weinoo

Rutabaga. Even the guy at the checkout didn't know what it was (he rang it up as beets, but they were the same price so I let it slide). Simply roasted in a 425℉ oven, with salt, pepper and olive oil - quite good.

Why do you want a steak house if you don't want huge portions and drinks are of minimal interest; that's why you go to a steak house! In all seriousness, you might be better off asking at what restaurant might you get the best steak, steakhouse be damned. I just took a cursory glance, and many of the restaurants considered happening a bit right now basically have 1 steak on each of their menus. Of course, San Francisco is a tough one for great steaks, but I think your best chance for both choice of steak (hopefully one of you will have a rib eye ) and quality of beef might just be Ruth's Chris (which I like a lot in Florida) or Harris' (an old classic), both on Van Ness. They won't fuck up your steak, that's for sure...and they both have that steakhouse mood you're looking for.

In my never ending quest to buy stuff I've never heard of, has anyone tried this... Pow-Wow Botanical Rye. Straight Rye Whiskey Infused with Botanicals. 90 Proof. Georgetown Trading Co., LLC, Los Angeles, CA I picked it up at Ace Beverage in DC at the recommend of Joe Riley - (note the Georgetown connection).

I'm been in DC this past weekend, and it looks like the local crab season opens this week. A number of hot new openings include Montmartre, Carbone and Alder...Montmartre takes reservations, Carbone is pretty much reservations only and Alder is walk-in only (for now). I've only eaten at one of the three but reviews are fairly positive for all. Mission Chinese Food and Pig & Khao both fall into the cheap eats category (but not from carts) with some excellent food.

My thoughts are that whatever the ratings are, most of them are from amateur reviewers and they are as worthless as yelp.

OliverB - that idea is, ummmm, totally money! But how do you get rid of the sriracha odor?

One of my (of course) pet peeves is the wait, certainly in America, to get out of a restaurant after you're done eating. And, this week in The Daily Beast, Michael Tomasky tackles the issue head on in a piece entitled Are You a Restaurant Lingerer? Now, I may not be as much of a extreme case as Tomasky, who even says: However, when I'm done, I pretty much want to pay my check and leave. How about you?

Your grandmother had a toaster oven?

Nick - I often do this when I roast a whole bird. Either butter or duck fat - along with a sprig or two of thyme. If I'm feeling really industrious, I'll sliver up a clove or two of garlic and add that under the skin as well - it practically melts into the bird.

The whole idea of a roast chicken (for many people) is that it's supposed to be a fairly simple dish. Many want to take a chicken, maybe rub it with some butter or olive oil (or even better, in my book, duck fat), sprinkle on some salt and pepper, stick it in the oven for an hour and have a nice roast chicken. This recipe, of course, suggests that people want to spend hours and hours on that process. Or that they have rotisseries, and gram scales, and injectors - whatever. But - you still haven't told us what the really great secret to roast chicken is - and that's what kind of bird you're roasting. So please - let us in on that.

Patrick - I saw your post in the thread I linked to above. I'll have to give it a try. But I really have found Bell & Evans (at least the air-chilled, organic) to be better than Murray's? Have you tried it? I used to only buy kosher birds, or Bobo birds, but even they pale in comparison. I roast chicken differently almost every time I roast one. One time, it'll be Julia's method. Another, Thomas Keller's. Another - vertical roaster. Another on it's breast. Sometimes on a rack, sometimes on a bed of potatoes. If I had a rotisserie, I'd use that. A lot depends on the size of the bird. If you're starting with a 2.5# chicken, it's going to roast differently than a 3.7# bird. Cooking it outside - different than inside. Convection oven or no. There are a lot of variables to consider; I don't find it as simple as answering a survey.

Take a look at this post and the rest of the Roasting a Chicken topic for some really great ideas. As Ttogull's post immediately above mentions, it's all about getting a good chicken to start with. Cause if you're roasting a Perdue bird, it's always gonna taste like crap. I've been preferring Bell & Evans organic air-chilled birds lately - nice texture to the meat, and good flavor. If I lived in France, I'd be roasting a Bresse chicken twice a week.

A less bitter cocktail which we found ourselves returning to again and again this winter (and ala Sam as well) is the Grandfather... 1 bourbon / 1 Applejack BIB / 1 Antica / dash peychauds / dash ango / cherry garnish

Matzo ball ramen...

I'd never toasted any matzo before until Perlow mentioned it above. The matzo pieces were certainly not regular in shape although they may look that way. I'll try again with regular matzo soon.

I think they're both fine drinks, but that's just me. Adjusting the ratios, different sweets, etc. all make for a slightly different cocktail. For instance, I like my 1794 2 to 1 to .5.

Not quite true. Have you tried to cook a pizza at 325℉? Frittata at 450℉? But - I understand your point.

I have a Bosch gas range with full convection - probably a good 6 years old. Similar to this. The oven thermometer that I like is clear so it gets lit up from the oven light behind it. But they all get filthy and unreadable pretty damn quickly.

Well, mugen's more macro...you and I - more micro.

I don't know about you, but I might have to rush out and get these... Guy squirts... And all along, I thought Bobby Flay brought us the squirt bottle...

My range actually has a window so I can almost read the thermometer through that window. I also have a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven - once it's heated properly (45 min - 1 hour), the loss in temperature from opening the door and closing it quickly is minimal. Also, once you understand the thermodynamics of your oven, you shouldn't need to open the door to check the temperature very frequently.

I'm not sure if this is serious, if it is, it's pretty ironic that you're posting this statement to a food board. So it's ok for a select few to enjoy food, but if it spreads too far, well, then the allure is lost and it's ruined? Curious. I don't think that's what mugen is saying at all. Actually, I think mugen gets my OP. Fair enough. Guess i just don't follow the point then. I think the point I was trying to make is that, yes, we love pickles. But do we need to pickle every damn thing in sight? I love espresso. But does it have to be a triple ristretto every time? I like bacon and fat. But does it have to be on every dish I eat? I like barbecue. Do we have to smoke vinegar? Etc.

The only way to get an accurate reading of what the temperature in a home oven is is with a thermometer. I actually have two in my Bosch range, and in different parts of the oven they are off by about 25℉.

But lancastermike, you know "diets" don't work. Have some bread - but make it a small piece and subtract those calories from something else you're eating!

I'm not sure if this is serious, if it is, it's pretty ironic that you're posting this statement to a food board. So it's ok for a select few to enjoy food, but if it spreads too far, well, then the allure is lost and it's ruined? Curious. I don't think that's what mugen is saying at all. Actually, I think mugen gets my OP.