pastramionrye

i didnt want to come across as elitist... i have a decent set of german knives that i keep sharp to the point that everyone else wants to borrow my knives... but like i said, people want to buy me gifts...and more specifically my aunt wanted to buy me knives...therefore i thought i would look into some decent knives...not to look cool, but if someone wanted to buy me knives; why buy ones that are worse than the ones i got now... as for the jackets, all i want are some cotton jackets, some short sleeved some long...i like my $15 checkered pants, and my white, plastic button chef coats (ideally cotton, since my skin is breaking out from the polyester)...i can't deal with the knot buttons, when i try to button it up lefty, i cant do it. the only reason i bought up bragarde was my old chef had them, i didnt realize if they were expensive or not; just know they looked copmfortable, and i couldnt find any info on them. so to recap....i am not an elitist....i work in a nice, fine dining restaurant....and all i want are sharp knives and cotton jackets...

do they even sell mac knives around washington, dc? i can't purchase one without holdiong it first... anyone hear of a chef jacket company called "brigarde" or something of that nature...?

the jackets do bother me as well...and i have some gifts coming my way, and my new restaurant wont be supplying chef jackets, so i thought it a great time to get a few 100% cotton. thanks spencer...that would be helpful... mac knives? i think i have heard of them...the globals i am not a huge fan of...i guess i will check out the mac...and try to compare them with the wusthof grand prix

looking to purchase some 100% cotton chef jackets, as the ones i wear at my present restaurant are not good for my skin (so says my girlfriend); anyone have a suggestion of a brand they use? also, knives...looked at the usual suspects (ala wusthof and henckel and global..) what do you all prefer in terms of knives for use in the restaurant business? any other brands i should look at? thank you very much in advance. jonathan

i'm 28...attended school with malawry...and am finishing up my externship; my first kitchen job since i was 16 and working at sizzler. i am now moving up to poissonier for an esteemed chef at palena restaurant. i really want to excel and succeed in this business. ifd you have passion for it; and really want it; the skills will follow. the demanding hours arent as demanding as some people say. as a line cook at a fancy restaurant you will probably work about 50 hours a week (though there are exceptions. check out l'academie de cuisine. it is a shorter program; and we do miss out on some stuff that the longer programs do teach; but honestly, i work with people from the cia, j&w and other schools; and graduates from our school are taught the skills and techniques nececarry to succed in this business. and after 6 months at l'academie you will be in the field working at a top notch restaurant...just think where you will be in 2 years, as opposed to tthe other schools where you will still be in classroom work. good luck.

i dislike truffle oil...i think it is too intense of a smell; almost unatural. i love the earthyness of a real truffle. as for other things i dislike... green peppers while i dont hate lobster and salmon; i find them to be a bit overrated. id much prefer monkfish and halibut. calves liver i find to be a bit too iron-y for my like, i can eat a small portion, but not too much. i have never had tripe, though i have eaten sweetbreads and calves brains and find them to be excellent. but i eat most things put in front of me; and have been into them all. i am allergic to avocadoes though:(.

whats the recipe? i have to make a saffron cream sauce but have no reference point really.

i have heard there is a position open at galileo for banquets manager...

i just tried my first amarone...i can honestly say it is the first wine i loved. i have drank many good wines...but this one was my first great wine.

y old chef just opened up a family italian restaurant in herndon called san vito....i here it has good pizza...anyone been?

on my fictitious menu for my restaurant i have oysters on the half shell served with bloody mary sorbet.

that is tue in and very funny in one regard... but havent you ever bought a record or cd, and there are a few songs that catch your attention first...and you love them, and then there is that one song that at first was just ok...but then grows on you...and in the end, that becomes your favorite song on the album. it isnt about over-intellectualizing, though some people are guilty of that...it is about wrestling with your minds expectations, and about its natural inclination to grasp for something familiar... that is why we cling to the catchy song first (the steak au poivre); but in time grow to love the hidden gem.

me and my girlfriend go to the lebanese taverna all the time in rockville...it is super casual, and we felt some of the best food for the price in the area...then we went to the one in woodley park ( i guess their flagship), and i thought it was overpriced.

DuPont or Georgetown? dupont....i was not aware of one in georgetown.

my favorite is vace's...there sandwiches arent that great (though they have nice products... i dont care much for the bread. i have been to pizza paradiso twice; and both times enjoyed the space...and location...but not the food.

i am going to tosca with my girlfriend for our anniversary.... i have never been there, but cesare has done several demo's at my school, and i loved his cooking...plus my gf loves italian food... anyone been there? what are your thoughts? thanks.

and of course, since i am going to be working at palena, i am partial to it... and according to tom sietsma (the post reviewer) the little plates menu (which are not little) in the front dining room compose the best deal in town, with perhaps the best roast chicken in the city...i think all the little plates are $9.

the story for "the frog and the redneck" (in richmond) goes back to jean-louis in washington, dc... apparently one day jean-louis palladin was pissing off his sous chef, jimmy snead, big time...and jimmy snead had enough, and exclaimed "You're a fucking frog!" where jean-louis held up his knife and said, "Oh yeah!, well you're a fucking redneck!" thus the name was born...i believe jean-louis had a stake in the restaurant.

the meat was far from dried out...it was falling off the bone tender... the idea came from my buddy who was dining out at the local Houston's...who do in fact have great ribs....he asked the cooks how they got them so tender...and they told him they put them in the oven late night...and the morning guys grab them out of the oven the next day...they cook them for about 9 hours...

there are a ton of restaurants in the cleveland park area... for french, i can reccomend lavandou...a provencal restaurant in cleveland park...it is small and good...not excellent, but very good, and the prices are not outrageous.

it's actually been reincarnated at the new black cat near U street, not the 9.30 club.

the beard awards in my opinion are about politics...and getting yourself and your name out there... while there is abviously very deserving winners and nominees...i cant fathom todd gray being a perenial best chef nominee...i have eaten his food several times...and watched him cook several times. he is knowledgable, and a relentless self-promoter...but best chef mid-atlantic material, i think not. guys like frank ruta and fabio should be nominated before todd gray.

if you are looking for italian food in dc (fine dining) try obelisk or tosca (excellent)...palena is italian-french influenced... non-italian: try cashion's near adam's morgan go to washingtonpost.com and read about the restaurant's...it is easy to pick restaurants by cuisine and by neighborhood. good luck.

i had some "fall off the bone ribs" for the super bowl...ribs soooo tender that it was hard to put them on the plate in one piece.... No brine....just cooked them at about 200 to 250 degrees for 9 hours....count em.....nine hours slow cooked; basted with a bbq sauce made from scratch.... i think with ribs slow, long cooking = tenderness...

macadamia crusted halibut served with a spicy carrot sauce, glazed baby carrots and a potato and scallion cake... another bussman's holiday... the other day i was working on a softshell recipe....cornmeal crusted, cornflake crusted and panko crusted softshells served over a summer slaw(daikon, fennel, cabbage, carrots, pine nuts, oranges, mint, cilantro, rice vinegar, lemon mayo)...softshells didnt turn out as good as i had hoped.