FabulousFoodBabe

Yanno, before Mr. FB fell in love with golf, he and I went diving together all the time. I like it -- the golf -- but think there's a time and place for it, and not when there's a barrier reef and blue hole just waiting to be inspected. We'd planned to go to Ambergris Caye last year, but had to cancel at the last minute. I had no wine the entire week we were in Belize. At the Turtle Inn, only Francis Ford Coppola wines were on the list, so we drank Mojitos. Man, that bartender is amazing (and charming). The food was so good, and the setting so lovely and peaceful. (In-laws picked RG, I think, for its "variety of activities," most of which weren't available. Dive boats only went out twice during the week, and visibility was not great at any depth.) I think Belize is one of those "one week is not enough" places.

Carolyn! You've just provided me with a way to get my husband back to Belize! Your trips sounds like big fun. We did a charter in the BVI a couple of times and loved it; a few people we met on our trip were on a boat up near San Pedro prior to coming to Placencia.

Ah, a blog featuring some of my favorite things: Duke, Jersey, and California! Bryan, why do so many Duke students come from this area? I love the underground restaurant concept and am anxious to see it unfold. Once again, I'm having major "kids who can cook" envy. Bryan, Mr. FB's degree is in "Business Management Science" -- they broke the mold after that one! (FWIW, he 'knew' at 21 what he wanted to do forever, and by the time he was 40, changed his mind twice.)

ChefRick -- As I've lived all over the place but continue to be geographically slow, where is Nelson? CIA instructors have a minimum of 7 years' experience and are amazing -- some have culinary degrees, some don't. I've been writing, cooking, teaching, and doing consulting work for a long time and the teaching is, to me, what I can pretty much do until I'm 100. At my currently "advanced" age (48, egad!), I can easily keep up with the 24 year olds on the line, but find that I really don't want to deal with what goes along with it. I prefer teaching participation classes to all ages: More money, more fun, and more control over what you teach and how. My new kitchen is being built for teaching; I do a fair number in private homes and in various other kitchen settings. One way I get started in a new market, is to donate a cooking class dinner party to a local auction or fundraiser. I also attend others' classes to see how they do things. Post again about your next steps, okay?

Pie.

Back to the topic: to me, it's not so much a matter of foie gras being banned. It's obviously an easy target, both economically (less $$ to fight back), and emotionally (aww, the lineup of baby ducklings waddling behind their Mommy, how could you just not want to cuddle them?). It doesn't seem so far off that our government will be legislating what we "must" eat, not only what we are not allowed to produce and consume. For the greater good, of course, and not only the greater good of those fluffy little birds. Hah.

Every now and then I scan through the forums and something stands out .. I spent two very happy years living in Randolph, and am thrilled to see that An American Grill is still going strong. We'd lived in some really nice food cities, and my limited time planning the relocation was devoted strictly to housing, schools, and proximity to Mr. FB's job. So the restaurants (especially AAG) were a delight to discover. Didn't mean to hijack; just wanted to say it's nice to reminisce.

Ah, Tetsujustin, I was wondering how you are! Where did you Extern, in Chicago? A guy from my team was at Trio. I think for a Dan Barber experience, I'll go to himself, especially since he's 15 minutes from here (and still cooks for me). Plus, my friends really, really want to go to Charlie Trotter's. I'm going to try and get a table today, but with only three weeks' notice, am not confident. And yeah, our California friend is a real wine-geek (arent' we all when we live there? ), so we'll see if she's interested in Bin36 and Tsuki. We're all coming back to reality on Sunday, so no 50% off night for us. But brunch will definitely happen.

and no husbands or kids! Help us decide where to eat and drink ... I'm meeting my friends P and L (California and Florida, respectively), in Chicago at the end of July. We have reservations at Alinea on Saturday night and are looking for other ideas. We'll be staying in the Gold Coast area. It'll be one of my friend's first times in Chicago; I haven't been in a couple of years but used to go all the time for work and play. Anyway, our "maybe" list includes Charlie Trotter's (I haven't been in 6 or 7 years, but friends mentioned it. ) Tru (will we have to wear skirts?) Coco Pazzo / Spiaggia (Heh. I have misbehaved at both places; are they still good?) Avenues (Met Chef GEB in Aspen a couple of years ago; loved his food and he was terrific to us students) Frontera (ehhhh ... maybe.) Plus, any really good bars?Since my friends are true ladies, I can't talk them into seeing if one of my old haunts is still there: a Kielbasa stand off Rush Street, open at 3 a.m. Of course, I'd probably break a hip from excitement.

Chef Andreini (one of my most favorites - a combinatin of smarts, skills, knowledge, and a great teacher). Being a commuter student (from 50+ miles away), I didn't get to see many evening demos. Your posting here is letting me feel like I'm part of things. Thank you. Have a wonderful Externship, Anthony!

Ah ...turtle Inn. Amazing! And the bartender makes a terrific mojito. It was grill night when we were there. We got back from our trip Saturday night and I'm still in catch-up mode. You are correct, joiei, about the foods in Belize and the lack of seasonings. I also noticed that every piece of chicken we had (outside of the Turtle Inn) was overcooked, and that the rice and stew beans appeared to be converted white rice,and canned kidney beans. (Marie Sharp's orange hot sauce is great on those ...) Since this was a family celebration/vacation, and others were not interested in joining us, we ventured out just a few times. RG's food was just okay, the little kids were happy and my MIL was happy, so that worked for us. Went to the Mexican restaurant across the street from there once or twice; better than RG food, terrific guacamole, but not much else. We took the arduous trip into Placencia a couple of times -- the stretch from RG to the airport was cratered with basketball-sized potholes -- and both times, the gelato lady was closed (snif). I'll write more later about it, though I can say that it was pretty blah, food-wise, except for LobsterFest! That's the local celebration for the beginning of lobster season. Very un-touristy, all of Placencia town turns out for it, and lots of vendors and contests, from arm-wrestling and tug-of-war, to fishing.

Hey -- just got back from Belize, where I drank tap water, ate any fruit I wanted, had ice in my drinks. Also ate at a festival, two local restaurants, one in the forest, and various little sweets that we found in shops ... fine. Those mosquitoes, though, ate right through my Deep Woods Off!, so I guess we've got a couple of weeks until I find out about malaria.

Nearly as good as the "where are the caterers' leftovers" episode! I can't pick one salad. That's like picking one pair of shoes, one restaurant, one beach. Heck, that's like picking one child!

Pan, Malaria is not a problem in Belize, more than anywhere else in the Caribbean/Mexico area, and we've never been warned to take preventives. Mr. FFB's college roommate lived in Belize for a couple of years, on a plantation, and never (Like MissAmy's Aunties) took preventives, nor heard of any problems among his workers, either. Drinking bottled water, I'll go for. Just *because.* I'll repel mosquitoes because I don't like them -- not simply because of all the diseases they spread. Heh. We've also been informed that "no one eats outside the resort" because of the threat of illness. Not this Babe!

Oh, how very timely! We leave for Belize this weekend, and I'm not at all worried about malaria, dengue, or feeling ill from eating something weird. MIL has instructed us all to get vaccinations, take malaria meds, never walk or swim barefoot, use hand sanitizer often, and not eat anything not packaged or bottled. And, of course, to look both ways before we cross the street. We've done no such preparation for this trip, or any of the 20-odd trips we've taken to "red and yellow" areas (based on that map). As a matter of fact, my kids generally don't get sick, and other family members seem to be sick from stomach viruses, colds, etc., since they were little. Maybe it's because we eat out a lot? I dunno. But why travel, if not to sample the local foods? If I get sick, big deal. I'll get well again. And yeah, I ate from street vendors in Mexico. I went into it thinking it would be my own personal blowfish experience, and wound up with a heck of a tamale.

I love it when people speak up, because half the time, they just need to know the whole story. However, I don't love it when they argue with me over stuff (my most recent favorite is that rice contains gluten -- it doesn't, but the arguer claimed it does), or when their information comes from a next door neighbor's brother in law who worked in a fish shop. One of the local magazines here published a Father's Day recipe that was a great example of making a recipe "special" by changing the cut of meat, paying no attention to what else is going on. The writer instructs that, for six servings, one should marinate a four-pound filet of beef in a vinegar-heavy mixture (that was boiled and cooled to lukewarm before using) and then grilled -- basically, a time consuming way to waste $100.

Geez, and all this time I thought the kid ran away to join the French Foreign Legion.

I'm breathless. We have a table the evening of 7/29. I've ordered "The Tour."

Whatever happened to the good old American pastime of simply peeling them off and sticking them on the center of your forehead? site It covers everything from the history of fruit labels to the quest to grow a collection to instructions on the cataloguing of fruit labels. I am gobsmacked (but also a little frightened that my first thought was "Hey! How cool is this?") ←

You gonna sell it on eBay?

I didn't know what a wedge was when I moved here (I only knew from Wedgies ). Wedge refers to the bread, I always thought -- a grinder/sub bun, longish, versus the round "roll." In Ohio, our 'wedges' were called 'hoagies.' In order to give directions to my house, I use Rocky's as a landmark. During that Great Blackout of 2003, Rocky's was the only place that still had power. Wish I'd gotten a photo. My younger son doesn't like fried onions on "date night;" when he ordered Philly Cheesesteak there, no onions, the woman on the line chided him about it! Gotta love that place.

Skinny Guy -- Welcome back to NYC! What were you doing prior to 93, and what do you want to do in the future? Were you with a firm for the past ten years, or a corporation? Hotel, chain restaurant, privately held? More info will help us give you some direction. (Your alma mater should have alumni placement services to at least give you a push in the right direction.)

Tupac, I'm having kitchen envy and growing-season envy, and pool envy ... and kid-who-cooks envy! Your blog is terrific and the photos, beautiful.

Congratulations on the practicals! ( I was amazed at how many people failed them on our team and our sister team. ) When did you do costing? And, when does Externship start for you?

Hey! I didn't know anyone noticed I went back to work ... My kids choices: Steak and cheese, on a wedge; American combo with provolone. Spouse likes grilled cheese and tomato. Don't be put off by a long line during rush hours; it moves fast.