FabulousFoodBabe

Me, too. I usually don't look in this forum, but the subject line got me! Someone gave me a Wilton golf-ball-cake-pan thingie a few years ago (my husband is addicted; it was kind of a jokey thing). I tried it once but I like your idea better.

May I add ... Grappolo Locando (sp?) -- Chappaqua. Former sous from Kittle House is the chef and we have high hopes for them. It's a pretty place with good food and really good service. Takayama (also in Chappaqua). Love the sushi. We went to Jackson & Wheeler (Pleasantville) a few weeks after Greg Gilbert moved over there. It was better than before, I'm sure it will improve even more, but the dining room decor needs some attention. Haven't been to Kittle House since Gilbert left, though. Conte's -- Mt. Kisco. The best thing about this place is the corkage ($5/bottle, $10 maximum). We were there a week ago and had horrible service. Just horrible, and when (after a 30 minute wait and two requests) we finally stood up and told the server we wanted our check, the owner yelled at us. Can you imagine? The food just isn't that great. Luna -- Mt. Kisco. We always see people we know there, including some couples who live in Larchmont. !! Lexington Square Cafe -- Mt. Kisco. Pretty place, Vanessa Williams likes it, but the service stinks (except one night when we ate in the bar). Cafe Antico -- Also in Mt. Kisco -- the patio is nice, but we eat there less often now that the menu is so Italian. Cafe Mezze -- from the fine folks who brought us Oceana and City Limits. We LOVE this place. Mighty Joe Young's -- I was pleasantly surprised with this place. We took the boys and some of their friends there before a movie one night, and expected it to be pizza and theme-ish. They loved it, and so did we. I really have got to get beyond Chappaqua a little bit, ya think? ::edited to remove unkind comment about Mt. Kisco Seafood -- because (a) it's terrific, and (b) it's not a restaurant!

Many, many years ago, Campbell's came up with a wonderful peanut butter and cream of tomato soup. They couldn't figure out how to market it, so it never got off the bench. But it was really, really good. As for restaurant-quality soups in a can, I dunno. It's so easy to do, and stuff like Perfect Addition makes it even easier for the home cook, I'd think. But I'll try it.

I save my monitoring energy for stuff bigger than what my kids eat at lunchtime. And, please: There are no unhealthy foods, just unhealthy eating habits.

This ex-smoker (3 packs a day) could smell and taste everything so much better after quitting, within days. Maybe it just dulls the palate?

JohnL, you are in for a treat. Check out the thread (I don't know how to link it here) and be sure to report back. I did my Externship at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and it was a terrific experience. I pick up my first CSA basket there tomorrow!

The FoodBabes are traveling West in a few weeks, to San Diego. We've only got a few days, and are staying at the Del Coronado. Where should we eat while we're out there? Beachside and/or view is very important, and if Mr. FoodBabe and the FoodBambinos (teenagers) can be jacket-free, they will all be happy. I just want a good wine list, good food, and great service. And since this is a travel forum as well, does anyone know if shark charters are still running out of the Marina -- specifically, the Betsy M? Many thanks

Spoken like a true food-lover, to say that Nyack is on the way from the city to Brewster! As for me, we now have another reason to cross the TZ. I'm really looking forward to this and hope it's a trend. (I'm sure you all know that Mike Anthony was the Chef de Cuisine at March before moving to Blue Hill. )

Read it this morning, Liz. This is great news! I was a fan of March 'way back when I lived in North Jersey (two relocations ago), and am thrilled that Chef Nish will be leading a kitchen closer to my new home. Not to mention, of course, the ever-expanding pool of places to beg for work once I graduate.

Yes.

I don't remember exactly where or when I heard this, but someone said Wayne Nish is now going to be at Hudson House in Nyack. Has anyone else heard this?

An electric knife. A Salad Shooter. A glass cutting board. Who uses these things? A friend and I used to buy each other those "As Seen on TV" gadgets as gag gifts; wrap them up in big fancy packages and present them on special occasions. Then, we'd use them to cook together and laughed our butts off. The favorites were the Egg Wave and that citrus sectioner thingie.

A food styling teacher told me a few years ago that Gourmet doesn't "style" for the camera: that the food is photographed as cooked. I don't mean that they don't try to pretty it up, just that it's not created for the camera. And still, it used to look better. Ugly as it is, that steak is better than whatsisface playing air whisk.

I have to hide the good chocolate from Mr. FoodBabe and the FoodBambinos, because they don't care if it's Hershey's or 70% Valrhona. My chocolate fix is now a jar of Scharffen Berger sauce, that no one will touch because the flavor is too intense for them. Also, if I have RedBull in the house, I have to hide it. I've taken to keeping it in my car or my knife box.

I completely disagree with this. I think it's a forward-moving trend that has always appealed to a certain type of person/eater/whatever. You can never convince me that a hydroponic tomato can taste as naturally good as something that's drawn its food and energy from the soil and the sun. (Yes, this is something near and dear to me, for lots of reasons!) I'm still waiting for the overwrought menu descriptions to go away. And, the little foamy bubbly sauces look like spit or soap bubbles to me, and I really hope the end of their time has come.

Introducing someone to the joys of taro and banana flower is a little different than sneaking Filet of Flicka onto their plate. I'd probably be as pissed as my sister was the day she was enjoying chicken-fried steak, only to find out that it was liver.

As a consumer ... -Potatoes processed almost to glue (use a ricer, dammit) -Beef stuffed with seafood (yes, I have seen crab-stuffed filet mignon) -Margarine subbed for butter -Low-fat cheese. ewwww.....

"Vine ripened" means that 10% of the ripening must take place while the tomato is actually on the vine. So "tomatoes on the vine" are just tomatoes that have been cut with the vines still attached. They haven't necessarily spent more time in the sun or drawing energy or nutrients from the soil. I don't think they're worth the price and I don't like the flavor. I do think that heirlooms are worth the price, and cannot wait until they appear in my CSA basket.

See, I think sometimes one has to draw the line. Professional attitude has little to do with extending closing times for people who came in late to hang out in the bar. They got their food, and the waiter got his a** kicked hard by the Chef (and no doubt, got it kicked again by the GM later on). And, said waiter got a big fat tip that he didn't share. My point is that if that waiter had to actually make it happen -- without promise of a lot of extra money in his pocket -- he'd think twice about committing to having a bunch of cooks reopen their lines.

ChefSwarz: Put me on the list of people who'd love to do this. I really like interacting with people, but it can grind you down. I really like working on the line, too, and think that being able to step away from it once in a while would make it seem more interesting. And I believe that someone starting fresh has a better attitude toward their work -- as does someone who knows s/he is a short-timer (even for just a month or two). Ever notice how someone's mood improves when they are on their way out? Whether or not your concept can be a money maker is not for me to say. I have heard that some restaurants are doing such wild things as paying everyone more, doing away with check-by-check tips, and adding service charges to the dining checks. I've little doubt that the waiter who brought in an order promised to someone ten minutes after closing (and 55 minutes after the last table was seated) would have done it, if he had to share the tip with the cooks who got the food to his table. Anyway, change is slow and painful, but it can be for the better.

What about ... How to Read a French Fry Russ Parsons Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser The Jungle Upton Sinclair and for something a little lighter ... The Gallery of Regrettable Food James Lileks.

I remember those, and that piece, too. Tina, that woman could make a drink. Never had one, myself, but everyone raved about them. I was/am a sucker for the blackcurrant Cosmo.

What IS it with those "in the business since I was 12" types? There were a couple of people on my team we nicknamed "Erik(a)," though the book didn't say whether she cleaned anything (these people didn't, but fit the rest of the character).

The pig is Berkshire pig (it's called "pig" on the menu and in the kitchen). They live on the farm and come down to be petted during family meal time. Beautiful photos that tell the story well. What a wonderful place that is!

Even though basil's in the mint family, but I never could get my arms around basil ice cream for dessert. In a mojito, though, it sounds great.