Blondie

I'm in.

Note to self: Call in sick next time The grace and generosity of the Heartlanders was in full bloom at the Pig Pickin' too. It's a wonder to behold. It sounds like you all had a great weekend. Thanks for sharing it with us

It's like a Butterfinger - crunchy peanut butter center covered in chocolate.

At the moment I'm partial to Clark bars

Call in sick, Babe! I second that. It's just work. Blow that off! (sure, look who's talking) Don't think it didn't cross my mind. If the place burns down between now and Friday, I'm there.

Me too. If I didn't have to work this weekend, I'd be packing up my yellow polo shirt and pointing the car towards Grand Rapids

Gosh...thanks Heather! I'll post a recipe in the archives as soon as I can. It's pretty easy to do. Those Slippery Slopes were mighty tasty too, Katie. Can you post that as well? Thanks!

It sounds like you made a sort of gastrique.

I wish I knew how to thank the extended Varmint family for turning over their homes (and all of their free time) to a bunch of relative strangers for the weekend. It was a truly wonderful experience: the camaraderie, the food, the joy. Unreal. The first taste of the pig right off the grill, so many cooks working in a confined space with total cooperation and fantastic results, Rochelle’s hush puppies, grits fried in duck fat with red-eye gravy, Katie's Slippery Slopes and limoncello, Dave the Cook’s deapan asides... Thanks, Varmints

Has anyone been to Rare? The burgers seem to get raves, and I'm intrigued by the deep-fried pickles.

The NYC Eats Blog mentioned Burger Club. There's also a new site called The Food Section that looks interesting (via Lockhart Steele's Below 14th).

This is the place on the west side of Second Ave just south of St. Mark's? I had a burger there this spring after hearing the raves, and it wasn't bad. It may be worth putting on the list.

I heard that Rush Hour on Ludlow had great burgers, so I did a bit of recon. I think we can skip it - not in the same league as Molly's or the Corner Bistro. With 'inoteca being across the street I can get an amazing panini (til 3am) for a dollar or so more than Rush Hour's burger. That's a no-brainer.

Actually I was talking about starting a "Great Bartenders" thread and then never did. By all means, go ahead ah fuck off. i thought for sure you did. For a minute I thought I did too, but I was all talk, no posting

Actually I was talking about starting a "Great Bartenders" thread and then never did. By all means, go ahead

I'm in. I have a couple of friends I need to visit in Philly, so I can kill 2 birds with one stone

A good designer will spend hours talking to you about how much you cook, what you cook, what other activities take place in the kitchen, what your preferences are. If the designer isn't asking these questions, they suck and should be fired.

That's too bad. I think designers could learn a lot in an "apprenticeship" at a place like Home Depot -- stuff that would help them become better designers. I totally agree. I learned more from my time on jobsites and from the carpenters than I ever did in school.

FWIW I’m not working in the field any more, partly because of the boredom of doing yet another white-painted-beadboard-cabinetry-granite-countertop-stainless-steel-appliance-brushed-nickel-hardware kitchen that will never get used. My aesthetic is very modern, and I like working with interesting and affordable materials, innovative ergonomic solutions with function as a primary motivator, and that’s just not what most Americans want in their kitchens. They want the fantasy, regardless of how well it functions, but as you say, for those who *do* use their kitchens, function is all. As far as I know none of the design schools offer very good training in kitchen design. I attended one of the top interior design schools in the country and from what I can tell the undergrad-level course offered in kitchen design was no match for my 3+ years working for a good designer. The advantage of a design school education is more in giving the student a background in architecture and aesthetics, as well as the technical aspects, drafting and so on, that allow the designer to not only to convey the design, but to discover any weaknesses or flaws before it’s too late. And no, there are not nearly enough educated designers to fill the home centers and malls, and frankly most of the people I went to school with would starve before they’d put on an orange Home Depot apron. As I said before, my guess is that many of the home center “designers” are sales people who get a bit of training, but are there to sell the goods their company offers, not necessarily to design a workable kitchen. I know there are many exceptions, but the only way to determine is to ask for references, see previous projects, and carefully interview past clients (without the designer present).

I'll be at the Pig Pickin' that day, but I've already tried Molly's burgers and give them the thumbs up

Dave, I agree that many kitchens are designed by those who are not specialists in the field. Once a client hires a general interior designer and establishes that relationship (which can take a considerable period of time, not to mention developing a level of trust), they are very likely to allow that designer who, as you say may not be a kitchen specialist, to do the kitchen just to avoid having to go through the same process with a kitchen designer. Hopefully these designers are not trying to sell themselves as kitchen specialists if that isn’t their field of expertise, but unfortunately the design field is full of people with no training whatsoever, and the vast majority of potential clients are clueless as to the important questions to ask to ascertain whether the designer is competent. That is why I continue to stress thoroughly checking references and seeing previous jobs. The National Kitchen and Bath Association does confer certification (CKD - Certified Kitchen Designer, among others) to those with a number of years experience and education, and the passing of a certification test. This is no guarantee that the designer is great, but it’s a start. People who are insecure or don’t know what they want are very susceptible to the fantasy that if they just had a great kitchen they would cook every day, entertain all the time, etc. Many designers will take advantage and upsell when they can get away with it. Sad, but true.

All of the kitchen designers I know would be considered high-end designers and all of them have more work than they can handle, nearly all of it referrals from satisfied clients. Most of them will do what would be considered mid-range jobs on occasion, mostly as a favor to a friend or maybe the daughter of a previous client who has just purchased a starter home. Typically there’s not enough profit in these jobs to bother pursuing them. My guess is that most “designers” working on mid-range kitchens are attached to showrooms/home centers and are really just sales people, not trained designers. I’ve found that people interviewing designers are very reluctant to follow up on references or ask to be taken to completed jobs. If a designer has nothing to hide this should not be a problem. Why would someone neglect this step considering what a kitchen renovation typically costs?

Congratulations, Suvir!! I am *so* there Do I need reservations for lunch?

How much is a Luger burger? I think it's about $6, and only available at lunch.

I'd like to try Luger's burger, and McHale's too.