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KatieLoeb

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by KatieLoeb

  1. Amen to all that. Everything was delicious! I have a Turkish friend coming to town for THanksgiving I'm hoping to have lunch with there on the Saturday following Turkey feastings... This is also true. However, let's not forget the "DDC Lipman Curse" and hope that Turkish Family Place remains open for some time to come... Amen to this too. My stuffed self is going to bed now, hoping I don't wake up when I roll over in my sleep!
  2. Dean: Slippery Slopes!!!! Recipe is in the eGullet archives. Ginger Ale will work instead of Bitter Lemon, but it's better the orginal way. Besides, I recall you putting a dent in a couple of them at the Pig Pickin' ETA The Slippery Slope recipe -- CA
  3. KatieLoeb

    Fennel

    I do a "Funky Waldorf Salad" with Fennel, Pears and Cashews instead of Celery, Apples and Walnuts. I still add golden raisins and add a bit of crumbled blue cheese. Dressing is too-thick commercial Russian dressing thinned with some defrosted apple juice concentrate. A bit of the fennel fronds diced on top and it's very pretty as well as quite tasty.
  4. KatieLoeb

    Grilled Cheese

    Amen on the mustard! Oh - and welcome to eGullet... Good potato or whole grain bread, lightly buttered on the outsides, sharp cheddar or havarti cheese, or really whatever is in the cupboard. I vary what type of mustard I'm using (Condiment Queen*) depending on how sharp the cheese is. Milder sweet mustards with sharp cheese, Dijon with creamier milder cheeses. Mendocino mustard and Dill havarti is a delicious combo. Fresh sliced tomatoes when in season only. Winter tomatoes tastes like wet cardboard. That brie and apple combo sounds divine *running joke amongst my friends that there's every flavor of mustard, hot sauce, marinade, etc. known to man in my refrigerator.
  5. Yes - you read that right. It's also on the business cards. First time I told someone about that they accused me of making it up!
  6. Malcolm beat me to this suggestion. An excellent primer in addition to the Kevin Zraly book, and I'd add Andrea Immer's Great Wine Made Simple. Also look HERE for classes, wine dinners and tastings in your area. And drink! The lab work is the best part
  7. There was a woman in the lobby of my building last week waiting for the elevator. Her Pug was wearing a BURBERRY doggie trench coat! It was the funniest and cutest thing ever. Plaid collar lining was visible, it had the little epaulets at the "shoulders" and a little belt. Tres chic! The name thing is tough. Pets should have a name that's easy to call. Human names are great if they suit the pet's personality or some attribute the pet has. An old neighbor of mine had a beautiful grey cat with six toes on his front feet. His paws looked like little boxing gloves as a result. His name was Cassius . My mom had a dachshund named Elvis. What a great dog. I miss him lots Long dignified human names sometimes suit the smaller dogs. And then you just call it by it's nickname. Maximillian becomes Max or Maxie, Wallingford becomes Wally, The Czarina Alexandra becomes Lexie or Sasha, etc. I like Lamont! And I like Ruby for a girl of the ones on your lists. I'd like to add Bijou (little jewel) to the list for girls and Watson and Oswald to the boys list.
  8. KatieLoeb

    Making gravlax

    I make gravlax for parties several times per year. My only word of caution is to use fresh salmon as opposed to frozen-then-defrosted salmon. I did this once and the texture just wasn't the same and it seemed to give off so much more liquid while curing. I created my own method of curing gravlax after reading about a half dozen variations on the recipe. I make up a kosher salt/brown sugar/roasted & crushed coriander seed mixture (recipe is in my files somewhere and I can probably find exact measurements if you'd like) and lay a thick layer of that on the flesh sides of the fish. Follow with LOTS of chopped fresh dill. A little sprinkle of vodka or cognac is nice too. Sandwich the fish halves together with flesh sides facing and spices and curing mixture sandwiched thickly in the middle, wrap in plastic wrap and lay into a glass baking dish or long loaf pan. Place a brick or a long piece of wood weighted down with a couple of cans on top and leave in the fridge for three to four days. Turn and drain a couple of times per day. Remove the fish and scrape off the spices well. Slice thinly and serve with black bread or rye crisps. I also make a fennel seed flavored goat cheese spread that goes quite well under the gravlax. I find it's best to buy a whole fresh salmon at the fish monger and have them filet it for me. That way the sides "match" up together like a symmetrical fish puzzle and the flesh cures better because the halves of fish fit together so well
  9. KatieLoeb

    Terroir

    Indeed. At one point Monsieur Joly was talking about the different "forces" that effect the vines such as the opposing pull of gravity vs. the plant reaching toward the sun, the "life forces" vs. the "death forces" and the effect of the type of manure (cow, horse, pig, etc) used as mulch and fertilizer. I had no idea I'd be getting such an education about farm animal manure today !
  10. KatieLoeb

    Terroir

    I just spent part of this afternoon at an absolutely fascinating lecture and tasting with Nicholas Joly. The man is Grand Poobah and High Priest of Biodynamic winemaking. Such energy! Such passion! Good grief - I thought the man was going to keel over at one point from the sheer exhaustion of explaining his techniques with the arm gestures and the melodrama! Really interesting and a fascinating perspective of terroir from someone who lives and breathes to have his wine express the terroir from whence it came. The wines were excellent as well. The Coulee de Serrant and the Savennieres were glorious and stupendously flavorful. I am fortunate to taste a lot of wine, but few that are as awe-inspiring as those of Monsieur Joly. Have a sip of these wines and suddenly "terroir" begins to have a palpable meaning.
  11. KatieLoeb

    Coffee Mugs

    One of the few advantages to working for a restaurant (other than the long hours and low pay of course... ) is having a cappuccino machine right downstairs at my disposal. First thing I do every day after dropping my stuff at my desk is go downstairs and make myself a big-assed latte. It's the only way to get my synapses firing or else my brain is like trying to spark a fire with wet kindling I used to use the regular white cappuccino cups and saucers that we use for service. So many have broken though, that there aren't quite enough of them for service, and the waiters got tired of the graveyard of dirty cups behind my desk, so one of the waitstaff went around the corner to the $1 store and bought half a dozen REALLY BIG white ceramic mugs for we office bound types upstairs. The mug is big enough to draw stares from other folks in the elevator and constant ribbing from the guard in the lobby who busts my chops every time he sees me with my "morning gas tank!"
  12. KatieLoeb

    Aging bottles of wine

    Futronic: Again, I think you've misunderstood my intent. Of course certain wines improve with age. I'm a wine professional and clearly have been exposed to this concept. And if you're knowlegable enough to know which ones they are, both to purchase them and then lay them down for the appropriate amount of time, under the appropriate conditions, that's great. Obviously you're one of those people. But 95% of the wine on the planet was meant to be drunk WITHIN THREE YEARS OF ITS BOTTLING. My statements applied mostly to that 95% and to the persons that aren't that knowlegeable. Having a $10 bottle of wine sitting in the wine rack in your kitchen, suffering the extremes of temperature that go along with that, and then agonizing over whether or not to open it because you don't know if you've hit that nanosecond is just silly. Relying on ratings systems is silly unless you are familiar enough with the "rater's" palate to know that it is similar to your own. Quantifying a subjective experience is an excercise in futility and again, silly. I stand by my original statement that you won't ever truly understand what an underdeveloped wine or an "over the hill' wine is unless you TRY one. Sometime that requires the ultimate act of courage and leap of faith and you simply OPEN THE DAMN BOTTLE AND DRINK IT. No anxiety, no scrambling through back issues of Wine Spectator, no hours of on-line research, and no panicked phone calls to your favorite wine shop or restaurant sommelier. As Nike says - just DO IT!
  13. Thanks for the vote of confidence David! Actually my business cards say "Wine & Spirits Muse" just like my sig does here. Merriam-Webster defines "muse" as "Guiding Genius". I figure if I can get the staffs at all the restaurants to view me that way, then I'm doing a good job. Steven Starr is only the first of what will probably prove to be MANY bidders on the restaurant. Other interested parties include the group that owns Aqua in San Francisco and Las Vegas (my personal choice as their restaurant is most similar in level of service, menu, decor, and beverage program), several restaurateurs from New York, Bobby Chez from the crab cake shops in Jersey, etc. Obviously, I hope that whomever is the eventual buyer will keep things the same, most importantly the staff at the restaurant. What really makes Striped Bass what it is are the servers, the bartenders, the managers, the wonderful chefs and myself and Melissa (my partner in crime in the Beverage department). I presume that anyone that would look into buying Striped Bass would do the appropriate due diligence prior to such a large investment and would see that the "animate assets" of the restaurant are far more valuable than the "inanimate" assets like the decor, equipment, furniture, glassware, dishes, inventories, etc. that they'd be purchasing lock, stock and barrel. If they looked at the books they'd see that revenue is up, payroll is down, inventory has decreased (at least on my watch) significantly, while still functioning under pretty heavy budgetary constraints due to the bankruptcy. That doesn't make myself or the other managers geniuses, but it certainly makes us very valued employees and something I'd hope my new boss would take into account. If they didn't, I don't believe I'd have enough respect for their business acumen to wish to work for them anyway. Frankly, I think Mr. Starr's initial bid of 1.3 million is rather low for a restaurant of this caliber, with the national reputation and revenue producing potential that it has. Of course it's only an initial bid, and he is also familiar with the Philadelphia market and knows our place well. We'll see who else tosses their hats into the bidding ring and see what happens. I may or may not have a job after the sale is complete , but I know that I and my fellow coworkers will leave Striped Bass if we are asked to, with our heads held high. We all respect each other and ourselves enough for that. And David - I hope you have a chance to stop by soon to check out the wines by the glass. It's definitely the first portion of the beverage program that Melissa and I have truly been able to put our own stamp on and we're pretty proud of it. A fairly interesting and broad based selection of wines including (in the whites) an Alsace blend of seven different white grapes (Sept Grains), an Oregon Gewurztraminer, an Australian Chardonnay, a St. Veran, an Australian Sauvignon Blanc, a Vouvray and a California Viognier. In the reds there's an Argentinian Cabernet, an Oregon Merlot, a California Pinot Noir, a Cotes-de-Nuits-Villages, a Salice Salentino from Sicily, a Tempranillo and a Cotes du Rouisillon. There's also a Garnacha Rosado rose from Spain. Eclectic perhaps, but there's something there for everyone, we hope. I'd be happy to give you the short tour of the glass wines if you let me know you're coming, OK? Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty and stress for those of us that work at Striped Bass. Some of the servers have been there for TEN years, since the restaurant opened! Others for less time, but a significant proportion of the service staff has been there for many years. The new Executive Chef has been there for FIVE years. I've been with the company for two years myself. In a business with such high turnover, that's pretty impressive. As I said, we're all doing our jobs to the best of our abilities every single day, regardless of what the press has said, budgetary constraints, or whatever problems the resturant and/or it's owner has had. My own personal dealings with Mr. Stein have always been extremely pleasant and professional, and he has always treated me with the utmost respect and kindness. That may not be true for all of his present or ex-employees, but I can only imagine what effect this sale is having on his psyche. He looks SO sad , and I would imagine that for someone like himself, whose personal vision is embodied in that beautiful room with the soaring ceilings and gorgeous decor, who looks around that room every night and sees hundreds of happy smiling diners having a wonderful experience that was once only in his imagination, this has got to be ripping his heart out. He had the courtesy and class to tell the managers HIMSELF, to our faces, about the sale, and then he did the same thing for the entire assembled staff the next day. It was probably the hardest thing he's ever had to say. It was hard to watch. I'll keep you all posted as the information becomes available to me. Meanwhile - anyone need a hard working passionate and slightly crazy Beverage Director??
  14. You are right and I stand corrected. I knew it had something to do with the Germain-Robin guys, but I confess I kind of skimmed over that portion of the website. The drink is delicious, and you can just say "You're Welcome"! I haven't had enough of them yet for it to truly be my downfall, but the potential is definitely there. The "Blonde Bombshell" would be a better name for a martini made with Lillet and perhaps the regular Hangar vodka. Sounds sort of strong and manly, no? How about a "Mandarin Blonde" or a "Blonde Blossom" for the other? At least it's a little more girlie and suited to the subtlety of the drink...
  15. KatieLoeb

    Sparkling Riesling

    Thanks Jason. I'll check it out next time I'm in the city. Coincidentally, I've taken a few of Mr. Gluckstern's wine courses. The "Wine Avenger" himself is quite an entertaining instructor.
  16. KatieLoeb

    Aging bottles of wine

    That's Sillly Oenophilic Bitch, to you!
  17. Yeah - I haven't tried the Buddha's hand yet, but if it's anything like the other flavors, I'm certain it's delicious. These guys are the same folks that make the Germain-Robin brandies and those are an excellent product as well. JAZ of eGCI cocktail classes fame suggested a drink of the Hangar One Mandarin Blossom with a splash of Lillet Blonde. It's my new favorite drink! Sort of an instant French Martini, but with a little more panache and delicacy. Really tasty. I'm not sure whether to thank her or blame her for my downfall...
  18. Hangar One vodkas are distilled from Viognier grapes. Very delicious - particularly the Kaffir Lime and Mandarin Blossom flavored ones. More info available Here
  19. Rich: Cool! This is awesome and I can hardly wait to see the final total. It's the perfect time of year for a food based charitable donation, so I'll be very proud to be there and see this happen. I hope you've contacted the appropriate local press folk to join us for this auspicious event!
  20. KatieLoeb

    Aging bottles of wine

    No No No! I'm so sorry. The rant wasn't directed at YOU, but at the uptight, ratings driven snobs that seek the aforementioned nanosecond. My only point was to say that one should, and inevitably will, learn something from every single bottle of wine they drink. As long as they relax long enough to do it and stop TORMENTING themselves with needless anxiety. Make sense? Drink (or at least open and taste) each and every one of those bottles. If they've turned foul on you, you will be the first to know it. And Carema's advice is far more specific to the individual wines in question. I was just making a more sweeping generalization that you misunderstood as being directed at you personally. My apologies for any unintended offense. Drink whatever you want with whatever you want. A bottle of Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon with burgers sounds pretty tasty to me! Actually my personal favorite "hamburger wine" is a nice inexpensive bottle of Barbera from Italy. Try that sometime and let me know if you agree. Learning about wine is a never ending process, and even the best trained sommelier in the world has to plead ignorance on some wines. NO one can possibly have tried everything. But it's fun to try...
  21. KatieLoeb

    Aging bottles of wine

    Wine is meant to produce pleasure - not anxiety. I can't ever get over people trying to determine the EXACT FREAKIN' NANOSECOND in the space-time contiuum that a bottle of wine is "at it's peak". If you never try wine that's "too young" or "past it's prime" you'll never know what that means, right? Open bottles and drink them. You will undoubtedly ALWAYS learn something from the experience. *climbs off soap box and skulks away*
  22. Richard: You could "cheat" and use the "Search the Inside of the Cookbook" feature that Amazon has graciously provided. This is discussed in this thread HERE on another forum within eGullet.
  23. That's because you were hangin' with the happenin' chicks from the Bass!
  24. Yeah - doves. Whatever. Actually they are far from harmless. I believe they may also carry diseases and their guano definitely damages statues, sidewalks, buildings, etc.
  25. Greg - I'm right there with you. I suspect my palate is a bit more sophisticated now than it was in college. At least I HOPE it is, given my chosen profession and responsibilities... Nonetheless, Strolli's was such a fun place for a cheap date (I had several there, back in the day) and it was so much like eating at Nonna's, if you had a Nonna (which I did not), so I just loved it!
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