RaineS

OK -- normally I am a moderately healthy eater, but -- when PMS kicks in, its one of two food groups: the Gooey or the Salty grilled cheese sandwiches with double cheese, pizza with double cheese, mac and cheese or popcorn, just salt, or baked chips Raine

I like to feel welcomed. It really turns me off if I feel like I am inconviencing the staff by showing up. A huge pet peeve -- lighting. More precisely, the lack of it. I don't know which designer convinced restaurants that darkness = ambience, but I like to see my food. It doesn't have to be bright as daylight, but really, I should be able to see the expressions on the faces of the other folks at my table, and I should see some of the colors on my plate. I really like: warm, comforable spaces, not too much noise, wonderful smells, and good food.

Road trip season is almost here. DH and I are major food festival junkies, so what and where are your favorites? We love the Martinsburg WVA apple festival, the Annapolis Seafood Festival.... TIA, Raine

Blue cheese in all its forms, cilantro (unless it is so masked by hot peppers that I can't taste the soapy flavor) pickled beets Of course, I haven't tasted *all* foods yet, though I have cut through a pretty big swathe so far...

Maryland Blues, hands down. As a kid, I used to spend the morning on the pier, with 3-4 strings in the water, each baited with a chicken neck. A few hours later, we would have a full bushel of crabs, take 'em home, steam 'em in beer and old Bay and feast all afternoon! Of course, now that I'm all growned up, I can appreciate King Crab, Dungeness and Stone Crabs and the occasional soft crab sandwich. RaineS