gariotin

As for brands, I love the Spanish ones from Ortiz. They come in a little jar w/a fork on the side, packed in oil. Meaty yet kinda silky. Yum.

Being in the importing/distributing biz, I always think I've heard it all, then something else occurs. I'm now blase about things like caterpillers in canned organic peppers - c'mon, if you don't want pesticides, ya gotta be willing to pick out a few bugs. Hey, in other parts of the world they are considered protein. But last summer I got a frantic call from a store - I sell fresh pickles in tubs that are made in NYC - I'm naming no names! As the store was packing out the pickles into plastic containers, they discovered a floating, upside down FROG! The light green color of its belly blended in perfectly with the green pickles. YUCK!

Nope, Tryska, cantalope doesn't do it. Why do y ask? The more I've been thinking about this, I realized that I've felt the reaction my whole life, so that's why I thought it was more universal. (Now thinking of how yummy cantalope is...muskmelon even better... must go to the store for lunch! )

OK, guys - now you've got me thinking. I have had that reaction all my life, but only to SOME blue cheeses, SOME red wines, etc. BUT I'm the same one who described, a few pages back, about how I lost my sense of smell due to severe allergic reaction to a H & H bagel! So, you may be on to something there...I'll check it out when I get a chance. And, BTW, it's not exactly a tightening of the chest, sort of the same feeling you get sometimes when you swollow wrong and you feel an ache for a few seconds while it passes. Oh Jeez, maybe no one else gets that!

I heartily second Jujube's recommendation of Kam Man. It's off the beaten track, since it's south of Boston, but it's a great place and I think it's better than Super 88. As for "Hawaiian plate lunch - I've lived here for 35 years and never heard of it. What is it? If you find one, let us know! I think you will like Boston - it is a great food town.

jeez, I thought I was happy being single at the moment. After reading this thread, I am dying for a boyfriend!

When my daughter was about 3, I was making mussels. As parents are wont to do, I went thru a big explanation of the fact that they were an animal even tho they looked like a stone, blah, blah, blah. Then I steamed up the pot and called her back over to look at the beautiful orange fleshy result. I said "see how it looks so different now - here is the shell that you could see before, here is what was hiding inside. This is the part that you eat." She looked at it long and hard. Then looked at me and said "Why?" I guess that's when I realized that mussels, clams, oysters look pretty darn unappealing.

I took some clients out to Mantra, a hot stylish fusian-Indian place in downtown Boston. One of the guys went down to the men's room and came back red-faced and laughing hysterically. He had been peeing into what he thought was the urinal in the very trendy, metallic bathroom. He commented to the guy next to him how wild the bathroom was and was surprised when the guy gave him a disgusted look. When he was finished, he went to the next area to wash his hands and only then realized he had been peeing in the sink! Of course we were all so amused by this story that we all had to check out the men's room at some point in the evening and all agreed he probably was not the first one that had made that mistake!

This may or may not be related to the cramp-like sensation where the jaw meets the neck after the first sip of a dry wine. Or something else tannic/acidic. Is there a name for that? There should be. I know what you mean - Does anyone else get a weird tightening sensation in the center of their chest from some blue cheeses, artichokes, or red wine? Maybe we shd start a new thread on the physiology of food reactions?

I agree on capers and the even more vile and gross-looking caperberries. My mom used to mix capers into tuna salad when I was a kid and I remember picking them out one by one. I'm also not big on chocolate - think it's a genetic thing, as no one in my family likes it much. People think we are freaks.

Yay for you to even be going somewhere else every 2 weeks. I understand what you mean about Walmart being the only store in town - I visited a friend in Arkansas last year and it was, literally, the only store in town. Here in urbanized East Coast, it's hard for folks to imagine. Sorry to hear about your economic straits and kudos for attempting to still eat well and healthy.

Yes, Curlz, it was a bitch, and thanks for your thoughts, but I am convinced that life sends us what we can handle. I did contact H & H and they were wonderful about supplying the ingredient list for the bagels. I've been tested and - nada. Knowing what I know about the food biz, I suspect there may have been some fungus or mold in the bulk seeds they were buying and I may never come in contact with them again. Least I hope not! Texture has become way more important to me - I find myself evaluating it as I used to do flavors. And I still swirl and smell wine - I know I won't get anything, but it's a habit I refuse to give up - just as I still wear perfume.

Can't comment on the Aldi's ownership, but can tell you that TJs low prices are because they cut out the middle man. While that sounds great, let me tell you that the middle men are the folks that actually go to Europe, etc and ferret out fabulous products. This takes money. Once products have "hit", it's easy for TJs to jump on board. And, like I previously said, by private-labelling everything you do not know exactly where things are manufactured. Distributors, aka "middle men" (and women!) work hard for our money and it is frustrating to see smaller specialty stores being passed over because shoppers think they are too expensive. And Walmart????? Don't want to pass judgement, but read up about the way they do business before you continue to support them. They are cheap because they beat up their vendors and underpay their employees. Every purchase is really a political decision - decide what you want to believe in. Is price really that important?

Ah - once a year, I let myself have a sandwich: liverwurst on toasted pumpernickle with sliced red onion, lettuce, tomato and Hellman's mayo. Tastes like home!

I can comment on the loss of smell. I am in the food biz and have been for over 25 years. I make my living tasting and selling high-end specialty food products. I had a pretty damn good palate. Long story short - I had the first and only allergic reaction of my life 2 years ago to a H & H everything bagel. Went into anaphylactic shock on the streets of NYC, fell down and fractured my skull. In the process, all nerves coming from my brain to my nose were completely severed. I have not smelled anything since. (OK, now anyone who knows me has identified me from this story!) It has been a huge source of sadness for me - I went thru the Kubler-Ross stages of anger and denial before I finally came to accept it. I still dream of smelling things and wake up enervated and sad at the same time. I only taste the big flavors - salty, bitter, sweet, sour - with none of the beautiful nuances in between. I now tend to salt and spice my food a lot to get some flavor. And yes, I gained weight b/c I kept trying to get the flavor "high" I missed. Smell is an amazing sense - it is easy to imagine what it must be like to be deaf or blind, but it is impossible to imagine what it is really like to never smell. On the other hand, I'm alive, so that's a good thing. My embarrassing hated food is pears - I cannot abide the mealy texture. Every couple of years, someone makes me feel guilty and I try again - YUCK. As to leaving unliked food on a plate - life is too short to eat any food you don't like. It has nothing to do with being rude or hurting your host's feelings.

Was invited to Crete as a guest of a trade association to promote the "Mediterranean diet". A week of unbelievable meals - rice cooked w/sheeps's milk, freshly harvested snails, incredible fish and octopus. One day we were invited to visit the olive groves of a family producer whose oil we sell. (Divina, if anyone cares - y can get it at WF and other specialty stores around the country.) When we got there, at 9:00 in the morning, the grandfather was at the still, making Raki, their distilled rocket-fuel drink from grape detritus. Of course, we had to imbibe, with fresh-cracked walnuts and sweet cakes. As we rode up to the olive groves to see the harvest, we passed a drunk porcupine who had been drinking the run-off from the still. After watching the harvest and pressing, we got to hold fresh bread under the spigots of new, green oil and nibble them with glasses of fruity white wine. After this incredible day, they brought us to a large home where all the wives in the family had been cooking for us for days. A lamb was turning over a fire as we arrived and the most amazing meal of my life followed - all hand-made Greek specialties like spanikopita, various meze, salads, succulant lamb - and accompanied by local musicians. At the end, we were compelled to dance with these wonderful new friends. I never sell a case of this oil without thinking of the gracious hosts of my most amazing meal ever!

250 at least - thankfully, my oldest daughter is also in the food biz, so I pass things on to her. Anyone who has any old cheese-related books - I am interested! Let me know. How do you part with books from your Mom - Julia Child First Editions and the Time-Life Library of different cuisines? This is a rhetorical question - I am planning on passing these on to my daughters as a family heirloom!

I'm a vendor of specialty foods to restaurants and I'm with Alligande on this - if I take a client out to one of my accounts, they MAY comp an appetizer or dessert, but I never assume that will happen. Ditto when I'm out on my own, with my family. Sometimes it happens, but sometimes it doesn't - no hard feelings. Business is business and I sometimes can throw lower prices or freebies their way - but sometimes I can't. We all love food - but those of use who support ourselves by selling it in some way are no different than people in high-tech or the financial industry. Your bottom line is what counts.

I hope I am not being a wet blanket - and perhaps some people won't care - but TJ is the WalMart of the specialty food industry. The reason their prices are lower is that they but directly from manufacturers and cut out the distributors - like me. While I am a moderate advocate of free market economics, I also know that you get what you pay for. Since many of their items are private-label, there is no way of knowing who really makes it for them, and I suspect you are not always comparing apple to apples. Just my opinion.

yes, yes - I'm in agreement. I meant that I was disappointed that the Culinarium turned out to be a bust. The cheese purveyor in the market, called Kaseland, is wonderful. I had a great conversation w/the manager, as I am in the cheese biz here in the US. We compared fave cheeses from various countries and he gave me a piece of wild, pungent, great Austrian Rasskase. The vinegar stall you are talking about, where they sold many interesting types w/empty bottle to fill yourself was very interesting - I just didn't know how I would get it home. Also, a beautiful meat stall about half way down - didn't buy any cured meats, but they sure looked good!

I can provide an update - for what it's worth: The Culinarium Oesterreich is at 10 Neuer Markt, just off Kartner Strasse. I got there at about 4:00 on a Saturday. Cafe was open outside with an interesting sounding menu at reasonable prices. When I went inside to ask about the shop selling regional specialties, I was told it was closed for the summer! I felt that between the Nasmarkt and Demel, I was able to get everything I was looking for like pumpkin-seed oil, apricot preserves, good vinegar, etc. I was very disappointed.

Yes, the goose and duck were marvelous and I agree that overall, the food and wine was quite reasonable in Prague and Budapest. Vienna was another story, but then it's more on the beaten path. Even so, meals w/wine at good restaurant or coffee house was quite reasonable. Did not see beef goulyas on any menu, or might have tried it.

Back from my trip with a few suggestions for anyone: Prague - ate at U Modre Ruze, in Old Town just down the street from the Estate Theatre which has great opera. It is in an old brewery/beer hall from the 1400s. Food was excellent - try the "Czech Plate" for a little bit of everything: goose, pork, cabbage, dumplings, as well as good local wine. Fennel salad starter, dinner, and wine came to about $50, including tip. Vienna - go to the Nasmarket and do not miss a wonderful cafe attached to a fish purveyor, called Cafe Umar. Outside seating and outstanding fish (gratefully appreciated after eating more meat in a week than I'd had in a year!) Absolutely order the grilled sardines if they are offered, also the local fish (something like welsch), which is a fresh water fish from the Danube. Also at the Nasmarket, if you like cheese check out Kaseland which has many French, German, and Swiss cheeses but also some very strong pungent Austrian ones called Rasskase - yum! (Had a great conversation w/the manager, who lamented that he cannot get American cheeses to sell. Told him about the recent Festival of Cheese at the American Cheese Society conference in Milwaukee, where over 700 American artisinal cheeses were featured, and he was astounded!) For dinner, check out a great little place about 2 blocks from St Stephen's, called Oswald & Kalb. It is on 14 Backerstrasse - good old-fashioned atmosphere, menu changes every evening. Excellent local specialties and some new takes on traditional dishes. Waiters were lots of fun too! Budapest - Great little place just behind the big food market in Pest - called Borbirosag. It is at 5 Csarnok Terrace and offers great food with wonderful wines - many by the glass. The veal paprikas was outstanding. Very reasonable prices and waiter can make good wine pairing suggestions with your food. All in all, I can't wait to go back! Hope this helps anyone heading that way soon.

Thanks for the tips - will let you know how I fare when I return!

Thanks for the good tips! I did also get two suggestions from a Hungarian emigre who often visits his home: Kacsa Vendeglo on the Buda side Rezkakas restaurant, also on the Buda side. Interestingly enough, he said to avoid Gundel - felt it was overrated and overpriced.