Page 4 of 11

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: August 16th, 2013, 10:05 am
by moldyfigg
Jimmy Cantiello wrote:Picked up the grandkids for the weekend. On the way back home we decided to stop for dinner. We wanted a kid friendly joint so we ended up at a Chili's, a place I've never been. No further comment.


I have a 50 gal barrel of Tums if you need them.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: August 17th, 2013, 5:29 am
by Jimmy Cantiello
Our plum tomato pies last night were exceptional. I couldn't believe the amount of perfectly ripened tomatoes that were on those pies. The generous amount of mootz added to the deliciousness. And the spiral of pesto on top set it off nicely. I banged my whole pizza down in minutes. Since Joanne eats like a normal person she brought half of her's home. The line of people waiting for a table didn't quite make it out the door but the line for take-out did. I plan to stop by tomorrow for my second pie.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 1st, 2013, 8:14 am
by Jimmy Cantiello
Been up in Vermont since Thursday. Went to dinner last night and had a 22oz. perfectly cooked medium rare cut of prime rib. Melted in my mouth. In between bites I sipped on some Estancia Pinot Noir from Monterey, Ca.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 2nd, 2013, 7:15 am
by uli
Jimmy Cantiello wrote: Melted in my mouth. In between bites I sipped on some Estancia Pinot Noir from Monterey, Ca.



I wouldn't bite on a melting steak. I would just let it melt but probably enjoy a sip of good red whilst this is happening.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 2nd, 2013, 9:43 am
by moldyfigg
Being in an incredibly creative mood, I whipped up some lamb enchiladas in adobo.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 6th, 2013, 6:33 pm
by Ron Thorne
Jimmy Cantiello wrote:Been up in Vermont since Thursday. Went to dinner last night and had a 22oz. perfectly cooked medium rare cut of prime rib. Melted in my mouth. In between bites I sipped on some Estancia Pinot Noir from Monterey, Ca.

I've never ever eaten a 22oz. anything, Antonio! Where in the hell do you put it? I've never eaten a 16oz. steak, let alone 6 more ounces of beef. Damn!! I'm sure that there were some vegetables alongside, too. The Pinot Noir was a good call.

Did you have dessert, too? :silly:

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 8th, 2013, 4:19 pm
by Jimmy Cantiello
Ron Thorne wrote:
Jimmy Cantiello wrote:Been up in Vermont since Thursday. Went to dinner last night and had a 22oz. perfectly cooked medium rare cut of prime rib. Melted in my mouth. In between bites I sipped on some Estancia Pinot Noir from Monterey, Ca.

I've never ever eaten a 22oz. anything, Antonio! Where in the hell do you put it? I've never eaten a 16oz. steak, let alone 6 more ounces of beef. Damn!! I'm sure that there were some vegetables alongside, too. The Pinot Noir was a good call.

Did you have dessert, too? :silly:


Of course I almost always have dessert after dinner. However, not being a sweet guy, my kind of dessert usually consists of a double espresso and a taste of grappa or a cognac or, if I'm in a bittersweet mood, a taste of amaro.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 9th, 2013, 1:46 am
by Tom Storer

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 9th, 2013, 10:16 am
by Jimmy Cantiello
Went to a noodle bar Saturday night. They offer ramen and pho dishes among other things. Joanne and I both got pho as our main. Unfortunately, the pho, although very respectable, is dumbed down at this joint. We ended up with pho tai, one of only four versions of the dish. Pho tai is simply pho with rare sliced beef. I would have preferred pho tai nam gan sach which would have included flank steak, tendon and tripe along with the sliced beef. When I inquired about the other ingredients our server said they don't offer them because they are trying to stay "mainstream". I took that to mean catering to the caucasians. Oh well. For a starter I had pork belly bao. Joanne went with Vietnamese egg rolls.

Pork Belly Bao

Image

Pho Tai

Image

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 10th, 2013, 3:18 pm
by sozamora
Jimmy Cantiello wrote:When I inquired about the other ingredients our server said they don't offer them because they are trying to stay "mainstream". I took that to mean catering to the caucasians.


Not even bo vien? That's just sad.

I've noticed that the patrons of our local go-to pho joint (Pho Ha in Pomona, CA) are a healthy mixture of Vietnamese, Chinese, white kids from Claremont, Mexicans, and black folks.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 11th, 2013, 2:11 am
by Jimmy Cantiello
sozamora wrote:Not even bo vien? That's just sad.


Not even bo vien. However, they had what they were calling "pho shore" which contained shrimp, calamari and fish cake. Never heard of that version. Again, probably trying to appeal to the non-Asian community.

After we ordered, our young server set down forks and knives for us. When I asked her what the utensils were for she giggled and asked us if we wanted chopsticks instead. Well...yeah! I also had to ask for ceramic spoons to replace the huge steel spoons that were initially given to us when our pho was served.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 13th, 2013, 5:27 pm
by Ron Thorne
Patti & I enjoyed this wonderful spot last December on our way home from Hawaii. We were staying at the Inn at the Market on the same property, so it was a no-brainer to try. What a nice surprise, including the prices.

I thought some of you may enjoy looking over their menu and make a note for the next time you're in Seattle.


Image
Image




March­é/Seattle

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 18th, 2013, 1:15 pm
by moldyfigg
After a week of being over-served in New Orleans, we are back to simpler stuff. Tonight, lamb chops, corn on the cob and heirloom tomatoes.

Peppercorn Meets Pete!

Posted: September 28th, 2013, 12:03 pm
by Ron Thorne
Thursday night was an auspicious occasion, a dinner event in southern California hosted by Pete Cherches, and Patti & I were among the invitees. It was a first meeting. Pete & I go back over 15 years but had never actually met before that evening. There was a quartet of former JCS and Jazz Corner posters in attendance, along with other friends of Pete's from nearby towns. The venue was Newport Seafood Restaurant, a Chinese/Vietnamese eatery in San Gabriel, about a one hour drive for us. The restaurant has a history of consistency and rave reviews noted by Pete, with their special lobster preparation (Lobster with Ginger and Green Onion), and a Vietnamese-style beef dish (Beef Loc Lac) among their star attractions. We enjoyed both!



Image
The Venue

Image
Pete Ordering 1st Dishes

Image
Clam with Satay Sauce

Image
Lobster with Ginger and Green Onion

Image
(L to R) Valerie Bishop, Jonathon Leech, Saxophonist David Leech, Clint Hopson


Image
Pete & Peppercorn

Image
The Quartet

Re: Peppercorn Meets Pete!

Posted: September 28th, 2013, 12:13 pm
by bluenoter
Ron Thorne wrote:Image
The Quartet

Classic!

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 28th, 2013, 1:40 pm
by Jimmy Cantiello
The guy directly behind Cherches' right shoulder in the last photo above looks like Neil Simon, although much younger than he actually is now. Just sayin'.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 28th, 2013, 3:47 pm
by Ron Thorne
Scott Dolan wrote:I can't believe Pete gave you permission to post those pics of him. When I was going to post pics from our hang at DBA's the afternoon before we hit Viz he sent me a pm politely telling me that I did not have his permission to post any pics of him.

Same thing when Kelly took a pic of us along with Chris D and Rob C in Chicago. As she was snapping the pic he said, "remember I don't want this posted online".


Well, Pete didn't say a word to me about posting or not posting photos, so I'll remove them if asked. He was (obviously) aware of the photos being taken and knows my penchant for posting photos, so ...

Re: Peppercorn Meets Pete!

Posted: September 28th, 2013, 5:13 pm
by ValerieB
Ron Thorne wrote:Thursday night was an auspicious occasion, a dinner event in southern California hosted by Pete Cherches, and Patti & I were among the invitees. It was a first meeting. Pete & I go back over 15 years but had never actually met before that evening. There was a quartet of former JCS and Jazz Corner posters in attendance, along with other friends of Pete's from nearby towns. The venue was Newport Seafood Restaurant, a Chinese/Vietnamese eatery in San Gabriel, about a one hour drive for us. The restaurant has a history of consistency and rave reviews noted by Pete, with their special lobster preparation (Lobster with Ginger and Green Onion), and a Vietnamese-style beef dish (Beef Loc Lac) among their star attractions. We enjoyed both!



Image
The Venue

Image
Clam with Satay Sauce

Image
Lobster with Ginger and Green Onion

Image
(L to R) Valerie Bishop, Jonathon Leech, Saxophonist David Leech, Clint Hopson


Image
Pete & Peppercorn

Image
The Quartet


can you please remove the brown spots on my hand in Pix#2 and Photoshop my mouth in Pix #4?!? LOL!!!

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 28th, 2013, 7:07 pm
by Mike Schwartz
3 menches and a menchette!! :D

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 28th, 2013, 8:36 pm
by ValerieB
Mike Schwartz wrote:3 menches and a menchette!! :D


and you would have made 4!!! (it was great to see you in Monterey for 3 seconds!!) ridiculous!

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 28th, 2013, 8:37 pm
by ValerieB
Jimmy Cantiello wrote:The guy directly behind Cherches' right shoulder in the last photo above looks like Neil Simon, although much younger than he actually is now. Just sayin'.


except that he's definitely Asian!!

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 29th, 2013, 7:31 am
by steve(thelil)
Scott Dolan wrote:I can't believe Pete gave you permission to post those pics of him..



What a treat!

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 29th, 2013, 10:38 am
by Ron Thorne
Scott Dolan wrote:Jimmy took some great pics of the DBA hang with the famera I brought with me, but I couldn't post any of them on JC because Pete was in them.


Scott, I believe you. However, since there was neither a photographic waiver nor mention of posting/not posting photos, I chose to share the moment. Seemed innocent enough to me. As I said earlier, I will remove any photos, if asked.

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 29th, 2013, 11:25 am
by Ron Thorne
Scott Dolan wrote:
Just wondering why I was held to different standards.

Perhaps you weren't. ;)

Re: Food For Thought

Posted: September 29th, 2013, 1:25 pm
by Jimmy Cantiello
Four of us enjoyed an awesome meal last night at a relatively new steakhouse in Fairfield, Ct. It was not inexpensive by any means but the cost was well worth it. All steaks are prime and their N.Y. Strip and porterhouse cuts are 21 day dry aged. I got the porterhouse. It was one of the most flavorful and most tender steaks I ever had. I ordered it black and blue and it literally melted in my mouth. The martinis were on point as were the sides. My bone marrow app set the stage for the main course. The marrow was unctuous and had intense fatty flavor when spread on the accompanying crostini along with a dollop of shitake marmalade. I wished I had more. Oh, and the service was top notch. Everything was perfectly paced and our server was knowledgeable, accomodating and unobtrusive. To cap off the evening the owner came by just as my brother-in-law Gene and I were finishing our espressos and grappa and offered us another pour of grappa on the house. What's better than that?

http://michaelgennaros.com/