kiliki

Oh, now THAT is smart. I always just carry them gingerly onto the plane but next time I will bring tupperware. I've never had trouble just packing them in the travel boxes wineries give you, then making sure they have lots of padding in the suitcase. For smaller things like olive oil I bring ziplocs, then wrap them in my clothes.

I always wait for the local crop, too. Asparagus to me is one of those things, like berries, that I only eat when it's in season locally (April-June), even though it seems like it's the lastest thing to be available year round from somewhere. I've just never had good experiences with any produce from Mexico and so I avoid it.

Macarons. It's the one thing that's too fragile and perishable to ship and the only way to get good ones is to go to Paris or have someone bring you back some. If he's going to Herme already, perfect. No, they won't last long-he'll have to get them on his last day, preferably on the way to the airport-and you'll have to eat them asap, but I have never ever found macarons in the US (I guess I can't speak for Canada) as good as in Paris.

Sorry. It's called Seven Roasters. I can't remember the name of the barista-my nieghbor sent me his website but I didn't save it. Here's some early reviews, again courtesy of my neighbors, who love the place. I'm pretty loyal to Lighthouse, and I don't think it's as good, but they already seem to be attracting a following: Seven Roasters Oh, and they told me they will be adding benches outside, as well as dog-tying spots (when they saw my dog tied up down the block).

Brush/spoon over salmon that you've salted, peppered and grilled (or pan-roasted). You can mix it half and half with honey to make it thicker (it sticks to the salmon better).

Greenwood-Phinney news: Che Argento on Greenwood first put up signs saying they were going on vacation for a month, now the windows are papered and "Gorgeous George's Mediterranean Restaurant" is coming soon. The name does not inspire hope. There's a new little coffee place next door on 78th with the former world barista champion. And a little up the street, the former Kabab House location is now King Falafel, with a menu much like Mr. Gyros (but it's Halal).

Then how to explain the very low numbers of chains in cities like San Francisco and Seattle, where rents are much higher than they are in the 'burbs? That makes sense.

My family is all from the midwest-I am originally from Michigan-so I don't feel like I'm one of those people that is snobby. But I might be able to offer some insight, since you asked. The midwest is a big place, and most of us with midwestern roots/family aren't fortunate enough to have all our relatives in Chicago, with its great ethnic/fine dining scene. In my case, I visit Des Moines, Iowa City, suburban Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Toledo, and Saginaw. I have a very hard time finding good groceries and many good restaurants, even after I've asked/searched for suggestions on food boards like this. There are some but just not as many as I would expect. My mother in law and sister in law are fascinated by the fact that we don't have any chain restaurants in our neighborhood, and that we don't shop at chain groceries. This post isn't to diss the midwest food scene, but I do hope it explains why some people have the impression they do-it is often based on experience (don't we all have relatives in the midwest we visit?), not uninformed snobbery.

Interesting thread. People have had good ideas about why someone might open a franchise rather than an independent restaurant, but no one has really addressed why chains are more prevalent in some locations (suburbs across the US, not just the midwest). And why do some cities have a much higher percentage of chains? I remember reading a few years ago that Denver had the highest percentage, and Seattle had the lowest. I have a good friend in Denver and the number of chains in the city is indeed striking.

I too was excited after seeing the Bon Vivant photos, and so I was very surprised to actually go there and see that they only have one teeny counter top pastry case. I wonder if the BV photos were taken over many visits, or maybe they got there at the crack of dawn when there was a decent selection. There was hardly anything in the case when I went. I got a so-so pain au chocolate (the only sweet thing left) and a so-so BLT. This may be a great place to live near, so that you can pop in and see what they have if you are walking by anyway, but I won't be driving across town for it again.

Ditto. But for most of the questions, none of the answers really fit me. I do love an outdoor patio but don't care about elegance and mirrors. etc etc

No, actually, she wrote about this, and very specifically said there is no spaghetti and red sauce/meatballs in Italy. Then she wrote about where you might find some kind of meatballs-in broth, etc. You read the article very differently than I did. To me, she emphatically made the point that the Italian-American cooking she grew up with is not the same thing as the Italian cooking of her relatives-that is what the article was about. I was excited to read this article because I loathe the kind of red sauce Italian-American cooking that so many Americans call "real Italian cooking." This is a great article for educating people like the woman who wanted chicken parm on your tour-it will help people understand Italian and Italian-American arent't the same thing. Pontormo, you want her to write a book on the subject, but this is a newspaper article limited to X number of words.

Can anyone recommed a good brand of truffle butter (please recommend the source as well)?

That's a shame you had such a negative experience! It's always so weird to hear bad things about a place where I've had such good experiences, but it happens. We had another very nice time there the other night. I love their cheese plate.

We did too, and so did the dog and cat (to go outside into the backyard). At night when they were gone we generally kept the zippered doors partway open so we weren't always messing with it, and since they vacuumed every day we didn't track stuff around. Yeah, it's a little late now (frankly, I'm surprised they didn't just do this-we didn't ask for it, they just said hey, this is how we keep the house clean), but maybe someone else can benefit from this. I'd go nuts with dirt and dust everywhere!

I'll warn you not to get the green onion pancake at Szechuan Chef, either-it's done the same way (or worse-someone posted here about getting one that was rock hard). The House Special Pancake is what you want at both places-it is like the 1000 layer at Rocking Wok. Even though I like 7 Stars I feel for you. Not having any acceptable options has to suck.

Hmmm...you might want to talk to your contractor about this. Or maybe it's too late for you, but for others planning a remodel: Ours installed a metal framed plastic sheeting, with zippered doors, to seal off the kitchen and keep dust out of the rest of our (tiny) house. He also vacuumed the kitchen before he left every day. We had zero dust in the rest of the house.

I don't understand this comment. My bottom freezer has a shelf that you can slide stuff right on to without tipping. Why was tipping necessary? It sounds like that was a design flaw of whatever particular model of freezer you had, not something you'd find in all (most?) bottom freezers.

At the Chinese restaurant I frequent most, I see lots of people drinking beer (Tsing Tao). We always have a couple each as do our friends. The groups of Chinese men (business dinners, it looks like) I see there really knock 'em back.

From what I've read and been told by appliance salesmen, side by sides offer the least interior space when compared to their overall size. So even if you have a big one, you don't get as much interior space as you would with the same sized top/bottom freezer. And if you can't get a huge one, they are awful. The one side by side I had wouldn't fit a medium pizza box (I don't remember the dimensions but from the outside it certainly LOOKED like a large fridge). They are also the least energy efficient kind of refrigerator (according to consumer reports) and are usually the most expensive. The icemaker/water feature is nice, but friends I know that have them have given up on the water feature, since they had to buy a certain type of filter which was expensive, and icemakers tend to break. I LOVE my bottom freezer (which opens from the side-it's not a pullout). I only go in there a fraction as much as I do the fridge, so it just makes sense to have the place I rummage through the least on the bottom. But as with most kitchen stuff, there isn't one "best"-it's more about personal preference.

Selling out is going against your morals or convictions for money. I have musician friends who were asked to sell a song of theirs for a Hummer commercial. They consider themselves environmentalists, and wouldn't do it-that would have been selling out. Recounting a story from your past for a national magazine is not "selling out" unless the particular magazine somehow violates your morals/convictions.

I had the same thing happen on Friday (though I didn't drive so far). Tamarind Tree, in the same neighborhood just west of Jackson on 12th, is a good alternative for Vietnamese.

I had a nice time there last night. I know nothing about Scandinavian food and drink so I don't know if the food and cocktails were the real thing or a gimmick, but the cocktails (all with unpronouncable names) and food (about 6-8 small plate type dishes) all seemed to be at least Nordic-inspired. They have a number of flavored aquavits (they make a couple in-house) and different cocktails made with cucumber, elderberry, cherry, apple, licorice...mine were nice and not too sweet. Food was things like swedish meatballs, pickled herring, a special open faced sandwich with rye, butter and beef...I can't remember what else. I only had fries (they came with caraway-spiced ketchup) which were not that good. They had lots of comfy looking seats and booths, but the barstools were kind of weird in that they were bolted to the floor, and just a bit too far away from the bar and from their nearest neighbor. The decor is naked lady/viking ship. The bartender was very helpful and attentive. There were no seats left by 7 but there was room for standing, so it wasn't ever packed. I can't believe how hard it is to get a seat at a bar, any bar, in Ballard, from King's Hardware to Sambar, that early on a weekend.

Entrees average mid-$20s (I think the risotto was $17), apps/salads/desserts $10.

They have an oyster pan roast on the menu right now that is absolutely delicious. Anyone who (like me) loves oysters when they are just lightly cooked will love this dish.