Dave the Cook

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Sure you can. I've even just put a small fire at one end of the big box and grilled over it before or after a hot-smoke session -- it depends on what temperature you're smoking at. You can even cold smoke using the smaller box (you might have some trouble doing it in the current weather conditions, but fall through early spring, you'll be fine). The larger box is an excellent grill on its own.

Not to get cranky on you, but if you scroll back up to my earlier post (here) and follow the link, you'll find something very similar for much less money. I'm still seeing these in Kroger stores for -- depending on which one you're at -- for $100 to $150.

Instant grits are the work of the devil. Instant cheese grits are too foul for words. Fortunately it's not too hard to find decent normal grits. I get mine at DFM, where you'll find them in the aisle with the pasta and flour (look in the back left corner of the "U" shaped aisle). I can't remember the name, but they're fine. And while I'm at it, don't ask about putting sugar in cornbread. That's corn cake, not cornbread. ← No self-respecting southerner uses instant grits (according to my assistant, who, being that rare thing -- a native Atlantan -- is also my gold standard for practical southern foodways. She says instant grits "taste like poo"), but a lot of them use quick-cooking grits. Read the labels carefully and you'll see them -- just about everyone who makes one makes the other. That's not to say that quick-cooking grits are acceptable; it's to say that southerners, like most everyone else, is susceptible to the argument of convenience over quality.Luckily, as a patron of Kroger, you have another choice. Go to the natural foods section, and seek out "Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits (also known as Polenta)." They're not made in the south (I think they're from Oregon), and they're not white (you'll get some static about this; ignore it), but they're very decent. You can get Logan Turnpike Mill grits at DFM, and they're better -- but not by as much as Bob's are better than Quaker Quick.

At lease 99% of the mansions in Dunwoody are new, not old. Until the late '60s, most of it was a single farm owned by the Spruill family. What's left of their spread is the Farmhouse Tea Shoppe, which does events, and is probably worth checking out. I'm not sure if they do alcohol, though. There's another old house on the east side of Ashford-Dunwoody Road, just north of Perimeter Mall. I recall that they do events, but I can't remember if it's a food-related facility, or a place where you'd have to have a caterer bring in comestibles. Unfortunately, I also can't remember what it's called, but maybe someone else will. (It also might be a completely bogus memory.) If you're willing to forego historical authenticity, there are a couple of restaurants on a nice lake -- again, just north of Perimeter Mall. One is a chain (Brio), but it seems like the other is something else. Again, my memory fails me, and I call on other members to help out.

If you want to do both smoking and grilling, it's worth checking this out. If you run down to the Kroger where you lost your kids, there's a good chance you'll find one (the grill, not one of the kids), fully assembled, for $100. It's a tiny bit less sturdy than a Weber, but it's more versatile (unless you're snowangel), and has some nice touches like height adjustment, cast-iron grates, a huge cooking surface, and the ability to hot-smoke and grill at the the same time.

. . . you could care less about slkinsey, johnder or his incredibly lovely wife. You don't even care all that much about Sneakeater's date. You just want to know what they all had to drink at Pegu Club.

Good call, Mel. Barton G is his destination. According to the press release: Further down:

What, no photos?

I think we need to know more about the pork chops: thick, thin, loin or rib? I am apprehensive with them, too, but I've increased my satisfaction level considerably by employing different techniques for different cuts.

Excellent advice.

If you really have to stay in Midtown, your choices are pretty limited: Fat Matt's is about it. If you can stretch the boundaries a bit, Pig-N-Chik is a step up, and easy to get to (both locations are on main arteries). Great expectations are not your friends, though, for any of these places. If you want decent stuff, you'll have to go outside the Perimeter.

Michael Laderman (aka Pan), long-time New York forum host and Society manager, is stepping down. Michael's hard work and tireless dedication was inspiring; we hope he'll continue to spend as much free time as he can reading and posting on eG Forums. Thank you, Michael.

Marsha Lynch (aka zilla369) will no longer be hosting the Food Media and News forum. We're sad to see her go, and we thank her sincerely for the time, energy and talent she lent to the Society. See you in the forums, Marsha!

Okay. But I want half-credit for Shmuel . Edited to add: might red have something to do with it? But are you sure you're not confusing a Latin root with a Greek?

Are you saying you never watched Saturday Night Live? Yeah, but we're usually there on Sunday -- a dilemma you've covered already. Would it have something to do with sugar type and content?

I'm guessing Dave the Cook can describe the scene in detail. Or maybe I'll just rent the movie tonight, as my husband's going out to play poker. ← I knew pretty quickly which song therese was asking about, but I don't think it's in the movie, either. We'll have to wait for therese's report tomorrow, I guess. Absolutely wait until you happen to walk past one . . . and then keep walking past it. ← On my way to something worth the trouble, no doubt. ← Orange Julius is never a destination. It's a happen-stance, waiting for you in the mall as you walk by. When I was a kid we used to try and make our own Orange Julius at home using vanilla ice cream and orange juice. It was more like drinking a 50-50 Bar or Orange Creme popsicle. Still, it was very good... ← For those who venture way outside the Perimeter, there's an Orange Julius in the food court at Mall of Georgia. where you can often find my 15 year-old son and me running the sample gauntlet after the movie matinee. As Zak says, it's worth a taste, but you wouldn't actually want to pay money for a whole serving (which, I'm proud to say, is his reaction to pretty much everything in the food court). It's kind of sad that the traditional vegetable plate gets overlooked among all the talk about fried chicken, shrimp and grits, barbecue and the like. As therese says, it's the most traditional of the dishes on the Watershed menu. And like salmon croquettes, though it's identified as Southern, what it really is is rural -- both dishes were staples at my grandmother's table in Indiana farm country.

In fact, Jake did order four fried chickens (not that I'm obsessive about the movie or anything). As for the song, I believe it mentions several food items, doesn't it?

Orgeat syrup?

Tim Hayward will no longer be hosting the UK forum. We're sorry to see him step down, but he'll be continue to be active on eG Forums, and we can expect to see his byline with greater frequency, not only in the UK press, but in the Daily Gullet as well. Many thanks, Tim.

We published Artful Dining in conjunction with a current exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500–2005. Not coincidentally, the most recent eG foodcast is a walk through the exhibit with Darra Goldstein. Discussion topic of the foodcast is here.

With great regret, we announce that Marlene Newell is stepping down from her duties as chief administrative officer of the eGullet Society. As anyone who knows Marlene, that greatly understates her contribution: she was also personnel director, co-head of eG Forums, co-host of the food media and news forum, host of last resort for any number of other forums, and took on other tasks too numerous to mention, including being surrogate mother to a large portion of Society staff. Her talent, acumen and fortitude will be greatly missed. We wish her all the luck in the world, even as we expect her to continue to contribute great content to eG Forums, and continue as a valued member of the Society board of directors.

I wish I'd read this before sitting down with a Hemingway daiquiri. Either I'm going to have to rationalize the situation, or have a second cocktail. Maybe both.

I think color is a red herring. Let's find out what you've really got. Go back to Shelora's formula and see what the result is. Then we'll know.

Well yeah, though that's based, I think, on agricultural neccessity, and not on any substantive difference between white and yellow corn. Besides, I think we've pretty easily found mis-labeling of dried hominy as grits. Do you think that a producer that would do that would blink at a few nanometers on the color spectrum?