jpschust

There's a time to explain a comp- for example on chowhound I had a long thread discussing a really poor service experience at a new restaurant in New Orleans last week for which we were comped, but the service was so incredibly bad it couldn't go without a comment (things like asking a waiter to clear a tray and the waiter clearly hearing us and walking away). That said, it's important to temper the comments with the notion that the restaurant recognized its mistakes, and acknowledges that it's got a ways to go.

Maybe it's because I've been eating at Cochon and Herbsaint in New Orleans for the last few days, maybe it's because I've eaten at Firefly a lot under John Wabeck, maybe it's something else, but does that menu look a touch boring to anyone else? I mean there's plenty I could eat on there, but it seems a real step backwards from where Firefly was beforehand.

2005 Domaine d'Elise chablis on my back patio while studying for the GMATs. It's a stunning night to be outside.

Any place that gets such glowing reviews right off its opening is going to have knee jerk reactions like that.

Thanks so much! I'm coming back from New Orleans in a little bit and would love to get it right at home. Last night we ate at Cochon (chef was the winner of the best chef of the south award last night from the Beard foundation) and I grew an itch to make it at home

OK- so here's my question- is it possible to cook cochon du lait at home using an oven on low heat or indirect heat off a grill? I don't have the room or energy to cook a full pig...

And the Reef just got it on tap recently. Beats the pants off alagash any day.

Easy way to do food pairings- look at what the food is like wherever the wine is made. Think proscuitto, cheeses (richer, saltier like gorgonzolas), think rich ragouts made in the classic ways, good deep steak...ok I'm hungry now.

Ate there last night, and with no surprises there were a few service gaffs, but nothing remarkable- the staff just isn't in a groove yet. I'm not worried about it- you can tell they were nervous and just needed more time. As for food, our food was all wonderful- we started with some fried green tomatoes and crab cakes. The tomatoes were thick cuts so the acid from the tomato came out nicely into the breading and sauce. The crab cakes had basically no filler and were as good as I've had in the area. For mains I had the steak frites- ny strip cut, made perfectly medium rare with a pat of herb butter on top, served with well seasoned fries with homemade mayo. Very good, simple, but good. She had the softshell crab that was lightly breaded, pan seared in a vinagrette. Also quite good. For dessert she had a strawberry shortcake which i let her have to herself. I had the artisnal cheese plate which was very good as well. All in all a good experience at a very fair price - total bill with wine was about 120, and we had one of the more expensive bottles on the list. Note that the most expensive bottle on the list is about $55.00, so you can have very good bottles and not throw down a ton of cash. Food was about 35 per person for an appetizer, main and dessert- can't beat that!

Next try the Oberon- it's unreal.

I think it's even fine to post if it's not good as long as it's tempered with some understanding of what the situation is with it being a new opening.Back on topic, I'm going there tonight with Robyn, so I'll throw something on here about what we had, what the menu was like and whatnot.

They are extremely thin- I wished they would be thicker.

There's a really interesting piece on this at the beginning of Bourdain's Le Halles cookbook, both about reading the books and how one should approach a recipe. This brings me to an important point. I'm not sure I've really taken the time to READ my entire cookbooks. I find myself flagging down things that sound interesting and trying them, often leaving other items in a dry unread wasteland. I think it might be time to pick up one of my more adventurous books and go at it.

This is indeed a shock and makes me sad. My heart goes out to those who grew up with Eastern Market, those who frequented it, and all those who made their livelihoods there.

nothing better than drinking a great beer on the roof of the reef in the summer time.

Monday night refresher?

I can only do Monday of next week, but it might be a nice way to start the week. After that I'm out of town for almost 2 weeks.

I know they are showing the derby and serving mint juleps and whatnot.

what sized bottle? that's rediculous. That better be a half gallon for that price. And yes, I've had it. And yes, it's good, but I'll take 4 DeKonik's for that price.

Indeed. I'm trying to do a lot of this without doing a ton of blends, but for some of these it's impossible to find them outside of a blend. I love that this is something forcing me out of my comfort zone. Now for that concord grape, remind me what year that Manachewitz was?

Enjoy! Just remember the words of Dennis Leary, "I don't believe in spanking my kids, I believe in bringing them up right. And besides, I find that waving the gun around pretty much gets the same job done."

I think I'm headed to 11th street to study.

I'd say expect a lengthy wait at the bar. That said, if you can grab a couple of spots at the bar you can always eat there.

I'm actively working on it now- it's forcing me to taste a lot of things I wouldn't otherwise taste. You're welcome to join along wth me in doing this

Here are the keys- you don't need many knives, just a few unless you are going to be doing some very random things- but ideally a smaller paring knife, a chef's knife, and a serrated knife should take you pretty far. I can bone with a small paring knife, chop, dice, mince and so on with my bigger knife and cut tougher things with my serrated. I'll caveat this by saying I haven't done any line work in quite a while (in college). You must get some good sharpening tools- a sharpening stone especially and learn to use it well. For a case, everyone who sells decent knives sells small zip up cases. Do not buy a knife without handling it first. You need to feel the ballance and weight of it on your hand. Just some general guidelines.