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Abra, that looks wonderful! That cheese looks creamy. Is it a mild taste like ricotta? What kind of ruminant does the milk come from?

I probably haven't been to USC in at least a year and a half if not longer, but I think the general consensus on the place is that it is very consistent in both quality (some people no longer find it interesting, but it's always good) and service. I've eaten there several times over the years and always really enjoy the food and the experience. But rich's report, which was put up on August 24, if I remember correctly, is a much more "real-time" report than my comments are. I doubt there are many eGullet members who have been there more recently than that.

I was partying in the houses of rich parents of schoolmates and friends of schoolmates, Fabby. Yes, Chappaqua, Pleasantville, Valhalla, that area. Your dessert sounds great! If you really want to make it gourmet, flambee the bananas in rum or brandy.

I never remarked on this before, but that really looks like an orange to me. Am I the only one who thought of that?

I didn't mean to seem unfriendly. But the fact is, the Union Square Cafe thread has been active very recently, and I know that because I read rich's meal report and Jason's meal report with photos within the past couple of months (rich's report was much more recent). I think you'd find that people are quite willing to engage in real-time discussions about restaurants in threads dedicated to those restaurants, with the added benefit that those discussions will be easy for people to find in searches in the future.

Fabby, I've been looking forward to the possibility of a foodblog from you for a long time. I know (or used to know) Chappaqua. My father's late former dealer (art gallery owner) lived in Chappaqua, and when I was in college at Purchase, I used to party in that area. Anyway, back to food: You're doing a cookout and need to use up bananas. How about fried bananas? Fry them like you'd fry plantains - either whole or already cut up.

There are threads about all of the restaurants discussed in this thread, I do believe. Just do a search.

Actually, I think many of us would be interested, and it's far from unprecedented to include toddlers in eGullet foodblogs. Lorna and Henry, this was one of the best and most enjoyable foodblogs ever. Thank you for being so generous with your time and sharing so much with all of us. P.S. "Zed" is what most of the English-speaking world calls the letter "Z." As for "hed," contractions aren't permitted in Scrabble, are they? Because the word "he'd" does exist.

The ingredients can't be copyrighted, but you have to paraphrase the directions.

chefpeon, does the recipe in Baking Illustrated call for lemon in the dough? I think that greatly improves the flavor. Your black & whites look fine, but I really would have to taste them myself to appraise them, and unfortunately, that isn't possible at this distance.

100% right! Alright, keeping in mind that I don't make them and I'm just a consumer (eater, get it? ): (1) The texture has to be sort of intermediate between cake and a cookie - a sort of soft, cakey cookie with a sufficiently crunchy crust. If you didn't get a semi-hard crust, you've made it wrong. (2) For best results, use some lemon in the dough. (3) Use good dark chocolate. (4) Use good white icing.

Thanks, Gina, and by the way, welcome to eGullet. I've really been enjoying your posts. Have you been to Memory In Seoul?

I haven't been to Dae Dong. Have you, mascarpone?

Jambu air has the same name in Malay.

Dave, that was very touching. Condolences on your marriage, but it's wonderful that you and your mother are able to offer each other emotional support and enjoy breaking bread together.

mascarpone and I had lunch at this place today. The musical accompaniment was kind of bizarre to us classical musicians -- some pianist with good technical skill, playing shortened pop versions of "greatest hits" of 19th-century piano music, with video of the performance shown on a screen. However, what you want to know about is the food. We got two kinds of naeng myun. One had beef broth in it and the other didn't, but had a nice helping of sesame oil. Both were spicy, with the one with beef broth spicier. Most importantly, both were great -- though I probably liked the one without broth even better than the one with broth -- and much better than any other naeng myun I've had to date (which would mean by comparison with some other Koreatown restaurants, mostly Seoul Garden). I look forward to coming back and trying other things there. From their business card: Memory In Seoul 24Hour Open Tastes of KOREA 5W 36th St. NY NY 10018 T.212.239.5000 I was just reminded that this restaurant is also called You-Chun, though that name does not appear in Roman letters on their card.

They're based on lo mein, I believe.

Wow, that photo is positively erotic! You should be! How were you able to put away all that food? Lorna, for that matter, you put away a lot of food in an average day. Are you still getting taller, or do you just have a fast metabolism? Did you inherit that?

I have a different kind of question: How is your week of foodblog eating different from a "normal" week of eating for you two? Are you eating out more often? You may have answered this before; I'm not sure. Lorna, when I read that you had a great lunch and were about to try a new wine bar, after yesterday's grand dinner, I was thinking that you live a charmed life. That goes equally for you, Henry, especially because you get to spend so much of it with Lorna. When you did your blog, you presented yourself very attractively as a man who has a great life with only a woman to share it with missing. Congratulations!

I had the Sticky Toffee Pudding flavor tonight. I really liked it! It's a limited edition, so if you see it where you're shopping, get it while you can. I hope this becomes a permanent flavor. It's cinammony and has lovely cake in it. I really can't describe it but I'll say that I was fishing out the smallest bits from the container, I liked it so much. Oh, since I don't think anyone's mentioned the English Toffee flavor, it's a real disappointment; I thought it was rather tasteless. By the way, I really like the Mayan Chocolate and would have looked for that tonight if I hadn't happened upon the Sticky Toffee Pudding first.

Why? He was using tongs, so he turned that noun into a verb, much as someone using a knife can knife someone. Doesn't seem too weird to me.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I can easily see a review improved by mentioning how a particularly important enharmonic modulation was interpreted. Enharmonic modulations are often major structural turning points in music. I'm not sure a good music critic needs formal training in music, but s/he does need a good ear and a good understanding, whether attained through formal or/and informal training. It's no accident that some great music critics were either themselves composers, or practioners of other arts (poets, playwrights, painters, etc.). And even someone who doesn't read music could hear an enharmonic modulation and identify it if they knew that was what they were listening to. Someone will probably be able to analogize this appropriately to food writing. Obviously, a food writer needs a good palate and a solid formal or/and informal training in understanding (if not making) cuisine. There's obviously no exact counterpart to an enharmonic modulation in cuisine, but let's say that a food critic needs to be able to taste the difference between basil in one dish and rosemary in the next.

Fat Guy, didn't you make the point that being an early customer of a restaurant makes you particularly appreciated? I don't eat at Madras Cafe as often as I used to, but I always get a friendly greeting when I go there, because without any self-importance, I can say that I helped to enable the restaurant to survive and eventually prosper -- not mainly because of my faithful patronage, but more importantly, because I recommended it by word of mouth and postings and brought friends there, all of whom really liked the place (except for one kid who couldn't tolerate any spiciness whatsoever).

No, not anything like eating lychees. And Jim, I'm glad I'm not a maggot.

Yeah. A music critic should know what an enharmonic modulation is, even if most of the laymen/-women reading his/her article might need a definition and even then some wouldn't understand. Regardless, it is like a magical spice or herb when used in important moments of pieces.