bloviatrix

I made a potato kugel earlier in the day and the wonderful smell reminded me of this thread. Actually, it smelled so good it had to sneak a taste.

The new issue of The New York Observer contains an article by Bryan Miller about Le Cirque's last night -- New Year's Eve. But don't despair, Sirio is moving the restaurant to the new Bloomberg building on Lex and 59th and plans to reopen in the spring. Another Le Cirque Farewell: Finally, Goodbye to that TV! (you might have to click through to the table of contents and scroll down to the link)

You too?

What the green pear-looking items to the left of the cucumbers? And the green vegetable just above the purple cabbages?

Monica -- The photo from McD's show prices which leads me to wonder what's the conversion rate between dollars and rupees?

Coincidentally, today's NY Times has an article about the health benefits of oatmeal as well as chart showing the tastiest through the nastiest. As you can imagine, steel-cut make the best tasting oats. Oatmeal to Please the Palate and the Label-Obsessed

Beans have absolutely no effect on me. But the sunchokes -- man, it was really nasty round these parts last night. Whatever you do, don't serve these things to guests.

I've been wanting to visit India for ages. Your photos just further emphasize why I want to visit. The markets look fantastic.

Most of what I've been thinking has been said, but I want to add this: if this review had appeared in the Wall Street Journal, instead of the Times, would it have caused as much of an uproar? Obviously not, because the Journal generally doesn't attract that strain of liberals who can't stand that good money is being spent and people are enjoying themselves, while somewhere there are people in the world suffering. It takes letters like these to remind me that the right wing doesn't have a monopoly on no-fun scolds. I'll put this as delicately as possible. My theory is that these people have a strong reaction against the idea of spending money on a restaurant meal, not just because it's a transitory experience but because it's something that passes through the body. These same people don't seem to get nearly as offended about other sky-high entertainment diversions like sports, operas, spa treatments, casino gambling and hotels. Oh, and the complaint about the timing of the review? Besides the fact that the publication of the review likely was planned well in advance of the tsunami, the very idea that a restaurant review should be pulled in the event of bad world news is ludicrous. With that writer's line of thinking, perhaps other "frivolities" like the sports section and the society/gossip column should have been pulled, too. What if this had been a review of a French restaurant? Maybe this objector reasoned that the disaster in Asia somehow made the review of an "Asian" restaurant in bad taste. Perhaps this is a lefty who is betraying a racial bias in lumping Asians together? ~Bloviator

From the Slate article: I've been meaning to bring this up. What's the point of this bit? To show the "sexy" side of Ramsay? Because there really isn't anything sadder that seeing the bare chest of middle aged guy going all soft.

Does anyone have any suggestions for reducing the unpleasant aftereffects of eating Jerusalem Artichokes? I like eating them, the but the end result is really quite unpleasant. According to McGee's On Food and Cooking (p. 307, new edition), Jerusalem artichokes contain an abundance of fructose-based carbohydrates and humans don't have the enzymes needed to digest them. As a result, the "beneficial bacteria in our intestines feed on them instead, in the process generating carbon dioxide and other gases that can cause abdominal discomfort." McGee goes on to explain that long cooking (12 - 24 hours) and low temperatures (200F) will convert the carbohydrate to digestible fructose. The thing is most recipes call for much shorter cooking times and higher temperatures.

So the NY accent is considered to be foreign now?

Dinner at Per Se in late July. I still find myself thinking about some of the courses. Dinner at The Box Tree for Blovie's birthday last January. Alas, the restaurant is no longer. But it was the most elegant and best dining experience I've ever had in a kosher restaurant. Lunch at Solo in October. My expectations were low, but we had an amazing lunch. I'm looking forward to going back to Per Se in 2005 as well as Charlie Trotter's as yet unnamed retaurant in TWC.

Never mind that an American version of "Hell's Kitchen" is soon to be hitting our shores as well, with British bad-boy chef Gordon Ramsay in the starring role. http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/ ← They're going to need a Gordon Ramsey translator on the web site. Or something like the Ramsey slang quiz.

I think it's amusing that at the same time that the people at the Food network claim that Americans have a hard time understanding accents CBS hired a Scot to host one its late night TV shows.

If you feel the kneeling is inappropriate and you want all of your waitstaff acting a particular way, by all means ask him to stop doing it. I'm not a big fan of kneeling -- I feel like I'm being treated like a child. As for touching -- god helps the waiter who lays a hand on me. I absolutely despise being touched by strangers.

Maggie, I glad to see you're feeling better and back to making soup.

David -- Welcome to eGullet! We'll have you addicted in no time.

Welcome to eGullet, David.

There's no arguing that many people plan their itinerary around food. The NY board gets questions about this all the time. And using food to design an itinerary isn't all that bad -- again, using NY as an example, you can see a lot of different parts of the city while on the search for great food -- Chinatown, Lower East Side, Upper East Side, Midtown, etc. My guess is that the people in the article tend to exaggerate the amount of time they spent on food.

When I was a kid I ate Maypo for breakfast, tarted up with margerine (mom didn't buy butter) and milk. I also got a piece of toast. I eat Quaker instant oatmeal (Apple Cinnamon is my preferred flavor) almost every morning from October through March. Blovie eats Quick Oats for breakfast most mornings. We find that oatmeal is one of the most filling foods you can eat.

Sounds like you could use a nice, steaming bowl of chicken soup. Afterall, it cures a myriad of ills. Feel better.

Annual membership for couple is $120. That's 3 visits per year for a pair.

I want to thank Culinary Bear for inspiring me. And Paula for her coaching. The confit was outstanding!!! I shredded the meat from two legs and served them on a bed of mesculun dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. The sharpness of the balsamic contrasted nicely with the richness of the duck. My friends were all very impressed. (I saved the skin for future crisping for a snack for myself). I have two more legs and I don't think I will want to share.

Lentil soup is another great winter soup. If you want get somewhat Indian inspired, add some minced ginger to your mirepoix and saute. Once the vegetables are soft add a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of corriander. Instead of short ribs or pot roast some lamb stew would be a nice addition.