weinoo

Yes. Yes, too. And for the Negroni, I like Martini & Rossi for the sweet vermouth. Antica can overpower, and I like to taste the gin.

In the shadow of Keith McNally's Cherche Midi, 2 new French restaurants have opened. I'd call one, La Gamelle, in the style of a brasserie; i.e. Balthazar. I'd call the other in the style of, well, not much else here in NYC, but perhaps Paris' Spring Restaurant, since that's where the head chef of Rebelle, Daniel Eddy, hails from most recently. At least in my eyes, the giant open kitchen, staffed by a dozen or so eager cooks in their whites, jarred my imagination back to the 2nd arrondisement. We tried both this week, each on its second night of service (to the public, anyway). La Gamelle, the second one we tried, is not-quite-ready for prime-time. Spotty service and a miscue or two from the kitchen left it wanting. It's a beautiful room (man, these spaces on Bowery are big), with a 100+ year-old lead/zinc bar. Sadly, the barstools are uncomfortable, wooden hunks of junk, no doubt from one of the remaining restaurant supply stores up or down the street. I'm sure, at one time, the old-school brasseries in Paris had seats just like these at their bars. I'll give La Gamelle another chance, a few weeks down the road. Rebelle, on the other hand, was easily running on all cylinders, a well-oiled staff eager to please. Rebelle's team is the same as that of it's sister restaurant right next-door, Pearl & Ash, so any real wine geeks are gonna be in heaven; the list is a tome, 1,500+ bottles deep. I like Pearl & Ash, but I really liked my first meal at Rebelle, and can't wait to go back. A little more about what we ate at Rebelle, with lousy pix, is here... Rebelle - A Touch of Paris on The Bowery

I really think this... is quite good for frozen stuff. It has quite low sodium, no preservatives, and is tasty. So it becomes part of...

Clam bellies - yes. I wrote about here on eG.

Have you tried taking thicker asparagus (which I find more tender and often juicier), and slicing it ultra-thin on the diagonal. I'll do this for a raw asparagus salad, though I'll peel the lowest portion. Dressed with some good oil, a little lemon juice, salt, pepper and a few shavings of pecorino or parmesan, it's really good, and I first had something along these lines at one of Mario's restaurants (probably Lupa).

I think one of the issues with eating "fast" is that our brains probably don't know that our stomachs have had enough to eat. So we eat more.

Right - the article says, under No. 7:

Finally, an article about healthy eating that I can agree with. Because I'm so damn tired of being "told" what I should and shouldn't eat. Or what's good for me and what isn't. Everything in moderation has always been my practice... Simple Rules For Healthy Eating

I just look at it as an inside-out fondue.

Dinner for some friends las night... Tapas platter w salchichón Ibérico, jamón Ibérico, queso Lupulus, and banderillas. Larger (than I'm used to) paella. Chicken, chorizo, clams & mussels.

Welcome to the wonderful world of an NYC apartment. I've lived with this same situation for a really long time. I don't do any (well, hardly any) deep frying. I used to roast coffee beans, but talk about generating some smells! I tend to do most of my cooking, when it's on the stove top, at moderate heat levels - I can still get a pretty nice sear, but it still generates smoke and grease and smell. I also occasionally do some stove-top smoking, using Hassouni's high-tech method to rid the air of smoke. Oh, there's also incense.

Well, we've been to WASSAiL a good half-dozen times now...and I see a lot more visits in our future. Hail WASSAiL

Didn't consider that - maybe next time!

Old school - Roasted a 2.5 lb. chicken last night in a 3-liter, tin-lined, Mauviel copper sauté pan. Came out great. My one problem is that at this point, after shoulder surgery, this sucker is heavy.

Last month, Significant Eater and I took a quick trip to San Francisco. It lasted 4 days & nights, which could've been at least 12 meals, had we not been the wusses we are. We dined at The Progress (State Bird's new sister restaurant), Chris Cosentino's new(ish) Cockscomb, Trou Normand, Plow, Swan Oyster Depot, Pim's Kin Khao, and a few other places. I would go back to any of these - as a matter of fact, Kin Khao, Swan and Plow have all been visited on previous visits. It's still my 2nd favorite city in the US, and I'd go back in a flash. Long-winded report, with long-winded pix... California Dreamin'

What about an Aero press?

Asparagus & dried porcini risotto. Used an asparagus stock I made with the ends and peels of the asparagus (+onions, leeks, carrots, celery, herbs), and also used the soaking water from the porcini.

Yeah, we ended up liking Le Diplomate more than we thought we would. It's a great version of Balthazar.

Yikes. Anyway, our favorite became Red Hen. We're not in DC at all any more, and haven't been since November, but Red Hen it was.

Not necessarily. In-house inventories tend to change a lot faster than on-line updates. In any event, Astor and the others mentioned above are a good start. For hard-to-find bitters, Kalustyan's has a quite large selection.

To me, there are very few perfect cocktail pairings with food. But, Martinis with oysters works nicely. And Negronis with, well, bar snacks, works too.

Well, biochemistry probably made that hot dog, so... I like Nathan's, but they really need to be the natural casing variety, which are harder to find. They just get a little extra snap from that. Last night... Chicken and chorizo paella, with a nice soccarat (finally!). To snack on, while enjoying our Bamboo cocktails... Mini sweet peppers. 1 lb. bag for $2. Roasted in Steam Girl (w/o steam).

I believe Ms. Saunders now calls Washington State home. But I'm sure she occasionally checks in to the mother ship.

I bring my own Searzall.

And we still go? Here's why... Full article.