Cragganmore17

Film director Robert Rodriguez had a cooking lesson on his DVD of Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and he suggested that one can learn one or two recipes at a time, make them several times until they are learned well, and then move on to other recipes, using the same repetitive technique. After a while, you'd have a repertoire of several recipes you could count on for yourself and for guests. I may suggest that technique with some recipes or foods Toots' son might like. In the spirit of Rodriguez, I'd suggest a braise or stew. Whether the pibil recipe, short ribs, or even chili you'll be teaching him to cost effectively make a ton of food thats flavorful and nutritious. Leftovers are an integral part of single living. One pot meals are also clutch for the lazy solitary male, or so I've heard. With a braise you'll be teaching him to chop veg (a time consuming endeavor for those who don't know what they're doing which prevents many people from learning to cook), sear meat, build flavor through aromatics, seasoning and the science behind adding herbs/spices to hot oil, why you deglaze, and the beauty of simmering. He may even get a lesson on pressure cooking. With that basic skill set he can feed himself well. if you live in a warm weather climate, teach him to grill. I don't any men who don't have an interest in grilling meat.

Thanks for the feedback, Kenneth. I actually just purchased Chawadee's book, which should arrive in a week or two. I had been strongly considering paying a visit to Nahm on my last night, and now I think I'll proceed with reserving a table.

I'll be spending a week in Bangkok in October. Planning to eat most of my meals on the street. Do you have any recommendations for specific stalls and must-try dishes? Trying to decide between the seemingly endless options is proving to be a daunting task. Any help whittling down my list is appreciated.

Economic and financial literacy are poor substitutes for self-importance and smugness.

Wow! Looks like it may be time to call Abe up and try for the "hey, we went to highschool together and I know we haven't talked in 10 years and weren't really ever friends, but it looks like you're doing great" discount. How could someone say no to that?

Dinosaur is quite good. Living in Rochester, NY, I've been to Dino more times than I can count. Style wise, I suppose it qualifies as Memphas City? Their Q doesn't exactly adhere to any particular region. The menu ranges from pork ribs, to brisket, to pulled pork, smoked chicken and an array of different sandwiches and side dishes. All meat gets a generous dusting of their dry rub, smoked over apple and hickory (I believe), and gets finished with a light coating of sauce. Their sauce doesn't really resemble any other BBQ sauce I've had. Not very vinegary or sweet or spicy, but it matches well with their rub. My go to is usually a starter of wings and then either the half rack of ribs with BBQ beans and mac salad, or the pork carolina sandwich. You can find Dino in Syracuse, Rochester, Troy, Harlem, and soon enough Buffalo and Newark.

I start the chicken on the top rack of the grill, or over indirect heat skin-side up to avoid said flare-ups. Once the fat has mostly rendered out, I'll move them down/over to the hot grill and finish them off skin-side down to really crisp up the skin.

I finish my smoked chicken legs on a hot grill to finish rendering out all the fat. Usually use the gas grill for simplicity sake. Works very well, and its easy.

I would imagine the subject matter and responsibility may help to define whether a piece is journalism. I wouldn't consider one person's opinions of meal had at XYZ restaurant to be journalism. Now if XYZ is serving dog meat, employing 4 year olds as dishwashers, and grinding old waiters into soylent green, that story sounds like something that would require actual journalistic integrity, clear distinction between opinion and fact, and general accountability. However shocking it may be that the fish was overcooked at Le Bernadin, I just do not see that story as capturing the journalistic spirit.

I bought a Simmer Mat to achieve a gentle simmer with my tagine. So far so good. http://www.simmermat.com/

My experiences at Han have been mixed. I loved the pork belly buns but watching them take frozen buns out of a package and place them in the steamer was disappointing. I know Chang himself outsources his buns but I don't think his source is the freezer aisle at a local asian supermarket. My dan dan also had a medicinal/metallic quality toward the bottom of the bowl. I'm also a big fan of Whatta Banh Mi. I love their grilled pork variety and their taro boba is delicious. For more Vietnamese fare check out the new Viet vendor at the public market. They are set up in the indoor area opposite the seafood vendor, sorta. Grab a pork skewer and a hot soy milk. For $3 its tough to do much better.

Great thread. I'm a big fan of dry rubbing my butt before smoking. I usually apply my rub the morning before the butt goes on the smoker. This year I'm thinking of rubbing my meat the day before. What are the benefits of applying rub the day before and are there any risks?

I find the menu in pdf form to be pretty encouraging as it often indicates that the menu actually changes from season to season.

If you liked Seoul Garden check out Sodam in the Gennessee Regional Market. Their seafood pancake is unreal. Nice find with Bombay Chaat house. Its one of Rochester's best kept secrets. I also really like Haveli, about a quarter mile further down E. Henrietta, for my regular Indian fix.

I've been quite pleased with Warfield's both times I've been. Very much looking forward to a return visit this Tuesday. El Dorado isn't bad, but for the Rochester area's best Mexican food head to El Rincon in Sodus, or Rio Tomatlan in Canandaigua. Rochester's food scene just got far more interesting with the opening of two passable banh mi shops a few block from one another on Monroe Ave. I prefer Whatta Banh Mi.