docsconz

Keep these coming, Silly! The photos and descriptions are awesome. The Virgin Olive Oil Spring visually reminds me of Chinese Dragon's Beard Candy. By the way, congratulations!

Alberto, this is why you get the big bucks! Thanks for the additional info. I was surprised to find the connection betweeen provolone and Lombardia. I just always knew it as a Campanian cheese.

Rub it in Enjoy!

According to Harold McGee on pg. 220 of the first Scribner revised edition of On Food and Cooking, I am not entirely sure what to make of this information. I would think that either butter braising or sous vide cooking would be relatively slow cooking methods (especially sous vide) and therefore should result in relatively "tender" or "mushy" lobster meat. To my experience, butter braised lobster is more "tender" than other methods. Perhaps the occassional "toughness" found in some sous vide cooked lobsters has to do more with the initial blanching?

It might be a good idea to send an email to the restaurant telling them when you will be in the area and that you would be happy to dine on the terrace or in the restaurant, wherever space opens up. Let them know the dates and how they can get hold of you. With any luck and some flexibility, you never know!

I use a small wooden reamer and strain the juice if I need to. it seems to work fine.

On a nice evening I would think this would be an excellent alternative as the setting for the restaurant is extraordinarily beautiful.

This certainly makes sense since the predominant cheese in these preparations is mozzarella and not parmegianno.

The pasta filata cheeses are all similar with some of the differences due to regionality and production methods. Scamorza and mozzarella are most authentically made from water buffalo milk, although many are now made with cow's milk (i.e fior di latte). Scamorza is basically like mozzarella, although is generally firmer and saltier. It is aged for a short while unlike mozzarella which is best fresh. These are principally from Campania, particularly the buffalo rich areas around Salerno and Caserta. I believe that in Campania it is only the scamorza that is smoked, though I am not positive about that. Caciocavallo is thought by some to have originated as a mare's milk cheese, but now is generally a cow's milk cheese. It is likely related to the Kaskaval cheeses of the easteren Mediterranean. It is the Parmagianno of Sicily and southern Italy and often used as a grating cheese. Ragusano is a specific form of this cheese from the area around the city of Ragusa. Provolone is another cow's milk cheese that, although the books say is from Lombardy, I more commonly associate with Campania.This cheese was apparently familiar to the Ancient Romans. It is basically long-aged mozzarella, although the production process is somewhat different. IMO the best of these are very sharp (Provolone Piccante) and best served as an eating cheese as part of an antepasto. This cheese has a distinctive flavor. Aurrechio is good and commonly found brand in the U.S. American provolone have less dry matter than the Italian cheeses and as a result are softer. Provole are made from cow's, buffalo or a mixture of the two milks and are shorter ripened than provolone. Depending on the use the cheeses are somewhat interchangeable. Mozzarella is certainly the best melting cheese, although scamorza and provolone are good as well. What goes for provolone in a lot of the US melts well, but really is a pale imitation of the good stuff. Good aged provolone is more piquantly flavored than, but might be an acceptable substitute for a caciocavallo, although both can be purchased online from iGourmet.

Unfortunately, I could not find any information on dining at The National Museum of the American indian in New York City website. The museum in Washington, D.C. has a supereb cafeteria featuring native foods from all over the Americas. While it does not appear that there is a restaurant in NYC devoted to native american foods, that does not mean that they can not be found throughout the city. So many native foods have become important parts of national cuisines. This is perhaps most evident in various Central and South American cuisines.

We want no part of this surgery at my hospital. Surgeons have applied for privileges to do it and have been turned down. The risks are not low. At some point in the future, the situation may change. Everyone should remember though, that this is a new procedure and that it is evolving. The risks will continue to remain high during this evolution. Unfortunately, it is by identifying the problems and potential complications as they arise that the evolution can continue. There is a lot of potential benefit with this procedure and for some, the choice may be an easy or even necessary one. IMO the surgery should only be done by a surgeon who does it a lot and at a center that specializes in the procedure.

Mumin, that is a nice piece of information. Thanks and welcome to eGullet!

Thanks for the list and notes, Andre. Certainly Italian wines are subject to the same commercial pressures as any other wine region. I suggest the Slow Food Wine Guide as a source for wines of quality that express their terroir and varietal character.

Rueda is a place, not a varietal. They generally consist of wines made with verdejo and sauvignon blanc. They can be stunning food wines and shouldbe available in your price range.

Interesting comparison with the July 2005 issue of Bon Appetit - The Barbecue Issue. This also features a grilled steak on the cover. While the Bon Appetit is a more interesting photo, the Gourmet steak looks much more real and appetizing to me.

Having the magazine in front of me, I really don't get the criticism leveled here about this specific cover. Certainly it is not the most beautiful, appetizing or delectable cover to ever grace this or any other food magazine. But it is nowhere near the worst either. I can't say that the background or the plate were particularly inspired or noteworthy, but I think the steak itself and the veggies are indeed appetizing. The steak is certainly not burnt. It has well-defined grill marks and is perfectly medium rare. It almost looks as if it were cooked sous vide and finished on the grill. The white feta sauce on the white plate may be the biggest problem visually, although I bet it is rather tasty with the veggies. One of my favorite covers is the one of Michel Richard from October 2004 - a master at work.

It is too bad. The show actually had potential. I watched most of this years episodes, but I think I have had enough. Nevertheless, it might actually be fun to see what Wylie Dufresne does with some of these things. I just won't consider it in terms of competition.

Of the restaurants mentioned by you, I have been to Le Club Chasse et Peche and Chez L'Epicier. The others I have not. I have had some superb meals at Chez L'Epicier and one clunker. At Le Club, it was good, but I was a bit turned off with how they promoted sharing dishes and served them "family style" rather than in small individual plates. The food was good and the original presentation well done, but the subsequent distribution method did not IMO work for the style of food served. I would rather have had everything served in tasting portions. My overall impression of the restaurant would probably have been better then. They also didn't have any of the highly regarded risotti on the menu when I was there While I have enjoyed a number of superb dining experiences in Montreal the truly stellar ones over the years were at Toque (old), Le Chevre, Rosalie and Chez L'Epicier. Ones high on my list that I haven't been to yet include Bronte, La Chronique, Brunoise and Anise. Some day. The bottom line to me is that Montreal shouldn't worry about competing with New York City. Just be Montreal. It certainly has plenty to offer. This New Yorker, for one, loves it.

I am further saddened to note that, while you are admirably clear here and in the previous thread about how carefully you and your wife followed all procedures and recommendations and that this unfortunate result was unavoidable, the article you cite does try its damnedest to imply that the patients who got this side effect were somehow screwing up on their nutrition, followup, and compliance. In other words, I fear the medical community is once again laboring its utmost to whitewash any suggestion that the fault here might lie with them, their methods--and in this case, their headlong rush to make patients thin ASAP and at all costs, even at the risk of health problems far worse than those ascribed to obesity. ← This is a very strong statement that I don't believe is borne out by the article cited in any way. This is a complicated procedure in many ways and prone to significant risk. What the study found was that 16% of people who had the surgery eventually suffered from significant neuropathy. Those most likely to were those who for whatever reason were without sufficient nutritional support: It is not my interpretation that blame is ascribed to anyone. It is simple description of the likely risk factors. In some cases blame may be because the patient failed to follow the full prescription adequately. In others, causes may be elsewhere, including possibly inadequate care. Anything is possible. As for the medical establishment pushing this procedure, I disagree, even though there may be individual physicians doing so. This surgery is relatively recent and a response to a demand. While morbid obesity does incur significant long-term and in some cases short term medical risk, the short term risks of this procedure are clearly significant and the long-term risks apparently so as well. Of course society as a whole puts additional pressure on people considering the surgery. Discussion of these pressures are well beyond the scope of this post. I could not begin to speculate as to why this happened to FistFullaRoux's wife. The important and unfortunate thing is that it happened. I just wish them the best in getting through this difficult time

My sympathy and best wishes for your wife and her speedy and ongoing recovery. It is certainly frightening. Unfortunately there is nothing in life without risk - known or unknown. Make no mistake, this procedure has a lot of risk and has not been around long enough to fully know all of them.

Aaah, Dragon's breath !

Beautiful. How many people did you serve? Where did you get your morels?

Marsha, Thanks for the links. That is cool stuff. I may have to try ordering some or see if my son can bring some home from China this summer.

It has been ten years since my last trip to New Orleans and my first trip to Bayona. It was outstanding then. I'm glad to hear that it is still performing exceptionally well. Can you describe what you had? It does not appear to match what I can read from the menu.

A very interesting choice indeed. I will have to keep this in mind for my upcoming trip. It looks like a fantastic spot for lunch. How busy does it get? Are reservations necessary or even useful?