Scargo

Though not a chemist or expert, my exposure to plastics and my experiential knowledge comes mostly from years of working with plastics and people who mold them. I think the use of plastics within the heat range they are designed for is the major factor to using them safely with food and beverages. But, if you don't know what you have or it's not what it's supposed to be... As Ray Goud suggested, if you buy plastics with no US FDA (or other), controls and markings (ie., not manufactured under strict standards and full disclosure), you run the risk of using plastics with strange additives and blending/mixing of plastics occurring. I saw this a lot in offshore manufacturing where the customer was supposed to get one thing and received another, cheaper and inferior plastic. I worry about the plastic spatulas and spoons I use. One is marked "melamine" and three others are not marked at all. One which I am going to discard, says good to 4xx degrees and the edge will roll over when I cook with it. I have had Oxo tools where the urethane grips oozed goo that did not harden or get mixed properly in the manufacturing process. I've found inconsistencies in small plastic containers, where the standard triangle with numeral and description (like PP or PE), is missing. I bought a cheap set of plastic containers from Ikea and find that they were made in China... and they are not marked in our US standards. No triangles and the lids have no markings. I have basically stopped microwaving in plastics. I don't think storage is an issue. Plastics at or below room temp are pretty inert and not liable to be a problem (IMHO).

This is quite the puzzle! Can't you contact the friend and ask for more clues? Baltic, CT (similar to bait?) is near New London.

This place is almost hidden in Klarides Village shopping plaza (the small center just up 63 from Highway 8). It's been open about a month. When we went in about 6:30, they were empty. This made me very nervous. The place looks nice inside and the staff was friendly. Within an hour they were pretty busy! We had a sashimi sampler and everything was first-rate. I was mildly surprised. The dark, miso-like soup was very good. I had shrimp tempura and SO had chicken pad thai. Everything but the large amount of bland salad dressing on the house salad (where soup or salad comes with any entree), was very good. We will definitely go back. It is reasonably priced, as well. Their wine selection is fairly poor yet they seem to concentrate on cold and hot saki... I'm going to be a little more adventurous next time and see what they do with beef.

Most are familiar with Italian on Wooster Street in New Haven. Then there's Sally's and Pepe's. We like Tre Scalini at the end of the street, but it is looking run-down with the old carpet and it has no outdoor dining. It didn't thrill us the last time. L' Orcio does. We just ate outside in their nice, quiet garden setting with wisteria all above for shade. I think everyone was dining outside when we ate there yesterday. We had a nice bruschetta, but the toast was very lightly toasted. Almost not at all. The sea bass I had and the salmon SO had were perfect in every way. The garlic in my sauteed spinach was burned till completely black and, of course, very bitter. I asked our waitress if it was by design. She said she would see. She never returned with a reply and I was not comped in any way. The salad and the roasted potatoes were fine. As we were paying I asked again. She said, "no, it was not supposed to be burned". I don't know why she would blow me off and not address an obvious problem. Why was it served in the first place? This is the first time, in a dozen times here, I have been treated poorly by staff or had a food problem. I'll get over it and return because it is a minor hiccup in usually stellar food and service. Eat outside if you can!

Ok, I'm waiting with baozied breath. All I see so far is a Coors Light can and a four burner electric stove. Has me worried... Decorations are nice.

Last year we went to Old Saybrook, on CT's coast, specifically to try Dock and Dine for lunch. I said this on my Google Maps listing: This does have a good view and fair food. I would give this a three of five stars. Mostly for atmosphere. Enjoy the view of all the boats passing by. You can sit outside (about a dozen tables), or the dining room has lots of glass to accentuate the view. Food is not cheap! $20-28 entrees. You pay for the view. If you are outside, they treat you like children by not allowing glass. They do not bring you clean silverware for the entree. Overall, service was good. There are a lot of retired people who eat here so much of the food is under-seasoned. There are a lot of kids of all ages. Expensive if you expect classy dining and first class food, which is what you would expect anywhere else at this price level. Well, we wanted to eat at Liv's Oyster Bar in Old Saybrook, but it was not open for lunch. We went down a block to Jack's Steaks and it looks as if they have gone out of business. So, we went back to Dock and Dine. Our second trip got us real wine glasses! Have they changed their policy? Food was decent and service good. The oysters were poorly shucked and had lots of shell detritus. The lobster salad roll was very good and the fish and chips about average. We got an old wrinkled up pickle slice. Food was under-seasoned again. It really is a nice spot to eat and watch the heavy boat activity. Lots are regularly passing by. As we passed through the restaurant to sit outside, I thought the bar area (on the inside), smelled really bad; like piss, stale beer and a fishmonger's business. The carpet in that area looked really bad. I went in the men's room and the smell of urine was quite strong. Stay outside (or as far away from the bar as you can), if you have a good nose!

I (we) have a "virtual pet store" outside our house. Rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, red fox, woodchuck, deer, birds (including dove and broadtail hawk). There are at least three large rabbits living on our property, but after one lapin dinner my SO wouldn't let me kill another for food. Deer are not going to be killed on our property either, according to her.

Cooked? I just sauteed arugula then added cooked bacon and cheese. The Gruyere or the bacon could have been left out and still have been delicious. I have some pepperoni... Just asking, since part of the OP's premise was that heat was available.

Roasted chicken, stuffed with mushrooms. A nice sauvignon blanc... Opps, some got spilled on the chicken!

I can't be having much fun... My life seems too wholesome compared to what I've been reading. I don't even know what some of these things are that you're talking about. What's a "double stack"? Snickers. Sometimes I eat a Snickers bar while I'm grocery shopping or at Home Depot. Recently I ate a lot of Cape Cod, Sea Salt and Vinegar potato chips for "dessert". Sometimes, as I pass a KFC, I think of what it used to taste like... the flavor, the unctuousness (or should I say the greasiness?)... then dismiss the thought of stopping. I think it would be like cigars. I used to smoke them occasionally. Recently I had a good cigar after eight years without. Not enjoyable. Bad idea.

I can recommended this Italian restaurant. Smallish, nice ambiance with some Northern Italian food. A little towards being expensive, but we thought lunch was excellent. Only three tables served on this Monday. Nice front sun room area. Linen tablecloths. Music that was unobtrusive. Not a huge wine list, but adequate with some range of quality/price. Mussels with beans, garlic, oregano and a little heat was delicious. Wild salmon w.risotto was excellent. The salmon was well done; over-cooked for my liking since I would have liked it somewhat rare or medium rare, but I did not mention this). House salads were quite good, and not ordinary, with pecans and goat cheese and an unusual dressing I couldn't quite put my finger on. The grilled chicken with penne was quite good with the chicken moist and flavorful. They make their gnocchi, but we did not try it. Excellent service from a professional young lady. I would go back anytime, but might not make a special trip from N-W New Haven when there is so much good stuff right there in or near downtown. The plus is, it is not downtown. They have outdoor seating, too. I don't know how busy Montowese is at night, but I doubt it is bad. 11:45AM-2PM for lunch. Dinner hours? Closed on Saturdays only. Assagio's in Branford, CT 168 Montowese St Branford, CT 06405 (203) 483-5426 If you're not wanting Italian try Le Petite Cafe for great French or Darbar for Indian. All within a block or two of each other on Montowese, in Branford.

Welcome amigo nopales eater! Well, you started off with a bang! You don't need to try and impress us. Folks, I don't know anyone more knowledgeable and willing to share than this man. A hundred readers when he was on Chowhound... (yet not much respect from the Moderators). My SO and I are flex eaters of sorts. Particularly when our gardens are producing we eat a high ratio of plants to animals or fish. Flex or "balanced" with a leaning toward small portions of meat or no meat is common for us. Yesterday we had a Mexican lunch consisting of chicken, avocado, lettuce, raisins, onion, garlic, beans, rice, pure chile sauce and tortillas. It was a fine meal. My SO says much of it is peasant food though you don't have to be a peasant to appreciate or enjoy it. Many or all of the ingredients of chilaquiles are easily found on the farm. Simple, wholesome food. Yet, Mexican food can be so complex, sublime and nuanced. Gracias amigo!

Don't be put off with "Austrian" in "Austrian Country Cuisine" by Chef Markus Patsch. I've not been to Austria, no less Germany. Perhaps you wouldn't be, but I had reservations. I had thoughts of heavy food and limited choices. The Watch Factory, with its weird name (no watches made here), is far from what I had envisioned. My SO was there many years ago for dinner. This was my first visit and we had a spectacular lunch. The setting is very nice; in an old red brick building that was a watch factory at one time. There were about eight or ten tables being served by one woman during the time we were there from 12PM till 1:30PM. They are open for lunch from 11:30AM till 1:30 PM. I was given a sample of a delicious and crisp white wine from Austria. I think it was Huber, Grüner Veltliner. SO does not usually drink whites, but she had to have a glass of it to go with her chicken with wild mushroom crepe. I had the Jäger Schnitzel, which was a fantastically thin schnitzel with the same wild mushroom cream sauce. Before that we had the cheese (Grueyere) spätzle with greens. Absolutely decadent. If you think mac and cheese can be good then you have to try their spätzle... and it is made when you order it! My schnitzel plate came with a slice of potato pancake (think hash browns as a pie), beautifully cooked haricots and a creamy red cabbage dish flavored with cinnamon and clove. It was quite a bit of food, perfectly cooked and beautifully presented for $17. Oh, and the wonderful bread! Nice chew and flavor. The service was very professional and attentiveness just right. We were impressed with how she managed giving everyone good service. I can't wait to go back for dinner. Our waitress/hostess said Friday's and Saturday's needed reservations. I think you could drive an hour to get there and think it well worth it. http://www.watchfactoryrestaurant.com/index.html

OK, I'm done with catch-phrase cutesiness. Boom has a great marina view, but you don't get to see the ocean except on the drive in. Located in Brewer Pilot's Point Marina, there's a sign on Route One. A little tricky to get to, but fairly close to exit 64 off I-95. Nice boats to watch, coming and going, but the food is just OK. We went there for lunch today, on May 4, a very warm and sunny day. The deck was not open! As we neared completion of our meal they set up a table outside for some people. I guess we had no pull. We were very irritated because we went there specifically to eat outside and enjoy the view. I wanted oysters, yet they said they were "out" at noon (and nobody in the place had ordered)! The appetizer of five fried shrimp were pretty good, with a roumelade type of dressing, that wasn't your ordinary tartar sauce. The small bowl of tomato bisque overwhelmed the scallops. The bisque itself was delicious, but so strong that the scallops could have been tofu.... My fish and chips was a mixed bag. The cole slaw was quite good, though the waiter was very unprofessional with his quick-twist stinginess with the grinding of pepper before he hastily retreated. I asked for more, when he came back by (there was no pepper on the tables-just salt) and he brought the grinder back to the table and left it. The fries were like real shoestrings; thin, flat and long. They were greasy and got cold in a heartbeat. Cool looking, but functionally, not a good idea. The flounder was breaded nicely with Panko (or a Panko-combo breading), and cooked perfectly. However, the fish wasn't that fresh. Service was slow for only four people occupying just two tables in the place for most of the time; until those that got special treatment arrived. We had wine by the glass and the name was never devulged. Both red and white were so-so and seemed to have been open for a while. The tap water tasted like crap. I can't believe a restaurant would serve it, as it is. They need a filter! The female manager (who seemed to show up around 12:30PM), talked very loudly while on the portable phone; and she was on the phone quite a bit. She seemed oblivious that there were customers in the restaurant. I see no reason to go out of my way to return here. The restaurant is nice enough and it is in an interesting "big boat" marina area. The simple lunch with four glasses of house wine cost us $60! Boom restaurants are in Westbrook and in Old Lyme. This (Westbrook) location was closed for a time and subsequently reopened. They used to have one in Stonington, CT, but that has new owners and is called "Dogwatch". It may have been only May fourth, but they were not ready for prime-time.

As my signature says, Chowhound moderators chose to banish me. I refuse to provide links or send you there to see what I have reviewed. My SO and I were in Tulsa in early January, 2009. We did quite a few good restaurants while there. Here are some excerpts: Dinner at Local Table: Upscale place; I was there many years before, when it was "T Rex". The three of us ate sliders, mac and cheese, corn chowder and two bottles of half-price Ridge wine (Sundays only). We enjoyed most everything. I did not care for the mushy macaroni and the cheese was sparse. I would recommend LC and happily return. Breakfast at Queenie's Two,in Utica Square: I think I could die here, surrounded by incredible baked products. We had eggs, blueberry, buttermilk pancakes and a carrot-raisin muffin. Food was great. Service was, too. Casa Laredo: I had my surrogates fill me in. Since they are family and all good cooks, not to mention old and worldly Texans, I trust their feedback. They thought Casa Laredo was just mediocre and thought I would have been disappointed. The spinach enchiladas with ranchero sauce were OK, but the same enchiladas with sour cream were just that; a plain dollop of sour cream, not a sauce. One liked his chile relleno but they all agreed the side of iceberg lettuce with a tomato/catalina dressing, was just weird. Perhaps there is a place across our southern border where they have this style of salad? If this is authentic, then the rest of what they ordered was not. The restaurant touts "authentic Mexican, Columbian and Argentinian but most thought it was just ordinary and so-so "Tex-Mex". Bodean: If you are into art and interior design you will like it immediately. On drive up it looks nondescript, with its strip mall setting and shrouded windows, but when you get to the front door you see a beautiful, wide saltwater fish tank with many tropical fish. Beyond that are one of a kind, blown glass, light fixtures over each table and multiple colored strips of cloth, woven and draped from the ceiling (which helps with sound deadening). Art abounds on the walls and from the ceiling. All, I'm told, is by local artists. The interior design is just splendid. IMHO, equal to the best restaurant interior of any place I've been in. Three of us shared crab cakes. This was the only thing I would skip if you know what good New England ones are like. They were firm and too breaded. They were spicy hot and came with a chipotle/cream sauce. One of the two had a slightly cool center. They were not very warm in the middle. SO's Dungeness crab salad was just OK with a lot of shredded crab on the top with plain, bland pear. This was supposed to come with with Roquefort cheese, candied pecans and a pear-thyme vinaigrette. SO thought the seasoning and amount of cheese, pecans, etc. was so minimal that it resulted in a very bland salad. I concurred. She thought about asking for lemon... Sis's "Ginger & Fennel Cured King Salmon Gravlax" was good, but perhaps a little sweet for our taste. She liked it. I had the "Sesame Crusted Gulf Yellow Fin Tuna with Chilled Soba Noodle Salad, Soy Reduction & Wasabi Vinaigrette". Quite a mouthful just to say that one! I really enjoyed this with the exception of a couple of inedible membrane areas in one piece which I had to cut out. We shared creme brule and a strawberry almond shortcake with basil syrup. Both were very good but I thought they overdid the melting of the sugar on top, to the point that it had a slight "burnt match" smell. The custard itself was fairly cold. We drank La Crema chardonnay by the $10 glass, which was delightful. They have a very decent wine list. All-in-all an enjoyable experience. I was disappointed to see such a limited selection of seafood and the ones they offered were fairly normal variations with nothing unusual. This may be a little high-brow but I have had trout almondine and sesame crusted tuna with soba noodles many times before. The pecan-crusted salmon was a new variation for me, but I wanted to see how their tuna stacked up against others I have had. It did well and it was very rare. Service was excellent throughout the meal. The three of us dropped $167, before tip. Not for the light of wallet, but a very nice experience for the money. One of our best meals (even with the issues), and a beautiful place with sophisticated employees. Breakfast at Wild Fork: It was superlative! I had taquitos, but they are really burritos. Whatever... it was really good! Chocked full of sausage, potatoes, jalapenos, bell pepper and topped with two cheeses, an herb seasoned sour cream and pico de gallo. Just an amazing breakfast in a nice place. The coffee never stopped flowing and we liked all the art on display. BBD’s for breakfast: I think this stands for “Bitchin’ Basic Dining”. Whatever it stands for, you have to do it before dark, because they don’t serve dinner. Suggested by my sister, this was our cheapest Tulsa meal. At about $1.29 a gallon; we filled up for under $20! This is Oklahoma’s basic, hard-core café for breakfast or lunch. No art for sale on the wall, no espresso machine, no frills. Worn formica, vinyl and uneven, chipped table tiles. Yet, they DO take American Express! I had the “Murrito”, which is named after, Murray, for whatever that’s worth. Not unlike a Whataburger’s breakfast burrito, but much larger, it is filled with pea-sized bits of sausage, well-made and tasty. There’s a sprinkling of grated longhorn or cheddar cheese on top. It comes with teaspoon-sized paper cups of guacamole, sour cream and mild salsa and a generous amount of home fries. This is so at the other end of the spectrum from Wild Fork! It’s hard to imagine that they are basically the same thing. I shared this solid burrito with SO and then I ordered a single blueberry buttermilk pancake. This was good, too. Not as good as the ones at Queenie’s, but good. All the while the very good coffee flowed freely. This is the café I expect of Oklahoma: the meal was a bargain, the people friendly and the food rib-stickin’ good. Even with a four dollar tip, I missed spending twenty dollars by ten cents! Lunch at Wild Fork (Utica Square): SO had to go back! I was still full from breakfast but we wanted to have a good meal before boarding our plane for home… I wanted to sit “in the back” where there's lots of art and window glass, but they seated us in the 'bar” area. Thus we were waited on by Teri F., a well-seasoned, eleven year veteran of WF. She was a great waitress. SO had the “Mediterranean Burger”, a thin burger on pita bread with a creamy dressing. She ordered it rare and it was perfection. She noted that the burger was hot and rare, while the red onion, tomato and lettuce were still cool and crisp. It came with very good German potato salad. I had the spicy catfish sandwich. If it had been cooked less I think it would have wriggled… It could have cooked for another minute or two. It came with some perfectly dressed “jalapeno” cole slaw. There were shavings of jalapeno in the slaw and the heat was just right. The catfish was very spicy, with a blackened spice on it and chipotle sauce, as well. A little over the top on heat. It had the reddest, tastiest slice of tomato on it I’ve seen in a long time. Good half-sour pickles worthy of any NY deli. A couple of glasses of wine each and we were fortified for our trip home. We both give Wild Fork two thumbs up! It was “forkin’ good”! Note: I don’t know about the women’s restroom but I would advise men to avoid the bathroom if possible. I had to make use of it and it is designed for a midget, to start with. I am slender, and yet there was barely room to stand and get your pants up! Like a plane’s toilet, it was very loud from the fan overhead and very cramped. This is the perfect place to drop a wallet or cell phone in the toilet. The lavatory has old, round handles, too. This is NOT an ADA approved space. Oh, and the toilet seat was about to fall off. Since you don’t go to a restaurant for their bathrooms, I am willing to overlook this huge flaw in an otherwise incredible place. Stonehorse Café (Utica Square): Noisy. SO says she has new rule… If it’s this noisy, we walk out (don’t even sit down). They were hoppin’ at 7PM. It slowed and we were able to talk around eight. Perhaps I’m engaging in hyperbole. High noise level is a deal-breaker for us. I think I have ear damage…. Other than some standard texture in the drop-ceiling’s tiles, it was hard everything; not good when you have sixty or seventy happy, well-lubricated (it IS Tulsa, after all), patrons, in one, small space. I hope this isn’t anti-climactic; the food was good. Service was good. Wine prices were almost astronomical. I think they started at $45. We sat at the hub of activity, the open kitchen. The first thing I noticed was the wood-fired oven, at the far left. Scotty, have you beamed me back to Connecticut? We were not given the pizza menu but the women next to us were all sharing pizza…. It smelled and looked great! At the other side four people were eating obscenely large pork chops and dark looking steaks. We (3), all shared a bowl of lobster bisque. Rich and creamy, it was too spicy with chipotle. With the flavor-numbing heat we thought we tasted clams as much as we did lobster. There was no lobster in sight. This would not pass muster in New England. People expect to see some hint of what they are eating in a chowder or bisque. This was butt-smooth. I had the venison sausage with cranberry sauce and risotto. It was delicious. SO and sister both had the garlic ravioli with pancetta but my vegetarian sister had vegetables substituted for pancetta. A sign of a good restaurant is one where “yes” is spoken and variations and special requests are easily accomidated. Both pronounced their’s very good. We followed this with one crème brule and one key lime pie. My crème brule arrived and we started sharing it. It didn’t taste or smell of “burnt matches” like Bodean’s did. Then our waitress brought us a chocolate mousse. We said, “we ordered key lime pie”, so it went away. Because of our proximity to the kitchen (see pics), we saw another chocolate mousse appear and saw the waitress telling them it was again wrong…. Finally, an “individual” key lime pie arrived. It had a toasted, creamy top, yet it was not warm. It did not have a cooked shell either, so the crust was like sand and not cohesive. It had good flavor for a translucent custard type of pie. Since we had one good dessert, the delay of the so-so pie was not terribly missed. We enjoyed the experience (overall), except for the noise level. We expect a place of this quality and price to allow for relaxed conversation. About $180, before gratuity. I hope this proves enlightening or helpful. We look forward to another visit next year.

Golden Phoenix Restaurant This was a delightful find for us. The cooked meats hanging in the case looked very good when we first walked in. There were lots of Asians dining there along with a few of us Anglos. There is a separate, closed-off room for smokers (seen in last photo). I had a duck dish and we had spring rolls and another dish or two. I had Tsingtao beer. They have a small wine selection. I can't remember specifically all of what we had, but we know it was very good food. This area seems to be an Asian hot-spot. We saw many restaurants in the area.

We went to the Dilly Deli one morning for breakfast and I was not impressed with the bland, overcooked omelet I had or the bite of SO's omelet. We went back to the Blue Dome Diner on another morning and enjoyed it very much. Another very good breakfast was had at Trula Restaurant And Bar at the Mayo Hotel! See photo. Brothers Houligan was a pleasant surprise. My catfish and everything else I tried was very good. Three of us tried Lanna Thai, 3535 E. 51st St, in a nondescript strip center. The vegetarian food was very good even though the fish/meat substitutes were all fake! Los Cabos Mexican grill (on the Riverwalk center area at E 96th and the river), was a bust as far as the two of us were concerned. I thought of it as a big, fancy, noisy "Disneyland" kind of restaurant with kinda pseudo Tex-Mex food. I was not particularly impressed. It is like many of these fancy mini-chain like places that sell cheap margaritas and huge meals for big bucks and there is little that is authentic or a standout or a good value. Too dumbed-down in taste, too. They have a lot of entertainment nightly and it can be very loud in the outside area and the sun room. The entertainer who was there the evening we went was really bad. We had to move inside the restaurant (from the partially open sun room), because it was so loud we could not talk. El Guapos was the best Tex-Mex like food we have had to-date in Tulsa. Good, semi-authentic Tex-Mex food in a semi-sketchy part of town (in the evening). Bodean's seafood was very good, last year when we were there. The other places joiei mentioned I do not know of. More interesting places can be found on my Oklahoma map http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=106324921966915789140.000456dd0994adb8b2b25&ll=38.143198,-96.712646&spn=5.114472,9.876709&z=7.

I had a Thermador with 15K BTUs per burner and it did well with my 14" wok. I could overwhelm it if I put too much in for its size. Perhaps it could have been a tad hotter, but I blackened food on the stove without a problem. For those unhappy with size (when size matters), I suggest thinking about drilling out the orifice for one burner. I did this on my Jenn-Air and it made a world of difference. This is not for the amateur idiot... It would be good to have orifice drills (like used on carburetors), or a 0-60 drill set, and be sensible about your approach. I think I went up .006-.010" in diameter. Perhaps not all cook tops/stoves have individual, removable orifices, but this Jenn-Air did.

A few notes from our stay in Tulsa. We have one or two meals to go. "Wine Tasting Dinner" at Biga: I can't speak to the Italian food they normally serve except the bread was very good and hearty. The best bread I've had in Tulsa. This was a Spanish themed dinner with Spanish wines from Castillo Perelada. A caveat: I may be too harsh as this was a $30/per person dinner. I've never attended a function like this which was so inexpensive. In fact the host said that they were all $10-12 wines. We arrived and were immediately coughed on by the hostess/FOH (front of house). The three of us sat and were quickly poured about three ounces of Castillo Perelada Blanc Pescador, white wine. All of our wines were from this winemaker. This was all we received up to and including our first course of bland, marginally cooked, cold fish. The second course was a sparse amount of penne pasta with "gazpacho" salsa (meaning a few chopped, raw veggies). It tasted good but was cold and underseasoned. They served an awful Cresta Rosa Emporda, rose blend, with it. None of us would drink it. We asked for something else and received a decent bottle of German Reisling for just the three of us. The main course was Catalan style braised beef with a blue cheese sauce. This came with a "3 Fincas" Crianza that was decent. The dish was beef stew with some blue cheese. Nothing special and some of my beef seemed from a poor cut. Most was tender, but some was coarse and not the same. Dessert was a "creme brule" style of rice pudding. One portion had virtually no carmelization. All the dinner was pretty inexpensive fare with small portions, all underseasoned and all not hot enough. There was no dessert wine. They were stingy with the wine. Getting more wine was a crap shoot. Some seemed to get more wine and most did not. Very unusual was the one glass setting. New wine glasses were never offered so all three wines were drank from the same glass. One of our glasses was chipped, but was replaced. We asked for clean glasses for the red and they said there were not any more! Only 35-40 wine glasses in a restaurant? Only glasses for white wines? We were brought three whiskey glasses! The men's bathroom was very dirty and unkempt; especially the floor. Though it was "only" $30 we three were disappointed. It sure didn't "showcase" or put a good face forward as to what the chef/restaurant (or the winery, in the case of the rose), should be capable of doing.

Broad appeal is a good point. Very often the adventurous eater(s) has to cave to the wimps whether the food is good or not. I remember having to eat at Friendly's several times because my workmates voted to go there. Then there was the Chinese buffet, because it was cheap. Chains have their place when you must satisfy the lowest denominator. Placating people and getting along is not necessarily just about finding good food. A night ago we went to a circus-like place where the music was too loud and the place too big. A bustling, noisy chain where they had it down as to drinks and cheap/plentiful food that was acceptable. I think the older you get the less interest there is in these hoppin' food factories.

No personal offense meant to snowangel, but her reasons for choosing chains overlap completely with my reasons to avoid chains! I was thinking the same thing. As others have said, "At this point in my life I see no reason to eat at chains". There are many elements to this discussion. Age, children or childless, availability, or convenience, and perceived value. I am hard-pressed to remember the last time I ate at a chain, because I seldom have to. I think it was a Chili's at La Guardia, because I had little choice. The "chili" was terrible. So often the choice or necessity to eat at a chain is situational. I also remember needing to eat quickly before we boarded a plane. We ate at a Sonny Brian's BBQ chain. As an opportunity to get in one last bite of even mediocre Q before I went back to the "Land of Steady Habits", I didn't care one bit that it was a small Dallas chain. Still there are those who see a Whopper as "comfort food" and lose all sanity when they are on the road. Me, when around Q? Who likes chains? Does complacency or ignorance enter into it? In almost every instance I can find something interesting to eat if I plan ahead or just follow my instincts and not be afraid. That, for me has been a natural instinct since I am adventurous and a risk taker. Meat and tater types may not want surprises or are fearful of funky looking places on the side street. There are no surprises at chains except for the wonderful options of "having it your way". This topic is like preaching to the choir. Why would we be on eGullet if we didn't have a heightened awareness or abnormal interest in food?

Where is this place? I couldn't find anything on it in VT or NH. I am interested in butchers selling game and I have a friend who gets into VT fairly often. Any other suggestions of places fairly accessible from I-91 would be appreciated.

I'm about to return to the mother ship and visit brothers and sister. Guys have circled their wagons around North Dallas where we grew up. One in Las Colinas and two in Carrollton. The sister is exiled in Tulsa. We'll be spending four days in Tulsa and five in Dallas. Having now reached the eight year mark in CT, the newness is wearing off; I am acclimating myself to the food and customs. What I can't get accustomed to is what they sometimes call chili and BBQ. I've been looking around the forums for what is new or good for Q in Dallas and I would settle for any Sonny Bryan's in a heartbeat! When we left DFW the last time we took leftovers with us from SB's in Grapevine. Several people on the plane were moaning and swooning and I think I heard the drip of saliva. I felt guilty of torture. We didn't share... What I was thinking when I started this post was whether any Q lovin', God fearin' Texan had ever used the term "falling off the bone" as a positive characteristic for ribs? Up here it seems to be required that they be mush, akin to braised ribs. I've heard New Englanders complain that if you have to tear the meat off the bone it is tough, dry, undercooked or just bad-wrong. Personally, I still have teeth and can chew my meat. And here, cornbread is too sweet and I never see jalapeños in it. So there! Do Q savvy Texans ever say, "the ribs were so good they were fallin' off the bone"?

I will report back on our trip. However (and I hate to do this since Chowhound has banned me), this is a very good thread about Tulsa food. Brian S, is very knowledgeable (not to slight the other contributors). There are reviews of the places we ate at on our last trip (1-'09). http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/553621

I used to live/work in the area and that intersection, with its strip centers has good food and good markets! Definitely the place for Asian.