docsconz

Beef stew. Grilled tenderloin. Veal.

Can you use a cuisinart instead of the Kitchenaid? I imagine one can, but what would be the best way of doing it - the metal blade or the dough blade?

nice job. just as coffee and milk go together better than coffee and OJ, oak and lactic acids go together better than oak and malic acids. lactic acids (like milk) oddly enough to not go well with malic acids (OJ). yuck. milk and OJ are just not good together. Your hypothesis doesn't make sense when it comes to wine since malic acid is converted to lactic acid as part of malolactic fermentation. See here. In addition, while orange juice certainly contains acid, the predominant acids are citric and ascorbic. Malik acid is found to some extent in probably all fruits and in fact follows after citic acid as part of the KREBS cycle so important in organic chemistry. I personally think that the dissing of all American chardonnays as being of the same poor style is ridiculous and indicates an ignorance or snobbishness that is unbecoming of members of this site. Of course a lot of American chardonnay is plonk, but so is a lot of wine of all types including chardonnay from Burgundy, the rest ofFrance and elsewhere. The problem is not that oak is used, but how it is used and the fact that for whatever reason "oak wine" chardonnays from California became successful with a lot of stylistic copycats. Nevertheless, while I would even concede that a majority of California chard falls into that camp, not nearly all of it does. A lot of California chardonnay including those previously mentioned as well as others like Peter Michael use oak as a nuance and not as a sledgehammer.

I can absolutely understand the dissing of the cheaper over-oaked supermarket chardonnays of the new world - there is nothing worse than K-J "reserve" chardonnay (except perhaps for any "white" zinfandel"), but to denounce all oak in chardonnay is to say that the great white burgundies from the Cote d'Or are worthless as well. I also happen to think there are a fair number of California chardonnays made in the "Burgundian" style that are more than decent - I happen to enjoy Steve Kistler's wines very much and don't mind a Marcassin every now and then when I can get a hold of one. Others I enjoy on occasion include Pahlmeyer, Chalone and Montelena. I have to admit though that I enjoy these wines more as aperitifs than as versatile food wines (although they are not as difficult to pair as has been accused on this thread). I tend to like SB's more for delicate seafood dishes, Alsatian or Germans for spicier or fattier dishes, white Bordeaux or Rhone often go well with fowl dishes.

I love butter, but most of the time when I go out to eat and have bread and butter, the butter is good, but not particularly memorable. This was not the case with a recent lunch at the restaurant Rosalie in Montreal. The butter was from Quebec and absolutely sensational. it didn't hurt that the bread was damn good too. I have to remember to get the source for that butter the next time I go there.

I was under the misimpression that the Chateau Montelena on the list was the red. You learn something new every day .

Craig, Nice article, and I'm sure that you are right - the best value chardonnays come from Burgundy. California makes some nice Chardonnays that rival the great Burgundies - Kistler comes to mind - but their prices rival them as well. Most of the low-end stuff is oak juice without any discernible character.

I believe it is true that more wines of Bordeaux are more consistently good year-in and year-out than was ever the case before and that this is probably due to the factors that parker mentions. The question I have is, are the best wines better than they ever were or are they achieving "greatness" more frequently than they had in the past? I don't have the answer.

Robert, Thanks for the detailed report. I can't wait to go. I'm a big fan of Wylie's from his 71 Clinton days. WD50 is number one on my to-go-to in NYC list.

Sorry, Computer glitch!

David, If you are looking for nice beaches and scenery stay away from the south except for the southeast around Siracusa. The south was apparently very hard hit by poor development after WWII. While there is a lot of fine scenery underneath, a lot of it has been spoiled. The best bets for beaches and scenery are probably the north coast including Mondello outside of Palermo and Cefalu, Taormina on the northeast coast (spectacular scenery) or the islands.

We received a pot for Christmas 2001, but have yet to use it. I too am interested in your queries, to see if we should dig into the closet and break it out.

I've had the wines from Chateau Musarand Chateau Kefraya. Both produce somewhat unque wines. I happen to enjoy the wines of Musar very much. They are bold somewhat fruit driven wines with a character all their own Both the reds and the whites are good and reasonably priced. The second label for Musar, Hochar is a particularly good value at around $18. The regular Musar retails from about $30-40 depending on the store and the vintage. I had dinner with Serge Hochar, the President of Chateau Musar last fall. He is a very entertaining man with lots of interesting stories of making wines through the Lebanese civil war and beyond. I will say that most people who try Musar either become big fans or don't like it. I don't know anyone on the middle ground.

I always hand wash, but use a special glass brush from Oxo-good grips. I use that brush exclusively for my glasses and decanters.

A list is just a list. It is another way to have some fun. It is food for thought and discussion whether one agrees or disagrees with it. I'm sure we've all had experience with restaurants not on the list that we feel should be and vice versa. Each of us probably has our own internal list, compiled or not, as to how we feel about the restaurants we've been to. Take 300 different judges (especially from different parts of the world) and you will probably get a very different list, although I'm sure there would be a lot of agreement. Hell, we at eGullet could probably compile our own top 50.Wouldn't that be food for thought .

Interesting list. I'm sure there are many (at least some) of you who have been to all of the restaurants on the list. I have only been to 10%, myself - i hope to still have a lot of eating in front of me . I understand that even if some of you have been to all of these restaurants, it will likely have been over a period of time. Nevertheless, I would be interested in any of you reranking this list according to your own personal experiences.

That comes out to about $310 U.S.

Two interesting restaurant names that come to mind are Nosmo King in NYC and the now defunct Road Kill Cafe in Saratoga Springs.

The espresso in Montreal is consistently better than that in the States. Why?

Tuscany is possibly the greatest place I've ever been to. A Traveller's Wine Guide to Italy (The Traveller's Wine Guides) by Stephen Hobley, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Francesco Venturi (Photographer) The Food and Wine Lover's Companion to Tuscany by Carla Capalbo are great resources if you want to visit wineries in Tuscany or other parts of Italy. Wine touring in Tuscany is not like wine touring in California where you can stop in for a quick taste and tour on the spur of the moment. They are generally happy to meet you and give tastings and tours with an appointment. This is infinately better than the more casual drop-in, however, and well worth the effort. It is not uncommon to be met by the owners themselves. While you are not obligated to purchase any wine, it is generally the polite thing to do, especially if you made the appointment yourself. Some particularly memorable experiences I had were Castello di Monsanto in Barberino Val d'Elsa in Chianti where we were hosted by the owner/winemaker's daughter, Laura Bianchi and Avignonesi in Montepulciano, where we got to see the grapes drying for and taste their amazing vin santo. Avignonesi also has a restaurant that needs to be pre-booked. Another great restaurant in the area of Montepulciano is La Grotta, beside the sublime San Biagio Church. Altesino in Montalcino is also well worth a visit. A fabulous cheesemaker between Pienza and Montepulciano is Formaggi Silvana Cugusi. They make the best pecorino I've ever had. San Gimignano, Pienza, Monteriggioni, Sant' Antimo are all worth visiting, but my favorite city was Siena. Do not miss sitting at a cafe in the Piazza del Campo surrounded by the Torre de la Mangia (how can an egulleteer go wrong here ) and the Palazzo Pubblico. The Duomo of Siena rivals that of Firenze and must not be missed if the floor coverings are off to expose the incredible inlaid floors. I believe they are usually removed for a week or two towards the end of September. Having a villa is a great way to experience Tuscany. we went with another family. Each day we would eat either lunch or dinner at a restaurant and cook the other meal at the villa. Because we were on the go we tended to cook more at night. Cooking for yourselves in Tuscany is a blast because of the quality and uniqueness of the ingredients. September is fresh porcini time in Tuscany. Have a great trip!

Whatever it was and whatever it was called, it still looked absolutely delicious. My own preference, however, would be with either bucatini or perciatelli, two thick tubular spaghetti-like paste that go really well with tomato based seafood sauces.

I AM SALIVATING!!!!!! The shrimp and zucchini with arugula pesto looked sinful. The seafood in cartoccio tempts me to take a four hour drive right now, except that it is Sunday and the seafood won't be quite as fresh (if they are even open). One nitpicking point, however, is that the pasta in the picture with the seafood is not fusilli (corkscrew spirals), they are gemelli (twins). For those who are thinking of going, Sunday is not a good day to go to Arthur Ave. as a lot of the markets are closed.

A simple mistake that makes a big difference. Thanks!

Photos from a recent visit to 3-Corner Field Farm and Flying Pigs Farm, both in Shushan Newborn lamb at 3-Corner Field Farm Large Black Pigs at Flying Pigs Farm Tamworth Pigs Gloucester Old Spot and Tamworth Pigs at Flying Pigs Farm

"Strawberry Cisco has a bouquet similar to that of Frankenberry cereal fermented in wine cooler with added sprinkle of brandy for presentation." Could this be the evolution of taste? My one experience with any of these was when I was in the 8th grade, my parents went out for the evening and I threw a party at which WIR was consumed. It was nasty and disabused me of thowing any more parties until I was well into high school