KatieLoeb

These bones look different to me. Most of the places I've been served marrow it's either a short squat round bone to scoop out of, or a long bone that's been sawed lengthwise. Am I eating the wrong kind or wrongly prepared marrow?

That photo of the valley is just breathtaking... I'm not sure quite what I thought the hinterlands of India looked like, but now I know for sure. Thanks Percy!

Not to be a shill for my ex-boss or anything, but Jose Garces' book Latin Evolution is an excellent reference source. He's a fantastic chef and all his food is vibrant and delicious. Will give you an idea of what sorts of recipes are being presented at his successful restaurants in Philadelphia, Chicago, etc...All the notes on culinary cultural traditions are spot on. Jose is nothing if not rigorous in learning his subjects before presenting anything to the public, whether on a plate, or in print.

The St. George's absinthe is delicious, so I can only imagine that the gins are of equal quality. Please report back. I didn't even know they were making gins, but since I live in a state that gets everything months/years after everyone else that isn't too surprising.

I think a lot of excellent points have been made here. It's entirely possible he appreciated your cooking and just didn't want you to fuss over another meal, especially when there was a flight to catch, the possibility of morning rush hour traffic, etc. It's also possible that he is on a special diet for his training and didn't want to burden you with it and thus, politely picked at the lovely but very rich food you served and bit his tongue. It's also possible that he's a Philistine that loves McDonald's. There's plenty of those. Don't create offense where none was likely intended. We all have enough stress without piling on ourselves.

With a few more days notice you could have made a Kabocha squash, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean infused vodka. Tastes like pumpkin pie and is super easy.

Tisanes, fish, bread and volcanoes. What more could anyone ask for? Really looking forward to a week in Ecuador. A vacation from my desk chair...

Agree with ScoopKW. More people claim to have allergies than actually have them. And there's no such thing as sulfite free wines. It's nonsense. The sulfites exist as part of the process. Can't be removed. There are more sulfites in a children's tiny snack sized box of raisins than there are in an entire case of wine. If you can eat raisins you can drink wine. If you drink too much wine you will have a headache. End of story.

The Diving Horse in Avalon is excellent. Much more upscale than most of the other shore places in the area. Quahogs in Stone Harbor is more casual, definitely less spendy and is also excellent. Definitely my two favorite places in the general vicinity. Please report back on your experiences...

This one is going in the upcoming book. I use this for a lot of different applications. Good to give anything that autumnal warmth - Old Fashioneds, hot toddies, etc. Dessert Spiced Syrup 3 cups water 6 cinnamon sticks, broken up 18 whole cloves 4 star anise 12 allspice berries 12 black peppercorns ¼ teaspoon red chile flakes 3 cups sugar Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan and add spices. Allow to boil for three minutes. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Lower heat and allow syrup to simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain out spices before using and funnel into clean glass bottles for storage. Refrigerate for up to one month.

Outstanding! Glad you enjoyed it! Definitely try the grapefruit oils sprayed on top. Makes a difference. But it's a delicious drink either way, I suspect. Just posted another one for you to try in the other thread. If you keep this up you can make every single cocktail on the Oyster House list. Does that mean you won't have any reason to come to Philadelphia? Love the photo of the rhino!!! Mind if I copy and forward to my colleague? I think she'd get a real kick out of it.

tanstaafl2: You are slowly but surely recreating the cocktail list at my restaurant without even trying. Now that you have the Scarlet Ibis and the Smith & Cross you can make: Old Fashioned #6 1.5 oz. Scarlet Ibis 1 oz. Smith & Cross scant .5 oz. spiced simple syrup (cinnamon, cloves, allspice, black peppercorns, star anise, red pepper flakes) dash Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters Stir until well chilled and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a fat flamed orange peel. This was my own spin on a drink my good buddy Nick Jarrett made for me back when he still lived in Philly. The Smith & Cross props up the Ibis with the extra proof and the funkiness of the Scarlet Ibis really shines. The spiced simple, whiskey barrel bitters and flamed orange make this drink very autumnal. This is a real rum drinkers Old Fashioned. Simple but delicious. Let me know if you give it a whirl... edited to add: I'm certain I have an easy recipe with actual proportions for that spiced simple syrup somewhere. I'd be happy to PM you if you need it.

YAY!! I got so excited when I saw it was you blogging this week, and even more so now that I see you're in India! Awesome. For those of you that don't already know, Percy is quite the accomplished cook. Speaking as one that's had the pleasure of both his company and his cuisine, I'm excited to see what gets made this week. I still dream about the Akoori. Best eggs ever!

Nothing justifies tightwadness, most especially if you're doing it in "protest" or just to save money because you'll never visit that restaurant again. But we digress...

It's not OK. That's my point. Everyone I've known that has tried the beat the system has failed epically. They might get away with it for a few years, but eventually, when they are audited, they end up owing all kinds of back fees, penalties, etc. that make for a hardship now that is never worth the living high on the hog they did in the past. Plus, once you're on their radar, you get scrutinized more so than everyone else. If the IRS thinks you're a cheat, they will always think you're a cheat and act accordingly. Not worth it in my opinion. Even if I'm minding my P's and Q's I don't want to have to keep the kinds of receipt records that will satisfy any questions that might come back to haunt me later. Too much work and energy and a separate full time job unto itself. The IRS isn't as stupid as some folks wish to believe. They can do the arithmetic and figure out if a restaurant that is high volume and making 1.5 million dollars a year in revenue and has X number of tipped staff people what a bare minimum average of tips might be. If you say you're only making $50/shift and it's the only W-2 form you're reporting on, you'd better also have expenses for school or something that explains the rest of your time and money spent. It's just not that hard for them to figure out.

Well - I was sort of hinting about how folks try to get away with that and it inevitably comes back to bite them. I try to be as accurate as I'm able, while still guess-stimating what my tips will be on the shift or two per week I might not know the exact amount I made until later. I think the IRS presumes that a server makes 15% of their sales in tips on any given shift. But as I mentioned, depending on the system used by their employer, they might not be able to track their sales individually, so that gets to be a whole separate issue. Since my tip average is well above that, I figure if I underestimate a little on the one shift per week I'm not responsible for myself, I'm doing OK and am well withing those guidelines. In fact, I'm probably paying more than most in my boat. But that's OK. I haven't owed anything of any consequence in quite awhile, and am usually fortunate enough to get a refund every year! Of course there's another answer for not paying taxes on your entire income. Itemize the heck out of everything!!

ScoopKW - Amen Brother! You've distilled my argument down to the nuts and bolts. If you KNOW the circumstances then do the right thing if I've done my job well. Simply not agreeing with the system isn't a good enough reason for me to not make my mortgage payment this month. Have an argument with my owner if you feel that strongly about it, but don't punish me. Those ignorant of our system should educate themselves before traveling, just as I show the same courtesy before visiting their country. Those who own that nasty travel guide that tells them specifically NOT to tip to save money should go sit at another bar and not tie up seats at mine, where legitimately paying and tipping customers could be sitting, and I could be earning an honest living. edited to add: The fact that that was a German tour book is somehow not exactly surprising to me. But it's just as offensive and punitive regardless of where/who it comes from.

This opens a whole 'nother can of worms. If everything was hourly, then servers/bartenders would be taxed on their entire income. They might not like that. Although it's never happened to me because I report my tips as accurately as I'm able, I've known some folks that have been audited and it was a nightmare for them. Every last one of them ended up owing money to either the IRS, the state, the city or some combination thereof. There's also the issue of whether or not an employee is clocked in as "themselves" or as "PM bar" for instance. If there's two or three bartenders sharing one register and all the sales are divided amongst them, then there's no accurate gauge for each individual's sales, and hence their estimated tips for the purpose of taxation. If one bartender leaves early, then the tips are generally pro-rated over the course of the evening, with an hourly amount figured out for the entire crew and divided accordingly. There's no way for that individual to clock out and report their tips accurately because they won't be calculated until the end of the night. There's a lot of variables in this equation, and depending on the system in place at their place of employment, it can be very difficult for an individual to accurately report their tips and that may or may not be to their advantage. In general, speaking for myself, I'd say I average between $15-28/hour in tips, not counting the minimal hourly wage. The high and low ends of that range are for when it's very slow or very busy. I generally work a seven hour shift (10am-5pm) with actual service of about 5 hours from 11:30am-4:30pm. Time before we open is spent setting up and restocking the bar, time after is spent counting my register, making my drop and doing any bar prep that needs my attention before I leave. Not sure what guaranteed hourly wage would be adequate to cover that. I like leaving with cash every day and not having to wait for a paycheck every two weeks. I have functioned in other industries on a salary and bi-weekly paychecks so I'm perfectly capable of budgeting myself to do that, but I'm rather accustomed to things as they are now, knowing what times of the month I need to deposit more cash to cover the bills that are due that week, etc. I'm fortunate to have an employer that pays for 75% of my health insurance since I'm a full time employee that has been there over one year. I pay the other 25% monthly myself. This is a rarity in my industry unless one is a member of management. I'd be very curious to get the answer to this question as well. I wonder what my colleagues in other countries are making and what their tip averages might be. And I know the tax structures are very different, because they might also have socialized medicine, free or low cost secondary education etc., so I'm not even going to get into that. But I'd be very interested in seeing how it compares.

Knob Creek should be just fine in that drink. The Blanton's might be good too though. Make a short one in a really small glass so you don't overuse the Blanton's. You'll still get the idea. I like the drink with the Bonal and Benedictine in equal parts, but others have enjoyed it with 3/4 Bonal and 1/2 Benedictine if it seems to sweet for them. You can tweak to your own palate I'm sure. I don't do bitter well, so that's my excuse.

Union?? What's that? Only place that applies where I live is in hotel properties. I'm a member of that grossly underpaid collective of completely disorganized folks... I wasn't directing my rant at Jenni specifically, and I certainly hope she'll have the opportunity to visit the United States some day. It was a more general rant at those who refuse to think the facts through, even once they're aware of them, and continue to punish myself and my brethren in the well worn shoes simply because they disagree with the way we pay restaurant employees here. I disagree with it too, to some extent, and my tip average is well above 20%. I love my job and I love my customers. I have fun at work. I don't want to get a different job or work in a different industry. But I am forced to literally rely on the kindness of strangers for the bulk of my income. Does that suck? Only if they aren't taking their role in the equation seriously. Otherwise I do just fine...

Funny names are good. They grab peoples attention. Best one ever attached to one of my drinks was a Spanish Brandy based Old Fashioned (a riff on a Wisconsin Old Fashioned). The Old Fascist. With props to Philadining for wry humor.

tanstaafl2: Now that you have some Bonal quina you can make a Rhino Tooth, a cocktail on our list that was created by my colleague Jordan. It's delicious and really makes the bourbon come to life in the glass. The juxtaposition and tension of the sweet and herbaceous Benedictine and the bitter Bonal is quite intriguing. 2 oz. high quality bourbon (we use the 1792 for this drink) .75 oz each Bonal quina and Benedictine Garnish: grapefruit peel Add all of the liquors to a rocks glass neat. Add a single ice cube (the rhino's tooth). Express grapefruit oils over the top of the drink, rub the rim of the glass and discard the grapefruit peel. Sip and enjoy.

"When in Rome....." This is my point. Foreign visitors come here and because they think the system sucks, so they don't tip in the customary fashion or sometimes at all. The servers and bartenders suffer for this. When I travel I research the local customs before I go so I don't offend anyone or do something inappropriate. This is the same thing. Are you supporting a horrible system? Sure you are. But it's the one that exists and the one that tipped restaurant employees have to function within. There are plenty of things that are not mandatory but are customary, like not speaking too loudly in the theater or not urinating/defecating in public. You can choose to flout the local customs but will be thought an ass for doing so. In this country it's customary to tip between 15-20 percent. Live with it, because we have to. :climbs off her soapbox:

Every time I have attempted poached eggs that aren't "contained" as they are in the plastic wrap method, I have ended up with weak vinegar flavored egg drop soup. I have tried the vortex method, etc. I just don't do well with poaching eggs out of their shells. The Saran wrap trick is foolproof for those of us that don't own a sous vide set up or have issues with "free form" poached eggs. I freely admit it's a cheat, but one that works like a charm for my egg challenged self.

All good thoughts. Thanks Dan! Will report back with any wild successes...