Serious Eats: epices6's Profile

I would never ever go to Geno's - not because the steaks there are particularly bad but because of the stupid, racist "Order in English" policy. Nearby Pat's is better anyway.

If it has to be cheesesteak, then at least go to John's (Roast Pork) on 14 Snyder Ave. - that is where I take out-of-towners who succumbed to the Philly cheese steak mystique and can't leave town without having tried one.

epices6 at 5:36PM on 11/09/08

From Serious Eats

In Memory of Robert Steinberg, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Co-Founder

I was saddened to hear the news of Robert Steinberg's untimely death. I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Steinberg in Turin, Italy, a couple times. Dr. Steinberg showed what great passion combined with solid knowledge about chocolate can achieve - how many chocolatiers are now following, on a small and larger scale, his example. Chocolate lovers across this country owe him a large debt.

epices6 at 10:27PM on 09/19/08

From Serious Eats

Endangered Foods: How Do We Save Them?

Saving endangered food species is also the struggle to maintain biodiversity, as well as a rich variety of tastes. The maximizing of "yield" is the great fetish of commodity food production - a focus on monoculture (corn, soy, wheat), most often GMOs that heavily depend on oil (pesticides, fertilizers) and subsidies. This type of industrial agriculture destroys the diversity of crops farmers traditionally grew and is non-sustainable (the destruction of soil calls for ever greater amounts of chemical fertilizer). The so-called "endangered foods" - many of them are legumes grown by native Americans - can improve local diets and prevent many of the run-away health problems caused by industrial foods. Yes, many of these foods are fragile but they are not meant to travel 3000 miles and have a shelf-life of 10 weeks or more. They are key to a local agriculture that will be the livelihood of farmers, not corporations. Regarding now rare breeds, this means yes, we need to eat them to save them.

epices6 at 10:51PM on 09/01/08

From Serious Eats: New York

Stone Barns Wonders if You'd Like to See Where Your Meat Comes From

One of the big problems, alluded to in the article, is that there are fewer and fewer places where local farms can have their animals butchered. We need local abattoirs to aid farmers who raise animals and Dan Barber is simply doing something that is very important if a diverse and dynamic local farm economy is to succeed. Overregulation has concentrated the slaughtering of farm animals with huge meat processors, often hundreds of miles away. Local and state agricultural organizations should support small-scale slaughterhouses. That would help the farmers and also the animals.
In most parts of the world, the killing of animals for meat is much more in the open. I respect people who become vegetarians because they are against killing animals and I think that carnivores (and that includes me) should not think of meat as a supermarket packet but as an animal killed for our eating pleasure (or needs).

epices6 at 10:56PM on 06/07/08

From Serious Eats

What Are Your Recipe Deal Breakers?

Excellent posts. The other day, I printed out Michael Laiskonis The "Egg" recipe (it sounded great) - then I read that I would need a "one-pint foam canister" and "gas cartridges." Definitely a deal breaker - even though I would have gladly done the three-in-one long recipe.

epices6 at 12:04AM on 06/05/08

From Serious Eats

Dunkin Donuts Pulls Rachael Ray Ad Due to Arab-Looking Scarf

Wow, what a great victory over Dunkin by "Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists." This inane episode would be most comical if those right-wing bellowers were not constantly appeased by companies afraid of any controversy, no matter how contrived and ridiculous.

epices6 at 1:49PM on 05/28/08

From Serious Eats

Love Those Goose Livers: Philadelphia's Best Foie Gras

@Dee711
I appreciate your spirited response in defense of stopping gavage (force feeding) of ducks/geese. In objective studies, this practice was shown to be detrimental to the health of the birds, leading to early death and active avoidance of the feeding practice by ducks and geese.

While the overall results of this practice are negative, the report of the European Union's Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese stated that "there is no 'conclusive' scientific evidence on the aversive nature of force feeding", and that evidence of injury is "small." "The EU committee examined several experiments carried out by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) to detect pain or distress by looking at blood hormones, and found that no definite conclusions can be drawn from these studies." (quoted from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras_controversy).
I accept that I am ignorant and possibly a glutton but I also DO empathize with non-human creatures (as a middle-sized mammal, I do not trumpet human exceptionalism too much) and am a proponent of raising animals humanely. For that last reason, I feel that fighting the cruelty of gigantic feed lots, horrific pig farms, and torturous chicken pens is a more urgent cause than the fixation on gavage and foie gras. Just an opinion. Does this mean that I lack "empathy for the suffering of animals"? I do not.

Best of luck in your fight for animal rights.

epices6 at 11:10PM on 05/23/08

From Serious Eats

Love Those Goose Livers: Philadelphia's Best Foie Gras

Chasgoose does not make a long, rambling argument but gives an excellent refutation of the many false arguments used by anti foie gras activists. The visceral opposition to force-feeding does indeed come more from anthropomorphizing ducks (and not knowing a thing about duck physiology).
The Chicago ban has been reversed - the original "ban" was smuggled into a larger bill by an anti foie gras zealot and most who voted for the "ban" did not know about it until after the vote. After much deserved ridicule, the dumb stunt was finally reversed (as if in cities like Chicago and Philadelphia, such a measure even deserves to be among the first 10,000 items on the city's agenda).

epices6 at 12:23AM on 05/23/08

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from Italy: Eataly Torino

The article describes the immense variety of fine Italian foods well and Eataly (indeed a horrible name!) is the prime showcase for these high quality delights. That such food comes at a price is a given (taking into account the production methods, rarity, and uniqueness of many food items sold there). It is unfortunate that the article ends with the lame lament "bring money. Lots and lots of money" - believe me, eating and drinking well at Eataly can be far less expensive than at Batali restaurants.
As for expensive seafood - I have eaten expensive fish dishes in France and Italy (in the Euro 50s range) and they were worth every cent. It is unfortunate that pristine, wild-caught fish and seafood is so expensive now but overfishing and the destruction of the oceans are playing a big part in that equation.

epices6 at 2:48PM on 05/07/08

From Serious Eats

Cherries by the Bottle

A great Kirsch eaux-de-vie is not easy to produce - a stringent protocol of production must be observed, from the quality of the fruit to the small-batch distilling practices. I am partial to Kirsch vieux from the Swiss producer MORAND but there are many small and large producers of outstanding Kirsch. A glass after dinner is the perfect digestive (but so is a glass of Williams pear, apricot, quince, various plums, or any fine fruit carefully transformed into eaux-de-vie).

epices6 at 1:48PM on 03/14/08

From Serious Eats: New York

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 9: Vacation Eating

I was so eager to list at least a couple of excellent restaurants in Lisbon (see above) that forgot to mention how much I identify with Ed trying to eat at every great place on his list when going to a new town. I do the same thing, be it great food towns like Paris, San Francisco, Chicago, Rome, Hong Kong, Tokyo, or wherever. I compulsively eat lunch and dinner every day at a good restaurant, leaving me totally satiated after three or four days and fighting with my wife who had the good idea (as it always turns out after a few days of no-holds-barred-eating) of "pacing" ourselves (one big meal, smaller venues for the rest of the day). Well, I am a very slow learner, since I just made lunch/dinner reservations in Atlanta for three days in a row when I will be there in early April.

epices6 at 7:43PM on 03/07/08

From Serious Eats: New York

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 9: Vacation Eating

There are a couple ambitious chefs in Lisbon - like the chef at "Eleven" - Joachim Koerper - whose dishes are creative and light. The restaurant is beautifully designed with a great view (www.restauranteleven.com). I would also recommend A Travessa (in an old convent from the 17th century). The seafood is excellent, the rabbit in red wine sauce too (www.atravessa.com).

epices6 at 12:34AM on 03/07/08

From Serious Eats

The Best of Philly's BYOBs

The above list of BYOB places in Philly definitely needs to be amended, so let me just add a few of the excellent restaurants where I ate over the last two weeks:

Marigold Kitchen - now serving great updated "southern" cuisine under new chef Erin O'Shea.
www.marigoldkitchenbyob.com

Matyson Restaurant
continues to serve excellent food after departure of original owners
www.matyson.com

Bistro 7

Innovative, reliable, incredible prix-fix until Thursday. I was especially impressed by perfect saffran risotto (just try to find a good risotto anywhere).
www.bistro7restaurant.com

Django
The new owner/chef had big shoes to fill and does so (mostly) with a successful mixture of old favorites and new offerings.
www.djangobyob.com

This list could be extended by another dozen places or so. If you like taqueria style Mexican food, please try the excellent Taco Riendo restaurant (1301 N 5th St).

Remember to bring your favorite wines/beers - there are no corkage fees in any of these places and some even have decent stemware.

epices6 at 7:54AM on 03/05/08

From Serious Eats

Why Tomatoes Suck

"only in the summer" - there, you have the answer in the short post. I have long given up buying "fresh" tomatoes out of season, I rather use a good canned variety (San Marzano come to mind). Color is no criterion (those Dutch greenhouse tasteless wonders are beautiful color-wise). So wait for the season, when, as TikPundit notes about his Italian experience, you can buy in bulk and make sauce or can for the long winter month.

epices6 at 6:18PM on 01/22/08

From Talk

Trader Joe's Torture: What one thing do you have to buy?

Blenheim dried apricots, dried mango, nuts.
There is also plenty of crap at TJ's - jams full of corn syrup and worse.

epices6 at 10:39PM on 01/16/08

From Serious Eats

A Cheese for the Season: Vacherin Mont d'Or

Truly one of the great cheeses of the world. Its availability is limited and seasonal. In first rate cheese shops, you might want to ask for Rolf Beeler's Försterkäse, a cheese that is very close to Vacherin Mont d'Or.
The French side tends to make the cheese from raw milk, on the Swiss side, thermalized milk is used. Purists don't accept cheese made this way as a true lait cru cheese.
In any case, your money is well spent on this unique delicacy.

epices6 at 2:56PM on 01/08/08

From Serious Eats

My Ten Most Memorable Bites of 2007 (Outside New York): What Are Yours?

The French Toast at North Pond in Chicago. Bruce Sherman's restaurant offers incredible brunch dishes, great way to end the year.

As for Geno's steaks - after Joey Vento's "This is America, please order In English." sign, I am never going there again (besides, Geno's simply cannot compete with John's Roast Pork or Tony Luke's). Yeah, Joey, this is America, and no one has to patronize a joint owned by a stupid bigot!

epices6 at 10:53PM on 01/02/08

From Serious Eats

Martha Tries Philly Cheesesteak for First Time, Prefers Geno's to Pat's

I ate at Pat's about 2 years ago and was disappointed. My cheese steak was lukewarm because they piled cooked steaks off to the side and used those for the sandwiches instead of giving you a steak hot off the grill. I heard that they were much better years ago.
Never did try Geno's, however, I don't know why those people such as "epices6" find it 'racist' to insist on ordering in English. I thought this was supposed to be America we live in where everyone should learn to speak English! It's because of bleeding heart liberals such as "epices6" that Spanish is on just about every item we purchase. What A Disgrace!!
By far, the best Cheesesteak I had in Philly is at a place around the corner from Pat's and Geno's called Cosmi's Deli. I found out about it from Frommer's or Foder's Philadelphia guide. It was from a local columnist in Philly who had sampled cheese steaks from about 60 different establishments in the Philly area, including Pat's and Geno's, and said that Cosmi was the best he tasted.

pizcajj at 12:49PM on 01/27/09

From Serious Eats

Coffee Walking Tours in Seattle

SBC's parental ownership might appear to taint the "local" aspect of the walking tour. However, it's hard to ignore the company's (Sbux) prevalence in Seattle's coffee history.

Vicki, a brilliant host, gives a comprehensive foray through the city's coffeehouses, and yes she does include a little bit of corporate with the local emphasis.

More importantly she focuses on local shops focusing on true coffee. It's the only coffee-centric walking tour in a city mired in the caffeinated beverage and the best way to try different coffees, different brew methods and different shops outside Vita, Stumptown, etc. etc.

kshaw at 5:04PM on 12/20/08

From Serious Eats

Coffee Walking Tours in Seattle

the last time i was in seattle i did an actual food tour that was really fun. we did bounce thru one coffeeshop, but it was mostly restaurants and specialty places. good, delicious times.

gastronomeg at 11:08AM on 12/19/08

From Serious Eats

Coffee Walking Tours in Seattle

Vita is good. Vivace is outstanding. I can't go to Monorail because I don't ride a fixie uphill both ways in the snow. I haven't tried stumptown yet...

sailordave at 10:44AM on 12/19/08

From Serious Eats

Coffee Walking Tours in Seattle

SBC is owned by Sbux... and their coffee is not that great. If I were to do a walking tour of coffee shops in Seattle... SBC is the last place I'd choose. I want a place with local charm and character.... not a national chain that you can find in sports complexes, bookstores and movie theatres.

DavesDreamgirl at 11:12PM on 12/18/08

From Serious Eats

Serious Cheese: Tough Economy Hits the King of Cheese

hmm, best for my waistline that this cheese is kept expensive.
the tiny chunks i try and buy at whole foods for $5 a pop go quickly enough as it is!

anysuchname at 11:27PM on 12/16/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

Thank you for participating, and congratulations to our winners:

Carly705
JosephBoltz
soozee
Sandy89
Runningwithbeaters

Winners have been notified by email and also appear on our Contest Winners page.

Adam Kuban at 7:43PM on 12/08/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

My wealthy uncle once stuck his nose deep into a glass of expensive California Cabernet, slowly exhaled and said in a clam voice, "Mmmm... Tanya from 8th grade."

darya at 2:43AM on 12/03/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

I recently purchased a bottle of wine that was described on the label as, "smooth and eternal like the nameless flower which blooms every year in memory of an eternal love."

I was so disappointed when it turned out that it still just tasted like wine. ;)

seimge at 2:50PM on 12/02/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

I have learned that when trying to make friends with alleged wine snobs, "it tastes like a fruit roll-up" is not the best way to describe the taste of the wine on your palate. I never heard from those friends again and I am forever shunned from their wine circle.

cbadach at 2:40PM on 12/02/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

My favorite is "hints of baby vomit from a baby fed with formula". Mind you, this was said as a positive note.

jared_brandt at 2:24PM on 12/02/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

earthy, peaty notes as those wafting from a water treatment plant....

tmiller47 at 12:41PM on 12/02/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

"I get a mouthful of wet slate, and bacon fat on the finish."

mortstetson at 10:08AM on 12/02/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

Bold, yet smooth

mortstetson at 10:07AM on 12/02/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

My favorite to pull out at wine tastings is: 'It's aggressive without being pushy." It's just serious enough sounding that the snobs don't know you're mocking them.

jboylan at 1:05AM on 12/02/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

Barnyard of course, ick :)

gkran at 11:25PM on 12/01/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

Okay, so I work in a winery tasting room and have heard a ton of 'em. One of my favorites comes from the winery up the road: they describe their wine as having a hint of barnyard.

lritz at 10:30PM on 12/01/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

My husband and I have a laugh when he ordered a care-a-fee of wine.

pwhite98270 at 9:42PM on 12/01/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

I like when we let the wine 'breathe.' :)

zwriter at 6:18PM on 12/01/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

A wine critic once described an Australian Shiraz as conjuring up the sensation of frolicking through blueberry fields. When I drink wine, I’m generally too uncoordinated to frolic, but, in any case, the poetic imagery stuck me as a bit snobbish.

markriniker at 4:52PM on 12/01/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

Like a walk in a fungus-filled woods.

gagliopponero at 3:00PM on 12/01/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

When describing a Chateauneuf du Pape:

"Prune, licorice, spice in the mouth. The mouthfeel is smooth and dense. It fills the whole mouth, it 'builds a fort,' as my roommate said. 'It’s like oak, like a wood frame,' he continued. We pondered this observation for a while. Yes! It’s like a crate of plums–the crate made from really old wood, the kind that’s white and weathered with age–if the whole crate (plums, crate, and all) had been crushed and made into wine."

from my wine blog, http://vinicultured.com

jsong83 at 2:59PM on 12/01/08

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Wine Snob's Dictionary'

I am mostly inclined towards wines with notes of leather and chocolate and that finish in tobacco. That way on my off days I can get the same effect as drinking from sitting in Don's Smoke Emporium without having to suffer the hangover the next day.

jselt at 2:54PM on 12/01/08

From Serious Eats