marie-louise
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Posts posted by marie-louise
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A few more thoughts:
Tile floors are very hard on your back (and whenever you drop something-you either chip a tile or shatter a dish.) I'd always heard tile floors were hard on your back, but intuitively it didn't seem like it would matter that much-until I had a kitchen with tile floors. I find them more uncomfortable than I could have imagined.
I'm torn about a surface & height for your island. On the one hand, having a big flat workspace is a godsend in any-sized kitchen; this is where you will do 90% of your prep work. On the other hand, a 42-inch high counter around the outside would hide any kitchen mess from the living room, and if I'm not mistaken, is the standard height for bar stool dining.
I don't usually like the look of granite, but I think it could work in an area open to a living room. I once owned a beach house with an open kitchen that had wood-edged white laminate counters & cabinets-but it was a very modern house w/ wood floors and a 180 degree view of the ocean-so the laminate worked. Otherwise, I think laminate could look a little too "kitchen-y" as a corner of your living room.
And this is a corner of your living room. Above all else, you have to remember that.
Do not be tempted to get a 30-inch deep fridge. It will look much, much better flush w/ the other cabinets.
I like glass-front cabinets, with nicely arranged glasses & dishes in them. I'd consider that for some of them. The simply insert glass in the flat panel, framed by the wood.
Deep drawers are good.
I'm a little troubled by all those narrow cabinets above the counter. I can see why it's designed like that-they line up w/ the cabinets below-but I'd think through what you own to make sure that you aren't losing a lot of space that way. The frame of each cabinet itself takes up a few inches, and if you have an inch or two on either side of what's in the cabinet, you've lost more space. In a 24-inch wide cabinet, you can tuck things in back and around plates (like ramekins, vases, sake glasses, and other little things.) I also like kitchens without upper cabinets everywhere. Think through how nice it would be to stand at the sink without a cabinet there, or what it would look like to have a big framed poster instead of a cabinet over the dishwasher. Do you have room in your dining area for a wall of 12-inch deep cabinets that could function as a "china cabinet"/ pantry? That would tie the design of your kitchen to the rest of the area, and give you a LOT of storage space. You could probably eliminate all of your upper cabinets in that case.
What kind of stove are you thinking about?
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I like
"My parents and bergerka's parents arriving Wednesday evening -- schedule 30 minutes to freak out with stress since they have never met before, despite the fact that we have been living together for something like 8 years. Think up something at the last minute to entertain them. Plan on getting drunk to deal with nerves."
God, it must have been more than 20 years ago our parents first met-the last one died in 1998-and I still remember the horror of it all like it was yesterday.
Alcohol will help. -
I think this looks like an ideal kitchen to me! Really-this kitchen will be lots of fun to work in. Good layout, open for hanging out w/ your friends-who cares if your cabinets aren't the most expensive. Once it is all done, chances are you will never remember that you could have spend ten times the amount on something. The important thing is that it's functional-and IKEA, GE appliances, laminate, and butcher block will get you there just as well as Sub-Zero, Viking and granite.
I've got to get dressed & get to work-I'll look at this more closely tonight. One thing that catches my eye is that microwave/ vent combo. People have made a lot of negative comments about those-the concensus is you are better off getting a proper vent & a cheaper, more powerful microwave as a stand-alone unit.
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Nice pictures! Thanks for sharing your experience. Again and again, people have similar experiencs with service at this restaurant.
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Tommy, I've grilled many turkeys. I prefer to do them in a charcoal Weber, but I've also done them on a gas grill. Indirect method either way. I butterfly mine & rub it every half hour w/ a a half a lime. Just like w/ a chicken in the oven, butterflying gets it done quickly, evenly, and ensures a nice crispy skin.
Timing (butterfiled) is about 1 1/2 hours for a 12 lb. whole turkey & 2 1/4 hours for an 18 lb. turkey. Be sure to trim off the excess fat around the edges of the turkey or it will flare badly.
Don't throw away the carcass after diiner. The carcass from this turkey, mixed w/ a few fresh turkey wings, makes incredible stock for soup. Slightly smoky, very flavorful.
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Those aren't my chairs. Normally, it's just the three of us eating in the kitchen. Any more than that and we move to the dining room, so I really don't need a table and chairs in there.
Too bad-those are cool chairs! I do like the red in there...
I didn't realize you had a dining room, too. Then it makes sense to ditch the table.
The range seems like a good idea. Since you already have an electric oven, maybe get all gas? Gas ovens have those nice ceramic broilers (the real name escapes me at the moment) and gas ovens heat faster, plus the heat is moister-good for roasting meat, I think. Plus they are usually cheaper. Viking makes a self-cleaning gas oven.
There's still that big empty space in the middle of your kitchen if you take away the table. How about a couple of overstuffed chairs or a sofa and a coffee table in there?
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As for the wine, I'll definitely be drinking. As others will tell you, my Scottish ancestry has endowed me with a remarkable capacity to tolerate alcohol without feeling the effects too strongly (perhaps high levels of alcohol dehydrogenase?). Since we will be giving small pours that are accompanied with plenty of food, I'm not worried about that.
I can cook while drinking, too. The only downside (at least for any guests who may still be hungry) is that I feel more like sitting & less like cooking as the evening wears on.When you get to the logistics, I'm curious as to how long it takes you to eat all these courses??? Do you go out for a walk in the middle or anything? Clear the plates & have everyone put their heds down on the table for a quick nap? It sounds like so much food-but all so wonderful that if I was one of your guests, I'd eat every single morsel. Speaking of which, didn't you post pictures of this meal last year? I'd love to see the link.
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Tell me more about your logistics. Who clears the table & pours the wine-one of the guests-or do you do that, then cook? Do you sit down and eat with them during each course? Do you have a written flowchart posted in the kitchen of what to serve next and all the steps/ ingredients for each course, or do you just remember? And do you drink wine during the course of the meal, or are you planning to stay sober?
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Kitchen preferences are so personal. I'd do very different things to your kitchen!
I know from your Entertaining Season Has Begun thread that you do lots of entertaining-so I suspect that there are circumstances when you need a second oven. But are you sure you need a 36-inch cooktop? How often do you really use six burners at once? You'd have to redo some of the cabinets to get a bigger hood-that seems like a big expense unless you really, really need six burners.
I love that table-especially one each of four colors of chairs. That's my favorite thing about your kitchen!!! No way I'd get rid of it. I'd take away those chairs at the breakfast bar-maybe replace them with a backless stool or two that slipped all the way under the counter for the occasional observer to perch-but make that into more of a primary workspace. Perhaps replace part of the counter [somewhere] w/ butcher block. I'd fill in the pedestals w/ cabinets and/or or your oven. That's a HUGE amount of wasted space under there. I'd put a second sink there and make that a cool round work space. But again, it's so personal. Obviously you prefer sitting on high stools rather than the table. Have both in there seems weird, so I can see why you want to take one of them out.
If you kept the round table in there, is there room for something under the windows? Since the windows are low, perhaps some window seats that would get you more storage while giving your friends more places to hang out in the kitchen. Window seats are great for party houses.
Because I'd be leaving the chairs, I'd fill your room with items in those four colors. I'd cover the window seats w/ a colorful print. Then I'd get a red Kitchen Aid and one of thsoe Francis Francis espresso machines... And finally, because I'd saved so much money by not getting a bigger stove
, I'd order a bunch of platters and large bowls from Luna Garcia in those colors. -
The Gourmet Cookbook (can't decide if I want the one available now with the controversial pale yellow typeface for the recipe titles, or the next printing which will be easier to read)
I'm waiting until they fix it, but I REALLY want this cookbook. (I have the original ones-it was one of the first presents my husband ever gave me. They're so old, they're embossed w/ my maiden name!)
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Don't tell marie-louise but I was planning to round off one countertop, and I don't have any arches in my bungalow...
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No, I think bungalow means the same thing out here. Here's an example of what I mean by obscene prices-a randomly selected sale from my favorite real estate agents: a cute little house on a nice street in a town w/ very good schools-but by no stretch of the imagination considered one of the most expensive neighborhoods. It sold for...
$778,000! -
Jon-I'll give you the same advice I gave babyluck: buy the book Bungalow Kitchens. They have great pictures in there of everything from original kitchens, what they refer to as obsessively restored ones, and finally, suggestions for ways to create a modern kitchen that "looks like it belongs."
You don't say where you live or what style of bungalow you have, but all over the SF Bay Area, people pay obscene amounts of money for these homes-especially the ones that have original details. I'm guessing your kitchen is the result of combining a breakfast nook or pantry with the original kitchen. while you might not want to or be able to restore it back to its original design, at least out here it would be a wise investment to install a kitchen and dining area that looked as if it belonged. For instance, not many bungalows have curves. Unless your house is a Spanish-style that has them elsewhere-arched doorways or coved ceilings-I would not round off the edges of your counters.
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I have a recipe for a reasonable facsimile of this dish, if anyone wants to try it at home. I haven't eaten at Thanh Long since it was a dumpy little joint w/ formica tables & cheap crab. I understand it is nice now-and expensive-but I'm glad to see the crab is still terrific.
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Setting aside the issue of homeowner's insurance for a moment-don't true commercial ranges put off a lot more heat due to less oven insulation and pilot lights that are always on rather than using electric ignition? For practical reasons alone, I'd keep on moving past the AGA and the commerical ranges-the last thing you need in a 5x7 NY kitchen is any appliance that gives off heat!
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No matter what dishwasher you buy, it is important to go to the store w/ a shopping bag full of your biggest plates, platters, sheetpans, pasta pot-whatever you are planning to put in there-and spend some time loading up the different models.
I was considering buying that 18-inch Miele. It costs more than the 24-inch (not much market for it, so no discounts) and nothing fit in it. It looked like something that belonged in an executive office suite for doing a set of lunch dishes. Same for those F-P drawers. Great idea in concept, but my everyday plates wouldn't fit, and neither would my frequently-used pasta pot. I ended up getting a 24-inch Bosch because again, the things I want to wash in the dishwasher fit better in the Bosch that the Miele. (The Bosch is a great DW, BTW.)
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... It seems to me that in most other industries, if you encounter a rude salesperson at the Avis or a rude customer service rep. at the Microsoft hotline, or a rude sales clerk at the Gap, you would ask to speak to a manager. Now why is it that with all the "seasoned" restaurant goers we have at egullet does it seem that way more often than not, bad service is met with a passive-agrressive stance of not saying anything until they get home and then writing a missive about it to Tom or on egullet?...
I don't ask to speak to the manager when I encounter a rude salesperson. I just take my business elsewhere. I do the same thing when I encounter bad food, bad service, and especially-rude snooty hostesses. I don't go back. It is the manager's job to know what's going on; it's not my job to tell them. I've been a manager (not at a restaurant). It's not that hard to tell what's going on, and you can certainly overhear the way the staff is talking to the customers. It is the manager's job to coach their staff on how they can improve service. My job is not to provide unpaid consultation as to how the restaurant could be improved. There's nothing passive-aggressive about this. I'm paying you my hard-earned money to provide me with a pleasant dining experience. The way I see it, my responsibility consists of showing up on time, being a polite guest by ordering off the menu and otherwise behaving in a civilized manner, saying please and thank you, and tipping on the quality of the service, not the quality of the food. I appreciate when others post experiences about long waits past their reservation time, or bad food. I can tell by the tone of the post when they are still a little miffed or of this is a place to avoid.
Good customer service shouldn't have to be a two out of three or three out of five experience. There are way too many great restaurants around here to give any of them a second chance after a bad night. And I certainly don't want to feel like I need to friggin' share my experiences with the manager so I can find the place more to my likiing next time. Fair or not, if you want to be successful in business, good food and good service should be second nature and happen every time. I just want to show up, be fed well and taken care of. Passively, with no action required on my part except to pay the bill, leave a tip, and say a warm thank you on my way out the door.
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My name is Marie and I have a problem with dishes. I'm trying to decide on which colors to add to my never ending Luna Garcia collection. Advice gratefully accepted-they are having a sale today & tomorrow. The colors are here: http://www.lunagarcia.com/lunacolors.php and as you can see from this picture: http://www.lunagarcia.com/index.php?cPath=23 they mix and match very well.
Thanks!
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I'm a total proponent of Bouchon (Keller) and Les Halles (Bourdain). Both are bistro masterpieces, although completely different in their approach. Actually, both as a present to one recipient would be brilliant because it really shows two chefs at the top of their game that each look at the bistro life a little differently than the other.
This is a great idea! Tell me more-what other books would round out a bistro collection? I have Patricia Well's book...
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Welcome to toddski & Brioche57-it's nice to see that this thread encouraged new members to post. Stick around-we can always use more voices to discuss Bay Area restaurants. (and more, of course!)
You've both encouraged me to make that loooong drive across town to north Berkeley more often.
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The more I think about this, the more Laurie Colwin's books pop up. Her essays were wonderful, and think anyone who loves musing about food and cooking would love them.
I LOVE these books-I've read them multiple times. I do wish someone would reprint them in a nicer version; they are such cheesy little paperbacks. I'd love to have a nice hardbound volume, maybe with some photos...
Marion Cunningham's Learning to Cook is a great book for beginners. Her Lost Recipes is a great present partly because of the unique way it is bound.
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Another Jew here-coming up with eight ideas for presents when you've been married as long as we have can be hard. So, to help my husband out, I told him I'd like these three books:
On Food & Cooking by Harold McGee
Les Halles - Anthony Bourdain
Marcella says-Marcella Hazen
I read through Bouchon the other day at a bookstore. It's a beautiful book. We're going there for Thanksgiving dinner, so I was thinking about getting it as a souvenir.
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There is indeed heat on the seeds, but it didn’t originate there. The capsaicin in chillis is produced and stored in glands on the placenta, the inner pithy structure that supports the seeds. But any manipulation of the chilli breaks the glands and douses the seeds with capsaicin. So most of the heat is in the pith, but there’s always some—and sometimes a lot—on the seeds.
If I understand you correctly, you are saying that if you remove the pith and the seeds, then rinse the chile, it will be less hot than if you'd chopped it whole?
PS Thank you for joining us on eGullet.
mjr_inthegardens's kitchen renovation topic
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
I see you are thinking about a gas range. Hmmm...
I've cooked with both, and I don't mind a good electric stove at all. (The key word being GOOD.) Yes, I do have a Wolf stove at the moment, but if I were you-and you have 220V wiring-I'd think about a glass-topped electric range here. Gas ranges always cause this "sticky stuff" to get on everything-and you don't have optimal venting. I'd consider the tradeoff for cleaner living room furniture.
I know you want to save money, but I'd consider upgrading your appliances a little since they are in full view of the living room. A couple of brands of refrigerators that I've owned and been happy with are a GE Profile & "The Architect Series" by Kitchen Aid.
Everyone raves about Ikea's cabinets-including Russ Parsons. I would strongly consider them. They certainly look nice enough to be open to a living room!