Sinicle's Profile
Recommendations: Low to mid priced restaurants in the Laconia, NH area
I believe Lemongrass is the best restaurant around. Kevin's in Moultonborough is excellent seafood, pasta at the upper edge of distance and price. Karen and Barry's in Meredith is in your price range and has excellent red sauce Italian, is relatively close to you but looks like a dump and Karen, usually the waitress, can be "feisty." Fratellos, a very large place, in the price range and distance range is Italian but has a wide ranging menu from burgers to Osso Buca and probably would best fit your criteria. It has been around a long time and would please most. Not exactly Chowish, but would work.
Picky about seating
Absolutely agree with your take on this. Additionally, I like my back against the wall so I can see the whole room. My wife prefers the chair so she can concentrate only on me ( I wish). Seriously, I prefer in and she prefers out.
I should add, we are both smallish. Also, if we place anything on the bench, we are very aware if someone needs to move and we move it over to give the exiters or enterers more room.
Tall tables...what is it with this?
I am used to tall (i.e., barstool height) tables in bars or lounges. Lately I perceive a proliferation of this even to higher end restaurants. The Starbucks in Miami has just added them, my Argentinian breakfast place also, as well as a more upscale restaurant in New Hampshire. Without starting intergenerational conflict, my thought is that this is geared to the younger population. Has anyone else noticed this "upward" shift in table size?
Short Changed in NY?
On CH I usually can see two (or more) sides to the issue. In this thread....the practice is unethical . What else can really be said? " Everybody does it" didn't work in high school any better than it does here.
Chicken Stock for 1
I do it all the time. I do break up the bones and cover with the smallest amount of water possible. Cover and simmer for many (5-6) hours. Rarely have to add water. I cook salt-free for my wife so this is not an issue. Yes, it is cloudy, but very tasty. I usually do not use it for soup, but rather for gravies, rice,etc. It feezes very well.
I should add this is for a carcass after most of the meant has been removed for the meal.
Wow! This Broccoli Rabe is...Bitter
I like everything bitter and have enjoyed rapini for years, BUT recently have had several times and unpleasantly bitter. Perhaps it is me.....but could something else be going on?
garlic in Italy
My wife doesn't care for garlic. Last spring, we were "stuck" in Rome for 10 days because of the volcano and had exactly the same experience. No garlic issues...from very high end to relatively low end. We were pleasantly surprised, certainly no lack of taste in the food.
Well that was kind of nice....
Not from NYC...what is B&T and the social implications so we can all share the joke?
Join small h and I in opening an ironic-foods restaurant!
Perhaps this will help to understand why a perfectly good word is now "trendy."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463641159551112.html
So...What's the most you've ever spent on a meal (for two)?
About $650, La Pergola in Rome and no wine, no after dinner drink, only one cocktail each. Food good, not exceptionally interesting but the "surprise dessert" was a stunner. Once in a lifetime is enough.
Make-your-own soda -- worth it? Advice?
I am not absolutely sure but W-S was selling the "Penguin" model by soda club/soda stream, the one with glass bottles. If so, do not buy this. I have one and it does not carbonate well and is a PITA and is expensive. On the other hand, the less expensive versions from Soda Stream with the plastic bottles work quite well, particularly the model with the larger CO2 canister. Some folks had distribution problems with them but I have been happy with the service. Search CH for Seltzer thread from a few years back.
I have a question which may sound silly. A poster said you should never order the exact same meal as your dining partner.
I am hoping this is one of those frivolous fun threads as it is kind of silly.
I am as obsessed with food as most on CH and what I order is very important to me. WHat others order is of no interest whatsoever. The only exception is if I am the guest then I generally try to stay in the same price range as the hosts...but that is a different subject entirely.
How do you organize your spice rack/cupboard?
Both spices and pantry are alphbetical and my computer-generated food list is arranged the same as the store aisles in our usual supermarket. I'm a joy to live with.
Food poisoning question
Staphylococcal "food poisoning" which is caused by a toxin produced by the bacteria has a very rapid onset of symptoms.
Am I the only one who lives in a magic house? A lighthearted look at ourselves & food safety
I am always happy when this thread is bumped. Even though I only "knew" Sam through CH, it really is a living memorial.
Would you say something to the management about this?
In Miami, our favorite Argentine/Italian coffee shop has a napkin dispenser advertising free Wi-Fi.
Shameful Food Secrets
What are fried pickles? Is this a regional treat? What am I missing?
Shameful Food Secrets
Pork Vienna Sausages right from the can with the jellied stuff still clinging. If it is a real upscale night, I might dip the little guys in French's yellow mustard.
Fried salami on soft white bread with yellow mustard will also fit the bill.
Wedding RSVP Card - Entree Selections - list full description or just general category?
It is standard in my area. The difficulty is that many people seem to forget what they ordered and others change their minds if the other dishes look better when they are served. Of course, if the choice is based on allergy rather than preference then the responder does remember.
Finally, IMO, fish does not do well at a large affair, although salmon holds up fairly well. Meat is the safest bet and chicken tends to be too dry.
This is only partially "tongue in cheek" as I like to stay true to my screen name.
Besides, who attends a wedding for the food?
Charging for reservations?
I would have agreed with you until someone used my credit card to sign me up at FreeCreditReport.com which gave them access to my credit report, etc. etc. I would not have believed how easy it was. Yes, I did get reimbursed and the expert consensus was that these were amateurs. If they had not been, with access to all my credit reports and my ss# I could have had my credit destroyed "for years to come."
Even though there are many consumer protection laws in place, the reality is that correcting identity theft is not as easy as it seems even after you do the right things.
BTW, I did fax Le Bernardin this info when requested 2 years ago for a reservation and I would do it again.
Wow - my tastes are really changing as I get older...anyone else?
As was pointed out there are physiologic changes that do occur with aging. But looking at the responses ( and ages of the posters), it appears that the basis for most of the observation is psychologic; similar to all food choices. I will eat almost anything, but as a child the "thought" of olives, smoked fish or tomatoes turned me off. My grandmother paid me $15 as a teen to try a tomato and I have eaten them since. I am sorry for all the olives and smoked fish I missed eating for the first 50 plus years. I only tried waffles in my early sixties and "s'mores" last year. Not bad, but I've always been more savory than sweet.
My point being that aside from some aging changes (which I have not noticed) and folks who are "supertasters," I think our apparent changes in food likes/dislikes are both complicated and idiosyncratic.
72nd Bar + Grill - Sunset
We have been there twice in the past few months with some mixed results. Menu is extensive and a number of interesting dishes from ceviche to lamb burgers. Most of the dishes I have had have been quite good. One dish epitomizes the problem. The fried calamari appetizer with accompnaying green sauce was cooked perfectly and brought to the table hot. However, the rings themsleves ( no tentacles, my favorite part) were really of mediocre quality. Salmon tartar excellent, but my drink came in a dirty glass and it required two visits to the bar to get it right...the first time the same dirty glass was returned to me. It is noisy and lively...not bad in itself, but be warned. I really wanted to like it because of the generally good food and generally good service, but the misses really lower the force of the hits.
Stone Crab from Publix and down home Cuban lunch spot in Miami
The freaky mall on Coral Way has been redone and renamed, but still a bit freaky. Across from it, on the south side of Coral Way is Villa Habana, one of my favorite Cuban restaurants. Perhaps that is the one you mean.
Perfect hard boiled eggs
Actually, according to the CDC website (google) contamination today usually occurs from bacteria in the hens' ovaries and the contamination occurs before the shell is produced. Certainly external contamination can occur but it is not the most common. This is an old thread and I do not want to get into the political, etc. discussion of the "real" risk of salmonella from clean, well -cared for hens who can run around. Only point is that contamination is not usually external to the shell.
Share tasting menu?
My wife and I just had the 6 course tasting menu at La Pergola in Rome and very surprisingly were told that as long as we had 6 courses, we did not have the same ones. To clarify, there was also a 9 course tasting menu, but for the 6 course we each could choose any six from among the 9. So yes, we both had the tasting menu, but they were really two different menus. Go figure.
Does this pasta salad and green salad go together?
I don't see any problem in serving a pasta salad and green salad together. Only comment on these two is that both have a kind of citrus vinegarette but one is lime, the other orange juice but the differnce is such I think they would be fine.
