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I've found the Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe at David Leite's website to be terrific, big and chewy. Neil

If you're a chocolate lover, the CF now has a special Godiva cheesecake. My friend from Chicago had been raving about it for a while, and when she was here in FL this weekend we both ordered it at the Las Olas branch. Very chocolately yet not too heavy. Neil

I love The Boys! They have a deli and a great selection of produce. They're actually on Military Trail just north of Atlantic Boulevard in Delray Beach, 14378 Military Trail. They also have lots of stuff out for tasting. My favorites are the mozzarella balls in olive oil with sundried tomatoes and basil and the honeybell oranges (or are they tangerines? either way they're very sweet.) There's also a Whole Foods at 1400 Glades Road in Boca Raton-- haven't been to that one, but they do great takeout stuff, including soups, salads & deli. Neil

Hog's Breath is also the name of a bar in Key West-- you see a lot of their t-shirts around South Florida, with the slogan "Hog's Breath is better than no breath at all." When I lived in Albany NY working on a construction site, the guys used to hang out after work at a bar called Your Place. "Hey, where you going after work?" "Your Place."

Yes, I did think the chocolate girl was a dumb trick-- and what's worse, for them, is that I didn't even pay attention to the restaurant's name, so all the trick did was draw attention to the girl, not to the restaurant itself. I have to say, some of the food at the tasting was just horrible-- those cheese balls dipped in pepper went right into the trash after one nibble. I wish more restaurants had listed the menu on the table so you could know what you're eating-- and not waste time waiting for something you knew you didn't like. Neil

Thanks, Bond Girl, for the additional reports on the Friday & Saturday events. Maybe next year my budget will allow for one or more... but I doubt the chefs would flirt with me the way they did with you! As far as any naivete in my report about coffee grinders or anything else, I apologize... I don't pretend to be an expert and hope I didn't make any other errors. Neil

I followed the link to Regina Schrambling's pieces and I have to admit with Steve Klc that she should be called for her table as "Bitter, party of 1." Did anyone else note that little aside at the bottom of the page about how First Lady Laura Bush killed her boyfriend when she ran a stop sign? Maybe Ms. Schrambling will end up on the current administration's list of potential terrorists for that one... and relieve the rest of us of her vitriol. Neil

I must admit that the Cheesecake Factory is one of my very favorite restaurants. It has all the trappings of a theme place-- long wait, mock Egyptian decor, huge menu-- yet the food is almost always great and you gets tons of it. There's a whole page of cheesecakes. My favorites are (in no particular order) chocolate raspberry; chocolate peanut butter cup; and chocolate tuxedo silk (are you sensing a trend here?) among others. The challenge is getting through the meal with enough room for dessert; almost every person you see leaves with a doggie bag. Neil

I think y'all are being a little too hard on the food network. I know a lot of casual food people (myself among them) who like a bunch of programs-- I love The Best of... and Unwrapped, Gale Gand, Mario Batalli, etc. I know the information's being dumbed down for the masses, but I'm quite willing to admit that there's a lot I don't know and am willing to learn. That being said, it would be nice if we could have a range of food programming for experts to beginners, in the way that there's a range of food publications. Neil

I find that the magazine I use most for cooking is Cook's Illustrated, because I like the way they go in depth on a particular topic and tell you all the ways they experimented with getting it right. Also like Saveur a lot because of the cultural connections they make to food (and also because they've published some of my work!). Neil

I'm thinking of going also (I live down here so it's a pretty easy decision) but probably only to the events & tasting on Sunday, as everything else is out of my price range. I went to Aspen last summer and the Grand Tasting was the best part of the whole event. If you get any tips I'd love to hear them! Neil

I love my microplane graters & use them all the time, but I do notice that (being a little clumsy ) I'm always in danger of grating my fingers. I've seen ads for a gadget that attaches and protects the fingers... anyone tried it yet? Is it worthwhile? Neil

I've been buying my parchment paper lately at those home stores like Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens and Things. It's called Mrs. Anderson's, and comes in a 25 sq ft roll for $2.99. And they're always sending out coupons for 20% off a single item... so it's a lot cheaper than buying at the grocery or a specialty store. My favorite holiday cookie (I'm looking forward to it already) is called the Secret Kiss... shortbread balls surrounding a Hershey's kiss. Neil

I love Trader Joe's and keep hoping they'll come south (I live between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.) In the meantime, I have a friend in Connecticut who sends me care packages for birthdays & Hanukkah (which is coming next week... yay!) Love the shortbread thumbprint cookies with chocolate filling, the cats & dogs cookies, the blueberries, the sundried tomato pesto... I could go on & on! Neil

My favorite chicken soup is one from Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking. She's one of my favorite authors (love her fiction as well as her recipes) and the soup is just delicious, with a little lemon juice (there's that citrus again), a beaten egg, asparagus and tiny pasta. Yum! Neil