addy rourke's Profile
Pinehurst - Carolina Dining Room - Seafood Chowder
Hi,
In the late 80's and early 90's I summered in Pinehurst as a lad, and we would dine at the Carolina Dining Room, the main restaurant at the Pinehurst golf resort. Wonderful memories, lovely setting, nice piano player, great food. Ron Howard walked in one night, but I was too young to give a crap.
Anyway, they had this "Seafood Chowder" on the menu for years. It was not a cream-based, but rather a tomato-based soup, sort like the Manhattan style clam chowder. Out of this friggin world. We would talk about it all year long and order multiple bowls every night we were there. It got so that the chowder, not he golf, was keeping us coming back. We would always ask the waiter if the chef would tell us the recipe, but no dice.
I haven't been back to Pinehurst since the early 90's, but I see on the website that the Seafood Chowder is no longer offered! It was the staple of the menu for years, such a shame.
Would love to know if anyone else remembers this "soup of soups," and has any info on a recipe.
-Dick Vanderbeak
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Carolina Dining Room
PO Box 4000, Pinehurst, NC 28374
NY Style Pizza
Costco? You just said that to a guy coming from NYC? Jesus, man. Jesus.
In-N-Out Burger sucks (moved from L.A. board)
I'm surprised by the amount of posts in agreement. Well, I know I'm not alone here. Nothing wrong with liking what you like, I just needed to make sure I wasn't missing something huge--like the special "off menu" secret order of added flavor.
I get the whole fresh ingredient thing, but when it doesn't improve the food's taste, and when the thing in question is a greasy burger (bad for you no matter who makes it) I say, go for flavor. If you want to be healthy, get a salad, not a cheeseburger.
In-N-Out Burger sucks (moved from L.A. board)
Amen brother, yet another New Yorker in agreement. Cathy above is right, there's no point in arguing opinions dressed up as empirical fact. It's a moot exchange. But for me, INO is about as overhyped as anything could get, it's always disappointed me with taste, so I don't eat there. I like a beefy, flavorful burger. Call me crazy.
As for Blue Smoke, I never tried the burgy, but their mac n cheese is a miracle.
In-N-Out Burger sucks (moved from L.A. board)
"damns their entire thesis"
Does it, brah? Because your refusal to acknowledge that even a disgusting BK burger is better than an In-N-Out, NECESSARILY damns YOUR whole thesis, as far as I'm concerned. Starting to see how this whole subjective opinion thing works now? Good, why don't we check the hyperbole at the door then.
I don't like BK, as I said. But that, along with McDonald's, Wendy's, and pretty much any other crap burger drive-through I can think of is at least a LITTLE better tasting than In-N-Out. This is because, again, INO has NO taste, so the competition wins by default.
I love these arguments, "their ingredients are fresh," "the workers just *SEEM* happier to me." Uh...great, why doesn't it taste good? Newsflash folks, INO is not better for you. Fast food is all garbage. French fries and burgers are horrible for you, no matter how "fresh" the ingredients are before they're fried up on a greasy griddle, or drowned in the boiling oil vat. If you are going to make the decision to eat fast food, it's a firm decision to eat crap. Accept it, and all the smiling faces at the counter aren't going to change that verdict. Therefore, you might as well go the distance and eat crap that TASTES GOOD. That's all I'm saying. Eating bad tasting fast food just seems like...I don't know, the saddest thing in the world?
Maybe it's just an East Coast / West Coast thing after all. In NY, we had Irish Pub burgers everywhere. That's like our burger shack equivalent, because they're so ubiquitous. But they're restaurant quality burgers. Thick juicy patties, over a 1/4 lb. of beef. Thick steak fries where you can actually taste the potato. Here in LA, the LA style shack burger (which is what INO is modeled after) is that paper thin patty, and then too much lettuce and nasty condiments. The flavor of a burger is defined by the flavor of....wait for it...the BURGER. NOT the condiments, folks. If your not tasting beef in your mouth...well you get the point. Every person I know from NY feels the way I do about INO. Most of my LA friends think INO is amazing. I think it finally coms down to what kind of burger you were exposed to growing up.
In-N-Out Burger sucks (moved from L.A. board)
Seriously, been out here 4 years now. Is this whole thing just some big elaborate joke on me? People not only act like these burgers are edible, but that they are actually any more special than EVERY OTHER FAST FOOD BURGER IN THE WORLD. These burgers are virtually flavorless (and no, folks, dumping grilled onions on a flavorless burger does not mean it's a good tasting burger). TINY patties, flavorless fries..and that's about all they offer. Seriously, Burger King makes a better tasting burger..but I wouldn't go there either.
SO what on Earth is the hype about? Is it some LA Pride thing? "It's uncool to hate IN-N-Out burger." Is it like being a Mets fan or something? They always suck, but they're still "amazing" to the fans?
I just don't get it. If I was a 22 year old kid looking for midnight munchies, I would go to one of the good tasting drive through windows in town, not In-N-Out. What am I missing. The stuff is utterly forgettable, and I've never once craved it, even at 4AM when I was out on the prowl for munchies.
NY Style Chinese food in LA?
Can't Talk, can you name a place near studio city (or anywhere in the Valley) that might serve won ton soup as described? You're the first poster in the thread to assert that this specific preparation of the soup is available here in LA, and you even go so far as to say it's not uncommon. As I have never seen it prepared this way out here, I am dying to learn where I can get it. It is, finally, the soup that i am really after!
NY Style Chinese food in LA?
A good point. There seems to be confusion as to what the correct technical term to describe these restaurants' preparation is, apart from simply "NY Chinese." Nevertheless, the style pervades NY today. Only a week ago I enjoyed some of the very won ton soup in question in the Upper East side. There are hundreds of these restaurants in operation today in NY. Miami also is peppered with Chinese restaurants of the same style of preparation.
Best Pizza (NY Style) in LA
Sorry, but as a NYC resident for nearly 20 years I can tell you that Little Toni's is possibly the farthest thing from NYC pizza I have had in LA. Totally not what the original poster will be looking for. I too am looking for a good NY slice out here..unsuccessfully.
Best Burgers in Los Angeles
I have lived in several major cities in America and have tried nearly 1000 burgers around the world, and I can say, without a hint of irony, that the best burger I've had in Los Angeles was at Fuddruckers. Whether this is a testament to the quality of the Fudd burger or to the lackluster burger landscape in LA, I'll let you decide.
I will simply say this: the LA burger-shack style (with shredded iceburg lettuce, thin patties and mixed condiments) is shameful. But, to each his own. I know many a transplanted New Yorker out here who agree. I think the biggest mystery to me still is the unconditional love that is granted to In-n-Out Burger. I have tried in vain many times to enjoy one of these things, in every possible style and variety they offer. I find that LA natives seem to glorify this place, while those who perhaps have a broader burger perspective (if such a thing can exist) tend to be left scratching their heads.
NY Style Chinese food in LA?
I know this thread comes up from time to time but I have searched all and it appears the question was never answered in the affirmative. So now, two years later I am posing it again with hopes.
I am talking about the NY takeout restaurant style of preparation. Very heavy and greasy, less vegetables. For those who aren't familiar with this I'll take a moment to illuminate. These chinese restaurants in Manhattan can be found on nearly every block of the city. They are almost always "take-out or delivery only" --no in house seating-- and are little more than hole in the wall store-front kitchens with an address and phone number. They are equally as plentiful as pizzerias in NY (if not more-so) and are a staple of every New Yorker's weekly diet. The restaurants are invariably owned an operated exclusively by Chinese folks, and whether or not the preparation is "authentic," the restaurants all prepare the dishes the same way, to the point that there is really no difference from whom you place your order, as you'll be getting the same food from anyone.
This difference in preparation is what i am seeking here in LA. There are certain dishes that commonly appear in NY and not LA, but what I am after here are the staples, which are served on both sides of the country, but prepared in the NY style.
For example: won ton soup. In every chinese restaurant I've visited in LA this is rather flavorless. The soup in LA is prepared with a clear broth, very delicate wontons, vegetables like snow peas and carrots, shrimp, chicken, etc. The vegetables are not cooked through, simply thrown in, and the result is a hodgepodge of indefinite consistency and texture, and a flavor entirely devoid of integrity. It tastes more like what it appears to be: a broth with random things thrown in, and not cooked down to achieve amalgamation of flavor. The NY style won ton soup is always prepared exactly the same way across the board. Rich golden broth, thick-noodle pork won tons, thinly carved pork juliens, and green onions--nothing more, ever. Simple, yet robust in flavor.
Next: sweet and sour chicken. Here in LA we find things like peppers and pineapple throw in. In NY it's just the fried chicken bits and sauce.
Now, for those LA natives reading this thinking "Jesus that sounds awefull!" I don't blame you. There is much to be said for the health-conscious cooking styles of Los Angeles. The Chinese food here is indeed lighter, probably much less, or no MSG, and certainly more healthy with its use of vegetables. But for those fellow transplanted New Yorkers, you know that the LA variety is pale in comparison when it comes to flavor.
Also I am aware that LA's chinatown hosts some wonderful authentic cuisine for the true insiders--as does NYC's Chinatown. But I am looking for that illusive thing that is literally impossible not to come across walking down the street in NYC, and here in LA seems completely absent: the NY-style Chinese takeout restaurant.
This will not be a Panda Express, City Wok, Pick Up Stix, PF Chang's or other mall food. It will be a mom and pop with Chinese owners whose won ton soup consists of only four ingredients and uses tons of MSG.
If anyone knows what I'm talking about, and knows of the existence of such a place in LA, please post here!
