Bond Girl

MG, thanks for the rec. The Capresso looks very cool too. I think they sell it on Amazon and at a fraction of what the Miele costs. But, not cup warming drawers....Hmmm, have to figure out a way to built that into the cabinets.

Yes, the Miele that I was contemplating indeed uses whole beans. That's the model favored by most rap stars in NYC. I had initailly wanted it because (1) I am a sucker for design; (2) it would free up counterspace formerly occupied by one vaccum chamber coffee machine and one elaborate Gaggia espresso maker; (3) it does not require additional plumbing. But most of my friends who has done teh showroom trip with me has not let me live it down since. Labels of being "ghetto-fabulous" has been flying among my social circles. Appropriate because I live in a really slum part of NYC. Although I am not one to buckle under peer pressure, I would hate to be labeled as the stupid girl who spend a lot of money on a coffee system that makes mediocre coffee. The miele showroom here does demos as well. I thought the coffee wasn't bad, but it wasn't overwhelming either.

Yes, I have a vaccum chamber pot. I got suckered into the look for that one too. So I ended up getting it, but now it just sits one my self and friends come by and say, oooh that is a cool looking thing. MG, Is this it? Can you recommend a grinder? Marlene, I love the Miele for the way it looks too, and many friends are already making fun of me as being in the same league with Jay-Z (he has one). But, ultimately I want something that makes sense rather than something that looks good. Even though I can't tell you good coffee from bad coffee, I want, at least, to be confident that I am making decent coffee.

Good drip coffee for a start. I want a nice looking machine that will give me good coffee. Right now, I have one of those Bodum 2 chamber things, and they are a pain in the ass to set up and clean.

The stove business is off topic here, but let's just said I'm still agnizing over my stove decision. The nice ones like Wolf, DCS or Viking are really temperamental. Rumour has it that the DCS at Craft got serviced so often that the service guy actually bought a boat and named it Craft. The not so nice ones run well and has less problems, but less precision cooking and less nice looking.. Back to coffee systems....

Yeah, the look was what sucked me in. I thought I get a reality check here. No need for a babe magnet here in NYC. The guys I date wouldn't know a coffee machine if their lives depend on it. So, what would be a cool system to get that will make decent coffee? The Illy machine looks pretty cool too. Any thoughts on that? And, I even get to take it with me when I move.

As part of my kitchen renovation, I am thinking of installing a Miele coffee system. Here's the thing: I am not a coffee connoisseur. I'd be lucky if I can tell you the difference between coffee and espresso on any given day. So, the question for all you guys who knows about coffee out there is, is it worth it? Does it really make better coffee? The whole thing comes in at $2000.

I second the Yasuda suggestion, and if you are lucy, you'd even get to sit at the sushi bar and watch Yasuda work.

I had considered the Vikings Hood with the 30" Vikings or Wolf range, but everyone I talked to all tell me that Viking's ignitor goes bust about once a year and cost about $120 to fix. The oven stop going above 400 after a while and getting it serviced is a bitch. Wolk, gets a slightly better report but not much. Common complaints involve the glass door on the oven breaking when the oven goes into high heat mode, I want something that I can cook great Indian food on for one or two people. ( I hardly ever entertain), roast tomatoes and other veggies and make jams on. Once in a while I bake but that is all. Functionality and realiability is high on my list, and of course it ahs to look good. I do get a break with Bosch since my friends work for them.

Thanks guys. Now I have another problem: I can't have the pro-stye range I want because my hood does not vent outside. Back to the drawing board on the range front.

where do you guys find a liebherr in Manhattan? I would get that if I can find it. My designer is recommending a 24" Summit, which I find extremely ugly.

Blondelle, That sounds very much like my planned set-up, except that I can't decide on the fridge. I know that $2,500 is alot for a fridge, but I live in a neighborhood where many would solve a similar space problem with a subzero and that is an expense ( over $5k w/ ss panel) that I personally cannot justify or afford. I guess alot of sticker shock comes with a small kitchen renovation. ← ← This is the same conversation I am having with my architect. She thinks I am crazy to want to put a high end range in my 8x8 kitchen. But, here's the thing: when I bought my apartment 8 years ago, I thought I'd be outta there in 3 years. Now 8 years later, I'm still there. I guess, may be one should just get what makes one happy and worry about re-sale when it happens.

Someone told me that most fridges (the exception being sub-zero) are made either by Kenmore or GE for other brands anyway, but that might be an urban legend. Do anyone here have any advice on ranges? One of my friends can get a really good break with Bosch, but I've never used them. Jason Perlow recommends that I go with either a 30 inch DCS or GE Monogram (because they are made by DCS for GE), while my chef friends are recommending the 30 inch wolf instead. Does anyone here has any experience with any one of them? Dishwasher will probably be a one drawer Fisher Playkel as it needs tp fit under the sink.

Time out 2006 award. Best Reason to Skip Dinner. Congrats to Will, Bob, Laurent and Stephan.

Not to be crass here, but the whole concept strikes this New Yorker as a really stupid idea. Food should engage in all aspect of the senses, visual is one of them. Then again, what do I know? I live in a city where restauranteurs think servers dressed in ninja outfits is a really good idea.

Here's one I need advice on: I am used to cooking with a open flame (ie gas stove top) but one of my friends suggest that I should go with one of those heated surface cooktops used in professional kitchens. he thinks it's cleaner. I always think they make me nervous as I would probably forget where the heat source are and burn myself. Anyone here have any thoughts?

I had a tasting menu from Tocqueville last Monday, and that ranks as one of the most incredible meals I had ever. Having eaten at the old space a few times several years ago, I memories of dishes that were good but not great. Although, I was invited to "friends and Family" in the new space, I felt it unfair to judge a restaurant at that point To say that I was pleasantly surprised by the caliber of food delivered to my table, would be an understatement. The Beet Cannellini was a truly beautiful dish. I loved it the first time I tasted it, and I love it more still. There was also a rich oyster soup that seduces the palate and a quartet of baby foie gras on toast that induces state of euphoria. A lovely chatham cod dish with all the earthy beauty one could ask for, and a sweet halibut that worked harmoniously with its flavorful sauce. Paired with excellent service, and an easy going atomosphere, it ios what a dining experience ought to be.

I am fighting the same battle right now. My kitchen is 8 x 8 and somehow, I am going to fit a DCS or GE Monogram stove in there come hell or high water and I want a Miele dishwasher as well. The decorator is talking me out of a bigger fridge but has found a 24" fridge with a bottom draw freezer. Will post pictures when I see them.

It not a "Hatterade", we are just being honest. We don't go around looking for bad restaurants just as we don't go around looking for car crashes or bad diseases. The point here is if the food is good or bad. And, the food is bad. First of all, it's a new restaurant, so to expect everyone to have been there, would be unreasonable on your part. Secondly, I don't care if we got the "safe SSO- Approved omakase", I have no problems with "safe" food, but make it the best and tastiest "safe" food that I've ever put in my mouth. Everything was cold and bland at Morimotos, if cold and bland is tasty, then we have no problems, but it does not appeal to me. Also, I don't happen to find sinewy frozen fish a great gourmet sushi experience. As for the Beef, it was tough and chewy ( another charcteristic that does not rate high on the taste scale) and resembled that from the corner Gristedes supermarket. Are we suppose to excuse bad food, just because it's friom a great chef?

There is one they sell in whole foods from Sky Top farm that comes close, but not quite. I know this is a really stupid question, but how does one make yogurt at home? Back in the early 80's, my junior high school friend has a yogurt maker at home. Does one really need it?

After breezing through Morocco and Paris on a recent trip, I am plagued by the age of question: why do the yogurt (store bought brands) in Morocco and France (and for that matter, the rest of Europe) taste so much more creamier and luscious than the American variety? Even the yogurt that I bought from the Greenmarket does not match up to the European versions. What are they doing that we Americans are not?

The fizzy sake I had was interesting, and my dining pal's white wine was decent, but beyond that, I cannot tell you.

I get the distinct impression you didn't enjoy the restaurant. ← On the contrary, I quite enjoy the restaurant. It has nice looking people, interesting decor and a pretty cool wall made of water bottles.....It's the really bad food that spoils the whole experience.

Horrendous meal at Morimoto's. Most dishes of the omakase arrived lukewarm or cold. Even worse is the overall flavorless theme to everything. I might as well be eating cardboard. The sushis are a vulgar display tastelessness with huge sinewy pieces of fish on clammy pieces of rice. Only saving grace is the cool decor, but that only last so long. Anyone with any hint of tastebud should just drink there and save the money for Yasuda or Karuma instead.

One will become an instant bean convert after five minutes with Rancho Gordo. His beans are exotic, cool and definitely delicious. I used to limit myself to chick peas and black beans, now I make an apple chaat with Red Nightfall beans, a dip with Eye of the Tiger, a portuguese Octopus stew with Scarlet Runners, chili with European Soldier Beans, TV snacks and Lunch Salads with Christmas Limas, grill calamari with white runner beans...the list goes on. And, don't get me started on Pasole.