LindaK

Helmand is a great place to eat, though comfortable, somewhat lacking atmosphere. Delicious and affordable. Order anything with pumpkin! Out of the way, if you don't know that particular corner of Cambridge. Once upon a time I used to love Elephant Walk, especially the Cambodian soups. It's been a while, but my last couple of visits were unremarkable and overpriced.

All Filene's stores are going out of business, including the one at Downtown Crossing, across the street from Macy's. Somehow, the Filene's Basement stores are under separate ownership, so will remain in business. I work down the street from the Downtown Crossing store, and plastered all over the Basement store are signs noting that they will remain open. Upstairs, everything is on clearance. The kitchen section isn't huge but there's still a lot in stock. There's talk of a Target and other stores moving in eventually, but who knows.

Looks like a fabulous apartment, and a great neighborhood. I would second Carlsbad's mention of Sancerre, a nearby wine bar, as a place for a low-key, simple meal. Since this is your first trip, and will obviously include a lot of food shopping, maybe folks here can offer some advice/tips on successful market shopping. I know the first time I rented a place, speaking very little French, it took me a little while to learn some of the unwritten "rules." A few things that were new to me: - in supermarkets, produce isn't weighted at the cashier, as it is in American markets. There are little scales in the produce department where you weigh your own purchases and afix the resulting price label - you bag your own groceries - at street market stalls, I find that self-service is strongly discouraged I'm sure others here will be able to add to this list.

My trips to Paris are generally quite budget conscious so my sublets are not in the same category as docsconz's. Still, I've loved my one-bedroom, small kitchen, marginally-equipped apartments, for all sorts of reasons. For one, while I love eating in restaurants, I get tired of eating out 3 meals a day for any length of time. Call me crazy. I prefer to have my morning coffee at home, listening to the radio and reading the paper, with something yummy from a neighborhood patisserie. Sometimes, depending on my meal and tourism agenda for the day, a quick, light lunch or late dinner at home is all I want or have energy for. I don't travel with a family, but I think I'd feel even more strongly about having a kitchen if I did. And I love the market shopping and the chance to play with new things. How can you browse those markets and not buy?? It doesn't have to be complicated. Par example, I was last there in December for just a week, and girolles (a mushroom) were in season. They were on menus everywhere, and i'd never tasted them, much less cooked with them. after a couple of delicious restaurant experiences, I coudn't resist buying some when I saw them at the local market. They made an amazing and memorable omlet for a late-night dinner the next evening.

congratulations on the trip, very exciting! On my infrequent trips to Paris I always sublet a place because I want the kitchen. It makes all the difference, as far as I'm concerned. Something to keep in mind: kitchens in Paris are not going to be spacious. American-style kitchens, unless you plan on spending a lot of money, are rare. From what I've seen in Paris, a full range (with oven) is a luxury. Also, if you're renting a place that isn't someone's home, that is always rented, don't expect a well equiped kithen, just the basics. Since you'll be shopping, check out some of the market threads I've noticed here. Food shopping in Paris is so much fun.

This is one of my dreams, too, and I have two words for you: deep drawers. Forget the shelves with things buried in the back. Imagine drawers deep enough for pots in which you see all from above. Adjustable interior dividers to keep lids in place. When I finally get around to the much needed gut-rehab of my kitchen, I'll probably do Ikea cabinets so that I can afford other expensive items, but the deep drawers and dividers that even that budget line offers look fabulous compared to my current under-cabinet mess. If you click one of the lower drawers on this Ikea page, you'll get a sense of what I mean. Ikea drawers

Not sure where the greens are, but I want some! In addition to greens as their own delicious selves, I add cooked greens as an ingredient to lots of things. favorites: - on any pizza - in a frittata - with pasta - spinach in stuffing recipes

I've never seen a zinc kitchen countertop, but lots of old Paris bars and bistros have zinc bars. lovely, and certainly have survived their share of wear and tear, not to mention wine spills.

hmm. I don't think that "fast" and "efficient" are the necessarily the same thing (though heaven knows they're related). I like to be efficient (ie. reading the recipe well, generally having my mis en place ready) but I'm not necessarily in a hurry to finish the cooking. If I'm not distracted by searching for an ingredient at a critical moment, for example, I can relax and enjoy the process of what I'm doing. In fact, I find that paying some attention to efficiency gives me confidence to take on a more ambitious--and usually longer--cooking project than I might otherwise do.

It was a splurge. I went to a trustworthy appliance store ready to choose between two low-end models of the Bosch, based both on Consumer Report reviews (see comment below) and recommendations from very fussy architect friends who are very happy with theirs. Even low-end Bosch is somewhat more expensive than other brands, but in addition to cleaning capacity, I placed a high premium on QUIET, and Bosch gets great reviews on that front. So, ready to spend about $650-700 for a "cheap" Bosch, I asked some questions about the differences between models. I had no trouble resisting various bells and whistles, and since I personally use only a couple of cycles on any dishwasher, was not impressed by the ever-increasing number of cycles you seem to get in more expensive models. The adjustable top rack feature caught my attention immediately. The ability to do a top rack only wash sealed it for me. Although I often cook for crowds, I live alone and like doing smaller loads sometimes. There are a few features that reduce cycle time and water usage, which are also a plus. The premium was about $200, I spent a little over $900 with taxes. The model # is SHX56B, but that was over a year ago, my guess is that model numbers change often. By all means, if you find a less expensive dishwasher with this feature, go for it! I would highly recommend checking the on-line ratings rather than relying only on the CR print version. When I was researching dishwashers, a friend lent me a special issue of CR all about kitchens and kitchen appliances (worth finding for the articles, about a year ago). Anyway, the print version ranked a number of dishwashers, and it didn't mention a single Bosch. When I went on-line, there was a much longer list of rated products, and two different Bosch models had the number one and two positions. Not sure how they do the edits for the print versions, but you'll definitely see more models on-line.

This isn't a very practical answer to your question, but perhaps useful to know--a couple of years ago I did a tour of le Palais des Papes in Avignon. Was I surprised to find at the end--along with the shop selling trinkets--was a shop selling an incredible selection of (drum roll...) Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I didn't buy anything but the local friends who were with me were very admiring of the offerings.

Last week in the midst of a real cold snap, I made a very traditional salade frisee aux lardons--frisee salad with a warm, vinegary dressing, with bits of bacon, sprinkled with shallots, topped with a fresh, poached egg. bread and wine required accompaniment, fresh fruit to follow. ordinarily, i'm of the fresh, vegetable variety salad, but as winter salad as "comfort food" goes, this one is great.

In Boston, there are a few places in Chinatown. Also in Cambridge, Mayflower Poultry near Inman Square has a fine selection. I found a pic of their sign on the web---hope the link works. Mayflower Poultry

I missed offering suggestions for tonight, but perhaps for Thursday...or the next bad day... I reach for risotto, a variation on the mac and cheese theme. Crank the music (opera? Dvorak? Brian Ferry? Hank Williams? your call), pour a glass from that bottle of wine, and start stirring. Zen therapy, carbs, and cheese, all rolled into one sublime dish. Sing, drink, eat. Hope tomorrow is better.

White. Have previously heard of, but still have not experienced, GBC. Sounds like a by-product of the '50s infatuation with the 'convenience' of canned food products of all sorts. Y'know, modern and progressive for its time. Not about "the food" at all. But I must comment on the thread itself. I've seen it lurking on the forum and never stopped by for a visit until now. The most interesting things the topic seemed to be that it somehow persisted. Tonight, it somehow registered that it had reached 7 pages--there must be some there there. Very glad I finally checked it out. I don't recall seeing other threads that so explicitly addressed racial culinary traditions or divisions. I'm sure I'm wrong there and have just missed them. Any suggestions for other threads on this issue? ps--just got home from a working meeting at Sandy's and MizDucky's alma mater. The food's gotten better.

salade frisee aux lardons. bitter greens and hot bacon dressing in one dish--the perfect winter main-dish salad. poached egg on top, too.

Ask him about barley. I never had it (outside of soups) until recently, and really fell for it (and I generally don't do "hard core" grains). Fool-proof to cook, pleasantly chewy, with real flavor, and it doesn't seem to take much to jazz up into a grain salad of sorts that i found works well with fish. surprisingly filling.

I love my Bosch, purchased about a year ago. The brand decision was based on various published and word-of-mouth reviews. I wanted performance and quiet. There are a range of models with prices to match, and I went to my preferred appliance store ready to buy at the low end--personally, I don't see a need for a dozen wash cycles and many other unnecessary bells and whistles that are offered. In the end, I went with a higher-priced model because it had two features that appealed to me. One--the top rack is adjustable in height, which means you can fit larger plates and pots on top. On fixed-height models that I'd had previously, it used to really bug me that a lot of my mid-sized plates were an inch or so too large for the top rack. Love this, in fact, I keep it at the lower level almost all the time. Two--it has a top-rack only wash option. Perfect for smaller loads. The Fisher-Paykel two-drawer model works on the same principle. I use this a lot, and makes the adjustable top rack feature really practical, since you can fit dinner plates and smaller pots on top. Features I rarely use but like to have--top rack can be removed and a second jet sprayer popped in for extra-tall loads. peeves? the silverware rack is rather small, I wish it were larger.

I'm confused. Until I read this I thought I understood. Can you explain again?

Good point. A well-worn copy of La Cuisine de Madame Saint Ange was given to me me about 10 yrs ago by the mother of a French friend. It's been invaluable as a reference resource--for example, another eG thread inquired about dealing with fresh escargot, and this cookbook described the entire (disgusting) process. But I can't say that I turn to it for recipes. I'd also say the same thing about Larousse. I vote for Julia, however dated her books might be in some respects, you will definitely cook from them.

She will love them, though they don't whet my appetite. But nothing quite compares to the meat flavored chips that friends from the UK bring over. The roasted lamb flavored chips nearly defeated me...I ran for a toothbrush.

If you're staying near Kendall Sq., then the Blue Room is the place to go. Always reliably good and good value, occasionally excellent. Comfortable atmosphere, well priced wine list. LOVE Helmand. Not high end, actually quite reasonable for over-priced Boston, but delicious and unusual. Order the pumpkin!

So true! The second you figure out pretty quickly,and no big deal if you get it wrong but the first...it took a quiet, kind aside from the mother of a friend I was visiting to clue me into this one. I was embarrassed but appreciative. As for the original question, I've been casting around for gift ideas for an upcoming trip and thought my maple syrup idea was original. My French friends lived in the States long ago, and I know they love the stuff. On the topic of wine, I think the idea of bringing a local wine is a good one. Once I brought a couple of bottles of wines from Missouri (where I was living at the time) to a woman who owned a vinyard in Provence. She was delighted to try something so completely unknown, and while not California cabs, they were a big hit. I think the gesture of having brought something from so far meant the most.

Where else can you get la cuisine et la grammaire in the same discussion thread? It was worth getting buried in work for few days to come back to so many good ideas. I love the kid friendly suggestions, I have a niece and nephews who will adore trying French sweets and pastries (and the niece studying French in college wants things to share with her roommates, what better than French junk food?). The fleamarket is an intriguing idea, let's see what the weather is like. I may be from New England but I'm a wimp about cold weather. Suggestions that have come my way from elsewhere: La Grande Epicerie on the rue de Sevres in the 7th and Lafayette Gourmet on the bd Haussman in the 9th. I've never been to the latter but ducked into the Epicerie once on my last trip. Huge. Also, a requested item from a friend: flavored syrops for drinks, baking etc. Good idea, only problem I have is that bottles are heavy. Maybe just a few... As for transporting perishable foods, what do others do? I've never tried to bring back anything but cheese. I've found a few fromageries that will vacuum pack (sous vide) their items, it keeps the odors at bay. I don't bring it carry on, I always put it in the suitcase that will be in cargo. It gets pretty cold at 20,000+ feet, I don't worry about refrigeration. What about customs? I don't leave until Sunday so will be back before then. Merci tout le monde!

thanks, ptipois, really. French prepositions are one of the trick of learning the language. grammar aside, les pots themselves are a fun idea. you recall correctly, bushey, I live in Boston--and now that you mention it, I have vague recollections of a Diptyque storefront on Newbury. I have a haircut appointment tomorrow in that quartier, I'll look. sigh. shared sentiments about globalization. All the more reason to share our unique finds. edited because I need to make better use of the "preview" feature.