cdh

Insofar as the issue is license to be on the restaurant's (or museum's) property) they can set whatever inane rules they would like to, and can punish those who don't comply with them by ejecting them from the property. Ownership of copyright to (and right to use/publish) photographs taken (of non-people and non-copyrighted works), with or without permission, stay with the photographer under copyright law.

I had quite a tasty meal in Asheville a couple of years back... really creative food in a lovely setting right on the downtown square. Dishes stand out in my memory but the name of the restaurant and chef are not coming to mind. Definitely a good food town if that spot is at all representative. Since I'm still within the editing window, I'm going to add the name of the place, since it has come back to me since I posted: La Caterina Trattoria on Pack Square in the middle of downtown. The chef is called Damien something or other, and he is apparently locally trained, but his skills in the kitchen are top notch.

Word!

There are, it turns out, whole forums devoted to the discussion of rootbeer-kin. Follow this link to a sarsaparilla formula: http://root-beer.org/modules.php?name=Foru...352af95a29a455f Don't know whether you want to buy or make your own or what. As I recall from my time living in the UK, root beer is considered disgusting by most, so I'd not expect to find it in the market. Mail ordering a bottle of sarsaparilla extract from an american homebrew shop would be a reasonable way to acquire some without paying to ship heavy bottles internationally. I don't know why this topic is in the cocktails forum, however... I've only recently discovered that the root beer family mixes with bourbon nicely... before that I'd never thought of adding booze to the root beer, as it was enough to enjoy on its own.

Your steak was sliced too thick. Half that thickness is about right. It really should be just a hair past chipped. Your pictures make it look to be about 1/8 of an inch, which is a bit too thick. It hung together too well. The steak meat should be less cohesive than what was pictured. Ketchup? Not to my tastes. I like the mushrooms, but they're a bit overdone in comparison to the philly mushroom steak standard... Chips with a steak are great... fries are unusual, however, so good call on the gaufrettes. No provolone?? You're really missing out on the experience. And word to Behemoth's cheese melting technique... that's how it is done.

Sounds like the legal framework is a matter of the customer's license to be on the proprietor's property. Copyright law is pretty clear that the pictures you take are yours and only yours. If the chef has any copyrightable subject matter that you took a picture of, then you might need rights, but I really doubt that the composition of a dish on a plate is copyrightable subject matter... (probably too utilitarian, though it might be artistic enough, and consequently a potentially very expensive issue to litigate... if she can afford the fight herself...) So, you, as an invitee on the restaurant's property are licensed to be there subject to their conditions, one of which might be that you don't use a camera. If your license to be on the property expires because you use your camera, you might be liable to the owner of the property for trespassing on their land (damages are usually minimal)... but the pictures are still yours. You definitely own the copyright to the pictures, and unless you agreed to a nondisclosure agreement you can probably do with them as you please. I've never heard of a statute that allows such an extreme right to control publicity. But then again, I'm not a DC lawyer, so things may be crazy down there. Hope somebody steps out and offers to do a pro bono fight for you if you need it. Sounds like this individual is behaving badly, and making her atty do things that bring the profession into disrepute. (both hers and mine.)

That is pathetic. If I ever come across an establishment where this Carol Greenwood character cooks, I'll be certain not to patronize it. Proprietary and confidential, eh? Keep it then. .. I don't want any. I'd not take it out on the attorney, though... just doing what his client was itching to pay him $$$ to do.

So long as they're still alive, they've been treated well enough for my standards. They're aquatic BUGS. How many neurons do they have? If the new lobster protocol results in tastier lobsters, then I'm all for it. If not, I couldn't care less.

I see that Holly, a true expert and connoisseur is browsing the thread, so some high quality advice must be on the way... but my two philadelphian cents on the issue are as follows: 1. No peppers. Fried onions are a option, but leave the peppers for the italian sausage sandwiches. 2. Shave your meat while it is frozen to get the thickness right. 3. The choice of cheese (or cheeze) is by far a secondary consideration after the right bread. Whiz is ok, but I prefer provolone. 4. Sauce (red tomato stuff) is an option, isn't bad sometime, but is not required, and is often superfluous. Use good meat and good cheese and let them speak for themselves. 5. Get good Philly bread. Amoroso's Bakery delivers into NJ... their rolls are totally acceptable cheesesteak containment units. Beware rolls that are too soft, or are lacking in a good crust. Bread structureis key to cheesesteak integrity once all of the meat and cheese juices get oozing...

This conversation does bring up the interesting distinction between two different propositions- 1) Opening a small food business is economically irrational, and 2) Opening a small food business that I'd want to run is economically irrational. Big difference, I think. All of the businesses giving us something to talk about on this website pretty much contradicts #1... #2 really depends on who you are, how flexible you want to be, and how good you are at convincing people that your way of doing things is what they want to pay for, etc...

Where did I say I saw a gold mine turning flour and butter into profit? I'm not quite that naive... but if the pastries were not a continuing loss to the shop but rather a gain, the numbers may turn out looking a little more positive, no? My observation was that an owner who needs to outsource half of the value-added manufacturing is foregoing potential profit... the more value adding that goes on in the business translates into more profit for the owner. Reselling is a thin margin business generally.

I entertained thoughts of providing decent caffeination to an underserved spot , but never got very far into the business planning. What that article says to me is that if you are going to serve pastries, then you should learn to bake... If, as an owner, all you have to offer is labor of the $8/hr variety, then it shouldn't be too surprising that making the money is tough. The author recognized that, but appears to have thrown in the towel rather than take the steps needed to start a line of "house made artisinal" cookies and pastries that weren't a cash sink. How different are health code regulations and compliance costs for someplace that bakes their own stuff? Is there a huge cost of getting a special permit to bake on your own premises, or was it just that this guy didn't? How many croissants could somebody bake with a $6300 monthly budget and the knowledge of how to do it well? The flour and butter in the croissant are certainly a tiny percentage of that $1.25 cost of the thing. Hercule is probably still in business, given that he's selling his skills, and probably making an 800% markup on the ingredients at least. Mental note- perfect pastry skills before entertaining the thought of caffeinating anywhere again.

My dear old Gaggia Carezza has been around for nearly 5 years now, and over time it slowly degraded in performance. I finally got around to doing some invasive maintenence, disassembling the thing and cleaning out the boiler and replacing the gasket that seals the grounds into the filter handle. The machine is now totally revitalized, and making better coffee than it has in years. So, if your espresso machine is disappointing you, look into getting new gaskets and giving it a good cleaning. You'll not regret it.

Did another batter today. Whites sat out 36+ hours. 10:6:5:1 ratio. All batches came out perfectly. This time around I heated the oven to 350F, then decreased the thermostat to 325 when putting the tray in. I also threw the tray into a snowbank between pipings to cool it down. Lots of beautiful cookies now!

A number of us partook of a fabulous omakase meal at Fuji last night, and this time some of us brought cameras, so we can show as well as tell about Matt Ito's fabulous food. Things got started with a tuna tartare topped with a thin layer of creme fraiche and a layer of caviar. It was in a think brothy sauce that had sake and sweet soy flavors. Then came some delicious Kumamoto oysters. Followed by a piece of tuna that had been seared around its diameter, topped with a piece of seared foie gras, with a mango and wasabi tobiko garnish. The next course was a shark fin soup with crab and a tofu dumpling with a ginkgo nut amongst other stuff inside it. The soup was thick and gelatinous, and, while delicious, was a moral hazard and I hope it to be the first and last time I eat shark fin soup. Too much ecological damage and waste in gathering shark fins for my taste. From the strongly flavored soup we moved on to delicate tempura squash blossoms, which were light, crispy and ethereal. And with our palates cleansed and prepared for more delicate flavors, we were presented with a beautiful set of sashimi. Tuna, walu, flounder, hamachi, and salmon. All fresh and delicious. The more savory courses began to arrive next, beginning with a half squab seasoned with a curry powder and pan roasted to a medium rare inside. There was a bit underneath the medium rare meat that had a wonderful soft texture smooth texture and was a bit more cooked through. Next came a piece of black cod, with a balsamic reduction sauce. The cod didn't appeal too much to me, being a bit too strongly flavored to play nicely with the sauce, and a bit too meaty in its texture. And the final course consisted of a couple of slices of delicious grilled lamb loin. Overall, a spectacular meal all through. Well thought out progression of flavors and textures and richnesses.

Hmmm... The first batch did start out on a baking sheet at room temperature, while the latter batches started on a warmer sheet. I wonder if the warm sheet made them just slightly warmer than they're comfortable with, and the ones in the middle were insulated by their surrounding bretheren enough to avoid cracking... Really should have taken snaps of the problem sheets too... but I only got the pretty ones into the camera. We'll see if the problem recurs when I make the next batch.

I've got a question for the wiser macaron makers in the audience-- I put together a batch of batter today using the 10:6:5:1 ratio discussed elsewhere, and egg whites that had been left on the counter for about 24 hours. The first batch I piped out and let rest for maybe 10 minutes and put into a 325F oven to beautiful results. The second and third batches didn't do quite so well, and I'm wondering if anybody has any ideas why. The cookies in the middle of the tray formed perfectly... domes on top and feet underneath. The ones on the outside edge of the tray cracked on top and didn't grow feet. It looks like the foot is a result of the dome catching the expanding hot air and lifting itself in one piece straight up... when that doesn't happen, you don't get a foot. Now the question is why did my first batch work out perfectly and later batches act funny??

Mighty leaf looks like a great shop. They've got quite a selection of the display teas as well... see https://www.mightyleaf.com/searchresult-loo...x?CategoryID=97 Let us know what it was you were looking for...

Well, chrysanthemum tea in my experience has always referred to dried chrysamthemum flowers that are suitable to infuse into hot water... TenRen sells them... http://www.tentea.com/chrysflow.html What I think you're asking for is the display teas... which are bundles of leaves tied together in such ways that they look something like a flower once they rehydrate in your tea glass... I've bought such teas from Ten Ren too, but can't find them on their website. What I've got are a jasmine tea tied into balls about the size of marbles that unfold into a starburst looking thing in the glass. There are also snowflake looking teas that are flat rather than ball shaped. Adagio sells some of them online: http://www.adagio.com/misc/display_teas.html

Don't forget bread! Anything made with yeast is going to have alcohol in it. ← So that pretty well debunks the microdoses leads to addiction theory right there, no? Everybody grows up eating bread, and not everybody becomes an alcoholic. Therefore microdoses of alcohol don't cause alcoholism all by themselves. QED and hooray for common sense.

Interesting theory... I'm no way scientifically up on such things, but I've always been under them impression that ethanol was not an addictive substance in the same way as, say, nicotene and opiates are. I've also always heard that most natural juices, e.g. OJ and apple cider, have trace amounts of alcohol in them due to natural fermentation that the preservatives just can't stop. The idea that microdoses of alcohol make kids alcoholics seems quite a stretch to me, and that makes me wonder if this story is an urban legend. Even so, it is still a useful tool in this discussion about how far companies may go to lock in their future customers, and what control parents have over such things. However, there are already labeling regulations that were clearly being breached if doses of addictive substances are being laced into snacks and they don't appear on the ingredients list.

Fascinating discussion going on here. Seems that the corporations-behave-psychopathically meme is really getting a workout here. There was a great discussion of the meme in The Economist about a year ago... http://www.economist.com/business/displayS...tory_id=2647328 The Weber twist in the article was great. It seems beyond dispute that corporate advertising aimed at kids is intended to exploit the nag and whine behavior that kids use to manipulate adults rather than to encourage toddlers to go out and spend money that they clearly don't have on the products they think they want. Not a good thing, but even without the advertisements, kids will still figure out that sugary fatty things taste good and will ask for them anyway. How much marginal damage are ads doing, when kids will figure out that the bad-for-you stuff tastes good anyway, and then bug their attendant adults for it anyway?

Must chime in to concur about Pikesville rye. Found some in Maryland and have been mixing with it to quite satisfactory results. Makes a great Manhattan, and a fine milk punch. Tremendous value!

Glad I didn't miss much. I figured that I'd have heard about it from the beer cogniscenti if it was a landmark. Now I still have to get down to Phoenixville or Royersford and visit Sly Fox, which I've heard great things about from those in the know...

Was recently over at the Trader Joes in the Gateway shopping center and noticed that the Valley Forge Brewing Co that had occupied a corner in the strip mall appears to have gone out of business. I never got around to stopping in there to sample their wares... did I miss out on anything special? I don't know why it's so, but the idea of a bar or even a brewpub in a strip mall just always put me off. I never managed to set aside the assumption of mediocrity that I habitually slap on strip mall businesses and actually go and check the place out. I know that there are exceptions... was this one of them? I wonder how much of a hurdle strip mall locations are for good food businesses.