mark922

Well, oysters are good raw. A dozsen or so makes for a nice side dish to go with the po-boy. And a bowl of gumbo.

I believe I was giving you cooking orders. ---She who dined on chickpeas, chilies, tomatoes, onion, garlic, bulgur, parsley, olives, cucumber, mint, beets, lemon, red wine, cardommon tea, a single date and almonds, that is, something you could serve a vegan if need be ← I'm not sure that eating your date is vegan.

And there is a very fair chance I'll be eating there and at the original Al's within the next 48 hours. ← I wish I'd seen this earlier, or I'd have offered to join you.

I prefer the Oyster po-boy, from Acme. Although, the muffaletta from Central Grocery is a close second. Outside of New Orleans, mty hometown favorite, a Chicago classic, is the Italian Beef from Mr. Beef on Orleans.

That's also the traditional method for preparing Shwarma too, if I recall correctly. If the Phoenician Deli is still around (Westheimer near Wilcrest) they serve a chicken shwarma that is to die for.

You send your martini back because "You ordered a martini, not a glass of gin," if there isn't adequate vermouth in it.

With Green Goddess dressing?

I could eat cheeseburgers daily, but I don't really think they count as Man-Food. Cheeseburgers are universal.

Definitely brats. Also, the big breakfast. I don't know why, but when women want a big breakfast, they go for eggs benedict. Me, I'll take a big plate of eggs scrambled with chorizo, topped with a ton of melted cheese, hash browns, beans, hot sauce, and a basket full of steamy hot totillas to wrap the eggs and beans in. And subs. And salami, just hacked off in chunks and eaten with some pretzels and mustard, washed down with beer.

Salt-packed anchovies. They're rather difficublt to find. other than through mail order.

Que?

I think here you've put a finger on one reason the whole idea bothers me. It isn't the hostess or M D's item to sell, so why should they benefit? Shall we extend the practice to busboys to insure clean silverware and refilled waterglasses? No, because it's something we feel we are entitled to when we decided to patronize the restaurant, and busboys have no power anyway. But when it comes to the part when I actually come through the door and ask for a seat, I've got to grease this one person to get there? It's the restaurants seat to give, not the Hostess' or M D's to sell or deny. ← If you're getting one on the house, you've been tipping right all along. Just keep it up. If a bartender gives you "one on the house" do you tip on it? ←

I'm sure this has already been covered but, for Chicago: Italian beef Deep dish pizza Vienna hot dogs

Houston's signature dish is shrimp po-boys, from shrimp trucked up that day from Galveston.

Finally, Grandma's secret biscuits and gravy recipe is gonna get the protection it deserves and she might tell us all the secret - knowing she can sue our ass. ← Sorry but thats already public domain, in fact I think I will print out an exact copy of them and then throw on some sausage while Im at it. There is a major difference here. ← But will the copies taste like Granma's biscuits and sausage gravy? Andif so, can I come try them?

Awe c'mon - isn't anybody gonna disagree? Isn't somebody gonna step up and become the culinary Hitler that will implement a blanket "Culinary Caste System" that divides cuisine into categories and levels beyond an individual's perception, write down the rules and decide who deserves protection and who gets excluded? Surely there is someone among us willing to take on that responsibility, yes? OK.... I'll make it easier - how about we make it a council? A panel of judges???? Or how about we just go by whatever the James Beard Foundation says? Or why don't we just leave it that everybody gets protection and watch the knives fly? This is gonna be fun... get me my "Stabbin Knife"!!!!!!!!!! ← Nope. Ilike your original premise. Even Sandra Lee and her "semi-homemade" recipes are original works.

I should probably be more precise: I'm saying that anyone's opinion saying that the Bloomin' Onion® (the name, including a backwards apostrophe, is a registered trademark) is not particularly good or brilliant (actually, it's not bad either -- it's just about the only thing at Outback that isn't bad) is neither here nor there when it comes to copyright law or the ethics of plagiarism. There is still, however, a question of originality, both in the sense of first and in the sense of creation. Just as there can't be copyright protection for the statement "1 + 1 = 2" there probably shouldn't be copyright protection (or any plagiarism ethics issues) surrounding a fried onion. There's probably a legitimate debate to be had on the issue of just how different the Bloomin' Onion® is from a run-of-the-mill fried onion, just as there are similar debates all the time with respect to paintings, sculptures, songs, etc. ← Why shouldn't there be protection for a fried onion, Steve? If you are going to take the position that creative food craft (yes, it was me I who made the distinction) should be protected, why isn't the creativity that went into conceptualizing the cutting of an onion in a blossom pattern, followed by battering and frying as worthy of protrection as thinking of taking an emulsion and sticking it into a squeeze bulb? Either way, it's an original use of a known quantity. That's why I made the point about cooking being a craft and not an art. I should pint out that there is one exception to my argument that I am aware of. Homaro Cantu's use of edible papers and inks to create printed food is truly a quantum leap from anything that has previously been thought of as food or food preparation. I would argue that it is an example of something that should be protected as truly new art in an intellectual property sense.

Nobody, those dishes exist in the public domain. Uhhh, I'd say creating a dish is exactly like a piece of music. The music only exists as long as your ears can hear it, then it's gone. You fix it on sheet music (or in a recipe) to preserve it so it can be reproduced. But the copyright is on that first performance, of music OR food. ← The copyright on a piece of music is on the first publication, not the performance.

This statement is incorrect. "Plagiarism is neither a tort nor a crime -- it is an ethical, not a legal offense. Accordingly, courts never handle plagiarism disputes." (From Charles Cronin of Columbia University School of Law). Plagiarism is "not addressed by our legal system in any real way, except for some scientific circumstances. It is enforced by public censure and punishments by institutions." (From the NCTE). This helpful grid may clarify the differences for you. This statement is also incorrect. The KFC seasoning recipe and the secret formula for Coke have no legal status. They are trade secrets. If they were patented, we'd know what they were, because it would be clearly stated in the patent. Instead, KFC and Coke have decided to keep the formulae secret. If you figure out the formula somehow and you use it, you're violating no law. There are, however, many instances under which culinary creativity is protected. Try copying a cookbook and publishing it as your own and you'll see what I mean. There are also plenty of culinary processes that are patented, and plenty of names of culinary products that are trademarks. Culinary creativity in the restaurant kitchen has been slow to achieve copyright protection, most likely because creative chefs are a small, fragmented, low-resource group, however as a conceptual matter it's a no-brainer to understand that the culinary arts should be treated the same as the visual, performing or studio arts -- unless one believes the culinary arts are somehow inferior to all other arts. ← Actually, Steve, if someone were to steal, reverse engineer, or otherwise appropriate Coke's or KFC's trade secrets and try to use them for profit in a commercial venture, it would be unlawful and the aggrieved party would have a cause of action. Also, with a cookbook, it is not the recipes themselves, but the publication that is protected. I you publish a cookbook containing Tex-Mex recipes and I publish a cookbook of "Cowboy Cuisine" and they both have chili recipes that are virtually identical, then there is no compensable injury.

If people are persisting in the belief that "there's no such thing as culinary plagiarism," this horse is very much alive. It's not even injured. To plagiarize is, per Merriam-Webster or most any other dictionary, to steal and pass off the ideas of another as one's own. It is fraud. To say "there's no such thing as culinary plagiarism" is to say that in cuisine there is no such thing as stealing and passing off the ideas of another as one's own. Yet it has been demonstrated resoundingly now on two separate topics that culinary plagiarism is occurring: that chefs are stealing and passing off the ideas of other chefs as their own. Nitpicking a couple of the photographic comparisons when there is such overwhelming evidence -- menu comparison, ten sets of photos, restaurant comparison, biographical facts -- changes nothing. Those who wish to grant the world a license to steal their work and not attribute, because they've allowed themselves to be convinced that there's no such thing as culinary plagiarism and no such thing as intellectual property in cuisine, are either very generous or very gullible. ← I have a confession to make. I don't really think about who has created a dish when I go to a restaurant. I think about whether or not I had a good meal. I suppsoe that is at least one reason I am not a fan of avant garde cuisine. I don't want to pay $200 for a variety of flavors of foam, I don't want to have no control over what I eat, and have certain things that I most definitely don't like, many of which seem to be in favor with the "food as art" school. I suppose that means that I simply don't have a dog in this fight. But I think it also means that you're overstating the situation here. If I go to Gibson's and have a bone-in ribeye and a martini, do they have to credit Gene & Georgetti's? and who has the credit on bernaise sauce? It's food. By its very nature, it's ephemeral, and its preparation is a craft, not an art. To claim any more is mere pretension.

Currently: from Frieda's website Question for you: is this something desirable? I always think that the natural colors of foods, especially sushi, are appetizing in their own simple and pristine way .. or am I alone in not finding color wraps an interesting phenomenon? ← My wife and daughter love nigiri sushi, and are both intrigued by the contents of many of the maki sushi I enjoy, but they cannot stand the taste and texture of nori. These new wraps sound like they're made to order for them and others who feel the same about nori. If it weren't for adaptation and innovation in cuisine, we'd still be eating unseasoned small creatures charred on an open fire and little else.

Pam - I had the same impression as you, given the predominant Ashkenazie population where I live. Without my family around, I find myself wondering how my little boys are going to pick up the Sephardic traditions and culture (outside of the food I prepare, of course ). Alexis, I know that Synagogue well - shivered through my cousin's November wedding there 10 years ago, I will never forget it! ← I would be very interested in learning about some of the Sephardic food traditions. Perhaps you would be willing to share?

Heartland beat out Niman Ranch in the Cook's Illustrated test.

Cook's Illustrated did a tasting of both premier and store brands. Heartland was the winner. And it's usually a buck or two a pound cheaper than HOrmel and Oscar Meyer, etc.

I rarely order a combo, because I find that I get shorted on the beef and I am also something of a purist. I have been known to order both and eat only half (give or take) of each.