tommy

an explanation of the reaction that she gets from so many people? simple: hating is so darned easy.

*sigh*. why were you embarrassed? the real problems occur in the less-than-fine-dining restaurants. at most upscale restaurants, the staff understands the process. not so much at the local mom-and-pop joint.

no more than you. but yes, i'm all for accurate explanations of "cork taint", if only because so many restaurants and servers have no idea what it is. that's really what it's about for me: getting more restaurants to understand what's going on so i'm not put in the position of having to explain when i'm served a corked bottle. which reminds me that i have to get back to Blu soon. like, yesterday soon.

My point is that they've were available as ever between 2002 and 2005 as well. I don't even think they cost more. Strange. ← i suppose that depends where you live or where you "sourced" them from or some other factors. many people had a hard time getting them, and restaurants stopped using them for a time.

perhaps i'm being nitpicky, but a soaked-through cork and mold don't imply "corked", in the sense that "corked" is generally related to the presence of TCA. i wouldn't lose all hope for the rest of the bottles. and i'd consider cleaning the mold off the cork and bottle opening before opening, as you might have a fine bottle of wine waiting within. not in front of your guests, however.

the pricing on the sides is completely in line with other steakhouses in manhattan. no need for alaram on that particular point, even if there is a dollar difference either way. i'd be more concerned with the value offered overall.

oh, do they deliver to hoboken?

yeahbit he wants to stop at Rutt's Hut, and it's throwing off the whole schedule. here are some ideas that we're going to look into. i welcome any pooh-poohing or encouragement. the wakening museum cosmonut.org sante fe school of cooking for something/anything sante fe brewing tour/tasting swaia coyote cafe cafe pasqual's inn at anasazi drinks at that nice hotel right there with the nice view whose name escapes me georgia o'keeffe museum bobcat bite for a burger in taos: Appletree does anything there particularly suck? also, we're planning on coming home with some art for decorating and gifts and whatnot. anything/where in particular we should roam (i know, art is like food and subjective, but you get the idea)? we're definitely not looking for fine dining. get enough of that at home. i want to taste something that recently walked on or grew from the soil near santa fe. or at least that's what i want to be led to believe that i'm tasting.

it would make a pretty good first-person shooter. (FPS)

i never understand the "education" alternative. how are you supposed to educate people? people don't want to be educated. if they did there wouldn't be so many stupid people out there. using someone's television example from earlier, anyone who turns on a TV every now and again should know what's "bad" for them. regardless, it's big news stories like this that help educate people. so i'm thankful this action was proposed. i bet there are now 10 more NYers than there were last week who will think twice about what they eat. we're gittin' our learn-on!

peoples issue with the "disneyfication" of times square always baffles me. i've only known times square since the late 80's. so it's alway been nothing but a bunch of crappy, run-down mostly abandoned buildings that stood as a momument to what must have been in better times. drugs, hookers, peep shows, and certainly not many tasty options in sight. i'm certainly happy to see it in its current state. there are plenty of places all over the city, and the world, to go if i want to get away from the chains. i can't imagine why 8 square blocks of clean, family fun annoys people to such an extent when they have the rest of the city to drink and eat in. it's nice that tourists have some place safe and bright and fun to go, and it's nice to walk through now. even if it's not necessarily my cup of tea. and yes, i'd think alphabet city isn't far behind. in fact, the hipsters hi-tailed it to brooklyn in the 90's, and they're already bitching about what has happened there.

i'd be very surprised to learn that mortadella di bologna contains MSG. i'll have to check that out the next time i'm at a meat counter.

say-uhhh, how long do y'all think it's going to remain nice like that? the jet isn't fueled up quite yet.

that's an interesting point. i'm not sure i would have even noticed that it opened.

i had that "triple prime burger" and thought it was a decent enough diner burger. certainly nothing to get excited about. in fact not really worth the trip at all. filet mignon in a burger? Prime meat in a burger? surely they gest. i'm not sure what a feinschmecker is, but i'm guessing they wouldn't get excited over this burger regardless of what Avenue they were selling it on. as far as those big drinks go, i have to say i didn't have the margarita, but i have to assume it's made with that "sweet and sour" mix, which shouldn't be consumed under any circumstance, regardless of the city you live in. and the martini was about 1/2 full, and not cheap. edit: margarita, margherita. hey what's the difference.

thanks for the kind words. in way of comparison of WF's prices vs. TJ's: i went to WF last night. the same olives (i think they were the same) were 4.50 at WF, compared to 3.00 at TJ's. The potatoes were 5.00 at WF, compared to 2.69 at TJ's. Canola oil was slightly less at TJ's. and i did not take a photo of the WF's receipt.

← Yes, AB pointed out that bathrooms are easy to clean but kitchens are not. Extrapolate that! ← OK. you have six or 10 people in the kitchen for 15 hours who, hopefully, give a shit about the kitchen, whereas you have 100 people pissing all over the restroom for 8 hours who don't give a fuck about the restroom. the results are clear to me. hell, when i have a party with 20 people it's hard to keep up with the restroom. my kitchen, however, well shit, you could *eat* off the fucking floor.

do you mean to say that you can't make good french fries or fried food without trans fatty acids?

shamelessly bumping. any more thoughts on a NY'er's trip to Sante Fe and Taos? i got the lodging all sorted, now i'm just worried about eats and what to see. and yes, i've been reading this board for ideas.

it's the same ol' argument i know, but hopefully, with any luck, in most restaurants, the chef is in charge of the kitchen, and most likely has respect for his craft. the bathrooms, of course, are kept clean by someone other than the chef and kitchen staff (runners, barbacks, guys in charge of cleaning the parking lot), with any luck, and that person may or may not have the restroom on the top of the list. i'm not saying that's right, but over the years of being in kitchens, and restrooms, i've seen little correlation between the cleanliness of the two. if you want to be really grossed out, have someone inspect your own ("your" general, not you hitmanoo) kitchen for germs and cross-contamination. you'll never eat at home again. ABC's 20/20 will be glad to come in a few weeks before "sweeps week."

I'm all for more duck, and less government. i'm also all for D'artagnan, as i only recently figured out how to pronounce it. foie gras i could probably live without. confit, however, well now you've just got me pissed off.

i bet it wasn't as bad as this one, from a great mexican place in Chicago.

that might happen if anyone actually *liked* trans fats and were willing to pay top-dollar for them. but in my experience you can get better (and yes, more healthful) results with other options. as that article mentioned upthread said, if they went away, no one would miss them.

because there's nothing there that i want. ← ok so i lied. I stopped by TJ's and was pleasantly surprised. lots of organic/"natural" stuff. cage-free chcken eggs. and some seemingly good values spread around here and there. i might be converted yet. more details on my experience can be found here. no one is going to talk me into getting excited about store-bought jerky, though.

jeez. she really screwed the servers.