Matt_T

Thanks for the suggestions! Stage 10 is on a Sunday, which might work well. Also gives me some time to shop. Paris-Brest is a great idea.

Hello, all. It's been a while since I've signed in, and I hope this isn't an old topic - if so I'd welcome a pointer to the relevant threads! My wife and I had the idea to host one or more home dinner parties to coincide with the Tour de France. We're not cyclists but enjoy cooking (and mostly eating) French recipes, out of Julia Child and elsewhere, and thought it'd be a fun theme. We could turn on the Tour rebroadcast during cocktail/coffee hours (with the sound off), and it might be like looking out the window at the French countryside. Last year I saw a blog on which an admitted Francophile presented a traditional recipe for each day of the 2010 Tour, chosen from the region where the riders were competing that day. It looked very well done and while I only found it in the closing days of the event - too late to plan a dinner - it gave me this idea for this year. The author said s/he would be back in 2011, but I can't find the blog. Only this one, which might be great but I don't think is by the same people as the one I saw last year: Culinary Tour de France Does anybody else recall the old blog - which I'm pretty sure wasn't affiliated with the official Tour site - and know if it's active again this year? Any suggestions for our little party (or parties)? I'd welcome suggestions from cooks who follow the Tour, about days when the riders might be passing through regions of special culinary interest, and from anyone who enjoys French food ideas for recipes, menus, decor, fun stuff....whatever. I'm hoping to design an entire menu (including wine) around the region where the Tour is riding on the day of the dinner. Or, if one region on the Tour really begs for this kind of tribute but they happen to be riding it on an inconvenient day, I guess I could DVR it and replay it later for the party. If we actually pull it off, I'll post a writeup of how things went (with pictures if I can get any decent looking ones out of my little camera). Here's the official site for the Tour de France, with the route and schedule: LeTour2011 One reason I posted this to eGullet, even though I'm only an irregular visitor, is that from what I recall of the community others might enjoy this kind of thing, and it might be a fun topic for ongoing discussion or even cook-offing. Merci!

Just placed my order with RAC, for a Weber S-650 for $1493 shipped. It was only about $150 more than the 620 and I figure if we're going to be spending over $1000 might as well have the bells and whistles. Near as I can tell, the difference is the 650 adds a special rotisserie burner, as well as a smoker boxer which sounds like something fun to play with. Thanks for the tips and links! I'll post when it arrives and review RAC's service.

Thanks for the replies! I figure i can't go wrong with Weber but was just wondering if there might be some alternative I was unaware of. I'll check out MHP and RAC too, before buying. Any thoughts on Kenmore Elite? i don't know anyone with a Kenmore grill but think well of their appliances. Not much detail in this listing, but this looks like a possible deal: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07117676000P?vName=Outdoor+Living&cName=Grills+%26+Outdoor+Cooking&sName=Gas+Grills#specs

Hi all. I hope I can get some help once more with shopping...this group hasn't steered me wrong yet! It's my job to pick out a new gas grill for our firehouse. We've gone through at least three hand-me down grills in recent years and are ready to pitch in and spend a few dollars for a decent grill that will last a while. I'm only familiar with the Weber brand (positive experience) and Char-Broil (negative), and not with any of the brands I see mostly on mail order like Ducane, Broil King, Napoleon and etc. We have a natural gas connection, and need about 640 sq in cooking surface....that's what we have now and I don't think we'd want any less. This will be used probably 3-5 times a week to cook for a dozen people. We'd need something good performing, with enough BTU to put a nice crust on steaks and decently even heating. Above all it must be very durable, low maintenance and easy to clean. Fancy features like sear burners, rotisserie and etc might be fun to play with but not important. Cosmetics are of no importance at all. A high enough lid to do a large turkey would be nice, but not necessary. Any suggestions or experience for a sturdy, simple, high-value natural gas grill would be welcome! ---- edit: I didn't state budget...I don't want to spend any more than necessary but we have 30 people pitching in for this so up to $1000 would be ok... or maybe a little more if it would make a difference for durability and cleanability compared to cheaper grills. I really don't want to pay extra for any gadgets that most of our cooks won't learn how to use properly. We have some great cooks but they don't all like to read manuals or handle tools gently!

You get what you pay for, I guess. Althought the little plastic RSVP works pretty well in home use, with judicious application of force. How small holes would be required to reliably seed tomatoes? In my shopping I've seen mills with minimum hole sizes in the finest included disk of 2.5, 2, and 1.5mm.

+1.

Cuisipro won Cook's Illustrated's test but lots of people on Amazon don't like it, either. You're not the only one who's had problems. And I don't see it for under about $90. The JB Prince item looks like what we need, but price is a little high. Anybody have the stainless version of the RSVP, the Endurance?

Surprised when a search didn't turn up anything on food mills (at least going back several pages of results). Reviews at Amazon are all over the place. A little help choosing, please? I have a plastic RSVP mill at home that I like, but it's too small and probably too flimsy for the kitchen at my firehouse - where I'm in charge of stocking the pantry and kitchen. Can someone recommend a mill that: - Will sit properly over a 12 qt stockpot (about 11" diameter) - Is sturdily built to resist rough use by eager but inexperienced, ham-fisted kitchen helpers? - Comes with a disk fine enough to seed tomatoes - Is easy to take apart and clean - and hopefully dishwasher safe? - Value priced? Thanks!!

Is 428F high enough for a Infrared thermometer? If so that combo unit looks like a great buy.

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm glad to known it's"real" though I'll gripe a bit to the seller about how it was listed. This is a great community...I haven't been active here in a while but need to go see what's up with the cookoffs and other forums. Thanks again!

I just unpacked a saute pan I bought on EBay. It's a 3 qt pan in stainless-lined copper, with cast iron handle. It was listed as a Mauviel Cuprinox 2.5mm, and the thickness and dimensions seem about right. I don't have a micrometer but with a ruler make the thickness about 3/32". The handles and overall form sure look like Mauviel (to my eye from looking at web pics; I've never owned a French pan). It just doesn't say Mauviel anywhere on it...the only trademark is stamped to the left of the handle and reads S T L MADE IN FRANCE. I'm guessing this was made by Mauviel and marketed by Sur la Table. If so, I guess I'm ok with it since I care more about functionality than designer brands, and the price was pretty good. But if it's a counterfeit or factory second or not as good as "real" Mauviel-branded Cuprinox or anything like that, I'm going to try and send it back. My first visit of course was to the Sur la Table website, and they do sell Mauviel pans that look alot like this one....but they're stamped Mauviel. I've had bad luck pasting links to EBay listings, but if you're curious about the listing just search EBay for 260366663652 . Thanks for any help.

Thanks for the reply, we're going to try Campton Place next week. Tonight we were casual and the location was convenient so we tried Plouf on Belden Lane. The wife's mussels were excellent and plentiful, my monkfish was tasty but small of portion. First courses were a somewhat watery bisque and ho-hum green salad that was noticeably gritty. Service was friendly and probably competent but understaffed. Fish of the day was "whole" roasted petrale in lemon caper sauce, the woman at the table next to us got it and it looked fantastic. MT

This year's DAT is underway: DAT SF 2009 In past years the wife and I have made January visits to Tommy Toy's, Postrio, One Market, Bushi Tei.....where should we go this year? Bonus points for spots where the DAT menu is representative and the prix fixe represents a significant discount! MT

Update: We tried the crab and pork soup dumplings at both Joe's Shanghai and Shanghai Cafe, the Chinatown locations. Both are very good - better than almost anything we can get in San Francisco - but the wife and I agreed Shanghai Cafe was the winner. Thanks for the tips....Next visit - Flushing!

Back from our trip and wanted to thank the respondents here, who helped make it a tasty one! After visiting Niagara Falls on the way to Toronto we stopped at Treadwell. I'd fretted about reservations but there were empty table on the Friday night we visited. My wife had whitefish and asparagus (forget the details but there was both asparagus foam and veloute foam involved) and called it her favorite meal of the trip - which considering we visited some heavy hitters in NYC is quite a compliment. I had a warm beet salad (fantastic!) and Berkshire pork loin. Service was absolutely top-notch, every need met and every foodie-type question answered. By the way, we did the Maid of the Mist at the Falls and it was a great experience. I'm highly suspicious of these "must see" tourist excursions, but this was the real deal. We got right down by the bow of the boat and it felt like they were actually taking you under the Falls. The roar and spray and turbluence were awesome....I wouldn't say scary, but you feel the power of Nature deep in your gut. A bargain at $14, especially as famous must-see tourist attractions go. Near Toronto my wife's uncle took us to dim sum at the Ambassador in Richmod Hill. Outstanding stuff...we eat dim sum regularly at various spots in the San Francisco area and this competed with anything we've had there. A couple of days later we had a family reunion banquet at the Skyland Shanghai restaurant in Scarborough. Great traditional fare; I don't always go for Shanghai standards like eel and cold ham jelly, but this stuff was top notch and suited my Western palate well, while my wife vouched for the authenticity. More good fresh (and inexpensive) Chinese food at the Pacific Mall in Scarborough. There's a little noodle shop up on the second floor where they guy pulls the noodles by hand, the old fashioned way, and drops them in the pot right in front of you. The Shark's Fin House across the food court from the noodle guy has much-better-than-average roast pork. Also of note at Pacific Mall is the Chan Chi Kee knife shop, right near the north entrance. These are the real Hong Kong made Chinese cleavers that pro chefs and knife enthusiasts covet. Prices are only ok, not good enough for me to buy anything (wasn't looking forward to crossing the border back to the US with a suitcase full of sharp steel!) but the selection of styles and weights is awesome and the shop is worth a special trip for anyone interested in authentic Chinese kitchenware. I'd made reservations at Colborne Lane but had to cancel due to conflicting plans. Had brunch at The Garden just east of St. Lawrence Market; brie-stuffed French toast was very, very good. And I got my peameal bacon sandwich at the market the day we left - with onions, hot peppers and honey mustard. Paddington's I think the place is called. Great stuff, reminds me a little of South Jersey's Taylor Ham (which coming from this old Jersey boy means I liked it). Thanks again for the tips! Already looking forward to our next visit, will make time for Indian and maybe Portuguese food!

My wife and I are going to be in the Toronto/Niagra area for 4-5 days around May 9. We may get up to Kingston and Thousand Lakes, too. Neither of us have ever been to the area. I've read through the forum here for tips on restaurants and found some interesting spots. But on a more basic level....what should we look for to get a taste of "authentic" Toronto? My impression is that the city has grown into an urbane cosmopolitan metropolis, and there's no shortage of fine places to sample world cuisine. Is there any kind of fare that Torontans (if that's a word) call their own, like St Louis BBQ, San Francisco cioppino, or Brooklyn pizza? How about ingredients we might not be able to get in the US due to food laws or local availability? Any special wine varietals we should really check out, that might not be available in our home base of Northern California? Any markets worth making a special trip to, this time of year? Thanks! Any other tips - food-related or otherwise - for first-time visitors who eschew tour buses and like to get off the beaten path would be appreciated!

Joe's Shanghai sounds familiar....picture is not exactly what I remember but it was 12-13 years ago. Thanks everybody!

Several years ago my wife and I visited her dad in NY. He took us to a great restaurant in Chinatown known for its Shanghai-style dumplings. They really were great, best we've ever had outside China! A couple of years later we returned, after he'd passed, and tried to find the place again but could not. IIRC it was off Mott St, on a side street to the East, but I could be wrong. It was a medium-sized place, 25 tables maybe, the walls decorated with many pictures of celebrities and dignitaries. It was known for the dumplings especially. Any pointers? If this place isn't around anymore, where would you all say are the best Shanghai dumplings in NYC? Thanks!!

Interesting buildup theory. In any case, it sounds like nothing to worry about healthwise. I use the ScotchBrite pads (the thin green ones. which have a "woolly" texture) on anodized pans with good results. For stubborn stains Ajax or Barkeepers Friend gives added oomph. These pans are pretty tough, steel utensils are no problem. Just whatever you do, don't use oven cleaner!!! (Speaking from experience)

Thanks again! Yes, I have pounded a number of thick aluminum pans into shape with a rubber mallet. The saute was the only one of the anodized pans I use at home that's needed it, but at our firehouse I've had to reshape a couple of big 14" plain aluminum skillets more than once. I set them rim-down on a sturdy workbench with a layer of newspaper in between, and start poundin'. Note that hearing protection is highly recommended!

Thanks for the replies. So far nobody's come up with the "right" answer, which would be "That pan is deadly! You must, must run out immediately and replace it with Falk copperware!" Note that any such answers should be cc'd to my wife. Joking aside, I wanted to put in a positive word for Calphalon. We have a bunch of it and it's really held up well in our home kitchen. This particular piece, as I mentioned in my first post, was really abused in that is was allowed to boil almost dry over high heat. But it didn't warp or burn. Some of our oldest pieces, like the 12" skillet, 4 qt chef's pan, and 4.5qt saucepan which all go back to the late 90s, get used several times a week and can still be made to look almost like-new with a little Barkeeper's friend and elbow grease. I did have a 5-qt saute warp once, bulging down in the center so that it wobbled badly, but even that was restored to usability with the aid of a rubber mallet. Good anodized aluminum cooks great too, searing better than Le Creuset or the mid-priced stainless pans we've tried, making good fond while being nonreactive... Don't want to turn this into a Calphalon commercial, just to make clear that this one story of premature wear was not meant as a bash of the product overall.

I have a 8.5qt Calphalon Commercial stew pot. It's about 11" wide by 5" high; they may call it a dutch oven. It's not nonstick, and has the same hard-anodized finish inside and out. I've noticed the anodization on the inside bottom is starting to break down. The dull gray is turning into interesting irridescent swirls. No bare aluminum showing yet, but some of the anodization is yellowish and I think getting thin and/or soft. I tried to take some pics but with my limited skills, none of my shots look anything like the reality. The pot's a few years old but I think most of this damage happened one time when it got a little overheated while being used with a steamer insert, almost boiled dry. Anybody think there's any health risk to continuing to use this pan? I use it mostly for acidic dishes like cioppino, chili, and coq au vin, and I've heard that long-simmering acidic dishes in bare aluminum is a no-no. Edit: if I do replace the pot, what do people think of the newer Calphlon One Infused (not nonstick)? From what I read this product (even the non-nonstick) has plastic integrated into the finish and I wonder about using it over high heat for browning. All-Clad MC2 a better choice? I have a Le Creuset cocotte near this size also, but the Calphalon browns much better (and I expect the AC would too).

A bump to recommend Mayflower on Geary (near 27th Ave) as the best Cantonese-style dimu sum in SF. Yank Sing is very good, but Mayflower is more like what we've had in Hong Kong. Koi Palace is ok but has gone downhill from past years, certainly not worth leaving the city, and the restaurant is getting a little worn - last time we were there there was a noticeable sour smell rising from the carpet. If you're on the Peninsula, Hong Kong Flower Lounge and even the venerable Fook Yuen in San Mateo are better bets.

Thanks for the tips! And sorry about the offensive language, Indian, Vietnamese, and March Moderne....sounds like enough variety to make a very interesting weekend! My wife has already informed me that we'll be spending Sunday at South Coast Plaza so will try to arrange MM for that evening. Hope there's a sports bar there too, ideally located between Chanel and Ferragamo....