KatieLoeb

Cracked open a bottle of Travis Unfiltered Riverview Vineyard Chardonnay 2003 a couple of nights ago to have with Cajun style shrimp cakes purchased at the Smack-me grocery. Really interesting wine. I had a couple of short glasses and left the rest recorked in the fridge overnight. It was even better on the second visit. Initially, I had sensed an overwhelming bouquet of what seemed "oaky" but having read the label, I realized this wine saw no wood whatsover. The clean fruity flavors and toastiness was far more evident on the revisitation and this wine is really a fine expample of what good fruit (harvested at less than two tons per acre) and no wood and no induced malolactic frementation can yield. This is utterly unmanipulated-by-human-hands Chardonnay at its very best. Nice acidity to compliment the fruity flavors. This wine is a little cloudy (unfiltered will do that) and very flavorful. Really shows you what Chardonnay, and not barrels tastes like. It will undoubtedly be a revelation for many folks that thought that splintered wood/melted butter taste is what Chardonnay tastes like. This is much more French in style than Californian, except for that New World in-your-face tropical fruitiness. Really tasty wine. A steal at $12.99 if you can still find some. Seems that 12th & Chestnut and 19th & Chestnut still have some around.

Two snifters each of Graham's Six Grapes port will add up and do duty if pressed (pun intended) to do so. Add some regular grapes and some good stinky cheese and it sounds like a good evening's entertainment to me.

I live right around the corner from Gayle and pass by it almost daily. Though I haven't been inside yet, I too was quite familiar with Azafran's layout. At one time Azafran was one of my favorite neighborhood places. At least from what can be seen from the street, it definitely looks like there's more bodies jammed in that front room than there used to be. Capaneus wrong about something??? Pffft!

Not here. Somehow I just think to go to the Pho shops or Pho Xe Lua (my favorite for pho) instead of Vientiane. Their Chicken-Coconut and Tom Yum style soups are awesome, however.

This place has been a fave of mine for a while. Food is solid, service is always very pleasant and it's BYO. What more could I ask for? The red and green curries are always good, and I've always been fond of their fish dishes. Specials are usually worth a look too.

Funny - I'm exactly the opposite. I usually tell the bartender "Shake it like it's someone you hate that won't shut up!"

It's not quite as easy as that, but having a degree is a good start. Certainly it will prepare you to work for an organization like China Grill Management, Lettuce Entertain You or whomever. But honestly, most of those organizations promote from within. Just having the Management background of understanding the bottom line of the bigger picture of Food Sales, Liquor Sales, Payroll, Operating Expenses and Non-Operating Expenses will put you in a good spot. Learning to produce and interpret a P&L statement is great practice for virtually any industry. I learned by working my way up from Bookkeeper to Office Manager to Beverage Director to Controller. Knowing how and why items get expensed the way they do will make everything come into clearer focus. Running one revenue producing department will give you the perspective on incoming cash flow and then having to really see the big picture and tie both those things together will make it all come into focus. I had the good fortune/misfortune of being Controller while we were working out of a bankruptcy. You really learn how to spin gold out of straw in those circumstances and it certainly made me a much better (read: Cost Conscious) manager.

Chris: Whilst grocery shopping at Smack-me the other day I noticed they had Martinelli's Premium Apple-Pear Sparkling Cider. I grabbed a bottle and brought it home thinking of this thread. I put a small shot (approx. 1 oz.) of Obstler schnapps into a Champagne flute and filled with the Martinelli's Apple-Pear cider. While not the most complex of cocktails, it is certainly a pleasant and autumnal flavored quaff. Next time I plan to put a dash of bitters in to see if it takes the sweet edge off the drink. It is certainly tasty. I'm sure many folks would like this if they tried it.

Say WHAT!!! There's a bar that I could crawl-home-from-naked-on-my-belly-over-two-blocks-of-broken-glass that has FOUR kinds of rye on the rail and I didn't know??? Dude. You're killin' me here...

Thanks Eileen! I hope it is to your liking. The food is great. Chef Jose is a perfectionist and the menu is really not like anything else in Philly. Authentic with a forward thinking twist would be my best description. If you like Spanish tapas, or if you just like really good straightforward simple food prepared from the very best ingredients you can't go wrong. I'm certain you'll find something you like on the menu. Meanwhile, I'm waiting patiently for lunch to start so I can get back behind the bar! I miss seeing the happy smiling faces of the customers...

The "Chocolate Five Ways" dessert at Amada features a shot glass of the most delicious Hot White Cocoa I could have imagined. Except I didn't, until I tasted it. Awesome stuff.

Does Ravenous Cafe still exist? I had a great meal there in 2000 and thought it was such a cute little place with wonderful food, service and wine.

Wellll... It's a little long winded procedurally, but pitting fresh cherries, putting them through a dehydrator and then rehydrating them in bourbon or Luxardo Maraschino liqueur makes for a tasty treat at the bottom of your cocktail glass. Dehydrators can be found on eBay 24/7/365 for not a lot of money if you don't have one.

Have the caterer set up a stir fry station. You offer mixed veggies and either chicken, salmon or shrimp. They can stir fry to order in one of three electric woks set up for the occasion. Have a pasta station as well with plain pasta and different sauces. Have a carving station with Steamship Round of Beef and Roast Turkey. Everyone should be able to cobble together something to eat that way. Or do what Curlz said. It's YOUR wedding ferchrissakes. To heck with what the guests eat/don't eat. Keep the beverages flowing and give them a choice and tell them to shut up and eat it.

Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve, named for their master distiller, Jimmy Russell? ← What about Evan Williams and Baker's??

We already do this in Philly. You can check out the Dangerous Dining Club Yahoo Group for our past exploits. We're having an authentic Navidad Puertoriqueno next on Dec. 20 and 21. The restaurant was too small to accomodate us all on one night so I'm playing hostess twice! This really is not so difficult to do. Someone has to volunteer to contact the restaurant and plan a menu. We try to keep our cost at $25/person. If it's a more upscale restaurant then we price it accordingly. The price must bewith tax and gratuity included. That way whomever is hosting can collect all the monies at the beginning of the evening, pay the restaurant and then be a guest themselves. No haggling, penny counting, tip figuring or any such nonsense at the end of the evening. We also try to go to BYO restaurants whenever possible. If the restaurant has a liquor license then it's a cash bar, so none of the teetotalers have to subsidize the drinkers. Very egalitarian and seems to work well. ← i'd imagine this would have to be done off-site or via PM, given the restrictions of egullet concerning events planning. ← We do it primarily offsite and through regular e-mail. Master Mailing list (in Excel spreadsheet format) is updated after each dinner and forwarded to whomever is playing host that month. Invitations are sent via e-mail. Annoucement is posted in the Yahoo Group.

We already do this in Philly. You can check out the Dangerous Dining Club Yahoo Group for our past exploits. We're having an authentic Navidad Puertoriqueno next on Dec. 20 and 21. The restaurant was too small to accomodate us all on one night so I'm playing hostess twice! This really is not so difficult to do. Someone has to volunteer to contact the restaurant and plan a menu. We try to keep our cost at $25/person. If it's a more upscale restaurant then we price it accordingly. The price must be with tax and gratuity included. That way whomever is hosting can collect all the monies at the beginning of the evening, pay the restaurant and then be a guest themselves. No haggling, penny counting, tip figuring or any such nonsense at the end of the evening. We also try to go to BYO restaurants whenever possible. If the restaurant has a liquor license then it's a cash bar, so none of the teetotalers have to subsidize the drinkers. Very egalitarian and seems to work well.

Last time I had left over roast pork loin I diced it up and made a pork, broccoli and cheddar quiche with it. It was nothing earth shattering but it was pretty good.

Dude! So very bummed for 'ya. Are you looking elsewhere with better construction estimates?

I was actually right about that then. I just didn't realize the Special Magical Punch Bowl had a name that was different from regular old Gluhwein. German never was my strong suit. I'm told that Austrian college boys use this stuff like Kryptonite to make girls clothes fall off after a night of partying around the punch bowl.

zukerhuete? (sounds like Dutch for sugar-hat?!?) ← Aha! (she said - having an inspired thought...) Is that the cone of sugar that gets put in the middle of the punch bowl, soaked in brandy and lit on fire?? I've been told that "proper" gluhwein is served in a punchbowl with this conical sugar thingie in the middle that's soaked and set aflame, and then it crumbles and falls into the punch to sweeten and flavor it. Am I close? Am I

I usually use an Eye Round or Bottom Round roast. I put the tenderizer and seasonings on the meat when it comes out of the fridge and then let it sit for about 30 minutes until I bung it into the blazing oven. Seems to work just fine. Sometimes if the meat looks a bit stringy or tough I'll poke it all over a bit with a fork to get the seasonings down into it. If it's really lean I'll sometimes give it a light spritz with some olive oil out of my Misto canister so it doesn't dry out completely. Usually the basting takes care of that though. I dunno. I suppose it seems deceptively simple but this method always seems to work for me. I've even made roast beef as "company" dinner and folks have always seemed to like it.

Tonight's find: Ruffino Modus 2000. Current Chairman's Selection. $22.99. 90 points from both the Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate. This was another spot on suggestion from Corey at the 12th & Chestnut store. A silky and delicious Super Tuscan - predominantly Sangiovese with Cabernet and Merlot. I love this sort of "Italian Bordeaux" blend. Very dark and smooth. Lots of black fruit flavors like blackberry, black cherry and black currant with a nice toasty flavor and a bit of spice from the new oak. Long lingering finish. Worth snagging several and laying a few down to see how it develops. Delicious now but with impressive potential. I must go buy a couple more of these before they all disappear. Not inexpensive compared to other Chairman's Selections, but a bargain for the quality. If anyone needs to gift someone they need to impress with a bottle of wine this holiday season, then look no further. I can't imagine anyone not sensing how great this wine really is.

Jamie: Your writing is so evocative. I can almost see you and Pete sprayed with salt air and water with your hair all bleached in the sun. I see you both running down to the dock to go sailing and fishing every afternoon as much to pass the time and have some fun as to catch that evening's supper. Thank you. That was a really lovely read.

My no fail method that has served me well with roast beast is to trim up the roast (take most of the fat layer off the outside), rub it with meat tenderizer and whatever spices I wish to season it with that day and place it on a V-rack in a roasting pan. I place 1 can of beef broth in the bottom of the roasting pan with any aromatic vegetables I may wish to. I place a meat thermometer into the roast and place the pan in a pre-heated blazing hot 475 degree oven for 15 minutes to sear the outside of the meat. I then lower the temperature to 375 degrees and roast the meat until the thermometer says 130-135 degrees internal temperature. I baste the meat every 15-20 minutes while it's cooking with the broth and drippings in the pan. I add some water if the broth has evaporated too much. That's it. Works every time and I have perfectly medium rare roast beef. I make gravy out of the pan drippings deglazed with more stock, red wine or whatever I have handy. I'll run the drippings and yummy bits through the blender with the pan vegetables if I want a thicker, more flavorful gravy. Unfailingly works for me.