DeVeaux

I like the Italian Beef at Mr. Beef when I'm in Chicago. But, having grown up in Buffalo, I like beef on weck a lot more. I think that the giardinara would be good on a beef on weck. I like the salt and caraway seeds on the kummelweck rolls, and the whole thing is less apt to fall apart while you're trying to eat it.

My favorite similar experience was when we went to a French restaurant in Buffalo with my parents once. My Mom was eating a dish with a cream sauce on it, and went "eeew" and pulled a small piece of a wisk broom straw out of her mouth that had been in the dish's sauce. She called the waiter over and showed it to him and he went and got the manager and the chef. The chef took the piece of straw from my Mom, peered at it, and then said in a most condescending tone, "Madam doesn't seem to be aware that this is an herb called rosemary that was not properly crushed in the preperation of your dish, certainly not a piece of straw from a wisk broom". Mom looked at the chef and replied, "Bullshit. Madam has a Master's Degree in Home Economics and has taught it for 20 years in high school, and knows God-damn well what She just pulled out of her mouth". The look on his face was priceless, and She got a new entree and dessert on the house.

I must be really out of step, knife-wise. I have all Chicago Cutlery knives, bought individually and stored in a knife block. Chicago Cutlery was what I first learned to use when I worked in restaurants in high school, and I like mine. My knives are about 20 years old, and I use a steel and a stone. Looks like I'm the only one who uses these.

Actually, Brother Bacchus, it's W:. DeVeaux, PM.

Nice idea, fifi, but since I work for the State here, I know we don't have a branch in Houston I could transfer to. I will put it on my list to eat at when we get back down there for a visit.

Friday fish is unknown here in Kansas, as far as I can tell, so it's not the whole Midwest. In Western New York, where I was born and raised, friday night fish fries are a way of life. Deep fried cod, in beer or regular batter, fries and slaw. We had neighborhood grocers who fired up the deep friers on fridays and everyone stopped by for take out fish fries on the way home from work, unless they stopped off at the neighborhood tavern, where fish fries were the rule on friday nights. All year long, not just Lent. Now, I make my own fish fry at home. I spent a summer in high school cooking at an H. Salt Fish & Chips, where we hand cut and battered the cod and deep fried it in large fryers, along with potatos that had just been peeled in a rumbler. We first blanched the chips in oil for about a minute, took them out and drained them, and then fried them up. I still fry chips this way. Sounds like I'll have to visit Milwaukee on a friday night.

Since I was dumb enough to move from Houston to Kansas just because of unemployment, does Dona Tere do mail order?

A sixpack and a potato. Neither of my Grandmothers (Murphy & Sweeney) could cook, and neither had any clue what Irish food was.

Fave is Tony Bourdain. Cannot Stand Mister Food. Yeah, I know he's not on the Food Network, but our local CBS station shows this moron every morning on the news at 6:00 AM. One minute of this talentless hack in a chef's hat whipping up an exciting dish the rubes never heard of, like twice baked potatos, and the saying, "Oooohhhh...it's soooooo good" in a voice that makes you want to smack him. I doubt he could be a fry cook at McDonalds.

Mi Tierra in the Mercado is my favorite. Open 24-7 and a free trolley ride away from the Riverwalk. Their cabrito is excellent. I don't know if it's still open or not, but we really used to like the Grey Moss Inn in Bandera.

Thanks, all. Lopez was our favorite neighborhood Mexican place (we lived in Alief), and we started going there when they first opened, and were regulars. Good to hear they're still open - are they still in the strip center by the Safeway on Wilcrest? If we ever get back there, Lopez is the first place we will eat. I don't have a Hummer or a Suburban, but will my Dodge Ram 4X4 be acceptable to cruise Houston? I do have a Gilley's bumper sticker on it

Pickles. Any and all varities.

Dana- I have a Lodge Brother and good friend here in Topeka who is from Hoxie, as is his Wife.

I heard Gordon call a staff member a "spic".

Do you all still have What-a-Burger, Taco Cabana and James' Coney Island down there? We lived in Houston from '78 to '86, and the were my Daughter's favorite fast food places. Did Ninfa's close down? How about Primo's on Smith & Rosalie and Lopez Mexican Restaurant in Stafford?

Give me a break. People in Inman can drive to Wichita in about an hour and go to the W-S on Rock Road. Even here in Topeka we have cooking stores that sell professional quality stuff, or we can drive over to Kansas City. Maybe if you lived in Hoxie it would be a valid excuse to buy this dreck.

I loved it! It thought I had worked for some obnoxious chefs, but I sure wouldn't want to work for a prick like Gordon, especially with the vent fans broken. I was surprised he didn't throw anything at anyone. I thought it ironic that he whined about the critic referring to him as a failed footballer because it was a personal insult, then called his staff demeaning names that had to do with weight, ethnicity, etc.

I got conned into going to one of these shindigs held by a neighbor once. Total waste of time and I did not buy anything. Most of their customers are not cooks, and they buy all the "neat" stuff that most of us already have. You're much better off going to Williams-Sonoma.

Gotta start at least one morning off at Cafe du Monde. And don't miss K-Paul's.

A Ferdi po-boy and a side of red beans & rice at Mothers on Poydras.

Since pancetta is sometimes hard to find in Kansas, I use thick cut peppered bacon that I cook in olive oil with crushed garlic. I whip whole eggs and a little sour cream and grate parmesan, romano and coarse black pepper into the egg mixture, and the toss this with the drained pasta. Then I add the bacon and serve.

I had a buddy in college who would NEVER bring food to our "toke-downs", but never hesitated to eat what everyone else brought. One night when we had cheddar cheese & triscuit munchies we decided to teach him a lesson. We cut up a bar of orange Dial Soap into bite sized pieces, put them on triscuits, and placed the plate on the coffee table. He helped himself to the whole plate, too stoned to notice the flavor or that no one else was eating. Until the next morning. The wierdest thing we ever ate was the big shredded wheat biscuits with cream cheese on them, since that was all that was in the cupboard.