sygyzy

Thanks for surprising me. I was expecting spam!

I know this is a strange topic or idea to even suggest, but this has happened to me twice in the past 3 months and it really concerns me. I dined at Minibar D.C. with a female companion. We had identical dishes, except she avoided the oysters and had watermelon substituted instead. This was dinner time and she spent the entire night curled on the floor, violently ill. This past weekend, a different female dining companion. Marinus in Carmel, CA. Violently ill, vomiting, the whole works the next morning. Again, same food. Neither are vegetarians so it's not a case of them ODing on protein or iron or anything. They had identical dishes as I did, with the exception of watermelon instead of oysters and swordfish instead of beef. Both are young and very fit/active and otherwise healthy. They also rarely/never eat at fine dining establishments. Needless to say, these meals were new/big deals to them. What is the problem here? Food poisoning for both, it seems but neither I or anyone else got sick at the meals. Is it the amount of courses? What gives?

Can you explain what you mean by this? Wynn, the owner of many hotels and resorts, used to own specifically the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio? Who own's the Bellagio? I assume it's the same person that owns all the restaurants inside the resort. And the restaurant itself, is worth BILLIONS? ← Steve Wynn originally was responsible for building Bellagio. Mr. Wynn then sold Bellagio (that's worth billions) to MGM/Mirage. Since then, he has opened Wynn Resort and about two to three weeks ago, Encore Resort, where I'll be staying in a couple of weeks and trying to dine at all five Encore restaurants. I hope this helps. ← Ah, yes, that certainly helps. I was just at Encore for New Year's. I know you are dinign at all five, but their Cafe was super nice. The service was almost 1 star to me, even though it's just a cafe!

Can you explain what you mean by this? Wynn, the owner of many hotels and resorts, used to own specifically the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio? Who own's the Bellagio? I assume it's the same person that owns all the restaurants inside the resort. And the restaurant itself, is worth BILLIONS?

Sorry for not understanding you correctly. I wish they would sell more consumer/home friendly sizes. I need to buy a gallon of the concentrate, then dilute it 1:4 with water and store that into separate containers then when i want to use it, I need to fill a spray bottle of the stuff. If I am just spraying down surfaces instead of filling a sink with this stuff, it'll be 50 years before I use it all.

Thank you, I just emailed them! So far most places are charging $50+

Hi, I am from the West Coast but would like to order cupcakes for delivery to Warrenville, which I believe is near Chicago. Can anyone local recommend a store that makes delicious cupcakes and does not charge an arm and a leg for delivery? I found one place that ships next day air Fed Ex for $150. No thank you.

Picked up a Sausage Maker one, same brand as Alinea. I am excited to start using it.

It says 1 oz per 5.5 gallons. 5.5 gallons is 704 oz. 16/704 = 0.0227 oz is the proper dilution rate. Unless my math is wrong (could very well be). Wouldn't a capful be overkill? Also, is this entirely safe to eat? I mean could you spray down knives and cutting boards and not rinse them off? I am extremely interested in this but this is all new to me so I appreciate your help.

This is great if you can figure out how to measure out 0.0227 oz for your 16 oz spray bottles.

I have not read through the thread but my apartment (West Coast, So Cal) suffers from these. First, we do a thorough cleaning and throw away any grains that are "infected" Then we clear out the pantry and spray this industrial strength bug killer (I can provide name if needed) into all the crevices and shelves. Then we wipe it down, so it's dry, also picking up carcasses and eggs, lots of eggs and webbing (cocoon). Then we put out these sticky traps with a pink little tab of bait. We put this on the top of the fridge out of sight. This usually clears them out save for a few lingering ones.

Costco does currently sell a FoodSaver model that handles liquids, so that particular point is moot. ← As far as I know, there are NO models of Foodsavers that properly handle liquid.

Good point. I will "stick" to buying the cheaper stuff. Well ok I lied. Not too cheap. I just picked up a Calphalon One.

Holy smokes, look at that price!

You guys must live in fungus heaven because you simply cannot find chanterelle's anywhere around here so 1 lb / $8.99 is a bargain for me. Around here (Santa Barbara, CA), the only mushrooms you can find fresh (not dried) are shitake and button. SO LAME.

Since it doesn't seem like Calphalon Commercial exists anymore (now called One?), is the One still a good deal? What is a good brand/model to look at for 8, 10, 12 inch non-stick fry pans? Also, is an omlette fry pan the same thing as a fry pan? Thanks. [Moderator note: The original Q&A - Understanding Stovetop Cookware topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the following part of this discussion is here: Q&A - Understanding Stovetop Cookware (2009-)]

For non-stick pans, is it worth buying All-Clad or is stuff from lesser brands (Calphalon) good?

I have been waiting over a year but yesterday I was able to pickup a pack of Chanterelles from Costco. It was the last one too and I don't expect to see anymore either

I was checking out Under Pressure last night and I was reminded that my Foodsaver is not the ideal vacuum sealer, especially when it comes to pressure. It certainly cannot compress foods (ie melons) and is not good at all with liquids. I bought and have used it a few times for SV but I would be lying if I said it was a vacuum was strong and the food was packed. With that said, I can't afford an Ultravac machine. Is there something more in the middle? Preferably < $400 and readily available?

My roomate moved out and took her stand mixer!!! Is the KA 5 Pro still the standard here? My counter is empty without one.

What does the "first moment" reservations refer to?

Busboy - Thanks for your tips. The one place I ended up not going to was Central. My companion was burnt out on "fine dining". We had Pizzeria Paradiso instead. Definitely will go to Central next time!

Will be there tomorrow night, second seating. Any eGulleters joining me?

Hi, Will be in DC 10/2-10/6. The only time we can do Central is Sunday evening but according to Open Table, the only spots near 6PM are 530 and 7:30. Due to the logistics (full day at museums, hotel near Dupont ... too far to go back to, no place to kill time since museums close at 530), does anyone know if a walk-in will be doable? Sorry if my question is confusing!

It's already Sept 25, has anyone emailed yet?