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Dave, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you'll be making with those ingredients. Enjoy your week of blogging!

Suzi, how did the potatoes taste with both kalonji and ajwain? I'm trying to remember if I've ever had a dish that used both.

Naive question, perhaps, but why would the use of bone necessarily make anything non-organic?

Is the music still horribly loud at Down the Hatch? I went there with a friend (another classical musician) perhaps a year and a half ago or something, and the music was so loud that we couldn't have a conversation, so we beat a hasty retreat and didn't stick around to have more after a single drink apiece and some Buffalo wings with celery and carrots. I enjoyed it, up to a point, but it was a damned bad place to hang out with a friend I hadn't seen for a while. I think we ended up at Kettle of Fish and hung out in the back, which is a much more restrained place.

Things that are dated are retro now, no? Certainly, I know the story of the stone soup. And then there's also the story about the fierce king and the onions and garlic...I know there's a thread about food tales somewhere....There's also a thread about wild foods somewhere, and you'll also undoubtedly find fifi's blog about foraging the Texas Gulf Coast well worth reading. I did.

That's a very nice sunset, an appropriate ending for a nice blog. Sometimes, the storm is really worth it for the beauty and comfort it brings in its wake (we're not talking about Florida hurricanes here). It was terribly hot in New York today, then it rained, and now, my windows are open. Besides, what would all those little tomatoes do without rain?

Transparent, I'm not familiar with Gala Palace. Please start a thread about it, and please include the location.

What are you saying about your parents? ← That it's not because they got degrees or a title that they're distinguished and brilliant. In all seriousness, I'm very proud of my parents. But that's more than I could say for some other tenured full professors I've known.

I really appreciate your report, Fat Guy. I've been a fan of Cuban food since way back, and had a dinner for I believe my 9th birthday at Victor's Cafe, then on 71 St. and Columbus. I'll definitely keep Havana Central in the back of my mind as a place to look at when I next have occasion to be in that neighborhood.

That's a blessing! I went to Kalustyan's this afternoon. Maybe you could start wishing for their equivalent in Atlanta, though I have a feeling from therese's blog that you actually have some pretty good Middle Eastern and South Asian stores in those parts.

Busboy, As a non-tenured, non-full professor and a son of two tenured full professors (one retired), I'm here to say that being a tenured full professor is by itself an unimpressive qualification, and does not prove that anyone is an expert on anything, or even that the people in question are decent human beings. Expertise is not a product of paper qualifications. I could say more but this isn't eAcademia, after all, so carry on!

As per the topic title. I'll start, of course. In a typical week, I get delivery or takeout from Grand Sichuan St. Marks three or four times, Teresa's two or three times. There are several other places I get takeout or delivery from, less than once a week on average. I probably get pollo a la brasa with or without platanos maduros at Mancora once every two weeks or so. If I feel like getting their Hot and Spicy Broiled Squid, I get takeout at Dok Suni's (no delivery) - probably once every month or so. I guess next in order of frequency would probably be Congee Village and Katz's -- in both cases, every several weeks. [Edit: I also sometimes stop off in Chinatown to get some noodle soup and Chinese vegetables with oyster sauce at Great New York Noodletown.]

Malcolm, I thought she made the point that it's possible to shop well at both the high and low ends, so I don't think she was making the point that the poor can't afford good food.

Red bean has merit in savory dishes, too. If you have any favorite savory preparations that use red bean, discuss them here.

Great first post, Terrasanct! Any chance your mother's cookbook will still be completed? One great thing about the times we live in is that anyone can web-publish a cookbook, and if it's good, it'll get publicity on sites devoted to food like this one.

That link isn't working. ← That's odd; it didn't quote properly, either.

That link isn't working.

Smithy, there was some discussion of cherimoya (aka buah nona) on page 6 of the "Frightfully freaky fruit" thread, with one photo. And here are the results from a yahoo.com image search for "cherimoya."

In Malay, the word bakar means "burn(t)" or "bake(d)." Traditionally, foods that were bakar were baked over a wood fire. I wouldn't say any of them were really burned, but the smoky taste was integral to their appeal. And the first thing I think of is kuih bakar, baked cakes made from wheat dough (tepung gandum), sugar, and coconut milk, with intentionally somewhat burnt sides. It's also very traditional to make ikan bakar, fish in banana leaves baked over a wood fire. Etc. I was also thinking of burnt foods when I had some pollo a la brasa (rotisserie-baked chicken) for dinner. Some of the skin was partially burnt, but not to the extent of being unpleasant to eat; in fact, the burnt taste struck me as part of the reason for baking the chicken that way.

Well, they aren't here, either. So there!

No, but people buy food a lot more often than they buy cars. So how many times should we multiply the $1.50 difference before it starts to be real money to a poor family?

Oh, we certainly agree here. A person's capabilities don't make them "better" or "worse" than others, in the sense of having more or less value as human beings. But they might have more sensitive taste buds or/and a more sensitive nose.

Don't you have great fresh produce in Hawaii, though? I'll bet you have no problem getting great pineapples, mangos, and papayas, and didn't you say you have fresh rambutan there? Plus, you have lots of great Asian food. So I don't feel too sorry for you.

(calming down, now breathing normally) We actually do have Fresh Market, Whole Foods, and Eatzis, so we are not about to starve anytime soon ... I think I really became most envious when I went to Trader Joe's ... now, if we could only get a Zingerman's or Balducci's .... ← I didn't mean to make you hyperventilate. But Balducci's strikes me as another way overpriced place. I guess it's good for money to be no object for some people. I remember the Trader Joe's in Santa Barbara from my last visit there. Good selection, good products, good prices. That's my kind of place.

I really enjoyed reading that, Fat Guy. The main question that came into my mind is, how is Starwich doing, businesswise?