Alex

Yes, for Saturday night dinner, Gioco and Opera (same owners) are walking distance from your hotel. Custom House would be another good option. For Sunday night, I'd recommend Spring or Avec (Blackbird is closed on Sundays, I believe); they're close to CTA stops, if that's how you plan to get around. Gioco also serves a reasonably priced brunch. I haven't tried it yet, though.

The weirdest thing is whatever it is I've forgotten about and can't recognize.

Ah, Hamtramck (pronounced Ham-tram'-ick, BTW) -- an independent city completely surrounded by Detroit (and a sliver of Highland Park). I lived there 30+ years ago, when I was going to graduate school. Homemade kielbasa at the corner grocery store. Air hockey and 25-cent shells of Stroh's at a favorite local bar. Neighbors sweeping not just the sidewalk, but the alley behind their houses. Ah, those were the days.... Anyhow, from what I gather there are two reputable Polish restaurants that remain from back then: Under the Eagle, on Joseph Campau, and Polonia (formerly the Workingmen's Cooperative), on Yemens. (I seem to remember that we'd just call the place "Yemens.") I suspect (and hope) that either or both still serve duck's blood soup (czarnina). I also remember a long-departed restaurant, The Double Eagle (I think), in the former dining room of a 1940's Indian Village hotel, now an apartment building. It was wonderfully elegant and romantic , with beautiful antique furniture, linen and real silverware, and a pianist playing Chopin on a grand piano Friday and Saturday nights. The food was haute Polish (not an oxymoron). I've forgotten virtually all of the menu, but still remember a sizeable piece of boneless veal, wrapped around mushroom duxelles and a dill pickle, in a dill cream sauce.

The almond hazelnut swirl sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, the web site indicated it's not being sold (at least not yet) in my area.

Let us not forget the infamous Wine Clip.

no, i've not been to any of zingerman's outposts except their deli and the roadhouse. i know where there bakehouse is, but i just find the deli such a novel place - and i can usually get everything i want/need there - plus it's where the cheese is! re: gelato - i think that's at the creamery, no? although i have no idea where that is - is it with the bakehouse? ulterior epicure. ← Ah, u.e., if only you had joined eG a few months earlier -- you could have been at our Heartland Gathering, with its tour of the the Bakehouse AND the Creamery. You still can tour the Bakehouse, though, any Saturday at 10 a.m.

I'll probably catch some flak for this, but my vote is for Michigan's (and other states') law that restaurant menus must state something like "Consuming undercooked meats (eggs, seafood, etc.) may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions." Which medical conditions? Osteoporosis? Bursitis? Hypoglycemia? People have been eating "undercooked" food since forever; this warning is just another example of the U.S.'s pervasive culture of fear.

I agree completely. Also, I think it drives drinking on college campuses into frat houses and private parties, which means there is less adult supervision, and a higher incidence of fatal alcohol poisoning and date rape. ← You expect consistent and reasoned decision-making from all 50 state legislatures AND the federal government? Have you been hitting the absinthe again? This particular subject probably could use its own thread. Maybe there's one already -- I can't keep up. Drinking, driving, serving in the military, signing a contract, etc., if perhaps not quite apples and oranges, is at least apples and pears, in that they require different optimal levels of cognitive skills. However, the frontal lobes of the brain, which include sections regulating attention, judgement, planning, etc., are not fully mature until the early-to-mid-20s, on the average. Add that to a puritanical U.S. culture that for a significant part (especially so for those under 21) paradoxically sees drinking as something one does to get altered, getting drunk as a rite of passage, and the "greater good" as just a nice idea, well.... Me, I'd like to see the drinking age lowered and the driving age raised, but that would entail a major change in our culture's attitude toward alcohol, and I don't see that happening any time soon.

Some statistical and scientific common sense from George Mason University

I don't know which gullible package store owner you won this bet from, but allow me to quote a definition of "fifth" from the single-volume gold-standard New Oxford Dictionary of English: "(a fifth of) US informal a fifth of a gallon, as a measure of alcoholic liquor, or a bottle of this capacity...." There is no mention of 1/5 of a liter.

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I just requested Off the Map and 301/302 from my local library system. Unfortunately, they don't have A Feast at Midnight, which sounds like a lot of fun. (Christopher Lee as V. E. Longfellow, aka Raptor!)

That would be Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, already mentioned upthread, directed by Ang Lee, a joint Taiwan/US production, if memory serves.

Also, there's The Spotted Dog Cafe on Washington, with excellent prepared salads (e.g., chicken salad w/dried cherries or Italian tuna salad w/Parmesan, black olives, garlic, and lemon) and soups. It's often crowded during peak lunch time.

Avoiding a drop of water is for after the chocolate has melted -- water will make it seize up. If the chocolate and water (or liqueur or coffee) start out together, things should be ok. I start with very, very hot liquid and have not had a problem. Perhaps the microwave was the issue. I always use a double boiler.

In circumstances like this I use a recipe from the terrific Chef Sato's All-Natural Desserts. Unfortunately, it's out of print, but perhaps your library system has it (as does mine) or can get it for you. No eggs, no dairy, no refined sugar. He does use wheat flour, but I'm sure you could substitute spelt flour, as SweetSide suggested. I've also substituted agave nectar for the maple syrup. Among other recipes, he has ones for Almond Cake and Carrot Cake, both with tofu-based frosting/filling, and for Chocolate Raspberry Cake, with a cocoa/tahini/soy milk (or rice milk) frosting/filling. If you like, you can send me a PM with your email address and I'll reply with a couple of recipes as an attachment.

Willie, could you elaborate on this? The few times I've eaten at a German restaurant here in the States (I've never been to Germany) I've been sorely disappointed. The only good German food I've had was at a friend's Italian-eclectic restaurant here in Grand Rapids. His sous chef was born and raised in Germany, and when sauerbraten or roladen appeared on the specials menu you could count on it being just like Mutter used to make, maybe better.

Or is this just a coincidence? Auf Wiedersehen, Schnitzelbank (after 72 years)

The Bar at the Peninsula

How about Chicago virgin? Correct me if I'm in error, Ronnie, but Tru looks to be about a half-mile from your hotel. The Peninsula is a few blocks from Tru; the Four Seasons is a few blocks from the Peninsula. You can look up all this stuff on Metromix. BTW, it's Fox and Obel, not Abel.

I don't know too much about bars, but for breakfast, you're just a few blocks from Fox & Obel Café.

Wow. This looks like *the* place for lunch. Rowland Café

I'm with you. I love eating at a restaurant that's situated in an old depot, like the Gandy Dancer or Clara's in Lansing. Too bad the food often doesn't match the ambience. How about making Landry's an offer? You could put a little picket fence around the building and rename the restaurant "The Fence," as in "Millions for The Fence, but not one cent for Tribute." Sorry.

I've been to the Berghoff only once, last year with Lady T and maggiethecat + spouse. I loved the root beer and was thoroughly underwhelmed by the food, but I appreciated the history and the ambience and how much the place meant to my native Chicagoland companions.

Greektown is two blocks of "cheez" if you ask me. It's mostly dominated by the Greektown casino now - lots of the restaurants accept their comps. There is a bakery (whose name is escaping me but it starts with an "A") that is fabulous though. ← That would be Astoria Pastry Shop.

It's definitely worth the small investment. I got mine on eBay shortly after buying the mixer itself. Even though I use the second bowl only occasionally, I'm very glad it's there when I need it.