[Hibiscus Flowers in Mexican Cooking]

Yes, that's they way I have been doing it -- iced.

Isn't this the main ingredient in "Red Zinger" tea in the US? Tastes very similar.

[Superior Vinegars]

During the Guy Gateau Q & A, John Whiting commented that

Balsamic vinegar is the ketchup of the hip.

So what are some of your favorite vinegars and how do you use them to best effect? Red, white, rice, others? Are there on-line purveyors who specialize in vinegars? Or do you make your own?

I recently picked up a couple of vinegars that I liked after tasting them at William-Sonoma. One is Vilux, a French Cognac Vinegar. The other is a Jose de Soto, a Spanish Sherry Vinegar.

[Tart Shell Help]

Brooks -- So how did your crawfish tarts turn out?

[Abercrombie & Fitch?]

Welcome to eGullet, Behemoth. I have not used the Toddy recently and lost mine along the way, but it does make very good iced coffee. It's a good idea to get an extra fiter or two, because they do need to be replaced after they start clogging up too much. But that would take quite a while. Let us know how it goes.

[Abercrombie & Fitch?]

Good question. She is using the Toddy Coffee system or something similar. If it's the same, you should be able to buy extra filter pads through the site. If it's not identical, you will need to buy the whole thing, but they are inexpensive (especially if amortized over 50 years!). Toddy coffee makers do make very nice iced coffee, and in general I think the cold brewed results are a little easier on the digestive system than hot-brewed.

[Espresso Cups]

Thanks. The Tognana two ounce espresspo cups are 1/8" think and a plain white one is 3/16 (+ a hair)". How do those compare to what you consider to be thick enough? I have seen some Jura cups much thinner.

[Espresso Cups]

Does it make any diference to you what you drink espresso out of? Thin wall, thick wall cup? Material? Are these aesthetic differences that don't effect the taste of the coffee?

I tend to prefer plain white, but I found some Tognana cups -- porcelein, colorful designs. Anyone familiar with them? Good, bad, indifferent?

[I thought I had heard everything until...]

I bet you anything that they were just too full, and decided on that as a tactic to not pay for your delicious dessert.

That's the best guess.

Too abstract!

[Q&A: Mexican Table Salsas]

Great course! I haven't been able to spend much time with this so far, but the fine thing that you two have done is to convey a great deal conceptually about salsas combined with concrete techniques and recipes. Terrific chart. Very cool. I'll be drawing on this for making salsas for a crowd in a couple of weeks. Thanks.

[Hibiscus Flowers in Mexican Cooking]

Thanks, Rachel -- the stuffed nopales sound very good. You don't eat the outter leaf, just the stuffing?

Sharon -- Chef Heredia's dish does sound lovely. Thanks for describing it in such attractive detail.

[Dallas & Ft. Worth eats..]

Thanks for the report, Brian. You ate at two fine restaurants. But next trip we may have to escort you to the tex-mex/mex-tex/mex and barbecue so you don't get waylaid by chain barbecue and such again.

[[Houston] Rio Ranch]

Thanks for your report, Dana. We have had enough discusion on this one restaurant that it deserves its own thread.

[[Houston] T'afia]

Thanks for the detailed review, Foodman. This place continues to sound wonderful. It's on my list.

[Best Texas Ethnic Food Festivals]

Thanks lovebenton0 and dav-e-o.

If anyone has links to any of the festival websites that would be great.

What about the Center for Texan Cultures in San Antonio. Don't they have a big festival each year?

[Best Texas Ethnic Food Festivals]

There are some ethnic festivals with a long tradition, such as the annual Greek festival in Dallas. There are, of course, newer festivals that have emerged in recent years. Some focus on food only, but most feature food as a prominent and important part of their culture. What are your favorites and where and when do they happen?

[The Best Sandwiches in Dallas]

Thanks for the info on Eatzies. And welcome to eGullet, texesser. I hope you post here often.

[Need Galveston recommendations]

Welcome to eGullet and the Texas Forum, AustinJohn. I'm going to be in Galveston in the next couple of months, so I'll look into it. Hope you'll post here often. The orientation thread at the top of this forum may help you find your way around eGullet -- it's a big place.

[Dallas & Ft. Worth eats..]

Ft Worth is where the West begins, and it's only one face of Texas. But for a little Texas atmosphere and history, I suggest staying at the Ft.Worth Stockyards Hotel and doing barbeque at Angelos, and there are several tex-mex and mex-tex suggestions on this thread. If you only have one day. That will leave lots of time for doing other interesting things in Ft.Worth, many of them also suggested up-thread. The alternative would be the Warrington Hotel downtown Ft. Worth, certainly a nice place, but the stockyards will be more interesting.

[Dallas & Ft. Worth eats..]

So, how was your trip and what did you eat? Let us know. We're a curious bunch.

[Lubbock]

JosephB -- Here's a link to a recent thread on DFW indigenous barbeque, tex-mex, and fine dining that should get you started. There's more detail in other threads, but this one may tell you what you want to know. If not, let us know on that thread or a new one.

[Why do restaurants allow this?]

I think it is clear from the responses here that some significant percentage of diners find the question impolite or manipulative. I typically tip generously -- at least 20% in most situations, but "the question" will usually reduce the tip and have some influence on whether or not I return.

I wonder what waitpersons say, or restaurants instruct, if anything regarding this practice.

[Texas Gluttony]

What a trip! Thanks for the great photos, folks.

[Brazilian food]

IAmAFoodie -- thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out.

carioca -- welcome to eGullet. Can you tell us more about the foods you ate growing up and how you prepare them?

Apologies to both of you for the very late response. All the threads I was subscribed to lost their subscriptions during a software upgrade last year.

[Why do restaurants allow this?]

I think it is in poor taste. I see it increasingly in this part of the country (and seldom is related to how busy a place is), and it always strikes me as presumtious and manipulative. They never ask that if the change amounts to less than 15 or 20%, only if it is more, in my experience.

[Bialetti Espresso Makers]

Sam -- Was your Brikka the 2 cup or 4 cup model? Some people have said the end result is better in the larger pots, so I was wondering if anyone has experienced that between the two Brikka sizes?