FabulousFoodBabe

Me, too. I'm a native Cincinnatian, moved away 17 years ago, and I still dream of Skyline ... those soft little 'dogs on a softer bun, mustard, chili and a big pile of cheddar -- grated raw onions if you're not on a date (or don't want to be on that date). I can still see them lined up on the rack as the cooks topped them. I miss it. (When I go back, it's one of the five things I head for.) At Yankee stadium, though, it's a big Yankee dog, with yellow mustard and sweet relish. At the Modesto A's stadium (way long ago), though, it was creole mustard and nothing else.

I guess I could do it, but I wouldn't want to. The thought of being without coffee makes me start to shake. Even worse, I don't think even the fine wines of the Finger Lakes or Long Island are within 100 miles of me, not to mention the makings for a nice martini.

Yep. (Result of site search of New York forum threads with "cesca" in the title.) ← Oops. I meant to say, "anyone been lately?" Sorry! Last post I saw was a year ago.

Went there on Saturday night, very last-minute plans. Initial impressions were that it's a really interesting place. It's definitely less suburban than we were expecting out in the counties, but we only know from Westchester Service was warm, stylish and all of them have great hair. My husband is not a fan of the types of menus at Craft and here at HH. He'd rather not think that hard about what to order. I loved it -- lots of good choices, especially for starters/entrees. For most of the dishes, one can order a large or small plate, and they come beautifully presented on a narrow, oval white plate. We started with a salad, grilled shrimp with a mild curry sauce, and cured salmon. Shrimp were two big ones on a skewer -- closer to U12 than U10 -- done perfectly with the right snap. I was thrilled to see that the tail shell had been removed, and very well. My salmon was served with a bit of dill, and the cure was gentle. Nice. Mr. FB loved his crab cakes, though they had a bit too much carrot for my liking. He was nuts about the matchstick potatoes we ordered, and kept likening them to those canned potato sticks his Mamma fed him as a kid We also had orzo with sweet corn, pepper and basil -- and I had the maguro tuna burger, served rare on brioche, with a very spicy mayonnaise. Dessert was (for him), strawberry/blueberry shortcakes on orange biscuit (we agreed that the biscuits needed work; he's a Southern boy and takes them very seriously). For me, it was the sticky toffee pudding with crystallized ginger. Ahhhh. Definitely worth the drive, which took much longer than planned thanks to the 18-wheeler that broke down on the TZ. We'll be back -- there were lots of things on the menu we wanted to try. Sure wish they had more wines by the glass, though the entire list was very nice. Last -- I was surprised to see what a happenin' place Nyack is on a weekend!

Hey, cool! Meat Loaf tix were my mothers day gift this year. We're going to Cesca at 5:30. Anyone been?

To me, there's a big difference between "just chicken," and chickens that are raised 200 yards away from the restaurant, fed, slaughtered and butchered by hand, and prepared by chefs who really care about what they are doing. Vegetables pulled out of the dirt behind your restaurant and prepared well don't need much in the way of seasoning. BH seems to focus on the food, with herbs and seasonings more subtle and layered, to emphasize that food. I would like to understand why you say the food at Bluestem is "better prepared." What about the Blue Hill food seemed poorly prepared to you?

And what a time it was! The clouds were gone by about 9:00 every day, and the weather was positively gorgeous. Due to various aircraft malfunctions which were, thank God, found before the plane took off, we were about four hours behind schedule, which put us into San Diego in the late afternoon. A walk on the beach, a drink on the deck, and dinner outside at the Del -- Sheerwater's, I think it is -- was our evening. We'd been up since 4:00 a.m. (oy). The food was not bad for hotel food -- my husband's lobster ravioli was nice, as was the fish and steak my sons had. I just got some flatbread with tapenade and goat cheese, and a nice glass of wine. Afterward, we walked down to Moo Time Creamery in Coronado for dessert. The next morning, and every morning I was there, I walked on the beach from Coronado shores up to the military base and back again, and then stopped by Bistro 1134 for a coffee. We had a couple of breakfasts there as well -- good eggs, waffles, granola, and nice people. My kind of place. Another breakfast we just had to have was at Tent City, because of their sign declaring the best "Egg Benedicts [sic]"in town. They were pretty good; I had mine with some smoked salmon, so they weren't exactly EB, but the hollandaise was lemony and smooth and the eggs were so perfectly poached and pretty to look at that I had to admire them for a few moments. Dinner on our first night was at George's Ocean Terrace in La Jolla Cove. We had halibut with fingerling potatoes, served veracruz style (onions and bell peppers); and sea bass with fresh herbs, with fresh corn, peas and teardrop tomatoes. Fish tacos were amazing -- grilled, with lime-accented crema and some cabbage; mango salsa on the side. We had to try the smoked chicken, black bean and broccoli soup ... it seemed like an odd thing to have regularly on the menu, and it was really really goooood. It worked. The carnivorious firstborn had flatiron steak in an asian-style marinade, with a pile of onion rings. And for dessert -- the macadamia and coconut cake with roasted banana ice cream is my new favorite dessert of all time. We tried the chocolate dessert, too -- frozen mousse and fresh marshmallows over a dark chocolate ganache. But my favorite was my cake. Since my husband worked most of the day and my oldest wanted to lay on the beach and pretend he was traveling alone , my younger son and I spent one day driving up to Chino Farm (and the surrounding area), and then spent the afternoon at the Del Mar fair! We had a wonderful meal of funnel cakes, Indian fry bread, barbecue sandwiches, fresh lemonade, roasted artichoke ... As an Ohio girl, I can remember our State fairs and the long line to see the sculptures of Jack Niklaus and various cows and livestock, done all in butter. Nothing like that here! But we did enjoy the goat display; especially the one that was bleating and sounded just like a person imitating a goat. I let my husband pick the Mexican restaurant one night and we were reminded again of a standing rule in our marriage: I don't pick the golf courses, and he doesn't pick the restaurants! Miguel's wasn't all bad. The salsa had lots of sauce in it, the fish tacos were nasty ... but the margaritas were cold and plentiful, the enchiladas suizas were nicely done, and the service was good. And it was a nice surrounding. I'd still recommend trying to find something outside the tourist zone, though. (And my family was very, very happy there. So it was okay.) I did force everyone to go to the In and Out Burger on Balboa avenue. Husband ordered a Neapolitan shake and felt like very much the insider The boys raved about the fries and declared it their favorite fast food joint, next to Sonic. (Thank God we have to travel 5 hours by car to get to the nearest Sonic ... and 5 by plane to get to the In and Out!). They didn't have any of the bumper stickers at this place, though -- I can remember when people would put them on their cars and block out letters so that it read, "IN AND OUT _URGE_" Juvenile, yes. I just realized how much I've written, and I've only done about half the trip! We had just three full days there, and I feel like we could have spent a lot more. UCSD and Birch were very big fun, for my Oceanography-nut sons; the whole La Jolla and Del Mar areas were so beautiful. Seeing Chino farm was kind of cool. And my eye-rolling, bored, MomthatisSOlame teenagers, insisted that we go to the Zoo -- and they loved it. I already ate all the See's that I bought. BTW, we had a 2-hour delay coming home. Add that to the 4 hours going to California, and that makes six hours sitting on a JetBlue plane, going nowhere. And this is what's weird: No one complained. No one! It must be the television or something, I guess. I've been on Delta flights that sat for 30 minutes on the runway, and people have gone berserk. Fabby

I loved the shot of the cook being spoken to about the risotto, who just stood there sweating. I wasn't clear if it was shot at the FL, or at Per Se. I thought FL, but then thought I saw Chef Benno in the background. Overall, I thought it was nice but not too substantial. There was nothing that I hadn't read a dozen times before. I kept thinking, "No, please, God, no New York Ballet anecdote," but there it was.

Good Lord. All this time I'm thinking that weight gain is due to eating too much and laying around and thinking about what to eat. My husband, who is extremely fit and athletic, drinks only regular cokes, if he's going to have a soda. He can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners. Must be all that sugary sweet tea his Mamma fed him I'm of the "save 150 calories here, spend it on doughnuts" mindset. Just as my motto says ... To me, sugar in a coke isn't worth it. But in a glass of good wine, some cheese, a truffle, it most certainly is.

Second only to the cutting edge of the box of plastic wrap. Here's how I learned to do shallot and garlic chips: thin slice. Soak in milk. Drain and blot well. Dust with salted flour. Fry. Etc.

I wonder why that is -- the north americans loving it (I do). Maybe the British thing? My favorite episode was the unpasteurized Stilton. One of my teachers uses the scene where he rants about the wooden cutting board, in a class.

Teacher? ← The union contract for the teachers in our school district state that the teachers are not responsible for their students during lunch hour. The only adult supervision comes in the form of 4 adult lunch monitors... one of which barely speaks English. My oldest son has multiple life-threatening food allergies... and I'm alarmed enough at the supervision that I bought him (an almost 8 year old) a cell phone to carry during lunch and recess. ← Teachers can only do so much. Used to be that kids with such allergies sat separately and were watched, but parents threw a fit about their being stigmatized. I'd be more worried that the kids wouldn't survive.

My mother used to make lime jello with grated carrots in it. My MIL used to make her "famous" Jell-o salad for special occasions: Black Cherry Jell-o, walnuts, coca-cola, cherry pie filling, and something else nasty all mixed together and put into individual molds. It is presented with parsley on leaves of head lettuce. I ate the former because I had to. I ate the latter to be polite. Fabby -- who no longer has to do either.

exactly the same its the same thing ← Of course they're the same! D'oh! That's what I get for posting before the fourth cup of coffee ... And thank you for the winky; it takes the sting out of being a knucklehead.

Too funny. Berkshire pork is darker in color, more tender because of the fat content, and tastes like ... well, not like the pork we're all accustomed to. I think it's easier to cook and to work with, because you don't have to be concerned with the stuff that's been injected into it, and with it drying out or bouncing. When you eat it, especially next to supermarket pork, you can tell the difference. It's what pork is supposed to taste like. (I've worked with it as a restaurant and home cook, and am spoiled.) I wonder what it will taste like next to Kurobuta pork?

Ahhh, kohlrabi. Pureed, most definitely. Same with the kale. (Oh, wait. You didn't ask about that, did you?

Aw, nuts. I love nectarines. Love them, love them. And I've seen NYState peaches and Jersey Peaches, but no nectarines, so the organic option isn't going to work here. However, at this point, I figure if the pesticides don't get me, all my other bad habits will.

Another Northeasterner, here. Just got my second basket from Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills (Westchester) ... if I knew how to link it, I would. Beautiful Katsurei turnips, which I simply scrub up and eat like an apple. For the rest of the family, they are grated into salads or spring rolls, or glazed or roasted. Carrots: So sweeet and tender, you don't even have to peel them. Tiny yellow carrots, too. They're cleaned and in a bowl in the refrigerator for eating out of hand and so far, haven't lasted long enough for me to do much more with them. Spring onions, spring garlic, and leeks; the latter are caramelized and put on goat cheese medallions. I use the spring garlic like I would a scallion -- I touch them with a little heat to take the edge off when I cook for my husband. And lots and lots of fresh herbs; bags of arugula, and mixed red-and-green greens, for salads and braising. Best of all -- those wonderful people wash the salad greens before bagging them for us. Awwwww! Next week, I'm getting Craig's Eggs and some cut flowers, too. I love this stuff!

One thing I've observed is that a lot of people have to shop at convenience stores and small places where their food dollar doesn't go as far. A local day care/senior care center has an Edible Education project, and I sure wish there were more of these around here.

OMG, Chino Farms! How could I have not asked about that?? Thank you all for remembering for me. Since organic farming, farm-to-table, and all that is a major interest of mine (and a course of study I plan to continue after graduation), I have got to go there. I am such a non-Californian that to me, "agriculture" only means "central valley." When the younger and I go up to Copia this summer, we'll get to see even more. I'm really getting excited about this trip! Cooler weather will be a blessing, and doubly so when it's on the beach. Time to make some dinner reservations. I love to just wing it and see what we feel like on a certain day, but I've come to learn that it usually doesn't work that way.

I'd heard about the June Glooms -- but this is the only time we have to go. As long as they're not like the Central Valley Tule Fog, we'll be okay. And then, there's that ocean thing ... always makes me smile. I love, love, love, love, food festivals. I may swap Torrey Pines for that. My oldest son plays golf, and the youngest is a food-type, like me. This is all working out very well!

If it was really that good, we may see it again under another name ... and, by now, their marketing skills have no doubt improved ... ← Oh, they always have had great marketing people. The issue was not with their "skills," but how to make it appeal to consumers while being honest about what was in it! Most people in the canned-soup market back then wouldn't just pick up a can of peanut butter and tomato soup. I wonder if they would, now. Perfect Addition is a super-concentrated stock, sold in the freezer department of markets. I have only seen it in North Jersey and here in NYState, but it might be elsewhere.

And some can't even be called cooks! (Sadly, too, I know several chefs who really haven't earned their stripes, either.) What I'd like to see, is the Food Network "Chefs" like Ms. Ray and Ms. Lawson, who are paid to stand in front of a stove on camera and chatter away, actually have to work BOTH, in order to keep their "TV Chef' status. Just one service, watching Rachel Ray working next to a certain cook I know ... now that would be entertainment!

Ahh, what is not to love about eGullet? Thank you all so much, and keep 'em coming. We will be there the last full week of June, and will come back before the 4th of July madness. The initial reason for the trip was so our sons, who are very into Marine Biology and Oceanography, could see Scripps and Birch. Then, of course, they all (and my husband) have to play Torrey Pines. My plan is to be out for three meals a day, and as much of them eaten with the Pacific in my sight, as possible!

Le Jardin du Roi is still in Chappaqua (I don't like it, but it's a "ladies who lunch" favorite). Bistro Maxime's closed, but I heard it was because the owner just decided to stop. We loved it there. I'm really hoping more fine dining comes up our way. Baked Salmon at the Mt. Kisco Smokehouse is amazing, by the way. Plus the guys who work there are such sweethearts!