Rick Derris

If Christiano is involved, no thanks.

I have had their French Onion Soup many times and it is very good. I honestly think it's one of the best I've had.

Ardbeg - Uigeadail. Runs about 80 bucks.

MacCallan's are a safebet when buying a gift though.

I will not forgive them for replacing Fiesta Latina, which was my favorite hole in the wall Mex in the city.

Just admit that you used a big word that you thought you knew the meaning of but didn't. It does mean greatly destested. But it means to the point that it should be set off. It comes from Greek to give to the gods.

You hate burritos to the point that you think they should be banished because fat people like earthy flavors with high carbs? That seems a bit silly and, honestly, pretentious.

Ate at Hi Hat yesterday and it was really good. Disagree that it is overpriced. And I liked it better than anything I've ever eaten at Gordon Biersch. Pimento cheese was better than I was expecting - less thick and creamy and more spicy and salty. Patty was cooked to medium perfection. And the bun is one of the best I've had.

The tamales were solid. The ones I ate in the Delta were better as they had a little more kick to them But these were very good and the best I've had in Louisiana. The au jus was kind of pointless.

Catfish was very good but a little under salted. The fries were just like I love fries with a very natural earthy taste.

I really liked it and it's a very good casual place with an almost old school diner feel.

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Huevos and Refuel would work as well.

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I eat at Huevos probably twice a week for breakfast. For the price, it's really hard to beat the Bluejay Special.

All the cool kids are canning. It's the new over-hopping.

In these situations, it's probably best to consult a food scientist, which usually means Harold McGee.

Got this from the internets:
McGee says to quickly sear pieces a minimum of an inch per side, then into the cold oven, turn it on to 200 F and let it cook for two hours, then increase heat to 250 for another hour, at which time you begin checking for tenderness. Once cooked, let it sit outside the oven in its braise to cool, allowing it to reabsorb some of the liquid. Then make a sauce. Great for making in advance and sticking in the fridge, then gently reheating for serving (you can microwave at a low setting with no harm).

According to McGee, too high a heat dries out the muscle fibers. And the low temp for a sustained time allows the collagen to soften into gelatin, giving you that great mouth-fee.

Me either Tigah Rag. It was really crazy.

For the person who wanted me to tell my Pinetta's experience. This is the short version of the main complaints. More happened and it's too long to post.

We ordered an appetizer. An hour after sitting it hadn't came. Our entree came out. My wife told the server to cancel the app as we didn't want it anymore because our meal came. Server explained that it was ready and that she'd bring it out and comp us the appetizer. Finished our meal, the app was mostly uneaten but we picked at it mostly while waiting for our check.

Then the manager came and all hell broke loose. First, she told me she wouldn't comp the app, which I didn't like but whatever. I did say "well, your server told us it was comped. " She said that her server denied promising us that and she believed her server.
Then, I told her that regardless she should comp us the appetizer anyway (it was 6 bucks). She then told me that she would "split a desert with me," which I wasn't looking to spend more money nor was I hungry for dessert. I declined. Then, without prompting, told me "you're probably use to Chili's and not this kind of restaurant." At that point, I admittedly lost my temper. And things devolved from there.

She then kept coming back to my table to reinsult me off and on while I waited for the full bill. At which we started yelling at each other. I paid the $120 bill. Then, I was notified by a busboy that she called the cops. So it ended with the police. This is a very condensed version. Trust me, it was almost surreal and unbelievable. And the only time in my life I've ever had a confrontation w/ a restaurant staff. I really don't ever want to experience it again. All of this happened in front of my friends which made it even more humiliating.

Just for the sake of discussion, if you have a truly awful experience, why exactly do you owe them any courtesy when you presumably have been shown none for the better part of an hour?

Yes, if the experience was truly awful, I'd do that. If it's cold soup, I'd give them a chance to fix it. But it takes a lot to get to the truly awful stage. And at that point, I really don't care if they rectify it. I just don't want to pay for it. Period.

You're acting like I'm being unfair to them. Yet you think the waitress should be fired, which is way worse than eating a 100 dollar meal.

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I'm not reading all that but if you eat most of your food, you should pay for it. If it was truly terrible, you wouldn't have eaten it, right?

There is no reason to eat more than a few bites before deciding something isn't right. ALSO.. not liking something that is made correctly doesn't mean you don't have to pay, even if you only took 1 bite. It's not their fault if you don't like something when there's nothing actually wrong with the way it's mad

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I'd say reading is your friend. I stated clearly that I don't recommend calling your credit card company over something small like your steak wasn't cooked to your liking. I said it's an option if you have a truly awful experience. I also stated that I've had terrible experiences since then and have never called my credit card company. And I've complained at a restaurant maybe twice in my life.

So clearly it's wasn't just that the veal parm wasn't cooked to my liking. It's pretty interesting that y'all have jumped to the conclusion that I ate my meal and complained that I didn't like it expecting to be comped. Which isn't at all what happened.

But LA Lady, you eat a couple of pieces of say bread pudding and stumble on a few pubes that were tossed in the mix. You're paying for that? I mean you took bites and all. This isn't what I experienced at pinettas but I'm just curious how far you'll take your if you bite it, you pay for it rule.