slkinsey

Re raspberry and other small seeds: Just muddle the raspberries in the mixing tin, shake and then double-strain (use a Hawthorn strainer on top of the tin and also pour through a small extra-fine sieve on the way to the glass). This will hold back any seeds, etc.

It is also fairly easy at places like Whole Foods to buy superfine-grind cane sugar (usually sold as "dehydrated cane juice" or something like that).

What you are talking about is superfine sugar. You should be able to find superfine sugar in most any grocery store. Most commonly it comes in a box that looks like this. You can, however, put regular granulated sugar into a food processor and reduce the grain size if you like.

Sigh... I spelled the name of the cocktail (and the antibiotic) incorrectly, of course. The Penicillin Cocktail

I realize this is an overly broad generalization, but does anyone else notice that there seems to be a group late 20/early 30-somethings who have, for all intents and purposes, never been anywhere but the various Momofuku restaurants and yet think they know better than people who have been exploring cuisine/restaurants for decades?

The first White Castle opened in Wichita, Kansas in 1921. The White Mana building was constructed as a diner for the 1939 World's Fair in Queens, and was moved to Jersey City (or Hackensack, depending on who you believe) in 1946. It's not clear that it originally served sliders, and I think it is unlikely that it did (the sign says, "hamburgers since 1946").

As others have pointed out, these are iconoclastic highballs he's making there. A typical highball would be something like 1.5 ounces of spirit in a 9 ounce glass with ice and a fill-up of lengthener to the tune of 4 ounces or so. And I should point out that these wouldn't necessarily be crap drinks, either. This is a fairly classic ratio. In contrast, db_campbell's version would be around 3 ounces of spirit with 2 ounces of lengthener. It's no surprise that the quality and qualities of the spirit would be much more important in this kind of drink. It's also no surprise that a high proof, fairly dry (as these things go) bourbon with big flavors like Old Grand Dad would come through the strong, sweet flavors of Coca-Cola better than others. As a general rule of thumb, more intensely flavored and higher proof spirits (these often go hand-in-hand) do better in long drinks, because the flavors and alcohol are able to carry through. And it stands to reason that a dryer spirit would do better than a sweeter one when it is being combined with lengthener as sweet as Coca-Cola. This is not usually an issue with most spirits (no brand of gin is going to make one G&T appreciable sweeter than another), but bourbons can be quite sweet and often seem to potentiate sweet flavors around them. What's nice about db_campbell's results is that OGD 114 isn't terribly expensive.

Interestingly, this piece strikes me as a fairly interesting look into the ways that "scene" can inform our choices and affect our enjoyment of restaurants, and perhaps also change the way the restaurant cooks:

Interesting thought, Eric. But this only matters if there's something for the rinse or spritz to "live on," wouldn't you think? Seems to me that a glass rinsed with scotch and then filled up all the way with cocktail wouldn't be any different from the same cocktail prepared with the same amount of scotch dashed in to the mixing glass. Spritzes may be a little different, even in a full glass, because there is likely to be overspray that hits "dry" parts of the glass.

Building on this idea, I think that a rinse and a collar makes more sense for most "up" cocktails than a spritz. Citrus oils float on the surface, whereas booze floated or spritzed on top of an "up" drink will mix into the other liquid. When it is a rocks drink or an egg white drink or especially a crushed ice drink is when a float or spritz makes sense over a rinse.

In the case of Mr. Ueda, I don't believe there's anything ostensible about it. When one reads his description of the hard shake, it is fairly apparent that he believes he is crafting a better cocktail. Obviously, as is discussed here, these claims may ultimately be specious, but I don't believe his intent can be impugned on the issue. Don't be so quick to impute impugning to me. If I had meant Ueda specifically, I would have said Ueda specifically. That said, while I have no reason to question Mr. Ueda's sincerity, it has to be said that his writings amount mostly to nonscientific quasi-mystical claims that don't make much sense. To wit:

I agree that sushi knowledge in America lags far behind American understanding of other kinds of cuisine. However, don't think the same can be said for Italian food. I'm not saying that I think our understanding of Italian food is so great, mind you, but I don't think one could say that the general American restaurant-going public's understanding of Italian food is any worse than its understanding of French or Spanish or Greek or Chinese (etc.) food. Among the rarified few who patronize high-end neo-French restaurants, there is a better understanding of high-end neo-French cuisine, sure. But I wouldn't say that Americans understand the aesthetic of Provençal cooking any better than they do the aesthetic of Tuscan cooking. NB. On a higher level of understanding, of course, the usually useful characterization of Italian food as "choosing a few outstanding local ingredients, treating them simply and letting them speak for themselves" fails, because there are plenty of dishes and cuisines (Venetian cooking, for example, can involve lots of ingredients, herbs, spices, anc complicated techniques -- many of which are not local) in Italy that do not fit this mold.

All that is well and good, but the restaurants you went to may have had a slightly different demand. That's quite possibly true. (really, I'm sure it is) Still, I just have it stuck in my head that a bar's primary purpose is for drinking. Anyway, it's an interesting policy. Is it unique to Batali joints? Something common in NYC? In many NYC restaurants that have a bar, the bar isn't really for drinking. Rather, it's a way to squeeze in more seating while still providing room for the beverage staff to pour glasses of wine and mix the occasional drink. That said, I strongly disagree with the practice of kicking someone out of a bar stool they already occupy if they're having a glass of wine. I would strongly resist such an attempt unless the restaurant made a truly oustanding effort to "make it right" with me. I wouldn't mind shifting seats, of course, or even being asked nicely if I wouldn't mind standing, provided that meant I still had a spot at the bar. But, depending on how it was handled by the restaurant (one hopes that places like Lupa have become adept at asking drinkers to move for eaters), I also wouldn't be above thanking them for the free wine I was now not going to pay for, and leaving.

I would suggest that the Americanization of sushi culture that was happening (and largely spearheaded by Blue Ribbon) around that time is precisely why it offered the opportunity for deeper analysis and contextualization. And Reichl could be good at that sort of thing, no doubt. Today, of course, when one can buy fresh tuna maki in suburban Kansas supermarkets, it's less of an opportunity. I'm curious... what do we think is happening in NYC restaurant culture today that is crying out for this kind of treatment? One that I can think of is that seems to have grown recently is the radically increased importance of designer-outfitted waitstaff and high-design rooms that are sweeping and grand in a "hip" kind of way. This is, needless to say, is something that Bruni reflects in his review, although I think some of these places that are operating more on room than food offer the opportunity to explore this phenomenon more deeply in a review that has, thus far, not happened. There's the whole so-called (largely by a few of us) "new paradigm" phenomenon. What else? Here, I absolutely disagree. She starts off with the meme that "Italian cooking starts with great raw materials and allows them to speak for themselves," makes a ridiculous strawman comparison to American chefs ruining this aesthetic by making "spaghetti with bananas," and then completely fails to contextualize and frame her review of Da Silvano by referring back to this setup -- and there were plenty of opportunities for her to note how Da Silvano's dishes reflected this aesthetic in contrast to examples of overwrought iterations from other restaurants with less italianità. Instead, it seems like she's trying to inflate her own cred by making darn sure the readers know she's been to Italy. The Blue Ribbon Sushi review, in contrast, is entirely framed by her opening concept that, "as Americans adopted sushi, we adapted it as well, discarding those parts of the traditional rituals that made us uncomfortable." The Blue Ribbon Sushi review is many times more successful than the Da Silvano one.

Temperature is easy to evaluate. As is dilution. And froth on the top of the drink. And amount of ice shards (simply double strain). Integration/balance and mouthfeel are subjective criteria and therefore less easy to compare, of course. I've been meaning to do a temperature comparison as soon as a high-accuracy Thermopen rises to the top of my priority list. The one time I compared temperatures side by side, it was with a relative newcomer to the Hard Shake technique and we used the same amount of ice. Mine was a little colder, as I recall. Some day, I'd like to compare, say, Eben doing the Hard Shake with his shaker and the amount of ice he likes to use versus, say, Phil with a metal-on-metal shaker and the amount of ice he likes to use.

I love a good bit of frippery every so often. I just object when it becomes a significant part of the show, and especially if it interferes with the quality of my drink. If someone wants to twirl the mixing tin, or if anyone ever figures out how to toss a foaming arch of booze and crushed ice between two mixing tins over their head old old school style, I'm all for it -- so long as I get a good drink. What I think is interesting is the difference in our perspective on a lot of these Japanese bartending embelishments compared to our perspective on Vegas-style flair bartending. Vegas-style flair, with its juggled bottles and the like, is clearly understood by most of us as showy flim-flammery. Most cocktailians understand that this show doesn't contribute to the quality of the cocktail, and indeed is most often negatively associated with quality cocktails because the flair bartender is presumed to have different priorities. Japanese techniques, on the other hand, are all ostensibly aimed towards creating a better cocktail. And, because it's Japanese and has a certain mythology associated with it, many of us take as accepted fact that things like the Hard Shake produce a colder, more emulsified cocktail.

It's worthy of note that Eben Freeman, currently the mastermind bartender at Tailor, has meen a major source of Hard Shake information in the media. In particular, there is a video where he discusses and demonstrates the technique here. And further discussion here.

Interesting video, John. The bartenders movements are so languid, stylized and choreographed that it's almost prissy. He also doesn't seem to shake the drink very long, fast or hard considering the fact that he makes 5 drinks worth of cocktail all in one shaker. I'm going to take the contrarian position and say that I think the Hard Shake is 90% bullcrap. I dispute that it's possible to make the drink any colder or more well emulsified using a Hard Shake than one could do shaking hard using a standard technique. Actually, if I can use the equipment I want (all-metal Boston shaker) and the amount and kind of ice I want (1 piece "big ice" and the rest of the shaker filled with Kold-Draft) I think I can get most any drink colder than is possible with the Hard Shake. I even think I could beat the Hard Shake's supposed advantage of producing copious ice shards. Personally, I think ice shards are a defect and tend to double-strain them out, but I usually have a tablespoon or more of slush in my strainer if I've really been shaking hard. What the hard shake is good for, in my opinion: leaving rounded-off ice cubes behind in the shaker. It seems to me that Japanese bartending techniques do tend to be somewhat heavy on non-functional frippery. That whole bit of carefully placing two cubes in each room temperature glass, where there is minimal contact for thermal exchange, then swirling each cube in the glass with a a special flourish before dumping the ice, carefully drying each glass and proceeding to let the glassware sit on the bar for several minutes while the Hard Shake proceeds... Well, it looks cool, there's no denying that. But I would be surprised if those glasses had any meaningful chill on them. Far more effective, if less "Japanese bartending-ish," would have been to fill the glasses with crushed ice and water, and then dump/shake-dry at the last second (more effective yet, of course, would have been storing them in a freezer or standing them on a cold plate). Chris: most people agree that the Hard Shake requires a cobbler shaker. That said, some people think a version of the Hard Shake might be accomplished with the right metal-on-metal Boston shaker. ETA: I want that stirring spoon.

Good point with respect to aromatics, Phil. Does this mean, in your opinion/experience, that the drink should be served in a glass with a significant "collar" between the level of the drink and the rim of the glass? This strip of "rinsed glass" would presumably be where the extra aromas come from, yes? Otherwise, it seems that rinsing the glass is really just a way of getting a very small amount of the rinse ingredient into the drink. This thought has always informed my practice in making Sazeracs, which I like to serve in a glass large enough to have anm inch or two of exposed absinthe-rinsed glass above the level of the drink. Another great way to aromatize a cocktail is with a float or a spritz onto the surface of the drink. The iteration of Sammy's Penecillin cocktail I tried at Flatiron a while back was spritzed with a heavy peat scotch.

Alexis, as stated: If you're going to Fairway and want Greek-style yogurt, buy Kesso. They always have some in stock.

Oolong, how did your English friends get the sloe berries to you?

Lest my remarks be misinterpreted, I should point out that I am not contending that Bruni is a better reviewer than Reichl, or has more overall food and restaurant knowledge than Reichl did when she was the reviewer. I merely dispute the contentions that he doesn't/hasn't evidenced a good understanding of Italian cuisine and restaurant culture, and as a lesser matter, that the example Reichl review of Da Silvano, or her NYT reviewing work as a whole, demonstrate that she was better informed in this area.

I don't consider myself a Bruni supporter by any means. I have simply disputed the assertion that he doesn't have any knowledge when it comes to Italian cuisine. I'll also add that the one thing I have been grateful to Bruni for is the way he has broken the hegemony of the Francophile model when it comes to evaluating restaurants.

Interesting. I've never thought of baking with straight pastry flour. One way for home or small batch bakers to use a higher protein flour and still get an uneven crumb with large holes is to adopt a no-knead technique.

This is the only method I use now, and it's absolutely incredible. It's my go to dish for company or just me. I swear, I've been known to eat close to the whole thing standing up at the counter... I've turned a number of friends onto this method as well and they all swear by it too. Absolutely. I've turned what could have been an awkward weekend with the girlfriend's parents into a much more comfortable occasion with Keller's Roast Chicken. Unfailingly delicious. I have to say... I have a hard time calling this "Keller's" roast chicken. His recipe consists of: truss 2-3 pound chicken, salt well, roast in preheated 450F oven until done, rest 15 minutes. This hardly seems like a "technique." The secret, in my opinion, is in the size of the chicken.