Muffin210

Yes, let's do it! I can't wait for the pie tasting...I love pie...

Shiitake mushrooms. Other people must love them, because they're always turning up in restaurant dishes and they are so expensive. I like mushrooms in general, but there's something about shiitakes...even if I smell them, it grosses me out. And bananas. Hate them!

Early September sounds good...I think the blind pie-tasting is a great idea! Looks like there are a lot of other people who'd be interested, too. Yummmm....can't wait.... Any ideas for a location?

You must be a friend of Scott Sunderland! I am very impressed that anyone who might have ridden with a two-time TdF cyclist is also a forum host on eGullet...all my cyclist boyfriend's riding buddies are sooooo worried about their diets...even though after riding all those hundreds of miles a week, they can probably eat ANYTHING and not worry about gaining any weight! Anyway, please pass on our eGullet congratulations to Scott for a great job at the Tour...just two more days and he will be relaxing and drinking those margaritas...I bet a margarita will never taste so good! You're right, Lance Armstrong would be the obvious person to ask about (Tex-)Mex in Paris, but I'd guess Bobke Roll would know some pretty damn fun places too...

I might be alone in this one, but I really like broccoli...even that completely over-steamed, limp cafeteria food broccoli...yummmmm...

Region is another San Diego restaurant that you may want to consider; it got very positive discussion in this thread, in case you missed it: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=44901

I haven't seen too many Juneau postings, but does anyone have recommendations for a good place for breakfast? I'm hoping for pancakes and local blueberries, etc. Also, how's lunch at Fiddlehead Restaurant? I hear they have good vegetarian dishes (I'm not vegetarian but my mother is).

All those beautiful fruits at the farmers' markets reminded me...it's a good time of year for PIE!!! If you're not going to make your own pie, where would you go to get one? What's your favorite kind of pie? I have to confess that even though I normally don't like chain restaurants, I am partial to the Marie Callender's fresh peach pie. But I'm always looking for a better (or just different) pie! Chris Cognac and I were just talking about setting up an eGullet pie-tasting event. Anyone interested?

Wow, your dinner sounds (and looks!) great...I'm getting hungry just looking at the photos!!! How much was it to order the whole wild salmon?

Had my first umeboshi experience last night...it looked so sweet and yummy and innocent in its little plastic wrapper...just like a candy...so of course when I popped the whole darn thing in my mouth and bit in, I was totally unprepared for how sour and salty it was!!! (My mouth is puckering involuntarily as I write this. ) Of course, I had also forgotten about the pit inside. I had eaten it in the middle of Japanese language class and it was all I could do to keep from spitting it out. But I have to admit, the flavor kind of grew on me once I got over the initial shock. Later I did notice, though, that my classmates (older and obviously more experienced with this particular thing) were carefully taking small, measured bites out of THEIR umeboshi. Anyone else had an umeboshi adventure out there?

Just curious, how much are these foods sold for in Japanese sporting venues? I'm wondering if it's the same rip-off prices that we get in the US!

Wow, I'm so glad to hear that Region is wonderful -- I can't wait to try it (although driving down from Los Angeles for dinner probably won't be happening on a Tuesday night!). I really liked the crew when they were at Nine-Ten, so it's nice to hear that they are still turning out awesome food and still such nice guys.

Wow, thanks for all the great information...my friend has only been there a couple of weeks now, but when I spoke to her a few days ago, she was already raving about the delicious berries and tomatoes -- particularly tomato and cucumber salads -- as well as the soups. I'm really looking forward to visiting her and trying some of the things you posted about...yummm.....

My good friend (former college roommate) just started her new job with the US State Department in Romania. I'm planning on visiting her there in Bucharest (but she will have a car, so we can check out other parts of the country...plus she has become fluent in Romanian, so communication shouldn't be a problem). Any restaurant recommendations in Romania (particularly in Bucharest)? What about specific dishes to try while there?

I haven't been there yet, but maybe other eGulleteers can comment: Region http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/269828 The chef (Michael Stebner) and pastry chef (Jack Fisher) used to work at Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, which I loved -- Region opened in November 2003 and I can't wait for an excuse to go down to San Diego so I can check it out for myself! 3671 Fifth Ave. San Diego, CA 92103 Phone: (619) 299-6499 At Nine-Ten they used to serve a nice lobster risotto, and for dessert, a malted-milk ice cream to die for...I wonder if they still make it at the new place?

Why is it that what the Japanese call "pie" bears no resemblance to American "pie"? (Is it the same word?) I'm always amused to see how many Japanese snacks are labeled as pie, but to me they just look like cookies. Do they have American-style pie in Japan?

Well, back from Pittsburgh...the visitor information distributed at my conference included facts about Pittsburgh cuisine, so I learned that Pittsburgh is the home of the Clark Bar, Heinz ketchup, and Klondike ice cream bars! Thanks to fellow eGulleteers, I was expecting the Primanti Brothers sandwiches with the fries inside, but I didn't realize how many restaurants sold salads with fries on top. I guess not every city is swept up in the Atkins craze. I quickly found out that taxi service in Oakland is not the easiest way to get around, so I basically stuck close to the conference site and walked to places with my fellow attendees... Had some shellfish and a decent piece of Copper River Salmon at Poli's Restaurant (our hotel told us it would be a 20 minute walk but it turned out to be an hour in the rain!)...some nice mix-in ice cream at Dave & Andy's Homemade Ice Cream...and was impressed by the minimal markups on wine at Union Grill. On our last night we managed to get a little farther away from Oakland, and ended up watching Smarty Jones' heartbreaking Belmont loss while at Bruschetta's (more salmon). (Confession: the day I got back to Los Angeles, I just had to get my sushi fix, so we went right away to Matsuhisa...yummy... I heard nice things about Umi over in Shadyside, though.) If I visit the 'Burgh again, I'll definitely try to get a car so I can check out some of the other suggestions. Thanks for all the input!

Well, I'm flying into Pittsburgh next Tuesday night...anyone up for an eGullet dinner somewhere, maybe on Wednesday (6/2) night? Or any final suggestions for dinner places? (I'm getting hotel conference food for all my breakfasts and lunches...oh joy!) grumbl3, jshufelt, are you still in Pittsburgh? (kahrs, thanks for all your recommendations!)

Just got word that I need to go to Pittsburgh (for business) June 2-5 -- first trip there. I saw a couple of threads relating to Pittsburgh posted here, but since I don't have a child in tow (and don't need to limit myself to "traditional" cuisine), I wanted to see if there are any other recommendations out there. I'll be staying at the University Club hotel at the University of Pittsburgh...no car. I have absolutely no idea what part of town that is or what is nearby! Looks like I'll be attending lectures all day but nights are free, so I'm specifically interested in dinner places. I pretty much eat everything, but from what I've seen on the previous posts, I suspect I can get better Asian food at home in Los Angeles than out there... Don't know how many eGullet members actually live in Pittsburgh but if anyone's interested in planning a group dinner, let me know!

I've eaten fugu (Japanese blowfish sashimi), hakarl (Icelandic rotten shark -- accompanied by the customary shot of brennivin, or as it's endearingly known, "Black Death"), and durian, but I'd have to agree with the earlier posters about the worst food ever: yellow pasty tube fruits of death -- BANANAS! And peanut butter would have to be a close second place.

Thanks, Chris, for setting this up! It was great to meet a fellow eGulleteer...plus, how can I ever pass up watching Iron Chef? Looking forward to the next LA/South Bay event....

Hi Susan, If you like fish, make sure you try the steckerlfish while you're in Munich! These are mackerel cooked on sticks and served up hot at Oktoberfest; they are nice to eat with your beer when you're tired of sausages. I've been having cravings for them ever since visiting Munich! http://www.munich-city-guide.com/pages/steckerlfisch.htm Have a great trip!

My boyfriend and I visited Japan together last fall and were fascinated by the beautiful fruit displays in the department store food floors and dedicated fruit shops. Even though the fruits were absolutely beautiful (and displayed/wrapped equally beautifully), we couldn't bring ourselves to spend that kind of money -- for example, $100+ for a single (albeit unblemished and amazingly symmetrical) melon. I'm guessing that the vast majority of these expensive fruits are given as gifts, but I'm wondering: has anyone tasted these themselves? Are they really worth the money? Or is it just the inflated prices that makes them such prestigious gifts?