mamster

It was I who accused Steve Shaw of being a fan (I definitely did read a positive review by him); sorry if my invocation if him led you to a bad meal. As I said on that other thread, I've been to LCB half a dozen times and was delighted with every meal; I'm really disappointed to hear about your crappy entrees. I hope you drop them a letter, with a copy of this post if nothing else.

Rachel, you are a Pockist after my own heart; I was about to declare my love of the Almond Crush flavor, too. Anyone notice that some flavors of Pocky contain fish shortening?

Transylvanian cuisine is all thickened with blood and uses no garlic, right? Has anyone mentioned either of Lynne Rossetto Kasper's books? The Splendid Table is the last word on the traditional cooking of Bologna, and The Italian Country Table is the all-around Italian book that I reach for most often.

susie shrimp, welcome--that's a great handle. I used to live right near the Beaverton border, and it's good to hear they have a farmer's market going.

One of the criticisms of your work has been that it's all about the drunken attitude, not enough about the food. Are you going to show your critics up by doing a cookbook aimed at the home cook?

GC, I agree in principle, but I don't think the wine section is going to survive unless the readership is there, no matter what the advertisers think. And I have my doubts about the readership. familysecrets, thanks for the compliment. I hope you enjoy the potato gatto. I actually made a different kind of potato cake for lunch today: took some leftover brandade with potatoes, formed it into patties, and sauteed them and served atop some broccoli rabe that I we just got at the farmer's market this morning. I highly recommend this lunch. This is off-topic as usual, but if anyone is looking for salt cod, I paid $12 at the Spanish Table but was informed by some Catalan friends that they get the same stuff (imported from Canada) for $9 at PFI. A pound of salt cod goes a long way.

See where it got her?

Do you think they're correctly gauging local interest in wine reporting? I drink wine regularly and enjoy reading wine columnists such as Frank Prial and Gerald Asher, because they generally tell me the following: (a) Here is a type of wine you haven't tried before, or one you forgot you liked, and (b) here are some producers you should start with. A whole section on wine strikes me as overkill, but I'm not a dedicated wine buff. Is anyone here seriously into wine, and if so, what do you think of the coverage?

Dave Barry won a Pulitzer. An enormous writing talent, yes. Big thoughts, uh-uh.

We discourage that, I'm afraid--it violates copyright. But I do encourage everyone to read the great article, whose one failing is that it fails to mention Mashiko.

That is one useful page you've got there, Linda. Of course, I already read too many food sections on Wednesday, so I may have to restrain myself from spending too much time on it.

I'm not actually annoyed at all, jh, but I have to keep up appearances.

It would, except that you were at the SECOND one, doofus. It's a good thing you have me as your archivist. May I have some more of that mushroom? Thanks.

The new and expanded Seattle Times food section debuted today. It includes a large wine section coordinated between three Washington papers. What do you think of the new section? (Note: I write for the Times, but not for the food section, and I'm not an employee of the paper, so laud or criticize as you wish. I do.)

This is interesting--I just changed the water in which I'm soaking a pound of salt cod. I'm planning to make brandade, but thanks to this thread I'll try a raw morsel with some good olive oil. Tomorrow, that is--it's only been soaking since last night.

I'm with Tonyfinch, but I choose Bangkok. It's hot, loud, dirty, and the best food town I've ever been to.

Hey, that's not the first eGullet potluck! That's the first eGullet NEW YORK potluck. We over at Pacific Northwest are wearing knowing smirks. But I am so jealous of your chocolate tasting; were there any that especially stuck out as must-haves? Now I have to figure out how to get a foie gras-and-jam sandwich into my sack lunch.

I've never had a Pret sandwich because I generally dislike that kind of cold sandwich, but I do have a little anecdote. I was working in an office on Tottenham Court Road, and one of my coworkers (another computer tech guy) asked if I would grab him a couple of sandwiches at Pret while I was out. I asked him what kind, and he said, "Oh, any kind is fine." I pressed him, and he really meant it: he wanted two sandwiches with absolutely anything on them. From this I concluded that either the guy had no taste preferences and I should be in awe, or the sandwiches at Pret had no taste. Now that I write this up, it seems like maybe this strikes me as weird but would be considered normal behavior on one or more sides of the Atlantic.

Has anyone else made it down to South Park for Mexican? I went for the first time the other night; I'm not ready to talk about my meal, since it's going to be for a review, but I will mention that there's a pasteleria with sixty-cent pan dulce and other confections, including great palmiers and some pink frosted rolls that our accompanying friends haven't seen since they moved up from southern California. It's not exactly bursting with vibrant street life, but there is a taco van called Porky's Taco Wagon--there was a guy (Porky?) and a kid (his son?) working, and for an appetizer (we went somewhere else for dinner), I got a beef cheek taco and a taco al pastor. The pastor was flavorful, but a bit greasy and without much char (I'm too lazy to use italics at the moment, so feel free to laugh at this sentence). The beef cheek was rather dull. But I'd go back to Porky's and try a couple others--the tortillas had good flavor and the tacos were only $1.25.

cabrales, the CRS season is 3-4 weeks long, starting in mid-May. There is always a wild rush to see which supermarket can be the first to offer it, and most of them spend that first day cooking it and giving away free samples. I haven't tried the roe.

If the soft rock wasn't Thai, you got off easy.

I think Toxoplasma is only found in land animals, not in fish. Of course, there are plenty of other pathogens in fish. Here's a cute story that actually mentions raw salmon in Seattle. When I go for sushi, I've been assuming that some of it is fresh and some of it quick-frozen. I don't know which is which, however. What's the real story here?

Yes, I've been to the Thanh Bros on the Ave, and the creampuffs and pho are just like at the Broadway location. I haven't been to the Aurora one, but I assume it's about the same. Now I have to confess that I've only one had non-Thanh Bros pho. A friend of mine at school told me that he thinks the Thanh broth is too sweet, and he prefers a place near 12th and Jackson. I can't remember the name, but I have it written down somewhere. It's not that one that has two locations right next to each other, one in the parking lot. I like the fresh jalapenos and a bit of hoisin in my pho, and I generally go with a mix of rare beef and brisket, but sometimes I'm in the mood for tendon. I don't like the tripe at TB, though I've liked other tripe preparations.

I teach a class on Wednesday mornings. Yesterday a student came in and, with a pained look, asked me if we had band-aids. I opened up the first aid kit and offered him his choice, noticing that he had a nasty gash in the webbing between his thumb and first fingers. "What happened?" I asked. He had a bike helmet, so I figured he would say bike accident. "damn bagels," he muttered.

I was going to stay out of this, thinking to myself that ED hasn't influenced me because I've only barely read her, but then I realized that this isn't true. One night, home alone, I borrowed a copy of An Omelette and a Glass of Wine because I liked the sound of the title essay. I read it, and then I had it for dinner. Since then, it has become one of my favorite dinners alone--an occasional but sincere pleasure. At some point I will read more ED; in the meantime I must admit that I, too, am touched.