FabulousFoodBabe

Ah, Flames. It's actually pretty good. Blue Hill is very close; try now to get a table and if not, at least stop by for a visit and a drink. Yama Sushi -- I love it. We have it delivered so I've never actually been there (now, how weird does that sound?). Amalfi Restaurant - in the middle of town, pretty good food. I'd avoid Terra Rustica, also on State Road. If you want a local experience, head up to Rocky's MIllwood Deli, just a few miles up route 100. It's an institution. Do you want to travel from Briarcliff, or stay close to that town?

I'd like to change my entry to this: First meal at my future in-laws' house. Seventy-two hours and two courses. Interminable.

Oh, man. I have had to deal with this in the past, and have learned something: We tell the server to just split the check and add 20%. When someone squawks about it, we offer to fork over the extra bucks to them. Since this never happens with people we consider good friends, it's no biggie. (It's happened in the past with, for example, old friends' second spouses, family members, and new acquaintances.)

Yeah -- one of their reps was speaking to our class when we returned from Externship. Pretty deft at skirting certain questions and giving a company line ... but to the "giant portion" concept, she insisted that they just want everyone to taste everything. How very nice of them! And yeah, the one in White Plains is jumping at opening time every day. Back when they were a smallish chain and I had to eat there, I liked the fish tacos. But cultural melding? Nevah.

Me too, me three. As my husband describes it, "French Laundry is Fabby's Pebble Beach."

Tupac! I'm looking forward to this, so very much. Care to tell us the history of the moniker, and where you go to school?

May I ditto the "well said" to H du Bois? (Who among us didn't laugh at the 'dos in Working Girl, or the nails, or her devotion to Page Six?) BTW, I read Page Six online every single day. Sigh. Sandals, Miss Megan. but I do have some Manolo mules that would go great with that happy smile!

Um, I like to know. Does that make me an ag geek? I'm having a flashback to when we lived in Modesto, just a mile from the farms. We'd line up at 5:30 in the morning and wait for the trucks to come in off the fields, loaded with baskets of nectarines and flats of boysenberries, still dewey. I have never, ever, had a nectarine since then that doesn't make me think of how good that was. Sigh. Plus, I haven't seen a Red Jim for a long time. I miss them!

Nice, Jason. Keep it up if you want to get invaded.

Put me in the Dansko column. As for socks, I recommend some sort of runners' socks: thin, seamless, and made of that wet-wicking stuff. They should serve only to protect your feet from rubbing against your shoes all day long. Even if you're in running shoes, this will make a big difference.

Me, pissed off? Naw. I love these types of discussions and like I've said repeatedly, there's a grain of truth in 'em. And once upon a time, I was cool ... No, really. But Megan: You, a snob? Nevah. And the Choos will never fit your teensy feet. Snif ... I had teensy feet, two kids, and a career of being on my feet 14 hours a day, ago. Swankalicious, may your wedding day be beautiful and bright. Many good wishes to you, and please tell us where your party was held!

You say "eG, young and male," and I think BryanZ.

Ditch the Belgian shoes? ← for Jimmy Choo, of course. though I might wear the Belgians for the commute.

Okay, here I am, having another flashback to my childhood. That's just what we did, too. Thanks for the memory, Toliver!

Ooh, cool! I'm going to Belize at the end of the month, and will look for the Salad cream. I wonder if there's any relationship between sweet pickle relish lovers and MW lovers? (I personally love sweet relish in my tuna salad, on sandwiches, etc.)

It's a tie, for me: Mamma's Devil's Food Cookies, and Peak Freens (sp?). The former, becaus my Nonna had them at her house for the kids and we used to see how many we could stack up and shove inside our mouths at once. The latter, because dammit, no other cookie name makes me giggle!

Hey, I think there's a grain of truth to nearly every stereotype; now I know how southern people feel! I do get a huge kick out of these types of discussions, and squirrel them away. Former Manhattan Hipsters and their desire to move the heck out of there are what keep our property prices astronomical! (And ya gotta love 'em, because they're lovable.) So, I guess maybe I better ditch the Talbot's outfit and Belgian shoes, that I was planning to wear to the City Meals benefit on Monday night ... I've already cancelled my appointment at Supercuts for something a little funkier.

Mizducky, I like your blog, and I like your attitude about the food and the weight loss. And Randall's perch cracks me up! Flat-screen monitors are the bane of cats, I think.

Exactly! This is what I was nattering about earlier, except that the mayonnaise isn't causing the problem. Low acid/high moisture are perfect environments for nasty stuff to grow (spuds, pasta, rice). Mayonnaise is low moisture and, depending on who you talk to, high or low acid. Not to say that it can't look nasty and kind of, well, rancid, if it's not kept cold. But will it make you sick? Naw.

Right now, I am ashamed of a certain (former) West Side girl. How could you forget the name of the Forest View? <ducking> ← Oh, geez. I'm ashamed of myself. Two rounds of "Edelweiss" (listening to it, I mean) should be penance enough, ya think?

This is too, too funny. You've got to tell me what "B&T types" do to muck up your good time at your restaurants! Wear odd clothing, smell funny, stick you with the bill, chew with their mouths open, scratch their nether regions, what? And do you include Brooklyn, Queens and SI in this group?

It depends...it can certainly be an issue if you're looking for something trendy-NYC vs. trendy-B&T - do the B&T'ers bother me when I'm eating? No. Do I consider them to be real NYC scenesters? Eh, not really. Of course, neither am I. ← Megan! Tell me right now what these damned B&Ters do to you when you're eating, and I will deal with them in the most severe manner. I'm horrified. I personally prepare for my journeys into the Big Apple by watching reruns of Sex and the City.

What's the difference between a pluot and an aprium? In the former, the pluot is the breeder and the apricot, the breed'ee? (Oh, crap. You would not believe what is running through my mind right now ...)

Were you one of the opera-singing waiters and Trudie and Kurt's place ... what was that place, the German restuarant? True fact: I bought a Mouli grater just to duplicate the cheese on the coneys, when we moved away and I had to buy the stuff frozen. The chili, that is.

As a recipe writer, I can tell you that a LOT of recipes start out as weights and as they're scaled down to a workable, home-cook's proportion, are converted to volume measure. Editors generally round up or down, depending on whatever factor is important that day (salt might be rounded down, for example). Plus, the gram to pound conversion can be odd, too. I'd rather just do everything by weight. Love my digital scale; it has an easy function for tare weight and gram/lb conversions.