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Busboy

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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  1. Went to Philly to check out the apartment that may soon be his -- convenient to Temple, the subway and at least two methadone clinics, love that -- and met friends whom I hadn't seen in far too long at the well-regarded Osteria. As the server took drink orders, one of my companions asked him if they still had the antipasto platter and the waiter said "yes" and after some back-and-forth over the appropriate size we ordered antipasto for two with our drinks. A couple of minutes later, the server returned with an "I'm sorry, the chef would prefer..." that we ordered our appetizers with the main course, because of some blah blah blah about how the he'd be prepping our entree during the antipasto or whatever. My first impulse was to say, "well WE would prefer to get the damn thing now." My second was to ask if the chef "preferred" that we order by the house rules, or he if he "required" it. But, having already asked to change tables and being more tweaked than truly annoyed I let is pass. Later, despite the blather about this somehow being for our convenience, the speed with which the main courses followed the antipasto suggested that my initial suspicion may be correct: they're just trying to speed the process at a busy restaurant so they can turn the table. Nonetheless, ordering a round of appetizers before delving deeply into the menu is hardly unheard of and, despite the possibility a marginally quicker turn, it seems likely to be something that does more harm in the customer relations area than good. I seem to recall Bruni bitching about this, as well (but couldn't find the topic, if it ever made it to eG). And the slightly oleaginous construct "The chef prefers..." is annoying. Either we can or we can't, or we could have the server relay the chef's preference at every stage of the meal: "the chef prefers that you pair the Barbera with the chicken liver pasta." "the chef prefers that you you wear a more restrained necktie next visit." Is this becoming a common practice? Am I right to be annoyed? What's the problem, anyway. Surely in the age of computer ordering, such things are easily managed. We did not, for example, have to order our dessert up front, but the kitchen executed that with aplomb.
  2. No. They do it to show off their bona fides as supporters of local, sustainable, seasonal etc. farming cooking; to illustrate their prowess as shoppers, sorry, foragers; and to impress those of us who recognize the names (Niman Ranch? meh. Polyface? Now we're talkin').
  3. also interested in farmer's markets and good bread.
  4. Looks as though the missus and I have three or four days to spend in the space between Southside Virginia and North Georgia. We'll be camping and on a tight budget, but are looking for a place to pitch our tent that's within a short drive of good country cooking -- especially 'cue -- and maybe a swimming hole or two. We expect to be traveling through the western, mountainous part of the various states (I-81, I-77). We can stay anywhere that has camping, and are eager to explore whatever area we end up in: food, culture and recreation, but especially food. Suggestions for regions and/or specific dining establishments are appreciated. Thanks.
  5. If you find them, and have the opportunity to discover their source, please report back; I am curious. (I spent a few minutes Googling around and came up with one supplier in Oregon who claimed to have them for sale -- though it could just be a website that wasn't updated -- and a place that morel growing kits, but cultivated morels for sale).
  6. Here it is -- in the words of the maestro himself (via the New York Times Magazine). Airs are to foams as an iMac is to a TRS-80.
  7. It's either that or "foam", and personally I think air works a lot better. Too many other things come to mind when you say 'Foam" as opposed to 'air'. ← Although I have only modest experience with them, it is my belief that "foams" and "airs" are considered by the cognoscenti to be separate and distinct classifications and that chefs like Ferrand Adria would rather smother themselves in agar agar than use "foam" when they meant "air" and vice-versa. "Culinary foam was created by Ferran Adria and there he uses juices and savory essences along with agar and a canister like the one you'd use to squirt out whipped cream. Many chefs now, like Chef Gregg Sessler over at Cava, just use one of those little handheld whippers to foam up juices. He makes a lighter than foam version, "air" in his olive air, which goes with a lamb dish. It's pure flavor. "
  8. I think in terms of the filthy factory farms v. pristine pastures debate, the more revealing clue is the presence of hormones and/or antibiotics. The beef guy at our closest farmer's market caused a minor kerfuffle among the purists when he went to grain for the last bit of his cows' pre-dinner existence, but his customers are well-satisfied with the results -- philosophically and culinarily.
  9. You may be correct if you're buying beef from small producers, but the reason so many animals are pumped full of antibiotics, hormones and so on is because, for most producers, it's in their interest to finish their animals in a low-cost feedlot environment where the conditions demand heavy use of hormones to speed growth and antibiotics to prevent diseases from sweeping through crowded, manure-filled lots. In addition to potential health effects in humans and their contribution to evolution of resistant virus strains, they are a symptom of a system that is unfortunate at almost every level -- environmental, small businesses. labor relations, farm subsidies, monoculture, humane treatment of animals. Not that I didn't eat some hormone-labed ground chuck tonight. Michael Pollan has a few interesting observations on the subject. I'm not sure if grass-fed is cheaper, but there's generally not the demand for it because it is leaner and tastes different from corn-finished beef, so the price is lower. Far from being a buzzword, the farmers (and chefs) I know who've embraced the grass-fed lable are passionate in their commitment to that type of husbandry. "Organic" is a cliche, but also one with (some would say onerous) government regulations behind it and which offers a reasonable guaranty of something closer to "purity" than most meat offers.
  10. You should note that morels have not (to my knowledge) been successfully cultivated, and so you are at the whims of the Wild Mushroom Gods, who have pretty much decreed that there will be no morels until next Spring.
  11. PS Report back from the Smokies...I'll be passing through in early August and looking for fine dining and cheap barbecue (and will post whatever wisdome I glean if I precede you).
  12. I'm sure Rich or Katie will butt in with some pro-Philly propaganda, but I'm a staunch believer in Washington as a city that punches above its weight when it comes to upscale dining, while the City of Brotherly love is a bit of an underachiever. I'm sure a lot depends on what you're in the mood for and, given a limited stay, I'm sure there is plenty to keep you busy in either city. In DC I like Salvadoran, Sould Food, Ethipian and less regionally specific fine dining -- CityZen, Minibar (Adria-inspired and well-executed) and Komi, which is pretty unique anywhere, I'd say. Baltimore is not a great restaurant town, but has a few highlights. If you're heading to the Great Smokies by car, allow me to point you here and, especially, here.
  13. Busboy

    Fresh Pork jowl/cheek

    Please elaborate. In my experience confit and rillettes are rather different products in that the former is cooked entirely in fat, after curing, while the latter is cooked only in the fat ingherent in the meat and a good slug of wine. Either approach sounds tasty, but I'm curious what you propose. I was thinking of stuffing some raviolis with the pork cheek now in the freezer; rilletes might make an excellent start.
  14. Can you ever get good peaches in Florida? Up here (DC), even in peach country, even in season, the grocery stores and even Whole Foods sell substandard specimens. It's only the at the farmers markets that you find stone fruit that tatstes like stone fruit (and even then you have to be choosey). But, I seem to recall that Florida is too far south to have local peaches or nectarines - do they get trucked in from North Georgia? I feel your pain. I spent two years in Denver and, while things might have changed, it was almost impossible to get a decent tomato at that time. The high-altitude sun was apparently too much for the delicate things. Two years without a tomato season -- it sucked. It's not summer until you can get the good peaches and tomatoes. Hope some peaches get to you before too long.
  15. At the formerly legendary Michel Richard Citronelle they used to offer Co Co Puffs with an extra dusting of serious badass cocoa and cream flavored with bergamot.
  16. I can't remember my own kid's names but I can remember topics I started years ago. Anyway, just in time for your summer trip to the Blue Ridge/Great Smokies, I came up with two new tips. First, way down in Chilhowie, Virginia, down I-81/Rt. 11 almost to the Tenessee line, is the quasi-molecular Town House Restaurant, two Trotter acolytes in a one-horse town. And then, while plotting a possible trip later this summer, I came across this list of restaurants that use Polyface Farms meats. If you're unfamiliar with Polyface, they are to Niman Ranch as Niman Ranch is to Oscar Myer; fabulous and fabulously hip; featured by Momofuko and occupying a full chapter of one of those Michael Pollan books. You know the one where he kills a wild pig in the last section. Anyway, I haven't eaten at any of these places, but the fact that they feature Polyface is a real good sign. So if your around Staunton (pronounced STANton, btw), Lexington, Harrisonburg and the like (and you should be this summer -- gorgeous countryside out there) you have a fighting chance at a decent meal.
  17. Whether or not a glowing article in the New York Times can keep the foams flying during tough times in a small town remains to be seen. We were one of three tables the other night, our information from another food board and the the Town House restaurant almost otherwise off the screen. But there's surely a valient effort being made -- perhaps by the owners, who appear to be subsiding the place out of love for food and desire to host clients and serve friends a decent dinner -- and certainly by the chefs now running the place, Karen Urie and John Shields. The night we were there our experience was marked by high aims but uneven excecution. Service was gracious, friendly and often very slow. And courses ranged from the memorable to the forgettable. No mistake -- this is a very good restaurant. But probably not quite the culinary destination the Times makes it seem in what is probably more a human interest story than a critical look at the place. The food was always interesting and sometimes exceptional, especially when sweet and savory are thrown together in odd ways. Fish roe, pinapple and nitrogen-frozen avocado in a glass. Mango, tamarind, eggplany and peanut butter. Chocolat and currie. And though there's a goodly amount of hispster technique going on, it's the flavors more than the foams that impress. I quite enjoyed my visit. I'm not sure it would be particularly remarkable in New York or Chicago, but I also think the dynamic duo in the kitchen are just getting started. As Shileds told the Times: "We’re just stepping into our own style. Now it’s more like, what can we do with the normal stuff we see day to day? It’s becoming more about cooking and less about technique.” If I'm not yet ready to drive 300 miles just to go there, I would surely arrange any trip through the Central Appalachians -- a region whose beauty has been sadly unadorned by fine restaurants -- to stop by again.
  18. Might I suggest that far too many people writing about food get bogged down in endless Wine-Advocate-like adjective-overload descriptions of every single dish, turning what might be an enjoyable read or review into something akin to flipping through a catalog. A word or two, an image or impression, maybe a focus on one unique aspect or technique and move on.
  19. I think you should look up a market street and load up for a picnic, to be eaten on the quays near Isle St. Louis after dark. A perfect bookend to a largish lunch. Perhaps you have not logged off yet and John can tell you the perfect market street on which to shop. Marche Rue Cler, a hike far enough from the Left Bank quays to perhaps demand a stop at a cafe to refresh en route (but convenient to the Musee de Orsay should you be there one afternoon) has almost everything including famed cheese shop Marie Cantin, but the superior boulangerie is hard to find at a block or two from the main market and (I have heard) may have closed. Picnic lunch in the Jardin du Luxembourg provides an equal and opposite experience, setting the stage for a more refined dinner a brisk walk from the Tour Eiffel.
  20. I respectfully yield to Mr. Brown's expertise regarding dining options on the Cote d'Azure, but my wife and I did have a wonderful experience at Chez Pistol, 7 Place Garibaldi, on the edge of the old town. Outdoor seating under the arcade, and bins full of iced shellfish which, when we ate there, were impeccably fresh. Your October date is rewarding in that, on a repeat visit to Nice we were told that sea urchin and violet* (sp?) -- you have to try these odd sea creatures, I once watched an entire French sex farce where all was blamed on their power -- were out of season and would not be available again until Autumn. I believe there is competing shellfish restaurant next door, so you can look them both over and select whichever one best strikes your fancy. *From a post about my visit:
  21. Since most Obama date nights are here in DC, I get the cheap thrill of knowing all the places that he's hit here. But Paris? Who knows? I have my own list of go-to spots if I ever get back but now I'm curious about La Fontaine du Mars. Were one in Paris, and not in the mood for the expense and formality of a starred place, would the eGullet's Parisian types consider it a good choice?
  22. In these instances of "The Case of the Purloined Vodka" the motive of the perp is obvious enough. In the case of the bogus Perrier, I'd feel a little better about it if the motive was clear as that - not because it would be OK of course, but because I could at least understand it. I suppose a wait could in theory serve a trash-bottle bubble water, charge the mark for a Perrier, and pocket the bucks, but how in the age of computerized bills and credit cards does this actually work? Plus there is the factor of counting on the diner to be a dope - the risk/reward seems too wacky. I don't get it... ← Is the cafe a known quantity? There are any number of nickle-and-dime tricks that less-than-honest restauranteurs use to improve their margins. I've had "Bombay" gin that clearly was the cheapest possible rail crap, made rose myself -- white wine with a relatively small bit of red -- and once worked in a place where the veal parmesan was made with pork cutlets. As a one-off the Perrier makes no sense, but as part of a pattern, that you may or may not have picked up on....
  23. I once had the maids at a relatively swank hotel in Greece refill the vodka bottle from my minibar with water and put them back in, I assume the motive was to keep the vodka for themselves. The manager on duty did not bat an eye, but did have the bottle replaced. Same thing happened to a friend of mine in a swank hotel in Washington, DC, though suspected the room's previous occupants, rather than the maids.
  24. Busboy

    Fresh Pork jowl/cheek

    I am having a little trouble with the difference between cheek and jowl but, based on this chart, it appears that the jowl is the cut that runs from below the cheek, under the chin and back up the other side a bit. Guanciale is jowl that has been cured. I am no cheek expert but, in my experience, cheeks tend to be less fatty and more meaty than jowls, and the fat tends to be mixed a little more finely into the meat. But this is a relative thing; cheeks ain't lean. Once, in Paris, I was served a pork cheek that appeared to have been braised or slow-roasted and then roasted crisp on the outside. There was a spectacular crunch and then the whole thing melted ino my mouth. I'm going to attempt something like this next time I get near either a jowl or a cheek. ← I happened to be at a charity event where a butcher was breaking down an Eco-Friendly piglet and I gently calmed his butchering long enough to get a proper definition of a jowl. Basically, it's the side of the pig's face (including the cheek, but when I stumble across "cheeks" it seems they've edited out the fattiest parts and focused on the main muscle) down across the neck to the edge of the shoulder, where the butt begins. Imagine slicing yourself from cheekbone to shoulder, then imagine you're a pig, and that's it.
  25. No. Her point is that Obama is repeating a meme that has echoed through advertising for many years, and are counterproductive to her own efforts. If you have better stats, go for it. UCLA is a decent school. This study, while hardly comprehensive, shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Further, there's no implication that Obama can wave a magic wand. In fact Hesser outlines a rather painstaking course of action. And, as you walk through this, you skip the core argument: that Obama has set herself out to promote better eating. Talking about cooking will further this goal. A valid, if arguable, point. Yes: she is saying that the modern diets too many people eat are bad for you and their consumption is predicated on false premises (that they are as healthy, cheaper and more convenient than real cooking). So? This is hardly savage criticism of Michelle Obama or moden parents and is also correct. Not that she says that Obama is "wrong" in a moral sense. She says that Obama is failing to support her broader message -- that she's wrong tactically. Why not? She's not telling Obama to cook, she's just saying she might have a good time. Another hobbyist looking to share the luv -- just like women who knit and guys who fly those remote control airplanes.
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