Katie Meadow

Jaymes, Decatur is like a small college town. Very friendly, safe, full of babies, dogs, etc. My daughter has lived there several years. For breakfast I really like Cakes and Ale, in the square, central Decatur. Really sweet, excellent pastry and coffee, very casual. Iberian Pig is good for a light dinner if you want a drink and a couple of small plates; it is tapas. North of Decatur in Druid Hills on the Buford Highway is a Vietnamese place called Nam Phuong. Nicest people, really good food, and I eat a lot of Viet food here in the Bay Area. It's a bit of a drive from Decatur, but not a bad drive. It's in a nondescript little strip mall, but inside it is warm and friendly. If I was in a rehab facility of any kind that's where I would ask you to get me some takeaway. But then Pho equals comfort food in my mind. There are lots of places to eat in downtown Decatur. And if you are frying in the heat, in the square there's a popsicle cart with all natural fruit pops to pep you up--can't guarantee he's still there!

I just returned from 4 days in NO--first time there. After spending an awful amount of money in NY the week before, we opted for one splurge and mostly dives. The splurge was Cochon and it was totally great. The appetizer ribs were about the best I've ever eaten, and the grilled redfish was simple and amazingly great. There were no reservation to be had the weekend of Mother's Day, but we called the day before and picked up a cancellation. We didn't have a chance to try a lunch from Cochon Butcher, but I am guessing the sandwiches are great. We stayed in the Marigny, which was perfect. We were a half a block from the Cake Cafe and half a block from Mimi's bar. Breakfasts at Cake are wonderful, modestly priced and neighborhood friendly. Mimi's turned out well for an emergency late dinner of small plates. We did go to Cafe du Monde, just because it seemed dopey not to. The secret--at least for me and my impatient husband--is to NOT wait on the absurd line for a table under the big tent, but to go round the back to the take-away window. The line was six people, about 3 minutes. Choice of any and all coffee drinks and piping hot beignets in a bag. There's plenty of bench seating and underutilized space to breath over there on the back side. Very yummy! But I think if I had waited what looked to be at least 45 minutes on a Tuesday morning I wouldn't have been so happy with my breakfast. One of the more appealing sandwiches for me is the crossover of banh mi and po'boy, which really seems like a natural thing, although I've never heard anyone talk about it that way. At a very funky place in Slidell we had crawfish by the pound and a soft-shell crab po'boy that was very much like a banh mi but without the pate. It was excellent. Crawfish were good, but I am glad we didn't order as much as they suggested. At least they seemed good, but I have no experience there. Lotta work. We did not spend a lot of time in the French Quarter, but the heat was getting to me and we slipped into Erin Rose Bar. We got sandwiches to go--this time a crossover with shrimp--also great. And I hit the jackpot with the Frozen Irish Coffee. Basically it's a moderately alcoholic coffee slushy. If I could have tolerated being in the French Quarter any more than once I would have drunk six of those a day. We did have some other modest and very pleasant outdoor meals, but honestly I can't remember what they were. Okay, I'm gonna sneak in a non-food related item: don't miss the Backstreet Cultural Museum. If you are a fan of the HBO show Treme or if you know anything about the Mardi Gras Indian tribe culture it's unique.

From reading many of your posts over the last few years I have an inkling of your baking skills. If YOU can't make edible wheat-free bread no one can.

I was on a wheat-free diet for almost two years. It didn't take long to give up on finding a wheat-free bread that wasn't awful. I found exactly no commercial products--and that includes artisanal bakery "bread"--that was worth eating, so I lived on rice, rice noodles, corn tortillas and granola. I found one recipe for wheat-free pancakes that was very good, but outside of that, all wheat-free stuff tasted slimy, some more, some less, but still. So I just made a life without sandwiches and, god help me, baguettes. I now eat modest amounts of wheat and never take it for granted. Toast is golden.

A wood floor would be softer and warmer than a tile floor, and feel better to bare feet (at least in my mind) than a vinyl or linoleum floor. I have to agree with several posters: barefoot cooking is a risky activity. Underfloor heating is wonderful, but not cheap. Also it isn't a cheap fix when it breaks. Perhaps it is more common on the east coast, but here in the west there aren't that many contractors who install it or maintain it, so do a lot of research before committing.

Elaina, what recipe did you use for the Pastiera? It's beautiful.

I'm partial to two pairings: tomato and pineapple (like on a pizza or an asian soup) and tomato and fresh yellow peach, as in a very simple preparation of alternate slices, with maybe a sprinkling of balsamic or fig vinegar. Both tomato and peach need to be perfectly ripe for it to work well; it occurs to me that a hunk of burrata cheese might be nice with that, but I'm just daydreaming here. I know the tomato-watermelon combo is fairly common, but it isn't my favorite. To my tastebuds yellow watermelon has a more vegetal quality than red, and seeing as I salt both tomato and watermelon, I should try that and see if I like it better. And as for putting chunks of tomato into a mixed fruit salad, I would think...not.

I examined my stash of buckwheat noodles and lo and behold one pack has no salt. There's more variety in these noodles than I would have thought. What does "zaru" indicate? My go-to simplest sauce for noodles is the Momofuku ginger scallion dressing (easy to find on line). Works on hot noodles and room temp noodles. Never tried it on cold, but it's hard to imagine it would be bad. The recipe makes an enormous quantity, so I cut the ingredients by half. And I use less ginger than suggested. Also I don't mince ginger--I find that grating on the microplane or even the box grater makes it juicier and infuses the flavor better. Great on buckwheat or udon and probably on rice noodles as well. Add-ons welcome, like thinly sliced cukes, radish, chopped peanuts, etc.

Udon noodles are also very high in sodium. Recently I've seen some Japanese noodles that are "low sodium" but have not tried them. It doesn't stop me buying them because they are so yummy but I never salt the water when I cook Japanese noodles. I'm not sure I can tell the difference between the soba that has yam as an ingredient and the soba that doesn't. Is there a difference in flavor or texture that you notice?

Spring in NY is just another word for Great NY Noodletown soft shell crabs. They have the biggest juiciest ones ever--they must have a huge turnover. I'm not sure when the season starts, but soon. I'm coming in early May and I'm SO excited! Oh, and if you find yourself at MOMA you can take advantage of the excellent Halal truck on the southwest corner of 6th ave and 53rd St. Order the chicken and rice with white sauce and just a dab of red sauce unless you take your food five-alarm hot.

If your buckwheat noodles were truly wheat-free and you really couldn't tell the difference between them and the typically available ones--which are made partly from wheat--anyone who avoids wheat would like to know what brand they are. For a period of time I was not eating wheat, and I could never find 100% buckwheat noodles. I eat modest amounts of wheat now, and I'm very happy about that, but there was a period of time during which $2.50 per serving would have been a bargain for a noodle that actually tasted like a noodle. (For those who don't know this, buckwheat is not a close relative of wheat and is usually okay for those who are gluten-free.)

Does anyone who frequents this thread make an "English Muffin Bread" loaf? We have tried one so far, and it was very good, but didn't really remind me of the taste of an English Muffin. Just want to be pointed in the direction of a recipe someone swears by. Thanks!

Our recipe is pulled from various sources and has evolved over the years. We've been doing this for many years since we realized that we liked marmalade far better than most jam and that most commercial marmalade wasn't what we wanted it to be--either too solid or too thick-cut or too sweet or too expensive. So this is what we do: Juice the fruit, and measure it and add twice the amount of water. Start heating up in a large heavy pot. Put most of the pips (I usually use about 3/4 of all pips) in a porous cloth bag--basically an old rag tied with sting. I try to add mainly the seeds and as little pith/pulp as possible. Add the pip bag to the juice and simmer 20 minutes. Meanwhile scrape the pith from the rind and cut finely or as you like it (I like it very fine, with no white pith.) After 20 minutes simmering add in the cut peel and continue to cook at a lively simmer 25 minutes. Take out the pip bag and let it cool. Measure the liquid and then put it back into the pot. Add 3/4 cup sugar for every cup of juice. I do sort of squeeze a little extra goop through the pip bag, but then toss out the rest. My marmalade does not get cloudy. The sugar and juice mixture then gets cooked down until the desired temp is reached. We like to pour the marmalade into pint jars when it reaches about 211 degrees. I believe the temp as which you get an ideal consistency (one you like best) is going to vary according to how much sugar you use and how many pips you use, but that's what works for us. Sometimes if we don't get at least 3 1/2 cups of juice from the sevilles at the beginning we will add a little of whatever is at hand--half a grapefruit, a lime, a lemon, whatever. Sevilles have a pretty distinct taste, so a little of some other citrus goes pretty much undetected. Bergamot IS detectable, especially the peel! In my post above I made an error. What I meant was 18-22 half pints total for the year, not pints.

Wow Kerry, that's the most different method from mine that I could imagine. Fp, I wonder if you get better or fresher sevilles in southern CA than we do in the Bay Area. My husband has a theory that as the season winds down the sevilles become less juicy. Last year the crop seemed better than this year. We make 4 batches a year and usually get 18-22 pints, which lasts until the next February, with a few for gifts. In the past we have made a batch or two of marmalade using some bergamot (not too much!) but this year for the first time in years we're not seeing any bergamot around. They are usually available from the very end of December until about mid February, although not easily found. Is there any bergamot in southern CA this year? Just curious. Maybe it was a small crop this year.

I base the ratio on volume, not weight, since sevilles give up varying amounts of juice. Sometimes 4 lbs of oranges will yield as much as 3 1/2 cups of juice. Yesterday we made marmalade and 4.5 lbs of sevilles gave up only 2 1/2 cups. Also the sugar doesn't go in at the beginning for my recipe. We simmer the juice along with twice the quantity of water and most of the pips and cook it down for about 45 minutes (zest goes in halfway). Then we measure the total liquid and use a ratio of 1 cup juice to 3/4 cup sugar, That gets boiled down further until the optimal temp is reached.

Toast. It's what's for dinner. Every toaster has its idiosyncrasies and most of us adjust. It is possible to spend buckets of money on a high tech toaster and still not get the toast you want, because toast isn't a science, it's an art. And ultimately of course the desired result is personal. Plus the fact that every kind of bread toasts in its own particular way. Me, I like toast that doesn't cook too fast or too slow. Too fast usually means dark, but not golden. Too slow often results in too dry, as well as much annoyance, and toast should be a peaceful enterprise, start to finish. Toasting should be like maintaining a good relationship: no fussiness, no hovering, but no negligence either. A healthy breakfast means you love the way your partner makes your toast or you are just as happy to make your own. The new $4 or more slice of toast craze is not news, really, but I found this article linked to from Lottie + Doof to be very touching. If you need your toast and other things very fast, this may not be for you. It's a long and winding road. http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/toast-story-latest-artisanal-food-craze-72676

Most of us who have cut back on salt in the past few years would agree that salt sensitivity is affected by overall consumption. The more you reduce salt in your diet the more restaurant food and processed foods seem too salty. If someone made a pie crust with salted butter I think I would be able to tell. And if I had to cook with a substantial quantity of salted butter I would taste frequently and adjust for the salt. Didn't it used to be more common to purchase salted butter? I grew up with it; I don't think my mother ever considered the difference. If a recipe called for unsalted butter you would have to go out and search for it. Now I use unsalted butter routinely, but every once in a while salted butter seems so right: for instance on rye toast or on a toasted bagel with sweet cream cheese on top of it. My husband hates salted butter, but for me I guess it's nostalgic, which seems weird now that I think about it. Salted butter rarely makes an appearance in my house, and when it does it is usually the result of an accident or someone else buying it, so it seems like a special treat!

Five years ago I bought a Breville Ikon stainless steel electric kettle for my daughter. She used it for a year (with several roommates) and then moved across the country and didn't take it with her. I'm the lucky winner and I couldn't be happier. Before this e-kettle I used a stovetop kettle. My Viking range has a high flame and most likely heats a kettle faster than many stoves, but the Breville is significantly faster. It's a tank, I admit (heavy and industrial looking), but all stainless steel inside and out, minimalist design, not ugly, no bells and whistles except auto shut off after coming to a high boil and it seems built to last. Costs about $70 or $80. I do understand the nostalgia for a stovetop kettle, because I had a beautiful Italian one that I couldn't replace after I wore it out. So if that kind of aesthetics is of primary importance, probably an electric kettle won't measure up, but the only other down side is that it uses counter space. And the older I get the more I know that any appliance without auto shut off adds a risky element to my life, or at least to the appliance. I'm a convert.

Anna, that's the tidiest club sandwich I've ever seen. The toothpick that sticks up is very important, whether or not it has a curly top, although yours is so pretty it deserves a fancy toothpick. Nevertheless, the architect of the club determines whether the poultry is ground level or second floor and the up-end of the toothpick pretty much seals the deal, indicating the maker's preference. Personally however I am in favor of turkey on top, so that it is easier for me to simply remove the middle slice of bread and toss it over onto my husband's plate. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that many people reconstruct a club sandwich as soon as it is served. Clearly the club sandwich will take over any given thread once it gets a claw in the door.

The hotness level of jalapeños seems pretty unpredictable to me, but yes, I agree that they have become tamer, often to the point of being insipid, especially the average super market supply. When I lived in New Mexico during the sixties and early seventies that was not the case. But generally here in CA they are oh so bland. I have found that if I shop at Mi Pueblo, the big hispanic super market, they tend to be hotter, although it varies according to the batch. When I buy them I always buy a few serranos as well, just in case I need them to add heat to the pickle. They are not so predictable, either. As for the end result, if they are hot to begin with when raw, then the pickle will be hot accordingly. I make pickled jalapeños or a mixed pickle with carrots frequently and I'm just resigned to the fact that the heat level is somewhat a factor of chance.

Okay, here's my two cents. First of all, the original post really seemed to be posing a moral question, so I'm gonna back up. Is the donut shop a small mom & pop operation or independently run part of a franchise, or is it inside of a large supermarket? I don't know about where you are, but here in CA most of the standard donut shops are owned by hard woking Cambodians who probably don't see a lot of profit. We are all of us amateur advice columnists, so I say leave well enough alone. If ya like their cronut, or whatever they are calling a cronut, buy and enjoy. If you don't then don't. The world really doesn't need a cronut police any more than it ever needed a cronut. Of course I admit I've never had one and wouldn't know a "real" one from an imposter, but in this case it seems like a little poetic license isn't hurting anyone. Reasonable? I know this doesn't address any legal issues, but where is the offense in all this, really?

I've never done it but here's what I know: Martha Stewart puts plain lightly salted Kettle Chips in the oven 5-7 min "until you can see the oil" and then removes them from the oven and sprinkles them with finely grated hard cheese and paprika. Another recipe I've seen is for BBQ Kettle chips in which you also spread the chips out and bake for about 5 minutes "until you can smell the chips. Remove and sprinkle with salt, sugar and smoked paprika. I would love it if someone else would make them and I could try a few, but somehow I just can't get up the energy to take something that's already salty and greasy and make them more salty and greasy. I could maybe see doing it with just a bit of smoked paprika.

From the video, facing the cooking grill, the line extends out on the right. That would mean it isn't the one on the southwest corner of 6th and 53rd, which is my fave. But the one on the SE corner has had scaffolding over it for a zillion years and wouldn't look so sunny. Unless the scaffolding has been removed. I have great fondness for the Halal Guys. They got me through the last few years of my mother's life. I spent many hours on that line waiting for comfort food.

How about an update on current good eats in Atlanta? It has been almost 2 years since anyone posted on this thread, and that person was me! My daughter and boyfriend have actual jobs now after getting their MPH's but the two of them are almost as frugal as when they were students. Public health has never been about the money, just about the lack of it. My daughter's birthday is coming up, and I thought they might like to be gifted a splurge restaurant. Her horror of expensive eating has abated, at least if someone else is paying for it. What about Woodfire Grill? Anyone eaten there recently? Looks appealing to me, and isn't too far from where they live in Decatur. They like the idea of locally sourced foods, don't really care for white tablecloth dining or excessive noise, and they both are into cocktails and wine. She has worked in food service and can't abide snobby or stuffy waitstaff. Any other suggestions?

Made a b'day dinner (husband and a friend one day apart) for five last night using three recipes from Prune. Apps included the garrotxa with buttered brown bread and salted onion (thanks to my husband for baking a wonderful dark pumpernickel the other day.) Super good! For a main I did the Farmhouse Chicken Braised in Hard Cider (universally praised) with a side of Roasted Beets with aioli. The recipe for aioli is excellent and seems fool proof. The good news is I have practically a full pint of aioli left over. The bad news is I have a full pint of aioli left over. It's been a long time since I had a book with so many recipes calling to me. And no, I did not use leek bottoms for a table decoration--and I never will! But I'm thinking that it would be fun to go to Prune this spring when I come to NY.