Joy

Nina--Tangra is in Elmhurst

Lets do it while the weather is still cool... Feijoada Choucroute Cassoulet Pot au Feu CHOLENT!!!!! Girlz: Anytime. Anyplace.

Oh oh oh! Could you expand upon your method?

Its true, Brazilian black beans are about 30% smaller than regular ones and more intensely flavored as well. Regular black beans can of course be used but as long as you're going thru the trouble of making feijoada, why not go all the way? Manioc flour would not be an issue for us, there's a big Brazilian population in Astoria and lots of Brazilian markets. For Simon, probably not as easy but carbs=death so problem solved.

Yes I once saw a snout peeking out at me in a feijoada on a Danbury, CT Brazilian steamtable. I've also seen hooves and other piggy parts that less adventurous people might turn up their snouts at. Suzanne-- I'm assuming the the Batida paulista is meant to accompany the feijoada and not go in it?

Monica, That method sounds wonderful, I'll definitely give it a try and report back. j

I'd love to be able to make my own, bet its relatively easy to have a pot of porky loveliness bubbling away on my stove. Anyone try doing it?

I think the obvious question (so that I don't have to keep going back and editing my orig post) is how the eff you spell bhaji(a)? To answer the other question posed to me: To get Simon to cook a huge meal for you and 6 of your friends, you need to lure him over with a big slab of bacon and some hot chocolate. Once in your kitchen, if you can endure his berating, abuse and insistence that you call him "Chef," he turns out a fairly good, however meager meal. If I had one criticism of his cooking, it would be that my guests had embarrassingly empty stomachs and had to stop for a slice of pizza after dinner. He seems to think that 3 appetizers and 5 main courses and 3 desserts constitute dinner.

There is no emoticon to describe my "huh." It was a "who knew?" huh.

I have a 3 lb bag that was used for onion bhajia batter. What else would it be good for?

Oh yeah, can't believe I forgot that. I usually don't notice the music on the jukebox but I did the other night and I really liked most of what they were playing. I couldn't tell you know what that was but both Simon and I did remark on it. Caveat: I'm usually not a cheesy music person but I do have Hall and Oates in the CD player at home right now. Burgers. Huh.

I'm the first person to decry a yuppified setting and I just wasn't offended by Blue Smoke's dining room. If however, they went the hokey sawdust on floor/street signs, etc atmosphere like at Brother Jimmy's I think that would've pissed me off.

So in eG etiquette does this mean he loved Blue Smoke?

I thought the eG etiquette was to be painfully polite to those you cant stand?

Had a very enjoyable dinner with Simon at Blue Smoke last night. As ever, Simon was the best of company although I did feel embarrassed for him when he suggested ordering a salad as an app. We compromised and agreed on a different vegetable to start: potatoes in the fried form. The fries were nothing special but I did like them with the blue cheese and bacon dip. The highlight was definitely the marbled brisket. Juicy, smokey, and just the right amount of fatty. Came with a side of mashed potatoes that had been pureed with lots of butter to instant mash consistency--which is perfect to my taste. The Blue Smoke Ale produced by Brooklyn Brewery is indistinguishable from Brooklyn lager. BTW: The storm was just kicking into high gear last night, and you could've easily walked into Blue Smoke without a reservation.

Have you been? I've heard VERY VERY Bad Things about Chango.

How does one pronounce Huitlacoche?

Epazote is a common herb used in Mexican cooking. This all sounds very exciting, let us know about your meal.

I actually have an answer to this question in the context of Sushi Yasuda. I ate there several months ago and we were pondering that. We ended up just flat out asking our sushi chef. The sushi chef (who was not Yasuda) told us that the waiter gets the ENTIRE TIP. Not him. Yup, the guy who just gets your beer/sake/napkin/dessert. So we gave both a tip.

Did you try it on a cigarette butt?

I've dying to try it, a friend of mine described itwith these glowing words: "huitlacoche could top a cigarette butt and still be delicious." I've heard some people in CA (SF or LA?) say you can get it sometimes at their farmers markets.

Pre-Tangra, Simon was properly welcomed to Elmhurst by "Patrick" at the Grand Stand Pub. We were serenaded and treated to a round. The ordering was not handled by me and unfortunately being the 2 beer queer that I am, I was not as observant as I might've been. Did we have the "Ginger Chicken," anything with the Manhchurian sauce. If not, we missed out on two dishes that I usually enjoy there.

Beef knob = the British pronunciation of beef pizzle. Simon took to the knob very enthusiastically. Although I am not a spirits drinker, I do have to say that the scotch Simon brought was some fine booze.

La Nina--Have you been to 100 Dumpling Garden in Flushing? If not, you'll absolutely love the place. Another Dumpling Specialist type place in Manhattan that I like is Sun Dou on 214 Grand Street.

Yes, that one is called Tasty Dumpling and its on 54 Mulberry. I've tried it a couple of times and the quality varies. But yes, there is potential and they have a wide variety of Beijing Style dumplings.