akebono

SPOILER ALERT********* I got this from a good, reliable source. The secret ingredient is to give RAY RAY and edge. THE SECRET INGREDIENT: Ritalin

1. Do you eat brown rice or regular rice, or do you have no rice? a bite or 2 as an afterthought... usually white 2. Do you put the rice into a bowl or plate and then top it with your entree? Or do you alternate bites of rice and dish? no topee 3. Are you a chopstick user or a fork and spoon user? i can dig on the stix... but use a fork and knife when needed. i don't like to pick up a big piece of orange beef for example, and gnaw a bite off... 4. Do you eat everything, all the vegetables but not the ________, or only meat? some veggies, i skip broccoli, but mainly dig on the protien 5. Are you one of these people who think that fried chicken wings covered in hot sauce on top of pork fried rice constitutes proper Chinese takeout? chinese take out is chinese take out. proper is best left for formal banquets. 6. When ordering takeout, do you always get the same thing or do you try out different things? mix it up 7. What's your favorite place and your least favorite place, and could you please describe them? favotite place here in VA, is a place called 'the fortune' i like the dim sum carted meal 8. Do you have a best takeout experience? Let's hear it. the first time i had peking duck at the peking gourmet here in VA it was SILLY. 9. Do you have a worst takeout experience? Let's hear that as well. roaches. 'nuff said.

found this Nostradamus Quatrain: When the coliseum of Iron is overturned by the whirlwind the cook with the hair of the horse, and the shoes that burn like the sun shall team with the lady of extra virgin, that has the mouth of the nile delta. At this time the celtic boy and the norman lady shall be vanquished.

surely, only a pact with the horned one could bring such an event to fruition. poor mario. it brings to mind bobby riggs playing those tennis matches with two poodles tied to his legs. i googled driving directions to this iron chef battle: punch purgatory into your GPS take a left. excuse me i have flying pigs in my cubicle...

From Bobby Flay's website: more Iron Chef news it's a big day in Kitchen Stadium. Today it's Iron Chef vs. Iron Chef - with a little help from the ranks of Food Network. I've got Giada on my side and we're taking on Mario and Rachel Ray. It'll be one to watch! I'll let you know when it airs. Proof I ain't making it up... So: Flay and Giada vs. Batalli and RayRay is this a trainwreck waiting to happen? i am speechless. excuse me while i drop to one knee, and weep openly. as Adolph said in the bunker,"All is lost. Hopelessly lost". edited to add: France surrenders.

chinese guy and his wife are in bed... husband says: 'i want sixty-nine' wife says: 'why you want beef with broccoli now?" ................................................................ my wife said to me 'i want to go on vacation to some place i've never been.' so i said 'try the kitchen.' ba-dum-dum

You really hit a nerve with this one. I have utter contempt for people order a steak "Pittsburgh" with a temperature i.e. mid rare, medium. I think they just want to sound cool. ← You're both wrong. "Pittsburgh style" or "black and blue" doesn't mean "extra rare", it means "burned to crap on the outside and rare as possible on the inside." Big difference. A really good steak place will put the steak directly on the coals to achieve this. Another good way is between two ridiculously hot cast iron skillets. It's not pretentious, it's a way of ordering that indicates how the diner would like it cooked. If you can't do it, as a waiter, just say so. Don't write down "extra rare" and sneer at the customer. If I ask for "black and blue" or "Pittsburgh style" (FWIW, Pittsburgh is a little more done in the center; it is indeed closer to medium rare) and you send it back "extra rare", I'm not going to eat it; I'm going to send it back and ask for my steak medium-rare, as you didn't accomplish what I ask for. Don't blame your own ignorance on diners' arrogance. Maybe you should ask the diner, "What do you mean, sir?" We'd be happy to explain to you what we want. ← he is right you know. word to bleachboy. -m

no chance lance.

where people can debate topics as varied as Alinea's tableware, Fresca, Hong Kong street food, and Michelin stars in NYC -- and, as this thread indicates, can discuss those topics from varied perspectives. ← Alinea's tableware, Hong Kong street food and Michelin stars in NYC are exactly why I love this place. I have not figured out how "this thread indicates, (people) can discuss those topics from varied perspectives." I could even be intrigued by the cult Fresca following, but an MBA like discussion on McD's corporate strategy simply doesn't do it for me on the eG Society for Culinary Arts and Letters. However I will admit to being influenced by a severe dislike of the American fast food industry. I checked the number of viewers and replies and there is indeed a large number of participants in this thread so I think I will simply butt out and find my way to more 'eGullet-like' topics (IMHO). ← ah, I always wondered if Lovey and Thurston made it off of Gilligan's Island. I can rest easy now.

one mo': Sanuk which is the thai bhuddist concept that loosely translated means: everything pleasureable -m swimming to cambodia, inc.

Thai Stick Golden Triangle Ya-Ba or, Jim's Mario's -m tongue-n-cheek, inc. edited to add a serious option: Chao Phraya after the river in bangkok

not in a can, but ramen is made to be doctored. hell, i even toss the packets and add proper stock. ramen: the possibilites are endless... -m tampopo, inc.

sure i'll try it. the only thing lithgow has compelled me to do, is on a particularly bad flight, consider taking the fire extinguisher and breaking out a window to get off the plane. known in aviation circles as "pulling a lithgow". -m gremlins, inc.

here in the Chesapeake Bay area its all about the backfin. blue crab lump. the stuff of legend. when i was a kid i only ate the claws. -m

what is worse, is when you think you are in the right place, but it turns out to be all wrong after all. case in point: i used to live in a county in maryland that was growing rapidly due to it being close enough to DC to consider it commutable, yet far enough to maintain some sort of rural splendor. the name of the county is "Frederick", but was also known as "Fred-neck", which should give you an idea of the local demographic. imagine my surprise, when i found a remarkable, japanese resturant. it was remarkable in the fact that such a gem of a restaurant existed in Fredneck. it was owned and run by a japanese couple. the menu was great, the sushi impeccably fresh. i beacame a regular, and i built a great rapport with the owners. it was one of those places where everything was done to somewhere short of perfection, to dead on sublime. the itame would often make me little little treats and send them to my table. they were cool to my kids, and any guests i would bring. most of all though, the food was always great. in the two years i had the great fortune of dining there, i never had a bad meal. it came to pass, that i became inundated with work, and for various reasons of practicality, was unable to eat at said joint for a month or so. my wife and i decided to do it up large, and go there for my birthday, and dig on the food that we loved so very deeply. we invited members of our family, and a few friends. when my wife made the reservation, she hung up the phone, and remarked that she did not recognize the voice that took the reservation. i did not think anything of it, because they often had hostesses in heavy rotation. cut to my birthday: my wife and i arrive early just to kick it, catch up with the owners, and wait for our guests to post. upon opening the door, i was met by the fatal red flag. there was a wrapper from a drinking straw on the floor. that was my moment of clarity. i knew beyond any doubt, that in my absence, the restaurant had flipped owners. waka and noguchi, would never allow trash to sit on the floor. ever get that cold feeling when you are in a place that had been a source of pleasure, has morphed into a shadow of its former incarnation? that is the exact feeling i got. i knew from the discarded straw wrapper on the floor. we decided to eat there anyway. the second red flag was when i asked what was good in the way of sushi that night, the reply i got was: "everything is good." bullshit. the meal sucked. everything was flawed from, salty dashi to sour ponzu, to overheated oil that scorched the tempura. i was crestfallen. worst...birthday...ever. i still cry blood to this day when i think about it. -m stigmata, inc.

no switch fork in left hand... knife in right... i used to switch hands, but it got to be just too much. always pass the duchie 'pon the left hand side. -m Ital, inc.

how geeked out is my kitchen? my fridge makes ice. the thought still makes me want to drop to one knee, and weep openly. -m

bubble tea: can't dig the chunk. reminds me of fish-eyes. color me chunkless.... i can groove on the coco flakes as in the drink which chrisamirault posted the photo. a flake is not a chunk, a tapioca bubble is a chunk plus. edited to add: chunk rhymes with funk. -m psychoalphadiscobeta, inc.

here in northern virginia, there is a joint called "The Lost Dog Cafe" it is a stones throw from several asian eateries... but i think it is a pizza deal. i kid you not. google it. see, told ya. -m stereotypes, inc.

I used to like Zero candy-bars, remember those? Money metal delicious. -akebono

jeez, i woulda paid to have seen that.. isn't that how "Law and Order" started last week? -ripped from the headlines inc.

i remember when he did that "uptown girl" video.... here is a multi-millionaire singing to his super-model girlfriend, about what a regular blue collar guy he is... m -white bread world inc.

tony, the obligatory silly question: which country did you find had the most beautiful women? and damn, with your new celeb chef status i'd imagine it could be like life in Hef's jaccuzi for you... lucky bastardo how was the surf in vietnam? c'est tout... m -trite inc.