LaurieA-B

Tabla is one of the loveliest spaces I've dined in; both the Bread Bar and upstairs are pleasant, but the upstairs is more dramatic. (And their bathroom is my favorite in any restaurant; that's a whole different thread.) I agree with John Whiting on the perfection of the Tavern's front room. The flowers are incredible, especially the enormous garden table next to the bathrooms. I was thinking about rooms with no windows, and was about to type that the only such spaces are hole-in-the-wall-type restaurants. But does the main room at the Tavern have windows? I much prefer a bit of natural light. I enjoyed afternoon tea at Alice's Tea Cup recently, but the room is rather claustrophobic (all the tables are in the back of a basement space). It's true, of course, that a beautiful room can do little to redeem poor food. Spring Street Natural Restaurant has an excellent room, windows on two sides, natural light, greenery, but the restaurant has nothing else to recommend it. I've eaten once at Home on Cornelia, and thought the dining room seemed extremely narrow and cramped. We had delicious brunch outdoors in the garden, under a heat lamp, and enjoyed that very much. One favorite of mine is very tiny and cramped; you're elbow to elbow with the other diners, who are sometimes pressed into service passing your food. But that's part of Pepe Rosso's appeal. The more spacious Pepe Giallo isn't as charming.

I did, but eventually became resigned to the fact that I was stuck with a dreary, drafty attic, where I survived on stale crusts. Anne of Green Gables's beverage was supposed to be raspberry cordial (of course, it wasn't). And the cake that Rilla threw in the creek was, I think, called a gold and silver cake (or silver and gold?). I wonder what that was. The early 1900s must have been the height of popularity for layer cakes. Book characters are always eating them. The Lady Baltimore cake, which was discussed in the New York Times Magazine a couple of weeks ago, was a favorite in the Betsy-Tacy books.

Actually, it's Taipei, Taiwan. (Ang Lee is Taiwanese.) When I was in Taipei very briefly last fall, I didn't eat any food as fabulous as that in the movie, but it's there somewhere. I saw a hotel that looked like the one in the movie (where the restaurant is located). Another Taipei-filmed movie, Yi Yi, is not about food but has a funny scene involving McDonald's. Eat Drink Man Woman has been a favorite for a while. Tortilla Soup is not as brilliant, but very enjoyable. My favorite part of EDMW is the lunches he makes for the little girl to take to school. They're the sort of lunches your fairy godmother would give you.

After a week of dining in New York (April 7-14), I thought I'd add my two drops to the drought thread. My tap water was refilled much more often at the casual/cheap restaurants than at the high end spots. I always drink tap water (often as my only beverage). At Lupa the server poured a small glass and told me to "let her know if" I wanted a refill. She refilled it once, when I asked. I also drank Pellegrino aranciata, as it was a warm day and it's one of my favorite drinks, so I wasn't as parched as I would have been otherwise. Gramercy Tavern, seated at the bar: I finished the glass of cider I ordered. Water was never offered. I requested tap water with my dessert, and the bartender gave me a very small glass that he did not refill. Craftbar seemed normal; I drank one glass of wine, and my water glass was refilled as needed. Our waitress at Sripraphai refilled glasses frequently; clearly, she didn't think we could handle even non-Thai spicy. Oh, at Artisanal they offered "ice water" rather than "tap water," which I guess sounds slightly more classy.

Matthew (mamster) and I dropped in at Artisanal on Friday for grilled cheese sandwiches. Thanks to everyone who replied to my query. We got there at 12:45 without a reservation; the restaurant was busy with the business crowd, but we were seated immediately near the bar area. Artisanal is large, airy, and very fragrant. We read over the menu but didn't really consider anything but the sandwiches (especially as this was the second to last day of my lavish weeklong dining spree, to be described separately). We ordered gougeres, English cheddar and bacon sandwich, and Artisanal blend/prosciutto sandwich. The wine list is very impressive, with a vast array all available by the glass. Matthew suggested I ask for a beer or cider to go with the cheddar sandwich. (Neither of these were listed. I am very fond of ciders and hoped one would be available.) Our server offered the beers on tap (about five, I think), and suggested Stella Artois, which I ordered. Matthew had a glass of Barbera. My drink was all right, and a good combination with the sandwich, but I just don't like beer very much. I hope they add some hard cider to the menu, as it is delicious with cheese. Gougeres were delicious and fun to eat; the cheddar and bacon was divine, definitely the one to get from the list of five sandwich possibilities. The ladies room had beautiful French faucets (and wonderful thick paper towels. I notice these things when I visit "nice" restaurants.) Cheese note: I picked up some Keens Cheddar at Zabar's on Sunday, which we ate during our flight home. It's the cheese.

After reading about Artisanal's grilled cheese sandwich cheese I'd love to have one the next time I'm in town. Is it possible, at Artisanal, to drop in for lunch, as you can in the Tavern at the Gramercy Tavern? If I must make a reservation, can I make a reservation and then have something like soup and sandwich, or would that be totally inappropriate at a restaurant like this?

Normally I can't imagine throwing trash on any floor, and I get after the kids at school if they leave trash around. The one time I went to Safeco Field, however, I think we threw our peanut shells at the kids in front of us. Why would we do such a thing? My memory cannot provide the answer. Maybe they were annoying.

Lots of children's books are full of feasting, but one book stands out because the food is denied. In A Little Princess, Sara becomes an orphaned, starved scullery maid overnight. When she stands outside a bakery, in the cold, gazing at a pan of hot currant buns, you can smell those buns. Later, her friend Ermengarde brings a hamper of meat pies, jam tarts, oranges, and other goodies to share with Sara. Just as they are about to partake (Sara is faint with hunger), they are interrupted by the cruel Miss Minchin, who snatches the food away. At that moment the loss of the meat pies and cakes seems like the absolute worst of Sara's many misfortunes. Fortunately, some magic assistance brings a supper of soup, sandwiches, and buttery crumpets to Sara, later that evening. Children's books and food are two of my favorite topics. I could go on endlessly. (Our dining room has two bookcases side by side. One has cookbooks, the other has children's books.) Just to mention a few: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books have some of the most fascinating and delicious-sounding food descriptions. Barbara Walker's Little House Cookbook is a marvelously detailed and informational companion. The All-of-a-Kind Family books, which have already been mentioned, taught me everything I know about traditional Jewish holiday food. Food in my favorite Betsy-Tacy series is probably remembered best for the infamous Everything Pudding, when Betsy, Tacy, and Tib, home alone, decide to cook up every ingredient in the kitchen. They think it will taste like everything good: chicken and dumplings, apple pie, doughnuts. It doesn't.

My favorite freezer item is frozen berries: Strawberries for making smoothies (blend with very ripe bananas, some orange juice and an ice cube or two). Blueberries for muffins, coffeecake, clafoutis, pancakes... frozen ones are often better than fresh for baking, and they're certainly more available Cranberries, as they're only available during November and December, and you can throw a couple of bags in the freezer. I use them as I do the blueberries (though I've never tried cranberry pancakes. With orange zest?) I buy strawberries and blueberries at Trader Joe's, where they're always good quality and loose in bags, not frozen in a solid block. Another good freezer item is bacon. With two of us in the household, we never eat a whole package of bacon quickly (though we could, if we let ourselves). I picked up the tip somewhere (Cook's Illustrated?) to roll slices of bacon and freeze the rolls in a ziplock bag. This works beautifully, because you can pull out the exact number of slices you want at any time. The bacon thaws and unrolls very quickly when you put it in a frying pan. I've done this with both thin- and thick-cut bacon strips.

I enjoyed a chocolate egg cream at Gem Spa as recently as 1999. When I worked in the East Village, one of my favorite afternoon snacks was an egg cream and some Pommes Frites, from the store on 2nd. Gem Spa was then a magazine/newspaper store, with drinks mixed for you at the counter. I plan to check it out when I'm in New York next month, but surely a New Yorker can visit Gem Spa and report back before then?

One thing Portland does better is Grand Central Bakery. Strange, since it originated in Seattle. Seattle has the one inconveniently located store in Pioneer Square. I assume it's convenient if you work downtown, but I don't, and if you go at the end of the day all the good stuff is gone. Portland, though, has a location on SE Hawthorne, one in NE by Lloyd Center, and another store on SW Multnomah. And they have all the goodies: jammers, cinnamon rolls, scones, cheese rolls, Fresh Herb Bread, rosemary rolls... We can get Grand Central bread at the QFC on our street, but they only carry the basic loaves, none of these treats. I've been meaning to write a letter to GCB and ask when they'll open a store on Capitol Hill (preferably), in Ballard, Wallingford, or some other pleasant neighborhood. They used to have a small store in Bellevue, not far from Bellevue Square, but it closed down. http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/ourstores.html