pastramionrye

does it come across as arrogant to anyone else that gillian refers to herself as Chef? i mean c'mon, lighten up, lady! you can have your fellow cooks call you "Chef" if you want, but to go signing newsletters and such with "Chef" is just a tad bit arrogant...not even Chef Gillian, or Chef Clark.... just my .02$

i know the secret ingredient....

what restaurant is this? where will it be? and who are the alumni you speak of?

what restaurants are you speaking about? the only ones i have seen these at are the likes of cheesecake factory, houstons and the such...seems to me you would expect them at places like these.

i totally appreciate all the great ideas; keep up the good work. jonathan

My fiance and I are making cupcakes for our wedding; i am looking for a nice cakestand to display some of them (it doesnt have to fit them all); but i would like it to be somewhat unique if possible. i have searched ebay of late and found nothing too interesting... anyone have any ideas?

the sandwiches are overpriced garbage and i would never order anything called a squagle (even if daniel boulud or thomas keller was serving it to me)...

i was not criticizing bilrus, i was criticizing the people who were panning th dish without trying it; obviously bilrus has a valid opinion; since he has actually tasted the tofu and beef. but for anyone who has never tried it to pass judgment is somewhat unfair.

for those that have written off the beef carpaccio with tofu without tasting it; why not reserve judgment...fabio is not some inexperienced "chef" who got his first gig after spending a couple of years working at TGI Fridays. He is widely considered the best chef in this area, and one of the best in the country. i am sure the dish is excellent. as for the complaints about the fits in the kitchen, and the toenail fungus presentation; why not bring these up directly to Maestro and their staff, rather than airing your complaints to us? Maestro and the Ritz Cmpany are unparalleled in their committment to customer service.

four places that fanatically strive for fresh, local ingredients: cashion's eat place (2004 beard award winner) palena obelisk equinox all 4 are high end restaurants in washington, dc...so you won't have to go out to the suburbs.

i bought the bread bakers apprentice, and it is a good base of knowledge for formulas'etc.... but for baking in an electric oven, i use the La Cloche, and my breads have beeen coming out looking like they were baked ina a wood burning hearth. i strongly recommend it (it costs about $50) though you can only bake one loaf at a time....

in the food section a week or so ago it said that restaurant eve's pastry chef has supe-sugary sweet "birthday" cake on the menu.

well i made bread again today, and i probably got my best oven spring to date... but for some reason, parts of the crust separated a little bit from some of the sides of the bread (not the top or bottom). anyways, the texture and flavor were really good. here are the pictures: crumb crust my twins any constructive criticism would be helpful. thanks. RYE

My fiance and I found ourselves at Eastern Market yesterday...shopping in and around... not wanting to eat the lunch at the actual market; nor tunicliffs, cosi, starbucks or bread & chocolate, we found ourselves at montmarte; a place we went about 11 months earlier, the actual day we got engaged. i really like this space. food aside, this restaurant is very charming, an clean and nice to look at. the food is not the best french food in the city, but in a restaurant wasteland, i think montmarte is a very attractive option. i enjoyed a cup of joe...house pate and an entree of swordfish with lemon, olives, bread cubes and some other springy stuff. my fiance had a salad, quiche with leeks, tomatoes and goatcheese. i also had a refreshing and crisp glass of sancerre. all in all i had a very pleasant meal. not life changing; but very enjoyable. they seem to do great business on sundays...does anyone know how well they do during the week and weekend nights?

I'ts not a bar menu; its a cafe menu...and there are probably 10 tables in the cafe, along with the 8 or so bar stools where you can order the $9 plates.

if you have to eat in B-town, and want french or italian, try cesco....or maybe persimmon. for red sauce italian, la panneterria isnt bad.

morela....you are quite funny.... are you really fran drescher?

I can't see Jaleo being competition for Tosca on any level. Tapas vs. Italian Casual setting vs. more formal Inexpensive/moderate vs. moderate/expensive i think he was referring to the tapas place LA TASCA...but maybe i am wrong...

some of these interviews are like listening to atheletes speak...they are so generic and unoffensive/noncommital in their responses. "yeah, were going to go out and play the best we can...try to score more points than the other team..." "all of the dishes are good..glad you liked it, all of our customers are the best..."

when one of my good friends was in town, his brother-in-law knows one of the bartenders, we went 4 out of 5 nights. it was cozy and pretty cool. i liked it; though they could use a sign, dont you think?

how is pate fermentee any different than a spong (besides salt and hydration)? does it add more to the bread in terms of flavor and texture than a sponge which ferments overnight?

i have about 1 pound of starter... i use about 4 or 5 ounces to make a sponge the previous day...discard another three ounces and then double the remaining 8. the bottom of the cloche i keep in the oven while it is preheating....the top, i soak the inside in t water. i dont use any of my remaining bread dough to make a pate fermantee, as i can only bake once a week.

well it is nearly six weeks later...my starter is getting to be quite vigorous; with a great aroma. i have had some failed loaves, some dense loaves... and today, 2 excellent loaves. it feels damn good. ps: la cloche is great. my bread has a wonderful crust.

wd-50 ...or more specifically.....click on the image. I hear johnny is quite a talent with a large cookbook collection. nothing wrong with it.

that is a funny one.