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That's what I thought until I ran this Google search. The first three hits all claim that Continental requires an initial switch. ← Ummm... no. The google results make no mention of switchiness in the european fashion. Don't know where you inferred that, b/c I don't see it in the texts. But all of this is idiotic, and not worth anybody getting worked up about. So long as you don't make an egregious mess or hurt yourself, how the food gets from plate to mouth should be nobody's business but the diner's. If somebody is monodexterous and can't get food cleanly from plate to mouth with the off hand, then getting switchy is the best solution. For those with a little more ambidexterousness in 'em, what's the harm in using it? Etiquette is all about not offending other people in the interest of general peace. That seems forgotten when people spoiling for a fight invent rules of equitette as grounds to become offended.

Tea has a huge range of possibilities... almost none of which will a restaurant be able to offer you. I could probably figure out pairings for dishes from the various teas out there... but that would do you no good since no restaurant anywhere would carry the full variety, or be able to make it for you right.

Well, I guess hundreds of years of medieval superstition about the evil nature of the left hand would make some old-time thinkers cringe to see people put food into their mouth with their left hand.... "feeding the devil" or some such... Maybe people who were beaten in school for writing left handed... reportedly a common thing in the early 20th century and before. I'd figured we'd gotten past it. Maybe not. I do find the "American"* switchy technique funny looking... but lots of things are funny looking... doesn't mean I have to be offended by them. * I'm about as American as it is possible to be without having any Native American blood... my people have been here since Manhattan was worth $17 in wampum, and not even my most ancient 19th Century born relatives ever did the fork switchy thing.

The fact that Hershey is both a surname and a geographical location puts it in an entirely different category under trademark law. Keeping the ganache name is spoiling for an (expensive) fight... unless they'll agree to your use of it for baked goods only (and nothing like ice cream anytime ever!!!!!). Not very likely, unfortunately. But it couldn't hurt to ask...

Are there really people in the world who would take offense at somebody not switching fork holding hands? If so, those people really need to get over themselves and focus their energies on more meaninful problems in the world. As to steak, I'm all about the slice by slice method. No sense in pre cutting unless I wanted to fan it out for some kind of fancy presentation... which I usually don't.

Samuelsson was about 2 years ago...

All but the Argus are certainly in Montgomery County so the license wouldn't transfer. And the Argus may still be open, and has a license already. *** UPDATE*** Arielle's, mentioned upthread, is in the old Argus Inn space... I can't think of any turnkey restaurant spaces that are closed and in Bucks County. Downtown Quakertown had a old building being rehabbed into a restaurant last time I passed through there... certainly not turnkey... but maybe rehabbing an old town center building might be an alternative plan... lots of little crossroads villages that might work on the Lederach/Bay Pony Inn model if you can find the right building. What you need is a Drew Lewis type behind you to make that work, though.

Neat thought.... using the herbal liqueurs with savory ingredients. What goes well with the caraway flavors of aquavit or the christmas tree flavors of gin?

How about the Bullshot http://www.hotwired.com/cocktail/97/12/index4a.html and the Mauri http://www.hotwired.com/cocktail/97/39/index3a.html Neither are sugary, and lime juice is certainly a savory ingredient in the absence of sugar.

Your grinder should do it. Try the espresso your sumatran makes and see if it is too bright/sour for you. If it is, that means you need to find a slightly darker roast of the same beans, or try a different bean. As to the adjustments on your grinder, you're probably going to be cranking the thing as fine as it goes... I recall there being some trick to make Antiguas grind finer than they are supposed to floating around on the web... My grinder has the 30 settings, and my range of tweaking it goes from about 1.75 to 2.5... and there is a huge difference in the coffee in just that tiny range of grind settings.

When you say it is a Bodum grinder, is it a blade grinder or the Antigua burr grinder. The blade grinder will not make an even enough consistency to make a really good espresso. The Antigua, on the other hand, will do a passable job. As to coffee, stay away from the really dark and oily roasts... they'll muck up your grinder and aren't very tasty either. I'd try your sumatran. Some lightly roasted beans may come across a bit bright and acidic when done as espresso... some are fine. Experiment. If you get your coffee ground, buy in quarter pound packges, and only keep one out of the freezer. Go through them quickly, as the coffee really loses flavor over time after you grind it. Also, fine adjustment of the grind is really important for maximizing the goodness of an espresso. So if you don't have a finely adjustable grinder now, you'll want to get one soon, or you'll be very disappointed with the quality of what your machine can produce.

Doesn't look like a Carezza to me in the least, except price point. Carezza is very bare-bones, with no programmability at all. It also has a boiler and not a thermoblock. The Carezza has no bells and whistles, just solid construction of the boiler and brew group. I would like to hear updates on how the Krups does too. But I think it a very different beast from the Carezza.

Hmmm... East of KOP lies Norristown. For Mexican, try Tacqueria Michoacana on Main St at Arch St. Good food, fine drinks. The Rock Bottom brewpub, which is attached to the mall is good.. or was last time I went there a while back...

When shopping TJ I like to stick with raw ingredients rather than the prepared foods. I'd noticed that TJ skews all of their sauces towards the sweet side, and I don't like that very much. Also, they stock a few this-is-good-for-you-so-it-has-to-taste-like-cardboard snack products... the soy and flax-seed chips look pretty... but taste like cardboard... ditto several of the other healthier-looking snack prducts. What I really like: Cereals. They have the Manhattan $6 box of cereal beat in both quality and price if their pricing is consistent with the suburban shops. Fruit juices. Great options that beat the Ceres and Looza imported options you find all over Manhattan higher-end groceries. Yogurt. TJ's own greek yogurt products are quite good, and great value. Turbinado sugar. Good product, good price, sometimes more expensive than the Fairway turbinado, but sometimes not. Frozen mushrooms. Great blend of exotic mushrooms, frozen. Don't know where in NYC such a blend would be available, much less at the TJ price point. Chocolate. Valhrona at less than half the price lots of other stores ask for it. Passable belgian chocolates... great for the price. An evolving selection too. Olive oil. Great bang for the buck.

yum yum yum... I love the raw beef too... tartare, carpaccio, steaks grilled from frozen solid so that there is still cool raw stuff left in the middle.

I was quite happy with a Krups Novo3000 for about 3 years... I don't recall why I retired it, actually. Probably that I just got a great deal on the Gaggia I'm still using now 5 years later. The Krups is still sitting down in the basement waiting for another place needing an espresso machine.

Must second Rich's sausage thought. But finding a really good sausage maker may take some doing... Locally I can't think of anybody who makes stellar sausages. Maybe grinding your own would work for you... that would allow you to mix up the selection quite easily, develop your own signature recipes, and probably put out a better value sausage since you know what you're grinding to make it.

Had another business related thought for you... You might do well to touch base with Keystone Homebrew down in Montgomeryville, as I recall that they sponsored a couple of wine tasting dinners up at Spinnerstown. Getting some homebrew enthusiast publicity could never hurt a pub... and your location is pretty ideal for them, as their business has two locations, Montgomeryville and Bethlehem... you're equidistant... And as to food... suppliers are key. The beef that the Inn at Maple Grove gets is top notch... the lump crabmeat that Fasageo's gets now (and the late lamented Airport Hotel on Ridge Pk just before Pottstown used to get) is also something to write home about.

Wow... Haven't been up to Gerryville for years. As I recall, the inside was sort of dark, dingy and done up with license plates and such on the wall back when I went. That really contrasted with the beautiful patio space they have (had??). I was racking my brains for where it might be... the old Kauffman House is still empty... and bad reports have been coming about the Argus Inn for long enough that it might have been empty by now... And isn't the old Rising Sun Inn or Bell House or whatever it was called most recently for sale too? Glad that the Ortino's rec gave you some inspiration. They are really really good... had dinner there on Saturday.... Never stopped in at Bubba's in Coopersburg... may have to. Another spot that does roaring pub business and is a fine restaurant is The Perk down in Perkasie...

Wow! Congratulations on the new venture. Where on the Bux/Montco line? Quakertown vicinity or closer to Souderton/Telford? Where ever it is, it is in my general vicinity... would love for it to be a roaring success. I love the idea of a lounge/sitting room like in a proper british pub. As to wish lists: Good beers... Shangy's is right up 309... use 'em. Need not be a whole bunch of them, but some seasonal variation would be good. And some education about them for those who are intimidated by the unfamiliar. A beer menu that actually describes the beers rather than just listing them. I'll second the French Onion, and suggest a loftier challenge- Great snapper soup. The Piper Tavern down in Pipersville does a spectacular version... something to challenge that. Good cheese and charcuiterie. Maybe chat up Hendricks Farms (just down Allentown Road) and get a steady supply of their cheese... and when/if they branch out into the charcuiterie I'd bet it will be good. We're in a fantastic part of the world for raw ingredients... stay as local as you can... How much cooking do you see going on in your kitchen? Frying fries and broiling soups, or do you see real cookery going on? If the latter, stop in at Fasageo's on 563 just before 309... They have a stellar kitchen and do roaring business.

Very very cool, guys! It is the control electronics that read like greek to me... but I'm sure that such things will be explained in due time. Keep up the tinkering!

Excellent. I can get that for 69c an ounce at my local homebrew shop. Is there any noticable difference between what the tartaric acid and citric acid do to the end product? I wonder if the other wine acids available might be worth experimenting with too... I think lactic and malic are available too... hmmmm...

But in PA bitters need not be sold by the PLCB stores exclusively, right? Angostura's in my supermarket. You might want to call DiBruno's in PHL and ask if they've got them. I recall that Lisa mentioned something about stocking Fee's, so bitters are on their radar. Maybe PM Lisa directly... Lisa1349 is her eG handle.

If you want a clubby feel, why don't you see you could get into the Nassau Club up at the corner of Mercer and Nassau? It's private, so you may need a member or somebody with reciprocal privileges to sponsor it... but it does have reciprocity with a number of alumni clubs out there. Never been myself, so can't comment on food, smoking or otherwise, but if you want clubby and in Princeton, try for a club.

Isn't the real important thing about sous vide cooking the property that the cooking medium never gets above a certain temperature? Keeping an exact temperature is much less important than maintaining a hard maximum, right. Given the intent of many to keep the dish in the cooking medium for a length of time, rather than quickly cook it to temperature, a device that keeps a hard maximum and allows cycling in the temp space below that should produce identical results to a device that keeps the temp exact within a tenth of a degree, no?