zoe b

sounds like the competition is fierce! can'twait to hear more--and I'm wishing I could be there to help dispose of all the by-products of the contest! Zoe

well, finally made it here for dinner last night. we both got the pulled pork--very nice, juicy, smoky and has some crispy bits--you get way too much--the Hub and i could have shared one dinner and had plenty--we brought tons home. The Hub likes that the pork comes dry--he hates having sauce poured over his meat. The sauces are a vinegar sauce, good--a sweet molasses/tomato sauce, ok--mixed together pretty good. a mustard sauce that is just mustard with pepper in it as far as I could tell--not so good. the sides are a weakness--out of cornbread last night, the cole slaw standard deli slaw, the Tennessee spicy coleslaw drowned in mayo and red but not spicy, the fries were undercooked. I shouldn't quibble, but what is it that Southern BBQ places have that you don't get in NJ? The atmosphere just wasn't right--is it too self-conscious here? the decor was too cute, the waitress didn't have a cigarette voice, the radio was blaring some local station playing nouveau country--something was missing. the only BBQ joint up North that ever got it right was Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse--that was a down and dirty place. But i did have a delicious DQ Jr Butterscotch sundae with fake whipped topping on it on the way home--that made up for a lot!!! Zoe

yeah, what i hear from the guys here in NJ is that Silver Queen had to be picked and eaten in one day to stay sweet--the newer varieties hold up better--I don't like the Supersweet so much, but I've had other corn this year thats been great--and you can kepp it for 2 days if you need to and it's still pretty good. Z

thanks for the pretzel salad recipe, Kim--I can't wait to make this even though the Hub thinks it sounds disgusting--just wait til he sees it and starts begging for some!!! and as for tasteless chocolate cake--i think that's the central problem in making a standard 2 layer cake--I've never been able to get a really chocolatey one--have to go to a flourless or molten chocolate cake to get the rich chocolateyness. Z

wow--Andie, thanks--you're a great research librarian (a polite term for enabler!!!) can you believe it? someone here kindly offered me a set of these already! I just adore the swoopiness of them! my former mixing bowl jones was for this one polka dot fire king bowland that is a gorgeous pattern of china, Andie. that you have--do you ever go whole hog and use as many pieces as possible? it would look stupendous. I have a beautiful classic set of white china with a gold greek key design that I inherited but I've never used it--although I would use yours if i had it because the colors are so lovely. I do use my Great Aunt Zoe's silver tthough--I have tons of pieces of that--even fish knives and the like--but since I don't do eight course dinners I've never used all of it, either. Z

jeez, Grovite--now after seeing those fab bowls I have a new Holy Grail to lust after--thanks a lot!!!!! Zoe

I grew up in a house of cake mixes and Crisco--and immediately spurned all of this when I learned about good food. Fast forward--I do love good food still--pure and fresh and elemental--BUT you can't beat some of the cake mix and convenience food desserts--I was just at a southern funeral gathering --fried chicken!!! But I also tasted pretzel salad--omigawd--it is so delicious--my friend told me it's ground pretzels, strawberry jello, strawberries and something horrifically creamy and colorific--it was heavenly--washed down with sweet tea--I want the recipe!!! And recently i was whipping up 2 batches of chocolate chip cookies and 1/2 way though realized I was short on butter--and margerine--used 1/2 butter flavored Crisco I had in the back of the pantry--those cookies are the best chocolate chip cookies ever--I would bet you could win a prize at the State Fair for them.

we eat it now because it's so much better for you--it's ok--I prefer a delicious thai jasmine rice to any other rice and could probably live on it pretty easily. that said--get the best quality brown rice you can--we get it at the Asian grocer--what ever looks the nicest--a tip--if it has a little green at one tip that seems to translate into better rice--this is just from my experience--no proof of this. actually I made a quick fried rice with some leftover brown rice with a couple eggs and some veggies the other day for lunch and it was delicious. Zoe

I, too, heard that piece, and I thought it was charming--and a textbook example of the peculiar way that foods evolve--who would have ever thought that cheezewhiz was originally added to the steak because of Kosher customers!!! I, being a former food snob, always thought whiz was kinda low rent, and turned my nose up at it--only wanting provolone on my steak sammich--mea culpa! Zoe

Mark, I, too love curries--I ordered Pad Thai before which is also a standard fav for me and i liked it--that lunch buffet gives me something to look forward to the next time I visit (you know, families---arrrgggh) Zoe

Markinhouston said unfortunately my Mom's fav restaurant is Johnny Rocket !!??!! But I will remember your picks--I think my sister and I got takeout from that Thai restaurant--is it very pretty? I remember banquettes with bronze silk-like vinyl padding that i thought was pretty snazzy. And the food WAS good. Zoe

thanks, I will on my next visit. And I've been to Amerigo's and didn't think it was too wonderful for the price. Zoe

"Zoe, might I also snag the Moosewood lowfat as well? " sure , PM me with your address and the Minimalist is taken, too. Z

I've got these cookbooks to offer to a good home or homes Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites Off The Eaten Path (the surreal goumet) Bob Blumer The Minimalist Cooks at Home --Bittman Zoe

had a moment of serendipity today--decided I HAD to have a Peugeot peppermill again--ours disappeared a while ago--it was a little one and probably got thrown out in the middle of a big pile of veggie trimmings or something...and we've been using stopgap mills --I'm ashamed to say a disposable one from Costco (which is pretty neat, actually, but the peppercorns are crap) anyway, looked online for prices, checked ebay out and saw some possibilities and then headed out for the thrift--and spotted a brand new wooden Peugeot in light wood--I think 8"--for $2!!! Zoe

so these aren't chains and they are good? Reasonable prices? My mom lives in the Woodlands and I go crazy when I visit--it seems every place is a restaurant that you could be anywhere in the US. Zoe

we were so excited to have some good bbq that we drove over Monday night--duh! It was closed--but maybe trying again tonight. And if you are coming from the east and have time , get off 78 at rt 31, go north on 31 til you hit 57 in Washington , and go left--it's maybe a 6 or 7 mile drive, but it's all country--cornfields and strange little stores and clusters of houses too small to be a town--it hasn't changed in 30 years--I love it! Zoe

oh, double good luck with your joint!! I'll be following the progress. Zoe

thanks, Toliver, dear! Z

we've been taken there a few times and I'm not going to discuss the food, but the bigger problem was the ambience--the hostess--maitresse d'?--was NJ snooty--the service perfunctory--now I don't want to be best friends with the staff, but I do like to be made comfortable--Union Square Cafe's service is a perfect example of being welcoming without being overly chummy. You can go right down 22 to Ixora for a lovely experience--excellent French Japanese in the Nobu style , discreetly friendly service, a pretty dining room and it's BYO --you can have a great celebration dinner for around $100.

ooh--looks good--didn't know about this place. dang, I was just over in Easton a few days ago and could have eaten there--thanks for the tip I will be visiting there shortly. And you went on your bike? it's always nice to see a bunch of bikes in front of a BBQ joint--adds to the ambience!!!

I've been scratching my head over this one, too--seems like an oxymoron. unfortunately there is no definition of what "natural" means--the FDA doesn't regulate the term--the way they regulate "organic" so a manufacturer is free to call anything natural--they can write up the blurb justifying the term, and most people won't question it. I have a small soap and toiletries business and I define natural as being as close to as found in nature as possible--but others clearly don't. I'd call HFCS as close to natural as polyester--after all oil is natural when in the ground, isn't it?

hehehe--there are a lot of these around, I agree--I belong to a thrifting e-list and a lot of the people there find and collect neat mugs, so i look at mugs and do mostly see Campbell's ones or promo ones for obscure tech businesses or drugs (NJ is a big pharmacological state). lately the kitchen pickens have been slim--but did get four small pottery bowls-- .50) that look like grapefruit --inside and out--perfect for morning yogurt. also four OXO stainless steel utensils--$1 ea--spatula, slotted and regular serving spoons, and ladle. oh, and a couple stainless steel saucepans for my MIL who burns pans constantly. speaking of cookbooks--is anyone interested in doing a cookbook exchange? I always pick up cookbooks, keep them around for awhile and then move them out--donate them back usually--but it would be fun to exchange cookbooks, too.

Best wishes on getting out safely and quickly to Anthony and crew--before the blender drinks run out, preferably! Just saw on TV this AM that there are 25,000 Americans in Lebanon--this is going to be some airlift! About the Decoding Adrian Ferria on Half.com--it looks like there wasn't an option to list it as a DVD and the sellers listed it as a book. OK, it's better to buy from a bookstore and an independant one, at that, but there is nothing inherently wrong with buying a used book--this is an ancient trade and an honorable one. Z

it took even me, who lives less than 10 minutes away, til now --we finally got there for lunch today--had a very good meal. They did a lovely job with the decor--retained the old time features--tin ceiling, old bar, the meat cases and counter at the rear. comfortable, plain chairs, wood tables--really a pleasant place--sort of bistro-ish--the waitperson had a long white apron on, white shirt and black pants--I love that look. the only jarring note was crappy music playing--easy listening pop or something--that lowered the atmosphere big-time. we got the plainest food from the lunch menu-- wanted to see how they were doing things before splashing out on fancier stuff. The hub got a cheeseburger--it was huge and really delicious, he said--a good bun, not the standard hamburger bun, really fab french fries--skin on, thin and lots of crunch. My mom got quiche--it was ham, cheese and asparagus--she liked it--the crust looked excellent--very flaky--it might have had some whole wheat flour--it looked a little darker than a white pastry crust. She and I had delish hand made potato chips on the side, and a small salad--and the chips are great--like the ones you get at Union Square Cafe--paper thin, peppery and crunchy--it would be dangerous to work there and have these available at will. The salad was a nice little mesclun salad with a good dressing--may have had sherry vinegar, good olive oil, maybe some onion or shallot and some herbs--excellent. I got a BLTA--(avocado was the A) the waitress advised that the tomatoes were not the real good summer ones yet, but they were ok--great bacon--thick and tasty, boston lettuce, really creamy ripe avocado, artisanal white bread--just delicious. Now i can't wait to go back and try all the other neat stuff--several different ways of doing mussels--with the frites on the side, the cheese and charcuterie plates--there's lots of interesting fare on the menu--I hope they do well--it is wonderful to see unfussy, careful cooking with top quality ingredients at my back door!