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dockhl

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Posts posted by dockhl

    Visalia Restaurants?

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    Good info, all, and I'll keep it in mind for next time (if there is one :hmmm: )

    Dinner took an unexpected turn. My friend is an educator and 'teaches teachers to teach'. She is very well known and in high demand internationally for her seminars. But BOY does she put a lot into them! So when I met up with her @ 5ish, she was exhausted and the thought of going to a "nice restaurant" where she'd get "continental" food (that she gets in varying forms in all hotels) was less than appealing. As we talked about what to eat, she kept coming back to "Middle Eastern" food, like we ate as poor college students. (She lived across the hall from me in Holland Hall, Univ. of Pittsburgh, 1969-71)

    As it was her birthday, we embarked on a quest :smile:

    Here is what I posted tonight on CH:

    I just had dinner at Pita Kabob tonight (2226 s mooney) and it was EXCELLENT ! Little strip center but good food, excellent staff, clean, huge portions. We had the mezza plate (hummus, baba ganoosh, dolmades, tabouleh, falafel, tzatziki, pita bread) and then chicken kabobs (I would have had lamb but my friend...can't. eat. lamb.) She also had salad and rice, both of which looked OK but why? When there is all this other good stuff to eat? BTW, the baba ganoosh was VERY smokey. Good.

    We sat in this funny little place for hours, and nibbled. The $$$, as you can imagine, were FAR less than any fine dining establishment around, and we took loads home. ($36 )She'll have some for breakfast before she gets on the plane to DC, and my puppies have already enjoyed some pita bread. I'll have hummus and baba ganoosh tomorrow, and tabouleh.

    Very cool place. I loved the staff. And the food. Go there. Keep them in business. They do it right. :wink:

    Visalia Restaurants?

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    Imperial Dynasty

    Ted~

    I think it is closed :angry:

    I've certainly read good things about Vintage Press. Is it dressy? (silly me, this IS California....) But seriously, do I need to dress or is nice casual OK? (Not sure what clothes my friend has with her...)

    Visalia Restaurants?

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    My favorite restaurant in Visalia is the Vintage Press, it is a fine dining venue with excellent food in a very nice ambiance.  There is also a Fugazzi's Bistro there, we loved the Spinach Salad with Prawns and the Spinach Fettucini with Blackened Chicken here, they also have a nice variety of wraps, sandwiches, salads, etc.    In downtown Visalia there is a little cafe there that we enjoy called Cafe 234.  Of course there are the usual chains, Red Robin, Marie Callendar's, etc.

    :)

    Thanks ! No chains........ :wacko:

    Do you live in the area? I get the impression there is a rather large population from Laos? Hmong?

    Visalia Restaurants?

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    As far as I can tell there is nothing on this board about Visalia, a place I've never been. I just found out that my good friend is there today so I'll be driving over to have dinner with her. She likes Thai/Asian type cuisines, and since it is her birthday I figure I'd let her pick ! :laugh:

    That having been said, we are open to all suggestions.

    I'd also love to hear if there is anything else I should be looking for while I am there. Ethnic markets? Too early for strawberries? I'd love to make a day of it.

    Thanks for your help~

    Kathy

    Campbell's Scotch Broth Soup

    in Ready to Eat

    Posted

    Ditto to not using prepared soups much, so I have no idea of it is available around here but I loved it, too, in my childhood. (And Pepper Pot with tripe !)

    I made some a few months ago with lamb (no mutton to be found) and it was DELICIOUS !

    Top Chef Season 4

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    Good dishes, which was (finally) nice to see. *Almost* everyone's looked edible!

    Nice exit, Manuel. Not great food, but nice exit.

    How about Dense Ryan talking to poor Mark?

    "He started talking and all I heard was wah....wah....wah"

    and

    "He's from New Zealand, or New England, somewhere...."

    Mark: To Kill a Mockingbird?

    Ryan (completely confused): Dumb and Dumber was one of my FAVORITE movies...

    (YA THINK??) :wink:

    A million bags

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    As for the bagging, not only does Trader Joe's actively encourage reuseable bags but I'm convinced they are better trained on bagging.  I never seem to leave there with more than two bags, no matter how much I buy.  It's either magic, or really good bagging skills.

    They definitely are. I have a burlap TJ bag with bamboo handles (vintage!) that has a place for three bottles of wine. These fold flat if you don't need them. When I shop there, the cashier always manages to fill it perfectly to the top, well balanced and organized. Sometimes I need another bag, but only if there is NO MORE ROOM in the first ;-)

    Recipes That Rock: 2008

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I've made many the cinnamon roll in a long life of baking, but the recipe from David Rosengarten's It's All American Food(2004) makes my efforts from many other well regarded baking sources look like heavy, tasteless, zestless pale imitations. I'm going to have to curb my enthusiasm, or any hopes of retaining any version of a Girlish figure will be doomed. They're that good.

    I thought I was the only other person in the world that owned that book ! :laugh: Haven't tried the recipe.

    Is there any legal way to give us a gander at these recipes? Or do we need to just google the hell out of them and hope that something turns up?

    Labeling Non-Local Food by Law

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    In a mom and pop restaurant, or any restaurant, it would be hard to know. Perhaps nearly impossible

    I asked at a small Italian restaurant if their salmon special was fresh.

    "Yes, it is", was the reply.

    "Is it farmed or wild?"

    "I'll ask the chef."

    She came back and said, "The chef says the salmon is from the ocean."

    Huh? :huh:

    A million bags

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    FG~

    You have just hit on one of my biggest pet peeves ! Almost always, I ask the baggers to put things in as few bags as possible and get looked as if I'm some sort of Commie subversive .

    Yesterday I bought three things...two went into the 1st bag and as she reached for the 2nd I said, "Please , the fewer bags the better. Just put it in here with the others."

    She did and then attempted to DOUBLE BAG IT !! :blink::huh:

    It makes me crazy. I have to say that when I go to Trader Joe's about 85% of those entering have their own bags, and there is a sign on the door that says, "Did you remember your bags?"

    I need to make more of an effort to bring my own bags to the regular grocery store.

    Low and lower carb ways of eating

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    If you guys would just eat 100% whole wheat carbs instead of enriched white flour you wouldn't have to be so nuts about counting carbs...it's all about glycemic index.

    I don't eat white carbs, period. (Except a little rice sometimes when making one of Ah Leung's yummy dishes!) As for whole wheat....I can eat whole wheat breads but pasta.........

    Whole Wheat Pasta thread

    I think they taste like dirt. :wacko:

    You could wash your linens on my stomach.

    Now THAT is a disgusting thought! :laugh: (Plz don't take personally :raz: )

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