moosnsqrl

I'm trying to imagine how you missed it - large, red building, foot-high letters on a small-town main street? Helmet on backward?

Thanks for the link. I cringed twice: once when he stated unequivocally that salad in Kansas means iceberg (he's not wrong, exactly, I just wish he would've inserted the word "rural") and again over the whole freedom fries thing (I had hoped we were over that, not having seen or heard it in several years. Apparently the citizens of Olpe haven't heard )

I am green with envy and anxiously await your photos. I have a milestone birthday coming up in the not-too-distant future . . .

I just picked up my mail and found the latest . . . There is a literary supplement featuring a variety of essays, many of which look promising. Two that caught my eye were from Calvin Trillin (a hometown KC guy and extremely witty, if you're not politically at the opposite pole) and David Rakoff (one of my favorite essayists and a frequent contributor to This American Life on NPR). I'm exercising uncharacteristic self-control and saving them for tomorrow's coffee. On to my usual initial perusal of the regular magazine, discovered that our own charcuterie expert, M. Ruhlman, has a nice paean to the <haute> dog. Interesting "stuff" (pun intended). My own personal favorite dogs come from a local (KS) business called Bossie's Best (they were featured in Gourmet or Bon Appetit a couple of years ago). They're skinless (Michael understandably ignores that end of the spectrum spectrum, since most of the lame dogs are) and uncured (again, making them something of an anomaly), but damn they're good. I have to applaud his opening line, though: If only the non-food journalists were so hard-hitting and, um, (dare I say it?) frank.

Wow, that's honest reporting for you. u.e. ← I grimaced when I read that. Many restaurants/bars have those wine glasses with the magic marker line on them (sometimes even visible at the service bar) but few have the bad luck to initiate the practice in full view of a critic. Yikes.

True, in some cases, but I have to believe that jgm's wording "devastating piece of news" implies that the food wasn't the problem. They offered consistent quality for over 40 years and managed to compete head-to-head with another little Eye-talian joint known as Pizza Hut, offering (at various times) pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches. Add the 4 or 5 more-upscale/fast-casual - whatever you want to call them - players and mix in a healthy dose of apathy and indifference on the part of the consumer and you have a recipe for disaster for an independent, regardless of herculean efforts on their part. As an aside, I was in that part of Wichita enroute to CA last month. Sadly, it was w-a-y too early for them to be open, but I was a little shocked at how down-in-the-heels the area seems to have become. I'm not familiar enough with the demographics or economics of the city these days, but the appearance of the neighborhood leads me to believe it might have contributed to Angelo's demise. I even thought to myself that, if my mother were still living, I probably would have had a hard time convincing her to go there in the evening.

I just noticed this and realize it's over but I have to voice my utter dismay that all of the wiseacres overlooked the obvious answer: PORK!

Hey, great idea . . . it is free corkage night. Will you be wearing a red buttonniere? Do you look like your avatar? I'm kidding. Enjoy your dinner!

KC Media Digest for week of July 20 - July 26, 2006 In the Kansas City Star Food Section Gail Borelli welcomes the trend toward using traditionally savory herbs to add interest to desserts. Janet Majure visits with a northeast woman who likes to share her uncle's pickled hot peppers with friends, old and new. Jill Silva gives us additional incentive to include onions in our diet (NB: if you're one of those people who stops eating something once you find out it's good for you, you might want to skip this one.) Local wine guru Doug Frost offers something a little different (and some sound advice): don't believe the hype. Apparently Rachel Ray-bashing is so much fun the Star's Entertainment guy, Aaron Barnhart, decided he wanted in on the action. On Tuesday he filed this report on her new talk show. But this morning he grilled her for leaving the job of cooking to the hotel's staff while Jimmy Kimmel braved the unusually high temperatures to wow the critics. In the Star's Preview Section Lauren Chapin visits the relatively new location of Tarahumara to investigate a claim of "lightest tamale." If the food is half as good as it sounds, might be worth braving the orange barrels of 87th Street. And, in Good & Cheap, she finds much to like about the recent [re-]incarnation of Tatsu's in Westport. In The Pitch There are two sides to every tale and here is Charles Ferruzza's take on Tatsu's Westport outpost. And, for those brave souls who leave the house on an empty stomach, here are a few new breakfast options in our fair cities. In the Lawrence Journal World For the time being, trans fats will not join cigarettes on the list of things banned from local restaurants. On KCUR-FM 89.3 The Food Critics join Walt Bodine to 'dish' on the local food scene. Out of range? Click here, then click "Listen Live" and join in. Stay cool. <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some area media outlets, which do not 'go to press' before we do, will be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you. <><><><><>

I'd like to add a hopeful "yet" to that, John.

I took the pedestrian route for this initial supply (Kohl's where, BTW, all of the supplies/accessories are %20 off now). It occurred to me that, as I have a $4 thrift store appliance, I should make sure it actually works before I loaded up on supplies. Thanks for all of the assistance. As soon as I get my media digest posted, I'll probably put everything but the cats in cryovac. Hmmm, wait a minute . Glad I got the 11-inch size.

I posted a request for a recipe similar to Zabar's (NYC) pickles here recently. I used the recipe for half-sours posted by jasi and was pleased with the results. I didn't do the math but what Mr. Ruhlman proposes must be very similar. I let them stand for ~5 days and wished I had stopped them a bit earlier, though.

To be clear, enough for 35 eGullet Society members equals enough for 175 normal people. ← Thanks for the reminder. Whoever has the absynthe better start diggin' deeper - I think it's going to be popular after all of the "thirsty work" we'll be doing.

Have you considered the age-old practice of foot binding? Just a thought There are many other outlets for birkis in town, in Lawrence, and online. PM me if your "dawgs" are still barkin' for garden clogs. Also, back on topic (yes, Ronnie, we occasionally manage that feat ), I just came from the 39th Street market and it was killer. There are only about 6 or 7 farms represented, but they all had primo stuff, good prices and god bless 'em for coming out in the (104 degrees on my car thermometer) heat! Check it out if you're in midtown next Wednesday - you won't be sorry. Also, Tom Ruggieri and others whose names aren't Italian and consequently have escaped my vowel-inclined memory, were there and I enjoyed a brief discussion with them about the "100-mile Diet" series of articles in Present Magazine. Oddly I was the first person to approach them and indicate that I had read the series and was interested in the concept. That is just wrong and deeply disturbing. C'mon folks. Read, chew, discuss. For links, either see my media digest or simply click here and let 'em know you care about our local food scene. And vote with your dollars. End of sermon, sorry.

Bumping to correct and remind: The Crossroads market has migrated to 39th Street, next to Crave Cafe, and is held 5-8 each Wednesday.

Thanks for the ideas. I would not have thought to look in either of those places. There's a Kohl's 10 minutes from me (when the orange barrels aren't in season) and according to their website they have lots of accessories, too. That giant sucking noise you hear is . . .

I've not seen any McD's ads about tea in the central part of the country. Your question reminded me, though, of another comment I intended to make about sweet tea and where it is, or isn't. I recently drove from Kansas City to the SoCal, then as far north as Calistoga, then back to central coast and returned to KC (via Las Vegas, cutting thru UT and on to Denver). Since I'm not a soda drinker and wanted something more exciting than water occasionally, I would check out the tea options at each pit stop. The offerings were not as predictable as I would have thought. On the way out I cut through Kansas, Oklahoma/Texas panhandle. Oddly I was able to get unsweetened, brewed tea at a relatively generic cinderblock filling station/convenience store in Hooker, OK (gotta love the name). Continuing on thru beautiful Tucumcari and to Flagstaff I didn't stop again. The next day just outside of Kingman I stopped at a far more mainstream looking place that included a Subway and my preconceived bias told me they would have yankee tea. Wrong. They had only sweet tea and it was actually labeled as such. I turned this into a game for the rest of my travels (ok, it'll never replace Car Lotto, but I was bored); I would visually inspect the options as I pulled off of the Interstate and guess whether or not they would have "good" tea based on the look and feel. I think my overall score was around 25% correct. I guess you really can't tell a book by looking at its cover. But I did find it curious that the geographic theory seemed to fall apart within the parameters of that trip. I have to assume it was attributable to pockets of relocated southerners or the lack thereof.

Thanks, Tol. I must've fat-fingered my attempted search - I couldn't believe there wasn't a thread but just figured it was conducted under a brand name or something. My faith in our comprehensiveness (is that a word?) has been restored.

WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! If I had known I would have driven down there yesterday in a heartbeat. This really makes me sad, sad, sad. I've been eating there since birth, hauling olives, pickled eggplant and salad dressing to Lawrence during college (yes, it was messy) and the thought of never again having their food is just incomprehensible. I feel like you hit me really hard right in the ol' bread basket and am having trouble breathing. I'll say it again - chains are evil and will be the ruin of our society. Do you have a mailing address for the Fascianos?

I had to re-read the initial post several times - I've always considered the Ferry Plaza market the ne plus ultre for quality and variety and I've probably been there at least once in every month of the year at some point. During the last few years, however, I have found myself in Hollywood on Sunday mornings and have developed a real fondness for that market (in spite of the unsavory character who was there June 18). I've been to several green markets in NYC (although admittedly not in high season) less frequently and enjoyed what was there but found it more limited. I generally try to visit Manhattan at a time when everyone else is not doing so (i.e. not in summer) but perhaps I'll have to rethink that and come just for a market comparison. I'd be interested to hear from you natives when the absolute peak is (realizing that there will be varying opinions, depending on affinity for habaneros versus stone fruits, for example). I, to, experienced mind-bendingly outstanding strawberries: Gaviotas. I don't believe they ever get very large, though, so probably not the same as you had. Oh, I would be remiss if I didn't point out the strong advantage of Ferry Plaza in that they have those incomprable Rancho Gordo products.

Having recently found a Food Saver and with produce running amok, I'm in the market for supplies. Since I haven't used this preservation method before, I'm clueless about what options, sizes, etc to go for. I've looked for them in various stores in the area without success. I've looked online and found them for sale from a variety of sites (including eBay) and will probably go that route in the future but I really want some today (yesterday would've been better). Where do you typically find these? And any advice on sizes, shapes that work best for certain foods or purposes? I see them listed as both bags and rolls. And, if I want to do sous vide once I've gotten up to speed with this contraption, will the same bags work for that as for freezing veg? Any help with shortening my learning curve will be appreciated!

I won't go so far as to say it's evil but I guess the best sweet tea I ever had is the batch they forgot to put the sugar in I guess it's a yankee thing I'll never get over. I've developed a taste for lots of things over my lifetime but that's not one of them. I do like some of the middle eastern teas, though, as joiei mentioned. It's a different kind of sweet and one that really enhances some of the spicier offerings of those cuisines.

I finished it at noon today and was so depressed that I would likely never hear anything new in her voice again, I drove two hours RT to buy some Heritage Pork for dinner It was a wonderful read and, although most of the facts, chronology, etc were already known to me through other works, her tenacity really did come through in this book. Once the initial post legitum depression has subsided, it will give me the <bon courage> to tackle my own career transition and for that I thank her.

... moving along... Did anyone read Chapin's review of Cafe Maison? Anyone care to step up and say that the food was on par with, say bluestem or 40 Sardines? (She gave C.M. 3 1/2 stars for food) u.e. ← I read the review but, as I mentioned upthread, I really haven't been paying much attention to the stars and comparing one restaurant to another using them as a metric. And to comment on JWest's remark about giving out stars to give a shot in the arm to a restaurant, for whatever reason, I think you're spot-on. All that aside, I really do want to get by Cafe Maison and check it out for myself, though. We've all pretty much established that we don't really base decisions on the reviews but, conversely, I would hate to miss out on a good place because it received a good review. That falls under the category of cutting off your nose to spite your face, I think, like refusing to try a wine because Robert Parker liked it .

How do I keep missing all of these great threads? Anyway, recent finds were a Food Saver and a Belgian Waffle iron - $4 each and neither looks like it's ever been used. Prior to that my ice cream maker - I would never have sprung for one because I didn't think I would use it that often. At 3 times in the first month, the $1.50 I paid for it seems quite reasonable! And lastly I picked up four soup mugs that are round but the exteriors are decorated (both in clor and texture) like a corn cob, a head of cabbage, asparagus and carrots. How fun - even the S.O. (who suffers my inability to come home without something that must be shoe-horned into a cabinet) loved those. I swear, soup tastes better served in them