Shermar

I second Wegman's for the shopping. For a drink and a snack, check out Alchemist & Barrister on Witherspoon Street. There is a pub room in the back (reached by the alley on the side). They have a very good nacho plate with chicken, black beans, and andouille sausage. For seafood try Big Fish in the Marketfair mall on Rte. 1.

I just returned from a weeklong visit to the San Francisco area. We only had one day to spend in Napa(a Friday) so we just visited one winery. Cakebread was on my list too but there was a time conflict. We booked a vineyard tour at Niebaum-Coppola. The estate includes the Inglenook Chateau and FFC's movie museum as well. After a detailed tour of the vineyard we(6 people) had a tasting of four wines with bread and cheese. We started chatting with some locals in the wine business and ended up spending most of the day there. On their recommendation, I also bought some excellent garlic olive oil. We finally staggered off to Pere Jeanty around 4pm and enjoyed spectacular Steak Tartare. We went to the Ferry Market on Saturday morning. After nibbling through Cowgirl Creamery(Mezzo Seco and Humboldt were outstanding), we sat at the counter at Hog Island Oysters to enjoy fresh Sweetwater Oysters, oyster stew, clam chowder(with whole clams in the shell) and braised oysters. Then we shared a whisky and fennel sausage sandwich(whew!). We brought back sesame glazed walnuts(Alfieri) and chocolate caramel candy with fleur de sel from Recchiuti Confections. The Ferry Market is not to be missed! As Easterners we also had In-N-Out Burger on our list. The french fries(made from potatos sliced in front of us) were terrific. In the Half Moon Bay area we were sent to Ketch Joann's for seafood-casual, inexpensive and good!

Get plenty of rest the night before, just shopping for the ingredients is exhausting. Two people doing the prep will make it go faster. I've done this turkey four times. Do not stuff the bird. Make the stuffing separately. Baste every 15 minutes. Doing a practice run(as you are) is an excellent idea. This is the most labor intensive turkey and the best tasting turkey by far!

Years ago, a new man in my life invited me to his home for dinner. The dining room was fairly spacious with a high ceiling. Two candles on the table were the only lighting. So far so good. He brings the meal out of the kitchen: a veg, white rice and white fish(not sure exactly what type of fish). So far so good. We start eating. I discover that what I thought was filet was instead whole--filled with what seemed like thousands of tiny, needle-like bones. My eyesight is not the greatest, add that to a semi-dark room and a pile of white rice next to the fish...well, it took me about an hour to eat. That was our last "date". I know an assassination attempt when I see one.

That's more like it!

What no Fuddruckers?

An excellent source for prime meats, grilling and roasting tips, recipes etc. Lobel's Recipes

Well we went to Wegman's. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!! Its GIGANTIC!! First, the liquor store--amazing and much better prices than the city! The cafe, the meats, the cheeses, the produce, the utensils, the tableware, the greeting cards, the books, the regular supermarket, the ethnic ingredient section, the lawn furniture, the bread, the pastries, the prepared foods, the seed packets...I could go on and on. Plus they're open till midnight 7 days a week! We had a blast! My Beau hasn't seen me that happy since I moved out here. I'll never totally give up Fairway, Citarella, Agata & Valentina, etc. (25 years in NYC) but now I know I won't starve! I am saving this thread so I can check out the other places you all have mentioned. Thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction!

The family that makes it (Outerbridge)is related to the Revolutionary War period Outerbridge for whom the bridge between NJ and Staten Island is named.

Just the info I needed. I've passed most of those places many times.! Food cruising is probably the best thing to do on a rainy weekend anyway.

Ooooh! I've heard of them! Princeton is only ten minutes away, Thanks

I'm looking for the usual suspects: good cuts of meat, fresh herbs, good produce(apparently news of shallots hasn't reached here) without too long a drive. Otherwise I will just have to shlep stuff out of the city(on the bus!) after work.

Recently I moved in with my Beau in North Brunswick. Since I am a native New Yorker I am used to the specialty shops and places like Fairway where good meats and serious ingredients are easy to come by. Since I moved here(and the Beau isn't a "food" person), I've only been to the big supermarkets. We live on Rte. 27 between Princeton and New Brunswick. Please point me in the right direction.

Apocryphal story: Newlywed wife sends hubby to the grocery store. She puts white potatoes on the shopping list. He returns with everything on the list but potatoes. When asked why he explains," They only had brown ones".

I was at a restaurant in Soho on Sunday afternoon. They turned a blind eye on patrons who carried their drinks out to the sidewalk in order to smoke--a risky business in broad daylight, but then the French owner has always been a rebel. Sidewalk cafes, on the other hand, are allowed to allot 25% of their table to smoking(I think).

Weinermobiles not withstanding... I think Swanson's 1 Pound Hungry Man Dinners should be banned. If someone ate one of those daily for a year, how much would they weigh? Doctors? Nutritionists? Anyone?

I find beer of any kind disgusting. I just can't develop a taste for it. For the ongoing history of ridiculously ghastly adolescent drinking that seems unimaginable to me now: Mad Dog 20-20 Bali Hai Brass Monkey Cherry Kiafa(sp.?) Thank heavens I met Jack Daniels when I was 18 and he was kind enough to escort me through the next 18 years.

I also had a orange juice strainer. I hated all vegetables(cooked in true 1950's fashion-until dead). For years, I swallowed them whole rather than chew them! I never wanted to taste anything new. Dinner was always a war with many an evening spent looking at my plate wishing the food would disappear. If my mother were alive today she would be amazed at all the different foods I eat now.

shermar, did you check out the risotto lesson on fat-guy.com? Yes, I have checked it out. I also have many wonderful recipes that are easy to do. I just don't do it often enough to be relaxed about it.

I set the timer for half of the suggested time. Then I re-set the timer according to how the dish is going.

In 2003 I would like to make risotto often enough that it becomes second nature. I would also like to learn to make a really good meatloaf(something my mother never made).

I used to freqent the Rainbow Bar and your Ritz Cocktail was a part of my Christmas traditions. Nothing since has matched the festive glamour of this wonderful cocktail. Is it being made anywhere in the city these days? I've missed it!

Hear! Hear! Suvir Soupir!

ooooooooooooh! lovely menu! I can't decide between the quail and the boeuf. Perhaps a bit of both?

Leftovers?