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Very early (11:30) lunch again today after dental followup. Both pork and beef ribs on the tough side (yesterday's?), but good enough. Sides fine. Good iced tea.

How about the Soup, um, Gentleman? Or do a dozen different varieties not count as single-item food?

Buncha frites shops. Do burgers and pizza places count?

Another dental appointment on the wrong side of the Hudson, another visit to Stickey's. The food was even better this time. The pork and beef ribs were just as tasty, just one pork rib was tough, and only at the tip (disclosure: I prefer ribs with a bit of toothsome snap; mushy and falling-off-the-bone texturelessness are not for me), and the sides were much better. Today's minor complaint was some oversaucing, easily remedied. The lunch hour remains an uncrowded time to visit. A good sign: the local gendarmerie stopping in for takeout. (Yes, they paid. I think.)

CH's Saint Mina of Bangladeshi cooking is reported to have relocated from Queens to a place called Angon on East 6th Street in Manhattan. There is, of course, debate as to whether she's the real Mina, but the consensus seems thus far to be in the affirmative. Anyone been?

Instructions.

I stopped in the other day for lunch. Pork ribs were tasty and nicely smoky, though those at the very short end were quite tough; I also found the half-order a little stingy. An enormous beef rib was beautiful: meaty, smoke ring without, pink still within at the core. The sauce went well, though both meats -- aside from the aforementioned pork toughness -- were good enough to eat dry, Texas-style. Cole slaw and greens were nicely made, but a bit bland. Service was excellent, though to be fair, the place was nearly empty when I visited. Aside to Jason: The menu separately listed both brisket and smoked roast beef. I'll certainly return. Edit: Clarification of within/without business.

About two weeks ago, I also found the chocolate flavor to be vanishingly elusive; the vanilla was better, though normally I prefer chocolate by far. Both seemed excruciatingly sweet to me, and the chocolate was also significantly melted by the time I got it. I am not eager to return, at least not for the custard. Of course, I may have been spoiled by a recent exposure to Kohr's, down the Jersey shore...

I had a fine meal here last week with a vegetarian cousin. (He keeps vegetarian the way that some people keep kosher: fish, or even meat, is vegetarian if eaten sufficiently far from home, but he does his best.) Because of its necessarily limited palette [artistic reference, not a misspelling], this isn't food I'd crave on a regular basis, but it was inventive, fresh, and generally delicious. Even fellow carnivores should give it a try.

My beloved old Magnalite anodized aluminum was porous, and came with instructions for seasoning, inside and out, much like cast iron. I bought it because, back in the day, Consumer Reports rated it above Calphalon in evenness of heat conduction, and All-Clad was still just a gleam in some marketer's eye. My only piece of Calphalon, besides the three bargain Commercial non-stick skillets, is the Commercial 2.5 quart low saucepan, purchased for $18. The side walls are about 3/8" thick, it weighs a ton, and it has yet to warp. I gather this to be an exception.

Pan, Seymour Britchky was a pioneering restaurant reviewer of the '70s and '80s who died just recently. This thread contains links to his obit and to an earlier eG thread on La Crémaillère containing some Britchky excerpts.

There's now a coated, non-stick version available.

Something about the cadence of Bruni's writing struck me as familiar, and now I think I have it. Does anyone else think that, at times, he sounds like the sainted Britchky?

Good news, indeed. Has anyone seen Magnalite yet in any stores? Is the new company honoring the 100-year warranty on older pieces? Edited to add: I just posed those very questions to the manufacturer.

This raises an interesting question: What compromises should a "foreign" chef be willing to make to adapt his cuisine for the local palate -- as opposed to educating it?

I've had some success in converting non-blue-cheese eaters using the Irish Cashel Blue.

Well, I just thought I'd give you the opportunity. This is actually the best advice you could have offered, more important than recommendations regarding specific shops or cheeses. I had such a place for a couple of years, but the guy then moved up, on, and out. FWIW, though I haven't been around the city much the past year or so, I generally found Fairway (Broadway) too cramped and crowded for much schmoozing and sampling during the hours I could make it there.

Seeing as you're being candid here -- as well as informative and entertaining, which are only to be expected -- how about an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the major NYC cheese shops? Who's best at what, by type or region? Most frequently offers unusual (or supralegal) treats? Most likely to sell product that's at its peak? Offers the best bargains? Should be avoided like the plague? Thanks.

Does this mean that aluminum foil and wax paper are more porous than plastic wrap, or is some other factor in play here?

Especially nice, winy peaches Wednesday from the apple vendor at the NW corner of the Union Square market. Eat 'em quickly, however; by this evening they were over-ripe.

Word, bro. Otherwise, the review was fun to read, but seemed lightweight. Is Bruni deliberately placing more emphasis on the text below the stars, i.e., his discussion of atmosphere, service, recommended dishes, and the wine list?

I've bought that butter at Zabar's and, I think, Dean and Deluca. Garden of Eden may also stock it. It comes in a plastic-sealed log wrapped in a paper jacket.

Might there be a budding thread in here about the responsibilities, if any, of a restaurant reviewer -- or any critic -- to parties other than his readers, i.e., beyond providing the best evaluation and recommendations of which he is capable?

I stand my various lettuces, celery, asparagus, and similar vegetables capable of water uptake in the refrigerator door shelves, each in its own plastic bag, open at the top with an inch of water in the bottom. On the rare occasion that anything goes uneaten for a week -- I try to buy only what I need for the next day or two -- it stays absolutely fresh as new. I hope this helps.

This real-time report just in… spent several hours at BABBP Saturday starting at 12:30… failed to locate FG on his quiet, private bench by the statue… may have spotted Bux in a cap of a color seen only on the golf course and in the ghetto, but not sure… may have sighted Jason’s distinctive form at a distance, but didn’t recognize anyone else… enjoyed seminars... waited 20 minutes to buy meal tickets… waited a while in Ed Mitchell’s line, checked at front when it didn't move, learned that food was no longer available… chose Salt Lick next because its line looked the shortest, discovered 45 minutes later that there were two parallel lines, not one, and brisket had sold out, but kielbasa pretty good… waited 45 minutes for Mike Mills... sick of standing in line and frottage-sated, cashed in all remaining tix for ribs, some very good, others dry… begged fatty brown brisket snippet from R.U.B., really good… tried Blue Smoke rib sampler a few days later, some very good, very similar to Mills’s in color, texture, taste, others dry and stringy… killer blueberry pie. Would I attend again? Most everything about the event -- the park, the seminars, the music, the custard stand – was fine, except for the mad press of humanity in the confined space where actual barbecue was sometimes for sale. So, in a word, no – not if it resembles my Saturday experience, at least not without special eGullet line-jumping privileges. I found it way oversold, in the multifarious meanings of the word. Edit: General neatening, of the sort that should be performed before, not after, posting.