Chris Hennes

OK, on my calendar, we'll be there. We'll probably stay at one of the Marriott properties adjacent to Reading Terminal Market: hard to beat that location. The Marriott, Courtyard, and Residence Inn are all within a block. I'm sure there are plenty of others as well.

I dined at Sepia a few evenings ago and enjoyed myself: although the food was not terribly inspiring, the cocktails were very well-made and there were some interesting selections on the menu. Food-wise I had the charcuterie plate and a flank steak with béarnaise. Neither was remarkable, though the pâté had an interesting seasoning to it. The steak was good but not great, and the béarnaise a little thin and a little cool for my tastes. Frankly, next time I'd probably skip the entrees entirely and just enjoy the charcuterie and a few cocktails. I was dining in the lounge: service was slow but not unbearably so, and was otherwise polite and unobtrusive. I was a little miffed when our waiter took away the cocktail menu after we ordered one round, but she returned it promptly when asked.

I'm OK with either those dates or the previous weekend (Aug 2-5).

This topic has been dormant for a while, but I had a good meal at Blackbird the other evening, so I can attest that they are still worth visiting. One comment I have in particular, is that in a few other topics the noise level has been mentioned as a problem: to be honest, my wife and I had a bigger problem with the place when it was quiet (6:30pm reservation): the tables are fairly close together (sort of bistro-style) and when it's quiet you can hear the people next to you quite clearly. However, by 7pm every table was full, and as the noise level rose so did the level of privacy, even seated very close to other tables. I suspect it's not a great place to dine with a party of more than two, but for the two of us the noise was not a problem at all, and in fact afforded more of a feeling of privacy than I typically feel in a large, well-spaced but hushed dining room.

I wound up meeting the incomparable ronnie_suburban for burgers at Owen & Engine: aside from the excellent company, the burger there was stellar, easily among the best I've ever had. Well-seasoned, beefy, juicy, with a fantastic onion jam and cheddar cheese, on a toasted, buttered bun. My only complaint is that the burger I got was closer to medium than to the medium-rare I asked for: nevertheless, even at medium it was fabulous. I can't tell you whether it's the best burger in Chicago, but it's a hell of a burger. The previous day I had a burger at Revolution Brewing, which was quite competent: I had the farm burger, which is served with baby spinach, roasted beet, horseradish cream, and an egg: nice combination, I thought it complemented the beef without overwhelming it. The day before that I had a very poor burger at Fox & Obel. Ron says they're on the way out, and I certainly believe it based on this lame specimen of overcooked, under-seasoned beef on a badly-textured roll. I know they're not known for their burgers, but to serve one this bad? Take it off the menu, folks.

Does anyone have any suggestions for burgers worth seeking out in Chicago? It doesn't have to be The Best™ (whatever that might mean)—just a great burger. Bonus points for being downtown or easy access from the L.

Can anyone comment on attire at Tei-An? I'll be there for dinner tomorrow evening: am I going to be the only guy in a tie?

Out of curiosity, what was your objection to the Big Kahuna? (I'm biased, of course, since that's what I have, but it's got plenty of power for my needs)

We're not discussing Pasteurization here (yet): that's simply a separate temperature table that you need to look up, telling you how long to hold to achieve the desired reduction in bacteria. We're only discussing texture at this point, not food safety. In my opinion, pork chops do not require any additional time beyond that required to come up to temperature: I don't care for the texture if held too long. When I make them I bring to temp and sear/serve immediately. YMMV, of course.

Setting the water bath slightly above your target core temp (MC recommends 1°C/2°F I believe) gets you to temp much faster, since the process is asymptotic, with virtually no noticeable defects for most items.

So all you need to do is bring them to temperature: for 1.5" thick you probably want to set your water temp to 1° higher than your target temp following the recommendations of the Modernist Cuisine team. Then, assuming it is starting at 40°F, so needs to increase 95°F, it will take 1.5 hours.

Do you have food safety concerns, or are you just trying to bring them to temp?

After the festivities with family Christmas day I'll be in Center City, probably in search of a drink and some more food. Who's open that evening?

Well, I'm staying in Coral Gables, but I'll have a car and time to burn, so I don't really care where the restaurant is.

I've got a few lunches free on an upcoming trip to Miami: any suggestions for casual dining venues? Bonus points for places I won't be too out of place by myself.

I'd complain: but to Corporate, not to the franchise. Your local franchise is clearly at fault here. Obviously you may still not like the burger, but not hot, not on a toasted bun, not asking your preference of sides? That's just a crappy manager.

I find that's true of most, if not all, olives.

I like Picholine.

It's an art, no doubt about it: it's all about knowing your own cookware and your own stove, no recipe can teach that to you. Practice, practice, practice. Fortunately, the results are (usually) edible! On my stove I sear the meat on a heat setting of 8, being careful to only move the pieces when they are fully seared on the pan side; then I reduce the heat to three and actually pull the pan off the heat entirely when I dump in the onions. Lid on off the heat for a couple minutes, then slide back on the heat and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond. Timing is everything here.

I wonder what his definition of "satisfactory" browned onions is... I do it all the time in my Le Creuset and have been happy with the results.

Yeah, or just deglaze and save off that liquid prior to the veg sauté, as Janet suggests.

I do the same as Janet, though sometimes I try reducing the heat way down and closing the lid to get the veg to sweat some, if the fond is borderline.

No: it's a relatively pure lard at the top, and a combination of water, gelatin, and other porky bits at the bottom (with very little fat). The lard in this case should be quite white when solid, and have a relatively mild flavor.

Why are you concerned about this? I would certainly never describe it as a "problem"—depending on the rendering method and specific fatty cuts chosen there will be more or less "stuff" along with the fat. When you render on the stovetop you almost always boil the water component off and are simply left with crispy bits that have effectively fried in the now-rendered lard. If you render in a sealed vessel (say, via sous vide), none of the water boils off and you are left with a liquid layer and a fat layer. This isn't "wrong" or "bad" and it doesn't affect the quality of the rendered lard (except that allowing the little bits to brown gives a roasted-pork flavor to what is otherwise a relatively mild fat).

The point of "rendering" is to separate out the pure fat from the matrix it resides in in the animal: that's the matrix. The collagen and other meaty bits that the fat was suspended in. It's flavorful and completely edible, but not exactly stock, per se.