Daniel Rogov

I cannot comment on what happens on the North American continent but can happily report that in nearly all European countries as in Israel, no-one has ever deemed it necessary to pass such a law and one can request that any open bottle either be sealed and saved for them the next night (often done at hotel-based restaurants, including some of the very best restaurants in Europe) or to request taking the bottle home with them. And even more amusing, once you have the bottle in hand or in your automobile, no-one cares where the bottle is stashed. I am not being in the least anti-American, but perhaps am being a bit anti-Puritanical, as Europeans learned long ago that drunken driving accidents have a very high correlation with beer and hard alcoholic beverages and a very low correlation with wine consumption.

How about the Turkish dish known a kadin budu kofte which translates into Woman's Thighs? Or the favorite of the Prince of Wales - nymph's thighs (frogs' legs)

Not misguided in the least. Indeed, at a fine formal Tel Aviv Italian ristorante such as Pronto, I'd most surely often order Italian wines from their excellent wine list and indeed, often try to pair regional cuisine with regional food. At equally good but far less formal places, such as Pasta Mia or Mia Pasta, I'd either order from their wine list of Italian wines or because these places do not havd extensive wine lists, bring a bottle from home of wine suited to my appetites of the evening. On the other hand sometimes it can be fun to try a mix-and-match. Staying with Italian cuisine, for example, a California or even an Israeli Zinfandel or Zinfandel blend or perhaps something akin to one of the super-Tuscans of pure Sangiovese or a Bordeaux blend but not one from Piemonte or Toscana but from Israel, the New World or even (forgive the mention) Australia. As for my being "more sophisticated", forget that nonsense. I may be a critic but the best wine is the wine you enjoy the best and the best food-wine matches are those you enjoy the best.

Sneakeater, Hi... Point well taken. When dining in cosmpolitan areas with no specific "cuisine" and/or "wine culture" of their own, I'd say that best bet is to forget localities and best match the wine to the nature of the dish. A few examples come to mind - Thai cuisine in the UK, USA or Israel might match well with Alsace Gerwurztraminer or seafood with a French flair with Burgundy or Loire whites, no matter where consumed in the world. On the other hand, when we get to those restaurants that some consider "their own" and others think of as "ethnic" we may even find that wine is not the best match. I, for example, adore humous in a thousand forms, but have yet to find a wine that matches well to my taste. On the other hand, with that humous let me start with a small glass of Arak and then go on to a well chilled beer and all's well on earth. xceptions might be made of course in restaurants where the owner, chef and/or wine waiter suggest a special find that they recommend with a given dish. We have at least one (the one that I know of) Lebanese restaurant in Tel Aviv that arranges* for the wines of Lebanese producers, Chateau Musar, Kefraya, Chatau Ksara and Massaya to be available to his regular clients. Fascinating to taste those wines with the Lebanese dishes alongside glasses of paired Israeli wines from the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee and to find the similarities and differences. *Because politics rarely concern themselves with wine, it is illegal to import the wines of Lebanon into Israel and, of course, vice versa. Ah well....one day perhaps.

Assuming that John Donne was correct when he cried out "There is, there is, there is a God" and then going a step further, when God created the raw oyster she paused for one moment in eternity and realized that it was not complete, so she added a bit of lemon juice and saw that all was well and she popped down a dozen or so Belons. Later on one of the angels came up with mignonette sauce and later even with horseradish and other sauces and even a cocktail or two in which whole raw oysters are found. God sent that angel straight to hell. If she had wanted more than lemon and a good class of crisp Chablis to go with her oysters, she would have done it that way in the beginning. And there was the eleventh commandment, that although it never quite made its way to Moses is still in force: Thou shalt not mess with my oysters! On a more serious note (can one be more serious than the above?), one of the great delights of eating raw oysters is drinking their liquor, the liquids that remain in the shell. Why spoil those by adding anything other than that drop or two of lemon juice?

I suppose my problem is that I'm opposed to kitsch unless it is fully self-conscious of its kitschiness and serves as a specific point of humor or is used to make a post-modern statement. My ideal way of giving or receiving the gift of a bottle of wine is to place it in the one-bottle bags supplied by most wine stores (many stores will hand you a dozen or so simply on request if you're a regular customer), to drop a small card inside and to present it just that way.

Perhaps setting a "rule" as to local wines with local foods is a bit overgeneralized....as matching every course with a different wine might be overly specific. My own custom when dining in wine-growing regions is indeed to stay with the local,but that especially in restaurants featuring local cuisine. In a tavernna on the Greek Peloponesus, for example, I'll certainly try the local wines, but if dining at a fine French restaurant in the same area, I'll be far broader in my selections (not eliminating the local wines but ordering only those I know will go with my meal). Even in (shall we say) less exotic California, I'll tend to stay with the wines of the specific region in which I am dining (Sonoma, Napa, whatever) if the cook/chef tends towards specialties of that region but at the French Laundry I might go for wines from one of a dozen different countries. In an odd way perhaps, the simpler the restaurant, the greater the probability that I'll go for the local wines. Amazing how many good matches I've found. On the other hand, equally amazing how few wines one finds that way that one would want to ship home except perhaps as a curiosity.

I believe you are referring to sloe berries, the fruit of the blackthorn shrub. The berries are used primarily to make gin but can also be used to make jam or confiture, and the recipes you would use for jam are basically the same as for blueberries. Two words of warning, however..... unripe sloe berries (those that are not fully purple in color and a bit soft to pressure of the fingers) can cause serious gastro-intestinal disturbances. Also if the berries are still on the branches, take care of the thorns as their prick can cause serious infection unless sterilized immediately.

I do hope my post won't be zapped because its rather a spin-off but with regard to "heart-healthy, cancer-fighting antioxidants" by any name, I am simply sick and weary of reading on a thrice-daily basis about the latest discovery in food or wine that will ensure that we live at least an hour or two longer. Forgive me for being true to my curmudgeon's nature, but it all reminds me of the study done at Cornell University that led us to believe that for every three minutes spent doing exercise we would live three minutes longer. I'm willing to grant that, but let's forget that those extra three minutes were spent doing exercise and I'm also willing to pass on that happy opportunity. Don't misunderstand, I'm all for living longer and, more importantly, better, but when we start perceiving grapefruits, red wines, beer, asparagus and yes, tournedos Rossini and chocolate ice cream sundaes as entirely good or bad for our health; when we measure the French Paradox and the Mediterranean Diet as our be-all and end-all, we are forgetting two important factors: (a) No matter (within intelligent limits) how well or badly one eats, the impact of what we eat and drink is far more dependent on our life-styles than on the contents of what we consume. The leisurely meal consumed in good company and with good wine is part of what makes life worth living. It is not an issue of health (b) Sensual pleasure in moderation is far better for our health and well-being than suffering in the name of longevity. Apologies if this is off-topic but please, please, don't zap it!! Thanks

Avocado or guava are fine options if available. Won't heal a blistered mouth but will certainly ease the burning sensations.

Should anyone be curious, my own list of best wines for 2006 can be read at http://stratsplace.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=12995

I cannot speak for North America, but in Europe and throughout the Mediterranean basin, it is not that uncommon for a client to ask permission to enter the kitchen, there to compliment the entire brigade on a meal well prepared, to place a cash tip in the hand of the chef and to know with confidence that that if large tnough the tip will be either split among the staff (chef personally excluded) or used to buy a round of drinks after work that night or before work the next day.

Who else might remember the waiters' and waitresses' quarters at Grossinger's and the marvelous early or late adolescent games that were played there Or "borrowing" the Buick convertable of one of the guests for a joy ride through nearby Monticello Or of stealing watermelons But then again, borrowing the title of the autobiography of Simone Signoret: "Nostalgia Isn't What It Used to Be".......

One of the best I ever found was on the menu of a restaurant I visited some years ago in the State of Maryland . One of their dishes was described as follows: Finest Fresh River Trout Fillets, gently sauteed in breadcrumbs to a golden brown, with fresh garden peas simmered in butter, light and crisp French-fried potatoes, and a lemon wedge There was even a photograph to whet the appetite for the dismal anticlimax of the reality. The "fresh trout fillets" were actually two firmly frozen rectangles of some unidentifiable fish that rattled when they hit the skillet; the fresh peas came out of a freezer bag; the butter had so little fat content that it would be illegal to call it by that name in France, Holland or England; and the soggy chips were made out of potatoes which had been boiled, mashed and reconstituted in some factory before being fried in oil that was far too old. With the exception of the lemon wedge, which was fine, this dish, like the menu on which it was listed was simply a bad joke. Oh yes…. with regard to the earlier reference to "day boat scallops"….that can actually be a quite reasonable term, used primarily on the off-shore islands and inlets of the Carolinas and Georgia where such boats sail for no longer than 18 hours before returning to shore with their catch. If those scallops are then shipped directly to restaurants they are about as fresh as you will find anywhere. Alas, many are frozen and by the time they reach our table have been away from the sea for far longer than we would like to think.

I'm not about to give any clues to my own age but I will say that if offered most of the fare suggested in this thread, I would lead a revolution. Several people have said it well - depends on the "seniors" and how we and they define themselves. That they are rural folk need have little influence on how they might react to dishes as exciting as those reacted to by those in their twenties, thirties or forties. Simply making assumptions that because these are "seniors" they will want lots of potatoes and braised foods is an insult to both your potential clients (those who will be dining on your food) and to your own talents in the kitchen. Ah well.....restaurants and other eating outlets have, as has the rest of society, had to come to grips with racism and sexism. The time has come to make an inroad into the stereotypes of "agism". And that is NOT political correctness. It is common courtesy.

The talk about antique bed pans (one might also relate to antique spitoons) amuses me. I presume that those so afraid of this possibility have never eaten kidneys, liver or, for that matter, eggs???? Nor, of course, would they think of cooking anything over dried cow, buffalo or camel dung.....among the most popular cooking materials even today in some parts of the world....

Stepping a bit out of the mold for a moment. I will not go on a diet I will not worry about Mad Cows I will not be concerned about non pasteurized cheeses I will not worry that eating soy products will shrink my penis I will not visit El Bulli again I will not eat in any churascuria restaurant unless it is in Brazil or Argentina I will not be growing any heirloom vegetables I will not drink Coca Cola unless I have an upset stomach I will not eat more than 24 oysters at a single sitting

Swisskaese, Hi..... Yesterday, would you believe after lunch at Tel Aviv's Messa Restaurant, I decided to stroll home instead of taking my usual taxi. I walked past Roladin. I got about 30 meters away, turned around, went back, stood at the counter on Ibn Gvirol street and with not an iota of guilt devoured two chocolate coated soofganiot, those filled with a lovely custard filling. That, I will comfortably admit, was the best 13 Shekels (about US$3.00) that I've spent in many a moon.

Several problems with this article for me (1) I'm not into political correctness but I do wish the author would realize that there is a difference between "girls" and "women" (2) I cannot escape the feeling that the author was overly impressed by "Men are from Mars, Women are From Venus" and seems to think that all of the stereotypes that make women more"delicate", "sensitive" and "soft" are appropriate (3) I also cannot escape the feeling that the author was so culture-bound that she tied almost exlcusively into her own group of friends and acquaintances for her "facts". I'm rather glad I'm not acuainted with that group of "girls qua women"

Jackal, Hi... You are probably correct from the technical point of view but I have yet to hear of any cases of food poisoning or related problems from shwarma. Felafel, yes. Humous, yes. But shwarma no. And believe me, as the wine and restaurant critic for one of the country's leading newspapers, I get emails and faxes and phone calls (even at two in the morning) concerning just about every suspected case of food poisoning in the country. Amazing how many people want to sue one restaurant or shwarma joint or another.

As noted just a bit earlier, it is the breasts of the chickens that are used to make the thick slices that go on the skewers and, once laded, the skewers look identical. The use of yoghurt as a moisturing agent is sometimes found in Lebanon but rarely in Israel as the combination of meat and dairy would make the finished shwarma non-kosher and that would be an economic problem for many merchants. As to inbetween layers for chicken, no problem - chicken skin and chicken fat. With regard to hand or mechanical loading of the skewers - those shwarma joints (not an insult, no one one call these places "restaurants") that make their own skewers do the process entirely by hand, but an increasing number purchase their skewers "ready-to-go" from mini-factories. Within Israel and Palestine those factories rely on mechanical loaders and compressing devices. Even though I have dined frequently on shwarma/donner kebab in other countries, I do not have experience enough to know how they are done in Lebanon, Turkey, Greece and Egypt. As an entirely personal opinion - I never, never, never eat shwarma made from chicken as I find it definitely inferior to that made from lamb. And lamb for that matter is a heckuva lot better than beef.

With regard to your first point, I think we will find that indeed the Middle-Eastern version of shwarma/donner kebab relies on sliced meats and that there are two distinct forms in Turkey - the yaprak which is made with slices and the kyma which is made with ground meat (almost invariably lamb) With regard to the second, the marinade indeed helps but what keeps the bacteria from multiplying unduly is that the meat is indeed turning constantly on the vertical spit, this ensuring that the meat that is sliced off will be closest to the flame and thus crisp and nicely done, that as the remainder turns the heat is quite high enough to kill off any bacteria that may have developed. Most truly fine shwarma/donner kebab places have a good idea of how many skewers they will sell daily and by the time of closing the skewer is pretty well emptied off. In quite a few cities throughout the Mediterranean, that is the hour when a few beggers or homeless people will appear and if there is any meat left over it goes to them on a pita with the works as an act of charity. If there is no left over meat they will not be turned away but will be given a pita packed with humous, tchina and the various condiments that are available. I know of several places in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Istanbul and Athens where the owners will purposely hold back on the last 6-8 portions on his skewer in order to wait for those who will show up hoping for a meal. A rather nice gesture. I even know of one place in Tel Aviv where one of the homeless shows up quite early, at about two in the afternoon for her free shwarma. The owner knows that this woman has to be at a clinic later in the afternoon so there she sits, side by side with the paying customers for her lunch. I like the people who own that shwarma joint!

Even though one hesitates to go against Wikipedia (that body of knowledge that too many have been convinced has been handed down by the hand of God from Sinai), many anthropologists are in wide agreement that the potlatch as we know it originated at least five to six hundred years before the Native Americans adopted the habit. Many concur that the potlatch started in the Indonesian Islands and others of the Pacific island, especially among those of the Maori tribes. Because status was considered of paramount importance, during such events family units would invite the entire village to a feast, and during the course of that sumptuous meal (the more sumptuous the better) would give away just about everything they owned, among the only things not being given were the house itself and any income bearing property that was part of the family holdings. Everything else was fair game – slaves, edibles, household goods, clothing- As Zorba might have put it "the whole catastrophe", The more one gave away and the higher the quality of the giveaways, the greater the status of the hosting family. Despite Christian missionaries who put a stop to this, there was good logic to the potlatch, that being that because every family in the village had no choice but to hold at least an annual potlatch, nearly all property in the end became communal and because of that hunger and poverty were basically eliminated from the tribal unit. Better yet (and we of the 21st century modern world will do well to learn from this), it taught all that wealth itself was a temporary thing, and certainly not the only thing worth striving for. When the potlatch reached North America it took on a somewhat different form, especially among the Kwakiutl, Nootka and Chinook tribes of Northwestern America Every citizen of the tribe was invited to the potlatch. In order to avoid a chaotic scramble, the first and most valuable gift was given to the most important person present. Then the next highest ranking individual got his gift, and so on down the line until the lowliest citizen received his or her pittance. At one Kwakiutl potlatch, held in 1869, twelve hundred and forty guests were invited. The gifts included twenty two canoes, sixteen male and six female slaves, fifty two elk skins, two thousand silver bracelets, seven thousand brass bracelets, and thirty thousand blankets. The guests consumed 50 seals, 9 buffaloes and the steaks and livers of six small whales. Switching gears somewhat, perhaps it says more about me than it does about either ancient or modern cultural habits, but I have no problem at all in understanding the potlatch. I do, however (and many of the comments in this thread reinforced my thinking) have a problem in modern western weddings. So help me, I cannot understand just why anyone would want to invite 200, 300, 400 or more guests to a wedding the planning of which throws families into life-long resentments, the often earth-shaking cost of which make me shudder, and to which at least 75% of the people invited really did not want to attend in the first place. This is no hard-heartedness of my adancing age. I have felt this way since the tender age of sixteen, wondering for example precisely why one might say that the wedding day is "the most important day of one's life". I would somehow imagine that one's own birth (or death), the birth of one's children, the moment we have come to know some modicum of peace and wisdom might be far more important. I am not demeaning love. I am, however, thinking of a modern world in which a young man looks adoringly into the eyes of "his" girl and says "I love you so much that I want you to be my first wife".

As to expertise on the many variations on the theme of a host of recipes and the need for archaeologists, I think we will find no two people better qualified than Paula Wolfert and Claudia Roden. If any two people have gone "digging" for recipes and tracing their roots, those must be the two on the top of any list.

Simple rule: If you'll drink it, you can cook with it. If you wouldn't drink it, don't put it in the cooking pot because all that will happen is that the negative flavors and aromas of the wine will be concentrated.