tobism

IMHO, it really depends on what kind of set up you're planning, how many people you want to feed at once, how long you plan on living in your house, etc. You can buy those $2500-$8000 smoker/grills that'll outlast your house, or you can go for the $100-$1000 bad boys that'll do the trick, but not be as beefy. At any price, the only guarantee is to know what you're doing. I've seen people make award-winning BBQ using a Weber kettle, and I've seen people make shoe leather using $6000 smokers. If this is your first taste with smoking/grilling, go for something more affordable. There's the WSM, and a Brinkmann El-Cheapo smoker that you can use for practice. As you gain experience, you'll find out your likes/dislikes about certain models and what you want from a $1000+ smoker. Because of space (and budget) reasons, I've got the Weber Kettle One-Touch Gold. It's a great little grill, and you can smoke with it effectively if you know the basics. A little more difficult for smoking, but fun and practical without breaking the bank.

Farrell's was a great place... and I had my 10th birthday party at that one in Landover Mall, MD. Cold Stone Creamery... not so good. Ice cream is inferior, the mix-ins are a fad, and service is sloppy. I take it they mix the toppings in there to disguise the bad ice cream. The ice cream itself is very airy and artificially flavored-tasting. I don't know what they do to it, but it's horrible. I don't like the whole mix-in thing to begin with... altho my fiance and I do frequent Maggie Moo's every now and then, which is a mix-in ice cream shop. It's just another shop to go to, nothing special. We go there because I know the owner is local, and I like supporting the small businesses. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, Cold Stone gets a 5. I don't know if there's anything they can do to fix it. It was a bad idea to begin with.

I think I can further catagorize ice cream into "mass produced" (ben & jerry's, breyer's, other store bought), "batch frozen" or "homemade" (boutique ice cream shops, independent mom & pops, handmade with real fresh fruit), and "made at home" (on your own freezer with eggs at home). These are 3 different animals, and it's interesting to compare. In terms of superiority in flavor and texture, you can't beat batch frozen, mom and pop style ice cream shops. They strike a delicate balance of the homemade, handcrafted quality with the knowledge, equipment, and experience of a mass producer. Sure, sometimes some shops aren't that good, but on the whole they should know what they're doing. Mass produced ice creams are decent quality, but for as much image that Ben & Jerry's still portrays that theirs is "homemade," it's not. It's made in mass quantities by faceless machines operated by minimum wage earners. After all these years, they've still managed to keep their homey marketing, even after selling out to The Man. Ice cream in upper end restaurants are fantastic, but it's not the same, either. You can't just walk up to the counter and order; you have to sit down and have a full meal, for the most part, then get your dessert. Not a place to bring out the family or SO for ice cream. Also, to get reallly technical, Ben & Jerry's is not premium ice cream... it's superpremium. Haagen Dazs is superpremium. Breyer's and Baskin Robbins is premium. See the difference?

It gets on my nerves that some people in this post absolutely refuse to eat at Cheesecake Factory because they're against chain restaurants. Have you always eaten at upper scale establishments? Always? Since you were a kid? Your parents never took you to McDonalds or Sizzler or Red Lobster? I admit, I don't like eating at these places now, but you have had to at some point in your life and actually enjoyed it, to appreciate what good food is to you now. Some gulleteers are on this high-horse of eating, and they don't realize that the majority of people out there have kids, have lives outside of food, and yes, have watered-down simple tastes and un-sophisticated taste buds, and succumb to marketing and hype. It's just a fact. Don't get me wrong... I'm not some Cheescake Factory evangelist, or even a chain restaurant junkie. What I am is a practical, mildly succesful, everyday person that eats what he likes, wherever it comes from, whoever cooks it, regardless of the name on top of the door.

Hello pastryguy, I'm a lurker and don't post much, but I noticed you needed a logo. I can help you in that department. My name is Arturo Bantug and I'm a graphic designer. If you'd like to check out some of my portfolio samples, they can be viewed at www.ArturoBantug.com and www.TypeWise.com. You can also view the website www.TobysIceCream.com. I lurk on this board because I make ice cream and started an ice cream catering company a few years ago, for fun. At any rate, please email me privately if you'd like to work together on a logo, menu, or business stationary. I think your venture into the wholesale dessert business is fantastic! I hopefully will move into the food business full time myself, sometime in the near future. Your plan sounds solid and well thought out. I wish you the best of success! Thanks, Toby

Hello Tom, and thanks again. I was wondering what your favorite cuisine is? What restaurant serves your favorite the best, and why do you like it so much? In terms of international cuisine in DC, what do you think is up and coming? Filipino? Lebanese? Indian? Thanks!