IML

Most terra cotta can withstand temperatures up to 1200 degrees F (the cold can actually be a bigger worry). What kind of naan is going to be cooked that hot? I.e., Bob knows what he's doing.

Or, even better, are the Guittard chocolate chips at Central Market, and for a comparable price.

The cheekiness of his reviews blows me away, and most has no real bearing on any part of a restaurant's quality, be it ambience, decor, service or food, and is instead an extended expository riff, a campy backstory of his own invention: Laurent Tourondel as an auteur gone mainstream, now playing at BLT Fish!

One of my exes had a similar idea, and I couldn't believe the number of things she would pour that stuff onto.

I hate the center (the Anjelika is nice), but it is so conveniently close.

I often eat at the Plano location, and it's pretty good. Their congee, when available, is pretty decent. Most of the dishes are fairly well-executed texturally, but some are fairly flat-tasting. I'm glad other people enjoy this joint!

Scott: I agree about the toppings, but I would venture a little further and say they're too heavy-handed altogether, which explains the thickness of their crust in the pizza's center (it's much too thick for my tastes, but is required given the amount of cheese they're using, as the crust would otherwise turn soggy if too thin). I much prefer the style of crust at Bianco (in AZ) or Franny's (in Brooklyn), which are probably the two best pizzerias in the country right now: a thoroughly crisped underside; a top that is bubbly and crunchy in parts, bready and doughy in others; and sparse use of excellent toppings (Bianco's raw food quality is better than half of all the three and four-starred restaurants in NYC, in my opinion), including cheese. I do wish their desserts were much better, and that their sausage was made in-house, but otherwise it's a great place.

Kevin72: Ate at Fireside Pies tonight, in case you haven't been yet, and I can say its quality ranges between good and very good, depending upon your reference point. For me pizza starts at the crust, and Fireside's crust lacks the contrast given by flour of great quality, and a hot, hot oven in order to give it spring. The result is uniformly doughy, but a good doughy. Pillsbury this is not. The toppings are of better quality, and the pizza I ordered had truffle oil, which turned out not to be the ghetto varietal pumped full of that wonderfully noxious synthetic crap I'm sure also went by the name Agent Orange. Cheese is decent, but not the best available, even in Dallas. My dad's pizza had a fennel sausage, which, again, wasn't the best example, but decent. This place fits well into its locale, and I would strongly recommend it for somebody. The only drawback was the cloyingly sweet dessert (a strawberry huckle, of sorts, and said to be macerated in passion fruit, but in reality was "macerated" in simple syrup that was simply too sweet). Decently priced (not like Pizzeria Bianco, but who's noticing?), too. Ian

I think a distinction should be made between films truly about food -- Tampopo being damned near the best, in my opinion -- and films that feature food as a backdrop, like most of those listed (my favorite being Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, which is Lee's best film to date).

Homemade pecan-rosemary bread; broiled, open-faced sandwiches with perfectly ripe pear (so hard to find here), prusciotto, tomato; tossed herb salad with dijon vinaigrette; for dessert, orange madeleines. Will now make more madeleines (lemon?), along with biscottis (almond and anise seed?). Last night: Roast chicken, fingerling potatoes, sugar snap peas; homemade herb bread; caramelized pears with homemade pineapple-brown butter and chocolate-rosemary ice creams.

With a decent pizza dough, you don't need a pizza stone half the time. Just heat and humidity.

Richard: Not Tex-Mex, for sure. Oaxacan, for starters. Has anybody been to Mirabelle, and if so, would you recommend it? And would Savory make anybody's top ten?

I went and picked up a baguette from Main Street earlier today, and ended up feeding it to a group of ducks. I hope Empire is much, much better, as I'm sure it is.

I haven't made it to DoughMonkey quite yet, as it was closed today, but will give it a chance this upcoming week. It should satisfy my sweet-teeth (of which I have in infinite supply, like a shark). I would love a bakery that makes a mean baguette, and is preferably wood-fired. Extra points given for flour quality too. Ian

AD/NY and Per Se are shoe-ins, while the rest are fodder.

As a French woman who has not gotten fat, I can wholeheartedly endorse the tips in Mireille Guiliano's newest book. Unless you're not French. Or a woman. Seriously, though, this book was very enjoyable. Anybody else really dig it?

Tours are standard after the meal, and I've heard Trotter is thinking of installing a themed rollercoaster similar to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion that whisks diners through the wine cellars, kitchen, dining rooms, and ultimately into the gift shop. Be sure to check out his line of pepper sprays; my favorite is the orange-cumin-habanero.

Money No Object in Vancouver, Where Do You Go: New York.

Size and money matter, which is to say nothing of cultural and ethnic diversity, so Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London all trail New York. Amerocentric, yes, but had the course of history flowed another way, then maybe the Big Apple would be at the bottom of the totem.

Of the suggestions on this thread that pertain to Dallas, I have tried Main Street, Central Market, and the Ravelin. None were particularly impressive, in my opinion, but I have heard positive things about Empire and also Bread Winners. Anybody checked out the latter?

As much as I admire the Pappas family -- which happens to be Greek, by the way -- I don't think Pappasito's qualifies as authentic. That's my two cents -- OK, maybe three, but I give change.

New to the DFW area myself, and have yet to find a decent French joint. Last one I tried was Lavendou, which was overpriced given the quality of foodstuffs and frequent kitchen guffaws, but desserts were not without merit. Jasmine (in Plano) is great for Thai. York Street for high-end. La Duni for wasting away a Saturday morning. The selection of Chinese is admirable. Is it too much to ask for an authentic Mexican place less expensive than Ciudad? (Apparently.) Also notably absent is a bakery whose offerings are not completely amateurish or generic tasting. Suggestions?