=Mark

I'm curious, you've been driving on the interstate for 5 or 6 hours and decide you need gas. How do you "shop around?"

Let me get this straight, Wooden Boat is number 6, and National Geographic is number 39?

Tuna fish.

At the China 46 dinner coquille had mentioned a sushi place in Colts Neck that she feels is worth travelling from Princeton to eat. This is even closer to the Philly area than the Portugese place (It's also about 5 miles from my house...). There is also Mie Thai in Woodbridge but we did an eGullet meal there a year ago. (Of course we did a China 46 meal last year too, I guess reruns are permitted...) coquille? Anyone?

Hey! I beat you! I got 5 seconds on that show...

Shrimp Scampi = Shrimp Shrimp Scallop Scampi = Scallop Shrimp?

Looks like I'll be joining the Smoke Ring BBQ Team and competing in this event. Come on by, say Hi and I'll sneak you some of the good stuff!

Bottled water has become the symbol of American lifestyles almost to the exclusion of Baseball and Apple pie, now a dark side is emerging. Water bottles not being recycled and Lack of fluoride in bottled water may result in more tooth decay in kids.

Tasted his whole hog at the NYC BBQ Fest a couple weeks ago, chopped pig with a drizzle of red pepper flake & vinegar sauce...

Tony Bourdain samples barbecue in three cities. Prior to that at 9pm there is a Food 911 episode featuring an indoor barbecue with pulled-pork sandwiches, shrimp, grits, and fried green tomatoes.

Damn tommy, that is one ugly assed avatar!

I also love the stuffed grape leaves, 2 different mini onions, one marinated in white wine vinegar, the other in balsamic. They also carry peppadews and cherry pepper shooters.

I took my bro to the Manalapan Wegmans to purchase some stuff for an eGullet potluck and was amazed that they did not have any blue corn chips. Then I asked a lady stocking shelves if they had any canned chipotles in adobo. She looked at me like I had 2 heads. "Are you asking for 2 different things?" No, I want a can of chipotles in adobo sauce... "It sounds to me that you want 2 different things..." I did not bother remarking that a can of chicken soup has like 10 different things, yet they still manage to fit it in one can... Ended up getting chips and chipotles in Shop Rite.

I'm in NJ, and the "people in my area" drink water, iced tea, coffee, milk, pepsi, coke, dr. pepper, sprite, 7-up, milk, beer, hot tea, fruit juice, champagne, margaritas, and wine.

You are the same folks who circumnavigated North America last summer, right?

It is my understanding that Argentinian vinyards are comparable if not superior to Chilean, but that the Chilean Govt. went much further in uniting and marketing the industry.

I did a tour of Alcatraz when I was 12. It smelled funny.

You'd be surprised..

I've never been comfortable with the "food as art" analogy. Art in a gallery is a static medium, wheras food cooked to order is a living, evolving piece. You can discuss and argue about a painter's intentions, but there is not likely to be an element in a painting that will affect your health. You will not be hospitalized for being allergic to images of maple trees. I also feel there is a need for a little latitude here. Simple requests that don't totally change the nature of a complex preparation should be allowed, but simply refusing to cook a steak beyond medium rare is rather arrogant. As was said elsewhere, it's the customer's $30.

PS - Most butchers will "Dress" the hog for you (i.e. remove the "nasty bits") for a nominal fee.

This is how you "pick a pig" dang it!

I think 6 minutes in boiling water is overkill for the current supersweet varieties. The stuff really only needs to be heated, I do mine for one minute or so and it's fine. I just read in today's paper that due to the cool and wet spring that planting of many warm weather veggies has been delayed, meaning the local sweet corn crop will be late also.

I'd rather have the tuna they were marketing with added chile peppers on the left coast a couple years ago. Never did make it out east...

When did a "carb" become a unit of measure?

I'm having a bit of trouble with that weekend. I've got a family thing one of those two dates, but my relatives refuse to pin down which day it is. I may not know for a few days. Pin it down for them, tell them you're booked on Sunday. Ball is in their court.