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It's things like this that sometimes make me wish I was still living in NYC! I'll have to make it to Grimaldi's sometime in the near future and hopefully I can join at least one of these forays sometime. Work has been especially busy for me of late and unfortunately shows little sign of slowing up. Perhaps in May I could join a trip to Totonno's in Coney Island. Anyone know what kind of tomatoes they used in Grimaldi's and DiFara's? IMO, the quality of the tomatoes is one of the most important elements of a good pizza and one of the elements that really sets apart good Neapolitan pizze. Campania simply grows the most flavorful tomatoes in the world. I recently had a pasta served with EVOO, S&P and "pomodorini del Vesuvio", a special tomato (jarred) that brought back from Campania purchased at the Slow Food Congress. It was simply amazing.

Do you know what breeds of pigs he raises? A number of rare heritage breeds are being raised and providing a little more variety to the agribusiness breed.

I had some Old Chatham Plain Sheepsmilk yoghurt over a baked potato the other night in place of butter or sour cream. It was an outstanding match.

Conservation is certainly a major aspect of the Slow Food Movement, however, the movement is not opposed to creativity in the least. While conserving traditional foods and methods is vital, even more so is the conservation of variety and quality. As such, creativity is welcomed and applauded. The problems with "modern" food production according to Slow Food is just that many "modern" techniques, such as genetic modification and ubiquitous fast food erode or annhilate those values of variety and quality.

If they are reasonably fresh they should keep well if stored in the refrigerator with moist paper towels on top. Keep them in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Do wash the shells before shucking. I recommend using an oyster knife and making sure you protect your hands during the shucking. I recently purchased a special glove, however,, I will use a dishtowel in which to hold the oyster and protect my hand.

Brains from a BSE infected cow.

Marco, it seems that your cuisine and cooking is the epitome of that espoused by the Slow Food Movement. Do you agree and what do you see as the future of that movement in the United States and the world?

Are most of your sources local or do you have product shipped from far away?

Chef Canora, Thank you for taking the time to do this Q&A. I am especially intrigued by your experience at Cibreo in Firenze. I have had the distinct pleasure of having dined there. What specific influences did you bring back from there? How does your experience there manifest itself in your cooking and approach to food?

It's a little more that you indicated you would like to spend, but db Bistro Moderne has a $39 prix-fixe pre-theater dinner that is actually a very good value. Another restaurant to consider might be Madeleine, good quality, reasonably priced French bistro fare.

Lutece and Gage and Tollner within a week. Wow.

Palermo - Pasta con Sarde - Pasta with sardines, raisins, pine nuts and wild fennel. Capri - Caprese salad - fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato with EVOO, S&P. Bologna - Bolognese sauce - pasta with chopped meat sauce Tortellini in Brodo- tortellini with chicken broth, parmiggiano and balsamico Milan - Risotto Milanese - saffron risotto Valencia - Paella Barcelona - Pan amb tomat - grilleed bread with rubbed garlic, tomato and EVOO. London - fish and chips Carcassone - Cassoulet Marseilles - Bouillabaisse Naples - sfogliatella - flaky pastry

A whole new thread can be started to discuss this behavior. At the very least I would hope she uses a clean fork.

Italian Food Artisans by Pamela Sheldon Johns is a fine book with good writing on specific producers of quality Italian food items. Her other books are good too and a bit more in depth. I particularly like Balsamico

I've had a couple of absolutely fantastic meals at UP and one so-so meal. Rocco happened to be in the kitchen for the fantastic meals but not for the so-so one. Could he have`spread himself too thin? It certainly has the capability to be one helluva restaurant.

The Farmer's Museum is worth a visit as well.

Any state that is home to a company like Zingerman's can't be that much of a culinary wasteland. Torres was probably a fine choice. I ordered chocolates from LA Burdick in N.H. for my wife. Vosges in Chicago is another good choice.

Cooperstown is a great town to visit. The food has been good, but not particularly memorable to me. If you enjoy a good beer, I would suggest a visit toBrewery Ommegang, a wonderful maker of Belgian style beers. They have restaurant suggestions on their website. The people of Ommegang are also leaders of Slow Food in the area, so they should be pretty knowledgable.

Nicely done, Andy. Thanks.

I say go for the tasting menu and enjoy. I agree with Tommy, let Suvir, Hemant and Bikky guide you.

Anothern interesting point about Rosalie - the perception of the spaced is very dependent upon where one is seated. I found the space much more attractive when sitting next to the wall than near the bar. I don't know why, but it was significant to me.

Rosalie is a restaurant with great food at a fair price - in my mind a "world-class" restaurant in terms of price quality. I've dined at many of the top restaurants in NY, Chicago, S.F., N.O, Dallas, Boston, Toronto, Spain, France and Italy and there are few restaurants that I find better values regarding price vs. quality of the ingredients and cooking (at least on this continent). It reminds me very much of a top quality Frenchbistro, but at a fraction of the cost of a bistro in Paris. Is it the most amazingly crafted and "beautiful" food I've ever had? Not by a longshot, but it is amongst the most flavorful.

The only Monsanto that I like is the Italian winery. http://www.clicquotinc.com/monsanto/. Hmmm, I didn't know they were bought by Cliquot. This is the Stealth fighter of issues. It is amazing how it manages to fly so well under the radar.

I don't think I can learn to hold a wine glass like that

Outstanding post, Lucy. You captured the very essence of epoisses!. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts.