stefanyb

Cabby, you'd have to get a really bad hairpiece first.

These are our rifles, these are our guns............

Nick, Your break knife should have bought you the Opus as an apology.

Its just as ridiculous to say that there are absolute standards as to say that there are no standards. And vice versa. In anything. Period. The end. Thats it. Shut up.

I refrigerate almost everything except for olive oil and vinegar and fruit that needs to ripen. It just seems neater, cleaner and less prone to develop mold, rot, flies and dust. I don't however take exception to or look down upon people who don't do as I do . I once spent some time with a small group of other artists at a farmhouse on the Atlantic coast of France just above Biarritz. The owner was German but owned this old farm as a summer retreat. The butter was never refrigerated. The cheeses, of which there were many, were kept in a cheese keeper. I once went to put it in the refrigerator and everyone screamed. Meals were a community effort and were often big stewpots full of meat and vegetables. These were left on the stove for days on end and reheated to the boil before serving. I was terrified but nothing ever hurt anyone and actually developed flavor as the days passed. Eggs were kept on the counter with the fruit. We had an excellent time and consumed an inordinate amount of wine all the time telling stories in English, German and French. Ah, it was loverly.

Well, all I can say is DIE-AY-NU! die-ay-nu. The food was abysmal. I have prepared and eaten almost all of the offerings and even with my limited talents, my own preparations are SO much better that it boggles the mind. But the quality of the food has already been dissected here. On the other hand, the company was spectacular. King Jason and Queen Rachel presided over the long table. Sir Wilfrid was in attendance and seemed to slowly turn purple after consuming copious amounts of vodka and awful offal but was his usual amiable, lovable self. Alas, Beloved could not make it. She certainly did not miss any culinary experience but it would have been excellent to have had her brio to add to the party. The always knowledgable and wonderfully charming ahr added his inimitable smile and gusto and ripped into his ribsteak like a hungry lion. We had some CH-ers among us and surprisingly enough they turned out to be some of the lovliest and most knowledgable hounds I have ever met. One terrific highlight was none other than the great Simon Majumdar who is not only a delight to talk with but is also soooo cute and funny. Nina and her beau were great as usual and kept everything lively down at the other end of the table. Thanks to Nina and her magnificent chutzpah we ended up with a celebrity guest in attendence. I hear she's aiming to replace Lizzie Grubman. I finally met the incredible Fat Guy. For someone so brilliant he certainly doesn't have an in-your-face personna when he is actually in your face. He was just lovely and laid back (at least he was last night). And..........then there was Bourdain. He was just exactly as he is on the tube and in his books. Totally authentic Tony. And skinny!!!! Oy vey, doesn't he eat at Les Halles? I overheard him giving the recipe for chopped liver to Simon and it was almost exactly as I prepare it. I suggested he add just a little grated raw onion for some zip and he seemed to think that that was an interesting addition. It was great to see Cabby once again. Oh Cabby, please post some of your wonderful and detailed reports. We need you! I missed my little Tommy (and Tommyx too). In sum, bad food (the place was my idea, mea culpa) but I'm still singing here at my desk and on a Monday morning no less.

It all depends upon whom the third party is. Someone with widespread exposure to and education (not necessarily schooling) in a particular area may very well be more readily relied upon to exhibit superior taste than someone without those characteristics. And, moreover, accepting their opinion is, many times but not always, a valid practice.

As I see it, the alternative to snob as LML sees it, is total relativist or non-discriminator or living with blinders or being growth averse (psychologically speaking)or just plain unconscious. Saying there is no such thing as taste is, conversely, the same as saying that there are absolute heirarchical distinctions in everything. Neither extreme describes the human experience.

Thats because, in many instances, there are.

Granted, that was written in the early 1970s, and while I think much has improved since then, it still rings awfully true today to me. Name your poseurs

I think it’s the air of ambiguity that makes Wilfrid so dreamy. Wilfrid probably meant chips and (Euro)peans, those Continental types with new currency.

As to the original question on this thread, I'll just quote my mother "You are not a garbage pail." The notion of the so-called starving children in Europe is specious, at best. Its preferable to not waste food in general as an ethical matter, but beyond that, throw out the rotting contents of your refrigerator! sheesh.

Suzanne, I'd love to know your take on high-end dog food too. What about Canadae?

what would your kids be like, the Macro Wugmonster? Gee, that was clever. I aim to please. Thank goodness we're not dependent on your aiming abilities for our national defense or any such thing. Yes, running this site is kind of like trying to pee standing up in the dark. Nina and I wouldn't know anything about that. Standing up? Whoever heard of such a thing? Guess I just gotta hand it to ya.

I haven't been to Bryant and Cooper in quite some time but I'd have to say based on past experience, its like comparing apples(PL) to amateur apples, IYKWIM. Are the three brothers (we used to call them the three peacocks) still strutting around the floor?

grib-in-iss, accent on the grib, in my house.

Suzanne, Reminds me of my birthday bash. Yummmm. I loved chopping with that Yidisha mezzaluna. The one I use is from my childhood although its a little squarer than an Italian one.

Expect a barage of dissenting opinion. Eeeeeeek, I'm waiting for the thousands of responses BTW, did you know that Lugers is the favorite steakhouse of the Coen brothers. Does that change your opinion?

Rachel, my saying that you're forgiving was in no way meant to be a criticism. My only recommendation for expediting your kitchen is this: Call the person in charge of the whole project EVERY SINGLE DAY. I'm sure you're very organized. Go over every single piece of business that is still pending, slowly and dispassionately but relentlessly EVERY SINGLE DAY. I'm telling you, make an absolute pest of yourself. Be the mosquito in his ear. Never get upset but never give in to not calling. You can be sure that there are sharks out there that are getting the attention that their project requires by being very tenacious and they may even be getting ahead of your work. Trust me on this, I know about these things. Remember, CALL EVERY SINGLE DAY. Heres a line you can use "You say that production for my replacement __________ is backed up? Well someone is getting their ____________ today WHY ISN'T THAT SOMEONE ME??????????" CALL EVERY SINGLE DAY

Whats to discuss? Garbage in garbage out. Nuff said, sheesh. More interestingly, Grand Sichuan has opened another branch, so I've been told, on the eastside. Anyone know anything about this? Its called Grand Sichuan NY .

Seinfeld Bette Midler J.- Was that also the episode with Kramer making dry pasta figurines?

Hence, the development of religion.

Drrevenue.com BTW, from LA

I think we can agree that from all appearances, you are a gracious and appreciative guest. Had your experience not turned out thusly, I strongly doubt you would have sent them a harshly-worded email and then come on a net chat-room and savaged your "friends." I think you would have chalked it up to experience, and maybe discussed it with them discreetly at a later date. We simply don't know the whole story of Dr. Revenge's episode. What we do know is that he believes he got a less-than-satisfactory meal, for which the staff apologized and then "comped" him. And that then he got his feelings hurt. And that then, he got even. exactly

You're right FG. I googled and found tahini does come in a toasted form. However, if Tommy is trying to duplicate his restaurant experience, peanut butter and Asian sesame paste is quite likely the base of the sauce for the sesame noodles he has experienced.