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I´ve been in Brazil for the past few months, and in a number of major cities. In addition to the McDs, the Pizza Huts (which comes out in Portuguese something like Pizza Hootchy), and Subways, there´s a very popular fast-food chain that is completely Brazilian from what I understand, and it´s not what you might expect. The chain is called Habib´s, and it´s a chain of Lebanese-Arab fast food. The locations are archetypical fast-food á la McDs, with order counters, spotless bathrooms, childrens´playgrounds, birthday party rooms etc. The food is basically Middle Eastern, as it´s known in Brazil, with the addition of some Italian items like pizza and lasagne. The base-level item is called esfia, and it´s like a mini-pizza spread with either cheese or spiced ground meat (unspecified origin). There are also other items that would be familiar to anyone who knows Middle Eastern foods, like humous, tabouleh, chopped vegetable salad etc. Habib´s locations seem to be eternally packed and busy, and many are open 24 hours. Of course one large difference from the North American style of fast food locations is that Habib´s serves beer -- but then again, in Brazil, who doesn´t?

If South America tempts you, I'd recommend Puerto Montt, Chile., especially the fishing-port neighbourhood of Angelmo. Small, unpretentious restaurants serving up local seafood at ridiculously low prices. Special recommendations include "erizos" which are sea urchins. They are absolutely delicious, and best served in a dish called "tortilla de erizos". There's also a native Chilean clam called "cholgas" which are a bright red, chewy but tasty. "Centollas" are the local spider crab. And while you're in Puerto Montt, do not miss the opportunity to traverse the Andes to Bariloche, Argentina. Two days of cross ice-blue lakes surrounded by Fuji-like volcanos, with convenient bus links between the lakes, and a night in a comfortable but simple lodge in a National Park.

Smoked cow's udder in Switzerland. After a hike, we stopped in a small restaurant with a lovely buffet table of charcuterie and cheeses. The proprietors, who spoke only Swiss-German, keep pointing to one particular platter covered with slices of what appeared to be overused, dirty-grey kitchen sponges. I couldn't understand their explanation of what it was, but it was definitely something I'd never seen before. Being a sport, and a curiosity-cat, I added a slice to my plate. The slice tasted of milk that had gone off, with a smoky overtone. Unless you're a fan of milk that pours from the container in curds, it's a combination of tastes that is particularly unfortunate. I still hadn't clued into the origin of the meat though, and when the proprietor came to my table to see how I was enjoying the mystery meat, I did my best to ask what I had been eating. It wasn't until he held one hand up with fingers dangling, and began to milk the fingers with his other hand while mooing that it clicked. So for those who don't treasure the thought of sucking sour smoky milk out of a dirty sponge, watch for anything that matches my description.

I happen to be one of the very few non-Maltese who actually like Kinnie. I understand how someone might put it in the root beer family, but it's actually (I believe) a bitter orange soda, with added quinine (just as in tonic water). It's the bitterness that lots of people object to. Incidentally, Italian chinotto (pronounced kinn-oto) is the same thing. Chinotto-Kinnie: even the names are the same. I'm not a linguist, but I think that both names come from the Italian word for quinine. Anyone who can confirm/correct?

For those who want all things bacon... I recently bought (as a joke present for a vegetarian friend) a automobile air-freshener that was bacon scented. It was made of that same material that those pine tree air-fresheners are, and was formed in the shape of a couple of strips of bacon. My friend was truly disgusted, which meant that the joke succeeded! Can't tell you where you can buy them, but try stores that sell cards and useless gifts.

It normally would be gwa-rah'-nah, but it isn't, cuz in Portuguese there's an accent over the last "a". So...correct pronunciation is gwa-rah-nah' with definite stress on the final syllable. BTW, ice cold in the Brazilian heat, it's terrific! But very sweet...

Here in Canada (in Vancouver at any rate) you can get a terrific organic yogurt from Liberte (from Quebec) that comes in a prune/walnut flavour. It's terrific! Liberte also makes an unflavoured yogurt called Mediterranee which has a 10% fat content. It's probably extremely bad for you, but WOW is it wonderful.

I can't tell from your post how many people you're talking about, nor the budget constraints you may or may not be under, but I'll offer this suggestion in case it meets your needs. There is a private dining room cum wine cellar at Pino Posteraro's Cioppino in Yaletown. It's an elegant and inviting space, with many thousands of dollars of wine lining the walls. I was there once for a meal that was designed to order, so I don't know if the same space can be reserved for "off-the-menu" dining as well. Might be.

I just can't seem to get an insect of any type in my mouth. In Khorat, Thailand, the night market is full of vendors selling crunchy deep-fried insects. I've seen beetles, grasshoppers and even ants. (Scorpions too get the treatment). They're served up in a paper cone, with plenty of hot sauce, and the lucky purchaser gets to nibble them like popcorn as he/she strolls the market. I have been offered many free samples (with lots of good-natured laughs from the locals) but I just couldn't bring one to my mouth. The odd thing, if you think about it biologically, is that crabs and lobsters are really nothing but giant, flightless, aquatic insects. An arthropod is an arthropod is an arthropod. And I love them! Go figure...

That's so sad There may not be any pear orchards left in Pearland, but Peachland, BC still has some peaches!

If you'd like to try something different (yet still very Chinese) I'd recommend the: RAINBOW RESTAURANT 8095 Park Rd # 2 Richmond It's a Chinese-Buddhist vegetarian restaurant, though try not to think of it in religious terms. Just go to enjoy the excellent Chinese food, an amazingly friendly staff, and an incredible value. It's hard to walk out of there spending more than $15 per person it seems. You'll recognize many familiar dishes in the menu, including those normally made with meat or fish, but at Rainbow the meat's been replaced by vegetable substitutes. The "switch" is sometimes hard to believe, there's so little difference from the original. I'm most definitely NOT a vegetarian, so I'm not mentioning this restaurant due to lack of exposure to more traditional Chinese establishments. I found my meal at the Rainbow to be tasty, cheap, and an introduction to an important stream of Chinese cooking all at once. BTW, it's located in an anonymous strip mall just East of NO. 3 Rd., but don't let the location put you off.

I don't know if the situation in the US is the same as here in Vancouver, but right now durians are widely available here in Asian produce and grocery stores. There's a chain of Asian supermarkets here (think Safeway) called T&T and I saw a giant pile of them there last weekend. Because they're not cut or opened, the smell wasn't overwhelming, but it was definitely "there." BTW, after taking many years to build up the courage to try eating durian, I was amazed to find out that it IS true that the taste has nothing to do with the smell. Since smell is such an integral part of taste, I still don't know how that works. In any case, do give one a try if you have the opportunity.

I took a course last year in teaching writing to ESL students, and my teacher showed a demonstration she always uses to impress her ESL students. She made banana bread in a rice cooker. She assembled the ingredients early in the class, then let the bread cook while teaching how to write recipes in English. At the mid-class break, the bread was done and ready for sampling. It was delicious, surprisingly, though the smell of baking (steaming) banana bread did distract from the learning experience. Apparently she was taught how to do this while teaching English in Korea a few years ago.

There was a girl in my fourth grade class who used to eat chalk. The sound was unbearable, especially as she used to chew it very finely before swallowing.

Now this has really got me going. Since cabbage in German is "kohl", then their previous Chancellor's surname was "Cabbage.!" So what could I do but google his first name "Helmut", and consequently found out that it meant "courageous." Imagine, for all those years, I didn't know that the name of the German Chancellor was "Courageous Cabbage."