sammy

Thanks for the reference, Mark. For some strange reason there weren't any eGullet quotes. I imagine it's not their highest priority, but has there been any word from your Berkeley friend or Lawrence Livermore? Alex, I believe the reason there aren't any eGullet quotes has more to do with eGullet's copyright policy than members not willing to be quoted. Also, I highly doubt that Anthony Dias Blue was paid a penny by Mr. Wine Clip, especially when he runs at least one major wine tasting event that is considered to be unbiased and objective.

I was watching Rachel Ray the other night and was terrified by the way she was chopping an onion. I can't believe she hasn't lost a finger yet. Hopefully, the viewers have their eyes on her other parts and don't use her chopping technique as a learning tool.

There were rumors that Blue Hill's pastry chef left as he was no longer mentioned on their website. Can anyone confirm if this is true?

I'll ask another question: How many U.S. Italian restaurants are run by or have cooks that are Italian? My understanding of the NYC market is that many are now run by Albanian families.

I'll add that the restaurant I brought up above is always getting beat up by a group of diners for serving "small" portions and they are by American standards, not by Italian standards.

Aren't tomatoes a sesonal product in Italy? Don't most restaurants use canned tomatoes when tomatoes are out of season? A had a conversation with the chef/owner of one of my favorite Italian restaurants about bolognese sauce. His bolognese sauce, while very good, does not compare to the bolognese sauce I had in Italy. He agrees it is different and the reason it is different (more of a tomato based meat sauce than true bolognese) is that if he served traditional bolognese, he'd get to many complaints about the sauce not being tomatoey enough or saucy enough and he doesn't want to deal with dishes being returned to the kitchen. Every month or two, he holds special dinners on a Monday night where he attempts to cook more authentic italian dishes from a particular region and is successful with them because he's not attempting to sell them to the masses, only 40 or so people that are interested in the cuisine every two months instead of 80 (lunch and dinner) every day.

Because the implication is that Americans are served crap in crappy restaurants because Americans cannot tell the difference between "good" food and crap, and when they can, they actually prefer crap, if said crap is good looking. ....and is served in huge quantities.

So now Anthony Dias Blue has jumped aboard. In his usual radio gig, he supported the Wine Clip as an "ingeniuos invention that actually works." He first stated that he is usually skeptical of devices purported to improve the taste of wine but said that the Wine Clip seemed to improve the wine's drinkability and soften the tannins and would make a great gift for a wine geek friend. I believe he is well respected in the wine community, no? Or are we going to pile on Anthony Dias Blue now?

The odd thing is they seem to encourage chatting on the Chikalicious website where it says: "If you are passionate about food, here is your chance to both enjoy fabulous desserts and chat with the chefs."

What a great idea! If I lived closer to Philly I'd be in but since I don't, I'm going to start one of these in Stamford, CT ....tomorrow.

At the botom of the article it says it was first published in 1999.

People all of a sudden think something tastes good because someone else tells them it tastes good.

I'd go with the port as well. I bought a good bottle of 1994 port when my daughter was born. She has no idea that I have it and I hope to to break it out as a surprise on her wedding night. I'm tearing up as I think about it and she's only 8

Here's an example of the marketing power of the Wine Spectator Top 100 list. I purchased a case of Termes after having a glass at Artisinal six months ago at a price of $14.50 per bottle. I saw it in a wine shop on Wednesday for $29.99. Ouch! At $14.50, the wine is a steal. Not worth it at $29.99.

Balthazar, late at night. Has all you're looking for and more. Some of the best french fries I have ever had. Mussels were delicious. My friend had the steak and said it was great. I'm not sure if it was hangar but I'd bet it was available. Their breads are some of the best in the city and they now wholesale to many restaurants and gourmet shops. Call NOW for a reservation or take your chances at a table in the bar area.

My mother-in-law told me vermouth should be refridgerated. Is that true? I never even thought to put vermouth in the fridge.

Otto doesn't even beat out Lupa in my opinion. Unless Grimes doesn't consider Lupa casual.

What a joke! They have pretty good antipasti, mediocre pizza and great gelato. This a "Best Casual Restaurant" does not make.

What are "Cock's Combs" served with green chiles?

It's great with steamed clams or mussels. White wine, garlic, shallots and andouille in a pan and steam the clams or mussels until they open. Make sure you have a lot of bread for dipping.

I like it on the tomato and onion salad. And I don't think you can fully appreciate a PL steak with a bunch of steak sauce on it. Kind of like loading up the wasabi on a piece of toro.

I've had the mozzarella. In my opinion, it is lousy. And the prosciutto is either already pre-sliced and packaged or you have to buy a big chunk and slice it yourself. FG, as for the bread, I'm stunned you think the Costco bread tastes better than bread from Arthur Avenue. I think either Terranova or Arthur Avenue Baking blows Costco away.

We do have more choices but most are lousy. Kind of like 100 tv channels, 95 of them worthless.

But how do feel about the steak sau.., I mean salad dressing?

I sure hope not. This would make for a very sad commentary on life.