slkinsey

There's a special name for muddling with the ice (which I think is kind of useless). Can't remember what it is, though.

Have a look in this thread.

Mine is store bought. Look for something like this. What you'd like to have is wood that isn't covered with laquer. For the creme de la creme, you want a PUG Muddler by Chris Gallagher (information and an image may be found about halfway down this page. While on the subject of muddled drinks, one of my favorites is Julie Reiner's "Mint Jules" at Flatiron Lounge. It's a simple concoction of a few ounces of Maker's Mark, muddled mint, smashed (i.e., aggressively muddled) limes and a touch of simple syrup, all shaken and strained.

This looks very impressive. I have to try it! I also think that there is a definite textural difference between hand pulled and cut noodles. There used to be a place in my neighborhood that did hand pulled noodles, and I've been sad about it ever since they closed.

Hmm... I wonder what would happen if you deep fried those cucumber slices.

IMO Absente is the best absinthe-substitute out there. I like it better than pastis.

This really isn't a very valid argument. Body temperature is 37C. Frying oil is typically something like 190C, for a difference of 153C. The boiling point of liquid nitrogen is -196C, for a difference of 233C. In order for there to be an equivalent difference in temperature, the frying oil would have to be 270C, aka 518F. Do I think that people should wear safety gear if they are working with an oil at 518F? You bet I do. Liquid nitrogen also has a significantly higher specific heat than typical frying oils. What this all means is that being hit in the eye with a splatter of LN2 would be much worse than being hit in the eye with a splatter of oil from a fryer. Somehow I have a hard time imagining someone working with their bare hands a few inches above the surface of a 518F fryer.

It's all about balancing the language. We from New England leave out some of the Rs to make up for all the extra ones people are using in other parts of the country. Indeed, so careful are we to balance the R usage in American English that we will occasionally balance the Rs in the same sentence, to wit: "I went up the packie with Liser and Petah to get some tonics."

My father used to win bets around MIT by gargling liquid nitrogen. Just like dipping your hands into a pot of boiling water, I imagine there are ways to dip one's hands into liquid nitrogen without being burned. Still, though, I wouldn't recommend it. Liquid nitrogen is still something that can hurt you quite badly if you're cavalier about the way you use it. I'd much rather be hit in the eye with a splashed droplet of boiling water than a splashed droplet of liquid nitrogen.

I wonder if there is any sense that the US ban on absinthe will end any time in the foreseeable future? I think it's interesting already that, if they catch you coming into the country with a bottle of absinthe, they just take it away from you. You don't get fined or arrested or anything like that.

There is definitely the sense in Italy that the high Michelin-rated restaurants aren't very Italian.

Well, I think it also speaks of the fact that the rating system, and indeed the whole restaurant heirarchy, was designed around and serves best the French restaurant concept. So there is an inherrent difficulty in trying to make an Italian four-star restaurant that still retains its Italianità.

This is veering away from the main topic of this thread, but in an interesting way that may lead me to split off a new topic if we continue... Sneakeater, I think you make an interesting point about Del Posto, and perhaps a correct one. But, I think there has always been a belief that Batali's food could be four-star worthy and that what kept his restaurants from achieving four stars was primarily the atmosphere and service component, along with a need for a touch of added complexity and luxury ingredients. In other words, the thinking was, I think, that Del Posto simply needed to be "fancier."

For food on a stick ideas, look no further than the final chapter of Ellen Shapiro's Mongolia to China epic, which features an entire "food on a stick" market. Here's just a sampling of things I'm sure you'll want to try: Be the first person in your neighborhood to make crispy starfish on a stick!!

Heh. When my father went from MIT to Rice University, my parents moved to Southside Place. I've made it my business to get to know Spec's because most Manhattan liquor stores have relatively limited selection, especially of lesser known but inexpensive liquors. There are a bunch of places here with an extensive selection of $100 single malts, but not so many that carry 30 different kinds of gin or rye. This is a simple matter of economics. It costs a lot more money for a Manhattan liquor store to shelve a case of liquor than it does a Houston liquor store simply based on rent per square foot of shelf space. Therefore, Spec's can afford to stock a relatively obscure liquor that might only sell a couple of cases a year. In fact, this is a good move for them because they get a lot of business based on their reputation for having everything. In Manhattan, on the other hand, you just can't afford to keep a case of something that won't move off the shelves in fairly short order unless it's a super-expensive bottle. The rent is just too high.

Hmmm... Of all the liquors for which I think some work might be required to acquire a taste, rhum agricole would be very far down on the list. I can understand how someone has to "learn to like" something like aquavit or gin or grappa. Rhum agricole has always struck me as very approachable. But, as the saying goes, that's why they play the game. Different people/different palates/different sensitivities to different chemicals.

crosparantoux, I'm not sure how much I buy your example. How is it that a bulk food broker had samples with a proprietary private label to offer you? Wouldn't that be illegal in California? I'm also curious as to whether those who buy from Trader Joes can substantiate your claim that their canned beans are "mushy, smelly, and off color . . . [containing] only bits and pieces."

The price for Erin Go Bragh I just got from the article. Red Breast seems to typically retail for around 40 bucks here in NYC, but I'm sure I got mine on sale at someplace like Crossroads for 35.

In todays NY Times Eric Asimov is running an article on Irish whiskey. Many were tasted by Asimov, Florence Fabricant, Ethan R, Kelley (the spirits sommelier at the Brandy Library) and Eben Klem. These are the bottlings that made their cut: *** Bushmills Single Malt 10 Years Old ($35) Midleton Very Rare Blended 2004 ($125) Knappogue Castle Single Malt 1994 Very Special Reserve ($35) **½ Connemara Peated Single Malt Cask Strength ($59) Clontarf Single Malt ($30) Bushmills Black Bush Blended ($28) ** Kilbeggan Blended ($15) - Best Value Bushmills Single Malt 16 Years Old ($60) Redbreast Blended 12 Years Old ($42) Tullamore Dew Blended ($40) I note here that none of the Irish whiskeys received a rating higher than three stars (the rating scale goes up to four). I also note a distinct preference for single malt whiskies, which doesn't seem to reflect a thorough understanding of what Irish whiskies are all about and rather seems to reflect an approach to Irish whiskey under the paradigm of single malt scotch. But, then again, my opinions and those of my friends don't often seem to align with the ratings done by these NYT panels. I would certainly have rated Red Breast significantly higher than they did (and I have found it for substantially less than 42 dollars). I admit to being a little disappointed they didn't get Patrick O’Sullivan for the panel, as he is my go-to guy for all things Irish whiskey-related and among the foremost experts in this area to be found in the City. Apparently a great whiskey if you can find it is Erin Go Bragh. This is a limited distribution bottling made with whiskey purchased from the Middleton distributor and bottled by an independent. Very little of it left, but it is supposed to be excellent (not to mention cheap at 18 bucks a bottle).

Hmm... Have you tried the Favorite in any other drinks? I think it makes a fine Daiquiri at 2 oz rum, 1/2 oz lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon of superfine sugar. I'm asking because it may simply be that you don't care for the flavor of rhum agricole. Another thing you might do is try making a Ti Punch using a regular cuban-style white rum like Flor de Cana and see what that tastes like to you. Maybe you just don't like white rum this unadorned. I think it's interesting that you would say that the Favorite tastes "industrial" and "solvent-like" to you, because my sense is that rhum agricole is actually more delicate and floral and far less "industrial tasting" than molasses-based rum.

Their bitters selection is okay. They have the Fee Brothers aromatic and orange varieties, as well as Peychaud's and Angostura. I don't think I saw Gary's bitters the last time I was there, and I don't recall seeing Fee's peach or mint bitters. They also have a good selection of vermouth. They have all the usual suspects, plus Vya. What more do you need? I have always found it highly ironic that Laird's bonded applejack can be had at retail in Houston (at Spec's, natch) and not in NYC, which is only a short drive from where they make the stuff.

The one thing that I like about the smooth steel (I have both a smooth steel and an ultrafine grit ceramic) is that you can use the smooth steel without worrying that you might screw something up. So it's nice for when you just want to give the knife a few casual passes on the steel without thinking about it too much.

There is a very interesting article in the March 13, 2006 issue of New Yorker Magazine entitled "Green Gold : The return of absinthe" by Jack Turner. It unfortunately does not appear to be available on the New Yorker web site, but in encourage interested parties to check it out. It centers around absinthe revivalist Ted Breaux, and discusses the revival of interest in absinthe, the production process and some of Breaux's work in attempting to recreate historical examples of absinthe using period distilling equipment, techniques and recipes. Since the thujone question seems to come up fairly persistently, I thought I'd include this quote:

Another thing that I have found interesting to observe over the last year is that it's possible to get a ton of good media coverage without any publicist at all.

For whatever it's worth, I should point out that there are plenty of "family" pubs and bars in countries other than the US.