Hassouni

Well after going back to Little Branch last night, I think I can say I could happily live there. Still remains the best bar I've ever been to, though Pouring Ribbons was really really good and quite innovative

Now I have to hope some of the recipes are eventually revealed... that Dueling Banjos sounds really interesting to me. It's essentially a Mai Tai but with lemon standing in for the lime, freshly made corn milk standing in for orgeat, and two bourbons instead of two rums. I'm sure they'll give you the specs if you ask (the postcard that comes with the check has "fill in the blank" spaces pre-printed for cocktail recipes), and they're pretty active on Twitter as well. https://twitter.com/pouringribbons that's certainly true, I got thanked by them on Twitter an hour or two after posting about them! (I'm "WBHblog")

I just felt the drinks there weren't anything special. I went with 4 or 5 people, and we had two rounds each, so I got to try a good chunk of the menu, and nothing really blew me away. Granted, at LB and PR i was sat/stood at the bar and had direct interaction with the bartenders, whereas at PDT I didn't, but still, while it was good, it was nothing special when compared to its rivals in New York or even DC.

Went to Pouring Ribbons last night - it was phenomenal. Went around 9, no queue, somewhat empty, got great bar seats and had a good time. Our bartender was very friendly and knowledgeable. Apparently it was only their 8th night open. Tried to get into Death and Co 10 minutes earlier and they said there'd be an hour wait. After dinner (Mission Chinese) tried to go to Little Branch and the queue must have had 20 people in it, so went to Pegu Club, where we got right in. It was quite good, but I think Pouring Ribbons was better. I really like their flavor matrix

Ramps are out of season - try negi (Welsh onion)

Hm, given I'm only gonna be there two nights, I may have to whittle it down. Death and Co and Pegu Club are definites

Im headed to New York tomorrow for two nights and want to hit up some sweet cocktail bars. Last time I went to PDT and Little Branch. I thought PDT was overrated but absolutely adored LB. I was thinking this time Pegu Club, Death & Co, and anything else you can recommend, preferably in Manhattan. Is it possible to get into Milk & Honey without membership, by the way? Also, last time tried to go to Death n Co but it seemed to close early (like 1 or so). Is that normal?

3 cups refers to 3 Japanese rice cooker cups (gou) of dry rice. Each gou makes enough rice when cooked for two people, more or less. 1 gou is 180ml or pretty much 6 fluid ounces What you see implying it isn't a full 3 cups probably means it's not equivalent to 3 western cups, or, 3x240ml (3x8oz)

No, it doesn't crisp the rice. It makes very soft rice, at least when using Japanese styles of rice. Not sure if that's a Japanese preference or not. Does anyone know how I can make bulgur wheat (burghul) in a micom rice cooker?

Mince the lamb and make stuffed peppers and other dolma with it, and add some pom syrup (I'm just going to use that term from now on). This looks like a decent recipe, http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Iraqi-Stuffed-Onions, use the stuffing with peppers, onions, tomatoes, little eggplants, and of course grape leaves (for a real Iraqi twist you'd use swiss chard leaves)

Wow, expensive....

What I meant was, in a Melitta-style, pinhole cone, can one add water and walk away, or is it also an issue of hovering as with the v60? By the way, I did some practice pours out of a teapot and I seemed to get a pretty precise stream, so I might use that before deciding whether a dedicated kettle is worth it.

So I had my first ever pourover coffee today, from Filter Coffeehouse in DC. It was all made using Hario gear, from the v60 cone to the Buono kettle to the little glass beaker thing that the coffee dripped into. I really liked it (I usually drink either French Press, Turkish, or Vietnamese coffee), and I'd like to maybe get a setup for myself. I'm curious as to how the open-style cones like the Hario differ in end result from the restricted cones such as the classic Melitta design. If I can avoid spending $50+ on a fancy kettle (as needed by the open design), that'd be great, if the end product is comparable.

Mmm, three great rums! What's the recipe?

Well, orgeat is a syrup, not a liqueur, so I'd guess probably not

Depends who you ask!

Making, no, because in the Middle East it can usually be had for a buck or less. See if you can add some biber salçası, or Turkish sun dried pepper paste, or, to make it more Arabic, add some pomegranate molasses

Anyone made a swizzle with W&N overproof?

Laphroaig 10 is hard to get in SD? (Also, let us know how the Banks is!)

Gonna be in Kuwait for a week starting tonight, any recommendations of good places to eat? Especially interested in Persian and Subcontinental (Afghan is OK too), as well as any hole in the wall East/Southeast Asian places

Italian food always struck me as very similar in concept to Japanese - very simple treatments of very fresh, seasonal food, to let the base ingredient shine forth.

The rule of thumb is this - Arab brands are more sour, Iranian brands are sweeter (but still a bit tart). Former: Cortas (this is the main one) several others (Baroody as rotuts mentioned is one) Latter: Golchin Sadaf For something like Fesenjoon I use a mix of Golchin and Cortas.

hmmmm, this looks decent: http://mypersiankitchen.com/khoresht-fesenjan-persian-pomegranate-and-walnut-stew/

I really can't recommend fesenjoon strongly enough, though

Use it anywhere you would balsamic vinegar, since it's thick, sour, and sweet. A bit of olive oil, maybe a splash of lemon, shake it up, voila!