Alex

Okay, this will take some patience. I'm a big fan of author James Fallows, who also blogs for The Atlantic. He recently has run a series of posts about what he calls "The World's Greatest Song" -- Águas de Março (The Waters of March), by Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim, who's best known in the US for writing (and singing) songs that sparked the bossa nova craze of the 1960s and 70s, most notably The Girl From Ipanema. Take a listen to his solo version here, then another version, with piano trio, by Brazilian singer Elis Regina here -- both in Portugese -- then this version by Susannah McCorkle, in English and Portugese, here. Now that the melody has turned into an earworm, listen to (and watch) this brilliant parody about Trader Joe's.

Today is part of the 12th anniversary of the first Heartland Gathering, in Grand Rapids. I remember that the folks who shopped for our Saturday communal dinner were impressed by the variety and quality of the produce and other items at the Fulton Street Farmers Market -- including the cauliflower, which eventually led to the eG Roasted Cauliflower forum. The market has gotten even bigger and better since then, and many other, smaller markets have sprouted in and around the city. Here's what was available at the Fulton Market this past Saturday.

For handmade fresh halvah, different from the typical commercial product, check out Zingerman's. According to an old thread on LTHForum, Morgan & York, also in A2, carries fresh halvah.

I don't know, but these folks might. I don't see a way to attach an image on the Visit Us/Contact Us page, but I'm sure if you call them they'll give you their direct email address.

The Awkward Yeti helps us survive in the middle of the woods

That's the one I use, too.

This sounds like the cookware equivalent of putting five blades in a razor.

Thanks for the link. From the article: Perhaps that could be the menu for the wake.

I, too, still make use of his Louisana Kitchen cookbook, especially for gumbo.

From The Onion: "Pope Francis Reverses Position On Capitalism After Seeing Wide Variety Of American Oreos" I would have posted in the Food Humor forum, but then this one showed up.

Now that I'd love to learn more about.

With impeccable timing, we have today's visit with Calvin and Hobbes.

Might it feel a little weird when you poke its eyes out?

Did pirates eat pizza?

I'd vote for STL, definitely. As you wrote, there's definitely a need for your type of place. For me, it's still too far away for a casual drive (about 6½ hours), but Southwest often runs cheap non-stops from GRR. And if the Tigers and the Cardinals should ever meet again in the World Series, I'm there. (I had high hopes for this year, but... ) Regarding foraging, you might want to check out this book -- Midwest Foraging. I'm sure the author would be glad to talk with you. Here's her Facebook page.

Yes, but that was the exception, not the rule. In any event, McPhee's point was that a little-known reference on its own would be ill-advised; it would be OK if accompanied by something that gave you a clue as to why that person, incident, etc. was mentioned. The author of the article we're addressing here has bludgeoned us with the opposite (but equivalent, imho) issue: She rants on and on about why she doesn't like this and that and the other -- which is OK in and of itself, I guess -- but she doesn't anchor her complaints to any person or book. Especially for a freelance editor this is lightweight writing, distinguished from a "Comments" section rant only by its larger vocabulary and lack of writing errors.

Brisket risk, and some questions So if this were a Chinese food festival, and a similar event occurred, would the charge be wonton endangerment? Would "Hot flying brisket" be a good name for a menu item?

I was referring to more "popular" writing. If you don't mind, please read this article, by John McPhee in The New Yorker, then tell me what you think.

Having read neither a random nor a representative sample of "the cookbooks published today," I'm not qualified to answer that question. However, I'd love to comment on the essay/rant itself. Thanks for asking. This article reminded me of one that was the subject of a forum from last month, Haute Dining Trashing Becoming Very Tiresome. In it, gfweb wrote, "British food criticism seems to be all about snark and the "clever" put-down. Actual substance is optional. Only the rare Brit critic pulls it off eg Jay Rayner (who used to frequent this site)." This essay is just another example -- and a not terribly well-wriiten one, either. She also violates one of the cardinal rules of good writing: Don't refer to events, people, etc., about which your readership is likely to have no knowledge. She probably had certain books in mind, but perhaps because of the libel laws in Great Britain she didn't mention any of them.

That's great! What brand/maker do you use?

No new info from me about wall ovens. If you want to buy a new countertop microwave (vs. looking on Craigslist or buying a build-in model), we've been perfectly happy with our GE units. This one is similar to the one we're using now. This one adds inverter technology, which is a desirable feature.

hummingbirdkiss, I understand perfectly. We did (well, hired people to do) a partial kitchen remodel a couple of years ago (tile floor, tile backsplash, reface cabinets, new countertops). Fortunately, after we moved in, 15 years ago, the kitchen and one of the bathrooms were the only rooms that needed more than just new paint or wallpaper. If you could post a photo, great, but even more important would be the measurements of the space. Would any of your kitchen folks be able and willing to put in a shelf or two in that space? Do you have an electrician who could install an outlet for the microwave and make sure that it and the oven coexist nicely? Do you think that white or black would work in that space instead of stainless? Those two are often less expensive. How are you with buying from Craigslist? I do that a lot here. I recently scored a couple of incredibly good deals on microwaves. The upshot, though, is that we now have three large units, only one of which resides in the kitchen. Sigh. In your area, here are a some good-looking deals I spotted: one two three four five Here are the two top-rated single convection ovens by Consumer Reports, on sale at Lowe's. (Ignore the Whirlpool for $1,999, the one that's at the bottom.) Note that for the four remaining Whirlpools, which are identical except for color, the stainless is the most expensive at $1574, followed by their "black ice" and "white ice" at $1484, followed by plain black at $1394. However, the one Maytag, in stainless, is the least expensive of all ($1259). Those prices don't include the 5% discount for using a Lowe's credit card or the 2% eBates rebate. It's time to go to sleep here in the Eastern time zone, but I'll try to post some more specific oven-related suggestions tomorrow.

Now that's simply bizarre. Butter Chicken, along with three other flavors -- Cowboy BBQ Beans, Montreal Smoked Meat, and Prince Edward Island Scalloped Potatoes -- are finalists in "Lay’s Canada’s Do Us a Flavour Tastes of Canada contest".

CENTRAL & VAN BUREN --- pepper waffle & sungold 9 rubbed rice & pan-seared sardine 8 tormented booze 12

Yes, thanks. That's sort of what I was getting at. Those combo models are scarily expensive.