sammy

Or pork so tender you don't need a Faulk! Keep em coming, only 10 days to go!

With the Giants opening up against the hated St. Louis Rams on Sunday, September 7th at Giants Stadium, my tailgate buddies and I have begun to think about the spread. In the past, we've done london broil, other steaks, bratwurst, italian sausage and ribs. All in assorted variations. As we foolishly think this will be an extra special season, we're looking to make the first tailgate party a little extra special. We have approximately 20 people in our group. Any ideas? Thanks. Edit: No chicken, please!

That was fast! Thanks for the help.

Anyone know where I can find fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves in NYC area or CT? I guess mail-order is also an option. Thanks for your help.

I purchased the Casa Castillo from The Wine Exchange in CA. You can order on-line from their website here.

Our new "house wine" is CASA CASTILLO MONASTRELL 2001. It's made from old-vine Mourvedre grown in the emerging area of Jumilla in southeastern Spain. Big, dark, gutsy, with chewy flavors of black fruits, minerals and earth, it’s only $7.99 and the Wine Advocate rated it 89.

My cousin feels the same way and now refers to it as "Charbucks." No matter how hard she tries, she can't stop drinking Frappucinos though.

Thanks Pedro. Already looking forward to 2005!

What is the actual difference between Iberico Ham and Serrano Ham? I know that Serrano Ham is now widely available and I smuggled in some Iberico Ham when I last visited Spain. I understand it tastes different but I don't understand why Serrano is importable and Iberico is not.

I agree completely. My father-in-law is a bear to eat with whether we are in New York, Florida or California.

Understood but I believe we are being somewhat naive believing it is about the employees as opposed to a convenient way for the government to impose itself on our lives.

Last week, I was at the bar at Capitale and the bartender had a large bandage on his hand. I asked him what happened and he said he cut it on a broken glass a few nights before. Should the government legislate that bars and restaurants can only serve in plastic cups to protect employees from the preventable health risks associated with the dangers of handling real glass? I'm sure society will ultimately accept drinking a nice martini in a plastic cup if it was helped along by legislation.

How do you know that they wouldn't have sold more dinners to smokers?

But now he has turned away potential patrons and it was the governments decision, not his own. Where is the logic? And do we really want society's acceptance of things to be helped along by legislation? What if a current government doesn't believe it is right to eat hamburgers in restaurants? Is it okay once it becomes socially acceptable to no longer eat hamburgers? What about the arts? Should the government determine what is socially acceptable to see on Broadway or in museums or on film? Very dangerous. I still don't understand why owners of bars and/or restaurants can't choose on their own to allow or disallow smoking in their establishments. The customers can then decide where they would like to go to spend their money.

The recipe for the peaches I was referring to came from Chris Schlesinger, I believe in Thrill of the Grill. You basically reduce a cup balsamic vinegar with some fresh ground pepper until only a few tablespoons are left and glaze the peaches with it after grilling the cut side brushed with olive oil. The key is to use peaches that are slightly underripe. The ripe ones get a little too mushy after cooking. Spoon any leftover glaze over the ice cream or blue cheese. Goes great with port. For whatever its worth, I also much prefer skirt steak to flank steak.

The restaurateurs already had that power. They could have chosen to make their restaurants non-smoking. The stated purpose of the law was to protect employees. The irony is the law did nothing of the sort as many bar employees were either let go or make considerable less money in tips, so where is the protection? They're probably so pissed off about losing a job or income that they may have started to smoke themselves, if they didn't already. As a non-smoker who hates smoke, I feel it is simply not the role of government to be involved in whther or not smoking is permissable in a bar or restaurant. What's next?

For dessert, grilled peaches with balsamic glaze and either vanilla ice cream or some good blue cheese. My preference is the ice cream.

This thread reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Jerry can't stand the mutton that his girlfriend served him and he stuffs his pockets with it so as to not hurt her feelings. He is then followed through the streets by a pack of dogs.

That's because the restaurant wasn't reviewed, it was just profiled in Friday's restaurant spot which I believe is known as Dining Out.

Disappointing Sunday night at Pepe's. After waiting 45 minutes, no clam pizzas. Also, no white pizzas with sliced tomatoes. Pizza itself was just okay, nothing amazing. Bottom of the pie seemed to be missing the cornmeal which when burnt, adds a tremendous amount of flavor to the pie. Maybe they didn't have the ovens as hot as usual because while the crust was nice and crispy and dark, the top of the pizza was too well done. The best pies are those that have a nice well done crust and the top is still soft and bubbly. We actually had a few burnt pieces of pepperoni on one of our pies. Being disappointed, we decided to hold the ultimate pizza challenge and order a pie from Sally's to go. I ran down the street to order and was told that the wait for a to-go pie would be about 1 1/2 hours. We went to Libby's for some italian ices and gelato instead. While eating gelato outside, a number of Pepe's diners were discussing how they thought the pizza tonight was below par. One family that comes down from Massachusetts every other month said that they have had a number of disappointing pies at Pepe's and have been more pleased with the Modern Pizzaria on State Street in New Haven. We were thinking about ordering a pie from The MOdern but was old that they are closed for two weeks for vacation.

Sansei has wonderful sushi. Go on the late side when the place turns into a karaoke bar. Grreat fun and food.

I agree, only the ethnic places seem to have the better childrens menus. Every other place has chciken fingers, hamburger, hot dog, peanut butter & Jelly and pasta with marinara. The Japanese restaurant we frequent (Kazu in Norwalk, CT) has the best childrens item I have ever seen. It is a Kid's Bento Box that includes 2 dumplings, a california roll, chicken yakitori (grilled chicken on a stick), chicken teryaki, chicken and vegetable tempura and a scoop of ice cream. All for $10. My daughter thinks it is the coolest thing to get the whole box for herself.

Hattie's is still around but it has gone through several changes in ownership and I have no idea if it is still good. Years ago, people in Saratoga would talk it up quite a bit but I didn't hear one mention of Hattie's this trip.

If you get to the track, there is now a freshly made potato chip stand out in the backyard right near the Furlong Frank stand. Just make sure to add your own salt because the chips are served unsalted. We brought with us food from the Putnam Market on Broadway to enjoy at the track. Picked up some Serrano Ham, a good manchego, olives, mozzarella and a great salami that I forgot the name of. Served with La Brea Roasted Garlic bread and a little olive oil was splendid. We had a scrumptious bottle of Goldwater Sauvignon Blanc. Putnam Market also sells a good Bloody Mary mix that is outrageously priced at $8.95 a bottle but outrageously good. Made for a nice picnic lunch on a beautiful day in a beautiful setting.

Believe it or not, one of my friends in on the pick six thursday hit the pick six again Saturday for $1900. It was unbelievable. We were thinking of trying Eartha's but heard about a bunch of ownership changes so we shied away. We always enjoy Chez Sophie but just didn't have the time this trip. I forgot to mention that we ate at Il Paradiso on Broadway which is run by a group that spunoff from Don Peppe's in Queens. Pretty good family style Italian but I think overpriced. We had 19 in our group thursday so it's one of the better places to go with such a large group. We ate ourselves into oblivion: baked clams, fried calamari, linguine in white clam sauce, spaghetti with a fresh tomato sauce, chicken scarpiarello, sea bass livornese and veal milanese. Skipped dessert.