herbacidal

liquor licensing varies significantly from state to state. You've been told the quirks about New Jersey already. I believe someone indicated in New York, no liquor store owner is allowed to own more than one location, and no more than six days a week, and only recently was allowed to choose which six days, and that based on political finagling. Also, beer is avaible in supermarkets, much like Hong Kong and probably UK. At least, that's what I remember. Can New Yorkers add to this? Pennsylvania is one of the few states in the country that does not allow liquor and wine sales from entities other than itself. I believe Washington to be another. Beer is sold from licensed distributors and special license delis, but not in supermarkets. The prices and selection for liquor and wine used to be horrible, although that is slowly starting to improve. The discount allowed to volume purchasers of liquor and wine by the state is so minimal (7%) and laden with bureaucratic processes that many restaurants forego the discount just to get on to their next necessary errand. Perhaps this tangential issue is best moved to somewhere else?

sorry, that's what i meant. i was wondering what others were available stateside. but you answered it anyway. i think that's the next 20 years: expanded availability of all the cuisines' regional specialties.

well, the debut of the habanero vodka last night was a smashing success. really nice kick. awesome bloody marys.

what other kinds of indian are there? keralan? if so, what else?

Are you saying one bad recommendation changed them from friend to colleague? Wow, harsh.

is most of the indian food in the US punjabi? don't know much about indian food really, but i understand what we have here it's mostly from the north, with punjabi mentioned most often. if so, i would expect it to be like chinese food a decade or two ago. cantonese food mostly, with the occasional thing thrown in from other regions of the country. also, is most of the indian food in the UK punjabi?

just based on their website, i agree. at least for the propietary trademarks, not the licensed brands. Autogrill

There is one in MD off I-95 enroute to Philadelphia. That's the furthest north Waffle House I know of. Philadelphia could handle 20 of them, at least. which exit off 95?

can't go wrong with biz casual. i tend to go with stylish biz casual myself, this is whenever i do go out dining. the only place i know that requires a tie in town is the prime rib, but i also wouldn't feel comfortable in LBF w/o a suit, probably. Lyonnais would be back to biz casual. in other words, your thinking should be fine.

i actually hate starbucks. will go to significant lengths to avoid getting anything there. but what they actually provide ain't half bad, as it were. but i do believe coffee purveyors in the airports before were decent enough. (Are there still non-starbucks coffee joints in US airports ?) I hope so.

yes, forgot about that. i like carraba's better than any of the other italian-like chains. they don't seem to go overboard, which is nice. the fact that run by same parent as outback may be a reason why i like them both, IE management that understands their brand positioning and does just enough to stay there, not go overboard.

Darden Restaurants reported that sales were up at their Red Lobster and OLIVE GARDEN stores, recently. Those are 2 restaurants that I have never eaten in. I agree that OutBack gives you what you ask for. The suburban locations always seem to be full of babies. I never thought of Palm and Morton's as chains, but I guess they are. Both restaurants here are cool but really expensive. 2 big chains I eat at occasionally: Burger King and Subway. No comments, no regrets. For 5 or 7 bucks, what do you want? This is embarassing me now. palm and morton's don't meet the >50 locations criteria, but they were only mentioned as compared to outback on that tangent.

if i can make it, i volunteer to assist dumpling. being chinese also, we can arrange it such that half the menu is fully adventurous (giant clam, served raw with wasabi-soy, anyone?) and the other half is less so. there's a new year's dinner i did on the philly board that is a decent split between the two, although favoring the adventurous.

musta been so happy didn't notice b di b included.

I figure it probably won't be a franchise. I have a little more faith in a chain, especially smaller ones. I figure, some owner out there keeps a good enough eye on his places and has trained the staff well enough. Is it like picking the least of all possible evils? Preferably not. There's gotta be one that's worth a B, B- rating overall. I think Outback does make a quality steak. Better value proposition than the high-end steakhouses, and not just by a little, but a lot. For me, a dinner at the Palm or Morton's is worth about a third what I pay for it. I do go to chains every now and again, and they ain't too

knew i shoulda come here before i went looking for mason jars. paid $3 for 3 at a farmer's market, so didn't do bad down here in south joisey, but goodwill + salvation should be pretty good sources, not to mention that case for buck fiddy is a steal and a half.

jeez elyse, you sure get around! first it was you and me, now you and matt. you go girl!

happy rooster should be good. their new chef (about a year+ now, i think), steve latona, katie and i both know from working with him previously at separate places. he's got good stuff.

yea, that's my definite first choice too.

We did an eGullet dinner at Congee Village last year. If I'm free I'd love to attend but won't know my schedule until much closer to the date. yea, same here.

man, i am so there! now, i just gotta decide where there is!

cool, another place to try. rhh, if you stop by either one, be sure to post the review!

If you had to make an honest assessment, how much more growth do you think there is for the "story" part of the book market's cooking+restaurant sub-section? I actually have no interest in cookbooks at all, but have continually been interested in books such as Soul of a Chef, Fourth Star, Kitchen Confidential, etc. Is it tied directly to nothing more than the growth of the US and global population, or is tied perhaps at a much slower rate?

all very true. i suppose what i was suprised by was that somebody actually did fill that void finally. at a base level, i knew the opportunity was there, because of these smaller mom and pops being pushed out. yet no one had really picked up the ball and tried to meet that market opportunity.

and then you got panera, for the suburban upper income types. stopped by my first one a few months ago. i was impressed. looked good, i'd eat there. didn't that day and haven't since, but i would if it was around where i was and i was hungry. i think they're probably the ones who inspired the xando-cosi mergers and the remodeling of all the Cosis to their current format.