weinoo

Nice to see you blogging. Were you able to communicate with the airline about your lost camera, and if so, have they found it?

Yesterday's NY Times had this article: Nature Adds Water, and Everything Mushrooms. About the explosion of mushrooms in New York City this year. Due to the near-biblical rains. The article states: You could always go to a class at the New York Botanical Garden, or give the New York Mycological Society a call. Just don't eat the damn things without being absolutely certain.

Little Italy = Chinatown. It's a good thing there's a Shake Shack in every part of town, now; isn't it?

Coffee. Because it's better.

I don't want to pick nits, but the biggest "landmark" is probably Union Square Park. Much closer than WSP. If you're in this neighborhood, Dos Toros does some pretty good tacos and burritos - they've upped their status from hot food truck to bricks and mortar with multiple locations. There are literally tons of places to eat decently on a budget. Search our site, Village Voice, yelp (shoot me). Still, one of my favorite lunch spots is Great NY Noodletown on Bowery. Roast duck or pork with wonton and noodles is around $5.50. Same thing for roasted meats over rice. Most ramen places are gonna run you more than noodles in a Chinatown spot. Vanessa's Dumplings on Eldridge St. will buy you 4 for $1 dumplings, or a great sandwich on a sesame pancake for around $2. Some soups too. You might want to see what all the fuss is about at the Meatball Shop on Stanton. I like it; others bitch and moan, but for good budget eats, it rocks. And if you're on Stanton, Souvlaki GR has their bricks and mortar shop (they were also only a truck, back in "the day"). I had the pork souvlaki last week (under $5) and it was really good, though I've had better Greek salads elsewhere. A $20 large pie will feed 3 nicely at Arturo's. If you start drinking, your budget will go straight to hell. You can split a pastrami sandwich and a knish, with a couple of Dr. Brown's sodas at Katz's and get out for around $25. Or, skip the knish and supplement with a hot dog. Get ballsy and sneak a knish in from Yonah Schimmel's down the block (go ahead, I dare you) - just don't let anyone see you. More as I think of it.

Definitely not Payard. He's a relative babe in the woods. That might just be the place.

I don't know that I'd be re-cooking it. However, shredded and made into a nice chicken salad might be an option... Chicken Salad

Chefs (and others) are often asked what they would want to eat for their final meal. I'm interested not in what you would want to see served at that table, but who you would like to eat with. Let's say you could have dinner with 3 other food world luminaries. Past or present. Who would that include? And why, if you feel like delving into that subject?

Okay, I admit it. I have, on occasion, suffered a "kitchen injury." There was that time, on the first day of cooking school, that I basically sliced the tip of my finger off. And then there was the incident when I was making dinner for the first time for a bunch of our new neighbors, and while I was mincing parsley decided to mince part of another finger. And man, those finger injuries are bleeders. So obviously, anyone that cooks a lot at home needs some sort of a first-aid kit, or at least a supply of various bandages, etc. That little box of Batman band-aids that you keep around for when the kid scuffs an elbow just aren't going to cut it. My first-aid set up consists of all sorts of sizes of heavy-duty bandages, tape, rolls of gauze, giant adhesive gauze pads, finger-tip bandages and on and on. There are also hydrogen peroxide and 3-way antibiotic pain killing creams. Scissors, finger cots, etc. Do you keep a first-aid kit? What am I missing? And, how bad does the injury have to be before you head to the ER?

Hot and humid. On a good day. Otherwise, really friggin' hot and really friggin' humid.

I've had a self-cleaning oven for about the past 8 years or so. But I've never used the self-cleaning function. I guess it kind of scares me; the unknown of what type of fumes and how much of a stink it will make. Or will it kill my cat? I've always been able to keep my oven fairly clean by basically wiping up spills when they happen and using some baking soda or Bon Ami for slightly tougher stains, but I think my oven needs a real cleaning and now I'm thinking of using the self-clean. So - do you use yours? And, does it work well? Or would you suggest I use Easy-Off or something like that?

I'm glad you found some beans you like. I especially like the Guatemalan coffees for breakfast.

There was a really famous French pastry shopp/bakery on Lexington Avenue in the 70's (streets, not decade) that closed some time ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they had macarons.

That's because it doesn't. A Last Word is equal parts gin, maraschino, Green Chartreuse and lime juice. The usual going rate is .75 oz. of each. Since you're in DC, I suggest you check out Ace Beverage on New Mexico Ave. up near American University. Great selection and you'll have no trouble finding splits of dry vermouth. As well as practically any rye you might be interested in trying.

I love AND use knives.

Of course. Keep a roll of masking tape and a Sharpie in the kitchen and, as they say in that commercial, just do it.

I think it's more along the lines of a sharpening device that people who care about their knives use.

My feeling is that people who are not totally "invested" in their knives don't want to sharpen - even with a Spyderco. So yes, recommend whatever Cook's Illustrated's "best" sharpener is, along with a $25 Victorinox (not a bad knife, by the way).

I think we might have.

Exactly my feelings, nickrey. From the years of reliability that Silvia brings, I get a certain good feeling about the machine. I wonder what happens when the CC1 starts needing service.

In this Percolator vs Plunger vs Siphon vs Espresso Machine topic, poster jeffsf claims in this post that: Now, I don't know that I'd take them with a grain of salt, because I really like my Rocky/Silvia combo. I've owned them for a little over 2 years and I consistently pull excellent espresso with them, so they've probably paid for themselves by now. But...I'm always open to new ideas. So, what are the better contenders for entry-level machines? And what price level, for the two pieces of equipment mentioned, is considered entry-level?

I'll start with...Mallomars.

Maybe I should have posed the question like this: What will you eat yogurt with? And, what would you never eat with yogurt?

A slight argument with my wife (Significant Eater) at yesterday's breakfast. We had a pretty standard breakfast including an egg sandwich (on a toasted bialy) and some cut-up fruit, including cantaloupe and apple. Which I topped with yogurt. That seemed to be the starting point. She claimed yogurt doesn't go with apples. I said it does. Leading to this topic. So, what does yogurt go with? And what should it absolutely not be paired with?

Actually, post #8 said this: