Loois

Thanks so much. I hit Strawn's Too twice- it was really close to the hotel. Amazing old school grilled ham & cheese! I had crawfish at Savoie's and a meal at Superior Grill. The chips and salsa were great. I tried to go to the steak place, but they were closed on Sunday. I ate lunch at Cush's Grocery per a friend of a friend. It was so cute and they make a good cupcake. I appreciate the time you guys took to respond. There is nothing worse than being stuck in a strange place and eating terrible food! You saved me.

An unexpected trip finds me in Shreveport Sat 4/3-4/7. I'd hate to be in LA and miss some local food traditions. Any recs in the area?

I have secured the elusive on-line reservation. (On the first try!) Going this Sunday and I had to share it here, because no one else gets how truly exciting this is. For real... I had heart palpitations when I saw I got in.

I do this with garnishes / toppings constantly. Just last night, forgot the perfectly ripe avocado that was supposed to be sliced on top the turkey enchiladas.

My husband is a former chef and we love to entertain at home. Our friends rarely reciprocate because they are "scared", even though he's no longer cooking professionally. Honestly, we are just really happy to be invited to someone's home. We might critique it a bit on the way home, but I bet everyone here does that.

We just moved from Atlanta to NYC and it seems the cherries appear here earlier than down south. I've been buying them from a corner vendor almost daily. My favorite summer dessert- steep a split vanilla bean in port with a little sugar, poach the cherrries in this liquid until it reduces some, then serve over Greek yogurt. I pit the cherries for company, but if it's just me, I skip that step.

Ikea has really nice paper napkins- they almost seem like cloth and they have really cool seasonal designs. from the website: "We have two types of paper napkins. Our normal three-ply napkins have good absorbency. But if you want paper napkins with a fabric feel, choose the ones in packets marked with a fan symbol. They're higher quality and more absorbent, too." http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/serv...813&cattype=sub