slkinsey

For the record: My article is due for some updating in a few areas, and this is one of them. All-Clad has changed its specifications since I got my data, and the aluminum in the MC line in particular seems to be quite a bit thinner. Also, fwiw, I think anodized aluminum is a much bigger maintenance hassle than stainless.

How close does someplace need to be to Lincoln Center to have a reasonably-paced after-work dinner and still make an 8PM (or occasional 7:30PM) curtain?

Yea, I suppose that's true. Lucky us. Still, 16 bucks for a liter of extra virgin olive oil definitely seems less expensive to someone living in NYC than it does someone living in, e.g., Akron.

adey73, to answer your question as to temperature: There are certainly temperature differences based on bean variety and/or blend (remember that espresso is always a blend), roast and roasting technique, and brewing method. Going back to your earlier question, it is not the case that good espresso machines have a higher temperature that others can't provide. In fact, the opposite is usually true. Cheap "steam toy" machines that depend on the pressure of steam to force the water through the beans (as opposed to a pump) have to brew at higher temperatures and produce a characteristically "burnt" flavor profile. What distinguishes the better machines can largely be summed up into two things: First, pressure (how hard can the pump pump). Second, temperature and temperature stability (at what temperature does the machine brew the coffee, and how much variability is there in brewing temperature from shot-to-shot). By modifying the Silvia with a PID controller, we are attempting to greatly enhance the second characteristic of a better espresso machines: temperature (you can choose your own temperatures with a remarkable degree of accuracy) and temperature stability (the digital readout is handy, but I believe PIDed machines also recover back to the target temperature more rapidly).

This is not merely a question of age. You're talking about a clientele composed largely of opera-going individuals of a certain age, at a certain level of affluence and with priorities that incline them to have an expensive meal on the Grand Tier as opposed to any of the other locally-available choices at a similar price point. And, on top of that, you're dealing with food-delivery logistics that make it, for all intents and purposes, a catering operation. Or, you might take the reports of people who have been there a number of times and reported it to be mediocre-to-terrible in quality to mean that the quality has historically been mediocre-to-horrible. Whatever reasons people may be giving for supposing the food is the way that it is, everyone on this thread who has been there thus far says that it's not been very good. Who exactly are do you think Patina Group took over from? The name of the business is "Restaurant Associates-Patina Group." It's since been renamed as "Patina Restaurant Group" but there's not much indication that anything is different at the Grand Tier Restaurant. Indeed, this press release from Lincoln Center suggests that the makeover of the Grand Tier Restaurant isn't scheduled to happen until Fall 2009, and as far as I can tell the executive chef, Martin Burge, has been there since at least last season. Milnes had a rather precipitous fall-off in the concluding years of his performing career, but could (and, in this case, did) still pull off the occasional excellent performance in a signature role as late as the early 1990s. I won't bother quibbling about individual tastes (some people never liked Luciano, after all), but one cannot dispute that Milnes was at the very top of his field in the 70s and 80s. 1993 was past his best years, but not so far into his decline that there wasn't something worth listening to. My point, however, was simply that these ladies had spend multiple hundreds of dollars on tickets to an opera featuring at the very least a legendary Cavaradossi still in his prime and a legendary Scarpia somewhat past his prime, and yet they came only to hear the aria from the not-legendary Tosca. This is not indicative of the kind of mind set that would prioritize having an outstanding meal before an opera performance over convenient, unchallenging food -- but it is indicative of a financial situation that doesn't mind paying high prices for the latter.

which makes it almost $ 72.00 a Gallon - 'inexpensive' ? I don't think so For decent quality olive oil, absolutely. As I said before, if I were going to be deep-frying in extra virgin olive oil I'd choose a less expensive brand. But for an everyday olive oil, I think this is reasonably priced for what you get. And, to be clear, what you get is an oil that's priced low enough that you don't feel like you're lighting your cigars with hundred dollar bills if you use it to soften garlic and onions for a tomato sauce, and yet has a good enough flavor that you can radically improve that same tomato sauce by drizzling on some raw oil off the heat and can use it to dress a tender green salad. This is something you can't do with, say, Bertoli or Colavita and obtain anywhere near the same quality result I like the convenience of not having to stock 50 different grades of olive oil and I like having something reasonably high in quality for raw use at family meals when I don't want to break out the expensive Tuscan oil I hand-schlepped back from Italy. Personally, I don't like cooking with an oil I wouldn't be happy to use raw. As for whether using a good quality olive oil makes a difference when you use it as a cooking oil, all I can suggest is that you try it out and see for yourself. I've done side-by-side experiments and concluded that it does make a difference (and an even bigger difference if you use some raw oil at the end). Styles of cooking may make a big difference, of course. A tomato sauce with sausage, dried herbs and loads of garlic is much more likely to obscure differences in oil quality than a simple sauce with softened onion, San Marzano tomatoes and fresh parsley. Then again, if price is the major concern, I have to wonder how much difference one could taste in that first sauce between cheap olive oil and even cheaper vegetable oil. One of the things I especially like about Frantoia Barbera is that it has a big, "olivey" flavor that comes through even when it's used as a cooking oil. Whether or not seventy bucks a gallon for olive oil is expensive is a matter of perspective. Looking at Steven's example, if I were using so much extra virgin olive oil in family cooking that the difference between Frantoia Barbera and Edda was costing me four hundred bucks a year, I think the difference in flavor would be even more worth the money than if I were only using enough to make a forty dollar difference. I also happen to think it's worth paying five bucks for a kilo of artisinal dry pasta compared to 89 cents a pound for Ronzoni, and the expensive stuff is still remarkably cheap on a per-serving basis. For what it's worth, we also have to acknowledge that prices that seem reasonable to those of us who live and earn in the greater NYC area are often way higher than people in other areas of the country would find acceptable. This is a city where a half-million dollars for a 600 square foot studio in the right neighborhood is thought of as a bargain. Most likely, the same oil would be priced significantly lower in other cities.

I wonder a bit about Austin, which I perceive (perhaps wrongly?) as largely dominated by the college scene. College kids, by and large, aren't going to spend ten bucks on a cocktail and probably aren't ready to appreciate a perfectly made Sidecar. Houston may have some possibilities. One of the things I see as a potential problem for Houston, which is true of many automobile-age American cities, is that it is very spread out and required automobile travel. There is (hopefully) no driving for 45 minutes after a three cocktail evening. On the other hand, there are some places where restaurants and homes are within comfortable walking distance or a short taxi ride from potential good cocktail bar locations. The Rice Village comes to mind, for example. One place in Houston that would seem ready for a cocktail bar would be Houston Heights, which is a reasonably affluent (and rapidly gentrifying), young (but not too young), fairly close-together, "hip" community. Boston maybe? There is certainly the necessary affluence, culture and public transportation there. But, on the other hand, that city (where I grew up) has always been somewhat frustrating in its inability to sustain things one would think would be naturals. For example, Boston has never had the restaurant or social community one would think it should have, and one would think that a city with the Boston Symphony could sustain at minimum a high-level regional opera company. How about Milwaukee or Madison? There is certainly a spirits culture up in Wisconsin, and the last time I was in Milwaukee I went to a bar & grill place across the street from the opera house that had a liquor inventory any cocktail bar would be proud to have. The place was packed, and people were drinking cocktails. And yet, there literally wasn't a jigger to be found in the place and, despite having a bottle of Luxardo, no one had ever heard of the Aviation. I remember thinking that that place was one committed, cocktail-tradition-savvy manager away from being a serious cocktail spot.

I'd modify your #1 by saying that it's best if it's a thriving culinary community for locals, and it's even better if there is a significant presence of middlebrow and higher level restaurants that are patronized by locals. Tourist trade is not going to sustain a cocktailian community in a town like it can restaurants, and cocktail culture is consumed more by people who have an interest in a "white tablecloth" trattoria or bistro as opposed to those whose interests are more centered on barbecue or a really good Italian beef sandwic. They need to be willing to spend $9-$12 on a cocktail, and not be primarily interested in getting loaded for a low price. I'd add: 5. It helps if the town has a tradition connected to spirits and cocktails. 6. Good public transportation/taxi availability helps. 7. Overall, cocktail culture may fall on more fertile ground in a town that it is not a "blue collar town" and if there is some interest in so-called "highbrow culture." With cocktail culture and high-end cocktails, we're still talking about the leading edge of the curve -- so we're talking about early adopters.

This will to a certain extend be affected by the BTU output of the stove. If it's a restaurant-style burner, one can easily maintain an appropriately high temperature with a copper saute pan (or a carbon steel saute pan for that matter). With a home stove, however, in order to maintain those high sauteing temperatures that will keep pieces of meat jumping around in the pan and browning on all sides without giving up too much liquid and starting to boil in their juices, I think it's beneficial to have the higher thermal capacity an extra-thick aluminum base provides. Otherwise, the food must be cooked in small batches in order to keep the temperature up. In my book that's not easier or more enjoyable.

The text in the poster appears to be Dutch. Zuivere Druiven in the upper left hand corner means "pure grapes." Versterkende Bloedwijn means "fortified bloodwine" -- indications are that Bloedwijn is an older name for a red herbal aperitif wine including cinchona. Gewaarborgde Zuivere en Versterkende Kinawijn "Kloek" en "Sterk" means "guaranteed pure and fortified kina-wine 'brave' and 'strong'". That's as much as I can figure out with my limited abilities. All signs point to something like red Dubonnet or Lillet being a good substitute, perhaps with an additional pinch of cinchona.

Spoken like someone who doesn't quite understand this segment of the Metropolitan Opera audience. If most diners at the Grand Tier Restaurant were the type to be dining at places like Café Boulud -- which is to say, people who were genuinely interested in having a great dining experience before their evening at the opera -- they would know that there are plenty of much better choices conveniently close to the Met. Josephina and Rosa Mexicana, to name a few right off the top of my head that are steps away from Lincoln Center, are significantly better in quality. The Metropolitan Opera audience, especially in any sections priced higher than the Family Circle or Balcony, trends fairly old already. And a casual glance at the Grand Tier restaurant reveals that its clientele tends to be older still. Regardless, people who have been to the Grand Tier restaurant many times (although none this season yet) universally say that they serve boring, overcooked/underseasoned, catering-quality "old people food." There is a mindset among a certain (primary retired) segment of the Metropolitan Opera audience that isn't easy for me to understand. For example: I can remember getting a comp ticket in the Grand Tier for a performance of Tosca. This was around 1993. The Cavaradossi was Placido Domingo, the Scarpia Sherrill Milnes -- both legendary in these roles. The Tosca was Maria Guleghina. I noticed that there were two aisle seats in the second row that remained empty for the entire first act. For the second act, they were occupied by two elderly women who stayed until the famous soprano aria Vissi d'arte and then promptly got up and left. If you've ever eaten in the grand tier restaurant, this is an example of the kind of people you will find there.

but making the pan sauce often does! How so? I don't see how making a pan sauce would require a level of responsiveness beyond what is achievable in a saute pan with a 7 mm thick aluminum base. Again, we're not talking about something like cast iron with low thermal conductivity. Aluminium has excellent thermal conductivity, and my experience is that aluminum pans with a 7 mm base are responsive enough for the kinds of things one does in a saute pan. After all, we're not tempering chocolate or making Hollandaise sauce in an eleven-inch saute pan.

Paul makes a good point regarding thickness and responsivity. That said, if what you really would like to do is saute, which is a high heat cooking task that doesn't require particularly fast responsiveness, I think it makes sense to go with an extra-thick aluminum pad. A 7 mm aluminum base has a very large thermal capacity which means that you won't lose peak heat when you're shaking a lot of ingredients around in the pan, and also means that you'll get a good result searing steaks and other large cuts of meat. Because the base is aluminum and not something like iron, it will still be plenty responsive for the tasks one is likely to want to do in a saute pan. On the other hand, most home cooks don't really saute.

Interesting link, bainesy. Are you aware of anyone else selling PID kits for the Silvia?

Re the green walnut liqueur: there is an extensive thread on the subject of nocino. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=13996

Ah yes. And how is Fairway rating on the SPI (Shaw Pineapple Index ) these days?

I personally find the sour flavors obtained with a fully-fermented naturally leavened dough to be disharmonious with the flavors of pizza. Since pizza dough benefits greatly from long fermentation, I don't see how there's any way of getting around this.

There is no difference between an infusion and a tincture. Tincture simply means that the volatile parts of a substance have been taken into solution by a solvent (or solvents). In this case, the solvents are ethyl alcohol and water. In the Christian Schultz Manual for the manufacture of cordials, liquors, fancy syrups, &c. &c. included together with certain editions of Jerry Thomas's How to Mix Drinks the author describes what he calls the "process of displacement" whereby the ingredients to be infused are ground into a coarse powder, moistened with alcohol into a paste, then left to infuse. After a period of time, the paste is placed into a funnel-filter and the infused spirit extracted by adding more alcohol to the top, which "displaces" the infused spirit. The extracted spirit might be reintroduced to the top of the filter until a non-turbid result is obtained. (in effect, this was a way of using the ground-up ingredients as a natural filter for fine particles). Schultz writes, "this extract is called tincture." I should point out, however, that this is only Schultz's definition. Tequila infused with chunks of pineapple is just as much a tincture as grain alcohol infused with ground cloves and extracted according to the above-described method. When you say "rectified spirits" I assume you mean high-proof (90% abv) neutral spirits. Vodka is, of course, a rectified spirit -- usually much more rectified than high proof neutral sprits in fact. Indeed, vodka starts out as a high proof, highly rectified, highly filtered neutral spirit which is then diluted down to between 40% and 50% abv. For our purposes there are two salient differences between vodka and high proof neutral spirits: First, vodka is much more rectified and filtered than the high proof neutral spirits commonly available for purchase in the States (you may have access to better in Poland). As a result, there is a certain "harshness" to these spirits, even if diluted down to 40% abv. Second, certain substances have better solubility into water and certain substances have better solubility into alcohol. If we infuse into a 50% alcohol/50% water solution, we are infusing all the substances which are soluble into both water and alcohol. If we infuse into 90% alcohol, we are mostly infusing the alcohol-soluble substances. It's not clear to me how you are using the word "denature." Denaturation is the process by which a protein or amino acid's structure is altered by an outside stressor such as heat, acid, alkali, alcohol, salts, reducing agents, etc. I'm not sure how you think this works in the context of proof and spirit infusions. If a negative result is obtained as a result of infusing into high proof spirits, it's not clear to me that this is due to denaturation so much as it may be due to selective infusion of alcohol-soluble volatiles, over-extraction of certain substances due to the fast-acting nature of a high-proof solvent, or infusion of undesirable substances. In general, I think one will find that higher-proof infusions have better preservative properties compared to lower-proof infusions. The reason disinfecting alcohol is diluted to 70% strength is not because 95% alcohol "denatures skin cells," but rather because 95% alcohol is less effective at killing bacteria in that context. This is because 70% alcohol is able to penetrate bacterial cell walls where it denatures the bacteria's proteins (DNA) and amino acids. 95% alcohol, on the other hand, quickly denatures the bacteria's cell walls thereby preventing the alcohol from passing into the cell. Both 95% and 70% alcohol are capable of denaturing skin cell proteins, and one would assume that the lower abv solution has a similarly greater denaturing power with respect to skin cells as it does with respect to bacterial cells.

No hot spots. Much higher thermal capacity for searing steaks, etc.

They control a heat source. It could be a crock pot or a hot plate or other small appliance. Instead of plugging the appliance into the wall you plug it into the controller and then plug the controller into the wall. A temperature probe is put into the water that you want to heat to the controlled temperature. The controller then switches on power to the appliance when the temperature is lower and cuts it off when it hits the set point. The sophistication of the feedback loop and the control logic is why different methods have different results. Lab equipment costs a lot more because it's more precise and that precision costs money. Note the word precision, not accuracy. The question is how precise one needs to be and it's not all on the controller. How quickly the appliance heats up or cools down has an effect as does the amount of water being controlled and the vessel it's in. For most the things that I would cook by this method, the precision of a commercial controller should be adequate. It may take some practice and calibration but so does my oven and range. WRT precision and accuracy... presumably the temperature sensors on these controllers are sufficiently accurate, if that's what you're getting at. I still have a hard time believing that a bottom-heated system or a crock pot system controlled by one of these things wouldn't exhibit temperature variability to the tune of 5-6 degrees C. This would definitely have some effect on certain cooking techniques, and for short-term cooking techniques (e.g., fish) it's not clear that it would have an advantage over using a large stockpot and an accurate thermometer.

What would these controllers be controlling, exactly? Presumably you're not going to wire them into an electric stove.

The Grand Tier restaurant is about what you would expect: mediocre catered food.

Teitel rawks, for sure. I use Frantoia from oleifici Barbera. It's an unfiltered extra virgin olive oil from Sicily. Strong "olivey" flavor, medium fruitiness and inexpensive enough at around $19/liter to use for everyday cooking yet refined enough to use raw on salads, fish, etc. All the Barbera oils are very good (I quite like their Stupor Mundi and Andria Classico) and reasonably priced. That said, if I were going to deep fry in extra virgin olive oil, I'd be using something priced more like Edda.

I've been thinking of making a quinine tincture I could keep in an eyedropper bottle and use to bump Lillet back up to pre-reformulation levels.

There was, unfortunately, a fairly narrow window during which time one could buy stainless lined heavy copper cookware for relatively low prices. Ten years ago, there was only Bourgeat and Mauviel available in the US. The former was priced egergiously high and the former only somewhat less so. Then in 1999 Falk Culinair began selling in the States for far less, and this rationalized the market. That was a great time for buying copper cookware. Back then, however, copper cost only around $0.70 per pound and a dollar was worth around 1.2 Euros. Now copper is more than $3.00 per pound, and a dollar is worth only around 0.73 Euros. The large change in copper prices as well as the dramatic drop in the dollar's value with respect to the Euro have resulted in a fairly steep increase in the price of stainless lined heavy copper cookware.