mamster

Well, I know what salt pork is, but is there a difference between fatback and back fat? My understanding is that fatback is cured back fat--is that right, or have the terms become interchangeable?

To what lengths do you think a restaurant critic should go to remain anonymous? I assume you reserve under pseudonyms or guest names, but have you ever put on a disguise? Been recognized in a restaurant and had to figure out how to deal with it?

Usually I don't dream about food, but last night I had a nightmare in which some raspberries were trying to kill me. They would form up into a little man and come after me, and I kept throwing them out the window only to have them reform again. Maybe I've mentioned this before, but the best dream I ever had was marginally food-related. The dream was in Broadway musical form--I and the other people in the dream kept breaking into song--and the musical was set in a McDonald's in Nazi Germany. The title of the musical was: "I'm Eating My McNuggets In the Land of McBigots." I woke up laughing harder than pretty much ever before or since.

Incidentally, Laurie and I finally tried El Greco (after living on Broadway for almost six years). I had the sauteed crispy penne, which is a totally silly dish that I ate every bit of. They make a pretty ordinary penne with red peppers and olives and stuff, but before they sauce the pasta they fry it in a pan until crisp. It's the crunchiest entree I've ever had.

It will surprise no one that I'm partial to the Thai dips known as nam prik. Here's a recipe for one with pork and tomato, and here's one with catfish. I think these would make a great sack lunch, but they do kind of smell. Oh, and here's one with beetles.

This is good to know. When I asked my dad, no slouch in the malt-fandom department himself, he said, "You have to use Horlick's." I said, "You can't call your product 'Horlick's'--it's obscene."

A few times I've gotten inexpensive packs of chicken backs and necks for stock at QFC. Now that I have some free freezer space and want to make some homemade stock, I can't find them. I asked at University Seafood & Poultry and they said people snap them up for their dogs. Obviously I don't want to pay much (certainly less than $1 a pound). Anyone have a source for these? I'd be willing to buy maybe 12 pounds at a time if that helps.

Last Tuesday I got a pair of wisdom teeth yanked out; it was relatively benign as these things go, and I had an excuse to drink chocolate malts three days in a row. I got some good commercial chocolate ice cream, whole milk, and a jar of Carnation Malted Milk powder. I am not complaining about milkshakes three days in a row, but these were not malty at all--they were just milkshakes. I tried putting in a ludicrous amount of malt powder and the stuff just doesn't have a malty taste. Now, I've had plenty of malts from Baskin-Robbins that were plenty malty. Is there a brand or source of malt powder I should be looking for? I'm out of wisdom teeth, but I'm sure I can come up with another excuse.

My top pick at Banh Mi 88 is the BBQ pork, but I am notorious for loving crispy pork things such as that and tacos al pastor (but not pork rinds). I'm so glad he's back.

I did see that, tighe. I was only being half-facetious; I think Thai food (and sure, throw in Vietnamese too) has become Seattle's neighborhood food of choice.

You told me you were going to Taco Bell! I can't believe you took advantage of my weakened condition this way. Just kidding.

Let's see...Flying Fish and Fandango have seared ahi tuna on their menus, as do a lot of other places in town. Can you help us narrow your search down to a neighborhood? Downtown/Belltown good?

I can't believe it took us this long to have a big drag-out about what constitutes Northwest Cuisine. I think it's a concept that only gets used by someone trying to sell you something--which doesn't mean it can't be good. I'm not sure what Northwest cuisine is, but I'm sure of some things it's not. It's not, for example, seafood. I've been to places that are seafood cultures, where it would be absolutely unthinkable to go a day without eating something from the ocean, and the Pacific Northwest is not one of those places (though I assume it was at one time). If you want to learn about a region's local cuisine, especially one where home cooking is relatively uncommon, wander into a popular neighborhood restaurant and see what's on the menu. Do that in Seattle and you'll find that Northwest cuisine consists of phad Thai, panang curry, and jasmine rice, and if you're looking for some dishes to base your local cuisine on, you could do a lot worse. Then again, maybe this the painkillers talking (tooth extraction went swimmingly, thanks).

Elaborate, tls?

Olive oil in pasta water keeps the pasta from sticking.

Welcome, Jenaya! Procopio sounds great. I'll give it a try next time I'm down there if I can resist the lure of Wonder Freeze.

Canadian teenage boys? I'm thinking a dump truck full of poutine.

I'm comfortable with the idea of a set food and wine menu; I wouldn't want every restaurant to do it (and it sounds like the Herbfarm is overconfident in their wine matches), but as long as you know what you're getting into, it's an interesting gimmick. Spending 40 minutes introducing the staff and listening to speeches by the chef, well, that's the kind of thing you go out to dinner to avoid, isn't it? Still waiting for someone to comp me at the 'farm, Matthew

After years of thinking I didn't like gelato (never strongly flavored enough and not creamy enough to make up for that), I had two good gelato experiences in the last week. And after I get my teeth out this week, I hope to have more. First up, I went to Gelatiamo downtown. Every one of the dozens of times I've gone by this place, it's been the wrong time: right before lunch (actually, that didn't stop me this time--we were on our way to Buu Dien), right after getting some Tully's ice cream, no cash, etc. Finally we made it in and had some amaretto gelato, which was a super-almond kick. Last night we went to Dolce Vita on upper Queen Anne and had a scoop of espresso and a scoop of hazelnut. The espresso wasn't strongly flavored enough, but the hazelnut was superb. I guess maybe I only like nut-flavored gelato, but I'll certainly go back (especially to Gelatiamo, whose amaretto just floored me) and try some other flavors. Any other gelato places I should know about?

Super news--unfortunately, his timing sucked: I wrote a review of Seattle Deli while he was out of commission.

tommy, you have to use Asian sesame paste. HTH!

I've never been out there, mb7o, so I don't know--sorry. Please let us know if you find someplace worth writing home about.

If you need an additional guest for the Herbfarm, ask on Pacific Northwest and ye shall receive....

I've been going to Seattle Deli. How do you like their new location, MsR? I still think 88's BBQ pork is the best, but SD has some other goodies, like coconut bubble tea and steam table food, including a pork-stuffed bitter melon dish that looks good (I was going to try it last time but they didn't have it). Anyone tried the egg rolls at Seattle Deli? They're a bargain at 50 cents and crisp and tasty.

I haven't, but I want to go on the basis of that review. Thanks, Ben!