enrevanche

I was an early adopter--bought one of the first Kodak digital cameras that came on the market. Expensive, low-resolution, excruciatingly slow transfers; I played with it for a while and then basically set it aside. I've been meaning to get a modern digital camera for some time, but kept putting it off. A few weeks ago, I received one as a gift: an Olympus C-700UZ. It's a hand-me-down from my father-in-law, a serious photo hobbyist who just bought himself a gorgeous new high-end Nikon. The Olympus model I now own is only a 2.1 MP camera, but I am *floored* by the quality of the photographs that it takes. It captures subtleties of light and shadow that rival good film, even Kodachrome. It also seems to do macrophotography pretty darn well, so be prepared for an influx of food-porn shots from me. Question: What software are y'all generally using to edit your photographs? I can't justify spending $600+ on a full version of Photoshop. I have been having some success using a freeware/open-source program called The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) which provides much of Photoshop's functionality. Thanks in advance for any advice...

It's been years since I've lived in NC, but I don't recall ever seeing kosher-for-Passover Coke down there. However, with the big influx of Hispanics into North Carolina in recent years, and the concomitant rise in the presence of Mexican delis and restaurants and grocery stores (a friend who lives in Pittsboro reports that there are now Hispanic video stores, groceries and restaurants in town), I'm betting that it might not be too hard to find Mexican-bottled Coca-Cola, which is also made with cane sugar. Might be worth a try.

The Paris Visite card comes in 1, 2, 3 and 5 day "flavors", and can also be bought for a narrow or wide range of zones in the Paris metro area. It is good for however many consecutive days you bought it for, starting on the day you get it validated at the station. Are you just going to be there for one day? Unless you really need to ride the Metro and the bus a *lot*, or are really hankering for the museum discounts that the PV card provides, you might well be better off buying single ride tickets in a carnet (book) of ten, which sells for ten euros (I think... at least that's what it was when I was last there.) This compares very favorably to a single all-zones 1-day PV card which is more than twenty euros, I think. (If you are sticking near central Paris you can buy a much cheaper PV card that covers fewer transport zones, of course... oops, wait, you're staying out by de Gaulle Airport, so you'll need at least the mid-range card.) Hope I haven't added too much more confusion. Here is the RATP's official site explaining the Paris Visite card, in English. Poke around the site a bit; there's good info there on public transport in Paris.

Heh, yes. The 'cue at Brother Jimmy's isn't so wonderful, but it can't be beat for beer, hot wings, and ACC basketball on the big-screen. I think of BJ's as a sports bar with unusually good bar food, and that's about the rate of it. (You can also do okay there with a vegetable plate - the collards and blackeyed peas are pretty tasty.) Incidentally, as a "balance of trade" issue, there are many NYC expats in the South these days, and restaurants are beginning to cater to them. Speaking of lox, for instance, there's a very good Jewish deli in Cary, North Carolina (Horwitz's) where you can get a fresh bagel with the works (lox, onions, tomatoes, etc.) that equals anything but the very best NYC deli food. New Yorkers *are* starting to grok barbecue; they absorbed Soul Food into their culinary universe generations ago, and 'cue is clearly next. And North Carolinians are starting to speak in an informed fashion about smoked whitefish (though Barney Greengrass needn't worry just yet.)

I grew up in North Carolina, and like other Southern posters in this thread, have been most deeply imprinted on/by breakfast. If you're gonna take the time to make a big hot breakfast, then you've got time to make biscuits and grits (slow-cooking, please.) I still buy country ham from a supplier in NC, and love "redneck prosciutto and melon" (country ham, cantaloupe, and red-eye gravy) more than just about anything in the world. The biggest influences were probably familial: everybody in my family cooked well(my dad was a complete grill-master, and my mom and grandmother could cook anything from scratch) and there was a total obsession with fresh ingredients: we had a garden, but also made liberal use of the farmers' market and traded fresh produce with the neighbors. Mealtimes were also big social occasions. I eat and cook a wide variety of cuisines these days, having had a firm foundation in food appreciation, but at our house we still eat a lot of "soul food," in both Southern and Jewish varieties. Through my wife's influence, I have learned just how much comfort there is in a well-executed brisket smothered with onions and a good noodle kugel.

I think Sinclair's advice is sound. A pound cake, or something like shortbread cookies should be fine. I found some information on one of Nestle's web sites that may be helpful to you. They've listed some baking guidelines and adapted some recipes for desert heat. A few key points: And along more logistical and less religio-political lines: As for the packaging, the US Postal Service has some useful advice on mailing packages to soldiers in Iraq, also linked from that Nestle web page. Take a quick look at some of their "desert-adapted" recipes that follow all of the above guidelines. Basically bar cookies and brownies, but the recipes look like they'd taste just fine. Hope this is helpful.

As somebody who is unfortunately biologically predisposed to periodic depression (sometimes in reaction to events, sometimes for no discernible reason at all) I can offer you a little good advice, maybe. Appetite goes to shit when you're feeling low--it's a totally classic symptom. But you have to eat to keep your strength up, both physically and mentally. It's a quandary. If you crave mousse, by all means eat mousse; plenty of calories in there. Ideally, try to "trick" yourself by eating some actually nutritious stuff, even if you don't really want it, and then eat what you really wanted all along (e.g. the mousse) as a "reward." Buy some good fresh fruit and vegetables, stuff that doesn't have to be cooked, and keep it around the house to eat if you feel hungry at all. (You can peel, slice, and play with an apple for an hour or more while eating it; it will give you something to do. ) Or get some prepared food, like chicken salad, at the deli, and nibble on this at home at night. I tend to eat a lot of "comfort food" when I'm depressed. Homemade soups are good for this (maybe some gazpacho would be nice, now that we're officially in summer?) I eat a lot of cheese, a lot of fresh fruit, a lot of bread. Even a takeout pizza, if you feel like eating it at all, can keep you going nutritionally. Just basically make yourself eat (and also drink a lot of water - when you stop eating regularly it is also easy to let yourself get dehydrated.) I find that mild stimulants (coffee, tea, yerba mate) are generally helpful, especially in the mornings, in making things a little brighter and picking up my energy level. Alcohol and other depressants should be avoided - the temporary relief they offer isn't worth the inevitable dampening effect and crash later on. Save that drink to celebrate once you're feeling better. Some gentle exercise (walking is ideal) will improve your appetite somewhat and also help you sleep. The thing to remember is that these feelings are definitely going to pass--we all have to grieve a little when we lose something or someone important to us. But if you feel bad for more than a few weeks, please don't be shy about talking to your doctor. There is no harm and no shame in getting a referral to a therapist, or in taking a short course of antidepressants; modern medicine is a wonderful thing. Above all, hang in there. Mostly you just gotta wait it out and be as good to yourself as you can while you're waiting.

Were you there for lunch? His "date" may have been Laurel Wellman. Laurel Wellman on Calvin Trillin Gary, We were in fact there for lunch... and Mr. Trillin was sitting with an attractive young lady who appeared to be interviewing him. Clearly, it must have been Ms. Wellman. Heh. Yep, that was us. That's hysterical. I will forward this article to my in-laws. They'll get a real charge out of it. Thanks for pointing this out.

Oh man, I love me some Chick-Fil-A. As far as I am concerned they are one of the classiest fast food chains out there--they maintain a very high level of quality at reasonable prices. I always buy one or two of their sandwiches whenever I'm visiting my folks in North Carolina. (And I vote for "with pickle.") After I moved to NYC, I wrote them a love letter basically begging them to come on across the Hudson River and open a restaurant here. (They have a few New Jersey stores, but nothing really close to the City.) I offered to raise the money to open a franchise and everything. (found out later they don't really "franchise" - they take $5000 in earnest money from would-be operators and set them up as manager of a company-owned store.) I actually got a nice note from someone on Mr. Cathy's staff explaining that while they hoped to be in NYC one day, the costs of doing business here concerned them greatly, etc.

Holy cow! I would kill to sit next to Calvin Trillin. But then I would probably make a fool of myself. You didn't get an autograph, did you? No, no autographs. I have a memory of this encounter that is better than any autograph, however. Carrie's mom and dad met us in San Francisco to help celebrate her birthday, and were with us at La Cumbre. Amusingly enough, my in-laws are from Kansas City, Missouri (Trillin's hometown, too) and went to the same high school he did. They didn't go at quite the same time as he did (he is a few years older) but Mr. Trillin went to school with my father-in-law's older brother, and both my father-in-law and mother-in-law were there at the same time as one of Mr. Trillin's younger sisters. So it was like old home week there. My in-laws went over to the table to greet Mr. Trillin, and the next thing I knew, he had challenged them to sing the Southwest High School (mascot: the Indians) fight song. Whether Mr. Trillin was testing their bona fides, indulging a perverse humorous streak, or a little of both, I cannot say, but my father-in-law, no shrinking violet, happily belted out the fight song. A good time was had by all.

Big thanks to all who offered advice in advance of our trip to San Francisco. It wound up being a *huge* success; we ate like kings and didn't even really put a dent in our list of recommendations (a return trip is clearly in order!) To recap: It was my wife's 40th birthday, and we took a long weekend in San Francisco as her present. Got a terrific hotel deal on the Internet (Hotel Juliana on Bush Street, on the cusp of Nob Hill and an easy walk to Chinatown and Union Square) and headed out to see the sights and eat some great meals. I really don't think we had a bad meal the entire time we were there (well, there was this one touristy joint in North Beach that I went into against my better judgment, but let's let that go.) Particular highlights/standouts include: -- Tacos at Taqueria La Cumbre in the Mission District. I told the friendly counter ladies that we had travelled all the way from New York to eat tacos at their place, and they outdid themselves--had I paced myself a bit better I could have happily eaten there all afternoon. (We also had a celebrity sighting - fellow New Yorker and foodie Calvin Trillin was eating at the next table.) -- Seafood at Scoma's in Sausalito (after a fabulous morning tramping around Muir Woods.) It was admittedly a little pricey, but along with killer views over the Bay we had amazing saffron-y Dungeness crab bisque, and I had an exquisite grilled (very rare, as requested) ahi sandwich... Memo to self: first, win the Lotto. Then look for a house in Sausalito... -- Cantonese food at the R&G Lounge. The salt-and-pepper crab was spectacular, as was the small crock of hot-and-sour soup I started out with (authentically hot *and* sour, easily the best rendition of this soup I've ever eaten.) Other standouts were a clay-pot potage of scallops and shrimp, and a stewed-beef-and-vermicelli in a potato bird's nest. -- The special "birthday dinner" was at Chez Panisse Cafe (upstairs), and it was amazing in every respect. New garlic pizzetta, breathtakingly fresh salad greens, braised organic free-range chicken, ginger cake with Meyer lemon creme. I was also pleasantly surprised at how reasonably priced their wine list was, and the utter care with which everything (even the small dish of olives that came to the table) had been selected. Everything that was being served downstairs was available a la carte on the Cafe menu upstairs, so I really don't feel like we missed anything by eating at the Cafe. Far from it, in fact. The best food experience of all, however, may have been the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building on Saturday morning. As we tasted the samples of fresh fruit (and bought peaches, apricots, and cherries to eat back at the hotel), and as I wolfed down a late breakfast from the food stalls (scrambled eggs, slab bacon and fresh tomatoes on a baguette), my wife and I started whispering conspiratorially to each other about picking up stakes and moving. You are so lucky to have such a wonderful resource - the Greenmarkets in NYC don't hold a candle to what you've got. Also, thanks for the logistical advice about spending a day in wine country. As none of our party were really willing to be designated drivers we wound up hooking up with a tour company that did focused day tours with small groups, and left the driving to them. We visited four wineries (one big commercial establishment and three mom-and-pop operations), had a wonderful time, tasted some really good wine and came back to our hotel with our purchased bottles and a moderate-to-severe buzz . The suggestion about hitting a deli beforehand and picnicking for lunch was dead on... we washed down our sandwiches with a good bottle of pinot noir and were all very happy campers. We're already planning our next trip. Thanks again, eGulleteers, and maybe we'll see you next time we're in San Francisco.

Oh no! Biscuit King closed? Man, when I went to the NC School of Science and Math in Durham, I practically lived on their biscuits (and fresh fruit from Wellspring Grocery, back when it was basically a greengrocer and was sited in the little space where Magnolia Grill is now.) Well, another piece of Ninth Street history gone. I guess you really can't go home again. As far as chains go, I vote for Bojangles over Biscuitville. If you make it as far as Chapel Hill, I second Mr. McKinney's recommendation for Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen. I also think Time Out Chicken-and-Biscuits is still in operation on West Franklin Street--best chicken biscuit at 2AM that you'll ever find.

Blenheim's Old No. 3 Hot Ginger Ale. The best ginger ale on the planet, bottled in South Carolina since 1903. Makes a bourbon-and-ginger to die for. The secret, in addition to their recipe (which uses tons of actual ginger ) is that their bottling plant is built adjacent to an artesian mineral-water spring. Their diet ginger ale is also about the most palatable diet drink I've ever had, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original. Now that I'm in NYC, I buy it by the case right from the source: Blenheim Bottlers P. 0. Box 452 Hamer, SC 29547 1-800-270-9344

Due to architectural weirdness, the kitchen in my tiny NYC apartment is one of the largest rooms in the house (thank God, as we spend a lot of time in there.) If we have people over for dinner, except in the hottest summer months usually everybody winds up in there as I'm cooking (plus a couple of dogs and a housecat for good measure.) The glass of wine/shot of vodka/fat joint trick just tends to make my guests *more* talkative. I've learned to chat and cook at the same time, for the most part, and often give visitors little prep jobs to do or hand out amuses-bouches as I get dinner ready. People pet the animals, hang out and talk, to me and each other. I've come to enjoy it. I forget who said this, but I remember reading an interview with a chef a few years back. He said (paraphrasing) "at any house party, there are really two parties - the one in the living room and the one in the kitchen, and the one in the kitchen is usually better."

I went to school at UNC-Chapel Hill, and used to eat at Dip's original location at least once a week. Mildred Council (Mama Dip) herself is one of the nicest people in the world. All of the college students who ate there used to get a little extra mothering for free. On a recent visit home, I went there for lunch. I thought it was uneven at best and didn't match my youthful memories. Mama Dip was nowhere to be found, but maybe she was taking a day off. Her cookbook (University of North Carolina Press) is totally brilliant stuff, though, and well worth buying.

Oh, I think that recipe would be just fine. In addition to the classic slice-of-cheese on warm apple pie that Katie mentions, I have often enjoyed stuffing cored apples with a tangy cheese (like sharp cheddar, or even a decent chevre) and baking them. Try it sometime... it's good.

Starbucks in Paris I could take or leave, and probably leave... there are plenty of places to get a good cup of coffee there, and like most tourists I enjoy the cafe culture. I do imagine that there are plenty of Parisians who will enjoy getting a cup of coffee to go. I fervently hope, however, that Starbucks has expanded into London by now. The last time I was in London, I would have dropped to the ground, rolled around and spoken in tongues had I been presented with a decent cup of java, chain or not. (Just checked their website, and Starbucks has apparently arrived in London like an invading army. What a difference a few years makes!)

Chad's recipe will make a very tasty Lexington-style sauce. If you'd like to try a more basic Eastern NC vinegar-and-pepper sauce, here is the recipe, which is simplicity itself: For every cup of good-quality cider vinegar you use, add a pinch of salt, one heaping tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes and a level tablespoon of brown sugar. Mix well and let it steep a few days. I would definitely store in glass or Pyrex as opposed to plastic. I don't think it would eat through the plastic but highly acidic foods are, I find, often subject to picking up "off" flavors when stored in plastic. Edited to correct bizarre formatting error.

Chad, your butt is a thing of beauty, marvelous to behold. Back home, in North Carolina, I assisted at many a pig-picking. One of the (relatively few) things I dislike about living in a New York City apartment is that I have no place to set up a grill or a smoker. I have been living vicariously through you today. Thanks for documenting this so thoroughly and lovingly. Honestly, I could almost taste it.

I am not a parent, but am very cognizant that the way in which my parents brought me up to think about food was a primary force in shaping me as a "responsible" adult foodie and enthusiastic amateur chef. If my wife and I ever do have kids, I'm sure that I'll try to replicate this. -- In addition to being educated about where food comes from, children should be encouraged to learn how good food is prepared. From an early age, I was invited to "help" my mother and grandmother cook in the kitchen. Bless their hearts, at first I'm sure I did little other than make a huge mess, but I quickly graduated to being able to make simple dishes, and then later on I occasionally got to make entire dinners and serve them proudly to the family. Today, though my grandmother is long gone, I can make her from-scratch pound cake or cornbread-and-sage dressing with my eyes closed. What a wonderful gift! Thank God these two traditional Southern ladies weren't put off by the notion of a little boy who wanted to cook. -- I was never forced to eat anything I didn't like, but the rule in my house was you had to try everything at least three times before you could pronounce that you "didn't like it." I developed tastes for a lot of foods I didn't like at first taste--olives, for instance. And, though I can hardly believe it as I type this, I actually didn't like pizza the first few times I tasted it. -- Working in the garden with my grandfather in high summer gave me an appreciation for where our food came from and the effort involved in raising it. Visits to neighborhing cattle and chicken farms added further perspective. (I was fully grown before I ever saw an abattoir, however, and could never in good conscience expose a child to such; there's such a thing as too much information at a tender age.) -- Going hunting and fishing with my elders helped me experience and develop an appreciation of nature in a way that no Disney movie, however well-intentioned, ever could. (It has also left me with a lifelong love for fresh fish, fried up beside the stream in which it was caught, and wild game.) Edited to fix minor spelling errors.

At the budget end of the spectrum, Pakistan Tea House on Church Street (between Duane and Reade.) Fresh, simple Indo-Pak home cooking, including homemade flatbreads made before your eyes in a roaring oven. Dirt cheap--it may be possible to spend more than $10 on a meal here, but I'm a big eater and I've never managed it. Thousands of cab drivers can't be wrong! They're open very late seven days a week ('til 4am). In fact, if I can't shake off this wretched bout of insomnia, I may hop in a cab and head down there in a little while.

Beats the hell out of me. I have always wondered. I think it is something like a spork. "Runcible" is just a word that Edward Lear made up, as he was wont to do. Here's more on the subject from that estimable fellow, Cecil Adams (author of The Straight Dope columns.) Edited to correct bonehead formatting errors.

Back in the day, most Southern politicians had to choke down at least one plate of chitlins for the camera during campaign season. Food of the common people and all that. I dimly recall being at one such function as a youngster and watching former NC Governor Jim Hunt (in his first term) wrestle a paper plate of pig guts into submission... he gave a convincing performance.

Follow his lead-- ask him what he wants and has a taste for, and cook it for him. When my wife went through chemo a few years ago (she made a full recovery, thank God) she couldn't stand strong odors or flavors and found anything with much fat/grease in it revolting. We ate a lot of rice, lightly dressed pastas, soups, nibbled at cheeses and lightly cooked veggies. I basically made her anything she thought she could handle and felt like eating... so ask, and keep asking. (Just IMed my wife, and she also suggests fruit salads with mellow flavors like banana, melon, etc. Also she enjoyed yogurt, smoothies, pudding, non-sugared cereal...also things like cold cucumber soup or three-bean salad. Key seems to be soft, subtle flavors, easy to chew.) When my aunt went through chemo, she craved my peanut-butter cookies. Some days they were the only thing she felt like eating. I made batch after batch. The side effects of chemo are much less horrifying these days than they used to be. Some people don't handle the anti-nausea drugs (e.g. compazine) all that well, however. In my wife's case, a few puffs of marijuana worked ten times better than compazine, without compazine's own troubling side effects. Without getting into the whole medical marijuana debate, I'll just say that depending on your friend's situation and how well he tolerates the anti-nausea meds, the discreet provision of a small bag of dope might be the nicest thing you could do for him.

We love Luger's, for many reasons. On our most recent visit there we discovered something that may be pertinent to eGulleteers with dogs in their lives: After my wife and I finished the porterhouse for two, I remarked that it was a shame we couldn't take the meaty bone home, as we have two dogs in the house (and two dogs, one bone = instant conflict, we both agreed.) The waiter overheard us, assured me that he had a solution, and when he brought us the check he also brought us a plastic bag positively groaning with T-bones, all wrapped in a neat greaseproof package. I think there were half a dozen huge bones in there with a shocking amount of meat left on them. We thanked him profusely (and tipped lavishly.) Our dogs' eyes were as big as saucers when we pulled these giant bones out for them at home. If they could talk, they would be urging us to return to Luger's as soon as possible.