srhcb

"L" is for "L"ights An ingredient in haggis, along with oathmeal. Robert Burn's Day doth fast approach, and all good Scot's should begin to gather up the ingredients, and ro lay in a good supply of malt whisky. SB (half Scot)

I move that, as both recompense for a perceived snitting and reward for a fine story, we reserve the letter "P" for Jensen to use for "P"ickling. Do I have a second? SB (we did adpot Robert's Rules of Order didn't we?)

Well so far we've managed to include two of the very few foods I don't really care for; "C"ilantro and "E"ggplant. And to rell the truth, I'm not all that fond of "A"nchovies either. If "O" ends up being "O"ysters, I may have to make plans to dine elsewhere. SB (can we bump an item by virtue of suggesting another with a more powerful story component?)

Being one of those to whom cilantro/coriander tastes remarkably like soap, I would like the option either to use "C" for something else, or to submit another controversial food in a later letter? SB ("V" is for Velveeta?)

I could have used "B" for beer, and had "C" for clarified butter! SB (has plenty of beer stories)

First, identify your target audience. For instance, both children and seniors seem a bit under-represented in food themed web sites, probably because neither is considered a prime demographic group economically. SB

The are many ways this could be done. I could reply with "A is for Apple", and tell how my defacto grandson calls any roundish, reddish food item "apple" whether he likes it or not. He likes apples, but dislikes tomatoes, even though he refers to them by the same name. Or, I could say "A is for AnnA", the Chinese-American Mechanical Engineer/Patent Attorney/Food Writer, who I met on another food themed discussion board, and who introduced me to eGullet. I had some of my favorite discussions about food and myriad other subjects with her. As you can see, a thread like this could easily become disjointed and hard to follow, not that there's anything wrong with that. Maybe it would be best to have some sort of structure, aside from alphabetical order that is. For instance, we could try and develop a menu? If the next post was as story based on "B is for Beef", we probably wouldn't later use "P is for Pork", "H is for Ham", "L is for Lamb" or even "S is for Steak", no matter how carnivourous we might be. It might be a good idea, since all we have so far is anchovies, that the letter "B" to be used for an item not easily replaced or substituted for, and necessary for any good cooking? Of course, as Julia would insist, "B Must be for Butter"! As you can see, the game will become harder and harder as we proceed thorough the lettters. A copy of Larousse might come in handy? Well, that's my contribution to what should prove to be an interesting idea for a thread. SB (anyone got a good Butter story?)

Maybe not, for at least two reasons. First, they really don't have anything against the particular restaurant. (they could even be a regular customer?) These people have a crusading mentality. The point is getting publicity and parlaying that into disportionate political clout, not educating restaurantuers. And, you don't want to be too obvious. SB (knows a few things about making trouble)

That would be my guess. Might be interesting to check with other restauranteurs in the area that also sell foie to see if they received a similar call / reservation cancellation. ← You'll know for sure if a local news source gets a "tip" that restaurants that serve fois gras are having a spate of cancelled reservations. Next, of course, local elected officials will be asked for their views. SB (publicity = political pressure, especially on a local level)

Here I sit, in Northern Minnesota, where the first frost usually hits about Labor Day, we had measurable snow on the ground the second week of October, and forecast for this weekend are temperatures nearing 20 below zero, (actually not really that cold for this time of year) .... and I can enjoy a perfectly ripe banana! SB (I really do appreciate it!)

What was the "Serbian coffee" like? I recall my Serb Grandmother nearly always had a cup of very black coffee in front of her, but I don't know how she made it, or what she may have put into it. SB

That's about the gist of it. And, may I say, you handled the matter with great aplomb. However, I will not be surprised to see this happening more and more frequently, coincidentally, in states or municipalities considering restricting sales. It's the sort of trick they teach at politcal activist training seminars to make their political positions appear to have a greater following than they actually do. SB

I suspect this is an organized effort by a fringe group, and that the caller never really intended to dine in your restautant. SB (with a grain of salt)

Generally I try and adhere to my Mother's admonition, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." But, the Boston Episode of Hungry Detective really didn't do anything for me. Maybe it was too much emphasis on sea food, which I don't eat a lot of? SB (maybe it's because of the Red Sox?)

BTW, just where did you find this info on the KA website? I cannot seem to find it (or did they take it out ?). ← I found it via Google in an Amazon.com customer product review. Get your model and serial numbers off the tag on the bottom of the base and call the KA phone number. SB

I also did a cursory check, to no avail, to see if perhaps the line might be attributable to either Julia Child, (speaking jokingly), or Ruth Reichel, (speaking seriously). It would be an easy mistake to make. SB (often misquoted and misquoter)

That name bothered me too. I just learned to ignore the phonetics and read it in my mind as "Charles". (It's a handy trick I picked up when reading Russian novelists. ) So, if MFKF did intend the name to cause consternation among her readers, (an interesting and totally believable theory), the score is SRHCB 1 - MFKF 0!

Balancing this, however, is a poignency best illustrated in "I is for Innocence" from An Alphabet for Gourmets. MFKF reluctently accepts a dinner invitation from a rather unpleasant and culinarily unsophisticated aquaintance whose wife had recently died, more out of pity than anything else. I won't ruin the story for you, but these sentences appear only one paragraph apart: "....one of the ghastliest meals I ever ate in my life. On second thought I can safely say, the ghastliest." and, "My gross friend, untroubled by affections of knowledge, served forth to me a meal that I was proud to partake of." Not many writers could pull this off, and even MFKF, rather than run the risk of appearing mawkish, appends this story with a vaguely related tale concerning her father. If you can read this chapter without experiencing, as Willy Nelson sang, "What's that little drop of water in the corner of your pane, now don't you try and tell me that it's rain", just throw The Art of Eating away and get out Larousse Gastronomique. SB (loves both MFKF and Willie )

My copy of The Art of Eating, (1990 Macmillan paperback), has this quotation in the back cover blurb by W H Auden, who knew a little something about using words: "I do not know of anyone in the United States today who writes better prose." SB (perhaps a bit condescending, but high praise none the less)

I don't remember that potato chip story, SB, but if you ever get to the office, do try to find it in the book and tell us about it. Please don't bother with doing any work first, just find the story, log on, and relate the tale. Could she eat just one? KR (more concerned about the story of any table than the table itself) ← The potato chip story is in With Bold Knife and Fork, under the chapter heading "Once a Tramp, Always...". The opening line set the tone of the piece: "There is a mistaken idea, ancient but still with us, that an overdose of anything from fornication to hot chocolate will teach restraint by the very results of its abuse." And continues a few paragraphs later: "Somewhere between the extemes of putative training in self-control and unflagging discipline against wild cravings lie the sensual and voluptuous gastronomical favorites-of-a-lifetime...." When we finally get to potato chips, (this is the line I like): "...they hang like square cellophane fruit on wire trees in all the grocery stores," MFKF claims that potato chips ready availabilty allows her to eat them only once every three years, but .... SB (thinking about tables)

I would mention the problem to the cashier, but would pay if they insisted. I would never penalize the waitstaff though, unless they were rude when asked for assistance. I'm reminded of an exchange from "Fiddler on the Roof": Nachum (played by SB in Community Theatre): [begging] Alms for the poor! Alms for the poor! Lazar Wolf: Her, Nachum, here's one kopeck. Nachum: One kopeck? Last week, you gave me two kopecks! Lazar Wolf: I had a bad week. Nachum: So? If YOU had a bad week, why should I suffer?

I left my copy of Art of Eating at the office, (although a book titled Art of Eating at the Office might be a good seller?), but where did MFKF's story about eating potato chips appear? That had some clever turns of phrase. SB (not much concerned over his table)

FROM KITCHENAID'S WEBSITE: Thank you for visiting the KitchenAid website! I would like to reassure you that our engineering and product teams have addressed the gear box issue. In fact, we have already implemented a change in the manufacturing of the Pro 600 Stand Mixers to a metal gear box. Although these will be changed out on additional 5 qt bowl-lift models that include all metal gearing, the time line on that is not known at this time. Although a transparent change, this will insure the long-term durability we expect. I would like to emphasize to you that should you purchase a Stand Mixer (with all metal gearing) which has not been assembled with the upgraded metal gear box, and you should have a problem with your mixer (as a result of the plastic gear box (failure), we will most certainly extend your warranty to resolve the issue properly and effectively. If you have additional questions, feel free to reply back to me. Or, you may contact either our KitchenAid Customer Satisfaction Center at 1-800-541-6390, or you may visit our secure KitchenAid Live Chat. SB (has a trouble free 18 year old KA HD)

The Cumin and Apricot intrigues me. SB

Well. . .the small sampling we have so far is mostly female overall. I guess the male respondants are out hunting bears for breakfast or checking out the new colognes being advertised in the shiny-covered magazines on their coffeetables. . . ← Maybe reaction to the somewhat disturbing aspects of MFKF's life has less to do with gender than with parenting experience? SB (wondering .... {originally written without benefit of having read the prior post}