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Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
I like to bake up the scraps of crust just for myself. My pies are good enough that the filling isn't obscenely sweet, so there's no need not to eat the whole pie. But yes, I do like the crust scraps. My girlfriend is even more fond of the crust scraps, though, so if we're making pie together, I definitely leave them for her.
Come to think of it, she's a better baker than I, so I generally just stay out of the way when we're making pie together.
Tipping on Alcohol
That should read 20%, not $20. This is why I shouldn't comment while in lecture.
Tipping on Alcohol
I have never had the opportunity to tip on a ridiculously expensive bottle of wine. I don't think I would tip $20 on it, certainly not after being accosted by the server on the way out.
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All-Star Sandwich Bar in Cambridge, Mass.
Posted by Carey Jones, May 19, 2009 at 2:00 PM
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Creeping curry paste and soy sauce
The soy sauce does that when it's not poured cleanly, which is easy to do because to pour cleanly, you have to darn near invert the bottle what with that stupid plastic shaker, and bottle inversion makes your food conspicuously salty. So it adheres to the top and sides of the bottle, and then collects on the inside of the cap when you screw the top back on. After a few uses, the accumulated liquid inside the cap threads (some dried, some not) is squeezed out by the action of replacing the cap, whence it drips down the side of the bottle.
My solution - wipe down the top of the bottle with a wet paper towel before screwing on the cap. And because I refill soy sauce bottles from the giant gallon jugs, I also clean the plastic shaker and cap whenever I do.
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
I like to bake up the scraps of crust just for myself. My pies are good enough that the filling isn't obscenely sweet, so there's no need not to eat the whole pie. But yes, I do like the crust scraps. My girlfriend is even more fond of the crust scraps, though, so if we're making pie together, I definitely leave them for her.
Come to think of it, she's a better baker than I, so I generally just stay out of the way when we're making pie together.
Tipping on Alcohol
That should read 20%, not $20. This is why I shouldn't comment while in lecture.
Tipping on Alcohol
I have never had the opportunity to tip on a ridiculously expensive bottle of wine. I don't think I would tip $20 on it, certainly not after being accosted by the server on the way out.
Watch It with Us: 'Top Chef' All Star Reunion Dinner
I couldn't possibly have cared less. It was disappointingly manufactured.
ginger recipes
I put ginger in my thanksgiving cranberry sauce. It's subtle and smells more of ginger than it tastes of it.
What Your Beer Says About You
The comments are funnier than the articles. I'm a total beer snob, but that only carries so far as to what I drink and what I serve to my friends. When I see someone in a bar drinking a Coors, I honestly have no idea what kind of a guy that is, and I don't care. And if you're the kind of person who cares, I don't want to know you or drink with you.
I drink craft beer when I can. I'm sure it makes me a pretentious douche to some people, but I'm with sloppy up there: it takes an even more pretentious douche to judge someone based on their beer of choice. Get over it.
10 DIY Food-Themed Halloween Costumes
I suspended a green citrus over my head and was sublime.
Video: Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez Eats a Hot Dog During Game
I guess I don't understand why eating a hot dog requires an apology.
Where do you put condiment sauce on your burger.
I take a syringe and inject the bbq sauce straight into the burger.
Gosh, I wish I did... That sounds delicious.
Cereal with Water and Other Cereal Compulsions
I tried the OJ thing in college. I had to endure 30 minutes of my friends making fun of me while I sat with a soggy bowl of cheerios on my tray. No good, man. No good.
Serious Beer: Brown Ales from England and Beyond
Old Speckled Hen, FTW.
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
Meatcake. Six pounds of meatloaf shaped like a birthday cake (three 8-inch rounds of two-pounds each), with interstitial bbq sauce and a mashed potato icing. But of course, I didn't eat it all myself.
I've also made two bricks of ramen with a full tin of anchovies and a seasoning packet (see an earlier summer thread), a bacon lattice before the blogs all picked it up (still kicking myself for not posting a photo online - it was six years ago!), and a birthday cake made out of twinkies, hostess cupcakes, twizzlers, cool whip, reese's pieces, and maraschino cherries.
Anthony Bourdain and Vegetarians/Vegans
What we have here is an epistemological question stemming from a broad use of the English word "respect." Saying that I respect Bourdain's cooking skills is a very different use of the word than I respect his beliefs. One offers appraisal, the other, mere tolerance.
I tolerate-respect vegetarians, but there's no way I appraise-respect them. And I think that's the way Bourdain sees himself - he tolerate-respects vegetarians because we all live in a free society, but that's it. The lack of tolerance-respect is what a lot of Bourdain's critics are hearing (and decrying), but all I think he's articulating is a lack of a more robust appraisal-respect.
Does one need a microwave?
It's the best thing I've found for steaming a whole fish, Cantonese style. I don't have the BTUs for a wok and a steamer rig, so the microwave is awesome. And since that was my favorite dish growing up (thanks, Dad!), I will assert both to "needing" my microwave, and to maintaining whatever might exist of my foodie credibility (whatever that means).
Where to eat in Ann Arbor, MI?
Cafe Zola on Washington. I know it's not strictly Italian, but their menu is basically Mediterranean, with a heavy Italian tilt. Honestly, it's my favorite place in town.
Serious Beer: Tasting Belgian Dubbels
I absolutely love the Westmalle, as well as the non-abbey tripel Gulden Draak.
Foodie Vacation
Santorini and the rest of the Greek Islands.
If You Smelled Like Any Food...
Nobody for durian? Nobody? Bueller?
I think I might go with sage or basil.
What Londoners Think of New York Food: The 'Madison Avenue Bagel'
@ wthrop - I am Chinese, and I am aghast at Panda Express. What of it? The point is never to highlight things that are wrong exclusively for the sake of finding the inaccuracies, but to think about what the misconceptions are, and why such impressions exist. I'll admit, I was going for an easy laugh, but I do think it'd be great to export some of the lighter and fresher varieties of food from around this lovely nation, but instead, the perception is that we and our food are seen as loud, boorish, and unrefined. Your comment explains why.
Your indignation would be a lot more believable if you weren't so quick to highlight other people's faults every other time you post.
What Londoners Think of New York Food: The 'Madison Avenue Bagel'
That reminds me of two items I wrote about about four years ago. The first was Sainsbury's "New York Inspired Sandwich" which comprised "a delicious feast of formed smoked ham, layered with Swiss Emmental cheese and German salami on onion bread." The other is the Pizza Express "American": "A big helping of pepperoni for those who love their flavours strong and simple." Yipe.
English people who complain or comment rudely on American food should do well to remember that they live in England.
Creeping curry paste and soy sauce
Clearly, now that we know that vinegar has joined the escape plot, we need to investigate this phenomenon more thoroughly. Are our condiments acting in unison? Is this an evolutionary step toward eventual freedom? Seriously, I really would like to know how the curry paste in particular (no label at the neck, no bits stuck at the top of the jar) morphs to the outside. I will continue to explore, and reveal all once it is discovered.
Creeping curry paste and soy sauce
My balsamic vinegar does this. So nice how I then have to unglue it from the surface on which it sits, as it goes "SCLURPHH."
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
I think whoever said "maybe crust haters are used to store bought crusts and never had a scratch crust" might be onto something. Well-made scratch crust...OMG, nothing like it. And you KNOW that someone making a scratch crust would not waste such a labor of love on acky Sandra Lee canned filling.
Creeping curry paste and soy sauce
@Likeswords - lol! Great description of the curry paste creeping out of the jar like the Blob.
I have not had this problem with curry paste, but definitely with things like soy sauce and vinegar. My theory is that it collects in the label at the neck of the bottle after it's poured. So I take the label off when I open it now.
What's Your Favorite Sandwich?
The roast beef at Manny's Deli in Chicago. I get it extra rare on an onion roll that is SOAKED in roast beef juice. The potato pancake and pickle on the side aren't too shabby either.
Creeping curry paste and soy sauce
I keep the curry paste in the refrigerator consistently after opening. This has happened to me with a couple of brands. It's just plain weird.
I keep the soy sauce in the cupboard. I have tried rinsing the top of the soy sauce bottle after use, to no avail. Maybe I should wipe it instead - I'll try that.
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
I agree that a higher crust-to-fruit ratio is preferable with fruit pies. The filling is often too sweet and I like a good thick crust to balance it.
Tipping on Alcohol
@lilpkstar - As you said, sales tax is a LAW. Tipping is (usually) voluntary. Also, dolts and idiots couldn't care less about a servers tax problems. If the government assumes you average 10%, perhaps that is the amount of tip that should be automatically added to the bill and we could all just forget about tipping any higher.
Tipping on Alcohol
I'm a server.
If you order something, you take into account the tax, so why not the tip? Whether you order the $40 bottle or the $1000 bottle your going to be paying the $2 tax or the $50 tax. You can't argue with that, because its the LAW. Just because you're a dolt who orders an outrageously priced bottle means that you should tip accordingly.
At the place I work at I have to declare 10% of my sales. If my cash out says I've sold a $1000 I have to tell the government I made $100 of that sale, regardless of the idiots I serve.
Tipping on Alcohol
Wow.. not to ruin the mystique a little, but a $50 bottle of wine and a $1000 bottle of wine are VERY different.
For one, the wine director of a restaurant that would sell bottles that expensive has to do the research to even have such a selection. They have to secure a good distributer to purchase bottles from, and trust that each bottle is up to quality. Even the chef can taste the caviar before plopping it onto your plate, but a bottle of wine is sealed.
Then there's the matter of storage, which would involve proper light and temperature control, (costing the restaurant money in electricty and knowledgeable designers). Accessability for the wait-staff.. a $50 bottle might be easy to grab behind the bar, but a $1000 bottle is under lock and key.. the waiter has to search out the manager to retrieve the key. Also, rarely does someone order that bottle without at least some description from the waitstaff or sommelier, who are trained to know the details and what it would taste great with.
I'm not saying the waiter in the original post didnt do his job by coming back to pour and keep the ice cold, but it's all bottles are NOT the same.
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
I loooooooove pie crust unplugged, especially hot, with a glass of ice cold (whole) milk. I usually make a two crust recipe even if I just need one for a pie so I can have a special treat.
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
Not particularly but my husband loves, loves, loves pie crust by itself.
Tipping on Alcohol
@sushiburger - I stand corrected! I did not know that the employer makes up the difference to ensure actual minimum wage is met.
Tipping on Alcohol
Actually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor the following is the case:
"An employer may pay a tipped employee not less than $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equal at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference."
For New York City (where I live), the minimum they must meet is $7.25 an hour. That means that even if the server does a horrible job and receives no tips, the restaurant must make up the difference so he/she will be entitled to a federal minimum wage no matter what. That means that the tip you give will contribute to that, but also increase his wage. Why would I want to increase a person's wage that does a horrible job? If the person is putting forth minimum wage type of work, that is what he/she deserves (not an extra pat on the back).
So while you may be right in that the tip is part of their pay, they will receive the minimum wage no matter what. If they want to make anything above that, they should obviously be good at what they do.
Tipping on Alcohol
" Is it a little ridiculous to get paid $200 for opening a bottle of wine? Of course! But if the customer doesn't want to pay gratuity, they shouldn't have ordered the wine."
bullshit!
Tipping on Alcohol
In the restaurant industry, the cost of the service is not "baked into the price of the product" as it is in other industries. The restaurant is only paying the server half of minimum wage because gratuity is considered a part of that server's pay. Like I said, it's not a gift. It's their pay. That's why I said it's a problem with the industry. To not live a tip would be like expecting to pay half for a DVD - to use your example.
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
@PommeDG: Knowing Robyn's mom personally... yeah, this conversations definitely happened.
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
I totally ignore the fruit - especially when its way too gooey. I'm a crust eater all the way.
Tipping on Alcohol
I disagree. When you pay a tip (to anyone in the service industry) it's not something the person should assume to get. My paying for the food and drinks pays for the food and the service. You don't have the option of bringing the food to the table yourself. If it's mandatory to use the service, the cost of the mandatory service is always baked into the price of the product. This is true for everything. When you buy a DVD from Best Buy, you are paying not only for the product but the guy behind the counter and other operational costs that go into bringing the product to you. My point being that the tip you give on top of the purchased product / service (cab ride, server, hair dresser, food, etc...) is paid for how well the service was in delivering what you bought. If a server is rude and not attentive and horrible at his/her job... there's no way that person will receive a 15% tip.
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
@PommeDG: Yeah, she was....I talked to her on the phone yesterday afternoon before I wrote this post. (Can't say I have a recording of the conversation, but my coworkers overheard me.) After she told me how much she liked crust and how not into filling she was, I said something like, "Uh mom, people usually like to eat both together," and she she responded with surprise. Not that she doesn't understand that people tend to eat both together, just that her tolerance for sweetness must be so low that she's surprised most people enjoy the fillings, or something like that.
Tipping on Alcohol
@sushiburger - True, one does not tip waitstaff to enhance the life of their server. It's not a gift. Gratuity is payment for the full service, which is determined by a percentage of the full bill not just whatever part of the bill the customer decides they want to pay. Is it a little ridiculous to get paid $200 for opening a bottle of wine? Of course! But if the customer doesn't want to pay gratuity, they shouldn't have ordered the wine.
Do You Like Eating Pie Crust By Itself?
When you told her, your mother was suprised that people like to eat filling and crust together?!? :-| Shouldn't an artifice at least serve a purpose and be a little less obviously contrived?
Tipping on Alcohol
@yayfood: If the waiters rely on their tips, shouldn't they work that much harder to make sure they get a good tip? Don't you think that if they put no effort into their job then they should be paid accordingly? The same way as any job. If i don't perform at my job, they don't give me a raise or I get fired. It should be the same way for everyone... I'm not giving them a 15% - 20% tip or any tip to enhance their lives if they are unable to perform their job well.
I agree with presenttense. There's a problem with the industry and I also agree that its not the server's fault. However, I don't see how anyone can say that paying $200 to open a bottle of wine (if it were a $1,000 bottle) or even pour a bottle of wine is reasonable.
When I go to a bar, I definitely tip the bartender and I'm not against the idea of tipping on a bottle. But just as you generally set a $1 per drink standard at a bar (weather it's a $7 drink or $18 drink), a same method should be applied to wine or any expensive bottle of alcohol that you might purchase at a restaurant.
Recent Posts
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All-Star Sandwich Bar in Cambridge, Mass.
Posted by Carey Jones, May 19, 2009 at 2:00 PM
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The soy sauce does that when it's not poured cleanly, which is easy to do because to pour cleanly, you have to darn near invert the bottle what with that stupid plastic shaker, and bottle inversion makes your food conspicuously salty. So it adheres to the top and sides of the bottle, and then collects on the inside of the cap when you screw the top back on. After a few uses, the accumulated liquid inside the cap threads (some dried, some not) is squeezed out by the action of replacing the cap, whence it drips down the side of the bottle.
My solution - wipe down the top of the bottle with a wet paper towel before screwing on the cap. And because I refill soy sauce bottles from the giant gallon jugs, I also clean the plastic shaker and cap whenever I do.