Ron Johnson

Here, neither the federal nor state court security checkpoints will confiscate a cellphone. I think the marshalls secretly get a kick out of the whole thing. Maybe thats why they let them through.

It is so awesome when a lawyer's cellphone goes off in court. The judges go berserk. One judge makes the come hither gesture with his index finger and the lawyer has to sulk up to the bench. The judge says "give it to me" and then he chucks it down the hallway leading to his chambers. I heard he's got a basket full of them. I dont take a cellphone to court.

Actually, I used to do a little Worker's Compensation work, and I was surprised at the number of employers who are in favor of allowing the occassional worker to get burned up by molten iron. They just aren't willing to pay his widow any cazash for it.

No apology needed. , but it is appreciated and accepted.

Absolutely call them. They may not even ask you to send it back. They at least should know about it. Corked wines are caused by tetrachlorinanisol (sp?) or TCA contamination of the cork prior to bottling of the wine. Estimates are that it occurs in 2-7% of wine. So, if you drink one hundred bottles of wine, chances are that a few will be contaminated. Its characteristic smell is that of moldy wet cardboard or newspaper, somewhat mildewy as Tommy described. The fact is that this is a defect. People should not be anymore reticent to return a corked bottle of wine than they would a TV that didn't work when they got it home.

Thats not what I said. Here is what I said: "Parker's slant on wine. If your palate matches his (huge wines with lots of wood) then it is invaluable, if not its a waste of $$." As you can see, I said if your palate matches his then his publication is INVALUABLE. I was using the word invaluable as a synonym for inestimable or priceless or any other hyperbole meaning really really great, topnotch, neato, or super. I only said his publication is a waste of $$ if you do not have the same taste in wine as Mr. Parker. I, for one, prefer the Old World style of wine making, so it would not do me any good to subscribe to Mr. Parker's mag where he gives New World style wines high scores. sheesh!

I have dealt with and been to Brown Derby in the past and have also found them to be quite reliable if not a little highly priced. I am surprised that they are the lowest of the bunch posted by MartyL.

Hochar Chateau Musar Blanc 1993 Medium body with intense honey, botrytis, meadow flowers, sweet nose. Dense fruit with nice bracing acidity & some residual sugar, but it developed a bitter quality in the finish that I found off-putting so I marked it down. Good+ Made from Chardonnay and Lebanon grapes.

John Hart Fine Wine out of Chicago usually has Chateau Musar, and they often have older bottles. www.johnhartfinewine.com

Down here in the South, most people make their pie crust with Crisco. It makes for a very "short" crust, but I have never thought of it as not flavorful. I guess the pie filling always supplies that aspect of the item. I have tried pie crust with butter, but it always seems to be a little tough for my taste. I guess we prize flakiness over taste when it comes to the crust. Its more of a texture thing. We also make our biscuits with Crisco. Thanks for another great report!

Nina, that certainly makes more sense, but unfortunately it is impossible to make that kind of distinction with smoking. In fact, if that is the analogy, then smoking should be banned because it is against the law for a bartender to serve someone who is drunk.

Thats one way to look at it. The other is that your boss pays you twice as much as you deserve because he knows that the government is going to take half. The market compensates for taxes. I really don't understand the uproar about making smoking in public places illegal. The argument that its a bar and lots of other bad stuff is going doesn't make sense. I used to know lots of guys who liked to get into bar fights, should they be pissed that assault is illegal? Well, I think they were, but should they have a legitimate beef? Of course not. I am also baffled by the alleged secondary effects of drinking analogy. if you are in the middle of dinner and I sit at a table next you and drink a glass of wine, you may not ever notice me, but if I light up a cigarette chances are you will.

Yeah, the prices do look good, but then they get you on that rubber mallet you have to buy to put the damn thing together.

I knew what you meant Dstone. The guy can get a little tongue-tied at times. Oh, and in regard to the pres, you could have stopped at the clogs.

Yeah, I once saw an episode of Molto Mario where Batali demonstrated three recipes, presented a brief geographical breakdown of the olive growing regions of Puglia, gave a dissertation on the Holy Roman Empire, flirted with the two hotties sitting at the counter, discussed the current state of the socio-economic differences of each region of Italy as they pertain to cuisine, and did it all without taking a breath. They dont make cue cards for that kind of shit. No wonder he can only make the MM with his hands at the end of the show, the dude needs some O2.

This has been argued before, quite heatedly, on other forums. The bottom line is that this is not as sensational as it seems. Many white and red wines have similar flavor profiles that can fool a taster under the right circumstances. It doesn't mean you shouldn't buy high quality wines, or that individuals cannot appreciate the distinctions between high and low quality wines. In fact, I would wager it is more likely that I would confuse a red with a white wine than I would a great with a terrible wine of the same varietal. As an aside making absurd boasts about your ability to blind taste and identify certain alcoholic beverages is a good way to get a free drink. Once, when I was penniless waiter, I bet the bartender of a swank restaurant five bucks that I could identify blind each of his premium vodkas tasted side by side. He lined up on the bar a shot of Stoli, Ketel One, Absolut, Sky, and one or two others. I slowly sipped each one down and then boldly stated which was which. The bartender pumped his fist and declared loudly that I got them all wrong. I dropped a five on the bar, congratulated him, and headed out for the night with the best five dollar buzz of my young life.

We have some good grub at our state fair here in Kentucky, which starts next week I believe. The only ethnic food is southern regional. The pork producers and lamb producers both have tents with awesome sandwiches and meat plates. You can also buy all sorts of homemade jams, jellies, preserves, and honeys. There is mutton barbeque and bowls of burgoo, thick with venison, rabbit and squirrel. There is of course the ubiquitous corn dog, which was called a pronto pup when I lived in Memphis, TN.

Well, sorry that you were disappointed in your Memphis meal at Slims. One of my best buds is the manager there. It is more a place to see and be seen that it is known for its food. The chef with the real ability, Don Fox, left to go open Cielo with Karen Blockman, the owner. The best time I ever had at Slims was when El Vez, the Mexican Elvis, played a show there. Cozy Corner is great 'cue, sorry you missed it. Good call on Huey's. Thats about 2 blocks from my old apartment. I have consumed a few thousand of those burgers. Did you blow a toothpick into the ceiling?

I know that Mario Batali does everything with EVOO, even deep frying, because he says that is the way it is done in Italy. He says the Italians use the pomace oil primarily for lubricating their chassis. He uses the very high quality estate EVOO for finishing, and the regular EVOO for all cooking purposes. Of course, you may not view Signor Batali as authoritative on Italian cuisine.

That is a great idea. Once you find an importer whose tastes match yours, that is a good way to find new wines. I always buy wines imported by Lynch, Weygandt, Solomon, and Kacher, and I am rarely disappointed.

These are my everday wines: Reds Cote du Rhone (variety of producers) Languedoc (Corbieres, Minervois, etc.) Cru level Beaujolais (mainly in the summer slightly chilled) Loire Cab Francs (Chinon and Bourgueil) Some non-AOC Rhones such as an Alary Syrah from L'Orange Whites Vermentino Vernaccia di San Gimignano Gruner Veltliner Albarino Alsatian Riesling (non-luxury cuvees) Loire: Muscadet, Sancerre, Cheverny, and some Vouvray.

Nothing diminishes my opinion of a restaurant more than opening the wine list to find a limited selection comprised almost entirely of California Chardonnay and Merlot all of which are marked up 3 times the retail price. Thats when I summon the "sommelier" and say, "Beer please."

Not sure if Parker's taste in wine is well-suited to age-worthy wine. He moves toward fruit forward low acidity early drinkers. I do think that second growth and lower classified Bordeaux is a good idea. Some others to try are Ducru Beaucaillou and Gruaud Larose. For other more specific recs try: 98 Rhones: Ogier Cote Rotie and La Rosine, Jamet Cote Rotie , Jasmin Cote Rotie, J.L. Chave Hermitage, Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage, Clape Cornas, Voge Cornas, Eric Texier CdP, Fortia CdP, La Nerthe CdP. 99 Burgundies: Domaine des Lambrays Grand Cru & Morey St. Denis; Momessin Clos de Tart; Domaine Armand Rousseau for Gevrey Chambertin, especially the Close de la Roche and Clos St. Jaques. 98 Super Tuscans: La Macolina “Museum” I Giusti I Zaza “Belcore” La Palazzola “Rubino” Montevertine “Il Sodaccio” Pieve Del Vescovo “Lucciaio” Selvamaggio Terrabianca “Cipresso” “Campaccio” or “Campa” Ciacci “Ateo” Piastraia Alfeo San Martino Rubino dei Greppi Paleo Rosso Grattamacko Poggio al Moro Ricalosi Casalferro Morisfarms Avvoltore Renzo Masi Enta e China Toscana Rigoli “Val di Cornia Rosso Montepitt” Rodano “Monna Claudia” Toscana Rocca di Castagnoli “Stiella Toscana Cima “Monteveno” Merlot Petrolo “terve di Galatrano Rosso Castello Romitorio “Romito del Romitorio” Fuso Carmignani “For Duke Toscana” Surbiano Montescudaio “Rosso delle Miniere” Fattoria Montecchio “Pietrucupa” Le Calvane “Borro del Boscone” Cd Toscana Centrale Poggio a Popparo “Flacco” Toscana San Giusto “Rosso degli Appiani” Toscana Carpiento Dogajolo Hope that is a little more specific.

'99 Red Burgs '98 Northern Rhones (if you can find any) '97 Brunellos '98 Super Tuscans '00 should prove to be a winner for Rhones '01 should be good for Bordeaux and not priced ridiculously like '00.

I wonder if people who work in landfills feel the same way toward the recent trend of recycling?