daniellewiley

Yuck. We'll have our fingers crossed that you'll feel better by tomorrow. ← Things are no longer spinning, so I think we're still on. Everyone here is just being paranoid b/c I'm so pregnant. Thus my trip to the ER yesterday. But, I can't miss an eGullet gathering!! Just keep me away from Ron's big knife in case things start to weave and spin again.

Small update on me and Michael: I spent all day suffering from vertigo, and am hoping to feel all better by tomorrow. I'm going to take it easy in the morning, so we will hope to meet everyone at Tammy's after the farmer's market. Looks like you guys are having fun already!

Onion board is also known as "pletzel" in Yiddish. The ones I fondly remember from my childhood weren't so much cracker-like as kinda like someone took a bunch of bialy dough and made a large, skinny, squarish foccacia-like thang with it. A little flaky, a little chewy, baked golden-brown, generously flecked with browned bits of onion. Insanely good with standard bagel-fixings. Edited to add: here is a picture of an onion board--this one's a little bit fatter than the ones I remember from when I was a kid. Edited *again* to add: Oh wait! Now here is a picture of an onion board that looks a whole lot more like my childhood memories. (Yes, I'm obsessed--why do you ask? ) ← At Zingerman's Bakehouse, they made Onion Board with the bialy dough, so you are right on. I LOVE onion board!

In our house, welldone rules. My husband used to have a system at Yankee Stadium. We'd have to get our hotdogs first thing, b/c that's how you got the welldone ones. And, now, at the Toledo Mud Hens ballpark, he lurks around at all of the stands trying to find the one with the most welldone franks. He's kind of a hotdog stalker. (I notice myself switching back and forth from hotdog to frank. I grew up saying frank - that's what my dad says. Here in the midwest, it's always hotdog, and I don't think my daughter would know what I meant if I said "frank.")

Michael and I will be arriving at about 11. I want to limit the amount of walking I do a bit, and I used to work at the bakehouse, so we will join everyone at the Creamery. We're excited!

I have two favorites: welldone frank with sauerkraut and mustard from Grey's Papaya in NY and the Chicago dog from Red Hot Lovers in Ann Arbor (with cheese waffle fries on the side)

Thanks Ruth!! And, I'm very lucky to have an OB who could care less how much I gain. Plus, with only 5 weeks left, how much damage could I do?? As soon as it cools off enough here to use my oven (hopefully before I give birth), I am cooking this!

Oh, that's so sad about the Kiev! You'll have to trust me that it did use to be a lot better... but then again, it's been several years since last I was there, so who knows what's happened to it since then? But at least now I know that, if the latest incarnation of the Kiev still sucks when next I'm in NY, I can at least go get good pierogies at Teresa's. ← Makes me sad too - don't think I ever tried the pierogies though. We always got kielbasa and eggs, or kasha varnishkes or mushroom barley soup.

OK, this sounds soooo good, and is inducing a rabid pregnancy craving. Do you have anything resembling a recipe??

Yikes! Dylan is 3.5 and caught her first fish two weeks ago. I think we'll let Dad clean them for a while yet.

Pan, How does Teresa compare to the former Kiev (I forget it's new name?). We used to go there for lunch nearly every weekend, and I try to return when we visit, but Teresa looks like a damn good substitute.

The hotels I stayed at in Italy that provided breakfast had bread and cornetti accompanied by jam (marmelata) and butter, with water/juice/caffe latte/tea/hot chocolate/milk to drink, and perhaps some fresh fruit. No meat for breakfast in those hotels. What level of luxury were the hotels you were staying at? We stayed at relatively inexpensive hotels, mid-priced at times. Some were classy, some weren't, but none were expensive luxury places. ← We went in February, so I was able to get us into 4 star hotels everywhere at a really low rate.

As others have pointed out, breakfast buffets in Europe are quite likely to look more like what we'd consider a luncheon buffet in the US. All sorts of cold cuts, pates, salmon and other smoked and/or marinated fish, assorted cheeses, sliced tomatoes, olives, and breads. And those wonderful machines that you throw an orange into, and out comes fresh juice. Boy would I like to have one of those in my kitchen. ← In southern Europe this is very different. In Northern and Eastern europe, these big buffets you talk about is always there. But in like Spain, France and Italy Nothing more than a cup of coffee is ussually eaten for breakfast. But the breakfast buffets at hotels are still there. In modified form though! Not with the meat, cheese and vegs. In France you'll get served piles of sweet croissants, pain au chocolate, ussually dry french bread, beure and sweet maremlade. In Spain, breakfast is just some white bread with olive oil and a cup of black coffee. Italian hotel breakfast is dried out cookies, biscotti, marmelata sweet things.. more dessert than breakfast. ← At the hotels we stayed at in Italy, there were always meats available, and also some delicious stewed prunes that were absolutely addictive. This was at maybe 4-5 hotels in both Tuscany and Emilio-Romagna.

My 3.5 year old loves this!

In Istanbul we had hard boiled eggs, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese and fresh bread. I think they also put out yogurt. We often serve Turkish breakfasts at home (and have even done so at a tailgate).

Our favorite Korean place is on South University, right off of Hill. It's called Kang's. It's a big red building - very down and dirty, but wonderful food. Other fun cheap eats are Blimpy Burger, Red Hot Lovers - neither one is ethnic. On Fourth Street, there are two inexpensive ethnic restaurants side-by-side. Earthen Jar is vegetarian Indian food buffet. Jerusalem Garden is middle eastern.

I'd love to sous chef, as long as there's a stool for me to sit on. I can chop endlessly as long as I'm sitting. And, Michael is definitely coming with me.

You have an amazingly alliterative family. Impressive. Mine are: wine cheese chocolate

I'm happy to help with any cooking, but I'm going to hold off on being in charge due to my large belly and need to sit frequently. One thing - I know we have one shellfish allergy - I'm allergic to regular fish, and quite allergic at that. I'm usually pretty good at eating all of the side dishes, etc., if that's what's on the menu, but I just wanted to throw it out there. And yay that Kris is coming!!

Brace yourself, Danielle: most of the research on kids and food suggests that, when your kid hits five or so, she'll likely not only deny that she ever liked these things but will regress all across the food board. Don't push -- that's the best way to make sure she hates the stuff! -- and hang in there until seven or eight, when she should be back on the foodie track. ← She got picky about a year ago, but it's for things that are really silly. Like, she suddenly hates oatmeal. Hopefully she'll take after me and never quit trying new things. The octopus she requested - she thought the pieces were pasta, and asked for the "noodles that Poppy is eating." I told her it was octopus, and she didn't blink.

Here are my daughter's clues. She's only 3.5, so I'll type them for her to record them for posterity. 1. At the Indian buffet, she had 3 servings of goat curry. 2. Last night at a Chinese buffet (she likes buffets), her favorite thing was the octopus. "This is deLICIOUS!"

We'll come in from Toledo for that! Just give me enough time to get a sitter.

So should should try to be to your place before 10? Anyone else going from the Cleveland area? ← Hey Kris - We're coming up from Toledo, if you'd like to meet up just over halfway for a caravan - we are basically right on your way - you'll be taking I-80 to Toledo and then grabbing 23 up to Ann Arbor.

1. Eating raw clams, raw oysters and smelts with my dad on Montauk when I was three. 2. Making a Chocolate Rum Roll - all by myself - for my 8th grade English class. 3. My whole family was outside one day when I was about 6 or 7, and I got mad at them for one reason or another. I ran in the house, locked them out, and proceeded to make brownies from scratch. I ran to get my mom crying when I tasted the batter and realized that I had used 1/4 cup of salt instead of 1/4 teaspoon.

I wholeheartedly agree, and feel that I can admit, here in the safety of eGullet, that at a ball game last week, I told my daughter that she's not allowed to have ketchup on hot dogs. Luckily, she just smiled and asked for mustard. phew.