Andrew Fenton

Ha, I didn't say "often", I said "regularly." Maybe I'll try some of the pho ga today... sounds great!

I eat there pretty regularly, every couple of months. Still good, though I always stick to the bun bo hue or pho dac biet. Is there anything great on the menu that I'm missing?

Impressive, given that it hasn't yet become law! Presumably New Mexico has passed its own food safety laws? Anyway, from what I can tell the main goal of the legislation is to split the FDA into two entities: one for drugs, and one for food. That seems sensible to me, not least because the food side of the FDA has been neglected in recent years. Some aspects seem sensible as well, such as increasing the number of inspections of food processing plants. Other goals, such as certifying that imported food is produced under safe conditions, are laudable, though given the huge amount of food we import, I don't know how likely they are to be enforced. An interesting provision is section 403(b), which calls for mandatory recalls of tainted foods. Right now, recalls are optional, and prosecutions for killing people with contaminated food are pretty rare. I can't say I have a problem with mandatory recalls of peanut butter a la salmonella. I have to say that worries about jackbooted thugs kicking down stands at farmers markets seem overblown; resources are scarce enough for dealing with large producers. If you're worried, you should be talking to your local government agencies, who already do oversee that sort of thing.

Soul on a roll! Looks terrific, Nate.

I don't know one way or the other about liquid smoke. Certainly there are commercial bacons that use it, and while those bacons mostly suck, that's not to say you couldn't do better. So it might be worth a try. But I'll point out that there are smoking options available for apartment dwellers: stovetop smokers (I have a Cameron) and smoking bags, to name two. They're not the same as smoking in an outdoor rig, but neither is liquid smoke, is it? Also, unsmoked bacon is also very good. If you've never made bacon before, you might give that a try.

Right-o. And unlike Bayless and BK, this would be trivial to test out. Just go to one of Colicchio's restaurants, sit down at the bar, and order a Diet Coke. If they don't serve it, then Colicchio's got some 'splainin to do. But I suspect that they do serve it. And if it's good enough to serve to his customers, surely it's good enough to endorse?

By "finer restaurants", do you mean "upscale", or "better food"? If the latter, you might think about the Yacht Basin Provision Company. It's been a few years since I ate there, but I had a really wonderful meal there, the highlight of my trip to Wilmington. It's a waterfront seafood dive: very casual, but with terrific fish. Outside of town, though, so you'll want a car.

For two? Really? That's just ridiculous. Okay, I know where I'll be on Thursday.

The cats over at Phoodie.info are big fans of delivery from Asia@Cafe. I've been there once (for lunch); maybe it's time to give them another try.

Fried kibbeh is pretty common in Lebanese restaurants in my part of the world. But I've never seen stewed or soup kubba. (And honestly, I know very little about Kurdish or Iraqi cooking, in general; I'd love to know more.) Do you have a recipe for the tomato kubba? They look wonderful!

It has been closed for a couple of years now. It became a combination Mexican/Mediterranean (?) place for a while (possibly under the same ownership? You can see that I never went in, despite walking by it all the time). The Sushi House (formerly a couple of blocks away) has moved in recently.

I believe that DC has the largest Ethiopian population in the United States. There definitely are a lot of great restaurants there.

Chef's Market (between 2nd and 3rd on South St.) is going out of business. I believe they are closing on Sunday; until then, you can get all manner of overpriced gourmet food for 50% off.

The Cypriot breakfast is indeed on the lunch menu, and it looks terrific. Eggs, ham, halloumi: what could be wrong? Kanella isn't open at breakfast hours, but I suppose that the dish would be an ideal breakfast for the late risers among us. Oh, and I note that the current issue of GQ also has an article about breakfast spots (I think the only Philly location mentioned is Little Pete's, for scrapple.) I guess all the cool men's magazines are doing that nowadays...

Soup dumplings go down awfully well, both from Dim Sum Garden and the Magic Kingdom of Dough...

No Spam on an Obamaburger? FOR SHAME, BURGER CHEFS.

You know, you're right! I'd better get one of those. Are the ones from Williams-Sonoma any good, or just overpriced?

All kidding aside (and I liked your Niemöller parody; those always kill), nobody is decreeing what you eat. If you want garbage pizza, or garbage on your pizza, you're free to eat it. I can't stop you. The government can't stop you. Sam Kinsey, dwelling within his Lex Luthor-style fortress deep under the streets of Manhattan, can't stop you. Even if he cared to unleash his Pizza Mind Control Ray on the unsuspecting public, I doubt he would he would use his powers for evil. Mostly. I guess I'd ask: there are a thousand thousand threads on eGullet that feature lists of what people like, presented uncritically and received in the same spirit. Why do you feel the need to be validated? Why does it bother you so much that there's one discussion that doesn't go along those lines?

Oh man, if we get to invoke Godwin's Law on a thread about pizza toppings, my life will be complete, here and now.

Weight is probably the best measure by which to judge the food at Buca di Beppo, anyway.

Has anybody had delivery from Susanna Foo yet?

Congratulations! Pagliacci was always my favorite pizza as a kid. I'm sorry I can't be there for a celebratory slice!

You said: Since all the examples you gave followed your statement about the consumer vs. the government, I thought they were connected. Evidently they weren't; my apologies. We're not talking about the tallow (which I agree is fine). We're talking about leaving sauce out and unrefrigerated (if that is indeed what they did; I don't know.). This isn't an issue about cliched "bureaucratic do-gooders", it's about food safety.

I feel oddly compelled to pick nits... first, there are naturally occurring trans fats. But the ones at issue are artificial, of course. Second, I find it interesting, John, that both of the examples you give of the government deciding what we eat (corn syrup in Coke, McDonalds no longer frying with beef tallow) are in fact examples of decisions made by the companies, not government mandates. About Rutt's: I can't say that I'm too upset about them following food safety procedures. It's not just an abstract fear of lawsuits, it's a fear of people getting sick.

Yes, I went straight to the manual and saw that the oven has this feature. They don't call it a sabbath mode, however: I guess Kenmore is designed for gentiles.