Marya

Tell that to my family! They all hover around me when they sense a bagel in the premises and call first dibs on the top half.

What about us, the thoughtful half-bagel consumers, who take the bottom half for ourselves and leave the goodie-covered tops for someone else? I view us the the most selfless of all bagel consumers. Besides, I like my breakfast bagel with the butter toasted to a nutty flavor. It's easier to do this with the flat bottom.

I knew I should have cultivated some Scandinavian friends! Don't let the green banana turn you off. I vaguely remember that it had a distinctly aromatic flavor. I wonder if our neighbors to the North can still buy it?

Many years ago, my husband received a bottle of Pisang Ambon and we thought it was an interesting liqueur with an equally interesting name. Recently, he was musing about this product and wondered where we could purchase a bottle. Since the original was bought in California I tried to locate it there. To my surprise, no one seems to have heard of it. Does anyone have any ideas where I can find it?

Here, in Oregon, the state-run (read: pathetically inedequate) loquorias only carry Pitu, the poor man's cachaca in Brasil. My brother supplements my plebean stash with Pirassununga, when visiting from New York. He also brought Pirapora, but it's not very good. Does anyone know if Germana can be had on the Pacific Northwest?

Deborah, If you are still searching for that perfect pizza, I'm re-enforcing what Trillium said several months ago. Scholls Pizza House has moved from my back yard to Portland (Sigh!) and renamed A Pizza Scholls. Brian's genius with the dough, and the best quality toppings, make a memorable pie. You won't be disappointed.