KatieLoeb

Over ice cream. Drizzled on buttery pound cake with fresh berries. In iced tea. In a cocktail glass with vermouth or Lillet blonde. Ice cold in small sippable shots. Ice cold in large poundable shots. Really the possibilities are endless. Think of all the ways you'd love to incorporate an intense lemony flavor into anything and there you are.

Precisely why I avoid these places like the plague. It's more like the St. Jean is closer to water and the Canyon Road is more like drinking the bag on the wood chipper. Blech.

To me Umami is kind of like Santa Claus. Either you believe in it or not. I think it has a lot more potential in describing FOOD tastes as opposed to BEVERAGE tastes as I'd describe it as a "brothy" or "Protein-like" or "Protein + salty" flavor. Soy sauce, Tamari, MSG, Miso soup - all these bring Umami to mind. Not sure if it's something I'd personally find appetizing in a beverage. An olive is quite enough for me in a martini. Not sure I'd want to taste things that made me think of miso or soy in a cocktail.

Welcome Tom! And pucker up...

You're on! I'll see him Wednesday and confirm.

You just had to go there, didn't you? Actually, I think Capogiro does have some sandwiches available, so a Mortadella sammy followed by a scoop of pistachio for dessert just to drive the point home could be a very good thing

Welcome lyz2814!!!

The place the gentlemen is taking you is Kyoto at Merchant's Walk in Cherry Hill. Sooooooooooo....was I right or was I right? Don't have an answer yet. Scheduling three very busy people to be at same place and time is challenging, at best. I haven't forgotten about it and will definitely keep you all updated.

OK. It's all making sense now.

Your sense of clairvoyance is remarkable. I was wondering how to work the avocado flavor into the previous post and decided it was too "off the wall" for public consumption (so to speak). As if by magic, you've mentioned another flavor at Capogiro that really blew me away! And yes, the pistachio is other worldly. Friends who know me well and dine with me frequently will tell you two things about my restaurant ordering habits: 1) If there's a Duck dish on the menu, it is highly likely that I will order it. 2) If any dessert has Pistachio in it, I will absoutely order it, regardless of how full I am. The pistachio gelato at Capogiro is without question, the most "pistachio-ey" thing I've ever tasted. Given that it's a flavor I adore, no contest. And it isn't isn't that disgusting "Green Dye #5" color either. Yeah, it's got some green going on, but it's the color of the REAL DEAL. Nothing even comes close.

D'oh! "By-products". Of course, of course... I can't believe this didn't dawn on me, but I guess I always thought "by-products" referred to ground up skin, cartilage, popes noses, etc. and not necessarily the innards. Since I see the livers and gizzards for sale at the local market, I just presumed the innards were for (selective) human consumption and if nobody wanted them they'd get tossed. So how do the bajillions of pounds of unwanted "by-products" get delivered from my local corner butcher shop or poultry store to Purina? Do they come around and pick them up? Just curious, because this whole commercial level operation isn't adding up for me, and clearly there's lots of "by-product" to be had. Does anyone know where the large pet food suppliers source their protein from? I may not like the answer to this question...

No, just that all the dealers are old now. Of course - how silly of me! I forget my contemporries are aging right along with me sometimes...

Jas.: I've had that Rosemary Goat Milk Honey flavor and it's un-freakin-believably delicious. I have to agree that it's one of the best things ever. You should try some of the other seemingly plain sounding fruit flavors too. Peach, strawberry, etc. are just the pure essence of the flavor of fruit. I'll bet the Meyer Lemon/Grey Goose was pretty good too! Thanks for reminding me about Capogiro. I got my "it's-warm-enough-again" cold dessert fix with a scoop of Butter Pecan from Fisher's at RTM this afternoon.

Perhaps if there's a good poultry only shop near you, you could request the hearts? Here in Philly, I'd probably go to Godschall's Poultry at Reading Terminal Market or Esposito's Meats at the Italian Market. Are there any large markets near you that have a poultry vendor? I suspect if no one asks for them they probably get thrown out.

so, if i understand correctly if you aren't civilized you aren't in any danger of getting stuffy? Mercifully, natural selection usually handles this because the uncivilized don't like to do stuffy. Sometimes though, the ones with that arrogant sense of entitlement decide that their good time is far more important than that of every other customer in the establishment. This is where they earn their Asshole Merit badges.

i think you missed the spirit of my post, and manybe mongo's, as he/she *must* have been joking...but regardless, it sounds like you're suggesting that if a group of people gets loud, without realizing it, and is asked to temper their behavior, then they are asses and shouldn't be allowed out without supervision? does that include laughing out loud at Daniel? not that anyone says anything funny there, but in theory it could happen. I suppose I could have been more specific. I think if you're asked to "tone it down" at ADNY, then perhaps you shouldn't have been there in the first place. You might guffaw at a joke a bit too loudly, but then again, maybe telling the types of jokes that would elicit raucous laughing in a civilized, yeah maybe even stuffy sort of establishment like that isn't appropriate or well thought out. If you go to a place where it's widely accepted as a locale to get noisy (like the pub or sports bar) and they ask you to dial it back more than once you have to assume you're being too loud for even the "it's OK to be loud" place and you might wish to consider leaving. If you simply refuse to heed the warnings from management (as I've seen happen often with loud obnoxious yuppies with a totally unrealistic sense of entitlement) or think that throwing more money at it will make the rules change, then you're an ass.

My kids have never been there, and never will. If they want to go to an amusement park, we will take them to an amusement park. We took both kids out to Rio Grande (Tex-Mex chain) last night and sat next to a table full of little hooligans whose parents let them get up and run around. Yes, it's a family place, but we still don't let the kids out of their chairs while we are eating. One of the women at the table observed Emma and Ian sharing our squid appetizer and was curious to know if they knew what they were eating. She said her kids "don't eat anything." I was tempted to tell her that she might want to reconsider rewarding them with ice cream when they haven't eaten their meals. Heather: This is exactly what I was getting at. At an amusement park it's OK to squeal and shout on the rides. It isn't OK at a restaurant. Take your kids to Chuck E. Cheese and you're showing them that going out to eat (because that's the connection they are capable of making) and screaming and running about is acceptable behavior. They don't understand that even the not-so-fancy family restaurant isn't like the other.

you don't want to be around me and my boys when we get going. however, most adults know when it's inappropriate to get loud, and also, occasionally, respond to requests from the management to keep it down to a low roar. children, i'm thinking, don't have those capabilities. but yeah, some adults should clearly not be allowed out in public. Your idea of a good time and mine shouldn't clash if we take those ideas to the appropriate places. I have no problem with a group of folks getting loud in a sports bar, a pub, a college bar, etc. I have a problem with them getting loud at the bar in a fine dining establishment. That's not appropriate. If you and your peeps get loud enough to have management ask you to tone it down in a place where that sort of behavior is tolerated or even encouraged, then yeah - you shouldn't be let out of the house without supervision, even if you are old enough to drive yourself there, legally buy the drinks, or even make more money than anyone else in the room and regularly perform life saving surgeries. You are, quite simply, an ass. Children may not know what is or isn't OK, but their parents do. The very parents that take the screaming little monsters to Chuck E. Cheese are teaching their charges that running around maniacally and shreiking in a public space, is OK under some circumstances. Is it any wonder?

Actually, talk about terroir: I believe there are subliminal hints of cannabis sativa that manifest in the wine. (Bonny Doon, in Santa Cruz county, is an old dope growers/dealers hangout.) It's just lovely. Retails at $11. And I see they've got a new Big House Pink (to go with their Big House Red and White line). We'll have to try that one, too. An old dope growers/dealers hangout? The implication being that area no longer has cannabis as a cash crop? I've heard from more than one winemaker that cannabis grows quite effectively between grapevines. In fact the Foris Vineyards "Fly Over Red" is named for the little narc planes that would "fly over" that area of Oregon seeking amateur botany projects. Thanks for reminding me about the Vin Gris de Cigare. Also a fave. And I'll definitely want to try the Big House Pink. Hadn't heard about it before and I really love the red and the white.

Ludja: Are the Preiselbeeren also occasionally made into schnapps? I think I may have had this before. Also, is there such a thing as a preiselbeeren marmalade type of concoction that is served with game meats? I may have a jar of this in my pantry and not thought about it for ages. I've had a delicious Austrian/Bavarian small wild tart berry jam (not unlike a tiny cranberry. Could it have been preiselbeeren??) on the side of venison and it was awesome! I've had horseradish mustard and I've had cranberry mustard. But Cranberry-Horseradish mustard might make me swoon

So THAT'S where that started! As always, you are a veritable font of information...

Y'know - the stunning logic of this had escaped me until you just now pointed it out! How could there be a Seder pre-Exodus??? The scene with the blood of the Paschal lamb being painted over the doors of the Jewish homes and the sight of the creeping black fog that symbolizes the Angel of Death coming for the Egyptian first born with all the shreiking and crying in the background never fails to make my flesh crawl just a bit. No matter how many times I've seen that film. The painting of The Last Supper is supposed to be a passover Seder. But why are they all sitting on the same side of the table???

The Ten Commandments will undoubtedly be shown on this coming Easter weekend as it is every single year. Tape it if you have other plans. It's pretty long but it's a classic!

Ahhh! I'm glad you asked. I forgot to post on this thread about it. It was positively luscious! I really liked it as did most of the other dinner companions. A couple of folks there aren't quite dessert wine drinkers yet so I think it freaked them out a little. I thought it was almost like a plummy/berry flavored port, but with less of a madirized/oxydized taste than a port, and less alcohol if that makes any sense. It was definitely the perfect pairing with the chocolate covered matzah and chocolate covered coconut macaroons. I'd imagine it would be sublime with a flourless Chocolate Torte! I'd definitely get it again. It was a very excellent quality red dessert wine for any occasion.

Aw shucks, Soba. If I were a hostess instead of a Frequent Guest/Freeloader I'd certainly invite you for the cross cultural social experiment I think you'd find it quite interesting. Imagine it thusly. A dinner party like any other, but with a script you must read from and songs to sing. A retelling of the tale of the Jews enslavement and persecution under the Pharoah in Egypt and the Exodus, symbolized in the items on the ceremonial platter in the center of the table. You say a lot of blessings - first over the holiday candles, over the matzah (enleavened bread), over four mandatory (> 4 glasses optional) glasses of wine throughout the Seder, over salted water (tears) with a sprig of parsley (hope of springtime and rebirth) you've dunked in it, and over the bitter herbs (usually a slice of horseradish root and symbolizing the bitterness of slavery) and Charoset. The Charoset is a fruit, nut and sweet wine mixture which varies wildly from Jewish culture to culture, but is meant to represent the mortar between the bricks that the Jews were forced to use to build the Egyptian temples and pyramids. The youngest person there must ask "The Four Questions", which are basically about why Passover is different from all other nights and lead into the retelling of the Exodus. You eat, and eat. Common menu themes are Gefilte Fish with Horseradish, Matzah Ball Soup, Brisket, other manner of protein that are sweetened with dried fruits (Apricot Chicken, Brisket with Prunes, etc) and fresh green vegetables that symbolize the springtime like Haricot Vert or Asparagus. Since there is no leavening allowed to be consumed, desserts tend to be flourless cakes, sponge cakes, fresh or cooked fruits and macaroons. Seders are a lot of fun. Even if you aren't Jewish it really makes that Charleton Heston flick The Ten Commandments make a whole lot more sense.