trillium

Put in some lemon juice and you'd probably have a pretty good-tasting New Orleans Sour, but it's sure not a Manhattan. As to the cherry question posed by others above... I've always preferred an orange twist myself. To me, the cherry only makes sense if the drink's going to be sweeter than I prefer it. Pretty soon you won't be able to order a Manhattan and actually get one...just like martinis! Sometimes I wonder why people bother giving something specific a proper name at all.... regards, trillium

I think one of the best things at Burgerville is served at breakfast, the egg and bacon/ham/sausage sandwich. The egg is cooked to order, sprinkled with pepper while it cooks and tastes like a real egg (at least at the one we go to) and I always pay the extra 40 cents to have a slice of Tillamook included. I think another dollar gets you the yucky food service hashbrown thingy and yummy glass of odwalla orange juice. regards, trillium

I hesitate to suggest that you try again since you had such an awful experience the first time, but the restaurant and food you're describing don't seem like the same ones I experienced, right down to the pickles. We had a handful of cornichons on our pate, probably at least 5 or 6 and that was the small plate. If I had been in your shoes, I'd have asked for more if I wanted them. As for Nick's comments, I loved the potato terrine, so I'm not sure whether or not to chalk it up to different tastes or inconsistency. I guess I'll just have to go back. I loved the clams, and liked the country style terrine. I think I'm in general agreement that the vegetables are not the most exciting part of the meal, but I wouldn't say they're "bad". I'd say they were done in a classic style I don't always care for. It's not like he threw them out on the road to be run over, and then tossed them on your plate or anything. They're cooked in a very particular way. Ever actually cooked a vegetable following instructions out of early Julia Childs? That's what these reminded me of, except he (John) uses rice wine vinegar in the poaching liquid because he thinks it makes them more compatible with wine then dressing them with wine vinegar afterwards. I like greens and big green beans ooked low and slow, but like I said in my first post, I like asparagus done crunchy and green. As for the whole clubhouse/highschool vibe I didn't pick up on that. It seemed relaxed and cozy to me. Our waitperson was great, she helped pick the exact wine I was in the mood for and brought me some chocolate to nibble while we finished it up at the end of dinner. What's not to like about free chocolate? I did see was a group of regulars having their weekly "family-style" dinner cooked for them and John come over to the table and had them share what they were eating with a couple who were also sitting at the communal table because he didn't want them to feel left out. There was a group of women eating who were obviously not what my southern friend calls "urban types" and when he came over to talk to them they told him how they don't like the tortilla (the Spanish sort) to be served cold, they thought it would be better hot. I thought he was pretty gracious about explaining why it was served cold, but I guess that's because I'm not always gracious when I think someone is being a Philistine about culinary matters. I guess this just leaves more room at the tables for me and mine, huh? regards, trillium

Cha Ba isn't offering betel leaves with the miang kum any more, just spinach... too bad. What I'd nearly kill for is some pan with betel nuts...sigh. regards, trillium

It's well and good to have a diversity of opinion about restaurants, but arguing that if someone disagrees with you they must be too stupid to know any better is not only illogical, it's just insulting. I'm not sure at all where you're getting the intimidation part, surely everyone is adult enough to realize that tastes vary. I certainly didn't feel intimidated, why else would I tell the chef he could be making better cornichons then the ones he was serving? This is a pretty big town, and I don't think it's a zero sum game when it comes to restaurant survival. I'm trying to read your point in between the sarcasm, and I believe you're saying that you didn't like the braised vegetable you tried or the pumpkin fritters. The braised vegetables taste like something I make at home all winter. Being that it tastes like something I cook, I don't think it is a bad dish, just not something I'd go out of my way to order in a restaurant. Like I said before, I thought the vegetables were the weak point. I didn't try the pumpkin fritters, so I can't comment. I'm not sure what exactly your point is about the terrine and cornichons. Would you care to elaborate? regards, trillium

Big as oppossed to small. You can order two different sizes, I was referring to the size of the plate we ordered. I understand some people that participate here are not that crazy about Navarre. I and my partner were, but I can understand that it isn't what everyone is looking for when they go out to eat. Taste is pretty subjective. I like simple dishes made with quality ingredients, and if you're drinking wine at a serious wine place, I like that fact to be taken into consideration with respect to the seasonings. The razor clams with filberts would have knocked my socks off, had I been wearing them. regards, trillium

We had a special occasion to celebrate last Tuesday and ended up at Navarre. It totally fit the bill for what I was in the mood for, both in terms of atmosphere, drink and food. I really like the space and the fact I could see what was happening in the kitchen. We had a big plate of razor clams in a pool of clarified butter sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts that was out of this world good and the chunks of Ken's bread to sop up the clam flavoured butter that was left on the plate was almost better then the clams themselves. The big plate braised cauliflower greens tasted exactly like my greens at home, which is ok I guess. I needed some vegetable matter, and I appreciated the lack of fat in the greens, since other things were so rich. I'm not sure that the amount you get is in line with the price you pay on this one though. I thought the vegetables were the weakest part of dinner. We had also ordered a big plate of wild asparagus and they came out cooked much longer then I would have done (not bright green anymore) and covered in Gruyere cheese. The cheese completely overpowered the taste and while this may be a traditional way to eat asparagus, it is certainly not my favourite. I would have like less cheese and more vegetable, and them to still be green. We also had a small plate of the country-style terrine (had to compare it to what I made, you know) with prunes. I wasn't sure I would like this because I'm not a fruit and meat person, but I did like it. It was very crumbly and should have been weighed down for longer, but the seasonings were right on. It was much coarser cut then what we did, so you got more distinct bites of the different meats. We ended up talking to John, the owner and cook that night, for a while (ok, I was telling him he'd be better off making is own cornichons then serving what he had, even it they were from France), and he said he'd tried it out with boar meat, which is why he thought it was crumbly. The small plate of terrine of potato and ham was savoury and delicious. Thinly (very thinly) sliced potatoes with 3 layers of thinly sliced good quality ham (I think it was crudo stuff from Italy or Spain). It got sliced and then grilled to be warmed up. A really good dish to nibble while you're drinking wine. I thought these two plates were bargains for what you got. The wine list was overwhelming so we asked our server for help. She helped me choose something that was exactly what I was picturing when I told her what I was in the mood for. I would happily go back the next time the pocket book could take it. regards, trillium

I just went to Cha Ba Thai for the second time this weekend, and I thought I'd revive this thread to put my two cents out there. Cha Ba is the first Thai restaurant in Portland I went back to a second time of my own free will, which is saying something. It's not what I'd consider the perfect Thai restaurant by any means, but it is a place I don't mind going to and I'd go again. The first time we went I was really excited to taste their house made curries and see how they compared to ours. Imagine my disappointment when I walked past the open kitchen door and saw shelves of tubs of Mae Ploy pastes lining the kitchen. So I don't think they're making the pastes themselves, or at least not all of them, but they are using them as a base to take off from, and not just as the sole seasoning. Hey, that's ok, I do that at home sometimes too. I think the standouts last time were the crispy duck, the choo chee catfish and the salads. I'm not a normal catfish eater, but I really enjoyed the prep of deep fried catfish pieces with the choo chee style curry (imagine a very thick red curry with extra gra chai flavor to complement the fish). Their weakness is the service, the person taking your order isn't always on top of things, the first time were were there with a large group they forgot a couple of dishes, but that kind of thing doesn't usually keep my away from a place. This weekend it was just me, my mum and partner, so we could order things that sometimes scare off people who don't like their food to have a face. The fish cakes were tasty, not too much flour to dilute the fish in the batter, so they were still nice and soft. They use good quality seafood in their salads and I like how they use mesclun as a substitute for the gathered greens that would normally go in these. Their salads are seasoned the way I like, with plenty of lime juice and enough fish sauce so you can smell it. I found the po pia ok, but not something I'd order again. The bright yellow and overly sweet and gooey sauce they doused them in was a disappointment and the lap cheung kind of overpowered everything else that was inside them. The po pia wrappers seemed king of stale too. They have a new spring menu (betel leaves have been replaced by spinach it seems) and I ordered the dish I always, always order out because it's so much bother to make at home. A whole fish, deep fried until the it's crispy, very crispy, so that you can eat the fins and bones crispy, and then doused in a hot, sweet and sour sauce redolent of tamarind, shallot, fish sauce, garlic and chillies (Bplah Rad Prik). Their version was very respectable, and an incredible deal at 13.50. The sauce had everything food processed so you couldn't see the individual components and that isn't my favorite way, but it was still pretty good. It was sweeter and less hot then we like, but that is the new fashioned way to do it, so next time we'll just ask for less sweet and see what happens. We picked away at this for a long time but still ended up taking some home to eat the next day. regards, trillium

I don't go to Mexican-American places so I can't comment on that part, but I will say that from my point of view I wouldn't call this a cheap place, but I don't think the prices are at all unreasonable for what you get on your plate. Those tortillas were great and they're what will get me to go back. regards, trillium

We went to Nuestra Cocina on Thursday night after I dutifully sat through a showing of "Enter the Dragon" at Clinton St. Theater (somehow the restored print didn't make the movie any less cheesy, it just meant you could see the makeup on the actors more clearly...I'm owed one depressing French flick for having sat through that without complaining). Our waitperson was not my favorite, the kind that tells you everything is really really good no matter what you say or order, I like someone a little more opinionated and less mothery. Anyway, I had the caldo de albondigas and the partner had the gorditas and a generous pour of tempranillo. The tortillas and salsa they bring to your table are quite good. I really liked both salsas. I found it strange to have them as a pre-dinner munchy, I prefer to have plenty of steamed tortillas with what I'm eating, but that's just me. The soup was disappointing, it had a tinned taste, maybe from canned tomatoes or stock? I don't know. The mint layed over the meatballs was a nice touch, but I wish the menu had a better description of the dish then just soup with mint and meatballs (or something like that). If I had known it was going to come with as many big chunks of carrots as meatballs I might not have ordered it because I'm not a cooked carrot fan. I also missed the dishes of oregano, lime, cilantro and chilli that I'm used to getting when I order these dinner soup dishes in other places (both high and low end spots). The gorditas were better, stuffed with avacado, black beans and a little fresh cheese, but they were very bland without the salsa. I have hopes for this place, and I'll certainly go back and give it another try. The salsa and fresh tortillas were very good, so maybe we just ordered the wrong stuff. regards, trillium

I think the pizza is much tastier at Hot Lips and you don't get that fake New York attitude from the owner. Plus, they use local, seasonal stuff on their specials pizze and have some really good homemade soups. I had dinner at Buckman Bistro this weekend, and I have to say that I think their breakfasts are better, not that the dinner was horrible. I had a really savory and solid duck confit hash with farm eggs and the partner had the best eggs benedict in town when we went for breakfast. If I was going to make a special trip before they closed I'd go for breakfast/brunch not dinner. Dinner this weekend was 4 people and we had bread and butter (for 2 bucks I don't want the butter whipped...but I hate whipped butter), seared scallops, escargot, salad, gnocchi with lamb sausage, leeks and cream, the Juniper cheese plate and the burger and fried fingerling potatoes and a bottle of wine. The cheese plate, burger and scallops were the best, it's hard to screw up red meat on brioche and the scallops were perfectly done and complemented the salad they came with. The gnocchi was the most disappointing, heavy and gummy and the lamb sausage was under-seasoned and bland. The salad was a plate of good baby lettuces and a light vinaigrette but I expect a little more for $7, at least some hazelnuts or something. The lemon lavender tarte was a great idea but tough and gummy, the warm chocolate cake was warm chocolate cake, and the creme brulee was perfect and the best of the lot. regards, trillium

Not just a flavor...some of the actual receptors responsible for triggering the umami taste are cloned too. In general, anything preserved as plenty of free glutamates in it. Glutamate is a fairly abundant amino acid in most proteins, and when the foodstuff is preserved, proteins tend to break down and give off free glutamate. We know preserved meats (salami, hams etc) and aged cheeses have tons of free glutamates, so do dried mushrooms, soya and fish sauces, anchovies, etc., I'm guessing olives are pretty high too. I like garnishing martinis made with fairly strong gin and a generous amount of vermouth with Spanish anchovy stuffed olives, so if I want umami, I'd go that route instead of just dumping in some MSG. regards, trillium

In effect. The tea is a varietal, I'm pretty sure that you can get Ceylon tea not grown on the island (not entirely sure, though). Ceylon tea isn't really a varietal, all teas are from camellia sinensis and if they're not, then they're not tea, they're herbs, and they make tisanes, not tea when you brew them. The differences in tea arise from the location they're grown and how they're fermented/oxidized after being picked. I don't see why it is surprising that we have colonial holdovers in the names of things but less for people. It's the same when it comes to Oriental. We still have rugs, but in the US anyway, it's considered offensive to call a person as such. I think it's reasonable, after all, I don't call myself Occidental. Tea and rugs are usually lower on the priority list. regards, trillium

I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about Suzanne's visit..but thanks. I had plans for the 20th before you guys decided on that date, but I'll most likely be up for the next one! regards, trillium

Not every person has an ethnic Chinese family member full of their own biases/traditions cooking in the kitchen. For many people interested in learning about a cuisine different from their own an ideal cookbook gives some background and context to the dishes it sets out recipes for. Food is a very personal area, and for many, a good cookbook not only contains recipes but explains the culinary point of reference of the author. I'm curious, we know you do a lot of eating, but do you do any cooking? I don't mean that in a sarcastic way, just that if your view towards a good cookbook might change in different circumstances. regards, trillium

You're of course entitled to your opinion (who isn't, right?), but I personally don't consider it to be a good cookbook for classic Chinese food or even the best book out there for background, "color" or pantry decisions (her first book is a different story). And really, it has nothing to do with being afraid of making my own sauce or chilli oil, c'mon, that's nearly insulting! I ate at Barbara Tropp's China Moon restaurant in SF when it was still there. It was for the most part good food, but it wasn't really what I'd define as basic/classic Chinese food, I'd define it more as good fusion food...ginger ice cream and hot chocolate sauce...yum. It's great that you like it and that it is encouraging you to explore Chinese cookery, but that doesn't mean that other people's evaluations of the book are misguided or that they need to be scolded. And for the record, I'm not a huge fan of the Wei Chuan books either, but I put that down as a regional bias, not that the books themselves stink. regards, trillium

I love shrimp or other shellfish that are cooked in their shells. You don't lose so much flavor that way...messy yes, but tastier. I think it's an approach to shellfish that doesn't get used enough in mainstream American cooking, but does get used to a good effect by culinary traditions in Asia, Europe and Latin America. I can think of a few exceptions in the US, like Louisiana, but for the most part, it's hard to even find a shrimp with the head left on! Let me know if eGullet/hound people decide to do something, I'm game. It'd be nice to know ahead of time, instead of after the fact (hint...hint). regards, trillium

I actually like to make all my stocks stove top vs. pressure cooker... I find the pressure cooker extracts too many undesirable flavors that can overwhelm the stock. This could be because most of the chicken stock I make gets used in Chinese/SE Asian cookery where you want a nice clear, light, chicken "essence" sort of thing. Hard to do in the pressure cooker! We mainly use the pressure cooker for things like dals, risotti and artichokes, along with a few meat dishes where you don't lose much flavor. It's also useful for beans that we don't buy locally (which are fresh and tender for a dried bean). A book I found more helpful then the Sass books (not that they weren't helpful) was actually Tom Lacalamita's. His style of cooking was more similiar to mine and I really appreciated the charts with times for veggies, and the advice on how much water to add to things. regards, trillium

Many states have different regs for wine and beer vs. the hard stuff, so if a place is selling beer they can sell Shao sing. That being said, I've found non-salted, high quality Shao sing at places that aren't selling any other obvious alcohol and have the bottles lined up with the cooking stuff. Basically I just buy it and don't ask questions, since I don't want to get anyone in trouble. The best stuff I ever bought was aged for 14 years and was from Taiwan. It was a much darker brown then I was used to seeing. Boy was I sad to see that bottle go. Maybe I get carried away when I splash the wine in during stir-fries, I hardly ever measure (except when I was writing down notes for the eGullet class), but I once made some clams with black bean sauce that were inedible due to how salty they were. The only difference was that I was using cooking Shao sing not the straight stuff I was used to. I respectfully disagree that anything with alcohol in it can substitute for Shao sing, I use it for the flavor it imparts not the ethanol it adds to the dish. That being said, I completely concur that one can make very tasty food with other liquor types. We make a very tasty beef stir-fry that has brandy sloshed into the pan and it's great...but it doesn't taste the same as if you'd added Shao sing. regards, trillium

Are you trying the same times and liquids for the different types of risotti? If they turn out mushy and overdone, then you may want to cook them for less time. regards, trillium

It's funny about jojos. They made a huge impression on my partner when he came home (rural PNW) with me for the first time 10 years ago. While he misses Chicago hotdogs, the lack is nearly compensated by the plethora of places to buy jojos. We don't have the abundent street food that his native Singapore has, but by gum, we have jojos. Recently we had people visit us from Chicago by way of Bombay. They liked Wildwood a lot and the gorge was great, but what one of them especially really loved were the jojos and ranch dressing. regards, trillium

I do it all the time, because I like having risotti dishes as part of the weekday repertoire. Here is a recipe from Lorna Sass. You can experiment and add things like peas or asparagus at the end when it's not under pressure. I mostly just started with the liquid:rice ratios from that recipe and took it from there. And be sure to pay attention to what sort of rice you're using, she give guidelines for arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano. regards, trillium

Yeah, that's the bottle. Why the hell is it $80 a pop now?? I have an unopened bottle in the closet that I know I paid around $30 for. Did it stop being imported into the US? And I thought you could find anything in your fair city (including contraband peppercorns!). regards, trillium

I wasn't expecting gourmet, but their prices fall on the high side of what I think of when I think bar food. I speak as someone whose partner insists on going to any bar that advertises great/best chicken and jojos because "it's a cultural experience". Ah well, it's still good to know there is grease and starch available near by for those wee-hour-of-the-morning cravings. And I'm glad to I can spot trendy and bland from the sidewalk (La Cruda). regards, trillium

My favorite every day amari is Amaro Lucano. I didn't care for the Antico Amaro di Serravalle I bought, I found it too sweet and not bitter enough. I'm blanking on the name, but there is a bottle that is short and round with blue flowers on the label that I also enjoyed. regards, trillium