prasantrin

I demand this thread be closed due to blasphemy! Plus jsmeeker is just making fun of me! root beer floats are terrible! The ice cream hides all the deliciousness of the root beer and wastes it! May as well just use coke 'cause you can't possibly make coke taste worse than it already does, so ice cream would just improve it. But add ice cream to root beer?? Blasphemy! I suppose I might allow other people people to add ice cream to inferior root beer, but please do not taint precious brews! Incidentally, I thought Sweet Moses had a better looking ice cream float than VTR, but VTR's root beer tasted better. It was spicier and more complex (but not too spicy). But Sweet Moses had a huge root beer float with really beautiful mounds of ice cream. Like H-cup mounds.

Katie's not kidding about the mustaches; they're really extraordinary. You'll dig it, Rona. eta: also, the ice cream is good! It's a neat place. Do they have chocolate malteds? It would be a double strike against them to have root beer floats yet no chocolate malteds. Chocolate malteds rock!

I'm totally there! But please let them know to take root beer floats off the menu before I arrive, or I may have to arrange a boycott. "Thou shalt not taint root beer with foreign objects (other than ice and straws)" is in the eG code of ethics, and we all know how rule-governed I am! Coke floats are a-ok, as are cherry coke floats, so they can still do the float thing, just not with my beloved root beer. Do they make their own root beer, by the way? And are there any locally brewed root beers that I'll need to seek out?

Amish don't have farms, bake their own bread, milk their own cows or have anything else to offer in terms of learning about food? Anyway, I've been reading that Amish farms in that area of the US are not as interesting as those in the midwest. Whatever. Regarding tours, I was thinking of something similar to the ethnic provisions tour that LAZ organized in Niles (or somewhere like that). Not dining-focused, but still involved food. But it is definitely clear that the direction of the gatherings is moving in a much different direction from when they started, so I guess most current attendees would rather just focus on dining. -------

Another request--my absolute favourite stop in Cleveland was an off-the-schedule stop (two, actually) at Sweet Moses Soda Fountain and Treat Shop, an old-fashioned soda shop that makes almost everything from scratch (Edsel recommended it to me on another board!). To me, it was pure Americana. I'd love to find a place like that in Philadelphia (if it exists there), and maybe do some kind of tour of it. Sweet Moses was small, but they had a pretty cool operation (they make their candies, ice creams, etc. in a big kitchen in the back, and behind the counter have soda taps, handy whipped cream dispensers, etc.) nad it would have been interesting to learn more about the shop and the inspiration behind it. The owner was very chatty, too, so he probably would have loved to have talked to us about the shop.

I was one of the people (perhaps even the first) to mention Philadelphia as a possibility. "Heartland" can be defined as "the part of a region considered essential to the viability and survival of the whole," and given that the Philadelphia-area eG contingent is probably the most active regional group still on eG, I think they definitely qualify as being essential to the health of eG, so that makes them Heartland! Regarding requests, I would love to have a wide range of experiences--in the previous gatherings I attended, there were high-end, mid-range, and cheaper (more local, homely places) events during the weekend, so I felt I got a better feel of nature of the cities we visited. I really missed that this year. So yes, I'd love to do a sandwich crawl, or a Philly cheesesteak tasting, or something like that. I'd also LOVE to experience Amish culture if there's a community near by that would welcome us. I did some research while I was in Cleveland, and found you could sometimes get private tours including a meal if you arranged it well ahead of time. If something like that were a possibility during the gathering, I'd be there for sure!

I know we're cute and all that, but did you have to post that picture? Surely there are cuter ones! Thanks to the organizers for putting the weekend together. I'm still in the process of putting my pics up on flickr, and of putting my thoughts together on the weekend, in general. Will post more when both are in place.

For future reference, ask for a smaller portion before it's served. A good kaiseki restaurant will adjust your portions accordingly. Even at Ryugin (a good restaurant, but not traditional kaiseki, so I wrote "even at"), the staff will notice if you are struggling to finish your courses, and will offer you a smaller serving. At kaiseki places where you have a private room with your own personal server, they should notice such things, too.

FWIW, in my experience (working with international students primarily from mainland China), there's a huge difference in attitudes between mainland-China born and HK-born Chinese. HUGE. And they all have so-called Tiger mothers. Of course, if they didn't, they probably wouldn't be studying abroad.

Can't remember what time brunch was last year, but I'd prefer it begin no later than 11 (though earlier is even better), with the garden tour happening before, not after. About VTR and Fahrenheit, my +1 does not drink alcohol (well, she drinks very very little). I assume since both are pay-as-you-go, it's OK if she attends?

Regarding Thursday, I'm a little confused about what's going on. I had assumed drinks at Fahrenheit, appetizers and maybe one course at Lolita, and main and dessert at Dante. But if drinks are a la carte, what is the $11 at Farhenheit for? Or a related question, just how much food is expected to be consumed? I'd love to see whatever dishes have been decided upon, if available. Given the prices, I'm assuming it's a fair bit of food (perhaps too much for my and my +1's tummies), or is it ingredients used that are reflected in the costs.

Not a rush or anything, but just an FYI--if the Eventbrite payment for Thursday evening's event goes up after Tuesday, I'll be on the road so I'll have to pay for my +1 and myself at the event. But don't worry; I'm good for it!

Some opinions expressed by posters elsewhere (though both do also post here). Very different frame of reference, however, as both the above quotations came from posters who dine frequently at similar styles of restaurants.

Could be wrong, but I don't think that's the way it works. It's primarily volunteer, and even Kerry doesn't get any compensation for all the work she does in organizing. Not even a free meal or gas money.

Funny, I woke up thinking about you this morning. Hope we can all make it, especially The Boss! Congratulations on becoming an underling! (Maybe Otis will come, too?)

If gfron1 will be there, then I must put myself down as a maybe! I'd love to meet gfron1. His contributions to the pastry scene are a legacy to all who love pastry.

Question: Do the prices given so far include beverages of any kind? Personally, I'd rather just go through eventbrite on everything, just to get the payment out of the way. I would imagine it would also be easier for the restaurants. Just a recap on prices: Thursday evening: Tremont Crawl--$70 incl TT Friday day--?? Friday Happy Hour: Friday evening--Greenhouse Tavern--~$65+TT Saturday dinner Sunday lunch--AMP150--$30 exclusive TT Any idea about other costs? Particularly the Saturday dinner?

Actually, that report was a fallout from the formula scandal and I already mentioned that the formula scandal happened after the recall. Twice. And that melamine was found in other foods with milk products was reported in the US as evidenced by this 2008 article in the New York Times. You must have missed it since you were not in the US at the time. Of special note, from that article The formula samples tested were produced in the US with non-Chinese ingredients. Does this make you consider boycotting all US-made products and all products from whatever country from which the ingredients were sourced, too? Especially knowing that melamine in small amounts is deemed acceptable in food products in the USA?

Yep. I've never said it was logical, just the way I roll, I guess. I pick and choose the restaurants I dine at, and what I order, fairly carefully; basically based on turnover and what I perceive to be the quality of the preparation. But I have stopped stocking my pantry with certain goods that may indeed be used at those restaurants. If it makes sense to you, then it makes sense to you. That's really all that counts. FWIW, I ask questions because I like to understand how other people think. Listening to other arguments can influence the way I think about things as it increases my frame of reference. That is why argument/discussion is so important, and it's a shame so many people just shut it down and don't bother learning from or listening to other people. Thanks, Pierogi, for sharing your experience. Was it proven that the companies (just one company or more than one?) involved spiked the heparin intentionally? Or was it just gross negligence?

]So it's not ok buy a product for use in your home. But it's OK to still consume the product outside your home. i.e. you're not avoiding the product for safety reasons, but because. . . . ??? Just trying to wrap my head around that logic.

Since when is considering all the facts available PC?

With the exception of the infant formula case, all of those happened prior to 2007 and the food recall system being put into place. Since the Chinese government instituted much stricter policies, there have been no widely-publicized incidents. (I use "widely-publicized" as a qualifier because there may have been problems the rest of the world just hasn't heard about). If you're concerned about pharmaceuticals, I would also recommend staying away from GSK-produced pharmaceuticals, and also boycotting products from countries like Peru and India which are also documented centres for counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Again, I ask, why single out one country when there are other countries in which one can find the same kind of deception or problems?

I don't know to whom you are referring, but I have not called anyone names nor have I made any accusations. And I think I have presented at least one fact (more than one, in fact). Regarding bias, wiki dictionary.com And in what is bigotry based but ignorance? And what is ignorance but a lack of knowledge (or "incomplete research")? If once does not attempt to investigate all sides of a story, then yes, one is biased. Fact: China created the State Food and Drug Administration in 2003, and instituted a food recall system in 2007 Fact: Since the food recall system was instituted in China, there has been one widely reported food contamination that resulted in the death of six infants and the hospitalization of several thousands of infants. Fact: the USA instituted the Food and Drug Act in 1906 and the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act in 1938. (can't find info regarding the recall system, but I would guess it was introduced at least a few decades ago) Fact Fiction: Since the USA instituted its food recall system, there have been no incidents of food contamination and no deaths or hospitalizations. No country has foolproof methods of food safety. So I ask those of you who have decided to boycott Chinese-produced food products: Why not boycott the foods of other countries which have had cases of product recalls? Why not boycott the foods of the USA? Or of Mexico? Why not boycott the foods of other countries which do not have food recall systems? (China does have one, as I have mentioned, but what other countries do or don't?) eta: just to clarify, my questions aren't rhetorical. I'm really interested in what people think and how they make their decisions regarding these types of things. Not out of a desire to argue, but because I believe it's important to listen to and understand as many sides of an argument as I can, so I can better inform my own decision-making

If one does not bother to investigate both sides of a story and only relies on one-sided reports, then yes, one is biased. China has only relatively recently begun to allow private enterprise and as a result, industry (including food processing) has steeply increased. I'm sure like in any country in similar circumstances (such as the US in the 1800s), it is suffering from a lack of quality control, and a lack of regulations to ensure safety. It was just four years ago that China introduced a system for recall. That was in the same year as the pet food and the Mattel toy recalls, and the baby formula scandal happened the following year. I've not heard anything about food scandals since then, yet people continue to vilify China. Yes, there are comparatively high numbers of recalls of goods from China. Certainly more so than recalls of US-made goods. But as a percentage, what percentage of goods from China are recalled compared to goods from the US? I would not be surprised at all if it were the percentages were similar. But the "news" sources tend to magnify those recalls from China. Ever wonder why? I wonder if the reasons are similar to those behind the vilification of Japanese goods in the 1970s and 80s. Looking at food-borne diseases, however, most of the outbreaks which occurred in the US were, not surprisingly, from foods processed in the US--the e-coli tainted meat used at Jack-in-the-Box, for example. These are products which resulted in the deaths or grave illnesses of people in the US. Looking at those numbers, should we all boycott foods grown and/or processed in the US? If you're going to boycott Chinese-produced goods for the reasons being expressed here, then you really should be boycotting made-in-the-good-ol'-USA goods, as well.

Thanks! I always find blueberry muffins to be a bit too cakey, but those ones look nice and muffiny. The Andouille Puffs look pretty awesome, too. If not for the Biggest Loser challenge at work, I'd be making (and eating) all of them! They're like souped up (in the car sense) sausage rolls!