Mountain West Microbrew: Chit chat and irrelevancy

[Cirrus]

The unusual thing about almond croissants is that while American-style almond croissants are delicious on their own terms (unlike American-style baguettes, which are trash), they're different from French-style almond croissants.

Good American-style almond croissants consist of a good French-style normal croissant with almond paste inserted into the inside and almonds and sugar sprinked on top. The croissant itself is crispy on the outside, the way a good normal croissant should be. You can generally get a good American-style almond croissant anywhere you can find a good French-style normal croissant, which is to say nicer bakeries and chains.

That product, however, is inauthentic. Actual French almond croissants are squishy and have collapsed under the weight of almonds and almond paste that's placed on top of the bread, which itself changes consistency because it's cooked twice, with the second cooking coming a day after the first. This is because the entire purpose of French almond croissants is to make productive use of day-old croissants that are no longer up to quality. Their overall consistency is as close to a danish as it is to a crispy normal-style croissant. French-style almond croissants are much more rare in the US than good crispy normal croissants, but you can occasionally find them at farmer's markets or particularly dedicated independent French-style bakeries. I don't recall what Paul's look like.

Both styles are tasty and good. But if you've only had American-style, don't pass up trying a French-style if you see one somewhere.

American-style—Delicious but not authentic:

newyork.seriouseats.com

French-style—Completely different, also delicious:

Poe's kitchen

[CharlesCO]

There's also the question of croissants that venture into the savory meat and cheese territory. I found this bakery here in LA that makes amazing croissants, though they also venture into everything from ham and cheese to really bizarre things like kimchi and SPAM. I'm a purist and usually don't touch anything outside the usual butter croissant or pain au chocolat.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Scottk

Hillary Clinton wore a 12,500 dollar Giorgio Armani jacket to a speech about wealth inequality

Aside from partisans, I don't think anyone much cares.

Meanwhile Trump has gone clear off the reservation with his Mexican judge rants. It's not (really) a matter of racism but rather petty personal animus. Having wrapped up the nomination, I would have thought he might become more circumspect. Apparently he's too clueless. Nothing that can't still be mended but he's treading on perilous waters.


Meanwhile...


via eBay

Carry on

[Cirrus]

Nothing says "authentic" like a polypropylene bag with "authentique" printed on its side.

[TakeFive]

https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrayersForOrlando?src=hash

[TakeFive]

IMAGE: TOMAS SAMSON/GETTY via Mashable

[TakeFive]

Orlando Sentinel / June 13, 2016 / Joseph R. Murray II

If Trump's tweets were inappropriately braggadocios, Clinton's were utterly clueless.

Where does that leave the nation? We have one candidate who sounds unbelievably crass and one who remains in a politically correct-induced denial. We have a national dialogue in which the blame must follow pre-written political talking points, not the available evidence.

[TakeFive]

I can just visualize the The Rat Pack, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr & Frank Sinatra rolling over in their grave.

"Vegas' oldest tower casino and its mobster past take a bow"
June 14, 2016 CBS/AP

LAS VEGAS - The Riviera Hotel and Casino - the Las Vegas Strip's first high-rise that was as famous for its mobster ties as its Hollywood personification of Sin City's mobster past - officially exited the scene early Tuesday with a cinematic implosion, complete with fireworks.

The 24-story Monaco Tower was demolished around 2:30 a.m. when a series of explosions sounded, followed by the building crumbling from the sides and then into the middle, kicking up a mountain of dust.

Some great video of the implosion event at the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

[seventwenty]

God damn Messi.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by seventwenty

God damn Messi.

Take a bow....wait, not you, turkey.

[Scottk]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I can just visualize the The Rat Pack, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr & Frank Sinatra rolling over in their grave.

"Vegas' oldest tower casino and its mobster past take a bow"
June 14, 2016 CBS/AP

Some great video of the implosion event at the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

It will be interesting to see what happens to that end of the strip over the coming years.

Resort World should have started construction by now but it has been delayed. Meanwhile, the SLS (previously known as the Sahara) is hemmoraging money, and The Fountainbleu remains abandoned.

[seventwenty]

ScottK, please give us your thoughts on Brexit. Cirrus, please explain the proper scone... in light of Brexit.

[Scottk]

Originally Posted by seventwenty

ScottK, please give us your thoughts on Brexit.

Besides potentially fucking up the global economy?

While I do not think Brexit will be good for The UK, I find it interesting that everyone is so down on the notion that people want to live in a free and independent nation. Apparently, some majority of Brits still cherish the idea of their national sovereignty, and the ability to chart their own course, as opposed to having those decisions made for them by a bunch of bloodless bureaucrats in Belgium, who exist above the gray flat line that is the EU economy and who haven't seen the inside of a commercial airliner or a public school in years. There are immense entrenched interests within (and without) the EU that are in absolute terror of losing their power, and this is a real threat to that power. I'm thrilled their fucking oxen are (potentially) about to be gored, and I'm maybe even a little happy for the English.


My observation from visiting the UK multiple times in the last 5 years, is that the working class folk are starting to resent the significant immigrant population, much like blue collar workers here resenting "all the illegal mexhickkcans". I heard multiple statements about how they felt like Britain was no longer "looking like" Britain.

I imagine that most of the "yes" votes for Brexit stemmed from a desire to control immigration into the United Kingdom. I can't say that I blame the British people for voting to leave the EU. Unlike America, England had a very distinct culture. Immigration is a great thing, powerful in many ways, but when the parent culture is wiped out I'd say things did not go according to plan. Imagine traveling to Japan and seeing no Japanese people or food. Thats Birmingham where I have travelled for work several times over the past few years.

In East London, the situation is even worse. This 60 minutes report does a pretty good job of explaining how bad things have gotten in some parts of The UK. Sharia patrols by Muslims in East London, a video of Muslims attacking a woman on the street in east London for wearing a skirt, gentlemen being harassed for drinking beer, Muslims advocating in favor of Sharia becoming the law of the land in Great Britain, etc, etc. These immigrants will never integrate into British society because they are trying to fundamentally change British life, especially for Women.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf_IaaCAdNs&app=desktop


Considering all of this, and the fact that over a million migrants were let into the EU last year, the majority of whom were young males (with no sort of background checks) it came as no surprise to me that Brexit easily passed.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Scottk

It will be interesting to see what happens to that end of the strip over the coming years.

Resort World should have started construction by now but it has been delayed. Meanwhile, the SLS (previously known as the Sahara) is hemmoraging money, and The Fountainbleu remains abandoned.

Yes, the post-recession gambling binge recovery has gone flat just like a lot of the global economy. The high value of the dollar has impacted foreign tourism, maybe not with the highest rollers but for the rest. Macau has gone flat as well and many of the same ownership groups have invested in both cities.


With respect to Brexit, I couldn't find a link I wanted but it showed that the older fogies voted to leave while the younger crowd wanted to stay.

Originally Posted by Scottk

In East London, the situation is even worse. This 60 minutes report does a pretty good job of explaining how bad things have gotten in some parts of The UK. Sharia patrols by Muslims in East London, a video of Muslims attacking a woman on the street in east London for wearing a skirt, gentlemen being harassed for drinking beer, Muslims advocating in favor of Sharia becoming the law of the land in Great Britain, etc, etc. These immigrants will never integrate into British society because they are trying to fundamentally change British life, especially for Women.

That's the key paragraph IMO. All due respect to my favorite President but he's generally wrong on this issue.

Yes, we've always been a nation of immigrants and the 1st/older generation has always had difficulty assimilating and less desire to do so. But the 2nd and later generations had little trouble assimilating and that's what he parents/grand parents wanted. Culture and assimilation are for the most part different issues.

Muslims tend to be fiercely protective of their culture and religion and thereby oppose assimilation. That begets the problem.

To be fair not all Muslims are created equal. A little over 50 percent would prefer Sharia law while the balance would not. Their culture/religion are so tightly intertwined that their youth have little opportunity to assimilate except at the margin. Unfortunately children of moderate Muslim parents are also vulnerable to being radicalized.

The country has had American Muslims for a long time without any particular problem. It's the immigrant Muslim population that seems to be a big problem. In their case it's more of a cultural issue tainted by religious interpretation. Country needs to acknowledge the difference and act accordingly.

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by seventwenty

Cirrus, please explain the proper scone

I have not devoted as much thought to British baked goods as to French (why would anyone?), so I could be wrong about scones. However my understanding is that the whole point of scones is that they do not taste very good on their own. They should be dry and rather flavorless. Ideally they are only eaten warmed up and used as a vehicle for cream and jam, and even then they are only good when paired with a hot beverage and eaten slowly, so the drink, bread, and cream/jam flavors all mix as you eat.

Starbucks tries to make "scones" that are palatable to eat on their own, the way you might eat a croissant or donut. These blasphemous preservative-filled compromises are the worst of all worlds, as they're simultaneously both disgusting as individual pastry and complete failures as cream/jam delivery vehicles, or beverage partners. You should really just avoid Starbucks' bakery at all times. It's not good.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Muslims tend to be fiercely protective of their culture and religion and thereby oppose assimilation. That begets the problem.

What are you basing this on? Your many friendships amongst the robust Muslim communities in... Phoenix? Have you ever even met a Muslim person?

First, Muslim is not a culture. Islam is a religion practiced by hundreds of different cultures. I am Catholic, that does make me Portuguese.

Second, in my experience, Muslim immigrants do not resist assimilation, and are no more fiercely protective of their religion, than Catholics are of ours. In fact, the nonsense you are spouting sounds straight out of the 1960 anti-JFK campaign? Let me guess, you were active for Nixon?

Originally Posted by TakeFive

To be fair not all Muslims are created equal. A little over 50 percent would prefer Sharia law while the balance would not.

Are you referring to British Muslims, or all Muslims? Either way, if you are going to cite bullshit bigoted statistics, you should cite your sources. A Trump speech is not a valid source. Nor is a BoJo speech.

Originally Posted by TakeFive

The country has had American Muslims for a long time without any particular problem. It's the immigrant Muslim population that seems to be a big problem. In their case it's more of a cultural issue tainted by religious interpretation. Country needs to acknowledge the difference and act accordingly.

Are you referring to Muslim immigrants to America? What problems exactly are you referring to?

Originally Posted by Cirrus

I have not devoted as much thought to British baked goods as to French (why would anyone?), so I could be wrong about scones. However my understanding is that the whole point of scones is that they do not taste very good on their own. They should be dry and rather flavorless. Ideally they are only eaten warmed up and used as a vehicle for cream and jam, and even then they are only good when paired with a hot beverage and eaten slowly, so the drink, bread, and cream/jam flavors all mix as you eat.

I have it on good authority that the bakers of Muslimistan make the best scones.

[The Dirt]

Since we're on the topic of Muslims and pastries, can we discuss a proper Balkava and where to get one that is good?

[EngiNerd]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

Since we're on the topic of Muslims and pastries, can we discuss a proper Balkava and where to get one that is good?

Jerusalem on Evans near DU, hands down (at least for the price).

[TakeFive]

Oh Boy, Here we go...

Originally Posted by bunt_q

What are you basing this on? Your many friendships amongst the robust Muslim communities in... Phoenix? Have you ever even met a Muslim person?

Any anecdotal experience I may or may not have is irrelevant and predictive of NOTHING. Similarly I wouldn't be inclined to give your own anecdotal experience that I assume is limited to Denver much importance although I'd be interested in more specifics.

It's very possible that we have significantly different views on what "assimilation" should mean and look like.

Not interested in composing any long winded analysis so for the moment I'd offer Common Sense. Either you got it or you don't.

Originally Posted by bunt_q

First, Muslim is not a culture. Islam is a religion practiced by hundreds of different cultures. I am Catholic, that does make me Portuguese.

Thank you for the clarification although I was aware of this generally speaking.

Muslim
noun - a follower of the religion of Islam
adjective - of or relating to the Muslims or their religion.

Might I suggest I was using both definitions in my usage.

Muslim culture

The term ‘Muslim culture’ is used broadly to represent many diverse Muslim cultural groups: the Asian Muslims, the Middle Eastern, the African, the European and the American Muslims, each with their own variations on customs and traditions. Some customs and traditions may be more motivated by culture than by religion. All of these diverse expressions of the same faith can make the question of “protocol” a complicated issue.

Originally Posted by bunt_q

In fact, the nonsense you are spouting sounds straight out of the 1960 anti-JFK campaign? Let me guess, you were active for Nixon?

In 1960 I was still in Junior HS (as we called it) and I wasn't the least bit political but no question that "non-sense" would apply to my age AND personality.

Well that's a start at least.

You're welcome to visit the following sites:

• http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/t...-about-sharia/
• https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/10/5...am-than-to-u-s
• http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pa...ion-polls.aspx
• http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.o...shariah-jihad/
• http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank...ims-and-islam/

To a point my comment reflected my own opinion of course. And it should have been easily inferred... but fair enough that I didn't specifically state that it was Only in America. On the whole it was intended and I believe successful for being "fair and balanced" ( couldn't resist). The problem, apparently, is that you certainly don't agree with ALL of it. Sorry

[bunt_q]

Anti-Muslim rhetoric, racism, etc. are often common sense. That doesn't make it okay.

I am curious what "assimilation" looks like to you. I'd venture that 200 years after their arrival, you still do not feel African Americans have quite integrated into your version of America. Maybe we should send them back until they figure out how to be dutiful white protestant Americans like you.