Alex

I assume that "downtown Hilton" means the one on S. Michigan. If so, you're walking distance from Gioco. Your itinerary sounds perfect!

I ate basashi at a friend's house when I lived in Japan, nearly two decades ago. I seem to remember that it tasted lightly smoked, and that I liked it a lot. My (American) girlfriend, who also was living in Japan and whose daughter back in the States owned a horse, couldn't bring herself to eat it. I'd turn to her and make horse sounds, which probably goes a long way toward explaining why she broke up with me.

As a proud participant in the 2003 Heartland Gathering that inspired this thread, I say welcome to the cauli-club, melonpan! I still make this stuff regularly. Last week it was the base for a simple puréed soup using chicken stock, onion, carrot, garam masala, and a touch of cream.

Actually, it's only charred meat that may contain possible carcinogens; veggies are fine. Here's some info from the American Cancer Society. And some more info from Science News.

I'm getting ready to make our dinner reservations for this year, so I wanted to bump this thread and see if anyone had any updated information. I'm especially interested in feedback about Globe, 38 (still no website), Avoca, and the post-expansion Bijou. Thanks.

Yes, I'm 99.99% sure it is. What menu didn't you see it on?

Welcome to eGullet, trader. I'm glad it was Sweets & Savories that lured you out of the eG posting shadows, so to speak, after 11 months! I was with Ronnie and two other eG'ers on March 1, and everything was all he said it was.

You're right, George. I don't remember the specifics but I do remember seeing a list and IIRC, each night there is a different special (price) offering. =R= ← Here's the info via Metromix.

So can we call that a Banana split?

Yes! We had a couple of these in my high school cafeteria 40 years ago, and they were incredibly popular. I tell my current students (college) about this and they think it's so quaint. Sigh.

Just ordered: The Best Recipes in the World, by Mark Bittman -- an oddly compelling mish-mash, er, compendium of recipes from all over the world.

Courtesy of MatthewB, how about De Luze VS, from Rémy?

How about this one?

White Truffle, à la Sweets & Savories.

Read the linked article, folks. It says that Chiquita is going after placing this product in convenience stores -- venues that, I assume, don't normally stock bananas because of their very limited window of ripeness, so to speak, and not the kind of place where people normally do their produce shopping. Yeah, 75 to 99 cents is one expensive banana, but this isn't a supermarket. And if it can lure consumers, especially kids, away from the aisles of junk snacks, it's ok in my book.

Ronnie, the link to Dish in your first post doesn't appear to be working. Where exactly will ESD be?

How about you?

No need to nudge unless you have something to ask or add. Do you? ← sorry to be so vague.. "nudge" meaning - any recent visits to report? u.e. ← Not personally. I just received a emailed rave report from a friend about her first visit there. She said the menu was "risotto with strawberry slices; salmon with beets; cherry sake sorbet; beef tenderloin with homemade potato chips and foie gras creamed potatoes; raspberry 'something or other' with fresh raspberries in a chocolate cup; chocolate truffles."

Perhaps this sentence from Jim Lark's bio on The Lark's web site explains a few things: "Jim, being part Prussian, is a perfectionist and prowls the restaurant searching for something to correct, have done, or to field questions about food, wine or travel." You're also not alone in your complaints. Here's an excerpt from a post on Fodor's web site about two years ago (with writing errors left intact): "We were sitting at the table right by thermostat, and witnessed Jim Lark repeatedly turning the temp down after his wife repeatedly turning the temp up when we, and other diners kept complaining about the fridgedness. Finally eliciting the tongue-in-cheek comment from his wife alluding to the hard-headedness of her husband!" That's really too bad about The Lark. Perhaps he's just getting old and cranky. (Just a speculation, u.e. ) I participated in a chili cook-off he sponsored in about 1980, before he opened The Lark, held on the tennis courts of an apartment complex he developed. I remember him as a bit formal and stand-offish (admittedly I looked rather hippie-like back then), but certainly not rude.

chef valvo. i respect what you guys do at tribute. however, unless you can substantiate your remark, i think this is rather a low-blow, and not in the "spirit of egullet..." it may simply have been a coincidence. u.e. ← Actually, u.e., I don't think this was a low blow at all, although further discussion of this issue probably belongs in another thread. It's clear, at least to me, that Chef Valvo's remark was just a speculation. However, given that he's probably more in touch with current Detroit-area restaurant politics than you and I combined, it's probably not just an idle one (although he's the one who'll need to comment further on that). As a writer of restaurant reviews in Detroit in the 1980s (admittedly for an alternative weekly), I can assure you that awards are not always apolitical.

No need to nudge unless you have something to ask or add. Do you?

I strongly concur with Sam and others who recommended a half sheet pan. I use a couple of heavy-duty but relatively inexpensive ones from Chicago Metallic. A traditional roasting pan is good for poultry, etc., but is too deep for vegetables. Switching to sheet pans made a world of difference for my roasted cauliflower. For a small amount of roasted potatoes or asparagus I'll sometimes use a Pyrex baking dish, but overall I still prefer sheet pans.

...been keeping a close eye on custom house - so it's hitting all the right marks? my visit to spring a couple of years back was revelatory... unfortunately, my dinner at green zebra last summer didn't impress... how would you characterize custom house? i know it's more all-american - and seems like a heartier menu than it's sisters. u.e. ← See the link in my post above.

3:30, according to Metromix. And welcome to eGullet, towncompany!

What CTA stop (I'm assuming the El, not bus) is near Avec? U.E. ← It's 2-3 blocks from the Clinton stop on the Green Line. Here's a map.