jaybee

That's because they bite his hand.

You sure don't want to rinse off all that good stuff.

I stand corrected. To get an idea of equivalent US $ purchasing power from 1970 to 2001, multiply every dollar you spent in 1970 by 4.56 to see its 2001 equivalent. So a $10 bottle in 1970 is the equal of a $46 bottle today. A gross annual income (before taxes) of $50,000 in 1970 = $228,000 in 2001. So my $5,000 1970 cellar is the equivalent of $23,000 today, just $ for $. You can do the conversion to pound sterling.

I am lunching at Lupa today and I will give them the third degree about their ricotta. And maybe, just maybe, Suvir, I'll tell you what they say.

Thanks Nick, for that stream of consciousness support. The operative word there is "fresh." I buy most of my chicken in the supermarket in bags. They are full of blood and other liquids. If I bought it off the chopping block, still squirming, I'd feel differently. And I rinse fish for the same reasons as you describe--to remove scales and bits of stuff that invariably get on them. The whole fish I buy also have loose scales here and there and blood in the cavity, and have had at least an hour or two in transport before hitting the heat, so I feel better rinsing. I don't know what causes that sliminess on shelled scallops, but I don't like it.

Well I guess you like chicken shit more than I.

You'd be crazy to wash opened oysters or clams. I never said I did. The liquid in them is almost as good as the meat. If I bought scallops in the shell I wouldn't wash them either. But I do wash the shells before shucking them. There is no liquor around shelled scallops that have been sitting in a tray on ice at the fish store. And by the time you get them home, and finally cook them, they often are a bit slimy. Fresh and tasty, but a bit slimy. I never heard that this slime adds to the taste. So ease up there and don't read so much into what I didn't say. But I wouldn't dream of not washing a whole fish I brought home from the fish monger wrapped in paper. Even if I saw him take it live out of the tank, kill it, clean it and scale it, I would still give it a rinse before cooking it. I suppose you'll tell me you don't rinse chickens when you get them home from the market?

Yo tambien.

That is not the issue I was responding to, Marcus. It was the statement Tony made that the prices paid could have bought a small car "back then." (Sounds like the olden days). My point is that even at $50 a bottle in today's $$, my cellared wines are a great buy. I care less about the resale value or "investment" value of the $8 spent then. I could not afford to drink so much great wine from these vintages at today's prices, not to mention the confidence I have in their storage. Fortunately, I was making good money in my early 30s so I could afford to put a good cellar down. I spent, maybe $5,000 in 1969-1972 on wines I cellared. That would be like a $30-40,000 cellar today, but for $40,000 you'd have many fewer bottles of the greatest wines than I was able to buy then. Had I invested the $5,000, what would it be worth today, and would I be able to buy as many bottles of the same vintage great wines as I did? Since futures have gotten so high, it is impossible to duplicate this today, so the debate is near-moot, isn't it?

I wash them because they sometimes develop a slight sticky film around them that I prefer to wash off. Maybe I shouldn't but I always do. I wash all fish off with fresh cold water and pat dry before cooking. Am I wrong to do that? I use non-stick because it seems to develop a better sear, but the difference is subtle. With enough butter and oil it works fine. My LTD non-stick also works well.

I think a 1970 dollar is worth about $6 today. How's an average of $8 a botttle for grand crus of great vintages ('59, '61, '64, '66, '70, '71, '75) and $12 a bottle for premier grand crus, including Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc, Laffite Rothschild, Latour. How about $18 a bottle for '61 Petrus? $6 for '70 Trotanoy? $8 for '61 Montrose...Premie Grand Cru Chablis for $6 a bottle...I can go on...Maybe you could buy a car for what I paid.... for the whole cellar in 1970. But then if you haven't kept a cellar, it's easy to understand being contemptuous of the idea. If your rich enough to pay $250-400 a bottle for the cellared wines I am drinking now, congratulations. SF Joe, I love Romarantin. We enjoyed this wine in the Sologne several years ago and have not been able to find any here. Do you know a source?

1. Use very hot, heavy bottom sautee pan. I prefer not non-stick 2. wash and dry them carefully before cooking. 3. don't crowd the scallops, you don't want to steam them. If the pan won't hold all of them for the seating, use two pans or cook in batches. 4. cayenne pepper brings out wonderful flavor in scallops. (red pepper flakes work well too) 5. If they are large, sear them on one side then use a tongs to turn them over. Some chefs actually hold the sides to the heat with the tongs to get even searing all around. 6. Don't overcook. They'll get rubbery. (maybe get a couple extra to practice on first so you get an idea of the right consistency and timing. This is critical to a good result. Cook scallops just before serving. Plate (on heated plates) and serve quickly. 7. Olive oil mixed with butter is a good fat to use. 8. deglaze the pan with white wine, add a little cream and reduce to make a nice sauce. add herbs and sprinkle with chopped parsley. chopped fresh garlic is good in small quantities if you like it. thinly sliced ginger is good too as a garnish. 9. It is nice to serve four or five large scallops, but you can also quarter them if you want to serve over rice.

Royale, we used to buy from them before the Russians took them over. The best rugelach. Their onion rye was great too. Famous. Yes, and Steinberg's Dairy on Broadway is also late and lamented. Cheese blinztes so light they would float off the plate. Lichtman's has been gone for over ten years.

No argument there, but the original statement made was that old wine isn't so great, not that there's a big risk of paying a pot of money for a badly cellared bottle. But that's what "laying down" wine is all about isn't it? If one relied totally on retail for all one's wine drinking, one would have to be quite wealthy to drink good old wine. Anyone who is serious about wine and young enough to be able to wait 15-30 years should have good wine laying down in a good cellar. There are plenty of commercial storage places if a home cellar is not possible. Futures of some very good 2000 Bordeaux could have been had for reasonable prices. These are expected to be spectacular in 15-30 years. But then, maybe 30 year olds of today don't have the patience or interest to delay gratification that long.

I have to echo what Steve P wrote: "you guys are tasiting the wrong old wines." I have a cellar that was started in 1969. I bought 1959, '61, '64, '66, '70, '71. '75 first growth Bordeaux and premier Grand Crus, as well as classic Burgundies from '59 and '61. I have a fair amount of '66, '70, and '75s which we are still drinking when the occasion warrants. My brother-in-law who bought with me has some '61s left. Almost to a bottle, these wines are great. They are complex, fresh, and have a bouquet that you don't want to stop inhaling. '61 Calon Segur and '61 Montrose are treasures. '64 and '70 Leoville Poyferre and Leoville Barton are chewy, rich wines. A '59 Bonne Mare and '59 Clos de Tart (Mommesin) drunk in the last year were fruity and fresh. Maybe the wines you tried were not cellared well. Mine have sat in one place for over 25 years, at 55 degrees and I've never had a spoilt bottle, except for one where the cork went bad. I recently discovered (as I posted) bottles of '70 Chablis Les Clos that I had lost in a corner under some boxes. I though it would be gone and instead it turned out to be ambrosia. The best wine I ever tasted was a '61 Cheval Blanc and that was in 1987! It was "ready" then, but probably is even more ready today.

(Louis) Lichtman's, on the corner of 86th and Amsterdam, had the best chocolate babka ever. Lichtman closed because his son didn't want to follow in his path and he had no one to take over. That was a sad day. I walk past the store (today a kitchen and bath shop) and smell the wonderful Vienese pastry in my memory. Their strudel was classic and the Linzer tart was too. If the babka Zabar's sells comes even close, it will be a happy day.

Tick Tock has gone retro? God, am I that old?

I was told that Batali's wife's family are the owners of Coach Farms (and Coach Leather) so maybe that's where Lupa's ricotta came from.

The Tick Tock Diner on Rt. 3. Dick's Diner in Mountain Lakes. Dave-El's candy store in Montclair. Bella's candy store in Verona. The Denville Shack. Stewarts Root Beer Stand in Denville. The Empire Burlesque in Newark. The Claremont Diner is no more???

Not at all salty, soft in texture. Needed a spoon.

I spent ten years working with the American Cancer Society on programs that are aimed at dissuading people (especially kids) from smoking. Poor people die at five times the rate of their wealthier countymen from lung cancer. But they also die of lots of other things much younger. Poor women are ten times more likely to have metasatic breast canccer by the time it it diagnosed. I understand your rant over the self righteous posture against smoking that we hear so much of. Sure poverty is responsible for people not giving a shit about living ten more years. If your life sucks, why would you care about prolonging it?... until you are really faced with the prospect of such a tortured death. If you saw them coughing up blood and bits of lung and struggling for air through the few remaining bronchial tubes that haven't been turned into dessicated black rubber, you wouldn't be so happy to see them sucking that poison into them. The fucking criminals who manufacture the stuff are no better than the makers of Zyklon B. They're happy to take the few bucks these poor bastards scrape together, multiplied by billions and live the high life. So I don't bemoan laws that make it harder for people to die such horrible deaths and deprive their poisoners of the pleasure from the profits of such deaths. Hypocrisy? The US is not alone there, but when it comes to choosing between making money and millions dying, the money always talks louder.

You are correct. Rachel/Jason, please transfer the whole thread to the NY board where I should have put it from the start.

I've gotten several PMs with promising sources. It's time for a field trip to Arthur Avenue. Some salami, a little wine, a little cheese....do we have Arthur Avenue congnoscenti among us?

Can Jason hip us to his source?

I recently enjoyed a serving of creamy ricotta cheese drizzled with wild flower honey at Lupa. This reminded me of how good this cheese can be. Especially for somone sliding into a low carb diet. I've tried the supermarket brands and there are no standoouts. Has anyone found a source in New York City for great ricotta? Is there a packaged brand that you'd recommend?