Foodies Unite!

[Ghosts_on_TV]

Chilled whole sheepskin brain does not sound good at all.

[mjkoehler]

Chilled whole sheepskin brain does not sound good at all.

Unless it comes in the adorned sheep head with a flip top lid ala Temple of Doom! Nevermind, brains from any animal sounds repulsive actually (yes I've eaten brain before, not a fan of offal).

[capt. scotty]

When I was in Montana, there was a town that had an annual Testicle Festival where people went to eat bull testicles.

I dont get it  :-?

[Ruckus]

Chilled whole sheepskin brain does not sound good at all.

Unless it comes in the adorned sheep head with a flip top lid ala Temple of Doom! Nevermind, brains from any animal sounds repulsive actually (yes I've eaten brain before, not a fan of offal).

Truth be told, it really wasn't that good but we finished it. ;D

Nice MJK, that reminds me of Ray Liotta in Hannibal ;D

[Ruckus]

I can't say I'm a fan of traditional French food, especially breakfast;  Alcatian food from Strasbourg is good though. Italian breakfasts in the Rome, Venice regions suck.  I rather like German cuisine, but it's too meat oriented.

So you like German food but it's too meat oriented? :-?

My brother was living in Stuttgart until recently and when I last visited him, we went to Strasbourg and I had my only authentic Alsatian meal.  I thought it was great.  Definitely a lot less refined than some other regions of France and had a more rustic, heavily German influenced touch.

I think I had some wild boar, wild rabbit, some pate and deep fried Brie.  A great meal :)

[Janet]

Great thread.   I don't think I am a food snob, but I'd rather go without than eat crap.
 
That is a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for a couple of years now.  The food is reported to be amazing (though I must say visually off putting).
 

I do highly recommend it and hope you get to go some time.  When I went, it was when Chef Achatz had beaten cancer but he still wasn't really able to taste so he was relying on his chefs tastes while he only conceptualized the dishes.  I wonder what it would have been like when he was healthy and if it would have made a real difference.

It was cool to be right there next to him and get a signed menu.  I know, I'm such a dork like that.

What aspect of the presentations did you not like?  I loved most of them.  So intricate

The intracacy is what is off putting to me.  I like more straightforward presentations.  To each his own.  I still want to eat there.  :)  Didn't have time to make reservations when we were in Chicago last August so I had to settle for Topolobampo.  

I was at the bookstore today looking to pick up a particular cook book and took a look at the Alinea cookbook.  Not up the the French Laundry level of "food porn" but pretty damn impressive.

I've got a serious addiction to cookbooks, bordering on sick.   :o

[aMillionDreams]

I'm into collecting and reading cookbooks right now, too.  My favorites are the Moosewood cookbooks, especially the original.  I've also been making my way through old family cookbooks.  You got any favorites LucyLew?

[Ruckus]

Great thread.   I don't think I am a food snob, but I'd rather go without than eat crap.
 
That is a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for a couple of years now.  The food is reported to be amazing (though I must say visually off putting).
 

I do highly recommend it and hope you get to go some time.  When I went, it was when Chef Achatz had beaten cancer but he still wasn't really able to taste so he was relying on his chefs tastes while he only conceptualized the dishes.  I wonder what it would have been like when he was healthy and if it would have made a real difference.

It was cool to be right there next to him and get a signed menu.  I know, I'm such a dork like that.

What aspect of the presentations did you not like?  I loved most of them.  So intricate

The intracacy is what is off putting to me.  I like more straightforward presentations.  To each his own.  I still want to eat there.  :)  Didn't have time to make reservations when we were in Chicago last August so I had to settle for Topolobampo.  

I was at the bookstore today looking to pick up a particular cook book and took a look at the Alinea cookbook.  Not up the the French Laundry level of "food porn" but pretty damn impressive.

I've got a serious addiction to cookbooks, bordering on sick.   :o

Yeah the French Laundry cookbook truly is a masterpiece made to humble.  I preordered the Alinea book and got it not long after I ate there.  The book itself is fascinating but I don't have the toys necessary to similarly replicate almost any of the dishes.

How was Topolobampo?  I've heard mixed reviews for that place and was wondering if I should just go to the cheaper sister restaurant next door.  One friend went and said it wasn't worth the money while I have read rave reviews about it as well.  

I have Bayless' Mexican Everyday which is a very solid book and was a great introduction to me for Mexican fare.

On a side note, Skip Bayless was writing for the Chicago Tribune when I lived in the Chicago area (don't know if he still is) and I couldn't stand what a douchebag he was and still is on ESPN.  I can't believe he and Rick are brothers.  Rick seems like such a nice guy.

Nonetheless, quite the multitalented siblings they are

[mjkoehler]

I so want to eat at Rick Bayless's place. I love mole, and apparently he makes a VERY mean (as in you'ld slice your friend's throat with a rusty knife good) mole. In watching him on various shows, including Top Chef, he seems like a cool dude.

[megalicious]

i guess you could say i'm a "foodie." i love cooking, and i love eating. i haven't been to any top-rated restaurants (yet)...

i'm really into food as a means of cultural identity. my "southern" heritage has inclined me towards seeing food as much more than sustenance. i love the southern foodways alliance. maybe i'll go to a conference one day.

http://www.southernfoodways.com/

[Jaimoe]

I can't say I'm a fan of traditional French food, especially breakfast;  Alcatian food from Strasbourg is good though. Italian breakfasts in the Rome, Venice regions suck.  I rather like German cuisine, but it's too meat oriented.

So you like German food but it's too meat oriented? :-?

My brother was living in Stuttgart until recently and when I last visited him, we went to Strasbourg and I had my only authentic Alsatian meal.  I thought it was great.  Definitely a lot less refined than some other regions of France and had a more rustic, heavily German influenced touch.

I think I had some wild boar, wild rabbit, some pate and deep fried Brie.  A great meal :)

Strasbourg is a very refined city though (gotta love the beer too; it's where Kronenbourg 1664 is from). The Alsatian dialect is very interesting: part French, German, Hebrew and a couple of more. You think you are hearing French (I can get by when I have to), but then realize you can't understand a bloody word. I had free range BBQ pork strips with roastie on the side; roasties are flattened fried potatoes with basically anything you want in them.

With meat and Germany; I love meat, but not every day without a break for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Actually, the four countries I visited, vegetarians would have a tough time.

[ALady]

i guess you could say i'm a "foodie." i love cooking, and i love eating. i haven't been to any top-rated restaurants (yet)...

i'm really into food as a means of cultural identity. my "southern" heritage has inclined me towards seeing food as much more than sustenance. i love the southern foodways alliance. maybe i'll go to a conference one day.

http://www.southernfoodways.com/

I hadn't been to the South much before 2006 or so, but when I started visiting regularly, I quickly became enamored of Southern cooking.  Good Lord you guys eat well.  When I visit my friends in Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas, one of the most important items on the agenda is deciding where we're going to eat.   ;D

[Ruckus]

Morimoto was awesome!  As good as the first time I went there.  Did the chef omakase.  Mmmm, sea urchin, foie gras with daikon, seared Kobe sirloin, Kumamoto oysters raw three way, etc.

Most interesting was the final beverage pairing.  We got pairings for each of the 9 dishes, most wines, with 2 sakes.  The desert was a pumpkin mousse dish.  Instead of getting some traditional dessert wine, we were given a seasonal hazelnut beer.  I did the smart thing by tasting the dessert first, thus neutralizing the natural sweetness of the beer.  Had I tasted it first, I might have been put off.  It was a surprising and brilliant pairing!

[Janet]

I'm into collecting and reading cookbooks right now, too.  My favorites are the Moosewood cookbooks, especially the original.  I've also been making my way through old family cookbooks.  You got any favorites LucyLew?

My favorites right now (they do change!) are Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin, The Zuni Cafe by Judy Rodgers and The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.

I've recently gotten into baking (only because my game is weak in that regard) and have been totally inspired by Baking with Julia and Baking From My Home to Yours, both by Dorie Greenspan.

I'm pretty excited to take on some projects (for Christmas presents) out of the Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It book.   :)

 

[Janet]

Great thread.   I don't think I am a food snob, but I'd rather go without than eat crap.
 
That is a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for a couple of years now.  The food is reported to be amazing (though I must say visually off putting).
 

I do highly recommend it and hope you get to go some time.  When I went, it was when Chef Achatz had beaten cancer but he still wasn't really able to taste so he was relying on his chefs tastes while he only conceptualized the dishes.  I wonder what it would have been like when he was healthy and if it would have made a real difference.

It was cool to be right there next to him and get a signed menu.  I know, I'm such a dork like that.

What aspect of the presentations did you not like?  I loved most of them.  So intricate

The intracacy is what is off putting to me.  I like more straightforward presentations.  To each his own.  I still want to eat there.  :)  Didn't have time to make reservations when we were in Chicago last August so I had to settle for Topolobampo.  

I was at the bookstore today looking to pick up a particular cook book and took a look at the Alinea cookbook.  Not up the the French Laundry level of "food porn" but pretty damn impressive.

I've got a serious addiction to cookbooks, bordering on sick.   :o

Yeah the French Laundry cookbook truly is a masterpiece made to humble.  I preordered the Alinea book and got it not long after I ate there.  The book itself is fascinating but I don't have the toys necessary to similarly replicate almost any of the dishes.

How was Topolobampo?  I've heard mixed reviews for that place and was wondering if I should just go to the cheaper sister restaurant next door.  One friend went and said it wasn't worth the money while I have read rave reviews about it as well.  

I have Bayless' Mexican Everyday which is a very solid book and was a great introduction to me for Mexican fare.

On a side note, Skip Bayless was writing for the Chicago Tribune when I lived in the Chicago area (don't know if he still is) and I couldn't stand what a douchebag he was and still is on ESPN.  I can't believe he and Rick are brothers.  Rick seems like such a nice guy.

Nonetheless, quite the multitalented siblings they are

Topolo did not disappoint.  My husband put it as one of the top five meals at a restaurant he has ever had.  I wouldn't go that far, but it was really, really good.  I'd definitely say, without question, the best mexican food I've had.  And the mole was spectacular.

If I lived in Chicago, I'd definitely go there again.  Since I don't live there, I'll go to other restaurants when I'm in town.  Alinea and Charlie Trotter's are on my list!

[Ruckus]

Great thread.   I don't think I am a food snob, but I'd rather go without than eat crap.
 
That is a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for a couple of years now.  The food is reported to be amazing (though I must say visually off putting).
 

I do highly recommend it and hope you get to go some time.  When I went, it was when Chef Achatz had beaten cancer but he still wasn't really able to taste so he was relying on his chefs tastes while he only conceptualized the dishes.  I wonder what it would have been like when he was healthy and if it would have made a real difference.

It was cool to be right there next to him and get a signed menu.  I know, I'm such a dork like that.

What aspect of the presentations did you not like?  I loved most of them.  So intricate

The intracacy is what is off putting to me.  I like more straightforward presentations.  To each his own.  I still want to eat there.  :)  Didn't have time to make reservations when we were in Chicago last August so I had to settle for Topolobampo.  

I was at the bookstore today looking to pick up a particular cook book and took a look at the Alinea cookbook.  Not up the the French Laundry level of "food porn" but pretty damn impressive.

I've got a serious addiction to cookbooks, bordering on sick.   :o

Yeah the French Laundry cookbook truly is a masterpiece made to humble.  I preordered the Alinea book and got it not long after I ate there.  The book itself is fascinating but I don't have the toys necessary to similarly replicate almost any of the dishes.

How was Topolobampo?  I've heard mixed reviews for that place and was wondering if I should just go to the cheaper sister restaurant next door.  One friend went and said it wasn't worth the money while I have read rave reviews about it as well.  

I have Bayless' Mexican Everyday which is a very solid book and was a great introduction to me for Mexican fare.

On a side note, Skip Bayless was writing for the Chicago Tribune when I lived in the Chicago area (don't know if he still is) and I couldn't stand what a douchebag he was and still is on ESPN.  I can't believe he and Rick are brothers.  Rick seems like such a nice guy.

Nonetheless, quite the multitalented siblings they are

Topolo did not disappoint.  My husband put it as one of the top five meals at a restaurant he has ever had.  I wouldn't go that far, but it was really, really good.  I'd definitely say, without question, the best mexican food I've had.  And the mole was spectacular.

If I lived in Chicago, I'd definitely go there again.  Since I don't live there, I'll go to other restaurants when I'm in town.  Alinea and Charlie Trotter's are on my list!

Thanks.  I really want to go.  I'm off to Chicago next year for another wedding and am trying to pick a place to go.  I'm thinking it'll be Topolo, Trotters or Schwa.

If I had to make a top 5 list, I think it would be Alinea, La Francais (back when it was great, 11 years ago I think), Moto, Makoto's in DC and Charleston in B'more.

[Sassbox]

Charleston is amazing, but I am not terribly impressed with the service.  Perhaps we've just had bad servers, but there always seems to be an attitude problem.  

Ruckus, grabbed a quick bite at Founding Farmers before The Pixies 'show last night.  Food was great but service was a little haphazard.  Have you eaten there?

[Ruckus]

Charleston is amazing, but I am not terribly impressed with the service.  Perhaps we've just had bad servers, but there always seems to be an attitude problem.  

Ruckus, grabbed a quick bite at Founding Farmers before The Pixies 'show last night.  Food was great but service was a little haphazard.  Have you eaten there?

That's too bad about Charleston.  I've only eaten there once but I never had a problem with the service.  In fact I thought it was excellent without being overbearing.  There was once instance where they tried to take my plate early but I told them that I was trying to slow down the place and that I wanted to enjoy my 5 courses. ;D

I've never been to Founding Farmers.  I have rarely eaten in DC and to be perfectly honest, I don't go there often.

BUT, if I were to go soon, and I have plans of going back to Makoto's soon and to try out Minibar (if I could get a damn reservation on a weekend), where would you recommend?

[Janet]

I suppose this is a good place to make a culinary admission:  next weekend I am dragging my husband to Las Vegas to see Alice In Chains (lovelovelove) but I have ulterior/additional motives - eat some good food!  Have reservations at Nobu (what the heck - we are staying at the Hard Rock!), Aureole and Bouchon.

Couldn't get reservations at Joel Robuchon or Guy Savoy (closed most of December).

I am so going on a fast on this week to save calories for this weekend!

(Not sure if ETB even likes Alice in Chains - or knows anything about the restaurants mentioned - but he's always game for going along with my plans.  One of the many things I love about him!)

[Ruckus]

I suppose this is a good place to make a culinary admission:  next weekend I am dragging my husband to Las Vegas to see Alice In Chains (lovelovelove) but I have ulterior/additional motives - eat some good food!  Have reservations at Nobu (what the heck - we are staying at the Hard Rock!), Aureole and Bouchon.

Couldn't get reservations at Joel Robuchon or Guy Savoy (closed most of December).

(Not sure if ETB even likes Alice in Chains - or knows anything about the restaurants mentioned - but he's always game for going along with my plans.  One of the many things I love about him!)

Enjoy!  Hope the meals are as good as you hope.  That is quite the lineup
I am so going on a fast on this week to save calories for this weekend!