OT: The Food & Drinks Thread

[Runner77]

I always wondered if Ikea is Swede for Maze, and was just some weird swedish humor

Based on my crayfish experience, IKEA is Swedish for Chinese.

 

[yianik]

So I attended the IKEA Crayfish buffet and it turns out it's not quite as advertised.

The crayfish tasted incredibly salty. And since the utensils were scooped up early, you could only break the tail part and scoop out the little meat it provided. Lots of meat in the claws went wasted.

Sure, it's all you can eat and you can gather a ton of them.

They sold 250 tickets at this year's event compared to 100 last year.

But, here's the disappointing part.

I spoke to an employee to ask where the crayfish came from. He said they were taken from a water stream located between Sweden and Norway. He said they were unlike the ones found in the southern US as they came from a fresh water source. They are cooked and frozen and then sent to IKEA in Montreal, in the first week of August. And then, thawed and served on August 15th.

Fresh water crayfish? Why the hell did they taste so salty?

Finally figured it out. There was a display box next to the crayfish. I took a closer look. There was no fresh water and no Swedish connection to them. They are Chinese crayfish.

At first I thought it might have been a type of crayfish they called "Chinese". But no, in the back of the box, it said "made in China." And checking the ingredients box, right there I saw my nightmare: 300 mg. of sodium for every 5 crayfish.

All you can eat crayfish? Nah, all you can eat sodium. They weren't all that tasty. It was a salt mine.

I don't know what they served at IKEA last year (it may have well been the fresh water ones from Sweden and Norway), but this year -- it wasn't worth it. I confronted the employee who had told me the fable about how the crayfish came from Sweden and showed him the box and he couldn't believe it.

It was only $20 but honestly not worth it. What was worth it was all the other stuff that came with it, which included lots of smoked salmon, a variety of cheeses and vegetables prepared in a variety of manners. But, why should I go to IKEA for that? It's OK but not worth buying a ticket for.

It was a bucket list item of mine to be there and glad I did it so I don't have to go through with this again. Kudos to those of you who didn't go for it.

Wait up.

An IKEA all you can eat buffet was on your bucket list ?

To each his own you know. But...

 

[lo striver]

Next year in Wallmart!

 

[Le Tricolore]

Is there still a La Vieux Four in Laval? I don't think they deliver though, but that's one of the best pizzas I ate in the GMA.

That's not saying much though. Montreal, for a city that makes a lot of great food, can't seem to make a very good pizza or chicken wings. It's weird.

Off the island, you can get some decent pizza, but the wings are still mediocre at best.

 

[Runner77]

Wait up.

An IKEA all you can eat buffet was on your bucket list ?

To each his own you know. But...

I wasn't going to travel to Sweden for a crayfish fest.

 

[yianik]

I wasn't going to travel to Sweden for a crayfish fest.

Lol

Going to IKEA the next best thing

 

[Runner77]

Lol

Going to IKEA the next best thing

Nah, wasn't even that high on my list, I was being facetious.

I love seafood and the idea of a buffet was appealing. So much for that.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I bought myself a DeMeyere 11 inch stainless steel skillet last month for my birthday. It was an awesome purchase (especially at 60 euros off). I am going to get rid of my carbon steel pan, this pan does everything better except eggs, in which case why do you need such a high heat pan anyways? I'm going to have two skillets: the demeyere for high heat cooking, and a matfer bourgeat non-stick for low-medium heat.

The mere fact that you can make a pan sauce makes stainless steel infinitely better than carbon steel. Carbon steel users are in a cult. Seriously, go over to the carbon steel subreddit, and like half of the posts are ''why come my carbon steel pan don't werk rite?'' Because it f***ing doesn't!

 

[yianik]

Nah, wasn't even that high on my list, I was being facetious.

I love seafood and the idea of a buffet was appealing. So much for that.

Yeah I am there with you on that. I love seafood. Especially shellfish, chowder etc. Fairly basic stuff though. Most exotic I got was alligator ( that count as seafood ?). I am not a sushi eater. So no poutine and I am not into sushi and its cousins, am I about to be struck off this thread ?

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Yeah I am there with you on that. I love seafood. Especially shellfish, chowder etc. Fairly basic stuff though. Most exotic I got was alligator ( that count as seafood ?). I am not a sushi eater. So no poutine and I am not into sushi and its cousins, am I about to be struck off this thread ?

Not a fan of sushi either. Have you ever tried Japanese grill? It's so friggin good.

 

[yianik]

Not a fan of sushi either. Have you ever tried Japanese grill? It's so friggin good.

No. Everytime I went to a Japanese restaurant I tried the sushi because that was the thing. I thought, different restaurants , you know. But just didnt take to it.

Grill does sound more to my taste I have to say. Lol

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

No. Everytime I went to a Japanese restaurant I tried the sushi because that was the thing. I thought, different restaurants , you know. But just didnt take to it.

Grill does sound more to my taste I have to say. Lol

Try Toyo on St-Martin in Laval, the price is steep, but it's friggin good. There's Shogun and Kobe also, but Toyo is definitely my favorite. It's also one of the first Japanese Grill in the province, it's been open for a few decades.

 

[Binary Code]

Try Toyo on St-Martin in Laval, the price is steep, but it's friggin good. There's Shogun and Kobe also, but Toyo is definitely my favorite. It's also one of the first Japanese Grill in the province, it's been open for a few decades.

Lol I ate at Toyo on De La Montagne for dinner today. I find it to be pretty similar to Beni Hana, I don’t really get the hype. (The food does taste good thought)

 

[Mrb1p]

I bought myself a DeMeyere 11 inch stainless steel skillet last month for my birthday. It was an awesome purchase (especially at 60 euros off). I am going to get rid of my carbon steel pan, this pan does everything better except eggs, in which case why do you need such a high heat pan anyways? I'm going to have two skillets: the demeyere for high heat cooking, and a matfer bourgeat non-stick for low-medium heat.

The mere fact that you can make a pan sauce makes stainless steel infinitely better than carbon steel. Carbon steel users are in a cult. Seriously, go over to the carbon steel subreddit, and like half of the posts are ''why come my carbon steel pan don't werk rite?'' Because it ****ing doesn't!

Season your pan you jabroni

 

[Runner77]

Not a fan of sushi either. Have you ever tried Japanese grill? It's so friggin good.

I'll bite. Do you have a particular restaurant and specific dishes to recommend?

I don't tend to try new restaurants but if I get a strong recommendation here, I'll go for it.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: oops, must saw you offered suggestions for places. What should I be looking for on the menu?

 

[Runner77]

Not a fan of sushi either.

Is it on account of not wanting to eat raw fish? Cooked sushi can be amazing.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I'll bite. Do you have a particular restaurant and specific dishes to recommend?

I don't tend to try new restaurants but if I get a strong recommendation here, I'll go for it.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: oops, must saw you offered suggestions for places. What should I be looking for on the menu?

Been a while, and since they're japanese names, I can't remember the exact names. The sauted shrimps are really good. I try just about everything when I go there.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Is it on account of not wanting to eat raw fish? Cooked sushi can be amazing.

There are some sushis I like, but at that price, I'll eat something else

and yes, raw fish doesn't agree with me

 

[NotProkofievian]

Season your pan you jabroni

Nah, Stainless is just better. Why spend days seasoning a carbon steel fully when you can never put anything remotely acidic in the pan? Carbon steel is mostly good for searing proteins. Know what's good on proteins? A pan sauce.

Demeyere > your jabroni ass pan

 

[Mrb1p]

Nah, Stainless is just better. Why spend days seasoning a carbon steel fully when you can never put anything remotely acidic in the pan? Carbon steel is mostly good for searing proteins. Know what's good on proteins? A pan sauce.

Demeyere > your jabroni ass pan

U suck

 

[NotProkofievian]

U suck

 

[Le Tricolore]

Nah, Stainless is just better. Why spend days seasoning a carbon steel fully when you can never put anything remotely acidic in the pan? Carbon steel is mostly good for searing proteins. Know what's good on proteins? A pan sauce.

Demeyere > your jabroni ass pan

By carbon steal, do you mean cast iron? (I'm thinking since since you're being told to season it)

If so, you're wrong.

Cast iron is definitely the best, and contrary to what some people say, you can cook whatever you want in it, just gotta take care of the pan (which is fairly easy).

 

[NotProkofievian]

By carbon steal, do you mean cast iron? (I'm thinking since since you're being told to season it)

If so, you're wrong.

Cast iron is definitely the best, and contrary to what some people say, you can cook whatever you want in it, just gotta take care of the pan (which is fairly easy).

This is a carbon steel pan:

MINERAL B ELEMENT round fry pan | de Buyer

They became really popular because they're a high-heat pan that can be non-stick and for this reason, and the fact that they're really cheap and lighter than cast iron, they're really popular with French line cooks. So a bunch of hipsters decided that these were the best pans ever and started a ''one pan'' cult. The only problem is that it's really labour intensive to season them, they're a bitch to take care of once they're properly seasoned, and while you can cook ''anything'' in them, if you cook something acidic, you will be eating some seasoning.

 

[Le Tricolore]

This is a carbon steel pan:

MINERAL B ELEMENT round fry pan | de Buyer

They became really popular because they're a high-heat pan that can be non-stick and for this reason, and the fact that they're really cheap and lighter than cast iron, they're really popular with French line cooks. So a bunch of hipsters decided that these were the best pans ever and started a ''one pan'' cult. The only problem is that it's really labour intensive to season them, they're a ***** to take care of once they're properly seasoned, and while you can cook ''anything'' in them, if you cook something acidic, you will be eating some seasoning.

Ah.

Then carry on.

Cast iron, ftw.

 

[Mrb1p]

To be honest, its true that carbon steel is overrated, but its also true that it can do it all.

Personally, Ive never seen a carbon steel pan in 5 years of cooking and numerous kitchens. Ive seen copper but that was mainly for show and bought by an overspending boss who wanted to look like he was da shit.