
Pan
eGullet Society staff emeritus-
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Everything posted by Pan
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What's trofie?
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Which region of Italy are you from, Pia?
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I loved all the outdoor tables under a tent. The place has a real celebratory atmosphere, which I absorbed while waiting for the others to arrive, as I had gotten there something like 20 minutes early. Many kids were running around (more while I was waiting at a table and reading the Times than afterwards) and a birthday party was happening while we were eating. The kids can get out of hand at times, though, as when one lost control of a frisbee and, because of a crisp wind, it ended up skidding right through our table onto the floor. But no harm, no foul. I enjoyed the pizza and feel like the Perlows pretty much covered it, but I'll add some of my own descriptions: Tangy tomato sauce with cheese (notable taste of parmesan) over a moderately spongy, fairly thick but not overly dense crust. The outside of the crust was pleasantly crisped dough and cheese. As enjoyable as the pizza was, I felt like the spumoni blew it out of the water in terms of something that was really worth a trip. I especially liked the "vanilla" flavor, which was described on the outside wall of the ice cream section of the building as "vanilla (cremolata)." It was really lots of crunchy small pieces of toasted almonds in a vanilla base. This is a place I'd definitely go to if I have a reason to be in the neighborhood again. Otherwise, the trip was very enjoyable on a beautiful day like yesterday, but it's basically an hour or so for me to get there, even with every train showing up right away, so I can't say I'll make it a habit.
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Yetty, those kue ku are so red they look like some kind of sashimi! What are they made of?
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More delicious pictures! Did the fromage blanc a la crème have sugar in it?
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eG Foodblog: adoxography - transiting Venus and Taylorville driveby
Pan replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
That's certainly true. I'm not certain that no European country has as much or more regional diversity than the US, however. After all, I can understand any US dialect of English but, for example, speaking Toscana, I cannot understand Napolitani. -
eG Foodblog: adoxography - transiting Venus and Taylorville driveby
Pan replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
Britain, South Africa, Malaysia. Don't forget New York, Dallas, Nashville, Long Island, New Jersey, Central New York... Those locations are all in the U.S., Lucy. I have a feeling Lucy is aware of the fact. Is there something wrong with the US? I wasn't dissing the US. It's just that whippy had already mentioned the US. -
Thanks. That was hilarious indeed!
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eG Foodblog: adoxography - transiting Venus and Taylorville driveby
Pan replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
Yes indeed. -
eG Foodblog: adoxography - transiting Venus and Taylorville driveby
Pan replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
Britain, South Africa, Malaysia. Don't forget New York, Dallas, Nashville, Long Island, New Jersey, Central New York... Those locations are all in the U.S., Lucy. -
eG Foodblog: adoxography - transiting Venus and Taylorville driveby
Pan replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
Britain, South Africa, Malaysia. -
Tripe; liver; pig, chicken and duck stomach/gizzard; fish head; tongue; kimchi; stinky tofu; hot pepper; cilantro (my parents and brother hate it); dill (my brother hates it - actually, he hates a bunch of things I like, including cinammon, cloves, mace, eggplant - my parents have a list of stuff he doesn't eat pinned to their blackboard); belacan (shrimp paste); fish sauce; black bean sauce...well, you get the idea.
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Jim, what's anju? Also, my introduction to soju was in a Korean restaurant in New York where 5 men were drinking straight shots of soju. They gave me some, and I did likewise and liked it. It's better to mix it with some other drink? I found it smooth.
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I think ambiance counts, but it's the icing on the cake for me. But I would tend to agree with those of you who said a 4-star establishment should be absolutely unquestionably outstanding at every level. I wonder whether there haven't been too many NYT 4-stars!
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Oh, also, I got the feeling that it was easy to make tapai. I've never tried, but it looked to little Michael like all they did was to put some ubi kayu slices in a tightly tied-up bag (with some yeast, I suppose) and leave it outside overnight (better: 24 hours). Is it actually much harder than that?
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Haagen Dazs? Certainly not in the US! I can get taro ice cream at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, though. As far as the tapai ice cream goes, maybe it's weird, but I'd give it a try. Durian ice cream I'm not sure about. Oddly enough, my folks love durian but don't like it in sweets. I find I feel the same way about mint: I like it a lot in leaf form (which includes tea), but strongly dislike it in any other form. Go figure!
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I like both types of tapai, though tapai in Terengganu was usually made with ubi kayu. Tapai ice cream, eh? Is that common, or just a specialty item somewhere? I wonder whether if Haagen Dazs made one as a "Limited Edition," anyone in the U.S. other than me would buy it.
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Gee, that's a shame! But I'm sure traditional Malay sweets will be revived some time. I have to say, though, that there are plenty of traditional kueh to be had in the Pasar Malam in Kota Bharu, so maybe they still make those agar-agar sweets on the East Coast. I don't think anyone's mentioned tapai in this thread. I love tapai!
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By red durian, do you mean those typically smaller fruits with an orange or reddish pulp? The pulp tends to be dryer, and less sticky but has a very strong taste. I have seen this type of durian in Sarawak, and my aunt is the only person I know who enjoys them, besides the native people. That's very interesting. My friend Mamat bin Mat in Terengganu said that they are the best durians, and I certainly agree with him, in the sense that it was by far the best durian I ever tasted. I have to say I didn't think the one he served us was small at all compared to other durians. As I remember, the flesh was basically the same whitish color as usual (maybe just slightly reddish), but the skin had a slight red tint.
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Very good point. Does anyone think the Times would award 4 stars to a restaurant that charged less than $150 a head? Less than $100 a head? What about 3 stars? What's the likelihood of a restaurant that charges less than $100 a head getting 3 stars? Less than $75 a head? Less than $50 a head? I understand that certain ingredients simply cost a lot, but I don't think that's the whole story, and I have to wonder whether sometimes, people don't rationalize that high prices have to have a relationship with quality, just so that they avoid the cognitive dissonance of concluding that they may be wasting their money.
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Does Refined Eclipse have any special flavor?
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Pan! Are you talking about the agar-agar which has been sun-dried until the sugar crystallized on the outside? I don't remember seeing them drying outside and don't know how they were made; I just ate 'em. Why don't people make it anymore?
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But only one participant has chimed in with any suggestions of restaurants he thought were serving 4 star food but without a 4 star rating and they included a steakhouse and a bistro which I do not believe should ever garner 4 stars, even for the food. I bow out of that part of the argument, Sammy, because I've eaten at three restaurants that were at the time NY Times 4-stars (Lutece, Chanterelle IIRC, Bouley) and had seriously flawed meals at each one. I also had dinner at Le Bernardin when I don't believe they had been awarded 4 stars yet, and found it quite good but not as interesting as the old JoJo and was also put off by overly servile service. I'll say this, though: I don't think I ever had a restaurant meal in New York that was clearly superior to the one I had at Amma, which was rated 2 stars by Grimes. My other best New York restaurant meals have been at the old JoJo and the late, lamented Cena. Overall, my best restaurant meal was at Grand Vefour, and I simply have never had a New York restaurant meal that approached the quality of that meal at any level. I'm tempted to say my meals at Amma were of comparable deliciousness, though much less elaborate and in a much plainer setting. I mean, who can compete against the Palais Royal?!
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I'm glad you mentioned dodol. Dodol can be so rich it can be tough on my stomach, but it sure is good for my soul! Have we talked much about special sweets for Hari Raya yet? I don't remember names, but I do remember having delicious kueh on Hari Raya Puasa in Terengganu. One thing I do remember might not qualify as a kueh: Sweet agar-agar.