BBhasin

When I visit India, I eat everything from day one, fall sick for the next three days with 'Delhi Belly' . Once that is over I am conditioned and enjoy whatever and wherever I please for the rest of my visit. I lose a couple of days but its worth it. Eat Rajkachori at Haldirams or Nathurams you have allready paid your dues.

Checking city reccords and staying abreast of agendasof planning/zoning/city council meetings might be another good sourse. Most restaurants have to go through, planning, zoning, code enforcement, health department etc. Have to apply for special use permits, Beer/wine/liquor sale permits ( ABC Licences), have to appease the concerns of the neighborhood ( noise, trash, crime etc). They are required to advertise their intent with dates of hearings etc. so look in the local newspapers too.

Tandoori Chicken Wings at my place Roasted lentil crackers (papad) with cracked black pepper or with green chillies and garlic

I love the use of Basil in Thai cooking. Even though Tulsi is very Indian and used in tea and other concoctions I am not familiar of its use in any main dishes. Does anyone know Indian reciepes with Tulsi. Thanks bhasin

How about starting an egg thread ?

Suvir, I have to confess NO. Our guy uses baking powder AND some yeast. Sounds crazy? To me too. But the nan turns out good, everyone loves it and I keep my mouth shut.

on this bussiness of nan or naan I believe, origionally all you did was add water to the flour and leave it to ferment on its own and let nature leaven it. you saved a little bit of this dough and used it as a starter in your next batch of dough, like sourdough. but now, specially overseas ( outside India) they are using everything, milk, water, yeast, baking powder, eggs, butter, oil, salt, sugar etc. about the butter on the naan, its a matter of personal preference, some do and some do not. Just as some times you find onion seeds on the naan and sometimes you do not. When you shape the doughball into the nan, if you apply nothing to the side facing the charcoal your nan can turn out a little dry. Moistening this side with water will result in a softer nan and aplying oil will make it crispier The butter or oil which gives it glaze is applied after the nan is done.

I thought beers to qualify must stay with cetain alcohol content parameters. Does anyone know more about it? Checked out the Sam Adams 25% brew on their site. Is it really a beer? from the picture it looked more like a spirit, it was poured like a fine brandy. Also there seemed to be no bubbles and no frothy head. Totally confused!

Would Mac Donalds surprise you?? and irregular to say the least. Usually after dinner is over you do not want to bother your employees as they have cleaned up the kitchen are tired and looking forward to going home, so you stop at a fast food on the way home or hope your wife has something interesting in the fridge. In a lot of Indian restaurants, specially at lunch, a staff curry is prepared It could be a simple chicken curry with vegetables or some homey lentils, but it will invariably be different from the a la carte menu as most restaurant staff specially cooks are looking for something different. I have noticed in numerous places the practice that if something is left over in the saute pan after an order, it is dumped into a communal pot and the staff will eat the resulting hotch potch at the end of the shift with rice, roti or nan. I dont know if this is being frugal but whenever I have tasted this, it was wonderful and always diferent. Another interesting item I remember is 'Hadi' ( hindi for bones). Sometimes when lamb or mutton is deboned and the chef has the time, he will prepare a light curried stew (almost soupy) with the bones that have some meat attatched to them, this was fabulous with fresh tandoori roti and there were always snide comments about its aphordisiac qualities.

Kristin San, I would be very interested to learn the results of your side by side taste test. bhasin

All the Pastry Chefs are going to love this. Why not make Desserts the FIRST course? As per the ancient school of Indian medicine ( Ayurveda ) I beleive the body is made up of different elements like wind, earth, water, fire etc. The fire tradionally burns in the stomach. It gets intence when you are hungry and dies down to a comfortable mellow after your meal. It is recomended to eat heavier foods ( like desserts ) first, when the fire in your tummy is at it's fiercest and can process/digest these heavier foods better rather than at the end when it has lost most of its punch. just some food for thought

Thank you Tom, you just ruined my breakfast. Its Its times like this when I do not envy your job.

you can, at numerous oriental restaurants pick out your fish from a tank and the chef will prepare it for you. My friend who worked for years in Kobe, Japan tells me about this craze for freshness where the the fish is netted and only one side fileted. The fish, still alive, is re-interduced into the tank with one side missing and you watch it while you dine on it! could this be an example of umami?

Great question and a very interseting observation, Bux.! Now you have me sitting on the fence, I dont want to start anything between Wash DC & NYC so I am afraid I am going to have to plead memory loss (In all honesty, I don't remember). As to your question about what is driving newer restaurants I think it is a little bit of both.

It is wed 11:00 am. Is it you sitting alone at your computor typing away like crazy? OR There is a whole team of staff/ researchers with you dictating to them. You get a zillion querries, who and on what basis is it decided which ones to answer, any carried over to the next week etc etc. You want to go to the bathroom.... what happens then. Get the drift? Would you be kind enough to paint a picture for us ( we dont need to know about the bathroom, Ha Ha ) thanks

But Tom, if you're aware that you've been spotted and you're able to identify the specific forms of special treatment you've received, don't you think you can "adjust" for that? I mean, aren't you too much of a battle-hardened veteran to be fooled by anything short of a Truman Show-esque reinvention of an entire restaurant? Phyllis Richman, in the washington post Dining Guide, " what changes most when I am recognised as a critic is not the quality of food, but the service and sometimes the portion size " She also mentions a bit about how she 'adjusts' for that. I am sure Tom does all that and more. He is not going to tell us all though, we have to wait till he retires and his book comes out.

Dear Tom, Great to have you on Egullet This was a while ago, all the Food Pundits were discussing live on NPR the 'Washington DC dining scene' .A visitor from NYC called in to observe that while in New York they 'dine out ', washingtonians simply 'Eat out'. I could not catch your responses as I was was driving and had lost the signal but I have always wondered what you would say. bbhasin

Kitty, The washingtonian magazine just came out with their june issue, listing cheap eats, actually 100 of them. You should be able to access it online at www.washingtonian.com. Also, for around ten bucks you can get a copy of Mr. Cheap's Washington D.C. listing besides cheap eats, baragains, discount stores, factory outlets etc. Have a fun trip to DC and don't forget to visit Alexandria!

would love to try your reciepe Monica Bhasin

I think you are right Suvir, I come from a family of five, only my father worked, mutton was expensive. Growing up I always remember potatoes in the mutton curry. My mother would deep fry them quatered until they were half done and a little browned she would then simmer them in the curry ( gravey ). Sometimes turnips were also used but I hated that ( turnips were not fried though)

you may be right jackal10. Even the chocolate has lots of fat. I hadn't thought of Ghee. I am going to try a spoonful of hot sauce followed by another of ghee shall report back if I survive.

Back to the Vindaloo bussiness It is my understanding that an authentic vindaloo uses pork in small cubes with the fat and rind. You can get this cut at the oriental ( not Indian ) stores. Also that the vindaloo is tradtionally made a day prior to allow the seasonings to permeate. Now the following is something that I am not sure of, so can someone in the know please give their thoughts on this one. I was told by a Goanese lady of Portugese decent ,that in her grandparents time the pig would be killed in the backyard and the blood saved to be used in the vindaloo like a laison. I am very curious if someone can authenticate this

Is that so? I never thought of that, myself, but it seems to be correct. They have enough liquid in them that I can see it work. WOW... learnt something new and clever today. Cutting the burn of spicy foods...... This is how someone explained it to me .... think of the hot stuff as 'cling-ons', they attach themseves to the taste buds on your tounge and start sqeezing, hence the pain. starches, like breads, water etc. dont work. What does is milk and milk products like yogurt and yes, chocolate. I bought this explaination, as while posted in South India ( where they tradionally eat pretty hot stuff) I observed that the meal was usually finished with a mixture of boiled rice and yogurt.

to add to the vinegar thread...... It is also used in making Meat Achar(pickles). Traditinally game ( wild boar, geese, duck) would be used but now chicken, mutton/goat and pork are popular. It is essentially meat pieces pickled( after fryingor boiling) in oil, vinegar and spices. Stays good at room temp. for months! Makes a great anytime snack with a rustic bread. A place called Dhalli on the way to a moutain resort called Shimla was very famous for its meat pickles.

Suvir, You are wiser way beyond your years! I am just now phoning my sister in India to send me a stainless steel paneer maker. I keep dreaming of fabricating such a gadget and did not realise that one already existed. thank you bhasin