what is an AYCE option?

i have All Clad SS and i love it. i haven't really used their copper, but when doing my research i saw an article in cooks illustrated where the reviewer felt that the cooper was TOO good a conductor of heat, and liked that the SS slowed things down a little.
Regarding the comment above about heating sugar, i don't do much of that, but maybe if you are a pastry chef the copper is worth it.
i am also a huge advocate of well-seasoned cast iron, which i end up using as much as my All Clad. there is no better deal for your money.

just did that in the end, paid more for express shipping than the products themselves (memorial day crawfish boil, urgent)

thanks. i did find some places that have the dry boil (gramercy fish on 2nd Ave, and Fishtails in Bklyn), but i really wanted both.

anyone know where i can find zatarian's brand crab and shrimp boik in the new york area?
or any specialty foods grocery that might have cajun/creole products by louisiana based companies?

carmine's italian on beekman and ... can't remember cross streat. decent italian and seafood, right across from the seaport. vegetarians can always get something at an italian place.

i see its too late for easter, but my understanding is that shrimp are not like crawfish, crabs, and lobster -- i.e., that they don't live too long out of water. that's why its so rare to see live shrimp. for the same reason, the vast majority of wild shrimp are flash frozen on board shrimp boats into blocks that are about 6in by 6 in by 12in. if you can find a good seafood market, maybe you can get the guy to sell you blocks directly. buying it in a block would ensure two things (1) its wild shrimp, (2) its hasn't been thawed and refrozen.
the trick with shrimp is not so much getting ones that have never been frozen, rather getting ones that have only been frozen once (that you either buy frozen or recently thawed).
you can order shrimp that have never been frozen from Farm-2-market, but at a price that you would more likely serve as an appetizer, not feed your whole family at a boil.
also, i believe a number of the company's in Louisiana that ship live and boiled crawfish also ship shrimp. lacrawfishco.com, kyle leblanc's, cajun depot are a few that come to mind...

Hungry Celeste -- i just saw some posts you did on boiling crawfish, but now i can't find them. one that gave me concern was where you recommended to start small, so as not to ruin 40lbs of crawfish on your first try. i just ordered 65lbs, and i have never done boiled them before (though I have witnessed the whole process).
my questions (some of which you've answered in previous posts, but i don't remember who said what):
do you think there is no advantage to soaking them? - i hope you say yes, because this seems like a pain and a time comsuming process (i have a 40qt pot, so will have to do a few batches)
how many lbs a person?
what type of seasoning is your favorite?

i lived in nola for four years, one as a meat eater, one as a vegetarian, and two a "pechetarian" (seafood only). you can do pretty well if you aren't picky. for instance, if you don't mind picking the andouille out of you jambalaya, gumbo, or red beans.

i think you mean Yvonne's in Pelham? (its just across the line)

did you ever find good nola bread? i am in new york, looking for the same thing...

i haven't been to nola since before the storm, so i don't know whats still active, but if you have a car have you been to mosca? and there is always jacques-imo's which i know is still open. no reservations there, but what you do is go a couple hours before you want to eat, put your name in, and then go for drinks and music at the maple leaf next door.

except for a couple short stints, i haven't really lived in d.c. since i was 14, in the early 1990s. so i am actually encouraged by all the recommendations of new places in arlington and silver spring.
just wanted to add a funny historical note to the conversation: the founder of marriotte (who would go on to invent airplane food, btw), started out peddling a food cart on the Mall in the 1930s. He was a mormon from Utah. Do you know what he sold on that cart? tacos!
its hard to imagine that people were eating tacos in d.c. in the 1930s, and its still so hard to find a decent one.

yes but cactus and LP have the same problem, which is they have only flour tortillas. no corn tortillas. its insane. but the owner (who is cuban) is making money hand over first so don't expect anything to change. the old LP, which was down the block, was great for lunch, the ambiance was great. and he used to do a cuban food buffet at CC, on tuesdays, but i don't think for a long time (10 years). that was good. as was his 1980's adams morgan cuban restaurant, el caribe. but he figured out that mediocre tex mex is what sells, and that's the history of latin american food in d.c.