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slkinsey

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    Chipotle Mexican Grill

    in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining

    Posted

    The fact that Chipotle's food contains a lot of hidden sodium doesn't bother me, it's that it runs so contrary to their marketing of "fresher better" ingredients.

    I agree wholeheartedly JPW and that's why I'm very glad you took the time to do the legwork to bring this more out in the open. Let's hope we generate enough heat here that the Washington Post Food section will draw attention to it (in the way they drew more attention to the Bayless-Burger King story after we at eG picked that ball up.) Steve Ells, founder and chief executive of Denver-based Chipotle, should address why sodium is so integral to his pursuit of fast good food with integrity.

    Interesting. Personally I think sodium is a non-issue. Some foods tend to contain a lot of salt. My experience is that braised meats (and most of the stuff at Chipotle is braised) tends to need a fair amount of salt. I've eaten at Chipotle and never found the food to be all that salty, and I can definitively say that it's not half as salty as the chorizo tacos I get at my local "authentic" Mexican-run-and-patronized taqueria, Taqueria y Fonda La Mexicana (which, I presume, would get an enthusiastic "two gullets up" from the membership here).

    So, if I may indulge myself in a lttle fast-food pun, what's the beef? Do we think the food at Chipotle contains a lot of salt compared to "artisinal" tacos and burritos? Do we think the food at Chipotle contains a lot of salt compared to the food at AD/NY and Per Se? What is our basis for complaining about the sodium content? I'm not saying there might not be one, I just wonder what it is.

    As for the supposed health risks associated with salt, I think Steingarten debunked that a long time ago... there is only a very small number of individuals who have the kind of hypertension that is sensitive to salt. For everyone else, go ahead and indulge.

    Now... I am not suggesting that eating Chipotle 7 days a week is anyone's idea of a healthy diet. But I wouldn't suggest that about the tasting menu at Per Se either -- or any restaurant food, for that matter.

    Per Se

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Admin: you may note that a certain discussion has been excised from this thread. This thread is for discussing Per Se and the food at Per Se, and I would kindly ask that it remain on that topic. It is not for metadiscussion as to who is qualified to have which opinions, etc.

    If you would like to have that discussion, I invite you to direct your attention to the "New Topic" button at the top of the page. Anyone who would like their excised material forwarded to them for inclusion in such a thread may contact me via PM.

    Now, returning to your regularly scheduled discussion about Per Se... :smile:

    La Caravelle

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    The piture accompanying the acticle perfectly illustrates the point Fat Guy has made elsewhere about some restaurants aging along with their clientele rather than staying fresh. Is anyone in that picture under the age of 60, maybe even 70?

    Mad Dog Margarita

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    Welcome to eGullet, Mick.

    According to this page, the "mad dog" part of the margaritas sold at the Chili Parlor has to do with the (terrible quality) brand of mescal used. Other than that, they don't seem to be anything special -- in fact, they are apparently quite horrible.

    Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    With the oven door ajar, a substantial pile of red-hot material that appears to be coal (or charcoal?)  is easily visible.  Couple ?'s for those qualified to answer. 

    Is it likely that this material is coal?

    Yes, it is.

    If so, is there now a way to construct coal-fired ovens that meets NY emission standards?

    Not to the best of my knowledge. But the NY laws governing these things are strange. There is any number of reasons it might be allowed.

    Is it common practice to rest the smoking coals ON TOP OF the pizza stone (at the same level as the pizza)?

    Yes, it is.

    I seem to recall Lombardi's, Patsy's, Sally's, Grimaldi's etc feeding their coal-fired ovens from BENEATH the cooking surface.

    I can't speak about Sally's, but the other three all have the coal burning in the same chamber where the pizze are baking.

    Does it make a difference?

    Yes, for several reasons:

    • The first part of the process is to franfer the heat from the burning coal to the thermal material of the oven (masonry, brick, whatever) and then from the thermal material of the oven to the pizza via direct conduction (from the oven floor), radiation (from the oven walls) and convection. The thermal material of the oven is much more effectively and efficiently heated if the heat source is inside the oven rather than below it.
    • A big part of cooking Neapolitan and neo-Neapolitan pizza is that the toppings are cooked by the heat from the fire burning inside the oven chamber which is reflected off the roof of the oven

    If you're curious, have a look through the discussion in the New York Pizza Survey thread, where many of your questions are directly and more extensively addressed.

    Cocktail Bars in NYC

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    In a recent thread over in the spirits forum, a fellow City-dweller asked a very reasonable question:

    Can someone name a bar in Manhattan where I can try a proper Aviation before I go off searching for maraschino liqueur?

    It struck me that many people won't know the answer to this question. For many people with an interest, serious cocktail drinking is done at home. This is a practice adopted because... well... most cocktails in most bars mostly suck -- especially if one would like anything that deviates too widely from the beaten path of "Martini, Manhattan, Cosmopolitan, Margarita."

    So... what are the top cocktail bars in the City? Where can one order an Aviation or, heaven forbid, a Twentieth Century and not be greeted by a blank stare? Where are the places where you don't have to ask for bitters in your Manhattan? Or better yet, where they will ask you what kind of bitters you want? Any places that still have a long, elegant bar and a bartender who dresses up? Old school? New school?

    Let's hear your favorites.

    Per Se -- The Cocktail

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    . . . I was charged $14 for a very crappy martini at Town, which is supposedly famous for cocktails . . .

    Interesting... I was served one of the best martinis I have ever had at Town's bar. It was a Hendrick's martini, served with a translucently thin slice of cucumber as the garnish and a little plate of cucumber and sea salt on the side. I liked it so much, I just had to rip it off, and this presentation has become a popular one among my friends.

    The Aviation

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted · Edited by JAZ (log)

    [Editors Note: The side discussion on the "Original Gin" thread on aviations reached the point where it seemed to cry out for its own thread, so here it is.]

    As for the Aviation... it might be difficult finding a bar that can serve this. It relies upon "Maraschino Liqueur", which is -not- the juice from a jar of Maraschino's but instead is a clear liqueur made from Marasca cherries. It can be very hard to find sometimes, and even harder to find a bar that stocks it.

    Any brands you recommend?

    Cocktails That Will Never Work -- But They Do

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    My curiosity was piqued by a post of Gary Regan's a while back, describing a cocktail known as the Twentieth Century:

    Text from Joy of Mixology

    The Twentieth Century Cocktail

    Family:  International Sours

    Detailed in Café Royal Cocktail Book, 1937, this drink was created by a certain C. A. Tuck.  Dr. Cocktail brought it to my attention a few years ago, and I've been mixing and drinking it ever since.  The citrus juice acts as a foil to the sweet liqueur in this delightful drink, but it's the mixture of gin and chocolate in this drink that intrigues me.  Who would think that these two flavors would have a harmonious marriage?  Did C. A. Tuck envisage these flavors before he put the drink together?  We'll never know, but however he came up with the formula, nobody can argue with the fact that this drink is a masterpiece.

    1½ ounces gin

    ½ ounce Lillet Blonde

    ½ ounce white crème de cacao

    ½ ounce fresh lemon juice

    Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

    [some reformatting by me]

    My thinking went something like this: Gin and Lillet Blonde? Okay. Gin and lemon? Okay. Lemon and chocolate? Ummmmmm, I don't think so. Gin and chocolate?! No way!

    I had to try it, of course. And, you know what? It really works? I'm not sure how it works, exactly, but it does. The Twentieth Century Cocktail has now become a favorite in the slkinsey household.

    I'm curious to hear from other eGulleters about cocktails that seem like they won't work, but which turn out to work great after all.

    Original Gin

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    I have always thought that most (although not all, obviously) people who take vodka as their liquor of choice, do so because fundamentally they don't like the taste of alcohol.

    I'd say rather that they don't like the taste of liquor, since alcohol is the one thing you can taste in vodka.

    Well... straight, I'd agree. But, mix it with just about anything and it doesn't really taste of alcohol. A Cosmopolitan or a vodka Gimlet, for example, doesn't really taste of alcohol the way, say, an Aviation or a gin Gimlet does -- nevermind a Manhattan.

    Per Se -- The Cocktail

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    There's also an interesting post related to the cocktail on the NY Per Se thread, by adrober.

    Which coclktail he didn't have there, right? I don't think his table had the signature cocktail.

    Or, do you mean this:

    I thought today's Sunday Styles' piece on the Per Se cocktail unintentionally got at what I was trying to get at:

    "The Per Se [cocktail] is as cerebrally cool as it is cold to taste.  It is also so subtle as to be potentially banal. You have to hold its cultured thought tightly, to get to the bottom of it."

    I think this describes the meal itself and explains why, despite the good efforts of everyone involved, I was slow to warm up to it.  To enjoy it you have to make a cognitive leap.  "Ah this is delicious because the crispy Carolina rice provides a textural component that contrasts nicely with the foie gras."  The yummy doesn't happen on an intuitive level.

    I'm curious. As the only one among us who has actually had this cocktail... did it strike you as cerebral -- something you had to do some paradigm-adjusting to fully appreciate?

    Original Gin

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    You mean there are actually people out there who think gin is "bad for you" compared to vodka?! The author summs up my take on vodka in his next sentence:

    the real reason why people these days prefer vodka is that, except for the flavored varieties, it has almost no discernible taste. Like a chameleon it can blend with anything.

    I have always thought that most (although not all, obviously) people who take vodka as their liquor of choice, do so because fundamentally they don't like the taste of alcohol.

    Per Se -- The Cocktail

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    Given that Per Se doesn't figure to have a busy or significant bar scene, I would imagine that they don't have too much breakage/shrinkage to deal with in the bar area. They probably also don't even bother stocking well liquors (although that is only a guess).

    Based on this drink, anyway, I'd guess they're trying to operate on 20% liquor cost.

    Back to Per Se, though... I have to pick up some White Pineau Des Charentes and give it a try. Given the austerity and presumably subtle flavorings of this drink, I can imagine that the brand of vodka might actually make a difference, whereas I don't think it does in most cocktails (above the rotgut level, of course).

    Per Se -- The Cocktail

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    Interesting, Beans, and thanks. We don't often see things from this perspective.

    FWIW, I've seen prices for White Pineau Des Charentes as low as 40 bucks at retail. Assuming the wholesale cost is somewhere around 16% lower than that, we're talking about something like 34 dollars, or $1.3412 an ounce. Does that sound reasonable?

    That would give us

    $1.0039 : ounce Ciroc

    $1.0039 : ounce Ciroc

    $1.3412 : ounce White Pineau Des Charentes

    $0.1443 : dash Grand Marnier

    $3.4933 : total

    At 20% : $17.46

    At 25% : $13.97

    Would you say that 20% ingredient cost (i.e., a 500% markup) is standard in the business? It certainly puts the wine markups everyone is always complaining about into sharp perspective.

    Rocky Use and maintenance

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Again, this precision is more important when one is grinding for espresso. Since I only use my Rocky for espresso, I make only the most minute adjustments to the grind depending on how the beans are reacting (fresher beans need a slightly coarser grind). Since I only grind for espresso and I only use one blend, I find that I can reliably grind by volume -- a leveled-off filter-basket does the trick.

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