bigwino

I heard back from Archambault. They're expecting a new shipment from their supplier in 2 - 3 weeks.

FYI, it's backordered at Archambault. My order's been in since late November. I emailed them the other day asking about an expected date of restocking, but haven't yet heard back. If I hear from them, I'll post the reply here.

I did a very simple rub this summer on a slow roasted pork butt - salt, pepper and LOTS of sweet pimenton. It was tremendous. If the quality of the pork is high, then this simple rub works well to highlight the porkiness while adding a nice hint of smoke from the pimenton. Have fun and please report back!

I've had my Big Kahuna Burner for a little over a year and I absolutely love it. Is it the world's highest BTU burner? Nope. Does it need to be? Nope. It is FAR more powerful than what you can probably get for your house and is plenty hot enough for great stirfrying (IMHO). On full blast it gets the metal grate glowing red and the wok smoking hot very quickly. The extendable legs are a godsend after kneeling to stirfry for years in front of my old fryer burner. It won't last forever. Mine is already showing some rust on the burner itself, but it is purely cosmetic. I would expect the same of any of these units if left outside year round in New England. Highly recommended, especially given the price. Good luck and have fun with it.

I think my criticism was quite light, really. I didn't say it sucked or no one should ever eat there. In fact, I said we're still thinking about going back! One underwhelming dining experience is enough to say it's not as great as it once was; especially if we've had plenty of experiences with the restaurant over the years.

-Primo is relatively expensive, though you can get out of there without spending a ton of dough. It is relatively easy, though, to spend a decent chunk for a full bore meal of starters, entrees, wine, dessert. -It's not geared at children or family dining, but we've gone several times with our children, starting when Primo opened and our first son was a baby. Never a problem, but we're pretty careful to keep the kids quiet and happy when we're there. -They don't do lunch. Lots of other good options in the area for lunch, though. -They get booked up far in advance. Call now if you want to go. I have to say that our last Primo experience in August '05 was not up to snuff. We've gone many times since they opened and there was a definite decline from the early days. They now have two other restaurants and it's clearly taken some of their attention away from the mothership in Rockland. We're currently debating whether to make a rez for our vacation in August. There are other options, though nothing has yet been at the level of Primo when they started. In their first year, we made trips during each season from Boston just to eat at Primo. I wouldn't do that anymore.

Bath has a farmer's market that started in early May. Take a look: http://www.bathfarmersmarket.com/ There are bound to be others within a short drive. I got into the habit of going to farmers markets four or so days out of the week when vacationing in Camden for the past several years. Not sure what other towns are close enough to Bath. Here is a search engine for Maine farmer's markets. Good luck!

Thanks for all the tips and online sources. Thus far, I've settled in on Intelligentsia's Black Cat blend. It makes a great shot and the shipping isn't too bad. I will try to find Terroir's espresso blend, but haven't been in the vicinity of one of their local purveyors yet.

My favorite is Pho Hoa in Boston's Chinatown. Tons of choices for meat additions and very high quality ingredients. I think it's much better than Pho Pasteur a few doors down.

I'd put Chris Schlessinger's "Thrill of the Grill" among the top books that I've read. woodburner ← I'd also add all of Schlesinger's other grilling books - Let the Flames Begin and License to Grill. He's a master. Personally, I would not recommend Steven Raichlen's books. I've not found them anywhere near as helpful or interesting. Just my $.02

I'd think it has them, but I'm wondering where, how big, how many, etc. I had a grill that couldn't breathe well and it was totally aggravating.

Perhaps a case of trying to do too many things and none of them well? It doesn't look like it would have very much surface area for the grilling applications. My experience with charcoal grilling has informed me that the breathing ability of the grill is vital. Where are the vents on this thing?

Well, I never actually said that. I said the speed benefit to gas doesn't really exist. I don't think either have a significant benefit when it comes to speed, but I do think that everyone thinks there is with gas. Cleanup is a bit of an issue, for sure. Maybe that's a draw with filling the propane tank? (No, not really) Cleanup can also be a bigger issue depending upon where you live. I have tons of woods around our yard and can just dump (the 1-2 days past burned out) coals in the back 40 somewhere. Or I can put them in the compost. In an urban environment it's more of a pain.

I was an inveterate propane grill user for many years. The ease with which you have a prepared, hot grill and the lack of cleanup necessity were the main drivers. A friend convinced me to get a charcoal grill and for a time I used both. I've come to realize that the apparent speed benefit of propane does not really exist. In the time it takes to get the gas grill to temp, a chimney starter has the coals ready to roll. I abandoned my gas grill about 18 months ago and have not missed it one bit.

I have had good luck with Webers, but my current grill and the favorite of all the gas or charcoal ones that I've used over the years has to be the Chargriller Super Pro. It's inexpensive; you can adjust the height of the coals; and it has cast iron grates, which I prefer. I opted against the one with the side firebox simply because I already have a dedicated smoker. You can find them at Lowe's as well as the manufacturers online store.