alacarte

Congrats, Katie! This may warrant a road trip to Philly. Serving any of your famous limoncello...yet?

Anyone remember Cafe Nicholson? It was a wonderfully hidden and romantic restaurant in Manhattan's East 50s. I think it closed a couple of years ago. What I remember most about it is that couples were seated side by side. The waiter would pull out the table and say, "Lady on the settee, and gentleman on the side." I loved it.

"One frank with" at Second Ave Deli (mustard & sauerkraut). It doesn't travel well, the roll gets mushy fast. But consumed fresh from the counter -- ahh, that's the way to do it.

I picked up the current issue of Bon Appetit over the weekend, which focuses on "what's hot, what's not, what's next." Bed restaurants were featured on the "what's not" list.

I'm late in finding this thread, but let me add my voice to the chorus: these are wonderful pictures, Monica, thanks for letting us in and making us hungry. And welcome back!

Mixed with a bit of butter and sugar, oatmeal makes a nice topping for an apple cobbler or other fruit crumble. You'll need to keep an eye on the oven to make sure it doesn't burn, though.

Why is it called Diplomat Cake? What's the story behind it?

A spaghetti-related question: what is the connection with spaghetti and cake in Japan? I recently returned from a trip to Tokyo/Kyoto, and I was surprised to see so many shops offering spaghetti and cake. At least one Kyoto chain called itself just that: "spaghetti and cake."

The following note in the current issue of BusinessWeek may be of interest. If I were in Miami, LA or Seattle, I'd want to attend. If anyone attends, please post about the talk!

What the Food Network needs most is... ....competition. I'm disappointed to see FTV so blanded and whitewashed. I hope the pendulum swings the other way, and soon. No accents? Julia Child is rolling over in her grave, I'm sure. Though to be fair, Ms. Child was an American cooking French cuisine.

You go, girl. Take good notes! What kind of soup pot are you using? I always wind up with one that's too big or too small.

One of my Welsh friends swears by whiskey and milk.

I'm surprised to hear that you got less-than-welcoming service from the maitre'd. It's possible that the empty tables you saw were already reserved by other customers for 6:45, 7:00, or even 7:30 seatings. I've never heard of "on-time seating" before, that's a new one!

I was at the new Manhattan branch over the weekend, before the Times article came out. The staff was already pushed to capacity with holiday shoppers, so I imagine they were overwhelmed with post-NYT article crowds. The Mexican hot chocolate still rocks. The space needs work, IMHO. The Brooklyn location was so popular that it was always overcrowded, but the Manhattan location seems to be set up wrong -- it's a large space, but doesn't have enough tables, and the set up leaves lots of empty, unused space. It's very expensive real estate, too. I hope this new location isn't "the bridge too far." We want Torres around for a long time to come.

Like a lot of American kids, I grew up reading British children's classics. Somehow, "toad-in-the-hole" always made an appearance on the young hero or heroine's supper plate. I remember flummoxing my mom by asking for it one evening!

As long as we're talking Food TV (and alternatives), I had to bring this to everyone's attention. It's Russ Parsons in the LA Times. I nearly spit my iced coffee over my keyboard reading this! I really want to see this now. I may have to get BBC America for this, although I could do without the endless reruns of "Keeping Up Appearances." Edit: here's the link to the full article.

So: postscript. I finally got around to opening the boxes from wine.com. The wine was exactly what I ordered, and they arrived already within the gold fabric gift bags I had ordered, which was a nice touch. They look great, although at about $1 a bag, it's no bargain. Most wine stores throw in foil bags and ribbon for free. In summary, the merchandise itself is fine. The delivery time was late, but within a reasonable timeframe. But the shopping experience rates a BIG thumbs-down. All they had to do was communicate with me about the shipping time, and it would have saved me from seething for four days about whether the (^*&&^$&%#)*(%# wine was ever going to make it. This time next year, it's back to the local wine shop for me.

This has unintentionally turned into a blog. The wine has arrived. It's business day number nine. Not that unreasonably late, after all, although they still missed their promised deadline date. However, I would have been willing to forgive that with even a minute amount of customer service, and I probably would not have posted a public tirade against them. Never underestimate the value of customer service. Haven't yet opened the box. However, I can report that the box proclaims on the outside: "THIS PACKAGE CONTAINS ALCOHOL." Way to spoil the surprise! I wonder how that packaging goes over at more conservative companies...not really an issue for me, however.

As late as a year or two ago they showed Julia and Galloping Gourmet at about 3:00/3:30am CST. I wish they would show them again. At least Julia. ← I love this stuff too. For years I've wished for an "all-reruns" Food History type channel, not unlike the way Nickelodeon and TVLand repurpose old syndicated sitcoms and Westerns. The old stuff is charming, culturally interesting, and for many of us, new. Unfortunately, many of the old Julia shows were shot live - no tape. If you didn't get to watch them the first time around, you're out of luck! But others from the 70's and 80's still are kicking around in public broadcasting and library archives.

I wish I could remember where I read this intriguing stat -- I think the NY Times, a few months ago: On average, most restaurants mark up their wines three times the purchase price they pay. If I recall this correctly, the context of the stat was in an article about Cru restaurant (NY), which marks up its wine list "only" twice the price they pay. Not sure if this is a US practice or a global standard. I'll post a link if I can find the article again.

Nine business days, and still counting. The order hasn't even shipped yet. When I check my account online, it says that the order has been "picked," but not shipped. What does "picked" mean? Did I mention that they don't ship on weekends? So there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that the order would be here and waiting for me on Monday AM. (obviously not Tuesday AM either). I e-mailed wine.com yesterday to let them know how disappointed I am, and to inquire about delivery date. It seemed only fair to at least notify them that there is a problem, and give them a chance to make things right. The e-mail hasn't even been acknowledged, not even by an automated message. OK, enough "whining about Wine.com." Let's talk about the wine! Here's what I ordered: Carlei - Green Vineyards 2001 Cardinia Hills Shiraz, from Australia. I hope I chose well. I usually prefer white wines like sauvignon blanc, and I have a tough time selecting reds. Last year I selected merlot and cabernets from Coppola Vineyards. We have a team of film buffs, so I thought they might be amused by the Francis Ford Coppola connection. The wine merchant recommended the wines as well, so hopefully that worked out. The year before I went with Chateau St. Michelle champagnes.

If you prefer your Mud brand coffee without the gasoline fumes (or the truck), it's also available at its own little counter inside the Kiehl's store at 3rd Ave. & 13th st. The iced mochas get a thumbs-up.

Thanks, waves, I wish I had thought of Sherry Lehman. They say hindsight is always 20-20. I've been to the SL store, and they do indeed have a great selection. They also are extraordinarily pleasant to deal with. Maybe it's just their tony location but I always assumed they were too expensive -- do you find that the case?

L'express on lower Park Ave might also fit the bill.

Every year around holiday time I purchase bottles of wine as a "thank you" gift for my team at work. Usually I'm happy to go to one of the many excellent local wine stores and then have the bottles shipped to my office (usually arrives in about 3 days). This year I was pressed for time so I ordered from Wine.com. They have a very good selection of wines, but rarely have I been so disappointed by the delivery and level of customer service. This happen to anyone else? --No e-mail acknowledgement of my order until 3 days after I placed it. --They promise delivery within 3 to 5 business days. It's 8 business days later, and I'm still waiting. I called to check on the order, and it hasn't even shipped yet. I deliberately placed my order ahead of the Xmas rush, but still I'm pushed to the deadline date. --Rude customer service. When I called to check on why the order hadn't arrived in a timely fashion, the rep didn't even apologize for the delay or offer a reason for the late delivery, and implied that I was being impatient. I even heard the "click" and sudden silence on her end (there was lots of audible bustle in the background) as she placed me on mute -- twice. I can only assume it was for making a snide remark about me to another rep sitting nearby. --If I cancel my order now, I am charged a 25% "restocking fee," even though they have violated their promises. If anyone else is looking into using Wine.com to fill holiday gifts, I'd say turn your computer off now and RUN, don't walk, to your local wine merchant.