mrbigjas

so i know we've been over this a few times, and i've read a lot of stuff, but i'm headed to dallas tonight and i just have to get one more confirmation: is DFW really pretty much a lost cause when it comes to good brisket? a few years ago i had decent bbq at the railhead in fort worth, and more recently main st. in euless was fine. i know there's nothing that really approaches kreuz's or smitty's but for the next few hours i'm going to be writing down a few names in the DFW area in hopes that something will turn up, so any last minute suggestions are appreciated...

best part about oscars is you buy one, you get 1/2 free. one and 1/2 for the price of one! can't beat that deal. ← I can vaguely recall eating an Oscars steak once, dont remember if it was that good. Is it that good? please see above initial post for what I'm actually seeking help with. ← no. it's just the deal that makes it interesting. oscar's has average bar food at best--i just can't let a mention go by without mentioning the deal.

best part about oscars is you buy one, you get 1/2 free. one and 1/2 for the price of one! can't beat that deal.

what do you think 'private ventures' are? i would venture to guess philadining has hired him as a personal chef.

i recently drank my way through a couple of bottles of the 2002 murphy-goode 'wild card' claret, an alexander valley bordeaux-style blend. for $12.99 it's not the cheapest bottle, but it's a really pleasant one--rich, lush, with lots of black fruit and spices, and enough tannin/acid structure to make you sit up and take note--really to me, a damn good example of what a new world bordeaux blend can be, not too overripe or alcoholic, but big and interesting. it seems to hover around $18-24 per bottle on line, so at $13 it's a nice deal. i think i'll have some more tonight. i think i'll buy some more tomorrow. why not?

i haven't, but i'm pretty interested in doing so, if it's really any good. i'm always interested in people who actually cook vegetarian/vegan ingredients by paying attention to their characteristics, rather than just using them as meat substitutes in trying to imitate meat-based dishes. from their menu it seems like it could go either way, so i'm thinking i'll check it out at some point.

i'm humbled by your ability to consume. my god.

so, orzotto is a dish i've always liked, and considering this thread i decided to make it tonight. however, i had a couple of small leftover beets, and remembered that in lidia's italian table she has a recipe for beet risotto. so any notions of authenticity aside (because i have no idea what's 'authentic' and not), i combined the two concepts, and here we have beet orzotto: and again, as i say about any dish involving beets: how could anyone NOT like something that's that color?

As is their location, right off the central court next to the Spice Terminal. what? they've been there forever.

asian AND seafood: tai lake, in chinatown. if you look around the dining room the vast majority of their customers are downing whole steamed or fried fish...

vietnamese eat jellyfish all the time. as does this whitey.

beats me, i've had it for a long time. i buy canned fish products on a regular basis, but rarely end up eating them before the occasional pantry cleanout. it's a sickness, i know.

sugarella, i don't know the answer, but i pulled about six egg whites out of the freezer yesterday, defrosted them, added a couple more non-frozen ones, and they whipped up fine for a souffle. but it turned out i thought i made too many, so i added a bunch of sugar to the remainder (i know, real scientific meringue recipe, right?) and kept whipping, and ended up with what sure looked like meringues. of course because i'm not a baker i then let it sit for a little while and it leaked and fell apart, but it looked good before that. and the souffle came out fine too.

i took a couple pics of evan and pedro, but they didn't come out very well. the place has great shabby late 60s-early 70s ski decor that stephen starr would be highly jealous of, but really it's not much to look at. it's got a few things going for it, but mainly it's really cheap, and they actually bring out buckets of charcoal to cook on, rather than gas. other than that, it looks like korean bbq, yo--pieces of meat on a grill, a few banchan, some rice in a metal bowl.

Thanks! I'm not going to be going too far so I think I'll give the Pulpo a shot. ← if it doesn't work out for you i have a can of goya pulpo here in my closet.

for freezing egg whites, as i use the eggs i separate them directly on to a piece of plastic wrap--gather up the corners and twist tie shut, then freeze. one or two per piece of plastic wrap. when they are frozen, i put them in another plastic bag. to thaw just take as many as you need out and let them sit in the fridge, or for quicker thawing you can put the wrapped bundles in a bowl of water with the faucet dribbling on them.

almost definitely yu choy. one of my favorite vegetables.

i've had it, and enjoyed it, but not recently. i thought it was nicely made. my favorite of the aged jamesons i've had (and i've had a bunch) was a limited edition 15 year they made a few years ago. reviewed here: http://www.whiskymag.com/whisky/brand/jameson/whisky411.html actually it might be my favorite irish ever. although both my wife and i like bushmills 21 year as well.

hey whaddya know percy, i made a spinach souffle tonight too. my only disappointment was that i probably could have folded in more of the egg whites, which is why it only rose that far. but it seemed like the right amount at the time. rather than blanching the spinach, i cooked it in butter with a chopped shallot till the liquid was pretty much gone before straining, so that added a dimension that i haven't had in a spinach souffle before. that was good stuff. p.s. you know, i really gotta get that bowl full of half-eaten, half-wrapped chocolate bars out of the background of all my pics.

one reason is it makes it wilt, and then you can easily squeeze all the moisture out so it doesn't ruin the spinach souffle i'm making tonight.... uh, yeah, anyway, i'm sure there's a more technical explanation for it, but if you tried to squeeze the water out of fresh spinach you wouldn't be able to get it all out.

i've used a DMT diamond steel extra fine grit, for several years now. i wonder if i'm trashing my knives. anyone?

i could make some recommendations based on their on-line menu and what i know of spanish cuisine and cooking, but other people who have actually been there could probably weigh in on the specifics.

i've found that you can use azuki beans in most bean recipes, with an adjustment for their shorter cooking time. sure, they're a little sweeter than some, but it's really a relative thing--they still taste like beans after all. you might not want to do something like a mexican-style refried beans with them, but in most bean soup recipes they do fine.

actually i ordered the bottle of soju for anyone who wanted it, but for some reason people weren't enamored of the concept of something that's kind of like half-strength bad vodka (uh, in a good way). gizzards are good. they're squeaky on your teeth, and they cut them up so you can actually chew them. tripe takes really well to korean seasoning, i've found. it's a little chewy but it works somehow. it's a fun place--light on the banchan, but accommodating in other ways. and old school with the grills: most places now, even if they have charcoal anymore (a lot don't) have a gas hookup to get the charcoal started. but kuk-il still gets the charcoal lit and carries it to your table in a bucket. and no powered vents either--just a 70s-fireplace-esque chimney kind of setup. if you can get up there, enjoy! it's a fun place and cheap as all getout.

i would, but i am of the opinion that hot dogs shouldn't be all beef...