sput

Headed to KC with my wife to visit Betty my sweet little mother in law... Looking for somewhere that might serve a nice Thanksgiving dinner keeping in mind that Betty's idea of a night out is Red Lobster or Olive Garden at 5pm, she is after all 80 years old... Been to the Savoy Grill for drinks before and they are doing something not terribly expensive, any other suggestions? I am a chef/restaurateur and don't mind driving a bit...

Folks, Headed to the Outer Banks (Manteo) in late July... Anyone familiar with anything worth a try there... Been a long time since I've been.

Bringing a group to NYC in April... Any thoughts as to Maze versus The Bar Room for sampling a wide variety of "small plates" ? Especially curious as to who has dined at Maze recently... $90 for six courses sounds like pretty good value for NYC...

Anybody here have any reliable experience or info they can share on the Cruvinet Preservation System... I am curious about reliability issues and maintenence/repair experiences and what kind of customer service/support you recieve from Cruvinet themselves... The benefits to both the customer and restaurants/proprietors seem very obvious, and I can't seem to dig up much negative about the company... Please elaborate if you have DIRECT experience... Adam

I very much suggest the Mason Cellars 2002 SB NapA Valley...

Ya know... Maybe she just got tired of the EXCEPTIONALLY LONG, ARDOUS AND PAINSTAKINKGLY CRAPPY hours a passionate cheesemaker must endure.... Best of luck to her in her new ventures and if her cheesemaking abilities are any indication, much success will follow...

Much has been said about Sandor's at all levels on EG, but truly you would have to go to Atlanta or New Orleans to even approach the level of his cuisine and the experience of his restaurant... Other suggestions I am not sure have been previousl discussed... Basmati's in Blue Mountain Beach... Asian/French/Coastal fare with good Sushi... The Lake Place in Santa Rosa Beach... The Santa Rosa Beach Club for lunch... Great Views... Borago... Eat at the bar and chat with Jay... eat and enjoy his very good taste in by the glass wine selections and mixology prowess... I will suggest that as in many vacation oriented beach communities, consistency down here on 30-A can be a real problem... help is hard to find and like everywhere else, turnover rate is high... When we dine out, we keep our fingers crossed... More often than not, a meal down here will not resemble the last meal at a given spot for better or for worse, both in terms of service and food. Just remember, a bad day at the beach beats a good day at work anyday... Cheers

PM me and I can add to some of the above thread if you like...

Always on the look out for cast iron or le cruset... My fave, the big LC dutch oven which has dispensed at least a medium sized herds worth of short ribs, approximately 100 lamb daubes, 200 pots of various bean dishes and cassuolets, countless messes of greens (you pick one), and lots of other things that can be crammed into its well worn insides. Found fifteen years ago at a swap meet in Pearisburg, Virginia... Also, you know you can get replacement knobs for those pots in need... Also, and especially in areas with a tradition of butchering, I am always swerving to a stop or lurching across medians in hopes of finding nice carbon steel knives... It's amazing what a good bladesmith can do with what appears to be a worthless knife... Always looking for a yard sale...

Love love the Terra Rouge line... Pyramid Block is their higher end bottling, but for value the Quest bottling also rocks... Also, try the white rhone blend, Enigma, for sure fire thrills...

If you are lucky enough to live near Manhattan, these guys have the best domestic pancetta I have ever tasted... It is all I will use... Their salame, sausage and other regal pork products are all mighty fine also... They will probably ship to you if are fanatical enough. Salumeria Biellese 378 8th Ave. NY NY 10001 212-736-7376

Three super faves of the moment... Likely to change tomorrow... 1. Timson from The Vermont Shepherd Cow's milk sort of like St. Nectaire... 2. Bingham Hill Sheepish Blue Stilton-ish... 3. The Velvet Rose from Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, GA. Soft ripened cow's milk... sort of like love on a plate... Enjoy the cheese

Search out the Castle Rock selections made by Greg Popovich... Great values for around 10 to 12 $... Also the Adelsheim Wallace Pinot, a little more expensive...

Try this with some of your best spanish pimenton ahumado... Down here in Fla, I get these gorgous head on prawns just hours out of the water... I rinse them, put them in a bowl and douse them with a massive amount of cracked pepper, sea salt, pimenton and drizzle a little good spanish EVO on them to coat well. I crank up the grill, but a cast iron skillet works just as well, and grill them in their shell til done and sit down for a massive feast. I serve them with a saffron and thyme infused rice pilaf or some crispy roasted or grilled potatoes and some rough cut chunks of real spanish Chorizo, I like the Palacios brand. Serve with cold beer or a quaffable spanish red or white for that matter. Off to the seafood market

Here are some fun eats and diversions... First off, DO NOT FORGET YOUR CAMERA, the Blue Ridge Parway is one of the most scenic drives you will ever take... In Southwest Virginia, plan an afternoon in Floyd, VA. Floyd supports a large population of very friendly, ex hippies and counter culture types, who are smart, intelligent and a very eco-friendly bunch. A very charming town with down to earth small town country flavor. Probably some good Vegetarian spot in town. Most of these people are there because of Virginia Tech, 35 miles awayin Blacksburg, so don't be surprised when the log haired dude with the birkenstocks tells you he a VT professor in advanced computer science or a candidate for a doctorate if forestry... If you get to Blacksburg, eat somewhere else before you get there. But do plan to spend some time at The Cellar, drinking good beer and eating some college town Italian fare. A short ways away is the McCoy Rapids on the New River. Worth a detour for some great river scenery. As you go north, the Roanoke Farmers Market area is cool, as previously mentioned, and you must see the new-ish O. Winston Link Photography Museum. Trains, Trains, Trains... Great pictures great photographer. On Shennandoah Ave. I believe. Past Roanoke, as you get to central Va., take a detour down to the Southern side, and this is key, off the Blue Ridge Parkway and search out REAL BRUNSWICK STEW. The best kinds are usually in fire department or Moose Lodge parking lots as fund raisers. These are areas where truckers hats are functional and not used as trendy icons. Look for a group of old-timers with those exceptionally tall foam bill caps with the mesh netting gathered around a beat up truck and you will know you are getting warm. And, oh yeah, those FRIED PIES. Having been a former resident of Virginia for over twenty years, I can say the best I ever had were in Stuarts Draft, Virginia on route 340 at a big huge Antique Mall near the Tastee-Freeze. In the back there was a Menonite Association selling a huge selection of not only these, but breads, pickles, preserves, etc... Load your car til it can take no more. But be respectful, Menonites make The Amish look like a bunch of devil worshipping heathens. Oh yeah, that Tastee-Freeze serves a mean double cheeseburger if I remember correctly. Also, spend time in Charlottesville, VA. The coolest town in Va. Wander the grounds of UVA and try to take in Monticello if possible and contemplate just how brilliant Thomas Jefferson really was. Last but not least, If you have any room left in your trunk, return with as much salty SMITHFIELD COUNTRY HAM as your cardiologist will allow, and remember, it must say Smithfield on the label and be from Surry County or it ain't the real thing... Missing Old Virginia, Adam