Gifted Gourmet

ordering it today . on your recommendation/description! and I very much agree with you about the dining at the National Gallery in London ... the British Museum has a lovely place to enjoy some delightful food ...

mangosteen, the queen of fruits from SE Asia doesn't get much sexier than that!

This is cruel and inhumane treatment, Jason ... but it was incredible going down our ravenous eGullets!

You ain't alone there! The mixture of blue cheese topped with bacon and creamy yolks has many of us drooling in memory so sweet!

Perfect as the Pig Pickin' turned out to be, your article got it just right! Bravo, Debbie! and one cheer as well for Dean and his patient family as we invaded his 'space' en masse!

I have to agree with you completely, John, on your wish that things remain unchanged. The France I remember was one of individual homes where cuisine, in and of itself, was a virtue and greatly venerated. Many a meal was prepared with loving care and attention to detail. But, and I have to grudgingly admit, this was a world where no fast food existed. Comment triste ...

your post, Ptipois ... T'would appear that timing is of the essence ... many thanks ...

from International Herald Tribune Quite an engaging article on reality of the French home .. blame it all on fast food ... Est-ce que ceci peut vraiment être la vérité ?

will there be a link for those of us who don't get the NJ Times?

Possibly, but I rarely used to drink the tap water abroad. Oddly, I did drink it in Budapest, Prague, Vienna, and Salzburg with no ill effects. When I lived in Morocco, see the first few posts, I was warned about drinking tap water. That stayed with me over time. Also in Mexico, same warning and drank only bottled water in Israel.

So who among you folks here who are up to your necks in stuffed cabbage will accept mizducky's challenge? She has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet of foods which are cross-culturally related ... mizducky, might you offer us your wit and insights if you accept your own challenge? Perhaps Marco Polo?

and you are so right! Table 1280 is that place ...

At least I now know that I'm not crazy! Thanks for reassuring me about them ... yes, color alone won't encourage me to re-purchase ... at least I still have my morels ...

article from WebMD So I guess the questions are no doubt manifold here, beginning with "how much must one consume to get the best benefits?" to "Where will I be able to get fresh olive oil rather than the bottled?" Your opinion humbly requested.

Just sauteed the Lobster Mushrooms in a bit of butter and olive oil, salt and pepper, and while they have a distinctly mushroomy taste and texture, I noted that they are also somewhat bitter. I think they need to be sliced more thinly and sauteed with onions perhaps next time. Will continue to seek answers to why they are supposedly so marvelous ... at this point, I certainly can't see this.

Returning to the topic at hand, if you don't mind: Thanks ...

Triangle.com

article from the NY Daily News The Cafe at the Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th St. seems a cut above the usual ....Bonnie and Tom Strauss Cafe in the American Folk Art Museum, 45 W. 53rd St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves The Terrace Cafe at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 900 Washington Ave Abigael's at the Museum, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, between West St. and First Place If you live in New York City, or have visited there, have you any feedback on these museum cafes?

Beautiful pancetta indeed! and those huge rosemary plants are incredible!

Stay calm! Do not panic! Tons of restaurants here! Check these out ... Two full pages for you to scan ...

Daniel Rogov, the Ha'aretz food critic, even discussed the finger bowl at some length here on the Strat's Place website and here as well ... with an anecdote about Queen Victoria ... check it out!

A stuffed cabbage roll, by any other name, would smell just as sweet ... or so the quote used to say ... all things being equal, I now like the name "little doves" ... source of the quote here

Thinking of how people who dined graciously handled the formal place settings put before them, I was thinking about a very old tradition of using the finger bowl, which is well before most people's times here. How do guests wipe their sticky fingers after eating items such as artichokes, shellfish, corn on the cob, asparagus, any other handheld food? the website article here from Epicurious.com(scroll down) and, it goes without saying (but I must!), do not drink the contents of the finger bowl ...

Just be sure that what you eat is cooked through, if possible, and be aware that things like lettuces and raw fruits which are cut, may not be washed too well by your own health standards ... the water is the issue here ... more Moroccan food advice

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls from Martha Stewart with those apples ...