JosephB

Sam, don't forget to disconnect the smoke alarm before you fire the steak.

I was told by the thai waitress at Sripraphai that nam prik is also eaten with rice. One of the nam priks they have is called noom, which is from northeastern thailand, and is considered painfully hot.

I was at Sripraphai last night with two friends from Shanghai and Beijing. I thought last night's meal was particularly outstanding, and extremely fresh. I think Thursday is a good day to go because it's like the beginning of the week for this restaurant. We arrived at 6:30, a good hour before the placed got crowded, which I prefer. I had plenty of time to chat up the very friendly waitress about the goodies in the fridge. We had the crispy pork as well, and I noted that it was crispier than the other times that I had it, though some pieces were more chewy than crispy, like pork jerky. Anyway, my friend from Shanghai was especially fond of this dish. Before we left, my friend bought a large bag of goodies from the fridge. This was the first time that I didn't drink beer at Sripraphai. I turned instead to the coconut juice, which I loved, and works much better at taming the heat.

The good news is that Sripraphai got a wine and beer license 2 days ago. The bad news is that Sripraphai got a wine and beer license.

I plan to try Fresh Direct for the first time this summer when they begin delivering to the Hamptons. When we're out there on busy weekends, I want to save my market time for liesurely visits to the chicken farm, produce farmstands, and local fish purveyors. I hope it works out for us.

Apparently, Zabb, a new Thai place (Northestern style) up the road from Sripraphai, is all the rage among Thai people. This is what I’m hearing from the folks at the Bangkok Grocery and a Thai friend. Has anyone tried this place yet?

Is there a line before noon and after 2:00 pm?

Taqueria di Mexico on Greenwich iAve. in the W. Village has always made excellent tacos with pork in pumpkin seed sauce. What's really stupid, however, is that they now offer them only for takeout. I complained when I was there the other day, and they served the tacos to me in the dining room. They were delicious.

I walked by this place the other day and thought to try it soon. The chef is reported to have come from Mercer Kitchen (Jean Georges Vongrichten).

Trust me, it was superb. And I don't mean superb for the price.

I also highly recommend Taro.

I hope to get some of the 2004 crop DOP this weekend to compare to the 2003 crop and non-DOP San Marzano supply I have. Yes, the pomodorini del Vesuvio that doc prepared at his home were extraordinary, and best left unadorned.

Real Estate Weekly reports that the Sur La Tabla, the Seatlle-based culinary retailer, has signed a lease for 10,000 sq. ft of space at 75 Spring Street. This will be Sur La Table's first store in Manhattan.

As a City boy, I would find it more appetizing to look at photos of the meat dressed and finished on the plate. Did you have to pick any feathers out of your teeth?

I've been to Joe's Pub numerous times, and have always found the food to be good, and well-priced. I drink beer there.

The new quarterly issue of the Art of Eating features an article by Mitchell Davis, an adjunct at NYU, which is essentially one man's "best of" list. Many of my favorite places are on the list, including Chambers Street Wines, and several of the Chelsea Market shops, though omission of the Lobster Place fish market is a grevious oversight. The article is certainly worth reading.

The new Cooks Illustrated has a piece on the difference between Dutch process and natural, and concluded to its suprise that there is no difference in the two cocoas when used for baking. The authors expected that the more alkaline Dutch process could not be substituted for natural cocoa, and visa versa. They found that it made no difference. They also found that Dutch process always tasted better.

Hey, that was my idea!

Great job guys. Looks fab!

Sam, you've done an impressive job so far. Good luck executing today.

Uh, Sam, there's something missing in these photos.

Oh, I thought you were going for that effect. Great stuff. Welcome home.

Doc, I'm glad to hear that things are going along as billed.

I was in Garden of Eden, an upscale maket in NYC, today and saw that that they carried Ronzoni Traditional. The box describes it as having a rougher texture to better absord sauce, etc. I forgot to note the price.

I just looked at my Setaro collection from Buon Italia. The expiration dates go out to 2007. Indeed, I've gotten nothing but high quality, fresh products from Buon Italia, including coffee, oils, cured meats, cheeses, and other dry goods. Are you prepared to substantiate your statement? I think that would be wise.