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But if you don't stick to such a theory, then the corollary doesn't apply. Tuscan cuisine operates largely based on your criterion, but I would argue that Indonesian, Thai, Indian, and at least some regional styles of Chinese cuisine do not follow such a line of reasoning at all. And I love 'em all. Also, I have to ask you what you think the flavor of primarily textural foodstuffs like calamari is, and what would "enhance" it. I think my answer would be that calamari has almost no flavor and almost anything, therefore, enhances its flavor, but not in the sense that you seem to be using the word "enhance."

Cardamom is more fragrant than cumin to me, so I wonder about your statement. But first of all, I can easily see cumin seeds being used with chicken in a French dish (add creme fraiche, etc.). Secondly, I highly recommend that you try cuisine from La Reunion if you ever have the chance. I used to love a Reunionais (?) restaurant that used to be in Nice, and it was really a highly Indian-influenced cuisine with all the subtlety of French cuisine, featuring things like fish curries with red grapefruit and green peppercorns. It was really wonderful stuff!

I'm a spice-lover, but sometimes, herbs instead of spices is a fine trade-off, and it's possible to have an excellent, simple salad or grilled item, to which I could add pepper but wouldn't need any other spice. Good food comes in many forms and styles.

Can you order takeout from the place? Huitlacoche sounds like something I'd try once to see if I like "mud from the edge of a pond, only in a nice way."

britcook: But I didn't order simply a turkey sandwich. I ordered a "turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and provolone cheese." Right. The purpose of the onions and the provolone cheese. If you have a better suggestion, feel free to go ahead and propose it to me - or just give me what I ordered. Those are your two options, as far as I'm concerned. If you do something else, you risk pissing off your customer. I'm not a vegetarian and probably would have trouble marrying one, because I, too, am an omnivore and share your belief that human beings are essentially omnivorous by nature (and I'd like to be able to share a lot of my food with my partner), but the fact is that human beings can survive very nicely on just vegetable matter, and it seems like I'm much more tolerant of vegetarians than you. Live and let live. As for the caul fat issue, I don't feel very strongly about that. Those of you who say that a restaurant patron has the choice to either ask specifically whether a "type x" ingredient they don't want is in the sauce or roll the dice are fundamentally right. But what someone starts saying it's not reasonable for me to assume that a turkey sandwich doesn't include other meat I didn't order, I have a big problem with that. If I order a turkey sandwich and it comes with tuna fish, I'd be pissed. And I might well be annoyed with bacon because a reason I'd order a turkey sandwich rather than roast beef (which I generally prefer) is to cut down on the fat for the sake of my stomach at that time. You didn't think of that, did you, Chef? (Gee, are things that different in Britain? Mark Twain [?] was right, wasn't he, when he said the Brits and Americans are "divided by a common language." )

In my experience, it serves dependably good food, but it's a good-value neighborhood place, certainly not one of the best Italian restaurants in New York, and there are a number of better Italian restaurants than East Post within a 5-to-10-block radius. East Post is no thread to Lavagna or Col Legno, for example.

Great writing, Maggie, and very educational.

It doesn't have the same implications as drinking whilst pregnant. I always understood that it was inadvisable for nursing mothers to drink alcohol. What you ingest is passed through the milk.

Yep. The point is that when you order a turkey sandwich, you don't expect other types of meat in it. I think the same thing is true in regard to a fish dish with caul fat, though perhaps a bit less so, since it sounds like it's part of a somewhat more intricate cooked dish, rather than a simple sandwich. If I ask for a "turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and provolone cheese," I didn't ask for bacon, and no-one should include bacon without asking me if that's OK (and I'd probably say "No"). I think it's completely ridiculous to expect someone ordering a turkey sandwich to think s/he has any reason to say "I don't want any bacon with that." 99.99999% of the time, someone saying that would be considered a total weirdo: "What?! Didn't you ask for a turkey sandwich? There's no bacon in that!"

Sure, but never fear, I understood your joke perfectly.

Are you recommending wine for a nursing mother? If so, are you sure that's wise?

Et tu, FG? As you know, God invented pasta to be consumed in private homes in the United States, with just a very few exceptions. If you're foolish enough to order pasta, or nouilles, or long life noodles, in a restaurant, you deserve what you get. I feel like attacking you for your denigration of pasta, but what's the point? Leave it for those who can appreciate it and bug off.

Neither did we Americans, but we'd better not go there...

I like that. With a name like that, they should have live music. Does anyone know if they do? Where is Boynton Beach, anyway?

Has anyone tried buying duck at any of the butcher shops or more general food stores that include sections with cooked items for sale? The thought occurs to me because I was in Flushing again this past evening and thought the takeout food on sale at the huge Chinese supermarket on Kissena Blvd. just down from the intersection with Main St. looked good. In that neighborhood, I imagine that Chou Zhou is a good source.

I feel somewhat offended by what you report, Vengroff. If a restaurant resents patrons who aren't formally dressed, shouldn't the reservationist mention that they suggest formal attire? But I'm also glad you reported on this because if I decide to go to Bouley for a prix-fixe lunch, I'll be sure to wear a suit, whereas I might possibly have come in a less formal though still at least semi-dressed-up outfit otherwise. (Truth be told, I probably would have worn a suit, regardless, just as I did to every formal restaurant I ate at in France last summer.)

I think he's wrong. Ajwain doesn't taste like thyme to me, nor is it the same a cumin. It has a kind of anise aroma to it, yet it's not an anise seed: It's a wonderful seed all its own. Also, to my knowledge, thyme seeds aren't used (instead we use the leaves).

Getting back to another idea, I think that a "top-3" list would be useful, but I don't agree with Steve Plotnicki or anyone else who thinks that a "top-5" or "top-10" list or anything in between would be less useful. It's really a question of how many places you want to list, and I don't really have a problem with it either way, except that if the top 3 inexpensive Chinese places are all in Flushing and I'm in Manhattan and want to go to an inexpensive Chinese restaurant, I have to go to #4 (or something) on the list. But if there's no #4....Yes, I know this is partly remedied by dividing the "top-" listings by borough, but there's still the point that sometimes, people want convenience and quality to go together more. It's not always possible, as the thread on Chinese restaurants on the Upper East Side of Manhattan seemed to show, but it's more likely with a "top-10" than a "top-3" list, I think.

A ditto to what Rail Paul said. Sorry I missed a chance to wish you happy birthday while it was still the 6th.

Yeah, like Burmese food in New York. Unless someone knows something I don't, it's been a long time since there was a decent Burmese restaurant here.

JH, you're really speaking my language, and particularly here: Exactly. But I think that there are enough eGulleteers interested in the lower end and frequenting inexpensive and moderately inexpensive Arab, Chinese, Malaysian, Korean, Italian, and various other styles of food, and we're geographically distributed through, for example, the New York area better than, for example, Zagat respondants. I always find it totally pathetic how Manhattan- and, particularly, Upper West Side(!)-centric their respondants are. I mean, the Upper West Side as a mecca of good food? Give me a break!

Thanks for the recommendation, Steve. I am not usually up there, but is she mostly around in the evening?

$2 per taco, $1 for the horchata! I was there around 1 A.M. last night.

I don't know what Simnel Cake or Mothering Sunday are; however, my local kosher bakery (Moishe's on 7th St. and 2nd Av. in Manhattan) makes the hard hamantashen all year but makes the much better soft, breadier hamantashen only around Purim. They started being available again recently, and I bought a prune one which I found delicious.

I had a late supper at this taco truck on 96 St. and Broadway: two tacos de lengua washed down with horchata. Delicious, cheap meal, really tasty.