tommy

i missed that show, but didn't i see "taste of thai" coconut milk at one point during the battle!?!?!?!?

very dead with so little play between alton and anyone else. alton would be a great foil, and someone else would make a great alton foil. but there's no one there. his little tidbits are going acknowledged. he probably feels like i do most of the time on egullet.

i was amazed. although, i think he's playing dumb. a little too dumb for, say, *us*, but dumb nonetheless. they definitely need a giggling girl.

as i'm reading this, i'm thinking "how the hell would johnnybird know?!?!" anyway, i'm not so sure that an unfiltered wine won't benefit from aging. in fact, my assumption, which is based largely on hear-say and ignorance, is that the opposite might be true. either way i'm not sitting on it for long, so the point is moot. hank, i do think the Chateau Ste Michelle Loosen was a 2003.

that's close to my parents', so i suppose it's acceptable. but still.

tried the butter medium heat trick tonight on a couple of run-of-the-mill-store-bought-ground-meat hamburgers. mrs. tommy proclaimed them "the best ever". although she was hungry, and let's face it, they had butter on them. regardless, i got some nice charring in the cast iron pan, although the color on one was a bit uneven. i think this is because my stovetop is not level, and one side of the pan collected a bit more of the butter, which i assume actually had a bit of a steaming effect on the meat. regardless, not an ounce of smoke in the kitchen. and i'm usually opening windows and doors and eating in a smoke-filled room. i'm looking forward to trying this with steak. if it works, i'll actually be able to make steak for guests without fear of smoking them out.

i just picked up a bottle of that newton. it's the first chardonnay from outside of burgundy that i've bought for my own consumption in about 5 years. if phil reads this, maybe he could tell me if it would benefit much from sitting on it for a year (i don't think i would wait much longer).

say it ain't so. i've been dying to try this place. maybe tomorrow. but that sucks either way if they're moving.

whaddareya fingas made-a sug-ah?

it should be noted that some people watch their carb intake for reasons other than losing weight or because a fad diet suggests to.

i noticed the salt as well, although the greens helped balance it. additionally, although i thought the chardonnay paired wonderfully with it, i found myself sucking down a bit of champagne every few bites, as i thought it complimented the salt/fat of the dish as well. i was torn. torn i tell you.

you continue to do us proud, Al.

presumably food wastage is factored in with a reasonable buffer when costing is done. food wastage also occurs at the end of the night or service, when they throw out the slop that no one ate.

This, I agree with completely. A wine that has been 'adjusted' to fit unnatural marketing parameters is not one I'd be interested in trying. i don't find myself interested in trying most BV wines to begin with.

excellent, mags.

it replaced the New York Pizza Factory (thankfully). went there the other night. quite decent i'd say. the room is nice, the service was really good, and the food was pretty damned good. a lot better than i was expecting. i've been meaning to try the fair lawn place (in fact, that was the plan that night until i remembered this one was open). i think it's going to do veeeery well. get the sausage and broccoli rabe app. it's a very clean rendition of this dish. byo obviously.

a particular standout was the pairing of the smoky prawns with the Newton chardonnay. lou's staff is great. thanks to phil and lou for pulling that together. it was a blast.

don't look now, but he's standing right behind you with a glass of Newton.

bill, those are nice words, but even *i* don't like my posts from the last 6 months. you are very generous indeed.

is this a real question? or a springboard into some sort of discussion. it's obvious to me that people shouldn't waste food when they're able to control their own portion size. in fact, many buffets even have signs posted stating as much. who's right? the customer i suppose.

i hate it when people leave a bite on the plate. so i generally snatch it up to avoid the angst i suffer when wondering why.

bill, you've got good taste. you'll fit in nicely here.

was that sysco peanut butter? i haven't followed the thread that closely, but that would be, um, strange.

much different than the same amount of onion rings made in a similar way? i remember being at the 9th ave food festival (NYC) a bunch of years back, when the bloomin onion machine thing was first making its appearance (or at least it was the first time a lot of people ever saw one). i got myself a bloomin onion, and about 20 people walked up to me asking what it was and where i got it. i remember throwing about 95% of it in the garbage, as it was pretty rich. the bloomin onion, while being the signature "dish" of the Outback, has also become the butt of many jokes.

i'm still not sure i'm buying too much of the "bang for the buck" theory at 29 dollars per unaged steak. unless the choice cuts are really good as well (they're about 10 dollars less IIRC).