ghostrider

Is it strawberry season yet? Local Jersey berries were at the greenmarket last week, but I'm wondering how quickly the season spreads northwards. (Assuming that the crop hasn't been washed away.) Any suggestions re where to find good fresh produce in the mid-coast (Bath) area? There's supposed to be a farm stand in Woolwich but they never seem to be open when I'm by there. Any others?

For my garlic & oil preparation, spaghettini. It may not be traditional but I like the way it works. For my amatriciana forays, penne, rigatoni, or my new favorite, elicoidali. For bolognese sauces, my other new favorite, serpentini.

Forgive me if there's already a topic devoted to this, I spent some time with Google and could not find one. I was intrigued by the statement below, posted by SobaAddict70 in this eGullet thread in General Food Topics: Is there any truth to this, that what I know as pasta "con aglio e olio" is, or once was, known as "marinara"? I haven't been to Italy in ten years and don't recall now in what contexts I may have seen "marinara" there. I do recall specifically seeing "spaghetti con aglio e olio" on several menus because it's one of my favorite dishes (I ordered it a couple of times). Is this terminology simply a concession to contemporary usage? In examining the Google search results, I found several comments to the effect that "alla marinara" originally denoted a seafood sauce with no tomatoes, but no citations to support that idea. I am simply curious about this, since I make pasta "con aglio e olio," or "alla marinara," as the case may be, several times a week at home, and I'd really like to know its proper name! Thanks.

Heh. I can show you one that still does. And has a big sign outside advertising "Beer, Shotguns, and Wedding Dresses."

We have plenty of gas-only stations here in Jersey. Some even have attendants that wash your windows while the tank is filling! And yes, I'm at least as old as you are, so I know what you're talking about. There are towns here just 8 miles from NYC where things haven't changed much in 50 years (apart from the prices, of course).

I would expect that. But if it even comes close to "the real thing," then they've done something. I'm not really into all the exotic flavors. It's difficult enough to find nocciola done properly, even in Italy.

I love curries year round. They warm you up in the winter and cool you down, as noted above, in summer! They're the perfect food! That said, I find most restaurant curries far too rich, and I detest coconut milk curries, so it really comes down to make my own or go without. I tend to avoid rich &/or greasy foods of any sort during the heat, they just leave me with an unpleasant feeling. (I avoid them for the most part during cooler months too but there are times when I will make exceptions! )

Yep. And even when I think I'm correct, I'm not going to argue with generations of Italian-American culture!

They have been in Philly since summer 2003, too bad you missed this thread. Try locating a store in your area that carries the product. It may not be that days offering, but I can promise you that you've never tasted anything like it, anywhere. Check the website and look under where to buy Good luck and good eating! ← I've been to Italy 4 times in recent years, so I've had the real deal many times. Nocciola e cioccolatto, sigh, there is nothing better on earth...... That's why I'm interested in these folks! Hmm, they carry it at my local Whole Foods. Now to see if they stock nocciola. Thanks for the info!

Reminds me of early days answering the phone at the Italian deli where I work. This girl called and said "Do you have any gabbadeel today?" I said something like "Say what?" She said to her co-worker on the other end, "Can you believe it, this guy doesn't know what gabbadeel is!" Then she said to me, "It's spelled cavatelli but it's pronounced gabbadeel." There's Italian and then there's Italian.

Aren't you just dipping it in the jus, sans the "au"? Anyway, thanks for the responses on sport peppers. Yes I could have googled it after work, but I don't think I'd have gotten such great links. Google may give you millions of hits but it's still no match for an eGulleter!

Dang! Were these folks in biz last year? WHere was this info when I needed it? I can't believe we spent 2 nights on Rittenhouse Square & didn't find these guys! I guess we'll just have to go back.

It's a rare thing when I hear a food term for the first time at this point in my life. What is a "sport pepper"?

Their website seems dysfunctional at the moment. Bummer, I really wanted to check out their menu. Maybe they're retooling. In the meantime, here's some last-century info: Primo Restaurant Ltd 2 S Main St , Rockland, ME Phone - (207) 596-0770

Vidalia?

I had a similar problem with a Revere kettle of similar design. Then one day, quite by accident, I dropped the kettle on the floor, spout first, and the whistle part broke right off. Problem solved. Of course you have to learn to listen to the kettle itself, ratther than the whistle, to know when the water has just reached a boil, but that comes with practice. It's cheaper than a new kettle.

Well, I may have to try Tuptim then, so thanks! Thai Chef gets everything right except for the "well spiced" part, IMHO, just a little too toned-down for my taste. Nice to know there's an alternative in that area.

There are at least 3 Thai places in Montclair - Thai Chef, Sri Thai, & Tuptim. The scuttlebutt I've run across says that Brookside Thai, on Broad St. down in Bloomfield, is better than any of them.

Ask any retailer. Believe it or not, it works! SB (you can fool enough of the people enough of the time .... ← How exactly does it "work" any more when just about everybody does it? I dimly remember those wild & innocent years in the 1950s when this was just becoming a trend, and it may have given an edge to restaurateurs & retailers who jumped on the bandwagon then, but these days..... Does anyone really not go to Bistro A where the steak frites is $24.00 and walk on to Bistro B where it's $23.95? I'm more likely to try to figure out whether Bistro B is just pretentious and I'll get a good down home meal at Bistro C, where the price point is $23.99, or whether Bistro B is truly a gastronomic haven and the $23.99 folks are just sloppy and crude. I suppose it depends on the neighborhood. Personally, I like the pricing at my local Chinese takeout parlor, where you buy 8 steamed dumplings for $4.15 (you do the math!), or a Pepper Steak for $4.65. IMHO they are way ahead of the curve. (They don't use $ signs, BTW, but with 225 items, you can argue that there is a significant ink savings.)

Didn't they just repaint the exterior? Guess it didn't help. Pity.

I could have written the EXACT post, Tommy. When my bro lived in northern CA, I was all excited to go to TJ with him, b/c I'd heard so many people rave about it. We went, and I looked around and thought, "Aaaaaaaand...??" Just don't get it. When I'm in the vicinity, I will run in and out of the Florham Park store to buy almonds and Go Lean Bars by the case, but I'm just not inspired by anything else. And I've heard the same thing about their frozen stuff. Whoopee. ← I third that. And have on other threads. The place offers nothing for the way I cook.

Y'all had to go and remind me about beets. Curiously, I like beet greens, and can even eat the little baby beets at the end, as long as they're truly tiny. They're actually rather tasty in conjunction with the greens. Give me an adult beet, though, and.... no, better yet, just don't.

Someone had posted on a similar thread that the Volpi products, out of St. Louis, were among the best in the country. Haven't had the opportunity to try them myself.

At this rate it won't be long before we're all drinking TCHAB-liss.

Pudding, flan, cream pies, mac & cheese - anything with that sort of squishy texture gets me pretty close to gagging right quick. Pickles - what's the point? (I mean the gustatory point, I know what the historical point is, we've had this discussion before.) If one appears on my plate, I offer it around; if there are no takers, it gets trashed. Even seagulls don't eat pickles; doesn't that tell you something?