Brown Hornet

I've never found tasting menu to be too challenging to finish. The courses are small and come at a leisurely pace. My last tasting menu was a ten course menu (plus an additional 4-5 amuse) at Meadowood in Napa Valley and it was very filling and satisfying but not excessively so. As other folks have pointed out the wine pairings more than the food can be a challenge. I've learned that it's ok not to finish every last sip -- easier said than done sometimes! I would not not skip lunch -- just go a little light. If you know you're getting the wine pairings you definitely don't want to start a tasting menu on a completely empty stomach. Oh, I'm jealous by the way -- have fun!

I think beverages generally have the highest profit margin of anything on the menu. The tremendous mark up for wine/beer/spirits is well known, but that pales in comparison to the mark up for non-alcoholic beverages. A fountain soda literally costs pennies but restaurants charge well over $1. Ditto coffee, tea. Still, like Lisa mentioned, the high beverage mark-ups really just defray the big ticket entrees which are not nearly as profitable.

I'm not terribly familiar with the current Decatur dining scene, but I'll ditto Iberian Pig and Antico Pizza. I'd strongly recommend Manuel's, but more for its storied history as the watering hole for local politicians than for its good but not great bar food. I've heard No. 246 is the hot new Decatur place, and it was recently reviewed in our local paper, but I haven't been there to try it myself. Fatt Matt's is just ok, but it will give you a decent example of Southern-style BBQ. Not sure about Fox Bros., but I thought they did more of a Texas style BBQ. In general, I find BBQ joints better when you get outside the 285 perimeter. If you can convince your daughter, or maybe have a chance on another trip, I'd recommend Local Three, Miller Union and South City Kitchen as exemplars of contempory southern fine dining. In my opinion, they're all superior to JCT, but not quite as formal as Restaurant Eugene, which is outstanding. Atlanta has a surprisingly good number of decent Asian places, particularly Vietnamese and Korean, most of which are on Buford Hwy. which is not too horribly far from Emory. I particularly like some of the Korean BBQ places on Buford like Yong So San and Hae Woon Dae. Although it's on the other end of town, if you or your daughter like Szechuan cuisine, there's a good place in Sandy Springs called Peter Chang's Tasty 2 that's worth the drive for their hot and numbing beef rolls. Unfortunately, Atlanta is pretty spread out (especially compared to the Bay area) so the best dining options are not always close.

I'm with those that say the tomatoes are yours to do with as you please. Your MiL is just being a stereotypical MiL. Personally, if someone gives me some fresh homegrown tomatoes, I reserve their use to something that highlights the tomato -- gazpacho, salsa, tomato soup, a simple tomato sauce. Just my opinion here, but outside of gazpacho/salsa, I much prefer the more concentrated and complex flavors derived from cooking tomatoes. If I gave someone 20 homegrown tomatoes, I'd be more offended if all they did with them was slice them for sandwiches and caprese salads!

That's my biggest beef. If I'm at a little gastropub or tapas bar I expect a certain degree of crowding, and I certainly understand that restaurants need to maximize the revenue generated in each square foot of space. Still, when I'm eating at a nice restaurant I should be able to back away from the table without bumping into an adjacent diner.

Thanks for the detailed report Big Mike. Your Blog was awesome. I already had Pride on my list for my August Napa trip, and have added Smith-Madrone to my Spring Mountain visit. Can't wait!

HBO is airing a documentary next week about Paul Liebrandt called "A Matter of Taste." The film supposedly follows Liebrandt's career over 9 years. It sounds interesting and should be a nice change of pace from the usual celebrity chef junk on TV.

Another vote for Keller's "French Laundry." There are a couple of great things about this book I would add. First, the recipes and directions are incredibly detailed and clear. In some ways it is a very easy cookbook to cook from because the recipes are so well explained. In my opinion the recipes are not difficult so much as they are incredibly painstaking and very time consuming. If you've got the time and patience as well as some basic cooking skills, you will do great with French Laundry. Secondly, the book includes numerous general techniques used by Keller that will benefit your cooking in general -- for example his techniques for braising meats, cooking soup, baking gougeres, poaching lobster and boiling vegetables are as close to a gold standard for french cooking as you'll find. For all of his whimsy and cleverness, Keller's cooking philosophy is very direct and focused.

Mmmmmm, goat cheese. I love to serve goat cheese with grilled then braised leeks, roasted beets, a little bacon, candied almond slices and some balsamic vinegar. Not very original or creative, but it is my favorite goat cheese combo. I also made a terrine with roasted eggplant, tomato confit, basil and goat cheese that was quite delicious. I think that slightly sweet and acidic items (like roasted beets, balsamic, tomato confit) pair wonderfully with goat cheese and balance its natural earthy richness.

I think the best way to keep ribs moist is to keep them covered for most of the cooking time. My standard methodolgy is the following: 1. Apply rub to ribs night before or at least 3-4 hours before cooking. 2. Wrap in foil with a tiny amount of liquid (I like beer) 3. Cook in oven at 250 for 2-3 hours depending on size of ribs. 4. Apply bbq sauce and finish on grill or oven on higher heat until bbq sauce forms a glaze. Ribs this way are always tender and moist, but still have just enough bite to the meat. It took me a long time to come around to abandoning the grill in favor of the oven for most of the cooking time, but once I did my ribs improved greatly. The downside is that the ribs aren't as smoky as some folks like. I generally prefer a lighter smoke taste so for me this way makes a lot of sense.

When I saw this post that was the first dish I thought of. I've made a version of this without cooking the pork butt in the banana leaves and it was most certainly not the same and not as good. Banana leaves are also great for cooking fish -- I've found that just about any fish I would cook en papillote does fairly well cooked in a banana leaf. I have no idea what I'm doing half the time, but cooking in banana leaves lends dishes a central american flair that I like.

I think picking on the details of Good Eats somewhat misses what was good about the show, namely its focus on the process of cooking. Personally, I did not care for many of Alton Brown's recipes, but I think his intent was to get people away from specific recipes and to focus on the general ingredient or technique in each episode.

I really loved Good Eats in its prime -- it was as informative and entertaining a cooking show as I've ever seen. I learned something useful or interesting from almost every episode I watched. Plus, I always got a kick out of the Atlanta area locations that Alton would visit since I am familiar with most of the them. Honestly, I think it was time to cancel the show and it seemed like it died a slow death starting about two years ago, pretty much around the time of the Spartan smoothie/sardine episode. Still, hats off and a standing ovation to Alton for 249 awesome episodes.

I too just recently jumped on the pressure cooker bandwagon. I made butternut squash soup last night based loosely on a recipe that came with the pressure cooker. Although it wasn't necessarily better than the butternut squash soup I usually make, it was certainly much quicker to make and just as good. By comparison, in less time than it would take just to roast the butternut squash in the oven I had my soup made start to finish using the pressure cooker. My next experiment will be the MC carrot soup and maybe some stews or curries.

Big Mike -- let us know what you think of the wineries you visit. I'm going to be in Napa in mid-August and am also looking for some new winery suggestions.

Yep, another big fan of better than bouillon base here. The only thing I'm somewhat ashamed of using is store bought mayo, for the simple reason that mayo couldn't be easier to make and is always better than the salty greasy junk from the store. Still, I don't use mayo that much, and whenever I make it from scratch I always end up with more than I can use before it goes bad.

Atlanta -- amateur home cook. I've been cooking sous vide for about 2 years and like many others discovered egullet in my search for sous vide info. My interest in MC is equal parts interest in modernist techniques and just good old fashioned geekery. And yes, the modernist mac and cheese is the business!

I'm not sure it's that much of a pot shot. Interesting article, I discovered the magic of foil wrapped ribs in the oven many years ago when I was too lazy to fire up my grill in the middle of winter. Now, my preferred methodology for ribs is apply rub--quick grill for smoke--foil wrap and cook low in oven--unwrap to add sauce -- finish under broiler. I've never had less than awesomely succulent ribs since doing it this way. I'm surprised that the article describes this as some new trend, I think Alton Brown had an episode on Good Eats about oven ribs years ago. Back on topic, my copy of MC arrives today!!!!!!!!!!!!

FWIW, I ordered on 2/10 and Amazon is estimating my delivery for late April early May. I'm not going to sweat it, I've got lots of other fun stuff to cook until then including a sous vide corned beef I've got going today.

Doodad, since you're in Atlanta check out the burger at Muss & Turner's -- it's pretty great, though I haven't had a chance to try the Holeman&Finch burger on the list.

Bingo! Cooking techniques, old or modern, are really just tools at the cook's disposal. It is the cook's creative use of these tools and techniques that imparts soul to the final dish. Is Thomas Keller a brillant chef because of the knives or ovens he uses? Of course not. By the same token, you can have all the modern equipment in the world and still not create a decent dish. I can certainly understand that not all techniques are for everyone, and many cooks will have no use for MC -- fair enough. But what I don't understand is extrapolating a personal preference against modernist techniques to somehow claim that it is a souless way to cooking. Last, as others have mentioned, the reliance on chemical additives and precise measurements that some folks object to in modernist cooking is hardly foreign to traditional cooking techniques -- I'm think of baking and charcuterie in particular. I see no difference between using Iota Carrageenan to make a great mac & cheese and using baking soda or cream of tartar in baked goods.

Lancastermike, he's getting ripped because he's criticizing a book he hasn't read. Further, almost everyone here has admitted some admiration for Alton Brown, so the "ripping" is mild at that. If Alton wants to critique it after he reviews a copy than that's certainly fair enough.

Great and timely topic! I've been curious about this as well, and have frankly been a little too scared to bring some home, especially with a three year old around the house. That said, I'm completely ignorant as to the real vs. imagined hazards of liquid nitrogen. For example, I fry stuff all the time, and a hot oil spill is probably more dangerous than a liquid nitrogen spill. Then again, I had no idea about the sealed container issue! There's so much I don't know about this stuff. I guess my big question is what are people doing to store it and what quantities are practical for purchase and storage at home. Also, how long does it last? Given that a proper container must incorporate some ventilation to release pressure, it seems like you would also have significant loss from evaporation.

This: My link Why would I want to bake a full size version of a cupcake that was was intended to be a single serving size of cake? Me no understand. Really there's a motherload of stupid gadgets here: My link

Living in Atlanta I'm a bit of a homer, but I'm an unabashed fan of Chick-Fil-A (if not their politics). The Chicken biscuits, spicy chicken sandwhich and shakes are all legit in my book. I think the trick to good fast food is to offer a small number of good quality items (see also In-N-Out Burger).