macrosan

Bushey, the three you mentioned are generically referred to as the "Foot Festivals" when pilgrims walked to the Temple in Jerusalem to dedicate their tithe. I'm not sure what the duifference is between a "festival" and a "holiday", and indeed I'm not even sure their is a difference in Judaism. As far as I know, the words are used fairly casually and are interchangeable. The New Year and Day of Atonement are widely referred to as "yomim tovim" or "good days". All the others are widely referred to as "chagim" or "rejoicings". My prayer books for all of these occasions are entitled "Festival Prayers".

Most Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury stores have Kosher for Passover sections, and I'm pretty sure they all stock wine. There must be one of those near Hatton Garden ! You can ring Carmel wines at 020 8902 3002 to ask for the nearest stockist of their wines. I'm not sure they'll be open tomorrow morning, but you can try. They will definitely be closed in the afternoon.

This is the first step into maturity for a website. It's also a bit like when a trainee trapeze artist first flies without the net --- it's when people will find out for the first time whether they are actually good enough, and if they've made a mistake it may be a painful fall. There are many big egoes out there who believe they own their world on the web, but will now find that they're just not as well thought of as they had supposed. My prediction for the biggest faller in the world is FT.com, which has had vast sums invested in something which I believe virtually no-one will pay for (LOL, virtually is the right word). At least the fallers will clear a bit of cyberspace for the others

Oh that is just so true I think I tip New York taxi drivers at a higher rate than even the best restaurants, because I'm most scared of them when I get out of the cab and turn my back on them Given what Felice confirms about the "service charge" in French restaurants, does anyone know if this is in fact optional as it is in other countries ? If I get awful service in France, am I allowed to deduct the charge ? And what is the position with service charges in hotels ?

My simple mind can only cope with one question at a time And I struggle with anything that even hints at refinement But now I understand that you are trying to engage in a meaningful and interesting discussion ... my goodness, where did that idea come from ? This is still eGullet isn't it ? ... I will engage my left brain and come up with something worthwhile ... maybe ...

Why should people be allowed to sleep when there are smokers who need to smoke ?

This whole thread relates only to those Italians living close to Italy's international borders. That is self-evident from every post up to yours, Adam. My post refers sepecifically to Switzerland and France, but I would be happy to extend the discussion to its other two borders. I can find you a map if that helps They're self-selecting and self-defining. I guess that any "Yugoslavs" who have the "joyful Italian attitude" towards food would have a joyful Italian attitude towards food, and those that don't ... well they don't Does that help, Adam ?

I think that in principle your observation is probably right, Robert. I'll allow Peter his RealItalian® trademark, but I'm uneasy about defining "real" Italian. I don't think that matters here, because it would be enough to say that the food in Italy has a certain quality to it which is mostly lacking across its borders. I believe that is unlikely to be due to the difference in ingredients, but is more likely connected to an "attitude" towards food and its preparation. The French and the Swiss are precise and rigorous in their approach to cooking, whereas the Italians exhibit their natural gioia di vivere in theirs. I have watched Italian chefs cook food, and they seem to shun measurement, they prepare by instinct. The good ones will somehow make their dishes the same every time, the less good are more hit and miss, but that's the price you have to pay, I guess. For me, the classic example of this "cooking by the seat of your pants" approach is in pasta sauce. Good Italian cooks always manage to produce a sauce of the perfect consistency to adhere to the pasta while not being cloying. They do this despite the fact that you need to prepare and cook the sauce slightly differently every single time depending on the exact consistency of the tomatoes and oil, etc that form the ingredients of the sauce. I don't think many non-Italians can do this. This exuberant, joyful attitude to food is what makes Italians different, and it must be something handed down from parents to children. As soon as you cross the borders a new culture comes into play, and I think this is what is lost.

You see, you got it wrong right at the start, JA The discussion is not about presentation affecting the way we taste food, but about presentation affecting the way food tastes. You know what ? You and I should start up a new thread .....

You won't talk about my issue, so I won't talk about yours. Yah boo sucks Now, now, Macrosan. Does it really befit someone your age to behave this way? I was just trying to express my self in a way that a young whippersnapper like Wilfrid would understand

You won't talk about my issue, so I won't talk about yours. Yah boo sucks

Diminutive of OF nappe, a tablecloth No no no, stop jesting Prof. You know I wasn't talking about "napkin", I was talking about "diaper". Is that even in the OED, and if so why ?

Sorry, JA, but you won't get much for tuppence in this thread I'm just reading for side-splitting amusement now

Also nope, but then perhaps I'm just a neater eater than Wilf I too am a serviettist, and cdh is correct to observe that in proper English a napkin is what our ex-colonial cousins call a diaper. What is the derivation of that extraordinary word ? Whatever else you may think about the French, they did coin some useful words, and I for one shall not hesitate to use or misuse them when appropriate.

Now you know how I get kept away from the kitchen at home

They're going to stuff the suckling pigs with dates ? Or are we talking about date pudding for afters ? Glad to find that you're keeping your head above the snowdrifts, Simon. I was starting to worry about you.

I marinate all my lamb chops in Fairy liquid (lemon flavoured, of course); and you're right, Andy, it doesn't do any more chops than the standard Flash products despite the much greater price. I think these claims are sharp marketing practice, and shouldn't be allowed.

I believe the Lord High Organiser is in New York at the moment, wading through several feet of snow and generally having a rotten time of it. So I guess he'll start to fix a date next week

Circe, I think you're getting Vanessa confused with Victoria

If you have a shingle driveway, you could add some crumbled matzo. This gives a nice, crunchy sound when you walk on it, and also produces an interesting odor when it rains. If your area is susceptible to flooding, matzo is an excellent filling for sandbags to pile around your house for protection. Many experienced DIY fiends use finely grated matzo, glued on to old dress materials, in place of emery cloth. They say it gives wood a more heimische finish. There are indeed many wonderful uses for matzo, but please make sure that, above all else, your Mom doesn't try to eat it

Lizzie, you raised some interesting issues in your last few posts. But I want to stick to my own angle on this, which is to do with one individual person's perception of taste. I am trying to remove the variables of whether one person perceives differently from another, or has different memories and associations, or is a super-taster as against a non-taster. I'm also trying (successfully) to resist Wilfrid's diversion into defining the nature of taste, or the different meanings people apply to the word. Similarly the Prof's and the Profess's scientific approach to proving the influence of external (and alternative internal) agencies on perception. That paper on Synesthesia is fascinating, isn't it ? I am sticking to Macrosan's Chicken Experiment. One person at one point in time in one location, virtually all the possible variables removed apart from cosmetic presentation, tasting two dishes which I maintain taste identical. The only person on this thread who answered my question "Would they taste different" has been The Prof, and he simply stipulated that they would without offering any evidence apart from his own belief. However, my supreme confidence in the Prof leads me to believe that he will actually conduct my experiment on himself and maybe Mrs Prof and report back on the results. But no-one else has expressed a view on my experiment, and I am deeply hurt by this Perhaps Bresse chicken wasn't a sufficiently enticing ingredient, so I am willing to up the stakes to Osetra caviar

Not my sole point, Yvonne. I'm not a better/worse fetishist My main interest is in experiencing the flavour, hopefully enjoying it, and if I'm in the mood trying to impart my experience to others.

Now now, Wilfy, don't go all silly on us. It's your mission, should you choose to accept it, to keep pulling this discussion back to something vaguely resembling the planet Earth, you know Tsk tsk. Water tastes like water, but when you squeeze lemon into it it tastes different However, the water and the lemon each possess the same flavours they started with, it's just that in terms of a person tasting the mixture, one flavour is dominating the other so you can't taste the "milder" flavour. Similarly there must be some flavours which, when mixed, create an entirely new flavour by a process of chemical reaction. So let's stick to the holistic approach and talk about a dish, and how it's flavour or its taste might be changed solely by presentation, shall we ?

What an amazing April 1st news story, and only one week late They stole 118 piglets worth over £4,000 and they were stolen from an indoor pigpen sometime between31 January and 31 March ????? How nice of them to pop in and see if the little piggies were OK every couple of months. I mean, that's a caring rural environment isn't it ? And what a drag to have to feed them every two months or so, especially in the cold weather !!!! But my favourite part is the demonstration of the sharp acuity of the local constabulary. Wow, welcome back PC Plod 118 piglets carted off on a lorry, and she thinks "someone must have heard something" Yep, you would think so, wouldn't you Oh the tears, the aching ribs .... And yes, Simon, please put them back immediately

I made an instant decision yesterday evening. A business meeting in London finished late, and I had an evening meeting in Gants Hill, so I decided not to go home but to drive straight to Gants Hill and find a restaurant for dinner. The Gants Hill roundabout is a nightmare. It lies at the junction of the A12 Eastern Avenue and four other roads. The traffic is appalling at all times, and they do their best to separate motorists from pedestrians by means of metal railings going 50 yards in every direction so that it's impossible to cross the road anywhere near the roundabout. Then there is a subway system which reminds me of Chislehurst caves, a vast spidery network of underground walkways with deliberately misleading signs suggesting which way you should walk and which exit stairs you should take to reach your objective. The Gants Hill roundabout is positively peppered with restaurants. I counted one Italian, three Indian, two Thai, one Mandarin Chinese, one Vietnamese Chinese, one Kebab House, a "Steak and Fish" restaurant, a huge Pizza Express, a couple of Chinese takeaways and two other indeterminate establishments all within sight of the roundabout. Oh boy, those taxi drivers must be really big eaters out I used my well honed eGullet acquired gourmet skills to good effect in selecting the restaurant of my choice. Apart from the greasy looking Kebab House and Pizza Express, it was the only one open at five minutes to six I know that because visually I rated it the least attractive of the lot, so I actually spent fifteen minutes trying all the others before I walked into Woo, 1-3 Woodford Avenue, Gants Hill 020 8550 8088, the Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant. The frontage of the restaurant, which is kind of wrapped round the corner of the block, must be 80 feet, it looks tired and old-fashioned, and has a big banner hanging outside proclaiming their "All you can eat for £6" menu. I opened the door, ignoring the "Closed" sign and walked into this very large restaurant of, I guess, maybe 30 well-spaced tables. The interior matched the exterior -- slightly tired, unimaginative, ghastly pink and mauve colours. Honestly, I nearly turned round and walked straight out to Pizza Express, but I am so glad I didn't. The female staff looked absolutely stunning. Young, attractive, dressed in long Vietnamese sari-like clothes, they more than compensated for the decor. They all smiled beautifully and spoke English very badly, if at all. There is something very appealing about asking a gorgeous waitress what beers they have, getting a sweet smile followed by a lilting "You like wine list?", then having to repeat your request very slowly and carefully a couple of times. The final reward is to witness the joy of comprehension with "Ah, you want Tiger?" and the full face beam. I just melted. The menu is unusual in that it is very limited for a Chinese restaurant. Maybe I've got too used to the typical 10-page 200 dish Chinese menu with every possible combination of main ingredient with every possible sub-ingredient and every possible method of cooking. This one contained maybe a total of 40 or 50 main dishes. (I ignored the very tacky looking "all you can eat" menu) I had Chicken Bang Bang as a starter. This consists of cold roast chicken breast cut into thin strips, with strips of cucumber, in a creamy and spicy peanut based sauce. The dish was perfect. The chicken was moist and tender, and on its own very delicately spiced. The sauce was light and creamy, good peanut flavour, with just a hint of chilli pepper nicely hidden in the background. Believe it or not, even the cucumber was excellent - fresh and crunchy, and a perfect foil to the rest of the dish. My main was Spicy BBQ Duck. Yes, really To be frank, I don't know why I chose something with a name like that; call it eGullet instinct if you like, or put it down to being distracted at watching my waitress struggling to write down my order for Bang Bang Chicken on her notepad Whatever it was, I did indeed order Spicy BBQ Duck at a Vietnamese restaurant, and it was nothing less than magnificent. The meat was tender, moist, beautifully spiced, flavourful. It came lightly coated in a red ever-so-slightly-sticky sauce, which I guess was their version of "BBQ", but this sauce was delicate and light and nothing like any "BBQ sauce" I have ever tasted. It never came close to overpowering the duck, it was the perfect complement. On the menu, Spicy BBQ Duck was accompanied by a little red chilli symbol, indicating that the dish was "hot", but this was like the Bang Bang Chicken starter. The chilli could just be fleetingly glimpsed at the background of each mouthful, never the first taste and never the dominant flavout of the meat. I remember Tony Finch in another thread talking about the skill of subtle spicing, and what I ate here was the most perfect example of that art. I had plain steamed rice, always a good test of an oriental restaurant, and again it was perfect. Slightly sticky, just enough to bind the grains together, but not cloying. The lightest of flavours without the bitterness you get when too much starch is left on the surface. I also had a plate of noodles with beansprouts, and again these were excellently cooked. Vermicelli thin noodles rather than spaghetti fat, not greasy (a common fault in Chinese restaurants) and that slightly "charred" flavout that I like. The only complaint I had was that the dishes weren't piping hot when served, and they didn't provide a hotplate so they were getting noticeably cool by the time I finished eating. And the coffe wasn't great, although it was acceptable, and in any case I should have asked for tea The bill was £20 including two beers. I am going back to this place again ... and again.