to bring Richman on. Couldn't they have found some other portly, funny-looking guy to take his place, so as not to further inflate his ego?

Honestly never heard of these. Tell me more!

The GIGANTIC problem with this thread: it is impossible for any person to label any of these sandwiches the "best." These sandwiches are in your blood- you can't just eat all of them side by side and declare a winner. Quite apart from them all being objectively fantastic sandwiches, there's the fact that you've been propping your elbows on the stainless steel counter at Al's for years, and you and your dad both keep a jar of giardiniera in the fridge at all times. Or that when you sit at the bar at Parkway with an ice cold Barq's and a roast beef po boy, and that waitress says "hey baby, whatcha want," there isn't another sandwich in the world. [i've spent virtually my entire life in Chicago and New Orleans. Please insert similar cheesesteak anecdote here.] Even if you found someone who had never laid eyes on any of these sandwiches before, sat them down and said judge, they just wouldn't get it.

Yeah... I'm going to go a step further and say those sound awful.

Vietnamese and Thai, definitely.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/magazine/11food-t-001.html Haven't been able to get my hands on long pepper, but this recipe was great even without them. I imagine they'd be really good with the long pepper.

No! Not pointless! Delicious and texturally pleasing! Tofu is one of the best examples of why Asian cuisines have a whole dimension that isn't typically present in Western foods: the use of varying textures to provide interest apart from the flavors.

Maybe I've never had the pleasure of smelling the good stuff, but I've had such an instinctive revulsion toward the smell of canned tuna, it'd be pretty difficult to convince me it would be much different. Blech. Tuna.

Canned tuna. I'll never eat it "again" because I've never eaten it to begin with. The smell has made me gag since I was little.

I definitely agree with that. In fact, I'd take it one step further and say it applies to me personally, for the most part. But Platter of Figs really got me thinking, because all the recipes sounded like things I'd normally pass over for not sounding "interesting" enough. Every single one of them turned out spectacularly, though, and it kind of made me reconsider whether something has to be exotic to be delicious.

Agreed, but Platter of Figs was a pretty highly regarded exception. I'm just surprised the people who enjoyed that one aren't looking at this one (or at least aren't talking about it).

Why is there no talk about this book? It seems to be completely overlooked, which surprises me, as Platter of Figs is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. What's the deal?

Maybe it's in my head, but I like to drop them in because I think it adds to the development over the course of the drink. Greater proportion of twist to cocktail as the drink gets shorter.

Reading the OP's characterization, I was sort of shocked that something like this could happen- that any successful businessperson could react like that. But after reading the offending post, I question the circumstances a bit. The last paragraph seems to suggest that the diners and Chef Wareing had something of a personal relationship. Chef Wareing has "been so generous sharing his time and ideas with us over the past year" (perhaps inaccurately) indicates some level of personal relationship beyond occasional customer. The level of familiarity indicated by the use of the chef's first name supports this. If this is in fact the case, it seems that the OP wants it both ways: a friendly relationship with the chef, close enough to brag about, but not close enough that they should feel it inappropriate to publicly criticize his business. My question, thus, is which is it? Is this a standard regular-customer relationship, in which it's perfectly acceptable to walk away unhappy and complain to third parties? Or, rather, is this a relationship as close as the post makes it seem, i.e., one that should have made the poster first consider the damage that would be done to a friendship before publicly criticizing? In the latter case, Chef Wareing's angry call seems a much more reasonable response to what happened. Not a great response, mind you, because he clearly failed to recognize that his "friends" (acquaintances?)would so quickly stab him in the back, but more reasonable.