Chinon00's Profile
...and Cigars?
20th Anniversary Plantation Extra Old Barbados Rum and whatever cigar my cousin had out on the deck last Thanksgiving. Like fat rich booze when I'm enjoying a smoke. Armagnac is nice too.
Do French people drink foreign wines?
And doesn't for example the Languedoc region produce more wine annually than the entire state of California? There's more on the market.
How far are you willing to drive for a good restaurant?
You and some of your friends can access each other's houses exclusively on private roads?
bad Balthazar
Confused. Did the waiter take your entree order at 12:15PM or 12:45? I ask because you seemed to be agreeable to drinks arriving at around noon. So in that instance 12:15PM would seem reasonable to me. 12:45 would be really pushing it though.
What are your FAVORITE meals or dishes to enjoy when it's HOT outside?
Greek-Middle Eastern foods like falafel with cucumbers and dill yohgurt sauce, fresh tomatoes, etc
Wine Pairing Recommendation Needed
You are right. Don't know what I was thinking. Guess it was more of the fruit forwardness that I was thinking about. Don't drink tons of Syrah but that's what I recalled. Won't forget now tho';]
Wine Pairing Recommendation Needed
Speaking to the savory items on the menu first and assuming that the dishes are lower in fattiness I would definitely avoid tannins. For the first three courses I'd go with more generous whites like Vouvray, Marsanne, Viognier which all register on the palate broadly and can therefore compete with the spices. For the protein I go with Syrah or other Rhone red wines due to again lower tannins and fruitiness.
Personally I might flip the "Mint Tea" to after the Beef, Lamb and Chicken Tagine to allow it to serve as a palate cleanser before dessert. I'd pair nothing with the sherbet and do a sweet sherry with dessert.
With and without food.
Yeah we've been down this road before. And where I would not say that anyone is "wrong" for pairing a Côtes-du-Rhône rouge with raw oysters, I might be led to believe that the idea of pairing might be escaping them and that they are literally just eating and then just drinking what they like; with the food and beverage having zero relationship during the meal. Which isn't a crime or "wrong" but just isn't "pairing".
Restaurant with a great bar menu and a Television?
Yeah you want miracles. I haven't been in years but Misconduct Taven (1511 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA, 19102, 215-732-5797) tended to have a stronger NY crowd when I was going (i.e. lots of Giants jerseys during football season). They might carry Devils- Rangers.
Other than slipping someone a $100 I'm not sure if getting a non-local sports event in a non-sportsbar that offers the full dining room menu at the bar is a strong possibility anywhere.
Restaurant with a great bar menu and a Television?
". . and I'm not a beer drinker."
I'm unclear on this statement as at least two of the three places you've listed have a beer focus (i.e. Dandelion and Alla Spina). What are you exactly trying to avoid in providing that information.
Mint coming out my ears!!!!
We add mint to a very simple summer pasta dish of red grapes (halved and seeded), mild Italian sausage, grated cheese and short noodle (i.e. rigatoni).
How far are you willing to drive for a good restaurant?
I have a buddy who regularly drives from Philly to Baltimore for pizza and from Philly to State College, PA for ice cream.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
College provided much greater access to like-minded people whose tastes weren't mainstream. Once you get into "the world" those opportunities plummet (or they have for me).
By "chase food" I mean making it a priority to eat at this taco truck, or that Jewish deli, or the new restaurant downtown with an esteemed young chef.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
And to be clear you are saying that your males friends who will regularly attend high restaurants with you are not guys who "chase food", they are not foodies, or are they?
I'm in my early 40s and I think I know where you are coming from. I had a wonderful time discovering food in college primarily with three good male friends. We'd eat lots of "ethnic" food: Indian, Thai, Korean, Burmese, and we'd even get to some higher end places. We discovered wonderful wine and craft beer too; and record labels like 4AD, ECM, Rough Trade. We maintained this interest of our's as a group through much of our twenties but over time its ended due to circumstances that you mentioned above. I don't see them much anymore.
Right now I have one guy friend whom I consider a foodie and we have lunch once a week and occassionally have dinner together in nice places; sometimes with our wives. All my other good guy friends today unfortunately just don't share my curiosity for food. And they would not understand going to a restaurant and dropping 100+ dollars while staring across the table at ME. They wouldn't get it.
The world isn't college. If only it could be;]
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
Of course not. The point was places where the average guy would feel more comfortable partaking in a meal without a date or his wife. Great food can be had from a street vendor.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
"Of course, for both groups, the real priority is simply to spend a fun night with friends. Food aspects of such evenings are rarely pertinent, food being such a low priority, on average, amongst the members of either group."
The food aspect is very pertinent if you are a foodie.
Women consider high end restaurants as options for "fun" much more often than men. So the opportunities to access high end food favors women.
What foods did you once love but now can’t eat?
Many beers. Not that I can't drink them it's just a strong preference for other beers. Used to regularly drink Killiam's, Pete's Wicked, and tons of Hefeweizen. The former two I never drink anymore (do they still exist?) and the later rarely. I would also drink lots of Coor's Light, Sapporo, and Asahi. All just bland now.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
Words which you've used such as "bemused" and "bewildered" do suggest that you don't understand why these insecurities exist when you apparently do. Having the personal opinion that its silly or ridiculous however is perfectly fine.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
If you go waaaaay upthread you will see that this subthread gernimated from the idea of women on average having more opportunities to eat at high end restaurants w/o their SO than men. This is due to I think the desire of women to group up and to go to high end places WHETHER THEY BE FOODIES OR NOT FOODIES far more so than men. Participation by males generally in grouping up to go to high end restaurants is not as common to my observation. I think though that it is common among foodie guys and I participate often myself.
"Girls Night Out" brings to the mind going to high end restaurants much more often than "Boys Night Out" will. This does not mean that all of us foodie guys who are wonderfully tolerant and sophisticated or sexual matters do not exist; I count myself in the number. But as a group males generally don't see it our way as often for reasons of practicality and perception.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
If only the world were your neighborhood . . . We wouldn't need laws on the books protecting gay people.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
There is far more social stigma associated with being gay in Ameria than being a conservative.
A gay friend invited me to a gay club once years ago. I was very hesistant but chose to be open minded about it and went. Is it unreasonable to assume a significant number of folks in my situation would have chosen not to go?
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
She was a trip. Actually became upset at me for choosing all the restaurants beforehand; like a foodie I'd done weeks of research planning almost every meal. So I relented and suggested that she choose all the lunches and that I choose the dinners for the remainder of our vacation. She chose a restaurant for lunch right off the Metro. It was nothing special sort of like a Friday's. I took back responsibility of choosing all the meals. It was ridiculous.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
The point that I and others have been apparently unsuccessful at making is the particular circumstance of dining at HIGH END restaurants with another man or men; versus eating with one or more guys at the neighborhood pizzaria or brewpub. If a person feels uncomfortable I understand where they are coming from. Do I think its silly? No but personally I wouldn't care and have shared meals with other men at high end places.
It's like how some straight people wouldn't feel comfortable going to a gay club. Doesn't mean that you're gay necessarily, maybe you really like the music. But what it implies might be too much for some.
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
Yeah being a woman and going out as a couple with another woman (as the article explains) implies nothing. For men it isn't the same. Ultimately though like you say it up to the individual to disregard how they might be perceived.
Also I think that its reasonable to state that for a variety of reasons its easier to get a couple of women or a group of women (foodie and non-foodie alike) to go out to a high end restaurant than it is to get guys to go out. One of my handful of foodie guys friends might be available (and not care about perception) but my non-foodie guys friends aren't gonna be keen on going out to high end restaurants for the perceived price/value ratio and the aforementioned gay perception issues. As a matter of fact a buddy of mine's fiance couldn't make a reservation I'd made at a nice place for three couples. I asked him could I invite a male friend who'd wanted to check the place out. He said he'd be more "comfortable" if I didn't;]
Could your/ IS your significant other a picky eater?
Making a habit of dining out with a woman who is not your wife is asking for trouble. Your wife might say it doesn't bother her but it does. It's the intimacy of it. And good point on the implied homosexuality.
Bad beer trends.
"Use of flavoring agents - maybe I'm a bit of a traditionalist, but I think it takes more talent to develop interesting and unique flavor profiles from 4 ingredients than to add flavorings (whisky bbl, coffee, chocolate, fruit, other odd ingredients) pre or post fermentation."
Belgians have been using adjuncts forever. Other than that nice post.
