Richard Kilgore

MRX -- my point was not that the flat bottomed Lodge can not be put on coals, but that the legged one is specifically designed for that purpose; the legs make the bottom heat easy to control and the rimmed lid makes it possible to place coals on top and apply and control top heat. I don't think a Lodge Dutch oven is a good first choice for you Jenny, given that you were looking for something you can just throw in the dishwasher. Raw cast-iron takes more time to season and to care for.

Apple juice (cider), water (lots), herbal teas, soup & saltines. I felt so bad recently that I could not tolerate cooking and resorted to canned soup, but it got me through.

jhlurie -- nope, you absolutely must choose the marshmallows! Ha! I watch the sales at the W-S shops. Often great deals that make fine gifts. Eg. large, colorful tin of biscotti for $4.

MRX -- I disagree. No matter how well seasoned, if you slow cook something with acidic content, such as tomatoes, for 4 - 5 hours or longer, the seasoning will be affected and food will be imparted with a metalic taste. And it may be worth pointing out that Lodge makes different dutch ovens for stove/oven (flat bottom) use and for camping (on legs with lid designed to hold coals). Here's a link to the Le Cruset Outlet Stores.

I would not worry about small pin-hole bubbles in the interior of LC cookware. I had a question about that several months ago when I got a 9 1/2 qt oval, and Fifi mentioned she has used one with a pin-hole or two for many years and it has not been a problem. While I like Lodge and have several Lodge Dutch ovens and four or five of their skillets, you are better off with a LC if you plan on slow cooking using any acidic foods at all.

Okay what's the functional difference between the large and small Benriners? What is one good for that the other is not? There is one on Amazon for 24.99; I have no way of knowing which size it is, but am guessing small.

Robyn -- Most of the Dallas restaurants I listed would be of potential interest to you. Ciudad for sophisticated Mexican (see Foodman's post on Cuidad and Nana today in Dallas Restaurant Scene thread). Also see the same thread for comments on many of the restaurants I listed.

Nice piece, Varmint. I agree that it's better to introduce children to fishing in a way that they get more out of the experience. There's a lot to be learned on lakes and in streams about nature, ecology and the cycles of life. There are a couple of very good books available on teaching children to fly fish -- one out about ten years ago by a pediatric neurologist. I reviewed it when it came out, and I'll be glad to dig out the reference if you are interested. And there is a diference between wild and farm trout. There is even a difference between stocked trout that have just been dumped in the river after dining only on Purina Trout Chow and the same fish after a couple of weeks of a little excercise working for their normal trout diet of insects. The flesh goes from being a pasty gray-white to a healthy pink and they taste better. I release all wild trout, of course, and keep only a few fish in places where they are stocked in a river regularly for the tourists. They are good baked in foil in the oven or at the campfire, with quartered lemon and fresh herbs lining the cavity.

In Dallas, you may want to consider the new cafe run by The Mansion at TurtleCreek in the Nasher Sculpture Garden while you are there. The Dallas Museum of Art and the Trammel Crow Asian Art Collection are both next door, with the Symphony Hall also nearby, as far as other things to do. Take a ride up to the SMU campus for the new quarters for the Meadows Museum of Art (largest collection of Spanish art outside of Spain). Restaurants you may want to consider within a reasonable taxi ride from the museum district include Local Aurora The French Room Arcodoro & Pomodoro Monica's Aca y Alla Nana Watel's A little further ride will get you to Abacus Il Sole L'Ancestral Cuidad York Street Cafe Pacific Cafe Madrid There are more possibilities much further north, and I am sure I have left out some out closer in. If you make it to SMU and the Meadows Museum, there is Kuby's for German food or Peggy Sue BBQ in the neighborhood. Many of the above have been mentioned in multiple threads here in the Texas forum, so you may want to do a search for the ones that appeal to you the most.

D Magazine -- February 2004 "The Ultimate Guide To Food" in the February issue of D Magazine. (The January cover is still showing on the website as of today, and I am not sure when it rolls over.) It's worth picking up the February issue for this spread edited by Nancy Nichols, with reporting by Julie Blacklidge, Brittany Edwards, Ryan Mendenhall, Spencer Michlin, and Troy Slonecar. While they do not provide a great deal of detail, they do a good job of providing an overview of some of the great food sources in the DFW area. They cover Meat Markets and Butchers Fish Markets Ethnic Markets Cheese Purveyors and Makers Bakeries Wine Shops

Here's a link to Tom Spicer at SpiceAirUnlimited.com in Dallas. He has been supplying the highest quality produce to the top restaurants in Dallas for years. You can email him or give him a ring. He actually prefers the phone. Although last time I checked most items on his site are listed in fairly large quantities for most home cooks, he will ship smaller quantities...just ask.

chezlamere -- the flu has given me time to read a bunch the past week or so. And I forgot to mention Steven King's book "On Writing", which is directed toward aspiring fiction writers, but also has something to say to anyone who writes -- part memoir, part instruction.

My main interest right now is Robb Walsh's "Are You Really Going To Eat That?: Reflections of a Culinary Thrill Seeker", a fine set of essays. Also this week reading Ruth Reichel's "Tender at the Bone", Calvin Trillin's "Travels With Alice", and Jacques Pepin's "The Apprentice". In addition browsing through Madeleine Kammin's "The New Making of a Cook".

I have a small Peugot that I use for fine grind and at table and a 12 1/2 " Olde Thompson that I use for course grind. I like and use both of them often.

Dallas Morning News Food Editor Dottie Griffith picks her top ten restaurants of 2003. With alternative picks by DMN food writers Teresa Gubbins and Kim Harwell. Plus a list of other "notables". And more.

Robyn -- I am not sure how it is helpful, in the context of a discussion of snobbish food attitudes, to paint New Yorkers broadly as crass, insensitive fools. We all have our priorities, preferences, limits and provincial leanings no matter where we are (witness Fifi, who I have warned before to stay away from that valve). Treating others with respect while disagreeing is almost always a plus.

My everyday EVOO has become Lucini, since one of the chains sells it for 2/3 of what the specialty stores charge. A very nice oil with a peppery finish. My best oil right now is Goccia Umbra. I use Canola oil when I don't want the olive oil taste.

Sam -- I remember you making the cast iron recommendation on another thread here, which puzzled me. I have a heavy steel wok that I have had for over 25 years. It works fine, even with residential gas burners.

Thanks!

I like Okra a lot...gumbo, okra and tomatoes, fried. All of it. But it can be really, really good or really, really bad. Fifi really should stay off of Okra threads. I keep telling her that, but like Mayhaw man said, she's pretty hard headed.

Okay, you folks have persuaded me to get the serrated peeler for tomatoes and such. You're right, they are a hassle, even with a very sharp smooth edged peeler.

Scott -- What's the brunch at La Duni like?

Thanks for posting your adventures with Mr. Lobster. Yoo-Rang -- Can you get the recipe into the archive?

The ice cream place across from Dobie was "Nothing Strikes Back" -- second story walk up to black walls, black light, day-glow posters and the Jefferson Airplane blaring. Don't remember smelling smoke when I was there, but wouldn't be too surprised. The story of the place as I recall it, was that around 1969 they opened "Nothing Is Real" and were so elated to have made a profit at the end of the month that they decided to celebrate by --of course -- driving to Chicago to have breakfast. On the way back in their hippy van, they were busted in Kansas for marijuana, spent two years in jail, and rolled back into Austin to open as..."Nothing Strikes Back" which closed in the summer of 1977. As I understood it, the place was run by two hippy families, who took turns -- six months on, six months living in Mexico. Parts of this may be Austin legend, so take it with a grain of salt.

Austin Food Media Notes submitted by claire797 From the Lemon Semifreddo at Asti to Baleine Sel de Mer Fin. The Austin Chronicle does its "Year in Food". Austin Chronicle's Year In Food Meanwhile, Virgina B. Wood ponders what she'd like to see in the upcoming year. Virgina Wood says..... Kitty Crider gives her take on what's out and what's in. Trends for the new year Meanwhile, Texas Monthly says The Granite Cafe's rock solid, Starlite is fading and they're warming up to the new Cafe Caprice on W. 10th. TM's new and updated reviews for January 2004 Texas Monthly's picks and pans for January Austin Homesteader picks the best pies of 2003 http://www.austinhomesteader.com/pierecipies.htm Plus, a review of the relatively new Greek restaurant, Pyramids http://www.austinhomesteader.com/pyramids.htm