Food For Thought

[moldyfigg]

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.

[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.

[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.

[uli]

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.

[moldyfigg]

Being in an incredibly creative mood, I whipped up some lamb enchiladas in adobo.

[Ron Thorne]

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?

[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.

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?

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.

[Tom Storer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xezOfXt6qjs

[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



Pho Tai

[sozamora]

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.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

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.

[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.








March­é/Seattle

[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.

[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!




The Venue


Pete Ordering 1st Dishes


Clam with Satay Sauce


Lobster with Ginger and Green Onion


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



Pete & Peppercorn


The Quartet

[bluenoter]

The Quartet

Classic!

[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'.

[Ron Thorne]

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 ...

[ValerieB]

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!




The Venue


Clam with Satay Sauce


Lobster with Ginger and Green Onion


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



Pete & Peppercorn


The Quartet

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

[Mike Schwartz]

3 menches and a menchette!!

[ValerieB]

3 menches and a menchette!!

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

[ValerieB]

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!!

[steve(thelil)]

I can't believe Pete gave you permission to post those pics of him..

What a treat!

[Ron Thorne]

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.

[Ron Thorne]

Just wondering why I was held to different standards.

Perhaps you weren't.

[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/