Escoffier

That's the problem with coming in in the middle, no legacy knowlege. That's why I like to ask those questions. Sometimes I get a lot more answer than I want, but I always learn something. Thanks Mike.

Hmm, pass the absinthe, I believe I'll sit here on the porch and whup the peasants and do some minor debauchery (is there such a thing as minor debauchery? and why is everyone getting so hyper over a question? Boy-howdy, you should see the questions I could have asked)

Great!! She'll be in good company. Lots of little people at Super H (she might become a new devotee to kimchi)

Ladies and gentlemen, our initial trip to Super H and sushi making afterwards will take place on February 11 at 9:00am. Rather than try to plan everything on such short notice (and the fact that there is some personal stuff we have to take care of), we're going to give everyone a week to plan.

You daughter is more than welcome. We had something come up for this weekend so we're going to postpone to next weekend. Hope your groceries hold out for another week .

Hmm, the Mommy and Daddy, "because I said so" system

A fine explanation and one that makes a lot of sense. As there are a lot of new users (myself included in that somewhat wet behind the ears group), I'm always asking "why?" a habit (some would say nuisance) left over from early childhood (and there's no truth to the rumors that I'm entering my second one.....yet). Maybe the combination of your and Goldenticket's explanation should be pinned to the first page of DR.com so that you won't have to answer that question (yet again) to someone else (not that you probably don't have at least one or two other things to do).

Is it all right if I offer a bit of a tease for the listed courses? * Chap Chae * - Vermicelli noodles stir fried with beef and veggies (you had this for New Years) * Bul gogi * - Thinly sliced, very tender beef - barbecued at the table * Hae Mool Pa Jun * - Pancake with scallions, shrimp, oyster and squid. Korean "pizza" * Dolsot Bibim Bap * - Grilled and marinated beef and veggies on rice, topped with a fried egg. Served in a very hot stoneware pot * Nakji Bok Geum * - Spicy stir fried octopus and veggies There will be a mix of spicy and non-spicy foods so that you all get an idea of the scope of Korean cuisine. This is a sample of the food. There will be lots more as well as panchan. Be sure to come hungry. Korean chopsticks are very thin and metal. If you aren't sure of your chopstick dexterity, forks will be available and there is no shame involved. (It took me a while to get used to using them and I've been using chopsticks almost forever). The other utensil will be a long handled spoon... it's for soup and rice. It's your friend and will bring back memories of being a kid. Most of all, enjoy and ask questions. Grover (who happens to be an expert on Korean food) and I (who happens to be an expert at eating Korean food) won't laugh at any question. I've already asked all the silly questions and she still likes me. Grover will bring a Korean cookbook so you can copy any recipe you really like (if you happen to write Korean )

Pardon me for asking what may turn out to be a stupid question (I'm known for doing that and getting really strange answers), but why can't this be limited to the first 30 or 56 or whatever respondents and then a second dinner planned for another time? All of these PMs have a datestamp, why can't that be used? Somehow the idea of collecting names, drawing names out of a hat (or the electronic equivalent) and then having a bunch of disappointed people doesn't sound like a very organized or nice way to do things (especially when those disappointed people show up at your house with pitchforks and torches and ropes and things that generate blunt force trauma). Seems to me this becomes a logistical nightmare (and if a number of the same people "win" the dining lottery, the possibility of charges of favoritism thrown about by the sore "losers"... . I realize the lottery is totally random, but you know how paranoid some people are). Now, I'm sure that I'm going to be one of the lucky ones but what if you've scrambled to be one of the lucky ones three or four times and missed everytime? The way my luck runs, I wouldn't win if there were only two entrants and there was space for five.

9:00am Saturday morning at Super H good for everyone?

True but no one ever seems to park in the underground parking garage. Every time I go there, there is always space available in that garage. It's fun to drive in, park, walk up to the ground level and watch the vultures circling the parking lot. The parking garage is near Sur La Table.

Oh, there's tea as well...Koreans love bori cha and I guarantee it will be there.

Well, gosh, for an event that was planned as a $20 Tuesday, it's pretty well a fait accompli (who'd a thunk that what I envisioned as a get together for 5 or so people turned into a 30+ dinner with 8 or 9 courses?) Hillvalley and Goldenticket are doing a great job of taking care of the logistics. Grover and I are getting the menu together and I'm pretty sure the people who come are going to have a great time and eat very well.

When I think about it, I realize that I stopped going to Sutton Place/Balducci's about the time that Trader Joe's opened their first store in the area. It was an okay place to pick up English clotted cream or the occassional bottle of wine (and take out dinners now and then) but we never did any serious grocery shopping there. Blue Point had/has some great PEI oysters on the menu, a really good (and very simple) Swordfish steak and some really good bread. I'd say that most of my meals there have been good but not outstanding (as you can see, not overly memorable either).

There was quite an article about this (NY Times?) from what I remember. A number of my Manhattan friends weren't very happy about it either. I vaguely remember their 'store closing' sale and the angst it caused.

they were wonderful in a strange sort of citrusy, acidic way, weren't they?

I had a girlfriend who used to make me deviled ham sandwiches on Wonder Bread with mayonaisse and tomato and lots of black pepper...totally to die for...I still love tomatoes on sandwiches with lots of pepper...

What we will do is take a page from hillvalley's book and when we get to 5 people who are willing to get up at 0dark30 and trudge to Super H for a 9:00 shopping expedition, we'll go. As the list grows (it will grow, I hope), we'll do a lottery and take 5 people at a time. We don't want to be a disruption to Super H but do want to explain what those strange foods are. Fair enough?

I'm not sure why they would trade a strong regional name for one that was totally foreign to the area, but who am I to ask? [Rant On] I agree that banning smoking in the bar was a great thing. Nothing worse than being a non-smoker and having to run that guantlet of stale, lung clogging smoke to get to your non-smoking table. I have the same problem with other restaurants who put their smoking sections at the front of the house by the door and expect non-smoking clients to wade through that stuff to get to their table. [Rant Off/]

Speaking for Grover, (she lets me do that sometime), would you be interested in doing shopping and then returning to our house, preparing sushi with the groceries that Grover and I bought and then having that sushi for lunch? Korean sushi that Grover prepares doesn't use fish and isn't spicy but certainly is good to eat. So, to recap, shopping, preparing sushi, eating same...good?

I'm pretty sure it's the other way around. Balducci's is a grocery chain based somewhere up there in the frozen north (Brooklyn, I think). Glutton Place was a local, 2 or 3 store, grocer/restaruanter. From the Balducci's website: So, I guess you could look at it either way, but I'd say from the company "history", Balducci's was the eater and Glutton Place was the eatee...

We've had some really good seafood there, both in the Glutton Place and in the Balducci reigns. I think the seafood is better now that Balducci's owns it, but the service was a tad better when it was Glutton Place. Of course, we always ask for (and get) the same waitperson (whatever happened to waiter/waitress?) everytime and she takes really good care of us. Generally they have 4 or 5 different types of oysters, a couple of fresh fish specials and beef for those who don't want fish...personally, we've always eaten fish and it's always been good.

Roasted garlic and oyster mushroom Korean snack in a neat plastic cup. Good tasting and good for you!!! Yum!

She knows of what she speaks...she makes a soup with cornish game hen, rice and ginseng...tastes great, makes you sweat like a madman... (but she tells me it's good for me)

I second this motion...we have a quorum...