Pan

There has never been a heavy presence of Burmese cuisine in New York; the Burmese community is small here. But once upon a time, there were a couple of decent Burmese restaurants. Road to Mandalay on Grand St. used to be passable, and Mingala on E. 7 St. used to be a downright pleasant dining experience. It's still there, but it turned into a bad Chinese restaurant in all but name years ago and I haven't heard any credible suggestions that it's anything else now. What happened, is there some good or at least decent Burmese eatery in some odd corner of the five boroughs, and why do you think that, in a city that loves Chinese food and supports Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Malaysian eateries of various levels of quality and authenticity, we seem to lack a genuine representative of a cuisine all its own but one that people who like any of the other cuisines would seem to have a good chance of enjoying?

I guess I could just Google it...

Well, that's 100% more than I knew about it until now. Hopefully, someone will explain more about it.

I vote for "scam." Chickens are naturally omnivorous. My rooster in Malaysia loved to eat waterbugs, for example. And of course, they're known for eating worms. I wouldn't think it would be healthful for them to eat only grain and nothing from the Animal Kingdom.

What's that, Fat Guy?

Two years, Soba? OK, there have been a few new Japanese restaurants opening in these parts, but this has been a major Japanese restaurant area for some time now.

Um, menton, how does getting on a flight to Lyon explain the Canadian authorities' objections to French poultry-slaughtering procedures?

Welcome seconded. And what style of food does Aleo serve?

Silly? I think so! But I still want to know what their reasoning is.

Merry Christmas, srhcb!

From the article: That strikes me as very odd, but the specifics of this are not addressed. What specific complaints do Canada - and the U.S, also mentioned in the article as banning the importation of Bresse chickens - have with French poultry slaughter practices?

Well, I will gladly set aside reasoning (legal or otherwise) and continue the argument purely ad hominem, if the audience so desires.

Like Denise, I figured that they had both cold and hot (probably nuked) ham in the same sandwich. For the new year, I wish you a trip to Italy, where you can get the highest quality deli meats with great ease. I have great memories of a truly superior bar in Siena where I used to go if I missed breakfast. They made me a sandwich with slices of vine-ripened tomato, provolone, and mortadella, all of extremely high quality on a terrific piece of bread. One of the greatest bargains in food I've ever experienced. But you had to be there to get it. Are there some really good delis in Syracuse, New York (as opposed to Siracusa, Sicily)?

So, what'll it be? I'll take the black pepper eel, the cold beef tendon in hot oil, and the juicy buns at Yeah Shanghai Deluxe; the cold cucumber, cold tripe and tongue in hot oil, and Chonqing Style Chicken at Sichuan Dynasty in Flushing; Aui Zhou Chicken at Grand Sichuan on 50th St.; Tofu and Mixed Vegetables and Roast Chicken with Whole Garlic Cloves from the two-sided Chinese-only menu at Congee Village; and the lamb casserole at Super Taste House on Division St.; and I'll finish off with kaya-filled pao and a piece of cold coconut gelatin at Jing Fong for dessert. What about you?

Maybe, but the whole things seems fuzzy enough that if I were in their position, I'd continue to argue vociferously.

That could explain it.

I don't like green bell peppers, and all bell peppers are lousy for my digestion, so I'll join anyone in a loud chant of "Bell peppers suck!" But while substituting lemon juice for fragrant lime juice is an abomination to me, why is the use of bell peppers such a severe infraction in your opinion?

It's the as far as I can tell totally groundless idea that when you eat Chinese food, you feel hungry soon thereafter.

Just for everyone's information, we have a similar preexisting thread here: Fear of BSE: Are you avoiding beef?

Chris, isn't publicity generally a good thing? If so, why would vociferous objections create trouble?

Where did you hear that, Kurl? I agree with Sam: Based on those excerpts, a review of "fair" with no star sounds justified. I mean, what's the median point between one star and "poor"?

I'm sorry Michael. I read that statement over and over again, but honestly can't work out how it's telling people who keep kosher that their beliefs are incorrect. We'll agree to disagree agreeably, then. I certainly respect the belief that God doesn't care what you eat (and the belief that there is no God, in any case), but I just don't think it's right to argue here about what God (if any) wants or whether dietary prohibitions based on religious laws are illogical. It would be different if we were discussing dietary prohibitions based on diets for nutrition or weight loss, because then we'd be in the realm of facts and not beliefs based first of all on faith. And that's all I'll say on that score.

This is a great feature, Sam! Congratulations on starting it!

Mark, I'm not trying to chase people out of this discussion, I just think it's important to avoid stepping on the toes of kosher observers by making criticisms of kashrut as either silly or/and superfluous because what's important is only what comes out of one's mouth and not what goes in. Just as eGulleteers have strong partisan political opinions but do not post messages here like "Conservatism is a silly conceit" or "the world would be better off without Liberal politicians," I think it would be a lot better to discuss religion-based dietary prohibitions without risking offense by unintentionally belittling them.

I think I remember that the Sephardim considered poultry to be pareve for some time. But there are indeed Jewish laws that were nullified, including laws making slavery legal, so precedents aren't always the be-all and end-all. These things are immensely complicated.