babyluck

I like Krogh's -- had a mushroom/muenster burger & a couple of oatmeal stouts. I think I had the red ale once too when they were out of stout & I wasn't in love with it either, but I don't know why I keep letting bartenders talk me into the red ale since I've never really liked any of them. The burger was fantastic. There was almost no seasoning to the patty at all but the meat was so good & fresh that I didn't rush for the salt shaker. The mushrooms were very lightly sauteed, still firm & not greasy at all. All in all, it was a burger that tasted good & didn't leave me feeling gluttonous, even though it was pretty huge. I felt like I'd had brown rice & salad & went for a nice hike. Krogh's -- the home of the no-guilt burger.

Goats Do Roam, no? OK, I get it now...

Can you name some of your other favorite wines ? Stag's Leap or Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay from Australia/NZ Marc Brédit's Chinon & other Loire Valley wines

Real is a strong word, especially in the controversial world of tiki drinks. I've got my issues with Trader Vic, but I don't think there's any question it was invented inside his establishment. Here's the story, and recipes, on the company website. In a way I can see where this variation comes from, as long as you don't go for the grenadine, but without a unique flavor like the Martinique rum it ain't gonna work. This sounds like one I had in a Chinese restaurant in Wellesley, Mass. (But it was a Chinese restaurant known for it's good Mai Tais.)

Really good question 1 lonely Tsingtao and (this one's really bad -- it's not even a beer, exactly) The flavored malt beverage with the fingerprint on it. Guy in liquor store strong-armed me into it. Said it was made with "alcoholic fruit." I did drink the rest of them, but I haven't been that desperate since -- compulsively keep the fridge stocked. The level of fluid in the bottle has decreased significantly since I put it there in June.

OK, so you're in Wazoo WV, Scalp Lick PA or even Las Vegas NV. You are feeling queasy, hung over, and out-of-sorts. You want a drink but the thought of anything but a smooth pint of Guinness gives you heaves. We want to help you. Please post locations to find Guinness on tap in unlikely cities and towns across the country (or world if you like), and comments on the quality if so inclined. I'll start. San Antonio TX: Durty Nellie's, 200 S. Alamo Place (on the Riverwalk) quality: average

Nope, they don't just grow in Canada -- I got me one too. He is from the Adirondacks, though -- pretty close to the border. I'm sure he'd love a worthy opponent, if in fact that's what you are. He used to impress his friends in Denmark by launching caps onto the roof of a 3-story apartment building. Top that. A friend of mine says you need lots of chi to do it. (He can't do it, but I can -- in 2 tries.)

Goats Do Roam, no? What?? Anyway, my point about Love My Goat is that it's an untraditional red that isn't trying to be something it's not. The other Finger Lakes wines I've had are definitely no competition in their categories, so what's the point? (Besides supporting local business.) I'm no wine expert, but I am gifted with exceptionally good taste. I encourage anyone who hasn't tried it to do so with an open mind. BTW, near me the brand has gotten extremely difficult to find because of shelf-life and stability issues. The retailers found it very popular but not worth the hassle, I guess.

Poppy's Grill -- it's not regional food, but it's an essential stop. Open late, so if you come in on a late flight it's good to know. It's on St. Peter's in the French Quarter. I used to travel to NOLA all the time on business -- work for a French company so the dinners out are always first-rate. After a week of foie gras, turtle soup, quail, oysters, and bread pudding from Commander's Palace et al, there's nothing better than a smashed burger steamed under a hubcap. Bear in mind that it comes with mayo automatically. The cook will never let you forget it if you ask for a replacement top for your burger, and when you get it, it won't be toasted. I always forget to ask, but the last time I went back the cook knew me on sight and held the mayo. Purple-haired waitress said "Wow. He never does that for anyone." Don't you love those moments? Remoulade -- it's the casual sister of Arnaud's and right next door on Bourbon St. Can't miss the Shrimp Arnaud -- I've had it both places and Arnaud's had slightly better shrimp served on a bed of watercress & frisee -- Remoulade plops them down on I think Romaine, but the sauce is the same. They're both awesome. And if I remember correctly, Arnaud's will not automatically serve French bread on the side, but Remoulade does. Use it to scoop up the shrimp, and you'll be in heaven. Perfect stop if you want to feel like you've gotten your money's worth.

A Dark 'n Stormy. I make it as more of a highball than a cocktail. Gosling's Black Seal is the official choice of rum, but I use whatever dark rum is at hand. Here's my recipe: about 3/4 oz. dark rum 12 oz. bottle chilled spicy ginger beer (I like Goya) Rose's lime juice Pour rum over 1 or 2 ice cubes in pilsner glass. Add ginger beer & top w/ a bit of Rose's. This is my favorite everyday rum drink. If you're not into spicy ginger beer, it's probably not for you. I've made it w/ milder ginger beers (like Saranac or the kind they sell at Trader Joe's) and it doesn't work. It's definitely a weak drink alcohol-wise. But for me, increasing the amount of rum ruins the perfect balance of tastes. Also, don't use fresh lime juice -- the sugaryness of Rose's is essential. When you get it right, you will experience the most fascinating progression of flavors. If you're in the South, definitely use a local hot ginger beer. I have a soda-making friend in Bklyn who makes her own sometimes -- heavenly.

I've had Bully Hill wines - some things are better left unsaid. My reaction to that totally depends on whether Love My Goat was one of them. The whites are for shit.

I think that might be because Walter Taylor...umm.... died a few years ago. Fine, he WAS a black sheep. I'm well aware of his demise, but what does that have to do with anything? The wine is still being produced.

(Shudder) What the hell is it with San Antonio? I still haven't figured out what happened one night there... there may have been swimming involved, but most of my clothes were suspiciously dry. I just hope it wasn't in the river. Bartender told me a lot of people end up in there. I had Tex-Mex beforehand. Michael Bolton was there. Waiter and I spied on him & made snide comments. Didn't work like the KFC, though -- worst hangover of my life, bar none. Definitely something about that fried chicken -- did I neglect to mention that the spoonfuls of mayo followed a fried chicken dinner, for good measure? Maybe it's been the chicken all along. I have a midnight curfew now when I travel for work. And no intention of sticking to it. I hope the missing word in this sentence is "us" and not "you." (Hint -- between of & really)

I just did a search and find it remarkable that no one's apparently ever mentioned Bully Hill in this forum (since "the beginning of time"). I know he's a black sheep & all, but c'mon, what's up with that?

I beg to differ. Popeye's is perfect in every way.

Good to see there's still a healthy number of folks who take pride in drinking heavily. Step 1: 2 Excedrin with a large glass of water, go back to sleep for an hour. Have a packet of Morning Relief but haven't tried it yet -- last time I remembered, I had already had my 2 Excedrin & 2 cups of coffee -- don't know what would have happened, probably not relief. Step 2: Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe, well done, with home fries instead of french if they're good at the diner. If not, gravy. Coke. If it's really bad, apple or cranberry juice instead. Grape juice is the best, I agree, but they rarely have that at my diners. Question: do you drink coffee before you go? Order it at the diner? Sometimes I have coffee while I'm waiting for my food, but that really guarantees a mad dash to the restroom before the meal is over. But if I miss my coffee altogether, I'll never really feel human all day. My old standard used to be Mrs. Grass's chicken soup -- the one with the grease egg inside the package, some Ritz crackers & Velveeta, washed down with Ginger Ale, and followed by a satisfying, eardrum-shattering belch. Hangover music: "Turpentine Willie" from Horses in the Mines by the Bad Livers. It will make you feel like you're hung over when you're not, but when you are it makes you feel like the outside world is synchronized to the turbulence your body is experiencing. Kind of equalizes the pressure. Try it! Oh, and about the olive oil thing -- my friend told me that in the South, the moms of some of the guys she dated would make them eat several heaping spoonfuls of mayo before they went out. Terrifying thought.

What would be the point of that? Oh, I know: "let's allow smoking in all the poor areas of Manhattan and not in the rich, tourist and business areas." Horrible idea. Sam, your new duties should have you busy with other threads. You've put in your time here. Move out, private! On the double! Yup, I knew if I just wrote that with no explanation I'd get something interesting. Maybe I should let it stew for a while... Nah. I'm a smoker. I hate the middle section of Manhattan. Don't give me a list of the many worthy restaurants & cultural landmarks there. I know. I just wish I didn't have to travel through the Mall of America to get to them. It was a facetious suggestion, but let's ask the non-smokers in the forum -- where do you hang out?

1. Allow smoking S of 14th St, W of 9th Ave, N of 125th, and E of Ave. A. to be continued

I was with you until the second paragraph -- if anything goes, then leave the rubes alone! (Besides, preventing a harmless mess in a little dish is hardly a practical reason for anything, even if you're obsessive-compulsive.) What the sushi chef said is exactly the way I've always thought about the issue. I imagine they have some kind of mental training that goes on before they come here that allows them to put aside their dignity and become clownish caricatures to a bunch of ignorant spoiled brats. We non-Japanese have no hope of ever gaining a level of understanding comparable to growing up in that culture. Think Bobby Flay on Iron Chef. OK, we're not all as mentally challenged as he is, but we're probably not as smart as we think we are either. There's always something else to learn. Maybe the inflight magazine blurb isn't telling us the whole story. Maybe there's a time and a place for everything, and maybe we're a bunch of rubes too. If you were a sushi chef, wouldn't you find it much more annoying if someone thought they knew it all? What's worse, a rube or a poser? P.S. Is wasabi served on the side in Japan? If so, what's it there for?

Saw Bandits last night. Was either that or poke around the forum -- then I said "Hey, honey -- this movie is about food!" Went downhill from there, foodwise. I disagree about the chopping part. She was in a manic dancing frenzy at the time. Would it have made sense to have her stop and calmly peel the carrot & chop the celery? At least she was having fun! We were supposed to fall in love with her zany zest for life. On the other hand, while I wanted to love her during that scene, it didn't quite ring true for me. As my next-door neighbors at the community center, or my customers when I was a short-order cook could tell you, I'm much more lovable than that when I sing, dance & cook simultaneously. The pasta scene irked me too, though. I didn't see any evidence of cream or anything else he mentioned (capers, I think?) but I was waiting with bated breath to see what his guess for the secret ingredient would be. Is there any better cliffhanger for a foodie? I was hoping he didn't say "fennel," the answer to a similar scene in I think Mystic Pizza. But saffron?!? That wasn't the worst part, though. She is clearly his superior in the kitchen (unsafe knife work notwithstanding) but it never came up again except when she called his pasta "chewy." And why did we have to see another pasta-with-red-sauce meal? It's not like they worked the SAFFRON thread (ha) in again or anything. They never got to cook together, go grocery shopping together, or consummate their food relationship in any way, which seemed like a gaping omission. Of course, not everyone would feel that way -- my husband didn't. Makes me think there was more in it that ended up on the cutting room floor because it wasn't central to the plot. Matt's a photog/tech nut, so he yells out the makes and models of every camera, light meter, laptop, etc. we see in a movie and loves to point out inconsistencies. Recently he saw a scene where the character's laptop was a Mac from the back but a Dell PC from the front. He was outraged. And I'm an all around jack-of-all-trades know-it-all, so we're a hoot too. Although our close friends are highly critical too, and we like to sit around impressing each other by nitpicking whatever we're watching. But we don't talk in the theater, of course. All that being said, if you ignore the food part, Bandits is a really interesting movie. Little trivia -- when Billy Bob says he has a phobia about antique furniture, it's true in real life for the actor. Heard him on Fresh Air talking about the rumors that he & Angelina had a dungeon in their house. Said it was ridiculous because that would be his worst nightmare. Must have added it to the script to make it more real. Of course, I pointed that out to Matt during the movie. They should really add a smirking face for me. This one's closest...

I was really glad to see this thread too. I was in Ecuador 2 years ago & loved it. Decided to keep a travel journal, which soon turned into a food-only journal. I religiously wrote down everything I ate there. If I come across it I'd be happy to post it in full. The most memorable: bizcochos with fresh cheese in Cayambe, potato soup w/ avocados at the Hacienda Pinsaqui near Otavalo, open-air breakfasts of fresh baked biscuits and guava jam at El Monte (an ecolodge in the cloud forest near Mindo). Ecuador made me love breakfast, but always the bread/fruit ones, not the eggy spicy ones. My stomach wakes up slowly. God, I can't wait to find that journal to remember all the great breakfasts. I thought the coffee was great all over. Our last stop on the way out of Mindo was to a coffee plantation run by a retired Belgian economist. Looked like he was on safari with Hemingway. He had decided to stimulate the economy of Ecuador by creating the perfect coffee. So far it is only available in one place in the world -- that amazing huge specialty shop that feels like it should be in Paris. Don't know where it is exactly -- on the way back to Quito, I guess. We bought a few bags and prepared some at home. It was just OK. Guess he hasn't perfected that technique yet. The water situation is pretty weird.

Key lime pie.

Had a Bon Appetit-inspired night from the latest issue I picked up: skewered fresh mozz, canteloupe & prosciutto w/ cracked pepper drizzled with fig balsamic vinegar (instead of the pesto they had, which I put on the pasta) -- pretty perfect. Even garnished it with a flower made out of the mozzarella trimmings to make the cubes, with a melon center on a fan of prosciutto. I never garnish food at home unless we have company but this board's inspired me -- it was nice and didn't feel contrived. room temp linguine w/ arugula/basil pesto -- I eat pesto hot or cold during the summer like crazy; always looking for something new but not too new, meaning, it has to be green. The recipe is for arugula with mint but I didn't have any mint and I wanted a more traditional flavor. corn-on-the-cob from the farmer's market, boiled and then dressed with olive oil, pecorino, basil, lime juice, s+p. Recipe called for lime juice, cumin, red pepper, garlic, basil & oil -- I just Italianized it for the meal but put in lime juice accidentally as I was glancing at the recipe. The directions say to panfry the corn in plain olive oil, then add the mixture to the pan and continue to fry. That's what I did -- half of the mixture stayed in the pan & made a huge caked-on mess, but worth it for that almost-burnt cheese aroma that stuck on the corn even if the cheese itself didn't. Yes, I should get a cheap nonstick skillet. I let the corn get good color in strips, which really made the dish. I totally loved it -- getting a bite of toasty browned kernels and sweet pale ones together. The lime juice was the biggest surprise. I was worried it would taste off -- I couldn't remember ever seeing lime in an Italian dish -- but it just made the EVOO seem more fruity (I used regular gallon-stuff to fry but good Greek stuff in the dressing).

1. a "sandwich mixte" from cheap Paris cafe -- buttered baguette w/ ham & gruyere 2. variation of #1 -- canadian bacon & jarlsberg on baguette with thin smear of whole grain mustard 3. grilled cheese with sharp cheddar on oatnut bread (optional bacon/dijon mustard) 4. roast beef with horseradish sauce, from Roy Roger's or Panera (I have no shame) 5. The accidental sandwich invented by my father and me at the end of a meal I made with the leftover scraps on our plates. It was even better than the meal: Toasted pita bread halves spread inside with hummus, with thinly sliced grilled steak, cucumbers & fennel marinated in a vinegary chile/pomegranate dressing and tabouli. Would be a great hors d'oeuvre in triangles with 1 piece of each inside. 6. The house special sandwich at Buona Pizza in Westfield: ham, cappicola, salami, provolone, oil-and-vinegar, spices on sub roll. It's definitely all about the bread (and the technique) in this case. They put the dressing in the middle instead of on the bread, so you don't get that soggy pink bread phenomenon. Instead, the dressing gently oozes out and coats the outside of the roll with a layer of olive oil. The roll itself is nice and firm and crusty, so it holds up perfectly. I always order a whole so I can keep half for the next day, when it's even better. 7. (Should be #1 or in its own category altogether) Italian sausage from the Jersey shore, Coney Island, or any street/county fair -- sweet sausage, onions & peppers, NO sauce or potatoes. I hate mayo, regular yellow or brown mustard, shredded lettuce, onions, and tomatoes on my sandwiches, so it's much easier ordering sandwiches in a foreign country (like California) than in my native NJ. I like very spicy mustards, anything w/ horseradish, any green other than iceberg, any kind of marinated vegetable, sauteed/caramelized onions... I am known in my circles for being "anti-wrap" -- I generally like a high proportion of bread to filling, except for something like #5. I make my sandwiches like the French, with one measly layer of cheese and one or two of meat. I could make sandwiches for a week easy with some of the swelling, overstuffed deli creations we get here. When I order grilled cheese in a diner, I specify "1 slice of cheese" -- they think I'm nuts. Besides, the "wrap thing" in the corporate lunch world is just so irritating. That medianoche sounds delectable.

What kind of restaurant are we talking about (how fancy)?