Alex

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.

Are you wedded to getting an oven + microwave unit? (In some models the microwave can function as a second oven.) If not, I assume you'd have the necessary counter space for a separate microwave. Would you then want a double oven or would a single oven do? (If single, I imagine you then can use the extra space for shelving, etc.)

Silly and very funny cartoon in The New Yorker

I did notice that, but it looked like the steam feature was for light-duty self-cleaning, not for baking/cooking.

I'm assuming you need stainless steel, correct? How much of a discount would you receive at Lowe's over and above their 10%-off sale? On sale at Lowe's it's $3689; an additional 5% off would bring it to.$3505 plus tax. Goedeckers has it for $3529 shipped, no tax. If you're near Colorado Springs, Sears Outlet has a floor model for much less. As a side note, are you familiar with eBates? It's absolutely free. For many, many online shopping sites you receive a rebate, paid by them quarterly via check. Lowe's usually is 2%, but they're offering 4% now. That would bring the net cost of the Bosch down to $3365 plus tax. If you're interested, send me a PM with your email address and I'll have them send you an invitation. That way I get a bonus if you sign up. Consumer Reports rates the reliability of Bosch electric ovens second only to GE (10% repairs/problems vs. 8% for GE). If you'd consider a GE, this one at Lowe's looks good, and at $2429 (less 5% = $2308) it's much less expensive than the Bosch. However, given that it sounds like you can handle it financially, and that you intend this to be your last unit, I'd recommend opting for the Bosch. Just make sure an in-home service person is available in your area. An appliance store near me has an earlier Bosch model, the HBL5750UC (5751 is the current model) on clearance for $2599. The problem, of course, is that you'd need to pay for freight shipping. If you're interested, though, send me a PM with your ZIP code and I can investigate the shipping cost and whether they'd be willing to offer a further discount.

David, I understand you're passionate about what you do. That's a good thing. However, I suspect you're not going to change the owners any further, and you're mostly not going to change the customers you so vividly "hate." So, as I see it, you have three choices: 1) continue working with the same attitude and therefore continue to dislike your job (and probably continue to butt heads with the owners); 2) adust your beliefs to be more accepting of your current clientele and make the best food possible within those parameters; 3) start looking for a job more in line with your desires. I don't know about Roanoke, but here in GR we "older" folks still have our familiar/bland/medium-well restaurants (so I've been told; I stay as far away from them as possible), but we also have, and support, our adventurous/tasty/local-sourcing ones. You might want to read this old (and long) forum: Cooking for 50 Senior Citizens.

IMHO, most "best-of" lists are clickbait: subjective and posted for the benefit of the magazine or organization, not the restaurants or the people who might eat there. That said, I wanted to mention that Grove was named "best restaurant in Michigan" for 2015 by Business Insider. (The article is from this past February, but I just learned about it.)

Cool. Lee is planning to open another place, Succotash, at National Harbor, in Maryland just outside of DC. The restaurant's web site says only, "Opening Summer 2015." Its Facebook page has some pictures, and noted on August 16, "Our uniforms arrive and we are in the final stretch..." Have you heard anything more definite than that? Here's a nice article in the Washington Post, from this past January.

Thanks for the heads-up. I just reserved DVDs of seasons one and two from our local library. Season three premieres here on September 12.

Welcome, Peggy. Louisville is underrated when it comes to restaurants, imho. Might you be at one of Edward Lee's places?

Kitchen Tips from xkcd

keys and parrots

I'm sad to see the formerly reputable Harper's stooping to this ugly bit of trash writing. It looked like they were trying, in some feeble way, to publish an analogue of David Foster Wallace's brilliant 1996 piece, also in Harper's, about his experience on a cruise ship, Shipping Out (later retitled to A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again), but unfortunately they chose an author who lacked his wit, intelligence, and writing talent. She even stole his "cute-misnaming" trope, always referring to the restaurant Per Se as its translation, "Thought Itself." (Wallace turned the m.v. Zenith into the m.v. Nadir.) I can understand approaching these places with a bit of a jaundiced eye, but this writer's mind obviously was set before she set foot into any of the restaurants. I do like this reader's comment, though:

When I use it, it's not ground per se, but I chop it into chewy little bits of wonderfulness.

The "wobbly white stuff," when frozen and thawed, can be turned into an acceptable substitute for ground meat in red sauce or chili.

Little Green Balls of Death instead of Brussels sprouts. Oh, wait. That's to get people to not eat them. Freedom Fries -- for the fussy faux patriot in your family There's a forum on Chow about this, too.