mcdowell

Then why do it? Just say 'no' and cook something else. It's about that easy.

Or people who post about Bob Dylan & Neil Young on the "velvet throated vocalists" board...

Amen.

Then, of course, there's the practice of nyataimori, where sushi is served on the unclothed body of a woman. Is that in code? Has anyone heard of that being done in the States? A quick google search showed a restaurant in Scotland, but otherwise not much in English on the subject.

Nothing justifies it. People who have passions become, well, passionate about them. The people on this board are passionate about what they put into their bodies in a very sensual way. It's about taste for the people here, and about expanding and sharing their knowledge around this most sensual of human needs. Combining taste and knowledge often leads to arrogance. Add the relative anonymity of posting on-line, and you have an environment where people might speak out of turn, and say hurtful or intimidating things. It's a fact of life on the internet, and has been for the two decades I've been using it. Every forum suffers it. The counter to it is not to fight it, but to ignore it. If somebody offends you by criticizing your taste, then rise above it, be secure in what you believe, and tell them to bugger off, you like the food at the Cheesecacke Factory. If it gets out of hand, then the moderators will step in and cut out the posts, as they recently did when some idiot posted that Cristal was being coopted by urban blacks (I don't really agree with cutting those posts - seems heavy handed way of enforcing decorum, but I don't pay to be here so selah and all that). What I also see on threads like this one is someone who has "refined" tastes posting their opinion, and if it's counter to someone elses, that some else becomes insecure and defensive and starts claiming "elistism" and "snobbery" when, in fact, opinions were just being exchanged, nothing more. Not every opinion on taste (or sex, or politics, or religion, etc etc etc) reflects judgement against those who don't share it. We're all adults here (I think ), so have some self-confidence in what you believe, and don't let yourself be intimidated. For the arrogant and opinionated among us, before we step on someone else's tastes to harshly, we need to remember those days in college when, at 3am, the Waffle House was "the shit", and that somtimes it still is. Done preaching.

comments like that, i think, are just completely inappropriate. i agree with bux's assessment. I agree with most of the words that Bux used too; his sentiments are very close to my own. I also agree with rdailey that the folks on eGullet can come off as elitist. It would be hard to participate in a forum such as this and not come off as elitist from time to time. There's nothing wrong with being elitist. In certain areas, I'm certainly elitist. I relish my elitism. And mustard it too. Pointing out the elitism, however, isn't a good debate tactic. It takes the discussion to a personal level and serves only to put people on the defensive. That's not good for any of us.

Here in San Jose, someone just opened a coffee shop where the servers are all clad in lingerie. It's called Sugar's. The city's apparently ticketing them for violations on very regular basis, trying to shut it down.

My problem with Hooter's is that I have no frame of reference to tell myself how to behave. I've been to plenty of bars where women dance naked, and more than a few where they were simply topless and the $4.95 prime rib was good enough to get me through the day... I know what I'm supposed to do in these places, how to behave, how not to behave, and where to, er, leave the tip. I've been to plenty of mid-range chain places with cute waitresses, and I know how I'm supposed to behave in these place, what's expected of me, etc. Hooters is a strange cross-breed, the buxom women in short shorts and tight tops serving essentially bar quality food. It makes me, testosterone-filled as I can be sometimes, uncomfortable, because I'm not there for the food, and the women have on too much clothing for me to be there for them (in any sort of acceptable overt way). *edited to fix a small grammer problem

It's a type of 'elitist humor', making people feel better about where they are in life in some particular area by making fun of those who are ignorant or naive in that same area. I work in technology, writing operating systems, and, brother, we can make fun of some people over ignorance. And we do. But FG's right, once you start analyzing it, or even stop to realize that the people you're making fun of could well make fun of you in whatever area they know, it stops being funny.

And that's probably exactly what happened in this case -

What throws me on this is the vinegar. None of my recipes for tarragon sauce ('sauce estragon') call for it. The 'classic' tarragon sauce is a simple infusion of tarragon in a sauce veloute (stock/butter/flour). I also see one in Peterson's sauce book that is a white wine/tarragon infusion, with demi-glace added, reduced, and strained, and finished w/ the tarragon leaves. Depending on the wine, I suppose that could be confused with vinegar.

A bag of Miss Vickie's Jalaeno potato chips, new in the vending machine here at the office. Very good, thick cut, good flavoring. Miss Vickie's is owned by Frito Lay, but it has French writing all over the bag. I'm not sure what that's all about ("de notre ferme a vus croustilles")

Dunno. FedEx seems pretty clear on their policy. Essentially says that unless you're a wine distributor shipping to another wine distributor/mfg/etc, then you have to fill out a special form. Seems reasonable to me, but then I never ship wine. The other stuff I ship, I pack in coffee grounds to throw off the dogs.

Is it for real? The article on the Breast Muffler is too funny ("killing me softly with those breasts").

It's funny, but whenever I'm down, the day is rainy, whatever, I pick that book up (or "Outlaw Cook", but not as good, in my opinion) off my shelf and open it to a random spot and just read. It never fails to improve my day.

Food as fuel : if that's your goal, then there's nothing wrong with chains. I'm curious though: if you don't apply taste as one of the primary factors in making decisions about what goes into your body, then what are your criteria? Predictability/Convenience : when I spend at chains, that's the primary reason. The kids love to go to Chili's, know what they're going to order, and chat in the car on the way over about which desert they're going to get. Try as we might to train them to be more adventurous, there are still times when they want the comfortable predictability that Chili's or Applebees will bring them. The deal we make is that we'll eat their way for a meal, then they have to come with us and eat our way. Works well. Why do I think Olive Garden is bad? I don't. I find it mediocre, at best. It's frustrating to me to spend forty or fifty dollars on a meal that's not as good as one that would come out of my kitchen with just two hours work for thirty dollars less (and I'm a good cook, but not a great cook). I can eat a lot better for the same money at other places. Comes down to taste and values. Meals don't have to be adventures. Most aren't, really. But I've made the personal value-based decision (one shared by many on eGullet, it appears) that what I eat and what I drink must satisfy me on a number of levels, and these levels are defined by personal metrics all revolving around what makes me happy when I eat. That doesn't make me inflexible or snobbish. It's where my head (and my palate) are, that's all. When someone says that they "don't like" chains, you shouldn't take offense. Not everyone's values align, nor should they. Be secure in your opinions, stand by your tastes and your decisions, and don't let people of differing opinions put you on the defensive. There's a lot of asses out there (and a few here) who will tell you that you're wrong in your opinion or your taste, when all of these things are subjective. There simply is not right and wrong in this arena. So do what you want, eat where you want - it's the great benefit of living in a free society. As counter-point to all this, I took some friends to a very authentic Thai place about six months ago, thinking that it would be a great experience and we'd all enjoy it. I ordered sauted froglegs in a wonderful chili sauce. Truely great food, right up to the moment when my companions whispered amongst themselves, then one of them declared that "that food on your plate disgusts us, and makes us a little sad". Ruined my meal, but didn't make me question my taste.

And what did you do with those anchovies??

Deborah Madison's Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets. I bought it for my girlfriend, but haven't let it out of my hands.

If I know I'm going to make a mess then I wear an apron (the rest of the time, I just add yet more stains to whatever shirt I'm wearing, because I always splatter). I have a collection of aprons commerating various crawfish festivals that come in handy, they're mostly black, and look pretty good hanging in the corner. I can't imagine maintaining a white apron.

Last night: Cut a pound of swiss chard and a couple of serrano peppers from the tiny garden out back... stewed that up with tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Rolled the result into corn tortillas, making a pan of enchiladas, topped with more of the stewed chard and cheese. Served it with spanish rice and cucumber/avacado salad. It worked (used the left-over spicy stewed chard this morning in a scramble - also worked very well). Just something about cooking from your garden that makes life all that much more worthwhile.

I have scars on my hands from cutting bagels, knife pointed wrong direction. The cuts heal, giving my hands just a bit more character. I forget, then do it all over again.

Well, if we're talking cheese... Cowgirl Creamary. Their triple creams are simply amazing. Northern California seems a hot-bed of good artisnal cheeses.

[pause for a moment to drool] Aidell's Sausage Neiman Ranch

Fried eggs and salsa... hashbrowns on the side, heavy on the garlic. Am I the only one who's absolutely in love with these pre-cut frozen Ore-Ida hashbrowns (southern style)? Great anytime you need a diced potato and want to be lazy.

The love she puts into it I'm of the firm belief that good 'nanner puddin' is best made by a cute Texas girl. Or my mom. And I'm sure it would go good after smoked elk. Don't know what to say. I must be confusing places. Time to head back over the hill and track down those cookies!