Chris Amirault

No surprise you'll hit Pink's Holly. Get an extra chili dog for yer hungry pal, won't cha? Meanwhile, following Stupid_American's suggestion when stuck in Anaheim on a recent trip, I went to the La Palma Chicken Pie Shop, which was fantastic and absolutely essential if you've never been. I'll say more if someone can confirm it's still there, since S_A has removed it from his website....

Welcome, pounce! Great first post! Now: where the heck are the photos of this fantastic sounding thai tea ice cream?!?

Wow! Didja add a twist? lemon? lime? nuthin?

I believe that the Kennedy chef was Rene Verdon, the first French chef ever at the White House and widely credited -- along with the usuals, such as Julia, Andre Soltner, Pierre Franey, etc. etc. -- as one of the people who established French cooking as the ne plus ultra of cuisine in 20th century US.

Why aren't we all blessed with an uncle who slaughters pigs every November...

I was thinking that a good view is pretty much a sign of a tourist trap. A few other signs that leap to mind: The phrase "world famous" written on a clean, expensive, new sign. A smiling greeter at the door wearing the "local" costume. Frescoes and trompe l'oiel. Lots of travel guide recommendation stickers in the window.

That makes sense, Brad. Trouble is, the place I'm thinking of should be able to serve cold pizza and warm beer to the hungry college swarms and make out like bandits. Hmmm.... Cold pizza and warm beer.... That just might work!

My god, references to Zone diet bars and FT Marinetti in the same initial post. I am in awe, sir. Blog on, indeed!

Two points about Katie's great post: Diners, why is this so difficult? I really don't understand it. I think that the vast majority of complaints around here would have been addressable if the diner had done this. But maybe I'm wrong.... Katie -- and others in the profession -- to what extent do you think that this ethic is in place throughout the restaurant business?

doo doo doo duhduh doo-doop doo doo doo duhduh doo-doop ice ice baby ice ice baby Just proving my point.....

Um... not a good way. Just so's we're all verrry clear on that point. I mean, we're all passionate and everything, but yeesh: let's don't have a version of that anecdote popping up around here. Tess distinguishes between comping and replacing. Is that a significant cost difference? Remember that you're preparing two dishes for one price, which works out to the same as comping, doesn't it? Or is my math wrong?

SuzySushi, my thoughts are with you and your family as you make these adjustments. Two quick thoughts: Packing up appealing, ready-to-go, long-lasting foods in freezer-type ziplock bags and stowing them everywhere -- cars, houses, backpacks, purses, beach bags, all over the place -- will help to reduce your stress. Just knowing that there are caches of appropriate food available will probably help. In addition, I'd like to make the suggestion that you write up a page or two of information about your daughter's condition, her diet, and so on, make a set of dated copies, and hand them over to the principal, teachers, and anyone else who works with her at school at a meeting you call when the year starts. I run a preschool and kindergarten, and I can tell you that many people have preconceived notions about conditions like diabetes that aren't going to be helpful; if you take the lead, you'll head off those preconceptions and give people the accurate, particular information they need to serve your child.

Consider the poor anchovy. Belittled by the pizza man and customer, crushed into pastes and tubes, pushed to the edge of salades nicoise, crowded tighter than a sardine into impenetrable cans. Who will join me in love for the little fellas? What high-end, salt-packed brands do you get? What low-end, oil-packed brands? How do you use them? Are there secret hiding places where good sardines lurk? And does anyone actually cook with fresh anchovies?

There was a programmer in lisp Who ate only "High Fibre Crisp" Thrice daily this stew Soaked with Mountain Dew Tousled lightly his hair with a wisp

Great topic. Farid, here in Providence RI USA we go to two shops, primarily: Baroudi's Bakery, Smith at Chalkstone, great place for breads, olives, basic food stuffs, tobacco and charcoal, and excellent halvah. Near East Market, 602 Reservoir Ave (Rt 2) in Cranston also has great groceries and a larger selection of produce than Baroudi's. The proprietor of Baroudi's is Lebanese, and the proprietor of Near East is Armenian, if that is of interest. I hope someone from Dearborn MI weighs in on this.

Oh, I'll bet that we can figure this out.... Vanilla probably came to mean plain because, for example, it is a subtle flavor; it is usually signified in foods by the color white; it rarely is used in its natural form (which would regularly leave those wonderful/unsightly seeds, depending on your perspective), and instead is used in extract form; most people don't even know what a vanilla bean is, and so don't associate it with other flavors for which they can identify the source (strawberry, say); it is often the base for other flavors, particularly in ice creams that are named after that flavor (chocolate chip, say); it is associated in people's minds with Vanilla Ice.

Honestly, after reading this thread, I'll bet that we spend about $400/month on food out of the house. I'll also bet that, if you had asked me before reading it and doing some honest addition, I would have said "about $200/month."

There was a great place here in Providence that went up the owner's nose in the late 80s in the form of a recreational white powder unrelated to food, and it is as if the location has been cursed ever since. Coke ghosts must haunt the kitchens. I really miss it, too; like Katie's Mongolian place, it was one-of-a-kind.

Question and suggestion: Jinmyo, can you give a quick description? Just to use as a garnish? I did this by heating a non-stick sauté pan to medium hot, adding some peanut oil, and pressing a portion of cooked rice into the pan to crisp up the bottom. Worked like a charm for two dishes. 40, that's another story....

Well, except if it's our favorite Chinese restaurant, at which the owners, waitstaff, chefs, and cleaning crew are all part of the same extended family. In that case, why not tip 20% and contribute to the entire enterprise, with the hope and/or understanding that it goes to the entire clan?

Click here for the website, which is worth it for the photos alone -- (clickety again for the "air chilled" photos and the "water-immersion" method (yecch). Does anyone know anything detailed about air chilling? I'm a doofus about food science but this is pretty compelling....

Drove down Thayer Street -- the main Brown University drag here in Providence -- this week and noticed that yet another restaurant had opened in the second-floor walk-up space at Meeting Street, this time named Shanghai Café (or something). It prompted my partner and I to reminisce about what has been there over the years, including an internet café, soup and wrap shop, and who knows what else. Andrea then mentioned a moment in, she thought, Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, in which he posits that some locations are just inexplicably deadly for restaurants. Seems the same would probably be true for bakeries, bars, fish mongers, you name it. What are the killer food zones in your town? What seems to make 'em so dead?

Arne, are the jalapeños fully grown and red? Or are you trying this with green ones? I'll be very interested to find out how it goes. Photos, of course, will be critical to our appreciation of your expertise .

MelissaH's story reminds me of a question: why not comp more often? Can someone in the industry help me understand why this is such a rare, rare practice? Isn't my return business worth the cost of that dish? In addition, isn't it worth it to spend that money in order to have me tell story A ("Yeah, most things were great, but one was a mess -- and can you believe it? They comped it! Really friendly, nice place. We're going to give it another try.") instead of story B ("I had to send back this shit and then they wouldn't even remove it from my bill. They seemed insulted that I'd even suggest such a thing! Damned bastids.")?

Lawyers, eh? Tell them you need a working definition of "Thai" and "curry," crack open a beer, and let the fun begin.