foodie52

Magnolia Cafe ( on Lake Austin ) was called the Omelettry when it first opened. Then they expanded to the Burnet Rd. location...I don't know if it was a divorce or what...seems to me that the people who own it wouldn't have been married! ( hippies, dude!) When I want true value and an honest meal, that's where we go. I've never felt ripped off there. I love their pancakes. I haven't been to Kirby Lane in years, because I feel claustrophobic there. Like NYTexan, I feel like it's kinda dirty, too. They have way too much volume for the space, and I hate waiting for a table.

There were 5 or 6 specials last night: I had the osso bucco with a green pea puree and mushrooms, and served also with freshly made gnocci. Very tasty. I loved the antipasti! And the bread. AND our waiter, Aaron, who was attentive and funny , magically there when we needed something, and otherwise out of the way. Ask for him when you go there. It was my first time there, and I'll definitely go back. Let's face it: it's the closest to authentic northern Italian food in Austin...

Frankie came to the cooking school at the store where I work, and taught a class. I got to work with him. He made huge, delicious meatballs. He told a lot of stories. He drank some wine and sang a Sinatra song to the customers in class. Afterwards, he signed cookbooks. When he asked me where my book was so that he could sign it, I told him I couldn't afford it ( it was $40.) He pulled out a big wad of 20's and paid for my book. Then he signed it. He's a really nice guy....and the food was good, too. Specially the meatballs....

Here's a treat that's extinct: those wax bottles of syrupy colored liquid that came in teeny tiny exquisite 6-packs for a dime! You 'd bite the little "bottle cap" off, swig the syrup, then chew on the bottle til it became disgusting...then you took it out of your mouth and molded it into something cool, like a dog or rabbit or something. The you stuck it to the curb and forgot about it! Remember?

I like Wink, too. Stewart Scruggs is doing a good job there. He shops at CM alot, so the next time I see him, I'll tell him to check out your review! My daughter and I ate there a while ago and we had sweetbreads to die for. I don't particularly like them, but when they are on the menu I am too curious to pass them up. I'm glad we ordered them. When you order, you think there won't be enough food., but we were more than sated with 3 orders from the "main' menu and two desserts. It's a fun place and I recommend it. Only problem is, it's pricey because there are so many dishes that are hard to resist!

Jaymes: where is Reales??? I thought I knew about every restaurant in town, but that one stumps me! Looking forward to T&S. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

Crockpot queso......mmmmmmmmmm. Crockpots are simply plug-in slow cookers . Hasn't this concept been around for thousands of years?

My question is, why would anyone WANT to eat this, with all the great , real icecream out there??? In my book, it's not even classified as "food". It's on par with cotton candy...

Thanks for the info!!! Actually , we're going for Parents' Weekend ( my daughter is at Rhodes...) Sounds like there are some great places to eat.

In the store where I work, I can always tell who is on the Atkins: their shopping carts contain : pork rinds, mayonnaise, cheese, beef, butter, Atkins shakes, Atkins baking mix, Atkins bars. One couple whose progress I have been casually following load up on the above. They've even taught a class on the low carb lifestyle. Both are overweight. Neither appears to have lost very many pounds. It's all very confusing...

Did the article mention anyone dying from eating Granny's tomatoes?

A local guy here is bottling rainwater, filtering it and slapping a label on it. Our store carries it and I get a lot of requests for it....go figure. I kinda like the German waters: Gerolsteiner and Apollinaris. They are mineraly but a nice change. There's a still water called Music water which is pretty good. My favorite still is Mountain Valley, out of Arkansas.

I'll be in Memphis for 3 days in October. Any good restaurants?

Tony the Tiger is a WOMAN????? There goes another of my childhood illusions....

My mom could reduce a roasted chicken to a pile of rubble in 20 minutes flat...

Thanks for all the info, Jim. I didn't know that "press" and "extraction" are terms for different processes. So "first press" is misleading. Also, I have been told that "cold press" is redundant: that cold IS first press. Is this correct? I teach an olive oil class 3 times a year. Our main thrust is to introduce our students to 5 or 6 estate oils from various countries. We taste and then use them in recipes. I give them a brief overview of oil production: simply what I have learned through attending classes on my own, and from reading. I like Peggy Knickerbocker's book. Do you have any favorite oils? Mine currently are Morea ( Greece), Aprutium and Sommaia de Frantoio ..Italy..( this is a good year for them.)

A few years ago, while reaching for a diet soda, my husband complained that he was having trouble with short term memory, "finding words" during conversations and fuzzy thinking. I had read an internet article about the negative effects of artificial sweeteners. I got him to quit drinking diet sodas and also put him on gingko biloba . Within 3 weeks , he was feeling back to normal. He's never gone back to soft drinks. We drink hibiscus tea now, straight, or sweetened with white grape juice. And lots of red wine.... I'm not "hard core" anything: I love all food and drink . But artificial stuff ( including margarine ) just seems wrong: seems like it confuses your bodyinto unnatural reactions. Know what I mean? By the way, I tried using stevia in my morning tea...I was so excited about its possibilities....and I had a "eureka" moment: I LIKE the taste of sugar! I gave the stevia away...

Make sure your oven is hot enough: if it isn't , your hole won't rise and it'll stay sticky and gummy and inedible!

Making biscuits from scratch. I think I try too hard. My sister-in-law could just whip them together every morning, no problem. Mine turn out like hockey pucks.

GOod heavens, nyfirechief....there's nothing wrong with Jamie Oliver: it's the people he has hooked up with to promote him! He needs a good PR person and some decent camera work: that's all!! He's going to be in Dallas at the opening of our newest Central Market in October, and I am thinking about driving up there to meet him and maybe take him out to dinner. Some of us are thinking about kidnapping him for the evening and seeing what he is REALLY like. As for Emeril: I just think there is TOO MUCH of him on TV. Once or twice a week would be sufficient. I've eaten at his restaurant in NO and had a great meal...a really good one. But he's way overexposed on TV.....too much....

Wow! Good luck, girl! We'll be thinking of you ( and will be grateful not to be in your shoes tomorrow...been there, done that!!) Let us know soon how it all goes.

If you have a cold, or nasal allergies, it tastes great.

Is there anybody else out there who would rather not eat them? I don't like the taste of chocolate against the acidic quality of the berries. Slather them with cream for me, please. Preferably clotted.... ( Also, I prefer them washed, after conducting an experiment a few years ago with my then-8th grade son on berries , testing the pesticide levels on them....wash your produce!!!)

Deborah Madison does a good job with tofu: check out her cookbook. Also check out Louise Hagler. She's a 60's gal who has been using it for lo these many years. There are Italian-baked tofus on the market. We sell one. It's flavored with Italian seasoning. It's pretty good. I eat it at least once a week. I like the taste and texture , and the fact that I feel good on all levels ( physically and mentally!...) after eating it. You might try tempeh , too. Heheh....

Slice them, dip the slices in Fruit Fresh and freeze them in baggies for this winter