Text 11266, 124 rader
Skriven 2007-02-03 08:17:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DALE SHIPP
Ärende: smorgasbord 997
=======================
 -=> Dale Shipp said to Sean Dennis <=-

 DS> OTOH, there is decent Metro service in DC and a few stations out
 DS> near the beltway that have very decent parking.   My recommendation
 DS> is to not plan on driving downtown Washington, but to use the public
 DS> transport.

That's true: I neglected to mention the options available
when I said "if you're going to be driving." If Sean and
Maura don't get so enthralled in the lights of the nighttime
city that they miss the last train, the Metro is a pretty good
choice; one must add, however, that if they want to do the
monuments, that's a considerable amount of walking. I don't
know what buses might go by the monuments in the night time.
We can find out and discuss the details later when people's
itineraries, sightseeing want lists, and accommodations are set.

 -=> Dale Shipp said to Jim Weller <=-

 DS> $11.92
 JW> How do they do that?
 DS> I don't know.   In fact, the economics of AYCE places continues to
 DS> amaze me.   I know that the price of food to a restaurant is
 DS> actually a small portion of what they charge, and less than what you
 DS> or I would pay at retail for the raw food -- but even so, it would
 DS> seem that they deliver a large amount of food for a relatively cheap
 DS> price.

There's not much skilled labor required - an army of minimum-wagers
to open the cans and operate the fry stations, and, as you say, the
cost of the raw ingredients is low. Seafood is probably the least
profitable thing they serve (but still costing lots less than you
would think - go to a fish market sometime), but they're counting
on most people being able to eat only a limited amount of seafood.

 JW> Sushi: $1 per piece or more even in supermarket trays

I believe the Japanese have invented a nifty maki-making
apparatus that can be operated by unskilled workers; the
ingredient costs are negligible. You can make a nice tuna
roll with 3/4 oz of tuna, retail value 30c, and some rice
and nori at insignificant cost; that yields 6 pieces. Now
maki, well let's be generous and allow half an ounce a
piece and require a Korean or Filipino "sushi chef" at $10
an hour. Still, the unit cost of a piece is, say, 20-25c
counting labor and rice - and tuna counted at retail.

Oh, you thought they only used sushi-grade tuna at $12.99/lb
for their sushi? [evil Glen-like snigger]

 JW> Oysters: $1 each (up here at least)

I can get them for 50c, so I'd say again half for wholesale.

 JW> Jumbo shrimp: $9 per lb.
 DS> Depending on your definition of jumbo, that is about right or way
 DS> low around here.   I don't know about the other things though.

They get the ones with heads and stuff: half the price, and the
diner does the labor, which not only cuts the costs further, but
also keeps the diner occupied (thinking he's "eating" when he's
mostly peeling shrimp shells). I think that some of my round-eye
buddies are appalled when they see me nosh on the whole salt-and-
pepper shrimp, but for different reasons than the staff would be,
as I methodically go through ten or twenty of them, shells and all.

When you see shrimp in sauce, they're much smaller (cheaper) even
if they didn't come out of a 55-gallon drum (doubtful).

 JW> Flounder: $9 per lb.

Half that here.

 JW> Live crab: $19 per lb (up here)

My friend Otto has been offering Dungeness at $13/lb prepared
and served with rice at his restaurant. I have seen them live
in the tanks, and they are the real thing. For $30 you can get
enough crab to fill you and a friend up, and this is first-rate
seafood, prepared by real cooks. Of course Otto is hoping
you'll drop 42 bucks for an Alsatian wine from Rene Gresser
to go with the crab, but you don't have to do that.

Fake crab appetizers
cat: starter, fake, French
servings: 6

500 g puff pastry
12 sea legs
2 sprigs parsley
50 cl thick creme fraiche
4 eggs
butter for the molds
s, p

Tartelettes au surimi
Like crab Rangoons, only baked

Oven at 210C/400F.

Butter 12 small tartelette molds.

Stretch the pastry on a floured work space.

Apportion the pastry into the bottoms of the
tartelette molds, pricking with a fork.
Refrigerate,

Chop the sea legs fine.

Rinse, dry, destem, and mince the parsley.

Beat the creme fraiche with the eggs. Season.
Add the sea legs and the parsley. Stir to combine.

Divide the mixture among the tartelette molds.

Bake 20 min; unmold and serve hot on a bed of
mesclun salad.

Le bon accord : Un tavel (Rose, Vallee du Rhone)
Source : CuisineAZ.com
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 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)