Alex

Thank you! I just requested the one copy in our entire statewide library system. Several years ago, at a used bookstore, I picked up a copy of the excellent For Cod & Country (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), by Barton Seaver, which also focuses on sustainable fish and seafood. (It's currently only $4.63, including shipping, via abebooks.com).

Well, I watched the episode; no brûléed mustard was seen.

Indeed. I used to crumble or finely chop it (I can't remember which) and use it instead of meat in red sauce for pasta.

You're welcome. We have Philo, and now I'm curious, so maybe I'll see if the episode is available by me.

All I saw at first in a quick Google search was a subreddit entry: "Revival" would mean the 2018 reboot; Episode 1's challenger specialized in German/American cuisine, so this could well be the source. A Google search for <Iron Chef America Season 13> showed that it's still available for streaming on Discovery Plus, fuboTV, Max, Philo, Hulu, Sling TV, and Amazon Prime Video (the last three only with a premium subscription). If you don't have any of those, I can watch it and see what shows up.

https://xkcd.com/2778/ https://xkcd.com/2767/

Thank you! Quimet & Quimet looks very appealing. It's a bit of a far walk, about 3 km, but only 12 min by subway. Dry Martini is definitely walking distance from where I'm staying. A cocktail and a few croquetas sounds like a pleasant way to start an evening. Also walking distance is Sips, recently rated #1 of The World's 50 Best Cocktail Bars.

None as yet, but I'll be in Barcelona next month, so we'll see if I have any Catalan-related adventures.

Does anyone have a brand of kinako they've used and can recommend?

Amazon says "Manufacturer: Del Monte Foods Inc.", which probably means that Take Root is, at least in part, a marketing ploy. It also explains how it achieved such a wide distribution in such a short time.

Re your first question, I'm wondering how anyone can give you any sort of reasonable answer w/o knowing the town -- and even then, any sales numbers someone here could provide you (assuming they're willing to do so), would apply only to their location. Re your second question, I'm wondering why you haven't simply contacted the companies directly.

Aw, heck. Just stick a little Italian flag on it and you're good to go. Or use an orange gel instead of strawberry, and white chocolate dyed green for your caviar, and it's even patriotic Italian.

In The Guardian: "Taste the screen: the enduring appeal of food movies"

Lamb shanks (local, certified organic), osso buco-style Risotto alla Milanese (local marrow and stock) 2004 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino Locally made peppermint patties (dark chocolate-covered peppermint fondant, sprinkled with crystallized mint)

Ooh, could you expound on how you use it on your cooktop?

Definitely a blooper; the recipe omitted the step "Remove your pants."

You'll be vac-packing them, yes? If so, the beans will be fine for at least six months. (Although from the sound of it, they'll be long gone by then.)

Serious Eats' Halal Cart-Style Chicken and Rice With White Sauce

I'm guessing there's an oversupply at the moment. Regular ones are 69 cents by me, small ones 49 cents. Or maybe it's targeted to the guacamole-making, Super Bowl-watching demographic.

Cool. Mont Bar was already on my short list. I'll check out Bar Mut. And I was planning to make a reservation at Disfrutar but, perhaps not surprisingly, they were already fully booked. I considered its sibling Compartir, but I was turned off by multiple posts mentioning poor service, plus their system doesn't offer a reservation for one. ETA: Bar Mut is just 1 km from my Airbnb! Its name, I assume, comes from "vermut" (vermouth). And speaking of which, I'll be doing a vermouth tasting and crafting -- which includes a 250 ml bottle of my own concoction. However, across the street and under the same ownership, is Entrepanes Diaz, which actually sounds more interesting (and less tourist-oriented) to me.

Anyone? Anyone? Granted that "best of" guides are subjective (and sometimes are just marketing tools), but still I'm excited that the #3 pizzeria in the world (#1 in Europe minus Italy) and the #10 pizzeria in Europe are easy walking distance from my Airbnb. Here's the website. I was planning to eat just one major meal a day, but I can already see that plan starting to go up in (aromatic) smoke.

Has anyone seen The Taste of Things? It hasn't made it to Grand Rapids yet.

Great decision coming here, Emma. As you might have noticed already, there's an overwhelming amount of information around here, and the search engine isn't always the most user-friendly. If you hang around long enough, though, you'll get your bearings. One feature that a lot of new members miss, I think, is "The Fridge," at the bottom of the main forums page. Of special interest to you, perhaps, might be the eGullet Culinary Institute and the Diary of a Cooking School Student. As you probably know, there's a plethora of books and stories about the social sciences behind food. One that came immediately to mind was Salt: A World History, by Mark Kurlansky, who's also written books about onions, oysters, cod, salmon, and milk. And FWIW, here are some quotes from M.F.K. Fisher. By "recipe conversion test," do you mean scaling up or down the number of servings, or doing a metric/English conversion? My slightly (Ms. Alex would say "more than slightly") warped brain started thinking about questions like "convert this conventional lasagna recipe into a deconstructed version," but I suspect that's beyond the scope of the competition.

Thanks. Ms. Alex's order has already been placed: one each of raspberry jam, lemon curd, chocolate custard, and caramelized honey. Also available at that bakery are prune, rum custard, guava cream cheese, and pistachio rose.

Good timing, what with Fat Tuesday/Paczki Day coming up next week.