joiei

Welcome to nonblonde007, There is a source of very good breads in your part of the world. It is Serenity Farm Bakery over by Leslie on highway 65. Here is a picture of what to look for when you wander over that way. As for those grits from War Eagle, they are wonderful, I cook them slowly, sometimes with a little cream. They also take spices pretty well. And to finish with some cheese, yum, cheese grits. And for all those Yankees who have never had grits, every time they wax poetic over a plate of Polenta, Italian grits. If you need an Asian Fix, head on down to Little Rock. The farmers market in Fayetteville is great. It is located around the town square in downtown. Awesome vegies, and tomatoes should be coming in soon. I used to go visit friends in Heber Springs and restaurant choices there, you just could not be chosey, the Red Apple Inn was a nice place to stay especially if you all golf. And Eureka Springs is a little victorian mountain town with excellent arts and some decent restaurants. There are lots of shops, all locally owned, no mall stores, lots of little b&b's or a couple of old hotels left over from the late 1800s that have been updated to stay at. It is perfect for a weekend getaway.

I was in "the Frog" late one Friday night upon the recommendation of someone who shall remain nameless. I ordered the charcuterie plate because I didn't want a big meal and loved it. Do they do a weekend brunch?

Hope you opted for Lucky Palace, it is one of my favorite places. Either way, how was dinner?

UE, UE, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? You're in that awkward stage between home/hobbyist and market gardener. You might check with Dan & Katherine at KC Center for Urban Agriculture or the Kansas City Food Circle. Moving farther afield ( ) Seed Savers (although I don't know if they have a semi-bulk program). It's too late for spring but if you talk to some farmers you might be able to buy-in on their bulk buy for fall planting. Most of them buy by the pound, I would guess, so if you paid up-front I can't think they would mind (other than that you clearly would not be buying mesclun from them, but they're not really competitive types for the most part anyway). If you want specifics PM me. ← How did I know you'd be first to "bite back?" Thanks for the links. One correction, I'm definitely not anywhere near market gardener. I'm still very much a (farmer's) market consumer. I am a home hobbyist through-and-through. BTW, I've got about 25 tomato plants in the ground - all of them Crum's heirlooms. I put in San Marzano, Kellogg's Breakfast, C. Fiorentino, Paul Robeson, German Johnson, Missouri Love Apple, Chocolate Cherokee, and one Delicious (which is a hybrid) - which the Crums say have been known to yield 3 lb. tomatoes . Ambitious-sounding? Perhaps. But you haven't seen the way the deer eat around here. I'll be lucky to have on left standing by the time the tomatoes bear fruit. *sigh* ← Hey Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, when you have a moment if you could PM me any tried and true tomato soup recipes (hot or cold) I'd appreciate it. This is my first year growing tomatoes, I'm doing them in pots since I didn't take the time to prepare any ground. All cherry/grape varieties due to the pots/space......twelve plants total- black cherry, yellow pear, coyote, roma, black plum, and a few good old fashioned ultra-sweet hybrids. We'll see how it goes...I'm not above discharging a firearm within the city limits if I see any critters getting too close...... Thanks! ← I have a pasta recipe that is EASY and so delicious if using fresh tomatos. Are you interested?

Now I know where not to go when I am up next weekend for the OK joes bbq event. Sounds like a truck stop, no matter how many people are there it is still bad.

Chefs Colby and Megan, reservations for at least one the Sunday after the OKjoes bbq event in a couple of weeks. u.e. is making me very hungry.

I think you misspelled the name of the restaurant. If you look at the picture you have, the correct name is Nubian Queen Lo La's. Small point, but necessary. edited to ask, next time you in, ask them if they are related to the old Lola's restaurant that was on Esplanade next to Ferrera's market across from the old Whole Foods and close to the racetrack in New Orleans. I liked that place.

I am looking for recommendations for good wine shops in the Palm Beach area. One that will be able to order in wines that they might not normally carry on their racks. Most of the time, I will be ordering wines by the several cases and need to find a wine merchant that is willing to work with me. Does anyone have anyplace that they like? Recommendations for Fort Lauderdale are also being sought. Thanks.

Does anyone here ever go to Jones BBQ over in KCK? I enjoyed my meal there a while back. Most of the posting are all about the same places, does anyone ever try out newer places that haven't been around forever? Unless that is the only places there.

Saturday, I traveled over to Fayetteville, Arkansas to go to their farmers market. Considering that it is early in the growing season, they had some greens, asparagus and bamboo shoots. There were lots of tomato plants of all varietys and some raspberry starts. The market is actually pretty nice, it is held around the old city hall in the middle of downtown. There were some breadmakers, I didn't see any cheeses. I was there early and thought the traffic was impressive for being this early in the year. Where are your favorite markets in the south? When I travel, I do like to check out the local farmers markets where I am visiting. I guess that makes me a culinary tourist. Not a bad thing.

Didn't even think to ask about the bread, but the sandwiches we got were indeed pressed. They have a variety of very un-Cuban sandwiches, but they do have a medianoche sandwich that is listed as having sliced pork, ham and swiss cheese on a sweet bread. A couple of others that sound good... the Pan con Bistec (steak sandwich with onions, tomatoes and lettuce w/Cuban fries on Cuban bread), Jamon de Pierna (bolo ham sandwich with melted swiss cheese on Cuban bread), and the Croqueta Preparada (ham, pork, swiss cheese, pickles and croquettes on Cuban bread). Quick question for anyone.....is serving the sanwiches on top of small pile of shoestring fries (the canned kind) typical of Cuban cuisine? They were more of a garnish than a side. Looking forward to getting back there...... ← I have never seen any Cuban restaurant use potato sticks. Maybe that is what they are doing instead of potato chips. Personally, I am not very fond of potato sticks. They are way too greasy and mostly stale. But I still want to check the place out, maybe for lunch one day.

I will meet you there in a couple of weeks, my treat. After spending a lot of time in Tampa and in the upper Keys, I can be critical of what some people try to put out as Cuban. Did they have a medianoche sandwich on the menu? Did they say where they got their cuban bread from for the sandwiches? Was the sandwich pressed? Now I do have a reason to get back up that way. No chance of anything remotely cuban in this area. And I love Cuban. My favorite sandwich place when I lived in Tampa was the Silver Ring in Ybor City. That and the Spanish Bean soup from the Columbia. I will pm and let you know. Now I am hungry and I just finished dinner.

I am going to have a chance to check out the Farmers Market in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend. I have always heard good things about that market that happens in the middle of town around the town square. THe bonus is to be able to spend time in Dickson Street Books.

The Cherry Street Farmers Market opened this past saturday, I was not able to go even though I did pass by. I was on my way to Enid to judge bbq at an event over there. It looked like there was good vendor attnedence even though it was cold and rainy. I will miss this next weekend because of another BBQ event, this time in Bentonville, but will report as soon as I have a weekend in town. The Thursday afternoon Pearl District Market is still in its infancy and the two days it has been open it has been COLD. With luck, they will have a better week with warmer temperatures and hopefully a few more vendors will turn out for them.

I hope this restaurant can prove the critics wrong. Miami really does need an injection of new. Anything instead of the same old same old relying on the Floribbean cuisine which is over. They need to realize that the world has changed since the Mango Mafia was new and hot. Those guys have done nothing new in years.

Hi dividend, can I join you all for a meal. I have been known to drive up to KC from Tulsa just to have dinner at Bluestem. And my buddy from Bartlesville also thinks it is the best place in town. Next thing you know you will be reaching the point where you say, " cost be damned, I have to taste that fois gras again". I do. I will be having myself a brunch the next time I am up in May. I can salivate at the thought.

It looks like we are going to have more farmers markets this coming year. A new market in the Pearl District in Centennial Park at Peoria and 5th started up this week on thursday afternoons. And another one is being talked about somewhere downtown on Tuesdays, as soon as I find out more, I will update. The only place I can think of is maybe on the Williams Green next to the Performing Arts Center. With the CHerry Street market on Saturdays and the Garden Fresh markets now on Wednesday mornings, maybe, just maybe Tulsa is on the brink of a fledgling food culture, something beyond CFS and biscuits and gravey. Hurrah.

Pheasant, Quail & Andouille Gumbo This delightful stuff is worth getting out of bed for any old time. yum

From todays Tulsa World is a story about the reopening of the Cherry Street Farmers Market on April 14th. The Saturday market is beginning its 10th year. The Wednesday market has made some changes, the location has changed to the parking lot of Westlake hardware at Peoria and 41st street and the time has changed from the afternoon to a morning market. The summer heat in the afternoons was too much. According to Ryan Bauman, one of the vendors,

Can you introduce the participants in the picture, although some I do recognize from having spent fun times in KC.

Ouida and Robert Merrifield are the Chef/Owners of the Polo Grill here it Tulsa. In this piece they talk about how hard it is to be chefs and be married to each other as well as the job. Thinking about it, some of my favorite places to dine in the Midwest are owned by chefs who are married to each other. Besides the Polo Grill, I can think of Bluestem in KC and Colby and Megan. What other restaurants are there that are co-owned by chef couples?

How about a nice little tomato aspic salad that you can serve either as a lunch meal or a dinner salad. Low fat, filling without being bloating. Plus, you get your gelatin. For variety, top with some crabmeat or shrimp.

Try cooking a lot of nice fatty bacon in it. Then when the leftover bacon grease has cooled in the pan, just wipe it out and use it again maybe for a second batch of bacon, let cool wipe out and then use it for other purposes. Cooking the bacon should start a nice season. Just never wash it in the dishwasher. After cleaning, reseason with a little oil so it is ready to go the next time you use it.

How about taking your Mom out to a nice dinner and taking the knives she has now to be sharpened. Since she seems to perfer them. Not everyone is a knife freak like a lot of us tend to be.

The one time I went to Jun's, it was okay, nothing special. The service at the sushi bar was okay. The menu and the rolls and the nigiri were nice, but ordinary. I did ask about uni but they were out the night I was there. Too bad, because I love uni. THe next time I am in town, I will have to check out u.e.'s recommendation. Then I will have to find the place, I have only been over in that part of the city once. I am thinking about going up in a couple of weeks or so.