Alex

Great find! Any idea how much it costs (a lot, is my guess) and how one might buy it?

What specifically made The Church such a good experience for you? Have you ever eaten at The Belfry? We did get to Woolfy's last May and enjoyed a very pleasant meal. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the food wasn't "overly fancy" but was of high quality and thoughtfully prepared. It's about 20 min. from Stratford.

An Asheville thread Edited to add: I love Asheville! If time and weather allow, have a drink on the terrace of The Grove Park Inn.

Yes! In the midst of all those other complicated flavors I forgot about their plain and simple Coffee. Great stuff, especially when topped with some really good bittersweet chocolate sauce. A few months ago, Walgreens, for some reason, was running an outrageous sale on HD. By the time I was able to get there, midway through the week, all that remained was Coffee. Lucky me.

No contest -- Chocolate Peanut Butter. Runner-up = Dulce de Leche. During my year in Japan, the Haagen-Dazs store in the basement of the department store over the Hamamastu train station (Yaohan? It's been a while.) was my main psychological link to home.

This particular combo is referred to more commonly as the 'Elvis Sandwich'...you had a few tweaks though, the standard has no red pepper flakes and is grilled whole - as in the entire sandwich, not just the bread. ← Hmm, if it's good enough for the King, I'll have to try it that way -- a hunka hunka burnin' sandwich.

This study weighs in on the no-pain side.

I was in an odd mood one weekend morning and concocted a sandwich of peanut butter (natural), bacon, banana, and a few hot pepper flakes on toasted sourdough. Mmm -- hot, sour, salty, sweet (and crunchy).

Yes, Palena. Nashman, is there any significance to your joining eGullet on Valentine's Day a year ago?

What else is on your short list, Alex? Have you been to Avec yet? It seems obvious with the communal seating and small plates that OVS was conceived as a Lettuce take on the already-successful Chicago version of this concept. Not to knock it for this reason--OVS sounds very well-executed and I can't wait to go there myself. Lunch seems like a steal. ← I've thought about Avec. A few visits ago, several of us eG'ers walked past the place but it was packed. I'm also considering Spring, Marché ($50 certificate, y'know), MOD (no corkage fee on Tuesdays!), Vie, and Hema's. The choices also depend on any yet-to-be-determined dinner companions.

for gyro think hero...thats how iv e heard it pronounced in many a greek restaurant Yes, but with the "he-" a bit aspirated, if that's the right term, and the "r" not as "errr" as in English. ← The "h" in the "hee-ro" is pronounced similar to -- but a touch softer than -- the "ch" if you're trying to get a Hebrew pronunciation of "Chanukah." In Greek, it's the letter chi -- like the Sigma Chis on Frat Row. It's a pain. ← Yeah, that's what I meant -- the "ch" not quite so far back in the throat. Thanks, Busboy. Of course, most everyone pronounces the frat as Sigma "Kye." I don't know if that's correct, but then, it has nothing to do with food.

I seem to remember some New England-y friends telling me a long time ago that that's the correct pronounciation. How about Quahog? Both KO-hog and QUO-hog are indicated as correct, but I always heard it the first way.

for gyro think hero...thats how iv e heard it pronounced in many a greek restaurant Yes, but with the "he-" a bit aspirated, if that's the right term, and the "r" not as "errr" as in English.

ive always heard it pronounced like fo...as in fe fi fo fum....... ← I believe it's definitely "fuh," though, deriving from the French "pôt au feu."

According the this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish, OvS is also currently offering 1 free, 4 oz. pour with lunch. =R= ← Great. I'm there (even though the wine probably is one of their $15-flight selections). I like this story that also is reached via the above Dish link: "Funny Conversation with the Guy Who Answered the Phone at Reza’s on Clark."

I believe they're now serving lunch. According to Phil Vettel, "The format is the same, but there are fewer antipasti and the main courses include pasta, salads and panini. The lunch price is $17.95." Any lunch reports? I'll be in Chi in a few weeks; OVS certainly is on my short list.

My favorite local wine merchant must've gotten a heck of a post-off -- they've been selling the One.6 Chardonnay for $2.49 a bottle, $24 a case. Without a doubt, the low-carb thing is a marketing gimmick, but the wine itself is really not too bad. As the label says, there's some melon and a little citrus along with a bit of oak -- simple but nothing blatantly objectionable. For eight bucks there are better choices, but for two I'm right there. I'll probably have other preferences, but I think this'll be Ms. Alex's house white for the forseeable future. (We picked up two cases.)

Nothing from me, unfortunately. Umpteen years ago I briefly lived within spitting distance of Keego Harbor, but when I visit the metro area now I stay with a friend in the east burbs and we're usually not inclined to drive to Keego for dinner. Still, I'm looking forward to reading your always well informed report.

Our Senseo arrived last week. As several posts said, it makes a passable cup of coffee, but lacking the depth of flavor of one from our drip machine or French press. For what it is -- a means to a quick cup of decent coffee (especially a bit of late-night decaf -- it probably will be getting regular use at our house. The Douwe Egberts medium-roast decaf is indeed passable, as is the dark-roast regular. The regular medium- and mild-roast lack character, imo. I noticed the posts on this thread about Kona, and was wondering if anyone else has had direct experience with other brands or roasts -- podhead.com, easypod.co.uk, etc. There's also a seller on eBay offering DE's Kenya, Sumatra, and Brazil blends.

I think that Matthew's on sabbatical from eGullet, so I'll take an educated guess about the shops he was referring to. I'm sure that one of them is Van Ball's Prime Beef, on Plainfield between I-96 and 3 Mile. I imagine another is Kingma's Meats, inside Kingma's Market on Plainfield between Knapp and 3 Mile. The third might be the meat department at our local supermarket, Forest Hills Foods, at Cascade Rd and Forest Hill Ave. There's also Sobie Meats, on Remembrance Rd between Leonard and Kinney, which opened just last year. He also mentioned Heffron Farms Market (Plainfield just north of I-96 and Clyde Park north of 54th). The "near-organic" meat is pre-cut and frozen, but I've been happy with the quality.

Looks great, Paul! Perhaps you could start a separate thread about Waterstone. We trolls don't get to Marquette very much; Ms. Alex journeys there every 2-3 years for a good friend's family gathering. I'm sure she'll pay you a visit next time. Obviously you did your research and concluded that Marquette could support a place like yours. Are you counting on regular business from the university community?

I tried a batch last weekend. (Sorry, no pics.) I used a relatively new Rival Crock-Pot, high heat all the way, stirred occasionally, uncovered after ~6 hrs to let liquid evaporate, then covered again for another 4 hrs. Ingredients = 2# yellow onions, ~1T each olive oil and butter (unsalted Plugra), 2 bay leaves, ~1t each dried thyme, sugar, and Morton's kosher salt; I added a couple of teaspoons of Fini balsamic vinegar for the last hour of cooking. The confit (or whatever) was pretty decent, close to my best pan-made one. It made four generous servings. I would have preferred another couple of hours in the pot (i.e., softer and darker onions), but the entrée (smoked flank steak) awaited.

I'm a Northville native and can provide a few ideas: Northville: Emily's - Hands down the best in town. Rick Halberg's menu and presentation are terrific. Little Italy - OK Italian food. Fun atmosphere in an old Victorian house. Plymouth: Cafe Bon Homme - Nice french restaurant. Haven't been there in a few years. Good location in the center of the downtown. If you want an out-of-the-box culinary idea, try the restaurant at Schoolcraft College. It's called American Harvest. Supervised by several CMC instructors and run by students in their culinary arts program. Supposed to be very good. Dinner only. Dress warm. It's gonna be cold here for a while! Gary. ← What he said. Also, M-14 gets you to Ann Arbor in 20-25 min., so go to Zingerman's if you get the chance. This and other threads have more info about A². You mentioned Dearborn in your first post. If you're there for some reason, maybe around lunchtime, I second La Shish.

The good news is that I've still managed to resist this temptation. The other good news is that I got seven books at a Bargain Books half-off cookbook sale for $35: Ready When You Are, Martha Rose Shulman Great Tastes Made Simple, Andrea Immer Chez Panisse Cooking, Paul Bertolli White Dog Cafe Cookbook, Wicks & Von Klause off the eaten path, Bob Blumer Cooking With Claudine and Jacques Pépin's Table, Jacques Pépin Also, from the remainder table at a Schuler Books, Cheese Primer, Steven Jenkins. ← Yeah, I know -- resistance is futile. My four from The Good Cook: The Gourmet Cookbook King Arthur Baking Cookbook Simply Ming Patrick O'Connell Refined American Cuisine And, in advance, my required purchase will be Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating.

Detroit's a sprawling place. Where will you be staying and how long a drive will you be willing to make?