Alex

The hottest restaurants in the U.S. continue to emphasize fresh, locally grown or produced ingredients, simply but creatively prepared. (Take that, Wooly Bulli!) This approach is perfectly exemplified at the recently expanded Forest Hills Café, conveniently located just inside the south entrance of Forest Hills Foods supermarket. Despite its unassuming décor, limited menu, and lack of table service, The Café (as it’s know to its regulars) stands alone at the cutting edge of West Michigan cuisine. An example: During a visit (anonymous, of course) last week, I informed its lone employee that the salad bar was perilously close to running out of lettuce. In a flash she leaped from behind the counter and made for the produce department, nearly running over three shoppers and a cashier. Before I could say salade verte avec champignons, tomates, feta, olives noirs, et fonds d’artichauts ten times fast, there appeared a stunning mound of perfectly chopped romaine. Can’t get much fresher than that! But perhaps the greatest appeal of The Café is that with eleven varieties of panini, eight flavors of Ben and Jerry’s, the aforementioned salad bar, massively caffeinated lattes, wireless Internet access, reasonably comfortable seats, and clean rest rooms, one need never go home. Or even have one. Bon soir, mes amis!

Great! Good work on you, too. And thanks. P.S. I'll keep an eye out on eBay for Chi-GR tix.

Buy it while you can -- the last time I checked the B&J's website it was discontinued... A fav of mine as well! Hmm. What was the URL? I saw it just today here. And from Allura: Perhaps I should be glad B&J wasn't around when I was in college. I didn't need to gain any more weight than I did eating late-night pizza and tuna subs plus cafeteria food. My waistline also is grateful it's not sold by the pint any more (at least according to their web site).

Matthew and I haven't figured out how many in-home lodging places are available; I suspect we'll do that soon. In my house we have an extra double bed, couch, and love seat (and floor space, of course). We haven't reserved a block of rooms yet. When we know how many we'll need we can shop around for the best value. Amtrak leaves Chicago at 5:20 p.m. Central Time, arriving at 10:16 p.m. Eastern Time. No problem picking everyone up. The direct return train leaves at 7:35 a.m. A better option is the Amtrak bus to Kalamazoo at 1:35 p.m. Eastern Time, arriving there at 2:50. A quick stop at the Kalamazoo Brewing Company (a.k.a. Bell's) pub, then the train departs at 4:15, arriving in Chicago at 5:52 Central Time. Don't forget the AAA and AARP discount!

Yellow polo shirt, either collar position. Loafers or boat shoes, no socks.

...except Oct 17-19, when many of the Chicago eG'ers will be at a Heartland gathering in Grand Rapids, MI. You're welcome to join us, of course. Ann and I can give you a tour of our books.... Sorry to hear about your culinary disappointments. I'm glad you want to re-visit under better circumstances. And take it from a NYC native who's lived in the Midwest a long time now -- you learn to deeply appreciate the politeness and slower pace. (I'm still regularly accused of driving like a New Yorker, though.)

I can wear my yellow (well, maize) U of M shirt.

Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz!!! -- coffee ice cream with espresso bean fudge chunks. Yippee! Available only by the scoop -- fortunately (and dangerously) just ½ mile away at my local supermarket's "café."

Matthew and I had a long and enjoyable meeting today. Among other topics, we discussed some preliminary planning for the October gathering. Here's what we have so far: Friday: As mentioned in some Aug. 12 posts, if there are no major dissenting votes, dinner will be at Rafaella's by Pagano's. We were thinking that a prix fixe tasting menu might be a fun way to go, with a wine option. Matthew and I will meet with Joe Pagano and his sous chef Thomas Griffin to discuss the menu, and with local wine guru Dave Russo about wine pairings. Joe's prices are pretty reasonable, but let us know anyway if you have a cost ceiling preference. Also, when you RSVP (or re-RSVP), could you mention if you'll be arriving Friday in time for dinner (as opposed to Friday after dinner or Saturday)? Saturday day: Matthew is still researching the hayride and the heirloom apple farm. We also might organize a wine tasting or a food-related event. Or visit Saugatuck. Or maybe give everyone a list of local attractions and events, with directions. Or some combination of the above (semi-structured day, with options). Any other suggestions/desires? Saturday evening: Party at Michelle's. Matthew can do the prime ribs, I can make my award-winning butternut squash soup and a pear/goat cheese dessert. Other contributions?? Sunday: No ideas. We ran out of lattes and couldn't think any more. We're also working on lodging options. Matthew, please feel free to add or edit. I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

What is this sweet onion salad you speak of? I've got a pile of Sugar Daddy onions I bought at a roadside market I need to do something with...this sounds like the ticket! It's an improvised thing inspired by the vinegared veggies that sit on each table in the better NY delis. (At least they used to -- I haven't lived in NY for a while.) What I do: Halve, peel, and slice the onions into very thin half-rings. Cucumbers: peel, halve lengthwise, remove the seeds with a spoon, slice into thin crescents. Whole bulb fennel: slice off fronds and base, halve pole to pole, cut out core, slice into thin crescents. Other veggies added at your discretion. Tomato wedges can be added at serving time, or not. I toss the whole thing with a little evoo, whatever vinegar(s) strike my fancy at the moment (lately a combination of Alessi white balsamic and a good sherry vinegar), s&p, and maybe an herb or two, usually dill. I use more vinegar than I would for a vinaigrette. Another good thing might be to make an onion confit or marmelade. It's supposed to keep really well, but it never lasts long enough around our house for us to find out. Epicurious has a bunch of recipes if you need them. Happy crying!

Welcome, sieve. How about these odd suggestions?: 1. Give a food-friendly friend/family member/significant other a sufficient amount of money and ask the lucky person to prepare a surprise meal for the two of you. 2. With a guide (so you don't injure yourself or anyone else), wander around your local supermarket blindfolded. Put in your cart the first item you touch in each aisle. Make a meal using just those ingredients plus your choice of a grill-able main item plus the usual staples (oil/butter, herbs, salt/pepper, etc.). Also, I like Lady T's idea. It's tough to beat corn and tomatoes from a farmers' market. In season that's often my whole dinner, maybe accompanied by a cucumber and sweet onion "salad."

Thanks, Schneier, for the detailed report and the mention of the private room. Maybe if I can manage to restrain myself from buying all these attractive but superfluous items at Williams-Sonoma's clearance sales, one of these days my wife and I can actually afford to eat there. (Then there's the minor matter of transportation from the Midwest, lodging, etc.) One of my all-time favorites. A transcript of the routine can be found at several places on the 'net, including here.

Pesto, chopped sundried tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese, a very light sprinkling of hot pepper flakes. Simpler is better, imho.

I'm not an expert on this subject, but... I picked up a digital Terrailon a few years ago very cheaply and have been happy with it. I've heard about the postal scale recommendation before. If you go that route and have other things to buy at Office Max, I have a $10-off coupon for a $50 minimum purchase that I can give you on Thursday. Re the My Weigh, this site has them discounted ($38-40 for the 3001, $43-45 for the 6001). The My Weigh looks cooler and can be recalibrated.

To answer your original question, I thought of it in the same vein as Larry Mawby's other sparklers -- very pleasant, some character, a little pricy but not too dear. We gave a bottle of this to a very good friend for her recent 50th birthday, with the expected sex-related comments on her bd card. My favorite saying (or close enough) of the many on his winery's tasting room walls: "There are 10 types of people -- those who understand binary and those who don't." My favorite of Larry's wines (and the most expensive, of course) is his "Mille."

How about one of you and Mr. g with the jars in a wine haze? (Sounds like the eG version of Clue®. )

Yeah, good place. It's a quick walk, though -- enter at the corner of Ohio and Rush.

Yikes!

Matthew, if the Farmer's Market is out of heirloom tomatoes, there are some farm stands on 6 Mile and on Fruitridge that might have some. I wish I could help, but mine are ripening very slowly -- there are only 2 right now that are anywhere near ready. (I ate the other two yesterday, on toasted peasant rye with goat cheese and basil. ) I'm very interested in hearing how your yogurt-based creme fraiche turned out. I've always used buttermilk, but I'm not a big buttermilk-drinking fan so the remainder of the quart would go to waste. What a perfect-weather weekend for a visit!

Me too -- to a college prof and daughter of a high school English teacher! Got books? It's a shame that kids' competitions so often get fouled up by the adults' competetiveness and need to control.

Yeah, I'd skip lunch. Here's another option, though I've not been there. The Chicago eG'ers probably have further thoughts. Metromix says, "Get unlimited glasses of wine, complimentary appetizers and belly dance performances (7 and 8:00 p.m.) at Tizi Melloul for $25 per person (excludes tax and gratuity)." I caught a spelling bee on ESPN2 a couple of months ago. It was fascinating, but painful to see the kids' agony. Did you see "Spellbound?" It breezed through Grand Rapids before I could get to the theater.

The one and only French restaurant just closed after 25 years. The chef owner (michel) has packed up and returned to France - I am relatively new to Windsor so I am indeed sad about the void now left. The only good thing about him closing shop was that I inherited his remaining stock of duck fat (due to my continuing praise of his confit de canard) Sorry, weaver, that you weren't able to get more specific info. I'm fairly new to eG and just saw your post today. I haven't lived in the Detroit area for about 15 years, but I do go back there from time to time to visit my chiropractor and spend time with an old friend. The Windsor dining scene has always been a major draw. As far as Italian restaurants go, I remember LaGuardia fondly, but it's been a while... As for French restaurants -- gourmande, it looks like La Cuisine is still in business. maggiethecat, I'm an immense fan of Mason Girardot Alan Manor and highly recommend it for your next trip across the border. The Mini Restaurant has great Vietnamese food. Here's the Detroit Free Press guide to Windsor restaurants.

Rich, it sounds like you're from the Philly area. Is Bell's sold by you? (I'm in Grand Rapids, MI.) Bell's Oberon is a great summer brew. I usually drink it after a game, on tap at my most-frequented softball bar. It's $9.50 a pitcher -- twice as much as, but infinitely better than, the Coors Light inexplicably preferred by the rest of my normally rational team.

I've also found a second KitchenAid bowl to be very useful. You can get them on eBay all the time; just make sure you get the right size for the mixer. I also use my seven-speed KitchenAid hand mixer for jobs that are too small for its big sibling. If you can find one at a big discount I'd recommend it. $250 sounds like a really good deal.

Good luck with your new food quests. One request: If you see that t-shirt again, could you beg, borrow, or steal it and send it to me?