caviar_and_chitlins's Profile
So I am watching Mystery Diner.... - moved from General Chowhounding board
I saw this episode- and one of the problems was that the manager was an ass in many ways. The waitress told the manager he ate half, then the manager told the customer that he had eaten 75%, when from my perception, he ate maybe a quarter of the appetizer.
Of course, the purpose was to show what an incompetent boob the manager was, so it was effective in that regard!
Paonia area- Delta County?
Hi! Following up here.
We had a great long weekend in Paonia, and loved the valley, and the 2 places we ate.
We went to Flying Fork cafe for dinner. I had a special, the spinach pasta with sausage, zucchini and cream. Very generous portion (to go box required), and good flavor, although I added some crushed red pepper on the reheat, which (imo) brought it all together. My husband had the salmon special, which was very good. Nicely prepared (read: not over cooked), and delicious, fresh from the garden snap peas as the veg. Service was friendly, if not super efficient, but this didn't bother us in the least. One table on the other side of the room had problems.with.everything, and almost sent our very nice waitress to tears. Dude- it's PAONIA, not NYC. Deal. But *gasp*, they only had one kind of wine glass, and they weren't Reidels. It made us more empathetic for our lovely waitress, as she was charming, and didn't deserve Mr. Type A dressing her down for some petty, first-world problems.
We went to breakfast at the Fresh and Wyld Bed and Breakfast. We had arranged this in advance, and talk about come-as-you-are, in a good way. Have a seat, fetch your (delicious) coffee, and your breakfast will be brought to you when it's out of the oven. There's one breakfast- okay, 2 if you count leaving off the meat for vegetarians. Let me add here that there's an abundant garden on the property, and chickens. These were the suppliers of our meal.
Our morning breakfast was 1) salad with the tenderest, light-as air mixed greens, with an appropriately "not too vinegary for breakfast" vinagrette. 2) generous slice of quiche, chockful of veg, it was gently held together with the custardy egg base. Simply delicious. and then 3) a slice of ham, I would identify as a southern country ham (nice and salty), but I'm sure it's local, and I didn't ask.
The cook/chef was also the waiter, so people were served in waves, when things were ready, but coffee and newspapers were at the ready to assist in time-passing if the wait was long. Nobody complained.
I do recommend letting Fresh and Wyld know that you are coming, because I think they plan breakfast around the number of guests they have staying there. It was $10/person, which was a flat-out deal for the quality and quantity.
We didn't go through Hotchkiss, we took the turnoff to Crawford, but maybe next time- thanks for the recommendations.
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)
It helps explain why it was, and is, a contentious issue for feta. As often happens, it's egregious disregard of the tradition that encouraged the movement for the PDO in the first place. If Denmark and Germany weren't making cow "feta", then it probably wouldn't have been pressed.
But, as we see in all kinds of rule/law making- it wasn't a real problem until someone took it too far, and something needed to be done.
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)
Hi,
I've read through your posts, and I do think you are missing something about the certification.
Have you read this article? It might help you understand how we got here with feta.
http://www.epikouria.com/issue2/truth-lies-and-feta.php
Road trip eats in Denver
Steuben's is easy walking distance from the Warwick, just 4 blocks, and has something for everyone, and the place has a diner-ish feel, but the food is much better, and full bar. See: http://www.steubens.com/
If you are willing to walk 5 more blocks, and want something healthy after all those necessary but questionable trucks stops/fast food joints, go past Steuben's to Watercourse. Everything is vegetarian, and I've eaten my way through that menu, and never had anything that wasn't at the least, very good. Also full bar. On the way there or back, Marczyk's Grocery has great prepared foods/sandwiches, and you can find a spot to have a picnic. I recommend the roast beef- they roast their own Niman Ranch beef, and do a wonderful job- rare, juicy..... They have a wine shop attached.
Seeing Someone Touch Your Food
Yes, my experience with my local health dept was that I needed nails trimmed- no rings, and if there was any broken skin, then yes, bandaid AND gloves.
But clean hands are MUCH more sanitary than dirty gloves.
Looking for interesting cheeses to try
Hi smaki- just a quick note- pecorino romano is a sheep's milk cheese, not a goat's milk. The word "Pecora" means sheep in italian.
cheese on!
92-yr old auntie seeks fresh dungeness crab in Denver
yay! thank you so much for the followup. I'm happy auntie was satisfied. I was in SF in January, and ate dungeness all over the town- great fun.
92-yr old auntie seeks fresh dungeness crab in Denver
Hi, I have seen it at New Saigon, and fairly recently. I'd still call and make sure it's available, and good luck!
downfall of chow
re: the videos: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848899
I asked this very question, and received a fairly unsatisfactory response (in my opinion), but it boils down to generating hits on youtube, and that they'll answer these inquiries if they want to, not because we want to know the reason for the change. It made me sour a bit more on the whole site, frankly.
Seeing Someone Touch Your Food
I'm going to tell you something that people don't think about.
Gloves protect the user from knowing when their hands are dirty. When you have gloves on, you really don't have a true tactile sense about the condition of your hands. And, the boss is monitoring your glove wasting, so the cheese person is encouraged to keep the gloves on, despite cheese type, or whatever else is being touched.
I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed a person with gloves that has handled cash (or other items from a customer), then food, then something else. THIS is find disgusting. But the consumer is reassured by the presence of potentially filthy gloves.
Handling food with bare hands is only a problem if the handler doesn't wash between every transaction, and every bare-handler that I know is more aware of their hands than glove-wearers.
I hope that helps. Bare hands are much less the bugaboo than dirty gloves.
Super Taster Columns- why only videos now?
Meredith, thanks for your reply.
I am torn sometimes on these things at Chowhound. On one hand, it's a free site, so how much input or criticism is appropriate, or even wanted? I see people complaining about things that are free, and think- whadda ya want for nothin'? On the other hand, it's longtime users that also provide a value for the site, and although longtime users don't always embrace change, there's the risk of running off many of the people that gave the site the reputation that it has.
So, from what I discern, the videos are an intent to generate hits, and therefore revenue for Chow, and I can't fault you for that. I do hope in the chase for the cash, that the things that made Chow fun and special aren't lost. And I hope that you'd consider providing print content as a supplement to the video.
I can say that hollymayberry's suggestion to read the taste tests at serious eats was a good one- I wasn't familiar with those columns, and now I can skip Supertaster entirely for a" product" more to my liking.
Super Taster Columns- why only videos now?
It's funny, not long ago video production was expensive. Now, if your theory is correct about the reason for the videos, then it's more expensive to write the column than film it. Too bad.
Speculation aside, I wish we could get an answer from TPTB (the powers that be).
Food en route from Denver to Vegas
Yeah, I saw the weirdo map, but it's a quick "right, left" off I-70 in CO.... there's only one Wolcott exit. It'll get you fed before Glenwood Canyon, which is an amazing stretch of road.
Food en route from Denver to Vegas
I would highly recommend the Wolcott Yacht Club Grill in Wolcott, CO. It is not a yacht club. Anyway, it's only open when the river business is high, so check and see if they are open before you go. It's right off the highway, so you'd lose maybe 3 minutes just pulling off and checking.
Google will get you some reviews from that other site that shall not be mentioned. ;)
Garbage disposal uses
I agree with those that say you're not trying very hard. I just googled "biodegradable garbage bags" and found at least 6 kinds.
Many of these are available at Whole Foods (or Sunflower, since you are in AZ).
Water wasting is a real concern in the desert, a much bigger concern that landfills, imo. Your environmentalism is mis-directed, and I'm as crunchy as they get.
Do you rent? I assume that's why you don't care about breaking the disposal.
How Should Recipes be Written?
dining diva- for your 4th column, use the "wrap text" feature. It will make the text fit to whatever width you need, and you don't have to do to the next "row".
How Should Recipes be Written?
I do this as well- picked it up from Julia's (we're on a first name basis) Mastering The Art of French Cooking. You have your ingredients along the left, and you don't have to look up and down for the method.
What to do with Fava Beans?
I do peel them. Favas are so wonderful, and that little bit of husk on the bean detracts from the bean itself, imo.
Super Taster Columns- why only videos now?
I used to really enjoy the Super Taster columns. Sure, it was mostly stuff that I would never buy, but they were a fun quick read. Now they are all 2-3 minute videos. It's like you took something easy and made it harder, for no good reason.
Can anyone explain why it's only videos now? I don't want to watch a video, and it appears I'm not alone, as the majority of comments re: the videos are pleas to make them stop, or at least post the column also.
From what I've seen, no explanation has been given for the change.
So, what gives?
Thanks.
What to do with Fava Beans?
I blanch, then toss with high-quality extra virgin olive oil, and squeeze of lemon, a chiffonade of mint and some sea salt.
Paonia area- Delta County?
thanks guys- from all my searching, it looks like fairly slim pickins. I'll be going in a couple of weeks, will report back on my findings for other western slope visitors.
The best garlic bread ever!
lots of butter- it depends on the size of your bread, but you should be able to spread it on pretty generously. This is one of those things I don't measure.
The best garlic bread ever!
1) good quality cultured butter
2) garlic through the press- 1 clove per 2 TBs butter, approximately
3) finely chopped parsley, lots
4) good sea salt, healthy pinches
mash together, slather on italian loaf that's been halved lengthwise, wrap in foil. Bake 350 for about 10 minutes, then take it out of foil, turn it over so garlic butter oozes into both sides, bake another 5.
eat ravenously, gain 5 lbs. :)
Best Croissant in Boulder?
The Kitchen makes amazing croissants, best I've found in town.
KITCHENAID BLENDER MOTOR JUST SHREDDED, ANY ADVICE ON NEW BLENDER FOR SMOOTHIES
ditto this ^ the immersion blender works great for smoothies, and easy cleanup.
Paonia area- Delta County?
Hi,
Any suggestions for this area? I'm leaving it open, as I couldn't find any posts on this.
on a mission for ricotta that tastes like ricotta in Denver
They retail through the Truffle! It's a small farm/dairy, so keep that in mind regarding seasonailty and availability, but the folks at the Truffle can provide more exact info than I can.
Great food near Coors Field
Trillum! It's 2 blocks from the main entrance- on Larimer.
Substitution for Parmesan in pestos
pffft. I have used QF in pesto. It's quite (amazingly) good.
