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Oatmeal, though I often cut my Wheaties with raw oats and wheat germ. Gummi Bears. Licorice. Granny Smith apples. Most chocolate cakes. Grape jelly/grape juice/grape gum--the smell of grape gum gives me a headache. And I don't really love grapes anymore. Though I love cold grape soda on a hot day. Watermelon. Just started liking chocolate ice cream this year!

Yes, thank you. I hated it when I lived in Thailand, and then years later I think I had it in some pico de gallo, and...presto! Now I love laarb, etc.

Hear, hear. I couldn't have said it better. God bless you.

Yes! Harney & Sons!!! They are the best.... Their loose Earl Grey smells like a crate of oranges off the boat, and their chamomile looks like potpourri. The supply a ridiculous list of A-list hotels, and yet one of the two sons spent 30 minutes on the phone with me one time answering technical questions. They are purists in the best sense. The Republic of Tea is fun, and they have some off-beat stuff you don't see too often in stores (from them).... we had the sample vials at the coffeeshop.

Poinnt: will be leaving Monday P.M., but parents will be back in future, so all rec.s are really welcome. Thanks again. Chris

Hey all, will be in Baltimore Memorial day weekend. Any rec.s for eating and drinking here? Thanks too much, Chris

Golden Palace in Birmingham, AL. Seriously. May not be authentic, but this restaurant is a gem.

For the love of all things edible, stay away from the Sweet-N-Tart Cafe, on Mott. Another Frommer's (I know, should've gone Lonely Planet) disaster.

Oh, yes, avacados. And moo shoo. And General Tso's Chicken! Really good fried oysters. (I know, I know). Fresh biscuits with butter and honey. Eel sushi. Duck confit. Fettucine alfredo. Grilled salmon, with a sweet glaze... Homemade peach ice cream. Mussels au gratin. And perfect barbecue.

The Red, right? Tried one last night. It was wonderful, objectively, but I didn't like it nearly as much as the Blue. I thought the Red was a little less aromatic and more bitter--from the hops? I like a beer that is hardly bitter at all; I have heard that with many Belgian ales you can hardly taste the hops. I might be way off here..... Chris

Molten chocolate cake..... Seared ahi tuna. I mean it's good, but it's on every freaking restaurant menu in the US, regardless of cuisine (okay, maybe I exaggerate). Spinach and artichoke dip.

While living in Thailand, my school hosted the track convention. A bunch of kids from other schools were to meet a Pizza Hut, so to make them feel more welcome I bought a baggie of fried locusts, and when I arrived at the Pizza Hut last I went from seat to seat depositing a locust on each student's plate (the height of humor when I was 17 ). Nobody would eat one and of course, being me, I had to but I was chicken and just at a leg. Crispy..... Now I regret not trying the whole thing. One thing I saw but never tried. In a restaurant in Seoul they had braised bear's paw: in white sauce for 450$ and in brown sauce for 600$. Way out of my budget, but I bet it was tender. I used to think it was a bit inhumane; maybe not if they ate the rest of the bear. I guess I can't be too squeamish if at this point in my life I would try horse, dog, etc. if it was offered to me. Also the week we moved to Bangkok I tried squid jerky--dried whole squid (this is not a pic of me....) Chewy. I did not try it again. Also in Korea they sold many different kinds of dried fish on the street. No big deal. What I though was interesting is that some of them, per fish, If I remember right, cost over 100$. And these were only about 10 inches long, tops. Did not try those either.

Jja jang myun, mmmmmm...... Heaven.

Hate to say it, but I used to love Ken's Steak House Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette, that is before they stopped selling it.... Now they only sell the "Lite" version, which is shite....

Thank you so much for mentioning this!!! It drives me crazy. Especially every dessert under the sun being garnished with a sprig of mint, whether the dessert has mint flavor in it or not, [edited]oops! already been mentioned, but I think it could stand for another mention, darn it![/edit] and a spring of rosemary being stuck into every entree under heaven.....

I'll take sweet cornbread anytime, mmmmmm!

Ditto, here.

Hmm, I was always taught/have read that 17-22 seconds was the ideal time for a shot, single or double. Maybe the were not taking the pre-extraction time into account. I also always heard that a non-ristretto shot is between 1-1 1/2 oz., so a double would be b/w 2-3 oz.?

Last night I had a 750ml Chimay Blue. The first real beer, not counting my Dad's excellent homebrew, I've had since I went to Belgium in '98. Too good! I gave my boss at the wine shop a bottle and he was loving it too.....

And now for something completely different..... This is not a dig; please take it in the irreverent spirit in which it was written. Also remember that this was written in '69! Chris

Thanks for the thanks. Good luck with everything. Any questions, tho I am no expert, I would love to hear from you. Chris

This sounds just like Antonelli's Poultry in Prov., RI. THey have quail and pheasants (or are they grouse?), too. You can stand in the back and watch them do their thing. Chris

Hey Al... Which BK/Bayless debate? Which thread? It sounds interesting. Thanks, Chris

Haven't read this in ten years but when I was a new cookbook reader The Frank Davis Seafood Notebook was a great find. I think the rec. are mostly cajun/creole seafood recipes. Davis is a local authority on Louisiana fishing, if I remember right.... Amazon page from amazon.com: "This is my kind of cooking book. It's not just a cookbook, but a textbook on seafood also. The first several chapters are just on purchacing, handling, and cooking techniques for many types of seafood. Then, the cookbook section is loaded with great recipes. Frank has a great personality. He's great to watch on tv here in New Orleans, and his humor and knowledge really come through." "Written as a textbook of sorts, entirely in narrative script, this book actually teaches you how to cook seafood as opposed to how to follow just one singular recipe. It is chock full of valuable information dealing with culinary procedures, use and application of spices, techniques for preparing everything from boiled blue crabs to beer-battered alligator, and the only complete listing of every single fish that swims the waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico and how to cook them! But the recipes themselves are special--not only unique to the famed cuisine of the Crescent City but so simple to follow and easy to prepare, both for the novice cook as well as the professional chef. It is truly one of those books a serious cook interested in preparing seafood the proper way needs to have on his or her bookshelves, and it is certainly one of those books you'll feel compelled to read from cover to cover for pure entertainment and enrichment."

I will never again set water in my beautiful Club aluminum stockpot to boil and then lie down on my bed "for just a couple minutes." I will never do this again because the water boiled off and then my pot eventually melted down into the burner coil. I didn't notice this until I tried later to take the now-cool pot off of the coil to wash it and the entire bottom came off the pot. I then tried to pick the bottom piece off of the coil and the metal had melted down in one big shiny blob through the coil. Picture "The Terminator II". I couln't call my new landlord to borrow a saw to cut the blob off the bottom piece to free it from the coil, because who wants to tell their landlord they have a tenant who falls asleep and melts cast-aluminum pots into their stoves? Luckily when I removed the coil I was able to slip the blob out of the widest spot. I loved the pot and they do have more on eBay....