LEdlund

I don't dislike Emeril - just the way he panders to the people who are in the audience on Emeril Live. I think that is where my opinion of him was formed. But, like I said before, the article opened my eyes to another side of Emeril and I gained a lot of respect for him.

I thought you might be interested in hearing what everyone brought to book group last night. I hope by posting this it won't discourage people to continue to post - this has been fun to read everyone's ideas of "romantic" food. As I suspected, we had a little bit of everything: angel food cake topped with whipped cream and berries potato chips and champagne (that one had an interesting story to go along with it) chocolates and rose wine figs wrapped in proscuitto fried chicken (!) and potato salad greek salad (from the accountant in the group - she said we need our vegetables too!) chocolate cheesecake caprese salad brie and bread cream puffs filled with whipped cream Needless to say - all the basis were covered. I cracked up when I saw that someone had brought fried chicken! Thanks for the fun responses Lauren

I was really disappointed when I saw Emeril on the cover but, after reading the article, my opinion of him was raised quite a bit. I realized there is more to Emeril than what I have seen on his shows.

This is soooo true. Wine and/or flowers are my first choices for a host/hostess gift. Mainly because they are the "usual" and the host/hostess are prepared to deal with them during the event. I know I am usually not organized enough to be able to put food gifts away in a timely fashion so any gift that would require me to "work" would not be appreciated. For non wine/flower gifts, I try to get a little something for the persons home (I usually spend between $15 and $25). Candles are always nice. Kitchen towels. Even a CD if that is appropriate. I try to give the gift in an interesting container: a basket of some sort most often.

I was actually leaning towards doing something with cherries, seeing as I have tons of them from my CSA basket. I saw a recipe in Sunset magazine for chocolate waffles topped with marinated cherries and whipped mascarpone. Sounded romantic to me!

I switched to liquid dishwasher soap to avoid etching. And it works!

This weekend I checked out the new place under construction on 45th in Wallingford this weekend (the place with all the metal work). If I understood the guys doing the construction correctly, it is going to be a thai restaurant and bar, opened by a 36 year old woman named May (which I gathered is also to be the name of the restaurant). It is scheduled to be open on August 11th. The metal work is really beautiful. I poked my head inside and the bottom floor appears to be the bar with the restaurant upstairs. It also appears that they will have an patio area out front.

Thanks so much for the information. This is exactly what I am looking for. We've booked the Best Western Black Oak Inn and the room sounds like it will meet our needs. I've noted all the wineries and hope to hit as many as I can. Are there any wineries that are not to be missed for things other than their wines? For example the views are fantastic, their charming and fun, etc. Also, are there any "must eat" place in the outlying areas that we sure be sure to hit? Thanks again, you guys are the best. Lauren

When I was told of the theme, I thought the same thing! These are great ideas! Too bad oysters aren't in their prime right now. Oysters and champagne would be perfect. But I also like the strawberries and "whipped" cream with some chocolate thrown in too. What's fun about all of this is to see what everyone else brings. There are about 14 of us and rarely do we have duplicates.

Once again I need help with my book group's food theme. We just read Little Children by Tom Perrotta in which most of the characters seem to be having affairs (hence the theme). But now I don't know what to bring.... any ideas?

I have to take all of this with a grain of salt (so to speak) because according to The World's Top Nutritionist discussed here

Try braising it in a little chicken stock (along with the olive oil and garlic).

My husband and I are coming from Seattle to do some wine tasting the third week of August. We will be flying into SFO on August 16th, renting a car and driving to Paso Robles. We will be staying in Paso Robles the 16th through the 20th then driving back to SF for the weekend. We fly home on the 23rd. I've done some of research and have a few questions: 1) Regarding where to stay in Paso Robles: We're not B&B people and like to stay where there is a restaurant/bar on premesis and we can get decent internet access (so I can keep up with eGullet while I'm on vacation!). We prefer the "suite" hotels because we can set up an area to nosh on all of the goodies we buy on the road, and sample some of the wine we intend to buy and also preferably a room with a balcony. I've narrowed it down to the Hampton Suites or one of the family suites at the Best Western. Is one a preferable property to the other (or is there someplace else that meets those requirements)? We seriously considered the Paso Robles Inn but got scared away by some comments on Trip Advisor....... 2) Which wineries should be on our "must see" list in the Paso Robles area? 3) Regarding dining in Paso Robles: We are thinking for Bistro Laurent and Buono Tavola for dinner. Any others we should not miss? What about lunch and breakfast places? 4) Saturday and Sunday dinners in SF are taken care of (Quince and Zuni Cafe) but we are looking for something less expensive on Friday night. We're meeting some friends from Seattle who are also going to be in town but who aren't as devoted to food as we are. We are both staying near Union Square so something walking distance would be great. I've got my breakfast choices thanks to the Best SF Bay Breakfast thread! If anyone is available for coffee/drinks in either location it would be fun to meet you! Thanks in advance for your help. Lauren

Where exactly is this? Is it actually in U Village or on one of the side streets?

Or Dahlia Lounge. I understand the cocktails part. We recently took my parents out to dinner and my father could not get over the fact that he couldn't have a cocktail before dinner (the restaurant only served beer and wine). It is now a requirement when we take them out.

I was surprised too because I know they offer a Dilletante Mocha, so I sort of assumed...... But, there it was, a giant can of Hershey's syrup that they squirted into the blender. This was at the Wallingford Tully's so maybe they do things differently......

I'm having dinner there with my parents on Saturday (it's my mother's birthday). I haven't had dinner there in years so I am looking forward to it. I'd forgotten how lingering the meals can be, I'm going to try and change our 7:30 reservations....they have an hour drive after they leave

Thanks for the great report! I didn't want to post before because I can't remember with great detail the reasons that I didn't like the place. When they first opened my husband and I ate there a few times because it was very close to our house at the time. Each time we were really disappointed and finally vowed never to go back. Then last year, during the 25 for $25, we decided to give it one more try. Here's what I remember: The dining room (and service) seemed stuffy and overly formal and hushed. I felt like other diners were looking at my husband and I like we were irresponsible kids, partying in schmancy restaurant (and trust me, we're no kids!). I felt very uncomfortable there. My husband remembers that his fish (a white fish of some sort) wasn't well prepared. The other thing I remember was that I didn't like the desserts. We both felt that it was underwhelming and a low value, even at $25.

Is this the place that burned down last night? The fire was on 44th and Meridian so it was a block off the retail area. From what I read, the damage was to an apartment building and neighboring houses. I'm surprised I didn't see or smell any smoke. We did hear the sirens but that was it.

I had my first Tully's shake over the weekend. Paul had mocha and I had chocolate. I don't think I will be ordering this on a regular basis. To make the chocolate shake they blend their vanilla ice cream with Hershey's syrup and milk and, to me, it's much too sweet and not chocolate-y enough. The mocha, with the addition of shots of espresso, was much better, but still too sweet. I did ask for a short and it was a whopping 30 cents less than the tall.

I made a green bean salad that was a hit with my friends last night. Blanch the beans then chill in an ice bath. Drain and toss with toasted walnuts and feta. Toss again with a simple vinaigrette (I used mustard made with walnut oil). It was so simple and delicious.

Oh. I thought maybe it was a chicken-jerky kind of thing. I'm a big fan of the original Cow Tails myself. What is it with naming candy after meat? I think there's coconut in them too. They stick in your teeth to make the snack last even longer My turn: What's a Cow Tail?

I do too. But I wish they would bring back Breezes. Then I could have them more often.

If I need fuel, then I get a pepperoni stick or beef jerky and string cheese. If I want a "treat" then it has to be a Chick-o-stick.

Are they serious with the "complimentary overnight stay at the guest camp for a personal interview"????????