KatieLoeb

Hi VL: The saffron vodka I infused myself. Big pinch of saffron in the bottle. Let sit for a couple of days and strain. I suspect it would infuse even better if the bottle were in a tub of hot water to start, to slightly heat up the vodka. Licor 43 is a vanilla, citrus and herb flavored liqueur from Spain. Supposedly has 43 ingredients in it. Very tasty stuff. I like it because it imparts sweetness and some texture to a drink, as well as a delicious vanilla flavor.

Megan: So glad to see you blogging. This has been fun already, and I look forward to the rest of the week. Will you be meeting up with any of the other New York board "usual suspects" on your cocktail runs to Death & Co. or Pegu? Any chance you'll be doing any spirits shopping at LeNell's in Brooklyn? Do tell...

One of my original cocktails on the list at Amada was a Saffron-Vanilla martini. I did it with saffron infused vodka and Licor 43. Law of Desire 1.5 oz saffron vodka .75 oz Licor 43 .25 oz Southern Comfort .25 oz sour mix Shake all into up glass, add pinch chili threads for garnish. Saffron and vanilla go very well together. The Cartron Poire Williams is very strongly flavored. If you want to add some pear flavor perhaps Belle de Brillet (a pear cognac) or Marie Brizard Poire William liqueur might be a bit more subtle and easier to work with.

Actually, I think it says she loves YOU just the way you are. But that's fine too. And so is the white/spinach/tomato pie at Taconelli's. It's my favorite there. I myself prefer plastic stemware. Low rent, but still classy, no?

Just tried this recently. It's awesome. Really creamy and assertive. Yum!

I'll try and find out the address of Fairmount Pizza when I see Kenrick next. Not sure what his schedule is next week, but I'm in every day so I'll undoubtedly see him a some point. I'm sorry I don't remember the address he told us.

I still stick by the original recs. Deux Cheminees, Overtures, Panorama (I was proposed to there so I'm biased, but it's still a very sexy room. And what could be bad about all that fabulous wine?) and Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I suspect the lovely view from XIX could be quite romantic with the lights of the city twinkling beneath you. The company makes for a romantic place, n'est ce pas? If you're with the right person, even Mickey D's can be special.

$70 entrees??!!?? Seriously? Areueffingkiddingmewiththat??? Yikes. I for one, do not think that reads as a good review. And that "hard to find" Portugese wine was on the list at Amada when it opened. It's no harder to get than any other SLO wine in the state. Sounds like the rare bargain on the list, but he doesn't mention the price.

I'll play. My favorite rye cocktail of my own creation: Red Feather Boa 2.0 oz. Rye 0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice 0.5 oz. maraschino 0.25 oz. (or one barspoon) Fee Brothers American Beauty Grenadine 2 dashes bitters Lemon twist Shake with cracked ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Pinot Noir is more fragile than Cabernet. I'd be more concerned about those bottles getting cooked sooner than the bigger more tannic wines. Tannin acts as a bit of a preservative and thicker skinned grape varieties like Cabernet and Zinfandel will have much higher concentrations in the finished wine than thinner skinned varieties like Pinot Noir.

We can try and write to Senator John Rafferty who is Chairman of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, and express our desire for a more thorough examination of the process of hiring the new CEO. I think if there's a groundswell of outrage, the questions might get a bit more specific.

Buckethead: The Cantina in RTM might have it. They have some fresh items as well as prepared foods. Try calling Tequilas or Paloma and ask the chefs where they get theirs.

There's a LOT of good wine on that list for under $100. Some are downright bargains. In no particular order the things that jumped out at me were: Two Hands Angel's Share Shiraz Calera Mount Harlan Viognier Huet "Clos du Bourg" Vouvray Sec Brundelmeyer "Zobinger Heligenstein" Riesling (this one is a fave of mine) Domaine Serene Chardonnay (either one. Domaine Serene makes great wine) Muller-Catoir Scheurebe Spatlese (in the 'Not to be Forgotten Whites') Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir (very versatile choice) Marc Colin Vielles Vignes Cotes-du-Beaune Santenay I could potentially go on and on. That's a very good list with a lot of really excellent choices on it. It does tend to repeat itself with the same wines in several different categories, so I suppose it isn't as large a list as it seems. If you wanted to pick two bottles of wine, one red and one white that would likely compliment a lot of menu choices I'd go with a bottle of riesling (the Austrian is top notch) and a bottle of pinot noir (the Sinskey is excellent) and call it a day. Are you having a tasting menu or just ordering a la carte? If a tasting menu, they probably have a wine flight chosen that compliments it well, but then you'd have to stick to the by the glass choices, and with a list this deep, it might be more fun to order a couple of bottles.

Wow! I missed those when I walked through OKL Thursday. Hope they're juicy! And if the avocados at Iovine's are still relatively inexpensive, you might want to consider some guac to go with those margaritas. ← There's actually 8 limes per bag, now that I've gotten a closer look. But still a bargain. And I did indeed juice some and make this: Muy refrescoso! My trick for getting all the juice out of the limes is to microwave the limes whole for about 30 seconds or until they feel a little warm on the outside. Then I roll them on the counter, cut them in half and juice them immediately. Definitely gets the last drops out. I also made a big pot of Cosmic Creme of Carrot soup out of the gorgeous purple carrots I bought. That adventure is chronicled over HERE on the Soup thread.

Today I was fortunate enough to stumble across two $1 bags of beautiful purple carrots at the Reading Terminal Market. I couldn't resist the idea of making some pretty pureed soup out of it so they came home with me. I cut up the carrots, half an onion and three cloves of garlic and threw them in my soup pot. The color of these carrots was just amazing. My cuticles are all stained as if I'd been peeling beets all night! Just look at how pretty they are: I added some fresh thyme and covered everything with two cans of vegetable broth and some water. I boiled for about 20 minutes, skimmed off the foam and then let it cool for a short while. Pureed in two batches in the blender and put aside. I made a small amount of roux and added a quart of 2% milk and allowed it to simmer for about five minutes. I added back in the carrot puree, a bit of light sour cream and some salt, pepper and Penzey's French Four Spice. Whisked hard until heated through. I served it with a dollop of light sour cream on top. Good thing it came out so tasty. There's a heck of a lot of it!

Nice produce haul today from RTM. At Iovine's I hit the dollar bags and got: Two large eggplants A five pound bag of ruby potatoes Two large English cucumbers Two bags of red/purple carrots Grand total = $5 At OK Lee: Three large bulbs of fennel @$1.99/lb About 6 small Bosc pears @.99/lb. Two bags of about 9 limes each @$1.00/bag A bag of mixed broccoli & cauliflower florets and baby carrots@$1 Grand total = $9.09 The limes are a steal at O.K. Lee. Even cheaper than the Mexican grocery store on Wolf Street. I think I see some margaritas in my future this weekend. I got an electric juicer for cheap on eBay awhile back and this should break it in nicely.

Dang. Y'all outdid yourselves. Next time tell me in advance, K? Risotto of Nothing. I love you guys....

To a great extent, most cocktails are a "twist" on something or another, be it a Sour or other recipe category that the drink falls into. Making up "new" drinks sometimes means substituting one ingredient for another, or sometimes means doing something like introducing a new flavor via an infused simple syrup or an infused spirit. But there's not too much that's really new under the sun...

Katie, Phil, thanks for the suggestion. V-Day made easy, courtesy of eGullet. ← Tim: I'm such a fool as I stopped by M earlier today to speak with chef David on a separate matter and completely forgot to ask what their V-Day plan was. I'll find out for you and let you know what they've told me. I think the menu there and the lovely space could make for a very nice meeting place. The Inn itself is also very quaint. I'd never seen the inside of the B&B in which M is housed. And even though it's cold outside, the courtyard is an oasis of serenity in the middle of the city.

I should have stated that a phone call to check on what their Valentine's menu is about is clearly in order. However, I do think that since it's slightly off the beaten path and not on Restaurant Row on Walnut or one of the Starr restos it would likely be less of a madhouse even if they are expecting couples that evening. And certainly a not too full room, even if everyone else is playing footsie under the table, could be conducive to doing business. Didn't cheereeo70 say that the folks attending the meeting are a deuce as well? Everyone else might think they're a couple and not bother them... Of course there's something wrong with the universe if they aren't totally booked up for V-day. But it is a Wednesday night and a lot of folks just don't go out on a school night. :shrug:

I agree. The most exasperating part of Marcel's immaturity is his inability to own his mistakes and his scrambling to the front of the line whenever there's praise being given out. He's happy to throw Sam under the bus when in fact the dude saved his ass, or to diss Ilan, but I actually cheered when Mikey said "I'm not the one competing for 100 grand here. You tell ME where the f-ing fish is dude!" Marcel is all about the gimmickry. All he cared about was making those stupid vinaigrette capsules. He planned the menu around the techniques he wanted to showcase, not the food he should have been showcasing. And it proved to be his undoing. The idiotic vinaigrette capsules didn't come out in the humidity. And even if they had, he still would have had a blob of dressing come out once the judges "popped" the capsules and lay on top of an otherwise undressed and completely uninspiring green salad. The coffee caviar was cool, but there wasn't enough of it to actually flavor the dessert. Hopefully he'll have enough self realization to have learned something from losing and seeing how it played out on tape. In the end, like many of you, I would have preferred a Sam v Ilan showdown, but it was not to be. At least I'm happy with the results. The Top Chef won.

Another possibility might be M Restaurant at the Morris Hotel. It's a lovely setting and certainly enough off the beaten track that it won't be a nightmare on V-Day. It's no further away than any of the other suggestions you've gotten, and I think the menu would suit your requirements and the room would be quiet enough to actually carry on a meeting.

I'm almost certain I've seen a misspelled sign for loquats on Washington Avenue. I think at the big market at 11th & Washington. I don't remember what time of year it was though. Anastasio Produce at 9th & Christian could tell you if they have them when in season. I always look for my off the beaten track produce there and they're always quite helpful. Last possibility would be O.K. Lee at RTM. Being an Asian owned produce shop certainly means they'd know what you're looking for. Color me stunned.

I have an idea for a Bluecoat-based cocktail, but I need to get my hands on a bottle of those Fee Lemon Bitters. I'm going to call my local Fee Bros. connection tomorrow and see if they have the Lemon Bitters. Failing that, I'll call Fee Bros. directly and see if there are other local retailers I don't know about, or see if they have small samples for bar/restaurants that might be shipped.

It's a ridiculous statement that never should have made it to print. It's a sweeping generalization of the sort that makes me Maybe, as Fat Guy suggested, he should have stuck to saying that Astoria's Greek food doesn't reach great heights. Or perhaps he's been so unfortunate as to never have enjoyed a decent Greek meal. Greek cuisine, when well prepared, is one of my personal favorites. I go far out of my way several times annually to attend regional Greek church festivals to satisfy my cravings for it. I find that the Greek "church ladies" are almost without exception, pretty mean cooks, and the foods they serve at these festivals are always delicious. In fact, I belong to a mailing list for Greek Festivals that e-mails me when there's a festival in my area. Until recently, there really weren't any high end Greek restaurants in Philly since the demise of Chef Theodore's a couple of decades ago. Now there's a place called Estia that I haven't been to yet because of reports of Brinks trucks pulling up to your wallet when the check comes. I'm sure I'll get there when I'm a little more flush, as I have heard the food is quite good. I did, however, have a fabulous meal at Molyvos in NY several years ago and that may have been the best Greek restaurant meal I've ever had.