alacarte

I think you could probably use all sugar, though the mouth-feel might not be as creamy and they would be a bit sweeter (corn syrup has a lower sweetening power than sucrose). You could also use glucose if that is easier for you to find. Thanks, nightscotsman!

The hot dog chain F&B serves haricots frites -- they are garlicky and divine!

Nibble left to right, and yell *DING!* at the end of each neat typewriter row. kidding. As long as it's doused with butter, salt, and a touch of chili powder, it will be consumed one way or another.

welcome, belly Here's the link to Malawry's "Staff Meal" dispatch. Enjoy!

and if after this you STILL can't get enough Steingarten, you can always apply to be his personal assistant....

Last night Mr. alacarte & I had dinner at PF&W To me, the highlights were the fresh lemonade with mint (I could have sworn it was a mojito) and the chocolate "cookie" served with non-dairy pistachio and chocolate "ice cream." The dessert was so beautifully plated, and the ice cream was rich and refreshing, even though the cookie wasn't to my taste (reminded me of the chewy carob bars from the health food store). I have to say that the staff couldn't have been nicer -- after the first day I would tire of explaining what's in the "cream sauce" that isn't made of cream (answer: celeriac!) or the "ricotta cheese" that doesn't include cheese (answer: pignoli nuts!). And the food was indeed beautifully presented. I guess I'm not a "raw food" person, although I was certainly enthusiastic about all the new ideas presented. I just couldn't warm to the idea of a cold vegetable "lasagna," for example (pun intended) and I craved starch...I would have enjoyed a layer of polenta or couscous or even mashed potatoes in the lasagna to make it more substantial. I loved all the bright colors and felt virtuous dining on all those fresh, beautiful vegetables. But even with an appetizer, an entree, and a shared dessert, I walked away still hungry, which is no fun when the check is that steep. (About $100 including tip, and that's with non-alcoholic beverages). Oh well, on to the next food experiment.

Add it to a basic quartre quarts pound cake recipe -- add it with the wet ingredients.

Is there a way to make homemade marshmallows without using corn syrup? For example, would a simple syrup (using sugar) work well or backfire?

This may be a dumb question, but are Starwich and Starbucks related?

I like Mamoun's too -- though I agree it's gone downhill in recent years. They had an outpost in Albany, NY (really!), maybe an upstate eG'er can confirm if it's still there... As for the one near NYU -- I've found it's best to avoid it on weekends. I have better luck when I have a weekday off, it's calmer there during the week. And earlier is better than later -- college students sleep late and wake up hungry! I still miss Alfanoose, down here in the fin'l district, which shut its doors a couple of months ago. I know Suzanne F. will back me up on this one!

what a cast of characters

Congrats on finally getting your mitts on that beeswax, Seth! I noticed over the weekend that plums have arrived too...lots of frosty little "sugar plums" in particular. Though I didn't see the golden ones. On Saturday I bought: Peaches (from a different vendor than last week -- these were superb) String beans -- which went into a tuna nicoise salad Yellow corn -- which I boiled as soon as I got home and ate straight off the cob, with butter, chili powder and sea salt. YUM! I considered buying the squash blossoms, and then passed at the last minute. I saw a woman buying a boxful to give as a gift at a dinner party she was attending that night!

I have this image of the waiter slapping down on the table a big ol' jar of herring and a bottle of Aquavit!

Some of the dishes do sound somewhat labor- and/or time-intensive.

Thanks for the review -- the place sounds interesting. I was at Ulrika's just a couple of nights ago, and had their wonderful herring sampler dish. Would love to try GWB's herring. Did you try the drinks at Good World Bar? Do they serve aquavit and things like that?

Love the "Ringy-Dingy" article that critiques how restaurants answer the phones. It's kind of uneven in places, but it's great to see a magazine take on "restaurant culture" from both the insider and consumer views. Most magazines are one or the other -- i.e. Food Arts is strictly inside baseball, and Gourmet is consumer-driven, and never the twain shall meet. I don't know if I'd read it on a regular basis --after a couple of issues, I'd feel like there wasn't much more to say, substitute restaurant X for restaurant Y. If they can avoid that trap, I could see this becoming a must-read.

Good for you, Carolyn. Talk about taking matters into your own hands! second read: that's a bit over-dramatic and far-reaching, don't you think? perhaps DQ = Drama Queens

Frankly, I hadn't picked up on the *mulatto* play until just now. When I saw the MooLatte name, the first thing that came to my mind was "moolah." Bet the marketing honchos thought of the same thing, and that's why they were so happy to approve the name.

The string beans, wax beans, and flat beans are looking great lately -- even as the sugar snaps are starting to look a bit weary. I saw tomatillos at the downtown greenmarket today - hooray!

Gotta love that they found the 6:1 female-to-male diner at PF&W a big selling point.

If you like breakfast, you'll love Mr. Breakfast. I wish Saveur posted their old issues online. They had a great "best of" issue recently, which included lots of wonderful little mini-articles on breakfasts around the world....Ireland...Japan...Southern US...etc. etc. etc. edited to fix link

Agreed! And along the same lines -- "flagels," or flat bagels, just don't make the cut either.

I didn't catch the name of the vendor, I'm sorry...it's ironic b/c I noticed that the vendor had a distinct New England accent so I looked for a sign to note where they were from, and there wasn't one posted. I can tell you where the vendor was located: It was the first stand at the Park Ave. and 17th Street corner at Union Square -- they were selling mostly peaches, but they had a few boxes of apricots off to the side. I think they are only there on Saturdays, I don't see them during the week. I hope you find them, they were very good apricots. Get the peaches from another vendor, though. Edit: I went by this AM, and checked: they are there Wednesdays too. I think the name is Timken Farms, I may be slightly mis-remembering the name though.

I've always thought that mini-bagels were kind of silly. They end up with no soft bread in the middle and virtually no hole. However, I'd welcome a bite-size bagel that I could pop in my mouth. I always end up pulling apart my bagels into bite-size pieces anyway.

Steven, Thanks for answering my earlier question, and sharing your insight with us. I've been reading every word... The question asked about Sardinian cheese sparked this question for me -- obviously France and Italy are reknowned for their cheeses. What is the most unusual place you have ever found outstanding cheese? Before someone makes a joke about things found in the back of the roommate's sock drawer let me clarify -- which country/region has great cheese that we'd never suspect? For example, yak cheese in Tibet, or the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, etc....how far have you gone for great cheese?