sisofdiva2

Another vote for the Supernatural Brownies. Made them last night for a small party, and they were a hit. Perfect balance between fudge and cake-like. Used Shaffen Berger 63% and substituted light brown sugar for the dark brown. Thank god I stashed some leftovers away early...

I'm hosting an Oscars party next week and wanted to serve substantial appetizers and desserts based on the five films nominated for best picture (The Queen, Babel, Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed, and Letters from Iwo Jima). I know for the Queen there's all sorts of British food that could be made (scones and such), but I'm pretty stumped on the others (especially as I've seen NONE of the above films yet). I don't care if it's kitschy, as long as the food's good! Any ideas would be more than welcome! Oh PS- Someone gave me the idea of making red velvet cupcakes, a la the Red Carpet...yes, yes, corny...

FYI, the Rio Bamba is now the Bamba Bistro...a more casual take on the Rio Bamba. Pretty good food, but not super fancy.

So this isn't a Rochester restaurant per se, but for those of you in Rochester who don't mind driving an hour or so, Dano's on Seneca is phenomenal. We went this weekend on the recommendation of a friend, and it was a pleasant surprise. We got (all shared): 4 spreads with bread: Liptauer, Grogonzola, Pumpkin Seed Oil (great), and Hotel Sacher (the favorite...think really thick tartar sauce) Greens with wine-poached peaches, walnuts, sheeps milk cheese Pork Knuckle Chicken with Spaetzle and Paprika Sauce (this was fabulous) And dessert was Rigo Yancsi (Hungarian chocolate cake/mousse with apricot), lemon bread pudding, and strudel. The Rigo Yancsi was mine and I think the best of them all, though the bread pudding was also a standout. Looking forward to trying the Smoked Bluefish Mousse next time. Really unique food to this area.

Would also like to add that we went to El Rincon Mexico the other day (Sodus location, can't vouch for the one in Canandaigua) and it was by far the best Mexican food I've had in a long time (then again, I'm from Philly...I can't say I can really vouch for what the best Mexican food is). The place is kind of a dump, but superb flautas and tamales. The bf had menudo (tripe soup) and seemed pleased. Again, open to anymore Rochester suggestions for the next few weeks.

As someone who lived here for 4 years (and is sadly...well kind of sadly, moving away in a few weeks), here are some of my thoughts on some Rochester dining destinations: -Siena Bar & Grille: Yes, extremely underrated. Had a fantastic vegetarian stack with smoked mozzarella last time (as well as the grapefruit/fennel/goat cheese salad). One of the better Rochester meals. -Tastings (Wegmans): I've always wanted to like Tastings, and it's alright, but it never wows me. The meals are always somewhat nice, but nothing knocks off your tastebuds. They do make a nice butternut squash soup in the winter though. -Mundo Grille: Another eh from me, although I've only been there once. Got an adequate salmon dish that I found to be overpriced for what it was worth. -Olive Tree: Downtown, Monroe Ave. Get the taramasolata. Best Greek food in the area. I think Aladdin's is also always a safe bet, but not nearly as nice as the Olive Tree. -Magnolia's (Park Ave): Best Italian-inspired pizza in town. Really really good. Also fabulous Tomato-Artichoke-Cheese soup. -Table 7: Owned by Mundo Grille. Next to Tapas on St. Paul (which I'll get to in a sec). Surprisingly great. Don't get there too late on a weekend or you'll hit the loud bar-goers. Good calamari salad, great pork tenderloin, best sweet potato fries around. -Tapas: Good drinks, but it's too loud on the weekends in the dining room and the food has consistently gotten worse (although I guess it's stil good by Rochester standards if you know what I mean). Don't get the calamari salad because the dressing is dripping off of it. -Park Ave Pub: Stuffy, country club atmosphere, but produces solid food, especially a nice potato-crusted salmon. -Brio (Pittsford): They recently changed the format of their menu, but I've had some really solid fish dishes there. I'd say go there over Mundo Grille. -Bamba Bistro: Had a nice trout dish and superb lemon meringue pie. -James Browns' Place: Great breakfast joint you would never expect. First Taste on Park is also excellent for brunch. -The Toad: Ok, so maybe not a first-rate dining experience, but they make British food really well (if there is such a thing)...including a fine roast every Sunday at a great price. Awesome "chips" too. Phew!!! Still planning on hitting up Philip's European and Black & Blue soon. Any thoughts or other suggestions?

My boyfriend is visiting Philly for the first time and we have the chance to get in two good dinners. We're definitely going to Django for out BYO pick (I have a good friend who's one of the cooks), and was hoping to find a good Japanese/Sushi place for our second dinner. I don't neccesarily want to do Morimoto (already been there, plus a bit pricey), but would like to find some place nice, maybe with different offfering than the more "traditional" Japanese restaurants. Either in the city or near King of Prussia would be preferred. Any ideas?

-Raw Onions (I hate ALL onions and can understand people not minding them cook, but RAW? I shudder.) -Lobster (I don't hate it, but figured if I couldn't like it at Jean-Georges, then I couldn't like it anywhere) -Flan (textural) -Foie Gras (most...have had good Foie Gras at both Lacriox and Django in Philly however...so might take this one back eventually) and...CHEESECAKE. You hit it right. Cheesecake tastes disgusting.

Ooh this is tough: Eggs Ice cream (or true Italian gelato) Berries Not much of a balanced diet, huh?