fresco
-
Posts
3,332 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by fresco
-
-
A growing gap between those with the most and those with the least is probably not good for anyone. But luxuries, like the poor, have always been with us. I'd like to think that reducing poverty does not mean eliminating luxuries.
-
One thing to be said for dining, fine or otherwise, is that it often does encourage people to be more social, pleasant and altogether better human beings than they might otherwise be inclined to be.
Within their circle, but that doesn't necessarily say anything about their attitudes toward people outside of their circle.
Decent behaviour some of the time is certainly a start.
I don't think so. People who are perfectly charming to their dining partners can be involved in horrendous crimes against other people. History teaches us that.
Michael, I will be sure to examine anyone with especially good manners very closely, lest they harbour genocidal tendencies.
-
One thing to be said for dining, fine or otherwise, is that it often does encourage people to be more social, pleasant and altogether better human beings than they might otherwise be inclined to be.
Within their circle, but that doesn't necessarily say anything about their attitudes toward people outside of their circle.
Decent behaviour some of the time is certainly a start.
-
It is true though, that food, and even good food, has probably never before in history been as affordable for so many as it is in the United States and Canada. If that weren't the case, I'd be prepared to be a lot more indignant.
And while not defending wretched excess, it is true that what incites one person to anger and resentment inspires another to aspire towards acquiring the means to acquire or enjoy that object or experience.
-
I've been curious to see if anyone on this board would come out against extravagent dining and unsurprised that anyone has. Heck, I wouldn't.
Just for fun, though, let's look at dining not as intrinsically wrong, but as emblematic of a a society where income and wealth are increasingly concentrated, and the idea of fine dining is increasingly the province of a relatively priviliged handful.
Income has been rising at dranatically uneven rates for decades now. At the same time, the cost of fine dining has been rising significantly faster than the rate of inflation. The end result is that top-end restaurants are even more unimaginable for most Americans than ever, and even "mid-price" places are unaffordable to most.
Just for fun I went to the Sette Osteria website. Sette is located near my office and has a reputation for reasonable food at reasonable prices. By my calculations, it is impossible to eat a decent three-course meal and have a bottle of wine ther for less than $100.
That's a significant dent for most American families -- imagine if you wanted to bring the family -- and Sette neither accepts reservations nor provides tablecloths!
Now make the jump to Masa, or Per Se, or Charlie Trotter, and its pretty easy to make an argument that the creation of a gilded cadre of dining rooms patronized by an equally elite group of diners may be a symptom of something gone very wrong, and that this disparity, rather than the act of fine dining itself, is the true cause of resentment.
That sounds an awful lot like, "There's something wrong with this country when only the rich can afford a Mercedes" or a yacht, or whatever.
-
One thing to be said for dining, fine or otherwise, is that it often does encourage people to be more social, pleasant and altogether better human beings than they might otherwise be inclined to be.
-
When poultry that is consistently flavourful and plump is consistently available, I'm prepared to give up brining it.
-
Canada imports just about all of its fruit and vegetables most of the year, so we are going to feel the impact there. But working at home and living in the middle of a large city has its advantages--almost none of our food shopping involves a car.
-
In the US when some one says "let's go to that new tapas restaurant in Nolita, west village, tribeca etc. . . " what I hear is "let's go to that new clip joint that doesn't have a liquor license but will gladly serve you Manischevitz with rotten apples in it for 35 bucks a pitcher and that calls itself a restaurant but doesn't want to buy anything other than a microwave and some frozen shit from costco."
The word tapas has been used to violate well-meaning diners all over the US. It would take a couple of excellent recommendations and a team of mules to get me into an American tapas place.
Which is completely loony. Good Spanish tapas are either inexpensive to make, or easy to prepare, or both. You'd think restaurants or bars in North America could serve their own great versions of tapas, with healthy markups, and do a roaring business. Wonder why they can't.
-
Funny. I once saw a dim sum item on a Chinese menu described as "Chinese ravioli."
-
The stuff at Costco (and other supermarkets) always seems to be frozen junk, and not tempting at all.
But the Ontario government has opened a palatial new liquor store in central Toronto, and they often have people offering very good apps--I recall one involving lamb that was especially good.
In fact, I'd have to say these are the best samples I've tried anywhere.
-
The term "tapas" which originally meant a vast array of appetizers hot and cold served in Spanish bars, has now come to mean just about any sort of appetizer, probably including microwaved pizza slices that a certain sort of restaurant is trying to push.
Here's probably more than you want to know about tapas:
-
Canola oil.
Beef (try eating it freshly slaughtered.)
Pork and chicken. (try eating it raw).
-
Bigbear,
Thanks for all the info. When are you heading down?
-
I've had lamb burgers several times in decent restaurants and enjoyed them a lot.
-
If part of the markup that's being charged is for the cork removal ritual, glad to see it go.
Restaurants may actually welcome screwtops, because it does eliminate or at least reduce the incidence of wine being rejected by customers for being off.
And I have great faith in the ability of restaurateurs to come up with a replacement ritual if corks become obsolete, especially if they can find a way to make that ritual pay.
-
That's great--where exactly will you be? I'm interested in pretty much everything--the don't miss restaurants and cafes, markets, unusual sights.
I keep reading about a growing tendency in Ecuador towards a two-tiered system where foreigners pay a much higher price for hotels, meals, and much else than the locals do. Would appreciate knowing how pervasive this is, and anything that can be done to thwart it.
-
It's also used to break down the outer hull of dried corn.
-
Has anyone spent a fair bit of time in Ecuador recently? I'm getting interested in the idea of a longish visit there early next year. The posts in this thread are certainly helping to nudge me along and would love to hear more.
-
Scott... I thank you for this effort. Your quest reminds me of some of my more insane endeavours. One cold winter day, I obsessively sought the ingredients to make Worchestershire. (It worked, BTW. I used Emeril's recipe.)
I have always thought that I found allspice in Heinz ketchup. I knew that ketchup was Indian in origin. I will have to research more on the origins, how it got to the US and how Heinz ended up "perfecting" it for mass consumption.
Just to put away some of the shock and awe about the use of hydrochloric acid or lye (sodium hydroxide) to adjust pH that was mentioned upthread... The combination produces common salt and water. HCl is what is in your stomach. So, don't worry about it. (although, ingesting either, neat, is certainly NOT recommended)
I thought ketchup (the word and concept, if not the concoction as we know it today) originated in China.
-
Bibs. Why not just one large bib per person? With printed logos on them. Or Ronald McDonald's face. Except that it might make you lose your appetite. But then, hey! What a way to solve the obesity/fast food dilemma!
You know, I'm going to regret this post because someone's going to jump on this and make a fortune....and not share it with me.
Didn't the lobster joints beat you to it by a few years?
-
You're right. I've also noticed that you can now get scallopini from a whole hell of a lot more animals than calves these days.
-
You go down that road far enough and everything comes up scallopini.
-
I gotta say, it's a pet peeve of mine when fast food gives you a stack of napkins even when all you got was say, one sandwich. You're given one napkin at every other restaurant type in the world that I know of. Why does fast food bring out the slob in us? (Where do I begin?) When you order a burger at a sit down restaurant, do you still expect 12 napkins?
Doesn't a lot of fast food drip, involve lots of ketchup, and perhaps most important to this discussion, appeal to families with small kids?
But yes, I'm with you on liking the idea of a lot less wasted paper.
A defense of "extravagant" dining
in Restaurant Life
Posted
If you insist on equating the opportunity of fine dining with the right to vote, I don't think there's much basis for further discussion.