AnnieTea

Gini, I used to be a true English Breakfast Tea addict but had to cut down on the caffeine. I switched to Genmai Cha, a green tea with brown rice in it. I buy it at a local Asian store and it's about $3 for 7 or 8 oz, not sure, it's a good sized bag. You might want to check out natural food stores like Whole Foods, New Seasons or the like (depending on what is in your area) for loose leaf teas and buy small quantities to try.

The one kind I drink day in and day out is called "Genmai Cha", it's a Japanese green tea with brown rice in it. Sounds odd, I know, but after I first had it in a Japanese-Hawaiian restaurant on the Big Island of Hawaii, I was hooked. You can find it in Asian grocery stores, we have Uwajimaya locally, where you can get the freshest kind.

Or to the mirth and back-slapping and demands for encore that greet innocent foreigners (not just the English-speaking ones!) garbling the word "Gouda" in the Netherlands. (I spoke it as "goo-da;" locals were delighted, wanted to hear more, claimed they'd never heard such a word before). Both the strongly-aspirated H at the beginning (not a standard English sound) and the "ow" vowel of the accurate, or NL, version, are new to many anglophones using that word. ←

I enjoyed the book "Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet" by Alford/Duguid. There is also a corresponding website http://www.hotsoursaltysweet.com/.

I think the finest in bagged tea is "Mighty Leaf" - great qualit-ea, good sized silk "bag" and nice aroma seal package.

I've been to the source in France - it is "Moe-ay" the ay part should sound like hay without the h. The t is not pronounced. Then "shawn-don" with the n only appearing very lightly at the end.

My boyfriend is crazy about Iceland and he regrets not having tried puffin while he was there. Yes, they are the very cute birds, and a local delicacy. Does anyone know if puffin could be mail ordered for a special birthday surprise? I would also appreciate recipes and any input anyone could give who might have tried it either there or at home.

I have a number of cookbooks by "Graefe und Unzer" that I can recommend. You might be able to search for that under amazon.com.

See my post under the "Vienna-Salzburg-Munich" thread, I just recommended an Italian place there. You can get a nice meal for under 10 Euro incl. a glass of wine.

I just returned from Munich and found myself eating at "Taverna del Sud" three times while I was there. It's a neighborhood Italian place run by real Italians (loation: Widenmayerstrasse 52, 80538 Muenchen, ph: 089-24292199) and is open daily for lunch and dinner. They had the BEST olives that come complimentary when you arrive and when I tried to buy some of these gems I was told they were not for sale outside of the restaurant but they were straight from their own source in Italy. Excellent, green, very mellow and nothing like I have ever tasted over here. They had several items on the menu with tartufi (truffels), the pizza is wood oven baked, and the pastas were fres- I can recommend everything. They also had a wonderful antipasti case from which one can pick and choose for a platter. After seeing the owners serve their house rose (a dry kind) to what appeared to be fellow Italian guests, I tried it and loved it. The place was clean, service friendly, and prices very reasonable (dinner entrees from 5 Euro and up). They accept credit cards and shake your hand "grazie signora" when you leave. Highly recommend it.

Being from Europe, one of my major pet peeves is the rush to the next course one often gets in restaurants while still enjoying a meal (for example: still working on the main course and already being presented a dessert menu). I realize it is customary to turn tables in a certain amount of time, but at the same time one should not feel hurried through a dinner or overly doted on. Wait staff that understands guests are there to truly enjoy a meal truly stands out. Smells are important, so is the temperature of a restaurant. It should not be chilly and the seating should be inviting and comfortable. The way a table is set is also something that catches my eye, whether it is a paper placemat or a linen cloth, there are ways to make even the simplest of table settings inviting and pleasant.