Alex

Not so silly when you consider how the country will be affected by rising sea levels.

Been there, done that, but for only two alarms. Last time it was a wine fridge way downstairs, letting its careless caretaker know that he left the door a bit ajar. Or he left the jar a door, I forget which.

Nice. Looks like scallions and a leek in addition to the celery, yes?

Ah, the importance of punctuation. Duck Cake! or...Duck! Cake! The duck cake looks like a perfect candidate for such an amusement. Eat the chips/crisps first, though. And remove the skewers.

From a comment on the NASA website:

I've always been the Electronics Whisperer, so the increased complexity hasn't bothered me. And I love having options. (Myers-Briggs ENTP, if you must know). Pressure Cook! Steam! Porridge! Multigrain! Soup! I get chills up and down my spine just thinking about it. In a couple of months, though, we'll be cutting the cable cord and switching to antenna + TiVo + Philo (inexpensive streaming service), so we'll see if the kid's still got it.

Good article in the New Yorker — one that particularly resonates with me because, for just one example, Ms. Alex and I tend to have different perceptions of the appropriate level of saltiness.

Including shrimp & grits?

What an amazing chef! It's a lovely obit in the Post. This is my favorite quote of his: And this is my second favorite:

We have Bean By Bean, mentioned earlier We also have two oldies but goodies (at least some people think so): The Brilliant Bean (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) The Instant Bean (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) And one newer one: The Better Bean Cookbook (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Ick. The winner was one of the weakest of the bunch, in my not-so-humble opinion. I'm curious what other eGers think. My vote would go to #8, no question. And it's even food-related.

Ah, I had thought about recommending Gage. We've eaten there multiple times. And someone we knew here in GR is now the Wine Director for The Gage and the Corporate Beverage Director for the Gage Hospitality Group.

It's just sprouted rice with an ostensibly catchy name. My rice cooker bowl has a marking for it. GABA Gabba Hey!

I like that, except for the a cappella part. When spatulas sing, they're usually flat. And shouldn't that be Amazing Grease?

Ms. Alex has had some luck doing walk-in for lunch after 1 p.m., but as rotuts suggested, I'd call and find out what's what. I'd also ask if there's a wait list for cancellations.

It's always best to call and make sure the outdoor dining section is open. That said, here you go... We love Bistronomic, about 5 blocks from your hotel We also love Piccolo Sogno, which has a very popular patio. It's a short bus, train, or cab ride from the hotel About 7 blocks from the hotel is Siena Tavern And about 6 blocks away is Tanta (Peruvian, but more than just ceviche) Beatnik on the River (dinner and weekend brunch) Jaleo (Jose Andres's tapas place -- not sure about patio, but has seating by open windows) There are tons of suitable places in the West Loop. For example, on just one short stretch of Randolph there's Little Goat Diner, Bar Siena, and Leña Brava For breakfast/brunch, on Clark near Frontera, is Beatrix Also for breakfast not far from your hotel is Edie's All Day Cafe & Bar, but I don't know if they have outdoor seating True Food Kitchen is right across the street, but I don't know about outdoor seating Breakfast and lunch near the Hilton (I assume the one on Michigan across from Grant Park): Eleven City Diner ------------------ You also might want to search and/or post on LTH Forum; that's where ronnie_suburban now makes his online home

I don't know about Basmati, but I used it about a half hour ago for jasmine, and it worked perfectly -- no lost grains.

Atlantic Coast Conference -- big-time college sports conference, especially football and basketball

US$13.89 today

Sounds like an excellent plan. One of our long-time members, gfron1, is the chef-owner of Bulrush, in St Louis. Have you had the pleasure of eating there?

I used to, back when I was in the business of extracting confessions from suspected spies and saboteurs.

Oh, darn. I was planning to stop by for dinner, but now I just don't know...

I put my rice in a very fine mesh bag and run it though the quick rinse cycle of my washing machine. Heh. Actually, I also use an Inomata. I like it.

Indeed. See the second quoted paragraph above.

James Webb Space Telescope images ranked by how good they look to eat (by Alexandra Petri in the Washington Post) Click