alacarte

What's funny is that if you add milk, you hardly taste the coffee. It just tastes like pepsi-and-milk.

Most of my ice-cream-van memories are going to the truck after a day at the swimming pool, or running around at camp or the playground, or at least spending the day jumping rope or playing hopscotch outdoors. The ice cream man is not intrinsically evil. Consuming quarts of Haagen-Dazs sitting in the freezer after an afternoon spent in front of the TV is a greater problem.

I think the wait is well above 20 minutes these days. Last time I was there (Sunday) it looked as though TJ's finally responded to the backlash against people waiting to get into the store -- no lines outside. But the bad news is that the line to get to the cash register is beyond out of control. It literally snaked all around the perimeter of the store on Sunday afternoon, nearly backing right out the door. Really ugly. In addition to the looooong wait times (30 minutes maybe?) to pay...while your carefully chosen perishables and frozen goods spoil in the cart...it also made it impossible to shop anything located in the outside aisles of the stores (bread...fresh vegetables..meats and specialty foods...etc) I wheeled right around and left the store. Next!

FYI, Chow has been acquired by CNET, for $2M. Same folks who purchased Chowhound. Chow.com will be relaunched this summer. Link to MediaWeek article.

From a BusinessWeek article on "chocolate lounges": anyone know anything about this delicious-sounding venture, or Max Brenner?

I've officially given up on Trader Joe's. Lines to get in, lines to get out. I'm done. If you need me, I'll be at the Food Emporium across the street.

We had a preview of Coca-Cola Blak at the IACP conference last week. I didn't expect to like it...but I really did enjoy it. It tastes just coffee-like enough, really perfect coffee-cola balance. I did not notice any "coffee like froth." I think that's just wishful thinking in the marketing dept. But I didn't miss it. Don't much care for the name. "Blak" -- is that supposed to be edgy or urban because it's misspelled? I find it jarring and annoying. It makes me think of Blah or Flak or Bleak.

A note of warning to any freelance writers, food stylists, etc. browsing this forum - beware working for PA&D or any other associated publication -- they have a history of not paying their contractors.

Fascinating...it seems like an odd fit given CNET's high tech "Consumer Reports" type model. I can't (yet) see what's in it for CNET. --Anyone know how much was the site bought for? --Why isn't there an announcement on CNET.com? --Was eGullet approached by CNET as well?

Just noticed the sign posted last week. I'm surprised by the location of the new Trader Joe's -- 14th and north of 3rd Avenue. East of 3rd Ave around 14th St. is not a very affluent neighborhood. The businesses between 2nd and 3rd come and go, and then it bleeds into the Stuyvesant and NYU 'hoods. In fact, there's a supermarket on that block that barely made a go of its business. However, it would be nice to see that block become more gentrified if business can trickle further east. I'm surprised that TJ's didn't choose a location further west or on the Upper East or West Side. Looks like they have a very big horizonal footprint, though -- as opposed to Whole Foods, which had to build its store vertically. TJ's probably will be more comfortable to shop as a result. I guess the real estate must have been more affordable compared to other, more affluent neighborhoods.

I can't say I'm surprised. They often don't pay the free-lance writers hired to write for the magazine (yours truly included -- I'll spare you the details) so I'm not shocked that they show their subscribers the same disrespect. What they need is a Big Fat Competitor to provide a wake-up call.

Does that mean that the rapidly aging bottle of Kikkoman in the back of my fridge is worth consuming?

I'd be willing to bet that like so many fast food joints, the secret ingredient is equal parts salt, sugar, and MSG.

A quick report on yesterday's event -- it was a good one (not to mention sold-out!) Jared Brown & Anastatia Miller's whimsical presentation about The Dark Side of Rum focused on the history of rum, and how the slave trade factored into funding rum-making for centuries. After that, our own Ed Hamilton stepped up to the mike and walked participants through the rum tasting. He was knowledgeable and entertaining, and was a great addition to the program. Here's the list of rums we sampled: --Bacardi, Puerto Rico --Bacardi Select, Puerto Rico (this was the one I liked best) --La Favorite Rhum Agricole Ambre, Martinque --Neissan, Martinique (This one was way too strong for me...) --Gosling's Black Seal, Bermuda --Appleton Estate Rum, Jamaica --Mount Gay Sugarcane, Barbados We also had "theme" refreshments, including jerk chicken, plaintain chips, spicy pickled okra, codfish balls, rum punch, chocolate rum balls, and Caribbean rum cake (that last one baked by yours truly). I think I learned more about growing sugarcane and charcoal filtration than I ever expected to know...

I always wondered about all the people selling home baked goods via eBay. Does anyone buy that stuff? I cringe and think the FDA and health dept must have nightmares about this stuff.

There's a Caribbean restaurant down the block from me that has an usual tea service -- at which they include Calalloo Strudel. (K8memphis -- I love your writing style. you crack me up!)

Is anyone organizing a get together for out of town eG'ers who will be in Seattle for the conference?

Welcome Joan! another fan here. My vote goes to The Kosher Palette cookbook. I also like Spice & Spirit -- not so much for the recipes, which are OK, but because it has in-depth explanations of seemingly EVERYTHING. For example, the diagram of the cow, noting the different kosher cuts.

I bought these Cole & Mason pepper & salt mills from Williams-Sonoma. They are electric mills, and fun to use -- they light up as they grind! I don't really recommend them, though. They hold very little salt/pepper and I can't figure out how to adjust the coarseness of the grind. But they light up! How fun is that?

Thanks again for everyone's advice. It was very helpful. I made three changes when I tried the recipe last night, and the end result was successful! Change #1: I used peanut butter (regular Skippy peanut butter). It had the stabilizers and the ingredients included sugar (not high fructose crap) and salt. Change #2: I omitted the sugar from my list of ingredients, since there was already some in the peanut butter (a bit too much, IMHO). Change #3: Heated over VERY low heat, stirring frequently. I think one of my earlier mistakes was to bring the mixture to a boil and then simmered the sauce. I suspect the too-high heat was one reason it separated. The end result tasted mostly like peanut butter, so I upped the amount of lime juice and chili paste. The end result was still a little thick for my taste, so I added a couple more tablespoons of coconut milk and stirred it in, and that worked well. The end product was really addictive -- it would be great on cold noodles!

Takeout Chinese with tons of garlic (mr. alacarte hates both)

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I'm going to try the recipe again tonight -- this time with peanut butter. I have regular (sweetened) peanut butter, which includes lecithin, and unsweetened peanut butter, which doesn't include lecithin. I can't seem to find an unsweetened peanut butter that also includes stabilizers -- they all have oil at the top and the "please stir before serving" warning. Ideally I'd prefer unsweetened, and would just add a teaspoon of sugar to the recipe. But I'll try the recipe both ways and see what happens. I'm also going to try a version with an Asian-style vinaigrette base, and just a small amount of peanut butter blended in. Will check back in tomorrow with final results of what works best!

Scuba, thank you for this. How much peanut butter do you use? Is it a couple of teaspoons, or a full cup?

If you'll be in the NYC vicinity on Feb 23, I hope you'll consider attending this event. YES there will be a rum tasting, as well as other Caribbean-themed edibles. February 23, 2006 The Dark Side of Rum Speaker: Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller Location: New York University, Steinhardt School of Education, 35 West 4th St., Room 1080 Time: Reception and Sign-In 6:30, Lecture 7:00 Members $25 | Senior and Student Members $22 | Guests $35 For more information and registration form, click here. Disclosure: I'm a member of CHNY, which is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to food history. This is the only event we've ever had dedicated to rum...

Thanks so much... I'm less concerned with "authenticity" and more concerned with pulling together a recipe that works and is easy for someone else to replicate. Do you cook your version on the stovetop, or just blend it all together? PS, I enjoyed your Valentine's Day article!