Jeffy Boy

That's interesting - I think I first got onto drinking my coffee black when I was on a business trip, and only had mediocre, weak coffee to drink. I drank it black in a desperate attempt to extract as much coffee flavour from it as possible. I can't stand any sugar in my coffee either, and I hate coffee flavoured desserts. But I like a strong cup of coffee with a dessert. And I hate coffees with liqueurs in them, like Spanish Coffee.

I drink a fair bit of coffee (5-6 cups a day). For years I've had my coffee with a bit of cream or milk - no sugar. Recently I've started to like it black. I find there's more coffee "flavour" that way. Am I just going through a phase, or is this part of a normal taste progression?

Currently my favourite FN show! That guy is living MY dream!!

Gotta be movie theater food.

Chili. Easy to scale up the recipe, freezes well, and tastes even better once reheated. You can make a vegetarian version too. Serve with tortilla chips and top with a blend of sour cream/lime zest/lime juice. Everything can be self-serve. Don't forget the cold beer.

This list is complete B.S.! Granville Island Market in Vancouver is way better than St. Lawrence Market in Toronto!!

I heard somewhere that's the world's second oldest profession.

I'm hoping the beer sold at depanneurs is "genuine"?? I travel to Ottawa fairly regularly, and have on occasion gone on a late-night beer run to Hull, to help me get the jump on jet lag. Nothing like a 40 oz bottle of "cinquant" to help you get to sleep 3 hours before your body wants to!

Go another 100 yards further into the woods, and you'll probably find stuff growing that sells for much more than $45 a pound!

I hate that one! Two losers sitting on the sofa, one says to the other "I can't believe this isn't delivery!" Gimmeabreak! Unless you've been ordering your pizzas from Cardboard-Crust-R-Us, you can tell the freakin' difference!! And maybe the fact your buddy brought the pizza out from the kitchen, and the doorbell never rang might'a tipped you off??

Keith - glad you liked the Laksa! I headed to Yaohan just yesterday at lunch, in an attempt to try the bi bim bop. Unfortunately, I arrived at about 12:15 and circled the parking lot for 5 minutes before getting pissed off and leaving. Have to try again...

I'm not very familiar with Korean food. What exactly is "bi bim bop"? The name alone makes me want to try it.

I've been to Yaohan several times, but have only eaten at two places there. The Sushi place, I agree, is average at best. Many of the other stalls look a little too dodgy for me. The Curry House isn't East Indian - it's Malaysian, I think. It has a fantastic Laksa (it's the only thing I've ever eaten there). It was so good, I don't want to be disappointed by trying anything else. Delicious broth of coconut milk and curry, lots of noodles, and chicken and other goodies in it - and plenty of heat. About as hot as I can really tolerate without beer and some "drunk-buddy-peer-pressure". If you haven't tried the Laksa there, and are up for another visit to Yaohan, I highly recommend it. For good fast-food East Indian, have you tried the place at Landsdowne Mall? It's quite good.

Crunchie bars are awesome. One of my all time favourites. Eatmores are disgusting, though. The texture is like someone took some sticky toffee, used it to pick up all the crap off a dirty floor, then rolled it out. Makes me gag.

I picked up one of those little brochures at Starbucks last week. It's a brilliant marketing strategy - teach people correct "barista-speak" so they don't suffer the horrible shame of ordering incorrectly. I'm sure fear of such embarassment has inhibited some Latte Lemmings from ordering more complex, expensive, and therefore higher margin drinks.

Pho-nication!

And these students are there voluntarily?

You should leave the heads on when you cook them. That will become the "handle" for pulling off the backbone after they're cooked! They're easy to clean - just slit them up the belly, and run your thumb through to gut them. Dip them in some salted milk, then dredge in flour, and cook in about 3/4 inch of oil in a heavy pan. Drain on paper towel, and serve immediately. If you have lots of smelt, just turn it into a cooking/eating production line. Eat them with your hands - just grab the head and pull it off. The backbone will come with it. Dip in mayonnaise, eat and wash down with cold beer. Repeat until smelts or beer are gone!

Oil all over the floor. Ummm..... Did this make anyone else think "Orgy"?

Fish Tacos and a pitcher of Bloody Maria's. (Bloody Mary's made with tequila)

Just got back from our dinner at Parkside. Thanks to some of your recommendations, Coop, we had a great meal. Had the bisque and the beet salad as appetizers - both really good. Then had the duck confit and and the beef shanks - again both very nice. Had a good bottle of Cline Zinfandel to go with these. Only mistake was for dessert - got the Toffee pudding and chocolate pot. I KNEW we should'a got two toffee puddings!!! It was excellent. Great food, and a great deal. Super way to end a week!

So would this explain why, at the grocery store near us they keep the unsalted butter in the freezer section, and the salted butter in the refridgerator section? I imagine their turnover of salted butter is quicker.

Chips. Chips. C-H-I-P-S. The word has lost all meaning....

Oh yeah! Nothing like the "first night steak". Ages and tenderizes a bit in your pack too!! One trip I was on, one of the guys brought nothing but freeze dried food for the whole trip. I think I could have sold him my steak for 50 bucks.