annarborfoodie

Thank you for affirming my memory! I was absolutely sure I was right about that but didn't want to get into an argument. I haven't been there in a while and thought maybe they had discontinued the practice, but I knew they did it in the past.

I've been lurking on this thread for a while now... I have a serious allergy to fish, and in particular whitefish. It doesn't always make sense - for example, anchovies don't bother me at all. But I am 100% sure that I don't want to be near whitefish. When I eat out, I always ask questions if I'm eating anything that could be cross-contaminated - for example, some restaurants fry their fries in the same oil as their cod. I regularly ask waitresses to go back and ask the chef, rather than guessing. I won't eat crab cakes at a restaurant, because you never know what they threw in there besides crab. And "Krab" is the absolute worst - it's made from whitefish. I am never shy about just not eating when I'm not sure. One example of an uncomfortable experience was when I went to the home of some of my husband's Chinese colleagues for dinner. I had never eaten in a traditional Chinese home before, and did not realize before we sat down that chopsticks would go into the fish, and then into everything else. After I surmised the situation, I just stuck to my non-polluted bowl of rice, which upset the hosts, because they thought I didn't like their food. For many years, my husband didn't believe me about the seriousness of my allergy. Then he saw me go into anaphylactic shock at a wedding because I ate what had been described as a crab cake, and it was really a whitefish cake. Ever since, he is as vigilant as I am in making sure that things are safe, and if we're invited somewhere and he's doing the communicating with the hosts, he's very straightforward about it. He knows where to find the epipen and how to use it. One final story. I got married last summer. Everyone but me wanted to have fish at various points in the wedding celebration - my inlaws wanted to serve it for the rehearsal dinner, and my parents wanted to have salmon as an appetizer at the wedding. I insisted that there be no fish anywhere until after the wedding, but let them have tunafish and lox for the morning-after brunch. Sure enough, someone must have stuck the egg salad spoon in the tunafish bowl, because I broke out in hives. Thankfully tuna is nowhere near as serious of a problem as whitefish, but I definitely proved my point.

I heard about it on the radio last night - it's a revamp of La Musique in the St. Regis hotel. A bunch of motown musicians are investing in it and they're supposed to fill the walls with memorabilia and there will be live music. More details here

Yes, most assuredly it is. I was a victim of food poisoning from a chocolate chip cookie at a reception in grad school. I learned later that at least ten other people spent the night in the bathroom. The cookie came from a grocery store bakery and I now live across the street from that grocery store. Seven years later, I will not eat anything from that bakery.

I am headed to KC next weekend for my husband's grandmother's 90th birthday and my biggest regret is that we'll only be there for two dinners and two lunches. We are trying to convince the family to do Jack Stack carryout for the birthday dinner (gram doesn't go out much anymore). I love thier brisket, burnt ends, and cheezy corn. I have to get fries from Oklahoma Joe's, and I think we're going to Lidia's for dinner Friday night. I also want to try LC's - so we will probably have to fit that into Saturday's lunch. But my husband will surely want to go to Winsted's too. There are way too many good restaurants for the 48 hours we will be in town!

This thread is responsible for the fact that I lost an hour out of my day today. I'm just fascinated. I like the new logo BTW. I'm especially fascinated by the fact that this joint will most likely be within a couple of miles of my house!!!

Sara, I knew you were a Michigan grad, but I didn't know you were in the RC - I am an RC alum (graduated in '96). I wanted to go to a smaller school, but when I got into Michigan, my parents weren't willing to pay for anything else (in-state tuition). The RC was a great compromise and I truly loved my time there. About the Del - I walked past it the other day and it looks like the new incarnation is close to opening - there were tables and chairs in the space. Grizzly Peak next door is taking it over and creating a tavern/bar. They're supposed to be replicating the music from the Del (digitizing the mix tapes) but not much else. My current favorite burger & fries in Ann Arbor (the fries are more important to me) is at Fraser's on Packard. We also like the Sidetrack in Ypsi.

From our experiences, Atlas is good for dinner, bad for lunch. The service is absolutely atrocious at lunch - two hours total on a weekday. In the evenings, it is much better. I grew up across the street from co-owner Mark Woodford - he was a punk ('80s mohawk style) who drove his librarian parents crazy... it's hard to believe he grew up to have a successful business, but he did. I haven't been since the change in chefs though.

Cooking Light's Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles might fit the bill. Here's a link to the recipe in their recipe finder: http://food.cookinglight.com/cooking/displ...ecipe_id=226788

Bumping this up for a good deal alert - I saw boxed sets of Sitram Profiserie at HomeGoods yesterday for $99.99. They were 11 pieces, so I think they're the same ones they have through costco.com. I was really wishing that I knew someone who needed a cookware set - I have recently purchased a couple of pieces of Sitram Catering, so I'm all set.

Greektown is two blocks of "cheez" if you ask me. It's mostly dominated by the Greektown casino now - lots of the restaurants accept their comps. There is a bakery (whose name is escaping me but it starts with an "A") that is fabulous though. Sweet Georgia Brown is in Greektown, and that is a decent restaurant. The new Mosaic restaurant is there too - I haven't tried it. It is owned by the daughters of the guy who owns half of Greektown, and I went to middle school with one of them...

My new favorite is Peanut Butter Puffins. If you pretend that you actually only eat the 3/4 cup they list as a serving size, they might qualify as being healthy. It's great dry as a snack too.

Small Plates is one of my favorites. You can jump on the People Mover to get there from downtown if the weather isn't good for a walk (it's probably about a mile from the Renaissance Center). Seldom Blues in the Renaissance Center was just named "Restaurant of the Year" by the Detroit Free Press. I'm not sure about the label, but I like the restaurant - they have live jazz in the evenings. For an interesting twist you might try the new breakfast restaurant - Detroit Breakfast House on Woodward. I haven't been there yet but have heard good things about it. And no visit to Detroit would be complete without a Coney Island visit - either American or Lafayette.

What a shame that with all of the excellent restaurants in Ann Arbor you had such a bad night out. We haven't been to the Gandy Dancer since the change in ownership, and it seems like that was a good move... I hope you'll visit Ann Arbor again and give other places a try - eve, West End Grill, Pacific Rim, the Earle, and Zingerman's are all worthy of your time.

I've been to Seldom Blues once - for my department's "holiday" lunch in May. I did enjoy it, and would go back, but I don't think I'd name it the best in Detroit. I'll have to try it for dinner sometime though. I definitely agreed with last year's pick of Five Lakes Grill - that is one of my all time favorite restuarants. And Small Plates (from the "hot restaurant" list) is another fave - especially when I go with a group on a business lunch and we order a ton of stuff and share in the true spirit of the place. Giovanni's (from the "always Detroit" list) is our favorite romantic special night out restaurant in Detroit. The service is top-notch and the food and wine selections are excellent. Plus we feel like big adventurers going there...

I have the Pro 6 and I love it. I bought it refurbished directly from Kitchen Aid. I got a good deal and I have never had a problem with it. I've had it for about three years. Absolutely no regrets.

When I was at the ER having my fingertip stitched back on after a bagel-slicing incident several years ago, the doctor gave me his "standard bagel-slicing lesson". Apparently he has occasion to give it often... I've used his method ever since, and not had another problem.

I love hearing this stuff. It's one of those things that I've seen in movies and wondered "does anyone really live like this?". It seems like you have the job that a lot of people dream of/aspire to. Do you live in when you're at the main house?

My mom gave me one of the heart-shaped LC casseroles for Xmas. She got it on clearance last year, so the label had been there for quite a while, and was firmly stuck. I sprayed it with Dawn Power Dissolver and let it sit for a half hour, then wiped it with a paper towel and the label came right off.

My parents shipped me off to stay with a french chef for the summer when I was 17. I hadn't really expressed an interest in being a chef, but they had become friends with him while he was living in our area for six months, and thought it would be a good experience for me... At the time, he was working in a chateau-hotel in Normandie. Being summer, there was a whole troupe of stagiaires (sp?). I didn't get to cook much, but spent a lot of time hanging out in the kitchen. And I decided that if I would have to be a stageaire at some point, I did not want to be a chef! I also learned how to make perfect crepes, and langues de chat.

I spotted alcohol-free vanilla flavoring at Trader Joe's the other day, in the baking section next to the vanilla. I didn't look at the label to see what the actual ingredients are but it's worth a look for those looking for the alcohol-free vanilla solution.

The peppermint buttercream that goes with the candy cane cookies on the cover of the December Bon Appetit is fabulous. I don't think I'd make those cookies again, but the buttercream is a definite repeater! (recipe is available on epicurious).

I bought these recently out of sheer curiosity. They are just bizarre. There is no other word to describe them. On the first taste, I didn't like it at all, but then it kind of grew on me. I don't think you'd eat more than one piece in a sitting though.

I have the Maverick version and I love it. The remote doesn't always work, but the part connected to the probe has always been accurate. (It seems like sometimes the remote stops transmitting - it just gets stuck at a temperature and stops rising). It's especially good for BBQ.

I just sent an email to Michelle to see if she will join us in a discussion here. I have taken a couple of her pastry classes at the Schoolcraft College Culinary Institute continuing ed program. Candace