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I don't see any reason why not. In order to be sure, go to this website: http://www.chinesetakeaways.com/ Click under "Cuisine Guide" and then under "Lotus Root" in the "Ingredients" list. See the bulbous stems (roots, whatever) that have a characteristic pattern of perforations when cut widthwide into sections? Do the bases of your lotuses look like that? Then unless you have some reason to doubt the safety of growing conditions in your pond, you can eat them.

How are bialys different, in flavor and texture, from bagels? I've eaten a bialy or two, but not enough to know how the recipes might differ, or if there's a difference in the cooking. And I can't really even get a good bagel around here, much less a bialy. ← As you'll hear a lot of New Yorkers (especially old-timers) tell you, it's not that easy to get a really good bagel even in New York, though I think bialys are somehow a little harder to really screw up. I don't love the bagels at Moishe's (they're just OK), but their bialys are quite decent, even if I could stand to have more onion. If wesza has a look at this blog, perhaps he'll give us an authoritative discourse on this topic.

Not I, I'm afraid. There are some good Indian lotus root dishes, though (I forget from what region). Have you made anything with lotus root?

I've been snacking on some more Ting Ting Jahe ginger candies (I broke open another bag last night). I also had some Metamucil, but we won't talk more about that for the remainder of the blog, OK?

Thanks a lot for your support, Kara!

I like to buy Bahlsen's Afrika cookies sometimes. They're covered with dark chocolate. Yeah, pretty damned politically incorrect, if you ask me -- at least for Americans. Each country has its own standards of political correctness in food nomenclature, I guess. But they're still tasty.

Today, my good offline friend, Matthew (eGullet Society member mascarpone) met me in Sara Delano Roosevelt Park at the corner of Grand and Chrystie Streets. There was a time when anywhere north of Canal was no longer part of Chinatown, but that corner is now one of the three or so biggest shopping areas of central Chinatown. It's also not far from some Vietnamese Banh Mi places. Banh Mi are sandwiches in a baguette, as you'll see in a minute. But first, an exterior shot of Banh Mi Saigon: Banh Mi Saigon is on Mott St. between Grand and Hester Sts., a narrow and very busy shopping street. (I find this photo a little funny because if you look carefully, you can see a reflection of the photographer -- that's me, of course.) Do you notice the necklaces in the window? Those aren't just for show. This shop is both a jewelry store and a sandwich place. Odd perhaps, but I can't see why it couldn't work, and they are giving a go of it. Here's an interior shot of the sandwich-shop portion of the store: I was given permission to take this shot on the condition that the counterwoman wasn't in the picture, but some of the customers weren't so shy. Remember that I mentioned jewelry? The store also sells these pretty amethyst geodes: I like geodes, but I already have some and don't really have room for big ones. I enjoyed looking at them, though, and I'm glad they let me take this photo. Anyway, though, back to the sandwiches: Mine (#2, Banh Mi Gai [Gai=chicken]) is on the left and Matthew's (Banh Mi Saigon, with pork) is on the right. These sandwiches were really fantastic, among the best sandwiches I've ever eaten! I think that except for the differences in the meats (excellent roast chicken vs. two kinds of pork) and perhaps a little hot sauce on the Banh Mi Saigon, the ingredients were basically the same: cucumbers lightly pickled in a vinegar/sugar solution, shredded jicama and carrots (also very slightly pickled, with the pickling in both cases really amounting to a few minutes to perhaps a few hours' soaking -- just guessing here), cilantro, jalapenos, and a moderate amount of mayonnaise on a baguette. But there's something about the way the roast meats were marinaded, the way the vegetables were pickled/soaked, the freshness of the vegetables and high quality of the ingredients, and the perfect balance of all ingredients that put these sandwiches head and shoulders above another Vietnamese banh mi place Matt took me to before, whose name he'll remember (I'm too lazy to check for that right now ). Last night, I had a tough time, I believe because I must have eaten too much of the Gui Zhou Spicy Chicken last night at Grand Sichuan. It's very tasty but pretty oily. So I slept fitfully and was a little concerned about eating heavily for lunch today, but one could have hardly picked a better lunch under the circumstances than that sandwich. It wasn't very fatty and seemed pretty healthful. However, keep in mind that the picture above shows you only half of each sandwich! So it was a big lunch. I plan on eating lightly for the remainder of the day.

Onion board is basically a sort of cracker-like (but much bigger and significantly thicker than cracker-sized) crunchy bread with lots of bits of onions baked onto it. Very nice stuff! Well, faithful readers, I will be posting about my lunch shortly.

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm pretty sure they have onion board at Moishe's, I just didn't get a picture of it.

That's right; lotus root does soften eventually. Actually, there's a different Hunanese sweet and sour lotus roots dish at Grand Sichuan St. Marks that is a hot (in temperature) dish. (For those of you who might want it and are in the area, it's a main dish, #148, found under "Vegetables," whereas the cold dish I had tonight is #111 under "Typical Cold Dishes." Both are in subsets of the larger "Authentic Hunan Food" section of the menu.) They cook it such that it's still somewhat crunchy, but much less so than is the case with the cold dish. The lotus root slices take on a somewhat sticky character and are definitely softer. That dish is also a favorite of mine. I have a favorite lotus root dish at Congee Village, too...

I have something to add: I have specific plans for dinner on Friday night. If you want to know about them in advance, please have a look at the ISO thread pinned in the New York Forum. I have the sinking feeling that no-one looks at the ISO threads. I hope I'm wrong about that. [official mode]Please look at the ISO threads in forums covering regions where you live and travel. Thank you. [/official mode]

Thanks for the name. Wolfberries. My father likes them a lot, too; they add a lot to that dish. They're a bit, hmmm, sort of tangy/spicy. ← Wolfberries are supposed to be good for your eyesight. ← So they're red from carotene?

That's funny, Michelle. I'll try it.

You must like them more than I do. When I saw the photo you posted of those ginger candies, I noticed that the price tag was a lot lower than what I pay here in L.A. (about over $1). I, too, agree on its throat-soothing properties. Do you like eating ginger in other forms? ← Yeah, I love ginger! I love it in savory dishes in Indian and Chinese styles (e.g.), I love it crystallized and in ice cream, and I enjoy a fresh ginger beer. Ginger is a really healthful food. If your stomach is overwrought, take a garlic press and crush some ginger into water. Heat the water in a pot on the stove and drink it. Or just take a section of fresh ginger and munch on it. You stomach will relax.

I'm slightly puzzled by the widespread agreement in this thread that Japanese food is so awful in France. I guess some places in the 1ieme and 2ieme in Paris are exceptions that prove the rule, then. One thing that's worth adding to the side discussion of the similarities and differences between Nicois and Provencal cuisine vis a vis Italian: It's often been pointed out that several Northern Italian regional cuisines have more in common with the cuisines of countries further to the north than to, say, Neapolitan cuisine. (I won't offer that as my own opinion, because I lack sufficient knowledge of those northern cuisines, but I've heard and read such remarks many times.) Italy, of course, has been unified for only some 134 years, and the southern part was part of Spain for centuries. Etc. European history is very complicated and it may well be that all those complications have had culinary effects.

What makes you think this prevalence is exclusively Italian in nature? ← We are in agreement that it quite obviously is not exclusively Italian in nature, but it is a commonality between Provencal food and the food of many regions of Italy.

I've had some more Ting Ting Jahe ginger candies tonight. Those wontons really are good, Marcia, but I don't mean to rub it in...

Your description of black and whites is accurate. To my palate, the black icing is indeed chocolate, but it just occurred to me that the white icing is sugar rather than vanilla, I think? Usually oversized for sure. The cookie part of a black and white is only one color, a sort of normal cookie color. I'd love to visit Louisiana myself, as an adult. Actually, my parents tell me that when I was 2, I spoke with a thick Louisiana accent, though no-one else can believe that. My father was in residence at LSU (Louisiana State University) in Baton Rouge from 1966-67. Of course, I remember nothing of those times, as I was just 2 1/2 when we came back to New York. The time in Louisiana did have culinary effects I can remember, though. When I was a kid, in the days when my mother still ate pig (why she doesn't any longer is a long story having nothing to do with Judaism), my father and mother used to cook up dirty rice sometimes. (Dirty rice is a Louisiana staple that includes scraps of bacon among other things, and I really enjoyed it.)

It's crunchy, like jicama or, I guess, raw potato. It has a mildly earthy taste and can be used in both savory and sweet contexts. For an example of a sweet use of lotus root, slices thereof can be candied, which is something I like very much. I love lotus root.

Yeah, I like the poppy and prune hamentaschen/homentaschen particularly. (Lexical note: Homentash, plural homentashn, is a Yiddish word meaning "Haman's hat." Haman is the villain of the Megillas Esther -- i.e., the Biblical Book of Esther. Yiddish is written in the Hebrew alphabet and can be transliterated into English various different ways.)

Thanks for the name. Wolfberries. My father likes them a lot, too; they add a lot to that dish. They're a bit, hmmm, sort of tangy/spicy. Helen, if you have the chance, some time you should come and visit and try some black and whites. Unfortunately, taste-a-vision hasn't been invented yet.

Many of you are probably familiar with the bubble tea chain, Saint's Alp, which started in Taipei and has spread to many other places with Chinese communities and gained popularity well beyond Asian and hyphenated Asian populations. A few years ago, Saint's Alp opened a branch on 3rd Av. between 9th and 10th Sts., and it has been very popular with the large student population in this neighborhood. NYU (New York University) is a tremendous presence all around the East Village, and Cooper Union is right there too, while other colleges are not far away. I love having this teahouse in my neighborhood, as it's so much fun to get a big iced taro green milk tea to go when it's 95 degrees F. outside. Well, tonight, it's downright comfortable, but bubble tea is good anytime. Meg got an iced green milk tea: This was more interesting than I expected. It seems like they used at least some jasmine in the tea, and it had a nice perfumy taste, in addition to being pleasantly frothy. I got a hot ginger milk tea (green milk tea, I believe): Both teas had black tapioca balls on the bottom, though you can't see them in my teacup. The ginger tea had a subtle but enjoyable ginger bite. The waitstaff had no problem with us staying for some time and talking without ordering more tea. As you can see, they do serve desserts. In fact, they also serve savory food, and many customers were eating noodle soups and other things. I still have yet to get anything savory there, but I haven't forgotten that you recommend their food, Jayanthi. Now, I am at home waiting for my hibiscus tea to cool down a bit. Tomorrow afternoon, I will be meeting another eGullet Society member and friend to try out a new Vietnamese sandwich place in Chinatown -- unless we change our plans. Thank you all for reading and for your kind words, and please let me know if I've forgotten to respond to anything or if you'd like to ask me any questions.

Great to see you here, Shiewie! Shiewie was an invaluable resource to me the last time I was in Malaysia, in July-August 2003; her knowledge of eateries in Malaysia is practically encyclopedic! Say hi to Maukitten for me, please. And here comes dinner. My friend Meg (eGullet Society member megc) came into town tonight. We went to dinner at Grand Sichuan St. Marks. I am so happy that Grand Sichuan opened a branch there. For years, there was no really good Chinese restaurant that delivered to my building, and the closest really excellent Chinese restaurant, Congee Village, was 10 blocks from here. (Well, it still is 10 blocks from here, but you know what I mean.) Now, 10 blocks isn't very far, but it's at the very limits of their delivery area now and I believe they didn't use to deliver at al, so we were talking about a 15-minute walk -- fine, but not for every situation (awful weather, exhaustion, God forbid illness, or just plain lack of time), not to mention that Congee Village can get totally mobbed at times. Plus, as much as I love Congee Village's take on Hong Kong cuisine, I like something spicier at times. When a historically important building on St. Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd was renovated a bit less than two years ago, in moved a Quiznos Subs, the St. Marks Market, and a branch of Grand Sichuan (remember the song "One of these things is not like the others" from Sesame Street? ). They hired a chef from Hunan Province so that they could feature Hunanese food more than the other branches owned by the same owner (i.e., the Chelsea branch at 24th and 9th and the Midtown branch just north of 50th and 9th). The St. Marks branch quickly established itself as a restaurant of high and increasingly consistent quality, ultimately surpassing the Chelsea branch and rivalling the Midtown branch. I may very well be their best customer. I get delivery and takeout from there several times a week, and Phoebe, the cashier, has memorized my name, address, apartment number, and telephone number. I tip the deliverymen well and my food comes piping hot (except for cold dishes, of course ). But today, we ate in. I recommended some dishes Meg wouldn't have had before in other restaurants, and she chose another. First to come was our cold dish of Sweet & Sour Lotus Roots, a Hunanese dish having nothing to do with the gloppy red stuff peddled by run-of-the-mill takeout joints throughout this country: I forgot what the red berries are called, but they're supposed to be healthful and I think dessert soups are made with them. Anyway, I like them. Meg hadn't tried lotus root before and it reminded her a good deal of jicama, which I can understand because of some similarity in their textures. The sweet-and-sour character of the dish is simply a solution of vinegar and sugar in water. These are Sichuan Wontons with Red Oil. As you can see, they're not in just red oil, but in a sauce that includes red oil. Also in the sauce are soy sauce, sugar, scallions, garlic, and ginger, I believe. The wontons are filled with pork, and the dish is really, really flavorful. This dish was Meg's pick: Sauteed Sweet Potatoes with Ginger & Scallion. A very good pick it was, too. This is one dish that doesn't do too well in a takeout/delivery container, but it's excellent for eating in. I daresay most of you have never had sweet potatoes cooked this way; try it, it's very good. This is Gui Zhou Spicy Chicken. Aside from chicken, you also see scallions, bamboo shoots, and dried hot pepper in the dish. This dish is an old favorite of mine from the other Grand Sichuan branches as well as this one, and my parents also like it. We had some complimentary orange slices for dessert and read the "fortunes" we got in our fortune cookies. Meg got a nice adage; I got an annoying one. But the Chinese word on the back of my fortune was one I know and like: yu (fish). Meg enjoyed her meal very much, as did I. The total cost was $27 plus tip, and Meg got to take the remainder home for tomorrow. Next: Bubble tea.

Cheese danish is a real New York (or Eastern Seaboard) thing, eh? No decent cheese danish in your neck of the woods? Oh well. But you have the mountains and clear air, don't you? I hope this doesn't sound very preachy, but I had an experience last week that reminded me that we all have to appreciate what we can where we are. And then again, there's always travel!

Yeah, they are. Big, crunchy sugar cookies. What's not to like?