BeeZee

my only disappointment with the shows is how many of the episodes have him spending the better part of his time in a city in a bar (or more correctly, bars), even after he'll say what a great city it is, he won't show many options for someone who doesn't want to sit on a barstool for 48 hours. I get that he doesn't want to show the typical touristy stuff, but surely it doesn't need to be one extreme or the other.

One of my favorites from Amada in Philadelphia is potato (cut into a small cylinder, like a "tot" shape/size) roasted with smoked paprika (or it might be fried, it's been a while and memory is fuzzy) and served standing on end with a squirt of spicy mayo (?) on top. Broad appeal/"safer" selection

+1...had traditional chicken parm at a diner last weekend and one of my favorite pieces is that thin edge which escaped sauce and maybe still had a glaze of melted cheese, so it was all crispy crust surrounding the chicken...mmm

I enjoyed the article, as well. I'm sure I've read that the reason that so many more people are becoming overweight in Asia is the invasion of Western fast-food restaurants. Their natural diet is healthy and makes sense (well-balanced).

no question, for me, it's French Roast coffee. I drink it black, one cup in the morning, and a good cup makes the morning tolerable. Need the jump start.

for me, it often happens from too much rich (and protein-based) meals as is customary during the season...I like to "re-set" by eating a lot of very simply prepared vegetarian meals. And often that means including some kind of "kitchen sink" soup that doesn't require a whole lot of thinking. Homemade bread to go with is a plus. I think last year I decided to make sushi at home when I needed a culinary re-set, it was fun.

The "self service" bars have come about because the large supermarket doesn't want to deal with service. If you buy bulk goods which are in open displays in heavily-trafficked markets, you have to unfortunately assume contamination. Does that make it "right"? No. But it is the reality of the modern market which wants to off-load responsibility to the customer, rather than having to pay an employee to provide a service. A restaurant deals in repercussions from food-borne illnesses (or illnesses perceived as having come from said food), there is no such finger pointing back to the supermarket. And there is certainly no supermarket employee monitoring the open food bars which are suseptible to contamination to even know when something needs to be dumped. At a restaurant buffet, at least there is an employee monitoring things. Most of the time. One of the markets I go to has the olive, etc. bar in close proximity to the cheese counter, which is always manned. I like to think those folks keep an eye on things and having someone standing 6-8 feet away is a small deterrent to sample theft or other violations, vs the olive bar in my other market which has no employees anywhere nearby. Perhaps it is as simple as modifying the store layout so it can be "passively" monitored. And maybe put out smaller containers so they look less inviting for "sampling" and need to be replaced more frequently.

Agreed, taking "samples" from the olive bar is theft (as I've berated hubby). And it's disgusting (as I've also told him). That's issue #1, flat-out theft of goods. But frankly issue #2 is that if you shone an UV light or swabbed your local supermarket I think you'd find a petri dish worthy of the CDC. I try not to overthink it, because then you head down the slippery slope to OCD-like behaviour, where no surface can be touched without disinfectant wipes. Little kids wiping snotty noses, sticking fingers in mouth, and then touching every piece of fruit within reach? check. Didn't see it? Ignorance is bliss.

unfortunately, my husband is one of those disgusting people who snags an olive from the bar. I always yell at him but he won't stop. I'm not sure if he goes straight into the bin or uses the spoon to scoop one out, as I usually make sure I'm at least 6 feet away from him so I can pretend I don't know him I don't worry too much about olives due to the vinegar as mentioned above, but one time I went in to a Panera Bread which had a tray of bread samples near the entrance, and witnessed someone who was possibly homeless digging in with filthy hands.

anyone else notice a difference in taste between milk in plastic vs waxed paper cartons? I prefer paper cartons, but since that was what I had growing up, not sure if it's a significant difference to others.

Actually I've planned something similar to OP, I'm going to roast turkey wings for make ahead gravy and using the meat for chili. I've used chili as my salvage yard in the past for overcooked/dried out chicken, it covers for a lot of mistakes!

I'm hosting since my house is midway between my parents and my sister. We don't go wild with a million dishes since it's usually a small group, this year we have 8 total. My sister's new mother-in-law, who is Sicilian, is very excited to be invited and every other day I get an email from sis with some other delicacy that her MIL wants to bring...Italian chestnuts, chocolates, and now she wants to bring her special fried artichoke dish. It should be an interesting melange! All I know for sure is that I'm making turkey, gravy, mushroom herb stuffing, and cranberry relish (plus the canned stuff for the "purists"). Mom is bringing twice-baked potatoes, and a butternut squash/baby spinach/cranberry side dish (inspired by Wegmans market). Sis is bringing dessert, she claims she found a recipe for some kind of pumpkin mousse pie simple enough to not screw up. Her husband will make some kind of fresh fruit thing. And I have a funny feeling her MIL won't be able to resist a stop at the bakery, too.

Went out to an upscale Italian restaurant the other night and gazed longingly at the wine the table was enjoying, but I did enjoy a Negroni. The bitterness worked nicely against the other flavors in my meal. That's kind of what I need to figure out, how to find complementary flavors when I don't have the breadth of knowledge of spirit-based drinks vs. wine with meals.

ditto I last cut into my palm in college, I won't do it again.

Ivan's spiced wafers

That was a thought that came to mind, as well. You made the assumption that he didn't like your cooking, he may have felt he was being "fussed over" too much and McD's was his escape. You may be taking offense where none was intended, he may have thought he was being a courteous guest by taking the burden of food prep away from you. Unless, of course, he didn't eat any of the food you previously served. In which case, he's a guy with fast food tastes.

I don't want to veer into the medical, since that will get the thread tossed, but suffice to say it's not the imaginary "sulfite headache" some people think of. It's because of an interaction with the preservatives in medicine I take, which are sulfite-based, and when it hits, it's 30 minutes of bad stuff. Interesting that &roid notes sparkling wine lower on the scale, I have had no problem with drinking Prosecco. Thanks for your thoughts!

Wine contains sulfites...how much is never spelled out on the label, just that they exist. I have a problem with sulfites in large quantities, and it's been russian roulette with drinking wine. I thought it was just bad (for me) with red wine, so I switched to white...then had a major problem after drinking one glass of white recently. I'm really reluctant to just give up all wine, forever. Are there any thoughts about what types of wines might be lower in sulfites?

As a teen, had a lovely dinner out with my parents for my birthday. Entree was 2 crabcakes and I could only eat one, so they offered to wrap it up. Unfortunately, I left the box on the table. Realizing my error as we got to the car, I went back to retrieve it and was dismayed to see the table had been cleared. The waiter told me to hang on for a moment, and he went back to the kitchen. It was more than a moment, and I was kind of feeling silly. Then he appeared bearing a container with a (piping hot) freshly prepared crabcake for me to take home!

One time after I ate a large amt of beets...pee was magenta!

our family calls it "break the fast"...as used in a sentence: "are you coming to our house for break the fast?"

As a Jersey Girl, I'd be remiss in not nominating July in NJ for outstanding tomatoes...

Panzarotti...a fried calzone. I think calzone is the closest to "pizza", it's pizza dough turned over the filling and sealed into a crescent shape. Usually no sauce inside, you are given sauce on the side to add as desired. I guess that helps the dough cook better, without the extra moisture inside.

Bought 2 of the single cups of Edy's ice cream last night, they were on sale $1.00 each. I consider it portion control, since the pints of various brands were on sale for $3.00, a better value. One cup had 190 calories, I had Apple Pie flavor which was pretty sweet and I was glad I didn't have a larger amount of it, since I didn't love it.

We were just talking about this at work today. It doesn't have to be over the top/fawning/etc...just give me a pleasant experience, make me feel that I'm a valued customer (rather than an interruption). If I'm a regular, just a nod/wink acknowledgement is nice. Heck, my husband and I go to a Rita's water ice stand once a week and the girl who works there remembers that we share and gives us two spoons, how hard can it be for a "professional" server to do something nice for you just to make the experience enjoyable. It creates an "afterglow" that usually reflects favorably on the tip at the end of the meal.