Pan

Truthfully, unless reservations are really tight in a restaurant, I'm only moderately upset if someone is 15 minutes late. And if I occupy a table a long time, I always up my tip. 15 minutes late is a kind of cutoff point for me. If someone is 30 minutes late, they'd better have a good reason, unless it's a large group meet-up outside a big dim sum eating hall, in which case, I don't like it that someone will always be 30 minutes late, but I kind of expect it.

Yes, in terms of taste. Botanically, they are not at all closely related to either dates or olives.

Why are blood crepes illegal? Was that raw blood?

Okay, I have had deep fried chicken wings from Chinese take-out places here in NY that have a thin and crispy coating of batter, but I don't recall tasting in the chicken any of the marinade ingredients you mentioned. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention.[...] ← There's a cart that's sometimes on Canal St. between Mulberry and Baxter (near the little triangle) in Manhattan's Chinatownthat sells deep-fried chicken wings that are tasty. I don't know what recipe they use, of course.

Sorry for making an unwarranted assumption. I should have added "as far as I know." I can see things both ways in terms of the costs of inspections. It's certainly fair for them to be part of the cost of a product, but it's also fair for tax dollars to be used, especially where communicable diseases or cross-spreadable contamination (if that's the right term) could be involved.

Why? Another brand might be better. But I assume you're loyal to it only if it's good. ← Loyal to the first brand? Is this a male thing? Sort of like the first woman... Y'all are such babies! Except for maybe Pan, which might explain why he's single. ← Um, touaregsand, jo-mel is a woman, so perhaps you should be asking whether loyalty to the first brand is a female thing. As for who is oldest, I won't touch that one.

No-one's followed up on this so far. Anyone want to nominate some good places for udon?

Why? Another brand might be better. But I assume you're loyal to it only if it's good.

Maybe it does if you know to input "Jackson Heights, NY" instead of "Queens, NY." Does anyone know if there is in fact another branch near Junction Blvd. as shows in superpages.com?

Did anyone say they thought that? I sure don't. Tax dollars pay for government inspections where I come from.

Yellow is giallo, and I used to frequent Pepe Giallo between 24th and 25th Sts. on 10th Av. I seldom have occasion to be that far west, but I always liked their panino tricolore with mozzarella di bufala, fresh basil, tomatoes, and high-quality arugula.

This sounds like yet another things Chinese and Jewish people have in common. My grandmother liked to say that eating brains made a boy smart (I don't think that was anything sexist, as I come from a family with two boys and no girls, excluding my mother, of course ). My mother, on the other hand, hates offal and said eating calf brains would make me as smart as a cow!

Superpages.com is the online Yellow Pages. Perhaps the restaurant has two branches?

I thought peanuts originated from Africa, but you're right: They're from the Americas. See more here: World Geography of Groundnut: Distribution, Production, Use and Trade I haven't read the whole article, but it looks very scholarly and chock-full of information. Just look at that references list!

I just mapped this using superpages.com (mapquest was totally useless in this instance). The place appears to be just south of Roosevelt Av. (and the elevated Flushing Line tracks) and two blocks west of Junction Blvd., which is where you should get off if you're taking the subway (#7 - both local and express #7 trains stop at Junction Blvd.). JJ, can you compare taro leaves to any other kind of leaves?

That's outrageous! Why do you suppose vanilla beans are so expensive there?

I laughed when I read that, but it's a good comparison.

I think of August as being pretty small. Would they put tables together in the back?

Could that be because of the sodium in it? Do you get dehydrated by high-salt foods as well?

I'm going to resist posting my first reaction to this question, but it must get tiresome to hear such bullshit questions! Not quite as bad if it's just kids asking, though. And what preconceptions do they have about food in Africa? Lots of monkey brains?

Constantine is spectacular! Is the weather mild enough for people to enjoy sitting in outdoor cafes admiring the scenery?

BATF=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (yeah, I know that's weird as Hell). But what does TTB stand for?

On the "Stir-fried Asian celery and calamari," what's Asian celery?

Yeah, my fictive grandmother, Mrs. Carr, a black lady from the South, always called me "sugar." Of course, I think she called a lot of people "sugar." She was a really wonderful, sweet lady. Milagai, pamplemousse as far as I know is simply grapefruit, not any particular variety.

What do the characters mean when reversed?