Alex

OK, OK, I know I said I wasn't going to buy any more cookbooks, but Ms. Alex took this one out of the library and really liked it (and, I must confess, I did, too): Arabesque, by Claudia Roden.

The very first time Ms. Alex and I met face-to-face was an arranged date at a Chinese restaurant. To the best of her recollection (I'm horrible with this sort of thing, while she, 16½ years later, still remembers where we sat and what we wore), I ordered Orange Beef and she had General's Chicken. I think the first dish she made for me was stuffed (ricotta + spinach) pasta shells. The first meal I made for her was "a salad of some sort," Chicken Cordon Bleu, and vanilla ice cream (probably Breyer's) with fresh strawberries and homemade chocolate sauce. The dessert was what sold her.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen Freschetta in any of the stores by us. Wolfgang Puck's gets a resounding "eh" from me. I'm a big fan, though, of Amy's Pizza, especially the 3 cheese with cornmeal crust. Like other posters, sometimes I'll add my own toppings, or sometimes just a sprinkling of oregano and hot pepper flakes.

According to this report, Alinea's Grant Achatz "...asked inventor and collaborator Philip Preston, president of the manufacturing company PolyScience, to create a simple, portable method for making smoke to trap under glasses and serve to diners. The result was The Smoking Gun." I'd be more interested in its touted use for blowing smoke into a ziploc-type bag to infuse food with smoky goodness. Has anyone tried this yet?

Aria is just around the corner from the Aon Center, in the Fairmont Hotel (200 N Columbus). I've had two very good dinners there, the last one just a few weeks ago. According to Metromix, lunch starts at 11:30 but the bar area opens at 10:30. I'd call them, though. There's now a Hannah's Bretzel in the Illinois Center (233 N Michigan), also just around the corner from you. I've not been there, but if it's the size of their other location, it wouldn't be the best place for a planning meeting. Maybe a sandwich for the trip home, though...

Funny you should mention this. I was just reading an excellent article (scroll down the page a bit) in the current issue of Reform Judaism magazine by Daniel Rogov, who has been known to post on eG from time to time. He explains that only some kosher wines, which are termed mevushal, are heated (pasteurized, actually). This is done because, for some observant Jews, if a non-Jew handles the wine, it then becomes non-kosher. Quoting from the article:

This was the first Michigan restaurant I ate at, back in 1969 while on a jaunt around the East and Midwest. It impressed the heck out of us college boys, I'll tell ya. Here's their web site.

I'm a big fan of Food Dance Cafe in downtown Kalamazoo (about 4 miles north from Exit 76A). They use local ingredients whenever possible; otherwise, they strive for natural/organic, e.g., Niman Ranch beef. Lunch is served from 11-4, Tues-Sat.

Kosher-for-Passover Coke arrives at my local supermarket this week!! That, and the first day of spring (and my softball team's first practice) -- what more could one ask?

The 2005 Heartland Gathering, in Ann Arbor, featured tours of Zingerman's Bakehouse and Zingerman's Creamery. It's worth your time, should you find yourself in Southeast Michigan. Here are a couple of pictures of the Bakehouse. Two friends and I did a mini-tour of the northeast quadrant of the US after our junior year in college. Our stops included historic Williamsburg in Virginia, a dude ranch in West Virginia, a planetarium in Cleveland -- and the Kellogg factory in Battle Creek, MI. The highlight of the tour was, of course, meeting Tony the Tiger.

As a child, and into adolescence, I could easily put away a quart of whole milk a day (preferably straight from the carton and accompanied by a substantial amount of chocolate chip cookies). And, like Maggie, when I became a (chronological) adult I started weaning myself off the stuff. I got back into milk again when I joined a raw milk co-op several years ago. What delicious stuff, even after skimming the cream for coffee! I usually wound up drinking half of it and making yogurt out of the other half. About a year ago, though, due to a combination of circumstances, I needed to drop out. Now I occasionally buy organic 2% (a compromise, since I like whole milk and Ms. Alex likes skim), which, unfortunately, is ultra-pasteurized but is the only form of organic milk I've seen here. (I'm on the lookout for another co-op.) I seldom drink it straight, though -- I usually combine it with Silk chocolate soy milk and toddy-made decaf coffee concentrate and bring it to work. I remember reading somewhere that the fat in whole milk facilitates the body's absorption of calcium and therefore skim milk is not nutritionally optional. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

Thanks for replying, Neal. What didn't you like about them?

I just spotted this item at my local Costco today -- 3 in a box for $10.99. I'm a fan of Frontera Grill, of course, and I like some of Bayless's other products, but this is completely new to me. Are there any opinions out there about the quality? (As a reference point, Amy's is my favorite frozen pizza to date, at $5.99 each here in GR.)

As someone who just ordered a new island hood, I was thinking the same thing. There are some attractive and relatively unobtrusive ones -- Zephyr, for example -- but they do indeed affect the space. However, if you could live with a cooktop with a downdraft system...

What the other folks said. As an alternative to adding the mint leaves themselves, perhaps you can infuse some of the apple juice with mint then add just the juice at the end.

Club Quarters, at least the last time I was there, had a couple of public-use computers with Internet access. I don't recall any thrift stores downtown, but I think there's a Salvation Army store on Milwaukee near the Damen stop on the Blue Line.

Oh, yeah -- luau + Cliff Robertson = Gidget I'm kind of embarrassed that I knew this.

That's it! From a New York Times article after the film was released:

Knives can be an intensely personal thing. She'd need to be ready, willing, and able to deal with new ones, especially after 15 years with the old ones. They'd also need to fit her hand. If the element of surprise is not crucial, I'd just ask her if at some point in the near future she might like a new knife or two. (I'm a fan of Forschner for low-end knives.) If she demurs, I like joiei's idea of getting the old ones sharpened. If she keeps her knives scattered about in a drawer, I'd get her a wooden knife holder that fits in the drawer. Or, if she's willing to have them on display, get her a standing knife block. Here's one place for mail-order sharpening. There are many others, of course. They also sell a very nice Forschner 8-piece set, including a block, for $150.

Numerous brands of bottled water, including Perrier, Evian, Glacier, Vittel, and Volvic.

Re #61, the only movie I can recall in which the characters don't eat the food is The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. I can't recall the specific foods, but still, that's my guess.

Yes! Way to go, ptdc! That was one of my favorite scenes in a movie filled with wonderful scenes.

What everyone else said. If you want to pick up some sweets to get you through your long meetings, Sarah's, as Eliot mentioned, is very, very good. I also wouldn't pass up an opportunity to load up on truffles at Vosges, just a few blocks down Michigan. Also very close to you is the Museum of Contemporary Art, which houses a Wolfgang Puck Café. I've not been to the café, but folks seem to like it and the setting is very cool.

Rosemary's Baby. Chocolate mousse, if memory serves. edited to add: Whoops. Looks like Human Bean got it first.

Another easy one: an omelette, cooked on the sly.