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Ben, I loved that story, too. Much better than a mere explanation of what dace is!

Those are so cute!

Bibimbap is one of my favorite Korean foods (among several). I won't be participating in this cookoff in the foreseeable future, but I'm already enjoying the photos and discussion, and I might go to a good New York Korean restaurant and take photos of the bibimbap there at some point. My subjective point of view is that it's very important to mix all the ingredients well, and that some crispy rice is essential to a fully satisfying experience. Then again, I'm not familiar with gkook bibimbap. Chef Koo, does that also include some crispy rice?

Hmm...I've always liked the name "alla puttanesca," which means "in the style of the whore" in Italian. Various theories have been put forward to explain the name, but I just like its colorfulness.

Since I've been to Shanghai and had dim sum there and, therefore, know how good it is, I'll offer the opinion that you probably won't be satisfied with xiaolongbao anywhere in New York, though people will argue for New Green Bo, Yeah Shanghai, Joe's, and perhaps some other place or two. Undoubtedly, Jason and some others will steer you to China 46, which is in New Jersey and not very close to Brooklyn. As for Cantonese dim sum, try World Tong, which also has the virtue (for you) of being in Brooklyn.

Yeah, you're totally right.

It's probably off-topic to get into arguments about who conquered what when, but you might find this site, with its chronology of "Major Events of Tang in Central Asia" (scroll down) to be of interest: http://www.silk-road.com/artl/tang.shtml I loved K. M. Abramson's post, in which she shows us how both tradition and contact with various neighboring peoples has inspired the people of Xinjiang to what sounds like a marvellous cuisine!

I love Mysore Rava Masala Dosas, as they're called at my favorite local South Indian vegetarian restaurant, and I love that interior photo! Percy, you've really set a new standard for enticing photos in a foodblog. Thank you for entertaining us for the last week, and I'm glad to hear your aunt is on the mend!

Do you personally know these things to be untrue? Perhaps you can give the versions you witnessed, in that case.

What do you mean by "airline style"?

Sam, do you think DiFara's is worthy of note for such a list?

Yesterday, I got four chocolate cupcakes and four flourless chocolate cakes from Magnolia for a cousin's birthday. I thought the cupcakes were good except that the amount of icing was ridiculously excessive to my taste and too buttery or something (we had a discussion around the table on how much of the fat may have been butter or shortening). On the other hand, the flourless chocolate cakes were surprisingly dark and had some bitterness remaining, plus a somewhat smoky taste, and weren't that moist. I liked them, and they were good with some Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream. My verdict? I doubt I'd wait on line again for cupcakes, but I'd be willing to try some of their other non-iced items.

I went to Indus Valley for lunch today with my parents and brother. Their lunch specials are real bargains; if I remember correctly, $9.95-12.95 for soup or samosas, main dish with sides, and a small dessert. We all decided to start with their unusual rendition of Mulligatawny Soup, which included sliced shitake mushrooms, coconut, and slices of kaffir lime leaves, all ingredients I have never had in that soup. It had lots of lemon juice in it, which is the way I like it. I didn't try all of the mains. My main, Malabar Fish Masala (? I thought it had another name on the lunch menu), was excellent if perhaps a little too rich for optimal stomach health for me. It was made with chunks of salmon that had been seared separately and then combined with the sauce. I also tried my mother's Seekh Kebab, which was tasty and not overcooked. Accompaniments included a nice toovar dal, and a very tasty vegetable curry, which included potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and strips of ginger. The tandoori items came with a side of watercress. Also provided was an unnecessarily large stack of naan and a sufficient amount of rice. The desserts on offer were Kesari Malai Kheer, described on their menupages.com menu as "A Delicacy Prepared with Aromatic Basmati Rice, Spanish Saffron & Milk," and Gulab Jamun. I thought the kheer really had an excessive amount of saffron, and I like saffron. The gulab jamun was good, and frankly, I didn't need more than the one ball they gave me, because the portions of the main dishes were sizeable, though not out of line with normal American portions. I drank salty lassi with the meal and was satisfied with it. My general impression is that this is a better restaurant than Salaam Bombay, where I went two days ago. I really have to criticize Citysearch for their listing of Indus Valley, which claims that the establishment's open hours are 5pm-11pm. Because of that misinformation, we almost didn't go there today. Yes, they are open for lunch.

Very subjective indeed, Vedat! You would deny that someone is a gourmet if they're willing to subject themselves to bad food occasionally, when that's necessary to keep their job and advance their career?

How does his being a lawyer make him an amateur food writer? I don't see that at all.

What's ajat? Vancouver Lee, looks like a really fun get-together!

Does overseas travel really still mean just Europe or Caribbean resorts to most Americans today, or is that mostly an Eastern US (and Canada) phenomenon? I believe that people on the West Coast of the US and Canada are much less Eurocentric and are travelling to Asia in larger percentages. It's 5-6 hours closer to them by air, with Europe correspondingly farther, so that the travel time from San Francisco to Tokyo or Rome ends up being about the same. And if we think about it that way, maybe it starts to become clearer why California and Northwest cuisine isn't called "fusion" but California style, Vancouver cuisine, etc., whereas we are still talking about "fusion" in New York. When people stop assuming that overseas travel means a week in Paris, rather than a week in Shanghai or Singapore or Bangkok (not that there's anything wrong with Paris; don't get me wrong!), we may stop talking about "fusion" and start having the "merged" (I think the word was) cuisines that Jamie Maw, Fat Guy and others have been talking about in the "More about fusion" thread.

It's partly a matter of priorities. jeunefilleparis has mentioned how she saves her money very severely in other areas of her life in order to be able to pay for big blowout meals at places like Alain Ducasse. For you, travelling is so important that you're willing to max out your savings account for that purpose. But as you know, many people just aren't quite that passionate about travelling, high-end dining, whatever.

Linda, minors can't drive where you live?

Hmmm...I don't love hamburgers...

Thanks for bringing this back to Earth, Busboy. Let's face it, only rich people or perhaps people who are so fanatical about high-end food that they are maniacally frugal in all other areas of their lives can afford to eat out regularly at places like Per Se. Whatever the future of dining will be, it isn't going to be only for the richest. I like my food but don't expect to ever go to Per Se unless someone decides to treat me.

That's a gorgeous dish! Congratulations, and good luck!

Does that mean you can no longer enjoy letting someone else cook for you? I wouldn't ever want to ever feel that way (as if there were ever a risk of that for me ).

I don't know, but the meat was soggy. When I get poh piah in New York, it's usually mostly a mixture of some vegetables (cabbage, bean sprouts, and some of the others you mentioned) and fried eggs (yes, an empty omelette), sometimes with shrimps, and with fried shallots sprinkled on top of the sauce. I'm trying to remember whether I've ever gotten a version with strips of chicken in it. You don't want to go to any Malaysian restaurants in New York.

Very well stated. And yet we try, because it seems to be part of human nature (or at least the nature of a large number of human beings) to try to make sense of everything.