Carrot Top

"Smart Chicken. . .Dumb Name". It might help if you think of it as a lovely bird that woke up one morning to be grabbed then dressed by bunch of card-sharps in All The Wrong Clothes. Not her fault.

That's exactly how I felt. You've made quite a nice tale of it. . .it was rather like a parable, the whole experience. There was more to it than a big plate of food. It was a way of Being that was being presented at that table. And it made me afraid for more than just myself, for it did say "America". This breakfast topped off a visit to Gettsyburg which also set my head spinning in a similar fashion. It is a huge place. . .one walks around a lot in groups with (excellent) tour guides from the Parks Service. In each group there were about fifty people. And in each group at least one-third of these people were grossly obese, to the point that they were having trouble walking. And about a third of this third were children under the age of 13. It frightened me. I can not assume that they felt "good" for that much weight does not make a body feel good. Yet then when I went to breakfast at one of the places where "America" eats, it was there, the invitation to excess, with almost no-way-to-avoid it. There is a saying about (can't remember the exact words) how you can tell the health of a nation by the way it treats its old people and its children. In this case, it seemed that that saying could be extended to "how well we treat ourselves". If we are aiming towards a general trend towards this. . .well I will use the word "obesity" in large groups. . .and the chain restaurants are helping this along, with subtle little winks of the eye as they total their profits at the end of the day . . what a nightmare, really. Of course, it may be "nothing to worry about". People can do what they want with their bodies. And I even used to (still do somewhat) worry about the fact that as a country, most of us do not speak a second language whereas most people from other countries speak two or three. (It just seems sort of to put one at a disadvantage in a direct way. . .or just seems like a small bit of casual arrogance in an unthinking sort of way. . .) Well. . .enough for now. Sign me, The Worrier, Karen

Marsh????? ← I think he was saying "Much!"

Whoa. Fantastic site, west2100. My omelette weighed in at 792 calories. 612 of those calories came from fat. The cholesterol level was 269% of the daily level. No wonder I felt astounded. And slightly sick. On the other hand, my friend had ordered the Whole Grain and Nut Pancakes. . .in an attempt to "do the right thing". And what did his choice weigh in at? Turns out even worse than the omelet. . .a total of 1037 calories in that "healthy" dish. . .585 of them from fat. . .cholesterol 194% of the daily level. Well. Glad that I haven't missed anything except ruining my health by avoiding IHOP for all these years. . . Oh. . .P.S. No, I didn't eat the whole thing. Could only manage about a third of it.

I have a confession to make. Last week I ate at an IHOP. Well. . .there was literally no place else around to eat breakfast. I ordered an omelette. It said it was a three-egg omelet. It was some variation of a "western" or "spanish" omelet. Within a few short moments, it arrived on the table. It was hard to find space for the plates, because there were four enormous syrup dispensers (on each table) and two coffee pots (empty, waiting to be filled or not) on each table along with the salt, pepper, sugar, and other sweeteners. I looked at it. I didn't recognize it. It was the Omelette to End All Omelettes. Actually it did not look like an omelette at all, but rather some sort of stacked layered egg crepe thing. It was four inches high and about eight inches long. I almost laughed but almost cried, too. My companion said sorry, but that thing looked like a turd from some huge animal. It didn't taste too great. But it WAS eggs and all the other things that it said it was. It was just very strange. I asked the waitress if they had a calorie count on it, and she looked at me as if I was speaking Martian. Even the IHOP website does not say how many calories this thing has. It totally astounded me. Do you have memories of something that was portioned so enormously that it totally astounded you? What was it? Do tell. . .

Oh. So you're saying there is a SERIOUS reason for the name. Sounds good to me. . .

Urgh. The only question here is which is the best come-back to use to this one. "That bar is totally exhausting!" (?) "Go to that bar too often and you'll get a syndrome!" (?) "If you thought you were tired before you walked in, just wait till you walk out!" (?) (Though actually if it's on the Lower East Side. . .who knows? Maybe they specialize in "Energy Drinks" ) Poor Epstein, whoever he is.

I dunno, Soba. Five posts about McDonald's burgers almost right in a row? Sounds a bit to me like you're "jonesing". Aren't the sides of your mouth sort of watering at the thought of having a Double Cheeseburger RIGHT NOW?! ← No, he's a BK addict. ← Yeah . . .You can see how much I can tell the difference between the two places. . . (actually here where I live they are right next to each other on the same street and whenever one of my kids wants one or the other for a "snack" I've been known to often drive into the wrong driveway, mistaking one place for the other, which brings forth loud groans of aggrevation from them). It seems then that I must have McD/BK ADD. . .Oh well. Worse things could happen.

I dunno, Soba. Five posts about McDonald's burgers almost right in a row? Sounds a bit to me like you're "jonesing". Aren't the sides of your mouth sort of watering at the thought of having a Double Cheeseburger RIGHT NOW?!

Somehow the taste of. . .some varieties of Cuban coffees. . .taste naturally sweeter to me even before the addition of the sugar. And there was something I heard once about the desirability (when making Cuban coffee) of forcing more air into the coffee as it was being made (I am not sure how expresso machines work, but certainly the mokas have a good amount of pressure being expended) that would make the final product almost "fluffy". As opposed to a. . .Turkish style coffee. . .which of course is dense. Could or would one say that the typical expresso "texture" and possibly taste, is somewhere inbetween these two. . .Cuban and Turkish?

So, Rogov. . .what categories did the "old vs. young" tend to fall into? Which varieties or types or specifics did the older people like. . .and which did the young prefer? Curious. . .

Mmm. The guys I knew were coffee traders, buying and selling from everywhere on the market exchange in the world "to" the large companies with the warehouses. . .they did do tastings from raw to finished product in the cupping room that sat next to their trading terminals, and this was certainly a large part of their job. . .to judge the capabilites that the green beans could be brought to display as they tried different variants of roasting them in the small roasters in the cupping rooms. . .this would finally, determine the price that would be offered for that bean on the commodities market. Probably the running around to exotic places was just something they enjoyed doing as part of the whole thing . . .though often the trading room was filled with the sound of them jabbering variants of African languages, among others that were needed for possibly the "best" sort of negotiations or information from the field. I do so love Zulu. ................................................................. The five of the most influential women critics/tasters you mentioned. . .would you tell me their names?

Would you say that a "ristretto" might be more like the profile of a "Cuban Coffee" then?

That's interesting, Rogov. Leads me to wonder if any women have entered into the field of being coffee-tasters for the major trading companies. I remember all those guys being "guys" when I worked on Wall Street. Definite guys with guy-like Damon Runyon lives. All travelled to exotic places and all spoke interesting second and third languages like Zulu. What fun! Which leads me to wonder if there are positions like this within the major wine-producing or trading companies. . .tasters. . .and how those positions are stacked gender-wise, or not. ............................................................. The speculation about women tending to be more "sensual" in their evaluations as opposed to men being oriented towards the analytical. Can you make a guess as to why people would speculate this way? I am wondering if it could be language-based somehow. . .based on the descriptions women might use in detailing their thoughts as opposed to the descriptions men might use?

Thanks, PattyO . There is sort of a look of an intelligent lecturer, knowledgeable about all things in that cat's face. Which of course is my design in life. But then of course one has to really burst out laughing at how totally ridiculous she looks, which is even better to my mind than being a great intellect . Yes. . .if these things are factory farmed. . .wow. . .what a small miracle!

This was an interesting quote to read. . .for this is something that happens sometimes, but not always!, with free-range chickens. It doesn't happen all the time with the "free-range" "organic" ones that I've bought in the supermarket, though. But it did used to happen each time I had a fresh-killed chicken from the places where one could go (years ago, in NYC and other places) and pick out your live chicken and have it. . .well, made ready for you! And the taste, a full chicken-y taste was there in these birds too, which again, seems come-and-go with the storebought "organic" "free-range". Can't wait to find these birds. If they don't carry them in my market (which is always a good possibility! ) I think I'm going to hound them till they do! The price does not seem bad, and certainly its worth it if these things can guarantee a flavorful bird each and every time!

Sounds fantastic! I wish there were something like that here. . .the closest we can get is the newly opened Mexican bodega where there are several variations on the fruit-chile blends of popsicle (imported from Mexico). . .(and they offer candy-chile blends, too, for that matter. . . my eleven year old son adores the lollipops of all flavors that are packaged up to be dipped into the accompanying poblano chile powder. . .)

Ah. . .setting aside all the very admirable ideas that you've come up with to think about initiating within the scope of this recently inspired project (and I do love a project of this sort, for all sorts of thoughts, ideas, progressions can come from it of many sorts!). . .there is one question that seems to rise in my mind. It may seem rather an idiotic question, but nevertheless I'll ask it . . .and would also like to hear any answers that anyone has to it, please. Is there any difference between the way(s) that women and men seem to experience the tasting of wines? Has anyone noticed anything along these lines, as a very general impression? (Personally I don't have a clue but am curious. . .) Karen

Oof. I have to admit that the only thing a Long Island Iced Tea seems useful for, to me, is to get very very drunk very very quickly. The idea of a delicious taste never seemed to enter into the quotient. . .though I can see how psychologically, in a person who enjoyed the feeling of getting drunk that fast, it would take on a "delicious" taste for as long as they were tasting! Do you guys really like the taste?! Really? (Go ahead, throw rotten apples at me. . .just don't throw a glass of Long Island Iced Tea. . . )

How was the pricing on the stuff, Abra and avocado? I am hoping that the price is as humane to grocery-shopping people as the chicken-growing people were to the chicken. . .but. . .

Just saw "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" last night. Good movie, even for grownups. . .particularly those who like food. Your line reminded me of what Charlie says to one of the particularly obnoxious children in the story: "Candy doesn't need a reason to exist! It is enough that it is candy!" Might adapt the tortes to use black walnuts or pecans. . .filling to be lemon or lime curd or peach buttercream? Then it could claim a "Southern" provenance, no? This will be fun! Yes. . .thank you for saying "no" to the banana pudding. Probably my cooler would never recover from that marvelously messy stuff!

On one of the smaller highways crossing the West Virginia/Virginia border, there is a Shell gasoline station with a grill that serves burgers and such. One of the letters fell off the sign, and was not replaced for about a year. Everytime we drove by, what we saw was: "HELL" "Try our Angel Steaks for only $4.95!" (Never did find out what an Angel Steak was. . . )

Hah! Generally with large social functions I notice that how enjoyable an experience it is for ME is up to THEM! Heh heh. . . Nevertheless, the one child that always questions everything (daughter, of course) has seemed to take quite a liking to the idea of an eGullet pig-pickin', and has been talking it up to me. Her brother is always happy to be wherever good food is, and as long as his sister is happy and busy enough to not find time to harass him, he is well pleased. So, I've just "bought my ticket" and will be very happy to come and eat all the good things and meet all you exciting characters. . . It will be good to have the chance to take the children to the museums on Saturday, too! It's been a while. . . Unfortunately, we are from Virginia at the moment, so can not add to your collection of states attending. . .but I can offer to bring dessert as we will be driving down and a cooler will hold something well for that period of time. My general tendency with desserts is to do Viennese-type stuff. . .walnut tortes and so on. . .but with a stretch I might be able to do a southern-style banana pudding for a crowd. . .which do you think y'all would like better for this bash? Let me know. . .either is fine with me. Thanks. . . Karen

Ha, ha! The Seven Characteristics of a French Fry! It sounds like something Hobbit-ish! I love it. Actually, it was even funnier when I read it wrong at first and thought it said "The Seven Charismatics of a French Fry"!

My opinion is definitely "inexpert", Rebel Rose. . .I've had three semesters with Kevin Zraly "way back when" and have had the opportunity to taste some of the world's greatest wines due to the fact that I had to order them (and know their taste) for formal dinners planned to showcase them (and the pockets of the people that were having the dinners ) in the past. And of course I've had the opportunity to taste some of those older "less-perfect" wines that definitely suited my own pocketbook at other times in those years past. My opinion is inexpert because I think one has to drink wine daily and think of it daily in order to give a really good opinion, and I don't! So here is a reaction from that "audience" which is me. . .I think there is a great deal of standardization and less personality being shown in the average bottle of wine that hits the shelf. And from what I hear, it is what the average customer demands. They do not want to "explore" too much this idea of wine. They do not want to take the risk of possible mistakes. . .which of course can happen when exploring in any new area. Most people just want something to taste the same. . .just as if they were buying a bottle of Coke rather than of Pepsi. I feel that the variety of tastes is being lost in a generalized way to a wish to homogenize so that the wines will sell. And possibly the distributors are looking for this homogenized taste, too, for the same reason. But I am sure that the wines are out there. . .just not maybe in the average wine store or grocery store (for sure!). The exceptional wine store with a loving proprietor and the small local wineries. . .that probably is where they are to be found. The trend towards the artisan movement in all things food. You can not get it "everywhere" but you can get it if you care to hunt for the treasure.