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Ishmat's New Restaurant


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5 hours ago, ComputerGuy said:

"Cooked to order" makes no difference if it comes out like burnt toast, Tom. And Soriana's chicken goes fast.

And to me there is a huge difference between "nit-picking" and "disgust". And Tom: what about the smell I mentioned?

chicken2.jpg

 

I should add, it wasn't just mine... everyone's plate looked the same. I didn't see the takeout stuff, of course.

I bet my dogs wouldn't even like this.

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24 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

The thing is, it's not just a question of time, with oil. It's how much it's been used. Oil that stays hot enough to cook dozens and dozens of pieces just... wears out.

That's entirely possible. You'd think if he was selling that much he ought to be able to afford to change the oil regularly. If nimrods like us know why the product is so nasty, surely the owner must also know. Confusing.

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Producing large quantities of correctly fried chicken is virtually impossible without commercial pressure fryers . Regular commercial deep fryers cannot hold the 325 degree temps needed when you drop 6 - 8 pieces of room temp chicken in there..never mind refrigerated ! The temptation is to raise the temp , which burns the coating before the chicken is cooked .The size of the chicken is also V I P. .. in the U S  the bird of choice is usually a “ broiler / fryer “ which is a designated  age and size , not to be confused with a “ spring chicken “.... not too many of them around here anyway....no offense ladies......

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1 hour ago, Ian Greenwood said:

Producing large quantities of correctly fried chicken is virtually impossible without commercial pressure fryers . Regular commercial deep fryers cannot hold the 325 degree temps needed when you drop 6 - 8 pieces of room temp chicken in there..never mind refrigerated ! The temptation is to raise the temp , which burns the coating before the chicken is cooked .The size of the chicken is also V I P. .. in the U S  the bird of choice is usually a “ broiler / fryer “ which is a designated  age and size , not to be confused with a “ spring chicken “.... not too many of them around here anyway....no offense ladies......

Excellent description.

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Wonder where Ian Greenwood is?  If I had posted something so negative about a new restaurant he would not have remained silent!!  But maybe he doesn't consider this a restaurant.  At any rate, thanks for the picture along with the warning ... we were headed there yesterday and got waylaid ... glad we did now.

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Ian Greenwood:  "Anyone who goes to a restaurant which has been open less than a week and posts an extremely negative review probably received the food and service they deserved .... lemmings perhaps ?"    ..... this is what I get when I post.  Smarts just a little for someone to be so caustic.  If food or service is bad ... it is bad and should be reported as such for those of us that don't have so much money that it doesn't matter if you throw some of it away.  There are those that have enjoyed this chicken, so now when we decide to go, we will at least know to watch what is coming out of the kitchen, pay attention to the smell of the place ... if all is good that day, then we will probably enjoy the chicken also.  But if it isn't we will know that if we are getting "take-out" not to trust and to look at it before we pay and walk out the door.

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Sorry woocie  I’ve got three cooking classes this next week , and an extremely busy social calendar....so this is  not  necessarily my highest priority .However  you are somewhat right..l do not really consider a  “ fried chicken and burger takeaway joint “ a restaurant.   Ishmat is an accomplished Chef and a long-standing restaurant owner not a village family trying their best to make a living ... so I’m not sure  he deserves a great deal of slack..I would expect none myself . I am glad it  “smarts “ and so it should , it is so easy to criticize when you are not  “ the man in the ring “ ...the bystander with nothing to lose .

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The people who got the good chicken got it when he first opened and the oil was fresh.  A decent cook knows when the oil has turned on them and needs to be changed.  People going to get the chicken will probably get good chicken each time the oil is changed.  Maybe if they receive these comments or receive a lot of customer complaints they will be more prudent about changing the oil.  A deep fryer costs about a fourth of what a good pressure cooker costs and I am sure this is why most restaurants use them.  It helps if you can have 3 deep fryers and can dedicate one to frys, one to chicken and one to other things.  Frying fish in one taints the oil very fast.  Type of oil also matters.  Most people use soy oil and it is the cheapest.  You also have canola oil, corn oil,  peanut oil and lard.  I liked to use lard as it gave chicken and fish a great flavor but I had to pay a little more for it.   III believe I bought it in 5 gallon containers depending on size of fryer whether it took it all or not.  I paid around $40 for lard and soy was around $32.  Have no idea about Mexican prices.

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I thought everything was cheap palm oil these days? Which is unfortunate because it is high in saturated fats and its growth and harvest is resulting in rainforest destruction in Africa and Brazil. Do you know the name of the man who collects used oil? I can convert my truck to run on used cooking oil or diesel.

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3 hours ago, CHILLIN said:

I thought everything was cheap palm oil these days? Which is unfortunate because it is high in saturated fats and its growth and harvest is resulting in rainforest destruction in Africa and Brazil. Do you know the name of the man who collects used oil? I can convert my truck to run on used cooking oil or diesel.

In Mexico you may be right about palm oil.  Never saw it in commercial size in Oklahoma.  All of the other oils I mentioned was available.  Peanut oil was the most expensive and they would use it to deep fry turkeys.  In the states there are companies who will furnish you a dumpster to put used oil in.  Once in a while they would even give you a little check for it.

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Peanut oil is prohibitively expensive, especially here. (Chip wagons back home used to use it; most were owned by Asians who also used it extensively for wok cooking, until the price got ridiculous. Too bad: it had a longer life, higher smoke temp, and a better aftertaste.) I'd guess they are using the cheapest soya oil or canola.

I don't deep fry (I would kill myself with fried foods), but I do shallow fry, and after two cooks of anything with flour or batter, the oil is kaput.

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There is also the question of nut allergies, serving to the public. About ten years ago, when the "grease burners" became popular with LA commuters. The grease containers were raided and the used, but filtered cooking oil, sold on craigslist for about 50 cents a gallon.

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On 8/22/2019 at 11:32 PM, Ian Greenwood said:

Sorry woocie  I’ve got three cooking classes this next week , and an extremely busy social calendar....so this is  not  necessarily my highest priority .However  you are somewhat right..l do not really consider a  “ fried chicken and burger takeaway joint “ a restaurant.   Ishmat is an accomplished Chef and a long-standing restaurant owner not a village family trying their best to make a living ... so I’m not sure  he deserves a great deal of slack..I would expect none myself . I am glad it  “smarts “ and so it should , it is so easy to criticize when you are not  “ the man in the ring “ ...the bystander with nothing to lose .

Hi Ian, Thanks for your insight. Like you mentioned, criticisms from by standers with nothing to lose. As you know in our proffesion, you can do hundreds of dry runs from temp control, oil usage and break downs, reactions on flour mixes etc. You do not just "SMACK" a restaurant for a quick buck. This bussiness is hard enough as is. There are no restaurants or take out joints, out there in their first 3 hours of opening with over seventy orders and can not have hic-ups (it is not an excuse). Thank you for shining a light to these comments. Our apologies to any unsatisfied customers. Try us, you will not be disappointed. Our motto is always to improve.  (P.S. The smells were from rinsing soaked french fries over night to remove extra starch)

Thank you

Ismat

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Thankfully...sunshiny and Kam ,your opinions really  mean nothing and are probably not even relevant ...It will be the sands of time ,  Ismats ability to fix the  perceived problems or perhaps not . In the end the consistency of the food ..the cost  and the niche that this restaurant may or may not fill are all that counts .  Ismat  is one of the few professional Chefs in town ..he at  least has the ability and knowledge to make this work . Restaurants are always a work in progress for better or worse until they fail , as the majority do .

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