Varmint

Mrs. Varmint?? Nah, she's a jock who still plays soccer twice a week, runs the other days, chases the L'il Varmints around the house, and manages to practice medicine 20 hours a week. Of course, she'll usually be eating what I'm eating, so there will be some side effects because she can't cook.

I'm a lawyer, for god's sake! Cut out alcohol? I'd take a chef's knife and a vacuum to my abdomen for a do-it-yourself liposuction before I cut out alcohol. I guess I could reduce the number of six-packs I drink each weekend, however. . . .

Just like the tabloids: lots of titillation on the cover and nothing of substance inside. Any photos will be in the form of "after" pictures when we run an eGullet competition to determine who gets to oil me down for my photo shoot. If you really want to see a picture, you can find me (fully clothed and somewhat blurry, thank goodness) in one of Holly Moore's pictures here (Look for Holly's April 8 post -- I'm the one holding the food and beer, of course).

I seriously hope to make this somewhat humorous. I haven't started experiencing chest pains or shortness of breath (except when I drag my ass up and down the basketball court, that is). Fortunately, I've started on the right foot: Day 1 -- The Strept Throat Diet. I can't talk, it hurts like hell to swallow, and I'm drinking pints of water faster than Tommy shotguns Schlitz Light. I had a banana and vanilla yogurt smoothie for breakfast and for lunch, a bowl of chicken and rice soup along with a baked potato (little bit of butter, more ranch dressing). Oh, I've had ten -- check that, 11 -- Cepacol ® Sore Throat Lozenges (Honey Lemon flavor). Glucose and sucrose are on the ingredients list. Where the hell do you find nutritional information for stuff like this??? Don't have a clue about what's for dinner, but I've drunk so much water that I haven't had a chance to be full.

In an effort for the readers of eGullet to get to know its moderators on an "up close and personal" basis, I offer you this voyeuristic thrill: Varmint's scientific, fail-safe, better than Atkins, Not-the-eGullet-Diet Weight Loss System. What is this newfangled method of shedding pounds? It's as simple as this -- through the wonders of the internet, I'm going to begin today a regular diary of my eating and exercise habits, as well as "weigh-ins" from time to time. Why am I doing this and embarrassing myself before the world? In a word, desperation. First, it's clear that people have a strange fascination about the lives of others. More importantly, when a story is about another's weaknesses, the crowd's vulture-like appetite for dirt become too great to resist. On a constructive note, people aren't shy about offering suggestions, providing support and criticism, and going along for the ride. By starting this "diary" I can accomplish some goals while providing some fodder for the eGullet community. Some background information: I'm 39 years old, a shade under 6 feet tall in my socks (but a giant in my boots), and currently weigh 228 pounds when butt nekkid (sorry for that mental image). I do aerobic exercise about 3 times a week – nothing heavy duty – just getting on the treadmill for a half hour to 45 minutes. I play basketball once a month. Even though I have lived in North Carolina for over 20 years, I have never smoked, chewed, or picked tobacco. I sit on my butt all day in my office, beginning at 8:00 AM. I usually get home around 7:00, tuck the Four LVs (that's "L'il Varmints" for the uninitiated) in their beds at 7:30, and begin to make dinner for Mrs. Varmint and me. We often eat a quick pasta for dinner – large portions, all too often, but always free of red meat (another story for another day). There's not a ton of variety during the week, simply because of the time restrictions. Cheap Chinese or Mexican take out occurs once a week, sometimes more frequently. Weekends can be crazy when the LVs ask for Krispy Kremes or Mrs. Varmint wants me to cook her something "good." Oh, both my parents, all 3 of my dad's siblings, and all 4 of my grandparents have had cardiac bypass surgery at some point in their lives. All but one of them were smokers for at least 10 years of their lives. I am not going to make a dramatic change in my life. I'm not going to go on a Subway Sandwich diet, or take a no carb approach. I will probably ignore multiple posts by users trying to shove some dogmatic diet down my throat. What I plan to do is to develop a sense of portion control, avoid snacks, and try to eat balanced meals. Thus, I'll need to go light on the country ham in my biscuits. Recognize, however, that I'm in North Carolina and will remain true to the region, so you'll hear about the barbecue or smothered chicken I had for lunch. I'll be honest. If I grab a Cheerwine or a Goo Goo Cluster for a snack, you'll hear about that, too. This could be mundane, but it might be fun. If my weight stays the same, you can chastise me for a lack of discipline. If I drop below 200, you can take the credit. Welcome to Varmint's Not-the-eGullet-Diet Weight Loss System thread. Feel free to start lobbing your pot shots. Disclaimer: This unique weight loss system is not endorsed by eGullet, its affiliates, or any of the other individuals who are or may be in control of this site (or those who fantasize of being in control). Weight loss may vary from participant to participant, but seeing this is the first experiment of its kind on a food-geek website, weight gain may be highly possible, if not probable. Please consult a physician before initiating any weight loss program (I'm married to one, so I'm safe). Not to be used in conjunction with any supplements other than Goody's Headache Powder. Caveat emptor. All rights reserved. Don't run with scissors and be sure to wait an hour after eating before swimming.

Using bacon drippings to grease the pan is fairly common. I'd have to agree that even the most "down-home" restaurants in the South that I've visited use yellow cornmeal now. However, it frequently is quite plain without any overt sweetness. A lot of that is because the cornbread is used to soak up gravy, pot likker, and other liquids. Also, blackstrap mollasses goes on the biscuits quite well (some like to cut it with melted butter, first)

And a follow-up question: What effect do you think "pounding" lobsters has on their flavor?

First of all, R.A., welcome to eGullet!! We look forward to your posts. The selection of Chinese restaurants in the Triangle is somewhat limited, but the increased demand for something outside the typical Chinese-American options is beginning to have results in the opening of more sophisticated places. A couple of places in downtown Raleigh -- Five Star and The Duck & Dumpling -- may be fun places to visit. These restaurants are much more stylish than your standard place, and the food is certainly a step above the norm. I have not been there, but Chapel Hill's Lantern has been considered by some critics to be the best example of pan-Asian fare in the State. This isn't necessarily "fusion" cuisine, as it is primarily a Chinese restaurant with only a touch of European influence. As far as the traditional Chinese establishments are concerned, consider the following, in addition to the Peking Garden, but ask for the authentic Chinese menu! Orient Garden in Cary, China One in RTP (also the best dim sum), and Fortune Palace on Brentwood Rd. in North Raleigh. Please be sure to report back here with anything you discover!

The Grove Park Inn in Asheville has a steakhouse, I believe. The Grove Park is a great old hotel that usually has pretty darned good food. Another option is Il Paradiso. Both of these received Wine Spectator's awards for excellence. When I go to Asheville, I generally don't eat much beef, as this town has quite a bit more to offer. Hopefully, kpurvis may have some specific recommendations. As far as diners are concerned, a lot of that depends on the route they'll be taking. Try to find that out for us, and we can come up with some suggestions, I'm sure.

Unfortunately, Heather, another DC trip is not in the cards in the foreseeable future. Thanks for offering to do this, however.

Vengroff, by "curing" the pork, do you mean they brined it? Brining is often very good with pork.

We had a very brief discussion on this some time ago. Check out this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=28&t=10091& The Blue Point is still top-notch, and Christopher's judgment is excellent.

I would first argue that "cuisine" is not limited to high end cooking. "Cuisine" is defined by Webster's as the "manner of preparing food: style of cooking" and "the food prepared." To accept Katherine's claim that cuisine is only what you'd find in the highest priced restaurants would exclude any discussions of Southern Cuisine, which is recognized as a distinct style of food and preparation. Of course, "Southern Cuisine" varies from state to state, and city to city, but it is clear that it is, indeed, distinct. As far as the original question about cuisine being tied to character, I think that there is an inexhorable connection between the food of the South and its people, land, and culture. The Southeast has historically been an agricultural society. The influence of African culture and the history of slavery cannot be ignored. Poverty has been, and continues to be, a major influence in southern food. The Southern Foodways Alliance has examined these issues time and time again, and it's clear that the cuisine is representative of the people. I'll pick up on this in more detail later, but I have a lunch of chicken stew, collards and biscuits calling me.

The simple answer to your question is "No." They'll do the vegeterian meal, but if there are idiosyncratic requests, they really don't like to accomodate you. But this is why I believe they are so rigid (which I've cut and pasted from an email I sent out earlier this week). Ben Barker at Magnolia Grill still puts out the most impressive fare. His dishes are usually quite complex, unlike a Tom Colicchio of NYC's Gramercy Tavern and Craft, which are really fairly deconstructed dishes. One of the complaints about Magnolia Grill is that they don't like to adjust their dishes much. For example, my wife hates cilantro, and she wanted them to make a sans-cilantro dish that used the herb. They really pushed her to keep in the cilantro, as it was a good counterbalance for the rest of the dish. Reluctantly, my wife agreed, and she was glad she did. The flavor of cilantro was not readily evident, amazingly. Instead, it was subtle, which is very difficult to accomplish. If the cilantro weren't there, the dish would have noticeably "missed something." And this is a dish with about 20 or more ingredients. Very impressive, and as a result, these dishes are generally not for the home cook. Should a top-notch restaurant make individual adjustments to a dish, particularly for dietary reasons? Sure. If they don't, is the restaurant wrong? Probably not, but they can be assured that they won't have that group coming back anytime soon. In the end, it isn't so much that Magnolia Grill won't make changes, it's just that you have to push them extremely hard. Most people won't do that (nor do they want to).

Fins is my favorite restaurant in Raleigh. I believe the chef, William Dauvray, does "more with less" than anyone in the area. It is in a strip mall. The space is not great. The kitchen is understaffed. But the food, oh, the food. It sounds like your standard fusion fare, but he does more than that. He adds spice when it's unexpected, and it works. He deconstructs, redefines, and simplifies dishes that have become routine. He's a thinker, and although not everything works 100% of the time, I'd gladly spend my money there instead of just about any other restaurant in the Triangle. The downside to the restaurant is service. It's a small place in the netherworld of the suburbia that is known as North Raleigh. Getting good help out there isn't going to be easy, and because they don't turn a lot of covers in a night, the waitstaff probably doesn't get paid as well as what they might get at other places. Thus, you put up with the service, sit back, and enjoy his food.

I've also heard that if you put a small, bowl (inverted) in the pot, that'll work, but it doesn't. The only solution I'm aware of is frequent stirring and plenty of wine and good music to take your mind off the task.

Here's a few good ones from the US Patent and Trademark Office. The pictures are often necessary, but I can't pull up pictures, as they're in TIFF format: Electric Pasta Fork A rechargeable electric motorized pasta fork has an automatic stop mechanism for stopping the rotation of a two-part fork assembly after preset number of revolutions or after a user controlled number of revelations by engagement of a switch. The fork assembly includes a stationary fork element and a rotating inner fork element. The pasta fork also includes a handle that houses a gearing mechanism, which cooperates with a motor. Diet eating utensil The invention relates to an eating utensil for counting the number of bites the user consumes in accordance with a specific diet plan regulating the fat intake by the user. The eating utensil has an illuminated display which changes depending on the number of bites consumed by the user. A push button is activated each time the user lifts up a fork full of food from the plate. An associated set of cards carries the names of the food items and the particular number of bites allowed to be taken depending on the fat content of that food item. Combination fork and chopsticks A combination fork and chopsticks utensil is provided and consists of a chopsticks portion integral with and extending from a fork portion. The fork portion can namely be utilized for picking up and eating food, while the chopsticks portion can at times also be used for eating food. Eating utensils having a sound generating means A ceramic cup has a sound generating circuit at the bottom to produce a melody when the cup is lifted up from, for example, a table. This gives a wonder and pleasant impression for those using it. The synthetic resin is cast into a hard layer in generally integral with the bottom of the cup, making the layer believe to be a part of the cup, at the same time, rendering the layer substantially immune to inadvertent removal. Eating utensil for correctional institutions An eating utensil, such as a fork, spoon or dinner knife, for use in correctional institutions. The utensil is formed of a polymeric plastics material and includes a handle which is constructed so as to prevent the utensil from being formed into a sharpened weapon by grinding or other alteration. In the preferred embodiment the handle includes a shallow recess on the bottom side, and a plurality of diagonal slots on the top side, which effectively prevent any portion of the handle from being fashioned into a sharpened instrument of sufficient length to constitute a dangerous weapon.

I'm fairly sure the water has something to do with it. Jeffrey Steingarten wrote an essay about this. I couldn't find a link to this essay, however, and I can't recall his conclusions, either. Sorry for my lameness!

I was visiting a local Italian foods wholesaler, and they offered me an espresso. To be polite, I accepted, and they prepared to open up a foil-wrapped pod of pre-ground espresso powder that closely resembled a small version of the coffee packs you find in hotel rooms. I was pleasantly surprised when the resulting espresso had a great crema -- the espresso itself was OK, but the crema was very thick. Anyone else have experience with these? By the way, and slightly off topic, but yesterday the Pope beatified the Capuchin monk who is credited for "discovering" cappuccino. Click for Story

One of my favorite diners is the Venus Diner in Hampton, PA, north of Pittsburgh and just off Exit 4 of the PA Turnpike. They make homemade pot pies, soups, and, of course, pies with 6 inches of meringue. One of the waitresses actually pinched my cheek one day (and I was there with my girlfriend at the time!). Here's a short review: http://www.post-gazette.com/dining/20000825Dine.asp

First, this was not a rhetorical question. I had no idea. However, my handy dandy Merriam Webster's had the following information: Etymology: back-formation from ramps, alteration of rams, from Middle English, from Old English hramsa; akin to Old High German ramusia ramp, Greek krommyon onion

Does anyone know how ramps got their name?

Thanks, Vengroff, for the great photos. The ham & beans with cornbread brought back many childhood memories. I recall eating raw ramps one day, and my mother refused to let me in the house for 4 hours. They're pretty powerful when raw.

You will find few beverages that do a better job at serving their intended purpose than these 5.

Craig, if you ever come to NC, I'll take you to the second KK in the country. They ALWAYS have HOT DONUTS NOW!!!!