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Jbeatty's Journal

jbeatty
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03/30/2008 10:03 #43827

Dumb Question
Ok, so does anyone have a really good explanation as to why you aren't supposed to put hot water into a coffee pot?? I'm not certain I believe this, but several people tell me its "bad".
john - 03/31/08 22:12
The only thing I could find echoed Terry's comments about using hot water in general.
empireoflight - 03/31/08 17:11
Cold Water boils faster than Hot Water. Sure, it has to catch up to Hot Water's temperature, but along the way it gains momentum, sling-shotting past Hot Water on its way to the boiling point.
lauren - 03/31/08 16:41
Ok, so...this may be only for industrial coffee makers but, the reason is...with the big coffee makers there is a reserve of water, which is heated all the time...when you poor in cold water, it sinks to the bottom, while the hot water that has already been heated goes to the top...i think. and there was something else i am sure, but i don't remember...its been awhile since i worked at Stewarts...
fellyconnelly - 03/31/08 16:25
LAUREN KNOWS!!! but when she was explaining it to me I wasn't paying attention. My bad.
joshua - 03/31/08 11:02
I dunno. If for any reason, the sludge angle that Terry just talked about would be enough for me to just use cold water.

I have been using a drip cone anyway - my coffee machine broke. =( Its more labor intensive but the coffee is far better! With a high quality filter and proper stirring (something you can't do with a machine) the coffee ends up with a far silkier mouth feel.

This is the company I order my beans from... check out this slideshow. They bought a super expensive and difficult to use Japanese coffee maker, and it supposely makes coffee from the heavens - :::link:::
terry - 03/30/08 17:53
by hot water do you mean hot water from the tap?

I couldn't see how it would make any kind of difference since the coffee maker boils the water, but you really shouldn't use hot tap water for any kind of cooking purposes, since it comes from the boiler which usually has all sorts of nastiness floating around in it. If you've ever drained your water boiler tank and seen what comes out of it, you definitely wouldn't want to drink anything out of it...

  • (e:matthew) says that it might possibly crack and/or bend the internal pipes...
jenks - 03/30/08 11:19
I didn't know hot water is "bad"- just thought cold water is "better" for making good coffee.
Or maybe if it's too hot it might crack the glass? other than that, no clue.

gee. i'm helpful.

sorry.

03/27/2008 14:57 #43807

I GOT IN!!!
I was accepted into the Nuclear Medicine Tech program at UB!!! I will definitely be celebrating after work tonight!
fellyconnelly - 03/31/08 16:25
CONGRATS!! yayyy
museumchick - 03/30/08 20:59
Congratulations on your good news! People have told me that it is a great program.
jenks - 03/29/08 14:50
congratulations :)
megan - 03/28/08 10:01
Awesome. That sounds like quite a feat.
carolinian - 03/27/08 22:17
Congratulations. Maybe you can combine your love of food with your love of radioactivity into something really unique ;)
libertad - 03/27/08 21:22
wow thats great!
terry - 03/27/08 20:16
yay! grats!

cept that it's UB of course...which sucks...but gotta do what you gotta do...

gratz again
paul - 03/27/08 20:12
Congratulations!
mike - 03/27/08 17:32
Congrats1
ladycroft - 03/27/08 15:40
yay!
janelle - 03/27/08 15:39
Congrats!!
drew - 03/27/08 15:26
way to go!
jason - 03/27/08 15:23
Congrats. Next time we see each other the premium brew is on me.
joshua - 03/27/08 15:22
Cheers =D
mrmike - 03/27/08 15:22
Nice, congrats!!
jon - 03/27/08 15:03
Congrats!

03/24/2008 16:14 #43780

New Job
So work seems to be the topic du jour around here so I figure I'll throw in my work story. This is not stress related, this is to brag about how awesome I think my new restaurant is.

I started working at Seabar this week. For those of you who don't know this a contemporary sushi bar in Williamsville. I know, I know...its in the burbs. But this place is totally worth leaving the comforts of Buffalo to check out. I have eaten at every place that serves sushi in the greater Buffalo metro area shy of Shogun. This is by far the most creative menu, tasteful dining room and best service (I mean c'mon I work there) of the lot. The chef/owner of this place to used to run Tsunami. He is probably one of the finest chefs I have ever worked for, and most likely one of the best in Western NY. It's a relatively newer place, they only opened up last summer. I think this place is going to be very popular very soon.

The menu is small enough to be easily read through but extensive enough to keep you coming back. The wine list there isn't massive but all of the selections pair very well with the dishes on the menu. The sake list there is pretty good. They have plenty of different styles of sake to suite anyone and quite a few that can't be found anywhere else in a Buffalo restaurant.

Sorry if this post sounds like a plug for my current employer, but I guarantee you will be in food heaven if you eat there!
chico - 04/21/08 21:28
ate at Seabar before you worked there and found the food and the sake to be very very good. liked the atmosphere too... the commute is a bit rougher for you though, eh?
john - 03/26/08 21:46
Hmmm... I'll have to stop in sometime. :)
ladycroft - 03/25/08 04:56
Good for you, I'm glad you're happy there!
dcoffee - 03/24/08 20:06
Good deal! so are you chef or waiter, you've been known to cook some fancy dishes. It's tough to get me out of the city, I still have restaurants to try within the borders.. but maybe, at least it's not on Transit, or NF blvd.
jason - 03/24/08 16:45
Interesting. Maybe some day I'll stop out to the burbs and get some spicy tuna. The web site says there is full service take out. =)

03/15/2008 10:51 #43676

The Best Burger in Buffalo
Category: food
Last night after work I ventured off to Hertel ave for the first time and went to a place called the Sterling Place Tavern. This place is has a decent beer selection. It's the first place I have found Pilsner Urquell on tap in Buffalo. They also have quite a few Great Lakes Brewery beers on tap. The bottles they had looked pretty good too.

They have a small menu, consisting of pretty typical bar food. But the reason you should go is the Burgers. They are pretty spectacular. I ordered it medium rare figuring I would probably get it over done as most places do. But what arrived was a very thick perfectly done burger. The only thing I was shocked by is they don't have bacon for them, so I had sauteed mushrooms instead.

The bartenders were great there, service was very good. They don't take plastic there but the prices are pretty reasonable so bring a twenty and that should get you a couple beers, a burger and take care of the tip.
chico - 04/21/08 21:34
i agree, best burger in buffalo, hands down (see also (e:chico,40261) ).

and jenks is right, if you're in a hurry or having a business lunch, an hour is WAY too long to wait. but if you're just hanging out and drinking good beer, waiting for an extraordinarily good thing is sometimes worth it.

(apparently, the owner/chef cooks the burgers on a tiny grill that only fits like 4 at a time...ergo the long wait some nights. i still say, if you've got the time, they've got the beer... and the burgers.)
tiburon1724 - 03/15/08 16:20
oh and I hate to say it but I really like Jack Astor's burgers !
tiburon1724 - 03/15/08 16:20
I've been told great things about the burgers at Grover's on Transit, anyone been?
jenks - 03/15/08 11:47
what?
I mean I love a good burger as much as the next guy, but waiting an HOUR (after you've been seated)?! That's a bit much.
janelle - 03/15/08 11:09
Arggh!!! I am so jealous. I went to Sterling last night with (e:Drew) and a friend craving a good burger as I had been told that it's the place to get an amazing burger. The place was packed, we waited forever to get a table, we ran into church people, and when it finally came time to order a burger...the waitress told me it could be an hour or more wait and suggested the steak sandwich with onions and provolone.

I reluctantly agreed. I was disappointed by the lack of burger, but very pleased to find that when you ask for medium rare, they give you a real medium rare. It was very tasty!
paul - 03/15/08 11:08
I have been looking for a burger place to replace Jimmy Macs now that they are gone. THanks.

03/10/2008 14:48 #43604

So much going on
Wow, this has been a really good but very busy week. After searching for a job for several months I have finally landed a gig at a sushi bar in Williamsville. I'm not certain I want to name it but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Its one of the better places around Buffalo. Their menu looks pretty awesome and the owner seems like a real class act. I can't wait to serve sushi again. With that said I'm going to check out one of the other places in "Buffalo" tonight to see what they have to offer. I have heard that Wasabi is very good, and I can't wait to try it. I have been craving sushi lately.

So the girl I have been seeing hasn't run screaming yet so that is a good sign. It really feels good to be around her. I can't wait for some warmer weather so that we can get outside and do fun stuff. Not that I don't like the snow, but after this weekend I have just about filled my quota for the winter.

So tomorrow is a pretty big deal for me. I have my interview at UB with the Nuclear Medicine Tech Program people. I am a little bit nervous since I have kinda put most of my efforts into being accepted there. I guess if it doesn't work out I will find something else to do. But I really want to get in.

Even more good news during this post they finally plowed my street! I am getting tired out pushing people out and listening to tires spin at all hours of the night.
jenks - 03/12/08 17:59
congrats! and good luck with the interview.
fellyconnelly - 03/11/08 08:54
hoorah! i'm so happy for you! things are lookin great right now,...
zobar - 03/10/08 17:52
Congrats. We live right down the street from the former Tsunami and that was one of our favorite places to go [when we had an extra hundred bucks lying around, right?] I've never been to the new place, but I hope they still make their sake mojito. Wasabi is good, but I and another person I know have independently described their service as 'weird.' It was started by a former chef at Fuji Grill [same neighborhood] which is also pretty good. Kuni's To Go makes a great bento but every time I get it, it's more expensive. Kibarashi is inconsistent. There is also a place on Hertel that I never noticed before but I want to try out.

And that is everything I know about Buffalo sushi in 100 words.

- Z
imk2 - 03/10/08 15:29
good luck, i'll keep my fingers crossed for you!