byron

Colossal crab meat @ $20 + a pound wholesale, may make four jumbos, not hard to figure why they are expensive. Delicate and regional, mostly misunderstood by the public, crab cakes are elegant in delivery and simplistic and pure by nature, especially when kissed by lemon & old style butter. Sauces and chutneys on the side please and pass the champagne!

Since you are in town try one of the most copied dishes on earth, whipped herb butter sauce with steak and french fries at The Café de Paris! Make sure to check out the area first for cigar smokers, unless you are one yourself! Have fun! byron

Congrats Chris, nice to see that intelligent "new blood" is being injected into The FN and best of luck to you! I've always enjoyed reading your observations. Melrose,Florida awaits you.

I am always amazed how regional/romatic raclette is in Switzerland and yet when I melt it in Florida it smells like old gym shoes. I've finally resigned myself to do it outside.

We serve 5 different styles of "fried" rolls that are rotated out every two months based on popularity. They all represent different textures with different types of fish/crawfish/shrimp for every pallet and they are fun. It's been a great "starter" for people that would never try sushi and some of the rolls have really taken on a personality of their own -fried jalapeno strips & fried select oysters wrapped in fresh avocado are addictive. Too much Toro is not good for you!

Give Melrose a shot - two art galleries and Blue Water Bay 5 miles east of 301.(wwwthebluewaterbay.com) In Gainesville try The Soverign, a Euro Classic!!

Our growing friends from Idaho say foil is used after cooking, if at all. I have found that using large potatoes, 40 count to a box, around one pound each, seems to work out best texture and flavor.

Are these available in PA? ← I'm in Florida but will be happy to share!

The Henschke selections are OUTSTANDING!!

To MY TASTE, The Vasse Felix 01 Cabernet is a good wine, not the strength of the 02 or 03 vintage, but reasonable. Your pice range would include one of my favorite shiraz producers, Hazyblur Cabernet 2002 a blockbuster!!! Another possibly less expensive, but great drinking Aussie Cabernet would be the Marquis Philips S2 for 2001-2002, the 2003 have just been released. Compare these to some California Cabernets at twice the price. Happy hunting and tasting

Good instincts Neil!! When big boys like Ridge show up discounted it pays to be well read and make sure you like the taste. The reason these "labels" show up in different stores is that the wine was probably not strong enough to sell out in the wine stores and restaurants. The trade is well aware when a $50 bottle of wine that tastes like a $15 bottle and sometimes the consumer will remember the name and not be quite so informed about the vintage. My personal "find" of the week - Three Rings Shiraz 2004, versatile and reasonable for under $25. Should hold well and will please many different palates with a big Australian fruit bomb taste. I constantly find value and huge flavor from the aussie factor. Anyone else with recomendations under $25? Saint Paul, the Apostle " Drink no longer Water but use a little Wine for thy Stomach's sake and thine often Infirmities..."

This reminds me of the 500lb gorilla at the end of the bar drinking his double single malt neat - we are well aware of intelligence but the apprehension factor spreads like a underlying virus. Children evoke a wide array of feelings and responsibilites, all of which may not be conducive to the "atmosphere" of the business. Consideration is everything - the establishment or patrons should not have to adjust to the child. We welcome children under these conditions. W.C.Fields (I recall once seeing a dog chew on a little kid,which is not itself a bad idea but it does show the dog's intention. Well,sir,a dog lover witnessing the demonstration was heard to remark,"My,My,that poor dog must have been terribly hungry.")

Spent some 40 years fishing with Eclipse/Coke/Lime and still remember the "tight lines" when I smell the scent. These days a glass out of the freezer and some chilled Ron Zacapa Centenario on a hot Florida day does the trick. Seems like I see quite a bit of Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva on boats these days.

I like the value and bang for the buck (all twenty of them)in an Australian Shiraz-Torbreck Woodcutters/Marquis Philips Shiraz or Sarah's Blend/Yalumba "Y" Series/Black Chook. These all drink extremely well and offer excellent quality for reasonable dollars. I'm a big fan of the whole Marquis Phillips line, every annual release is like a Christmas Day. Best of Luck and Have Fun!!!!!

I'm with Mayhaw Man, contact Poche's and give them a try. I really like their chicken andouille and their smoke gator sausage, both very high quality and authenic products from great people. These products are well worth the money and rise above anything that I've come across in stores. Good Luck! http://www.pochesmarket.com/

QUOTE(Fat Guy @ Jan 31 2006, 02:43 AM) I like to have small salad of organic baby lettuces and mixed sprouts with a light vinaigrette, plus some multigrain bread and a glass of carrot juice with ginger and wheatgrass. This sounds like an autopsy taken from a person who just jumped off a tall building. After reading the many ideas I say give bergerka a call and hang out with her-doesn't torrid barbecuing have a nice ring to it?

Here are a few contenders Peter based on sales and previous vintages: Yalumba Riesling (Y Series) Vina Alarba (Old Vines) Finca Luzon Luzon Pillar Box Red(Padthaway) Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos The entire Cartlidge & Browne line-sometimes varies-is a value! Mark Davidson (blended but public friendly) white & shiraz is going to be huge! We're still working on some 2002 Las Rocas that drinks like a $40 bottle, a very nice wine. Good job on the list.

Greetings Bpearis, I'd be really be interested in knowing what is on and/or comes with a $13 cuban! Thanks.

This presents a rather disturbing thought, Sysco being involved in taste preferences. Typically the sales pitch revolves around piece cost,convenience,and packaging, while flavor and pound cost are usually last or omitted altogether. Costs for providing these "features" may indeed make an inferior product higher than a quality one! The direction we are headed with the major distributors seems to be toward "their label" branded itmes, like "Classic" or "Imperial" by Sysco. We, as consumers, are relying on Sysco to provide the ingredients based on their purchases backed by their label. The supplier of the product "may" be completely different from year to year, how will we know? This is not necessarily bad, some of us just like to know,including me. The idea of a bacon tasting is a great one! I just hope the vegan present was not too severely harmned by secondary bacon vapors.

I've found that tough days are best for wine only, no hard stuff. Splurge on the wine, you deserve it and nobody that you might have had difficulties with will be drinking as well as you. Perhaps some warm bread and high quality butter or a really good cheese to see where the food urge takes you. Crank up some comfortable music and remember the ambiance of control is a reward unto itself.

The Starwich broadcast was very interesting, I found the website and printed out a menu that I could follow during the show. The idea of a great Cobb salad or a duck sandwich on an airline flight might bring some "humanity" back into flying even if the wine is doomed to be inferior. I was in Ormond beach last week with a friend who is heavily involved in the restaurant business and we ate at one of his new ventures, San Fransisco Oven. We were having lunch and I must say that I was "apprehensive" because this is not the type of place that normally I would frequent. A very good chicken pizza w/herb bar-b-q sauce and a quality salad were under $8 !! I walked away impressed and quite satisfied. Check it out Susan, I'd be interested in hearing the results.

Gave The Bacon of The Month Club to a friend last year and doubled the order so that I could have some "new" bacon experience also. The selections for the year did NOT include Nueske's. We both agree that Nueske's would have been the winner had it been included in the program. Since this bacon is already smoked it cooks relatively fast and doesn't have the shrinkage of many of the other types of bacon that look lean when purchased. I use a "Ton" of Nueske's for many different dishes:clam chowder,baked potatoes,fried oyster/bacon wraps,starter for red beans,topping for seven layered salads,Southern Style bacon gravy for fried grits, and so on. All in all a GREAT product, check out their 10z smoked pork chops,WOW!!!

I'm not sure if you mentioned if you are using wood with bark on it or not - the use of bark seems to almost always cause undesireable flavors, give it a try without any bark on the wood and perhaps smaller portions of wood as needed for smoke. Best of Luck!

Here's to Paula Dean in 2006 for making food fun!! Cooking out of the pantry is different for people all over the world and make fun if you will, but have a good time. The show with the donuts was memorable on several counts. Paula said that the recipe was given to her by a friend and that she was "sharing" it. The donuts precluded any other use of sugar, forgot if she washed the fruit cocktail off before using, and how about the visit to the donut shop? Perhaps the dream of millions, eating fresh donuts off the line while the employee is trying to box them up!! Surely almost all of the "Hosts" on tv food shows would retract certain episodes that did not represent their tastes or techniques correctly or in the best light. I see Paula Deen as an individual that is proud to SHARE her food from The South.

Need a potato expert in recommendations for fresh made quality french fry. Thanks!