Pan

I have to admit you make a good point, and make it very well. It's just that I was surprised by the strongly negative reactions to Burros' positive review, even if I understand them now that I've read them.

Thanks. I found the article interesting, though it's fair to point out that, like its author, I've never been to El Bulli. I haven't read the book either, though. However, I think Dickerman made a mistake here: Agar-agar was once limited to highly processed mass-market food? I don't think so. Agar-agar is traditional in Malay home cooking for Hari Raya (Muslim holy day).

Ed, I'm glad you mentioned Orange Beef. This is a great dish when done well, but it's been a lot of years since I've had a good one. Even in otherwise decent-to-good restaurants in New York, this seems to come as lumps of super-fatty meat in a pool of oil, and upsets my stomach. I'd love it if you could tell us about any place in New York that serves a good rendition of this or/and Orange Chicken, either here or in the New York board.

I'm really sorry you got socked. For the first week or so of my flu in December/January (ended about 2 weeks ago), I ate much less than usual and suffered from nausea. For that, I made chamomile tea and had an order of chicken soup delivered from the Polish diner around my corner or from a local Chinese place (roast chicken noodle soup). Peppermint tea helps with dizziness and is good for upset stomach if you're not really queasy. I didn't have fresh ginger in the house, but you probably know that eating ginger or/and drinking hot water combined with a good helping of ginger juice is good for the stomach. After that week, I tended to have spicy food a lot, in addition to chicken soup (which I usually seasoned with some Sambal Oelek, an Indonesian hot sauce, or black pepper). I agree with tryska about Rasam. I also had Chili-Onion Uttaphams with extra chilis of the small green variety in addition to the longer dried red peppers, Korean Hot and Spicy Broiled Squid, Moroccan Chicken Tagines with Charmoula and Harissa, etc. Feel better, and get all the rest you need.

The thing that bothers me most about your reports is that the food was notably better when you went with a friend of the chef. That may be a worse problem than inconsistency.

Alright, maybe I was a bit hyperbolic, but it goes to show that eGullet can be a better source of real-time food news than the Times. I agree that that is partly a matter of function, though. JJ, when I go to Casa Mono, I'll definitely want to order the cockscombs and tripe.

Tony, I think you and the other people who've made critical comments about Burros' review have made good points, but I also think that you may be going overboard, since the review was highly positive, anyway. Or does that not enter into it for any of you? More to the point, does a reviewer have to like everything? Supposing an Australian restaurant opened in New York and served not only kangaroo steaks and so forth but also witchety grubs. If the reviewer declined to eat the witchety grubs, should s/he be fired?

I find that amazing! Just out of curiosity, where are you located? I could never imagine paying ~$20/lb for parmeggiano. Well, not until inflation makes today's money that valueless.

Who would want to follow such a gourmet and excellent photographer as you? Say, what's a "sarmie"? ("So, early sarmie for the wife and maybe just a stir-fry (chicken and noodles?) later for the guest.")

You could always ask around for future reference. The Muslim country I lived in was Malaysia, and Malay villagers simply didn't keep alcoholic drinks around for any reason, unless they were being very wicked. (The scuttlebutt was that fishermen drank palm wine when they were out at sea, but the fairly widely accepted intoxicant in Malay villages on the East Coast of Malaysia in those days was definitely not alcohol, but betelnut.) Anyway, if alcohol is not kept in the house, whether it is halal to use it in cooking really isn't at issue. And anyway, Malaysian (and not just Malay) cuisine is not characterized by the use of alcohol in cooking to any great extent. I guess rice wine is used in some dishes Chinese Malaysians make, but I don't think they're the most common items. It occurs to me that you may have some familiarity with Cape Malay cuisine, though it's from another part of your country. Anyway, on the East Coast of Malaysia where I used to live, they did and do have something called tapai during Eid, interestingly enough. It's fermented tapioca root or rice, and the liquid on the bottom of the bag can be intoxicating enough to get a 10-year-old high, as I remember. They drank the liquid, reasoning that it was a food and not an alcoholic drink. Sorry for the digression. I'll see whether I can get an answer to this question about using alcohol in cooking. [Edit: I just posted a message to the soc.culture.malaysia and alt.religion.islam newsgroups and will let you know if I get some authoritative-sounding replies.]

If you used wine in cooking and all the alcohol burned off, would it still be haram? (Haram=forbidden, the opposite of halal=allowed; spellings may differ as there is no worldwide standard for transliteration from Arabic.) I frankly don't know and have never asked any of my Muslim friends about that. We did have a thread on eGullet about how much alcohol remains after some has burned off in cooking, however. It was interesting, and did show that there is usually some percentage of alcohol left over, which would tend to demonstrate why cooking with alcohol would be haram. Do you keep a separate set of halal pots, cutlery and so forth out of consideration for your Muslim friends?

In today's New York Times, Brian Palmer talks about this Hong Kong-style dish as a "litmus test for budget restaurants in Hong Kong." (Link here, and scroll down as necessary - the title is "Temptation: A Humble Dish Worth the Effort to Find.") The Chinese name for this dish is "Choi sum gai fan," and the English translation "Stir-fried Chinese broccoli and chicken on rice." Are any of you fans or connoiseurs of the dish? How do you feel about his nominations for good places to get this dish in New York? I find the listing of Proton Saga dubious, but that's because I had the worst Asam Laksa ever the one time I went there and never returned; maybe they do well with a simple Hong Kong-style dish. The other places he mentions are Excellent Dumpling House ("creditable") and Ipoh Restaurant on Canal and Essex, which clearly gets his highest rating, with Proton Saga rated in between the two other places for this dish. Any thoughts on all this?

[Two "50 Carmine" threads merged] I read Amanda Hesser's article in the New York Times today (a little late) and found it very interesting. I'm more intrigued by this restaurant now. If anyone goes there, please post a report in this thread.

In today's New York Times, Asimov reviewed Pearson's Texas Barbecue in the "$25 and Under" (link here; scroll down as necessary). I think I could fairly sum up his verdict of the place in one word: "inconsistent." Seems like all of you had the same reaction. He does say that "Pearson's is slowly but perceptibly improving," but I was left with the impression that we might want to wait quite some time for them to get into the groove, if they ever do. Do you react the same way I did to the review, and has anyone been there since October, so that we could have your views on whether you enjoyed your meal or/and noticed improvement?

Marian Burros gave a mixed but generally highly positive review of Casa Mono in today's New York Times (link here; scroll down as necessary) and awarded the restaurant two stars. Congratulations to Big E, bourdain, Bond Girl, coquille, jogoode, and Mulcahy for scooping her!

NYTimes Weekly Update Wednesday, January 28, 2004 A. In today's New York Times Squeaky Clean? Not Even Close (Amanda Hesser) Tips: Wiping Up May Not Be Enough Wine Talk: They Make the Champagne of Champagnes (Frank J. Prial) Sausage Aged for Three Generations (R.W. Apple, Jr.) Click here to discuss this story. Sunday on the Couch With Chicken and Beans (Mark Bittman and Sam Sifton) Food Stuff (Florence Fabricant) This week, "A Taste of Texas on the Sidewalks of New York" was part of "Food Stuff," and you can discuss it here. The Chef: A Forkful of History Wrapped in Kraut (Nancy Harmon Jenkins) The Minimalist: Tunisia Talking (Mark Bittman) Temptation: A Humble Dish Worth the Effort to Find (Brian Palmer) Click here to discuss New York-relevant aspects of this article. Time to Give Up Control of the Seats of Power (Florence Fabricant) Click here to discuss this article. Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall. Why Not Bottle It? (Nora Krug) Inside a Greek Meatball, a Secret From Antiquity (Dana Bowen) U.S. to Rule on Beluga Caviar (Florence Fabricant) Food Chain (Q&A about food and cooking by Denise Landis) Correction Recipes in today's issue: 1. Braised Lamb With Honey and Almonds 2. Roasted Sauerkraut and Bacon 3. Carolina Chicken Bog 4. Boston Beans and Pork 5. Keftedes With Trahana Casa Mono (Marian Burros) Click here to discuss the review or contribute your experiences. Pearson's Texas Barbecue (Eric Asimov) Click here to discuss the review or contribute your experiences. B. In the Monday, January 26 New York Times Paris Journal: Garçon! The Check, Please, and Wrap Up the Wine! (Elaine Sciolino) In the Magazine (Published Sunday, January 25, 2004) Food: Chef to Go (Amanda Hesser) Click here to discuss this article.

The stove is pretty. I wonder if anyone would collect it as an attractive old example of industrial design.

From http://www.corianderleaf.com/glossary.html: I would note that not only spices but onions, garlic, and other things like urad dal can go into a tarka.

Again, sorry this has turned into a dog poo thread. Pan, I DID pick up on the poo rue. I forgot to finish the story - this jerkoff starts talking to me - WHILE I whip out the baggie. What an ass! Oh well, sorry for continuing the tangent.

The first time I was in Paris, in 1991, there was dogshit all over the place. I haven't found that to be the case in my trips since then (1994, 2002). I seem to remember that there was a crackdown in the interim. Watching where you walk is still advisable, but it's not like every square meter of street and sidewalk has dogshit on it. Louisa, you should scoop even on streets locals think are for dogshit. You wouldn't have known only a short few months ago.

Indeed!

In the Winter Restaurant Week 2004 thread, I mentioned that I had reservations for dinner fairly late on Monday, January 26 at this restaurant. It was a very pleasant experience, and I would sum it up by saying that this is a very civilized place to dine. And the food we had was subtle and, while there were no fireworks, it was satisfying, made from excellent ingredients by people who really know what they're doing, and truly interesting to analyze as well as appreciate. I usually don't spend much time being concerned with decor when it's absent, but the decor in this room deserves mention. There are angled large mirrors on the wall, so that whoever is facing the wall can see the room behind him/her. Also on the wall are numerous black and white pictures. The ones I saw were all of the New York that was, including a picture of the beautiful old Madison Square Garden - not that monstrosity that was built over the ruins of Penn Station. The room is tasteful and classy. We were first served some rustic bread, which was fine but nothing special - but the gougeres that followed were great! They had not only the usual gruyere cheese and butter, but some tasty herbs neither I nor my date could identify. We then ordered. The choices in the Restaurant Week Menu looked good to me, though other items on the menu looked even better. I ordered an appetizer of Mushroom Flan topped with small slices of mushrooms, accompanied by a delicate green salad, with arugula coulis around the side of the plate. The flan was very good and had an interesting meaty taste that I couldn't quite place. It was also nicely eggy, and had plenty of minced mushrooms inside (it was brown). My date ordered an appetizer of Baked Root Vegetables that included the same delicate green salad I had, but the centerpiece of which was a small upturned mini-casseroleful of a white cheese infused with a very strong and delicious taste of truffles and including visible little shavings of black truffles. The root vegetables themselves probably couldn't have been better of their type - baby root vegetables simply baked in an oven. I tried a carrot, which was of top quality and so naturally sweet (neither of us think any sugar was added to it) that it was almost beet-like. My main dish was Mackeral accompanied by chickpeas, little bits of cabbage atop a chickpea sauce, and more arugula coulis. I enjoyed the mackeral, and my date said they had done a great job with a fish that is usually smelly. We both enjoyed the succulent skin. My date ordered french fries, which were delightfully potatoey and accompanied by a very pleasant aioli. We then decided to share an order of 5 varieties of cheese. The pieces of cheese were small, but the cheeses were all pleasant. We had some difference of opinion about which cheeses each of us liked best, but both of us enjoyed the cheeses. I don't remember entirely which was which, but we had a good blue cheese, Bleu de Gex; a delicate, creamy goat cheese which I liked (and I usually dislike goat cheeses because I've found so far that most taste like the foul smell of goat rather than the pleasant taste of goat meat, which is what this was more like); a dark reddish-orange aged hard cheese something like cheddar and aged gouda (from Wisconsin?); a cheese from Vermont, I think, which looked like Jarsberg, started off tasting mild and then had an interesting aftertaste; and Mimolette. The dessert I ordered was Pumpkin Cheesecake, which was extremely good. It was clearly chock-full of pumpkin puree and had a generous dose of pumpkin pie spices. It was accompanied by a tasty ice cream that seemed like it was Torrone-flavored. Under and around the ice cream were some sweet and delicious crumbs of streusel. Along with the cheese plate and cheesecake, we were also given 4 madeleines which had a nice, strong orange flavor. Later, we were given a series of small sweets: A delightful miniature flourless layer cake of chocolate, butter, and hazelnut paste; two chocolate-coated macadamia nuts; a small, square pate de fruit that my date thought was of plum, and I thought was of raspberry plus something else I couldn't identify; and a little chocolate. We shared a bottle of Muscadet with the meal, which was a very pleasant fruity wine that accompanied the meal nicely. If I wanted to be a real perfectionist, I could quibble about two aspects of the service: We felt like we waited some time for the menus after the bread was brought, such that my date decided to get up and inquire. Also, I finished my appetizer before my date did, and she had to fend off two servers' questions about whether she was "still working on it." But really, nothing spoiled our enjoyment of the spacious, attractive room where there was plenty of light for us to see each other and not a lot of noise, so we could hear each other. The background music was tasteful jazz (first bebop, later swing) which was soft where we were sitting and got louder in the bathroom and by the bar. I'd be more than pleased if my lovely date would like to offer her own remarks about the evening. Frankly, I don't know exactly how much dinner cost tonight because she paid for it as part of a pre-birthday present!

Please report back regardless of what happens to the thread between now and then.

I think that in the fullness of time, we might want to add another sit-down restaurant that serves individual whole pies to our list of places to visit: Col Legno. I usually have pasta and other stuff there, but I recall finding their pizza fine, and I believe they have a coal oven (either coal or wood, which would make sense given their name). The F doesn't help me much since I'd have to take either the 2 or Q from Brooklyn College.

Yes, it's edible. It is quite bitter and somewhat sweet. Some people just don't like it, and you are probably one of those people.