Robbie

I have worked at just one tech companies that provided free drinks, and I loved it. We rarely ever started with the drinks before 2 or 3, and usually only got REALLY inebriated when doing a build that requires us to monitor things late into the night. Not sure if its related but that was definitely the tightest team of programmers I have worked with. Also: http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/ballmer_peak.png

I don't know about out-right banning children in restaurants, I have taken my daughter (4) into some of the finest restaurants in Vancouver and it's great because she has an amazing palate, she loves food so much, anytime someone says they don't like something she will relentless hound them to "just try it". She is also extremely well-behaved, due to the fact that for her entire life I have hauled her out to the car anytime she starts acting up (even in cheaper places like Boston Pizza). It's a great thing to teach them while their young, and there have been many occasions where the staff have been so amazed by her behavior that they have given her a free dessert. It's not hard to get a child to behave in a restaurant, it's just that most parents don't try. I love my nephew and niece but I absolutely will not go out for dinner with them. It is just far too embarrassing for me, especially since they are like 7 and 10 and they are running around the table completely out of control. Thing is, their crazy behavior is not limited to restaurants. I took them into the grocery store once and it was insanity trying to keep them together, at one point they stole a bunch of items out of someone else's cart! Honestly though, I don't think it’s a big deal. I can think of more times that other adult customers have annoyed me by being drunk or rude than I can think of times where a child has annoyed me. Maybe restaurants just need to enforce some basic rules for ALL their clientele.

I can understand not listening to every customers request, but simple things like condiments or whipping up a salad for a vegetarian are absolutely deal-breakers. I work hard for my money and there are enough restaraunts out there I don't need to listen to some chef make excuses for why he won't give me what I want. The whole concept just reeks of arrogance IMO. Also on the list are chefs that won't make something for my 4 year old daughter, if you can't whip up some grilled cheese then I'll go somewhere else thank you.

corn flakes are pretty classic, I've been using them to add crunch to chicken or fish for years. My wife uses them to add some crunch to her chocolatey-peanut butter bars and they are awesome too

Just saw this on another site I frequent, my god it looks good...think I'll have to start saving for this book http://aht.seriouseats.com/assets_c/2011/01/20110131-modernist-cuisine-burger-137237.html

Looks like a very interesting book, especially for someone like me who absolutely loves the science of cooking. My question is are the actual cooking techniques described things you could use at home or are they geared more towards professional chefs?

The environmentalist in me has to say you guys really should stop using awful harsh chemicals and disposable wipes. Try mixing 1 part baking soda with 1 part water so you get a nice paste. Use a cloth to spread it all over the stove, then hit it with vinegar (I keep vinegar in a spray bottle for cleaning). The vinegar and baking soda react just like in the science fair volcanoe, its actually pretty cool and makes cleaning the stove kinda fun. Then you just wipe it off and all the grease comes with it, it is really crazy how well it works.

Thank you baroness, I must acquire one of these.

I keep it pretty clean, if things get really bad I just go with the Baking Soda/vinegar combination which destroys anything. My wife is an environmental engineer so if I bought easy-off I might end up on the couch...

Yes!, I think the Indian/Mexican combo wins for me. I'll have to try tandoori chicken enchilada cause that sounds amazing. We often make butter chicken burritos and they can be pretty amazing. I'd still like to hear people's reasoning behind the general hatred for "americanized" mexican. I've had some very good meals from both, although I admit I really don't exactly know where the line between them is. The food I had IN mexico was probably the best I've had, but I think this is more due to the incredible freshness of the ingredients. We just can't get the same quality avocados up here in Canada

I dunno about you guys, but I get more wounds from my cheese graters than any knife I own.

Sobeys, LobLaws and Costco all use to carry them. I just moved to a small town where my choices are basically Save-On or Safe-way and I haven't seem them here yet.

I love all food, but I think the one I am ALWAYS in the mood for is Mexican. I don't even care if its the "american" version of it, I'm not sure why it gets such a bad rap because it can be very good (just stay away from taco bell). Its funny because I was thinking about this yesterday while eating a burrito at lunch, I think it all comes down to the "freshness" of (good) mexican.

just found this online.. "Most live mussels are packed in mesh bags (ranging from 2 lbs to 25 lbs), but recently some processors are packing live mussels in Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), a process that uses a special oxygen/carbon dioxide mix to to extend the shelf-life of live mussels."

My dad lives in Nova Scotia right on a beautiful beach, some of my best memories are of walking down to the point and filling a bucket with fresh mussels. As a result I take my mussels pretty seriously, and am always disappointed by the crap they sell in stores..that is until I had some of these vacuum packed "live" mussels. Not sure how they do it, but apparantly the mussels are live and you aren't suppose to open the package until you're going to eat them. They sure tasted great though.