slkinsey
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Posts posted by slkinsey
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Celis beers
in Beer
Celis was originally Belgian. I never thought the stuff they made in Austin was up to the original.Actually, no... Celis was not originally Belgian. Unless you're talking about Pierre Celis the man. He was (and still is AFAIK) Belgian.
What happened is this: Wit beer -- which used to be very big around Leuven, Belgium -- had pretty much died out by the 1960s when Pierre Celis decided to try reviving the style. He bought brewery equipment and founded the De Kluis brewery and began producing a wit beer named Hoegaarden. This basically brought the style back to popularity, and some other brewers started making their own examples in the 1980s. Pierre Celis is, in a very real sense, the father of wit beer today. Anyway, at some point there was a fire in the De Kluis brewery and Celis was forced to sell the brewery to Interbrew (makers of Stella Artois, etc.) in order to keep it in operation. Around that time, his daughter was going to school in Texas (or something like that) and he moved to Austin where he opened the Celis Brewery, making Celis White, the delicious Celis Grand Cru and several other Belgian-style beers. These were the first beers named "Celis" of which I am aware. Also, to my taste, Celis White was in every way a superior beer to Hoegaarden... like maybe he learned something after a decade or two making wit beer. Unfortunately, at some point he entered into a partnership with The American Specialty & Craft Beer Company, which is an arm of Miller Brewing. Before you knew it, Miller had acquired a majority of the company and decided to close it down and auction off the trademark and equipment. AFAIK, the Michigan Brewing Company bought the trademark, equipment (?) and recipes and is re-starting production of Celis. I haven't heard anything as to their results.
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Well, that and any acoustically performed version of "Cocaine" would probably suck.
If you can find it, give a listen to Dave Van Ronk singing it and playing acoustic. In fact, listen to about anything he did. He was a good dude.
I much prefer the baroque-instruments version of Electric Light Orchestra's "Don't bring me down" with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Neville Marriner and a haunting pan-flute solo by Zamfir.
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Slk, what benefits do you derive from the responsiveness of copper? Does it really help your cooking?
Hmmm... That is a difficult question to answer... there are so many things.
For example, when I am making a very delicate emulsified sauce I find that pinpoint temperature control is very useful. Often times when I do this sort of thing I can regulate the temperature by holding the saucepot in the air over the flame and making minute adjustments in the height of the pan over the flame (obviously this is something I would do only with a small pot). I never use a double boiler for things like melting chocolate, making Hollandaise, etc. These are the sorts of things where the super high level responsiveness comes into play.
In terms of other things... I have noticed that my copper pans come up to temperature way faster than my other pans. Also, because they are so heavy and have such a large thermal mass, they hold more heat than any other pans I own (I know that cast iron can technically hold more heat, but I have never seen a cast iron pan thick enough to hold more heat than my copper pans -- they really should make 5 mm or 7 mm thick cast iron skillets). As a result, I find that my copper pans are simply more effective than my cast iron and aluminum pans for things like searing steaks.
There is also the trade-off between responsiveness and evenness of heat. In order for less conductive pans to provide even heat, they have to be thicker and therefore are all that much less responsive. So... let's say you are trying to deeply caramelize some onions and you are down to the very last bit. One minute more and you might start burning the onions. With a copper pan, you can simply remove the pan from the heat and the temperature will quickly start going down. An aluminum pan that was thick enough to provide a similar evenness of heat might start to burn the onoins before it cooled down. Of course, you can always take the onions out of the pan, but I am only making an example...
It's also nice to know that you have a pan that can get screaming hot and hold enough heat to quickly brown off a bunch of chicken thighs, but that will quickly cool down to simmering temperature when the heat is lowered and a little white wine is added (along with juniper berries, garlic and rosemary if it's me doing the cooking) and will thereafter provide perfectly even heat for a braising.
For me, it's not worth it. I know I can get a quicker heat adjustment from copper than from other cookware, but I'd rather be able to walk away from the stove to answer an e-mail without worrying that I'll return to a kitchen that looks as though the Terminator came through it looking for Sarah Connor.Oh, copper is definitely not for everyone, I agree. That said, I don't underdstand why you would be more worried about copper cookware sitting on the stove than anything else. What do you think would happen? Personally, I'd be a lot more worried about leaving that Calphalon Commercial nonstick fry pan or a Le Creuset French oven sitting on the stove. Those pieces can really be damaged if they get too hot. I have been known to leave my Falk saucière on the stove empty for 7 or 8 minutes so it gets screaming hot for stir frying (works infinitely better on my stove than any wok I have ever tried).
The next time Falk has a sale or offers an introductory price on a fry pan or a sauté pan, you might think about picking one up. I know they seem expensive, but they last a lifetime and they are really no more expensive than a fancy dinner in Manhattan for two or a DVD player that will be obsolete in 3-5 years. And if you discover than you aren't into using it, you at least have something cool-looking hanging in the kitchen. Heck... I might be willing to buy it off you if you gave me a decent price.
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I have no idea whether it's true or not, but multiple chefs have told me that stainless-lined copper is substantially less responsive than tin-lined. "Like copper with a condom" is how one put it. But yes, the anodized aluminum stuff is all much thicker than 2.5mm.
Hmmm.. Yea, that very well may be the case. For my own purposes (and I would guess the purposes of most home cooks) the advantages of the stainless lining (can use high heat, much more durable, doesn't need to be replaced) far outweigh the gain in responsiveness. The one thing I can definitely say from my own experience is that stainless lined heavy copper blows away any other cookware I have tried in terms of responsiveness, and I've tried just about every design but tin-lined copper.
Cleaning [anodized aluminum] is no problem, though -- just disregard the instructions and stick it in the dishwasher!Um... in my Manhattan apartment, the dishwasher is named "Kathleen." I'm not so sure she'd be into that...
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Copper is a better conductor than aluminum, but stainless is a lousy conductor. What are the stats on stainless-lined copper versus anodized aluminum when it comes to conductivity?
The stainless lining is only 0.2 mm thick. Given the fact that the conductivity of copper is significantly higher than that of aluminum (4.01 W/cm/K as opposed to 2.37 for aluminum) I am have to think that the 0.2 mm of stainless in a 2.5 mm thick piece of cookware wouldn't tip the balance in favor of anodized aluminum. I also wonder how thick the aluminum is on most pieces of anodized aluminum cookware. If they are any thicker than 2.5 mm (the thickness of stainless lined heavy copper cookware) I don't see how an anodized aluminum pan could possibly be more responsive. My main issues with anodized aluminum are that I have warped several pieces at high temperatures and it is hands-down the hardest cookware to keep clean that I have ever owned.
The big advantages of stainless lined as opposed to tin lined copper are that one does not have to spend money on re-tinning and high heat cooking is possible (tin melts at high heats).
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Eric Clapton as many of you know released a hit single many years back titled "Cocaine", now the hippocrit is involved in every anti-drug campaign you can imagine. ... By the way, if Eric Clapton were really against drugs, he would cease in re-releasing that hit song "cocaine" on every greatest hits compilation that comes out. Money talks for the weak willed.
Two things here:
1. Did it never occur to you that Eric Clapton may be fervently anti-drug today as a direct result of his own past experiences with drugs, both from taking drugs himself and observing the effects of drug use on his friends and colleagues? This is not hypocricy.
2. That's not the way it works for a musician (or a writer or a painter or whatever). The work is the work. It's out there and that's that. There's no taking it back. I should also point out that the lyrics of "Cocaine" are fairly ambiguous and shouldn't necessarily be taken as a ringing endorsement for cocaine use. Furthermore, you are assuming that Eric Clapton has any control whatsoever over what tracks the recording companies put on his compilation albums. This is absolutely not always the case. What control Clapton can exert over the use of that song is that he can decide whether or not he performs it live, and if he does perform it live he can decide to offer some explanatory comments on the meaning of the song and his personal experiences with drug use. I note, however, that "Cocaine" was not included on his Unplugged album.
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SLKINSEY: I've been looking at the Falk Culinair line. Now apparently sold only online by the importer. Very expensive, but I'll probably try the copper discounted trial pot for $75. Do you still use this brand, and do the lids seem flimsy? My wife will be in Brussels for 12 days in July, and I just might try to talk her into visiting the factory to see if they have any seconds available.
I have around 5 pieces of Falk Culinair, and I continue to use them on a daily basis. My 11-inch "Saucière" (which is basically a high-sided saute pan with a curved transition from the base to the sides) is by far the pan that I use the most often. A few things about Falk:
- I don't work for them or have any other relationshop other than as a customer
- Personally, I think you are better off choosing the "without lid" option and buyind stainless covers that fit. Who needs a copper lid? It doesn't add any functionality and it's hard to clean
- Falk is the company that developed the copper/stainless bimetal technology, and AFAIK they make all of it. If you get a Mauviel or Bourgeat copper/stainless pan, they made it out of metal they purchased (or possibly licensed) from Falk
- Falk makes what I have observed to be the least expensve heavy copper/stainless lined cookware. They do have occasional sales, which are wort waiting for. I will post here the next time there is a sale.
- If you do decide to buy some copper, make sure it is a type of pan where you will really be able to feel the difference. As the corpulent one says, why have a Ferrari that you only drive around the block? That $75 pan is a good deal, but you probably won't experience much of the benefits of copper using that pan unless you do a lot of reductions or make a lot of delicate emulsified sauces. If you want to really notice the difference and have a high caliber pan that you use every day, I think it makes the most sense to splurge and get an 11-inch sauté pan, saucière or frypan. I know these are hella expensive (although you can wait for a sale or try to get a second) but they will give you a lifetime and more of use. I waited for the right time and got great deals on all of mine.
- The negatives: First, they are very heavy. Second, there is the cleaning issue. They must be cleaned by hand, and every time you put them on the heat, the copper will discolor. Now, you can always decide not to clean the outside of the pan at all, and the copper will build up a natural patina. Or, if you do decide that you like your copper shiny, Falk makes it much easier to clean by virtue of having a brushed (as opposed to polished) exterior. We use Barkeeper's Friend and a Scotch Brite pad on ours, and it taked me no longer to clean one of my copper pans than it does to clean one od my stainless pans. Falk has some info about maintenance here.
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The comment about "heavily hyped products" prompts me to ask whether All-Clad is worth the money or whether it's the next Calphalon: over-promoted and overrated.
Come ha detto il tipo grasso... They are all perfectly good cookware. I own some All-Clad and some Calphalon -- and I'll be getting more Calphalon when the Commercial Nonstick fry pans go on sale at Amazon.com. I just think that they are way over-hyped. Many people have spend huge bucks putting together a kitchen full of nothing but All-Clad Stainless or Calphalon Professional or whatever because they have bought in to the marketing hype that these are the "best kind of cookware." And they are, indeed, very good. But they are far from the best and they are far from the best value.
That said, when the price is right and the piece of cookware is one that lends itself to the design... I'll totally line up to buy Calphalon, All-Clad, Demeyere, whatever. And, okay, I'll admit it. I am a little biased against any product that self-promotes as much as they do. You don't see huge double page ads for Sitram or Paderno or Straub or Falk Culinair or Mauviel or F. Dick every time you open up an issue of Gourmet.
I also have the philosophy that it makes the most sense to build up a battery of cookware slowly, saving up for really good pieces and waiting for the occasional sales. That way you spend maybe a couple hundred bucks a year and before you know it you have some really kick-ass stuff. Buying things one piece at a time also gives you the opportunity to ask the significant questions of 1. how do you really intend to use this piece; 2. what materials and design lend themselves best to accomplishing these tasks; and 3. do you really need it. When one is buying a zillion pieces at once, it is easy to end up with a big expensive All-Clad pot that you mostly use to boil water.
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Yay! We will, of course, expect a full report!
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Sometimes when I am roasting capon or duck or some other fatty bird, I will shred cabbage very finely and toss it into the hot roasting pan on the stovetop to soak up the fat and wilt down a little. Throw in a little dry riesling and a scattering of caraway seeds. Take it off the heat while it is barely wilted and still crunchy. Great contrast to the fattiness of the meat. Of course, it may be too hot for roasting...
I would also think that some kind of shredded/wilted cabbage salad would be good in bibimbap.
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If you wonder why you got mail, simply search the web for Sitram, it's mostly pointless. Even this board has nothing more than a mention or two. A bit on Epinion, and then a whole lot of advertising and not much else.
Yea, I have never understood why you don't hear more about Sitram from home cooks. It really is some of the best cookware out there. Built for the professional kitchen but very much useful in the home kitchen (which is not always the case).
The ironic thing is that I don't have all that much Sitram myself, even though my writings on usenet may make it appear as though I had Sitram pans up to my ears in the kitchen. Mostly I was championing Sitram Catering (among other brands) as truly top quality cookware among the tide of fanatics who had bought in to all the advertising from heavily hyped products like All-Clad or Calphalon or Demeyere or whoever.
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Try this link for some discussions about Sitram, All-Clad, Paderno etc.
Don't know who the guy is, don't even know if he knows what he's talking about, but if nothing else he's very opinonated about his cookware.
You are kidding, right? I might add that it's not the only thing he's opinionated about. There are a lot of usenet vets about the place....
regards,
trillium
Thanks for noticing... I think...
I try to not have opinions about things that interest me, but they keep on coming up anyway. Maybe I'm addicted to having opinions.
Oh well... it's interesting to note that, until I got rid of that AOL account, I used to get email on a regular basis from people who had read those rec.food.equipment discussions.
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The only people I know who have this problem are those who use what I would consider overly-roasted beans to make their espresso.
Beans that are excessively oily do indeed stick in the hopper. I usually roast my own beans in a Hearthware. I've been roasting Malabar Gold just to the point where it gets shiny as per the good Dr. John's directions. It still sticks in the hopper even when nearly full. This morning I was grinding some decaf for my wife I bought at a local shop that roasts on-site. This is a light roast made for a drip coffee-maker. It stuck twice.
Hmmm... Interesting. All I can say is that I have never had this problem with my Rocky. Not even once. But, obviously, YM does V.
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At home by myself tonight... had a spicy bagel from Lenny's Bagels (I actually like Lenny's better than H&H -- the bagels are denser and seem more traditional to me) with St. Andre cheese, a thick slice of red onion and paper thin slices of radish. Sauteed asparagus dressed in vinegar and evoo on the side. All veggies from the Green Market at Union Square.
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Must... Have... Delicious... Cheese...
glglglglglglglglglglglllllllllll.......
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Third, the beans are constantly sticking in the hopper, which requires that the machine be given a hard shake to free them up and proceed with grinding.
Hmmm... The only people I know who have this problem are those who use what I would consider overly-roasted beans to make their espresso. This is to say, beans roasted to the extent that they are fully black and very oily on the surface, which makes them stick together. It is not clear to me that beans roasted to this extent will ever be free of sticking problems, no matter what the design of the grinder hopper may be. I personally like to roast my beans for espresso to what I would consider to be, and have observed to be, the typical North/Central Italian espresso roast... just a hair darker than "full city." Something like this:
or this 
... well, in between really.I have never once experienced any problems with beans roasted to this degree sticking together in my Rocky. In the South of Italy, they do have a darker/oiler roast, but even this is not roasted as far as the typical American "espresso roast" which is something that to my taste is only worthwhile for milk-based coffe drinks (small wonder that this accounts for >90% of American espresso consumption).
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Hee... What you need is a grinder where you can hook the portafilter into a zeroed scale of some kind and set the scale for the weight of coffee grinds you want (I assume a gram scale with one significant digit would suffice, or should we bump it to two?
). Then, with the press of a button, the grinder could automatically dispense the weight of coffee grinds you specified.Too bad it doesn't exist, actually...
Anyway, I think I'd like the doserless Rocky better as well. That said, the introduction of the doserless model might also be a great way for people who hesitate to spend 250 bucks on a coffee grinder to get a good deal on a used doser Rocky as people trade up.
Oh yea... and I call dibs on trying any warm coffee pudding dessert you come up with.
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by utilizing drug use as the off-work behaviour which, as you said, is "not impacting the cook's work right now, but the chef can reasonably predict that it will become a problem later", you focus on a behaviour which inherently carries with it a moral highground flavor - you can add to that the negative social connotations
Well, you and I will just have to part ways on that interpretation. It sounds like you're saying that someone cannot mention that certain behaviors can predictably lead to on-the-job problems without hypocritically invoking the moral high ground.
As it so happens, there are mayn "good" behaviors that can also lead to a decrease in job performance, depending on the business. For example, in my business, aspiring opera singers who are committed to starting a big family most often find themselves in a place where the requirement to earn money to support that family (which means a 9-5 day job in today's arts economy), the desire to spend time with that family and things like missing out on sleep to care for colicky babies lead to a decrease in the kind of maintenance work, travel and physical condition that are necessary to attain and maintain a high level of performing. So, here we have off-work behaviors that are certainly "good" in anyone's book (starting, supporting and spending time with a family) but which still predictably lead to certain on-the-job problems.
as to employer's responsibilities, as malachi mentioned in his last post, management skills are responsible for dealing humanely and in the interest's of your employees. through mutual respect and honesty, you can avoid the need for strict and intrusive legislation.Oh, of course. In a perfect world we'd all have good managers who were capable of handling these circumstances humanely and with skill.
Anyway, I'll have to go back and read my previous posts, but I don't think I was calling for any legislation.
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slkinsey, oh I take the lid off as well, and do much the same thing, but then you still have to click, click, click, click, click to get that around to the front, right? All those extra clicks irk me. And two cavities worth--sliced off by that little silver tab--is way less than 17 g--at least on my machine, because I weigh the empty portafilter before and after to the gram. Each pull of mine on the Rocky is 5-6 grams.
What I do is this: 1. open the doser chamber. 2. start the grinder. 3. when the first cavity is filled to "heaping," advance one click. 4. fill second chamber to "heaping" and turn off grinder. 5. Click the doser lever until all the coffee in the doser chamber has been swept into my portafilter. This is the amount of coffee that I have determined will fill my filterbasket all the way to the top, with a little bit extra above the rim. Sometimes a little extra spills over the portafilter onto the base. I do not consider this a major inconvenience.
Do you use a Silvia as well? I pull my doubles for 20 seconds and get 2 ounces or do you aim for something else?I have calibrated mine to do do slightly less than 2 ounces (I prefer ristretto) in 23 seconds when I do a double shot. With my home-roasted coffee, this results in something akin to "warm coffee pudding" -- the crema is that thick.
I like sweeping a little off as well, smoothing with my finger, tamp, knock the edge, and re-tamp the small bit of loosened coffee lightly. This also doesn't address the inherent Rocky defect malachi mentioned which is the Rocky doesn't dose all of its grounds, stuff gets stuck in the corners and edges of each compartment, gets stale without very diligent brushing and sweeping and cleaning.I do more or less the same thing: sweep/level, tamp, knock, re-tamp. To be honest, I am not terribly concerned about the possibility of .1% stale grinds that may come from what remains in my grinder. I have not been able to detect any difference in the espresso made from 100% "new" grinds or with this miniscule precentage of "old" grinds included.
From reading your response, there is also a small chance you are not achieving what the "experts" might say is the ideal grind and amount and tamp for your machine--at a given portion size and time--if you are getting good results with less coffee. I mean, you might be able to get even better results. That was convoluted--but you know what I mean, right? Have you stepped down (grooved) your Rocky to the right setting for you, which is variable (as malachi said with different beans age and humidity) and then done the whole espresso machine process verifying initial weight, grind, tamp, temp, 20-25 second length of pull, 2 oz result they recommend you go through, to determine that your grind setting is actually correct?I think you misconstrued my earlier post. If anything I push the upper limit on the amount of coffee I use for each shot. I constantly have to resist the temptation to overfill the filter basket. Also, because I am a home roaster, I have even that much more control over the flow rate. I have found that different brands/ages of coffee will extract at different rates for the same grind calibration. Even for my home roasted coffee, I find that I like to adjust the grind one click finer when the coffee gets to be about a week old.
You probably have. If so, am I also reading you correctly--your method is: keep an empty doser chamber, grind what looks like it would be two heaping cavities worth--this falls into one cavity under the chute and then spills left and right--then stop grinding and then click click click all the way around which would take like 10 or 12 clicks total and like two complete revolutions, no?Something like that, yes. See above. I have also been known to simply run the grinder and go into "continuous click mode" keeping my eye on the portafilter and stopping the grinder when it becomes full.
I don't know, but it strikes me that making a big deal out of having to click the doser lever a few extra times and the potential for <1% "old" grinds in each shot is making a mountain out of a molehill. I mean, if I were to buy a new Rocky today I'd buy the doserless model. But I certainly don't consider the doser model to be seriously flawed as a result of having a doser. It's still a great product and a great value.
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Are there any decent inexpensive models, or is it necessary to pay $500+?
No, there aren't any. And yes, it is necessary. IMO.
This is especially true if you are asking about the cost of a machine and a grinder. A high quality grinder is absolutely essential to getting your money's worth in performance from the machine. Espresso is a machine-based food, and the quality of the machine does directly influence the quality of the product. This makes espresso fundamentally different from most other kinds of food, where a talented cook can produce great quality even with crappy pots and pans.
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I haven't used that one, Russ, but I can tell you one thing I don't like about the Rocky--each time you put the portafilter under and click the doser lever--you get a pre-set amount of ground coffee. You cannot adjust it, you cannot see it, you can just click and click.
Hmmm... When I am using my Rocky, I always take the lid off of the empty doser chamber so I can look into it as I am grinding. Then I grind only enough coffee for the shot I am about to run. I have learned that this equals around two "heaping" doser slots for my double basket. YMMV, but that amount works fine for me. I like to have just a little more than I need so I can sweep the excess off the portafilter with my finger and make everything level before tamping. Anyway, after grinding into the doser, I simply pull the lever multiple times to sweep all the grinds out of the doser chamber and into the portafilter. You only get a "preset amount of coffee from the doser if you fill the doser chamber.
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I'm not sure it is a matter of being that fucked up on the job now... it's a matter of knowing that certain kinds of behavior (paranoia, violence, debilitating gastrointestinal issues, whatever) can be expected eventually from a person who habitually uses a particular drug. And the fact that it is not always easy to predict when those behaviors will be manifested. For example, you can certainly have a habitual cocaine user who is coping relatively well in the workplace and who suddenly goes apeshit with relatively little warning.
slkinsey - the only reason you are able to, at best, continue this argument, is beacuse drugs are illegal, thus masquerading its harm in a ficticious moral highground.
I was not taking any moral high ground whatsoever. I was raising a hypothetical point of discussion.
And, I would like to point out that, if someone who is using a drug off-hours does so in such a way that they are totally in control in the workplace, the employer will never know.
I was speaking more to the hypothetical situation where the chef notices that an employee has been doing a lot of speed. It's not necessarily impacting the cook's work right now, but the chef has seen the road down which most people who become addicted to this substance travel and can reasonably predict that the cook may become dangerous or dangerously impaired -- perhaps with little warning -- in what is already a fairly dangerous workplace. Or, to make another example, the chef notices that one of his/her staff has started shooting heroin. It's not impacting the cook's work right now, but the chef can reasonably predict that it will become a problem later. Or whatever. Etc. Etc. Etc.
So, what I'm asking is what do we do when we have a situation where an employer/supervisor becomes aware of a situation where an employee/supervisee is engaging in certain kinds of off-hours behavior. It follows that the employee is engaging in this behavior to an extent that the fact of the off-hours behavior has become noticable to the employer in the workplace. This could include anything from being hung over to track marks on the arms to facial bruises from fight club to muscles from spending time in the gym -- whatever. At this point we are assuming that the employee's work product is acceptable. So, the employer has to ask him/herself, "is this off-hours behavior I have noticed something that is likely to impact that employee's work performance in the future?" Some of the off-hours behavior will probably have no predictable impact whatsoever. Some might be good. In the case of the habitual abuse of certain drugs, the answer is inevitably yes. So, the next question the employer has to ask if he/she determines that the off-hours behavior will predictably have a negative impact on future work performance is, "do I do something about it now, or wait until the work performance starts to fall off and then try to do something about it, or do I wait until there is some big fuckup and fire the guy?"
And that's really the question, isn't it? I mean, no one here seems to be arguing that it isn't okay for the chef to shitcan a staff member the very first day he shows up late due to a hangover or fucks up an order due to being wired on speed. So the question is what kinds of rights and responsibilities should an employer have in stepping in before something like that hapens?
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Oh man, look at that one. It looks deliiiiiiiiiiiiiicious!
Sorry... couldn't help it.
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I don't like to be lectured about how to behave at dinner parties. That kind of writing really turns me off. Joyce Goldstein used to have a horrible column in the SF paper where she would lecture people on how to behave in a restaurant, etc.
oooooookaaaaaaay... So, you're saying what exactly? That you are going to act the way you want to act at a dinner party, hosts' hard work and feelings be damned, and no one is going to tell you differently? Or that you don't care for that kind of writing, in which case I would point out that no one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to read it.
The evidence indicates, by the way, that a lot of people could benefit from this kind of advice... eGulleteers excepted, of course.
Do any of you find it interesting that people just don't seem to entertain all that often any more? We entertain all the time, and I gather that the same is true for many of the readers here, but very few of my friends and associates do. This is not to say that I expect reciprocation, but I find it extremely interesting that many people who clearly enjoy and apreciate this kind of activity nevertheless can't be stirred to do it themselves.
Speaking of dinner party behavior... we throw a very lavish and multi-course Thanksgiving dinner every year, for which we send out formal invitations which are RSVP-ed. One year, a couple we had invited and who had just days earlier expressed to us how much they were looking forward to joining us never showed up and never even called to apologize. Apparently they had tired themselves out apartment hunting during the day and decided to rest at home instead of having dinner with us and our other guests. Needless to say, we have never invited them to anything at our home ever again.
An Englishman In New York
in New York: Dining
Posted
Why not try Brewsky's on East 7th Street?
OK prices. Dive atmosphere. Huge selection. Beer only.