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Posts posted by trillian68
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Look on the bright side: the climate is probably cool enough to keep an Aga
You just wandered into my hubby's dream kitchen! He's lobbying hard for an Aga, and I have to say, I'm warming to the idea. I'm laughing to keep from crying.
C'mon, there's GOT to be a decent restaurant up there. (Note the lowering of standards.)
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Unfortunately the area is a chain restaurant waste land.
Bleaker than I thought. Maybe it's time to invest in the kitchen of my dreams? I do look forward to your recommendations!
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OMFG. Just learned that we're moving to the Albany area and I've never even been there ever. Besides helping with the urgent need for school district recommendations and such ... Where will we eat??? I'm sure we'll occasionally haul ourselves up to Saratoga Springs and places as far afield, but I'm really looking for local spots in Albany (or Troy?).
And if anyone is looking for a fabulous house in MtP, PM me. Argh. -
Has anyone taken the Indian class with Somchet Chumpapo? I've been experimenting and working from cookbooks for a while but could use some in-person expert guidance. (And DARN YOU Heritage India for AGAIN refusing to deliver to Mt. Pleasant! DIY = power.)
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Raisins. Taste and texture skeeve me out. I'll sit and pick out every last one from a muffin or granola. Drives the hubby crazy. I don't have a problem with any other dried fruits though.
Anything with the taste of licorice. That used to include fennel but I've been working on getting over it.
Okra. Dear god - I shuddered just typing it. Oozy yuckiness. Blech.
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After a stingy RW dinner at a different restaurant, I was reminded by contrast of how completely generous, in both spirit and flavors, that night at Dino was.
I have to follow up because I couldn't believe it when I saw reverbbrad's other post. By coincidence, we had made a reservation at that other restaurant and canceled (with plenty of notice!) because I was having second thoughts and wanted to go somewhere more relaxed and, oh look! Dino has an 8:00! Wow, I'm so glad I went with my instincts and then got lucky with the time. It's really true -- Dino is a special place.
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RW at Dino! We went last night, for the first time in way too long. The place was rockin' and even better than we remembered.
Dean brought us a bottle of De Conciliis Donnaluna Aglianico, which was delightful and versatile and didn't break the wallet. His enthusiasm for the wine made the experience even better. We started with the fabulous burrata - I (unsuccessfully) tried to hide the last bit of the hubby's share behind the basil leaf so I could have it to myself - and the dreamy polenta. I strongly recommend the polenta with the mushrooms, which had just enough acid (balsamic?) and meaty texture to be the perfect counterpoint to the creamy polenta. My lasagne was rich and good but perhaps not the best choice given the ghastly heat outside and what, at that point, was a rapidly decreasing amount of available space in my belly. My husband was the big winner of the evening with the whole bronzino, perfectly fresh and lightly finished with lemon and capers. When the Nutella crepes arrived, I groaned and then almost cleaned the plate. I'm a Nutella fanatic, but what really wowed me were the crepes themselves - light, delicate texture and taste.
We left stuffed silly and wondering why we're such morons not to go more often.
(I have to add that I nearly swooned when a waiter passed by with a trayful of steak orders. I'll have to fast in anticipation, but mmmm next time ...) -
Or the tomato salad; tomatoes are very much in season at Corduroy.
Or do as I did for lunch today, the chilled thai-chili tomato soup AND the bluefish with tomato marmalade. Both were delightful and delicious.
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The veal breast wasn't on the menu last night.
Oh no! I saw it on the menu on the website (in my obsessive anticipation of returning to New Heights) and had to wipe the drool off the keyboard. Has anyone had the veal breast, and if so, thoughts? If not (and I'm almost afraid to ask) has anyone seen it on the actual menu? Of course, I could always choke down some softshells, if need be.
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My husband and I finally got to Beck on Friday night too. We arrived a little early for our 7:30 reservation, so we carved out a little space for ourselves at the bar, which was packed shoulder to shoulder, and ordered some drinks. I'm not a big beer drinker, so I got a Bavik which went down smooth and fast. The front of house staff were all very friendly and accurate in when we could expect to be seated, which ended up pretty close to our reservation time. Our waiter, although pleasant enough, wasn't terribly helpful in describing the dishes we asked about. But, the courses were timed well and we didn't ever feel rushed. Plus, he kept the beers coming.
As for the food ... we decided to share the mussels in white wine as our starter. Both the mussels themselves and the liquid were ok, not great. Maybe we should have tried the fennel and chorizo which looks fantastic in txaggie's photo. I thought the frites were wonderful, but I could see how they would lose their charm if they cooled down - they didn't. I was hooked on the red mayo in the middle. I ordered the choucroute en croute, but I don't know why. It looked impressive, but there's a difference between mild and tasteless ... and the filling wandered into tasteless. Maybe the cabbage could have been sharper in its seasoning, or it needed some mustard on the side for a good schmear now and then. The pork tenderloin had been the other dish I considered, so I'm eager to try that next time. The BIG WINNER of the night, however, was the skate my hubby ordered. The texture was wonderful and the coating was crispy and light. Delish. Despite my not so subtle hints, I couldn't get more that a little taste. None of the desserts appealed to us much, so we decided to try the cheeses. Disappointing. Our waiter had no clue what the cheeses were, and the plate seemed to have been arranged much earlier (the cheeses had that sitting out on the party buffet too long texture). They were all goat, but I'd say only one out of the three was any good or interesting. Too bad I don't know what it was.
So ... a mixed bag in terms of the food, but overall we had a GREAT time. And it seemed like a lot of other people were doing the same. I go out expecting to at least have fun, but unfortunately some restaurants seem to work hard against that. Not Beck -- friendly staff, relaxed vibe, lively crowd, good grub. I'm looking forward to going back, armed with some better intelligence on what to order. One complaint: after 3 beers and a coffee, having to fight through the bar crowd to get to the restrooms ... that's just mean.
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One should not take these things too seriously. As best I can tell, the owners don't. The pizza, yes; the linguistics not so much. Shhesh. Just eat some.
That's my point -- I'm going to (and probably more that just some) and really look forward to it now!!! I do take pizza and the NH claim seriously. But not myself, for what that's worth. Shhesh, right back at'cha. How crowded is it on early weekend evenings these days?
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Heather, in the current issue of Washingtonian, Kliman continues to call it "New Haven pizza." As good as Comet is (and, yes, I readily acknowledge that it is) it's just not Sally's or Pepe's (or even Modern's) pizza. When I continue to see the claim from people such as Kliman it really bothers me. It would help if he would go to New Haven and eat their pizza before continuing to make the claim. Right now, this is one of the very few opinions that he has that I seem to disagree with. For the most part I think his taste is very similar to mine. As for specific differences between Comet and Pepe's/Sally's, I went into this in my lengthy post #83 on the second page of this thread. Sorry for my personal obsession.
Wow. I've boycotted this place from the get-go because of the New Haven thing, which has really bothered me too. I don't know a lot about a lot ... but I AM from New Haven, born and raised and all that. Plus, I'm Nabl'dan (sp? seriously), first generation from around Naples, for anyone pining for a little Sopranos tonight. I take my pizza seriously. (Sally's, Pepe's, Modern ... all good, but I'll let you know exactly which camp I'm in once I get to know you better.) All that said, your posts, Joe H, have actually given me hope. I'm going to withhold prejudice, put any comparison to NH out of my mind, and maybe give Comet a try. Go crazy. Still open, right???
BTW ... broken record ... hee.
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I am newbie, hear me ... well, just hear me. I too have had good experiences at Rice. Yummmm beef. It's a nice spot for lunch, if you find yourself in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the food isn't so great delivered for some reason.
Albany, NY
in The Intrepid Traveler
Posted
Sorry to have vanished, but things ... you know how it goes. Apparently the real estate market is still alive and well in MtP, because we’re outta here.
As for our soon to be new home, two trips to the region have yielded the following:
So, we’re moving this week and, as soon as we can find a sitter, will be heading to McGuires. Haven’t found a house yet, so we're taking an apartment in downtown Troy for the time being to get a better feel for the area and wait for a house we love. I've heard good things about the Troy farmers' market and Larry Schepici is opening a gourmet market soon if not already, so that's promising. Thanks to everyone for your comments! I’ll try to report back once we settle in, explore the food scene more (such as is it), and build that kitchen that is undoubtedly in our future.
Cheers to all,
Trisha