Blanche Davidian

If you're worried about whether the brulee is done, you can use an instant thermometer to take its temperature. Cook's Illustrated says it's done when the middle reaches 170-175 degrees.

In high school, my friends called them "dung bars" because the chocolate was still very melty in the ones they served in the school cafeteria.

I *love* the Peacock, but I have watched in horror on multiple occasions as the bartender poured my Manhattan into a glass full of ice and handed it to me. They are all really nice people, they just don't know that much about cocktails. I am hearing good things about the Belmont. I've been too busy to check it out myself...

I hear tell Sam's in Chicago gives Spec's a run for their money.

I was recently introduced to a bottle of green tea vodka. It's pretty tasty on the rocks or with soda and a cucumber garnish. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to make one's own infusion if one were so inclined, and it's completely clear.

Having baked on both sides of the pond, I can attest that there is a BIG difference between British and American flours. I dislike using British baking recipes in America and vice versa because the end product is so different from what I expected. Nigella's recipe is excellent made with British flour but I didn't like it so much when I made it 'States-side.

I agree that less carving = more options. 2-2.5 lbs per hunk o' meat is just right for us. Leftover roast makes great cuban sandwiches. Also, the fattier ends are good for cutting into stew cubes for Posole (in the crockpot) or Green Chilli. Cooking Light published a great recipe for pork bulgogi a couple years ago that is always a hit. I bought a probe thermometer for roasting and it changed my life. The meat turns out soooo much better.

I cut off the tip of my pinky finger New Year's Eve 2004-2005 with my friend's 10" Wustof Culinar Chef's Knife (ironic twist: the knife was a Christmas gift from me several years earlier.) We wrapped it in gauze and duct tape VERY TIGHTLY and the next day the stump was virtually bloodless. My 'helpful' friends snapped pictures of the flap that I severed and we all went out drinkin'. It grew back in no time, but it's still more sensitive than my other fingertips.

I have never passed up an opportunity to eat at The Sitar on I-45 in the Woodlands. I definitely second the sentiment about eating gutbuster meals before going to a concert, though.

Where Austin really excels, I think, is the funky, divey restaurant. Don't overlook the cheap eats; there are some fantastic meals to be had.

How do you tip the barista? With widgets?

Just like the rest of the US, Kansas cooking is influenced by the people who settled in it. My mother's family is from a (Volga) German community in Topeka, with a very distinct culinary tradition (strudel, also called bierrocks, schlitches, a kind of head cheese that sounds like it should be spelled gollerah, pickles from Porubsky's.) We have family friends of Mexican or Swedish descent that have their own peculiar family dishes.

For those in Austin, you can visit Baby Greens on South First.

Last December I got a serious craving for chicken mole, but every time I ordered it in a restaurant, it was crap. Finally, I decided to make my own--I settled on Emeril's recipe for Oaxacan Black Mole. Several steps into the recipe, I realized I was going to need a bigger cooking vessel. Several steps later, I realized I was going to need an even BIGGER vessel. At the end of the recipe, I had my biggest pot filled to the very tip top with black chile sludge that splattered and stained everything in the kitchen. I don't know what I did wrong, but 10-12 servings my ass. It was awesome mole, but what the heck was I going to do with two gallons of the stuff? I'm still working on it.

I actually enjoy eating at TCF when I find myself there. It's a good place to take friends/family who don't share my affinity for frighteningly authentic dives (AKA normal non-chain restaurants) because I know I can get something edible and they know everything on the menu is 'safe.' The dinners I've had there, while not excellent, were definitely a cut above what you get at OTHER causal dining travesties. I once actually got a hand-formed hamburger cooked to order (it was pink and it didn't hang together like a brick the way frozen patties do.) I know how irritating places like TCF can be to those Learned and Erudite diners who know, for example, that salmon is, in fact, delicious and need not be blanded down to taste like That Restaurant Staple, the boneless skinless chicken breast. However, I am on occasion required to dine out with people who don't eat vegetables and claim they "don't like fish" (as in all fish, everywhere, period.) I'm glad I can suggest TCF instead of bellying up to the bar at Applebee's for a gigantic platter o' riblets.

I love the bags of animal crackers that are gingery and frosted with pink icing (NOT the animal cookies that are basically covered in pink crisco and sprinkles.) My dad would occasionally buy them and the four of us (Dad + kids) would stand around in the kitchen wolfing them down until the bag was gone. I have no idea what brand they were but I can't find them here in TX. ::sigh::

I'm not a baking professional, but I've made wedding cakes for friends. I have to say I prefer bake-and-ship. Things can go wrong in either situation; you just have to try to anticipate the snags and sweat the ones you didn't see coming. If those babies are frozen rock hard and packed with dry ice you'll probably be fine. I suggest NOT using UPS, though, everything I've ever sent through them has gotten lost/damaged/delayed. I sent a birthday cake to a friend via FedEx and it was fine (with whipped cream frosting, no less!)

Birthday Cake is awesome when you want something trashy and comforting that reminds you of your childhood. I can only buy it in pints, though, a half-gallon is too much! My favorite: Pistachio Almond. Pralines n' Cream is good, too. I wish they did honey ice cream.

You mean Ted and Wally's. They just have ice cream. All those places you listed are pretty highfalutin for casual eating. Just so you're warned. My parents like the Upstream Brewery in the Old Market. Zio's is decent pizza. I like the Diner better than the Garden Cafe for breakfast, but both are OK. Do not, under any circumstances, go to Spaghetti Works. You really shouldn't go to Omaha without eating at an Italian steakhouse. There is a huge and thriving Italian-American community in Omaha and it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Gorat's, Caniglia's, Mr. C's, and Angie's are all steakhouses. My family likes Lo Sole Mio for straight-up Italian, and I remember Malara's being good, too. Our family loves Nettie's Fine Mexican Food, which is so far south it's in Bellevue. It's a very smoky dive, but the chili is great. Amongst my Omaha acquaintences, the Sitar is considered the best Indian restaurant. I'm afraid you'll come up short for good middle eastern. The only place I can think of is King Kong (the mere mention of the name will make native Omahans shout "Ees not JAI-ros, ees YEE-ros!" thanks to their awesomely bad TV commerical.) I think there's a Persian restaurant in the Old Market, but I've never been there. Edited to add: check out this thread for more recommendations.

I'll third on Fage. It's really creamy and smooth, even if you get one of the lowfat varieties. A pal and I went through a phase of devotion to the little yogurt cups with the side container of honey that you dump in. Gah, I'm getting all drooly just thinking about it!

I think a pork tenderloin sandwich would give green bean casserole a run for its money in Iowa. It's like a chicken fried steak sandwich only with pork! And, you know, Iowa = hog farms.

Re: Runza In my family, Runzas are called strudels and I've also heard them called bierocks/bierrocks. We fill our (slightly sweet) dough with ground beef, onion, sauerkraut and TONS of ground black pepper. Like tamales, strudels are a Christmas thing, to be made and eaten in large quantities. Leftovers are frozen for later. I'll see if I can't dig up my grandma's recipe.

In Texas AND the Heartland: kolaches! Meat kolaches seem to be a specific-to-Texas thing, though.

I just got a Magnum Plus (to replace a borrowed Magnum) and it chews through my Penzeys Tellicherrys just fine. I think the Magnum and the Plus do the same job grinding, but the Plus is a wee bit harder to get started and maintain a grip on (due to the larger size.) In true dork fashion, I like to hum the Imperial March while hosing down my salads with freshly ground pepper.

The thing I hate most about American food culture is the freakin' weird diets everybody is going on and off. Deciding where to go out to eat is a pain. Having a dinner party involves cooking 3 separate menus. And the worst of it all is listening to somebody obsess about points/the glycemic index/whether they can have something. I know dieting is hard work and you need a lot of support, but I do NOT want to hear what you had for lunch and how many points it was. I think it detracts attention from the REAL problem, which is lack of exercise. [Edit: spelling]