thegenia's Profile
EVOO first-timer must tries?
And on the same night as triple creme, a brief report of our dinner:
We started with the Duck Prosciutto, which was lovely -- savory, salty, with a deep lingering aftertaste. It was very nearly perfect -- I would have slightly increased the amount of greens and fig relative to duck, to balance the intense saltiness (and I don't even have much of a sweet tooth). This was followed by a Lamb Head Soup, neither a stew nor a thin soup, but something in between, created just to be consumed in this weather. It might seem silly to be so thrilled by the vegetables in the soup, but they were too good not to mention -- perfect little cubes of roots cooked to barely south of al dente. Duck Duck Goose was great, like people said it would be. A tiny melting piece of foie gras, generous portion of very tender duck confit and delicious gamey goose -- this may have been my first encounter with goose. The entree was accompanied by french lentils and chard, both very tasty.
Our server was inoffensive but offered no guidance on food. He did, however, procure the bartender's approval of my beverage choice. We drank a Spanish Rioja, Vina Pomal, Reserva, 1999, a very good and well-priced exemplar of this wine, which complemented our duck theme superbly.
I will certainly be back to check out the spring menu... after I eat my way through the rest of Boston/Cambridge!
EVOO first-timer must tries?
Recently relocated Jersey hound is going for the first time to EVOO tomorrow night with a friend. Duck Prosciutto seems great and received fabulous feedback on the board. Anything else from the recent menu is particularly heavenly? I am immodestly temped by the duck confit, goose and foie gras entree... So, any feedback would be great. Also, is anyone happens to know very approximately the wine price range, some general indication of value or even specific suggestions that would be great to know too. We are big wine drinkers, I like to choose them carefully -- and wine prices are not on the restaurant website.
Thank you!
dijon/beaune/paris trip choices
Thank you, BlueOx, we are in touch with Florent already, and he seems great! I will look into Green Trail in more detail...
ChefJune -- we are unfortunately just taking the train from Dijon to Beaune, so we'll miss things along the way. I'll keep Domaine Lucien Jacob in mind for next trip. What is the difference between Creme de Cassis and Mure? I have never had the latter!
dijon/beaune/paris trip choices
after getting to dijon from paris, we would start with a light bite at les halles market -- when does it close on tuesday? then, a walk around town and off to stephan derbord for dinner. around beaune, a few days of biking and wining (on bourgogne randonnées bikes), punctuated, with any luck, by visits to ma cuisine and le p'tit paradis.
we are in paris july 29 - august 2, so i am looking aroung for places that would be open then. we'll mostly visit markets/cheese/wine shops at lunch time but hope to have a few fun dinners with decent wine at nights. i wonder what is it like to go to a restaurant a day or a few before the vacation time -- is the selection decreased and service deficient because places are in the process of shutting down? has anyone had good experiences dining right before vacation time? we are staying in the fifth. here is my tentative list of restaurants, mostly in the 5th and mostly not very expensive -- any current opinions regarding these places, as well as additional information on august closures would be great. am i missing anything? we are two hungry and thirsty women who enthusiastically speak mediocre french and will eat absolutely anything delicious. thank you very much for any advice!
DIJON
Les Halles market
Stephan Derbord
BEAUNE
Ma Cuisine
P'tit Paradis
PARIS
Louis Vins
Perraudin
Le Petit Pontoise
Le Pappiles
Au Bon Acceuil
Le Comptoir (lunch)
Le Pre Verre
Mon Vieil Ami
L'Ami Jean
L'Epi Dupin
Chez Clovis
Le P'tit Troquet
wheat-free flour replacement for coq au vin
I skipped the flour without any problems! The color of that batch differed slightly from the floured one (more purple), but taste and texture were quite similar. Everyone LOVED it and I will definitely make this again, possibly skipping the flour to mimize effort for this already simple recipe. Highly recommended!
wheat-free flour replacement for coq au vin
Good point Quine, sorry for not providing more detail on the use of the flour. The recipe directs to sprinkle it on the chicken and onions as they cook in fat, prior to adding wine and stock. Would you pre-reduce the wine and stock together?
reheating leftovers
steaming has worked well for me for reheating pasta and noodles recently.
What Type of Miso Paste to Use in Miso Soup?
interesting, a splash of mirin -- i have not heard that! is that commonly in miso soup recipes? will definitely try it out...
wheat-free flour replacement for coq au vin
I plan to make some coq au vin -- Julia Child's recipe, to the extent that I can force myself to follow a recipe! -- for a gathering that includes one unlucky gluten-allergic soul. Should I just substitute gluten-free flour for regular, or would other alternatives, like tapioca or rice flour work better? I''ve never cooked with gluten-free flour so its had to guess how it will behave, although perhaps the quantity is too small to impact the texture too much (6 tablespoons for 5 lbs of chicken)? I'll make a batch with regular flour as well, so it will be possible to report on the comparison side by side. Thanks in advance for any advice!
help - leftover rice!
After a LARGE gathering (>80), we ended up with a massive amount of cooked white rice that was left and I am wondering what is best to do with it. Ideally something that can be frozen. Not a huge fan of dessert (rice pudding quickly came to mind as a possibility), so freezing some good fried rice in lunchsize containers seemed like a reasonable project for tonight. But maybe I just haven't met a really good rice pudding recipe yet? Any ideas, but especially for savory things would be great. Rice is my main startch, but I am worried that I wouldn't be able to eat this much before it goes bad! Perhaps, I could even make something alcoholic with it....?
good fish for steaming
i would like to steam some fish with ginger/scallion/garlic/soy for a largish dinner party. i have a huge steamer so the amount is not an issue, but i am wondering what fish to choose. i'd normally do whole fish but that might be too fussy for the party and chilean seabass (yes, guilty) and black cod might put me in debt! any other ideas for what would work well?
old dark chocolate
mmm, but between the chili, the red wine sauce and the brownies i should be quite set, thank you everyone. and those ibarra disks look great and it is beginning to seem that mole sauces aren't quite as difficult to make as i had imagined!
old dark chocolate
Came upon a couple of bars of nice dark chocolate that went somewhat stale. :( I am thinking of trying to cook with them. Not a huge fan of cooking sweets, so I am thinking of trying a meat dish, although maybe not something quite as complex as mole. What are your favorite uses for chocolate in savory dishes?
sushi or raw bar for late sunday lunch
Thank you everyone for suggestions. We ended up going to Aquagrill and had a great time. Our waiter was in training, very inexperienced, and a few things took far longer than expected, but we had plenty of time and just kept working on a bottle of simple French white. Forewarned about the bread, I was expecting something scary, but the little foccacialike bits were warm, very tasty and oniony. The white bread was not memorable, but not offensive either.
We sampled a wide selection of oysters, concentrating on the west coast ones. I expected to fall in love with the Carlsbad Blonde, but didn't. They were just too simple for me that day. There were no Kumamotos, but the Malpeque XLs were long and surprisingly luscious, and the Wetscott Bays and Belons were both fabulous, although in their very different ways -- with the Bays (I think) having a long, complex, beautifully bitter finish. I think some refer to it as metallic, but I would say its more minerally than metallic. A love it or hated oyster and we both loved it. Still, the show was completely stolen by Hama Hamas. They were so creamy, with greatly varying texture throughout the oyster. We had to order a few more each immediately. Unfortunately, on the second order, some of the oysters were less skillfully shucked (it was getting close to the end of brunch) and have lost their juices, which destroyed the heavenly balance. Still, I cannot wait to go back for more Hama Hamas.
Of the cooked dishes, we shared the mussel soup, the salmon skin salad and the crab/scallop terrine. The soup was lovely and came split for us in the kitchen. I am very glad we shared it, as it was a bit rich for one person (a skinny girl person) who also wants to eat MANY oysters. The salad was fine, although my friend found that the skins needed a little something extra, maybe a dash of vinegar or some kind of caramelization. Next time I might try grilled asparagus instead of a salad. The crab/scallop terrine was a boring dish; with all the thick of a rustic terrine, minus the flare of the meats that make it up. Its texture needed to be more in agreement with the delicate nature of the seafoods.
At the end, we were too full for proper dessert and inquired about the petit fours to go with the espresso, which I have read about on the forum. The friendly hostess said that these are usually served for dinner, but she'll check to see if someone can put it together. And indeed they came and were quite good, very generous and I really enjoyed almost all of them.
I will definitely be back soon for many more oysters!!
sushi or raw bar for late sunday lunch
oh yes, i completely forgot my days of the week! luckily, i was able to get an aquagrill reservation and there is quite a few interesting cooked things on the menu.
sushi or raw bar for late sunday lunch
Taking a foodie friend out for a late lunch or brunch (~2-4pm) this sunday. She has recently moved to Chicago and particularly misses sushi and raw bars. However, most good joints I know close between lunch and dinner hours, if they are open on sunday at all. It seems that Blue Ribbon Sushi is open without a break. Are there other great options I am missing? Thanks!
spoon thai, NOT thai spoon
Thai Spoon is a mediocre restaurant located on S Wabash, while Spoon Thai is the really good, rather authentic one, on Western Ave, with Eric's translated menu now available right in the restaurant. Be careful when you mapquest! My friend and I ran away from the Wabash place after blank stares from the waitress when we asked for Isaan-style sausage and were truly rewared by making it all the way over to Spoon Thai... which, by the way, we liked far better that Tac Quick, even though the steamed curry fish custard wasn't quite freshly steamed at Spoon Thai. Ah if only I lived in Chicago, I would be back there at least once a week!
dinner this thursday around longwood ave
Thanks for the advice! I'll try to hit up Trattoria Toscana, if I am early enough, or else go to the Mission, if I get it too late. Khao Sarn was already on my list of restaurants for the weekend. Pretty excited about Boston Thai scene, since good Thai food is conspicuously absent in Jersey.
dinner this thursday around longwood ave
i forgot to include that, thus far, it seems to me that trattoria toscana might be my best bet for what i am looking for in this area... any thoughts?
dinner this thursday around longwood ave
jersey hound visiting boston for a few days. will fly in thursday evening, looking for a quiet place to relax alone before a busy friday. i'm staying at the beach tree inn, which is right on longwood ave. ideally, looking for a quiter place, within walking distance, a short cab ride or easy public transport away (i don't know the city). just a neighborhood place where a girl can have a glass of wine and some good food. any type of food would work, price range is fairly flexible too, as long they are still serving around 9-10pm. thank you!
Which brand of Vodka do you use when making infusions
I use SKYY or Stoli or Kettle One (Costco has pretty good prices on vodka). Mm, chily horseradish infusion makes a wicked Bloody Mary.
burgundy with grilled venison and roast suckling pig?
thank you very much for all the great advice. i ended up having a 1997 Brunello di Montalcino, Castelgiocondo, which i enjoyed a lot! it grew beautifully over the course of the meal. incidentally, it also seemed like a good value for a 1997 brunello in a restaurant. in general, the appetizers (Roasted sweet corn soup with lobster and leeks as well as a sweetbreads special) were excellent, while the mains merely very good. next time i will go easy on the food and plan to drink some, if not all(!) of the suggestions you made. thank you again!
atlanta sfn -- pura vida
Thanks for all the info on atlanta eats! I wasn't there long enough to really take advantage of all the postings, but want to put in my two cents -- our dinner at Pura Vida was really wonderful. Its Latin American tapas, the atmosphere is nice, the wine list is pleasing and has a number of reasonably priced unusual bottles, and even the artwork on the walls is great. All tapas are $6, which seems like a crazy good deal to those used to NYC pricing. Amazing standout dishes were salmon ceviche -- who would have thought it?! -- duck with plantains, and charred cremini mushrooms. Had to get second orders of all of these! For afterwards, the cheese plate was beautiful, down to the sides of the spanish almonds and a fruity jellied thingy. The chocolate tart was as good as a chocolate tart can be, but the real surprise came in the ice-cream, with a sublime and strange, salty-sour-sweet, apricot plus a lot of weird flavors I can't identify, topping. Wow. Even those of us who dislike sweeets were in awe. I would go back to this place in a heart-beat!
mystery restaurant in philly
someone described a gem of a philly restaurant yesterday -- sans name or address -- and i may not sleep until i solve this mystery. it is located around second street, and was more or less recently opened by a chef that had previously been at le bec fin. the restaurant is small, expensive, with an unassuming entrance and a very simple menu, along the lines of "lamb" "pork" etc. the items come prepared in multiple ways.... any guesses?
burgundy with grilled venison and roast suckling pig?
oh thank you so much rebs, that is fantastic advice! its probably going to be a 1997 brunello -- castelgiocondo or uccelliera, decanted over a little aperitif. can't wait...
burgundy with grilled venison and roast suckling pig?
do you think i could pair an old red burgundy with grilled venison and roask suckling pig? going to a nice restaurant tonight, which happens to have an impressive, if intimidating, list of bourgogne reds. i did a little research, but since these are a bit out of my everyday price range, its hard to make up my mind, i tried to go with the years supposed to have been reliably good in the region:
on the expensive side,...
Mazis-Chambertin, Armand Rousseau, 1995
or
Blagny, "La Picce Sous Le Bois," Robert Ampeau, 1989
or on the less expensive side,....
Cote de Beaune-Villages, Leroy, 1996
Chambolle-Musigny, "Charmes," B. Amiot, 1996
Bourgogne, J.M. Boillot, 1996
Cornas, Eric Durand, 1995
Côte-Rôtie, "La Chavaroche," Bernard Levet, 1996
please let me know if you think i should go with another wine altogether! btw, the wine list of the restaurant is here:
http://www.ratsrestaurant.org/ratsrestaurant.php?page=6&sub=12
thanks!
Looking for Recs-Most Chowhoundish Frozen Items at Costco
frozen raw peeled shrimp is good and works out to be a nice deal -- not exactly prepared foods, but they take less than 2 minutes to cook. just rinse in warm water and throw into a hot pan with a dash of scallions, chillies, or practically any simple flavoring. not so frozen, but gotta love the huge boxes of cashews...easy snack while you play with the baby!
Princeton Univ area- need dining suggestions
Princeton area has improved tremendously over the past few years. Witherspoon Grill -- good wine, unusual beers and lovely single malts; Lahier's -- best martini in town; Blue point grill -- oysters' Lawrenceville Inn -- a bit more formal, lovely food; Ajihei -- sushi; Shanghai park -- soup dumplings and lionheads. The last four restaurants are BYO. Have some espresso-based drink at Small world. Bent Spoon gelato is very nice and the flavors are quite creative (usually in a good way), but for a bit of old school local ice-cream, stop by Halo Pub. Their black cherry, coffee chip and almost anything that comes with cholocate covered almonds are all incredible flavors. A little known fact -- if you get coffee there in the morning, you can have a free pastry. The tiny cheese danishes (fresh from a Brooklin bakery) are quite good, and I don't even like baked goods or breakfast! If you are in town for sunday brunch, go to Soup du jour in Hopewell, but reservations are a must.
As brownie said, travel north on 27. Within just half an hour, Udipi cafe has good South Indian dosa, Szechuan Ace -- self-explanatory, Pho Ahn Dao -- arguably the best vietnamese in Jersey, excellent pho broth. New Brunswick has some good Mexican, decent Ethiopean (Makeda), ~Lebanese (Evelyn), Turkish (Seven Hills of Istanbul). Also on 27, is the mother restaurant of Shanghai Park, which I find to be superior to the Princeton version.
I love Sotto's, the old Annex, for its people and its happy hour drinks (a veritable staple of my diet!), but would not suggest it for dinner. Same goes for JW's and Teresa's. You can get better much Jersey Italian right down Witherspoon street at Genarro's.
Conte's is just awesome, a very special place. I actually like their pizza better than DeLorenzo's although many people would disagree with me. To have a true student's view of Princeton, try Hoagie Haven cheese-steak, preferably after midnight.
to Chablis
Two food-crazy girls are taking a road trip into Chablis from Paris. Thanks to all the prior work of diligent chowhounds, I think we are close to set for info on Paris (although more suggestions of places open mid august are always welcome), but are there any wonderful jems not to be missed out in the country? ... especially, although not necessarily in the mid-range for prices. We may be grad students, but certainly chowhounds first! Thanks a lot.
