FabulousFoodBabe

Soft-boiled eggs, coated in panko and nuts, flash-fried and split, with a little sea salt and hazlenut oil on the runny yolk. Amazing.

From Stone Barns Farm in New York -- Green beans Broccoli More onions and the most perfect garlic bulbs I've seen Chard Tiny turnips Herbs and edible flowers Red beets Some salad mix Cucumbers Artichokes a big ol'Kohlrabi and ... tomatoes. The pint of cherry tomatoes didn't make it home with me (so sweet, and still warm). There were also huge red heirlooms with few seeds, and some yellow and green ones, too. Since my son helped harvest the chard and prep the garlic, we are admiring it before we eat it.

I think there's probably a big difference between "liking" Olive Garden, and thinking it's real Eye-talian food. Plus, no one is good enough for your baby brother (I just know it! ) Now, I wonder if the girl in question (in dw's original post) is just pretending to be un-fancy. You know, the "oh, just a salad for me" type of date, for the first few. You'll have to let us know -- for some bizarre reason, I'm really interested in this!

Like a Bentley-driving accountant, I guess, or a chain-smoking doctor. I'd say skinny chef, but one of the most genius chefs I know is skinny, skinny, skinny. Hoo boy.

It could have been worse - like perhaps Frisch's. Although, if the company is excellent, the food isn't quite as important. At least Zips has that Mt. Lookout "aura" going for it as well! BTW, are their burgers still really small? ← LOL -- this was (gulp) in 1981. I can't remember much about the burgers -- just that we ate them (we'd spent a few hours at the batting cages at Lunken Playfield, before). By those standards, they were normal sized. Anyway, we married in 1983, and moved to a street right by Zip's, and went there for our date anniversary every month. And I still love Frisch's! Oh, those fish sandwiches, the tartar sauce, those crinkle-cut fries ... Does this mean I'm actually (gasp) a lowbrow Westside girl at heart? You betcha! And my husband loved Po'Folks (gag). He would wait until I went out of town on business, and then would go there for dinner, because I refused to set foot in the place. If I'd have let restaurant and food preferences guide me where he was concerned, well, the past 22 years, two kids, seven relocations, and on and on ... would never have happened. He's gotten better about food, though he'll never care about it like I do. Viva la difference! (said with a bad French accent and no doubt, horrible grammar).

Didn't anyone else snicker over this? File-sharing, I mean. (And I though obesity was now officially a disease ...) I like what the writer said, and identify with a lot of it. I also think that it's not so much the lack of family mealtimes that are being blamed for all the ills of society - it's the fact that so little time is spent as a unit. We're busy, the kids are busy, and we try to eat together a few times a week. And if the kids were cranky or fussy or not feeling like family bonding, well, that's kind of what you sign up for when you have them, dont' you think? Avoiding sitting to dinner together because you have to cook separate meals for everyone is just nuts. You don't have to sauce the entire pot of pasta. If you really want to be together, you can find time to do it. If you really don't, you find excuses.

There are far more important things in life than restaurant preferences. ← Now, now, Jaymes. Play nice. I can't imagine hanging out in eGullet if it really doesn't matter. I don't think daniellewiley is judging anyone -- just judging that person's taste. And, yeah, I think the way people eat and what they think of as good eatin', is an accurate indicator of something. I can remember working in an office many years ago, in downtown Cincinnati (when it was still a happening place), and taking one of the secretaries out for That Day. We went to La Normandie ... she loudly declared that she "didn't eat nothin', that she didn't know what it was," wanted pizza, but settled for a hamburger. Another woman I know refuses all chain food (but has eaten at every Roy's in the country, and some of them, enough to be a regular). Her daughters are lovely girls who are absolutely horrible food snobs; if it's not really expensive and really fancy-looking, forget it. Barbecue joints, taco stands, Mom and Pop places ... no. Both are very defensive about their preferences, which I kind of don't get. And both are really good people inside and are missing out on a lot. That's all. BTW, my first date with Mr. FoodBabe was to Zip's Pub in Mt. Lookout, Ohio. We ate Zipburgers and chili and drank really bad beer. It was one of the best meals of my life ...

At least tell me: is it a good one? Who reviewed? My Camaro was a '78, but I couldn't afford Maisonette until 1987 ... I was always bothered by people saying it was a snobby place, and that the staff treated customers poorly. Sure, they insisted on jackets for the men, but I saw many people wander in off the street without them, and the maitre d' always was kind and discreet about getting jackets. Now, the saleswomen at Gidding's ... that's what I called snooty! Oh, dear. That makes me so sad! I'm sure some of them have worked for the Comisars forever.

I wonder how people can tell someone is being self-congratulatory and elitist, by watching them shop for food. I buy heirloom tomatoes at WF because they remind me of my Italian grandfather, and because I can. Just like I buy Manolos because they make my feet and legs look so good -- I'm sure there are other good-tasting tomatoes, or lovely shoes, but I choose what I choose. Doesn't make me better than anyone else, nor does it make me worse than anyone else. When someone stands to the side and passes judgment, they appear to feel left out, not worthy, and wanting to join in ... but they don't know quite how to go about it. I feel almost like Powell wants to be taken seriously as a food writer, and know she isn't, or won't be. I really wish someone else had written such an editorial. It amazes me that this person has an agent, an editor, and the NYT Op-Ed page editors working for her, and still came up with what she did. Upthread, someone asked whether anyone had been in the Op-Ed page who was considered "worthy" of being there -- Dan Barber, last fall.

I can remember when Suzanne Adrian was cooking at The National Exemplar -- doing lots of cutting-edge wrapped-leaf fish. (Our neighbors and friends owned the place, and we went often.) That was a lifetime ago. I did a school-related thing at the Aspen F&W last year, and most every chef I met, who learned that my hometown was Cincinnati, mentioned Chef Adrian. When I was writing for Cincinnati Magazine, there were more 4-star restaurants per capita in Cincinnati, than any place in the country, except San Francisco. So many years later, I still remember the walnut oil on Kentucky bibb lettuce, the salmon with lobster mousse in puff pastry (bastardized into "salmon wellington" all over the place, now), and the Gateau St. Honore, served by the tiniest woman I'd ever seen. (We had our first kid less than a year later, and started the first of many relocations immediately after that. But still, I remember.) Fabby

I'd say this goes way beyond perception! I'm sure Ms. Powell has paid her dues in some area. Just not in food. I can think of few professions where so many unqualified, inexperienced people, are handed the title, "Chef," or "Expert." Giving her room on the OpEd page just perpetuates this annoying habit. Whatever. I thought her blog was original and not very well written, and that the humor was strained. The Times piece was all that -- but not all that original. Ingrid: You KILL me. I got the biggest kick out of what you wrote! -Fabb

or picking at her nose, or blowing on the food.

Therese, I lived in Atlanta for just two years and got the same impression. These companies know that getting people in is one thing, but keeping them there is another, especially with so many choices. I like Trader Joe's but it really doesn't fulfill any great need for me ... I stop in when I'm nearby, and that's it. Within a 5-mile radius of my home, there were something ridiculous like ten big grocery stores. Nice ones, to be sure, but I still went to DFM every week.Here, the Gourmet Garage opened to tremendous excitement in Scarsdale, and lasted for what, a year? I can't even remember. If real estate were cheaper here, no doubt we'd have a Wegner's (sigh) or even a Central-Market type of place.

If they can, and keep their BOD happy, they will. I doubt it, though, and shareholders generally don't care about the quality of the product, just how much $$ is coming back to them. I think it's time to stockpile.

Wow. I'd heard it was going to happen. I can't believe it! The last normal meal my husband and I ate together -- our fifth wedding anniversary -- was at the Maisonette and I can still remember every mouthful. (I'm a native and used to write for the magazine, back when George Haidon was the Chef ...) Dean Fearing worked there. And so many chefs I've met over the years still speak fondly of Pierre Adrian (and those amazing spuds he used to do, which I've had at dbBistro every time we go there). I haven't lived in Cincinnati for years and years. but it's still my hometown. I really do need to look at this forum once in a while.

We used to make golf-ball sized spheres by taking entire loaves of Wonderbread and smooshing them up. Urk. My Italian grandfather, who was about as far from the uppity stuff as you can imagine, could not stand the stuff. It stuck to the roof of his mouth. I still smile at the memory... and the man grew a mean, but gorgeous, tomato and sold them at a roadside stand. Hey -- if someone can afford it, knows better, and still and chooses to eat Wonderbread along with a hearty meal of poor quality, filler-laden meatloaf and frozen succotash, that's their choice. Bon appetit.

That screams "very expensive and overpriced" to me. Perhaps Food Emporium is economical in Westchester County, but I doubt it. I have always avoided Food Emporium. ← There's one a few miles north of here that is very good. But A&P, Key Food and Gristede's prices are the same, and the only thing less expensive than that is the local Stop & Shop.

I've eaten there so many times -- most recently on Friday evening -- and think you said this well, JohnL. There aren't many restaurants I go to that make me want to come back again and again ... while I loved our meal at Per Se, I felt like it was a once a year, or once a new Executive Chef, experience. We had ... -Blackberry cosmos, and a little sparkling wine. Bar food of deep-fried chick peas in aleppo pepper, and skewered mussels that I didn't get to taste because someone ate two -- but I've had it before and am sure it was wonderful -Three amuse: Shots of cool corn soup with drops of lobster oil -- just a little tiny orange drop that packed a lot of rich flavor. Baby turnips with a bit of salt. Olive oil financiers with goat cheese, tomato and basil. (The financiers had a bit of sweetness and were perfect with the tomatoes and cheese. I'm making some at home as soon as my tomatoes come in.) -Glasses of green gazpacho with yogurt sorbet. Just the right kick of seasonings, and gorgeous. Not too cold, and the sorbet was kind enough to melt gently as we sipped. -A miniature version of the farm egg salad -- the poached, fried egg over greens, with a little cucumber puree on the bottom. My favorite. -Big shrimp over a stew of peas, with toasted pistachios and guanciale. Who knew it would be so wonderful together? -Wild salmon on top of corn, mushrooms, tomatoes. Our friends thought it was rare, but I know it's how the salmon is cooked -- the color was gorgeous, the doneness was just right, and we were licking our plates. (No, really.) I wonder if they're still poaching in duck fat ... -Baby lamb with a little kohlrabi puree, turnips and some greens. I ate mine and half of someone else's, who was saving room for dessert ... which was -Berries with a big scoop of mint sorbet, and then -Cherry clafoutis with geranium ice cream. not to mention the chocolate financiers -- dense and fudgy -- and caramelized cashews with cocoa dusted on top. Dan came out of the kitchen to say hello! The man is amazing, and his place is hitting its mark -- and staying true to its mission.

Hector, they never were invited back. I can only think of a few times someone has caused such an uncomfortable silence. I felt badly for her husband, who was just horrified, and was saying that his wife wasn't able to be much of a cook with all the moving, three daughters, etc. So, I said, "it's my pleasure to do this, and it's also my profession. I couldn't do what anyone else at this table does ...," and the wife snarled, "well, I HOPE not. ____ is an M.D., and it takes more than just opening a book and a bag to do that." Yowch! The "hit on husband" stories ... yep, there've been a few of them at my place. Yeah, honey, that's such a dignified thing to do. Tell the boss' wife he's a total babe and you wouldn't mind my life. Someone brought their three-year old daughter to a dinner party. No, the kid wasn't put to bed -- she was up and at 'em, and expectd to be the center of attention. When she fell and bumped her head, her mother yelled at the people around who weren't watching out for her. And then asked me to make a peanut butter sandwich and clucked that I had no apple juice on hand (this was way before I had kids myself ...) I love this!

Me, too. Me, three. I found myself shaking my head at her attitude (who said "reverse snobbery?"), and misinformation, as much as -- once again -- the fact that publishers will give food-related book contracts or columns to anyone out there who themselves is not a cook. Perhaps she'll also get the next Food Network show -- along with Sandra Lee. Exactly. And at the Whole Foods I go to, the meat is the same price, or just slightly more, than the stuff they shrink-wrap at the local Food Emporium. The Farmers Markets and Whole Food stores I go to are in more economically diverse areas than the A&P, accessible by bus or by foot.

As I read the thread about "worst experiences as a dinner guest," I think of all the dinner guests I've had over the years (my other job is a corporate wifey type -- you know what that means ). I always did the food and hired help for serving and whatever else. I've had ... -a couple show up stoned, reeking of it. The husband had to be physically escorted from the kitchen where he was hitting on the 18 year old servers, and the wife spent the night by the Christmas tree eating candy canes and chocolate santas -the wife of a new hire slam her fork down at the table and --in a raised voice -- announce that if SHE were doing this party, SHE would serve uncle ben's rice and tuna from a can, "none of this wild rice crap and fish with pepper on it ." The party was to welcome them to the area. -the wife of the boss coming into the kitchen and requesting a piece of fish broiled and plain (I was making cioppino), because they didn't want to get fat at this dinner. There are many, many more -- I'm hard pressed to come up with a "one worst," but it probably has to do with my mother in law . let's hear your stories! -Fabby

Turnips. A Kohlrabi. Spuds. Braising greens. Widdle carrots. Lots o'salad greens Little broccoli's Edible flowers and some herbs and two of the most glorious, perfect bulbs of garlic that I've ever seen. (Therese, I'm jealous.)

Mango barbecue sauce, with a little bit o'Scotch bonnet. We put it on potatoes, bread, sausages, chicken, beef, pork ... I'm hungry, -Fabby

For someone who really and truly wanted to work for Todd English, wouldn't it have been easier, cheaper, less time-consuming and (in some cases) less publicly humiliating, to just go to one of his restaurants, beg for a stage, and then see if you got a job -- or wanted it?

Pete Rose's favorite chili!