Lan4Dawg

If I buy a whole strip, rib eye, pork loin, &c and then cut them to freeze I will put the steaks or chops in a heavy duty bag along w/ a scrap of paper w/ exactly what is in the bag or just label the one large bag. It saves having to write the same thing over six/eight times. The only problem is when using paper if the paper falls out of the bag and you find a scrap of paper on the bottom of the freezer and then have to search to find fr/ which bag it leaped.

Great topic.....I find "treasures" in the freezer all the time. The problem is that it is usually when I am searching for some thing else so the "treasure" gets returned to its place of honor and I make a mental note to remember the item and come back to it. Unfortunately my rememberer does not remember as well as it used to remember so a couple of months later when I am searching for some thing lo and behold but I find the "treasure" yet again and go through the same process.

A testimonial: We stopped at Patterson House on Friday when in Nashville and thoroughly enjoyed our-selves. Sorry we missed seeing Toby but our "mixologist" whose name, I think, was John was very good and was an absolute delight. We are making Patterson House (now that we know where it is) a stop every time we visit Nashville.

I have no idea about Nashville (despite just returning fr/ there) but a suggestion: call a restaurant that features some of the things you want and ask them who supplies these items. Then contact the supplier and see if they also supply any retail outlets. I have done that a few times here in Atlanta area when looking for specific things. Some suppliers have no problem w/ answering your quesions and will go out of their way to assist you and others can be real snippy about it so good luck and sorry that is the best I can offer.

most of it is, unfortunately, consumer driven and a matter of perception. I have had people say point blank they will pay much more for a "full" plate that they are not going to even finish than pay less for a plate that they can actually eat. Much of the perception is "value". People want to think they are getting something for their money and if they pay $20 for a plate and it is jam-packed full and they leave more than half of it they walk away happy b/c they think they got their money's worth (& will tell any and every one about how it was "more than they could eat!") as opposed to paying $10 for a plate that is half as much and they can actually finish and then they complain about it being skimpy whether they actually finish it or not. Of course there is also the matter of food cost as a restaurant can usually do an eight ounce burger at seven 1/2 ounces at twice the cost of a four ounce burger and no one will notice the difference where as a four ounce burger better be four ounces or it will definitely be noticed.

We will be in Nashville in October. Save some gin for us as we are seriously looking forward to the visit--how ever bacon infused Manhattans might just make us "step away fr/ the gin!" I did not see the actual address listed in any of the above posts so exactly where is this oasis located? (never mind I saw it on the business card--Division Street--so we will see you folks in October)

thx, the distributor in Georgia is (or will be) Quality. I will have to try the Dolin when I can find it. Of course I, hopefully, have enough NP to hold us over for a little while. We go through it relatively quickly and as long as it stays sealed and at a reasonable temp I do not see a problem storing it.

who is the importer? I have not seen it in Georgia and if I know the importer perhaps I can call or e-mail them to see if they have a distributor here.

there is a promotion around the Atlanta area of the 50 ml bottles of Plymouth gin which has them priced at $0.99 which, if my math is correct, translates to about $15.00 for a standard 750 btl.

I brought the new home several weeks ago--before I realized they were changing the formula--and mixed our usual martinis--Regular Bombay & NP dry about 5:1 w/ a generous splash of Regan's ernj bitters and a lemon twist. Fuss took one taste and said, "what happened to my martini?" I tasted and thought the same. Then I remembered reading some where (probably here) that NP was changing its formula so found a bottle of the old and we compared them side-by-side in several forms: neat, chilled, and in our basic martini. We much prefer the old version as we find the new formula is much sweeter and has a more floral characteristics (to the point that I am purchasing as much as I can find and now have two un-opened cases sitting in the garage--luckily our local distributor stocked up on the old formula before the new was introduced so I can find it here in NE GA if I look.) There was an article in the last issue of Imbibe magazine about the change. Interestingly enough there are a bunch of people who do not know there is a change and I was standing in a major liquor store in Atlanta when a woman came in and said she had driven over fr/ Birmingham b/c she heard they had the old formula and the folks at the store had no idea they were changing.

after the move it was no longer an "institution". Part of the appeal was the location and the history of the spot. We visited a couple of years ago and the food was good but not great and, quite frankly, some what disappointing. We enjoyed the "historical" aspects of dining there more than the "culinary" aspects and that had every thing to do w/ the location and not the name.

I asked Fuss about her receipt for "hoppin' john" and she said, "You add enough black eyed peas, ham, stock & rice until it looks right and then enough salt, pepper, & hot sauce until it tastes right". That, btw, is a direct quote. Sorry to chime in so late w/ what little assistance I offer and I hope your NYD menu was a success.

sorry it took so long.... slim, and or, none.....they have a couple of bottles of Angostura behind the counter but that is it. Truth be told I had to walk back in to the store and look--I made a mental note to check bitters but was in the parking lot before it dawned on me--b/c I was again so over-whelmed at the inventory of liquor and wine in the place.

Thx John and good luck. I do miss the side items on the web site of the favorite places of yours and Amy's in other cities. I will have to check out Stella when in Simpsonville. btw, Jennifer Anniston was in love w/ the dog? That was different fr/ the book......

thx for the info. I tried to send a message to John via this forum but have not heard back fr/ him. He had a pretty decent run so he might have just gotten tired of the whole thing and decided to take it easy for a while.

truth be told I was so over-whelmed w/ the liquor/wine selection I failed to check out the bitters (which is surprising b/c that is usually on my list). I will be by there this week or next so will report. speaking of which has any one seen Regan's bitters locally or is it still just mail order in Georgia?

Had a meal at Soby's about 16 months ago when we stayed in downtown Greenville for the weekend of a Clemson football game. My assessment is pretty much the same as the one here, solid food, good service. I was surprised by the happening vibe on Main street. Hadn't been to Greenville in years. It's not your granddad's Greenville! Soby's was jumping on Friday night. Want to get back and hit 33 Liberty. ← is 33 Liberty still open? I tried to pull up their web site and it is no longer working and their telephone has been dis-connected. Now (having a kolluj edjumakashum I figured this out on my own) that means they are "asta la bye bye" but any information would be appreciated.

I was standing in their parking lot staring in the windows of the place just last week and not believing they had already closed when a gentleman walked up and asked if I was interested in the place. My reply was just as a customer/sales-person. He informed me that he is planning to purchase the lease fr/ the current owners as soon as possible and open it hopefully early 2009 so hopefully some thing is going on there as it is a beautiful spot.

Tower (Piedmont) has Whitley-Neill in stock. ← I have been meaning to mention that I have found the mother-lode when it comes to alcohol in the metro Atlanta area. If you are any where near Conyers you have to stop at Sigman's Bottle Shop on Sigman Road not too far fr/ I-20. I swear they have just about any and every thing you can possibly get in the state of Georgia (& some things I did not even know were available!). It is in a strip mall and does not look that big fr/ the out side but the place could rival the Minotaur's lair when it comes to mazes--but full of wine, spirits, and beer. Rocky is the owner/proprieter and very nice. Head over and check the place out some time.

Congratulations to her. Anna is one of the nicest and loveliest people in the Atlanta restaurant industry--and the fact that she is drop dead gorgeous does not take any thing away fr/ her achievements. I think very highly of her.

That relish sounds like "Chow Chow". ← No, the flavor profile might be similar, but not chow chow. There is tomato, sugar, vinegar, maybe a little pepper and garlic. It is cooked down and is thick and dark. ← there was always a jar of relish of some sort--pretty much any sort--on the table when peas were served. It was usually an onion/hot pepper/vinegar based relish w/a bit of a bite. The Rev always called it "swabbajigger". I once asked him why he called it that and his response was that he did not know but that is what his father called it. Since his father died when he was seven he had little time to research it. I hope there is nothing horribly offensive about the term (if so I must admit I am completely ignorant) and do not know if it was an accepted "Southernism" or just a family name but have never heard the term out side of our family so there is no telling. Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

I use Nora's Mill grits quite often since they are not too far away and I drive past there at least once every few months. I have never had any problems w/ them at all but not certain about their source of corn how ever the flavor is always very good and you know there is a lot of turn over w/ the tourist trade going in and out of Helen so they are going to be fresh.

Shirley Corriher and Alton Brown were at the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta last night. Her latest book, Bakewise, a "sequel" to Cookwise has just been released and the MMH had asked her to come and speak w/ Alton Brown essentially acting as Master of Ceremonies. If you have never heard them together then you are missing some thing. She is such a delight and definitely enjoys her topic and Alton is about as personable as they come. He was supposed to leave early due to taping schedules but stayed well past the time we were told he had to go and signed his books, shook hands, talked w/ folks, and just, well, acted like Alton Brown. The MMH set them on a stage and Alton was to ask questions of Shirley about things in her book. He pulled out a stack of cards and after about half an hour we had gotten through may be two of them as she would start talking about one thing and that would lead to another &c, &c, &c. Even if you do not bake you could not help but enjoy her talking about what happens when flour hits yeast and merges w/ sUGAr, cream, eggs, & flavorings as she enjoys the topic so much her enthusiasm is contagious and her presentation is simply priceless. It was an enjoyable presentation and both Fuss & I thoroughly enjoyed our-selves. If you see a similar presentation then jump at the opportunity.

We wound up at Mansur's and enjoyed it very much. The food was very good although my duck was slightly over-cooked and appeared to have been under the heat lamp just a tad too long. Service was, to put it bluntly, flaky. The girl was as sweet as could be but had to return to the table several times b/c she had mis-understood some thing or forgotten some thing or they were out of some thing and she forgot to tell us, &c, &c, &c. As I said, flaky. The wine list was good and not over-priced (surprisingly) the sommelier spent a lot of time at our table and, of course, we talked "shop". He was very proud of his list and w/ good reason. Plans were to hit Juban's on Saturday after the game but we were so exhausted and spent that we just went back to the hotel and "vegged".

an LSU fan tail-gating next to us on Saturday (52-38) gave a few to us before the game (we did not see him after the game) that he grew in his back yard. I have not been in to them yet but look forward to it.