sammy

The BBQ joint in Hell's Kitchen? Daisy May's and the affiliated Penthouse Club down the street.

Although there is quite a bit of this going on at Peter Luger's.

I think they simply want to be within short walking distance of Daisy May's and the related establishment down the street.

.... and the operating hours are 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM for dinner.

Most of the cutomers are wearing shiny sweat suits with elastic waitbands.

Joe Queenan rants about this stuff in his very funny book, "Red Lobster, White Trash and the Blue Lagoon." Although it covers commentary on movies, tv, entertainers, etc. it spends a fair amount of time on restaurants. It is laugh out loud funny, especially the bit on Red Lobster. Now that I think of it, he reminds me a little of Bourdain.

This does sound wonderful. Is it widely available? What is the approximate cost?

I trust you'll have space dedicated solely for making pastrami.

Well, I had my first smoking casualty yesterday. Smoked 2 corned beefs (points, about 4 lbs each) and while the beef was tender and juicy, it was salty to the extent it was inedible and I had to toss them both. Good thing I made way too much food and had 4 racks of ribs and a couple of duck breasts to keep my friends happy. I didn't brine the beef plus I significantly reduced the amount of salt I put in my rub. What did I do wrong?

The best thing on the table was the Smoked Turkey... until the Fried Turkey came out. I'm now a fried turkey convert. It was great watching civilized people search for any small peice of skin they could get their hands on. The sound of crunch when biting into a leg was priceless. As for the sides, the corn pudding and mashed sweet potatoes (both from NY Times) were standouts. I improved the corn pudding by adding a bunch of braised bacon.

I'm no coffee expert and drink primarily high test but I brewed Fairway Market's "Legendary Decaf" for Thanksgiving (many of my guests DEMAND decaf)and it was damn good.

So I stopped at the supermarket tonight, hoping to pick up a couple of pork shoulders for Sunday but there weren't any left. I did buy isstead two corned beefs (points) and was looking for some insight as to how best to smoke them. Questions: Do you brine? If yes, for how long? How long should they take to smoke? Thanks!

Interesting Wine Clip development. John Sculley, ex CEO of Apple Computer and Pepsi, has signed on as Strategic Advisor to the company and is also an investor. Mr. Wine Clip has also upgraded the website to include testimonials from Mr Sculley, chefs, "avid wine drinkers", business people, etc. Still no mention of any scientific studies (or eGullet). I'll be bringing mine out (the Wine Clip that is) on Thanksgiving for our guests to try.

Finalized our menu after shopping at Fairway last night. It was a madhouse. The good news is others are responsible for apps and desserts. We also decided to go with more choices but slightly less amounts. We're having 27 people and want to make sure that everyone will be happy: Fried Turkey and Smoked Turkey & a couple of Sliced Smoked Duck Breasts with some still to be determined chutney Cranberry Sauce (I cheated, I bought it already prepared at Fairway) Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing Wild Mushroom Stuffing Mashed Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Creme Fraiche and Chipotle Puree Sliced Potato Gratin with Rosemary Cream Roasted Carrots with Maple Glaze and Oven Dried Grapes Corn Pudding with Braised Bacon Sauteed Stringbeans with Smoked Almonds Lots of wine (the spiegelau glasses from Amazon came just in time) and some Anchor Steam while the turkey is smoking.

As a special treat, I'm thinking of throwing several duck breasts into by bullet while the turkey is going on Thanksgiving. Any specific tips for duck breasts? How long do you think they'd take on the middle rack? Thanks for your help. P.S. I would think cranberry sauce would go pretty well with smoked duck. Any other ideas that don't require too much work would be appreciated.

It's also usually a good idea NOT to preheat a non-stick pan to high heat and it is exactly high heat you're looking for to get a good crisp duck skin.

Make sure to secure all sharp objects before they arrive.

I don't know if he was first but Keller is big on the amusing names for dishes like coffee and donuts, peas and carrots, etc. The difference is they taste good.

I would have enjoyed them more if they tasted better. I understand your point with the cheesecake and tarte tatin and I agree, I think they'd be out of place at Blue Hill. I only used the comparison to "more traditional" desserts because I believe the intent was to copy the basic idea but be more creative. Just to make myself clearer, I love dessert and have had wonderful desserts at many fine restaurants. These just weren't appealing to me, the taste of most and the texture of some.

I think we should play a game: Let's predict which ones are still around three years from now. I think we should wait until they open to comment on each one but I'll stand by my original prediction of widespread failure. After reading in the media (including here and other websites) about so many lackluster dining experiences at high-end places, it is hard to be optimistic.

That's a very interesting and quotable line. Please elaborate when you have a chance. Have you been to Chikalicious? Would you say Chika & Company's desserts are both interesting and delicious? As an example, the now famous/infamous dessert with the avocado and I believe a lime brulee. Interesting use of an avocado, especially in contrast with a crunchy brulee but it doesn't really taste good. There was also a cheesecake that was interesting because it had an unbelievably light consistency, almost like air, but I would rather have a more traditional cheesecake any day of the week. Another dessert was an apple terrine that had the taste of a good tartin but here it was the consistency that bothered me, too jello like. Why not just serve a really good tartin and call it a day? The exception was a chocolate bread pudding with homemade ice cream. That tasted good and no surprise, was the most traditional in the bunch.

I was there last month with my wife and we shared the dessert flight. Other than the chocolate bread pudding, you didn't miss much. We both thought they were trying to hard to create interesting desserts rather than desserts that tasted good. The appetizers and entrees, on the other hand, were delicious. The best dishes were the crabmeat lasagne app and the lamb entree. We only had wines by the glass so I can't comment on the wine opening stuation.

For those in the NY/NJ/CT area (including me) considering frying or smoking your turkey for Thanksgiving, the early forecast is for rain with temps in the mids 40's. Ugh!

Klink: What is the maximum size turkey you think can be smoked on a bullet whole? I'm sure you're right about quartering but I'd hate to lose out on the oohs and aahs of bringing in a finished whole turkey from the smoker. Thanks!

It's only a problem if the restaurant group does not manage each restaurant with the same zeal as the original. Some are able to do it without a hitch. Most can't. Right here in NYC, there are a number of restaurants that are not running to as high a standard as they did before their chef/owners were running around the country opening up new places. As for NYC based groups, I think Daniel Boulud is the only "Chef" that has kept his operations running on all cylinders. Maybe Jean-George is a close second but I've heard that Jojo isn't nearly as good as it used to be. Can anyone think of any other "Chefs" that have expanded successfully without a drop-off in the quality of the dining experience?