ol_ironstomach

I thought CIA does cover this in The Professional Chef...isn't an overview of basic restaurant economics and wastage right up there in the first chapter or two? In any case, it's worth reminding us laymen that the net profit represents the surplus to the business as a whole, and while "[they] might as well not have opened" might be true for the owner's books, it certainly isn't true for the staff who earned another day's wages. Dave, who lacks skills but loves browsing books

Dim Sunday? *perk* Save me a spot. Dave

Wat time are you going? (snicker)

Postscript. Despite my best intentions, I had a surprisingly difficult time finding a reasonably priced heavy pan that wasn't nonstick. The $99 stainless/aluminum/stainless article at BB&B and Sur La Table seemed a bit insubstantial, and I couldn't quite bring myself to shell out for the gorgeous out-of-box Mauviel copper/stainless number at the Williams-Sonoma outlet (with a coupon, it would have been $200...a bargain for a very heavy copper pan, but too rich for my blood). No, I ended up buying the $30 W-S special, a thick, bright aluminum nonstick (Quantum 2) pan from Metro (model 1096), which came with a nonstick rack. Unsurprisingly, it worked fine for holding up the bird, a fresh 20-pounder from Whole Foods. Surprisingly, it also produced a decent quantity of workable fond. Whether it was because of the sugars from the healthy dose of maple syrup I used in the brine, or because of the grease from the bacon layered over the breast, the drippings were crusty, dark and intense...and easily scraped out without deglazing. Perhaps better results would be expected without a nonstick coating, but for 30 bucks and a really easy cleanup, I'm not complaining. Thanks to all for your comments! Dave

As a frequent guinea pig at Chez 'pines, I totally agree. It depends, and not necessarily in favor of the premium ingredient...Ms P's numerous experiments with hominy in posole led to the inescapable conclusion that the mass-produced canned article ultimately provides high quality with excellent consistency. Being not much of a cook, but willing to put an engineering hat on for a second, let me suggest that the decision process looks something like this: First, what is the purpose of the ingredient? Choosing tomatos for caprese is rather different than choosing them to pink up your vodka sauce. Is it the heart of the dish, or a contributing player? Does it add flavor, texture, aroma, acidity? How much is used? How much and what kind of processing will it be subjected to? Second, in the above context, how much individuality is there among the available versions? Are we talking blue cheese, or white sugar? How much variation in flavor? Quality? Consistency? Potency, etc etc? Third, how discriminating will the audience be? Are you feeding Rockwellians, or 13-year-olds? In a standalone tasting, or after a heavy meal and much abundant booze? Dave, who prefers Guittard chips in his cookies

Often not even seconds. I picked up a first-quality round doufeu there about two winters ago for something less than half of retail...it was already marked down a generous amount (discontinued color?) and the storewide sale knocked an additional 20% off. They also own Screwpull, so some deals on automatic corkscrews can be had. Dave

Yes, and both have recent holiday coupons out, of the 20% off variety. Correction - the Le Creuset sale is 35%, but doesn't kick in until the 25th. I can't tell whether I need to drag in the mailer or not. Dave

With little over a week to go until Turkeyday, I'm thinking it's time I bite the bullet and find myself a good roasting pan. Requirements: 16x13x3-ish, stainless steel interior, and "does not suck". Recommendations? Stick with All-Clad? How's that relatively inexpensive Sur La Table roaster?

Although Riedel isn't necessarily the reason I started this thread, I too noticed these at Target last week. According to the pamphlets next to the display, this line is exclusive to Target. I didn't examine the boxes thoroughly enough to determine country of origin, but the displays didn't seem to make the usual fuss about glass shape. Could it be an exercise in brand licensing?

I'll third Mandalay (which would be my top pick), give a tip o' the hat to Half Moon BBQ, and point out that you can also get some pretty decent Ethiopian at Addis Ababa (on Fenton, about a block further than the other two). Will have to check out the SS Negril...the food at their Gaithersburg location was good, but not as good as Caribbean Feast in Rockville (whose pastry-crust patties are still my benchmark). Dave

On a side note, has anybody found anything worth eating at the Gaithersburg Dogfish Head besides the calamari? Man cannot live on 120 Minute IPA alone...without eventually losing consciousness. Dave

I'd guess that most of you are of an age where at some point in your youth, you were probably exposed to the concept of tastebud zones: sweet near the tip, sour along the sides, bitter towards the rear, etc. It was in those fancy anatomy diagrams in all of the encyclopedias, and I for one had no reason not to believe it. Then recently, thanks to the Riedel-stemware-debunking article in _Gourmet_, I was surprised to learn that science had discredited this theory decades ago. Tastebuds aren't distributed that way, scientists proclaimed, and the Riedel effect is adequately explained by the power of suggestion, and confirmed by proper experimentation. Well, the latter is easy enough to accept...there is no substitute for empirical observation. And yet, leafing through the opening pages of the Zingerman's guide, I'm struck that Ari Weinzweig devotes a couple of paragraphs to the zone theory. I mean, the guy KNOWS good eats. I figure he must have grown up with the theory...has knowing about it influenced the _way_ he tastes? What about supertasters - those people whose genetics give them many extra tastebuds? What about umami, for which taste receptors have only recently been found? Could it be that tastebuds are uniformly distributed, but the wiring of the nervous system isn't? I'm still uncertain whether or not I still believe the zone theory myself, but then again I'm also highly food-suggestible. What do YOU think? I'm particularly interested in seeing responses from people who have not heard of this zone theory before. Do your senses of sweet/salt/sour/bitter peak on different parts of your tongue? Dave

Worse yet, the general public has already begun dragging the place down. The Salmon Steamed in Garlic that I had last week had a nice flavor, but really would have been better fairly rare instead of well-done as presented. When asked, the server indicated that the chefs had originally been instructed to prepare the fish quite rare, but enough diners had complained(!) the first week about its rareness that the kitchen was running somewhat scared. In Paul "Pauli" Ardaji's interview with the Tampa Bay Times last month, he says "If I were to draw a point of reference, Paul Lee's would be Ruby Tuesday's, P.F. Chang's would be (TGI) Fridays and Pauli Moto's would be comparable to a Houston's." Hmmm. I went Thursday with two siblings, with intentions of sampling a few more dishes than normal, mostly of the "Morimoto specialties" section of the menu. The Agedashi Tofu was surprisingly good, really. Also a hit were the Wasabi Mashed Potatoes. Robotayaki were so-so. Personally I found the Kobe Beef disappointing, cooked to the point of losing its fine texture. The Beef Tenderloin were more satisfying, if merely serviceable. Tomato with Bacon were pretty generic...nothing special going on there. Spicy Rock Shrimp Tempura were basically tempura shrimp poppers. They might as well have used generic shrimp; tempura frying emphasizes the batter while obliterating the lobstery quality of good rock shrimp. If you've ever chowed down on rock shrimp at Dixie Crossroads in Titusville FL, you'll be disappointed here. Crab and Cream Cheese Roll are simply "crab rangoon" prepared in spring roll wrappers instead of fried wontons. The halibut and cod (both prepared in light miso crusts, a bit of spicyness to the halibut) were tasty enough, but again would have been better somewhat less cooked, and the portions were quite small for $18. _Pauli-Moto_ did not yet have a liquor license as of last week, so booze went unsampled. The list includes Morimoto's own brands of lager (brewed by Rogue) and sake (producer unknown). Also not yet available is Morimoto's steak Bi-Bim-Bap, although I'm told the description varies from the one served at _Morimoto_ in Philly. The concept is dip/sauce-centric, with small dipping bowls of various things arriving with practically each dish. The space is pleasantly modern for a mall-eatery, with the kitchen view only partially obscured by dividers. The robotayaki station stands apart to the left, ringed with bar-style seating. Finally, along the back wall, almost curiously hidden, is a very large and expensive plasma display oriented portrait-format that continuously plays a screen-saver theme of wispy backgrounds elements while pithy phrases float across them. While I was waiting for the check to arrive, it displayed this enigmatic poem: I'm sure the food you thought was delicious will not taste the same Dave p.s. Hi donrockwell people! Not-so-long-time lurker, new member, first post. Please be gentle.