[Inland Sicily: dining and lodging recommendations]

Any recommendations for honest local dining (and a nice place to stay) in Sicily, specifically places within striking distance of Piazza Armerina, Enna, Caltanissetta, etc.? Thanks.

[Dining in Bruges: (a) traditional; (b) more innovative]

I've looked through Bruges-related posts, but nothing in the past couple of years seems to answer my two-tined question. I'm looking for recommendations for either traditional Flemish restaurants (eel and so forth) or more innovative places (run perhaps by younger chefs) whose cooking is firmly grounded in local tradition and ingredients but gives these a personal twist. Thanks, all.

[Aging Meat: any advantage with pork?]

I bought five ribs' worth of six-week dry-aged Tamworth pork from Heritage Foods USA down at Essex Street Market. It was delicious; the flesh was perhaps beefier than non-aged pork, but the fat carried a true pork flavor and aroma. There was a pleasant, slight funk as with dry aged beef. I recommend it enthusiastically, perhaps in a nice thick slab for more than one person rather than in thinner individual chops.

[Grinder plates for Chef'sChoice grinder attachment for KitchenAid?]

I am glad to report that the plates from my Villaware #5 hand-cranked grinder (V265-05) work fine in the Chef's Choice KA attachment even though they are not as thick as the ones supplied with the Chef's Choice model.

[The Food Saver/Vacuum Sealer Topic, 2011 to Present]

Thanks, Crouton. Could you do me a favor and measure the height of the Cabela sealer (closed)? The website says it is 5", but it would help me to have a precise figure: storage space is tight!

[The Food Saver/Vacuum Sealer Topic, 2011 to Present]

Thank you, PedroG.

[The Food Saver/Vacuum Sealer Topic, 2011 to Present]

My FoodSaver, several years old, has finally broken. I'd love to buy a Weston or even a small chamber vacuum sealer, but I do not have the space for it. I am limited to a small machine like my old FoodSaver 1050. Has anyone used a Vacupack Lite? Here is a link to the distributor's description. I like a couple of things about this, in principle: the channel (where the open edge of the bag goes for air-evacuation) is removable for cleaning; the company seems to know about vacuum sealers; and (notably in the accompanying video) they do not make exaggerated claims for this basic model. And if anyone has other good options for a machine no more than 4.5 inches in height, I'd be very happy to hear them. I'm not too worried about the price, not that such machines tend to be all that expensive.

[Replacement gaskets for Foodsavers?]

As I recently discovered to my disappointment, Foodsaver no longer sells parts for some of its older models.

[What's in your cream?]

In Manhattan, Whole Foodses typically have plain pasteurized cream - house brand as well as Ronnybrook, one of our New York State producers that is sold fairly widely, including at farmers' markets. But occasionally - sometimes at the Bowery store, sometimes at Columbus Circle - they also sell a wonderful Vermont cream from Jersey cows: Butterworks Farm. I seem to remember seeing Milk Thistle dairy products at some Whole Foodses too, but I don't recall seeing their heavy cream.

[Caprice Group - service charges]

Over the past few months, we've eaten at a few Caprice Group restaurants - The Ivy, Sheekey and Dean Street Townhouse - and can confirm that only a normal 12.5% service charge was on the bill.

[Cold pressed peanut oil - not from toasted peanuts]

Thanks, Alex. They tend to be from roasted nuts in health food stores.

[Cold pressed peanut oil - not from toasted peanuts]

For Asian cooking I sometimes like to use cold-pressed peanut oil, but not made from roasted peanuts. Baar used to offer one, as did a (?)Virginia company called Nuts-D-Vine, but they no longer sell such oil. Chinese brands can be found in Chinatown, but I'd prefer a US-made oil, and I wonder if anyone can point me in the direction of one.

[Buying canned sardines in Paris]

What is the best Paris shop to buy excellent canned sardines? I could go to Galeries Lafayette or to Bon Marche, but perhaps someone knows of a specialist who has wonderful ones made with particularly good oil.

[Flavorful Pork]

If there are no good vendors at your local farmers' market, you might look around on heritagefoodsusa.com.

[Jean-Francois Rouquette at the Park Hyatt, Paris]

Has anyone here eaten at Pur in the Park Hyatt Vendome? We will be in the neighborhood next month and were thinking of dining there. Thanks.

[Late night dining in Monte Carlo]

Looking ahead to a March 2010 night at the opera in Monte Carlo, I was wondering what our post-theater dining options would be. I imagine that the show will end at around 10:30 or 11 o'clock, depending on whether they do it with one or two intermissions. I'd just as soon avoid the Cafe de Paris, however convenient it may be. Thanks.

[Pop-up restaurants]

Members who visit the UK board or who follow London dining news will know that Pierre Koffmann, who was chef-owner of the three-Michelin-star La Tante Claire, is soon to be operating a so-called pop-up restaurant in Selfridges department store – on its roof, evidently. Two weeks of favorites from La Tante Claire (new dishes too, perhaps?), then Koffmann disappears once again. Successful alumni of his kitchen will be working with him on and off during the restaurant’s brief life.

What New York restaurant – whose chef or owner is still alive and well – would members like to see resurrected for a time? For my part, I’d be tickled if André Soltner could be induced to participate in a limited-run revival of Lutèce.

[Good food at Heathrow's T5?!]

My recollection from the initial round of publicity for Plane Food is that gas ranges were not permitted by the operators of the terminal - or perhaps by fire code for the building.

[Steakhouse]

Please also concentrate on the sides; they give you a lot of scope for setting your restaurant apart from others, as well as making the restaurant a better choice for parties whose members are not unanimous about the idea of eating a slab of meat.

[Taste London]

Post withdrawn.

[London: Solo dining @ the bar?]

I saw people eating at the bar at Bocca di Lupo the other night.

[Torino Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations]

To duplicate a query I posted under another topic, can anyone recommend a good trattoria/osteria - local or at least regional cooking - that's open late enough that we can go there after the opera?

Also, any favorite pasticcerie / caffe?

Thanks.

[Corton (Formerly Montrachet)]

At the same time, any restaurant probably ought to have a couple of phone numbers for car/limo services.

[Late night dining in Milan and Turin]

Many thanks - so obvious, yet it hadn't occurred to me.

[Late night dining in Milan and Turin]

Can somebody help with dining options for after performances at La Scala in Milan and at the Teatro Carignano in Turin? We're principally interested in restaurants/trattorias/enotecas - whatever - with a focus on local or at least regional cooking and that are open late on weeknights. Thanks.