slkinsey

Visited again yesterday with several friends, and more seemed to arrive every 30 minutes or so. I was there in the early evening, so it looks like MX and I had the place well covered. It was great to finally see the place in full commercial operation. The crowd was fairly thin when we arrived at around 6 o'clock, but by the time we left at around 9:00 it had filled up almost to capacity -- which is to say, almost to the point where they might have started limiting the door (I get the impression they will never allow Pegu to become overcrowded). Not bad for a Thursday night, three days after opening and during one of the slowest times of the year! So far, every time I've been there something has been tweaked to be a little bit better than the last, and this time was no exception. In particular, the Jimmie Roosevelt cocktail has taken a big jump in the form of more finely crushed ice and, more importantly, a much better glass. Jimmie's new glass is still a "coupe' shape, but it's larger than the glass they were using before, which means that it holds a greater proportion of champagne, and the rim of the glass curves inwards just slightly at the top, which means that the glass holds the ice more gracefully. As with wine, it's amazing what a difference can be made with a change of glassware, and I know this is something Audrey has thought out extensively. People in the cocktail community also continue to send interesting items, rare bottles and other odds & ends over to Pegu Club. I had previously tried Dave Wondrich's reproduction of Abbott's bitters, and yesterday tried a few different bitters that Robert Hess had sent over, one of which I believe had been aged in wood. Excellent stuff, Robert!

Oh, an interesting bit of Sripraphai information I picked up from a reliable source: they use canned curry pastes.

The temperatures that are important in brewing are 104-122F (high activity of beta-glucanase breaks down beta-glucans and makes the mash flow more freely), 120-130F (high activity of various proteinases breaks down proteins that might cause a chill haze), 126-144F (high activity of beta amylase converts short starches to sugars) and 149-153F (high activity of alpha amylase converts long starches to shorter starches). 125F is unlikely to be a good temperature, because its unlikely there will be many short-chain starches around for the beta amylase to saccharify (you need to have some alpha amylase activity). It's also not clear to me how you will get the enzymes into the center of a green plantain to do any converting, unless you puree the raw plantain and mixed it with quite a bit of powdered malted barley. I would recommend that you use American six-row malted barley, as it is substantially higher in enzymes than the European two-row stuff. Also, use a lot of it. Even the American stuff might have trouble converting an equal weight of something starchy like raw plantain.

Some detailed early impressions for the curious. . . The Pegu Club's opening menu is structured similarly to Audrey's menus at Bemelmans, with a mix of original creations, "new classics" from contemporaries, and old-school classics both well known and obscure. You've seen above Jared's picture of the Pegu Club Cocktail. It's a most interesting drink, and one that has been the subject of many discussions over the last year or so, both offline and elsewhere in these forums. We can go around the tree about the liquor ratios in this drink, but you can't argue with their results. They nail this cocktail. As good as the Pegu Club Cocktail is, it's not my favorite on the list. That prize would have to go to the "Fitty - Fitty," which is. . . a boring old Martini. But wait! We're not talking about a "wave the bottle over the glass and say vermouth" modern era Martini. As the name suggests, it's 50% gin and 50% vermouth with a drop of orange bitters. Not so boring. Inspiring. Delicious. Right. This is the way a Martini is supposed to be made. Instead of one ingredient dominating and the other getting in the way, the gin and vermouth play together in the glass creating a juicy-wet drink that begs to be tossed down. This true partnership allows each component of these two remarkably complex ingredients to be sensed, resulting in a full flavor that is at the same time light, refreshing and never cloying. You'll want another one. And then another. As expected, there are several Audrey Saunders favorites on the menu. Her Gin-Gin Mule is the all-time best drink for the putative ginophobe, matching gin with lime, mint and homemade ginger beer. The Jamaican Firefly is another one that makes good use of homemade ginger beer, taking the Dark & Stormy to a more subtle, refined place with an accent of clove tincture. Her widely admired Tantris Sidecar tweaks the Sidecar formula with calvados, Green Chartreuse and pineapple, as though your motorcycle driver had suddenly changed routes to take you through some exotic foreign land. The Earl Gray MarTEAni, which has to be tried to be believed, and The Old Cuban, a luxe take on the Mojito with champagne and aged rum, are also there along with others. Part of the reason we like going to concerts is to enjoy the favorite songs we have come to love over the years, and it can be disappointing if they're only performing new material. It's important to have the right mix of new and old, familiar and unfamiliar. I might say the same with a new restaurant or bar. I like being able to "come home" to drinks I've been missing, then branch out to something new. Besides offering her own creations, Audrey's menus often feature a few contemporary cocktails created by colleagues and forgotten classics worth resurrecting. To that end, the menu features Paul Harrington's Jasmine, Dale DeGroff's Whiskey Smash and from Charles "Doc" Baker's The Gentleman's Companion (one of the all time great cocktail books), the Jimmie Roosevelt. This last one deserves a little extra description, for it is a most interesting libation and one that is unlikely to be familiar. In the Pegu Club's version, a glass is rinsed with demerara simple syrup, then in goes some Cognac and an Angostura-soaked sugar cube; on top of that goes cracked ice, then a top of champagne and the whole thing drizzled with Green Chartreuse. Since the drink isn't mixed per se, the ingredients combine in the glass according to their own whimsy (and specific gravities, no doubt), which leads to a drink that evolves greatly, making many twists and turns on the way to the bottom of the glass. The first few sips are light, dry and effervescent; then the herbal exoticism of the Chartreuse begins to make its presence felt, lurking around the bits of cracked ice; towards the bottom of the glass the sweetness from the demerara syrup rinse and the Angostura's cinnamon come to the fore. Meanwhile the Cognac is there throughout to tie the whole thing together. It's like three or four drinks in one -- a must have. I was joking with a few of the bartenders that Pegu Club has to be the only bar in America where both Green Chartreuse and Punt e Mes are sitting in the well topped with speed pourers. Speaking of the 'tenders, as others have pointed out this is a top notch bunch. Chad Solomon, Toby Maloney and Philip Ward -- not to mention Audrey herself -- are among the very best, and I'm sure the same can be said for the rest of the crew. Here's one example of what sets apart these bartenders: at the press party I ran into JJ (aka jogoode) who was there to cover the event. He had several drinks in front of him, among which was a Pineapple Pisco Sour. I noticed that the egg white foam wasn't dotted with an "aromatic garnish" of Angostura bitters, as it often is. Wanting to show JJ the difference a little bitters can make, I called Toby over and got him to drop in a touch of Angostura. This led directly to an extensive discussion/educational session/bitters tasting between Toby and JJ. This is exactly the sort of thing one can expect from a Pegu Club bartender, and says something important about what the bar is all about. They have a love for the craft, a deep knowledge and, perhaps most importantly, a real interest in sharing with others and growing the community. There are a number of bars and bartenders where one can get a good cocktail, but not many that will enthusiastically take the time to teach a curious customer about bitters. So, that's the cocktails. . . but it doesn't stop there. One thing that really sets Pegu Club apart is its small plates menu, designed by Gavin Citron. Chef Citron is a highly respected chef who has done well in some very good kitchens including Aja, Aleutia, Celadon, Citron (his own restaurant) and, soon, Maroons Smoke Shack. The menu, in keeping with the Club's décor, features Asian-fusion style small bites from six dollars to sixteen dollars a plate. My favorites include smoked trout deviled eggs, "sloppy duck" (two small sandwiches of pulled duck and Asian barbecue sauce), sushi tuna dice, bite-sized Rangoon crab cakes and diver scallop mini burgers with chili mayonnaise and fresh basil. Chef Citron comes to this venture with somewhat unique qualifications. His restaurant Citron specialized in "medium plate" dishes paired with wine or sake. Continuing this theme, several of the small plates at Pegu Club have recommended cocktail pairings. Smoked trout deviled eggs with your Fitty – Fitty Martini? Yes, please. I think I know what I'm doing tonight. . .

Ask away. And happy 100th post.

i don't think anyone objects to being offered bottled water, per se. i think it's the exorbitant rate they charge for the water and that's the big difference between here and italy. in italy, a bottle of water will run you the equivalent of $2.50 to $3 (at least the last time i was there). Here, at least in los angeles, they usually seem to start at $7 and then go skywards. But one could also say the same thing about wine. In Italy a bottle of the local vino da tavola (which is what 99% of he customers are drinking) will run you the equivalent of ten bucks, and here in NYC they seem to start at $35. Yet no one complains. I think it has to do with the fact that Americans are used to getting water for free. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, just that it's a cultural expectation. We're also used to getting bread for free, yet in Italy one usually has to pay for a basket of (often extremely mediocre) bread, and in Germany/Austria restaurants usually charge for bread by the piece. Imagine the uproar in America if restaurants started charging for bread!

In any event, I think you would want to use fully ripe plantains. It's not clear to me that there is much to be gained from cooking a plantain sous vide or cooking a plantain LTLT, even if it will be cooked in some kind of flavored medium. The rum is an interesting idea, because if it is cooked sous vide then the alcohol will not be able to evaporate. The problem with that is going to be sealing the bag, as the standard practice seems to be to freeze any liquid components prior to sealing.

Almost any drink with citrus can be muddled for a change of pace. Here's a good trick: If your cocktail formula calls for X ounces of citrus juice and you want to try muddling it, muddle the citrus in the mixing glass by itself and then once all the citrus pieces are pressed out you can pour the citrus juice out of the mixing glass into a jigger or measuring cup to see if you have the right amount of juice. You should also consider what kind of drink you're making if you're muddling citrus. Those little bits of pulp are okay in a "country" drink like a Caipirinha but would be unwelcome in a muddled Daiquiri. In the case of something like a muddled Daiquiri, it is worthwhile to double-strain the cocktail -- pour it through the Hawthorne strainer into a fine mesh strainer on its way to the glass.

Huh? That doesn't make sense at all. When the margin on food is 5% and the margin on booze is 50%, then it's highly disingenuous to be talking about sales volumes. What matters is the percentage profit being brought in from each and most high end restaurants DO make significant amounts of their profit from the booze. I wonder if this is really true when you figure in the costs of maintaining a wine program, staffing, glassware, etc. I also have a hard time believing that the profit margin on food is only 5%. Maybe the markup at a steakhouse like Peter Luger is only 5%, but I can't believe the food markup at someplace like Gramercy Tavern is anywhere near that low. These things differ from country to country. In Italy, for example, it is commonplace to pay for water and to drink mineral water. I don't think I've ever had tap water in an Italian sandwich shop, never mind restaurant. Of course, Italians usually think it's crazy to drink expensive wine, and so there is always plentiful reasonably priced (and reasonably low in alcohol) wine to be had instead of water.

What is 5? (Double duh. That's what you use to set the custom temperature.) I assume the over-temp dial (6) means that you set a temperature above which the unit will shut down? (Duh. I just re-read above.) I am thinking that simply stretching plastic wrap over the tank (aka large stock pot) leaving just enough room for the stem of the Lauda should help quite a bit with the evaporation issue. Thanks!

Moby, any thoughts as to whether it's worth doing Jack's starch retrogradation technique when cooking potatoes for gnocchi? Presumably this would eliminate the possibility of a gluey texture.

Okay... Here is the front of my Lauda MS. What I'd like to know is what, exactly, all these switches do and some good ways to set them. I'll start off with the easy ones: 1 is the digital readout and 7 is the power switch.

I suppose it must say something about the difference in demographics that no one has yet brought up the Yiddish "nu" meaning "well. . ." or "so?" That would likely have been the first thing mentioned in the NY forum.

I do tend to agree that a bar/lounge is no place for children. That said, if there's someplace that interests you, call them up and see what they tell you. Different bar/lounges will have a different vibe. I've noticed that most of the cocktail bars in NYC have certain days and certain times when customers are likely to have the joint more or less to themselves. It's possible that you could drop in to one of these at 5 PM sharp on the right day and not have too much trouble bringing along a 7 month old. Or maybe you would. Can't hurt to ask. All the best places want is for the experience to be mutually pleasant. They won't hesitate to tell you if they think it might be problematic, and they won't hesitate to tell you if they think it should be fine.

Anyone have operating instructions for a Lauda MS?

Links fixed above. Here are some brief quotations: Ex-Restaurateur: I Just Couldn't Take It Anymore The article goes on to list several supposed "restaurant scams" and explain them from the restaurateur's point of view (The Bottled Water Scam, The "Call Brand" Scam, The "Make Them Wait at the Bar" Scam, The "Most Expensive Item on the Menu" Scam). Turnabout being fair play, he then lists some of the most common ways customers abuse the customer/restaurateur relationship (Stealing, Special-Occasion Freebies, Compensation for Mishaps, Compensation for Patronage). Ex-Critic: Hey! 'Rude' Diners Are Your Meal Ticket The writer goes on to rebut some of the restaurateur's points, noting that many of the denied "scams" do in fact happen.

This is probably a concern of some merit, although I am quite sure it is highly dependent on the plastic involved as well as various environmental factors -- which is to say that, simply because molecules from some plastics are liberated into water under certain conditions does not mean that it happens with all plastics under all conditions. "Leaching," I should point out, is entirely inappropriate in this context, as it means "to dissolve out by the action of a percolating liquid" (as in, "water passing through stony ground leaches out many minerals"). Yea. This is something that some people still don't seem to get. It seems a fact to me that there are certain effects that can be achieved with sous vide cooking that are simply not possible using any other cooking technique. In terms of LTLT, cooking pork belly or beef short ribs for 36 hours at 135F is one of those things that really isn't possible without sous vide. Similarly, the ability to cook certain vegetables (e.g., carrots) without loosing their vibrant colors to oxidation is another feat that seems largely dependent on sous vide cooking. I thought it was interesting that the other letter complained that "while the quality and flavor [of sous vide dishes] are remarkable, poaching food in a sealed plastic bag creates none of the delicious smells that announce a meal." That is, of course, part of the point: all those molecules remain in the food to increase flavor while you are actually eating. Reheating a meal you buy in a store, whether prepared/packaged sous vide or not, will anyway never replace the rewards of actually cooking at home.

Yea, I guess I was trying to say that Navan and cognac doesn't sound like it has too many interesting possibilities. Mixing like with like has only a limited appeal. I did a drink once where I used 50:50 vanilla infused bourbon and regular bourbon in a perfect-style Manhattan takeoff, but since then I've decided that it's a limited approach. Sticking with the Brandy Smash idea, what about something like cuban-style white rum, Navan, mint and lemon? Or maybe grapefruit instead of lemon and a tiny bit of grenadine (if it needs a little more sweetness) or a few dashes of Peychaud's (if it needs the sweetness tamed) floated on top? Not sure how that would work with mint, though.

I'd say that I'd mostly have to agree. For instance, I think the Gordon's bottle is hideously ugly, but it has a strong flavor that I love, and I tend to drink it instead of lots of "better" gins in my cabinet (i.e. Plymouth, Tanqueray, etc). I've probably tried 90% of the mainstream medium-to-premium gins and I'd almost always prefer the taste of Gordons. Oh, I don't entirely disagree. I love Gordon's. But I also have observed a bottom limit below which I am unlikely to be interested. I mean, once you get down to eight or nine bucks a liter, you have to start making an awful lot of compromises to keep the cost down. Congrats on #100, Joe.

Hi Rob. What's the thinking behind mixing cognac with vanilla flavored sweetened cognac? Seems like you'll just get slightly less sweet, slightly less vanilla flavored cognac. Navan seems like a potentially interesting product, but if I were you I'd think first about changing base liquors. Navan with applejack seems like it might be interesting. And I'd definitely try it with gin, although that might be less successful. Maybe something like a Twentieth Century Cocktail with Navan instead of crème de cacao.

Sam - how much flour, and how many yolks would you estimate for a pound of ricotta? Like many cooking tasks, after you've done it a while it becomes a "by feel" sort of thing. So I can't really say how much flour and egg yolks for a pound of ricotta. This is all the more true because regular supermarket ricotta has substantially more water content than the almost-as-thick-as-cream-cheese ricotta I'm using. If I had to guess, I'd say something like 1 pound of thick ricotta (drain the supermarket stuff overnight), plus two egg yolks, plus 2/3 cup flour. The idea is to add maybe half of the flour and stir the mixture a few times, and then add in just enough flour to make it come together as a light dough. I agree with Joe, although I prefer to add just the tiniest grating of fresh nutmeg. The less flour you use, the lighter the gnocchi will be. There are some practical limitations, however. I have made potato gnocchi that, while perhaps a technical feat, were really too light and delicate to be satisfying. Choice of potato variety is also of primary importance if you want to make gnocchi with no other binders. Best is something in between a floury variety and a waxy variety. Yukon Gold are good in this respect, and I've had even better results with Yukon Gold creamers ("creamers" are potatoes harvested in the earliest stages of growth, before they are mature). I've never tried gnocchi with any "heirloom potatoes" one finds in the greenmarkets, but it might be an interesting experiment. There is also the method of cooking to be considered. Standard practice is to boil the potatoes, but some people swear by baking, which reduces the moisture content and supposedly requires less flour as a result. Anyone have thoughts on stuffed potato gnocchi? Some of the best I've ever had were stuffed with meat and peas. Another interesting potato gnocchi variant is chestnut gnocchi, made with potato and a mixture of wheat flour and chestnut flour (although I suppose it might be interesting to try making them with a puree of cooked chestnut meat and flour). Excellent with a duck and porcini ragù.

Pounce, I don't think plantains work that way. If you cook a green plantain, the starches aren't going to be converted into sugars. Starches (mostly) turn to sugars when they are broken down by enzymes. That's what happens as the plantain ripens. So, what you are proposing would be like cooking an unripe apple sous vide and thinking it will become sweeter through the cooking (which I think we would agree won't work). A green plantain cooked sous vide will turn out, I am guessing, much like a potato cooked sous vide. Not sure there would be much point to it. Green plantains, I should point out, have an unusual property in that they do not reheat very well at all. A freshly boiled piece of green plantain is soft whereas a piece of boiled plantain that has cooled and reheated is dense and hard.

This sounds like it's right up my alley! I'll make a few different ones, probably starting with ricotta gnocchi (because they're so easy). I'll make a more detailed post this time around, but here is a little ricotta gnocchi action from one of my foodblogs for anyone who might be interested in trying it out:

Barton gin is a rock bottom "value priced" gin, made by the same American company that makes Fleischmann's. Barton is even less expensive than Fleischmann's, if you can believe that, coming in at around nine bucks a liter. This means that it is almost certainly a compound gin. And if it has a light juniper taste and "unusual" flavor profile, this is undoubtedly more a result of corner cutting and less-than-premium ingredients and techniques than anything else.

Gary Regan talks about having the first ever Pegu Club Cocktail served to the public at the new Pegu Club