IndyRob

I suspect that's a Jumbo egg he's using since I've found that one Large egg isn't really enough. Two Larges are a bit too filling. But, that's very similar to my version and is much better than you can get at your typical McD's.

So, how do you get the egg out of the ramekin without damage to the egg? If I want to put a slice of ham and some cheese on the egg, will the ramekin idea still work? First, spray the ramekin with cooking spray. Then crack an egg into it and break the yolk (stir slightly). Season the top and either bake it until firm, or nuke it for 30 seconds (yeah, I know, but you're going to hide it in a biscuit). Let it rest while you find and tear off a piece of wax paper. Then invert the ramekin onto the wax paper with a 'tump'. It should come right out. Adding ham to either top or bottom should not cause a problem as long as you've greased the vessel. I've even bunched up paper-thin ham slices under the egg. Cheese should work too, but I don't really like the texture of layering real cheese on egg. Instead, I prefer the American Cheese-Type-Stuff-Slices that will melt readily upon being put between the hot egg and biscuit - into a sort of McHollandaise..

I use small aluminum pans I got at Sur La Table. I don't see them on their website, but I'm not sure what category they'd fall into. They look like mini-cake pans. They're just slightly larger in diameter than a Thomas' English Muffin and are about 3" high. They can be used for other purposes too, like making your own English muffins. Incidentally, I've also found that standard ramekins are the perfect diameter for baking eggs for biscuits (regular size, not the breakfast sandwich size).

Eater is a hype machine. Now they're giving a headline to a "headline-hungry vegan propaganda group" who are whining about the Cronut® hype.

I was going to say you could get an AeroGarden for less than $70, but it looks like the prices have gone up. But the consumables would cost less with a DIY solution anyway. But it's amazing what can be made from just flour, eggs, water, salt and/or sugar. I just wish dairy was as cheap.

Who is going to enforce this and why? This professor? The court system. Clicking on the link, I thought that Freakonomics would present an economic argument against tipping, But it was a legal one that was addressed most thoroughly. Since it can be proven that black servers are tipped less than white servers, the entire practice could be ruled discriminatory. It might just take someone to file the suit. Interestingly, it could be gone just like that. With no public debate or societal shift.

http://www.brpboxshop.com/3337.html Well, close anyway (11 1/2" x 8 1/4" x 2 1/2"). But available in QTY of 10 or 100.

It'll probably depend on your local health department. You might see if you can locate their website and find the regulations. IIRC, mine actually had some suggestions for minimally acceptable sanitation setups that consisted of an insulated water cooler and a cooler to use as a basin. But that was for something simple where you're only doing sandwich assembly or something. Here's a site with what looks to be the Cadillac of options... http://www.apollocarts.com/crepe.php They do appear to have three basins (and a lot more). There's even a California specific version. I suspect there's some sticker shock involved, but surely it's a lot less than a food truck. And they're probably a lot more flexible than a truck in terms of where you can put them (even inside if you get the electric model). Regarding getting into a farmer's market, here's a page describing the requirements for one particular market.... http://www.broadripplefarmersmarket.org/become-a-vendor/

But, in terms of the question, are they? Or should they be? It seems like it goes directly to the original question. If ground prime is said to be better than all forms of ground choice (because prime steaks are better than choice steaks), shouldn't it follow that ground wagyu (whose steaks presumably are better than prime) must therefore be better than ground prime? I'm skeptical myself, but if we accept the assertion as fact, then it goes a long way to answering the question.

Wouldn't that be like the American Bed & Breakfast? Now there's a service I'd could and would like to do. As long as I only had to worry about the food part.

Apparently (from Wikipedia) it's a surname...

I think that's what I was responding to. I referenced his generosity, but pointed out that Treme is not exactly a tourism advertisement. To expand on what Treme is, a good description of the area of NOLA of that name has been given. But the HBO series Treme follows characters from that area in post-Katrina times. It's mainly about the despair of the people, and the struggles of trying to save the deep culture from a devolving general culture, focusing on music, food,politics and popular culture. It is extremely raw...alternately uplifting and gutting Anyway, after all of this, I think I'm going very disappointed if this whole thing doesn't end with someone throwing a Sazarac at someone. ETA: Oh, and BTW, if you read the Sazerac link I posted above, You might find an indication as to why Eater seems to be cheering for Simon and Bourdain in this fight.

"If swearing, boobs, and prolapsed buttholes are, as a Fox News contributor put it yesterday,..." I haven't noticed much of any of them (most distressingly, the boobs). But the Fox News crew contributor is on the case I guess.

http://www.thebraiser.com/parts-unknowns-second-episode-ratings/ But yes, my dufus rating for him goes way up on The Taste. But they even gave that a second season. Hopefully, they'll learn something from the final shows of the first season and do a tournament style where each chef works one-on-one with a contestant each week. When it came down to this at the end of the first season, it actually started to work (too late, I thought, but perhaps not.) Anyway, Savannah would be really cool too. If there is a problem I have with this whole controversy, it's that Bravo isn't choosing the location solely on entertainment value and/or deservedness. Charlotte would be great too. Presumably, if Akron, OH felt they would be a good location, they could get it with enough money. And if anyone in Akron feels that they deserve it on their own merits, having to pay wouldn't serve as an endorsement of that fact.

Rich? Check. Influential? Check. A doting father? Check. Relatively clean? Check. In demand? Check. Respected by his peers? Check. Fast friend to people who would generally be perceived to be his superior (e.g. Ripert)? Check. Writing for Treme? Check. Doing the Lucky Peach or Mind of a Chef with Chang? Check. Judge on Top Chef? Check? World traveler? Check. Book maven? Check. If he wants to be something he isn't, I'd say he's making a hell of a job of trying to figure it out. A damn sight better than most of us.

If we were talking about Howard Stern, I might agree. But we're not. Bourdain's original work ("Schtick", if you must) was Kitchen Confidential. There's not much shocking in there. Okay, maybe a certain bride and chef (not him). Beyond that, the shocking stuff is pretty much about his own drug use, "Don't order fish on Monday", and "We do recycle bread from the bread baskets." Truly shocking stuff. I happen to believe him when he says that he thought no one would ever read his book. But, if this was part of a grand plan to go from a journeyman chef to an international star, well, I guess the only thing I can say is that I underestimated him. Actually, I think it does. I did enjoy watching him last night on the DVR.

Since I've already self-identified as a Bourdain fan - and called him out in the same thread - I'd like to point out that what you imagine that 'we' said is in fact, incorrect and a naïve mischaracterization. You are not a part of 'we' who like him. That's okay. Just don't pretend that you have an insight into why I like him.

True, but the more important point in my mind is that it wasn't their decision to begin with. The LA tourism folks had control of those very same dollars. They CHOSE to give them to Bravo.

I'm a Bourdain fan and I accept the fact that his point of view sometimes differs from mine (as I try to do with most people). I'm given to believe that he's a charitable man (financially, at least) and seems to hold true to his own code of ethics. But I think once he starts telling others - very publicly - what they should do he crosses a line I can't support. He crosses over into a preachy realm that, upon reflection, I don't think even he'd feel good about. It's nice that he wants to stick up for NOLA, but there are other people that have been officially appointed to those various roles. Some of those - specifically responsible for tourism - decided to give Bravo money to bring Top Chef to NOLA. Why would this be a problem for Bourdain? Yes, it would be nice if Bravo gave the money back. Or, it would also be nice if AB quietly reimbursed them. Or how about AB licenses the Les Halles brand and banks a restaurant in NOLA. You know, create some jobs. All this stuff is easy for me to suggest. It's not my money, after all. But it would be nice. Hell, Tony, while I'm at it, could you see your way clear to buy a skillet for those Namibian dudes to cook their ostrich eggs in? You know, rather than in the dirt? You could tie a picture of yourself to the handle and give it to the chief as a personal gift in return for their hospitality. Maybe along with a bottle of olive oil and a salt shaker? That would be nice. Oh, and Mr. Simon? Thanks for Treme (exceptionally well done, if excruciatingly slow to develop) and your generosity to NOLA. But if I may channel the tourism bureaus for a moment..., "Thank you very much for broadening the reach of the deep New Orleans culture to a wider audience. But a little less suicide, rape, and face shooting next time, 'kay?" Okay, now I'm going to enjoy the latest episode of Parts Unknown on the ol' DVR.

Over time I've been sorely tempted by pictures of Saganaki, but I had never had it. Finally, the desire overcame me and I knew it was time to end the drought and make some. It's easy, right? Take some firm Greek cheese, dip it in water and then into flour. Pan fry that in some oil. That's it. Right? But since I've been travelling a lot lately, I had a long time to research the many of the various options on the web before I had the opportunity to make my first attempt. Wow. They're all over the place. It's very interesting to me how something so simple could take on so many variations. Some are expected forms of variation (dip in egg instead of water, season the flour, butter instead of - or in addition to - olive oil, etc.) Some are just contradictory (dip in warm water or cold?) The whole flaming thing appears to be a North American deal (just as, I suspect, shouting "Opa!" is). Emeril marinates his cheese in brandy. But there are other stranger variations like broiling the cheese (in one case just brushed with butter and no flour?!). Then there's the cheese choice. I think in most cases this probably comes down a matter of availability. But are Greek cheeses necessarily the best ones? There are a lot of cheeses in the world, man. Then there's the matter of shape. There's some latitude for preference, I suppose, but then there's the matter of thermodynamics. All that being said, my first attempt was a tasty, but ignominious, fail. Too much oil, too much obsessing over not burning the oil (temp too low), as well as rather dainty wedges lead to a one sided saganaki with a nice crust on one side, but a melted mess on the other. I think I've got enough Kasseri (what was available) left to right the ship through some more attempts. Luckily, my wife was sufficiently turned off by the taste of the room temp Kasseri to have no further interest in what I was doing at the time (but I think she'll be hooked when I get it right). So what are the best saganaki variations and practices? And also, how would you complete a plate with saganaki (e.g. a nice heirloom tomato wedge)?

Speaking of appliances, would anyone be interested in an automatic adjustable bread slicer? The idea is that you'd drop an unsliced loaf of bread vertically into a box. Then, you'd adjust a thickness dial and press say '2' for the number of slices and 2 slices of the selected thickness would pop out the front. Meanwhile, the remaining bread stays sealed in a box unsliced until needed. Anyway, here's a similar thread we had about such things... http://forums.egullet.org/topic/136372-the-dawn-of-post-modernist-cuisine/?hl=3d#entry1779168 And more recently there's news about noodle making robots being employed in China. They're already cheap enough ($1,600) for the well off to afford as a novelty for entertaining.

I've been following this thread for a while and think it's an important one. However, there's a lot of noise introduced by various political and other biases. I think ScoopKW challenged us to come up with a solution that would be viable in the U.S. I'd like to suggest that this is indeed possible in the same way that we've found solutions in most cases in this country - consensus. However, in order to reach consensus we have to be willing to drop a lot of baggage including affiliation, tradition and selfishness. We must approach the discussion from the standpoint that restaurants, their employees, and customers cannot exist without each other. Within a restaurant we also have to balance the interests of the kitchen and dining room staff. It's all a symbiotic relationship that will not be helped by seeking to tear down those that you depend on. Same with the NRA and Unions. They represent their members. They will by definition disagree. The basic question is whether tipping is a useful institution. I honestly haven't seen a particularly compelling argument that it is. Yes, it gives the consumer some power - but in a way they don't expect to have in virtually any other transaction. Perhaps it's necessary to offset the $2.33/hour worker with no benefits - even though I could walk to a McDonalds near me (I just checked their career page) and get $7.25/hour (If they'd have me). Government doesn't have to do everything. Recent news has Costco eating Wal-Mart's lunch while paying employees a 'living wage'. I think they may get it.

According to commenter Ken G at seriouseats...

In general. if you have the opportunity for fresh (especially at a good price), seize it. Don't freeze the fresh unless you've made some sort of large score. In my case this usually means stalking a grocery store beginning with the morning after a holiday (say, Christmas eve). If they cut too many rib roasts, they're going to have get rid of some at a discount. Since I live in a two person household, some of that meat will be destined for the freezer - but not before I cook the choicest bits from fresh. I think the conventional wisdom will always come down on the side of never-frozen meat. But I would love to see a true double-blind test.

I've only been to Vegas once, but I say we give Guy the keys to the city. Hell, make him the mayor. A thin veneer of cool, shrouding a vacuous tradition of fraud could be the best match Vegas has found yet.