Pan

Are all you folks talking about gas stations in the U.S.? I seem to remember that service stations in France and Italy that sold food had some halfway decent stuff - some ice cream, sometimes, palatable mineral water, yogurt, probably some genuine cheese of some type, crackers, cookies (though watch those preservatives and the percentage of sugar content at the super low end in France!), sometimes pastries, fresh fruit, and sometimes even decent panini - stuff like that. Mind you, it was never a really wide selection, but usually something to drink and snack on in a pinch. And then, in Italy, there are the Autogrills in rest stops on the Autostrade. While not gourmet, their food is quite acceptable, and they even sell things like tasty torta della nonna and pretty decent panini with ingredients like prosciutto, real cheese of some type, tomatoes, and basil. In Malaysia, even the coffee shops where the long-distance buses let people off for rest stops sell quite palatable main dishes with rice and desserts. Let's face it: on average, food in the U.S. sucks compared to some other places. I wonder whether Indian service stations sell food, and what they sell.

Yeah, that's the one.

We shall see. If this brasserie doesn't fill a large enough niche, it will inevitably go out of business.

I don't think anyone else in this thread has said it's gone downhill. When do you think it was better?

Barbara, did you all like the desserts as well as you liked the savory courses?

There's also Edda Servi Macklin (spelling? Is her husband's name Machlin or Macklin???)

Admin: This thread began with posts split from the thread for the restaurant Ici following Bruni's review in the NY Times One of the things that's interesting is that, looking at the prices, this restaurant - though really, probably about $35-40 for a 3-course dinner - is closer to the genuine $25-and-under category than quite a number of places that have been put into that category previously by the Times. I'm thinking of August, for example. I like that Bruni is reviewing more places outside of Manhattan, and I like that he isn't restricting himself to hoity-toity places only.

Ya-Roo, I get part of your point about formerly wowing presentations no longer being all that, and if you find a dish wanting in terms of taste, classic or not, it's an unsuccessful dish (or its execution is wanting). But I really think people worried about their carb and cholesterol ingestion should stay away from a dyed-in-the-wool classic French brasserie. It would be like going to a place that specializes in New York cheesecake and looking for a low-fat, low-carb version. What's the point? If you're looking for low-carb, low-fat foods, you are clearly not part of the target audience for this place.

Ajwain is great! If you need some, just go to Dowel on 1st Av. between 5th and 6th. Madhur Jaffrey's spice cookbook (I forget the exact name) includes recipes that feature ajwain, but I don't remember if any of them are okra recipes.

Tryska, I don't know about Atlanta, but here in New York, delivery people are often illegal aliens getting paid less than minimum wage. At one time, I used to deal with a Chinese restaurant whose deliverymen complained about a ~$2 tip for delivery of one container of $5 roast chicken noodle soup. I thought that stank. But anyway, now I'm more generous (and, not incidentally, less poor). I generally tip higher on delivery than on eating in.

We haven't had a thread on this venerable old felafel/shawarma place on 119 Macdougal St. yet. I notice that it is not on this year's New York Magazine 103 Cheap Eats Under $25 - also look at this eGullet thread on the 2004 NY Mag list - but it was on last year's list (see 7 Favorite Falafel Sandwiches). I haven't gone there lately, because Chickpea is so close to my place, but I doubt that Mamoun's has gone downhill. Do you like Mamoun's? What do you like best there? And do you have any strategies for when to show up if you want quick service and a seat? As many of you no doubt know, Mamoun's is usually pretty crowded.

I see. If it's true that they're serving food that's like food served in really high-end Thai restaurants in Thailand, not stuff that's watered down for Americans, that would be really interesting. I wonder about ewindels' comments about the pepperiness level, however.

Ya-Roo, what does "not contemporary enough" mean (enough for what?), and why is that important to you? It's obvious that this place is concentrating on classics, right? That being the case, isn't the real point how well or poorly they're making them? It seems to me that those who don't want to have classic dishes should simply go elsewhere. Details of service and so forth are another issue.

That is a serious monster strawberry and mint leaves! Looks like nice creme brulee, too. I'll let others comment about the composition, unless you really press me.

How do I eat it? With gusto! I'm not Chinese, but I couldn't resist answering. I wonder if it will still be watermelon season in northern China in August and what other interesting melons I'll find in Dongbei (the Northeast, aka Manchuria).

I just check www.menupages.com and there were no results for Kittichai. $100/person for Thai is really steep! But I guess perhaps roughly half of the cost was wine?

I remember the eggs my hen and my neighbor's hens laid in rural Malaysia to be pretty clean. Feathers? Sure, but so what. I don't remember any blood or any appreciable amount of feces on the eggs. These were free-range chickens - really free-range, as in they roamed around the whole neighborhood if they wanted to.

Ya-Roo, you also might want to look at a more general thread we had on okra on the Cooking Forum.

"Original Death Sauce." Good way to sum up a really chilified blog. I enjoyed it.

Thanks for the link, Jason. It's a beautiful soliloquy by Dom. This is my favorite part, which says so much about this great pizzaiolo:

It has the opposite meaning only because it's usually used sarcastically (really, ironically). However, that doesn't mean it can't be used literally, and I understood your meaning.

I think apricot kernels also contain cyanide. By the way, I used to eat those things when I was a child, before I knew they were poisonous, and didn't get sick. But I believe that the cyanide is broken down by cooking the kernels.

You could always humor us, anyway.

Wow, talk about a tough start! We're very glad to have you here, Mr. Goldman. Continued good luck to you!

Yeah. It's always a good idea for me to pay full attention to what I'm responding to, isn't it?