Suzanne F

Another good book is The Basque Table by Teresa Barrenechea. She's the chef-owner of Marichu, in NYC. The recipes are definitely geared for the home cook.

Zeppole. Or what about the dessert that Fat Guy just had?

If the burger at the St. Regis is only available through room service, how many people can we cram into one room to be there at 3am? Otherwise, it becomes THE most expensive burger in the city!

King Arthur Flour sells a cheese powder. It's actually quite good, although again, not the same as the Kraft stuff. Have you tried checking with Kraft? Maybe they sell it through distributors such as US Foodservice or Sysco?? Or if you have to buy the whole thing in bulk -- sauce mix AND macaroni -- you'll have materials for craft projects for the rest of your life (Xmas tree wreaths, ashtray decorations -- all those neat thing you made in elementary school or a day camp in the summer )

I recently had a lovely breakfast at Balthazar (in NYC). When I got the check, I noticed that my bill which clearly totaled $19.28 had as the payment amount, $19.30 (this was before I added a tip.) I asked the server if she got the extra, and she laughed and said, of course not. Eventually a manager came over and told me that their computer rounds the check totals, sometimes up and sometimes down. So for the house it evens out, in the end. Although not for the one-time customer. Has anyone every come up against this elsewhere? What do you think about it? And if YOU are the house (this one's for you, Glenn), does it really work out, or does it give you constant headaches?

I had that Ducasse thing, and no, it was nothing like the production you're talking about here. Just sort of hot and cold and gooey, but not as distinct -- or distinctive. Wow!

Dare we ask what you ARE going to do with them?

That makes me proud to be un-American! (lest anyone misunderstand, I am a native New Yorker, which as we all know is NOT considered part of America )

Foodman: check this out: Tako the Octopus Last night: Broccoli/cheddar soup (to use up leftovers of cooked veg and the water, but with creme fraiche and the best supermarket Cabot cheese) Tuna salad sandwiches (with finely chopped celery, Hellman's mayo, sweet pickle relish, and a few other unmentionables, although NO hb egg ) on onion rolls Radicchio, endive, and romaine salad with oo and home-infused herb vinegar Paumanok Festival Chardonnay

Okay: so it looks like Saturday the 11th, Molly's, at 1pm is the first "official" meeting within the confines of Manhattan. May I suggest that by then we should have generated The BurgerHunter Manifesto. We can work on it here, and pull in data and opinions from earlier threads (which we may or may not pay any attention to ). If we have that document, then we can fan out across the tristate area, pursuing our mission without the headache of pulling together the whole damn group. Just so long as there are at least 2 members so that there can be corroboration. And eventually a corroboree?? If we set a date for the Philly field trip, please let's NOT make it the following Saturday, 'cause I really want to go and can't on the 18th. No ferrets. At least, not with ketchup.

Stone, while I basically agree with you, why is it then that we seem to "get" -- and love and even respect -- the peasant food of so many other groups? Just wondering.

The skate used to have blood orange in the sauce -- maybe that's what you thought was cranberry? (Probably a frozen puree at this time of year.) Did it also have capers and little croutons? And damn, I thought the exact same thing about the cauliflower puree -- you'd think they'd have fixed it by now. To get the crust, they dip it in milk and then Wondra.

Okay: if you DO choose to do it a day ahead -- but you won't be happy with the taste if you do it any earlier than that -- seal the chopped onions etc. tightly in covered containers, with damp paper towel below and over the food. That will help prevent it from drying out, although it will still lose flavor some. It kind of works for parsley, too. But don't try it with basil -- by the next day it will be black and tasteless. One thing you CAN do a day ahead with herbs is pluck them and store the "pluches" in a covered container of water, in the fridge. Not too cold, though. Then at least you'll have them ready to just dry off and chiffonade. And again, one day is about as long as you can keep them. If you slice mushrooms the day before, use dry paper towels, not damp. There are those who say Don't cover the container AT ALL; but from one day to the next, I've found that as long as there's a dry towel on top, it's okay to cover the container lightly with plastic wrap. The main idea is to permit the liquid the mushrooms "breath out" to dissipate, and not collect and turn them all slick and disgusting. But then I also prep a lot of mushrooms at one time, saute them, and freeze them in recipe-size portions (at home, anyway). I hope this makes you feel a little better.

Oh dear. All those items you mention degrade FAST -- you would be able to tell the difference if you did them even just one day ahead. At every restaurant I worked, we did those same items fresh every day; the longest they were held was from lunch service through dinner service; then we (on lunch) would have to do them fresh the next day. Maybe you just need to get into the zone of slicing and dicing -- use prep as a way to wind down?

Oh, come on, what should they call them? "French air-baked?" Sounds like something out from under the dryer in a fancy beauty parlor.

Oh, Sam. You need KatieLoeb's smiley database.

elyse, don't forget the Chinatown bus to Philly -- very inexpensive. You could leave your bike at my house and we'd ride down together. Maybe I'd better check when this road trip is planned for??? And to add to the NYC list: anyone know anything about Better Burger (third ave & 37th St, also Eighth and 19th)? "All Better Burgers are made from hormone & antibiotic free meat and poultry and are served on toasted all natural wheat buns with our tangy tomato zest." $4.95 for the Classic Beef (extra for fries that are organic and "air-baked not fried.")

Well, that sums everything up very nicely.

Haven't looked at the article yet, but I'd like to point out that the sum of the parts is only .999 -- is this a rounding error, or is that .001 something the secret ingredient that makes it perfect??

I have only eaten at Bayona. I would go back to Bayona in a heartbeat. Aaah, the smoked duck, cashew butter, and pepper jelly sandwich on 7-Grain Possibly the best "fancy" sandwich I've ever eaten. (And that was 5 years ago, but I still remember it.)

Two more: one that I promised someone I'd review here (no, it is NOT Semi-Homemade Desserts, although it IS a dessert book: Emily Luchetti's A Passion for Desserts); and my firstborn: my maiden copyediting effort (which shall remain nameless because I still don't much like it ).

Suvir: Like everyone else here, I have been enriched immeasurably by your generosity, your knowledge, your spirit, your cuteness. (And I've probably gained a few pounds because of you, too. ) This is not an exit; it is an entrance to another room of life. I will -- WE will -- visit you there.

A related question: what about using teas -- not tisanes -- such as Earl Grey?

Hmmmm, that's a healthy walk, not really "traveling" . . . And if we're unhappy with Molly's, Waterfront Ale House is not far away to try as well.

Oh, my god, you people are really serious! Forgive my naivete, but if you "don't get" a cuisine (that is, not understand its appeal), whether for lack of experience or just not liking what you've had of it, wouldn't you want to correct that? (Although to be honest I'm not so sure I do, given the EXTREME difficulty in finding echte Mongolian ) Instead of dismissing it with "it can't be good?" Aren't you curious about why so many other people DO "get it?" I don't mean you have to like it, but don't you at least want to understand its components, rather than dismiss it? Or am I just being too solemn and professorial about this? Jinmyo, if you think "cobbler" sounds weird, just think of some of its cousins: grunts (berries and steamed dough) and slumps (cooked fruit and raised dough, baked). Not to forget bettys (baked layered fruit-and-crumbs) aka crisps. You don't have to like it.