estherschindler

I sure hope it hasn't closed! It's one of the best places in the valley for a leisurely Sunday breakfast.

Actually, it wasn't an Indian market, just your (cough) garden-variety farmer's market. But I've cooked plenty of Indian food, and I'm certainly not afraid of doing so. I can work with that tip: use twice as much fresh as I'd use dried, and fry it with the other spices. Now. Hmm. What would be a good recipe...

A friend (who usually has very good taste) reported that he ate at Roaring Fork a month or two ago, and his meal was terrible. Not "didn't live up to expectations" but "I paid HOW MUCH for THIS?" So it appears that the restaurant has gone downhill since McGrath left. :-(

I'm pretty sure that the woman from whom we bought the fresh turmeric -- which looks like small ginger rhizomes, only smaller and with a rosy/orangey blush -- had no idea what to do with the stuff. That must be why she bagged it up and gave it to us when we simply _recognized_ it. I'm fairly sure she grew it because it was interesting, and then wondered, "Now what do I do with it?" I have plenty of recipes that use dried turmeric. But the only cookbook I have that mentions what it looks like on-the-hoof says, "...but you can't get it in this country anyway, so we won't give you any instructions," or something much to the same point. I have a large handful, maybe 4 ounces of the stuff. NOW what do I do? Esther

I couldn't wait for someone else to make a report. So I asked the company for a review kit, and just posted the review here on Consumer Electronics Network. In short: very nifty. But a product desperately in search of the right price point.

In her weekly e-mail newsletter, Lynne Rosetto Kaspar mentioned a new product called Timestrips that she hasn't tried yet: http://www.timestrip.com/home.html It definitely sounds neat. I'd actually be able to estimate how long that BBQ sauce has been in the refrigerator without consulting my past social schedule. ("Let's see, did we make that before or after Grace was here?") Anybody played with 'em yet? Got an opinion?

I did end up at Sam's Cafe for that game -- though next time, I might try Camus. Or Lo-Lo's, but I have to admit, moltoe, that this is not a combination I would ordinarily attempt. Fortunately, I trust your opinion! I finally did get to Barrio Cafe for dinner, with three friends. One of them is a foodie like us, but the other two dear souls are much more comfortable at Garcia's. <shudder> One of them asked the waitress, "Don't you have any REGULAR enchiladas?" Sigh. I loved everything, anyway. As far as the ball game night goes, I'm not sure if that's a meal I want to rush through, especially since we always worry about parking. Hmm. On my birthday, we -- pretty much the same gang of friends I mentioned above, as we have a monthly dinner date -- went to the Polish restaurant in Chandler. The one that's next to C-Fu Gourmet, at Dobson and Ray: Na Zdrowie. It was okay, but I wouldn't drive out of my way for it. Later in that week, I got a job offer (for a new position that started in February... explaining my irregularity here), and we went out to the White Chocolate Grill to celebrate (101 and Scottsdale Road). They do a darned good roast chicken (isn't it time for a Best Roast Chicken in Phoenix thread?) and a great Cobb salad, but the bill is always a little higher than feels fair.

I know that there's been a resurgence of restaurants in the downtown corridor. But I almost never go downtown, so I'm not familiar with the options -- especially not when one is in a rush for a 6:40 baseball game. Got advice or recommendations for casual restaurants, close enough for us to park just ONCE? The obvious answer, I suppose, is Pizzaria Bianco. But I assume that it has huge crowds on game days, and I don't always feel like pizza. (That must be the reason I left New York.) When we go downtown, we often end up at Sam's Cafe for dinner. It's reasonably priced, and it has the added advantage of (relatively) cheap parking in the lot next door. I suspect that I'll end up there tonight, but we're going to more and more games. And heck, we haven't had a Phoenix regional discussion in a while.

Even if you get out REALLY late, you could go to Carlsbad Tavern, on Scottsdale Road just south of Osborn. I think they're open until midnight or 1am. They have very good, very spicy New Mexican food. Relatively inexpensive, too, and quite casual. They're also in a good spot for foodies -- next door to House of Rice (Asian groceries and cooking supplies), and directly across the street from Penzey's Spices. Neither of which will be open late on Sunday night, so that's for the lurkers.

Lalibela (I'm not sure of the spelling either) is still there, and it's open. It's a good choice with two or three other people, as you can order a big platter to share. There are one or two spicy items, but I'm sure they'd have substitutions if you can't handle them. Someone at the hotel is bound to direct you to Monte's La Casa Vieja. It's been around for at least 50 years, and the ambiance is wonderful -- but don't go. The food is rather amazingly disappointing, unless you're in the mood for diner food (i.e. mashed potatoes served with an ice-cream scoop). There's a mideastern restaurant inside a market in Tempe (I can't think of the name, but someone at the hotel is bound to know which place I mean) that's very good for casual and relatively fast food -- falafel plate, that sort of thing. Tempe isn't my normal stomping grounds, I'm afraid, and I don't head there for fine dining. (In part, it's because most of the options are geared towards students' budgets.) I usually end up at Char's, which is Thai and spicy -- so not a good choice for you.

I'll keep that in mind. Come to think of it, when I had the outstanding meal some years ago, it wasn't pasta -- it was a second course, probably something like the veal.

Oh! I've been to Pasta Brioni twice, and I enjoyed it both times. The first time was -- oh dear, back in the dot com era, so it must have been 1999 or so -- and I was impressed by the service and the quality of the food. The second time was with a group of 5 or 6 people, and to my surprise they were packed on an ordinary Tuesday night. In fact, instead of waiting for an hour (!), we ended up at their casual, sort-of-take-out outlet next door. The menu was more limited but it was still quite nice. I keep saying I'm going to meet friends for dinner there, but I never think of it at the right time.

What would you say are our best Italian restaurants? I confess it's far from my expertise. I'm happy with "neighborhood" Italian places, and I don't often go to them even so.

How much did that meal cost? (My birthday is next week, and I'm looking for something special... but I want to afford the mortgage payment too.)

Oh, so THAT's where the real farmer's markets went. In the past few years, I've gone to a few with the name plastered on -- like the "Market Street" market at Pima north of Thompson Peak Parkway -- only to find one or two sad looking booths of sad vegetables, and no particularly good deals. There's a farmer's market at Cactus and the 51, too, on Saturday morning, but I never seem to be up-and-organized before noon, which is when it closes up.