JasonZ
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Posts posted by JasonZ
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Wonderful insights, beautifully written ... should be required reading for every eGulleteer.
More interestingly, there are Food Channels in the UK and in Canada, with a completely different spectrum of shows, chefs, philosophies. I know that starting this fall, Nigella Lawson will be on the US TV Food Channel, but we won't see Giorgio Locatelli, for example. PBS in the US tried to regain it's food prominence with "The Two Fat Ladies" ... only partially successful.
Regards,
Jason
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My last comment on this topic ... because I think we've clearly aired the issues and the various responses to it ...
Technology is wonderful and can make the world a far better place ... today we make insulin and growth hormone using human genes put into yeast or bacteria and use the little plants or microbes as factories to make what our bodies no longer produce. There is a tremendous amount of care that goes into ensuring that nothing is introduced into those "master cell lines", in the nutrients added for fermentation and also that the cells don't mutate from generation to generation into a genetically different yeast or bacterium. Would we want to use the same yeast to make our bread or beer? I don't think so -- it would probably be safe, but it wouldn't taste very good.
I don't think Bayer was inherently evil or conspired to turn loose its GM rice ... but when the mistake happened, neither Bayer nor the USDA jumped on the problem and tried to solve or contain it. I don't think that's either being a good corporate citizen or an efficient governmental agency. I don't think you'd be very happy if I, as a drug manufacturer, said to you "well ... I have a little manufacturing problem, so 6 out of every 10,000 pills I label as xxxx are, in fact, something a little different ... but don't hold me responsible and I'm not going to do anything to fix the problem".
Food and medicine (and in traditional Chinese medicine, food IS medicine) are remarkable products -- while we know a great deal, we also really know very little ... want to guess how much of a genetic difference there is between the yeast that ferments fabulous wine and the agent that causes botulism? Not very much.
I suspect the GM rice will be shown to have no discernable effect on humans ... but I'd have liked to know that before it got into the food supply, not after ... and God help Bayer and the USDA if there ARE human adverse effects. There will be no place for them to hide ... and we will have to live with the consequences ...
That's my last comment ... and thank you all for being profesional and sincere in expressing your comments, whether we agreed or not ... this is what makes eGullet such a wonderful site.
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I've been to 10/50, most more than once ... definitely not the order I'd rate them. I am shocked that Gary Danko isnt' on the list ... but then, what is being rated is urban politics, not cuisine.
Read any of eGullet's local threads (e.g., Philadelphia) and you'll find new cutting edge chefs that could easily make this list in place of one of the old standbys ... but until they've been around long enough for the mass media (and the masses) to "discover" them ... and make them the "in" place to be this year ... they won't be recognized.
I've just learned of a little place up in Bucks County ... a true country inn by appearance ... owned by a commercial pilot who flies coast to coast weekly and brings back fresh Washington fish & seafood for his chef ... meals Monday or Tuesday night are to die for. On the national scene, no one will ever know about this place, but it easily ranks with some of the best meals I've had at the top 50 ...
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What conference was this? I gather it was in NYC ...
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I had hoped to avoid this, but ... I may have to put on my professional hat ...
DISCLOSURE: I work in the pharmaceutical industy, as an MD with a research background that crosses multiple areas, including the use of genetically modified products investigationally used to treat humans.
DISCLAIMER: I am speaking as an indivual and not on behalf of the company that employs me. Everything here is my personal opinion, not the opinion of my employer.
Now that the corporate lawyers are happy ... or as happy as they'll ever get ...
The analogy to spinach is not a good one, but the analogy to Gregor Mendl and his peas is a very apt one ...
The spinach has been contaminated by a well-known external bacteria. Human fault is responsible for either the contamination itself or for failing to detect it and prevent the contaminated product from getting to market. It is an imminent danger, resulting in death and illness. Long term, however, the safety of the world's spinach supply is not in danger. The spinach has not been altered.
Gregor Mendl was not the first to cross-pollinate plants ... or animals to modify their properties. However, he and his predecessors almost never cross-bred species to obtain something different (and yes, we can talk about mules, nectarines, and other close crosses as creating "new species") ... and didn't have access to genetic techniques to allow them to synthesize their own custom genes.
The situation today is that genes from vastly different species are being spliced and linked to create offspring with properties that could never come about in nature. In the case of this rice, Bayer AgriScience was creating a species of rice that would be tolerant/immune to herbicides used to prevent weed growth in rice fields, which as a side effect, kill the rice plant as well as the weed. Interestingly, Bayer had made a commercial decision not to proceed with this particular strain of rice in the US and hence had not filed with FDA and USDA for marketing authorization. Since they weren't going to file for marketing authorization, they never did the long-term testing of animal and human safety required before such authorization can be granted. The reason for this sudden filing and accelerated review and approval is because the contamination of commercial rice and subsequent banning of this product for export to Japan and the EU may result in significant liability for Bayer ... this is their way of covering their corporate ass ... NOT because they've suddenly discovered this is a wonderful product and they "forgot" to get regulatory approval. This accelerated approval will also minimize the amount of human safety testing the company will have to do in order to gain approval. This will prevent an investigation into how the "contamination" of commercial rice happened and why it was not dealt with immediately. The same issue has come up with GM corn ... and it was not dealt with in this way.
To be fair, this gene has been placed into two other rice strains. If I understand correctly, neither is approved in the US, but these are approved in non-EU countries. I don't know how extensive the review process was for these other strains and whether there was contamination during the field testing of these strains.
This kind of genetic modification is quite different from cross-pollinating natural species and letting natural selection take over. The genes being used in this case never existed in nature and hence their long-term impact on animals or humans is not known.
One fear is that contaminated rice can certainly be used in many other products (baby food, rice wine; rice vinegar; etc.) and the spread into the population could occur even if one chose not to "buy" rice ... likewise there is the ethical concern that this rice could be shipped to a country or countries without the sophistication to ask or test for such contamination -- as the USSR was rumored to have done with the potato crop contaminated by the Chernobyl radioactivity (it was allegedly used to make vodka for export).
Anyway, while it is a small amount of contamination (something like 0.06%), the degree of contamination is not as important as the fact that it occurred without triggering a local alarm to control it immediately and the action being proposed is designed not to give the American public a safer and better food supply, or to protect the American public, but rather to shove the whole issue under the carpet.... it just doesn't pass the public relations "smell test" ...
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Of course they're trying to compete ... when WalMart gets into "organic" food, the trend has clearly hit mainstream ... I expect my Costco's will soon be running adverts as well.
I tend to keep the almost daily shopping that I became accustomed to in the UK and in NYC ... so I hit Costco for bulk paper goods (napkins, towels) and supplies (dishwashing liquid, aluminum foil, plastic wrap), as well as bulk food at reasonable prices (Bear Naked granolas; 100% cranberry juice; dried fruit).
Anything I can't find at Costco, or don't quite need in quantity 10,000 ... I hit my local grocery store for. That may include meats (rare these days), fish or pasta, although I usually pick up things like this at Philadelphia's Italian Market, much like shopping in the small family owned shops of Europe.
On the weekend, I hit the farmers' markets for the stuff you won't find anywhere else: all organic fruit & veg; heirloom varieties; incredibly fresh local produce (corn picked a few hours before; fruit picked early the morning of the sale).
You can still save money AND get the most wonderful items.... you just have to work at it.
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A few typos, but nothing a copywriter won't catch ... I like the style, the informality/humor ... but how are you going to transition to recipes, and advice on cooking your "girls"? Will you also have egg recipes?
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Incredible ... and very disconcerting. The rice I use is all imported from Thailand and India, but the use of this rice in many other processed foods without prior evidence of safety would be a disaster for the US. Especially worrying is that EU sources have been testing and rejecting US rice for a while, based on this contamination, which seems to have escaped most newspapers' notice. The banning of US rice imports into Japan have been an issue for many years and are more related to the sacred nature of rice in Japan and political protectionism of Japanese rice growers.
Thanks for bringing this to eGullet members' and readers' attention. I plan to write an individual comment to the FDA FR proposal ... I wonder (QUESTION TO eGullet MODERATORS) -- can eGullet organize a more organizational response (e.g., a comment on behalf of eGullet, based on a poll), or would that kind of activity violate the current "foundation" status of eGullet?
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Would second/third the recommendation for Penne ... nearby (same block as the U of P bookstore), handmade pasta made before your eyes (ask for the chef's table, next to the cutters, if you like, or there are tables in the alcoves that are a little more private) and the chef (Roberta) and chef de cuisine are both wonderfully trained and incredibly friendly. Food is excellent across the range and a great wine bar.
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Would second/third the recommendation for Penne ... nearby (same block as the U of P bookstore), handmade pasta made before your eyes (ask for the chef's table, next to the cutters, if you like, or there are tables in the alcoves that are a little more private) and the chef (Roberta) and chef de cuisine are both wonderfully trained and incredibly friendly. Food is excellent across the range and a great wine bar.
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I had understood that salad and raw vegetables were not consumed in China because of the traditional use of "night soil" (animal and/or human feces) as fertilizer, and thus the possibility of transmission of parasitic infections.
Re meats, I don't know if the tradition of "steak tartare" would have passed into Chinese gastronomy during the short period of Mongolian rule (Yuan dynasty, 1279-1356), but that seems the closest to "raw" that may appear in Chinese cuisine ...
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Add a full can of the featured "Beef Paste". Add 4 tsp of Sa Cha Sauce.
Ah Leung:
The pictures themselves are mouthwatering ... I can only imagine the taste of the dish itself.
One question -- what is "Sa Cha Sauce"?
Regards,
JasonZ
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What sort of chocolate (or chocolates) do they use?
Ling has asked an excellent question ... does anyone know? If not, I'm in there Saturday ...
Regards,
JasonZ
P.S. Ling, I LOVE your posts in the monthly regional Italian threads ... didn't realize you read Philadelphia as well ....
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Ah Leung Kuo, as always, a masterpiece of simplicity, leading to outstanding taste. I have a teenage son, who has a passion for ribs, but isn't into cooking ... and since this doesn't involve lighting up a grill and spending hours, it may not fall into the teenage "cooking" category!! Perhaps I can teach him to make this as his first real "dish".
Regards,
JasonZ
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Not exactly "in the city", but close and accessible via SEPTA (Ardmore Station, on the R5 line), Hunan on Lancaster Ave in Ardmore can make it as hot as you'd like ... Betty Foo (sister in law to Susanna Foo) does fabulous home style, authentic Hunan cuisine.
Try the mapo dofu and ask for it "like you'd have at home" ... or for an appetizer, go for the pork-stuffed hot peppers.
Regards,
Jason
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Aside form the advertising aspect, the more steps and the more complicated they make getting the egg from the hen to the table, the great chance there is of the egg becoming contaminated with bacteria.
In the IHT article, there was a technology sidebar and the process is pretty amazing. The laser etch is applied in about 34-73 milliseconds and penetrates about 5% of the thickness of egg shell (50-90 micrometers). So, the time delay is almost non-existent and I don't think anyone has researched the effect of compromizing 5% shell thickness on infection rate ....
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In the EU, egg shells are imprinted (soy based ink, which can be washed off) with the "good before" date and the name of the farm from which the eggs came ... In the US, a firm is proposing to laser etch information on "lay date", source, etc. on eggs along with an ID number so a consumer could trace the egg's jouney from chicken to store ... BUT this firm is also proposing to sell "advertising space" on eggs to firms interested in reaching consumers ... and can apparently target ads to local areas!!
Giving freshness info is a great idea ... but do you want to be reading ads on your eggs?
Article source (About.com) -- BTW, this article was competing with National Underwear Day!!!
What do you think?
JasonZ
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The original responsibility for editing/censorship belongs to the speaker or person being quoted/edited. If all they have to say is profanity, perhaps they shouldn't be speaking ... and perhaps what they have to say shouldn't be quoted ... after all, shoudl we interview people unable to string a sentence together without making it X rated? Forget about whether it's offensive or not ... does it have any value?
Obscene words show up in every medium today, so much so that it's impossible to protect anyone from being exposed to them (whether they want to be or not) and so much so that the words themselves lose whatever "shock value" or "color" they may once have had ...
Within the next 5 years, I expect to see s***, f***, and whatever more difficult words replace them, televised on the National Spelling Bee, with no one batting an eyelash ...
If the King James Bible could describe incest, bestality, raping and pillaging of war, etc., permitted and prohibited "couplings" (most of which routinely occur on cable these days) without any vile language, why do we need to descend to making it common?
For a "fair balance" view, see this Slate article on the word "suck" (which once had physiologic and even cuisine related meanings ...) ....
JasonZ (who has used all those words at one time or another, usually while driving!!) ...
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I don't know of anything directly on Route 1, but if you go about 10 minutes south on Route 100, you 'll come to Krazy Kats, which certainly offers good food and outdoor dining. Route 100 is only a few minutes south on Route 1 from the 1/202 intersection.
About 15 min north on Route 1 you'll get to the exit for Thornton, the home of Pace 1, another good choice.
I'd agree that the Chester County thread should have more suggestions, but I've eaten at both of those and could recommend them.
Regards,
JasonZ
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Agreed ... what a great line!!
Hollie rules and wuz first as well ...
Calling all Pittsburgh eGulleteers
in Pennsylvania: Dining
Posted
I'm from Philadelphia, but my daughter is a student at PBT, so I come to Pittsburgh fairly frequently ... and I have tell you, PIT doesn't need to feel ashamed of anything ... great Italian (Lidia's in the strip and many places in Little Italy), great tapas and Spanish cuisine, fine Indian and Chinese in Shadyside ... and great light cuisine at the Frick.
I'd love to learn more about what you residents really find good -- it's the best way to learn about a place!!
Regards,
Jason