Alex

On second look, yeah, you're probably right. Thanks.

I don't have the knowledge to address your restaurant question directly, but you might get some insight by reading the posts and articles James Fallows has written about the city as part of his American Futures series in The Atlantic. Here's the most recent one, with links to six others in the body of the story.

Huh? What are you talking about? Did Kerry give you any indication she was troubled by her decision?

A pinot noir would be great with the tuna alone, but the problem, as you pointed out, is the salsa: fruit, vegetable, and acid (and, I assume, some seasoning). Great to cut through the fat and richness and char of the tuna, but bad for wine pairing. I'd abandon the notion of a red and instead go with the best sauvignon blanc you can find.

Nice synchrony -- this video link was in my AARP e-newsletter today. It's more than a bit simplistic, but still. With food and drink, as with other things in life -- athletics, relationships, expectations, etc. -- as we age, ideally we adapt to the reality of the current situation, aided by the (hoped-for) knowledge and wisdom gained over those years. For me, the main challenges have been smaller food portions, (a little) less wine, fewer carbs, and minimal late-night snacking. Not bad, really, as such things go.

eG aquafaba topic Mentioned twice in the Drinks! 2017 forum: one two

You know about Miko's!

@liuzhou, I'm guessing (and hoping) that TFTC was referring to a stereotype of a subgroup of older adults, one that's not without some justification; I remember CaliPoutine's topic about cooking for such folks. @liuzhou also is correct that earlier tendencies will usually continue into old age, with modifications if necessary. (For me, sad to say, it's cutting way back on the number of Scoville units I ingest.) My guess is that we're dealing with a bimodal distribution that to some extent reflects a similar distribution among non-older adults. People who are unadventurous, limited eaters tend to cluster around one mode; those who are more open and adventurous cluster around the other.

Yes, that's an actual physiological thing. On the average, as we age, all of our physical senses tend to diminish in one way or another: visual acuity, reaction time, auditory frequency range, olfaction, taste, etc. I clearly remember getting on my dad's case over how much salt he would shake on his food.

Maybe, maybe not. Next isn't the novelty it used to be, and mid-week should be an easier reservation than weekend. Then again, I might have nary a clue what I'm talking about. However, I can't imagine anything at Next being less than very, very good. However again, if I were spending that kind of money, I'd go to Oriole. Or, for less money and a short cab ride from Union or Ogilvie, another eG'er and I recently had an excellent meal at Ruxbin, in West Town: $85 for five courses, and it's BYOB. Sunday or Wednesday would be your only options, though.

That particular menu just started today. You might want to wait a week or so then search for reports at the Chicago Tribune (Phil Vettel), Eater Chicago, LTHForum, etc.

There's a counter-depth version of that fridge. The GE wine fridge I linked to is about 19" wide. The auction I linked to has a few nice 24" units.

Just out of curiosity, I priced out those four items at Goedekers.com. It's $6864, no tax, including delivery allowing for one flight of stairs. (I assume an elevator doesn't count as stairs.) The wine chiller would add $503. Less the $1000 rebate, your net cost for the five items would be $6367. A Miele or Wolf range by itself would cost $5K. I guess it depends on where and how you want to put your money.

Cross-posting re dual-fuel. What size wine fridge are you looking for? GE also makes a nice one, which we have, as do friends of ours -- this one. A spiffier, and more expensive, one is available. Marvel wine coolers also are very good. We have one of those, too. (There's an auction house here in the GR area that's AGA Marvel's floor model/store return/scratch and dent outlet. For example, Here's a May 22 auction.)

The range looks 30" wide. Are you looking for that width again or can/will you remodel to accommodate a 36" range? Do you have, or could you have installed, a 220 line so you could have a dual-fuel range? What dimensions will be available for the fridge? Friends of ours have this GE Café fridge (the non-Keurig version). It's absurd what it'll do. If you pair it with a Café-series range and this 40 dB Café-series dishwasher, you may well be able to negotiate a good deal with the retailer. And if you buy another qualifying GE appliance -- say, this convection microwave -- you get a $1000 rebate from GE.

Matcha

Now *that* sounds good. How do you think that type of breading would work for a pork or veal scallop Milanese -- perhaps ground rice, salt (less than in the original), black pepper, and grated parm-reg?

Thanks for asking. The adjustment hasn't been as difficult as I anticipated, probably because when not on vacation we seldom eat out nowadays, and I do most of the cooking and all of the baking. I think that any concrete, noticable benefits will happen very gradually, though. I probably won't get to trying out the book until at least sometime in May, perhaps even later. I'll keep you posted. However, right now I'll PM you a great recipe for brownies that I developed. The sensitivity was confirmed via a number of test results, but the primary one came via saliva testing, which revealed a marked IgA (immune) response to gliadin, a main component of gluten.

You're welcome. There are lots more, of course; those are just the ones in the West Loop near Ogilvie. I believe Slurping Turtle is still around, but there are better places in the city for ramen and for Japanese food in general. I also had a very unpleasant experience there a couple of years ago regarding seating, so I've had zero desire to return. For ramen (and yakitori), I'd go to Yusho, in Logan Square. (Here are other ramen places.) For sushi, Katsu, in West Rogers Park, is the way to go. If you're thinking about River North, where the turtle is located, there again are lots of good choices. One of my favorites is GT Fish & Oyster. Best clam chowder I've ever had; everything else is good, too. The same chef opened GT Prime, focusing on meats. Please let me know if there are other cuisines you're interested in.

I just called -- they do indeed go to Downers Grove as well. When you book the ride, make sure to specify which station; Lombard is their default setting, so to speak. When you return, call the hotel from your departure station and tell them the arrival station and time. (FYI, the train from Lombard terminates at Ogilvie Station in Chicago; the one from Downers Grove, at Union Station.) If you take Metra from Downers Grove to Western Springs, right by the station is Vie. I'd definitely go there Tuesday or Wednesday night. Taking Metra from Lombard to Ogilvie puts you in the West Loop, with a stunning array of great restaurants within walking distance: Avec, Blackbird, Sepia, Salero, Girl and the Goat, Nia, etc. -- also the Michelin 3-star, $235-tasting-menu Grace and the Michelin 2-star, $190-tasting-menu Oriole. If you don't want to travel far, Greek Islands is right by the hotel, plus it's open Sunday and Monday nights. It's an outpost of the popular Greektown place.

Your hotel has a shuttle that will take you to a Metra (commuter rail) station, so that's a huge plus. I have several restaurants in mind already, but I want to contact the hotel tomorrow to see if it's just the Lombard station or if the Downer's Grove station is a possibility. If the latter, I have a great recommendation that's just five stops away.

This is great! Which freeze dryer do you have?

We've done it. Dried fruit can go in at the start; fresh fruit and nuts should wait. You can add nutritional stuff, if you like, e.g., ground flax seeds or chia pets, er, seeds.

Much to my chagrin, I recently was diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. (And yes, it was based on actual lab work, not conjecture.) I've been buying gluten-free bread from Costco or a local health food store, but it leaves a lot to be desired -- and I'm not good at expectation-lowering. Last week, at a favorite used book store in Chicago, I spotted Hertzberg and Francois's Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. It looked worthwhile, and I already had their glutinous book, so I bought it. Before I start trying stuff out, does anyone have any comments, cautions, observations, etc. about the book?

R.I.P. Jack Ziegler, long-time cartoonist for The New Yorker. Here's one of his food-related cartoons, one with which I strongly identify.