slkinsey

There's an interesting little bit in the current NY Magazine entitled Why $1 Isn’t Enough : Bartenders have been getting tipped a buck a drink since the sixties. They want more. There are also some interesting quotes from several street interviews. I especially like the one from the girl who says she tips "maybe a dollar" because "it's not like they have to work that hard." She might think of staying out of the bars for a while. So... what are your tipping practices in bars? I have to admit that I am likely to tip a dollar a drink if I'm in a place where the person behind the bar is just pouring me a few drafts. In cocktail bars, though, I try to tip at least 20%.

What's Hotaling's going for at retail?

What is the difference between low and high quality high proof grain alcohol? Is it really just a matter of filtering as with cheap vodka? There's a little more to it than that. Vodka starts out, more or less, as cheap shitty high proof alcohol. That alcohol is then rectified (a process of diluting and selectively re-distilling the alcohol) and filtered, both with the goal of removing as many as possible of the substances in the wash that are not ethyl alcohol. These include things like ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, fusel oils like 1-propanol, 2-propanol, butanol, amyl alcohol and furfural, methanol and other such things. In an unaged raw alcohol, these substances produce off-flavors, solvent-like aromas and a harsh, hot bite. In the end, the vodka producer ends up with a fairly pure solution of ethyl alcohol and water at around 95% abv. This is then diluted down to bottle proof with water (and tiny amounts of other things the vodka producers don't want you to know about). This is why vodka producers like to tell you how many times their vodka is distilled (rectified) and filtered: more rectification and filtering equals a smoother liquor with less bite and fewer off flavors/aromas. Now. . . read back up to the top of the paragraph. See where I write, "cheap shitty high proof alcohol?" That's the stuff they sell in stores as 190 proof grain alcohol. If you could get the filtered and rectified stuff before it's diluted down to bottle proof, like the commercial producers do, that would be even better. But since we can't get that, 100 proof vodka is a good compromise.

Yea, that's my sense as well. If there are gradations that are sold at different costs, then I have a hard time understanding why they wouldn't have those gradations listed in their pricing guide. I don't really know enough about farmed salmon to have an understanding of whether there could be significant differences between two salmons of the same size and weight from the same farm. But if this is possible, I have to assume that Acme has certain specifications for the salmon they are purchasing -- which would tend to result in uniformity.

I'm saying why not zest AND juice? Simple: Because then it wouldn't be limoncello. Limoncello is a liqueur containing lemon oil, alcohol, water and sugar. The addition of lemon juice would completely change the character of the liqueur. In addition, lemon juice doesn't have such good storage properties. Eventually the lemon juice will throw off a brown cloudy sediment that would have to be filtered out (this is what my family does every year with the Fish House Punch we make ahead of time and age a year for our Xmas party). This is more or less the way "real" limoncello is made. Commercial producers use high proof grain alcohol to extract the lemon oils, add sugar and dilute down to bottle proof with water. The problem with doing this at home is that it is very difficult to get decent quality high proof grain alcohol at retail -- most of it is swill. Using a decent quality 100 proof vodka seems like a reasonable compromise: it should be considerably smoother than the high proof grain alcohol and it extracts at a slower rate due to the lower proof, which provides a larger margin of error for the nonprofessional in deciding when to stop the extraction.

Aven when you're talking about, say, Atlantic salmon, one side of salmon is not equal to every other side of salmon. So I suppose it's possible that there are gradations of smoked salmon within a given style that businesses can buy from Acme. It's possible, for example, that Zabar's could be paying more for fattier salmon from Acme compared to Fairway.

Hmmm. I'm not sure I agree with this. I've been drinking a lot of long fizz drinks over the last year, and while I started out thinking that a proper fizz needs a good several ounces of fizz water, my friends in the biz have demonstrated to me that many a fizz needs only around an ounce. I find this to be especially true of silver fizzes (i.e., those shaken with egg white).

When life gives you egg yolks, make egg yolk pasta.

For those who are interested, here is the article. Mentioned are: The Office Bar, Hoonah (Alaska) You’re having: A bottle of Rainier. La Mariana Sailing Club, Honolulu You’re having: Mai Tais at sundown. Zig Zag Cafe, Seattle You’re having: A Deshler cocktail. Fu Kun Wu, Seattle You’re having: On a date, anything with the aphrodisiac yohimbine in it. The Owl Tree, San Francisco You’re having: A rye Manhattan with bitters—early, before the orders pile up. Vesuvio, San Francisco You’re having: A pint of Anchor Steam. Zeitgeist, San Francisco You’re having: A Bloody Mary. Musso & Frank Grill, Hollywood You’re having: A Martini before dinner. The Polo Lounge, Beverly Hills You’re having: Scotch, on the rocks La Gitana, Arivaca (Arizona) You’re having: A beer and a shot, Sunday afternoon. Double Down Saloon, Las Vegas You’re not having: Ass Juice. Beach Ball, Newport Beach (California) You’re having: A White Russian for breakfast. Petrossian Bar, Las Vegas You’re having: A sidecar. The 49er Lounge, Gallup (New Mexico) You’re having: Whiskey, rocks. Charlie B's, Missoula (Montana) You’re having: A very stiff drink. Cruise Room, Denver You’re having: A gin Martini. Donn's Depot, Austin You’re having: A Shiner. The Bars of Silver Street, Hurley (Wisconsin) You’re having: A Leinie's or a Hamm's. The Inwood Lounge, Dallas You’re having: A Tanqueray and Tonic. Nye's Polonaise Room, Minneapolis You’re having: A Manhattan, rocks. Half Time Rec, St. Paul You’re having: A round of Guinness. Holler House, Milwaukee You’re having: Beer all night long. Los Ojos, Jemez Springe (New Mexico) You’re having: A tequila shot with a beer back. The Red Lion Pub, Chicago You’re having: A beer with the beans on toast. Bungalow, Chicago You’re having: A Manhattan. The Matchbox, Chicago You’re having: A Lemon Drop. Hideout, Chicago You’re having: A Whiskey Sour. Chipp Inn, Chicago You’re having: Honker's Ale. The Bar at Tujague's, New Orleans You’re having: A Sazerac at sundown. Fritzel's European Jazz Pub, New Orleans You’re having: Beer, when the band's all warmed up. Pinkie Master's Lounge, Savannah You’re having: A gin Martini in a plastic cup. Churchill's Pub, Miami You’re having: Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please. Robert's Western World, Nashville You’re having: A PBR and a burger. The Tune Inn, Washington DC You’re having: A ten-dollar pitcher of Miller with a burger. The Grey Lodge, Philadelphia You’re having: A pint of Flying Bison once things start to pick up a bit. El Chapultepec, Denver You’re having: A Bud and a shot of Jack at 8:45, right before the show starts. Southwark, Philadelphia You’re having: A rye Old-Fashioned. Dee's Cafe, Pittsburgh You’re having: Yuengling, late. 21 Club, New york City You’re having: a Southside. Nicky Blaine's, Indianapolis You’re having: The Dean Martini. Shamrock Club, Baltimore You’re having: A Guinness. Freddy's Bar & Backroom, Brooklyn You’re having: A pint and a whiskey back. Grassroots Tavern, New York City You’re having: A pitcher of Bass. Bill's Gay 90s, New York City You’re having: A Rob Roy. The Hotel Bar (anywhere) You’re having: Another. Napoleon House, New Orleans You’re having: A Sazerac as early in the day as you can make it over. Julius', New York City You’re having: Anything in a bottle. Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, Queens You’re having: A pitcher of Staropramen with Saturday brunch. No. 9 Park, Boston You’re having: An old-fashioned Old-Fashioned. Pegu Club, New York You’re having: A Manhattan. Doyle's Cafe, Jamaica Plain (Massachusetts) You’re having: A pint of Guinness with a Jameson back.

My friend and fellow eGullet member windelse has had a longstanding theory that there is a secret network of pipes under Manhattan pumping the same crappy "cold sesame noodles" to 90% of the Chinese restaurants in the City.

I'm not so sure they "more than make it up" -- although there is clearly some making up at play. But look at it this way: If you get a typical meal at Peter Luger (let's say 1/3 of a tomato and onion salad, a strip of bacon, 1/2 of a German potatoes, 1/2 of a creamed spinach and 1/2 of a steak for two) it will run you about 60 bucks. Let's compare that to a 60 dollar order at Babbo, which would get you something like "warm tripe alla Parmigiana," "fettuccine with house-made pancetta, artichokes, lemon and hot chiles," and "fennel dusted sweetbreads with sweet and sour onions, duck bacon and membrillo vinegar." I have not included cocktails and wine, but anyone who has been to both restaurants will tell you that the markup is likely to be higher at Babbo on booze. Peter Luger's food cost on the steak alone is likely to be more than Babbo's food cost for the entire meal.

I've found that the best and cheapest way to get duck fat is from, well, ducks. Buy a few ducks, take off all the skin and fat and render that out. Use the meat for a duck ragu or something like that.

I am given to understand that the percent profit, on the steak at least, is the smallest in the business.

That's pretty incredible. It's a lot more forceful than I thought it would be.

I can't believe that there will be a substantial shortage of top-quality prime beef in New York City so long as restaurants and customers remain willing to pay. It's fairly well known that a substantial amount of top-quality prime beef goes to Japan, and there's really no reason that couldn't be sold in the US so long as the profitability is the same.

An email just landed in my inbox from my friends at the Distilled Spirits Council of the Uniuted States with their take on the "Nation's Top Five Cocktail Trends," which they have as: Super-premium spirits (this category grew by 23% in revenue to $566 million in 2005) More vegetable, fruit, herb and flower garnishes as visual appeal becomes increasingly important Fresh is best, as the emphasis swings back not only to fresh citrus juices but extends to house made syrups, homemade bitters, and in-house infusions Muddling makes a comeback, as practically every bartender worth his salt knows his way around a this technique that was all but unknown a decade ago Flights of spirits and flights of cocktails are gaining popularity.

The Hugo Bracer sounds like an interesting one. I'll have to give it a try. WRT the formula, I note that cocktailDB has slightly different amounts: 1.0 oz : apple brandy 0.5 oz : Amer Picon 1.0 oz : lime juice 0.5 oz : grenadine That still makes it 2/3 apple brandy to 1/3 Amer Picon, but results in a substantially larger proportion of lime juice. On the other hand, this formulation calls for a lot more grenadine than you used. Not sure of the provenance of cocktailDB's recipe, but it might be an interesting tweak. Especially wrt the amount of grenadine and simple syrup in old cocktail books, it's hard to judge just how big the dashes were (a dash out of a grenadine bottle might be a lot bigger than a dash out of a bitters dasher) or just how saturated the syrups were. How did you find the Torani Amer worked? Having tasted it side-by-side with Amer Picon, I am beginning to wonder whether I agree that it's a good substitute. Amer Picon seems deeper with a fuller flavor, and a little bit sweeter without Torani Amer's striking front of the mouth bitterness.

My thought was that in the food industry Cornell would mean more than "Ivy League," so why say it? I guess if you feel the need to put on your c.v. that your parents are nuclear f***ing physicists you might have some reason. Where on his curriculum vitae does it say this? All I have seen is a mention of his parent's professions in the bio on his web site -- a bio being where one traditionally lists interesting things about one's life, upbringing, family history, etc. It is somewhat unusual for the child of a physicist and oncology research nurse to go into the culinary field, and perhaps some people might find that interesting. I am a classical singer, and people are sometimes interested to know that I am the child of research scientists. I guess I have a hard time understanding why you are reacting so strongly to this. I didn't get the impression it was mentioned in his bio in order to inflate his reputation. Rather, I thought it was an interesting fact. Well, regardless of what you personally think, the Ivy League schools carry some additional prestige. This is not to say that other schools don't also have their own special cachet or that other schools might not have even more cachet in certain fields (places like MIT come to mind). The fact, is, of course that a well-motivated student can get an excellent education at Western Bumblefuck State College -- maybe better than the education that some students get at Yale or Stanford. But, again... so what? It is what it is. Doesn't matter if it's "fair." More to the point, there really isn't too much point in debating the connotations of the words "Ivy League" in these forums.

Superfine sugar simply refers to the fineness of the grind. The sugar crystals are smaller. You can usually buy superfine sugar in most any grocery store. Comes in a box like this. You can make it yourself by whizzing it around in the food processor, but you should be able to find some already made. You don't want confectioner's sugar, which contains corn starch. In re to the orange flower water, seek out the A. Monteux brand. That's what you want. Comes in a little plastic bottle (see my link above). Something tall and narrow. A Collins glass, more or less.

Indeed. The Ivy League consists of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Penn and Yale. Perhaps I should observe that the high reputations the Ivy League schools enjoy are primarily due to the extreme selectiveness of their undergraduate programs. This is not to say that the other programs are not good or are not prestigious. But an MBA from Harvard Business School will never have the cachet of a BA from Harvard College. I don't know a single thing about the Cornell Hotel School except (now) that Holly attended... which, in my book, makes it a top school on that basis alone -- no creeping vines required.

This is an interesting tip, and one I have not heard before. I assume the "tap and rotate" should happen after the drink is fizzed? I'm eager to give this one a try, as I have never been able to achieve the inch tall foam cap I've had at M&H.

The mouthfeel is definitely important. I'd suggest a few things: 1. Use a higher proof and more assertive gin than Plymouth. In the Ramos Fizz, those two ounces of strong have to cut through an awful lot of weak. I'd suggest something like Tanqueray. 2. Definitely use heavy cream. Half and half just doesn't give the same effect. 3. It's hard to get the orange flower water balance just right. You want it to be there, but to not completely dominate the drink IMO. Try maybe only two small drops and see how you like that. 4. Is it possible that you can put some of your ice in a separate freezer to get harder/colder for drinks that really need it? It's fun and interesting that you can feel the texture of the drink change in the shaker, isn't it?

Heh. I've had the same thought. Especially if you could rig it up to do maybe 10 at a time.

Totally worth the effort, in my opinion. This is actually a real test of the bartender's skill, as it isn't easy to get everything emulsified just right. I've always done something like this, which I think is a pretty traditional recipe: 2 oz :gin 1 oz : heavy cream 1 oz : lemon juice .5 oz : lime juice 1 : medium egg white 2 drops : orange flower water * 1 tsp : superfine sugar Combine all ingredients in a shaker with big** pieces of ice then shake the bejesus out of it for at least a minute -- preferably two, and you can always try for more. Strain into a tall narrow glass and top with a bit of fizz water. * These vary widely in strength. I am speaking here of A. Monteux stuff, not the significantly weaker-flavored Middle Eastern stuff. ** Since you are going to be shaking a long time, the bigger the ice the better. This will allow you to get the proper texture without overly watering the drink.

I have the Northern Tools grinder as well, as detailed above, and couldn't be happier. The only drawback is that it's quite heavy -- but that comes with the territory. You don't get that kind of power in an eight pound grinder.