scottie

I'll post in the Southeast Forum next week about cooking one of these hogs at the Hillsborough Hog Day festival in Hillsborough, NC. There are a growing number of folks around here who are as committed as Ed Mitchell is to "Good Pigs." I'm bummed to be missing the BABBQ- I'm moving to NYC in just 2 weeks!-but I'm thrilled to get in one last good old-fashioned pig pickin' before leaving NC.

Ooh, ooh, please let us know! Where do the FTV guys eat when they can expense it? And is it good? And are you going to get a chance to visit the Big Apple BBQ in Madison Square Park this weekend? Mucho congrats on the show!!!

Gotta say, the Cape Cod potato chips down at the corner Stab n' Grab get me every time. Beachside Barbecue, why do you torture me so?

Oh why did you have to raise my hopes up like that, and dash them with the last sentence. You know youre into food when you seriously consider learning a language, even for only a second, to read a book. ← Especially when you go so far as to buy a French-English dictionary.

Ate at Milltown for lunch today. It was pretty good. My roommate had the burger- nice and juicy, medium rare- and I had the fish tacos, they were tasty but could have used more spice. Also, we drank beer. Quite a beer selection they got going on over there. As for veggie options, they have a risotto and a lasagna for entrees, as well as salads, frites and bruschetta for other snacks. Decent enough, I might go back, I think Carrboro might be ready for a hangout other than the Spotted Dog, Tyler's or the OCSC. Love the concept of the "Carrboro elite," btw. Are those the ones whose Volvos are pre-1985?

although they may be trying to be doing something right, the 3 times i've been there its been off. the menus we were served may have been an attempt of being cretive. the food was bland, cold and the service ws lacking ← I think I might have been overly enthusiastic about the state of things at the Shenandoah Club. I've been pleasantly surprised by the food at parties they have catered over the past couple of years, but I really don't know as much as I think I claimed to in the above posting. I do believe "that they may be trying to be doing something right," as you said, but the same can be said of Metro- not necessarily with consistent results, in either case. I'm sorry to hear about your disappointing meals there. Just when I thought someone was actually trying to do something in the Noke, you know?

Wow. This compilation is a great resource. Thanks, Greg! I have a question, though. Where do you draw the line between domestic-type magazines that are worthy of the "civilian" list "(e.g., Every Day with Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart Living), and other, similarly domestic + food publications that haven't made the list (e.g. Southern Living, Real Simple)? Do these latter just not have enough food content? I suppose if you included them, then you'd have to start including stuff like Better Homes and Gardens, and then that would open a whole can of supermarket-checkout-lane domestic publications. Just wondering what the criteria is, exactly.

Check it: These folks are in North Carolina. They have successfully propagated black Perigord truffles, using inoculated hazelnut trees. And they train truffle dogs! Garland Truffles "Harvest season is mid November through mid March. Specially trained dogs are used for harvesting the truffles. We offer dog training service, as well as all technical consultation services associated with cultivation. For a free brochure, or an instructional booklet ($15 includes s&h), please contact Garland Gourmet Mushrooms & Truffles, Inc. at one of the following: 3020 Ode Turner Road Hillsborough, NC 27278 Phone: 919.732-3041 Fax: 919.732.6037 Email: truffles@garlandtruffles.com"

My most embarrassing restaurant moments have usually involved family members telling waitstaff, loudly, how to do their jobs. God, this is mortifying. The worst was once when my mother, who has never had a service industry job in her life, decided to order a dish that consisted mainly of green peppers, without the peppers. Needless to say, she was quite disappointed with the resulting plate of rice. Yes, the restaurant should have either subbed another vegetable, or charged less, rather than sending out a $15 plate of rice. But I had a hard time thinking it was anyone's fault but Mom's when she began a lengthy, and loud, lecture to the server by saying, "Now, let me tell you something about being a waitress." My brother and I tried very hard to be invisible and disappear into our chairs.

How French. I certainly hope that my favorite restaurants in Sarasota decide against allowing the practice. A well-trained dog, however, is preferable to a badly-trained child. edited to remove offensive OT bits

A little OT, but I've been wanting to try tripe, yet it seems to me to be the sort of thing one would eat in colder weather- you know, long-braised comfort food. I'm too chicken to try cold tripe for my first experience with it. Especially since you mention the unbearable heat later in your thread, I must ask: Did you find that the tripe dish you had was suited to the current weather? Did it seem too heavy? I'm glad this thread got bumped up, I'd never heard of the place but it sounds like food I'd enjoy.

You know, I am so tired of soup as an amuse. It's too easy. Everywhere I go lately, seems like the amuse is always some variation on soup. Boring! The best amuse I've had in the past year was at the Modern. It was a three-parter: a little cube of swordfish ceviche perched atop a tiny fork, a shot glass of rhubarb bellini, and one small bite of something else that I have entirely forgotten. It was different, creative, and beautifully presented. Yes, the easy liquid element was there, but the rhubarb juice "bellini" was very tasty and refreshing. Perfect for summer.

BAW, and others, thanks for your report. The meal sounds a little heavy on the grapefruit. Did it feel that way? What was the caramel water like? Watery? Syrupy? I'm having trouble imagining this. Did you try the foie gras mayo? I wonder how it's made. I have to make avocado mayo for our fanciest app, and it's just a vacuum-packed avocado mashed up with Sysco "extra heavy duty" mayo. I would hate for that to happen to foie gras. Ideally, I'd want the mayo to be house-made fresh daily; it wouldn't be too different labor-wise from making h-daise or whipping cream, both of which I do every day. But then, would the foie be seared and then blended with it? Hmm. That could be good. I wonder how the fat would affect the emulsion. It doesn't sound like something you could hold for very long. How did you know the strawberries were torched, rather than grilled? Sounds like you could witness it being done. Do you think the flavor would be better if grilled? I look forward to dining here, it would be a perfect after-work light dinner that my BF and I could stroll to on our way to the Sidewalk Cafe.

This area is a wonderful place to live! I really love it here. But don't waste your money at Jujube, they are watering down Asian food for a timid audience, IMHO. The best dim sum is at that place on Guess Rd., like nibbs said. Can't tell ya about Chinese food so much, but if you like Vietnamese food, I can tell you that I really like Lime and Basil on Franklin St. in Chapel Hill. It's not the most authentic, but it reminds me the most of the delicious Vietnamese lunch places I used to frequent in New Orleans. More expensive, though. Check out Crook's Corner, for Southern cuisine. My favorite restaurants in town are Elaine's on Franklin, Lantern, and Acme. Good luck with it all, this is really a great place to live!

Oh, Roanoke! Gifted Gourmet is right. Alexander's has the best food in town these days, and has had for awhile. They are open for lunch on Wednesdays, but you will have to fight my Daddy to get a spot. Bistro M died and became Thai food. Twice. I think the current incarnation is called "Thai Restaurant." If you crave spicy ethnic food of an Eastern bent, I would recommend either Swagat's or Nawab, both of which are Indian and are fairly passable. Metro pretty much stinks, though the lunches might be worth it. They have an idea of what dining ought to be, but they fall so far short of it that it's frustrating for anyone who's travelled as far out as D.C. I can't say from personal experience anything about Dolce. Awful Arthur's = crap bar scene. Arzu has acceptable "Mediterranean" stuff, slightly upscale, but I haven't been in a few years, so I don't know how it is these days. My Daddy has good things to say about Fork in the Alley, which is on Crystal Spring Ave. in SW Roanoke, by the 7-11 near the fire station, plus they have a more formal restaurant called Spoon. I have not eaten at either place, but my dad has travelled and I trust his opinion. Carlos is just fine, it's mostly pasta. Tudor's Biscuit World is a sure bet, for what they got, I can tell you! Still no good Vietnamese food. Everyone I know in Roanoke who appreciates good food says Frankie Rowland's is pretty darn good, but they complain about the price. If you know anyone who's a member of the Shenandoah Club, that's where you'll find the best food in Roanoke these days. It used to be all ossified local cuisine like spoonbread, ham biscuits and peanut soup ( not that there's anything wrong with that), but what they're doing there now is fairly impressive for a regional members' only club. The current director is even trying to organize Slow Foods trips to Italy. The best thing Roanoke has going for it is the fresh produce from the farmers' market. The food scene has come a long way, but it still has far to go. edited for boldface

I love to cook Indian food, but I find that I just don't want to cook it in the summer. Seems like more of a wintertime thing to me. Which is weird, because of course India contains large geographic areas which are quite warm. I think maybe I'm cooking mostly northern Indian foods, like thick curries, but even southern Indian foods, like dosas and coconut milk-based sauces, are just too much for me in the summertime. Vietnamese food is my favorite summertime fare. That and plain fresh vegetables from the farmers' market, especially cucumbers and goat cheese. Yum!

I think it absolutely matters who owns what. The big corporations are ultimately interested in profit and the bottom line. When a smaller company gets bought out, for whatever reason, by a mega-corporation like Dean, the quality of their original product(s) inevitably declines, as well as the integrity that was behind that product. Thus the misleading packaging on such products as Horizon milk, which looks all nice and bucolic, but actually is about the most watered-down version of "organic" you can get in this country. Which is a major problem with megacorporations owning the most prevalent "organic" or "healthy" brands- agribusiness has the money to send lobbyists to Washington to pressure lawmakers into watering down the definition of "organic" until it's practically meaningless. Not only that, but some of these companies, especially Dean, are reticent about their labor practices. And then, when you someone with an interest in Monsanto on the board of one of these megacompanies, the integrity of the whole industry is called into question. Especially when you see how much money Monsanto-related people contributed to the political campaigns of certain members of the current regime. The more you research it, the scarier and more convoluted it becomes. The bottom line here is greed. Greedy big business is not good for the American people. It is especially not good for our health or for the safety of our food supply. This issue is similar to asking who controls the media and the information and disinformation we are fed by them. Would we be so naive about that? Watch "The Future of Food", a documentary by Deborah Koons Garcia. It delves the depths of these issues. I get really riled about this stuff. I used to manage the coupon redemption for the local cooperative grocery, and it was really eye-opening to see those checks come back from ConAgra or similar agribusiness corporations. If you think this stuff doesn't matter, just ask the farmers. I'm fortunate to live in an area that is on the cutting edge of sustainable agriculture. These guys could tell you a scary thing or two about the current state of who owns what in the food world. It is not something to be flip about; it is our future as a species that is at stake here.

Of course, you want to be careful about the oxalic acid content. Just thought I'd mention it since no one else has. I wonder if sorrel would be good in a savory cheesecake?

I checked out the menu the other day and I recall seeing one or two vegetarian options. This is Carrboro, after all! Let us know how your meal goes.

Abra, when will your lardo be ready? I have a nice chunk of fatback from a local farmer, and am considering the lardo cure. It will be my second attempt at anything out of the book, after today's Pate Grandmere is all done. I don't have any pink salt, nor have I got a good hanging set-up. But I figured I could just leave the fat to dry in the fridge instead of hanging it, and that way I wouldn't need the preservative/ antibacterial properties of the nitrite. I talked to a guy at the farmer's market yesterday, and he said all he does for his salt-cured fatback is rub it with salt, wrap it in plastic and leave it in the fridge for three weeks or so, until it feels right. Talk about easy! So I figure I can modify the lardo cure in a similar way. Maybe it will take longer to dry in the fridge. Any thoughts?

At the Union Square Hospitality Group restaurant where I did my internship last year, the recent culinary grads were making about $9.50. E.g., one guy had been there for about 6 months, was cooking for the casual side (you know how the USHG places generally have a more casual bar area menu, then the fancier dining-room menu), and was making $9.50. His gf was a pastry cook and made the same amount. The line guys were making closer to $12 and the sous chefs were making about $17, I think. USHG is fairly strict about overtime. They don't like people to work more than 45 hours a week, but the butcher at this place was working 80 hours, so he was making fat overtime. He was an exception, though. USHG is a good company to work for, despite the low pay, because of the benefits and health insurance. Plus their standards, commitment to quality, and care for the employees are all exceptional. East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is cheap and easy to commute to downtown Manhattan from. Good luck, lesanglierrouge. It will be tough but it will be worth it- I'm moving back to NYC because that's where everything happens in this industry.

No matter how you feel about the state of the food these days over at Mama Dip's, you can't deny that Ms. Council and her daughters have been vital members of our community and strong advocates for the improvement of community relations. Which, as I read it, is the point of Ms. Chavis' article. Mama Dip and co. have been instrumental in organizing the Carrboro Community Dinner for the past nine years. It has become a model for towns all across America who wish to reinforce their shared feeling of community through sharing a meal together. I think that's really wonderful. Bill Smith, the chef at Crook's Corner, is also highly visible in the community (riding his bike around town makes him really visible), as well as an active member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, most recently visiting New Orleans with a group of chefs and other SFA members to help rebuild restaurants that were damaged by Katrina:rebuilding nola All of this makes me feel really lucky to live here and enjoy being a part of this wonderful place where people make an effort to overcome and understand differences in order to celebrate our shared culture and community. Okay, that's getting sappy, especially in light of the recent scandals over at Duke, but anyway. Thank you, Shaun, for your enlightening article. I hope to see more on this subject- it is a continuing dialogue.

Just think of how absolutely delicious and tender it will be. One of my best meals of 2005 was a whole roasted rabbit, wrapped in bacon and stuffed with herbs and shallots. Oh, it was so good! And animals that reproduce that quickly are supposed to be prey species.

Oh...my...God!!! I have got to try this place the next time I'm in NYC. The website made my mouth water. Wow. I can barely even think through hazy visions of moist pork jerky....mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....