miss_bennet's Profile
Pani Poori and Snack Stall next to Thattukada (London)
I am visiting London next week and I have no idea where all these place names are. Can someone tell me the street and Tube stop and line, please?
I'm really excited to try Indian food in London; it's not very good where I'm from in Canada.
Fruit-on-the-bottom Yogurt: To Stir, or Not to Stir?
I just enjoyed a delicious fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt. That is to say, I ate the yogurt off the top, and left the "fruit" in the cup.
Does anyone else do this?
Is it just me, or is it different from plain yogurt? I think it's gently flavoured with the flavour on the bottom. I've always eaten yogurt this way. I just love that light, fruity tartness only the top of fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt can give me!
Does anyone know why it's so good? Is it actually different, or I am just crazy, and it's plain yogurt? (I really don't care if I'm crazy; it's good eats.)
Ultimate Top Chef
My ultimate Top Chef would have new rules that basically allow previous challenges to count so it's less "Top Meal" and more "Top Chef."
Basically, my scheme includes a scoring system like Iron Chef (creativty, exceution, presentaion and taste being the parameters). The quickfires and EC would be judged using that. Then to find out who to eliminate, it would be the person with the lowest score. The QF would be weighted at 25%, and the elimination challenge at 75% for the first challenge.
Every subsequent EC would be measured as: 25% for QF, 50% for EC, and 25% aggragate of previous scores. Prizes for QF and EC winners would still be given.
Basically, I'm angry about Jaime and Tre. The numbers don't have to be exactly what I suggest, but I think it's a good starting point.
Top Chef-Last Meal (Spoiler)
My favourite part of the episode: When Carla said the squab was overcooked, Tom agreed with her. Then, Jacques disagreed with Tom and DEFENDED CARLA'S FOOD! How cool would that be for a chef? Jacques Pépin says he could die happy after eating your food, then he defends that food when another chef criticizes it?
Carla for the win!
And if Carla doesn't win, I hope someone gives her a cooking show. That I would watch.
Top Chef: Le Bernardin - Spoilers
Toby Young's "witticisms" make me think of the insipid character Mr. Collins in "Pride and Prejudice." While some of these supposedly clever comments are likely made up on the spot, TY must think of specific, injurious phrases to use, then apply them to whatever sitution presents itself. (I should go get the book to find the exact quote.)
Top Chef: Le Bernardin - Spoilers
Since the producers have spent a lot of time making Stefan seem like a jerk, I think it's kind of funny that he won the prize. I wonder if Chef Ripert will become as frustrated with Stefan as Hosea has become?
(I feel certain, however, that Chef Ripert would thoroughly enjoy spending a week with Carla.)
"have you been here before? well, we recommend. . . ."
I agree that the sale is all in the delivery. A great waiter (or salesperson) can sell you something without you even realizing your being upsold.
However, the bottom line is, you are in a restaurant. A restaurant is a business, and they make money by selling food. Waiters are salespeople, and yes, the larger the bill, the larger their tip.
The important thing is that we are able to air our grievances here. Unless they are pressing the point (see Miss Needle's margarita example), servers do not deserve to have an outside source directly questioning how they do their job.
Having worked in the service industry, I was very good at the upsell. I would politely offer something, people would say yes or no, and I'd move on accordingly. Just as the customer would say yes or no and move on accordingly. I have had a few people who have sworn at me, saying something like "No I don't want the f-ing large." That is much more tacky, inappropriate and disrespcetful than me offering a larger size.
Going "green" or being sneaky cheap?
I have to say that a calling a company cheap for making efforts to help the environment is somewhat inappropriate. Who cares what their motives are? They are saving raw resources and energy!
My work just changed our napkins from bleached, white things to unbleached, recycled-material napkins. We had to invest in new dispensers, which dispense only one napkin at a time. The only reason we changed was so that we could use less of a better product and reduce waste. For the environment. The side effects, such as lower cost, less to clean up, less usage, are fringe benefits to helping the environment. That is the bottom line.
Basically, what I'm understanding here is that it's only ok to help the environment if people get some kind of financial reimbursment. I can't even think of words to describe how wrong I think that is.
How to deal with food complainers?
When I went out for food with one of my boyfriend's best friends and girlfriend, she made a comment casually near the beginning that she hates it when people blow their nose at the table. As I was eating spicy, I was sure to only wipe during the meal. The same thing might work. Just say, before she can get anything in, "Did you know that governments want to force restaurants to put calorie counters on menus? I don't want to know how much fat is in my pasta; I just wnat to enjoy it!"
Where are they hiding the garlic NOT made in China?
I pay $13.99/lb for local organic garlic, because it's that, or stuff from China. I choose local, because I can.
Here comes the new look!
Please add my vote to the "white background makes posts VERY hard to read" group. Please go back to red! I need to leave now; my eyes hurt.
What would you do if a restaurant wouldnt cook your Burger to Order?
From another viewpoint, I live in BC, Canada. When some children died in Washington State in the '80s, my provincial government made cooking ground beef to less than 170 degrees F illegal. For 25 years, the idea that a burger with even a touch of pink is unsafe has been ground into my head, and consequently, pink burgers horrify me. I love tartare, I can't eat steak anything more than medium rare (and I've taken enough food safety to know that there's a risk there), but pink burger? A restaurant served my BF and I rare burgers in the past year, and I tried, but I couldn't bring myself to eat it. Rare burgers give me the heebie jeebies. As for self-ground meat, I don't even think I could do that.
In answer to your question, the customer is always entitled to take their business elsewhere if they can't get what they want. I think it's dishonorable to get angry with any establishment that is trying to uphold a law, but I don't think that was the case, it was just the restaurant policy. But because of my "nurture," if I went to a restaurant that served burgers rare, I would be reluctant to eat anything there. I mean, if they take that risk, what else are they doing?
Met Opera - Do they serve cake?
I heard a rumor that when you go to a gala at the Met, they serve white cake for guests. Is this true, or is it just a rumor?
If it is true, is the cake free? What kind of cake is it?
Thanks,
mb
Parksville and Qualicum, BC recs
I guess this will teach me to give specific reviews; i.e. Lefty's is good for sandwiches and other lunch foods. I have never eaten dinner there.
food prep tragedies
I was 9 or ten. My mom had bought a frozen pie crust, but I was making the lemon filling and meringue from scratch for the first time. I zested and juiced the lemons. I patiently waited for the cornstarch to turn the filling into gel, and I was very careful not to let it burn. The filling was very pretty when the pie came out. I then made the meringue, using two extra egg whites. I made the most beautiful peaks I had ever made. I opened the oven door, and started to move the pie to the oven for its final bake.
And the cheap, tin pie plate folded under the weight, and the pie slipped from my hand and landed face down on the linoleum. I kind of screamed when it happened. My grandfather was a couple of feet away from me doing dishes, and after he failed to catch it, I ran to my room crying. Even though my grandfather gave me a glass pie plate the next day, I have never baked a lemon meringue pie again.
Hwy 4 from Nanaimo to Ucluelet and Tofino
Slightly off the road in Qualicum and Parksville is Lefty's. They specialize in fresh food. They have a selection of sandwiches with your choice of soup or salad, I believe. Here's a link.
http://www.leftys.tv/
Slight correction: the J & L Drive-In in Port Alberni. Their burgers are excellent, and the drive-in aspect is fun. The #4 takes you through Port Alberni. Just make a left onto Gertrude and the J & L is two blocks down. I usually just get a burger, a shake and split onion rings. It is truly a Port Alberni institution.
Also, you can stop at Naesgaard's Farm Market just outside of Port Alberni for peaches and cream corn for the BBQ, and sweet peas for snacks. As you leave Port, there is a marina on the left, the you follow the Somass river on your left. Naesgaard's is on the right.
Soft-serve ice cream on BC ferry
I'm pretty sure they both use the exact same base mix, provided by Island Farms. The reason they're both so good is because unlike most soft serve ice creams in North America, they use real cream.
While Beacon Drive-In instills a more iconic sentiment in me, I think that the ferry's ice cream is just as good. I also think that the ice cream is the only edible food on the ferry. But I am a sucker for the candied apples at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Tsawassen.
Dabbing on some makeup at the dinner table...
A guy did that in one of my college classes. It took all of the willpower I possess not to scream at him. I'm surprised the prof didn't. That is my most hated noise in the whole world. Just thinking about it... Yuck!
Dabbing on some makeup at the dinner table...
That's what I'm thinking, because if you powder your nose at the table, what to you say when you need to use the "powder room?" Eek! Powdering your nose was the elegant excuse!
Parksville and Qualicum, BC recs
The only place I can recommend is Lefty's. They make casual, fresh food. My family has had delicious lunches there.
http://www.leftys.tv/
Parksville and Qualicum, BC recs
FYI - Being an Islander, I would no consider Deep Cove Chalet, Blue Bayou or the Merridale Cidery as Parksville/Qualicum places. The Cidery is about an hour and a half south, and the other two are on Saanich Peninsula, about 2 and a half + hours from Parksville.
Sidney, Victoria with teens
With teens, you will have to go to the "restaurant" part of any brew pubs (BC liquor laws). Swan's Spinnaker's and Canoe Club all have appropriate sections.
For tea, I recommend White Heather Tea Room. It is in Oak Bay. They offer a very nice afternoon tea. Further down Oak Bay Avenue, you can find teh Blethering Place, which I believe also offers afternoon tea. There are a lot of interesting food shops near the Blethering Place, including an excellent Italian deli, Ottavio.
In Sidney itself, I love Sabhai Thai. It's right downtown. It is always packed. Their garlic pork is not breaded, and it is the best I've ever had. Their Phad See Iw is also nicely flavored. I drive to Sidney for their Golden Cups, though. (Note: I have never been to Thailand; as such, I don't know how "authentic" Victoria's Thai food is.) Sidney also has a market on its main street every Thursday and Friday night, I believe.
I have eaten at the Rumrunner Pub (on the pier in Sidney) with my parents many times, but have not been back after a terrible (isolated) service experience when I went with a friend. The Blue Peter is pretty average.
The Empress in downtown Victoria serves a satisfactory, but not great, tea. I find it to be too much money for too little food.
Again, downtown, I quite like the Cactus Club Cafe. It is a chain based in Vancouver. They serve interesting West Coast food in a trendy environment. The bathrooms in the restaurant are amazing. Many teens and twenty-somethings love it, but there seems to be a wide demographic there.
http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/
If you come downtown, I'd strongly recommend Red Fish Blue Fish. It's a take-out fish and chips place made out of a shipping container. They are dedicated to fresh, ethical ingredients and green practices (organic recycling for the wood composite forks). It is not cheap by any means, but it is tasty. It is hard to find. On Wharf Street at Broughton, there is a lone pink building on the water side. There is a driveway (I think it's part of the wharf) beside the building down to the wharf, and on the wharf is Red Fish Blue Fish. Teh driveway does not lead to a parking lot, and it wil like be blocked off, as you can't drive down it; it is for pedestrian traffic.
http://www.redfish-bluefish.com/
Tip jars - love 'em? Hate 'em?
I have years of counter service experience. It is not easy, no matter what people say. It is a challenge to get someone their "cappucino with no foam" and keep a smile on my face the whole time. Serving people is like acting, except you always have to be HAPPY, even if the person on the other side of the counter is yelling that your co-worker with a disability is moving too slowly (I kid you not).
That said, I loathe tip jars. I find them incredibly tacky because they make me feel guilty for not tipping in them. If I want to offer a gratuity for great counter service, I will. I was always grateful for any tips offered to me while I was putting myself through university. But I will choose not to tip in a tip jar every time because it is presumptive.
Your Once Famous But Now, "Oh My God I Cant Believe I Used To Serve This" Dish
With the conrflakes on top... I don't care if it's not gourmet, I love this dish! And it's ALWAYS a hit a potlucks. Always. My roasted vegetable lasagne sits forlorn, but this dish gets gobbled down. Because it's that good.
Victoria 50th birthday dinner
I would consider Lure. It's in the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort, and the walk form downtown across the bridge is quite nice. The view is amazing (across teh inner harbour) and the chef is excellent. It also has an excellent sommelier. I haven't been there in awhile, but I can heartily recommend the chef and sommelier.
http://www.lureatoceanpointe.com/profile.htm
I would also vote "nay" for Pag's and Il Terrazzo. I'm not sure how fun Lure is, but it's probably as fun as Cafe Matisse and Il Terrazzo.
ETIQUETTE- who pay's?
I agree with those who have said that the brother should be spoken to. Maybe he's ignorant of the fact that he is choosing places that are more extravagant than places the rest of the family chooses. 9Or, because he's notfooting the bill, it hasn't occured to him that it could be a problem.)
However, I believe that the financial structure fo the family is important. I don't believe that siblings in school (high school or college) should be expected to pay, as they likely have little income. Being an older sibling, you get to do things first, like move out, date and pay for meals out. I also think that the financial standing of your father is important. Is he working, or retired?
In my family, my father (who is not retired, nor is my mother) always pays. We typically only eat at Asian restaurants, or this one spot for breakfast. We go to fine dining places once in a blue moon, but that's probably because we're scattered across the country. If we all lived in the same place, however... And when it comes down to it, my father is old-fashioned. He would never expect one of us (all girls) to pay. My sister once looked at a bill when we were teenagers, and he said that unless she intended to pay, it was none of her business. And none of us has picked one up since.
husband doesn't like salmon, and therefore thinks he doesn't like fish... but willing to try--ideas?
My method is neither glamorous nor low-fat.
Poached Halibut
Take two halibut fillets (about 150 grams each), salt and pepper them. Place in small, shallow baking dish that the fish jsut fits in. Add the juice and rind from one lemon to the pan (let it drip down the side of the fish). Throw in three tablespoons butter.
Bake in 325 degree oven until fish flakes (time depends on thickness of fillets, so get two that are similar in size).
Basic, yes. Delicious, yes. But out of curiosity, where are you from? I'm from the west coast, and I have access to great seafood at my grocery store. So I never buy frozen fish.
Scaramouche - so-so review
When I had a subscription to Gourmet Magazine a decade ago, they gave Scaramouche a great review. My father was heading to Toronto shortly thereafter, and I recommended it. He and my sister ate at the pasta bar, and they still rave about it.
I acknowledge that a restaurant can change a lot in ten years, but I know if I'm ever out east, I'll probably make a stop at Scaramouche.
Last Minute - Asian in Victoria
I don't know if I strictly agree with you. I think that there is certainly good Asian food to be found in Victoria. Whether that food is authentic is another story (Szechuan Restaurant - case in point).
I really like Sabhai Thai in Sidney. It's nice to go out and walk by the water, and then enjoy a lovely meal. I have never had authentic Thai, but it is delicious. Their garlic pork melts in your mouth.
