chow guy

Cahews win by a wide margin... but I like pistachios and pecans too.

Gourmet gets my vote. I was teaching a very simple soup recipe in a cooking class last year and a student commented that it was complicated. Which led to my newest definition of the word. Gourmet is anything that takes more than 7 minutes to cook.

While teaching cooking at a Southwest cooking school the owner tried to help me with my aversion to cilantro (she was appalled since cilantro is so pervasive in all her recipes and I wouldn't eat any of them with cilantro). I tried it many, many times , many ways, and I still can't bear it. At least I gave it a shot. I must admit it feels like a disability. Some say there is a chemical reaction with cilantro.

A Juicy rare burger with swiss or white cheddar cheese melted on top with shards of fresh roasted green chile, caramalized onions and catsup. Heaven!

When I met my wife she was vegetarian (vegan). I was a chef and took up the challenge of spending three months on a grand road trip across the country, cooking for a vegan. We camped in National Parks and campgrounds from coast to coast. I brought along three crates of ingredients (dried mushrooms, noodles, grains, currry pastes, condiments chutneys etc. etc.). We'd buy fresh vegetables and other ingredients along the way and I would spend hours everyday cooking. I really enjoyed the variety of dishes I came up with and and before long I was a vegan and married to a vegan. I began teaching at the local community college vegan cooking program and even opened a vegan restaurant. After hurricane Andrew blew us out of our home we moved to the mountains of New Mexico. Interesting ingredients were very difficult to come by and I no longer had the time required to cook the way I had in Florida. I began eating meat again.These many years later. We often eat vegetarian and my wife will eat seafood. I feel like it's the right diet for me, especially living here. I also do not miss the hours and hours of weekly prep time, and the vegan police.

Thanks HKDave for the information. I posted a while ago about where to eat in Park City but there was not a single response. So It looks like I'll try some of your recs for SLC. How long a drive is it to Park City from SLC? Thanks again.

I would recommend Fresh Herbs Inc. (the new name for B Riley Fresh Herbs which was sold when Dale Porterfield died last year). It's located at 670 Juan Tabo Blvd. at Copper in Albuquerque. It's mostly wholesale to fancy restaurants in Santa Fe. but they will sell retail and there is a small section with dry goods and vinegars etc. The new place is not as good as B Riley used to be. BUT you can get alll kinds of mushrooms and chiles( both fresh and dried)I get some of the harder to find chiles there when I make the Black Mole recipe from Freida Kalo and Diego Riveras' wedding. They have all kinds of herbs, and uncommon fruits vegetables. They will also ship.

A pureed soup like Vichchoisse or Parmentier offer a nice contrast to the others and are very versatile.

Add it to a fresh tomato sauce with saffron (which goes well with artichokes and mushrooms).

I can't stand places that have misspelled names like "Kowboy Kafe" etc. Places with Kutsey names often seem to have awful food. There used to be a place here with a sign that read, "Siagon House and Emissions Testing" and another small cafe attached to a gas station that read, "Eat Here Get Gas" So much for saving money on signage. There is a great little place in Santa Fe called "Dave's Not Here".

I am tagging along with my wife to a conference in Park City this summer. I would love to find out about great ( and especially) inexpensive places to eat. I'll be on my own during the day but dinner spots too since I usually avoid hotel food. Thanks in advance.

When I was I college and times got tough, I would walk 20 blocks over to Nathans' Famous on 8th Street and enjoy sauerkraut with mustard on it. Around the same time my buddy and I swept the rice up from the church steps after a friends' wedding. We joked about eating it but never did.

Balmagowry, My "sediments" exactly! It's all about the passion and the desire to share it. I also happen to really enjoy a good sense of humor too. I relish Calvin Trillins' work and in fact I also enjoy your wiity posts here on egullet. These days it seems like there are way too many journalist/ food writers who lack passion and generosity and are woefully short on information.

I second that emotion. I head for Thai soups with lots of red chile paste and lime. Yum! (excuse the pun).

Ditto.. And to add insult to injury It was my fathers favorite meal and we were required to eat every last scap of it. I would hide small bits in my napkin and dispose of them properly. I still don't like it or eat it often... but I can eat it now only when it's cooked rare and not dried out.

The cardinal rule for cooking with wine especially fortified wine is: Use good wine. Cheap stuff will ruin your dish.

I dredge them in cornstarch instead of flour and saute in ghee ( don't turn them over till they're brown). Then I add a little butter at the end for flavor. They turn out browned and juicy.

Try chopping canned cherries, macerate in some brandy and then fold them into to some Hagen Daz Vanilla ice cream. Thicken the juice with cornstarch add more booze and you've got a sauce.

The worst staff meals I ever experienced were at OH HO SO (A trendy So Ho Chinese place in the 80's). The staff meal would often be chicken feet in black bean sauce and other unidentifiable body parts and pieces. It caused deep resentments and some menbers of the staff to forage for themselves in all manner of creative pilfering. Places that I've worked that served tasty, plentiful (even cost effevtive) staff meals seem to have better morale among their employees and a much better rapport between front and back of the house and that translates to a better experience for everybody.

Fish cheeks and pork rind (the crispy skin from a pork roast) both rule.

Sounds like New York City, to me. Baltimore? Perfect? (Not that it's not "Charm City") New York City would be my first choice as well... since it has more diverse and delicious chow per square foot than almost any other city. You also can find lots of affordable meals, so you can eat well without breaking the bank.

This thread reminds me of an experience I had while working as maitr'd at a posh place in New York back in the late seventies.. A woman came inside through the French doors, gaped at the $350 flower arrangement on the landing between the two levels of the restaurant and asked: "Do you serve children?" I said, "Yes Madam, on pita bread!" "I don't find that funny", she said. "I don't find chilren in restaurants of this calibre funny."

Sunday dinner when I was growing up was a big deal. Often our "distended family" (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and strays from my parents bar) gathered around the table. The good dishes and glassware were brought out of the china closet and linen table cloths and napkins were also used. Roasted meats were featured like rare roast beef, garlicy leg of lamb, pork roast or ham. Sides included: Cole slaw with pineapple, jello mold, beets and beet greens, string bean casserole, sauteed mushrooms, white asparagus with Russian dressing, scalloped or creamed potatoes. Desserts like butterscotch pie, coconut cake or ice box cake were regulars. Today, Sunday Dinner includes my wife and myself (kids are grown up). The most impotant feature is that it must be uncomplicated and ready to serve onto the TV tables by the time the Sopranos' starts.

Pesto Salsa Balsamic vinegar Sambal chili paste with garlic dark sesame oil Blind Betty Hot Sauce Anything lemon (especially Meyer Lemon marmelade) I also use "waay" too much catsup on fries etc. but it's not my favorite condiment

I put them in a frittata with potatoes , phyllo triangles with artichoke hearts, pannini with eggplant, roasted peppers and cheese and on pizza with rosemary and black olives.