IrishCream

Thank you for a great report (I have dinner reservations there 9/19 so I have a vested interest!). I was wondering where the wine-list was posted...I have to request by email?

I have been wanting to try durian for years. I really like stinky smells that taste wonderful. Ummmmm...cheese. Edited to say: Let's not forget that the French call stinky cheese the feet of God.

Will you eat the egg thingies? Please!

I like to make grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches with it....and melt it on the top of chicken enchiladas for some extra kick. But most that I have tried (in TX and CA) are pretty hot...not for wimpy chile palates. Well, not hot for me at all, but I recently discovered (at a family reunion) that I can take a lot more heat than most people! It is shocking how little heat many people can take. Let me throw out a question...my palate can take much more heat than it could 15 years ago. So is tolerance to heat an acquired thing? And if so, how does it come about? Do we just burn out our taste buds? Or is it a mental readjustment?

Anyone wanna take bets on whose next?

I am eating at the French Laundry for the first time in a couple weeks, the tasting menu. And I already know, I am going to have to eat the only food I am phobic about: eggs. I am not allergic...I have no problems when they are disguised in a cake (though I won't eat merengue and the thought of homemade mayo gives me the heebies). I have not eatan an egg since I was 5 when my parents gave up forcing me. Even worse, I know at FL the egg will be a barely cooked, runny disgusting yolk egg. But just like you Pim, I am gonna try it. And if I find the eggs at FL nauseating (as I fully expect) I will never eat one again. Of course, I hope the experience will be a turning point and I will love eggs ever thereafter.

Wow! I am amazed by how closely that article parallels this thread! I can't help but think the author read this thread. Could Kathleen Purvis be eGullet's kpurvis????

Thanks Tony and all...for speaking out about the payroll heist. Several former Rocco's employees all say that they were not paid, when it is clear that the money to pay them was available (not that it matters whether the money was available or not...it just makes it more heinous). I am inclined to believe them. When the employees signed their contract, did it stipulate that they might not be paid in order to create tension on the show? I highly recommend that all the employees who were not paid on a timely basis file a complaint with the US Dept. of Labor. Rocco's should be severely penalized. And forget about what the employment contracts said. Let the government deal with it. I am so appalled. I would never step foot in that place under any circumstances. Boycott!

How will they seat that many people? With that many it would really be easier on you to plan a buffet with some cold and some hot items. Also, what is their budget? Cold sliced beef tenderloin with a couple sauces always goes over well and can be prepared in advance.

Thanks for demystifying this for the wine amatuer. I know exactly what a musty book smells like! So what's the deal with examining the cork? Andn how do you handle it if a restaurant resists your diagnosis of a corked bottle of wine?

I call this an "Italian Jewel" salad. Cut tomatoes, avocadoes and cucumbers in equal bite-sized chunks. Add slivered red onion if desired. Marinate in a good Italian vinagrette. This can be made ahead as the dressing keeps the avocadoes form discoloring.

I didn't realize that one had choices on the Chef's Tasting Menu...is that typical? I have a reservation there in September. I think I would be disappointed with the meal you received. Kind of depressing. Is the foie worth the supplement?

Just some comments about the comments. Marcella's earlier books are great. I haven't found her book "Marcella's Cucina" to be as useful. While Patricia Well's French Bistro cookbook has many excellent recipes that I have enjoyed, I was disappointed by her "Trattoria" cookbook. The recipes I tried were uninspired. Just didn't live up to her Bistro book. Patience Grey's "Honey from a Weed" is one of my favorite books about food. It deserves a place in every foodies library. But to call it an Italian cookbook seems a misnomer. More a book about how to survive the reality of life on undeveloped Greco/Roman islands where starvation looms if one doesn't learn to make the best of nature's give and take. Her account of surviving and her recipes are inspirational.

Clearly, the word "cobbler" and what it means depends on local tradition. It means something different to all of us...fascinating. My Louisiana born and bred husband announced a few days ago that he was going to make a cobbler with some of the ollalaberries we had picked and frozen in June. Being atune to this thread, I immediately asked, "With biscuit dough?" He was apalled and said, "No, I am making a real cobbler, like my Grandma used to make." And so he did. He made a pie dough...fitted it into the bottom and up the sides of a bread pan! Filled it with fruit. Then rolled out a top with a 2-3 inch overhang which he left on. Extra crust! (It was delicious). So where does this leave us? It seems that pie dough cobbler is much more common in the south....while biscuit is common in the north. Seems a bit strange given "Southern Biscuits". But perhaps that explains it. In the south, biscuits were traditionally served with every meal. To add them to dessert would be a repetition.

Thanks all. While I am dying to try Zuni, I think I'll wait til I have more time. I am going to try Paul Ks...I love Middle Eastern food. Will report back.

The festival is this coming weekend. I am a garlic fanatic and have been dreaming about attending for years. Finally, I live here (again) and can! But I have been warned the crowds are abysmal. I tried to stop by the Asparagus Festival in Stockton a few months ago and gave up cuz the traffic for parking was backed up for a half mile on the Interstate. So those of you have been to the Garlic Festival: Is it worth the crowds? Is the garlic food wonderful? What is the best food? (In other words what booth should I head for?) I am planning on Friday afternoon. Thanks for any advice!

Margaret, you are so right. I had no idea until I entered a cherry orchard in Brentwood last month, about the 5th one I had picked at. The proprietess told us to sample a cherry from each tree before picking because every tree had different tasting cherries. I was surprised. But, of course, she was right. The variation in taste of cherries from tree to tree was significant. Some were quite sour and some were ambrosial. Yet, the trees seemed identical and the fruit was equally ripe. A great lesson.

Any recommendations in the moderate price range? Thanks!

Hate to disagree but...perfectly ripe peaches only last a day or two. We rush them home, eat some, make jam, pie or daquiris, and freeze the rest with a food saver system. I have read, and please correct me if this is wrong, that after being picked stone fruit does not ripen, just rots.

I am late once again but....my last boss loved CF (he was a very big eater), so I had several meals there. My first reaction on attempting to read through the menu was negative. In my experience, restaurants that try to serve everything...cutting across several cuisine types...serve nothing well. And that was the case for CF...at least in the Galleria in Houston. Further, I was offended by the waste of food. A dinner salad for one was enough to serve 4. And so on. To me, the Cheesecake Factory belongs in the same category as Bennigan's, TGIF, etc. The difference being that CF tries to overwhelm with quantity and charges more. A lot of food is wasted. And the cheesecake was not exceptional...and I was in Texas! Bet it came frozen there also!

Pure pounds only! I will represent my husband. He'll beat you hands over fist Stone! You don't stand a chance.

I have been wondering about that also. I have picked peaches all over Brentwood this season. But Frog Hollow does not allow u-pick, nor does it have a fruit stand at its location, so I have been unable to compare. Certainly, they grow more varieties than the average Brentwood peach farmer. But does that make them better? I am a skeptic, except perhaps when it comes to particular varieties of peach, which may be someone's favorite. I can't speak to that. I think that they generate hype because they are delicious but only available at Farmer's Markets where they can charge a premium. Most of the Brentwood peach farmers do not go to Farmer's Markets. They sell at stands on their farms, allow people to pick, and sell to distributors (who often resell at Farmer's Markets or fruit stands). Typically, I have been paying 25-50 cents a pound for scrumptious u-pick peaches. The advantage to picking them myself is the opportunity to make sure they are ripe. A very soft squeeze and slight twist is all it takes. If they are not ripe they stay on the tree and are not damaged.

Dave.... I just always skipped the horizontal slices and ended up with very uneven dice. I can't wait to go try the new technique! Thank you!

Using a salad spinner to thoroughly dry fresh herbs, especially the leafy ones like parsley and cilantro. Makes mincing so much easier. I am having trouble visualizing the quartered onion dicing method. Don't the onions fall apart after the first slice through? Or are you slicing them perpendicular to, but not through, the root?

Since dictionaries are not answering the question, I decided to turn to The Joy of Cooking (1985). Irma says, "A cobbler, first cousin to a deep-dish pie, involves a rich biscuit dough and fruit. Baked with the fruit either under it or over it..." Her instructions give the option of either laying the biscuit dough on the bottom of the pan or spooning it over the top. Of course, Irma was mid-western and may not be speaking to the southern tradition. gknl...your recipe sounds great. Anyone else have recipes to share?