therese

If Mr. therese and I are restrained it's going to have less to do with the vodka and more to do with the nature of the floor show. Checking around on the web suggests that National offers the appropriate combination of food and entertainment. Choice of "Russian" or "National" menus served family style, with some a la carte offerings as well. Specific information about this venue or another (other options are Primorski, Tatiana, Atlantic Oceana, Pravda, Odessa) welcome.

Hmmm. I used to work in a pizza place, so unless we're in Italy we don't usually do pizza. But, boy, that's a pretty strong endorsement. I was actually planning to take the Q line (we're staying at Morgans Hotel, so convenient for transit), but was thinking of stopping at Brighton Beach for Russian, either on the way to Coney Island (so an early lunch) or on the way back (so dinner). We can do DiFara's in the other direction. So, that will be my first specific query: where to eat in Brighton Beach, and should we do lunch or dinner? Sounds like there are some big places that feature entertainment in the evening that would be interesting. In lots of ways.

Ah, yes, crucial info: one girl nearly 13, one boy nearly 16, and both with almost ridiculously adventurous palates. Seriously, they'll eat just about anything short of fermented sheep brains (well, I don't actually know that they'd spurn fermented sheep brains, I'm just guessing) and they're so well-behaved (in public, anyway) that I wouldn't hesitate to take them to Per Se. Of course, I'm not going to take them to Per Se, in part because I'm not made of money.

Our second trip to NYC this year, with dining details summarized on this eG thread. Mostly upmarket, mostly Manhattan. This visit we're bringing our kids along, and I'm looking forward to some meals in the outer boroughs: Russian, Italian, Indo-Pak, whatever. Ideally we'll be in the area doing something family-ish: Coney Island, Botanical Garden, New York Hall of Science, ferry to Staten Island, etc. Nothing yet set in stone, but I'll likely have more specific queries as the trip (in August, and yes, I'm insane) grows near. Suggestions welcome.

Because, well, that's who was there. My husband's from San Antonio, mother's family from Round Top, where you can still hear German used by some of the older locals. When my sister-in-law visits us in Atlanta she can barely get over the fact that we bbq pork. BBQ in that part of Texas (the only part I'm at all familiar with) often features sausage in addition to whatever else you've ordered. It may not even be mentioned in the description, just show up as part of the usual side dishes.

For about how much can an apartment be rented? For what time periods? ← With the very clear understanding that I'm discussing this topic solely in the interest of helping others get better, more affordable food while visiting Paris, apartments in Paris are readily available (slowtrav.com's a good place to start, and it's also got good restaurant and market info) and range markedly in price depending on location, size, fittings, lack or presence of an elevator, etc. Renting from the owner (look at vrbo.com) typically less than renting from an agency. Agencies more likely to rent for periods less than one week, and an additional cleaning fee is common for shorter periods. Kitchens are generally small, but get the job done. Breakfast and dinner at home, with the restaurant meal at midday was the approach I took on our last visit.

How about switching things around a bit, and considering the midday meal your primary one, and having the light meal in the evening? Economical, French, and frees up time for the girls (and you, if you'd like) to go out in the evening. Are you renting an apartment or staying in a hotel? The former generally very economical, though shorter stays not as much, and it makes eating at home in the evening very simple.

Glad you managed to find some decent food not too far from your hotel, KitchenMom. The catering at the Georgia Aquarium is a Wolfgang Puck product. I've now managed to miss two catered events there, and your report agrees with my colleagues': edible, no more.

Are you entirely committed to dinner at South City Kitchen? Never one of my favorites, and recent reports have been way less than stellar. I'd do lunch Saturday at Mary Mac's (not a bbq place, but then neither is Thelma's) and go someplace other than South City Kitchen for dinner on Friday.

I was thinking that we may have to add a WC shot (somehow food-related) to the other more or less de rigueur eG blog shots: fridge, pets, and wall o' pocky. Very glad to see that your joints are happy at the moment, mizducky. And also agree with the "functional" approach to your health goals.

I've not experienced an H-Mart in person, but to judge from your blog and H-Mart's website, I'd say that 99 Ranch is thinking similarly in terms of scale, but not necessarily aiming at the same level of cross-cultural outreach. As far as I can tell, I think they're still very much flavored by the SoCal-based Asian communities from which they first sprung. Here's their website. ← The Ranch 99 here in Atlanta is smaller and less glitzy than the Super H Mart and I don't know if H Mart and Super H Mart are related), with a much more pan-Asian assortment of goods than Super H-Mart's Korean and Japanese line. Of course, it's also located in an area that's got more Vietnameses and Chinese vendors and restaurants, so perhaps it just reflects the neighborhood. Nice wall o' Pocky, there.

Good morning, mizducky. Really looking forward to your blog, and best wishes for your visit to your HMO this AM.

The bride is my sister in law! I was recruited for the project by me brother in law after a fine dinner with the family and several bottles of wine I am a pastry chef so the whole making of the cake doesn't faze me, just the shipping of the cake. It is a gift from me to her, considering I would normally charge about 1200 dollars, without shipping, I think it is a nice gift. ← Yes, I did catch the part about the bride being your sister-in-law, and I agree that $1,200 worth of anything would be a great gift. In fact, you might actually want to consider how much you'd charge a normal customer for this service, as that's what it's really worth (and what it will cost you, at least in potential anguish). It sounds like you've got a good plan in any case, and it will be a very personal gift. The better back ups you've got in place the more fun it will be.

Speaking from the bride's point of view (as I'm not a baker), there's no way in heck I'd ask a non-local to make my cake: there's just too much that can go wrong. You could get sick, the cakes could be lost, etc. At the very limit I'd consider having the cake made locally in a bakery with sufficient resources for you to work there (or at the reception hall) and decorate it. Does she (the bride) know how much work this is?

So, thanks to eG for playing along this week. I was a last minute replacement for another blogger and didn't have the opportunity to do any advance planning, so apart from not having any entertaining planned this was a pretty typical week at our house. I did plan on showing more photomicrographs (like the picture of bone marrow in the first post) but things were too busy at work and home to manage that. And I didn't get to the Morningside Market yesterdat either (but did interview a new housekeeper, who starts Tuesday, so I'm pretty excited). This morning I have to do a few loads of laundry, pack my daughter's things for a week of camp, and drive to Athens, GA to drop her off. Fortunately we've already arranged to eat while we're there (at Hugh Acheson's five and ten), and I may stop at Super H Mart on the way back into town. Hmm, maybe we'll detour and check out some cars...

His name is Edouard Fenouil, which is reminiscent of the discussion on fennel ... ← Yep. Truth is stranger than fiction. ...maybe overnight somebody will tell me what watermelons and tomatoes have in common, apart from the fact that they're both red. Oh, hold it, they're both red... And that's what gives both of them their red color. Lycopene's name derives from the botanical name for tomatoes, lycopersicon, Greek for "wolf peach." Lycopene's been in the lay press a lot in the last few years, credited with all sorts of health-improving benefits.

Thanks, demiglace. I don't know about the pullman plank (from the Watershed menu up thread).

Nora Ephron mentions this place in a recent article in the New Yorker about her apartment at the Apthorp. At least it sounds like the same place.

One last meal, and maybe overnight somebody will tell me what watermelons and tomatoes have in common, apart from the fact that they're both red. Oh, hold it, they're both red... Anyway, dinner tonight was at Table 1280. The restaurant's located in the Woodruff Arts Center, which houses the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the High Museum of Art. We were there to see a play at the Alliance Theatre (which happens to also operate a summer camp that my daughter will be attending later this summer). This is the lobby of the Arts Center that serves both the concert hall and the playhouse: If you walk through this lobby and through the doors at the far end you enter a new courtyard surrounded by several building which are new, designed by Renzo Piano. It's a very pleasant space, and I'm looking forward to seeing this insides of the buildings (which are part of the High). This photo is taken from the courtyard, and shows the patio at Table 1280. The restaurant feels very much like a museum indoors, as it's very light, with white walls and lots of natural light. We arrived at 6:00, so there aren't any people in this picture of the bar. That situation changed quickly. The kitchen is in a corridor. Here we're looking from the reception area through that corridor and into one of the dining rooms. The kitchen's on the left, and we're about to sit down at the last table in corridor: Here's a shot of the kitchen from our table. You can see the chef, Shaun Doty, in the middle of the picture. He's been on the restaurant scene in Atlanta for years and I'd recently heard that he was leaving Table 1280. Our server gave us the very good news that he'd be opening his own place in Inman Park, excellent news since it's very close to us: And here is a shot of the ceiling, which looks like an egg carton: Okay, enough scenery, on to dinner. We started with champagne (well, sparkling wine). I remembered to photograph it, but only just. Notice that these tables have a great view onto the courtyard: Our starters were smoked salmon with risotto (me) and gazpacho (husband). Both were excellent, but the gazpacho pic illustrates one of my pet peeves, messy soup bowls: Mains were ricotta gnocchi (aka gnudi) with fava beans, tomatoes, and pancetta (for me, a half serving) and crab cakes (husband). Both excellent, with the gnocchi verging on amazing: Desserts were honey yogurt sorbet with rhubarb and tapioca (me) and Meyer lemon bar with blueberry sorbet (husband): My dessert was my least favorite part of the meal, as the rhubarb had been cut with something, maybe an apple or pear puree, so the essential rhubarb-ness of it was missing (though a lot of people don't like straight rhubarb) and there were only a few large, slightly too soft tapioca pearls (but then I suppose many people aren't fans of tapioca). I did have a dessert wine, an Oriel Sauternes: The dessert chef here (assuming it's the same guy that's been there for the last few month) has a name that recalls one of the first trivia questions posed in this thread. Can anybody tell me who it is?

Nope. In fact, it was only as I was getting the basil out to make the salad that I remembered that I had eggplant, and so just sliced them and brushed them with olive and salt.

Thanks, mizducky. No tips re making non-mushy eggplant, because I like my eggplant soft and mushy. The softer and mushier it is the less bitter I find it.

The last picture (the tomato and basil salad) reminds that I've still got some watermelon that I could have for dessert. Hmm, why do tomatoes remind me of watermelon?

Here's some of our lunch on the grill: Finished eggplant: Corn on the cob. I wouldn't have minded having this a little more charred: I broiled the okra instead of grilling it: Tomato and basil salad:

Husband finally moved furniture and grill back onto the deck today, just in time for me to make lunch: The grill is hooked up to the household gas, so we never have to worry about tanks. The third picture is the view off the back of the deck, towards the golf course. The brown patch of ground is the far bank of a creek.

The other side of the package above: