Andrew Fenton

I think the Crab Shack is as much about atmosphere as it is food. The food is good, but it's also a nice place to sit outside and eat, especially in the warmer months. And it's close to Tybee, so if you're heading out to Fort Pulaski (which you should; it's a great visit), it'd be worth a stop. Thing is, the local blue crabs are out of season, so you may be out of luck there. But the low country boil is good. I really love Sweet Potatoes- it's probably my favorite restaurant in Savannah. It sounds like it'd fit the bill: it's very casual, updated Southern food (not "new Southern" or any fusion nonsense, but a little bit lighter). It's sort of in the middle of nowhere, tourist-speaking- it's in a strip mall- but I think you'll like it. You might try Sweet Leaf for barbecue; it's sort of a hippy-dippy coffeehouse atmosphere, but the BBQ was pretty good when I tried it. Better is the BBQ at Papa's; it's way the heck out in Thunderbolt, but it's my favorite 'cue in Savannah. I wish I had more recommendations- though I'm in Savannah a couple of times a year, I don't eat in a lot of restaurants down there. I'll eagerly be waiting for your reports, so I can plan out my next visit in July!

I would describe the texture as "pudding-like." At least, that's how it used to be- I haven't tried it in a while, so don't know if it has changed.

I've always been tempted by CSAs. Every year I think about joining one, but it always seems like a lot of pressure. I don't necessarily want to have to deal with cooking ten pounds of kale (or whatever) in a week; and there are some weeks that I just don't really want to cook, or I'll want to cook something that isn't in the CSA basket. Add in the fact that I have farmers markets in my neighborhood three days a week, and the presence of Reading Terminal on my way home from work, and CSAs lose a lot of their luster...

Those are just silly-good, aren't they? We stopped by Chick's last weekend and had them. Man oh man: all sweet and salty and creamy and bacony. Yum.

Having tried Percy's patra ni machi, I can confirm just how tasty it is! Really good stuff. Percy, I was looking for recipes on line and found a number of variations... is the cilantro/mint a traditional variation, or your twist?

Some of the threads on barbecue in the Philadelphia area: Sweet Lucy's Favorite BBQ spots? Pig Daddy's BBQ, Drexel Hill Tex's BBQ, Phoenixville Famous Dave's Another Sweet Lucy's thread Ribs Ron's Ribs These are just some of the threads on the topic; I discovered them using the search box- located at the bottom of the PA forum page- entering the word "barbecue".

Yeah, the sauce at Salumeria is definitely slathered. That ain't no vinaigrette, there. but hey! now I have an excuse to get a hoagie tonight! Yay, research!

There's a local restaurant that serves great hamburgers. Unfortunately, their fries suck. I much prefer McDonald's fries. Is it okay if I bring in some fries from the nearby McDonald's and eat them with my burger?

I don't know any particular secrets for George's, but they do make a fine sandwich. I've never been growled at either, but that's probably due to my innate charm and good looks. Oh, and George's also deserves props for having tripe sandwiches on the menu. It's not like I eat those often, but it's nice to know that they're there.

If he'd been lurking on this board, I hope he'd have known not to call them "subs." A nice enough piece, but he used the word "sub" fifteen times, and each time was like fingernails on a chalkboard to me...

I stopped by Frangelli's this morning and tried a glazed raised donut and a chocolate-glazed cake. Both were good; the plain glazed was really, really good, soft with a slightly yeasty taste. Yum!

There's nothing wrong with dried pasta; it always comes out of a box, and you use it for different sorts of dishes than you would fresh. Don't see why anybody would turn their nose up at it. And De Cecco is a perfectly good brand; it's not the best, but it's solid.

Why, didn't you hear the message on the telescreen? The chocolate ration has been increased from thirty grammes a week to twenty!

Yeah, what he said- the noodles are really terrific. In the past, I've always gotten them as soup, which was a mistake (the broth is only so-so). But as straight noodles and sauce, they're great.

You can definitely buy sausage casing in the Italian Market; I've done it. But I'm not quite remembering just where... it was at one of the joints on the north end, but not D'Angelo's. Just ask around; somebody will have them.

Five Guys (located mostly in the mid-Atlantic, centered around DC) has excellent fries. They make a big deal about them being fresh, and even say where each day's potatoes come from. The latter strikes me as an odd blend of fast food and hoity-toity artisanal preciousness... but it works!

Last night was really a perfect night to head to Cochon for some nice old-fashioned slow-cooked meats. We started with the escargot (which are definitely gloopy, but tasty as heck) and the country pork pate special (also good- and served with plenty of bread, which as we all know is the most important thing, right?) The lamb shank is indeed tremendously good: toothsome and with a really luscious sauce. We also ordered the pork shoulder, which I was less crazy about; the texture was ideal, and I loved the vegetables and (and egg!) that accompany it. But for some reason, when I have pork shoulder, I want it to be more intensely-flavored: like barbecue, or a Szechuan preparation. This is much more subtle; if that's what you like, you'll love this. We finished with the chocolate cake; nothing that blows the mind, but great on a snowy night. Oh, as others have mentioned, portions are indeed enormous: I've got some nice leftovers awaiting me in the fridge. Good stuff.

pshaw! With a bag of pretzels and the TV, a child can entertain herself for hours while her folks are out to dinner. At least that's what we're planning to try on Friday when we go to Cochon for the first time. Sounds like the must-try dishes include the pork belly and lamb shank? I do love me some shank...

Okay, let's try to reframe this. I think People eat for a thousand reasons other than flavor or nutrition: we eat for tradition, religion, from curiosity or for intellectual reasons; to mark our status as part of a particular group, or not as part of another group, and so on. An insistence on specific food preparations- purism- can be an example of snobbery. But it can also come from other sources. What I'm saying is that food purism often butts up against these other reasons for eating, and that these other reasons are more interesting as a departure point for discussion than taste is. It's totally valid to say "I only eat this dish prepared in this way because it tastes best." But that's subjective; so there's not much to discuss. If, on the other hand, you say, "I only eat this dish prepared in this way because it's how my grandmother made it," or "because that's how they do it in Rome", well, you've suddenly got something to talk about. Here's a specific example: I wouldn't eat a bacon bagel. Not because I keep kosher (I don't) but because the idea of a bacon bagel is just wrong: it's a repudiation of Jewish identity. Is there, as you say, something lost by that refusal? Maybe. But it's part of a matrix of culture and identity that goes beyond just taste.

I had Rx's brunch for the first time recently. It was good all around: quality eggs Benedict and some really great huevos rancheros.

So, let me get this straight: categorically refusing to eat certain foods based solely on the fact that they are mis-named is less snobbish than eating them but complaining about the name? I assert that it is in fact, not only more snobbish, but downright absurd. Oh, I totally agree! It's a step beyond regular food snobbism into something like hypersnobbism, in which pleasure takes a backseat to purism. But that's what makes it interesting. If you recoil at the taste of parmesan cheese on your popcorn, that's just a preference. Big deal. But if you like parmesan on your popcorn, and still refuse to eat it because that's just not how things ought to be done... well, that raises some interesting questions about the origins and nature of taste.

That's very interesting. Does that pre-date its use meaning "to smoke" foods? According to the OED (which may or may not be the best source here), no. The oldest attestation in English (1661) is as a verb, meaning to cook meat on a barbecue: that is, a framework for cooking meat (which, interestingly, isn't attested until 1736, though it has to be older than that). "Barbecue" meaning "social gathering" shows up in a 1733 diary entry, though it's a little cryptic: Fair and hot; Browne, barbacue; hack overset. But it really seems to take off in the early 19th century. ANYWAY, to get back to the original topic, I like Busboy's formulation of purism: you eschew certain foods, even though they taste good. Everything else is just plain ol' food snobbery, the subject of a thousand threads on eGullet. In the category of purism, I'd put nontraditional, and especially sweet, bagels. A blueberry bagel might well taste delicious; ditto a bacon bagel. But I won't eat them, because they lack essential bagelness.

La Jarocha (at Front and Wolf) is pretty good, and I've always had good luck at Veracruzana (across the parking lot from the taqueria, at 9th and Washington) as well.

And thanks again to Phil A. and Percy for both trying this place out! On Saturday I had to go to the mall at King of Prussia- the only thing that sustained me during that brutal deathmarch through a nightmarish hellscape was the prospect of some dosa afterwards. Fortunately, the food didn't disappoint: I really enjoyed my spinach masala dosa and samosa chat. Good mutter paneer and lassi as well. It's a funny little place. When I was there, around lunchtime, there were like eight dudes in the kitchen: maybe two were cooking and one working the register, but the rest were just hanging out. Everybody was friendly and seemed to be having a good time. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

Do it! It'll be like that episode of Sex and the City where Carrie accidentally killed that hobo and the girls all had to hide the body...