Suzanne F

Just don't confuse the "fond," which you want to keep and use, with gunk, which you don't. When you cook a roast, the juices that come out land on the bottom of the pan, and get concentrated and brown. This is what's called the fond. After you remove the roast from the pan and pour out the excess fat, you want to add wine or broth or water to the brown fond, place the pan on a burner on top of the stove, and gently boil and scrape up the fond to dissolve it. Then you can add a slurry (flour mixed with water) to thicken it. Voila: gravy! (If this looks/sounds familiar: that's what Grandma used to do to make the turkey gravy at Thanksgiving!) However, it it's not that, but just gunk and discoloration, clean away! (I have to say that I've only used my AC roasting pan once since June, and did not experience that discoloration; but the pan is still young! )

Okay by me; it's too hot anyway. If it's going to be an all-day affair, how about Saturday, September 18? (Sorry, NYT ) October 2?

Our first trip to the WTC market in several weeks: Tomatoes, red beefsteak and yellow Roma Kirbies Arugula Red leaf Red oak leaf "Teenage" romaine Green bell peppers Onion Garlic Peaches Blueberries Melba apples Green beans Cranberry beans (pasta e fagiole, here I come!) Pale purple eggplant Okra (for tonight's gumbo) Flat-leaf parsley Runners from squash plants AND the best news: after Labor Day, the WTC market will be held on Tuesday as well as Thursday. YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Personally, I think doing it on 9/11 would be a good way to celebrate life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the positives of American culture. But I understand if others might not want to carouse then. If we have to reschedule, remember that Sunday, September 12 is the Second Annual eGullet Pig-BBQ and Potluck. I dunno, NYT: last year it took about 3 days until I could eat again, so the 13th or 14th could be problematic. Then again, it would be fun to try . . .

Vacations are lethal: I came back with 35 more. Including quite a few Time-Life Foods of the World (some hardcover, some recipe booklets); some Canadian; some food lit and old college textbooks; almost all used, so they're nice and cosy. OMG, where am I gonna put them????

You mean where we ate in Portland? Oh no: we were at places that were closer to the top of our preferred price range: Wildwood; that place in a formerly industrial area near the water, with the small-larger-family size portions (it was new when we were there at the end of March) -- clarklewis, that is, just checked; and at the steakhouse in our hotel at Jantzen Beach. The service wasn't bad, not at all. It was just a bit more casual than I like, in terms of the staff coming back to the table to see if we need anything (they didn't, much, so it was hard to order more when we would have), being around when we wanted the check, and being able to answer my questions about the menu. All the food we had was wonderful -- even at the hotel -- and when food is good, I expect the staff to take the pride I would and know everything about the food. And in response to cloying's -- I think that when the ingredients are as good at they are in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, the less they are fussed about the better. Maybe because I'm used to busy busy plates here (not that I like them), I'm very happy when top quality food is treated minimally, just enough to complement its inherent flavors. To me a great slab of super-fresh fish, gently cooked and barely sauced, is heaven.

Are we still on? I had so much fish last week, I'm dying for a hunk of red meat.

I almost took a job at Sabarsky; wish I had. Anyway, at the time I interviewed there, shortly after it opened, the cakes were being made at Wallse and carried uptown. The pastry chef was Swiss. And there was a LOT more than strudel and gugelhopf, some very elaborate (and delicious) cakes, all with simple presentation; who needs more than a piece of cake and a blob of schlag, anyway?

I'm just wondering how, given that the menu is literally all over the map without any particular distinguishing features ("Grilled Branzini $22.00 Isreali cous cous, Citrus Dressing, Peppernade" --- ), they will position themselves as a destination for anything beside the view. Other than Bayard's, and maybe some place at the Ritz Carlton, true, there just isn't real fine-dining down here to draw people from other neighborhoods, and my guess is that most "neighborhood" people (the closest identifiable nabe being BPC) go uptown. I know I do -- even as far as Soho. (The only times I went to American Park were for functions.) When I said it was not likely to be a tourist venue, I was thinking of the vast majority of folks I see when I'm walking around down there: either they look/sound as though they'd be more comfortable hitting the Applebee's or Chevy's at BPC, or that they might want someplace better known and better established if they're going to spend real money. And if a key to success is repeat business, this place is just not positioned to get it from locals OR from visitors.

Damn! but I wish they'd proofread the menu. What a mess. Grrrrr. And am I missing something, but what is "traditional" about Middle Eastern spicing in beef tartare, or . . . oh, nevermind. Anyway, thanks for the report, Oakapple. I suspect that it will stay less than half-full for many reasons, not the least of which is that it's a venue for tourists, and only a very small percentage of them would be willing to pay those prices. But I still might check it out.

Sorry, Nick, but I have to agree with the comments on the service in Portland. It just fell a little short of what I expected, given the superb quality of the food and drink. However: We just got back from a week in Seattle and Vancouver, BC, and I gotta tell youse guys, you got some great chow in dem dere jernts. Actually, we only had one restaurant meal in Seattle, a dinner with my NYC-born cousin and her Seattle-native husband and teenage daughter at Ray's Boathouse . (The other meal was King Salmon and portobellos on the grill at a friend's house; can't beat that! ) The service at Ray's was excellent (server was extremely helpful in figuring out what my cousin should and should not order given a serious health reason, and what my cousin's daughter might like, given timidity in food choices); the food was very good to excellent (great curried mussels; yummy steamed cockles/manila clams; the famous marinated black cod; and sauteed sockeye salmon with Dungeness crab couscous which was erroneously called tabbouleh but given all the crab meat, so what?); the wine list was incredible (we ended up having excellent beers, though; how could I not have Red Hook IPA virtually at the source?). The meal was definitely on a par with some of the best we have at home in NYC. Maybe you could get a comparable meal (at a comparable price) at Landmarc or at one of Jimmy Bradley's places. Even at more expensive places here, you might not get a better meal overall. Didn't get to Pike Place Market, but I have very fond memories from earlier visits. And the Portland markets were very, very impressive. In both cities (and Vancouver, too), there were much much better variety, quality, and prices than in NYC's Greenmarkets, for sure. As for the choices rooberu made here: I love the hot dogs at Gray's (always ask for well-done), but that ain't a meal. Les Halles -- the downtown one at least -- is for a simple charcuterie plate or roast chicken or duck confit when I don't want to go more than 3 blocks; it's not a superb dining experience. I've never been to Lupa (but Babbo is indeed divine) or Lombardy's. All of them are more everyday places than special-visit places. The two I'm familiar with are just okay, nothing more nor less.

So sorry we missed it. But it's great -- and not at all surprising -- that a good time was had by those who made it. I can hardly wait for the pictures!

Shelora, I'd love your opinions of less upscale Victoria and surrounding restaurants as well. We're going to be up at Sooke Harbour House in October, and between eating there and probably Brio once, we're definitely going to need some downscale ideas! We just got back from a week in Vancouver including a day-trip to Victoria. I can't speak for the whole menu at Swan's Hotel in Victoria (Store St. and Pandora Ave.), but the hummus was just the way I like it (garlicky and chunky) and the Buckerfields Brewer beers and ales were excellent. It made a lovely stop to rest after walking almost all the way around the Inner Harbor.

I'm in. Watch the mail for some Time-Life Foods of the World. And a copy of Marlena Spieler and Mary Berry's The New Cook. And anything else I can find. It's sad to lose stuff, but better to have friends.

Hey! Where were you? HWOE and I had a lovely time by ourselves, but would have preferred to meet some of the Vancouver crowd. BTW: Pair opens at 5:30. Just a brief report: we had Lamb Chorizo with wild mushrooms (the menu says Pea Shoots too, but they are apparently out of season; "Pair Signature Oysters" baked with corn and chard and bacon and cheese; and a cheese plate with cheddar, cambozola, and breaded, fried goat cheese. Also three glasses of wines, 2 organics. It was all delicious, very local, and by our (NYC) standards, incredibly inexpensive. Very nice staff, too. Lovely city you've got here -- we're having a great visit. Will tell more next week after we're home.

If you are there, look for a frumpy lady in a "Stop tofu abuse -- Eat more foie gras" t-shirt (me) and a skinny guy with a beard in a ROM T-shirt (HWOE). Hope to get to meet some of you!

It's a classic combined with potatoes. I love to add some crumbled, dried methi leaves to mashed potatoes. The leaves give it a very faint curry-ish flavor. Probably would work with fresh.

Yes, you want the rice-paper kind, as everyone else has already reminded you. Re: the fluffiness First, as you layer the filling ingredients on the paper, compact them a little by squeezing gently. Squeeze a little as you bring the paper over the pile of filling. Then as you roll them, you have to keep pressing gently on the filled roll. That is, as you roll forward with your thumbs, squeeze gently and push the whole thing back toward itself with the rest of your fingers (curled over the top). (Sorry, it's a little hard to describe, but easy to get the hang of.) The main thing to remember is: squeeze gently while rolling. Also, if by "processed to bits" you mean chopped up, don't do that. Shreds work well, everything stretched the long way across (perpendicular to the direction you'll roll. As does leaving the bean threads almost whole (just a few snips). I used to make them at work, first layering whole basil leaves, then bean threads, chiffonade romaine, julienne carrot, cubes of avocado, matchsticks of cucumber, and butterflied steamed shrimp. (Might have things out of order, but you get the idea.) Just a very thin layer of each, lightly tamped down.

Part of my order from Amazon arrived today: 100 Vegetables and Where They Came From by William Woys Weaver Apple of Gold in Settings of Silver: Stories of Dinner as a Work of Art by Carolin C. Young I'd better update my catalogue listing: I'm heading off to used-book heaven soon, and Vancouver (home of Barbara-Jo's) soon after.

I eat shrimp tail shells. Hell, I eat shrimp shells much of the time (especially from Mosca's bbq shrimp, for which they are gently poached in oil and nice and soft). Great roughage. I love to get head-on shrimp -- I feel much more assured of their quality then. And it's so much fun to suck out the good stuff. But if I need to remove the shell from shrimp, I find that it's much easier to remove that last bit of tail shell, without tearing off any of the flesh, from raw shrimp than from cooked.

if you haven't had oysters at the Oyster Bar, then yeah, probably, some might say that. The Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station? Have done that - but lifetimes ago. Also oysters at the Plaza - again lifetimes ago (people were smoking cigars ). Robyn Grand Central Station is a post office. I didn't know you could eat oysters there.

Try the Bloomsbury site for AB as one of their authors. So far, the only even listed is in Clapham, in early October.

What? Just because its a rendezvous you don't bring food?? I'm not rendezvousing with you!! Hear, hear! Tootsie Roll Pops. Long-stem Strawberries.

We won't be there either. We'll still be out on the West Coast, Vancouver to Seattle, before taking a red-eye home to arrive Monday morning. Foo -- would have been my first time at the track. We'll miss y'all.

Is there something in the water of the Willamette? You guys are just plain weird. Anyway, I ordered my copy yesterday. Yes, I am actually willing to pay for it. At least, with him.