TexasGal

The menu at laidback manor sound great! The menu does not seem pretentious to me at all but then I loved Cafe Annie's and Tony's when I lived in Houston. I live in LA now but I will be sure to try it when I am back in Houston at Christmas. I'll try to get my sister and some friends to check it out before my next visit. Best wishes on your success. PS. Does anyone know the name of Claire Smith's new restaurant? I heard she was back in Houston.

Has Laurent Gras set up a restaurant in New York yet? I was a Fifth Floor about a year ago and thought the food and wine pairing was absolutely fabulous. I will be in NY the end of May and would love to try any place where he is cooking.

I was just at Bistro Jeanty (for the second time) on March 18th and had a wonderful meal. Granted, I love tomatoe soup and this is one of the best I have had. We also had a terrific salad with beets and feta cheese. The beef stew was so tender and delicious that I really want the recipe. The smoked trout appetizer tasted more cured then smoked and was good but not amazing so I probably won't order that again. There were four of us at dinner and we all appeared quite happy with our food. I live in LA so it may not be for another year (too many great food places in Northern California) but it is definitely on my list of places to try again. I have also been to Jeanty at Jack's in town and remember having a particularly wonderful mushroom risotto but my SF friend said it was not as good when she went back a different time.

I just reviewed your link and the Day of Roasted Boar looks amazing. I emailed the info to a friend that lives in the Marina (SF) with the hopes that she will convert her B-day Party from a house at Stinson Beach to a trip up to the Rendevous Inn including the roasted boar. She is not as into meat so I am not sure I can entice her but worth a try. If you need a few more people for when you do it again, let me know so I can fly up from LA. Any excuse to visit Northern CA and eat good food.

Maybe someone can develop Leptin knockout ducks that would naturally overeat so they do not have to be force fed. The rodent strains and humans (rare, only a few cases) that have naturally occuring genetic mutations overeat and become obese. I think it would need to be done on the right strain of duck (Muscovy) so that they get fatty liver and not just a thicker fat layer under the skin (Pekin ducks). It could be a big money-maker based on the interest in maintaining a supply of Foie Gras. Would PETA still object if the ducks are not gavage fed? Reference for fat distribution on overfeeding S. Davail et al. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 134:707–715, 2003.