KatieLoeb

I've done this. I used it to make a Vanilla-Saffron Martini with a little Licor 43 and Southern Comfort and a splash of sour mix and lime juice. The folks that liked it loved it, and everyone else just couldn't wrap their heads around a savory cocktail. We took it off the menu soon thereafter.

No matter how big a check you and your group run up on a busy night, it's the tying up of the seats for the entire evening that's the issue. Particularly in a BYO where you aren't adding to your check average with alcohol, those 12 seats could be turned 2 to 3 times as smaller tables in the amount of time it takes to serve a party that large a three course dinner. In a smaller restaurant you could literally be taking up one half to one third of their available seating. I'd be surprised to find any small restaurant that would book a party of 12 persons at prime time on a night other than maybe a Monday-Wednesday. And even then they'd probably want you to come in before 6PM.

I see they brought the lousy staff with them from Tifco's. That's just great.

Try the Saintsbury Garnet. It's always solid at about $18. My latest favorite is the Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvée 2003. A bit pricier at around $34, but it's so concentrated and delicious it's worth it. A really BIG Pinot Noir, very silky and luscious.

Amontillado is always much dryer and far less sweet than a dessert PX would be. Lighter in color and viscosity as well. No comparison. Remember, Pedro Ximenez is both the name of the grape and a name for a particular style of sweet sherry, so the Alvear Carlos is an Amontillado style sherry made from PX grapes. The usual progression of sherries in order of dryer to sweeter is: Fino => Manzanilla => Amontillado => Palo Cortado and Dry Oloroso => Sweet Oloroso and Cream Sherry => Pedro Ximenez There's a wealth of information about sherry production, the solera aging system and pairing of sherries with food at the Emilio Lustau website.

Katie was talking about vinegar made from PX. Just like there is red vine vinegar and "regular" sherry vinegar, there is PV vinegar. I'd say this depends on the price and quality of the PX. ← Sam beat me to this response. DiBruno's sells a lovely Gegenbauer PX Noble Sour Vinegar that is an excellent product. I prefer to make my PX vinaigrette with a delicate nut oil like hazelnut or pistachio. It goes really well with the vinegar.

Jason got all the answers right so I'll just add my personal opinions. It's particularly tasty as an accompaniment to foie gras or blue veined/salty cheeses like Cabrales or Gorgonzola. P.X. vinegars are also a delicacy and make a simply spectacular vinaigrette with a high grade nut oil. P.X. sherry tastes like raisins, figs or dates depending on how concentrated it is. Very sweet and maple-ey as well. It's quite unique and delicious. We serve a grilled foie gras served on brioche French Toast dish at Amada. Pairing the P.X. with it is like having the maple syrup for the French Toast. It's the one pairing on the menu/wine list I'd stake my life on converting someone that doesn't understand the concept of a really good food and beverage pairing. It's an "A-ha!" moment waiting to happen.

This is what Philadelphia City Hall looked like around Christmas time this past year. Some French lighting firm was contracted to take photos of the building, colorize them and then reproject the colorized pictures back onto the building facades perfectly matched to every minute detail. It looked really beautiful and made you feel like you'd stumbled into Oz or down a rabbit hole. Very cool.

I've seen that recipe before. It's frightening. Adios Motherfucker 1 oz vodka 1 oz rum 1 oz tequila 1/2 oz gin 1 oz Blue Curacao liqueur 2 oz sweet and sour mix 2 oz 7-Up® soda Served stirred or shaken in a pounder glass(16 oz) Basically a Long Island Iced Tea using Lemon soda instead of Coke and turned blue with the Blue Curacao instead of regular triple sec. And equally as deadly.

Really? I'd like to kick him in the nuts, smack him over the head with a baseball bat, and dispose of him in a wood chipper, personally. ← I'm right there with you, Jason. This guy gives sommeliers a bad name. Give me a slightly condescending older Frenchman in a suit anyday before I listen to the likes of that obnoxious and inhospitable excuse for a server. Yes - sommeliers are just high level servers with a particular expertise. Steven really doesn't get that at all. Would anyone stand for a waiter with his attitude? His arrogance and overbearing sense of entitlement would put me off dinner in less than a minute. I don't know how he stays employed.

do i smell road trip?!! ← I smell a side-by-side Szechuan Dumpling Smackdown in the near future...

OMG. That was so funny I just sprayed my computer screen with latte. Angela ← That really is one of the funniest things I've ever read on eGullet. It's a shame that this turned into such a debacle. It certainly isn't the first ridiculous premise on which to build a program. Dancing with the Stars and Celebrity Skating (or whatever the heck that was called) were surprise hits. The idea of an Iron Chef-type competition amongst celebrities, whom we all imagine to have personal chefs, isn't a bad concept. It was the execution and casting that was the nightmare. Perhaps if there had been some depth on the bench, this might have been more interesting. As it stands, I doubt many viewers really care what the D-listers are doing with their time.

I work with a couple of Argentinian guys. I'll ask them next week when I see them next what would be appropriate.

You've never been to Jamaican Jerk Hut?? Sandy! I'm appalled! I know how much you love that stuff. Their food is excellent and the freshly made juices are the best ever. Their Ginger Beer (more like ginger juice) is really hot and delicious. I've also used it to great effect in some cocktail recipes... This simply won't do. I'm going to have to drag you there myself. We'll discuss on Sunday...

I got this one... Wishniak is a variety of cherry grown throughout Eastern Europe. Both the cherry itself and the resulting liqueur (a dark cherry brandy) share the name. The best examples are from Croatia. Maraska apparently makes a good one, but it's in short supply. There's a few bottles at the specialty store in Bryn Mawr if you're feeling so inclined.

That Symphony is delicious. They used to serve it over at McCormack & Schmick's, or at least that's where I'd had it. I've been hearing mixed reviews on Vintage. On the one hand I'm thrilled there's a new wine bar in town, but on the other hand I just can't get excited when I see a well meaning couple trying to do everything themselves in an attempt to "save" money. The inevitable doom just depresses me and I don't want to get attached to the place. The one time I stuck my head in there after the opening it looked seriously understaffed. I've heard from other folks that have been there that service is slow. If you don't know enough to pay just one extra warm body bartender or server less than minimum wage + tips to take care of your guests for a 6 hours shift (Grand total cost to payroll about $15), then the chances for success seem dim to me, at best. I really hope this place does well, but if they don't hire some staff soon, it's not going to be pretty. Burning oneself out in their own place of business is a common demise for small business owners as well as small businesses.

Nice. This sounds delicious Erik. With the hint of sweetness and almondy-ness of the Maraschino in the background this drink sounds like a real winner. Would probably be good with a bit of blood orange instead of the grapefruit too. For no rational reason, I've somehow always wanted to combine Key lime and Blood orange. I don't know why - I just think they'd be delicious together.

You forgot to mention the merest soupçon of gooseberry and insouciant traces of grapefruit in the nose...

There's a suburb called Penn Valley about 15 minutes from downtown.

Sandy - are you going to show the nice folks that don't live here the DiBruno's store before the end of your blog? I'm certain they'd be delighted to have you take nice pictures and post them for everyone to see...

I've had good luck with the OxyClean and similar type powders for older linen fabric and curtains. A good soak in some of that and then a gentle laundering seems to work well, especially on yellow-ness. Or make a paste with that stuff and use a very soft very old toothbrush gently on the spots and yellow lines.

i'm sure this is in jest, but, it's very likely a logical fallacy to assume that the writer is doing his job whilst looking after a child, and that he does his job only when he's looking after a child. by quoting the word "writer", are we to assume that you don't feel this writer is a writer? i agree with you on sancerre and oysters. oysters don't need anything too complex on tha palate. zippy-zingy-and-fun. anyway, i was actually quite impressed with the piece. i went into it thinking that he was just going to throw some controversial comments out there, and that was it. however, he made some very good points. for an indication to me that his argument was well thought-out, and somewhat compelling (more than i can say for most strong opinions that i find on the internet), all i need to do is to think back on how long it's been since i picked up a SB instead of a riesling, chenin blanc, falanghina, or a variety of other whites. hmm. i would have to think that the writer does, in fact, try lots of wines every year, as he states. i have no reason to believe he's not well-versed, and no reason to think that his opinion is poppycock...least of all, perhaps, because i mostly agree. good piece. ← OK - perhaps my "quoting" of the word writer was a bit over the top. Mr. Steinberger can certainly write well, but unlike you, I completely disagree with him. That does not, however, mean that I disagree with his point that there's an ocean of other lovely white varietals to be had. I merely think that condemning the grape and virtually all that issues forth from it (in unadulterated form, anyway) based on bottle of Kim Crawford that wasn't to his taste is a bit hasty. I'd suggest trying Haras de Pirque SB from Chile, Dominique Roger Sancerre Blanc La Jouline from the Loire, the Mulderbosch SB from South Africa or any one of several fine examples from the Russian River Valley before writing off SB as "dull" simply because it shows considerable stylistic variation from region to region, is an extremely versatile wine and it matches well with many different types of foods. Heck, those are all plusses in my book! And the thing with the Sancerre and oysters is very basic chemistry. Sancerre is very highly acidic. Screechingly so, on its own, in fact. Oysters are briny. Salt and acid are at opposite ends of the Ph scale. Eaten together the flavors tame each other. Same reason we put a squeeze of lemon on seafood.

Hi Vegard! Welcome to eGullet and the Fine Spirits and Cocktails Forum. Take a look through some of the threads in this forum and you'll find all kinds of cool drinks that are either old classics with a twist or new creations by some of the members here. Buy yourself some cocktail books and study them. You'll start to see patterns in the recipes and can then start tinkering with your own creations. Try anything and everything once to see what it's bringing to the party and then start combining things with the fresh fruits and herbs you have at your disposal. Get the chef to make you interesting herb and other flavor infused syrups to mix with. You can lots of fun with those! [offtopic]I had a Skogkatt for many years named Oslowe. I miss him very much. He was really smart.[/offtopic]

I'll gladly drink a glass of Sancerre with a dozen oysters or even in-the-shell crab. This "writer" has clearly not been tasting the right wines. There's all manner of dull and overrated wines in the world, made from every varietal under the sun. The vast difference in styles of Old World and New World Sauvignon Blanc could keep this guy busy for a while. Some nice gooseberry and "eau de litterbox" aromatics in a New Zealand SB vs. the steely grassiness and minerality of a Loire SB vs the ripeness and lush fruit of a California SB. There's SB for virtually any palate without straining oneself to look too hard. Obviously this writer has a short attention span, perhaps hindered by having to look after a four year old whilst doing his job.

I see your grilled corn, butter, lime juice, and raise you a dash of paprika and cayenne. ← Go to a Mexican grocery store and buy a jar of Picon seasoning. It's citrusy and spicy and the same time and what they sprinkle on elotes. It's also good for rimming a Bloody Mary glass...