Things that are making you happy*******food and drink edition******

[b1os]

Definitely my Ballotine and Tiramisù. Love it.

 

[kwilkinson]

Brand new waitress started yesterday, sold four wine pairings her first night.

I had a ****** GM cook quit on me today, which was nice b/c he was unnecessary weight.

Service staff meeting on Monday where I get to finally start showing people how to conduct proper wine service.


Things are looking up for the club!

 

[Eason]

Cointreau

 

[mgm9128]

The packaging of this Burrata.

 

[b1os]

This.

From left to right: pistacchio pesto, prickly pear blossom honey (guess what, it already crystallized a little. on the website they say it's normal that the honey crystallizes after a few months), lime marmelade, blood orange marmelade, prickly pear marmelade, mulberry marmelade. All organic, all from Sicilia. On top: percoca napoletana in syrup. (a variety of the nectarine)

 

[impolyt_one]

Had pho yesterday, same as I posted before. Obviously made me pretty happy...

The broth was cloudier and oilier than usual, a lot of oil droplets on top and a general look that the pot had been on too much heat - then I noticed that their teenage son was working yesterday. Kid must've been in grade school or younger when I first started going to that restaurant...

So then an idea came to me - finally, there is someone there than can speak more english than 'thank you' and '$5.89'... and the kid will now be able to relay my offer of buying out their recipe and/or store for a decent amount of money..

 

[SField]

The pho is that good? Seriously? Better than anything you had in LA?

 

[impolyt_one]

Haven't had pho in LA, but will sometime early next week, probably Golden Deli, which is generally the most highly regarded LA pho. I will update my opinion after that. I've had random pho here and there all over the country, just not in LA yet. Before a few weeks ago, I hadn't been to LA in like 20 years.

The pho at that place is pretty good though, it's a two hour drive each way from my parent's house, so about $50 in gas for a $5 bowl of soup, but I've felt it was worth it the minute they put the bowl in front of me and I get the first whiff. I love their seasoning touch and the (usual) clarity and lightness of the stock, while they manage to keep the soup tasting pretty deep. It seems like a pretty talented broth really, it can say a lot on its own, but if you add things to it within reason (squeeze of lime and/or dropping the whole thing in to get the last of the juice plus a zest kick, sprouts, extra herbs, and some sambal oelek), you can taste them pretty well through the beef flavor, but it stays balanced.
You get people who automatically grab for the hoisin and put it straight in the broth, but that is usually because the soup is too weak and it needs a color/caramel kick. This soup I'm talking about doesn't really need it, adding sauce beyond a spoon of sambal (not sriracha) would be like slathering an expensive prime dry aged steak in A-1 sauce.

The beef is cheap round, but it does at least stay tender.

The whole bowl could be improved, but then it wouldn't cost $5 anymore, either.

 

[itsstillmatt]

You coming up to real California as well, or just LoCal?

 

[mordecai]



You coming up to real California as well, or just LoCal?

 

[b1os]

impolyt, what do you think of this recipe ? http://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html

 

[impolyt_one]

Spending about 36 hours in Hell A starting Monday night, and then going back to my home in the land of savages on Wednesday morning. Just gonna get my Golden Deli pho, an In n Out, and then I'm gonna gtfo.

Looking forward to getting home (though I have to go back to Tokyo the next week) - I've stayed at 5 different hotels for a total of 15 days in the past 3 weeks, been to SFO, LAX, O'Hare, LaGuardia, and St. Louis airports, some multiple times, and I'm not done yet, I fly back to LAX and then fly through Tokyo again on Wednesday. Brain isn't even functioning anymore, and I am just eating stuff for sustenance at this point. Everybody wants to drink with me and I haven't been sober for a month.

Fun fact: by Monday, I am gonna have eaten Shake Shack, Steak n Shake, Five Guys, and In n Out within 7 days.

 

[impolyt_one]



impolyt, what do you think of this recipe ? http://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html

I've never been successful at my making own pho - can't try in Korea because beef bones are not cut the same way and also cost ridiculous amounts of money. To put that recipe together it'd cost me $150, so I never tried but once, and failed, like 5 years ago.

Anyway, that recipe itself is pretty standard as far as I've seen amongst pho recipes. My opinion is that one can use the fish sauce to taste, rather than just dumping a 1/4 cup in, and especially since you're using kosher salt in that recipe as well. One can use rock sugar (like they sell on sticks for stirring into tea) or one could use jaggery as well.
I also think one should spice according to their tastes, rather than throwing the whole sachet in there. What is listed in the recipe is like the whole range, but you can adjust that to whatever you think it might need.

Use thai basil, get it from a Southeast Asian grocer. It looks purplish and the leaves are not as soft and voluminous as regular basil. Thai basil, mint, and cilantro are like the holy trinity.

Also, make sure you warm your bowls before ladling, otherwise that soup will hit the cold bowl and just cool down too much to cook your meat.

 

[b1os]

Okay. Adjusting to ones taste is pretty standard in all recipes imo. The thing is I've never eaten good pho in my life. Well, I have eaten pho once (maybe you've seen the pic in WDYELNFD http://www.styleforum.net/forum/thread/8137/what-did-you-eat-last-night-for-dinner/8925#post_4655379 ) but it seems like the broth was way too light. Anyway it tasted good. Plenty of cilantro and thai basil, no mint.
I think I will try this recipe out. Do you think it's enough cooking time?

 

[impolyt_one]

You should probably boil the bones quickly to get the blood and at least some of that scum off, clean the pot well and rinse the bones, and then expect to keep your soup on a simmer for about 24hrs, get the most out of those bones