bilrus

I always get the chicken salad with walnuts - I think that qualifies as meat.

In LA in 2000 at the Democratic Convention there were about 4,500 delegates and about 35,000 estimated attendees including media, volunteers and other hangers on. In LA there were also an estimated 30 to 50,000 protesters. Can't imagine where they would fall in the dining scheme of things. Edit - looks like busboy and I were on the same CNN site for our info.

This is also a common occurance at some pretty good BBQ places. Maybe they are exempt? Pizza by the slice places might also be exempt from some of these rules - paper plates, vinyl tablecloths...

Unless the items are good bread or hot donuts at brunch. And that's another one - bad bread.

The eGullet Caucus is formed.

Speaking as one of this group (consultants, certainly not money guys) - I will guarantee you that I will be on eGulllet next summer soliciting opinions for good restaurants in Boston and not going to Friday's or some big tourist trap.

These are the same ads that feature wide camera shots that quickly zoom into the owner of the establishment smiling and shaking hands with 'Customers' for an uncomfortably long period of time. Ads that are generally written, produced and shot by the local cable company ad sales rep.

The staff are all wearing nametags. The staff are all wearing "Flair". Vinyl tablecloths. The menus are laminated and have food bonded to them. The condiments come in squeeze packets.

Within relatively small geographic areas people of similar demographics tend to affiliate with the same party. But across wider geographies this doesn't hold true. Republicans (or Democrats) in New York City are going to be far different demographically than their counterparts from Mississippi or Colorado. My guess is that since the demographics are so variable within the parties it would make it hard to pin down where one party comes down culinarily.

Obviuosly, but the question is what germs. "Sanitizing" a peson's hands on boarding a ship only takes care of the issue for that moment. If the person is inherently unsanitary bad germs will be passed along regardless of the initial "sanitizing" since it is so limited. I'm not sure about the specifics, but in the Democratic Party labor union concerns are pretty high. If the cruise ship isn't unionized they will have a hard time getting much support from Democaratic legislators and organizations. Most hotels are for the most part union shops. Bill, This is a republican convention not democrat. In any case, what does that have to do with sanitizing? Duh - I meant to quote the post above this one - about the potential for this happening at the Democratic Convention in Boston as well. Besides - isn't it obvious that we Democrats are much more healthy and hygenic than the Republicans?

Obviuosly, but the question is what germs. "Sanitizing" a peson's hands on boarding a ship only takes care of the issue for that moment. If the person is inherently unsanitary bad germs will be passed along regardless of the initial "sanitizing" since it is so limited. I'm not sure about the specifics, but in the Democratic Party labor union concerns are pretty high. If the cruise ship isn't unionized they will have a hard time getting much support from Democaratic legislators and organizations. Most hotels are for the most part union shops.

Having been to a few conventions (on the Democratic side) it seems to me like this will be a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things. The delegations from each state have already picked or been assigned their hotels. Most delegations stay pretty close to their base hotel. This was especially true in 2000 in LA with everything so spread out. There will probably be a little movement between hotels in a more compact place like New York but most rank and file delegates will stick to their own state events. Another big group of attendees - the media - won't be anywhere near the ship. This would probably mostly be a venue for VIPs and fundraising events, essentially taking the place of one hotel out of the twenty or thirty that are being used by the rank-and-file delegates.

Is that some sort of Opera pun?

It sounds like the Government affairs people at the Restaurant Association are slipping up. Restaurants are one of the biggest industries in any town and could likely generate a sizable contingent at a hearing like this - chefs to waiters. Granted the meeting would be during dinner time, but what isn't during a mealtime for a restaurant.

I have to claim ingnorance on the rules as they are right now. What are the standards. Obviously I don't smoke or I would know the rules. And I can't think of any instances where I was bothered by smoke in a restaurant here in DC. Are there currently smoking / non-smoking sections? Smoking only in the bar? Would this eliminate bar smoking entirely? I'm full of questions.

I think this gets back to what we were talking about at the top of the thread: "My guess is that the level that the restaurant is striving for also weighs in the grading. If Kinkead's is trying to be a four star place and falls short, should they get downgraded all the way to a zero or one star? Likewise - if a restaurant is trying to be a good solid restaurant, but has no airs about being four star, even it is the best possible restaurant in its category, should it be a four star?" In the case of Two Amy's and the Inn - I don't see that it is a problem with the stars themselves. I personally like both places. Both do a good job at what they do. Two Amy's is definitely one of the better casual places in town and the Inn is defintely one of the better upscale places in town. The problem is that in isloation - if someone is just looking at the stars and not anything else, price, setting, food style - readers (or rather non 'readers') might look at the two as equals. But how many people put so much stock in just a rating? If I am looking for a nice place to celebrate an Anniversary I wouldn't go to Two Amy's. Likewise, if I am looking for a nice casual lunch on a Saturday afternoon I wouldn't go to the Inn. I haven't seen the book yet - did any other places get four stars in addition to the three (Laboratorio, Maestro and Citronelle) from the Annual Guide? If not that is a pretty high standard he is setting for Four Stars. I know it has its detractors, but I still think the Inn deserves a spot, even if it is as the fourth on the list.

No, but it happens all the time. Restaurants often cook to cater to the common denominator. THis weekend I ate at one of the few non-chain, non-Italian or Chinese restaurants in our ittle corner of ex-urban DC. My entree was not bad, my wife's was not good. But it was a big restaurant with a lot of customers. THey don't need to do anything special to get people in the door and presumably to keep them coming back. As for the investors - if the restaurant is bringing in good money and the customers keep coming back, or they have a tourist clientele that they don't need to have come back, why should they care about the quality? Not that that makes it right.

I had 2 really good meals on a visit a few years ago at a place called the Samba Room. Don't remeber the area it was in (it was a little shopping dining area - not Ybor City). Pretty good Carribean / Cuban food. We liked it so much we went back again later in the trip. This was before I became a big eGullet / Food Geek so it may not be as good as I remember but I thought it was very good at the time. Edit - no dancing that I can remember though.

After reading all these elaborate dishes I'm embarrased to say that my Mashed Potatoes were my highlight of the day. Nothing special - Potatoes through the ricer, a little cream a lot of butter and some salt. But damn they were right - fluffy. And the potatoes basically held the butter together.

The maple syrup worked really well. It was my favorite thing I made this year. Too stuffed to type any more.

What would people think about the simple combination of cranberries and oranges but using some maple syrup in place of the sugar?

I have heard enough bad things (whether they are justifed or not) that this isn't a place I am rushing to, just as I didn't rush to Greenwood. Not that I am someone looking to make a lot of substitutions, but a pleasant atmosphere is what I am looking for and that is not a reputation that the Greenwood people have. If I could be convinced otherwise, I could change my feelings though.

Same for me please. Sorry about that.

No, you weren't drinking so that was fine.

What do we need to do to make it right? Did you have to cover it or did the restaurant?