cdh

I don't know that you need another lovage plant. Those things grow like crazy and will overshadow your herb garden pretty quickly. Mine is probably at least 6 feet tall right now, and it had been hacked back once already this season.

Either fennel taralli or some variety of spicy indo-snack are the most frequent. Trader Joe's chocolate espresso beans occasionally, bags of good chocolate less frequently, and peanut butter cups rarely.

Inavailablity of orange bitters is not a result of living in a distant hinterland.. as a matter of fact, they come from a distant hinterland... Only source of orange bitters I'm aware of is Fee Bros. in Rochester, NY... almost exclusively available by mail order from them... They're very nice in that they'll send you (or whoever you desire to send a few bottle to) the goods, and then invoice you later. They'll also sell by the single bottle, which is, again, a really nice accomodation to buyers like us. A web search for Fee Brothers bitters should turn up their phone number... I'm feeling too lazy to do it myself now.

I'm certainly interested! Provided I'm available on the weekend in question, I'm certainly up for the trip. Given the location, it sounds like Jonathan's farm will be the best food option available in that neck of the woods for many many miles around.

Well, getting back to the etiquette query, I'd note that the alarmed, staring, disapproving woman was being far ruder than you ever possibly could have been, even if european-style cutlery management were deemed a faux pas here. Anybody who can't take another's differences in stride and act graciously is the one with the etiquette problem, unless, of course, that person is formally hosting an event, and further is in a positon of power and authority which could be diminished by the lese majesty of improper manners, which might be used as a subtle slight. But that would apply less to table manners than to the meet&greet protocol. (Easier to fail to address the bishop as "your grace" and remain dignified, than to eat with your fingers without looking like a pig yourself). This brings to mind the motto of my old school, "Manners makyth man"...

Excellent! Thanks for the South Carolina pointers!

Angel's Share in NYC is my most frequent destination for a well-made serious cocktail. The Cascade Lodge in Bucks County, PA takes their aperitif and digestif cocktails seriously as well...

Interesting... Never having heard of Godello from Spain, what sort of commentary do you intend to put on your list explaining what the wine is? How will you train your waiters to explain it? Will they be urged to sell it with certain dishes? (turning the conversation back towards wine-speak) Or do you expect customers to randomly decide to try something new and unknown? Experimentation is generally something I do at home after an adventurous run to the wine shop. I'd rather not pay wine list mark-up to try something totally unknown, as that would cut much more deeply into the experimentation budget. (unless, that is, I know the wine-picker at the restaurant has impeccable taste that matches closely with my own preferences... but don't know anywhere like that, frankly) Selling it by the glass or in bottles only? Price point? Part of the magnetism of PG is, I think, that it is a known quantity. PG comes with the well known assumptions that it will be fruity, won't be oaky, will be somewhere between off-dry and dry, though not bone dry, etc. Godello may be the best thing since Alsatian rieslings, but how am I to know that from a wine list looking like this: CHARDONNAY (15 lines of blah blah blah) RIESLING (6 lines of blah blah blah) OTHER WHITES Malvasia XYZ (Napa) 2001 $xx.xx Godello de ZYX (Spain) 1999 $xx.xx Arneis YXZ (Piedmont) 2000 $xx.xx Vinho Verde WXY (Portugal) $xx.xx XZY Gentil (Alsace) 2000 $xx.xx etc...

I'm not a fan of the Allagash white... too much body to it. A Wit should be lighter in mouthfeel than that it... That is what Celis had going for it... the best white anywhere, in my experience. On a similar note, the Belgian Black style, as exemplified by the New Belgium 1554 is another good thing that is not nearly available enough. I've taken to brewing my own... basically a wit with some dark malt thrown in...

Originally Belgian? Not the way I heard it... I'd thought that Pierre left Hoegaarden (sold it to Interbrew?) and retired to TX... where he developed the Celis beers with his children, letting them run the company. Then he licensed the recipes out to some euro-brewer to meet distribution requirements there...

Michigan Brewing Co appears to be making Celis beers... Has anybody had the opportunity to give the revived Celis a try? Does it live up to its former glory? The website makes it look like the Celis is being shipped back to Austin, which makes one wonder why the brewing moved from there to Michigan in the first place... Anybody know anything about the future plans to broaden distribution? I'm really missing my Celis... the closing of the Austin brewery was a tragedy... but the worse tragedy was the decision to cut the distribution before they closed the plant.

I've not felt the need to spend for a sculpture that also makes espresso... My kitchen now has a Gaggia Carezza, which is by no means beautiful, but still makes a fine espresso. I've also got a Saeco Via Veneto pod machine in the office, and a retired Krups Novo 2000 in the basement awaiting another spot that needs an espresso maker.

Thanks to all for the helpful guidance-- the thought is, indeed, a north-south, (or probably more a south-north) roadtrip over a few days, starting in Florida and ending in Pennsylvania (or vice versa) with any reasonable zig-zagging necessary to have a full and worthwhile BBQ tour. I've lived in Texas and know my way around good brisket and sausage BBQ, and I agree that the KY, MO (maybe Memphis) BBQ traditions deserve a trip of their own... Holly- Will give your site a thorough inspection with hopes of finding inspiration. Varmint- Will definitely take your recommendations into account in the plottings and schemings. May have to try to make it down to your pig pickin' too, though have no idea if Columbus Day will work with my schedule yet. Andrew- If you find that SC BBQ book, do let me know... And since I'd bet you're knowledgable, what can you say about BBQ in GA? For that matter, what about northern Florida? Any good cue styles/traditions there?

Let me admit that I don't have much of a geographical grasp of the South... I know that Western North Carolina is a good day's drive from Eastern North Carolina, but that's about it. A friend of mine in Florida has proposed a few days of BBQ trekking along the East coast, driving from one 'cue joint to the next, getting 3 or 4 meals a day along the way and sampling the fine variety of smoked beast. So, the question is: is there a BBQ pilgrim's trail, or at least a comprehensive list of BBQ joints worth the trip from which an itinerary could be cobbled?

I find that Lillet blond has a sort of burnt caramel undertone that I sometimes just don't think goes well with the citrus. I find that white Noilly Prat with a bit of orange bitters makes for a very similar flavor, but a bit brighter and without the burnt caramel notes.

Fenghuang Dancong is tough to describe. It is in the same flavor profile as some Jade Oolongs I've had, though not as floral. It has a little of the spiciness of a Bai Hao, but not so intense. It has a lasting aftertaste that is kinda metallic, but in a nice way. Definitely worth a try if they've got it at WF. I kind of miss it now that you've brought it to my attention again. You're a better person than I for your capacity to keep reading Teamail for its tea content. I was subscribed for 6 months or so, and the signal to noise ratio was way too high for me. Too much finger-sandwich, lace-doily, sunset-with-my-cats talk, not enough interesting tea talk to keep me subscribed.

I've called and spoken with David Hoffman, and got a catalog sent from him, but never got around to placing an order. At the time, I was getting the 1/4 lb a month of interesting and varied tea from the Adagio Teas program that they've since discontinued. So with minimum 1/4 lb order increments, I just couldn't imagine myself going through the Silk Road order while it was still fresh. (As a matter of fact, I still have a few of the 1 oz tea samples from Adagio sitting around that I've yet to finish off... and they arrived at least a year ago). That was the great thing about having WF right down the street... I could pick up a 1oz sample of lots of the Silk Road teas, and try them out without committing to a whole 1/4 lb. For example, I turned out to not so much a fan of the SR sencha, though the Fenghuang Dancong oolong really made me happy... and WF had them both in bulk so I could find that out with the princely investment of about $3. Now that I can stop by the NYC Ten Ren, I'm set for my Pouchongs... and I've gotten quite enamored of some of the tea that Gray & Seddon Teas in Australia send to me. They seem to be on the same page as David Hoffman, in that they go exploring the tea growers in China, hunting for special crops and unusual styles of tea. Gray and Seddon's website is here. If you're into him, you should give them a try too. I never ever found the Wheatsville inventory all that great... much more "crunchy granola" stuff there that at WF... What is wheatsville's draw for you... what was I missing?

Back in my days in Austin (97-2000), I was a regular at the downtown WF, and the 40th St CM, and I really didn't notice a marked difference b/t their shoppers. There was no smog of self-righteousness or patchouli in the air at WF, and the place was the best deal in town for that apple smoked bacon that I was hooked on... I do totally agree that WF was outrageously priced for their meat and veg, and that's why CM was great... but WF had better chocolate and loose tea. If CM had gotten in the Silk Road tea, the bacon and the belgian chocolate, I'd have excised the WF from the grocery rounds...

What kind of pressure did you find yourself under to produce shows that identify the "best" x or y... It has struck me that TVFN has really been pushing its identification of "best" and now "ultimate" things. Was this the product of some focus group that said they wanted to see shows about the "best" food... or was it somebody's personal project, or what? Seems kind of inane, given the subjective nature of food and its enjoyment. Back in your day there was more informative programming, i.e. Good Eats, Taste, that Curtis guy's greengrocer show, etc... rather than the extreme and "ultimate" and "best" orientation of today's programming. Was this change in the works while you were still there, or did this propensity manifest itself after your departure?

What do you mean they're not in competiton? My weekly shopping jaunts in Austin took me to four places- Whole Foods (for bacon, chocolate, loose tea, sometimes fish, sometimes cheese, and occasionally produce), CM (for the sheer joy of wandering around there and letting inspiration guide me), Fiesta (same reasons as CM + the cheeeep wine selection... mmmmmm slovenian merlot for $3.99 a bottle... and Montecillo Reserva for $9/bottle (for a brief shining while)) and Sun Harvest (or whatever it was called) for bulk stuff and good beers. WF was too pricey to be a one-stop for me, but if they had something interesting looking, and were asking a price that didn't shock my conscience I'd buy and constrain my inspiration at CM and F. The market I'm considering is the market for high quality good food. They're totally in competition there. How would you segment the market to take them out of competition with each other?

hi Robert-- looked at bar.tv and it really doesn't appear to have much content to it... overdesigned... and what's there seems somewhat dubious... I really don't think commanding Bombay Sapphire as the gin for the "classic Martini" is right... Gin certainly didn't taste like that back in the old days, so it's not there for historical authenticity purposes... Is it there b/c of some sponsorship deal, or just b/c the site designers happen to like it? I get the feeling that there is an ulterior motive... but no firm evidence... but I'm not likely to go back either since there isn't much content... It is really a pity that hotwired's Cocktail pages haven't been producing fresh content since '97 or 98... that was cocktail lore worth reading... and it remains a spectacular reference.

Yikes! I used to live 2 blocks west of there on 6th at West Lynn. The old Whole Foods at 6th and Lamar was pretty nice itself, but nowhere near 80,000sq ft. That is a new wrinkle in the development plan for those blocks too... I'm excited to hear that they're going in the foodie direction... I'd thought they were putting in a Target there... won't be missed if it isn't... Austin is still the best raw-ingredients food shopping town I can think of... sure in NYC you can get a better range of prepared products, but for raw ingredients, Austin wins, hands down. I guess this is what competition from two Central Markets brings? A giant Whole Foods smack-dab in-between them?

Are you looking for the best brewpub in NYC, or best generally available small batch beer available in NYC, or what? The world is full of lots of bad beers, and I can't off the top of my head think of a NYC brewpub beer that holds a candle to the stuff I brew at home... not that that information helps you... so ask a more specific question, and you'll probably get a more specific answer.

I agree w/ Craig that them's fightin' words... So let's dissect the comment: What do you mean by "white zinfandel"? PG that I've tried is by no means similar to the syrupy sweet pink stuff in its flavor profile. Have people unbeknownst to me begun to vinify PG into the same sweet sticky stuff that reminds one of rotten fruit? Or do you mean to say that PG is an entry level wine that people graduate from and move on to serious wines? (And your restaurant is not a place for those still on their oenophilic training wheels?) Are you saying that PG is a wine for those with incurably bad taste? Or is PG something that no self-respecting sommellier should ever recommend because it is a sub-par product created by the marketing wings of giant multinational corporations in response to focus group tastings? Do please elaborate. I could extrapolate many more possible meanings from your white zin crack, but I'd really like to know what you meant. Btw, do Alsatian Pinot Gris fall under the same moratorium, or is it only Italian PGs raise your ire?

I'm partial to sour belgian brews too... Rodenbach is an old favorite, though sadly tough to get in the US now... Goudenband is yummy... Duchess de Bourgugne is also pretty tasty... all wacky and very tough to find. As to less challenging and more mass-market beers, I'd take an MGD or a Miller High Life over your Bud or Budlight any day... or a Yuengling (preferably Lord Chesterfield) if I'm in Pennsylvania.