benchmark dishes

[RJT]

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And, for the record, my mom makes the best gnocchi.

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Unless you are my uncle you are wrong, sir.

In defense of my gnocchi choice, it is [censored] up a lot, but someone that knows what they are doing won't ever get it wrong. Its not a complicated procedure.

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Ed,

OK, I am not so far from PSU (assuming that is Penn State) 3 hours maybe. What State are you in Golden Rhino?

This Sunday? I’ll bring the wine.

RJT

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Unfortunately I am not in a State, I live in Canada. How bout if I ever cross the border I bring a big ass tupperware full of gnocchi for you?

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Ontario? Ohio here. Not to hijack the thread (but am going to for a second). Do you know (rhetorical) that Toronto is second only to Rome in poulation of Italians? (This used to be true anyway – not positive it still stands.)

[Golden_Rhino]

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And, for the record, my mom makes the best gnocchi.

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Unless you are my uncle you are wrong, sir.

In defense of my gnocchi choice, it is [censored] up a lot, but someone that knows what they are doing won't ever get it wrong. Its not a complicated procedure.

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Ed,

OK, I am not so far from PSU (assuming that is Penn State) 3 hours maybe. What State are you in Golden Rhino?

This Sunday? I’ll bring the wine.

RJT

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Unfortunately I am not in a State, I live in Canada. How bout if I ever cross the border I bring a big ass tupperware full of gnocchi for you?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ontario? Ohio here. Not to hijack the thread (but am going to for a second). Do you know (rhetorical) that Toronto is second only to Rome in poulation of Italians? (This used to be true anyway – not positive it still stands.)

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I am taking a class on Italians in North America, and my prof stated that as a fact.

[nyc999]

Diners: Start with french fries, then move to cheeseburgers

[El Diablo]

GoT,

I stand by my Thai picks. Other picks might showcase a restaurant's talents better or be tastier dishes overall, but I think the quality of those dishes is a better reflection of how everything else is likely to come out of the kitchen than just about anything else.

[M2d]

I think, for diners, you can get some clues before you even step foot in the joint. when I was in oregon we used to hit up two particular places near campus for breakfasts when the dorm food wasn't cutting it. One was a down home place that we went to when it was just guys and the other a nicer place when girls wanted to come along too. the guys only place opened at oh-dark-thirty and (especially in the fall), its parking lot was usually filled before dawn with pickup trucks sporting gun racks. if you came in a bit later, the same trucks were there, but some of them had antlers and deer legs sticking up out of the truck bed.

the other place was where the sorority chicks would go. it was more towards the downtown area and had little shops next door.

guess which one had better hashbrowns.

[samjjones]

Meatloaf.

[samjjones]

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Italian: I'm thinking gnocchi.

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ed - I'm not sure if this is an ironclad choice. I frequent one Italian place that makes great everything else, but their gnocchi was really dense and altogether unpleasant.

[goofball]

For mexican restaurants: steak fajitas.

Also the salsa that you get at the beginning of the meal. If it tastes extra good you're in pretty good shape. It shows the restaurant has good attention to detail.

[ThaSaltCracka]

never even heard of gnocchi before this thread.

[Aloysius]

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GoT,

I stand by my Thai picks. Other picks might showcase a restaurant's talents better or be tastier dishes overall, but I think the quality of those dishes is a better reflection of how everything else is likely to come out of the kitchen than just about anything else.

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I tend to agree with this for Thai as general rule of thumb. Pad Thai is a classic (more so than Pad Kee Mow, which I actually like way more) - so if they screw that up it's a much better indicator of overall quality I'd say, as it's the food that's most frequently coming out of the kitchen.

That being said, I've had amazing Pad Thai at places that have so-so everything else. This is one reason I tend not to utilize this "benchmarking" tactic at restaurants for my first visit, as it's very possible that the benchmark dish just happens to be one of the restaurants strong suits.

Absent recs from a friend or reading a review, I just go with what I like on the menu and hope it works out. If this happens to be a benchmark dish that's even better.

For mid-tier to finer dining, I usually go in to the meal with some knowledge of the restaurants strengths and best dishes, so again, no first-time visit benchmarking necessary.

-Al