Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Sushi and Kebobs


I'll be in DC for a week starting Thursday, and I plan to eat my body weight in sushi and Afghan kebobs. I really miss those foods the most. OK, Vietnamese, too. And Indian. Did I mention Ethiopian? A good churrascaria always satisfies, as well.

*sigh*

That is all.

10 comments:

dale said...

Have some Indian food for me, eh? And a couple sushi as well. We ate well in Red Lodge last weekend, but it's the mundane for us until San Francisco in a couple of months.

Anonymous said...

Yes! Thai is badly missed, too. I would think a savvy local businessperson could nab a chef from a Twin Cities or Winnipeg restaurant and set them up in their own place. That's what I would do if I had the cash. With UND students, air force, transplants from other cities and Winnipeg visitors, I think there's a level of sophistication that could support a more "exotic" culinary experience.

Anonymous said...

By the way, Coffee Guy, do you know of Stonehouse Coffee in Nisswa, MN? I was there last week, met the owner and had a decent cup of joe. Seemed like a knowledgeable guy, but arrogant as hell.

Coffee Guy said...

I've never heard of Stonehouse Coffee. Do you know if they roast on site, or at least serve recently coffee?

I try extra-hard to not sound snobby or arrogant when talking to people about coffee. Coffee should serve to bring people together, not tear then apart!

Anonymous said...

Yes they do roast on site. They diligently described the roasting process and the importantce of freshness. (They said beans lose 90% of their flavor within 5 days of roasting.)

But then, after impressing upon us the importance of using the beans fresh, they refused to sell us anything less than a pound, more than we would've been able to use fresh. Odd. We left beanless and bewildered.

Coffee Guy said...

I disagree about the 90% of flavor being lost w/in 5 days. I can cite examples of coffee that I think need 4-5 days rest to hit peak (an Indian Monsooned Malabar that I like comes to mind). Some coffees are great right out of the roaster, some after 5 days. It's generally thought that the majority of coffees are ready to drink after a 24 hour rest period (rest peiod allows the outgassing of CO2. Decafs generally need no rest). It's also accepted that coffee starts to go stale after 7-10 days. That's "starts," meaning may or may not have a discernible change in taste. And again, there's a window and margin of error for unique circumstances. I'd argue pretty strongly against the "90%" thing.

Too bad about the buying a pound rule. How much do they charge for one pound? If you and 1/4 lb,you should be able to buy it.

Hell, I'll give you 1/4 lb.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I appreciate the perishability (if that's a word) of beans, but the 90% rule seemed a little harsh to me too. Maybe he was just simplifying for us neophytes. A "use by" date on the cannisters might be nice.

Thanks for the bean offer, but I live in NYC. I was back visiting mom and sis in GF.

Coffee Guy said...

I was a coffee neophyte when I lived in NYC. I did like those tightly packed coffee bricks I'd find in the stores. I can't remember the brand I liked, but it was very strong stuff!

Now you can probably get freshly roasted coffee all over town. It wasn't like that 15 years ago.

Anonymous said...

You're absolutely right. There was mop water served in delis, decent brews served with dessert in pricey resturants and one coffee shop in my East Village neighborhood: It's called Porto Rico and it's still awesome.

People in NY complain about Starbucks, but when they came in, everybody's coffee IQ went up 50 points.

Coffee Guy said...

I give Starbucks all the credit in the world for that. They use great beans, and they try to educate people about coffee. Too bad their brewed coffee and espresso are terrible.