Alex

But it'd be worth it for the rest of us...

As of today, I'm still in for Friday mid-morning onward (I'd volunteer for SELMA, but I'll be driving in from GR that day and 6 a.m., or even 8, would be pushing it) and Saturday. Having lived in Detroit for many years, I probably wouldn't be interested in a Friday driving tour, but if there's something interesting in A2 or a workshop, I'd be up for that. Grange is a great idea for Friday dinner (and I'm sure some of us would hit the place beforehand for happy hour). I certainly can do a cooking thing again for Saturday's Feast -- possibly my take on gazpacho, given that we'll be in prime tomato season.

I assume it's Royal Oak. Can you provide any parameters? For example, will they have a car? (It's metro Detroit, so that's probably a silly question.) How far, time-wise, are they willing to drive? Do they have any preferred cuisine(s) or price range? In my experience, you can get passable food in Royal Oak proper, but the cool or go-to places are in the surrounding communities, many of which aren't too long a drive away. For example, just a few miles down the road in Ferndale is Angel's Cafe and Gallery. A little further away, in West Bloomfield, are a couple of excellent Japanese restaurants, Sharashu Sushidokoro and Kitchen Hanzo, and the multi-award-winning, very expensive The Lark, with chef de cuisine and upcoming Top Chef contestant John Somerville.

For several nights next month we'll be staying in that area for the first time and would appreciate dinner recommendations within a safe walking distance. Any food type is fine, with an a price range no higher than $75 pp for app, entree, dessert and two glasses of wine. Also, do you know of any specific LA food-related web site, one on the order of Chicago's LTH Forum? Thanks.

Any news? Tammy...?

I guess I keep bringing the bad news about Detroit's restaurant scene.

Szechuan peppercorns usually are pan-toasted before being ground. Could that be it?

This isn't quite analogous to your situation, but our best friends unexpectedly split up last year after 25 years of marriage, 20 years of friendship with us, and at least 200 terrific dinners at one house or the other. I was terribly saddened by it for months and still haven't quite gotten over it, for several reasons. Ms. Alex and I are doing our best to maintain both friendships, but a dinner for three just isn't quite the same; the spirit of the absent partner still hovers, so to speak. The silver lining, such as it is, is that we now can add seafood and ocean fish to our ingredient list; one menber of the severed couple is severely allergic to them. We also get to drink more wine now that the bottles are split among three diners instead of four.

Edmund, which city is "here"?

Yes, of course. Thanks for the reminder, Josh. I took a look at the place during my last visit but we already had eaten lunch by then and all the rest of the meals were spoken for. Next time...

I've stayed at that Hyatt several times, including, most recently, for the eG 2008 Heartland Gathering. It sounds like you're already at the conference, so I'll offer a few suggestions to start. There are so many good choices within a 15-minute walk, though, that it still would help if you could define "reasonably priced" and "walking distance," as well as what type(s) of cuisine you'd prefer (or not prefer), if any. River North: Quartino, Brasserie Jo, A Mano, Kiki's Bistro, Naha (a little more expensive) Gold Coast: Le Colonial, Cafe Spiaggia, Topolobampo, Café des Architectes (a little more expensive) Your side of the river: The Gage, Rhapsody (a little more expensive) As a side note, if you don't like the conference lunch food, ask the hotel for directions to the underground passageway to the Aon Center, then go get a sandwich at Hannah's Bretzel (Mon-Fri only). It's easy to find once you're there. They can be crowded during peak lunch time, but their sandwiches are worth it, imho.

Could you provide details about your meal, please?

Dino and Nam-Viet are a *long* walk uphill. (There are other very worthwhile restaurants in Cleveland Park as well, most notably Palena.) Cashion's, in Adams-Morgan, also is too long a walk, imho. The Woodley Park area, where the Omni Shoreham is located, has the excellent New Heights, literally down the street from the hotel. I'd go there.

One more: Why Italians Like to Talk About Food

As Edward J said, refurbs are primarily returns. I've had zero problems with the various ones I've bought over the years -- most recently a SanDisk Clip mp3 player. A full warranty would be nice, but I mostly disagree with dougal about a cut-down one. If the warranty is 30 days (or maybe even 90) vs. one year, I'd probably pass unless it was an outstanding deal. However, KitchenAid has refurb blenders on their web site and eBay with a six-month warranty. You can pick up the Cook's Illustrated top-rated model 580 for $69 + shipping (or the mechanically identical 560 for 55-60 + shipping). The best price I've found for a new 560 is $80 + tax from Bed, Bath and Beyond after applying their 20%-off coupon.

Where on the west side of the state are you located?

R.I.P Seldom Blues

The Lakeshore Express ferry is very cool but also very expensive if only one person is in the car, and yes, it won't save any time at all from Madison. Amtrak is about a 10-hour trip, assuming the Madison train arrives at Union Station with enough time for you to make your connection (one-hour layover). There's also bus service from Madison to Chicago. If driving from Madison, you don't necessarily have to go through Chicago proper. You can stay in the 'burbs by taking 294 to 80. I can't speak for other eG'ers, of course, but I imagine that as the date gets closer, a Chicago person or two might be open to carpooling. Re flying, the cheapest MSN-DTW fare today is the nonstop on Delta, for $399. Sales do happen, so you might want to sign up for a fare-tracking notification system like airfarewatchdog.com. The airport is close to Ann Arbor, so I'm sure that someone will be able to pick you up.

As usual, I can make something (especially if Edsel brings his Vita-Mix ).

Be there AND be A-square. Sounds good to me, too.

I'd serve it in a regular soup bowl to show off the bright green, and use a little crab meat as a garnish.

I assume you mean 65-70 degrees Celsius (about 150-160 Farenheit), yes?

The horror....The horror. These might work: Cooked penne rigate, a little butter, asparagus pieces, sliced lox, lemon zest, black pepper. The heat of the penne will "cook" the salmon for DH. A salad: avocado chunks, thinly sliced fennel bulb, radicchio, slivered red or yellow bell pepper, sliced lox, lemon-y mustard-y vinaigrette. Tell DH the acid in the vinaigrette cooks the salmon.

Echoing scubadoo97, is this lox-type salmon (you mentioned bagels and cream cheese) or chunk-o-salmon?

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