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  1. Today I went to Providence to butcher a pig. My train to Providence from New York City was at 7am, but with the spring time-change overnight it made my wake-up time feel like 4:30am. But it was worth it. Many photos were taken, much video was captured, and I'm sure those reports will be rolling in soon. I just had a few impressions of the event (the schedule and details of the day are here) that I wanted to share: First, our hosts Matt Gennuso (the chef of Chez Pascal, where the event took place) and Matt Jennings (of Farmstead and La Laiterie) were incredibly giving of their time, information and meat. Not only did they tirelessly instruct us all day long about all things pork, but also they put out an amazing and abundant lunch spread of cooked and cured items. It was like an entire meal of grilled meats, plus an entire meal of charcuterie, but it was one meal that began at lunchtime, sustained us as we returned to the platters and grazed throughout the day, and still supported plenty of leftovers for folks to take home. Chris (Amirault) and Steve (New England) did an excellent job putting the event together. Thanks guys. Second, I came for the pig but I stayed for the knowledge. Really, the venture to Providence (which requires 3.5 hours of train travel each way for me), would have been worth it just for the detailed Gennuso tutorial on how to butcher a pig into a variety of restaurant-appropriate cuts. But that was only the beginning. After that, Jennings led us through the production of pate, we had our epic lunch, we prepared and salted a leg for prosciutto with Gennuso, we made Toscano salami with Jennings, we made sausage with Gennuso and, before all that, there was a presentation about pork, agriculture and all manner of related issues supported by a nifty full-color booklet that our hosts prepared for the event. Third, it was such a pleasure to be part of this group effort to learn and do. I hope the chefs were as into it as we all were. When you go out to eat at a restaurant, and you're a food-obsessed eGullet Society type, you sometimes feel as though you're the only person in the room who cares deeply about the food -- it seems like everyone else is more interested in the atmospherics of dining out. So it's a real treat to be surrounded by a group where each person comes to the table already dialed in at the maximum enthusiasm setting. Looking forward to some of those photos and, eventually, video.
  2. This was our most successful Chinese New Year banquet yet, with eight people in attendance. Photos by yimay. Jellyfish. Everyone liked it! Kao fu. Wheat gluten, mushrooms, bamboo, etc. Traditionally, a Shanghai breakfast dish. Pork and soy sprout soup. Dumplings with pork, shrimp and scallops. Very interesting, I've never had a dumpling with scallops before. They might have been dried scallops as there was a more pronounced briney taste. Quail. "Lion's head", giant meatballs, extremely tender and fluffy. Peking duck. Ti pang, braised ham hock. Thick layer of skin and fat. Probably my favorite dish. Me, my friend Pete. Whole flounder with roe. A fish with roe is considered an auspicious sign. Mustard greens covered in "black hair" seaweed sauce. Black moss or black hair seaweed is actually an algae and is eaten on Chinese New Year because its chinese name "fa cai" (hair vegetable) is a play on words that means prosperity, as in "gong xi fa cai", which is a greeting exchanged during Chinese New Year meaning good luck and prosperity. The seaweed is mild in flavor but added a thick texture to the sauce. Eight treasure rice. The most important Chinese New Year dish, composed of eight different "treasures" in sweet, glutinous rice, similar to a rice pudding. I can't remember all eight of the treasures but they included dates, raisins, gingko nuts, peanuts and prunes. We all have iPhones! Pao's is a really terrific restaurant. If it was more conveniently located I would come out all the time. We raised $32 for the Society at this event. Thank you everyone for coming out. The Year of the Rat is shaping up to be a delicious one.
  3. Tarantino, you did it again! It was a fabulous Chinese new year Banquet at Joe Poon's studio. Pics to follow. Anyone else take pics beside me? I think I missed some of the courses! I am a poor food pornographer. Damn near 70 of us (and about 20 newbies) partied, laughed and ate and just devoured the heck out of Joe Poon's hospitality. What a great DDC night. Kudos, Jim!
  4. First Annual Asian Lunar New Year Dinner Saturday, February 9th, 2008 - 7:00 pm Kirin Court Chinese Restaurant 221 W. Polk St., #200 (Central Expressway & Main Street, S.E Corner) Richardson, Texas 75081 $35, included tax, tip and $5 contribution to the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. We had a great time last night at Kirin Court. It was good to meet some local members of the eGullet Society for the first time. The conversation largely revolved around the high quality and authenticity of the food, and people's experiences eating in China and Malaysia, as well as around the DFW area. The restaurant worked well with us to make this a great meal. We successfully adjusted the menu a bit in order to maintain the same cost per person. Thanks again to Kent Wang for selecting the original menu. His choices were terrific. Asian Lunar New Year Dinner Menu Appetizer Boneless Pork Back Soup Seafood soup Main Dishes Peking Duck Vegetable Special New Year Fa Cai Whole Fish - Flounder Salt & Pepper Shrimp Whole cold Chicken Dessert Almond Cookies Tea Chrysantimum Green Tea served with Rock Sugar Thanks to Jeff Meeker who took photos of the dishes. Thanks to everyone attending, we raised $35 for the eGullet Society. Everyone agreed we should do this again next year, so note your calendar for the Second Annual Asian New Year Dinner tentatively the second week of February 2009.
  5. Ten of us are waddling about the southern New England area right now after a wonderful feast at Lucky Garden in N Providence RI to celebrate the Lunar New Year. We were Steve, Julie, Catherine, Ted (Catherine's cousin -- apologies if the name is wrong!), Paul, Keith, Shelley, Laura, and Christopher. We ordered a lot of items from the usual dim sum menu as well as several from the New Years menu. We started off with these tasty little char siu and puff pastry items that none of us had seen before: Swell har gao: Char siu bao: Conpoy congee: Fried baby squid: Shu mai: Rice noodles with dried beef: Soup dumplings: Pork ton bor: They had fresh whole bass, so we had to get that, of course, and it was excellent: Vegetables included pea pod leaves: Garlic chives: Then we dug into the New Years dishes. First, a fine version of shrimp with sea moss and Chinese broccoli. I've found that sea moss has tasted a bit off when I've had it in the past, but not this time. It was great: Broccoli with egg white and crab, which I adored: An amazing braised pork dish described as "foot" on the menu and "head" by the waitress, which was served on lightly braised lettuce, which I also adored: Shrimp with duck feet, the cartilage which had been removed and placed under the shrimp to steam: Turnip cake: The New Years cake, with sweet red beans, coconut, and egg. This is our house's favorite part of New Year! We finished up with some sesame balls and dan tarts, which I didn't snap. Here's the gang: Thanks to everyone for making this event such a success, and for supporting the eGullet Society!
  6. Millersus, her husband and I got there early and we watched a 15 minute documentary a UT film student did about Lola and the history of the restaurant. It was very touching. Then Misplaced_Texan and his wife arrived with reinforcements of Shiner Bock. We began the festivities with a Belgian ale from my cellar, an Affligem Tripel (BeerAdvocate review). On to the meal: We started with a big basket of onion rings. People have different tastes in onion rings, but I like this style the best: thin strips of onion and flaky batter. My favorite basket of onion rings in the city. I had the chicken po' boy, which is really huge. You have to eat half of it first before you're able to close it and eat it like a sandwich. The chicken is well-seasoned and very juicy. Millersus had the shrimp po' boy, which featured some huge pieces of shrimp. One common gripe I have with cheap comfort food-type places is that they skimp on the ingredients to keep their costs low -- not so at Lola's -- the portions are always generous. Fried catfish, red beans and rice, green beans. It was a pleasure to meet everyone. Thank you everyone for your donations to the Society. Let's have the next one maybe two months from now.
  7. We have our reservations made, and we'll be at the Green Valley Grill at 7:00pm (problems with a 6:30 reservation.) Ask for the e-Gullet or the Tyson group. And if you find at the last minute that you can make it after all, come on - we have extra seats. Hope to see all y'all there. - TT
  8. Thursday night twelve of us put together a solid effort at tasting a plethora of salted French butter. In total there were 16 butters (although two were from Pennsylvania). The butters ranged from basic Monoprix brands, to market butter scraped from an urn, to the much lauded Bordier. We tasted blind, and simply started by tasting the butter that was situated closest to us on a table filled with butter plates (pics coming soon). After two hours of smearing the pale yellow pats onto little nuggets of baguette, we all felt a little tired, a little nauseous, and a strange mix of being full and desiring a salad at the same time. Throughout the tasting we independently kept track of our favorites and (more importantly) our least favorites, then tallied those scores at the end. Here are the butters we tasted (with my notes) and how they ranked. 1. Buerre de Baratte AB: Dull, with an artificial texture and slightly bitter. 2. Monoprix Gourmet:Salty but nice mouthfeel, slightly bitter finish. 3. Payson Breton: Mild salting, creamy with a lasting oily mouthfeel. 4. Grand Fermage: Chunky bits of salt with a mild slightly oily finish. 5. Marie Morin: Strange funky taste, artificial and oily. 6. Bernard Gaborit (Beurre Cru): Hints of the ocean in the salt with a lasting creaminess. 7. Le Montsurais: Mild, not oily, not salty, almost no distinction. 8. Le Gall (P'tibio): Dull, mild, no mouthfeel. 9. Grand Fermage (Charentes Poitou): Boring! Tastes like nothing. 10. Echire:Sweet, with a nice milk taste. 11. Cantin:Tasted like the wax from baby bell cheese, hints of plastic, not good. 12. Hendricks (unsalted): Like a frozen popsicle of milk. 13. Gin Meadow: Tasted like cake batter, or that stage when you whip butter with sugar. 14. Bordier: Lot's of up front salt, but a mild finish. 15. a la Motte Sale:Salty and more grassy then the others. 16. Au Bon Beurre: Super salty, hard to taste anything else. Let's start off the results with the big losers of the bunch. 5. Marie Morin: With nearly a unanimous vote, this was the WORST butter of the bunch. We bought this one at Galleries Lafayette Gourmet. 11. Cantin: With the second most votes for disliked butter, most people noted the plasticky and waxy taste. And now the big winners of the night. 10. Echire: With 7 votes, more than half the people here voted this as the best of the bunch. 4. Grand Fermage: and 2. Monoprix Gourmet: Tied for second with five votes each. 9. Grand Fermage (Charentes Poitou) Rounded out the last of the top votes with four votes. Interesting notes: The Bordier butter came in with three votes. The most contested butter was the 16. Au Bon Beurre which had three votes for favorite and four votes for least favorite. I will let others ring in with their notes as well as information on the butters they brought.
  9. Moderator's Note: This report topic has been split off from the planning topic. -- CA Thanks for hosting a great event Kent. It was great to meet you all and I look forward to getting to know you all better. -j.
  10. Just waiting for Kathy to get here with some coffee! We're ready to go!
  11. Great turn out and time for the shop 'n' eat! As planned, we hit Compare Foods on Broad St, Sunny Market on Reservoir Ave (Rt 2), Sonia's on Park Ave at Rolfe St, and Chinese American Market on Park Ave at Rolfe St, before enjoying a great meal at Minh Hai on Park Ave: goi ga: shredded chicken salad goi bo: grilled beef salad (spicy) goi cuon: fresh shrimp and noodle rolls tom muc haoc ca xao lan: shrimp sautéed with noodles and coconut milk (spicy) ca chiem mam me: fish in tamarind sauce ca sate: fish in saté sauce (spicy) bo hoac ga xao rau cai: beef sauté in oyster sauce ga cuu long: marinated sautéed chicken with lemon pepper sauce (spicy) rau cai xao lan: sautéed vegetables in curry and coconut milk dau hu xao ca tim: tofu sautéed with eggplant in plum sauce (spicy) What'd people think?
  12. Okay, here is the roundup of what we tasted... (1) Eric Kayser: Light crust, mild taste, slightly dense crumb, floured exterior. (2) Moisan:Lightest crust of the lot, watery/baking soda taste, dense crumb, no flour on exterior. (3) Jacques Bazin: Darkest crust, most exciting taste with hints of corn flakes, porous crumb, flour on exterior. (4) Generic Baguette Tradition: Very light crust, dull/nothing taste, medium crumb, floured exterior. (5) Phillip Gosselyn: Second darkest crust of the bunch, interesting but mild flavor, medium crumb, floured exterior. (6) Abess: Light crust, very mild/neutral taste, medium crumb, floured exterior. Hands down the winner in this bunch was the Jacques Bazin. It had the most flavor of the lot, with a slight sweetness, a crisp crust and soft crumb. Several people noted the presence of a chemical taste in the Moisan. CCO had pointed out that while the Bazin had the best taste, it would be best suited for cheese or strong flavors. Forest, and a few others liked the Abess as a second favorite and noted that the neutral taste would lend well to butter/jam. The generic baguette of our tasting was from a bakery on Rambuteau (a few doors west of Pain de Sucre). It could be best described as lacking any distinguishing characteristics, or simply bland.
  13. We kicked off the 2007 Heartland Gathering this evening at Light Bistro. Fifteen of us enjoyed a wonderful special menu. i managed to leave my printed copy of the menu behind, so if someone could PM me the exact descriptions I'll edit in better captions. For now, here are some pictures. The Amuse - a "Gazspacho Granita" A spicy little beginning to the meal. Eggplant Flan/paddlefish caviar/olive oil cracker/chive The paddlefish roe is an interesting addition to this dish. The flan is flavorful and has a gorgeous texture. Carpaccio of Kobe beef/fig/beets/chile The beets and chiles livened this up considerably. Of course the beef itself was yummy. Fresh Pea Gnocchi with mushrooms This was a sub for the beef dish for people who don't eat red meat. Sturgeon sous vide/licorice port purée/santa claus melon/pickled cous cous We were advised that the licorice/port sauce might be a bit strong for some. It was delicious, and matched well with the sturgeon. A milder fish probably wouldn't stand up as well in such a bold combination of flavors Ohio Lamb/swiss chard ribs/sweet pepper gastrique/candied banana peppers Served with braised chard stems and candied banana peppers. The peppers were a huge hit! Champagne and Cheese/raspberries This was an aged Manchego (I think) served with fresh berries. Strawberry sorbet/sweet balsamic tomatoes/blue cheese Tomato is a surprise in a dessert. Great play of sweet and tart flavors. Gateau au chocolate/candied fennel/orange I didn't have this one, but did get a taste of the candied fennel - very nice. It was fun introducing our out-of-town visitors to Light Bistro. What a great way to start the Heartland Gathering. Edit to fix captions.
  14. ...two out of three ain't bad. Our sojourn through the finest pizza pies Fairmount and vicinity have to offer turned into a two-person, two-pie affair thanks to some unfortunate emergencies and mix-ups. But your faithful correspondents, Bob Libkind and Yours Truly, soldiered on at reduced strength through two of our planned three stops. First up: Illuminare. Bob, who knows this territory well, advised me on the way in that the owner is also a custom builder who put a good deal of time and effort into constructing a wonderful space. And it shows. Back of this bar, which wraps around the open kitchen, is space filled with light thanks to huge windows and a clerestory roof -- appropriate, given the restaurant's name. We chose to sit in the peaceful outdoor garden, where, if you let your imagination run loose for a bit, you might believe you've walked into the courtyard of a Mediterranean house, even if one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. What better setting to enjoy a margherita pizza, the traditional Pizza Club control pie? We ordered one from our waitress and took our seats at our table. Not too long afterwards, it appeared: Our... Wait. We ordered a margherita. Where's the basil? Or the fresh mozzarella, for that matter? This is a plain cheese pizza! "I know," said our very friendly yet very professional waitress. "I'm a pizza snob myself" -- a claim she then backed up with personal history and stories about some of the city's other top pizzerias. "I've told the manager that they need to change the menu, but they haven't done anything about it yet. Funny thing is, most of our customers don't say a thing." She seemed pleased someone noticed this error. It appears that Illuminare stopped serving its highly regarded margherita pie without telling anyone they had done so. So, as Donald Rumsfeld might have said in this situation, you eat the pizza you have, not the pizza you want. And this pizza was decent enough. The crust was nicely browned with only a little char. The sauce, while canned, wasn't overly salty; in fact, it was just slightly sweet -- but not tomato-paste sweet. The mozzarella had been burnt slightly, but was otherwise fine. And the crust had a very pleasant surprise for a just-browned pie -- a light and airy edge with a most satisfying crunch. Illuminare has won as much praise for its pies as for its atmosphere, and the pie we had here demonstrated their competence in making pizza. If I lived in Fairmount, I'd come here to order pizza often; besides, their prices -- $7 to $16, depending on the variety, for a 12-inch pie -- are very reasonable. (And I'd bring a date here for a romantic evening meal, ordering off the dinner menu.) But I wouldn't make a special trip for a cheese pie like this one the way I might have for an excellent margherita. On our distance-based rating system, I'd rank Illuminare's pies as 10-milers -- but I have to deduct five miles for misleading advertising. Next time, I will have to try one of their other varieties for a better gauge of what this kitchen is capable of. From Illuminare, we ambled around the corner and up the block to Rembrandt's, a local institution of long standing. This neighborhood fave has a split personality -- half convivial pub, half romantic hideaway. Bob explained to me that this was the result of an expansion that doubled the restaruant's space some years ago. We took our seats at the pub and perused the short but interesting pie menu: margherita, bianco (with tomatoes! -- oh, and broccoli rabe and fresh mozzarella), malfatto (with prosciutto, red peppers, Asiago and aged provolone, how can they call this pie "badly made"?), rustica (soppressata, roasted tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, aged provolone), and white clam (with bacon, three cheeses, fresh garlic and parsley), back on the menu after a hiatus, said Bob. We decided we needed to have something other than a margherita and ordered the white clam pie. Note that the clams are baked in their shells. It might have been better for them to have been added directly to the pie at the end, for they were chewy and overcooked, but in truth, they were superfluous. The rest of the pie was a perfectly balanced composition of smoky bacon, cheese with some bite and garlic ditto. (Edited to add: Bob thought it would have been even better with panchetta in place of the bacon.) All of this was served atop a nicely charred crust that was thinner than Illuminare's; however, the edge wasn't as crisp as our first pie's. The peel must have been dusted with flour before our pie was put in or pulled out of the oven, for flour fell from the bottom of our slices as we ate them. As Rembrandt's also has a short but well chosen selection of draft and bottled brews, we both had beer with our pie here. Bob ordered a Belgian ale with a nice malt-brown color, and I ended up getting the perfect summer beer -- Harpoon UFO Heifenweizen, a light and lemony brew that even came with its own weather forecast printed on the glass: I quickly figured out that this was actually a description of the beer in the glass--what it should look like at the proper serving temperature. It did. Prices here are reasonable too. Bob informed me that Rembrandt's had acquired a new head chef some time in the recent past; judging from this pie, the new chef is doing quite well. If the other pies in Rembrandt's repertoire are as good as this one was, I'd have to say that these are really good 15-mile pies -- but for the true test, we will have to return and order a margherita. From Rembrandt's, we parted company. Much though I was looking forward to Osteria, I decided I didn't have the stomach for an entire pie all to myself there after having downed the equivalent of a 12-inch pie at our two stops. Not to mention that it hadn't even opened for dinner by the time I walked past it on the way back home. This means, of course, that a Pizza Club inspection of Osteria is still necessary. Not to mention a control pie at Rembrandt's. Feel free to add your own comments, Bob. Illuminare 2321 Fairmount Avenue 215-765-0202 Rembrandt's 741 North 23d Street 215-763-2288 Nearest SEPTA service: Bus Route 7 (Pier 70 to Strawberry Mansion via 22d and 23d streets) heads west along Fairmount past Illuminare; Bus Route 48 (Center City to Tioga via North 29th Street) runs west along Aspen past Rembrandt's. Both routes run south on 23d near both restaurants returning to Center City.
  15. We tried 8 French olive oils. I will list the 8 and give my tasting notes for each, then let the others chime in with their notes. (1) Chateau de Montfrin (14€): Smooth, soft and warm. The oil lasted on the tongue but never turned bitter. (2) Moulin a Huile Paradis (negrette) (13€): I listed this one has having a sharp green unpleasant bite. (3) Moulin de L'Olivette (12€): I tasted a floral dusty bite, somewhat like the taste of the inside of a flower. (4) Domaine de Marquiliani (21€): Mild and smooth up front with a spicy garlic finish. (5) Huile d'olive de Nyons (26) Tache (15€): Very green with hints of fresh olive. Clean taste like it had been stored in steel. (6) Moulin Jean Marie Cornille (17€): Zesty and bitter with hints of lemon rind. (7) Chateau Virant (12€): Super smooth with almost zero bitter finish. (8) J. Leblanc (15€): Pine and bark hints with mildly bitter taste and lasting mild finish. In these olive oils, I found myself leaning towards the milder ones in the batch. My favorites were (7) Chateau Virant (12€) and (1) Chateau de Montfrin (14€). The Corsican olive oil (4) Domaine de Marquiliani (21€) I also liked, but more for it's uniqueness than for something I would use on a day-to-day basis.
  16. Thank you Sandy for meticulous organization and fervent applause for this great place. we enjoyed the company, the restuarant, the service, and of course, the cow(s)! my first time at an egullet "event" was friendly and inviting. my first time in a Brazilian establishment was also very warm and friendly. my first time with the Rodizio action was aaawesome. Filet, bacon, skirt steak, top round, and the official "picanha" cut...all done for us as we mostly requested rare to medium rare....simply divine and perfectly seasoned. And let us not forget the great okra and myself, I was a fan of both beans and both styles of rice (topped with a sprinkle of the flour crumble with bacon as advised by manley). Price and decor aside, I'd be interested in a comparison tween Picanha and Fogo on the meat. Has anyone been to both? oh - and another first time - navigating the Oxford Circle which I think only looks remotely like a circle from birds eye view. NJ is NJ but their circles are more SugarJ friendly.
  17. Italian Wine Tasting Vin Classic Wines 5717 Legacy Drive Suite 120 Plano, TX (Map) Thursday June 28, 2007 6:30 - 8:00 pm Free, with a paltry $5 contribution per person to the eGullet Society Wines tasted: Frescobaldi Brut Millisimato 2000 Attems Pinot Grigio 2005 Nipozzano Chiant Reserva 2003 Castelgiocondo Brunello 2002 Tenuta di Castglioni Rosso Toscana 2004 Ornellaia 2004 Pomino Vin Santo 2001 Thanks to Darrell Gibson at Vin Classic for arranging this special tasting, and to Gina della Vedova from the distributor, Folio, for the interesting background on each wine poured. This was the most extensive free tasting I have been to -- from the $12 Attens Pinot Grigio 2005 to the $175 Tenuta dell' Ornellaia 2004.
  18. What's so great a great about crab cakes? And how do you make them even greater? In response to the gauntlet thrown down in this [link] topic, Busboy, aka Charles Sweeney, and I are hosting the great crab cake cookout at the Busboy residence in DC's Mt. Pleasant neighborhood on the afternoon of August 26, at 3 PM. Everyone in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is convinced that they and they alone have the perfect crab cake recipe, we aim to compare and contrast the infinite variations of this summer delicacy to discover the perfect recipe and technique - or at least to argue about it over beer and soda on a (we hope) lovely summer Sunday. This event is BYOC and BYOB: bring your own crab for final assembly in the somewhat cramped Busboy kitchen, and bring your own fa vorite crab-oriented beverage. We'll supply soft drinks, corn and tomatoes. And non-crab-cookers -- everyone, actually -- are invited to bring a side dish of their choice. Kids are invited and parents interested in coming into town for the day should note that the house is a quick walk from the National Zoo. We're looking forward to a relaxed, fun and illuminating afternoon where you can show your stuff or just relax on the last weekend before Labor Day. Everyone is invited, including friends, spouses and otherwise, but space limitations mean that we'll have to cap the event at 20 people, first come, first served. This is also an eGullet fundraiser, so we will be asking a contribution of $10 per person. For further details, please PM Charles or myself. Yours in crabbiness, Bridget LEGAL STUFF: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN ORGANIZED THROUGH EG FORUMS BY MEMBERS BUT IS NOT SPONSORED BY THE EGULLET SOCIETY FOR CULINARY ARTS AND LETTERS OR EG FORUMS. YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ANY EVENT OR ACTIVITY ARRANGED ON OR DISCUSSED IN EG FORUMS IS AT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE RISK. BY USING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUMS YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND (1) THAT IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ANY EVENT OR ACTIVITY, YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO A VARIETY OF HAZARDS AND RISKS ARISING FROM THOSE ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS; (2) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, YOU AGREE TO WAIVE, DISCHARGE CLAIMS, RELEASE, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE SOCIETY, ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, AND OTHER PARTNERS AND EMPLOYEES, FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY ON ACCOUNT OF, OR IN ANY WAY RESULTING FROM INJURIES AND DAMAGES IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ANY SUCH EVENTS OR ACTIVITIES. YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THESE TERMS WILL BE BINDING UPON YOU AND YO UR HEIRS, EXECUTORS, AGENTS, ADMINISTRATORS AND ASSIGNS, AS WELL AS ANY GUESTS AND MINORS ACCOMPANYING YOU AT THE EVENTS.
  19. Here are our notes from the honey tasting we did on the 2nd of August. Les Ruchers de Veronne (Miel de Tilleul): Classic honey (bear) taste w/ hints of citrus, tan and cloudy. Les Ruchers de Veronne (lavende): slight bitter finish from the lavender, similar taste and color as above. Miels Villeneuve (Thym): A sweet honey with mild hints of thym, golden slightly cloudy color. Miel de Morovan (Pissenlit): Pale even color, mild vegetal finish from the dandelion. Dabur (Himalayan): Darkest color by far, pine cone and eucalyptus taste. Les Ruchers du Roy (lavende de Provence): Similar in taste to the other lavender w/ a cleaner amber color. Les Ruchers du Roy (miel des Pyrénées): Slightly dark w/ hints of vegetable, but less pronounced than the dandelion. Les Ruchers du Roy (miel de luzerne): Clean amber color w/ mild hints of herb and vegetable. Yves Tercé (Corsican from clementine blossoms): Super light color similar to the comb, the taste and texture mimicked the comb as well. Calenzanu (Miel de la Figarella): Another mild flavor amber honey w/ citrus rind hints. For me the most exciting of the honeys was the Himalayan from Dabur. It was full of pine cone flavor and stood far above the rest in regards to the most pronounced flavor. The Corsican from Yves Terce was also fun as the texture, look and taste were of honey comb. See you all for mustard and pretzels on the 6th of September.
  20. A quick report on our seven nights in Paris last month. The highlight was dinner at Taillevent, which I thought was even better than the last time. The tasting menu is a bargain at 140E. A Remoulade de Tourteaux was extraordinary, and was perfect with a Dagueneau Pur Sang Pouilly-Fume. A simple pan cooked rouget with a dab of tapenade was also memorable. In fact everything was excellent. Loss of a star has only made things better from what I can see. Second place went to Dominique Bouchet, where everything was near perfect. Le Clos Des Gourmets was exellent and quite reasonable for the quality of the food. Dinner at Drouant got off to a somewhat shaky start as far as service, but soon all was well. I don't believe M. Clemot was there, so maybe that had something to do with it. We had a very nice dinner at Les Fines Gueules, which I found delightful. We travelled out to Leslie Caron's Auberge La Lucarne aux Chouettes in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne one day for a birthday lunch for a friend. The place was enchanting and the food was quite good. That night we had a light dinner at a cafe. On our other night, we returned to Aux Trois Oliviers, a little place across the narrow street from our apartment, which we had liked two years ago. The food has gone more upscale, and while good, I think I liked it better before. We were all content as we headed out of Paris for the South.
  21. Okay, here is what we had: Moutarde Violette (recette Charentaise) Nice mellow mustard that would be tasty with crackers and cheese. The sweetness of the wine mellows out the mustard seed really well. Moutard de Truffe (Tubissime) OMG, that is not okay! Two tastes that came together as something you would shoot at a fancy fraternity party, as a dare. Moutard au Miel (Champ's) Yummy, a discernible amount of honey created a delicious classic pairing. (While I didn't have time to bring it, the honey mustard from Les Abilles is amazing. It features a spike of horseradish that gives it another dimension). Moutard de Picard (Champ's) I felt the cider didn't add anything to the taste. The flavor was as if plain whole grain had cider vinegar dumped into the batch. Moutard au Vin Charentais Nice whole grain look, but tasted of dust and cider. Verjus et Miel (Maille) Nothing special, tasted of your basic brown mustard. Horshradish (Maille) I LOVE horseradish and assumed I would love this mustard. Unfortunately this mustard tasted nothing of the bite or tang of horseradish and instead offered only little pickled nuggets of the root. Forte de Dijon (Monoprix) The strongest of the Dijons. A bit too powerful for most applications. Unless of course you want to clear your sinuses instantly. French's ballpark Oh French's, this instantly takes me back to pulling those nasty encrusted udders at Fenway. How can I say anything bad about something so charged with good memories. French's Dijon So either this one had gone bad, or just IS really bad. Tastes of flour and flowers, with hints of cardboard thrown in. The texture was pasty to boot. Moutarde de Dijon (Champ's) Classic Dijon taste without being overwhelming like the one from Monoprix. Moutarde de Meaux (Pommery) Big bits of whole grain but with a smooth taste that develops in the mouth. Hints of Champagne left a nice finish that felt as though it would cut through a fatty steak really well. For me the best of the lot were the Champ's au Miel and Dijon, both of which represented the best of their respective genres. My other favorite was the moutarde de Meaux which was both original and delicious. The French's Dijon and the moutarde de Truffe should be labeled as "not meant for consumption". The French's ballpark gets high scores for nostalgia. Here is a link to the labels and the pretzels: Mustard Gallery
  22. Moderator's note: These posts were split off from the planning topic, which was deleted. -- CA tammylc was taking notes so I'll leave her to post more of the details, but I just wanted to report back that I was very pleasantly surprised by our dinner at Moto last night. I went in with measured expectations, slightly concerned about encountering too much "gimmickry". My fears were unfounded, this was an outstanding meal. While we only did the 10 course last night, I will definitely need to go back (soon hopefully) for the GTM. More to come later...
  23. Okay here is the roundup from the chocolate tasting. First off I will tell you what we tried with the prices, origin and cocoa percentage. 3.80 € Michel Cluziel (Mangaro) (n/a) 3.60 € Jean-Paul Hevin (Sao Tome) (75%) 1.50 € Monoprix (Ecuador) (70%) 5 € Patrick Roger (Ecuador) n/a) 6 € Maison du Chocolat (Cuana) (74%) 6.50€ Pierre Herme (Madagascar) (75%) 4.26 € Chocolate Bonnat (Venezuela CHUAO) (75%) 5 € Patrick Roger (Madagascar) (n/a) 3 € Valrhona (Guanaja) (70%) 3 € Valrhona (Dark) (72%) Second I will note that our tasting was a bit flawed in the sense that we didn't have the opportunity to compare single origin beans, given the variety of origins that each chocolate maker uses, it would have been difficult to do so. Finally each person's tastes are completely subjective. Some prefer milk chocolate over dark chocolate and vice versa. Some preferred the presence of fruit, while others preferred the woody or nutty aspects. All that being said, there were some favorites across the board. Maison du Chocolat got the most votes by our tasters. We all noted the texture was extremely smooth and tasted the most like a true dark chocolate with hints of cocoa nibs and a nice bitterness. Chocolate Bonnat tied for second with 2 others; Patrick Roger (Ecuador) and the Pierre Herme. Bonnat had a sweet wood taste and a slight bitterness. Some noted the dried cherry and apple hints. Patrick Roger (Ecuador) had a bergamot taste (earl grey) and slightly dry. Mild taste with a light finish. Pierre Herme had a bright citrus taste with hints of lime and zest. The others each had one vote except for the Michel Cluizel which received ZERO votes from the tasters. Ptipois will have some photos from the event. Join us next time for Olive Oil. Details coming soon.
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