weinoo

Yes - they changed the handle composition and shape; when I use MC2 handles (I have a few pieces), I just don't find it as comfortable as original MC. When i sent back my old, old MC nonsticks which really got beat up, they replaced them (lifetime guarantee) with MC2 I wonder if anything else was just ever so slightly changed - without telling us!!

As great as the cameras (and the pictures taken with them) may be in iPads, iPhones, Androids, etc. - in my opinion, they just can't match what a good, true camera can do.

Possibly, but imported, such as Mauviel, Le Creuset, et al. That MC line was a favorite in every American pro kitchen back when it was the only thing All-Clad made; marketing, certainly, but also they could take a beating and come back ticking. While the differences are certainly minor, I think people also choose (if they're buying one of these two brands, as I was), based on a couple of things. One - can I get a matching hood that looks good and fits into my design. Two - do I want open or sealed burners? Etc. But hardly a $5000 greater price. And I don't know if you're looking at Blue Star lately, but their marketing team has kept busy with design... https://www.bluestarcooking.com/2021-color-of-the-year-light-aqua-green/ (2021 - did you know the color of the year is aqua green??!!) https://www.bluestarcooking.com/cooking/ranges/

I don't know if it's a loss leader or what, but I can pretty much buy a cooked duck at a Chinese supermarket (or restaurant, for the matter) for the same price (or less than) a duck needing to be cooked. Limiting that to a roasted duck, not a specially prepared one. Not so with the chicken, pork, etc.

I remember you mentioning that previously. Funny how chicken can be rare-ish (at least looking rare-ish) without fear of death!! And I think you mentioned sushi is also deadly.

Couple of interesting articles on that prepared food section in American supermarkets... https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/the-gross-truth-about-the-prepared-foods-section-at-the-grocery-store.html/ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/ready-meals-market https://progressivegrocer.com/outlook-grocery-prepared-foods-remains-strong

The birds and pork are definitely what I limit my buying to here. Ducks are usually pretty damn great. Often, the chickens (well, certain styles) are actually cooked less than many people who grew up with their mother's over cooked chickens like. I like them; my wife doesn't. But if you're saying that that beef doesn't look overcooked...

There's a nice history off All-Clad here... https://www.centurylife.org/a-not-so-brief-history-of-all-clad/ https://www.centurylife.org/is-all-clad-worth-it-is-it-still-made-in-america-why-does-it-cost-so-much-what-are-some-alternatives/

I don't think Wolf though much of their cookware either, as they appear to have spun it off into that (maybe) wholly owned subsidiary as you linked, @jedovaty As mentioned, an entire set for free - why not try it out? If it sucks, you can always donate it to some sort of charity. Many brands copied All-Clad. Shit, even All-Clad copied and tried to make cheaper All-Clad with their Emeral line, and other made not in the USA stuff.

The larger Asian supermarkets here (H Mart, NY Mart, Mitsuwa, a few others) I've visited, be they geared toward Korean, Chinese, or Japanese clientele (I don't see much in the Vietnamese and Thai markets, but they are much smaller), also have large sections where cooked food can be purchased. I always find the food to be less than great, but taking home a duck, chicken or some roast pork to the be reinterpreted into another dish works fine. The meats and poultry tends to be, shall we say, well-cooked. The less said about precooked garbage fish (I'm looking at you farmed tilapia and farmed everything), the better. Another "ethnic" supermarket chain with a giant prepared food section is Russian - the Net Cost markets. Let's face it though - ready-to-eat foods are not all that new here either. Whole Foods and before them, health-food stores (god, i hate that term) always had sections devoted to it. Sure, river snails may not be on the menu, but I'll bet it's not that easy to find meatloaf and mashed potatoes to take home in @liuzhou's city.

Speaking of this place in Philadelphia, another friend of mine really speaks highly of Samuels Seafood? Ever used them, @gfweb?

The fact that mine took 3+ months only aggravates me a little. But with the look of the contents in that jar (and that roll of something in the sink cabinet), were people even allowed to take a bathroom break?!

A friend was able to get shad and roe 2 or 3 weeks in a row at the farmer's market. But then it stopped. And it wasn't boned. I'm pretty sure you don't mean Japanese shad, but this place is probably your best best for all other interesting seafood. And I think they might deliver to your area. But who knows? https://shop.yamaseafood.com/products/5f935e2eb9554f1405a4d576

Love me some vin jaune. But - do you have a recipe for those crepes?

As do I; a small, 1 quart saucier.

Made these beautiful duck legs for dinner last night. (Bonus is the 300 ml of duck fat). They were cooked for 2+ hours in the steam girl, at 275℉. I didn't blast them to finish, as we were too full from lunch to enjoy them, so only had the sides. Which were knishes from Katz's and sautéed asparagus.

Aren't the handles slightly different on the MC2 vs. the MC?

There is allegedly one company, still operating out of Brooklyn, NY, delivering seltzer, refilling seltzer bottles, etc. etc. My guess is they make more money from selling stuff online than from the seltzer biz. Gomberg Seltzer Works - Brooklyn Seltzer Boys

If I had all those seltzer bottles, I could retire comfortably. Wait! I am retired. I remember the seltzer being 2¢ (yes, $.02. Or 2 cents) a bottle to refill. Then 5. Then, who knows. Not for nothing, I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday, and wandered into a favored area (one with no one else around). These are very cool... But they are nothing like the seltzer bottles my mispucha delivered and pick up, which were more like... I had no idea what people are charging for these, but I just looked...and wow!

By the way, @gfweb, every time I go looking on eBay - the prices go up! Stay away from there for a while, willya? 🤣

You mean, like so? Nonetheless, I'm sure they'll be fun to cook with and in.

How about bagel bakers and seltzer men. I have a deed somewhere where a great-grandfather and grandfather purchased a seltzer business, including seltzer bottles, horses, carts, and the delivery route. When I was a little kid, we lived in a two-family house, upstairs. Downstairs, my paternal grandparents, who owned the two-family. There was always plenty of seltzer. Never really thought about following in anyone's footsteps.

These on the side... Of this... Pan-roasted Berkshire chop (D'artagnan) with a mustard horseradish cream pan sauce. The lentils. Saffron rice.

Leftover penne with mushrooms (always hide a little bit of the pasta so this can be made) turned into a... Frittata. Toasted, buttered rye and a Campari tomato.

Very close to a classic Marcella recipe... Penne with 4 types of 'shrooms. Porcini (dried), morels (dried), shitake, cremini. The Marcella recipe only uses cremini to mimic more expensive porcini, and has you cook down a pound of cremini (in butter and oil) with onions and garlic, then add white wine, anchovies and a small amount of canned tomatoes, all to punch up the mushroom flavor. Amazing what 2 good anchovies do for a sauce. And no cheese at the end, which I thought interesting. I actually like it this way, as the pasta is a bit looser, for want of a better word. I did have cheese at the table, in case Significant Eater wanted a sprinkle.