Alex

I second that -- La Fiorentina's a great spot to while away an hour or two.

Ice cream at Herrell's. Nothing else matters.

I've been using David Rosengarten's recipe for "The Frosty Plymouth Gin & Tonic" -- it's the best ever, imho. It's reproduced (among other places, I imagine) here.

There was a study in which participants ate all of their calories (a moderate amount, I don't remember exactly how much, perhaps 2000) in one meal, either in the morning or in the evening. On the average, the morning group actually lost a little weight; the evening group gained.

If you feel comfortable doing this, it would be of great service if you could post the seller's eBay name.

Ditto a similar scene in Bull Durham, except with more laughs and less goose-flesh.

I thought that Bizen was excellent. Terrific sake selection, very fresh fish/sushi. Not cheap, but not horribly expensive. It can be very crowded, especially on weekends, so reserve early if you decide to go there.

There've been so many, they all blur together... The earliest one I clearly remember was a lesson in mindfulness somewhere in my early 20s: trying to slice some recalcitrant vegetable but winding up slicing the side of my index finger. The scar is still there.

From www.tunaresearch.org:

It's not your little shop in California, Greg, but Michigan State University makes a pretty good (if memory serves) chocolate cheese that you can mail order. Check it out here (scroll down).

My local Big Lots has jars and jars of Planter's Dry Roasted Peanuts in stock. I cracked one open (after buying it ) and the nuts tasted pretty fresh. Does anyone have any tips, tricks, etc. about turning them into peanut butter? I have a blender (Krups) and two food processors (Braun and KA) but no Vita-Mix or anything like that. Thanks in advance.

70,000?! I wanna be on that plane!

That may well be true for their regular flights, but they've gotten chintzier on their Midwest Connect (i.e., smaller market) flights: No more warm chocolate chip cookies!

Welcome to eGullet, Danielle! I just read your web site journal. It looks like you're in or near Toledo, fortunately and conveniently located near all those cool Heartland gatherings. I'm originally from NYC as well but have lived most of my adult life in Michigan. Brats are great, but imho only if you get them freshly made from butchers who know what they're doing. Is there any way you could bring your own hamburger patties? ------------------ Having started this thread, maybe I should talk about MY burger: > lightly seasoned, freshly ground, organic local chuck > thin slice(s) of onion > medium slice(s) of tomato, but only in season or decent hydroponic Pretty minimalist, but I like the taste of meat to predominate. Yellow truffle's truffle oil mayo sounds pretty darn good, though.

One more, from my library's $2-a-bag book sale, just because it was there, The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook.

Oh yeah! Add one item to my must-try list.

... and tomato slips past bacon into first place. Pork producers demand a recount. Supreme Court says, "We're staying out of this one." Clickety

I think it's that relentless Midwestern niceness. When I moved to Michigan from New York City it took me years to get used to it.

Baveuse?

One more: Magic in the Kitchen (2001), by Jan Bartelsman. A delightful book -- creative photograpy of, brief interviews with, and recipes from 40 well-known U.S.-based chefs. I found it in the clearance section of my favorite local bookstore; I also noticed a couple of very cheap used copies on Amazon, in case anyone is interested.

I wasn't -- thanks for the heads-up. The link on Penzeys' home page is rather unobtrusive. One thinks that they would at least set it in large, if not flashing, type.

Yes, it's Penzeyland, but there still are only three retail stores in the state -- Madison, Appleton, and Brookfield. I didn't see it on their web site, but I seem to remember the catalogue mentioning an option to custom-design a gift box. An advance welcome to The Heartland, Sara! There's a good bunch of eGulleteers here, with activities tending to center around Chicagoland. (Check out the latest Heartland Gathering/Nero W send-off thread.)

You're welcome. Ah, backgammon. Back in the late 70s-early 80s, I was pretty devoted to the game. I decided to give it up, though, when stepping up to the next level meant playing for $5 a point instead of $2. If you make a reservation and let them know your time constraints, Steve & Rocky's should be able to get you out in 1½ hours. I think they're only about 5 minutes from the hotel. Here's an article by Corby Kummer in the Jan 2002 The Atlantic about Five Lakes Grill.

Stalder, 30 minutes can get you to a multitude of places. Right in Novi, though, is Steve & Rocky's -- solid, creative American cooking, especially with seafood. Perhaps 15 minutes away is Five Lakes Grill -- dinner only. If you don't mind spending some money for a cutting edge meal, Tribute is less than ten minutes from you. Also dinner only. Here's a recent thread about Tribute. For Chinese food, Hong Hua is about ten minutes away; Ah Wok is in Novi.

Welcome to eGullet, alejita and garistone! alejita, you may want to consider the toddy (cold-water brewing) method, using a low-acid bean (e.g., Sumatra, per cdh's post). You can do a search for "toddy" in the Coffee & Tea forum for more info.