lia

I bought the new issue today, same day I received July Gourmet. I'll be subbing to Chow. And unless Gourmet gets significantly less boring very soon, I won't be renewing next year.

Interesting that you say that because I had it for the first time friday afternoon, and while it was fresh and perfectly adequate, I was underwhelmed. I remember thinking, 'hm, they raved about it on EG, but eh." LOVE those greens though. The waiter was cute and yelled at me for not finishing "your greens young lady."

Thought of another one....When I was in elementary school (maybe sixth grade) our class was used to taste test a new Schrafft's (I think) product. A sort of push up lemon ice. The test was blind, turns out we were choosing between the natural and the artificial lemon flavors. Guess who was the ONLY one who chose natural?

oh yes. I remember making gingerbread (also from that same Fannie Farmer cookbook) and staring at the finished product and feeling a sense of awe that that beautiful, fragrant, delicious thing came from the ingredients I mixed together. Another memory is of me and an uncle, digging in the dregs of a huge pot of white clam sauce, fishing out the bits of garlic and clams left behind. I dig the stories from people who grew up in the southern/rural areas. So exotic and different from my suburban NYC upbringing; although I did have an Italian-American/ArthurAvenue-Shopping daddy who turned me onto some unusual items. Cow's heart and lamb's head come to mind. And my grandfather used to buy some nasty cheese with live worms or maggots in it. bleh. And to this day the only thing I've been unable to consume (other than that cheese) is tripe.

I thought of this just now while eating a nectarine. It was the first really sweet juicy one this year....and I thought, 'hm, when I was a kid, i'd have good peaches and nectarines back in april." How did I remember this? because I used to LOG MY FIRST PEACH OF THE YEAR in my diaries. dork. Other clues: When my parents would leave for an evening out (I guess when I was a preteen, old enough to be home alone...), the last thing they said when they left the house was "don't turn on the stove." Ha. I went wacky with Fannie Farmer back then. I specifically remember my best friend calling to chat, but I couldn't because I was in the middle of making Chicken Kiev. What a feeling of accomplishment when I cut into the chicken and the butter ran out.

Oh, now I envy you for your place of residence more than your writing ability! Last time I was in SF was 11/2003 for a weekend and I spent hours on Sat at the Ferry Market and also swore that I would be there every weekend if I lived there.

What on earth is a Magic Bullet?? Do I have a dirty mind?

Shellfish. Oh how I dreaded Christmas Eve, the smell of the house. I'd hide in a corner and eat a pepperoni/american cheese sandwich on white bread. My parents would scoff and insist that I'd grow to love the feast, and I'd scoff "NEVER!" right back. They were right.

Oooh, are they still nasty? I used to work around the corner at Broadway Diner and I too would spend quite a bit of down time there.... "moving sale?" Is the store moving?

Cool story, you're a very talented writer. You know that "what I love about NYC" thread? Chelsea Market probably takes the cake over my vote for delivery. I live so close to it that I probably take it for granted, but you know i'll be visiting tomorrow.

I hate beer too. I never liked ketchup or mayo, was always a mustard girl. Never could eat raw tomatoes, but some years ago, I trained myself to like them, started having them on sandwiches and burgers, etc. That all went out the window a year ago when I got terrible food poisoning from a fast food "bbq beef" sandwich that had a slice of fake american cheese, lettuce and tomato on it. Now, I can stomach a raw tomato, but i can not have a hot sandwich dressed with the cold veggies. horrible. Serves me right for getting a sandwich at a MALL in New Orleans. WHAT was I thinking??

GOOD Peking Duck....with perfectly crispy skin. And as wonderful as that is, it's equally disappointing when it's not GOOD Peking Duck. and man, i've had some not good versions recently. also, the perfect margarita. Not a food, but that'll make me do the happy dance.

For me, I think it's delivery. Having a craving for whatever and having it at your door in a half hour (and usually MUCH less.) Unfortunately the down side of that is how i've so lost my cooking touch. I have cookbooks up the wazoo....I especially love to bake and I always wanna get down and dirty with some bread or brownies or a difficult cake or something....but there's SO many great places nearby to buy great bread, and there are great bakeries all over...and as many mentioned, the asian food options are so plentiful that i choose my restaurant based on the dish I'm in the mood for...We're so spoiled here.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience at Rocking Horse. I live in the neighborhood and it used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I guess it became a victim of the "scene" in Chelsea, and it's always packed so service wise they're probably coasting on their rep. ETA: oh and the hole in the wall place I described above in my Cinco de Mayo post is Los Paisas Mexican Deli. Better the second time.

Does Cinnamon Toast Crunch taste anything like that cinnamon Cap't Crunch cereal from the 70's? The one with Jean LaFoot? Used to love that cereal. And the vanilla one with Wilma the Whale.

Citarella the FISH store? Where are the cupcakes sold? Of course I'm gonna go right there tomorrow on your rec, but it still sounds a little odd.

And how did your Mother's Day go KatieLoeb? Mine was hell, just got home and made a very tall Pina Colada. I never drink at home after work. I understand that people who aren't in the restaurant biz might not realize that if they want to order in dinner for 12 on MD, that maybe they should do it ahead of time, but do they have to be so nasty when we tell them that it'll be two hours for delivery? And it's not due to any incompetence on the part of the kitchen or the staff, there's just really only so much product the kitchen can put out within a certain amount of time. ugh, i know i'm gonna have "Diner Dreams" tonight.

we haven't been there! we did plan on going a few months ago, but after checking the menu on Menupages.com, he didn't seem particularly interested. (I DID say he was a snob, right?? ) I believe that was when we made the decision to check out Mama Mexico for the first time....we were looking for a 'nice' place to go, and that one came highly recommended by a lot of our friends, especially since we both work nearby. My cinco de mayo meal was at a hole in the wall grocery store with tables on the side on Amsterdam and 103 or 104 that had THE best food i've ever tasted. Don't know the name and Eliot was working so he didn't come, but we'll be going back for sure.

We have a regular customer, police detective or sergeant or something important. Usually a really nice guy....until he asked a young blonde pretty server if she ever did porn films. She was fairly incensed at the question, the GM called the cop dude out on it...cop dude insisted he didn't mean anything OFFENSIVE about it (can you say "my ass?") and the GM said he'd be pretty pissed too if someone said that to him. So, a male waiter was dispatched to wait on that table for the rest of the meal. That was that. Until TWO different customers subsequently asked the same waitress if she did porn. So now we figure that she just resembles a porn star somewhere.....we've asked all the guys (ha) to research it so we can find out who she is, but no one's been successful.

Dealing with customers trying to get over is always a difficult and sticky situation. It's one thing if they have a genuine beef or complaint, but sometimes the line between a real problem and a quest for free food is a very shaky one. But sometimes it's really obvious. I posted awhile ago in a Gift Certificate (I think) thread about how we started logging the cards sent out for complaints, and after a few weeks discovered that a large percentage were going to the same building. I used to wonder if there was a flyer or something going about reading, "hey! complain to ***** Restaurant and they'll automatically send you a $25 gift card!" A month or so ago, I got a call on a Tuesday afternoon from a person who claimed to be unhappy with Sat night service. I forget most of the call, but then he said that when the waiter "brung" his steak it wasn't cooked right but he was so aggravated that he ate it anyway. ok. "So can I come in tonight and get my steak back?" Sir, why didn't you speak to a manager at the time? "Like I said, when the waiter brung my steak I was already angry." The caller had no receipt (so we could look up the check), no idea where he was sitting, who his server was, nor how much his check was (Porterhouse steaks run about $60.) SO....let me get this straight. You had a problem with your food on Saturday night, brought it to NO staff member's attention, and think you can call on tuesday and get a free steak? I'm sorry no. He got huffy and said he'd make a reso. elsewhere, I said fine, thank you very much and hung up. What I WANTED to say was 'good luck trying to scam someone else.' Now, in hindsight, I can't help but wonder if perhaps I showed a little bit of prejudice because of his very intelligent use of the word "brung." nah.

Went today, a little after six, at first I didn't think the place was very busy, then I noticed the fully packed back room. Don't they open at six? People must've been waiting on line. First off the service was smiling and friendly, from the guy who interrupted his chat with someone outside to welcome us and guide us in the front door, to the waiter who while he didn't seem to know the (xeroxed) menu by heart, again had a smile throughout, checked back frequently and was all around a pleasure. We were seated right behind the bar against the left wall looking in. Great vantage point for me to check out the line. Seemed to be two expediters working, we got our food in about 15 minutes after ordering. He warned us ahead of time that everything was available except for the option to order any sandwich "as a salad" because they didn't have any greens. I found that a little humorous, especially when I noticed the huge sign on the door to the kitchen reading "Out of Salad" No petty cash for the grocery store? The male manager who greeted us outside seemed calm, cool and collected, the female manager looked like she wanted to tear her hair out. As everything seemed to be going well, I don't know why. I overheard a waitress telling her a table wanted to move elsewhere and she still looked panicked, so maybe that's just her style. The place was busy, no doubt more than they expected to be able to handle so soon after opening, but like I said, all was well. I also overheard one table complain about the sausage, but I couldn't hear details. the food was delicious. my husband ordered a full rack of the St. Louis style ribs....he wanted to get the 7 rib option but I convinced him to go whole hog, ar ar. Like we weren't gonna finish it? I got the two meat platter: sausage (due to the recs on this board) and brisket just because I was in the mood. sides were "Super" fries and the greens of the day. The ribs were perfect. Not falling off the bone, as is common with baby backs, but tender and meaty and very very smoky. the brisket came in slices, and also chunks of fattier meat. the chunks won out, the slices were a bit dry, but i loved the stripes of fat on the end. The sausage was AWESOME. Not something I otherwise would have ordered, so thanks to those who recommended it here. I want more right now. Fries were good, seasoned, which i ordinarily don't like, but not TOO seasoned. there were a couple of 'onion strings' in my basket and I'll definitely be ordering those next time. I finished the cup of greens and I would've drunk the likker if it wouldn't have mortified my husband. He finished his whole rack, less the two I ate, but was concerned a bit about the pinkness and I don't think he believed my explanation. the chicken looked good, the duck looked gorgeous. saw lots of potato salad and slaw on passing platters...can't wait to go back. I stopped the female manager on the way out, I told her the food was great as was the service, and they were doing a good job. Poor sweetie looked like she was gonna cry. I've been in restaurant management for half my life now, but I've never opened one. I can't imagine the stress....

The desserts are VERY VERY SWEET so if that's not your cup of tea don't bother. My husband will only eat their muffins (i've had blueberry and banana) and I brought home some yummy orange scones the other day and he liked them too. I don't like the chocolate cupcakes, prefer the yellows, but I get slices of the yellow cake with buttercream frosting because the cake to frosting ratio is greater. They have an amazing red velvet cake (but not always) although I've read elsewhere on this site that a lot of people don't prefer cream cheese icing. The peanut butter pie is to die for, as is the banana cream. The coconut cream pie didn't do much for me....I tasted the icebox cake (simply, chocolate wafers layered with cream) which tasted like the Oreo from heaven....I've noticed a rather tall coconut layer cake that I'm gonna have to try on my next visit which will probably be...oh...tomorrow. (and I'm also rejoining the gym :P)

Too bad they don't take you up a few blocks on Ninth Ave to Billy's Bakery. I don't know if it's hormones or what, but I can't stay out of that place lately.

At least you get REAL half and half. My mother serves non-dairy fat free Half and Half. ugh.

had my first on Tues. BEST new mass produced candy bar i've had in years and years.