-=kenneth's rants and other things=-

Tue, 06 Jan 2009

Wafflin'

So I got a few comments and a lot of private emails from you all along the lines of "that batter blaster looks sick... but I bought some".

But I didn't hear any follow up. Did you use it? Did you like it? Hater it? Agree that from-scratch waffles are better, but for convenience sake BB is good? Send me some more emails people! Let me quote you in the next post!

06 Jan 15:41 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)

Sat, 27 Dec 2008

Kenny Loves Waflles

Here's a video for you as a follow-up to the initial Batter Blaster post.

Yes, I know I look like crap, but whatever....

27 Dec 11:36 | /food_and_drink | 7 comment(s)

Wed, 24 Dec 2008

Estate Wine and Naming Rules

Paul and Stef of Stefania Wine have a great post up on their blog about wine labels and naming rules that they have to follow from the TTB:

The TTB has an entire set of rules on what you can say about where a wine was produced. These laws were mostly drawn up in the 1970's. The top 'ranking' is Estate. That's the most strict labeling in theory. To call something Estate, it must be grown, produced, cellared and bottled on property owned by the winery. The thought in the 70's was this would be a way for consumers to identify the very best wines.
It never worked that way of course. ...

Go check out the rest of the post, it's a revealing rant...

24 Dec 14:46 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)

Tue, 23 Dec 2008

Who Runs KennyTown?

Batter Blaster Runs Kenny Town! master blaster

So three things happened in a relatively short timespan... as they do... and this convergence has led to a short-term life improvement.

1. This article was on the Chron's site about Waffle Man. I've yet to find him and try his waffles though.

2. I was cleaning my kitchen and looking for an au gratin pan. I thought I had lost it, but it was in a blue box that I use to store stuff. You know what else was in there? My little-used waffle iron!

3. During an ill-advised trip to Costco, I saw something that used to only be sold at Mollie Stone's. I'm glad it's come down to the proletariat finally. That something? That's right---- THE BATTER BLASTER.

As the BB wasn't expensive, I picked some up. I thought if it sucked, I'd just have a pancake brunch and make my friends eat it and if it was good, more waffles for me.

Well you know what? It's good! C'mon over, I'll make you one, or four.

Oh, and for you hippies-- it's organic.

23 Dec 12:31 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)

Tue, 16 Dec 2008

link: GWU$20 Top Wine List of '08 Is Up

Dr Debs has her Top Twenty Wines under $20 for 2008 list up on her blog.

It's a good list, quite diverse and a lot of the wines should be available all over.

I'm still reading the list, but after a quick scan I don't think I've had any of these particular wines (but have had some similar ones). I guess I need to swing by the wine store soon.

Oh, and her 2007 list is here.

Also check out the story for the WSJ Top Wines Under $10.99 (2007 list)

16 Dec 11:48 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)

Wed, 03 Dec 2008

Celebrate This Friday

Did you know that this Friday is the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition? I think that's a reason to celebrate. Raise a glass of something with a friend, I plan to.

It's not like I imbibe every day, but I can't imagine not having a glass of wine with some good food and good friends.

Speaking of good food, good friends (and good drinks) - It was nice hanging out with those of you I spent time with over Thanksgiving.

Okay, since I'm rambling, I might as well add some more comments. K&L and other wine stores seem to have some great deals listed. Hopefully this will carry over to those of you in TX and you can stock up on some good stuff to drink in '09. Email me if you want some recs or ideas.

I recently went to a store called Cask, which is owned by the team that owns Bourbon & Branch. It's a very nice store with a great selection of whiskies (whiskeys?). The staff is very knowledgeable, or was the night I was there. I'm not sure it's the best (or cheapest) selection of whiskey/whisky in SF, but it's probably in the top 3.

And back to the point-- 75 years isn't really that long a time in the scheme of things. I know how I'll mark the time- with some Bourbon- it's American, and it's gooood.

03 Dec 15:46 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)

Mon, 17 Nov 2008

New Yorker Confirms What Texans Know

(thanks to Todd Z for the link)

Here's an article from Calvin Trillin in the New Yorker. It's a bit of a behind-the-story look at this past summer's Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joints in TX article where Snow's was named the winner.

It's a good read and it makes me really wish I had some good BBQ in SF.

I do like this bit from the column:

Lexington, a trading town of twelve hundred people in Lee County, is only about fifty miles from Austin, where Texas Monthly is published, and Texans think nothing of driving that far for lunch-- particularly if the lunch consists of brisket that has been subjected to slow heat since the early hours of the morning.

Mmmm brisket

17 Nov 23:11 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)

Thu, 13 Nov 2008

Because Half Would Be Too Much

13 Nov 19:36 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)

Mon, 13 Oct 2008

I'm a bit disappointed

My dad mentioned something to me when I was in SA and completely forgot about it until now.

He said that SA Express News readers voted the Olive Garden as the best Italian restaurant in San Antonio. Are you f$*%ing kidding me?

I thought he was joking, or hoped rather. But nope, here's the reader's survey

There are so many things wrong with the selections. Uggh. I'm a bit disappointed.

13 Oct 16:43 | /food_and_drink | 4 comment(s)

Mon, 29 Sep 2008

How To Taste a Lot of Wine with Your Friends

Are you in a rut with your wine selection? Want to branch out and try new stuff, but you're not sure what to try? Well, here's an easy way to taste a lot of wines with your friends that's also fun.

Have a station set up near the door where your guests can put their bottles in a bag and write down some key information on some index cards. In our case, we hand our bagged wines and cards to the "cardmaster" who will assign random numbers to our wines.

Here's a vid from Saturday night where I'm bagging my wines while Patrick, the co-host, plays with the camera:

Once everyone's wine is bagged- organize the bottles on a table, give everyone a glass, and have a place to dump out extra wine. Hand out some index cards and pens and serve some food! Then let everyone taste the wines and keep notes (they can take the notes home with them).

Make the one sober person tabulate the scores and then do a "reveal".

Here's Patrick who somehow got stuck being the tabulator . . .