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ghostrider

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  1. ghostrider

    Toast

    Close - Belgiovine's - I'm still working there. Pop in for some mozz next tme! The rumor on the block is that the former hair salon is going to be a Cuban restaurant later this year.
  2. Ah HA! That's the brand I was talking about. They were mentioned above in this thread, but only under the company name "bionaturae" which I didn't recognize. I'm looking forward to trying them again.
  3. I've long agreed with that. But a few months ago I tried a can of some sort of imported Italian tomato from Whole Foods & it kicked the flavor stakes up a notch. It was pricey but I decided it was worth it as a splurge. I don't remember the brand name but I'll try to check next time I'm there. I haven't bought any more of either because my ShopRite held a going-out-of-business sale shortly thereafter & I've been working off my stock of ShopRite brand tomatoes ever since. They're pretty weak on flavor - I generally add a squeeze of Montali tomato paste to give the sauce some life - but such a bargain!
  4. Hard to find a definitive, clear statement, but so far this seems key: Apparently enrichment is not required, but if a mfr chooses to enrich, then rules must be followed. This seems to apply to grain product enrichment of all sorts, not just w folic acid, but so far, hard to find documents dealing with other than folic.
  5. Those are some really interesting points - I knew that DeCecco uses the bronze dies but not the other points. But does the vitamin-fortified business not also apply to the Rustichella d'Abruzzo? If not, why are they exempt? ← Don't know if this is the right place to continue this or if I need to start a new thread, but for now - I did some label reading today & confirmed that Rustichella, Antico Pastificio del Gargano & other imported brands are not enriched / fortified. Some googling later led me to this statement: This seems to answer what I was wondering - De Cecco chooses to enrich the pasta it exports to the U.S., while other manufacturers don't, & this is all allowable under FDA regs.
  6. Runs in the same direction in 2 of the 3 spatial dimensions in this corner of the universe (or multiverse, as the case may be).
  7. For a possibly more detailed look (my computer doesn't do MSNBC) -- http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-a...nvm/604205.html Apparently the melamine chickens have already been sold & eaten, & there doesn't seem to be a wave of related human deaths. That's good. Offhand I'd think that the hogs & chickens are at greater risk than we are, but who knows. Everyone needs to find their own comfort level with this stuff.
  8. What a wonderful read. Ah the 1970s.
  9. Those are some really interesting points - I knew that DeCecco uses the bronze dies but not the other points. But does the vitamin-fortified business not also apply to the Rustichella d'Abruzzo? If not, why are they exempt?
  10. Yes. Having recently realized that I'd been a fool for consuming only low-sodium cheeses & gone back to adding good cheese to my sandwiches, I found myself with the same frustration. I'd never had a wire slicer so decided to try one. After contemplating several Amazon models that cost over $20 and almost buying a $12 slicer at BB&B before deciding that it felt too heavy, I went for the $3.99 Ekco model from my local ShopRite's gadget rack. It's adjustable, well balanced & wonderfully efficient. I find that it's not too useful for REALLY soft & REALLY hard cheeses, but for the vast range in between, it's brilliant.
  11. At the old-school Italian deli where I work, they go for the angled / elongated approach. Probably because they are building sandwiches on long rolls or 1/2 loaves of Italian bread. And trust me, these guys know how to build a sandwich.
  12. I think it's all nature + nurture. I loved black coffee from the get-go. Never liked sodas at all till I turned college age. Didn't much care for 'em even then. These days I have less patience with sweet & salty foods than I did 40 years ago. Your palate will change.
  13. Yo johnny & anyone else who knows - Do you have any sense of what the parking situation arond the PPMH might be for Awayers like me who might want to do a quick hit & run on the place? Is it the ultimate irony that the closest parking venue may still be the garage with the skywalk to the original PPM? TIA!
  14. ghostrider

    Tea Shopping

    I was going to say "That's a joke, right?" but then remembered how long it's been since I was at their NYC shop & took a look at their website. You're right, they have expanded their offerings & price range. I think they've also moved; I seem to recall that their original shop was a narrow storefront on Canal St. When I first knew them - 25-30 years ago was it? - they specialized in high-end oolongs & seemed to have little else. The selection & quality were marvelous, & it was always a special treat to walk into the shop & get one or two precious little packets, but I wondered whether they were going to get enough trade on that level to stay in business. Apparently they have adapted & evolved & thrived. Good on them.
  15. I cannot imagine getting behind the wheel of a vehicle before breakfast. This whole area of the world is so alien to me, I feel like it's science fiction. It's nice to read about first-hand experiences, though, rather than simply watching it on TV.
  16. Yep, the gentrification of NYC's Union Square sure killed all the great restaurants that area used to have.
  17. ghostrider

    Tea Shopping

    As I've said on many threads, Upton, cited immediately above, is my long-time favorite. I've checked out just about every tea merchant there is. I am not fond of scented/flavored teas & generally prefer single-estate blacks. I've come to favor Assams, Ceylons & Darjeelings, so can vouch for Upton's variety & quality in these areas. I'd expect that their Chinese offerings are equally good.
  18. I've long been intrigued by the idea of a CSA, but found it difficult to get hard info on the contents of a typical order from the one that serves my area. When I finally did, I saw that there was just too much stuff that we wouldn't eat. And even the edible stuff was boring: Golden Delicious apples when there are so many tastier varieties available? No thank you. Being able to choose my produce is both one of the important pleasures of life & a matter of economic necessity. So I will stick with the farmers' markets, organic or not as the case may be, & that is the end of the matter for me.
  19. That page had a link to an earlier story about the UK's best bacon butty: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/6150548.stm I must admit that the notion of a bacon + bread sandwich seems unappetizing, no matter how good the bacon. However the UK's best seems to have more stuff on it - scroll to the image at the bottom of the page and the "red & brown sauce" reference. Can someone explain exactly what is on this butty? Are those black olives or what? Thanks.
  20. I'm not much up on my cuts of meat, but I've consumed a lot of Australian beef here in the US, & the flavor is markedly different from US beef - generally a bit lighter & less intensely beefy. Of course this represents only what's available at my local supermarket, so it's highly anecdotal.
  21. The hotel thing has been cited more than once as an analogy here, but not quite precisely enough, in my experience. Hotels generally charge you if you don't show up, and haven't called to cancel by 6:00 pm on the day of your reservation. That seems a reasonable policy that gives both sides - customer & hospitality industrialist - plenty of leeway. Strikes me as perfectly appropriate for restaurants too.
  22. Most amusing intro, though the price comparison is weak for not mentioning brand names. I was particularly struck by the chocolate dichotomy, given that I buy the 365 Organic Brand of Swiss chocolate (3 oz bars) at WF for $1.69. Maybe that's NJ pricing, or maybe Wilkins was going out of his way to buy the priciest choc in the store? I can spend that much at WF if I want, but I don't. In any event I can't find Swiss chocolate for anywhere near that price anywhere else. I suspect that WF chooses its loss-leader items very carefully & varies them from store to store.
  23. Camden, N.J., has a Broadway. Philadelphia does not. I guess they figured that Broad Street would suffice. Ellen: That Arnie's Whole Beef Halves tagline (actually, the commercial is from "TV or Not TV," the duo effort by half the Firesigns, [Philip] Proctor & [Peter] Bergman) brings back memories of another product that take-out place carried. A beverage, to be more specific. Unfortunately, posting that part of the commercial would probably get this post yanked. Any fan of wordplay has to appreciate the Firesign Theater, who revel in it ("They told me to go to the same old place..." "...Oh, you must mean the old Same place.") I'm glad we both have hung onto our warped senses of humor! ← The "Funky Broadway" reference was meant to indicate the ubiquity of Euclids ("Every town I go" - e.g., StL & Montclair). And to bring food back into the picture: Groat Clusters!
  24. The berries I mentioned previously weren't genuine Plant City, but the ones I got last night are, & oh so fragrant & tasty. $1.29 / lb at my local farmers market place. Hadn't been able to get there for a week, had become dispirited looking at the lifeless $2.99 / lb CA berries at the supermarket, but the farmers' market came through big time! I'm in strawberry heaven this weekend!
  25. I remember seeing that Fish Heads film on TV in the early 1970s. I don't remember what show it was on. Who had the gall to put that out there to a national (or possibly local NYC) audience? This Euclid business is interesting. It reminds me of Funky Funky Broadway ("Every town I go...."). There was one in St. Louis where I grew up. There's one in Montclair NJ where I now work. They're eveyrwhere.
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