jmsaul

There's undoubtedly someone more knowledgeable about this out there on eGullet, but here's my shot at it. I learned the same thing: after the Norman conquest of Britain, we wound up with two words for a lot of things, which is a large part of the reason English is so annoying for people to learn. One was the old, Anglo-Saxon-derived word, and the other was the new Norman French one. Usually (but not always) the food word is the Norman French one. In a non-food context, usually (but not always) the word considered more polite is the Norman French one -- this makes some sense, I guess, as the Normans were the conqueror class. So: Anglo-Saxon -- Norman French pig -- pork cow -- beef (older English works refer to cattle themselves as "beeves") sheep -- mutton chicken -- pullet (this is a case where the Norman French word is obsolete, no idea why) fish -- [none is used, and I don't know why; might have something to do with the word "poison" which would be too close to the French word for fish for it to get into common use?] food -- viands, victuals (both obsolete, these didn't take); arguably cuisine is a synonym of sorts that did Non-food: want -- desire ask -- request, inquire hide -- obscure rude -- discourteous Not about food, but here's a link to SF Writer Poul Anderson's take on what English might look like if it had never been influenced by Latin or French. Gives you an idea just how many words we'd lose.

It sure does sound like that. Interesting! The local variation (as you might expect from a diner version) is much bigger than the omuraisu pictures. Good, too... Haven't had one in years, but I'm starting to get a craving...

Around here (Ann Arbor, MI), we've got a lot of Korean diners, so Bi Bim Bab is a big diner item. They also often serve Oh-Moo Rice, which is an omelet filled with Korean fried rice, and then topped with Korean hot sauce. One place has a "Bulgogi Hoagie" as well. All are excellent, and a departure from the usual diner fare. We've also got a wonderful place called Angelo's, where their signature Eggs Benedict uses thick slices of Angelo's homemade bread in place of the English muffins. Had one of those last week (not something you want to eat too often, unlike the Korean food, which is pretty healthy).

This sounds a lot like something I've seen called a "Monte Cristo". Turkey, ham, and cheese, then battered and deep-fried, with powdered sugar on top and a side of jam. Seriously.

Yes! It's nice to have variety.

Have you got a recipe for that? It sounds great!

They just killed both kinds of wasabi peanuts, and the wasabi cashews are going too. Argh!

My wife and I have also bought stuff from the Spice House and found it to be very high quality, just as with Penzey's.

I read about this in a Roman cookbook a few years back. When I get home, I'll look it up and post what they actually said, because I'm not sure I'm remembering accurately.

The truly forgotten vegetable I'd like to try is the relative of garlic that was a staple of Roman cooking. Unfortunately, they were apparently never able to raise it commercially, and it supposedly became extinct due to overharvesting. Allium, or something like that.

Still does, including a few cheeses from their own creamery right here in Ann Arbor.

I can't decide whether I do. After reading the "What's the sickest you've ever gotten" thread, I'm kind of leaning toward no. But still... We're in the Muslim Night Market in Xi'an, China. It's a touristy area, but despite the English on that one sign, most of the tourists are mainland Chinese. The woman in the picture above is making these small, steamed cakes that kind of look like idlis. (You can see the wooden steamers at the left on her stand.) They're decorated with jewellike pieces of dried fruit and other less-recognizable things. They're utterly beautiful, and unlike anything else I've seen or heard of in China. I passed on them, because I spent a lot of time in Mexico City when I was a kid so I'm risk-averse about street food, and I didn't want to spend the next few days being sick. It was probably a good decision, because I had one of the ten best meals of my life a couple nights later at a Szechuan restaurant in Beijing, and I wouldn't want to have missed that. And we went to a very nice place right off the night market that we were told was safe, and it was good. We have a lot of other great food memories from that trip (including some photos). But I still wonder what the heck they were, and how they tasted, and if I could have gotten away with it...

If you're thinking of doing this, two things you should know: 1. You need to join Aeroplan first or you won't get the miles 2. You need to register for Aeroplan with a Canada address (which rules me out)

Can you describe this dish, Hersch? ← It's a Spanish dish of black beans over rice. <a href="http://www.recipelink.com/mf/31/28212">Here's a version</a>.

Oddly enough, there's one called that here in Ann Arbor MI, too.

There's a restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, that everyone knows as <a href="http://www.kitchenchick.com/2004/06/the_rest_in_nia.html">The Rest</a>. It has a perfectly good name -- the Stone Road Grill -- but nobody uses it. Apparently, when it opened they hadn't finished painting over the previous name on the awning, and everyone got used to the awning just saying "REST" so they left it that way. Great place, and more of a locals' secret than a tourist restaurant.

We've got one in Ann Arbor, MI.

Lisa now has a few more photos and some discussion on her food blog at www.kitchenchick.com. By the way, is there any chance of getting the recipe for those Musician's Tarts? I'm now wishing I'd managed to swipe some for today... ;-)

Lisa has some at various stages of the process. She'll probably post them later tonight (she doesn't have an eGullet login, so I'll post a link if necessary).

It was a blast -- the food and company were both excellent! (I'm the big guy who was wearing the black Hawaiian shirt.)

After we're done at the Creamery we'll be heading down to the Farmer's Market area, where there are lots of lunch options - there's Kosmo Deli in the market with excellent Bi Bim Bop, Kav's Kafe with really good quiche and more, Zingerman's Deli, Mysore Woodlands vegetarian Indian, and more. Lunch will be on your own. If there's something particular someone's interested in, I'll be happy to offer suggestions. ← Kav's is, alas, now gone. However, you forgot Monahan's Fish Market -- where Mike will cook anything in the case for you while you watch! (My favorite place for seafood in Ann Arbor...)

Hi, all! (Got to take occasional sanity breaks, but I'll try not to get sucked in too deep. ;-)

New poster here, but long-time Ann Arbor resident. I second the recommendation on Sabor Latino -- the tacos are good, and relatively cheap, and I eat them a lot. It isn't the true al pastor experience, because our health department wouldn't let them cook the meat the proper way, but it's still good stuff. (The idea of slices of marinated raw meat, layered with onions and sometimes pineapple, cooked on a big rotating skewer that works like one of those gyros machines, freaked out the health inspectors. They'd probably get away with it in an area with a larger Latino population, where there's better cultural awareness.) I can also tell you that Big World bakery is good. Great challah (I prefer it over Zingerman's), and their handmade version of -- one of those Hostess things, Ding-Dongs, maybe -- are amazing. For Ethiopian, though, I'd go to Red Sea, out in Ypsilanti, rather than the Blue Nile. The flavors are bolder (MUCH bolder based on a recent visit to Blue Nile; either it's gotten milder or our expectations are higher), Ethiopians tell us it's more authentic, and it's cheaper. And there's a wider variety of dishes. And you can order individual ones, or combinations, as you please. Coming from Ann Arbor, go out Washtenaw, and it's in the shopping strip on the right after Dairy Queen. Seriously -- if you like Blue Nile, you should really try Red Sea.