fresco

Hey, yeah, somebody please do this. I've also daydreamed about doing a really low-rent local cable channel food tv program, aimed mainly at students, called The Foodbank Gourmet--based on bargain ingredients foraged and found.

"In fact, Burroughs' old house is a 3.2 bar" This is a new one on me--3.2? Just googled it--hard to believe that such things exist. Isn't the concept about as flawed as "light" cigarettes? Ballast Regime--Best of luck with your move east. Career? School? Itchy feet? All of the above?

When a man is tired of bacon, he is tired of life.

And the short stories: An Odor of Pork Roast, That Evening Pork Go Down The Boar etc To give southern women writers their due, Flannery O'Connor and Carson McCullers both offer a wealth of piggy material in their titles. But enough.

Peameal is a delicacy which reduces many Canadians to hopeless, sentimental mush. It is pork loin cured in a sweetish vinegar brine, rolled in cornmeal and fried in slices. Usually served on a bun, with lots of mustard, eh.

When pigs fly, bacon is as manna from heaven.

"Lawrence (my current place of residence) is full of Mennonite (s)" Hmm. Current home of many Mennonites, former home of the author of Naked Lunch. It sounds like eGullet heaven.

"One unifying thing with good fast food concepts is that the food is usually portable, and doesn't require cutlery - usually resolved by being in a bun." You are right of course, unfortunately, for this precludes the wider adaptation of many splendid ideas--Danish open faced sandwiches, for instance, which require a knife and fork. They would not be the same at all tucked into a bun. I do wonder, though, why the pasty has not gained more of a following.

One idea for an international fast food place based on English cooking--breakfast. At its best, the fryup is a marvel: banger, blood sausage, egg, chips, bacon, mushrooms. No cold toast, though, and fried bread is a bit of an acquired taste.

A bent banger--sounds like a traffic accident or real impediment to procreation. But sausages, I think are something that the English understand. Definitely worth trying.

"Ever been in a Wimpy?" Yes. And immediately concluded that the hamburger is best enjoyed in the New World.

A BLT without the lettuce and tomato is like a fish without a bicycle.

No peameal. But we will return.

En route to the Stratford Festival yesterday, we ventured deep into Mennonite country west of Toronto. On the way back, after a really pretty awful production of The Birds (Aristophanes does not meld well with Andrew Lloyd Webber) my daughter spied a place called The Best Little Pork Place. A vegetarian for many years until 9/11, when she happened to be working close to the World Trade Center, she is now, again, a confirmed omnivore, and insisted that we stop. The place was run by a Mennonite family who have been raising champion pigs for years, and their business name was no idle boast. We walked away with a load of smoked sausages, summer sausage, smoked ribs, bacon (sliced and slab) and more. We've tried the summer sausage and the bacon--both fabulous. They tasted of extremely happy, smokey pig. I have to add that any food I've tried that originated on a Mennonite farm--free range chickens, cheese, beef, lamb, eggs--has been among the best, if not the best, of that food I've ever eaten. They are also reputed to be pretty good cooks. What are your food experiences with Mennonites?

It don't taste like chicken.

You could probably go "international" and still stay in business and within the formula by adopting the Harry's Bar approach--a famous joint in a few widely spaced cities. Holly's--it has a ring to it.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner of champions. And great for a snack.

Forget the ounce of prevention. A pound of bacon will cure what ails you.

"Fresco-"snowshoe" naan ? The shape?" Yup. Made with yogurt and hot water. "And what is chicken under a brick? Sounds interesting." It's one of those very simple cooking tricks that shouldn't make a big difference, but does, somehow. A spatchcocked chicken, salted, (or flavored however you want, but simple is good) grilled for 20-30 minutes a side under a brick covered in tin foil, so the brick dust doesn't rub off. Comes out falling apart, but still very moist and with most of the fat gone. If you don't have access to a bbq, you can do it in a large skillet on a stovetop.

"Fresco, don't you taste a bit of bitterness with the dough left to age in the fridge? I always have. " I wouldn't keep it for more than, say, two days. But yes, you can get a bit of a sourdough effect. Don't mind it myself. It is important to keep the dough in a sealed container so that it doesn't pick up flavors from anything else in the fridge.

Some suggestions: 1. Lose the olive oil. 2. For thick, crispy pizza, try whacking the hell out of freshly made dough. A rolling pin works fine for this. 3. For crispy, thin crust pizza, try keeping it in the fridge for a couple of days before using it. 4. Don't know what flour you are using, but try to find the really hard, high protein stuff usually labelled "baker's flour." 5. If you aren't using a stone, do. 6. Eventually you'll get it the way you want it.

"Screw healthy" Great condom ad

"Not even a friggin' clown." I'm ok with a friggin' clown; not so ok with that scary neuter Ronald McDonald.

Afghan "snowshoe" naan, spinach cooked with a lot of butter, yellow beans, chicken under a brick. Albeti i Nova Tempranillo 2001.

Makes a lot of sense, actually. When do you open?