sherribabee

Probably because they're on the same level cerebrally. My faves: Tony Bourdain (anyone this snarky gets my vote) Christopher Kimball (throwback to my Mr. Wizard days) Paula Deen (anyone who cooks with that much bacon...) Tyler Florence (this is on looks alone) Jacques Torres My un-faves: Sara Moulton (zzzzzzzzzzz (and I'm afraid of midgets)) Jaime Oliver (he's got to be one of the most asexual people alive) Rocco Anyone even remotely associated with Iron Chef Emeril

sherribabee, you're my new hero! my friend and I went to a little neighborhood luncheonette one day. this place is very informal but the lunch crowd is usually office workers. ok, so we walk in and there are two mothers sitting at a table chatting and eating lunch. with each mother is what I thought one child, each screaming it's freaking brains out. Do the mothers stop and console their children? No they do not!! With what must be mommy-like deafness they continue to chat and eat lunch. I get a closer look at the strollers sitting beside each respective mommy and see they each have a set of twins. Quadraphenia! ARGGGGHHH! By the time they pay the bill and begin to clear out, the other patrons of the luncheonette are moving tables aside so they can make their exit quicker. When they are finally out the door, the luncheonette owner laid down in the middle of the restaurant floor, kicking her feet and moaning. I just wanted to throttle the mommies. So very clueless... Wouldn't it have been fun if you could've orchestrated similar screaming among the other partons? When the mommies stop their conversation to see what's the matter, you simply offer a blank stare and say, "annoying, isn't it?" Heh. I'm glad I don't have the balls to be as evil as my brain wants me to be.

I don't blame the kids. I used to before I had kids of my own. Now I blame the parents, because it's the parents' job to set limits and teach manners. And yes, there should be a rule book. But would anyone read it? Yeah, you can't blame the kids. It's not their fault they have fuckwads for parents.

Does anyone ever go up to these parents who let their kids run loose? I sure as hell do. Please don't tell me I'm the only one! I don't complain to the restaurnat, I don't give the parents dirty looks. The very first thing I do is march myself right over there and tell them exactly what I (and likely everyone else in the building -- patrons and staff alike) think. If that fails to work, I will find the manager and mention that either those folks leave or I do. If I were in a Denny's sort of place, sure, I would practically expect kids to be running around and it wouldn't bother me so much. But the finer the establishment, the less I'm willing to tolerate obnoxious kids and their clueless parents.

I miss this midwestern childhood comfort food from the days of church potlucks, ice cream social fundraisers and lunchlady land. Anyone know of any NYC restaurants that have sloppy joes on the menu?

I almost want to go just to see if I'll get groped. If tommy's there, you very well might!

I almost want to go just to see if I'll get groped.

We did? What did we say? We (at least SuzanneF and Bloviatrix) were talking about latkes, and then about how they would make an interesting crust for something -- like a pie -- and how...well...I don't want to ruin the surprise.

Interesting read and pretty much in line with my thinking. I grew up on grain-fed beef. Hell, I worked at the grain elevator where all the local livestock farmers had their feeds mixed, helped them customize their feed recipes based on the results they wanted and even mixed the feed for them. These are the same farmers from whom my family bought its yearly steer and hog. I grew up on damn fine beef. I remember very clearly the first time I ate grass fed beef in the UK. It was gamey and tough. It caught me off guard for the most part, as I had no idea beef could possibly taste that way. I chalked it up to the surprise factor and perhaps a shady restaurant. Even after continuing to try grass fed beef for the next year or so, I just couldn't get into it. So no grass fed burgers for me. Call me a snob.

Varmint, I practically fall off my chair everytime I see your little BBQ picture. Cracks me up.

I'm bringing a potato pie (something we kind of made up after Burger Club on Saturday -- I think it will be interesting). And I've got something else in mind that would be a stretch to call 'pie' but we'll see...

I think I'll pass on this one. I don't much care for grass-fed beef and certainly not for $12.

I won't be able to make it for Tuesday's BC meeting. The fine folks at United think I need to fly out on Tuesday morning in order to use my travel voucher. As much as I enjoy BC, I enjoy even more the $700 I'm saving. Say Hi to Tarka for me.

Burger Join at Le Parker Meridian, according to Vindigo. I even whipped out my iPaq to show Elyse, but she refused to accept this. It will be a source of ongoing debate, I'm sure. The guys who worked there didn't seem to have a clue as to what the place was called, but then again, they probably would've struggled to recall their own names at that point. They were sufficiently toasted. The burger was pretty good and was actually a managable size. The fries were gross, the giant pickle OK, and the shake was yummy. It was great to meet some folks for the first time, JosephB and his friend, Felonious and Lurker. I look forward to seeing you all again! All-in-all it was a fine way to spend a Saturday evening, except for the part where SuzanneF decided to confirm her doubts about a candy by sharing it with us all and gauging our reactions. We all barely got thig stuffin out mouths before we were spitting it out and looking for a way to get rid of the taste. Excedpt for MHesse, he ate the whole thing. We've pretty much concluded that he's a freak. I think the best way to describe it is it tasted like a nursing home smells, only salty. It was nasty squared. Once again, I'm having trouble posting pics. I need to find a different place to store them online; a place that will actually be compatible with eGullet.

I have Ceil Dyer's book, Best Recipes from the backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Jars. It's fantastic and has every recipe I could remember from product labels. I also have the copycat book, Todd Wilbur's A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes

If you live in the Heights, or thereabouts, the reason for no Brooklyn accent is that they're all Manhattan transplants. Oh, and if you think Brooklyn is bad, you should hear the Bronx accent. Heh. I'm in the Slope, and yeah, it's chalk full of 'urban pioneers.' When I first moved here and was starting to date, I decided that I just could NOT date anyone with a NY accent. I dislike it that much.

Yeah, my dad is from Brooklyn and he pronounces pizza "peetz-er". Cracks me up. I can't get over calling mozzarella 'MOOT zurel'

Actually, the Lawn Guyland accent is a bastardization of the the Brooklyn accent. I treat the Brooklyn accent like a foreign language. When I hear it, I just stand there with a confused look on my face. I don't live too deep into Brooklyn, so most of the folks in my 'hood don't have the accent. And being from central OH and having lived all over the place I consider myself relatively non-accented.

Tony Bourdain - because if he can eat that much of an animal, he'll certainly know the best parts to serve. Christopher Kimball (not FoodTV, does he still count?) - because it will be prepared the 'best' way Paula Deen - because it will most likely be bacon I'd like to roast Emeril because he's just so damn annoying.

Is that weird? I always do that. I also have my master grocery list on my desktop, sorted by category/aisle. Maybe I am a nutcase. I always sort, too. I figure it helps whoever is bagging, and ensures the best possible treatment of my groceries. Master list on the computer by category and aisle, too - that makes my trips to the market go much more quickly and easily. Not weird - just very well organized. Not weird at all. I do the same thing. I put my grocery list on my PDA and if I'm feeling like it, I tap in the price of the item as I'm crossing it off the list. Makes it easy to find errors on the receipt before I leave the store. As for putting the coins on top of the 3' long receipt, which is on top of the bills, I HATE that. And I always, always, ALWAYS suggest to the casheir that they give people their coins first, then the bills and then the receipt. Yeah, it might take and extra second or two, but it sure beats annoying the customer who is spilling change all over the place while being shuffled off so the next customer can get through the line. I used to work at a grain elevator/feed mill and had to make change in my head. Then I'd count it back to the customer the 'old-fashioned' way. I can't tell you how many farmers were impressed with my ability to do that. What a sad state of affairs when people are impressed with a college student who can count.

I took Latin in high school and college, which is of no help whatsoever in a restaurant setting. If I don't have someone with me who knows a little I usually ask for a pronunciation. I took Spanish and German. I couldn't pronounce a French word properly if my life depended upon it.

Ahem. You might notice that newscasters all speak with the midwestern non-accent. Or at least the central OH non-accent. I would take that to mean that it is the most non-accented way to speak American. So anyone who pronounces things differently from the newscasters is wrong. I'll never get used to the Long Island accent. There's just something about hearing 'saw' pronounced 'soar' that makes me cringe.

In Manhattan's East Village, if you stand at the cube, you can point to FOUR Starbucks without even turning around (OK one of them is hidden in the Barnes & Noble, but still). And I have to admit, I'm all over their gingerbread latte during the holidays. It's yummy! But when it comes to just a plain cuppa joe, I pull out my can of Cafe du Monde, throw a little cinnamon and/or nutmeg in the grounds before brewing and I'm a happy little camper. And it doesn't cost me $5!

I'm certainly not a fan of bathroom attendants. They make me very uncomfortable. Especially if I'm the only person using the toilet at that particular moment. I really don't need a captive audience to listen to me pee (or do whatever else it is I need to do in private). I can dispense my own soap, get my own towel and handle the faucets all by myself. As for the lotions and perfumes, they're usually so old that the smells are kinda off or of questionable quality. Didn't they stop making Exclamation in 1988? The gum and mints are quite unappealing after they've been living in the bathroom for god knows how long. Poop particles travel 6 ft. when you flush, you know! And I almost never have my purse with me, so I don't have money for a tip. Who needs all that pressure?

The origin for New Yorkers standing on line comes from the fact that they used to draw lines on the ground in order to indicate where people should stand. So people stood "on the line." Yet one more way you can tell a native new yawka. Huh. Well, if they start drawing lines on the ground again, I'll say on line. Until then...