Ron Johnson

Fat Guy: Another great installment. Keep them coming. I am not sure that I agree that long and slow cooking has lost its purpose because meat quality has improved. Braising and slow-smoking still create a pretty awesome product, even if it is not rare. Something about rendering all that internal fat and basting the meat, plus breaking down the collagen in thos cuts like shoulder and shank. However, I would like to try that med-rare prime rib. Project: You are correct. Based on my experience living in Memphis for six years and cooking in the Memphis in May Barbeque Contest twice, pork shoulder is the king of barbeque in that town. Ribs are a big deal at Corky's and Rendezvous, but thats about it. One way to demonstrate the dominance of pork shoulder is the fact that the top category for the Memphis in May Barbeque contest is the pork shoulder category. He or she who wins pork shoulder may proclaim the title of champion of the contest. I think that says it all. The most popular barbeque in Memphis is pulled pork from a slow smoked, dry-rubbed shoulder, on a Rainbo bread bun with a squirt of hot sauce and a spoonful of slaw. With a cold beer, I can eat about 5 of those. I am trying to envision where this barbeque place is on Poplar that you describe. Is it before you get to the Poplar Lounge? I thought that I had been to every barbeque joint in Memphis. It would be strange for me to have missed that one because I lived in that area for a year before I moved back to Midtown.

I thought that potatoes were vegetables too. Korn: first there is the loud part, then there is the quiet part, then they play the loud part again. Brilliant, really.

Fat Guy, your wine-making analogy is interesting. Of course I am aware of the practice of using oak chips, or even sawdust to add an oak flavor to wine. Sadly, many of these "scientific", wines as you aptly refer to them, receive some of the highest scores from the wine intelligentsia. However, I do not think that precludes food smoked with chips instead of logs being referred to as "barbeque", at least in Memphis. That being said, I know the prefered method there is to use logs or use charwood with chips or chunks of hardwood. During the six odd years that I lived in Memphis, I found that both yielded reliably consistent and delicious barbeque. As an aside, I was not a fan of Corky's when I lived in Memphis, but would be happy to have it here in Louisville.

Here in Kentucky we add bourbon and occasionally a sprig of mint to our tap water. It tastes better that way.

Steve, great notes. I am interested in your comments regarding the Rostaing CR. I have found '95 to be a nice vintage, but requiring time. In fact, every bottle of '95 that I have opened seemed to be nowhere near ready to drink. The one exception was Jasmin, which was soft and delicious after a couple hours open on the table, but that is what I like about Jasmin. I have not had the '95 Rostaing, but recently purchased his CR from '93 through '96. I have heard that '96 is drinking earlier than '95. Any thoughts on this?

Great installment. We are going to have to keep you on the road if it means we keep getting reports like this. Interestingly, Destin and its environs have long been a vacation hotspot for Louisvillians. I always joked that the entire population of Louisville, Ky migrates to Destin during spring break and two weeks in the summer. Unbelievable to think that now it is becoming hip.

I saw that they now offer a "chicken whopper". I wonder what you get when you order that? Maybe a BK veggie?

OK, I had a hard time following this thread, but from what I gather Macrosan differentiates "American" cuisine from that of France and Britain as the former's lacking the ability to appreciate satire. Now taking this point to its next logical conclusion, I would argue that France's love of the comedy of Jerry Lewis would similarly take it out of the realm of satire, leaving that genre solely to British and Modern British cuisine. Therefore, in conclusion one could postulate that American and French cuisine are closely related and that British cuisine is distinguished by its ability to separate a remark's literal meaning from its intended one. Or is that irony?

Fat Guy: I think a piece on travelling with pets will have a large audience. BTW, I have been lying about my dog Kendall's weight for years. It is how I got a condo in my building. I have the world's only 30 lb. Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

Great installment Fat Guy. Please continue to mention the hotels and inns that accomodate Momo. I am keeping a list for my Chesapeake Bay Retriever so I can take her on my next vacation.

Ice cubes are now being made from Evian, so they not only taste like soil, but are also 5 bucks apiece. Now I bring my own wine, water, and a bag of ice. Yes, I am the one walking through Manhattan with a cooler.

Fat Guy: That is in fact how Corky's makes their 'cue, but why isn't that smoking? Who cares what the heat source is, if it gets pieces of wood hot enough to smoke and this smoke cooks the meat as evidenced by the smoke ring around the outside of the meat, then yes, that is smoking, not baking. Interestingly, Alton Brown, on an episode of Good Eats, made smoked salmon with a hot plate and a pan of sawdust. Smoking does not doesn't mean you have to use hardwood or charwood as your heat source. In fact lots os smoking is done with a charcoal heat source and then wood chips added to create smoke. As for my list of world-class barbeque restaurants in Memphis, I can think of only two that I did not consider better than any other I have had outside of Memphis, the remainder that I do think are that quality are, as best I can remember and in order of preference: Cozy Corner: hands down best cue in Memphis Interstate Bar-B-Que Shop: next to my last apartment, ate there weekly Rendezvous: touristy but great lamb ribs and pork ribs John Wills Neely's Leonard's Greely's Crosstown Neighborhood Association Carl's Bar-b-que Shop Gridley's Top's: multiple locations Little Pigs Corky's: too crowded Barbeque does not imply smoking, it is what it means. If you are not cooking with low heat and lots of smoke, then you are not barbequeing, at least not in Memphis. This is true no matter what the heat source. Now if you tell me that these places are just injecting the meat with liquid smoke and placing them in a low oven then that is another issue. However, even Corky's is using hardwood chips to creat smoke that smokes the 'cue. You can't fake the smoke ring in the meat, and no Memphian would eat 'cue without it. If you can find time during your cross-country trip to stop in Memphis, I highly recommend the Cozy Corner. They make great pulled-pork sandwiches (my favorite kind of 'cue) and an unbelievable hot sauce condiment. If you go, let me know and I will give you directions.

Can anyone tell me what GT is charging for corkage these days for BYOW? I have a nice 2002 Aquafina I was going to take to dinner.

The number of barbeque restaurants in Memphis isn't all that impressive? Most barbeque places there don't smoke anything? Where is this information from? I lived in Memphis for six years and worked the entire time in the restaurant business. While I was in fine dining, I got to know many barbeque people and even cooked two years at the Memphis in May Barbeque contest. My girlfriend worked at the Rendezvous. I got to know an awful lot about barbeque. There are tons of barbeque restaurants in Memphis, and all of them smoke their meat. In Memphis style cooking the term barbeque is synonymous with smoking. All meat that is barbequed is smoked. If it isn't then it is called grilled. Whether it is ribs, shoulder, loin, or any other part, Memphis barbeque means a low heat source away from the meat and a chimney that draws the smoke over the meat to cook it. This is called hot smoking. There is also cold smoking, but both types are smoking nonetheless. One criteria for judging Barbeque in Memphis is the "smoke ring" that forms around the outside of the meat. No smoke ring, no good barbeque.

Which producer? Rhones age well, some better than other. I generally find Gigondas peaking at about 8-12 years, but have had some at 15 and up. A 1975 would be 27 years old, I would love to know how this turns out. In my experience, Northern Rhones are better long term agers than Southern. Cheers.

BK is like a whorehouse? I have never gotten any action at Burger King. damn. I agree with your domestic example of caveat emptor, and it was what my friend did. However, as Tommy points out, BK is an advocate of hiring the perpetually stoned and severely mentally disabled, so apparently the proper course of action is to swing through the drive-thru window at the corporate headquarters so that you can ask the CEO if your veggie burger has floated down a chute of meat grease prior to service. of course, your wife, being a vegetarian, may already know this.

Would a rabbit eat a BK veggie? Or just hump the hell out of it?

Is this called splitting hairs?

Veggie means vegetables? Ok, isn't that what vegetarians eat, or I am missing something? So, if a vegetarian orders "veggies" and gets meat, he isn't getting what he ordered is he? I really can't make it any plainer.

Tommy, what if the menu said "Peanut-less" thai food? Would you be upset when it had peanuts in it and the restaurant said "you should have asked because we don't think "peanut-less" means totally without peanuts. You shouldn't assume."

Tommy if you are saying that asking the store is not good enough because the counter guy makes 5 bucks an hour then that kind of blows your Jean Georges analogy. At least I don't think those waiters make 5 bucks an hour. Again, you say it is the cusotmer's responsibility to ask, but yet you still blame them when they do ask because you don't think the person they asked was smart enough. Should he have written to BY corporate headquarters before going for the veggie burger? Jhlurie: let go of damages. I am not advocating a lawsuit. Damages ONLY apply in lawsuits. My friend does not want to sue BK, never did and never will. I merely related what he told me about his experience and then you and Tommy said it was his fault for assuming it was vegetarian even though he asked beforehand. Bottomline, he did not assume. Even though it is called the "BK veggie" he still asked and was told it was free of animal products. earlier you stated that if BK "actively" stated that the product was free of animal products, then it would be their screw-up. Isn't that what they did?

Jhlurie: Unfortunately, I am a lawyer. However, again I will say that I was never advocating legal action against BK for this. Merely, that I don't believe it was my friend's fault for assuming that a veggie burger was in fact vegetarian, especially after he asked the employee. We keep talking about how its the customer's responsibility to ask. I clearly stated in my post that he did ask. He then relied on what he was told. How much further should he have gone, to the manager, regional manager, franchise owner?

Tommy, just out of curiosity, do you believe in any consumer protection laws? I am not being sarcastic, I truly want to know. If you have the view that it is always the customer's responsibility to find out before buying, the merchantibility of the product, then I will acknowledge that we just have a very different view of the roles of retailers and consumers. I mean do you take a mechanic with you to look at a car before you buy it from the dealership? I don't, I rely that a new car will be either be in good running condition for a reasonable number of miles or years, or the company will fix it for me for free. I assume that my tires will last for a certain number of miles, that my lightbulbs will burn for a certain number of hours. I assume that if I spill my coffee it will hurt like hell but not require 7 surgeries. All of these assumptions are enabled by the right of the consumer seek remuneration from the retailer. This fosters consumer confidence. This makes people buy things. This makes America work. Also, it is worth pointing out that I NEVER advocated suing BK over this. I merely gave the experience of a friend who ate one, and then watched in amazement as others blamed him for the incident. My only point is that BK should recognize that "veggie" carries the connotation of vegetarian. So there.

Tommy & Jhlurie: why is it that you guys think the onus should be on the customer and not the restaurant? Why is it the customer's responsibility to find out and not the restaurant's to correctly advise. They are soliciting for my money, why should the burden be on me to find out if they are not fully disclosing the product? I don't understand the desire to always exonerate the corporation and blame the person. Are the people at BK so stupid that it never dawned on them that people might assume that a burger called the "BK veggie" might be vegetarian? I have a feeling that it not only dawned on them, but that they were banking on it. As for the question, "Could BK afford to maintain separate cooking areas for Veggie Burgers?" The answer is: yes, it is called a microwave. They are used for everything else in fast food restaurants.

Not sarcasm necessarily, but what I imagine his reaction would be to your post. I think in our current vernacular tagging an item with the title veggie does imply that it is vegetarian. However, I would not be surprised if anything at BK or its like gave me the trots. In fact, White Castle has become quite famous for it. Cheers.