melkor

Depends... There are lots of purple skinned garlics, some softneck, some hardneck - if there is a single ring of cloves its hardneck, if there are smaller cloves inside the ring of larger cloves it's softneck.

Softneck garlic has a significantly longer shelflife than hardneck. From the University of Minnesota extension service: Another disadvantage of hardneck varieties is that they do not store well and may either start to form roots or start to dry out within a few months after harvest.

I've had the exact oposite reaction, I'm thrilled with the pastry changes at the French Laundry under Rouxel.

All fish get mushy and fishy when they have been out of the water for too long. I prefer the smaller chinooks to eat fresh and the larger ones smoked. Salmon fishing season starts up again in a couple of months - I can't wait.

"Atlantic Salmon" is just the name of that type of salmon. It's kind of like "Napa Cabbage" doesn't really come from Napa. It's just part of the name. Napa Cabbage is available in the grocery stores here in Napa. Some people even grow some in the community garden where I have a plot - maybe they are growing Napa Napa Cabbage

From the tone of your post, I think the most likely answer is unless your unhappy with the coffee your currently making - your best bet is likely to stick to what you've got. There is without a doubt a world of better coffee out there, but unless your willing to invest some energy in sourcing fresh beans it's not worth replacing your equipment.

Wild Chinook is my preference, it should be available from late April until early November - far more important than anything else is freshness. Whatever Wild Salmon you can get that was swimming 3 days ago or less will be the best. If you've got lots of options - Chinook, then Sockeye, then Coho.

Yep, the pre-made sandwiches weren't available the first week or two when I posted the photos earlier in this thread - or at least I didn't stop in when they had any.

Now wouldn't that be fabulous! Sonoma Market is where I buy my beef -- from their dry-aging cabinet! Maybe Melkor could thaw out some of his cow and we could have a taste comparison, n'est pas? The cow I've got I use for burgers, stews, and braises - the steaks aren't anything special. It's not that they aren't good but they are much leaner than a prime graded steak. I think you've completely missed my point - have a look here at the picture of the strip steaks Lobels is selling, it's a completely different product.

I need to start seedlings for my spring garden soon.... I wonder if snap peas will germinate outside this time of year.

I've been amazed by what can be grown here over the winter - this year we've grown celery, red onions, two kinds of garlic, spinach, salad greens, leeks, and arugula. Most of the stuff in the herb garden does well over the winter too - Basil is the only real exception. The asparagus has been poking its head out of the ground for the past few weeks, so I guess that means winter is coming to an end. How did your gardens do over the winter? What else could I have grown over the winter months?

I bought one of these last year, or maybe two years ago for the same price - also on sale from $125. It's a great grinder, mine served me well until I upgraded and now it's in one of the fly-over states with my brother, grinding his coffee every morning.

Somehow it's not so bad to drive half an hour to get to the grocery store, once it's 40 minutes or involves paying a bridge toll it's too far away.

What grade? From what source? Most beef will improve with some amount of dry aging, the more marbling in the meat the longer it can be aged. The only place I know of to get Prime beef near by is in Rockridge, at either Ver Brugga or the butcher in Market Hall - neither place has dry aged prime beef and the quality of their prime beef is nothing like Lobels. I'm sure there are other sources, but if I'm paying $30/lb for meat, I might as well pay $50 and have someone cook it for me and clean up afterwards.

Apparently I should be attesting to what Ladera is.... I was there last week sometime, once the construction is done, the place will be spectacular - The wine they have in barrel is really really good. It's worth a trip up the hill if your up that way, the winery at least at the moment has the feel of the older Napa wineries - it's very laid back, great wine, and not packed full of tourists. I'm not clear what this has to do with peoples favorite winery, since I already picked Phelps - lets at least pretend to keep this on topic by saying it's Carolyn's favorite winery if for no other reason than she spends 40+ hours a week there.

There's also Amador county and the rest of the Sierra Foothills... Renwood is excellent out that way.

From the looks of things, they won't be around much longer anyway.

I've been visiting the Bouchon Bakery fairly regularly for the last seven months - a few things have changed. They have started offering sandwiches for lunch. Their croissants have improved - they are even richer now than they were when they first opened. They seem to be producing twice as many different things now, the nutterbutter sandwich being my current favorite All in all, if you haven't been there yet, you’re missing out.

I've since been back to Nugget a couple more times, I'm most impressed by their wine selection. They have one of my favorite grower champagnes for around $25/bottle Michel Turgy bdb brut NV - it's often $30-$40 a bottle. They also had a few bottles of 2001 JJ Prum Rieslings left. If it were 10 minutes closer I'd do most of my shopping there.

It's great to see how varied our favorites are. I'm surprised no-one has mentioned and of the less traveled wineries in Santa Barbara or Paso Robles.

I'm surprised davebr had a poor experience at Terra with their wine service, they have been pleasant and accommodating every time I've been there - sometimes with my own wine, sometimes ordering from the list, and sometimes asking for a recommendation from the list. I still can't decide if I like Terra or the Martini House better. The sauces at Terra are spectacular, but their wine list can't compare to brilliantly assembled list that the Martini House has. I prefer the atmosphere at the Martini House better than Terra. Every time I've been to either place the service has always been excellent. I think I'm stuck deciding where to go based on my mood.

I agree completely, I've got a quarter of a cow left in my chest freezer from Chileno Ranch in Petaluma, it's grass fed and dry aged and it's really really good. That said - it can't hold a candle to the dry aged prime beef Lobels and the top steakhouses sell.

We start seeing fresh garlic here in CA at the farmers markets in late May/early June.

I'm no fan of Ruths' Chris or Mortons. Good steak costs real money, you simply can't get excellent meat for $15/lb - you can get good steaks, but they won't hold a candle to what you can buy at Lobels. Besides, anyone who believes they can make a steak at home to rival what the top steakhouses are putting out either has a 1500*F+ broiler, prime+ steaks, and a lot of skill - or they are wrong. An excellent meal at a top-notch steak house is going to cost $75+ per plate, there aren't any corners to cut to avoid that and still end up with an outstanding meal.

Greg's Cole's Chop House = Cole's Chop House in Napa? I'd be really suprised, but not the least bit upset if the best steak house in CA is right here.