emannths

Yeah, warm water bluefish don't taste nearly as good as those up north. I used to get all excited when we'd go down to Florida in the winter and see bluefish in the fish store. But they just don't taste good, so I get my bluefish fix only when we go to Cape Cod. More on topic...like most fish, my favorite way is to grill it. As was said, it seems to taste best with a ton of lemon and a little salt and pepper. I also like it fried--the Eastham Lobster Pool does some excellent bluefish fish and chips. Just don't forget to drown it in malt vinegar! Oops--didn't mean to resurrect a dead thread. But hey, it is Cape Cod (and hence bluefish) season!

Are Barilla sauces sweet? My experience with jarred tomato sauces is that they never taste like homemade tomato sauce. Are there any that don't taste like sugar and instead taste like tomatoes?

Flash-cooked tomato sauce: chop some fresh tomatoes and available fresh herbs (basil, sage, thyme, oregano, etc) and place them in the bottom of a serving bowl along with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Heat some olive oil with a clove of garlic in it until it is smoking, and then pour it over the tomatoes and herbs to flash-cook them. Immediately add the pasta, toss, and serve. A simple tomato sauce with good canned san marzano tomatoes, a good deal of olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper (no onion). Adding some italian sausage (no casing) and red pepper flakes is acceptable. Or fresh basil. Ragu--with tomatoes. Also made with rabbit and no tomatoes. Tomatoes, rosemary, garlic, olive oil (about 1/3-1/2 cup for each can of tomatoes), finished with a bit of good balsamic vinegar. Arugula, black pepper, olive oil, and manchego (tossed raw with hot pasta). Clams, olive oil, garlic, a few cherry tomatoes, and parsley. Ok, that's all for now...

I've grabbed lunch a couple times from Lindy's while visiting by girlfriend at GW--fantastic sirloin burgers!

Tupelo honey from Florida, on a piece of homemade cornbread.

A quick, one tupperware meal could be a pasta salad nicoise. Cook some rigatoni, rinse it cool, and then toss it with cooked broccoli, canned tuna, sliced onion, a generous amount of chopped parsley, some red pepper flakes, and salt/pepper/olive oil/vinegar. You could also throw in tomatoes, green beans, etc--whatever you have that floats your boat. Don't skimp on the parlsey though--it makes the dish. But for a leisurely summer lunch under a tree, it's hard to beat a good loaf of bread, some cheese, a salami or other sausage, and some olives/roasted peppers/cornichons/etc. And a bottle of wine.

Well, octopus is a Greek word (octo = eight, pus (aka pod) = foot), so the Latin pluralization "octopi" is not correct from that standpoint. If you're following Greek convention, it should be octopodes (or, if you're Japanese, octopo-desu ). But since we speak English and not Greek, it could probably be argued that octopi is just as correct as octopodes when we say it.

Mapquest Map Happy City is at 3495 US 1 in Princeton. The phone number is 609-919-9881. It's in a strip mall area (the biggest store in there is a Staples I think) on the west (southbound) side of the road. It can't be more than about 5 minutes south of Alexander or Washington Road.

My favorite is Marcella Hazan's recipe for pears braised in red wine and bay leaves (and lots of butter). With ripe bosc pears. When they're ripe, you need less sugar, so the wine and bay leaf sauce contrasts more with the sweet pear. Also, since the pears are softer, you can eat it with just a spoon without having to cook it forever. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Being from Chicago, I feel compelled to say this: Ketchup on a hot dog!

This is how we make it at home: Chop these finely: 1 scallion ~2 cloves of garlic 1-2 quarter-sized pieces of ginger 1 teaspoon dried fermented black beans For the sauce, mix: 1 cup chicken stock 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons sherry or white wine .5 teaspoon sugar cornstarch dissolved in water (I think about a tablespoon of cornstarch is enough) 2 teaspoons sesame oil (or to taste) You'll also need some chile paste--I use "chile paste with garlic," but anything similar would be fine. And of course tofu! In a wok over high heat, add a bit of oil. When the oil is hot, add the scallion, garlic, ginger, and black beans. Cook briefly (maybe ~30-60 seconds), then add the chile paste. Stir a couple times, then add the tofu and sauce mixture. Heat till it boils, then turn it down and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cornstarch solution, then add the sesame oil, give it a stir, and serve. Because the tofu is fairly wet and you're adding over a cup of liquid, this can be very soup-y if you don't add enough cornstarch, so I'd suggest being fairly liberal with the stuff. If you want some meat in it, velvetted or ground pork is excellent--just add it before the tofu. You could also add an egg, chopped carrots and/or peas, or whatever you have in your fridge.

The Bookstore Restaurant in Wellfleet has some good seafood, not to mention Wellfleet oysters. The baked scallops are fantastic. They have seats outside that overlook the bay--it's a nice place to have a lazy afternoon lunch or dinner while the sun sets. A bonus that comes with eating in Wellfleet is that you can get an Emack & Bolio's ice cream cone after dinner. They have a store in Orleans, but they sell their ice cream through a few other places on the Cape as well, including the ice cream store in Wellfleet and Spiritus Pizza in Provincetown (the pizza there is pretty good too, but a little expensive). Their flavors change periodically, but my favorite is typically black raspberry chocolate chip. The chips they use taste like premium bittersweet chocolate, not the tasteless cardboard one typically finds.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but there are a couple good places that have escaped mention in this discussion: -- Ajihei and Ajihei Too (Chambers St. and Nassau St. respectively): excellent Japanese cuisine. Ajihei is almost exclusively sushi, and the chef (who formerly worked at Nobu) serves excellent fish. Ajihei Too has a full menu of hot food as well. Last time I was there, he had miso-marinated black cod, which was every bit as good as Nobu's version. --Happy City (Route 1 south of Princeton): A really good Shanghai-type Chinese place. It's big, but it get very full, especially on weekends. Make sure you get the Chinese menu and not the Americanized one. They typically have a variety of fresh/live seafood every night. Hoagie Haven is cheap and delicious. The chicken parm and cheesesteak are excellent. You can get 15" of greasy goodness for ~$6.50. Tiger Noodles is good for simple Chinese food of more Szechuan/Hunan influence. The beef noodle soup, among others, is one of my favorites. During the summer they set out a number of tables outside. If you're looking for a lighter pizza (vs. a greasy one), give Old World Pizza a try. Theirs is a very delicate crust with a very thing coating of sauce, topped with fresh mozzarella and premium quality toppings (incl. very flavorful mushrooms). I think they even sell by the slice, at least during prime hours.

Agreed about the custard. I don't remember the burgers, to tell the truth; I've been out of college (Marquette U) for seventeen years, and usually go to Sanford if I'm going to drive all the way to Milwaukee. Another Kopp's diehard here. We usually drive up from Chicago a couple times each summer. We usually have some "reason" to be going to Milwaukee, but the first and last stop is ALWAYS Kopp's. Here's their website, where you can check out their daily special flavors: http://www.kopps.com/

My favorite is made with the following: a good, extra sharp cheddar cheese (my favorite is that from Herkimer, NY, but I usually use Cabbot's from Costco--I think it's $7 for 2 lbs) tomatoes sliced jalepenos (from a can or jar, so that they are pickled and have absorbed the salt and vinegar) a slice or two of ham (though this is much less essential than anything else here) For bread, Boudin sourdough can't be beat.