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VivreManger

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  1. I have a fifteen pound bag of Tamanishiki super premium short grain rice from Sacramento which I purchased more than a year ago. There is now about a pound or two left. Recently I noticed some bugs flying in the corked glass jar where I had stored part of it. I also checked the plastic bag where the rest of it is stored. Although no bugs were flying there, there are plenty of white larvae. I strained and rinsed a cup of rice several times, yielding several of the larvae. I can't be certain that I have removed them all. Previously I had cooked a cup of it, without prior cleaning, and noticed the multiple larvae so I threw the whole thing out. I asked the clerk at the store where I had first bought it and she thought it not worth worrying about. Though she did tell me to clean it first. Any advice out there?
  2. The US Customs Regulations now allowed the import of Montreal smoked meat. Goat and lamb remain forbidden, but beef and, apparently all other meats and poultry, except for chickens from Saskatchewan (!), are now acceptable. Just brought a brisket across the border yesterday. Declared it and had no problem.
  3. I quite agree that lines at Changs etc. prove nothing. My comment was prefaced by "For what it's worth.." And the mispelt reference to the "le grand publique" was ironic.
  4. While I appreciate your efforts, I have some misgivings about your method. The true test should be to taste a range of macarons (btw I prefer the French spelling since it makes clear the distinction between that product and the US consistently coconut confection). The great achievement of Pierre Herme was his introduction of a range of new tastes and flavors to the old fashioned macaron. To sample only the chocolate is like comparing steak houses on the basis of their cheese burgers. A few months ago on a much smaller and less systematic scale I did some comparing of my own. First I did not even bother with Stohrer and Hevin. To buy a macaron at either is like ordering sushi at Zabar's. Stohrer's babas are great, but I would never eat a macaron there. It is not their speciality. Hevin's chocolates have their fans, but I would never go there for pastry. Second I don't know SAINT PREUX at all. Does it have anything to recommend it? And I did not get to LENOTRE. My test was limited to LADUREE and PIERRE HERME. I compared their respective specialities and avoided chocolate since it struck me as too prosaic. Since I did this at the beginning of February and did not take notes I have to reconstruct my conclusions from memory. As I recall I tried Isphahan, beurre sale, olive oil, pistachio, and one or two others. My overall judgment was that while technically the Laduree pastry (in terms of texture and crunch) was good, my overall preference in terms of taste was Herme. The flavors were simply more vibrant and exciting. For what it is worth the preference of the le grand public parisien is also for Herme. I went to both on a beautiful Spring-like Saturday in early February. The quais were packed with strollers. The shops were full of shoppers - - it was the weekend before Valentine's Day. The line at Herme was longer than the line at Laduree.
  5. Actually the Cuisinart Mini-Prep had been my first idea, but they are not that strong. I have burnt out one trying to grate cheese. I have never tried to puree meat in them, but I suspect the portion would have to be very small. They are fine for parsley and garlic, but may be too weak for anything denser.
  6. My in-laws are in their late 80s, living in Canada, many hours away from their children who live in the states. At times they have difficulty swallowing normal food and need it pureed or mashed. The normal appliances such as Cuisinart and Waring blenders are too big and cumbersome to be practical. They need a device that can puree small quantities and can be easily cleaned and reused by their aids. One suggestion offered us is for a product that I have never seen, but is available on-line for about $50, Magic Bullet Blender #77 http://www.infomercialcentral.com/store/cu...CFQGsGgodhAerFw The site offers no technical information as to power of the unit and I am somewhat skeptical about anything offered on an infomercial. Any suggestions out there?
  7. I think that Pierre Herme is the best shop in Paris, if not the world. But I quite understand that sometimes one wants something less elaborate. My recommendation for classic pastry is Stohrer, 51 rue Montorgueil Mon-Sun 7:30-20:30, specialty baba au rhum, but their fruit tartes are pretty good. It has been in business since the 18th century, arriving from Vienna with Marie Antoinette. It was probably their cakes that she recommend the poor eat. On the whole I prefer their pastries to Aoki, but chacun a son gout. As for Secco, it has been on my list, but I have yet to try it. Another well-known pastry shop in that same area is Millet on rue St. Dominique near the intersection with rue Malar. I have been there a few times, but have not been overwhelmed. On the other hand if that is your quartier, it is definitely worth trying. I like Pain de Sucre on Rambuteau, but that again is in the dernier mode department. On that same street, on the same side of the street, closer to Beaubourg is another pastry shop, tending toward the classic varieties. I can't remember the name or number, but it is an even number within a block or so of rue Beaubourg. They do have good fruit tartes. I particularly like their mirabelle.
  8. Actually I got what I expected. I had seen the pictures. I just was musing as to the difference between crispy roast pork and the roast pork that has been sliced, juiced, and steamed. As for the roast beef served in many places that resembles this roast pork, it is not something that I would get excited about.
  9. Many thanks for all the help and advice you gave on my airport to Penn question earlier in the week. John's does say that its roast pork at available at about 6:45 AM. I picked up mine at around 8:45. I never got to Top of the Town for a sliced steak. I got to RTM, but the sandwich from John's so stuffed me that I could not eat anything else, though I was tempted. A small from John's would have been enough but I wanted the hoagie not the kaiser roll. I ordered my pork sandwich with greens, onions, and hot peppers, no cheese. As for directions, from the airport I left I-95 at exit 19, then a U-turn to go north on Front St. to east (right) on Oregon, to left (north) on Swanson (just past the underpass on I-95, but the street sign is bent), then to east (right) Snyder and another block or so to John's on the right. The Philly airport taxi flat rate policy wreaks havoc with stops and detours on the way, but that is another matter and (incidentally) one of the reasons I did not detour to Top of the Town on the way back. Now to the meat of the posting. The sandwich is what I expected, but it really isn't roast pork. What I like about any roast meat is the crispy edge, the crackling on the pork, the bit of well-cooked fat, but instead all that is offered is steamed meat, dull grey, with no hint of any interesting spicing, unlike the kind you can find in a Cuban roast pork sandwich for instance where the spicing is inserted into the meat prior to roasting. At the RTM I did notice some beautifully brown-crisped pork roasts on the counter of DiNic's, but the sandwiches produced looked only marginally better than what John's makes. The meat in the sandwich had a bit of brown on the edge, but it did not look enough to make a taste difference. To be fair I did not taste a DiNic's sandwich and next time I will; it looked better than John's. Please don't accuse me of responding to your gracious assistance by insulting a source of local pride, but I am curious as to whether or not any pork sandwich maker in Philly really serves properly roasted pork. I hope I am not offending anyone with this question, but for the greater good of gastronomy I think it worth some attention. Now if I really wanted to get the juices going I would address the issue (problem) with cheesesteaks, but that is another question for another day.
  10. Since John's opens around 6:45 and closes around 2:30 - 3 I have some optimism that by 9:00 or so they will have more than just sausage rolls ready to eat. Moreover that would still give me time to hit the Reading Market for the second snack of the day. If DiNic's has its stove up early enough perhaps I can compare pork sandwiches from both of them. Any seconds on Talk of the Town? I gather it is not too far from John's. However they don't open until 10:00 AM so the timing is a bit off. On the other hand I might be able to swing by there on my way back to the airport later in the day. One of the reasons I want to try the sliced (as opposed to chopped) steak is that it seems similar to the steak & mushroom sandwiches of my youth in Providence. Today there is only one place there still making them, Chelo's. But when I was a kid there were at least two or three others that perfected the thin-sliced rib steak sandwich in a torpedo roll with sauted mushrooms.
  11. Thanks for the quick recs. It's a Tuesday so scrap the scrapple at the Dutch Eating Place. Down Home has gotten some knocks recently for inconsistency so I may want to avoid it. I think that John's opens at 6:30 AM. Would they have their full range of sandwiches by about 8:45 or so? Am I right in thinking it would be an easy off and on from I-95 on my way in from the airport?
  12. I will be arriving at the Philly international airport at 8:30 and should be at the University by 11:30 AM. I need to find somethings interesting to eat. I have no fixed ideas about what should and should not be eaten before noon, but I don't drink coffee so the quality of the local java does not matter. Though I don't object to it, I don't need a traditional breakfast. So a pork sandwich or cheesesteak from John's would be fine. They open early enough so I could place an order at 215-463-1951 when I arrive at the airport and get off 95 to collect it before heading elsewhere. What exit off I-95 is closest to 14 E. SNYDER AVENUE - SOUTH PHILADELPHIA (ACROSS FROM SNYDER PLAZA)? How far is that from the airport? I think that Steve's Prince of Steaks, on Bustleton Ave, south of Cottman in NE Philly would be out of the way, though I much prefer sliced steak to chopped and a crispier roll sounds appealing. The Reading Terminal Mrkt. has the most options in a concentrated space. Most of the places will be open at 9:00 so I could wander around, checking out the options before eating. However it seems that food shops don't actually start serving food until later. Another possibility are the Italian delis of south Philly, SARCONE'S DELI, George's, Vinny Amato's, DiBruno's and Claudio's. Then there is Chinatown which I have enjoyed in the past. Unless there is something spectacular going on there, my inclination is to go Italian or Reading Mrkt, with maybe that pitstop on the way into town for a cheesesteak if time and tummy allow. Some of the RTM recs I have seen in past years are scrapple as the breakfast side dish (Down Home Diner or the Dutch Eating Place); Tommy DiNic's for roast pork (how does it compare to John's?); Salumeria for hoagies (with house dressing and artichokes), Pizza by George, Nanee's Kitchen (for Pakistani), 12th Street Cantina, Delilah's (for chicken), or maybe a bowl of duck or roast pork soup with noodle at Sang Kee. Any updates, additions, or other suggestions for this list? I would be particularly grateful for any warnings about what to avoid. Generally my experience with these multi-ethnic food courts is that the quality is not as good as what you would find in the original ethnic neighborhood. Thus DiNic's and Salumeria would not be as good as Sarcone's for example. And Sang Kee at RTM would not be as good as Sang Kee Peking Duck, on 238 N. 9th St. Any comments on that observation?
  13. On a beautiful Friday in Paris a couple of weeks ago on my way to an excellent lunch of suckling pig at A l'Ami Jean on rue Malar in the 7th I was hit with this scam three times within the space of ten minutes. I had just crossed the foot bridge from the Tuileries to Quai Anatole France and was heading alongside the river toward rue Malar. Two of the scamsters were young women. The third was an older man who approached me on rue de l'Universite a few blocks east of rue Malar. Each time I refused to stop. The first two times I simply said its yours and went on walking. The third time I yelled at the scamster and told him it was the third attempt in ten minutes, adding that it was enough. I told the story to three friends who live in Paris. The same scam had been played on two of them. Neither bought the ring, though one had been briefly tempted. BTW this was my second lunch at A l'Ami Jean, while different from the first it was still worth the visit.
  14. Cafe des Musees and Brezh in the Marais are both in the price range. The first has a prix fixe around 20-25 euros. The second makes the best galettes (buckwheat crepes) I have tasted. Tried the first in July and thought it good value. Tried the second last night. Both get packed so reservations are a must.
  15. Actually some items are still cheaper at Dehillerin than in the US. I have not seen as great a variety of tambis elsewhere.
  16. Went there on Sunday. Full report must wait, but in general I thought the menu (prix fixe) food was not as good as ordering à la carte.
  17. Are the smoking laws in effect yet?
  18. If I am not mistaken is Au Gourmand in fact, Le Gourmand, 22, Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris Tel : 01 43 26 26 45? Google yields both a le and an au, but Webcity takes an au and gives the le on Vaugirard. Since Rich is in a different quartier, the 9th, I am inclined in that direction, but the question is what might be interesting nearby. A l'Etoile d'Or, which I have been meaning to try will have its annual closing next week. What else might be worth visiting near to the rue Cadet? The Grands Magasins are nearby, but that is not what I have any mind. Any exceptional artisanal shops within 20 minutes or so of the resto? The near-by metro stops are Cadet itself, Notre Dame de Lorette, Le Peletier, Poissonniere etc. Albert Menes which I plan to try is not too far away in one direction, near the Madeleine. It is open Monday PM. The opposite direction takes me to Barbes. What is the shopping scene like on a Monday when the open air market itself is closed, I believe?
  19. They don’t take reservations, so you either need to go early or late. I have been many times and have never had to wait more than a few minutes, but I have mostly been at off hours. You could also try Christian Constants new place, but from what I have read it sounds very casual. Pierre's choice of Rich might be a good one. ← Le Relais opens at noon so an appearance a few minutes before then should avoid the queue? Is that what you mean by early? Or do you mean 5:00 for dinner? I am urging Pierre to give us a report on his Rich dinner.
  20. A lot of the best places seem closed on Monday for lunch. Le Relais du Comptoir is open, but they seem to have some odd seating policy which I have yet to understand. If someone does, please explain it to me. The Bristol will be open, no doubt, but that may be more formal than I seek. Drouant is open, perhaps, but I have done that and don't need a repeat. Any other suggestions?
  21. Thank you for the report. Could you be a bit more precise about what you ordered? Le Winch 44, rue Damrémont 75018 Tel: 01-42-23-04-63 Metro Lamarck Caulaincourt Open Everyday (except Monday lunch) Lunch 12h00 à 14h30 et de Dinner 18h00 à 22h30 That, if correct, is a daunting schedule. I wonder how it might affect the service and cooking. Did you try any of the following? - Mille feuille de saumon fumé façon parmentier - Sardines bretonnes marinées - Salade de langoustines - Bar rôti aux herbes - Gateau de sandre à la moelle - Tarte tatin à la poire - Paris-Brest Recommending those dishes in particular, Resto a Paris gave it a very positive review, (3 hearts) which they recently updated with the summer menu. http://www.restoaparis.com/fiche-restauran...s/le-winch.html
  22. The best product I have tried is made by Aromont, a French manufacturer, whose product apparently is not sold in France, as far as I can tell. A Few years ago it was sold to an Irish company and I do not know if it has maintained the same quality. I have not tried the William Sonoma version. IMHO Aromont, at least used to be superior to Demi-Glace Gold, Dartagnan, and a product I buy in Canada, Knorr Bovril concentrated bouillon, not exactly the same thing as demi-glace, but the best bouillon I have found for a quick boost in flavor (the chicken is better than beef). Now Lynd Gourmet in Ohio http://store.wspisp.net/lyndsgourmet/Search.bok lists Aromont on their site, $30 for what I believe is a 7 oz jar (the size did not appear on the product description). Anyone out there know anything about this company? For a few years Aromont disappeared in the US so I wonder if Lynd is offering the same product or merely the same brand name. Over the next few weeks I will be in Canada, France, and Germany so I wonder if any other demiglace available in retail shops there is worth trying. A few months ago in Paris at Detou (58, rue Tiquetonne, between Etienne Marcel cross street Montorguiel, 75002) I purchased two Nestle concentrés that while better than anything I have found in the States are still inferior to the best Aromont used to carry. Apparently Aromont is available in German gourmet e-commerce, but not in French. I have also gotten a recommendation for a Danish (!!) product called Oscar.
  23. The restaurant I went to with the inferior bouillabaisse in the 13th was Chez Keryado, <La Bouillabaisse >, 32 rue Regnault. I had eaten there about 9 years. It got a positive review in the '97 Pudlo, but I have no idea how it has fared since. I do not have the current Pudlo handy so someone who does may wish to check this out. However I did check http://www.fra.webcity.fr/restaurants_pari..._4777/Avis-Lieu which does list it with a positive write-up to boot for whatever that is worth: Un lieu pour goûter à la bouillabaisse Dans le 13ème arrondissement, la bouillabaisse est la vedette de ce sympathique bistrot de quartier. La déco manque cruellement de charme mais le client appréciera les délices de la carte. La simplicité et la convivialité sont les deux maîtres mots de cette adresse. There are two patrons' comments, both of whom liked the fish, if not the decor, but they are out of date, from 2000. If Webcity.fr is accurate, the place is still in business, but I don't know why. The problem I have with bouillabaise in Paris, is that about forty years ago I had the real thing in Marseilles, at some nondescript I happened upon. It was excellent and remains difficult to match.
  24. Bittman failed to mention that Huitrerie Regis will be closed for most of the summer, from mid-July to the end of August. Rather bizarre to run an article on a place that will be temporarily closing within a few weeks.
  25. True enough. While many shops still close for lunch most have at least one day open on a weekend. The hours, as it happens, suit me fine, but they are worth noting for the convenience of others. They do suggest a more intimate, traditional, and leisurely attitude toward commerce. Clearly Ménès has not gone the way of Hediard and Fauchon, not to mention la Grande Epicerie de Paris. F. for instance is open 8h à 21h, du lundi au samedi. Hediard in the same neighborhood as Ménès, Lundi - Samedi 09:00 - 21:30. With the GrandEpice having hours comparable to both.
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