nyokie6

Kansas City was wonderful. We had a lovely time, even if my clothes all feel tighter than they did last Monday. Thank you Judy and Aaron for all your work, Fat Guy for the well planned menu, and everybody who cooked, prepped, and cleaned.

Toad in the hole-Brooklyn, New York-but the 1st time I had it was at Girl Scout Camp. We used to have precooked bacon in a can sometimes and would put that in the pan then the bread with the hole cut out and then add the egg. Turned briefly. All done over a wood fire and the favorite breakfast choice.

Hi I second or third.... picking a winery or two that interests you and paying for the tasting. Also sometimes they will have something special. My husband and I shared a chocolate and wine tasting over Presidents weekend that was way nicer than the regular, and visited another winery for a regular tasting. Don't forget the reservations in advance-I was very busy at work and didn't get around to it and then couldn't get into where we had really planned to go. Luckily I had done the B&B and dinner before it got crazy. We had a wonderful dinner at Ubuntu and went back for lunch and plan to go back next trip but I would not call it "THE DINNER". We have been to Terra a couple of times in the past and like it, but they have just opened a place in SF and I would be careful that their attention is not all there currently. TFL is a destination dinner to me-I would not enjoy it if I was tired out or had too much to drink during the day and I would not care to drive back to SF unless I knew the roads well. I always try to plan it for a light day of travel/wine tasting and to not have to get up to early the next morning and I like to stay fairly close by-there are many lovely and romantic B&B's in the area as well as hotels. Bistro Jeanty was not good the night we went-but it has been a few years and we loved his cooking when he was at Chandon. I havn't been to Cyrus and the rest of our eating was pretty low key this past trip-Ad Hoc, Martini's. I agree with Sam re Shafer being a nice stop-small group by res only. Don't forget to just wander the area a bit-probably one of my favorite areas of Calif.

Thank you for all the wonderful info you have provided. I have enjoyed reading your recommendations over the past few years and appreciated your suggestions for both of my Paris trips.

thanks for the lovely pictures Nancy. Tony's chicken and Ma Po Tofu with 2$ pork were my two favorites. Do you think they would deliver to Okla? We asked about the greens and our waiter told us Chinese Broccoli-we discussed that it was different tasting from what we were all used to with Dim Sum, perhaps Gary can confirm or correct this. So sorry to hear about your shoulder.

Ah,yes. I agree, the Romeo and Juliet was my favorite also, and I enjoyed the info on garnishing(?).

Thank You Tammy, Ronnie, Toby, Gary and everyone else. Ron and I had a wonderful time. We loved the planned eating, our additional stops, the Cubbies winning, the beautiful weather, Fresser and the Fressermobile, and the great cooking and company. Hoping to be able to get away next year again. Tobi

OK, OK- I yield!! I was not thinking of it in the way that I think you are "julot". Having been to three of the "L'ateliers" I thought they might enjoy one of these somewhat not quite traditional bistros, perhaps for one of their other meals. The ambiance/mood feels similar to me and nikkib mentioned it in her reference . Tobi

Just for another suggestion, you might look at Violon D'Ingres. The food is excellent and the Sat night we ate there last month, ages varied from 20's to 80's, but many tables appeared to be in their 30's to 40's. There was a group of 4 woman who appeared to be having a good time. They gave my french speaking son a menu in French and the rest of us received English menus. Our service throughout the meal reflected this attention. I'd also suggest looking into his newer , more casual les cocottes for a lunch. There is counter seating and a few tables. No reservations, so its easy to work into a shopping day.

I just paid and what happened was I couldn't use any credit card more than once( I didn't use paypal). So I used 4 different credit cards! Tobi

HI We just got back and I did bring some cheese back. Shopped at a cheese store we shopped at in 1980 and told the storekeeper what I wanted the cheeses for and he recommended items that could travel and should be fine to our dinner. he vacuum sealed the cheese and suggested leaving it until I want to use it. Most of it traveled fine(I think) but a few things squished. Some looks interesting and included labels. It was enjoyable watching what the locals bought as we told him to stop and help them in between helping us. I also have some Italian honey and some fruit spread. Laz I was so happy to hear that you will do the american cheeses. tammylc consider my stuff a contribution and can we use the budget for the american cheese and perhaps a piece of Stilton. Also I don't have Brie as he said it wouldn't travel, I do have something he suggested instead. Laz my husband Ron and I would like to do the ethnic shopping on Sat. We will not have a car and will probably be staying at the Hyatt on Wacker. I am bringing a cooler and some other things, so we would consider a Taxi to where we are meeting and would someone be able to put those things in their car until the afternoon? It sounds so good, now I will go try to pay for our dinners, I've been frozen by paypal before- I'm still not sure if I have a useable account since they added the new "safeguards", I think my husband did to prevent me spending anymore

If it would be okay, transfer me to doing the cheese course. I would enjoy doing that and if anyone else has some homemade or bought thing that they like with cheese they can add them. I will provide cheeses, crackers sliced fruits and some nuts. Tobi PS we're in Europe right now, I'll try to bring some cheese home from France with me to add to what I get in Chicago.

Hi I'd like to help. I would be happy to help someone or I can cook. I'm just a home cook but I could do brownies or an apple cobbler. I also can do vegtables with pasta as a side dish for a large group, but it will have dried pasta(with onions, mushrooms, spinach, fresh herbs and whatever else looks good at the market). Also what about wine? I'd be happy to buy a case of prosecco. Not having been in the past I don"t know what your proceedure is. We will be flying in on Wed. and staying around the Hyatt/Michagan Av. area and will not have a car. Tobi

We went about eight years ago, summer 2000, and also had service problems. The problems were bad enough and the choices in Chicago numerous enough that we didn"t bother going back. Reading how this second visit went I shall continue to pass

Has Chef Briffard started yet? Has anyone eaten (at Le Cinq) recently? The Four Seasons website is very vague, but one review I found mentioned him.