Wilfrid

Good. But please be sure to tell him I don't have the floppy, soft bendy ones.

Interesting: I have eaten much sepia and many albondigas, but never the two together! I endorse the duck with pears, of course, and the razor clam recommendation. The latter have actually been appearing on fashionable New York menus this year, but no visit to Barcelona is complete without a bunch of them thrown on a grill. I had a bad start with offal in Barcelona when I first went there around eleven or twelve years ago. My horizons were not as broad then as they are now (nor was my Spanish as good), and I chose something from the meat section of a menu without knowing what it was. I was served an entire, barely charred calf's head, simply cut in two with a cleaver. Brain present and correct. I fiddled around pathetically looking for something edible., thought I'd found some meat, pulled it away with my fork, and discovered I was lifting the lip to reveal the calf's shining teeth. I can now take such things in my stride, but it was a bit disarming back then. I remember excellent braised pig's feet in an old restaurant just off the Ramblas (I think it's called Don Juan?). The local version of blood sausage has a little rice added for ballast; it's excellent and available as a tapa almost everywhere. It's also easy to get a plate of tripe stewed with tomatoes (tripe: maybe the most underrated food in the world). For serious offal fans, La Boqueria, and indeed any of the big markets, feature huge stalls devoted only to offal. Here you can choose not just tripe, but differently configured tripe from the various stomachs of various animals. On several of my trips to Barcelona, I have made a point of staying in an apartment (or apartment-hotel) just to have a kitchen. This has allowed me to cook some of the great market produce. And yes, let's not forget the big, plump calves' testicles - readily available, and another underrated foodstuff. Hmm, not sure I've had those little white snails either. Clearly still some eating to be done!

In my experience, the best all-round restaurant in Santo Domingo is an old-timer called Vesuvio on the Malecon. An ambitious French restaurant recently opened in the Zona Colonial, but I haven't gotten to it yet (and I've lost the name). El Meson de la Cava had disappointing cuisine, despite the drama of the underground setting. La Bricciola and Fonda de la Ataranza were similarly pretty but gastronomically unremarkable. Can anyone suggest places I should try (and if anyone has suggestions for any restaurants at all in Sosua or La Vega, please don't hold back)? If anyone is planning a first-time trip to Santo Domingo, please let me know here, and I will happily give recommendations at both ends of the price range.

Please don't be offended if I paraphrase the Fat Guy here, but you describe the remedy as fool-proof, and - as Mr Shaw would say - "I'm trying to figure out whether you have enough hangover experience to make that judgment. " God knows, I have endured hangovers of every different shape and size over the years, and I find it hard to believe non-prescription headache pills, even with cold water, will cure a real monster. I don't recall having tried Excedrin, but I have certainly tried paracemtal, tylenol, panadol and many others in various quantities. Is there something specific about Excedrin that makes it effective? Also, what kind of hangovers are we talking about? Excedrin may work for a moderate headache, but what about the kind of blinding hangover that keeps you pinned to the bed for twelve hours, practically unable to move your head? If you could give me some idea of the scope of your experience on Excedrin, I'll certainly put it on my shopping list. I expect I'll get a chance to try it between now and New Year.

Global knives v my knives? I have confirmed that the Global range were indeed designed by Komin Yamada. The particular example you posted actually looks different from the chef knife in my set: the blade is a different shape both at the tip and at the underside nearest the handle; also, the length to width ratio looks different. But I have to say, my knives aren't bendy. At all. I mean, if you took hold of the tip of the blade, very carefully, and applied pressure, you would have great difficulty bending it. Sounds like you have experienced much softer versions. (Edited by Wilfrid at 4:46 pm on Nov. 26, 2001)

I knew I should have resisted this thread. I have standard knives? How boring. Actually, I may not have. These are not soft; I have tried knives with flexible blades before, and I don't get on with them either. These are rigid. I was hesitant about the absence of a bolster, but I am getting used to that.

I thought I would start a new thread, as I am specifically interested in Barcelona, not Spain in general. I have visited Barcelona some twelve or thirteen times, so I will make some recommendations for Danielle and anyone else interested. I am going again at the beginning of February, and hopefully some good tips will get posted on this thread in the meantime. Barcelona basics: My strong view is that, although Barcelona has some good restaurants, it is a better city for casual eating/tapas and food shopping than fine dining. Bux is absolutely right about the wonderful food markets, such as La Boqueria. Extra tip: not only are there good casual restaurants around the perimeters of the markets, there also tend to be bars right inside. Choose a good location, climb up on a stool, and you have a drink and a slice of tortilla while watching the extraordinary shopping rituals in comfort. Free (or cheap) show for foodies. The restaurants which always get listed in the tourist guides are predictable, okay-ish, but not the best the city has to offer. Examples: Amaya, Los Caracoles, Agut d'Avinyon, and Gambrinus. I haven't been to the famous fish restaurant Botafumeiro. Set Portes is an honourable exception; a landmark restaurant, it is now heavily used by tourists (but still by locals too). It is scattered with memorabilia and promotional gimmicks, but I have always found the food to be fine. The paellas are famous, but I also recommend their simple meat dishes - roast, kid and roast rabbit especially. If it is your first visit, don't plan on having dinner much before ten o'clock. Sure, you'll easily get a table before ten, but you'll be eating either by yourselves or with tourists. The locals get very busy between about eleven at night and three in the morning (or later). Locals are used to eating a number of tapas, then going off to dinner. My preference was to alternate: spend some evenings eating tapas freely, reserving other evenings for restuarant experiences. What else? Non-violent petty crime is back in bucketloads. Keep all valuables concealed, and don't let yourselves be surrounded by gypsy flower sellers or any other odd-looking groups. I should emphasise, that I have always found it a safe city when it comes to personal safety, and will walk most areas at night without hesitation. The Barri Xines (Barrio Chino) is an exception. Go by all means, but make sure you know where you're going and don't hang around. Specific recommendations you might not pick up from guides: One of my favorite restaurants in the world is Ateneu Gastronomic (http://www.ateneu.com/index22.html). Carefully sourced local produce, obsessive recreation of Catalunyan cuisine, superb (and cheap) local wines. Restaurants in Spain barely mark up their wines, meaning you can often pick from the best on the list for the equivalent of around ฮ or ุ. For tapas, the nearer you are to the Ramblas (and indeed the Plaza del Rey), the more expensive and less interesting the tapas will generally be. Walking south from the Plaza de Catalunya, there's a big seafood tapas bar on your right; it's pricy, but the quality is high. Search the side streets or the less-touristed parts of town; it's easy to get an idea of the selection by peering through the window. I recommend El Portalon if you can find it (anyone - let me know if you're really interested, and I'll hunt down the address). It's an old-style bar, deep in the Barri Gotic. In addition to cheap, rough wine straight from the barrel, they serve tasty, authentic tapas: snails, deep-fried artichoke hearts, blood sausage, cuttlefish, as well as all the usual suspects. They also serve the Catalunyan version of paella, known as fideu, with vermicelli replacing the rice. El Xampanyet is indeed in the guides, but is worth singling out. Get there at opening time if you can (around 6.30/7) not just to drink the local artisanal cider (which is okay) or cava (which is distressingly sweet) but to eat the delicious little open sandwiches which are spread out on the bar (catalan sausage; tuna and pimento; anchovy; tortilla; etc) or order canned seafood tapas. I am not joking - they have every kind of wonderful little sea thing canned in oil, from sardines and anchovies to baby squid and cockles. If you're drinking, don't miss Bar Pastis on Carrer Santa Monica. Go late for a digestif, and run the bizarre (but essentially unthreatening) gauntlet of over-sized transvestite prostitutes before diving gratefully through the door of this tiny, 1940s-style French bar. Piaf, Trenet, Ricard - you get the picture. What I am looking for, if anyone can help, is suggestions for good restaurants which are not on the regular tourist track. Thanks in advance.

Dylan Thomas used to open a couple of bottles of beer before retiring, leave them on his bedside table, then drink them down fast immediately upon waking. And we know what happened to him. I recall from my misspent youth that most recreational drugs, not only that which is in a bong, ease the pain. A handful of valium also works. "Hair of the dog" is certainly a common expression in the UK for treatment which is perhaps more precisely described as "staying drunk".

I never planned on shopping at the MOMA Design Store for chef's knives, but I did need some new knives badly and I stumbled across a large discount (20%) for a set of three knives by Komin Yamada. Managed to cut myself on one of them while trying them for heft and balance in the store, but concealed the wound by jamming one hand casually into my pocket. So far, they're great. I am a keen butcher, and I have enormously increased my speed and efficiency at dismantling large and small birds with the chefs knife. The vegetable knife, when held delicately with both hands and used with a guillotine motion, produces very finely minced onions, herbs, etc. Take a look (if this doesn't work, they're under cutlery at the moma.org online store): http://www.momastore.org/is-bin/INTERSHOP....AAADov92k%2eGFS Otherwise, I find it hard to give clear Fat-Guy-approved specs for the knives I like, as they have just kind of accumulated over the years. For the same reason, I am not going to embarrass myself by listing a bizarre motley of pots and pans on the other thread! (Edited by Wilfrid at 1:46 pm on Nov. 26, 2001)

Sad about Les Halles. I am afraid it's so popular that it is absolutely normal to be seated that way. The food is sufficiently good for me to tolerate the treatment occasionally.

My Russ & Daughters recommendation is easily paired with Ruby's suggestion of Katz's. The two locations are minutes apart on Houston. Gorge in Katz's. then shop in Russ's. I have done it myself and have the girth to prove it.

Well she seems to have liked the food. I think the building looks spectacular - hence my original interest in the restaurant. Sounds worth a try.

If you want to shop for your own spread, you can't go wrong with Russ & Daughters on Houston. Long established family business, huge selection of fish (they usually have six or seven different kinds of smoked salmon alone), fresh bagels and other breads. They also have a big selection of Middle Eastern (I suppose?) candies, and some nice cheese.

It is indeed, and very unpleasant too. But they serve it at Eight Mile Creek in SoHo if any Manhattanites want to try it. Coffee? I find unground beans often disappoint, and I suspect some stores just keep them too long. Ready ground, might I suggest a Puerto Rican brand such as Bustelo. Powerful, rich, and not overpriced.

The FAA's official list of prohibited items (which is at their website) is indeed curious. Pool cues are banned. for example, but not pool balls, which in a strong sock make a much more dangerous weapon. Squash rackets are out, although I find it hard to imagine doing much damage with one. Still, I expect they're doing their best. Gee, what was this thread about?

A "smidge" of trouble? Some stats. At a glance, this thread is the longest on any of the current e-gullet boards. In fact, it is more than twice as long as almost every other thread. A couple of exceptions: the comparatively trivial topic of Chef of the Century is standing at 58 posts; a thread on the UK board about the Observer Monthly stands at a slightly creepy 61. My personal view is that three credible solutions to the issue have emerged: (1) Forget about it (which I think is Mr Shaw's view; (2) Tell them how many bottles you want (put much more neatly by Ruby); and (3) Don't touch the stuff (my own approach). Doubtless I oversimplify. I wonder if there are more solutions to be found? In any case, I think we should keep going until there have been 1000 views. I must start drinking this water stuff. (Edited by Wilfrid at 12:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2001)

Yes, same goes for my chefs knives, which I had previously happily carried in my hand luggage.

Oof, many thanks again, and I certainly have my work cut out for the holiday. I score my self one point for using Crisco. I managed that. I swear I can't remember if I use the stove top or oven method when seasoning; I'm clearly not obsessed enough. Unfortunately, life not being perfect, the Significant Other was caught introducing soapy water to the pan within minutes of it appearing in the apartment. She was trying to be helpful. Naturally, I swept her abruptly aside with a foul curse, reclaimed my purchase, and got into a silly argument. But some damage might have been done at that stage. I tried Jason's #### hot method last night, as it was easy for me and only created risk to other people in the apartment. When I went to bed, the pan was still too hot to examine the results very carefully. I will print out the other instructions here, and peruse them carefully. At least I know I am building myself up through the extra iron intake. I can cut back on the Guinness. Thanks!

Not meaning to beat this to death, I looked 'em up in Larousse last night. The American English translation of Larousse defines quennelles as dumplings. It would be intersting to know what the French original says. But the real reason for prolonging the discussion is that, according to Larousse, quennelle is derived from the German knodel (there would be an umlaut over that "o" if I could figure out my keyboard). So I have learnt something.

Very useful indeed. I was ignorant of the need to heat it up every time after cleaning it. This is not going to go down well with my significant other, who already thinks a pan which is too heavy to lift, too big to store anywhere, and can't go in the dishwasher, was an unwise purchase. I am going to sear a double size, two-month-aged French venison chop on it tonight, and I'll apply your solution. Thanks again.

I have an irresistible mental image of a Babbo full of e-gulleters, glugging down their first bottle of water, then scowling at the waitstaff as if to dare them to bring more. I hope you enjoy the meal, as well as your secret mission

I bought a huge cast iron skillet, with a lid, a couple of months back. I thought I seasoned it correctly. I boiled water in it, scrubbed it out, and lined it with oil. Prior to cooking with it, all appears to be as it should be. After cooking, however, when I wipe the pan down, I get black grime from the cooking service. the more I wipe, the more grime I get. The food isn't coloured or tainted, but of course it might well be poisoning me. I would appreciate any advice, and if I am about to be struck by toxic shock, please tell me gently.

I am not sure why dumblings have to be 'coarse'. Still, I'll settle for being 'technically correct'.

Yes, I 'cheat' too by adding a sweetener. Redcurrant jelly makes sense, but to be honest I sometimes just plonk in some brown sugar. But I have different problem. I can make a well-flavoured red wine reduction, but have difficulty making it in quantity. Whatever amount of wine I start off with, by the time I get it to the right consistency there's little more than a few tablespoons left. Any ideas gratefully received.

I try to get into Sheekey's most times I come to London, and it's getting to be a hard ticket, like the Ivy. I wouldn't have thought it possible to take old-fashioned English fish cuisine - with a menu like Wheeler's circa 1956 - and make it exciting and glamorous. I strongly recommend it - they even serve 'savouries' - cod roe on toast with capers, welsh rarebit, etc. Another nice touch: good wine in 50cl jugs. And you can eavesdrop on some extraordinary conversations among celebs/journalists/ politicians. (Edited by Wilfrid at 10:10 am on Nov. 19, 2001)