weinoo

Pancetta? Guanciale?

Does bacon hash count?

Elvis?

Tortellini in brodo.

I have to agree with budrichard. The crap from China is useless. Any chance I get I pick up some hardneck garlic at the farmer's market in Union Square, but at $1.50 a head, even those have some green shoots by this time of year.

Agree the fries blow.

I don't find Eater to be a blog; to me, it's more of a compiler, with occasional longer pieces. I blog because I simply wanted something to call my own, much of which has no place here on eG. And I post on eG because I enjoy the interaction with all of the members here.

I like the Muir Glen products. Do you ever try the fire roasted tomatoes for the salsa? It gives it a bit of a Bayless.

Rino, in the 11th, isn't too far. Great for lunch. Downstairs in the Wine Cellar at Spring. Also easy to get to from Marais. We always have a good meal and a good time at Café des Musées, on Rue de Turenne. Open Sundays and for lunch. Much more casual but great for breakfast or lunch is Breizh Cafe, for their excellent crepes.

I think they might taste better. Beauties on the chocolates, dude. I could eat a dozen or so right now.

Looks like it'll be a good week - agree on those two charcuteriers, would only add Batali senior to that mix.

I wouldn't be saving the fat from a smoked duck; all that fat is going to taste like is smoke and char. Let it harden and toss it.

Actually, there already is a Gowanus cocktail, from Bar Tano in the Gowanus neighborhood. That said, I have to agree with thirtyoneknots; batch it all up, and make the show of stirring them in pitchers and garnishing the drinks individually.

Actually, I think the cooking on this season looks (obviously, I can't taste it) so much better than many past seasons. I think Bev had to go because she lost during the regular season, LCK be damned.

I dont really have any urge or need to put grill marks on my food (of course, it would be a different story if I had a real grill), but I suppose that the best tool for this indoors would be something that cleaned up much more easily - perhaps anodized aluminum or non-stick, but then it would be a problem getting the non-stick surface screaming hot.

Now that's an idea!

Oh, it's plenty clean now. But you're really not supposed to clean cast-iron every freakin' time it's used, right... . So all I need is, ummmm, a grill. And a backyard. I like the plancha side of my grill/griddle combo - a lot!

I own one of those beautiful cast iron grill/griddle combos. Have for a long time. But, and here's the rub - I never use the grill side any more. Because after I use the grill side, when I flip it over and use the griddle side, all the crap that has formed on the grill side is now exposed to two gas flames and basically burns off flooding my apartment with smoke. Am I doing something wrong...because I if am, I can't figure out what it is. And therefore, isn't this a pretty useless piece of equipment? Well, other than using only 1 of the sides. Or using it outside. Or using it with a giant ventilation hood, which I don't have.

I like a tiny bit of oil except when searing steaks. But...the oil should be one with as high a smoke point as possible; in my case, I use grapeseed oil for this purpose, usually rubbing it on with a bit of clean cotton cloth.

I think court bouillon is used to poach fish, but not made from fish.

Kinda hot news... Mission Chinese, a wildly popular San Francisco restaurant, was coming to New York and opening in the former Rhong Tiam/Bia Garden space.

The other night my wife and I were back at Lupa, where the pastas still remain very, very good. Low-key might not be applicable, however.

Agreed. I've never been a fan of melamine - it has a weird feel and sound. The other day I was in just one of these stores, but the product in most of these stores is not any cheaper than IKEA, and in most cases is certainly not as nice as some of what's available at IKEA. Agreed. See above. Nope...closest one appears to be about 350 miles from here . I actually have a set of those already - very serviceable. I will most likely go back to the flagship Fishs Eddy store, located right near the Union Square greenmarket. They made their name buying up old and discontinued lots of restaurant ware. Now they still do that, but they also have their own brand name dinnerware - unfortunately, it's made in China and I'm trying to avoid buying Chinese made dinnerware, which also causes problems with buying at IKEA. The stuff I've bought at Fishes Eddy is mostly restaurant grade dishes from Homer Laughlin and Syracuse China Company - it's all made in the good ole USA. They have a whole section in the back of the store with all sorts of plates, mugs, cups, saucers, bowls, etc. for $1 to $4 a piece, depending on size. The other day I picked up some nice 9" plates from Homer Laughlin for $3 a piece, and some cool looking gold-rimmed small bowls for $1 each. What I like about this stuff is that, while it's not unbreakable, it takes a lot of abuse without chipping or cracking. The stuff I have from IKEA gets chipped up practically from looking at it. With just a few more plates of various sizes, I'll be able to cobble together enough real dishes for the party. And then I'll move the stuff that I don't need on a regular basis downstairs to my storage bin! As for flatware, I already have two services for 8. While neither is complete (and what happens to those teaspoons I'll never know) I definitely have enough stuff for the brunch.

This is the main point - the storage of pieces I'd rarely use. But I do have and pay for storage down in the basement of our building, so...

Lunch here just the other day on our anniversary. We started with a nice "pot" of kimchi... One of the earliest dishes to grab attention for David Chang - the pork buns. Yesterday, a special bun made an appearance - this time it was brisket. With horseradish, pickled red onion and cucumber, it was maybe even more delicious than the original... Since we always try to get our veggies, we had to have the baby greens salad, with apple, radish, chestnut and yes, duck proscuitto... One of Sig Eater's old faves, roasted rice cakes, was on the daily blackboard menu, so... To top it all off, another of the daily specials, showcasing duck, this time the leg/thigh meat cooked into a ragu with poblanos, cilantro and a fried egg to top it all off... With only minimal pouting, we passed on dessert. After all, dinner at Acme was a mere 5 hours away.