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Video: Japan's Rabbit Cafe
Incredibly cute, but when one brings one's own rabbbit to socialize with other rabbits, what does one do if the result is more rabbits? Or does the cafe supply rabbit contraception?
Because the fact is, they breed like rabbits.
Frozen Shrimp: To Use or Not to Use?
@dbisping, you are looking for Cook's Illustrated Online. This isn't that.
I grew up cleaning fresh shrimp on the Atlantic Coast, and as a result I hated shrimp. The someone told me about cooked, frozen shrimp. I thaw them in cold running water and I never by any chance cook them or add them directly to hot preparations--but, for numerous salads, cocktails, sushi and garnish preps, they are awesome.
I agree that they taste flavored. Much better than I could.
To Sir Cutlets, with Love
Adam, I want to see a visual of this self-sacrificing moment, in the style of a biblical illustration: Chang's solemn finger pointing at you as you rend your garment, exposing yourself to the lightning bolt; Ed weeping, his patriarchal head in his hands, and Robyn as an airborne cherub photographing the whole thing for posterity. Piles of sacrificial pork buns are seen throughout.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Would You Eat This Lobster?
A lobster of that age should be respected and protected. But I don't think we have to take an oral history or anything.
Video: Japan's Rabbit Cafe
Incredibly cute, but when one brings one's own rabbbit to socialize with other rabbits, what does one do if the result is more rabbits? Or does the cafe supply rabbit contraception?
Because the fact is, they breed like rabbits.
Frozen Shrimp: To Use or Not to Use?
@dbisping, you are looking for Cook's Illustrated Online. This isn't that.
I grew up cleaning fresh shrimp on the Atlantic Coast, and as a result I hated shrimp. The someone told me about cooked, frozen shrimp. I thaw them in cold running water and I never by any chance cook them or add them directly to hot preparations--but, for numerous salads, cocktails, sushi and garnish preps, they are awesome.
I agree that they taste flavored. Much better than I could.
To Sir Cutlets, with Love
Adam, I want to see a visual of this self-sacrificing moment, in the style of a biblical illustration: Chang's solemn finger pointing at you as you rend your garment, exposing yourself to the lightning bolt; Ed weeping, his patriarchal head in his hands, and Robyn as an airborne cherub photographing the whole thing for posterity. Piles of sacrificial pork buns are seen throughout.
Best Raw Oysters in NYC
@simon, I always do sit at the counter, and I've seen the plates of opened oysters lined up in their dozens. So no, they are not opened to order.
I'd try the smoked trout if you're buying.
Best Raw Oysters in NYC
I don't think they do either (the Grand Central Oyster Bar I mean). On the other hand, every oyster I've ever had there has been fresh and tasty, even in July. Oh those Kumamotos! And by the way, don't order anything else except the raw bar and oyster stews. The rest of the menu is dreadful.
Anthony Bourdain drunk on latest episode!?!?
Susquehanna--and that liver belongs to Michael Ruhlman.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 80: Remembering Our Serious Eater Beagle Brass
My cat and I are very sorry for your loss. How brave of you to let him go when the time was right.
a mouse in the house
Cats can be the complete solution--or not. It tends to depend upon the cat. I had one who liked mice even less than I did, plus another who remembered how to kill mice but not how to dispose of them. My present cat, Fuzzy, is a champion mouser. All cats are supposed to be hard-wired to do this, but not all of them are.
Watch It with Us: 'The Next Food Network Star,' Episode 7
I hated these challenges so much I had to mute the sound. Now these people are under a huge amount of stress--let's make it even harder for them in completely arbitrary ways. It was just plain abusive and I would have kicked someone in the face.
The Joys of Unnaturally Flavored Sodas
Fresca! Fresca! Fresca!
Does anyone remember No-Cal Chocolate? It had a creamy head like root beer.
Video: The Ross Sisters Sing About Solid Potato Salad
Slightly more charming is a recorded duet between Lena Horne and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, which ends in a mere jitterbug. I've only heard it on CDs but maybe there's a film clip somewhere? Anyway, it's actually about potato salad, not crotch-flashing.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 74: Can My All-Pie Fourth of July Diet Work?
Ed, why don't you give yourself one day of sensible, non-diet eating as you will do it once you hit goal weight? That's got to be pretty soon now, so start getting used to it!
The New Breed of NYC Hot Dogs: Are They Really Better?
Ed, you ought to try Dogmatic at 26 East 17th St. (just north of Union Square). French baguettes are prepared by grilling from the inside out on hot spikes. Then a grilled gourmet sausage (or asparagus for vegetarians) is slipped into the roll with any one of six sauces, including truffle gruyere. Lamb sausage with gruyere was completely excellent. Also house-made sodas.
Video: 'Le Café,' a French Animation About Coffee Addiction
Well, the folks at Serious Eats have actual jobs to attend to, so they can't be expected to devote as much attention to YouTube as you do.
'The Next Food Network Star' Week 3
Watermelon, feta and onion salad is wonderful when it's done right, but it certainly is tricky. People who roll their eyes at their team-mates should just be shot on sighto
Summer reading and food: Anyone read these two or suggestions?
I didn't like Wizenberg's memoir. She's charming, but she's way too young to be reflecting on her life (in print, anyway). She lost her beloved father and she met and married a great guy...but she writes as if these will be the only two dramatic points of her life. I think a person ought not to write a memoir until he or she is at least 50.
The Fest: Our Humblest Apologies to All
Yow! Come back to NYC, Ed. Sounds like your life is in danger.
Michelle Obama: Should Our First Lady Also Be America's Chef de Cuisine?
Loving the Carla idea, but Ms. Schrambling said it best. Mrs. Obama does one of the most important jobs in the country, and she does it well because she does not compromise her own wishes. Plenty of great women had cooks working for them; no one shoved Eleanor Roosevelt into an apron, even in 1932. As long as the family is communicating with the cook and the cook is not being exploited, what's the problem?
Costco Will Accept Food Stamps at Two NYC Locations
Perk, I too have needed assistance and I don't think that makes me any less of a person. Jerz, I stand with our mutual friend, but will defend to the death your right to your opinion.
Costco Will Accept Food Stamps at Two NYC Locations
I've shopped at BJ's, Sam's Club and Costco, and I think they are all a good way to save money on staples such as condiments, milk, bread, and some canned goods.
It is also one of my most deeply-held beliefs that, just because a person receives public assistance, does not mean that the government or anyone else has a right to edit or judge their choices.
However, some regulation must go on, and this regulation is bound to be controversial.
French in a Flash: Purple Potato-Crusted Trout a la Francaise
This post makes me want to talk like Maurice Chevalier. Alors!
I know this has been discussed before, but I don't care, in a good way
Actually, I find myself at a loss for words.
In Videos: Ruth Reichl Goes Back to Restaurant Reviewing, 'Undercover'
When people ask me why I Twitter, one big reason is Ruth's ability to make 140 characters both appetizing and fascinating. This video just goes to show how charming and creative she is. I just kind of wish she'd get her bangs trimmed.
Conveyor Belt Sushi in Manhattan?
The best conveyor belt sushi I've had in the NYC area is at the Palisades mall, that huge retail temple just on the west side of the Tappan Zee Bridge in Nyack, NY. (I think it might be Exit 12 on the Thruway?) There is a small Japanese restaurant there and the conveyor belt sushi is really good, especially on weekends when they get more Asian clientele. It's nothing fancy but quite enjoyable, and many people bring whole families there.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
What a great marketing opportunity. Keep the Big Boy Alive! Put this lobster on display and l make the best of it.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
Look, what if lobster aged like Bordeaux? That it got tenderer and sweeter and more complex as it aged? There would be no sympathy for this guy because of age. None. At. All.
Instead the restaurant would get $500 or a grand, or more, for it. And the lobsterman would get 20-40% of that.
The question of egg capacity would simply mean that only large male lobsters could be harvested, making them even more desirable. And probably an underground market in females would also develop. Can you imagine what they might go for?
This is just the nature of humans, and thus, the nature of markets. So if they're tough and not as sweet, we can anthropomorphize all we want, because we really don't think it'll taste all that good.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
How do you know is 70 years old?Does it come with a birth certificate?
Would You Eat This Lobster?
I used to work at a lobster house on Long Island during college, and we would get these gigantic archaic lobsters from our distributor all the time. The first couple of times it was a bit of a novelty, having a 70 year old lobster around, but after the 4th or 5th time, the cool factor wore off. Since it takes a lobster about 7 years to reach one pound, even if you eat a 3 pounder, you are dining on a crustacean that is 20 years old, or so.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
Maine lobsters are usually 1 1/4 lbs. at almost every place I've dined at. There's a reason they're the best, and it's probably because the young ones are more delicate and taste sweeter. I would imagine a 70 year old lobster tastes chewy and muddy.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
i went out on a lobster boat tour in nova scotia- it'a a way for the lobster guys to make some coin when regulations say they aren't allowed to fish.
Of course everybody asked what the biggest lobster they'd ever caught was. It was huge- something like 40 or 50lbs- but their assessment was the same as most people here: above like 3 or 4 lbs, lobsters tend to be tough. Those huge lobsters are all crazy old, and old animals don't make for tasty eats.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
I think I would feel bad only because it's like---legendary?
I bet it would still fast fabulous though.
This is about food; right :D
Would You Eat This Lobster?
I'm writing to confess- I have such guilt!!!
I recently ate a 12 lbs lobster (said to be 80 years old).
We sat in the kitchen four over an hour debating to eat it (we won him in a raffle). We named him Dean.
Should we release him the Rockaways? Should we call NY1? Are we breaking a law? He is older then my Dad! He survived two world wars! This is not right.
But alas, we ate him. We decided he must have committed lobster suicide, after is much younger lobster girlfriend got caught in a trap.....life was no longer worth living
Not tough at all, but honestly not as flavorful as a smaller lobster. He was still very much enjoyed! We honored his live.
Now this story comes out and the guest at the dinner party feel ashamed.
Would I do it again? No I don't think so. Dean you will forever be in our hearts!!!
Would You Eat This Lobster?
@SmokedMeat: You really made me laugh. Maybe he likes Judge Judy? All of the old people in my life really dig Judge Judy or that "straight-shootin' Dr. Phil."
Would You Eat This Lobster?
of course! the theme could be "aged", with good wine and cheese :D
Would You Eat This Lobster?
SWEETIE, DARLING.....Dip your old sneaker in cocktail sauce ...and get a preview of what a 70 yr old lobster would taste like, eeechhh! He should be set free, or donated to a Public Aquarium.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
Get him a bigger tank and let that old boy watch Matlock.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
no, let him go! put him back in the ocean and let him tell the other guys down there what beneficent creatures humans really are.... (yeah, right)
Would You Eat This Lobster?
This is pure marketing. I doubt anyone would want to eat it and I suspect if you actually tried to order it they'd refuse to serve it.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
Heck, the age would be the least of my concerns. I wouldn't eat something that costs $275.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
I don't get it. A lot of you say don't eat it because it has lived for so long, outsmarted trappers and so forth. However, you are quick to say you'll eat a little young one, therefore not giving the "baby" a chance at a long life. I say eat his old crusty butt and let the little guys and gals have a chance to get this big so we can have another feast. Sounds heartless I know, but to me it is the logical thing to do. At least letting the young ones grow will give them more opportunities to make more little ones. He maybe a bit tough, but with a bucket of butter I'd try to finish him off by myself.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
@salpico: i totally agree...it seems that the level of contaminants in that lobster may be too high for comfort.
i actually don't think there's much of a reason to eat this guy. a bunch of people have cited toughness, and for that sort of price, you can get a few smaller, tenderer lobsters. if you're after a good meal, it would make sense to eat the younger, tenderer animals. on a more sentimental point, i'd feel uncomfortable eating something that's older than me.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
@Giertson: I'm with you on this sentiment: "So this means that really, what one is paying for is the novelty of this lobster's existence. It is so rare that getting to eat it would be a privilege. Not a culinary privilege, but an elitist privilege. Well I frankly have no sympathy for this notion on any level, and as a food lover I feel buying rarity/novelty, and not quality/value is unacceptable."
I would not. It seems disrespectful of the species, somehow.
Am struggling with the ethics of eating anything that isn't raised in as humane an environment as possible, too. Don't exactly have the money to eat only grass fed beef or humanely raised pork, so I'm just eating a lot less meat.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
I would not eat a lobster of that age. But I'm a sentimental slob.
Didn't a similarly geriatric lobster recently win its freedom??
Would You Eat This Lobster?
Who says it's 70 years old, and how is that verified. I think this is a "big fish" story.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
do the death boards decide on lobsters, too?
Would You Eat This Lobster?
Gonna be hard to properly cook a lobster that large. It'll be undercooked on the inside, and overcooked on the outside.
Only way I would eat it would be sous-vide.
Mmmmmmm... sous-vide lobster...
Would You Eat This Lobster?
I'm with madball911 and pumpkinbear. I am human and I think it's OK to eat animals, I do it, but human as I am I think it's important to consider and respect what's on your plate.
I couldn't do it.
He's much older than most of you are so, respect.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
Nope. No way. No cruelty to the elderly.
Would You Eat This Lobster?
save the lobster!
Recent Posts
MASH-- a terrific soda/juice drink from Boylan's
Posted by annien, October 9, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Ruhlman, forgive me: I really disliked The French Laundry
Posted by annien, August 20, 2008 at 4:25 AM
Hostile Blogger Gets Friendly Email from Lisa Garza
Posted by annien, June 11, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Where in NYC can I find chicken feet for soup?
Posted by annien, February 5, 2007 at 2:38 PM
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About annien
Website: http://www.annienewman.typepad.com
Location: Kingston and Manhattan, New York
About: Food is my favorite lens through which to see the world. I'm also a mom and an MSW (Master's degree in Social Work) student.
Favorite foods: Salmon roe, M & Ms, good butter, extra-virgin olive oil, lamb, salmon, caesar salad, cold soups, romaine lettuce, butterleaf lettuce, asparagus, hen eggs, duck eggs, sushi, potato salad, Whopper with cheese value meal.
Last bite on earth: My mother's Mu Shu Pork.
A lobster of that age should be respected and protected. But I don't think we have to take an oral history or anything.