slkinsey

Marie Brizard is one of the best makers of liqueurs for mixing. Apry, their apricot brandy, is especially good. Most of the best bars in NYC use MB orange curacao. I think their white creme de cacao is pretty good as well. Info on their complete line here.

I think roses are also sometimes dyed. You want to make sure before you buy the roses. And make sure you buy them from someone you can trust to tell you the truth.

Rye?

All: Let's keep discussion in this thread focussed on BLT Burger. If we want to expand into a general discussion of Laurent Tourondel and his ventures, or name recognition and NYC chefs, that's what other threads are for. I'm happy to split selected posts out on request. Carry on.

It's not surprizing that the Calorie Restriction diet isn't finding too many fans among the members of a culinary society. Still... a lifetime of constantly hunger, seriously reduced libido and meals of salad and quorn doesn't sound like something that would be worth another 10 years. One thing to clarify: what makes the Calorie Restriction diet different from eating disorders like anorexia is that a) it doesn't fit several of the key diagnostic criteria for Anorexia Nervosa, such as "intense fear of gaining weight" and "disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experience"; and b) although the diet is predicated upon around 30% fewer calories than normal, there is a central focus on getting adequate amounts of all the required nutrients, fiber, etc. Today's NY Times, perhaps influenced by the NY Magazine article, ran an article on Calorie Restriction in today's Science Times. Two "elderly" monkeys are compared: Rudy, who was raised on Calorie Restriction and is actually slightly older, appears to be the picture of health and vitality, with a shiny coat, upright posture, attentive demeanor and smooth skin. Matthias, who was raised on a normal diet, is stooped and lethargic, with a paunch, sagging skin and thinning hair.

Personally, I'd leave Arkansas off that list. I think the culture there (at least the parts where I've spent time) is more Southwest than South. And, although this does violate the "whole state rule," it's really only the top part of Florida. Much of Florida further down has very little to do with Southern culture.

Re Kansas City, I think any city that's a major cattle drive stop isn't part of the same South as Alabama, Tennessee, etc. Cowboy culture isn't Southern culture.

That kind of goes along with what I said above about areas in other states that are just on the other side of the states I defined as "the South." There's definitely some bleedover. But I think I'm safe in suggesting that Texas, as a whole, doesn't belong in the same cultural/cuisine continuity the way that Louisiana and North Carolina do -- despite the fact that Louisiana and North Carolina are much further apart. Hmm. I've been to the Dallas/Fort Worth area a number of times, and never thought it had anything that reminded me of what I think of as "Southern culture" as it would be found in e.g., Georgia or Tennessee.

No. Cowboy food is not Southern food. I think most people from Texas would agree that, with respect to culture and cuisine, Texas is a region unto itself.

With respect to culture and cuisine, I see some continuity in the swath of land that starts in Virginia, goes down the coast, cuts across the top of Florida and ends in Louisiana. This would encompass Virginia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the top of Florida. States like Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, etc. seem more "Southwest" than "South" to me from a cultural and culinary standpoint. This is, of course, if one is going to define it on a "whole state" basis. Clearly the parts of the surrounding states immediately adjacent to the above-named states will share many of the same traditions (the same is true, for example, of the areas in Italy immediately adjacent to the borders of Emilia-Romagna). But I don't feel that the states as a whole are reflective of what I think when I think of "Southern culture and cuisine."

FWIW, the recipe I have for the Improved Holland Gin Cock-Tail goes something like this: <blockquote>2 oz : genever gin 1 tsp : 2:1 demerara simple syrup 1 tsp : maraschino liqueur 2 dashes : Peychaud's bitters Mix in a glass with ice. Garnish with lemon twist.</blockquote> Seems pretty different to me

maxmillan, I'm not sure why you'd want to go to all the trouble to make your own amaretto. First, it's highly unlikely that you could make something as good as what's commercially available. Second, amaretto isn't that expensive (Amaretto di Saronno, the most expensive, can be found for around 15 bucks for a fifth). Third, excellent (better, really) brands like Luxardo's Amaretto di Saschira can be had usually at a lower price than Amaretto di Saronno. Finally, considering that you want to use it for baking, the qualities that distinguish a good amaretto -- either store-bought or homemade -- are likely to be lost. Why not use a cheap amaretto brand at around 6 bucks a liter, or simply use a high quality almond extract?

What about cocktails with Strega?

Here are two I like. They'd probably work pretty well with a fuller-bodied prosecco.

Jesus, dude. That's going to be one hell of an expensive Sazerac.

Interesting. Your experience is almost exactly what mine was the first time I was there. . . which was also near the end of service. Since then, I've had several very good meals there. But I also haven't gone late again. The general consensus seems to be that their stewed okra either a) sucks, b) is in a style that many of us don't like/understand, or c) both. I'm leaning towards c) myself -- but, then again, I hate okra anyway. IMO the can't-miss sides at R&S are the collard greens and baked beans.

Matt Hassett made a tincture of sichuan peppercorn (may still be some of it at Pegu), and as I recall, we weren't too taken with it. It is possible that the "good stuff" in sichuan peppercorn comes out best into fat rather than alcohol?

I have a friend who is going to be spending a month in Austin. Back in the day, she had a job as "the girl on the red velvet swing" at the Austin Old San Francisco Steakhouse. For those who don't know, this is a girl in a skimpy "1890s style" outfit swinging on a red velvet swing high above the room and, at least in those days, eventually swinging high enough to kick a bell attached to the ceiling at the front end of each swing. I'd heard rumors that the Austin Old San Francisco Steakhouse was going through roigh times and might have closed. Then I heard it was back. Anyone know about it? Is it still there? If so, what's it like these days and how's the food? Also, are they still doing the bit with the girl on the swing?

I think that may be the heart. AFAIK the heart and gizzard are close to each other.

Re funny taste from soda siphons: I think part of this is due to the construction. Most soda siphons these days are made of cheap metal. Eventually everything that comes out has a thread of "old canteen" flavor (slightly metalic, slightly musty) running through it, and I have not been able to figure out any way to eliminate this problem. Glass siphons don't seem to have this problem.

This is an interesting question worthy of discussion on its own, so I split it off from the homemade coffee liqueur thread. Isn't rum shrub made with a kind of fruit/vinegar syrup?

I like the Siesta from Flatiron Lounge: 1.5 oz : Herradura silver .75 oz : simple syrup (1:1) .75 oz : fresh lime juice .50 oz : fresh grapefruit juice .25 oz : Campari Shake and strain.

Yea. The B&S wouldn't work with kirsch, because it depends on the red color for the effect.

Do your ferrets have the run of the house?

Plenty of spirits are charcoal filtered. It's common for vodka, of course. There are also plenty of white rums that are filtered to strip out the color. The "Lincoln County Process" used to make Tennesee Whiskey is filtering. In a way, aging spirits in charred barrels could be seen as a kind of filtering.