Ellen Shapiro

In the north they use sticky rice to scoop up food. There are certain dishes that are always served with sticky rice and the rice is used as a vehicle to get the food to your mouth. I LOVE this sticky rice--very hard to find at the majority of Thai restaurants. As for the utensils issue--as confirmed by many--it's a spoon and fork combo. The majority of my experience was in the north and the Thai family that I lived with never offered chopsticks as an eating utensil at home. We did, however, use chopsticks to eat noodles out of soup in a noodle restaurant and it was, if I remember correctly (it’s been a while now), Chinese influenced.

I have sent an inquiry to Mott's regarding the "liquor store bottle" designation on Rose's Lime Juice. If and when I hear back I will report my (very important) findings here.

Zeb A--thanks. Sounds like my mother will love Lobsters in the Rough. The MO is not about fancy (it just happened that she's been dying to go to Arrows since we first drove by it back in the 80s)--it's about good food. And Lobster in Maine--well, what more is there to say? As for breakfast--I like the whole range from down and dirty to a bit more upscale. I'm not one for frou frou breakfasts though my mother is sometimes impressed by that sort of thing. Sounds like we should go to Rick's at the crack of dawn (to humor me) and then to Bayou Kitchen--assuming we can get in. Looks like a plan is starting to take shape. Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm guessing there are two Moody's diners. The one open fall, spring and winter that feeds the locals and the one that is cram packed full of tourists like me come summer time. I've gone there a few times with great expectations and departed unsatisfied. Always for breakfast, so can't speak to the other meal periods. I'm also thinking that the Moody's you discovered back in the 80's is not the same Moody's I've been in during my recent summer adventures along the Maine coast. I was trying to be politic about it but what the hell—essentially what I’m saying about Moody’s is that I like the idea of it but the food wasn’t that great. I loved the ambiance, I loved that I just happened upon it so I felt as if I had “discovered it” and I loved that it was full of locals and had clearly seen a lot of devoted patronage over the years. I was there in the off season so it had a very local feel to it, and as I said, it hadn’t yet been written up anywhere so it hadn’t become overrun. The long and short of it was that I loved the place despite its shortcomings on my plate.

FG's grandfather created the Styrofoam cup but he couldn’t figure out the lid (he thought the lid had to be made out of Styrofoam too) so someone else beat him to the patent (I think that’s how the story goes). He was, in any case, an inventor—who never managed to quite pull it all together. The Spork is certainly one of my favorite utensils--not because I particularly enjoy eating with it (it's a little difficult to scoop up any liquid with the Spork on account of the pointy teeth at the end) but because I really like the name. It just rolls off the tongue. And I’d like to note that it never ceases to amaze me how creative and interesting our E-gullet community is—I’m already surprised (and amused) by the responses posted here.

Not that I drink all that much, but when I do hit the sauce my cocktail of choice is the vodka gimlet. I have therefore over time developed an interest in the constituent products of this beverage/libation: vodka and lime juice. Any opinions out there from more experienced cocktailers than I, regarding the choice of vodka or the variety of lime juice? As a tangent, has anybody noticed that Rose's lime juice comes in two configurations, one of which is marked for liquor store sale only? It seems to have alcohol in it. Does it perform differently?

Although the popular choice for world's-most-perfect-food may be the egg, the humble potato gets my vote. Especially the baked potato: the poached egg of the potato world. Baking a potato is simple but involves considerable nuance and a number of variables. How do you bake yours? I have taken to a high-temperature approach: 450 degrees F. I put the potatos in wet, with skin punctured in a few places, and let 'em rip until they test just underdone with a fork. I then shut off the oven and set the door slightly ajar and leave the potatoes to finish for about 10 minutes.

I'm always a sucker for a diner, especially the shiny old diner car establishments, but often I find that the food isn’t nearly as good as I’ve romanticized. This doesn’t stop me from returning to my favorites and I wonder if any of you feel the same about diners--and cut them more slack than you would another type of restaurant--as I do. One of my favorites is Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro, Maine (www.moodysdiner.com) -- and I'll have you know that I discovered it all on my own in the 80s--long before Gourmet and Saveur.

What implements do they eat with in different areas and cultural traditions? We all know the obvious: fork/knife/spoon in most Western nations, chopsticks in much of the East (though not everywhere or for all dishes), hands in many other places. Let's make a list. Does anybody eat with anything else? Tongs? Straws? Shells?

What a list of recipes! Thanks. I think I see some buttermilk biscuits in my future. That and the buttermilk pie filling--though my heart is going into spasms just reading the list of ingredients.

I like to buy it from stores that do enough halva business that they sell it in bulk (and it’s fresh). I usually get mine from Economy Candy on the Lower East Side. They have a big block of the marble as well as chocolate covered layered halva in loaves, pistachio halva and also rings of Turkish Delight. When I was a kid I went to some event where along with the other desserts someone had an entire block of halva (it must have been at least 10 pounds) sitting there for people to cut off pieces at whim. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

This really sounds great! Thanks for sharing it with us. So, what do you think--FG and FD on a farm in Japan?

Nothing quite like swimming against the tide on e-gullet but I like the coffee and the beignets. Yes, the location adds a lot but I'd happily choke on the powdered sugar elsewhere too.

FG and I were up in Burlington a few weekends ago (FG hadn’t been there in a couple of years so I dragged him north) and we went to Penny Cluse—twice. FG ordered an assortment of items for his first breakfast – an order of the “bucket o’ spuds,” the smothered biscuits and a side of well-done bacon. The gravy on the biscuits was quite green and the overall dish got a thumbs down but the biscuits themselves were good and the “bucket o’ spuds” – with the egg on top, was a hit. The bacon, well, there was none left over. I had an omelet and while the home fries were good, I think FG got the crispy batch and I got the new ones. Our friend got blueberry pancakes which were full of blueberries and her small fruit plate was a pleasant surprise—mango and papaya along with other more common fruits. The second trip to Penny Cluse was with another friend and this time FG got a regular breakfast item—the breakfast burrito which comes with eggs, three kinds of cheese, salsa and black beans (on the side). Our friend got eggs with sausage (home made I think) and I got an egg breakfast too. I went with corn muffins this time instead of biscuits. I like the biscuits better. They butter and grill the corn muffins so unless you like them that way, you’d be better off with the fresh biscuits—or you could just request them straight up. We also went to Cannon’s which was a great surprise. I had scoped it out on my visit back in January and missed it when I returned in March. This time we went there and while we didn’t do the best job ordering, some of the dishes (the portobello stack, linguine with sausage, crostini with artichokes, the mud cake) were very good. We also scoped out the other tables and learned a lot about what we’d order next time. The chicken parm looked very promising as did the tiramisu.

That is indeed very sage advice. I do plan to take my mother wherever she wants to go. And while I think she was a bit put off by the menu (prices) at Arrows we may still end up there. Fore Street certainly sounds promising though I'm not sure, based upon everyone's comments, that I (personally, were I going alone) would make a trip up to Portland just to eat there. Then again, I've driven to Maine for far less inspired reasons and I've never regretted a single trip. So, assuming I were to shift gears to Fore Street, does anyone have any additional suggestions for eating--any good breakfast spots in and around Portland? I'm guessing we'll go for one overnight, maybe two.

I printed out the menu and gave it to my mother. It was selected for Gourmet's top whatever (it's listed on the Arrow's Web site) award and other accolades but it just seems so pretentious to me. Something about it rubbed me the wrong way all those years ago (I still remember this 15 years later) and looking at those prices (and I won't even be paying) and knowing the location and the market it just seems out of bounds to me. A few of you have said you've had a good meal there but no one seems to be saying it ranks with the best you've ever had and while I expect my mother and I will be doing some sort of field trip--destination XXX restaurant--and while I really love Maine, it just seems like, well, it seems like highway robbery to me. Seeing as we'll be driving from New Haven or New York (depending upon the direction we're planning to drive) does anyone have any other suggestions of where we might have a very good or great meal--including, perhaps, somewhere else in Maine (Portland?), or somewhere in Vermont or maybe Philly?

It's a great deal when you get to throw a party at a friend's house. I've done both--hosted a party for a friend (they brought in the food, I provided the space, the china, the drinks, etc.) at my place and hosted parties at other friend's homes. You have to be very good friends--or family--to be able to even consider asking that sort of thing of another person because it really is an imposition for the home host--even if the inviter is dealing with all of the food. In my family we have always done a joint effort for Passover. My parents don't have a big home and our very close friends have a better set up for hosting dinners so my mother makes the chicken soup, one of the main entrees (Sephardic meat pie) and a dessert, the host makes a selection of other dishes and the two fathers make gefilte fish together. My immediate family and spouses or girlfriends are invited, the host family has their kids and spouses and then the host also invites other relatives, etc. So it's not an actual split of attendees but the host is still left with the clean-up etc. During the meal we all pitch in with serving and clearing but at the end of the night, the host is still left with a mess on her hands. We've known these people for 30 years though and they're like family--only better--because we got to choose them as friends and we've all chosen to spend the holiday together.

I am a major library consumer. We have a decent branch four blocks from our apartment and I go several times a month. They can get just about any book in the world through interlibrary loan and the computer system works well for holds so you never have to worry that someone else will get the new Janet Evanovich before you. Although I like to own books that I might potentially keep for life, I use the library for most "perishable" books, like novels and travel guide books. For browsing magazines, however, I prefer Barnes & Noble.

This is something I wrote in 2001, so it's dated especially with regard to the MoMa paragraph. But it could be a good starting point for anybody who wants to investigate the possibilities in NYC.

Steve, as a working travel journalist who has been on staff at Frommer's, a columnist for Conde Nast, and a freelancer for many years, I'd be happy to share my impressions of how and which governments promote tourism and specifically gastronomic tourism . . . on a new thread.

Why, oh why, don't I ever get to be present for dinner theater like that!

I'm reluctant to post photos that are merely for the purpose of admiring the Mo', because those would be more appropriate to a pet message board (hint: you can find a lot of photos of Momo if you join greatpets.com). However, here are a few that are food-related: Steven and Momo were the center of attention at the Regina farmer's market. What you can't see in that photo is that there was a film crew following them around, making them appear even more unusual. The following image graces the wall of the local TV station. In Vancouver, the Mo' was the recipient of VIP (Very Important Pet) treatment at the Sutton Place Hotel. This included not only a rib-eye steak, brown rice, and organic baby vegetables, but also bottled water and -- after dinner -- petits fours made from liver. A book was also supplied for reading of bedtime stories.

Music, especially live music. When a restaurant advertises "live piano music nightly" or anything like that, I run the other way.

Photo number two is roast pork.

Joe, you are correct that the anthracite coal burns in the oven cavity. It sits to the front right of the oven and the pies are baked at the back left. In watching pies being baked at Pepe's today I estimate 4 feet from the coal to the pies (this is an informal measure I took with the camera lens's focus ring and could be +/- a foot).