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The gel sets up really quickly, so you can mould it in virtually anything that you can pry it loose from once it's set. I usually just pour it into a bowl, and cut it into cubes once it's firm. For noodles you could just pour it out to the desired thickness, then slice it into strips (maybe using a rolling herb mincer of some sort).

I've never tried making konjac pasta, although I do use it a lot for desserts. There's a discussion of making noodles here: http://www.konjacfoods.com/konjac.htm. I doubt the gel would extrude well, so it's probably mostly sliced and moulded. I'm fairly certain that I've seen at least one discussion of making these noodles in the forums here, possibly in one of the MC topics; a search should bring it to light. Konjac powder won't give you a carbohydrate-free pasta, however, since it is mostly carbohydrate, although it is soluble fibre, not starch, which is useful for many people.

But perhaps a little too close to goiter for comfort, though? Maybe that's just me... Croquer means "to crunch" which might be nice for a salad and sandwich kind of place, and it also links nicely to croque-monsieur in my mind. Very much depends on the kind of place, though. Heh. Most people would be hard-pressed to identify the thyroid, let alone any of its pathologies. But good point, about checking any potential name for awkward meanings in other languages (at least the major ones). There's a place SoHo (NYC) called the Tisserie, and it cracks me up every time I see it: 'tisse' means 'piss' in Danish, something its would-be hipster staff is clearly unaware of. I walked past it with my (Danish) boyfriend, when he was visiting NYC and we were on the lookout for a caffeine and carb. fix; I was curious as to whether he'd notice it. He did. We got coffee and pastry just down the street, instead of at the Tisserie, because we couldn't get a grip on our unseemly giggling. For us, funny; for the establishment, probably not so much (you'd be amazed at how many Danes are wandering about NYC at any given moment).

Philadelphia sounds good to me (I'd really like to attend one of these events, and for me, the East Coast is by far the most accessible part of the US).

I cannot find the post that mentions it, but unless I'm completely mistaken, I recall a member mentioning an induction cooktop that has no burners: You just put your pot down wherever, regardless of its size, which suggests that more than one coil configuration exists (a diagram should be available from the manufacturer).

Can't tell you how much I'm appreciating the advice, especially given our kind of squished timeframe, and the apparently countless options! I'm doing a LOT of reading, based on all this information. I'm really looking forward to this trip. Last time we were on the West coast, we saw just a few bits and pieces, teasers, really. I'm trying to remember at least the name of the town near a costal place that had this incredible ice cream. The name of the ice cream place itself eludes me completely. Ooops, and quite different towns at that. Also near Arcata is a town of Trinidad. It's been a few years but Larrupin Cafe was sure nice then. http://www.larrupin.com/ HaH! Given the fact that we won't be going south of San Francisco, we won't even have the chance to accidentally end up in southern California, let alone Trinidad

I know LCD screens aren't cheap, but they always give a place a cheap feel, as though the people coming in aren't restaurant clients/guests, but units to be moved in and out as quickly as possible. It may be because I travel a lot, but I'd hate to eat at a place that reminded me in any way of an airport; if I had to eat at such a place, I'd expect it to be cheap. If you must scrap the chalk board (e.g. for reasons of legibility), how about a white board, if you could commit to keeping it clean, and you (or other staff members) have nice, legible handwriting? Unless you're going to be serving a real laser-light-show-plus-three-ring-circus of a menu, I'd stick with fairly traditional elements that contribute to a suitable setting for the high-end comfort food you plan on serving.

Sort of on tenterhooks about the date, since if it falls during high season, we probably wouldn't be able to manage the trip (we'd be coming from Denmark, and we're buying a house, too).

"Forced"? I don't get your reasoning. Surely nobody is "forced" to wait on table unless perhaps they're working at the prison cafeteria. As for being pleasant to nasty customers, there is a line of "nastiness" to be sure, and when a consumer, in this case a restaurant customer, crosses it, a good boss is going to back up the employee. But if the customer is merely run-of-the-mill, everyday unpleasant and difficult, the owner of the restaurant, just like the owner of any retail outlet, is absolutely going to expect the employee to put up with it. Tipping system or no tipping system. That wouldn't change one iota. If you don't think so, you don't understand how the world works. At least this way, the "very big tip" goes to the waiter that actually put up with it. Justly, in my view. As for this relationship being akin to prostitution, of course it is. All sales are basically the same principle. I'm going to be nice to you in the hopes that you purchase a product or service from me. It's all a matter of degree. How much will I put up with from you? How much will I want from you? What's it worth to me? How much product or service will I provide you? In the case of prostitution, it's a pretty intimate service. In the case of a used car, or insurance, or the fellow that wants to come cut your lawn, not so intimate, but it all starts the same way. Form a relationship. Trust me. Like me. I might not really like you because I think you're unpleasant, or too old, or too young, or too fat, or too conservative, or too liberal, or too light, or too dark, or too poor, or too "merry" but I'm going to pretend to like you because I want something from you and I've got rent to pay and children to clothe and educate, and food to put on the table. I can tell you that I owned a small business for about eight years. A travel agency. And I had overhead to pay and a payroll to meet. We certainly put up with a lot of jerks, and I damn well did expect my agents to deal with clients that they didn't particularly like. Of course, as I said above, there's a line, and if a client crossed over from being a jerk to being abusive, I told them to leave. But that only happened about three times or so over the eight years. An overbearing, demanding, know-it-all, "I've-traveled-all-over-the-world-and-I-never..." arrogant jerk, on the other hand, came in at least once a week. If my agents wanted to keep their jobs, the first thing we all needed to do was to keep our doors open in an increasingly difficult economy. I remember once attending a sales/motivational seminar being held for employees of a local bank. The bank's business had been falling off, primarily because that bank had gained a reputation in our town for grumpy service, for employees that waited on you begrudgingly, behaving as though they were doing you a favor to interrupt their very important and busy schedule to bother to wait on you, even going so far as to snap at you if you did or said something they didn't like -- as opposed to giving you that big, fake, phony "prostitute" smile and friendly insincere "personal" greeting. I had told the manager of that bank branch that I was going to move my agency account elsewhere, because I was tired of putting up with his tellers and that attitude, so he invited me to the seminar to demonstrate that things were going to change. I remember one comment in particular that the motivational speaker made: "When customers walk in, you should treat them as though they were bringing you a gift. Because they are. Your job." The tipping custom may bring that seller/buyer prostitute/john relationship into much sharper and less-subtle focus, but it's all sales. Anybody that isn't willing to gut up and shut up and put up with a difficult customer has no business dealing with the public. And it's contagious. Get one surly employee with an entitled, "I don't have to put up with you, asshole" attitude, and your entire staff is at risk of adopting it. They'll kill your business. You'll have to close your doors and then nobody will have a job. Put them back in accounting, or in the kitchen working the line. Put the politicians and prostitutes and salespeople and phony insincere glad-handers and servers willing to bust their asses no matter what for a big tip out front. They'll keep your bottom line in the black. Which is better for everybody. Don't you think? With all due respect, I have to say I don't think so. The tipping system is problematic, unless you have a boss who cares at least a little bit (don't hold your breath), and you actually get decent tips. In smaller towns, at least, this is not a given. When I first went off to university, I waited tables, really briefly. I did 'gut up and shut up and put up with a difficult customer' (several, in fact). I put up with a bum-grabber (charming, he tried for my crotch next time I passed, after which I made annoyingly time-consuming detours), a family who'd apparently had their children raised by wolves, and left a lot of praise and a religious tract as a tip, and a drunk or two. I smiled, and I smiled, and I smiled. I was accommodating and efficient, and by the end of one morning, I begged to be the bus/dish'boy', a job that paid the minimum wage. The boss kept his bottom line black by paying waitresses as little as he could legally get away with, and telling them that being groped and poorly tipped was 'part of the job if you're cute'. I don't think I'm particularly soft (I've been self employed most of my life, and spent several years doing heavily physical work for 89 hours a week), but I don't think anyone should have to put with that sort of thing, especially for sub-minimum wage and the possibility of a tip. The tipping system is just no good, apart, perhaps, from at places where a 20% tip for good service is considered 'standard' by at least half the clientele. I've spoken with plenty of people who have waited tables, and my experience is far from unique. It would make more sense for restaurants to charge a bit more up front, and pay waitstaff a living wage. They do this in plenty of countries, and it doesn't seem to be hurting business, nor have I noticed poorer service. If the only way an establishment can stay in the black is by underpaying staff and relying on the kindness of strangers to make up the difference, I don't think they really belong in business. I'm not sorry I had the experience; it makes me pay much more attention to what is going on when I dine out, and it is at least partly the reason that I'll tip 20% (or at least a dollar, if the cheque comes to under $5) if the waiter seemed to be giving the job his or her best shot.

@ azurite, thank you! More bullets on our map; Albany is definitely a stopping point for us, and the Carousel Museum sounds right up my alley (I need to look at their site; I'm hoping it is small, and really old). We'll be going north along the coast from SF. We now realize that, while we're on the road, places that don't require reservations are probably a better bet, since we don't know precisely how long this is likely to take, especially if a lot of things catch our attention along the road. @StanSherman: Thanks! The oysters are sounding particularly good, and I'll be taking a look at New Sammy's Cowboy Bistro site. We're planning to take an inland route through the national park on the way down, and go back north along the coast, so this is definitely the sort of thing we'd hope to find on our way back. We're figuring two days down, two or three days in San Francisco, two days back. Family at both endpoints, so the schedule is a bit pressed. We'll be spending a night or two somewhere along the way (we're looking at places in the park), but won't be camping. We aren't going to have much chance to linger along the way this trip, since people are expecting us on specific days at the endpoints, but this is definitely not the last trip we plan to take to these areas, so even if we can't check out everything we'd like, there will be a next time, if we have anything to say about it. Do you know whether any places near Crater Lake do a decent breakfast?

Minced/dried mushrooms, buckwheat groats, cacao? Cacao itself isn't at all sweet, very little of it adds deep colour, the flavour (this is subjective, obviously) works nicely with mushrooms and buckwheat, and buckwheat provides volume without becoming really expensive. Or you might consider teff, which is also dark, or black sesame seeds, or one of the black versions of various grains/legumes (rice, lentils), to add a dark, earthy colour to a paler base.

We've had the Bodum Crema model for a couple of years, no problems or complaints, here. The only plastic parts are the ones that are visible externally; the filter+plate, shaft, and thing that holds the filter and plate in place are all metal.

Thank you! I was looking on the Oregon map. Definitely looking into this. It's been a few years since I've been to Samoa Cookhouse...they didn't take reservations then, and no indications on the website that they do now. I remember a wait at peak times, but it was worth it (and they do give you stuff to look at while you wait, with all the old photos and logging memorabilia). Thanks! This one's been added to the googlemap thing we're building up

Where is Healdsburg? This definitely bears looking into, but I'm not finding the town on the map! Are reservations needed at this time of year? It sounds casual, but you never know. Any place(s) you specially recommend?

At the end of August, we'll be heading out to the West Coast. Part of the trip will include a drive from Corvallis to San Francisco, taking in Crater Lake on the way. We'll be driving back north along the coast. We haven't yet sketched in details any more definitely than that. We're most interested in places/foods that are unique to the areas we'll be passing through, and high-end is definitely not a must. My boyfriend is Danish, and I grew up mostly outside the US, so regional authenticity is more interesting to us than versions of what could be had in many places in the US or EU (even though great pizza is always great pizza). So, please tell me: What places, food, and events are just not to be missed?

Please consider me+1 on the very interested 'maybe' list.

Well...yes I can. I think anyone who has eaten in a variety of restaurants, who has eyes to see, and who doesn't live exclusively in their own little bubble can easily tell such things. It's also pretty obvious to me when somebody hasn't turned up and the remaining staff are over-stretched. It's pretty obvious to me when there are problems in the kitchen. It's pretty obvious when a new menu is being served that the staff aren't used to yet. This isn't rocket science, but it's also not a situation where I'd under-tip. As mentioned above, attitude is key, and if somebody is obviously making a genuine effort they that's always a pretty good start. I'm not so precious that I'll under-tip if the bread doesn't arrive straightaway or if I experience some of the other minor slights mentioned above. But there are major things that can go wrong, very occasionally, and if they occur I certainly wouldn't tip in Ireland, and I'd be VERY reluctant to tip anywhere in the world. For example, if a server is actively rude/insulting without any reason (as I have experienced), I really don't see whey they should be paid, by me, for that "service". Sounds fair enough; I was curious, though You're more generous than I am, then; since I have waited tables, I'm picky about negligence, and if the waiter is, say, standing at the next table, flirting with the guys there while my dish grows cold in his hand, I'm not tipping 20%! There you have me. It will never cease to mystify me.

Well, we are still talking about home cooking. The solution is simple: Don't eat at someone's place if they do something you find "appalling". Personally, I think that some people (prevalently in the US, but that may simply be internet access bias) have a deep-seated fear of infections that verges on the irrational. This also manifests in things like always using antibacterial soap, which generally do more harm than good (resistant strains of bacteria etc.), If the food is being heated to 80°C and above, re-using a tasting spoon will not result in any appreciable transfer of live microbes. You can still find it disgusting (like I find worms in cherries to be disgusting), but that's more a psychological reaction than one based on actual risks. Not all things that are served are cooked, and tasting and handling food with dirty hands can happen right before serving. Refusing to eat at someone's home is often not an option, unless you're willing to hurt the feelings of someone who is, in all respects but those that regard your physical well-being, a great friend. I actually have friend whose habits in the kitchen make me go pale, and I catch something that requires antibiotics about half the time I dine there (yes, really). The food is great, but the hygiene suggests a complete indifference to modern germ theory. I deal with it, because this is an otherwise truly great friend, who also happens to have an impressive immune system (there's also a tendency for larval life-forms to make an appearance in things that have just been picked from the garden, but that doesn't really bother me, since these tend to not be disease bearers; I just pick them out and discreetly wrap them in a napkin).

What you describe sounds precisely like the results I get when I follow Cook's illustrated's recipe for American Sandwich Bread (which involves a little honey, milk, and melted butter).

If you want to lose the least amount of strawberry possible, bring your son into the act: If you have small fingers, simply twisting the top and pulling gently leaves your strawberry intact, apart from the small hole where the core attached to the strawberry-hull was. People with larger hands don't seem to have much luck with this, which may have to do with how close to the base of the hull you need to grip.

And the whole world of criticism crumbles before our very eyes. I see this comment made frequently about wait staff, and I just don't get it. Why is this so different to: - Don't judge your surgeon's mistakes until you've been a surgeon. - Don't judge a musical act until you've been a professional musician. - Don't judge a thief until you've been a thief. Bad service is bad service whether the diner has waited tables or not. Why the diner should have to pay for that service no matter how bad it is continues to elude me. But hey, I come from a different culture. Waiting tables is a bit different from being a surgeon, musician or thief, though, in that nearly anyone who falls within the category of 'employable' is eligible for the job. And, since in most cases, it is an appallingly poorly paid job, for a lot of people it's a sort of last resort, especialy when they're young, and haven't yet acquired a skill set. If you wait tables even briefly, you start seeing the entire situation, rather than your own isolated case as a diner. You learn to differentiate between inexcusably bad service, and a night where waitstaff is spread too thin, because two waiters are out with with flu at the same time, or a new server, who just doesn't yet know the ropes, and is really trying. You may be right, but... okay: Can you differentiate between a waitress who going out of her way to avoid doing anything, and one who is trying to stay on top of things, while making lengthy detours to avoid passing by the table with the habitual bum grabber? The latter happens pretty often, managers can't always be bothered to intervene (or prefer not to, if the guy is a big spender), so you're kind of on your own. Being expendable and relying on tips hurts efficiency. The reasons behind less-than-ideal service may be irrelevant to you, but I'm fairly certain that that if you were to wait tables in the US for even a brief time, this would very likely change. Frankly, I hate the the whole 'waitress wages' thing, and cannot understand how it remains legal.

Unacceptable service is service that is rude or actively negligent. Waitstaff is supposed to [sometimes] seat you, take your order, bring your food and drink, and communicate anything you may want passed along to the kitchen. This should be done as well as their intelligence and other resources permit. Sometimes, you'll get someone spectacularly incompetent waiting on you. This can be incredibly frustrating, but it makes no sense to punish someone unintelligent or inexperienced by not tipping, if they're clearly doing their best. Also, this is a job that draws a lot of students, which can mean that when your waiter stares glassily over your head, he or she may not be ignoring you, but more or less asleep on his or her feet. Again, I'd hesitate to not tip because someone seems like they're not functioning on all cylinders. It can be difficult to figure out whether someone is ignoring you or overworked, and it really is best to not take things too personally. I recommend you wait tables for a bit: it will answer a lot of your questions. You may be right about eG members being mostly well-heeled, but I have the impression that they cover a fairly broad economic spectrum. I'm at the less impressive end of this spectrum, incidentally, and do not look particularly affluent, but can't say that I've usually received worse service than anyone else at a given restaurant at a given time, even when I've been on my own, and made it clear at the outset that I wouldn't be drinking anything alcoholic. I'm also not sure what you mean by 'looking broke'. There's 'not wearing this season's couturier offerings', and there's 'dressing like Bart Simpson'. At many restaurants, if you show up wearing sloppy jeans or shorts/sweatshirt/trainers, you just won't be treated as well. Not fair? Perhaps, but that's just the way it is. Most of the time, my clothing is really casual, but if I go out to dinner, I'll dress accordingly, it just seems like a respectful gesture. Even when I was living in a $75/week room, I made a point of having a decent top, decent skirt/pants, and a pair of shoes other than my Grinders, so, if necessary, I could look like a grownup. I've never noticed that foreigners routinely get worse treatment, either, even though they often don't tip (in a lot of countries, you just don't, because waitstaff is paid proper wages).

Perhaps, when it is perceived as effective, it's a matter of perception: If your body perceives what is inside as very warm, what is outside might perceived as relatively cooler. As I said, it's not worked for me, but I hear this convention mentioned so frequently, there must be a basis for at least believing it.

I tried consuming hot things my first few summers back in NYC, and felt miserable. I'd love to hear that someone does this successfully.

. . . . Bugs (either referred to as Moreton Bay or Balmain bugs) are a shellfish tasting (to me) pretty much like lobster. They may look like aliens but taste like the sweet, sweet sea. Slipper lobsters, I believe. I really envy you your access to seafood, and am looking forward to vicariously enjoying it through your terrific pictures!