tommy

oh i know nackersl. i was just joshin'.

you're much more attractive. of this i'm sure. but you gotta admit, your emotional plea was a little over-the-top.

NJ, for one. the reality is, bars have seen a drop-off in business since the law was introduced. while one could argue it was due to a variety of factors, the fact remains that they are hurting. i'm assuming everything will level out eventually. on the flip side, outside bars seem to be booming.

what i was pointing out was that just because you know one friend who has cancer doesn't mean that second hand smoke caused it. the lungs act as a very good filter for those around smokers. they should be thanking the smoker. i'm not sure what you're getting at with this point, though. perfume does the same to me.

yeah, another restaurant that will most likely be completely useless to me .

i find it hard to believe that a mountain of food was ordered. i haven't been following the SARS thing very closely, but is it actually impacting a restaurant in NJ?!?!?! that's not good.

uhhhh, doubtful.

that's a big loss for all of us. his restaurant's departure will leave a void. best wishes to everyone there.

i know a hundred people who grew up with smoking parents. none are in chemo. presenting assumption as fact doesn't advance ones argument, and it's a tactic often used in emotional discussions like this one.

please to say 'hi' to their website.

i'm not sure there are any hard facts and numbers on how much second hand smoke is costing the government and healthcare per year. in fact, i know there aren't. i'd be more than happy to read some, though, as i don't like paying for other peoples' hobbies.

it's sunday. as usual i skipped breakfast and immediately started planning lunch when i arose from my hungover stuper at 10.30 am. after seeing Bittman's bit on lamb burgers in the NYT last week, please oh please click me, and then glacing through Food & Wine to see another version, i decided that it must be time. mixed the lamb with onion, parsley, mint, rosemary, and garlic. grilled and served on an onion brioche with raita, sliced red onion, and lettuce. every breakfast should be like this.

there have been a few discussions on tipping on wine. i'll try to find them. as one might expect, there are pretty strong feelings on both sides. here's a bit. a bit more here.

i'm cutting back on red meat. and i find i mostly miss good burgers, rib eye, strip, hangar, and skirt. and probably all others as well.

tablecloths cost money. Rent and utlilities the same at a fine dining restaurant as they are at McDonald's. I'm going to work under the assumption that you've never run a restaurant smarm. First of all, you can't make that statement with any degree of accuracy because fancy restaurants vary in shape, size and location. are you referring to my comment? ediot: upon review, i can't imagine that you are, although you've shocked me before.

tablecloths cost money.

words cannot describe how shocked i was to see that this thread was already a year old. oh dear.

Thank you. but claire, we were all saying that all along!

so smokers' homes *do* stink of smoke. there goes that theory. and, i think people often smoke when (because they're) around other smokers. the fact that there might be nonsmokers around is a red herring.

what bar? (restaurant?) back to the topic of smokers smoking at home vs. at bars. yes, certainly many smokers don't smoke at home or in their cars. however, i'm having a hard time drawing a direct parallel to smoking at home vs. smoking at a bar. it's not one or the other. i overheard a waitress telling a customer (yesterday) that they couldn't smoke outside as the place had an awning. i'm not sure how accurate that is, but i'm curious. additionally, at least 2 servers served the table (while smoking) before a 3rd came up about an hour later and laid down "da law." hopefully we'll be seeing some consistency in the rules in the near future, otherwise there might be hard feelings.

docsconz, i understand the misunderstanding. it was definitely my intention to be sweeping and broad, in the spirit of how these discussions generally go. however, if i think that "all california chards are 'the same'" then that's my opinion. however, it should be clear in reading this thread alone, not to mention others in which i've participated, that i have a bit more experience and knowledge to make such an outrageous statement without my tongue in my cheek just a little. and, i don't dislike california chardonnays. i dislike any wine that is overly oaked. in my experience, that includes, but is not limited to, many many new world chardonnays.

i pretty sure that no one who has contributed to this thread so far is so ignorant as to lump all of *anything* together.

nice job. just as coffee and milk go together better than coffee and OJ, oak and lactic acids go together better than oak and malic acids. lactic acids (like milk) oddly enough to not go well with malic acids (OJ). yuck. milk and OJ are just not good together. Your hypothesis doesn't make sense when it comes to wine since malic acid is converted to lactic acid as part of malolactic fermentation. which part doesn't make sense? i was extending the parallel, and at the end simply saying that milk and OJ don't go well together.

i find that if you gag and tie up people, and put them in your trunk, you'll have little problem getting them over just about any state line. he said, inanely.

i'm man enough to admit that my mother-in-law recently purchashed the "Whisk Grip & Flip EXPRESS". since there were 2 in the box, i'm happy to report that i'm now the proud owner of the Whisk Grip & Flip EXPRESS. just as you all probably assume already, i've thrown out all of my kitchen clutter (tongs, whisks, spatuals, and strainers, which are now "obsolete"). this thing has "made complex tasks easy, and is dishwasher safe." it's also great for baking, straining, serving, tossing, and more! did i metion it's a silly piece of shit?