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In the latest Wine Advocate, Parker says: "The only wineries I will visit and do barrel tastings at are at those that have a track record of presenting authentic representative samples that accurately reflect what will be bottled." Reads to me like he acknowledges and is doing his best to avoid the problem. I read the reviewers to assist the buying decision - not to make it for me.

Can I take this international? In Johannesburg, South Africa, a shwarma from Anat - you choose your toppings, start with tomato - onion mix, tahini, pickled eggplant and go from there. Uh oh, I may have to plan another trip

From California, my vote is for Alban, Pride, and Arrowood. Enjoy the tasting...

Dejah, just to let you know I sent off email this morning asking for permission to post the recipe but have not heard back - yet. I hope I can get an answer in time! Good luck with the other recipes you are trying. Tracey

I attended a small class by a dessert chef on Creme Brulee a while ago. She suggests making a larger container as it is diffcult to cook the smaller ones evenly, and easy to overcook them. Also recommends making it the day before before topping. Because we like the individual look, I made it in a larger dish and then cut out portions for smaller ramekins - the topping hides all. If you are interested in the recipe, I will ask her permission to share it. It's one of the best I have ever tasted! Tracey

Thanks, great report - have always planned Eigensinn as our celebratory meal when we return (permanently) to Toronto, and you've confirmed that plan! Tracey

My husband and I spent a few days in the Paso Robles area over Thanksgiving. We stayed in Morro Bay, which is a lovely small town. Many of the smaller artisan wineries do not take vistors, or are by appointment. We had an excellent tour at Tablas Creek (reserve ahead for the tour) - they grow their own vines, so this is unlike any other tour. Turley was also a great tasting experience - very good service in a busy tasting room. Talley was a Napa-like tasting. I can also recommend a new restaurant in Paso Robles called Panolivo. Los Olivos looks like a great little town - we were there Thanksgiving eve and it was closing down, but great wine stores. In Sonoma, there are several good restaurants, we loved Cafe La Haye. Heard good things about Roux in Healdsburg, and for a coffee fix, Flying Goat in Healdsburg Also search the California board, there are some recommendations for the Santa Barbara general area. Have a great trip, I think the Paso area is going to expolde, it reminds me of Sonoma seven or eight years ago. Tracey (still call Toronto home, even though we live in the San Francisco area, Go Leafs!)

I grew up in SA, so happy to hear you like the bobotie - it'a a Cape Malay dish, as are many "South African" dishes - they are heavily influnced by other cuisines. There are lots of sources of South African products on the internet now, and they are showing up more and more in my local markets. I'm not very fond of Pinotage, myself, and my hubbie, who is Canadian, won't touch the stuff, he can't stand the nose, but we buy a lot of SA wines - the Sauvignon Blancs are great value, the others getting pricier as they get discovered. Cheers Tracey

Great TFL story - I have always found the service excellent, but I think they are less formal now. On my third visit, happened last month, they were not doing the co-ordinated plate "set down and uncover thing" that they did on my first visit a few years ago. Couple of places stand out for me - At Union Square Cafe in NYC a few years ago, deciding between two appetizers, I asked the waitress for advice. After I chose, she brought me both. At a local place, Lark Creek in San Mateo, they have a few seats at a counter overlooking the salad prep area. Person was going flat out, prepping caesar salads and so on as the orders came in. I made a comment to my husband that the caesars looked good maybe I should have had one. I did not think any of our conversation could be heard. Next time a caesar was made, a little bowl of it was plopped down in front of me, the maker did not miss a beat and did not look up. Unfortunately the place is not as good as it used to be these days.

About the JBM - I had come across it when spending hours on the internet trying to figure out why I did not like most of the coffee I was buying. Wish I had come across eGullet! CNN (of all places) had a site describing beans and roast styles that helped me out. So I knew to be careful and bought a half pound of JBM at a Gloria Jean's. It was high mountain grown and I think the real thing. The price was real, that's for sure. It was a revealing experience - had never tasted complexity approaching wine in a coffee before. Most times I see it I question the freshness so am wary of buying. Since then the drip machine has been packed away, space taken over by Rancilio Rocky and Silvia, and the daily espresso ritual. A restaurant near by apparently offers blue mountain as a special coffee - I'm thinking it's time to go give it a try. BTW, I am delighted we now have a coffee board. Tracey

Is Ted an ex-pat South African like me? I have not tried it, but there is a place called Jouberts that serves SA fare, vegetarian. Gets good reviews. The web site is not responding for me right now, it's http://www.jouberts.com/ Tracey

When I'm using a recipe found on the internet or typed into my recipes database (Filemaker), I take the computer into the kitchen. In other words, the wireless laptop gets my vote. Remember to set the screen to not sleep - nothing like having to wake up the thing with flour or chicken on your hands. I do print ones I make often, but always feel guilty when I can't find the printout and print it again, and again...

The first sip of espresso at Tassa d'Oro in Rome (did I spell that right?) - finally understanding what espresso should taste like. And then the first time I treated myself to some Jamaica Blue Mountain just to see what the hype was about.

The recipe I have made calls for red burgundy or other dry red wine - I used California Pinot Noir. The recipe calls for water and I replace it with clam juice.

I just came across this chat about vegetarian Thanksgiving at the Washington Post, best idea I've seen so far is a vegetarian pot pie. Here is the link

We make ours at home, our standard beans are Perugia from Torrefazione, there are a few of them around. If I get a cappucino from them I get it "dry" I find most places add way too much milk. I vote for Cafe Trieste as well. And if you're up north a bit, recently discovered Flying Goat in Healdsburg. I always check the beans a place is selling. If the espresso beans are in the dark roast section, I don't buy an espresso from them. The Italians use medium roast, and I much prefer that. Took me forever to figure out that most of the espresso here is dark roast. Look forward to hearing about other places

Caynes - not sure if it's Willowdale or Thornhill, but I always found their prices good.

Dark rye bread crumbled, combine with chopped walnuts, dry toasted.

Cook's Illustrated did a test on this a while back. I don't remember all the specifics, but bottom line was that microwaving a sponge for 3 minutes did by far the best job at killing nasties. I always put the sponge in wet, and have managed to crack a bowl that the thing was in when it dried out too much, so now they go in all on their own

Hope this is far enough south for you . Cafe Torre in Cupertino is a winner. In the same area, the Brittania Arms has good pot pies. I only know the Cupertino one, there are a couple of other ones further south.

Happy Birthday essvee and thank you for a great post. I am very pleased to hear that Aqua is still good. The Chron just gave it a good review as well. I had a couple of memorable meals there when Michael Mina was chef, so was waiting to hear the reports. Had the tasting menu there with family a few years ago and still remember how well they treated my then 8 or 9 year old niece. The family still talks about it. I think Mina is opening his own place sometime soon. Has anyone tried Pisces in Burlingame since Mina left - curious how that is doing. Tracey

Unfortunately I did not write down too many details of sauces and sides, but the duck at La Regalade had a strong, gamey flavor, definitely wild. At Wili's it was more of a classic duck, much softer sauce and flavors. I liked both dishes a lot, they were very different though and I'm not describing it all well! I'm tempted to say the one was more subtle than the other but that would imply it was better, and it was not, the "sauvage" just whacked you over the head with strong flavor. The one at Willi's was an excellent dish, but could have come from any good French restaurant, and the one at La Regalade was completely different, and I have never had anything like it. And by the way, in spite of the name, Willi's is a very good restaraunt, we go there every time we are in Paris, and they have an excellent wine list and wines by the glass.

Went to La Regalade in September this year. We got a reservation 3 days ahead, a sure sign of the times. The service was fine - businesslike, but we got what we wanted when we wanted it. The food is great - I find it hard to describe, rustic is not the right word, but the flavours are strong. I had canard sauvage, and it was definitely gamey. My cepes starter was out of this world. I had duck again next night at Willi's Wine Bar and it's hard to imagine the two dishes were related. But La Regalade is a great experience, I'd go back anytime.

Merle, thanks! I'm looking forward to trying it. I used to work in Emeryville, my favourites were Bucci's, Cafe Rouge in Berkeley, Skates (overlooks the Bay) and of course Vik's Chaat House. There's a grill type place that had great garlic fries, I can't remember the name, it was in Emeryville. Have fun exploring.

I'm hoping to get to the Chez Panisse Cafe in a couple of weeks. Do you need reservations for weekday lunch? Thanks for the expert advice...