slkinsey

I just looked at the bottle of (tea-infused) Tanqueray I have in my fridge, and it's 94.6 proof.

Thanks for an interesting article, Beans. But I have to say... after reading the article, I am totally unconvinced that there is a "slacker cocktail culture."

I gather that they sharpen freehand? Are you able to specify the angles you want?

This interests me. I've heard similar claims from various people over the years. And I've poked my head into an awful lot of restaurant kitchens over the years, from the super high-end to quotidian greasy spoons. And yet I've never seen a single piece of All-Clad. Not one. And really, given the extreme expense of this stuff, it's no surprise that I haven't seen it around. I'm not saying that such restaurant kitchens don't exist, but they have to be extremely rare. It really is remarkable that you have not only worked in one, but three restaurants that use All-Clad Stainless. All of their pans can be used this way, afaik (except the nonstick ones, of course).

Interesting. I do a lot of cooking, and as anyone who has been in my kitchen can attest, I own an unconscionable amount of cookware. I have never -- not even once -- experienced even the slightest hint of this problem you are describing. Unless one is using a disk-bottom pan with a diameter so small that the flame of the burner goes up the sides of the pan, I don't believe this really happens. Now, in cases where the pan is smaller than the flame, I agree that it does make sense to have a fully clad pan. Needless to say, this size will vary according to the burners on one's stove. I should also point out that I don't think it's always a matter of being able to "get away" woth using a disk-bottom design. There are several applications and types of pan where the disk-bottom designs available are superior to the fully-clad designs (usually this has to do with putting the largest amount of the thermal material in the place where it will do the most good).

Congratulations, Moby! May I suggest a celebratory dinner of tagliatelle Bolognese?

Hmmm... My first reaction is, "no it isn't the best that you can buy by any stretch of the imagination" and my second reaction is, "actually, it was never worth the money." This is not to say that All-Clad Stainless isn't good cookware. It's good stuff, and I own several pieces of it. It's just hidiously overpriced. If price is not a consideration, far superior cookware may easily be found. And if price is a consideration, comparable or even better cookware may be had at a lower price. If you're interested, please have a look at my eGCI class on Understanding Stovetop Cookware.

Well, I'd say that the major difference is that Bombay Sapphire is substantially less assertively flavored, although there are other differences of course.

I love Fernet Branca. One good drink is simply to make a Fernet Branca and coke. It's a great drink. Branca Menta has more mixing possibilities, though, because of the mint flavor. Just use it in any drink where you might use creme de menthe. For example, I like Dr. Cocktail's Delmarva Cocktail (original recipe here. And changed it as follows: 2.0 oz : straight rye whiskey 0.5 oz : dry vermouth 0.5 oz : Branca Menta 0.5 oz : fresh lemon juice simple syrup to taste 1 fresh mint leaf, for garnish The simple syrup is added for balance because Branca Menta isn't as sweet as white crème de menthe

Um... I think that person was me. Are you familiar with light and dark Karo? Lyle's is like super-awesome light Karo. It's heavier in texture, but it has a golden color (duh!) and a nice clean flavor. Steen's, on the other hand, pushes the envelope on the dark Karo side. It's dark and funky and.... well, this doesn't sound quite right, but it's a little sulphur-ey too -- but in a good way, in a good way.

Exactly my thought! Lyle's provides a clean flavor in a pecan pie which can be a nice change of pace from the funky "dark Karo" flavor one normally expects. For pecan pie, I think it's Lyle's Golden Syrup on one end of the spectrum, and Steen's Cane Syrup on the other. Both are very tasty, but in entirely different ways.

I'm looking for some Steen's Cane Syrup. I know I've seen it somewhere in NYC, but can't remember where. I looked in Fairway yesterday, and didn't see any. Anyone have any ideas?

Interesting observation! What we really need is a good espresso machine and one of those pressure chambers they use for deep sea divers. Hmmmmm....

Pyewacket, I would simply call you (and others who would fall under this "flexitarian" label) as an omnivore who eats a diet that includes, but does not necessarily feature, meat and other animal products. This would include many traditional dietary practices, such as the pre-20th century Italian peasant diet, for example.

Since the NY Times review just came out, I'd like to remind everyone of my Brief Note on New York Restaurant Threads, and the following in particular: Let's do what we can to keep this already very long thread focused on Per Se, and do any reviewing of the review/reviewer in other threads. In particular, there is an ongoing thread I created following the Babbo review entitled "Bruni and Beyond: NYC Reviewing" that is more appropriate for much of this discussion. As always, new threads can also always be created for tangential discussions of this nature provided they are non-repetitive. If you're wondering what happened to a recent post of yours in this thread, the above referenced thread is a good place to check. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Below is a relevant quote from the review:

Never!

The non end-grain ones may be significantly less expensive, but they're a waste of money at any price.

It sounds like you have a bottle of "regular" Bombay Gin. This is, IMO, much better than Bombay Sapphire. Bombay Sapphire is of much more recent provenance, and is far less interestingly flavored (indeed, one hears from reputable sources that Bombay Sapphire was developed to be marketed to vodka drinkers). This alludes to Bombay's chosen method for infusing the spirit. At some point during the distillation/rectification process, the vapors travel up the column of the still and through baskets of various aromatics which flavor the distillate. Both Bombay "regular" and Bombay Sapphire are infused via this process. Better than Bombay Sapphire and cheaper too. That's why Bombay will occasionally be found in my pantry, but rarely Bombay Sapphire. In NYC we can get it for around 20 bucks a liter, compared to around $28/liter for Sapphire.

Harder is not necessarily better when it comes to a cutting board. Quite the opposite, in fact. A hard cutting surface will quickly dull the edge of a knife that is used on it. This is one reason you always want end grain and never cross-grain cutting boards. Given what they're charging for bamboo cutting boards (50 bucks minimum for a 12-inch square), I don't see why anyone would want one. You can get a nice end grain cutting board from Ikea for around $20.

You want a liquid mint flavoring? Other than putting it into a sugar base or an alcohol base, I don't know how you would do it.

They have it at Citarella sometimes. I don't get what you're after when you say you want "some good retail sources in the NYC / Long Island area." What's wrong with Lobel's? Lobel's falls pretty squarely into "NYC / Long Island." Or is it the case that what you're really looking for is waygu beef in metro-NYC for a lower price than Lobel's?

First, we should understand that the referenced press release is from a company that sells vodka. So they clearly have a point to make. Next there is the question about the flavor of vodka. First, we should have an understanding of what flavor is. Flavor and taste are not quite the same thing. Taste is the sensation produced by the activation of taste buds in the mouth and throat area by certain chemicals. Smell is the sensation produced by the activation of olfactory receptors by certain chemicals. There is another chemosensory mechanism called the "common chemical sense" through which various nerve endings (especially prevalent in the naturally moist areas of the body) react to certain chemicals to create sensations such as the burn of capsaicin, the sting of ammonia, etc. These senses combine with other sensed elements such as texture and temperature to produce the impression that we call "flavor." As many people understand, smell is perhaps the most important contributor to the perception of flavor. Understanding the foregoing, it is impossible for anything to have zero flavor. Anything you put in your mouth will have some kind of flavor. One could even argue that having nothing in your mouth has a flavor too! So, on that score you are absolutely correct that one cannot say that vodka has no flavor. Whether or not one can say that it has little flavor becomes a bit more complicated. It strikes me as an inescapable fact that a major part of the vodka-making process is to reduce to a great extent the presence of substances that would produce a strong or distinctive neurological response in the sense areas of taste and smell (and, to the extent that vodka is refined to remove congeners, common chemical sense as well). This makes the vodka-making process and aesthetic fundamentally different from any other alcohol-producing method, where the idea is to create an impression by increasing and/or shaping these sensory components rather than by reducing them and basing the character of the libation on what's left behind. One could argue that there is an upper level of flavor, above which a vodka is not judged a quality libation. Smaller concentrations of strong sensation-producing chemicals equals less intensity of flavor. I don't think there can be any argument that vodka isn't the least flavored liquor from a purely chemical standpoint, and I have yet to hear an example of any alcoholic beverage with less flavor. The end result, of course, is that vodka indeed has very little flavor. This doesn't mean that it doesn't have any flavor, though, and more doesn't necessarily equal better. The makers of vodka, in choosing their fermentable materials, their distillation/rectification process, theit filtration methods and materials, and especially the water they use to dillute the spirit for bottling, are controlling what small contributors to flavor do remain in the beverage. As both the article and press release suggest, some of the main distinguishing characeristics are texture (touch) and "finish" (common chemical sense) which, not coincidentally, are the two least significant contributors to flavor. Of course, there are other characeristics of flavor that allow one to distinguish between vodkas, but they are not nearly as present. It is almost as though the goal of vodka is to remove the smell and taste to a large extent so that the flavor is comprised mostly of texture and common chemical sense perceptions. That said, it doesn't make sense to claim that the qualities that allow one to make distinctions among vodkas exist in vodka to the extent that they exist in other liquors, nor that the differences that do exist between vodkas exist to the extent that they exist within other liquor families. This is one of the reasons one continually hears the word "subtle" in any discussion of high end vodka. All this is not to say, however, that it can't be fun and enjoyable to perceive and enjoy a barely-flavored beverage like Vodka. Under a certain aesthetic, less can become more. This is one of the things that makes Audrey's smoking martini so interesting. By dilluting the smokey single malt way down with vodka, certain elements of flavor come to the 'fore that are largely obscurred among the many strong flavor sensations present when the scotch is at full strength.

Interesting Fig Newton trivia: The Fig Newton is named after the place where I grew up: Newton, Massachusetts. It was originally called just a "Newton" and the "Fig" part was added after the fact because people liked the fig jam filling. The machine that makes Newtons was invented by James Henry Mitchell in 1891, and the Kennedy Biscuit Works started making and selling them around that time. The fig ones do seem to be the best by far. Figs are an interesting fruit because the dried version still retains a lot of softness. Other fruits (say, blueberries) really aren't all that great when dried to this extent, and need to be treated with too many preservatives. Most of the other Newton variations seem too artificial tasting to me.

Exactly! I like to do bracciole in the sauce and serve those as the second course.