jane's Profile
Change in the site header
It's not an insult! At least it's not meant to be. I'm sorry it feels that way. It's actually a dilemma we've been wrestling with since CHOW & Chowhound were both acquired and meant to cohabitate. We've tried the branding both ways - with separate CHOW & Chowhound headers and with a common header -- and I suspect this won't be the last adjustment.
Change in the site header
Yes -- What's New, Video, Recipes, Chowhound Discussions are the main navigation buttons. The Chowhound Discussions button will be redundant on the Chowhound homepage, but better redundant than difficult to find.
Change in the site header
Melanie, I wanted to doublecheck before I responded: Digest will be a button on the "What's New" dropdown.
Change in the site header
Thanks, rworange. Yes, more soon. And, as you can see, our engineering team is working hard on improved search.
Change in the site header
I want to alert you about changes coming to our top navigation bar. We haven't liked it, and neither have you. One of the most common complaints we've heard about the site is that navigation is confusing, and that one of the most confusing parts is that top bar. (For those who have somehow managed to ignore this problem, it's this: when you click from CHOW to Chowhound or back, the buttons in the top navigation bar change. On CHOW they're "Recipes," "Top Stories" and "Video," and on Chowhound they're "Discussion," "Digest," "Restaurants," "Recipes," "Video.") Many people have told us this is disorienting and, worse, that it makes it difficult for them to get where they want to go. In retrospect this may seem obvious, but when we implemented it, it really did seem like a good idea: the CHOW experience was different from the Chowhound experience, and we felt they each deserved their own nav. We were wrong.
So we're changing that top bar and making navigation consistent across CHOW and Chowhound. Starting early next week, we will have a new header, and those navigation buttons will be the same no matter what page you're on. If you're on CHOW or if you're on Chowhound, you'll see top nav buttons that say "Stories," "Video," "Recipes," and "Chowhound Discussions." In addition, we're bringing back drop-down menus, so that you can get where you want to go with one click.
One change that's less simple is this: we will be eliminating the top nav button for "Restaurants." It's the first step toward removing the restaurant pages altogether. This may be alarming to some who have used those pages to post restaurant reviews, tips, and reference data. But please don't worry: the pages themselves will still be around for a while, and any reviews that you posted will be available to you for quite some time. We'll have more information on that soon.
Why the change? We originally offered restaurant information in order to make the Chowhound boards more useful. We thought we'd forestall the slightly annoying need to continually reply to a post with the question, "Where is this place you're talking about?" However, those good intentions have not been well served. We have heard that our restaurant listings have not been particularly helpful to most people most of the time, and they've slowed down the performance of the site. So we're beginning the process to eliminate those pages. More on that as the project commences. You will be well forewarned before any of this takes place.
Those changes are in the future. Right now, we're just changing the nav, and will be launching the new header next week. We hope that it's intuitive and seamless enough that you won't even notice.
Saison, Benu, The Dining Room at the Ritz, Gary Danko, La Folie, Chez Panisse or Fleur de lys?
Absolutely agree with the choice of Benu. Ate there last night -- the 18-course tasting menu -- and it was spectacular. Everything was prepared & presented perfectly - A few highlights: oyster, pork belly and kimchi was smoky salty with a hint of heat; chicken in a delicate jasmine broth with little balls of dates that added a touch of sweet to the fragrance; foie gras xiao long bao were exquisite little soup dumplings-- the whole effect was like a puff of chewiness, a burst of liquid, a bare hint of foie. I won't go on -- too many dishes, obviously -- but it was a treasure of little tastes and textures, luscious without relying on fat and salt. I wasn't sure I could withstand all the courses -- tasting menus often go on long past my appetite and patience -- but every single one was welcome, satisfying and delightful.
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Benu
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Tip for Wolf Stove owners - More BTU's
Really? This is huge! I've been so disappointed with what passes for "high" on my Wolf. Chefs come over and ridicule it. And I'd just given trying to really sear something. Can't wait to try.
Atelier Crenn - My New Favorite Place
Couldn't agree more, goingoutagain. Just visited Atelier Crenn for the first time, had the chef's tasting menu, and I loved every beautiful, tenderly prepared, crazy-ass dish. If Rene Redzepi merged with Wylie Dufresne and then went to art school and had an affair with Gabrielle Hamilton, you might get a cook like Dominique Crenn. Starter: frozen white chocolate balls with cider inside, garnished with a reduction of cassis (a tribute to a non-alcoholic kir.) Smoked oysters: dark with smoke but briny and tender, served with two large and stately sous vide shrimp. Sous vide char: delicate, flaky texture that melts in your mouth, surrounded by uni foam. Foie gras: a crazy miniature log with pickled morels growing out of its knotholes (and a little bit of melting vanilla snow around it...springtime!). Pigeon: perfectly prepared, a hint of game and a whiff of the campfire. Pork belly: crisp and tender, served with poached iceberg lettuce to make a BLT-like salt-and-crispy combo. Oh, and a dessert of douglas fir popsicles served in a foggy miniature forest of fir needles and liquid nitrogen. And there's more!
What I loved was that this was a rare menu that was not just tasting, but eating. The ingredients were chosen with a theme in mind (springtime), the presentation was gorgeous, the preparation was arduous, and there were all kinds of liquid nitrogeny tricks, but the dishes that resulted didn't feel like stunts - they felt like real nourishment. And it didn't seem like I was being subjected to the ego of an over-achieving chef, but that the chef made something wonderful and I got to enjoy it.
Okay, enough. This is starting to sound unbelievable. Anything wrong? Well, I wish it was in another neighborhood.
It's an expensive menu ($115 per person), but there are real treasures being bestowed on you, so it seems appropriate.
This was a great meal.
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Atelier Crenn
3127 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94123
What on earth has happend to www.chow.com? Design and layout
Happy to discuss, HillJ - wondering why video? So you can see the evolution of the design?
What on earth has happend to www.chow.com? Design and layout
To fill in the blanks: When the magazine CHOW existed, its online counterpart's URL was chowmag.com; chow.com was at the time a domain registered by somebody with the name Chow so his family members could have a Chow email address. CNET had enough money and clout (or whatever it took) to get the Chow domain.
I also want to say thanks for this thread. I've got some questions, but mostly it's very helpful to hear these observations.
Plow in Potrero?
Today was the first Plow served weekday breakfast, and they didn't get anything wrong at our table. There were only two of us so I can only review two dishes: frittata and lemon ricotta pancakes. Frittata had pine nuts and currants & served warm, not hot. Lemon ricotta pancakes were perhaps a tiny bit too lemony, but you could taste the ricotta and the texture was nicely spongy with some crisp edges. The standout item was the side of potatoes -- Yukon Golds baked and then dunked into the fryer for a moment, so they've got full-on baked potato flavor and texture with a crispy fried melt-in-your-mouth exterior so light it could have been tempura. Well-chosen ingredients, including Nueske's bacon; good, rich coffee; real maple syrup. Four stars instead of five simply because the pancakes could have been a little fluffier. Nitpicking, really. This was a fine breakfast. Great service, too - friendly and attentive - and a darn cute modern-farmhouse-style space (reclaimed wood, wainscotting, contemporary with a traditional feel). Counter service, too, on metal barstools, just like an upscale greasy spoon breakfast joint should have.
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Plow
1299 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94107
Wine cooler recommendations?
I'm about to buy a new wine cooler for the kitchen. This cooler will hold wine that I'm about to serve, plus the good stuff - wine that I want to make sure gets the best and most consistent environment. The rest will be stored elsewhere. I figure the cooler should hold around 30-40 bottles. I'm thinking dual zone. First, does this sound like a good plan? And second, any recommendations? For now, let's pretend price is no object. Thanks.
Creative Director of Chow Thinks Your Comments are "Worthless"
It certainly doesn't sound like Jeremy. I texted him about it -- he's on his way back to SF from NY -- and asked him about it. He's stunned by this recap. But I'll let him respond. He's getting on the plane, so it will probably be around eight hours.
For what it's worth, we've had many, many discussions about how to encourage MORE feedback and comments.... "Worthless" is about as unlikely an opinion from him as I can imagine.
Here comes the new look!
In a matter of minutes, we'll launch the new visual design of CHOW and Chowhound. You'll experience an interruption in the function of the site, but we'll be back online soon.....
Corn muffins in San Francisco
I've been struck by this as well - used to love my coffee & toasted corn muffin every morning. There's a shop on 2nd Street, the one with the terrier on the awning (address maybe 121 2nd - next to Tara), that sells them. Pretty good banh mi, too.
One Meal in Napa Valley
I love what can be done with a meatless menu. i've been blown away by raw food. But I've been disappointed with monotonous textures and flavors at Ubuntu. It depends on the menu -- checking first (a la advice on Ad Hoc) is a good idea.
Cyrus Alternatives
It isn't "wow" in the fancy-room-and-hovering-service sense, but Zazu in Santa Rosa definitely wows me. They call it a "roadhouse" atmosphere -- friendly, somewhat casual, but the service is terrific. Even more important, though, the food is exquisite -- with seasonal menus created around their own garden's produce, homemade charcuterie, and other right-from-the-farm ingredients. Flavors pure, textures perfect.... I do love that place.
Cyrus: insufferable (but tasty)
I wasn't planning on leaving Healdsburg without at least a taste of Cyrus. I didn't have a reservation, but I was told the two of us could probably find a place at the bar, and the charming, attentive maitre d' made it happen.
And then things turned.
We were seated at the bar. After a while, the bartender asked us if we would like a drink. We said we would, and that we would be eating there. And then he started talking with some friends a few seats down the bar.
Well, to make a long experience short, we were ignored, condescended to, rushed, and ignored again, all the while forced to overhear the bartender's pretentious (and occasionally incorrect) opinions of wine along with declamations of his own martyred life. (Meanwhile, for all his complaints of being put upon, other servers in the restaurant seemed to be doing twice the work with half the noise.) It was the kind of evening you'd expect at a dive bar. But at least you'd be drinking. (We couldn't seem to get wine until around the third course.)
The food was good, occasionally great, presented with the chef's delicate, colorful plating. My first course, a green garlic and potato soup with a clump of extraordinary goat cheese and a perfect poached egg in the middle, was magnificent. My second course, a coil of pappardelle next to shreds of braised rabbit with little side dollop of cabbage was quite good. The scallops were on some tasty lentils, served with some cacophonous accompanying flavors -- uni, olive and orange. Duck-three-ways scored two out of three.
All in all, some lovely flavors, some worthy but not completely successful experiments, some streaks of brilliance, and a truly awful night.
Joann's Cafe chocolate brownie muffin
Didn't know about the change in ownership. It's been one of my favorite breakfast places (migas! pnacakes!) and I was there a few months ago & didn't notice much different. Any word on what the impact of the new owners seems to be?
searching the member recipes
Not yet. It will be. In the meantime, you could follow a somewhat convoluted process: if you click on a member's user name, that will take you to their myCHOW page. And if you click on the "favorites" tab, you'll be able to see any recipes they've posted.
Fun Pairings with Seafood!
Definitely second this one, especially with shellfish. http://www.chow.com/pick/4016#comments
Who is Daniel Duane?
Hi, zin1953 - I actually emailed you a while ago to take you up on your offer above. Public, private - as you wish.
Who is Daniel Duane?
I hope you'll point out the inaccuracies as you find them. Thanks.
Who is Daniel Duane?
I asked Dan Duane to write a wine blog for us. I love the stories of his life and how they intertwine with his enjoyment of and passion for wine. Unlike (our beloved) Jordan Mackay, who is reporting about wine, Dan is writing about the experience of wine. An accomplished and talented writer, he is a self-described wine amateur – a tremendously educated amateur, but an amateur nonetheless. (I’d hate to have lost the writing of M.F.K. Fisher, David Foster Wallace or Jay McInerney because they lack formal training in their subject matter.) It’s Dan’s remarkable talent for observing, contemplating and expressing his experience that I asked him to share with us. Personal as his writing may be, however, we are not complacent about any misinformation on CHOW. If you find any errors or inaccuracies anywhere on the site, please do let us know.
Where to get those cool appetizer spoons
How about some of these?
http://www.mysimon.com/9000-10976_8-0.html?sdcq=keyword-appetizer+spoons
More Places features
Probably the most complicated part is getting previous discussions assigned to the right region, which turns out to be a time-consuming, error-prone task. Headlines work great -- and here's a plug for descriptive headlines for topics in general, which help a lot in focusing discussion as well as searching. Even if you're compulsively reading everything (like Jim).
More Places features
No, I think we'll be able to add hubs without splitting the boards. (Splitting the boards, we've found, is a complicated and booby-trapped process, so while we intend to do that in many cases -- including the ridiculously broad "midwest" -- we're also aware it may be better not to wait for new boards to create new hubs.)
More Places features
We're finding people search for neighborhood as much or more than they search for cuisine; still, we're working to make the map display whatever search you're performing. Ultimately, the map will sub for the neighborhood (or vice versa). That is, you'll be able to drag the map around to find the place you want.
On the "add a place" feature -- Jim Leff schooled me on this, and I've tried to be a good student: We want to make sure that everyone has searched what's already available before additions are allowed. It's annoying when somebody asks a question that's been asked and asked before; likewise, we didn't want to have people simply adding places before they've searched what's in the database. That said, we're trying to ensure that adding a place that's already in the database doesn't create a duplicate, and when we're certain we've got that working, then we can show "Add a Place" on more pages around the site.
