eeejo's Profile
[Vietnam] Hoi An or Hue?
finding delicious grub in vietnam is often as simple as finding a street corner filled with locals stuffing their faces, but it sounds like that won't be the case in hoi an... assuming that we have to pass through on the way to better things, can someone please give recommendations for non-touristy, non-crappy food there?
can I save my sourdough starter?
i'm adding my question to this thread, although i've done something much worse:
a friend gave me some of his beautiful SF sourdough starter when i was in the middle of a crazy stretch of 70-hour work weeks, and i completely forgot about it. the jar sat in the back of my fridge for about three months, unfed and untouched. it is now separated, grayish and funny-smelling. my guess is i killed it dead, but is there anything i can do to try to bring it back?
Why is frying food unhealthy?
different but related: why is pizza considered this iconically bad-for-you food, when it's really just bread, cheese and vegetables/meat ..exactly like most sandwiches? because there's an anti-deliciousness conspiracy.
HELP dessert for a wedding
oh, you know people go insane for cupcakes. a mix of choc and non-choc: maybe chocolate with salted butter caramel icing (plop a nasturtium or other edible flower on top to pretty up the brownness) and coconut with orange cream cheese frosting (sprinkle toasted coconut on top). and it's not necessary to bake them day-of: i've had great success freezing cake layers and cupcakes for a couple of days before events, as long as they've cooled completely to room temp and are then very well wrapped. it actually makes them easier to frost and super moist. (just make sure to give enough thawing time before the eating begins)
little elegant tartlets would be nice, too: pre-cook your tart dough all the way in mini muffin tins and then either fill with flavored pastry cream (vanilla bean, rosewater, citrus.. nearly anything) or with Pierre Herme's lemon cream (SO GOOD. recipe here: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/04/lemon-lemon-lemon-cream-recipe.html). Fruit on top at the last minute to avoid sog. have fun!
restaurants in Bar Harbor Maine
It's not new, it's been on Main St. in Bar Harbor for years. I've never been because the menu always looks a little stiff and dated to me (kinda 1980s fine dining). but I'll go anywhere for beautiful oysters..
Boston to Midcoast maine, any must stops?
We had a totally lovely dinner at Caiola's a week ago. It is splurge-ish but casual (we stopped in halfway through a long drive home and nobody cared that we looked a little roadworn) and the menu is fantastic.
Chase's Daily in Belfast, ME
hooray! i'm so glad they're getting some James Beard love. it's one of my favorite places in Mid-Coast, for sure.
portland me restaurants
what a bummer. when i cook, i know that overseasoning is worse than underseasoning, but i'm such a salt-head that as a diner, i tend to be more accepting of a too-salty meal than about a bland one. sounds like they hit both ends of the spectrum for you. our blue spoon meal wasn't great but the service was so gracious and the space so pleasant that i would still give it another chance.
Are there disadvantages to plastic containers for pickling? [moved from PNW board]
thanks for all the good info, yall
Are there disadvantages to plastic containers for pickling? [moved from PNW board]
[NOTE: We've moved this digression from a discussion at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/12949 -- THE CHOWHOUND TEAM]
As a side topic, are there significant disadvantages to using plastic buckets and/or food svc containers for pickling? I'm looking to add house-pickled cukes and dilly beans to the menu at our small restaurant, so beautiful stoneware crocks and glass jars aren't really feasible. Evergreengirl mentioned off-gassing. What's that mean? (Obviously, I'm a novice pickler)
Eggs - what's your favourite preparation (dinner)
if avoiding breakfast preparations, baked eggs with some cheese and creme fraiche are pretty lovely for any meal.
i love eggs for b-fast though, so my real favorite is two eggs over easy with cholula and bacon, forked onto crusty white toast with apricot jam.. this is the breakfast that will make me a very chubby old lady someday, and that's ok with me.
There's Shrimp Boats a Comin' There's....Maine Shrimp!
The guy Passadumkeag referred to earlier is, indeed, still selling out of his pickup truck, down the road from the Ellsworth Wal-Mart. It would be a little detour on your way to Eastport, but his price is the best I know of.
Bangor Maine
i second the coffee pot! the long line is totally worth it. and dysart's for late-night giant cinnamon rolls, pat's pizza for a pitcher of beer and a decent pie, especially busy on University hockey game nights, woodman's, ichiban, bagel central.. i haven't been to Bahaar (the Pakistani place) in forever but I always really enjoyed it.
the farmer's market next to Ingrid's German market has a great poultry-and-eggs guy from Sunset Acres Farm whose prices are good. State Street Wine Cellar has great beer and wine selections and good prices and is right down the road from Frank's Bakery, which makes delicious chicken pot pies!
i think the food at the sea dog is pretty lame, as is Giacomo's Italian market. I've heard Massimo's is tasty but overpriced.
and also x2 to making the trip to Mexican Restaurant in Hancock and Cleonice in Ellsworth! they're both fantastic. unfortunately, riverside cafe has gone waaay downhill and isn't worth the drive.
There's Shrimp Boats a Comin' There's....Maine Shrimp!
we had a lot of complaints in the restaurant about the tininess and mildness of maine shrimp, which i think is loco! it just needs as little cooking as possible, which is a good thing in my book...
someone already said ceviche and that's my favorite prep. i do it with scallops, watermelon, scallions and orange zest and it really hits the spot. i also like to puree shrimp into a paste and use it as a binder for crab/fishcakes; much more flavorful than egg and breadcrumbs (but not really specific to maine shrimp i s'pose!).
Dining in Bar Harbor, Boothbay and Kennebunkport?
I'm with Feedme; a trip to Portland for a meal is a good idea since it's a year-round place with lots of fabulous food. However, those towns are pretty gorgeous, and there are advantages to being in a tourist town in its off season: peace and quiet, seeing where the locals really go, no traffic, winter specials at some of the places that stay open. Town Hill Bistro is a really nice place just ouside of Bar Harbor and is open weekends. I think Guinness & Porcelli's is a so-so Italian place, but they do a $19 3-course dinner on Fridays. Havana closed after New Year's Eve. McKay's is a good place to get a burger or a steak, and the wine and beer lists are pretty great.
Last minute trip to NYC - lunch, dinner, breakfast recs
i second caffe falai for a low-key breakfast. the baked eggs are delicious.
i love prune for lunch or dinner.
have fun!
What do you make for breakfast on Christmas morning?
for as long as I can remember:
quiche lorraine
cinnamon rolls
fruit salad
orange juice in wine glasses (an old holdover from when i was a five and wanted to be fancy, but we still do it)
a friend of mine does Norwegian Christmas breakfast every year and it sounds fantastic: beer, cheese, pancakes with bacon in them, smoked fish.
portland me restaurants
yes yes to duckfat lunch; front room, street & caiola's dinner. add fore street to that list. blue spoon is such a lovely place with great prices and service but our meal there was a teeny bit underseasoned. evangeline is a French place that was serving a very moderately priced prix-fixe on Monday nights; I haven't been yet and I hope they're still doing it! also, yosaku is a great japanese restaurant with good prices and yummy fish. bar lola would be a nice place for a cocktail. arabica for coffee.
bay area, semi-cheap
thanks for your refs to old posts; i don't know how i missed the cheap eats/dives one! and thanks for all the goodies so far. awesome.
bay area, semi-cheap
I'm in San Francisco for 5 days in early March and want to eat fantastic stuff, relatively inexpensive (super inexpensive is great, too, but I won't hold my breath).
while in SF, we would love to have some delicious:
charcuterie
local cheese
mexican food
korean food
fish
desserts (i'm a baker)
beer
oysters
we have a car, if we need to drive for the goods. where should we go?
Restaurant for Special Dinner in Charleston
I second the FIG rec; when I lived in Charleston it was my favorite place to eat out. It's a lovely, cool room with pristine, thoughtful food, a relaxed, smart staff and a nice wine list. McCrady's, High Cotton, Al di La and Fulton Five are also really nice special occasion spots. More casual but still fun and delicious places to find nice seafood are Coast, Hominy Grill and Hank's.
gastronomic tour tips please
willowan, early fall is for sure the best time to visit Mount Desert Island and Acadia. it's much less crowded but the weather is still fair, and all the restaurants, bars, hotels and park entrances are still open.
i've lived here for 3 years and i think my favorite special-occasion dinner is still The Burning Tree in Otter Creek. I have had a couple of disappointing entrees but usually, things are creative and beautifully plated and the seafood and produce are fantastic.
Town Hill Bistro, in Town Hill, is a great newer place with a simple, not-too-big menu, reasonably priced, in a very pretty room with a fireplace. The gnocchi is so gooood and so is the steamed lemon cake for dessert.
Fiddler's Green, in Southwest Harbor, was a favorite big birthday dinner spot last summer; I know they've been trying to sell but we hope they don't because they serve the best steak on the island, and they have an exceptional beer list.
Cleonice is a lovely bistro in Ellsworth, just off the island. I like to just stick to tapas, wine and dessert; I just haven't been as inspired by their entrees. Great salads, cheeses, harissa-rubbed ribs.
For breakfast, Cafe This Way is a busy place with outdoor seating, good strong coffee, great benedict but lame homefries. Jeannie's is a touristy place that happens to ace my favorite breakfast, Bullseyes. For takeout lunch, Adelman's Deli has a fantastic reuben. for the requisite mid-afternoon cone, you must go to Mount Desert Ice Cream; it's actually a local business unlike Ben & Bill's, and the ice cream is great.
Maine Classics
the bagel shop (now known as Bagel Central) in Bangor is classic for sure. delicious bagels, pastrami sandwiches, all around kosher goodness.
