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Everything posted by Craig Camp
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Robert Mondavi Lowers Earnings Forecast for Fiscal 2003 and Streamlines Operations
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The choucroute which should be the signature dish at this 'Alsatian' Brasserie is an embarrassment. On the other hand the mussels and the wine list are quite nice.
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Lettuce Entertain You is probably the most professional and structured restaurant factory in the United States – which means in the world. Build ‘em and sell ‘em. You cannot include Everest and Ambria in the blend. They have always been treated as independent fiefdoms by Lettuce management. They are smart enough to understand that that chefs like Joho and Sotelino make a big PR statement so they leave them alone. To understand the differences just eat at Brasserie Jo and try to believe that this food is created by the same man that creates genius at Everest. It is not the chef that is different it is the entire philosophy. The accountants and Lettuce bureaucrats run the Brasserie with predictable results. I would rather eat interesting food than get points.
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OK - I have to ask. What is Whack-A-Mole?
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Ben Pao is Chinese. On Lettuce, I disagree with you partly... Althou some of their restaurants probably arent wholly authentic..like Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and Scoozi some are tremendous and very true of the cuisine they represent...tru, Everest, Ambria come to mind immediately.... Everest and Ambria are authentic in spite of Lettuce because they are the personal statements of Jean Joho and Gabino Sotelino. The Lettuce accountants leave them to their art. Outside of their restaurants Lettuce can get very 'cute' with their food. My question then is Ben Pao authentic or just theater? I am no expert on Chinese cuisine so I think this is a legitimate question. That said Ben Pao is a regular stop for me when I am in Chicago – although since Jackie Shen went to Red Light I tend to head there.
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Market tough, but California 2002 wine shipments up slightly
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In Restaurants, the Wallet Before the Wine free registration is required by the NYT website
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Natural vs. Synthetic While opening a bottle of 2000 Monte Antico recently, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the synthetic cork and sent a silent "thanks" to Italian wine shipper Neil Empson for making the change. There would be no 'bad' bottle of Monte Antico tonight. There are so many 'corked' bottles out there I always feel I have to take a back-up bottle to BYOB restaurants. What a pain. I see a change coming as synthetic corks and screw caps become more and more accepted by consumers. The question is how long it will take to become commonplace on expensive wines. As far as cheaper wines go - anyone producing wine that sells wine for under $10.00 is doing their customers a disservice by using natural cork. So a question for Claude - is there any movement towards alternative closures in Burgundy? By the way the Monte Antico continues as being one of the best buys available from Italy.
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The comment about salt by FG has been rolling around in my mind enough to make me go back and re-read this thread. Brain freeze! I wrote the wrong thing about the salt. I use about a tablespoon PER QUART of water. I don't actually measure, but it is one small pile of course sea salt in my hand (I have big hands) per quart. Sorry for the mistake. Thanks for spotting it FG. I do adjust slightly for the size of the pot and the pasta. The bigger the pot the more salt I use. If the pasta is very hard and smooth I use even more - again referring to the piles of salt in my hand.
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From the North Berkeley site: Calot, Morgon Some three years ago we visited the Calot cellars in Villié-Morgon. It was our last tasting of a long day and we were thrilled with the results. It was clear from the first taste that our cuvée of Morgon would be one of the finest Beaujolais we have ever imported. With that taste in our mouths and a spring in our step we went up the hill about 200 yards to our hotel. This place has become a kind of refuge for us. It is the only hotel in town and arguably the best in all of Beaujolais. The rooms are large and comfortable and all look out on Morgon vineyards. There is even a swimming pool and you never have to leave the hotel for dinner. After ordering the meal we went to work on the wine list. We wanted Beaujolais, of course, and the selection was impressively large. Fortunately there were lots of half-bottles so we began with a Regnié-Durette. No one home. Simple fruit, like Kool-Aid. Remaining calm, and still just beginning the first course, we ordered a Fleurie. Virtually identical to the first wine. Little if no personality. Next we tried a Brouilly, thinking a bigger wine might be the answer. Big problem. The wine was no larger and certainly not better. In desperation we turned to Morgon. Surely Calot was not the only good producer in town? He was that night. Nothing we tried, and we tried very hard, even came close to the wine we had tried in Calot's cellar. Was it just us, looking for a story? Absolutely not. Anyone of you reading this would have had the same experience. Is most Beaujolais insipid? Yes. Is that what the French want? Good question. When we were tasting with Calot, he casually mentioned to us that as of this year we are his only customers in the world who still want an old vines cuvée, aged in used Burgundy barrels. He was sad. This is the man who gave us the idea in the first place to explore the outer reaches of Beaujolais' complexity potential. Calot told us his French clients complain that our traditional cuvée makes them think too much, that it is too serious and not gai like Beaujolais is supposed to be. Well, here is a perfect French expression for them: tant pis, bad luck for you, good luck for us. QUICK FACTS • Our Calot Morgon is our exclusive Barrel Selection, raised in barrels that we provide, generally barrels that once held Grands Crus from the Cote de Nuits. When we told him that his barrels for the 2001 vintage once held Bonnes-Mares and Charmes-Chambertin from Domaine Arlaud, he joked, "Will those ruin my wine?" The spice that these barrels imparts is mindboggling. • Monsieur Calot plays music to his wine while it ferments. Sometimes the vintage calls for Michael Jackson, and sometimes an overzealous fermentation requires something more mellow, like Bach. Occasionally, the music Calot plays is a closely-guarded secret. • Calot's Morgon is issued from 100-year old Gamay vines that look like gnarled old fingers grasping at the sky. They are inefficient grape producing machines, in the same way that Ferrari is an inefficient automobile producer; their quality far outweighs the lack of high yields.
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If I try to reheat pasta my wife and her whole family will shoot me. However, it does work well in a frittata. Put the pasta in pan with a little EVOO, saute to warm it up, then add the wisked eggs. When the bottom is done finish the top under the broiler. Serve with a salad. This assumes an Italian level of sauce that just coats the pasta.
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How's the fish in NC? You're near the coast so it ought to be good. Do you want antipasti as a stand-up cocktail sort of thing or as a sit down course? Do you know the Carolina Wine Co.? They should be able to get any wine you need.
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There is and excellent cookbook called La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio by Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene. I have used it often. Small arancine are a great start at parties and as its spring one of the pasta dishes with spring vegetables is a good idea. I recently made the Penne con Carciofi e Piselli and it was a lovely, light dish. For more intensity try one of the tomato sauces made with estratto. Fish or meat as a main course? Where are you based? This makes a difference because of availability of ingredients.
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The wines and dishes from your past menus have heavily favored the north. Why not look to the south. Perhaps theme the dinner around a region. Sicilia would be an interesting choice - lots of interesting new wines. The various pasta al forno dishes are good choices for large dinner parties as they can be totally prepared in advance.
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Sounds great. Who is the importer?
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That's what I thought. Just checking.
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Vmilor, Thanks for the outstanding (and current!) information. Can you tell us something about your scoring system? How do you break it down. I have heard rave reviews from friends about Villa Fiordaliso, but have not had the good fortune to eat there yet. I will go for sure in April. Who said they are not experimenting with pasta in Italy? Stuck on the old ingredients something like that.
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Do you think the French Laundry is too high or too low?
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Again I think it depends on the pasta. With a very hard smooth pasta it probably does not matter. With rough artisan pasta I think it makes a difference.
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I do carry both Slow Food Osterie and Gambero Rosso in Italy, but then I can just throw them in my car so it is easy for me. As either my laptop or pocket pc is always with me, I also keep listings of my own in a database on my hard drive and and try to be sure to do my homework before I travel. It is difficult to carry multiple guides. The Osterie guide is big, but if you are bumming around Italy without an exact plan you can find a good restaurant almost anywhere with it.
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In most instances I do both: I saute the two together so that the pasta absorbs some of the sauce, and then once the pasta is in the serving bowl I top it with additional sauce. That's the ticket. Otherwise you can end up over-saucing the pasta.
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I keep the glass of cold water next to the pot. As soon as I taste the pasta and it is done - in it goes. Just a small extra step that helps - not critical. Obviously more boiling water is better, but I don't use the same pot when I am just cooking for my wife and I that I do when cooking for more than 4. This is why I adjust the salt to the pasta. I just don't think it is necessary to bring 8 quarts of water to a boil to cook 200 grams of pasta. Concerning the salt - the rougher the pasta surface the more salt flavor it will retain from the water. With very smooth commercial pasta you need a lot of salt to get any flavor at all on the pasta.
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Not doing their job. If you want it decanted it should be decanted. I have never had this problem and am a bit shocked. Not disturb the young wine? You can put young Dal Forno in a blender and not disturb it.
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I'm always impressed by nightscotsman's comments, so I made haste to Trader Joe's. pasta is called "Tusancia" and is packaged in a tan paper wrapper with a see-thru window. The Florham Park NJ shop had six varieties, I bought a Tacconi. That's a 1 inch by 1 inch piece, with fluted edges. Rough finish, about 1/8 inch thick. 500g cost 1.99 or about 1.79 per pound. Other varieties included a taglietelle, a fluted thing about four inches long, a penne rigati, and a vermicelli. The label says "authentic handmade Italian pasta" on the front. In the back it says "via statale del brennaro, 357" and S. Giuliano Terme (P) for Tusacania Ospedelaletto UPC fans may appreciate 36320 10001 It had a very al dente, toothy taste to it. Took 20 minutes at a low, rolling boil. Served with melted butter and lightly browned garlic alongside grilled giant scallops with a dash of pesto from last summer's garden. Had a mix of frisee and spinach with it. On the recommendations here I went and tried out this pasta from Trader Joe's and I have to say it is excellent, richer and more complex than De Cecco. The rough texture catches the sauce perfectly. One thing about the cooking - I can't believe 20 minutes was the right time. Here is how I cook dried pasta: Bring as much cold, fresh water as you can to a full boil - at least 5 to 6 quarts for 4 servings. I suggest covering the pot. When it comes to a boil add 1 tbls. Sea salt per 100 grams of pasta. 100 grams serves one person as main dish, 75 grams for a first course. Never add oil to the water – the sauce won’t stick. When the water returns to a full boil add the pasta, stir and cover until the water returns to a full boil. Stir lightly every minute or so. When the pasta is just al dente pour a glass of cold water into the pot, then drain. Do not drain the pasta so much it is very dry. Add to the sauce and sauté briefly to finish cooking the pasta. The Tuscancia Tacconi took 12 minutes to reach the al dente point .
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Is a restaurant like Ben Pao Chinese or some type of Oriental inspired blend? Lettuce Entertain You can be heavy on the theatre and light on food authenticity. I do enjoy Ben Pao by the way.