robyn

probably not the sushi i eat. but you might be right about those hicks. Actually I made a mistake with the calculator - looking at monthly amounts for January 2004 rather than the total for 2003. It's 19 million kilos from Japan for all of 2003 - compared - for example - with 152 million kilos from Chile. Anyway - here's the "fish calculator". You can play with it yourself and see where we get all our fish from (how much - what kinds - and from what countries). The quantity from Japan doesn't amount to much in the scheme of things. Robyn

that's interesting. is it a fact? I was basing my statement on my personal observations of most of the common sushi I see. But I did a little digging. The US imports only about 3 million pounds of all fish (including stuff like fish sticks) from Japan (Japan is a net importer of fish - not exporter - the Japanese eat a lot more fish than most people). We have about 300 million people in the US. So that's about 1/100 of a pound of fish per US person from Japan a year. Even if the average person in the US only eats a pound of sushi a year (and I suspect it's more - you can't find a supermarket anywhere that doesn't sell it - and every hick town has a couple of sushi restaurants) - and even if all the Japanese imported product is used for sushi (I doubt it is - I never saw fish sticks sushi) you're talking about a negligible amount. I suspect most of the sushi we eat comes from farm raised fish from other areas of the world. Robyn

Also note that you get ciguatera (a very unpleasant neurotoxic disease) almost exclusively from large reef fish like amberjack (and other fish like large grouper, barracuda, etc.). Amberjack is a fun fish to catch - but I wouldn't eat it. When I do eat reef fish like snapper or grouper - I want to see the whole fish before I buy it or eat it - to make sure I'm getting a small fish - not a big one. Robyn

I don't think such a test would ever be possible under controlled conditions one could likely reproduce. The best fish I've ever eaten was fish I caught - put on ice on the ride home - and cooked at the docks a few hours later. The worst fish I ever had was "fresh" also - from the store - probably 5 days after someone else caught it. And almost everything else was in the middle - frozen - sometimes expertly - sometimes not. So what kind of fresh fish are you going to test? The yellowtail that's 5 days old by the time it gets to New York? By the way - the oyster beds in various areas of Florida are shut down by the regulators on a fairly regular basis as a result of fecal contamination (caused by various things like a lot of rain), red tide, etc. You can't harvest them and freeze them and sell them - you're not supposed to take them at all. (Nevertheless - these closures are routinely ignored by a lot of the good ole boys who make a living from oysters. Which is why I wouldn't eat a raw Florida oyster if my life depended on it.) Also - every food store and restaurant in Florida that sells raw oysters has a written warning about their consumption at the fish counter - or on the menu. So what kind of cultural bias are you talking about - particularly since almost zero percent of the sushi that's consumed in the US comes from Japan (don't reckon that the fake crab legs found in most local sushi places is imported from Japan)? Robyn

I live in the southeast - but most of the best sushi I've had was on the west coast. And most of it was imported from Japan (and who knows where it was caught - maybe northeast Canada?). I'm sure that if it hadn't been frozen - it would have gone bad by the time I ate it. Robyn

I don't think we'll ever know how many Japanese people get sick from food. They're not into lawsuits and the publicity surrounding them the way Americans are. I think they're still litigating the mercury poisoning cases (from contaminated fish) some 50 years after the fact. Remember this is a country where - until very recently - it was considered totally appropriate for a doctor not to tell a patient that he/she had cancer. You're just dealing with a totally different culture. So valid comparisons are hard to come by. By the way - I don't think you can generalize about the risks of eating particular kinds of foods processed or not processed in particular ways. Some risks are - I'm sure - very slight. Others are more substantial. And the amount of risk has to be combined with what risk are you talking about - a tummy ache - hepatitis - a severe neurological problem - or perhaps death? I'm more willing to risk a tummy ache than hepatitis or death. Which is why I won't eat oysters from beds contaminated with sewage. Robyn

You seem to set up this dichotomy between adult behavior that would be appropriate at a funeral - and behavior that would be appropriate at a local sports bar during the Florida/Florida State game (the latter usually resembles a group of 100 children who've had too much sugar at Chuck E. Cheese - except at our largest sports bar - which probably seats in excess of 300 - that is just sheer pandemonium). I think there is an awful lot of ground in the middle. Where adults who are having a good time while behaving reasonably can all enjoy the evening. By the way - the Indian restaurants where I live (there aren't many of them but we have them) are as you describe. I know if I go there - that's what I'm going to get. I wouldn't find that atmosphere acceptable at a 4 star restaurant in New York or a 3 star restaurant in London. It's like sometimes I have people over for dinner and kids are welcome - and sometimes they're not. Robyn

OK - I see you're as bad as I am. When I have something cooking - and it will cook for a while - and I'm not at the stove/oven/grill - I put a kitchen timer with a loud buzzer in my pocket. I can usually remember what the buzzer means when it goes off . As for impatience - I can't help you with that one. Robyn

I use White Lily buttermilk pancake mix. Works great. It's a southern brand - made with "soft" flour. Don't know if it's available outside the south. Robyn

It's funny - I mentioned the Ruth Reichl review of Le Cirque 2000 tonight in another thread as being one of the great restaurant reviews of all times. For precisely the reason you stated. On the one occasion I went to Le Cirque 2000 - I happened to be a guest of someone special - and I got lots of lobster in the lobster risotto (everything else was wonderful too). I've been afraid to go back there on my own - fearing that Ruth Reichl wasn't wrong - and that the lobster risotto won't have any lobster in it. The "somebody"/"nobody" dichotomy is interesting. We have sometimes been on the winning side - sometimes on the losing side - of restaurants that make a distinction. In the best of all possible worlds - all fine restaurants would - as you suggest - treat all customers the same. But - unfortunately - that's not the case. Most recently - we were at a restaurant in Miami a few weeks ago - and were treated with unusually great care by the chef in the hotel restaurant. We couldn't understand why. Turns out that I had spent a while talking with the head concierge at the hotel - exchanging stories about local food/restaurants - and he had told the chef to take care of us. That little extra attention goes a long way in my opinion - and it's too bad that only a fraction of high end restaurants deliver it to all customers. Robyn

I really didn't understand the thing about parasites in the article. I have seen fish with parasites - like worms (you cut a fish open and it's like basically disgusting - all these wormy things crawling around - and forget about it - you just throw it back). I don't care whether these things are frozen are not - they look revolting and I don't want to get anywhere near them. As for other fish problems - like ciguatera - freezing won't kill the toxin that makes you sick. Nor will cooking. So I am not sure what health purpose is served by freezing (unless there are people who sell fish that's crawling with worms). Robyn

I can't tell you about sushi in New York - but I used to do a lot of fishing in the Bahamas when I was younger. And we used to gut and clean and freeze what we caught - everything from yellowtail to strawberry grouper to dolphin - even tuna - in blocks of ice - immediately on the boat (of course - our freezer wasn't anywhere near what they were talking about in the article). That fish tasted better than 99% of all "fresh" fish (i.e., 3-5 day old fish) you could find in fish markets in Miami. As for food safety regulations - for me to get on board in terms of your suggestion that it's up to the consumer - I'd say: 1) eliminate all liability on the part of food sellers - including restaurants (we currently have strict liability in Florida); and 2) provide that people pay any medical bills they incur out of their own pockets (no insurance - no free ER treatment). We recently had a stupid bill passed in Florida regarding the use of helmets while driving motorcycles - and injuries and deaths and hospital costs from the lack of use of helmets are way up (and guess who pays - the taxpayers - and the other people the insurance companies insure). If a person agrees to accept *all* the risks of loss out of his or her own pocket - whatever he or she does is ok by me. Robyn

I usually drink Diet Schweppes. It's not too sweet. But it does taste like "diet" soda. Also - due to an unfortunate urinary tract infection - I made a fortunate discovery. Ocean Spray light cranberry juice (am drinking a lot of that for the UTI), gin and a bit of lime juice makes a nice cocktail. Robyn

I like Magnolia's because it was the first restaurant to give me the idea of making crabcakes Benedict (and it made a good one). This was maybe 5 years ago - and I can't comment on the restaurant today. Note to Holly Moore - men's and women's standards regarding bathrooms differ. Perhaps that is because guys can just go out back in the woods if they don't like the bathrooms. Robyn

I'm not sure whether you forgot emoticons after your questions. You order a $245 bottle of wine - and worry about not ordering water? You think that perhaps you should have to put up with garbage because the restaurant allowed you to eat there on a Saturday night? I say phooey (to the restaurant - not you). And yes - perhaps the restaurant was just trying to turn over the table as many times as possible that night - regardless of who you are (I don't think people from Chicago are "hayseeds" - note that I am from a city much smaller than Chicago). By the way - we had an experience similar to yours at MK in Chicago a couple of years ago - and I think it was solely a question of turning over the table as many times as possible. But - like you - even after we managed to slow things down somewhat - we considered the evening ruined from the very beginning. Robyn

You're not inept. You just don't have the right equipment. Ever sit at the counter of a hole in the wall restaurant and have a good view of a proper deep fryer? It's big - the oil is hot - and there's a commercial fire extinguishing system nearby. It is of course possible to duplicate this kind of setup in some home kitchens - but many people (myself included) don't have the time - space - or inclination to do so (not to mention not really wanting to clean up the mess after either). I'd rather go out to get those perfect fried shrimp. Robyn

Reading this thread - I can only wonder who exactly owns the kids I have encountered at restaurants. The babies who cry. The somewhat older children who squirm in their seats - run around the restaurant - leave half of what they're supposed to eat on the floor. You know - I can appreciate it if you think you're being a hero by taking a screaming kid out of a restaurant 3 minutes after he/she starts screaming - but that is frankly enough to ruin part of a romantic evening for me. As for the stuff that winds up on the floor - well I guess the less said about that - the better. By the way - I don't mind kids at so-called "family restaurants". After all - that is what a family restaurant is for. I reserve my criticism for people who bring small children to fancy restaurants - and expect them to act like adults (more often than not - they don't). Robyn

How do you like them? Maybe someone here can help you out (you can start a new thread - indeed this thread can be the source of a lot of new threads!). Robyn

My husband is reasonably trim and has all his hair (he has great hair genes ) - but - when you're almost 60 - I'm afraid black velvet doesn't cut it. When my husband was 42 - he was still wearing those skinny Italian suits. When he tries on the few remaining in the closet - even though he hasn't gained weight - he complains that he can't move his arms. He tries to move his arms - and looks like a character out of South Park (I don't know if you have that in the UK - it's a cartoon with foul-mouthed little children characters - picture a child in a snowsuit trying to move his arms - but I'm not sure you have snowsuits in the UK either). Anyway - here's to men (and women) maintaining their figures (you can't change your hair genes - but we can all control our figures). Robyn

When I make dishes like this - I always make them a day or two or three before - in the morning - while I'm awake . Most reheat beautifully - and taste better a day or two after the original braising. By the way - I can't even begin to tell people here how many things I can't cook. So I won't try. Robyn

My husband and I are reasonably disorganized about putting meals on the table. Especially when the weather is nice (which it is about 80% of the year). Our eat-in-meals fall into 1 of 3 categories. The really nice have-to-do-a-lot-of-prep meal. I will always have the ingredients on hand if it's a holiday/company meal. And I will almost always have the major ingredients on hand if it's a meal for us. If it's a meal for us - I'll make it when I have the time (e.g., sometimes I have the time because I was supposed to play golf and it's raining). Sometimes I have the time for other reasons. We also have meals we decide to make in the morning. That means taking chicken breasts out of the freezer and marinating them - defrosting some burgers or steaks - making some egg salad. Buying the finishing ingredients we need - if any - while we're out. Or hot meals we decide to make when we're at the market - like a simple fish preparation. Then there are the last minute meals. In the summer (we live in Florida and it's hot) - we eat a lot of salads you can make at the last minute. Fruit salad - salmon salad - tuna salad - etc. Or it might be scrambled eggs. Or a jazzed up frozen pizza. Or crab cakes benedict (using frozen crab cakes from Costco). Or pasta with sauce I made a few days before - or from a jar whose brand I like. Or bagels and lox. Two things stand out here. First - you don't always need to cook the proverbial meat + two or three. In fact - we frequently have a lunch like that - with a much lighter dinner. Second - you keep on hand the things you like to eat. You'll never find my freezer devoid of chicken breasts - or burgers - or crab cakes - or pizza - or sausage - or bacon - or fries to go with the burgers, etc. You'll always find eggs and peppers and celery and carrots in my refrigerator (and - in season - a lot of fruit). My pantry contains the things I normally use in preparing the meals I like to cook (like rice and beans to go with the marinated chicken breasts - the pasta - the sauce). Note that although we're only 2 people - we buy things like peppers and tomatoes at Costco. In reasonably large quantities. And we sometimes wind up throwing away some because we don't eat all of it. But it's better to have them around at 6 pm than to groan about running to the grocery store. So what do you like to eat? And how many people are you cooking for? Both make a difference in terms of helping you think through establishing some kind of routine (even a disorganized one like we have). Robyn

Perhaps you can carry off the black velvet without looking like you're trying to dress like your son . My husband couldn't - he'd look ridiculous. I like linen too - but here in Florida - it dissolves into one big wrinkle after 5 minutes outside in the summer. We went shopping a few weeks ago and my husband bought a lightweight black wool suit for London in May. Works for him (he looks really good in it). He also bought a tweedy jacket which will probably be too warm for London in May. But he's always wanted one - and - at 70% off - the price was hard to resist. Robyn

At Per Se? Not yet, but I'm sure it's possible. At other restaurants? All the time. A recent dinner at Hearth was for dinner at 7 pm. An upcoming dinner at Blue Hill will be for 7:30 pm. It's possible to eat "at a reasonable time" in any restaurant provided a certain amount of effort is expended on the part of the person making the reservation. That includes making calls to the restaurant to see if there are last-minute cancellations (always a possibility) with the opportunity to upgrade your reservation to that magical time slot. Soba Agreed that it's frequently possible at many places. But sometimes it isn't unless you're "known" to the restaurant for some reason (e.g., you're a celebrity) or you know someone. I guess what I'm hearing at this point is that this is a 2-seating restaurant for mere mortals - perhaps a 1-seating restaurant for others. I'd be curious to know if and when the situation changes. Robyn

Colorado Springs. I believe there are actually two dairies who deliver. In fact, the way they drum up business is they go door to door, giving out free half gallons of milk. Marcia. I was only in Colorado Springs once. We were driving north on the interstate and got stuck in a blinding snow storm. Our wheel wells kept freezing up. We figured it made sense to quit driving early - i.e., - at noon - instead of risking our lives going 2 miles an hour. So we checked into a motel on the interstate and waited there until the next day - when the snow stopped. Do the milkmen deliver in weather like that? Robyn

Maybe by "one seating" they mean that they're not turning over any tables. So at 5:30 they're seating 4 tables, at 6:30 4 more tables will be seated, and so on. I care less about the unfortunate fire and the closing than I do about the seatings. Has anyone here been offered a reservation at a reasonable dinner hour (i.e., between 7 and 8:30)? Robyn