NYT Articles on Food, Drink, Cooking, and Culinary Culture (2002–2005)

[arjay]

Very interesting article, Mr. Kinsey. Thanks for sharing that.

I may have to set aside my Ketel One and try Smirnoff for my evening vodka martini.

←

Martinis don't come from vodka, and bacon doesn't come from turkeys.

Edited February 25, 2005 by arjay (log)

[DrinkBoy]

Martinis don't come from vodka, and bacon doesn't come from turkeys.

That's a great line, I'm going to have to remember that one!

[Monica Bhide]

Today's NYT has a feature story on chaat -- Mumbai to Midtown, Chaat Hits the Spot

Enjoy!

[Milagai]

Today's NYT has a feature story on chaat -- Mumbai to Midtown, Chaat Hits the Spot

Enjoy!

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we've just booked our india tickets for the summer,

so i can count the days when i can be licking my own

chaat-fingers, instead of just drooling over the screen......

btw monica: how is your own chaat egci coming along?

i have no pictures, but a question: do you have ideas

on boiled peanuts as a chaat thing? i have heard this is

a popular rural maharashtra variation, and much taken up

by army officers in their messes as a snack with drinks;

and here in the rural south us it's quite popular too...

i've never had any though...

any recipes, monica or others?

milagai

[Peppertrail]

Serve boiled peanuts (shelled of course) along with salt, finely chopped onions, lots of fresh cilantro, green chilies, a few drops of fresh lemon juice and some cayenne powder (or paprika if you prefer mild taste) dusted on top.

[Episure]

I wait for such opportunities.

[Milagai]

I wait for such opportunities.

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many thanks!

Ammini and Episure!

milagai

[BBhasin]

My father was in the army but we never came accross the boiled peanuts version. It was always fried , with the skin on, and it was fantastic. It however got soggy pretty quickly and we would eat fast, not to lose the crunch. Come to think of it, with boiled peanuts at least we would not have that problem and could concentrade on the drink!

Episure, in that picture, does the vendor have puffed rice in the plastic dibba?

[Episure]

My father was in the army but we never came accross the boiled peanuts version. It was always fried , with the skin on, and it was fantastic. It however got soggy pretty quickly and we would eat fast, not to lose the crunch. Come to think of it, with boiled peanuts at least we would not have that problem and could concentrade on the drink!

Episure, in that picture, does the vendor have puffed rice in the plastic dibba?

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That puffed rice is an option instead of peanuts. BTW the peanuts are situated over a steamer.

I selected a page which had a buxom south indian film actress for the serving cone and the spoon was made from a piece of the thicker magazine cover.

[FaustianBargain]

Chaat is becoming my staple these days. I think it is increasing my stomach acidity tho'...

I have always wondered why London hasnt taken onto chaat. Chaat and beer are made for each other. This slavish attachment of pubs to curryhouses is tragic.

Episure, are you in town? Is that Bangalore?

Edited March 15, 2005 by FaustianBargain (log)

[bague25]

Episure

What's in the plate between the raw mango and tomato? White cabbage?

Thanks

Bague

[deliad]

Episure

What's in the plate between the raw mango and tomato? White cabbage?

Thanks

Bague

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Looks like shredded white raddish to me but Episure can confirm.

[Episure]

Is cabbage. This is south India.

They also put shredded coconut in Bhel !

FaustianB, this was in Kodaikanal but let me take you out for a good chaat in Bangalore.

[Lisa1349]

I do recall some many months ago, a newly paternal forum host asked Eric Asimov about more beer articles.

Their reply? also features a multimedia tasting which discusses American hops.

Bravo.

[jeffc666]

It is good to see the major media outlets running some enlightened beer articles. However in my experience there are tons of beer journalists out there that seem to think that they will never get published in a non-beer source so they just whine and moan about how the major news media will not advocate for beer.

It takes a lot of effort and hard work to make Average Joe, even Gourmand Joe, realize that there is much more to beer then BMC. I am still stunned to see so many people at high end grocery stores buying $20/lb meats, picked ripe vegetables, and $40/lb cheeses with a 12 pack of Miller Lite (or whatever) in their cart alongside their usually wide assortment of wine bottles.

[Susan in FL]

Lisa, that is a nice beer article. Thanks for pointing us to it.

[Lew_Bryson]

It is good to see the major media outlets running some enlightened beer articles. However in my experience there are tons of beer journalists out there that seem to think that they will never get published in a non-beer source so they just whine and moan about how the major news media will not advocate for beer.

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Hey, I'm one of 'em, baby, but you're not hearing us right: what we're REALLY whining about is that we will never get published in a mainstream publication...because they always put some idiot staffer on the beer stories, instead of getting someone who knows what they're talking about. Eric Asimov is a glowing exception, Don Russell at the Philly Daily News has grown into the job very well over the years, but most beer coverage outside the west coast is wine writers and food writers talking about something they just don't get. Could I do a better job? You bet. Is it worth the crappy pay newspaper freelancers get, even from major dailies? Not on your life. So I just keep writing for trade journals and beer rags, and keep pushing at magazine markets.

[eje]

Enjoyed the article; but, was frustrated that aside from the Anchor, Sierra Nevada, and Flying Dog beers they mention, none of them are available here.

A friend decided to have a Pale Ale tasting party, so I composed a list of West(-ish) Coast Pale Ales.

XP Pale Ale (Bear Republic)

Full Sail Pale Ale (Full Sail)

Poleeko Gold Pale Ale (Anderson Valley)

Blue Heron Pale Ale (Mendocino Brewing)

Acme Pale Ale (North Coast Brewing)

Dogtown Pale Ale (Lagunitas)

Untouchable Pale Ale (Speakeasy)

Steelhead Extra Pale (Mad River)

Alaskan Pale (Alaskan Brewing)

Liberty Ale (Anchor)

Pale Ale (Sierra)

Mirror Pond Pale Ale (Deschutes)

Stone Pale Ale (Stone Brewing) I've never seen this at a liquor store

or bar here.

fixed spelling

Edited July 6, 2005 by eje (log)

[DRColby]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/22powell_cm.html

Very funny, very good.

Dave

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Wow, I was very impressed by this. I must say that I was not enthralled by her original blog, but this Op-Ed proves that she can indeed write well. I love when people surprise me.

Edited July 22, 2005 by Jennifer Iannolo (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Classic French sauces were conceived to ennoble less-than-prime beef.

Is there any evidence for this claim?

[Daniel Rogov]

Classic French sauces were conceived to ennoble less-than-prime beef.

Is there any evidence for this claim?

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None whatever. In fact, if I had to categorize such a statement on the scale of 1-10 (1 being fact, 10 being out-and-out nonsense) this one would rate a 9.86!!!!

There is truth to the notion that from the days of ancient Rome to medieval days, marinades were often designed to hide meats that had become a bit too ripe and perhaps even out-and-out rotten, but when it comes to the classic French sauces (les sauces meres), those were designed and serve not to hide flavors but to highlight them, to add to their ability charm and even fascinate.

Going a step further, methinks that the author has confused the need that was felt before refrigeration to preserve foods and that of highlighting their flavors.

Simply stated, anyone who tells me that a Sauce Nantua is meant to "hide" the aroma of spoiled seafood or that Sauce Beauharnais is meant to covger up a spoiled entrecote is a person who has never eaten a Sauce Nantua or a Sauce Beauharnais!

[Megan Blocker]

Classic French sauces were conceived to ennoble less-than-prime beef.

Is there any evidence for this claim?

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Not sure...someone else will have to answer this.

But whether she's right or not about this, I do have to agree with her overall sentiment. There is something mildly off-putting about the social value we've attached to buying organic, etc., and shopping in fancy places.

Perhaps instead of vilifying mass-produced food (as many foodies and New Yorkers in general surely do), we should be concentrating on the fact that mass-production would allow us to truly feed the entire world, should we ever break through the tangle of politics preventing it.

A little easy, that, I suppose - but not necessarily wrong, either.

[Behemoth]

Oddly enough, in Lebanon (where I grew up) it is the poor who take pleasure in growing their own food and the rich who wouldn't be caught dead in an orchard. What passes for "elitist" has a lot to do with the politics of place. It seems like the only way to avoid being called in elitist in this country is to live on Dominos and Bud. But I'd rather eat well, so American elitist/Lebanese peasant I shall remain.

[mizducky]

I think I agree with the author's points in general. However, perhaps for simplicity's sake, she left out those of us who do make an effort to incorporate fresh/seasonal/organic/gourmet-ish aspirations into a tight budget, as a bunch of us were discussing over on this topic. And while I can't possibly speak for everyone in that thread, for me such aspirations have nothing whatsoever to do with elitism and everything to do with wanting to eat healthily and pleasurably, express creativity through the medium of food, and explore world cultures through their food practices.