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yvonne johnson

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Everything posted by yvonne johnson

  1. Yes, and Fat Guy, with his moderating skills, arrived in the nick of time to nip them in the bud. (One cliche too many in one sentence perhaps?)
  2. I've started reading, but my other half has started reading it too, and who knows where he put it down. I'm wondering if all those who stated an interest in the book discussion idea in the earlier thread have received copies of the book? We're going to start this scintillating discussion on Monday.
  3. Thank you Suvir and Hemant for a terrific banquet. For those not there, the photos of the food give a little flavor of the dishes, but if you can imagine the food tasting ten times better then you'll have some idea of how fantastic the courses were. My favorites were 1. wild boar and 2. the shrimp with Suvir's chutney. Good to see Fat Guy and Ellen. At the end of the evening, Hermant gave those who just wouldn't leave a tour of the kitchen and he made us a naan. I had one tiny bit of room for a lovely bite of it straight out of the oven.
  4. I think Suzanne who was attendee tracker is away till tomorrow, but SuzanneF passed on to me (on Friday) the list of participants. Tracking the couple of cancellations and additions, the number remains at 45. Suvir, room for one more?
  5. I've made name tags for you (helena) and guest and everyone else whether they want one or not. Looking forward to seeing you. By the way, I've done such a good job with the pictorial representations of avatars that Damien Hirst will be calling me.
  6. Thanks Rachel for bringing the topic up to the Media section. I think a book discussion could be a lot of fun. I don't mind helping lead the discussion, in the sense of helping kick it off, though I hadn't envisaged the thread needing leaders in the sense of directing the discussion. Here's hoping people will join in as spontaneously as possible, and that the discussion will be free-flowing. The other day I came across some biographical information on the author http://www.history.qmul.ac.uk/staff/biogra...dez-armesto.htm and a review of the book http://www.manhattan.lib.ks.us/bookreview.html (scroll down) An article written by the author: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,...,791966,00.html
  7. Liza, last week-end g. made the short rib from the babbo cookbook and it was near identical to the short rib at Babbo last week. Fantastic.
  8. David, I enjoyed your report. G. (my other half) and I were talking last night about how interesting it is to have chefs like you contributing to the boards.
  9. It was a very odd combination. Not recommended.
  10. Adam, what a good boy you were. What a horrid teacher. I may've mentioned this one before. My mother wanted me to eat porridge before going to kindergarten. I didn't like porridge, so my mother had the bright idea of coloring it. One day it was pink, the next yellow. "But it's porridge", I'd say. She eventually gave up. I wasn't keen on fish either when I was very young. My mum tried to disguise it by putting grated apple with a sprinking of sugar over the top. "But it's fish!" An earlier post on cod-liver oil reminded me. At the age of around 5, I pretended to swallow my cod-liver oil tablets and then rush up-stairs and put them under the wardrobe. This was successful until my mum did the spring cleaning. Drat.
  11. Oh, good (and I don't blame you). One fewer for me to make. Please, anyone else out there who wishes to remain un-tagged, please PM me. I'll be making my art work this week-end, so, Suzanne, please PM me the final list around Friday-Saturday morning. Thanks everyone.
  12. Just some thoughts based on previous eG events: *I'm with Rachel on paying on arrival.. It beats the headaches of gathering payment at end, when people are leaving in separate groups. We have the price up-front, so my preference would be to get this over and done with. *Not my initial suggestion the nametags, but I see the utility given we are now 45 people, many of whom have not met one another before. Usually the person to bin any name tag I'm given, I volunteered to put nametags (classy ones if such things can be imagined) together including: board name, avatar, and real name (if preferred-- and many people have PM'd me their real names they'd like on them). * Drink: Thanks Nina for the update. Tommy makes an important point, as always: how can there be too much in this department? (And if some left, take it home, no?) Also, given there is a bar there's no chance we can run out, right? Individuals/groups can run tabs.
  13. It's called "East Village Cheese Store" unsurprisingly enough. I've walked by many times, gone in a few times, but never bought cheese there. The look of the place puts me off, but if the cheese is excellent then I should give it a try. Liza: I think a tasting devoted to cheese (and some drink of course) is a splendid idea.
  14. Wilfrid and tommy, We didn't feel too crushed. We were at the first table on the right as you go in. I can imagine that being seated on left, with the walkway through to main restaurant and bar infront of you maybe wouldn't be pleasant. On being seated though, Simon's "piss waltz" did come to mind. The tables were close together like Blue Hill's , but not joining one another like Les Halles'. Where we were the space was more cramped for the staff than us. Love letters, especially of the French variety, are condoms. (It's been years since I've heard this, and now I'm doubting myself.) Back to the M'd, towards the end of his lecture, some diners rushed in and greeted him with his first name. This took his attention away (no-one happier than me) and he smiled (in a wooden kind of way) to them. I won't write what went through my mind.
  15. Last night walked into Babbo (110 Waverly Pl, 777-0303)on the off-chance around 6PM. A waitress greeted us warmly and offered us a table in the bar area. The restaurant was busy and all stools along the mid-sized bar were taken. This was our first visit, and there's a lovely cozy feel to the place. We had a couple of people take care of us (two waiters, sommelier, junior staff (who also say "good-evening"--I liked that as in so many places they are told to be silent), and the service was as I like it--non-sugary, but friendly. (As we were leaving, though, I asked the M'd at the lectern about the possibility of booking a table for the near future. He spoke as though he was one of the most important people on the planet, emphasizing again and again how busy the restaurant was, that I needed to phone one month in advance, "this is a very busy restaurant you know". I just listened to his lecture, not wanting his demeanor to spoil an otherwise excellent meal Among all the staff, he was the aberration.) The thing that stood out about my starter was the visual fun of it. Marinated sardines ($11), three strips skin side up touching at center and radiating outwards and little dots of yellow and orange sauce (of peppers I think) around the rest of the plate. They were deliciously mouthpuckering, like the roll-mops from childhood. G. went for the pigs foot and this was a large portion that tasted like crackling, and therefore good. We shared a pasta dish: Mint love letters [i wonder whether the double entendre exists in the US?] with spicy lamb sausage ($18). The ravioli (filled with mint and cheese) were covered with rich minced lamb sauce that had a nice fat content. Next, several joints of very tender no-nonsense rabbit with autumnal vegetables ($28) and g had beef shortrib which was immensely flavorful (though I don't think I could have finished a whole dish as it was so rich). Nice bottle of Musella 97 Amarone, though not up to the Amarone we had in Italy. We had room for desert: a very good stodgy-ish apple and walnut cake with maple cream. A walnut digestif took my eye (name I can't recall, but it's first on list of digestifs, and made for Babbo), a little hint of Fernet-Branca flavor to it. G. ordered the grappa tasting ($21)--three: one clear, one hint of yellow and a third, home made cherry. None were as pungent as the grappas I'd had before, and I especially liked the last one. A very hearty, enjoyable meal.
  16. yvonne johnson

    Fraoch

    I'd like to try these. Will look out for them as it looks like they are available in the USA. http://www.legendslimited.com/ New Yorkers, if any--Where have you spotted these beers?
  17. I watched the show this morning. As you said, Fat Guy, for regulars of the board there wasn't a lot that was totally new, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. Your giving up a well paid job to follow what you liked and found life in (although I knew this already) really came across. I wondered whether the producers asked you to speak slowly, as you sounded much more animated on the Schwartz radio show a while back. The best of the fish & chips you and Ellen found looked so good
  18. Suzanne, I'm not doing enough. I'll make the nametags with avatars. Maybe if people want their real name as well as screen name on their tag they can PM me.
  19. I've been meaning to add: a bit like Campari and grapefuirt juice, but the combination had a hint of passion fruit to it. Spectacular color too.
  20. Me too, thanks Suvir. Looking forward to the dinner. Only three weeks away!
  21. Dinner on Friday at GB&G. After being regulars for around 8 years, we haven't been for dinner in around two years following a couple of lackluster dinners. We've continued to have lunch there now and then as it remains pretty consistent. I had fresh grilled mackerel to begin. This was on a bed of tiny cubes of avocado and mango. This worked very well--the dish was colorful, and the fish was fresh with crispy fish skin. The cubed fruit looked retro though. G. had fried sweetbreads. These were two large, thick pieces that looked battered and deep-fried. Nice enough, but it could have been chicken. Came with parsnip puree that seemed redundant. My cousin and his wife were pleased with their salad and slow baked (I think) salmon--appearance-wise no different than smoked salmon. Next I had lobster tails (three small ones) that had a cream sauce and this was accompanied by fingerling potatoes and wilted lettuces and little white beans. The accompaniment was tepid, soggy, and bordering on the not so nice. Very good reports from those who had the line caught cod (we didn't enquire whether this caught by a small boat or huge commerial fishing vessel!), duck, and squab. Most main courses are $30+. Two bottles of Cote du Rhone, a red and a rose (complemented the appetizers), both good. Service fine, waitress a little aloof, but no complaints. Room has ben spruced up and looks good. But all in all nothing special. We've had better meals at home using Portale's cookery books. [Cabrales' report on lunch there ]http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...6943&hl=gotham]
  22. You have a point. Many a martini drinker will say just show the bottle of vermouth to the gin. I add one to two drips of vermouth, any more and the vermouth overpowers the gin. As mentioned above Tanqueray, Booths, Gordons (sentimental reasons), Bombay all make good martinis.
  23. In two words, probably not. I'm not so sure. I've had a decent amount of barbecue--Sticky Fingers in Charleston to the Hog Pit in NY, and I think the BBQ is good at Blue Smoke. I'm wondering whether the lack of, or at least paucity of, smokey sauces is what people miss at BS?
  24. Interesting. Nick N noted lack of smoke too. I liked my brisket enormously. It was smokey. Some previous threads. http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...3&hl=blue+smoke http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...3&hl=blue+smoke http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...e%20smoke&st=30 Steve, maybe the smoke is downstairs in the jazz club.
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