halland

I've been considering this for far too long now. There are a number of good links out there on building wood fired ovens, and I think it can be done for considerably less than buying a pre-fab kit. This Sunset Magazine article is what got me thinking about this, and is probably what I'll build for starters. This page details one person's experience in building this oven. Here is a link on a more traditional Quebec style oven. Here is a very nicely built brick oven. There are lots of details on the site. Another page with lots of photos showing oven construction. I have some other links collected as well, but these are some of the better sites out there. Hal

Mayhaw Man, In my enthusiasm I emailed you directly, but I'm definately interested in whatever other information you can provide on how to build one of these. Thanks!

I'm not sure how much of what I'd eaten is on the regular menu. I know the menu changes seasonally if not even more regularly than that. Because this was a special dinner the service was somewhat different than how its handled usually. If you see any Patty Green wines, I'd recommend them, but I have no idea what the price would be. Hal

I would add that even if it has a stainless interior, you want to make sure there isn't any sort of plastic exterior banding that can trap water. Nothing like spending $$$ to avoid spilling coffee on yourself but then having the cup leak the leftover rinse water from when you washed it onto your pants.

I think the worst part was that the night before I'd had a fabulous dinner at Lark. The contrast was SHOCKING!

Last night at the suggestion of my wife's nieces, who are in town visiting, we all met for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Southcenter Mall. Upon entering the RFC -- this is the Rainforest Cafe moniker/logo emblazioned on all the merchandise in their Retail Village -- I felt magically transformed to another place deep in the Afri-Mayan jungle. Rain dripped from the ceiling into misty pools of water and a thick canopy of synthetic leaves and branches shielded me from seeing the electrical conduit, ductwork, and rainwater piping that surely must span over all rainforests. Our Safari Guide, smartly dressed in sturdy pants and a crisp khaki shirt, led us back to to our table. Before we could make our way through the jungle however, the Tour Guide reminded us that if nature called the restroom was conveniently located under the rainbow. We were seated deep in the jungle and told our Safari Guide that we were still waiting for one more member of our party. While we waited, she made sure that we were well attended to by coming back every 2-3 minutes to make sure we didn't want to order a drink or an appetizer. While we were waiting, and right when I was starting to feel safe in this jungle atmosphere, two life size gorillas, a smaller monkee, and a gigantic dragonfly all lept to life in a cacophony of digitized sounds and robotic movements. I have no doubt that the creators of the Rainforest Cafe spent thousands of dollars researching the effect of the fight or flight mechanism and adrenaline on human hunger, because there is no other explicable reason for this truly terrifying element. Since the Rainforest Cafe is a restaurant, I guess I'll mention the food as well. I had the Beef Bamma BBQ Wrap with a side of cole slaw and a small tub of mango dipping sauce. Despite the promises in the menu, I can't say I went "ape" for this wrap. A friend had the large seafood platter. I cannot comment of the flavor of this dish, the crispy golden brown batter that coated everything prevented me from identifying anything that may have come from the sea. Most of the other food was equally un-interesting save the names of the items which included Chimi-Cha-Chas and Crispy Caribe Tenders, whatever these are. I'm not sure when I'll be back in Southcenter Mall, but the next time I'm there you can bet I'll stop in at the Magic Mushroom Bar for a Cheetah Rita in a souvenier glass (also available separately in the retail villiage).

Last night I had the supreme privlige to be invited to the Patricia Green Wine Dinner at Lark. This was a semi-private occasion, and I'm not sure how one would learn about it unless they were a regular Lark customer or a friend of someone on the Lark staff. This was the first wine dinner Lark has ever had and so I think they, as well as the diners were not sure how the event would turn out. There was certainly no question that the food and wines would be outstanding. Unlike normal service, they had all the curtains pulled back to create one large room. This created a very different atmosphere in the space than the intimate feel that Lark usually has. Seating was all tables of 8 except for the booths around the room, and everyone just seated themselves with their party or at a table with available seating. I'll present the menu in its entirety: Reception Serrano ham, chorizo Soria and guanciale with marcona almonds and marinated olives Chateau Calabre Bergerac Rose '03 First Course Dungeness crab salad with heirloom tomatoes, corn, and tomato-lovage gelee Patricia Green Sauvignon Blanc '03 Second Course Wild striped bass with summer vegetables and truffle vinaigrette Patricia Green Chardonnay '03 Third Course Guinea hen duo: breast with choucroute and leg with changrelles and foie gras Patricia Green Estate Pinot Noir '02 and Patricia Green Quail Hill Pinot Noir '02 Fourth Course Poached beef tenderloin with sweet onion confit and summer truffle toast Patricia Green Estate Pinot Noir '00 Cheese Baldeon, Robiola and Lamb Chopper with honeycomb Patricia Green Eason Pinot Noir '00 Dessert Chevre souffle cake with nectarines and blueberries Gatti Piero Moscato '03 Its hard to pick a star from the meal, I think the concensus was that the poached tenderloin stood out the most. Before each course John Sundstrom (the chef) would explain how each dish was prepared, which was a treat. Patricia Green also spoke at length about each wine, the terroir of that particular vineyard, the aging, etc. All of this was $75 with tax and tip, and the meal lasted almost 4.5 hours. Hal

I'll be in SF for an extended weekend in October and while I'm finding no shortage of places I want to eat, I am having a hard time finding the interesting foodie shopping destinations that I'll also want to check out. In particular I'm looking for (cook)bookstores, cool restaurant supply shops, ethnic markets, kitchenware shops that aren't Sur La Table, etc. What ethnic populations are unique to the Bay Area, if any. I'm coming down from Seattle, so Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Asian foodstuffs are plentiful. I seem to remember hearing there was a large Arabic population, any markets or shops that I must check out? Thanks, Hal

I was satisfied with the Marais, there seems to be a lot of activity there with new restaurants opening, and there are some good places easily within a 1/2 mile walk. Of note is Au Camelot on Rue Amelot. We stayed at Hotel Jeanne D'Arc, but without knowing your tastes I won't recommend it except to say that it was inexpensive and prefectly fine for falling asleep in. Hal

With regard to the vermouths: isnt the red vermouth the sweet and white vermouth dry, or do I need to spend more time in this section of my liquor store. Is there a dry red vermouth? H

I'll also add a recommendation for Au C'Amelot. I was there in February and had a phenomenal meal there. The food was outstanding (see my post here). With regard to Le Grand Colbert -- I'd avoid it like the plague. If you have the time, you should check out La Galerie Colbert as it is stunning, but I'm afraid that Something's Gotta Give has ruined the place. When we were there, they had their regular, French language menu posted in the window. Outside the restaurant they had a large 3' square English language menu (all in the horrible Comic Sans MS font, which is reason enough not to patronize them) posted on an easel. Also I remember hearing from other people that during service they bring out a photo album of the making of the movie. Hal

I've been using JW Red as it was left over from my wedding. How about something old school like cutty sark? Hal (who thought he was the only person to order Rob Roys)

Over the weekend I cooked 2 pounds of Yukon 2 ways: cured with demerara sugar, salt, and pepper for 3 hours and pan smoked and salted for a few hours, then briefly marinated in mirin & sake and then grilled and brushed with the leftover mirin to get a crispy skin and slight glaze. I thought both were very good, but both preparations did not leave a huge amount of room to distinguish minute flavor distinctions. There is definately more fat and that really translates out into a softer andslightly moister texture. After I'd handed over my $40 for just over 2# of fish the fishmonger (who I trust a lot) started telling me that he thinks a fresh (ie just killed) or properly handled Columbia river salmon is just as good as any Copper River or Yukon River fish. He emphasized that the biggest difference is in the handling of the fish and that its exceedingly important to ice the fish immediately, which is how the CR and YR are handled. Hal

There was a website on Northend.com, Skip's Recipe Archive, a number of years ago that had a great recipe for Timpano and all the various component parts. That site is long since gone, and it appears to be blocked from the Internet Archive (www.archive.org), but luckily I have a printed copy. I've made this maybe 4 times now and every time I really enjoy the preparation and the presentation, but once I'm finished eating it I think "eh, I could have made something better" There is also a cookbook that Stanley Tucci was involved with that had a recipe for timpano. While its not Italian, Julia Chile in one of the Mastering The Art of French Cooking volumes has a recipe for a Gateau du Crepes (or something like that) which is a stack of about 40 crepes filled with alternating layers of gruyere and a spinach & bechamel combo. That is good! Hal

Wow! I just read this, forgot where I was and thought "I need to post this on EG"! Hal

Take a look at the Lowlife Guide to St. Louis. There are a lot of different restaurants there that a food person might love but that a local might not appreciate in the same way. Likewise, while you are there you might check out some of my favorites from when I visit family. Kaldi's Coffee (in Clayton) has what I consider to be some of the best coffee I've ever had. They also have nice cookies, etc. Nearby is Carl's Deli for good pastrami sandwiches at 6401 Clayton Road . Soulard Market. There is a indoor stall that sells very good loose meat sandwiches. Go to the Hill and get a cannoli and a ricotta puff (jelly donut pastry with cannoli filling and dusted with cinnamon sugar) from Vitale's Bakery. There are lots of other good places on the Hill to explore and shop. Volpi Meats is nationally renowned, Viviano's is a nice grocery, Missouri Bakery has good cookies. Unfortunately I don't know much about the restaurants on the hill. And lest I forget, go to Ted Drewes. Hal

I thought it was horrible, tough fatty meat, uninspired sauces. For some reason there just isn't good bbq out here. There are lots of grilled meats, but no bbq (meats cooked at a low temp over wood smoke for 12-18 hours). Hal

Anyone wanting to buy this cookbook, I'd strongly recommend getting it on ebay. I got mine for $3 plus $5 shipping. Hal

I'm surprised that noone has mentioned Tall Grass Bakery or their neighbor Cafe Besalu (for pastry) in Ballard on 24th. Tall Grass has a few too many whole grain breads for my taste but their baguettes are fresh and are the closest thing I've found to a real Parisian baguette. I just has one the other day with some butter and country pate (smuggled from Paris) that was delicious! Hal

The concept behind remix is that the flavor is going change from time to time. There was an article I'd read while trapped on an airplane that asserted that Remix is going to have a theme (fruity flavor or maybe even just Sprite-ness) but that it will always be changing and different than it was before. Hal

I just ate at Kabob House last night for the first time and am surprised that there isn't more chatter about it here. I had the ground beef kabob and thought it was very good. Very good and spicy. It reminds me of what my friend's mom used to make when I was in college. The naan was great (and huge!). Atmosphere is non-existent, its like a deep south BBQ joint -- run down and spartan. Hal

Duh! Sorry, we'll be right around Nags Head. Hal

This summer my entire in-law family (25+ people) will be descending on the Outer Banks for a week of vacation. While I'm there I do not want to miss the opportunity to eat my weight in BBQ at least once, but a lot of the joints I see are pretty far inland (Raleigh, Chapel Hill, etc.). I know there has to be some good BBQ within 2 hours driving -- and I mean a real BBQ stand, not a touristy beach place. Any ideas? Thanks, Hal

Is that how you get such finely ground almonds? I just cant grind them fine enough in my food processor for my tastes. Hal

I used to pick a friend up on the way to highschool. He often had a big glass of chocolate milk and either jack daniels or southern comfort. Heinous stuff, but the flavor grows on you. Hal