sammy

My point was, and I admit I wasn't clear, that Daniel Boulud is saying that he is adding truffles to the burger and he is implying that we should be able to taste them yet nobody is asking for scientific proof that there are in fact truffles in the burger. All we want to know is that the burger tastes good. If FG ate the burger and said how wonderful it was and the truffle taste came shining through, that would be enough for most people on this site. Why not the same for the Wine Clip? Mark Sommelier tried it and gave positive feedback but for some reason, we can't accept it.

As Fat Guy has said many times, (paraphrasing) "he's just interested if things taste good." If Mark Sommelier and his crew noticed the difference in taste (for the better), that's good enough for me. I still don't understand this need for "scientific proof." I'm looking forward to the Burger Club conducting blind tasting of the DB Burger to see if anyone can notice a difference between the regular burger and the one with truffles that costs an additional $24.

Maybe I'm wrong but this seems to be the first time (at least that I'm aware of) that someone's claim on eGullet has been so scrutinized. People have been encouraged to purchase All Clad cookware, Riedel and Speiglau wine glasses Lobel's meats, etc. I can't remember anyone asking Evan Lobel to conduct a double blind scientific experiment to prove that their meat is worth the $35 per pound being charged. People here on the site took them up on their $50 off special, ordered the meat and enjoyed it, some more than others. No one was accused of not correctly cooking it or tasting it. If they liked it great, if not, well they'll just buy meat from someone else next time. No one ever suggested that Evan Lobel was selling snake-oil. I for one thinks Mr. Clip has been a great member of e-gullet. We're always looking for things to purchase things that will add to our enjoyment of food and wine, whether it be utensils, books, cheese, etc. Why the hesitation here? Buy it, try it. If you don't think it makes the wine more enjoyable to drink, give it to someone you don't like as a gift.

And keep tasting and trying new things. I find that is more worthwhile than anything else. I may buy a wine because of what I read or heard but I'll buy it again if I like it.

I don't want to speak for Mark or anyone else but I think the point is would Andrea Immer be talking about matching particular wines with junk food if she wasn't getting paid to do it by the specific wineries and food purveyors or Target? Doubtful. She has always tried to make wine more accessible and approachable to the masses in previous positions as wine director for several different restaurants, Starwood Hotels and the books and articles she had published. I believe she was very well respected by those more experienced in the world of wine as well as "nouveau" wine drinkers. I looked forward to her recommendations and insights whether they came from TV or magazines or the internet (She did an eGullet Q&A). Now when she makes a recommendation, can she be trusted to be providing her real opinion or simply selling for someone? Although I kike her a lot, my vote is that she greatly diminishes her credibility by doing this. See BK and Bayless thread.

I wonder what wine she thinks goes best with the new BK sandwich or will she have to get paid first?

I know I've said this before but I think The Sea Grill overlooking the skating rink at Rockefeller Center is a great place to go in early December. Only a few blocks from most of the theaters. Wonderful seafood in a great setting. I think it is one of the most underrated and overlooked restaurants in NY. I know they boost the prices around holiday time so find out before you book. I've eaten at Lattanzi and was not impressed.

While we're talking about success stories, I smoked my first two shoulders last weekend based completely on the inspiration of the eGCI smoking class conducted by Klink. I brined two 7lb shoulders for 36 hours, put on a rub from Thrill of the Grill (cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, brown sugar, sugar) and started the smoker at 12:30 am using the minion method. Had the meat on at 1:00 am and the temperature was stable (225-250) thru the night. I turned and basted the meat at 5 am and again at 7 am. At 9:30, I wrapped up the meet in foil and off to Giants Stadium we went. I unwrapped the meet and started "pulling." It was fabulous. Juciy, tender and flavorful. It was served with sliced pickles on white bread with either a southern vinegar based sauce (also from Thrill of the Grill) and a sweeter jarred sauce. The fans were happy. Unfortunately, the Giants lost. My wife isn't a real fan of pork (other than an occasional serving of bacon) but she tasted the leftovers when I got home. She went to town on it big time and admitted it was absolutely delicious. The next day I came home from work and just about all of the leftovers were gone. I asked my wife what happened and she said a friend of hers came over, they started picking and couldn't stop. Although my wife thinks the time incolved is a little wacky (setting the clock for 5 am to turn over a piece of pork) my dog thinks its the greatest as she got to play outside everytime I got up to check the temp or turn the meat. Next up: Spare Ribs P.S. I smoked on a WSM.

Wrong. You get to taste the wine to see if there is anything wrong with it, not whether or not you like it. Two very different things. Ordering what you will like is the responsibility of the customer, not the restaurant. Preparing and serving it properly is the responsibility of the restaurant. I agree with Pan that it was gracious on the restaurant's part to exchange the dish because you didn't care for it. If you communicated to them the flaws in preparation and service, I would then agree with you that they should replace it.

We found ourselves in New Canaan, CT Friday night after seeing a movie. We weren't hungry for a big dinner so we thought about our options in the area. I've been wanting to try Thali since reading so many positive notices, both in the press and here on egullet, but my wife is not a fan of Indian food as most of her experiences have been in Indian restaurants where everything tasted the same (too much curry in everything). I find that to be increasingly the case at many restaurants, especially ethnic. Anyway, I begged and begged and probably promised her something in return so she begrudgingly said OK to Thali. We were seated promptly, ordered 2 glasses of wine and perused the menu. Before we had an opportunity to order, Prasad came by (his name is on his Chef's coat so I knew it was him) to welcome us and ask if we had any questions about the menu. We had decided to just order several appetizers but had a tough time choosing as so many dishes sounded wonderful. We settled on the following: Lasuni Dhamia Murgh-Marinated cubed chicken breast with burnt garlic and spicy coriander sauce Shrimp Viruval-grilled shrimp with curry leaves. Hot, hot, hot! Calamari with avocado-this was one of the specials. Definitely not traditional Indian ingrediants but an explosion of tastes Nan with roasted garlic- Reminded me of the clam pizza at Pepe's. Abolutely great. The service was terrific, both the food and wine. They take great care with serving appropriate wines with the food. We had a Reisling and two different Montepulicianos. We spoke briefly about egullet and Prasad confessed that he is addicted to it, many times leaving egullet up on his computer in the office and going to sneak a peak when things slow down in the kitchen. My wife is already making noises about going back.

That's the thing. I bet the vast majority of customers dining at Balthazar are using plastic. Where's the logic?

Dominick's on Arthur Avenue has a completely different method of rounding off the check. If they like you, the rounded amount is less than if they dont like you.

Thanks for the tips. I definitely took your note of your mention of the Weber Chimney being larger which made my bonehead decision that much more of a bonehead decision. I'll either pick up another small chimney or the Weber within the next few days. I tried pretty hard not to remove the lid very often, I checked the temperature through one of the top vents. I think you're probably right with suggesting it was the lack of sufficient room around the turkey that inhibited the browning. All in all, I'm hooked and thank you so much for the inspiration to enter the world of smoking. I'm not so sure my wife feels the same way as I heard a number of times yesterday, "Are you going to spend the whole day in garage?" Thanks also to jminion for the tips, who I believe is the namesake of the "Minion Method" of lighting a fire in the WSM.

Colonel Klink: I smoked my first piece of meat this weekend, a 12 lb turkey on a WSM. I learned a few lessons and have a few additional questions: Lessons: 1. Make sure you start with enough charcoal. My chimney starter is not as big as the Weber chimney and I underestimated the amount of charcoal I needed. I added two additional chimneyfulls during the smoking process. 2. It was raining pretty hard off and on here in CT on Sunday which made controlling the temperature more difficult. I may invest in Stone's unbrella contraption. 3. This was easily the moistest and best tasting turkey I have ever made. My guests that are strictly "dark meat" customers were beside themselves on how tasty and juicy the "white meat" was. Now to the questions: 1. Why did it take so long to cook? I brined my 12 lb bird for a day in salt and sugar (1 cup of each for each galon of water) but still took close to 4 hrs once I got the temperature of the smoker to a steady 225-240 on the top shelf. Any ideas? 2. Although the turkey was abolutely delicious, I wasn't able to get the great color you got on the sliced turkey in your picture. I had a pretty liberal rub on mine plus I brushed it with some maple syrup with about 2 hrs left to cook. Any idea as to why it didn't get as brown? Thanks for your help. Already thinking about brisket for this weekend.....

Colonel: First of all, I commend you on an excellent piece. I just received by Weber Bullet and I'm looking forward to smoking this weekend, probably a chicken as practice. I'd like to make either a brisket and have it ready at around 9:00 am for a tailgate party but I'm hoping not to have to wake up at 2:00 am to start smoking. Any way I can make it the day before, and if yes, what is the best way to get it back up to temperature at the Giants Stadium parking lot? Thanks!

Did you get the new Weber Q?

I think we're missing the point of the canned and/or jarred asparagus. I don't think we should be comparing canned asparagus to fresh asparagus and arguing which is better just like we wouldn't be comparing canned tuna to fresh tuna. They are simply different and should be enjoyed in their own right. I doubt any chef, spanish or otherwise, would be saucing canned asparagus the same way he'd be saucing fresh asparagus in that the flavors and textures and possibly the serving temperatures are much different. I love shellfish and had a most enjoyable lunch in Barcelona eating canned clams, mussels, etc. It was great but I never even thought to ask myself if I thought they were better/worse than fresh clams and mussels. They are just different. Enjoy them for waht they are.

I've always heard from the chefs considered to be the best with fish including Moonen, Ripert and Brown, that fish is best to buy whole as you can see the eyes and gills. Of course with larger fish it is not possible so it should at least be cut fresh as the fish should stay fresher on ice than if were pre-cut and put in plastic. Are we saying that that advice should be forsaken for a few dollars per lb?

Limited selection. I can't vouch for the quality one way or another.

And do the best Japanese markets let the fish sit there for 4 days if unsold?

At the Costco in Norwalk, they have a particularly poor variety of fish as well. Why not support your local fish store to ensure the availability of a wider variety of fish and shellfish?

Costco may have high turnover but I don't understand how you could consider highly fish that has been pre-cut, put on a piece of styrofoam, wrapped in plastic and put in a refrigerated case waiting for the customer. I was in a Costco a few weeks ago and looked at the farmed salmon. It was Saturday, August 10 and the package had a "sell by date" of August 14. I personally think that is unacceptable for fresh fish.

Roy's is owned by, you guessed it, Outback Steakhouse.

It's great with eggs, either scrambled or in a frittata. I also love the combination of chorizo with clams or mussels.

I'm addicted to the Smores flavor now. Another favorite which I rarely see any more is the one with the white and dark cocoloate cows. I can't seem to rember the name of it though.