tcavanau's Profile
HOU – “Feast” Report
I have eaten at Feast and, I'm afraid, I cannot agree with parts of your review. I understand things may change on a night-to-night basis but I would like to recount my experiences to provide an alternate viewpoint.
Starters: Chicken liver pate and the olives.
Pate was delicious, just like my mother makes it. When we ran out of toast points but had pate left? No problem, they brought more without us even asking. Olives were massive, green delights. Still have yet to find a way to discreetly eat an unpitted olive in public though.
Entrees: Pork belly and Cassoulet. Pork belly was texturally pleasing and full of flavor. I am shocked by the reception to the cassoulet on here, as mine was simply one of the most satisfying dishes I can recall ordering out. The duck leg confit was simply shredding itself off the bone, and the rest of the dish was extremely rich and the complete opposite of dry. The whole dish contained an incredible amount of flavor, in layers I found myself straining to place.
Dessert: Sticky toffee pudding and ginger-pear crumble. Pudding was absolutely excellent. Not one crumb remained on that plate. Crumble was good, particularly with the warm custard sauce poured over it, but definitely the weaker of the two.
Beverages. Partner had a wine, I am afraid I cannot recall which. Only snag of the evening in that we were accidentally billed for a whole bottle when she only ordered a glass. this was rectified easily. I had multiple Fuller's, served room temp.
Overall experience was just excellent, and the service was almost European in that they provided the necessary services without being overbearing and/or hustling you through your meal.
whoppervirgins.com
I am amazed that no one in this thread seems to understand what the purpose of this ad campaign actually is. The rampant foodie paranoia on this site is bordering on the ridiculous here; Burger King isn't attempting to provide mass produced, low quality burgers to remote, third-world villagers. The point is simply to provide a relatively unbiased opinion of two competing products.
Let's face it, anyone in America has been bombarded with years of advertising for both McD's and BK, and has probably had more than enough encounters with their offerings to determine a preference. But by highlighting those who have never tried either, it can provide as objective a result as a subjective competition can be- one judged solely by taste, not billions of marketing dollars in our collective subconscious.
Imagine if Norway or Japan had 2 major fast-food whale joints- McWhaley's and the Whale King. We as Americans would be completely sheltered from marketing campaigns, and thus unbiased in our judgments of which place offered the best whale. If we were subjected to a blind taste test (which no one should be foolish enough to believe was 'forced' in any way), we would choose based on the tenderness and flavor of the whale nuggets or openfaced whale sandwiches, and on those criteria alone.
To me, the message that this sends is that Burger King feels that its products are superior, but are outsold only because McDonald's can afford to swamp the media with advertisements.
To be honest, I think the ads are pretty dumb also, and I don't really care about Burger King or what these Nepalese farmers or whatever they are think about our fast food status. I just get annoyed when people immediately jump all over the campaign as being reflective of some critical flaw in our society, or some hegemonious attitude of Americans to the rest of the world. I'm not saying that doesn't exist, but that is not what this commercial is about. Not even close.
Improvement on green bean casserole?
I'm fairly certain the best way to improve upon green bean casserole is to not make it at all. I may be alone on this but I find it absolutely vile.
Northampton/Amherst Mass (affordable eateries)
Um... you're basing your review of India House on how the dumpster smelled? I can assure you, the dumpsters of most restaurants smell like... trash.
best use for heavy cream
Thanks for the validation.
As a real answer to the original question, I made a delicious cream sauce for some homemade crab ravioli last week- caramelize shallots with sage and lemon zest, deglaze w/ (good) sherry, and add cream and black pepper.
best use for heavy cream
I mean, is it wrong to answer sipping it out of the carton?
Fine Dining - Middlebury, VT
Roland's
http://www.rolands1796house.com/
Mary's
http://www.innatbaldwincreek.com/
Storm Cafe is also great.
Stonewall Kitchen specialty foods...
I am absolutely addicted to SK's habanero mango hot sauce- sweet,spicy, and phenomenal with lamb or tortilla chips.
