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Thanks for the explanation, Dave. You've mentioned before that you're a cook. I meant as in line chef, prep chef, etc.

I'm looking forward to this blog. It's already clear that it'll be different from all the others. Nice pics, Nessa.

Check it out: News, Reviews & Articles on Durian Food Yes, durian has a news browser all its own. But there's an article that's too new to be there yet: Durian feast ends in death for Thai man

You can't change the title of a thread; only the forum host for this forum and site managers can change thread titles. Oh, looks like there's no forum host for this forum...I'll PM a site manager.

We may come up against definitions of fuzzy terms, Robyn. I recall that surveys have shown that something like 80 or 90% of Americans think they're members of the "middle class." That's funny if you think about it.

Sounds fabulous! I wasn't sure I got your third course. That was a puree of rose petals and olives? What's your job at Bouley?

That's true, but if the food is bad, it's usually the fault of the kitchen, don't you think?

What are those? Welcome to eGullet!

My superpowers don't extend to changing the names of threads outside of the New York Forum, but it's definitely high time the misspelling was corrected, so I asked for that by clicking "report this post." Feel free to click that yourselves any time you see something that should be changed or is otherwise objectionable.

The city you live in is so beautiful! I've never been to Lyon. Someday. Do you know what the principles are behind this diet?

I normally don't drink soda, but if I buy it, it would be put in a bag, I might carry it home in a shopping cart (though I don't have one), and someone would probably drink it at the dinner table. I'd say "on the couch during supper," but dinner means the same thing as supper for me and is fine, too, and I use couch and sofa interchangeably, as well. My grandmother on my mother's side, who lived until the age of 7 in South Africa but mostly grew up in Brooklyn, did say "soda pop."

Yeah? So does Champagne.

That guy parks under my windows about once a week. If I hear him in the next couple of days I'll try to get his information. But I have no idea what type of job he does. I don't know anything about the quality of his work, either.

Didn't there use to be a knife sharpening truck that drove up and down the Upper West Side with sort of pot-clanging music advertising it as it went? Like, recently, as in within the last year or two if not currently?

I'm glad it came out well. So you did a tarte tatin of just plantains, no apples, right?

Milt, what does the waiter have to do with food quality? Isn't the tip in payment for the waiter's service?

I also like asafoetida.

Good luck, Lucy!

You're welcome, Hiroyuki. Aren't our lives enriched by imports?

My dealer? I just buy the stuff at Dowel, my local Bangladeshi store in the East Village.

That's really super! What great people! I'm glad you got over that.

There's one thing I forgot: When I'm not expecting anything on the bill to be comped, I call the waiter over and ask whether they forgot to charge me for something, then if they say it was on the house, I not only thank them but object that it was unnecessary ("There was really no need for you to do that.").

I expect (or at least hope) to be comped only if there's something seriously wrong with a dish in a high-end restaurant, as when my brother's chicken was partially raw at lunch at Bouley and had to be sent back. In the instance mentioned above, we tipped as if we were charged for the dish. In circumstances where the comping was totally gratuitous, I've added extra on top of what I would have tipped on the whole bill. Do I expect a freebie just because it's a birthday or something? No. A candle in my dessert, yes. Considering that there are restaurants that have a high volume of celebrators every day, do you want them to go broke giving everyone freebies? I definitely think it's presumptuous to expect a freebie under such circumstances. My feeling is that if I get one, I'm thankful, but I never expect it or take it for granted, and never try to pressure anyplace for a birthday gift. I think that's gauche. Then again, I also don't let restaurants know what the occasion is; usually, someone else does, though. But all I want is good food and good service. My friends can give gifts if they like, but the restaurant has to make money and deserves full payment for services rendered.

Right.

If I can't skip the animation, I close the window, nevermore to open it.