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John, great report! How was the crowd/line when you went? I've been reading reports on Chowhound of lines long enough for people to decide to leave. Also, is all their broth equally salty?

I'm really enjoying this thread. Thanks for sharing, Sheena!

I'm enjoying this blog, both for your unique lifestyle and for recognizing all the places you're getting food and drink from. Too bad about alt.coffee. That was a comfortable place to hang out, especially after the no-smoking law was passed and went into effect. Have you found any of the supermarkets on Av. C useful at all? I go to Key Food only late at night (2, 3 in the morning), because the lines or horrible at peak hours, and I usually get only a few items. I often go to Met Food on 2nd Av. between 6th and 7th, because it's around the corner from me, but their hours are shorter, their prices are higher, and I caught them putting price tags over several containers of yogurt with expired sell-by dates, complained to the manager, and considered trying to find out where to report them. They do carry some decent yogurt, though: Fage, which I find almost overly rich and which is very expensive, and Omur Yogurt, a Turkish-style yogurt that I like a lot but they don't always have. I like to get the full-fat version with cream on top.

My mother used to cook chicken with kumquats and a soy-based glaze. It may have been a James Beard recipe, but I'm not sure. It's not bad, though I thought it used too much soy and was also too sweet (sugar may have been added). The idea of combining kumquats with some type of protein dish is a good one, though, I'd say.

I've been to Cafecito at least once (twice, I think), and I found the food pretty good and fair-priced, though the cocktails were way too sweet (a Cuban place with a bad mojito is really disturbing to me). Here's the Cafecito thread. I'll come by and say hello one of these days.

Hi, neighbor! I had no idea that you were in the East Village, let alone that you own a shop I've been past (I'm seldom on that part of Av. B when your store is open; usually, late at night). How do you get the time to post, let alone do a blog, in your busy schedule? I'm amazed! Anyway, have fun, and don't feel bad if you're too exhausted to post some night or other.

Me, from my childhood: "Rock gornisht game hen." (Gornisht is Yiddish for "nothing" -- presumably because the bird is so small compared to a "real" chicken.)

Yes, I do like to sweat from my head in hot weather. Then again, I can also enjoy some hearty hot food in the winter, too.

Fantastic blog, Dave! I loved the whole thing, but perhaps my favorite part of it was the photojournalism of the errand you did with Rupert. You, Linda, and Rupert obviously have a wonderful joie de vivre, and it's great that you've had the experience of being accepted by a friendly community. I have not been to that part of rural France but did experience the effusive friendliness of people in Burgundy and the Loire Valley during a trip in 2002, and it reminded me very much of my experiences in Italy.

The knowledge about everything that I know to be safe and good to eat was passed down to me by others. For example, early on in my time living in a Malay village, the local kids pointed out to me where the various different edible wild plants were and what they were called. I also went with them to dig up clams and snails, and it was pointed out to me that after we waded across the stream, each person needed to find a mangrove stick and dig wherever we saw air bubbles in the mud. In rural parts of the Northeast U.S., I was shown that the little wild strawberries and blackberries were good to eat. Etc. For me, none of this was instinctual.

I prefer waffle cones, with sugar cones second. I really dislike the cones that taste like cardboard.

I'm interested in the answer, too, but let's remember that in Chufi's latest blog, she made an American-style cheesecake with Philadelphia cream cheese manufactured in the Netherlands that did not include guar gum or any other kind of gum as an ingredient. So if Philadelphia cream cheese is sold in France (and I believe it is), it may be different from and better than the version sold in the U.S.

I learned about various edible wild plants when going on nature walks as a 13-year-old at French Woods Camp on the upper Delaware, near Calicoon and Hancock, New York. Our leader, a 16-year-old counselor, explained to us that the way to tell the difference between Queen Anne's lace and hemlock was that the root of the former, when dug up, smell sweet and subtly carrot-like, while the roots of the latter smell bitter. If that's incorrect or inadequate, I know someone will correct it. One other useful bit of knowledge I retained from the nature walks is how to recognize wood sorrel. The somewhat clover-looking wood sorrel grows all over the place and is tangy and tasty. Surprisingly enough, I even found some growing at the doorstep of my old girlfriend's mother's house on the East Coast of Malaysia, where no-one knew the plant was edible (I picked some and ate it and offered her some, but she declined), although many wild plants are gathered there (an activity I often took part in as a child there). The nature walks were a lot of fun, and we always ate some food. I remember eating things from elder plants, too, and we were taught that we could eat daisy petals to stave off starvation if lost in the woods, but had to avoid the pollen.

I haven't been to Piemonte but have spent a good deal of time in both Tuscany and Umbria. There are greater artistic sites in Tuscany, overall, but both regions are beautiful and have plenty of countryside. Umbria is more rustic, though, with its rolling hills. You'll get great food in either region. Buon divertimento! (=Have a good time!)

Harold McGee will be on the Leonard Lopate Show today, right after they finish reporting the news on the hour. If you're outside the WNYC listening area, you can try listening here: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2007/07/05

Do they have a term for it, other than "with a scoop of ice cream"?

Looks fine to me, very rustic. I'm wondering if "Lado Hijau" is a dialect pronunciation of "Lada Hijau," which would mean "Green Chili." Does the recipe have green chili in it?

Very beautiful, indeed, if you ask me, amccomb!

Marlene, you're training your son well. You must be very proud of him!

I wouldn't agree that restaurants or movies are rated objectively. Isn't all rating partly subjective?

Torrilin, I'm so sorry to read of your mother's troubles. Thanks for sharing, and good luck to both of you!

Abra, I just reread this thread. What does your husband say? Semur is a LOT closer to Paris than Uzes is. Otherwise, though, they're both lovely towns. Also, is climate a consideration at all?

Shelby, was that fennel or dill on the lamb chops?

Ah, the cheese man himself! I'm sure this will be a lot of fun! Enjoy the experience, Dave. I'll be here watching and rooting for you.

Indonesian terasi (=belacan) tends to come in plastic jars (which I guess are also called tubs). As long as it's brown-to-black, I feel pretty sure it'll be the same stuff. What language is the writing in?