fresco

That sounds very smart. But remind us -- what exactly was on the 1970 menu? Burger, cheeseburger, Big Mac, quarter pounder, fries done in suet, milk shakes, soft drinks? Am I missing anything?

Want to get the full effect of drinking beer without drinking beer? Try these. http://www.fatalvision.com/fv/home.php

I was under the impression that it was the restaurant's responsibility to provide pleasing food, service and atmosphere and my job to pay. All said, I'd rather have the restaurant focus on delivering these three things as best they can and not worry at all about giving me, or anyone else, anything.

Here's a better link to a different story: http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePr.../08/573205.html

The Canadian navy says it will serve Tim Horton's coffee at Canadian Forces base Halifax and in the galleys of the ships that sail from there, because because that is what sailors prefer: http://65.54.187.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=...zAD0BHt0Cha10A3

Some ideas from our English friends: http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/food_an...sp?story=548530

Guess I should have added one of these

Murderous vegan swine. http://news.sympatico.msn.ca/Health/Conten...btitle=&abc=abc This strikes me as potentially more dangerous and irresponsible than, well, fat and salt laden fast food. I think there is real merit in class action litigation against him and his kind.

i'd speculate, with scant evidence of course, that Canadian retailers are less likely to jack up their share of the retail price. would be interesting to compare the U.S. and Canadian farm price spreads. i'm guessing Canadian farmers, and even wholesalers, are seeing a larger chunk of the retail price. just a guess. The low prices apply to imported produce as well. It probably reflects the hypercompetitive marketplace in Toronto, which is unique in Canada, I think. A big German discount supermarket, Lidl, announced last year that it was coming to Toronto to compete in the mid-sized market range. Lidl has been a huge success wherever they expanded in Europe, but decided after a few months of study to stay out of Toronto. I will also note that Sam's Club does not seem to be doing well here, which is an indication of something, although their locations seem to suck.

Actually, I keep thinking that produce is so ridiculously inexpensive that soon someone is going to realize that they've made a big pricing mistake--here in Toronto you can buy, pretty much year around, a staggering amount of very good produce for a very few dollars. In fact, I suspect that the days of dirt cheap produce are numbered--high energy prices will work through the system very soon. But even if prices doubled, it would probably still seem inexpensive. Full disclosure: I'm not feeding a large family. OTOH, I was a little surprised to see bacon advertised as being on special for about double what I remember the regular, everyday price was not too many months ago.

Yes, it is worth the extra trouble and expense. IMHO, of course. But remember, it's a condiment, not an entire meal, so the extra trouble and expense is negligible.

They're great on top of roasted red peppers.

Priceless. Where, but on eGullet?

The only thing I have approaching bottled salad dressing is Hellman's mayo. But I have encountered people, and recently, who were genuinely amazed at the thought that salad dressings do not have to come from a bottle and indeed, regarded this is as magic or alchemy. Such, I guess, is the power of advertising.

Brooks, it sounds as though your Canadian trip was inspirational and galvanizing. You should do it more often.

Just picked up a copy of Delicious and it looks great. It seems to have won just about every award in Australia, including Magazine of the Year. One thing that is a little disconcerting: the seasons are out of joint for anyone in North America. It's odd to pick up a current issue and be reading about "autumn menus."

In Mexico, you get crackers or saltines or whatever they call them down there on the side when you order ceviche in many restaurants--and they go very well together.

A great pioneering concept in recycling. Can someone now persuade Bourdain to post the more outrageous outtakes from A Cook's Tour?

Are you sure you don't mean "soda crackers"? Soda biscuits are something you bake yourself, aren't they?

The link above is stale. This one works: http://www.mysticwoodworks.com/WoodBest.asp

Cutting boards seem to come up a lot here. One previous thread, in which the wood vs synthetic issue is raised: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry369334

A chain of Boston area supermarkets is using "smart cart" technology to allow customers to order stuff from the deli as they shop and be notified when it's ready, and to skip the tedium of the checkout counter: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5462556/

If my calculations are right, this guy has been eating two Big Macs a day for 26 years. The question is, what was his diet to age 23 and why did he switch?

My experience here in Toronto is exactly the opposite. Good local bakeries and pastry shops seem to be opening up all the time, and thriving. Just exactly why this is, I don't know. Toronto used to be a wasteland for bread and pastry not too long ago. Quite aside from this, there are a couple of extremely good "corporate" pastry places (Dufflet) and bakers (Ace) which between them, have raised the bar for bread, cakes, pies and a lot of other stuff. Dufflet especially supplies many local restaurants and their stuff is also available in better food markets. Their influence has forced some other supermarkets to greatly improve the quality and variety of the bread and pastry they offer.

Actually, I agree with her that pasta is not good when it is undersalted.