Citryphus

OK, so you got offended because I called a different argument--not yours, but the one from the original post of the thread--dumb. Got it. My one word summary of your argument? Racist. NU is an "elite, white institution." What exactly are you accusing them of? Do they have a right to honor MLK or must they forever keep silent because of their skin color? They had more than one event to honor MLK, not merely the lunch. The cafeteria prepared a meal that, had MLK lived to visit that day, he might have enjoyed, and felt "at home." Oh, but they're white (maybe, we don't even know), and elite to boot. Also, some idiots--not NU administrators or cafeteria staff--make jokes about whatever African-Americans do, eat, or say. Better take chicken off the menu, someone might get the wrong idea. Dumb.

I disagree with you wholeheartedly. I think the argument that serving chicken "undermines" MLKs message is dumb. Sorry you don't like my choice of words, but to suggest that I was aiming to insult anyone is a cop out. Consider the rest of my post, please, then pick any one word you like to describe it. I promise not to feign offense.

This is really dumb. Give a cafeteria staff the mission of honoring an individual. What the hell are they supposed to do? The most obvious--and best--choice is to prepare a menu associated with that person's birthplace or ethnicity, or both. MLK was born in Atlanta, so the menu is appropriate on both counts. How is that insulting? You could use the same menu for honoring Jimmy Carter, maybe add a few peanuts, no one would bat an eyelash. To take offense because the cafeteria staff used food to honor a man is ridiculous; food is their voice. The letter writer was mostly concerned with her (completely anecdotal) observation that "most" students would only partake of the food and not the other events, something largely beyond the university's control. It's just thoughtless PC.

Thinly sliced artichoke hearts fried briefly in a little o.o.

Am I the only one who thinks POM tastes just like Welch's grape juice? Love to see a blind taste preference test on that.

I missed this thread the first time around, but since Nina Planck woke it up I thought I'd add my two cents: Fat Guy stated that as the result of a Google search he determined that those who beleive MSG is harmless are in the minority. Unfortunately that rests on the assumption that both sides of the debate produce equal amounts of Google-cached output. Take any idea widely held to be false--astrology, UFOs, zero-point energy--and do a Google search. You will find many more believers than disbelievers. The thread contained some misinformed opinons about science and how it works, but raised the fair point that not all things labeled science are of the same quality. In fact many of the the most popular and widely beleived "scientific" theories are unverifiable or wrong: Sagan's nuclear winter, Erlich's population boom and famine, etc. That does not mean the scientific method in general and the peer review process are not superior to all alternatives. I found the debate about what form of editorial policy TDG should have interesting. And that is the crux, isn't it? The statement, "MSG -- a brain poison" is not supported by the article or by subsequent posts from Nina Planck. If TDG has editors they should have challenged this statement; that's the responsible thing to do. The other option is for TDG to disclaim responsibility for the opinions expressed. The question is, does TDG have an ad-hoc or arbitrary editorial policy? If one wrote, "Howard Dean -- a known wife-beater," or "George W. Bush -- a known crackhead," without further substantiation, would that get published?

A food-centered holiday. . .is there any other kind? My trip to Korea was over a year ago, and I'm reconstructing much of this from memory. I'm afraid providing specific restaurant names & locations is beyond my capabilities, but I hope you find this post useful regardless. If you're not fortunate enough to have a family of Korean foodies lead you blindly around the country, you should definitely try to strike up a conversation with someone in each place you visit. It should be easy to find someone fluent in English at your hotel. In general Koreans are very proud of their country and culture and are eager to impress foreigners. Tell them you love "real" Korean food and want to try some good stuff, and you're likely to get an excellent recommendation. One hurdle you may face as a foreigner is that some restaurants may not trust that you will like their food. They might think that you don't like it as spicy as they do; that you want the simpler food the last Americans who came there wanted. Even travelling with a whole Korean family I felt like a bit of a novelty in many places. My hosts fended off questions like, "Will he eat that? He likes this?" on several occasions. Of course, once they are convinced the tide may turn swiftly. At a fancy Japanese restaurant in Seoul I was eyed skeptically at first. By the end of the meal the pretty waitresses were laughing and searching the plates for strange things to feed me, a giant eyeball plucked skillfully from a delicious broiled yellowtail head for example. In Seoul, take a stroll through the Insadong section. Hidden in the alleys behind the main street are many good restaurants, look for one of the busier ones (or ask one of the many shopkeepers if you can) and you should be fine. The best dish we found here is pudaechigae ("army stew"). Born of necessity from the famine conditions during the Korean War, the stew's main ingredients include tofu, and chunks of hot dogs and Spam. I know, but trust me. Some of the fat released from the processed meats into the blazingly spicy broth creates a delicious silken mouthfeel. It's hard to find pudaechigae in Manhattan, so give it a try in Seoul. In Andong we had some of the most memorable food of the trip at the Musil Folk Village (or was it Hahoe? ). Small jeon (savory pancakes) made with sweet zucchini, and the signature dish of the region, Andong jjimdak, a wonderful spicy chicken stew with cellophane noodles. After you walk around the historical village, where you might see the toenjang (soybean paste) hanging outside in the traditional manner, you'll be ready for a snack. Keep going till you reach the outskirts, where local families stand along the roadside selling tasty skewers of odeng (fish cake) out of a large steaming pot of toenjang broth. Gyeoungju has many interesting cultural exhibits. The National Museum is very good, and bell of King Seongdeok is a beautiful work. I also found the many Buddhist temple sites in the region fascinating, especially some of the art. Pretty gory stuff. (Wear loafers to the Buddhist sites. You'll be taking your shoes off a lot.) This is a touristy area and there are a lot of restaurants of all kinds. If you're seeking authenticity look for some of the quieter family-run places that appear to be private homes, where the front parlor contains a few low tables and you sit on the floor. Cheju has a bunch of seafood restaurants where you pick your own, then head to your table and await a lavish multicourse meal starring your selection. Before: After: The filets are turned out as a giant platter of sashimi, with other interesting sides (1, 2), followed by a rich stew made from the head and skeleton. We used the local cab drivers for dining tips. They most likely get a small kickback from the establishment they take you to, but that doesn't mean you'll have a bad meal. Back in Seoul, if you happen to get homesick, try to find this hip clothing store:

There's been so much vivid prose on this thread I thought I'd try something different and post a few worst meal haiku: If mozzarella sprinkled on pasta is good Why not melt in sauce? Our goals differ I look for flavor while you seek "complete protein" Meeting her parents young man finds his nemesis The Mayonnaise Cake I will not argue I insist: a Reuben has no Russian Dressing The first instruction You seem to have forgotten must rinse the leeks well

Man, there are some delicious-sounding posts here. What I do when I have too many clementines is toss some segments with mesclun or lettuce, walnuts, blue or goat cheese, and a simple vinaigrette.

The results are in. . .non-scientific of course, since there was no control roast. The roast was very tender and tasted good, but I don't beleive 24 hours of aging made a difference in the outcome. Based on the rate of change I beleive the roast would have appeared and smelled completely unpalatable after a second day, far from the "slight funky smell" AB mentioned. If I ever try it again, I'll practice temperature control of my fridge first, let the meat sit on a rack, and make sure to remove the jar of kimchi and the stinky cheese. My research turned up one more thing: According to some websites, Morton's and Ruth Chris do not dry age their beef. I have never tried either chain, so I can't compare. But if they don't have the expense of dry-aging, do their steaks cost less on the plate, or do they have a better profit margin than their dry-aging competition?

I just posted this in another thread before I found this one--wish I knew how to link it. Hope no one minds my pasting it here: Well, I'm "dry-aging" a rib roast in the fridge right now, and I'm up late searching the web because I'm anxious about it. Both the Alton Brown show and the America's Test Kitchen website claim that even one day's aging in the fridge has a beneficial effect, and frankly, that's as far as I'm willing to take it with $80 and my reputation with some in-laws on the line. One thing AB left out of his show--and by the way, who is seriously going to take a huge ceramic tree planter and put it in their oven--is that beef will absorb other flavors from the fridge, like butter will. So far it's been unwrapped in the fridge for 12 hours, and I can already see some darkening patches on the fat, and a few additional brown areas on the cut sides. I pulled it out and took a sniff, and I must say it smells reassuringly good. A strong smell, but not a spoiled one. Anyway, my evening of web research has turned up a tentative answer to the question that launched this thread: tenderloin has little to no protective fat coating its surfaces and is therefore not a good candidate for long dry-aging. Hence no aged filet minon. The dinner is tommorow night. I'll post the results afterwards. . .

Well, I'm "dry-aging" a rib roast in the fridge right now, and I'm up late searching the web because I'm anxious about it. Both the Alton Brown show and the America's Test Kitchen website claim that even one day's aging in the fridge has a beneficial effect, and frankly, that's as far as I'm willing to take it with $80 and my reputation with some in-laws on the line. One thing AB left out of his show--and by the way, who is seriously going to take a huge ceramic tree planter and put it in their oven--is that beef will absorb other flavors from the fridge, like butter will. So far it's been unwrapped in the fridge for 12 hours, and I can already see some darkening patches on the fat, and a few additional brown areas on the cut sides. I pulled it out and took a sniff, and I must say it smells reassuringly good. A strong smell, but not a spoiled one. Anyway, my evening of web research has turned up a tentative answer to the question that launched this thread: tenderloin has little to no protective fat coating its surfaces and is therefore not a good candidate for long dry-aging. Hence no aged filet minon. The dinner is tommorow night. I'll post the results afterwards. . .

Mike, I didn't intend to offend you. I agree simply thinking priming glasses is silly doesn't make you an "ugly american." I bet there are many Italians who think its silly, too. What I question is whether its a fair criterion for criticizing a restaurant. It's not bad service; just different, or "silly." To get offended by it is kind of. . .intolerant. I got the impression you were harping on the priming thing, based on the expensive wine and the bolognese sauce comments. If I was wrong I apologize.

I think "irritainment" was the name of a WFMU program about five years ago.

Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I think Tomoe serves excellent sashimi, and their yellowtail is delicious. I've been to most of the best sushi restaurants in Manhattan and I feel Tomoe deserves an honorable mention for being in the 99th percentile in that price range. I wish Tomoe was my neighborhood takeout joint.

With all due respect Mike, you're entitled to think the wine rinsing thing is silly, just as other people can bitch about the banquet seating, or Pink Floyd. But it's so minute it casts doubt on the rest of your opinions. Did the harmless Italian wine ritual really ruin your meal? From your post it's hard to imagine you weren't being sarcastic. If you are being serious about YOUR expensive wine, etc. I think Babbo can offer you the unique opportunity to play the Ugly American without having to travel.

If you go to one of the finer restaurants in Rome or Florence they all do the wine rinsing bit. Lighten up man, it's not that big of a deal.

Consider adding some fennel. I think it goes really well with tomaotes, cucumbers, etc.

Tomoe is definitely an exception. Everything on the menu is good. As far as the line goes, all the best restaurants in NYC would have huge lines outside if they didn't take reservations, as Tomoe does not. Another reason the line is so long is that Tomoe is mentioned in many foreign NYC travel guides. The demographics of Tomoe's customers are very broad.

That's an interesting comment. The quality of Tomoe's food is right up there with the best NYC sushi restaurants. Sure, they don't have eleven kinds of Yellowtail like Sushi Yasuda, but that's not their competition. There's a reason the line is so long; it's the gigantic sushi/sashimi combination for ~$25. Must sushi be artful?

The blueberry pie recipie from TNWC is the best I've ever tried. The pie crust is excellent.