sarahoc

My friend and I are co-hosting a baby shower for a close friend. She is the first in our circle to get pregnant so none of us have been to a baby shower before. The party will be on a Saturday afternoon at my co-host's apartment. There will probably be 10-15 attendees, mostly creative Brooklynite types in their late 20s -early 30s. The guest of honor is a vegetarian so we were planning on making tea sandwiches, a chocolate torte, maybe a punch or some kind of virgin cocktail. Does anyone have any other menu suggestions? And what about activities? I did some web searching and everything I found seemed really cheesy.

MJR - I live right near there and have never noticed Sabaa. Is it take out only? I usually go to Zaytoon's, Waterfalls or Bedouin Tent.

You should've gone to Bacchus - they have 2 for 1 entrees on Wednesday nights.

My new favorite in the neighborhood is Taku on Smith between Pacific and Dean.

I'm working from home in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn (very hard, obviously). I'm planning on meeting some friends who live nearby for lunch somewhere on Smith Street. But Rich, I think you are wrong about the strike not affecting outer borough restaurants. A lot of the workers rely on the bus andor subway to get to work, and deliveries can also be delayed because of traffic. Plus, a lot of the restaurants in my neighborhood ARE destination spots for people from Manhattan and other neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

Wasabi on Bedford Ave in Williamsburg. Rudest service ever!

When I was in the 6th grade my class went on a camping trip. If you said you were a vegetarian you got to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and the meat eaters had to eat mystery meat shephard's pie and the like. So I told everyone I was a vegetarian, and I kept it up after I went home. My parents are big meat eaters, but former hippies so they were (mostly) supportive of my choice. My next door neighbors and my aunt and uncle were pescetarians and they were a big influence on me. I never really felt comfortable with the idea of eating animals and I went through a militant PETA phase when I was younger. I have calmed down, but I still feel like it is important for me to do what I can to help out the environment, organic & sustainable farming, animals, etc.. At first I stopped eating red meat, and a couple years later I stopped eating poultry and fish. At first I ate mostly pasta and the side dishes and salads my mom prepared. My parents called me a 'pastatarian" because I didn't really like eating vegetables. Once I moved out on my own I realized that I LOVE vegetables, it is just that my parents always overcooked them. I was a total vegetarian from about 13, and I flirted with the idea of veganism but I love cheese too much to give it up completely. Every couple years I would cheat and have a bagel and lox or some sushi, and I started having major protein cravings. Now at 28 I eat seafood a couple times a week, but I don't think I will ever go back to eating poultry or red meat. I always wanted to take cooking classes but I have found that even in NYC, the vegetarian cooking classes tend to focus on cooking things like seitan and quinoa (which I love, sometimes) instead of making soups, sauces and other dishes that are often traditionally prepared with broth or bacon or something, but don't necessarily have to be to taste good.

The XXL cauliflower tasted totally normal. I bought it for $3 and I am guessing it weighed close to 5 pounds. The florets felt a little firmer or more closed than they sometimes do but it still came out great. There were also brussel sprouts on the stalk at the farmer's market. I know brussel sprouts are also roastable; has anyone ever tried peeling and roasting the stalk?

I bought a head of cauliflower today from the NYC Union Square Farmer's Market that was a bit bigger than a basketball. It is now roasting in my oven in two pans, when a normal-sized cauliflower fits in one. And it smells goooood.

I had a really bad experience at Yama on Houston. That was my first and last time at a Yama. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good, moderately priced sushi place near Grand Central?

Several years ago I found a plastic glove inside a bean burrito from a Taco Bell in NYC, when I first moved here and was living very frugally. Unfortunately it was my second burrito of my lunch. I walked back there and the manager tried to replace it for me. Of course I refused. That location has since closed.

I can't believe I forgot to post how much I absolutely HATE raisins!!!! I HATE raisins with a fierce passion. They taste like big black ants (I know because I accidentally ate one as a child), and they absolutely ruin perfectly good cereals, breads and cookies all the time for me.

I hate fennel, asparagus, and white chocolate! And I don't get lobster. To me it's bland and a pain to eat. Not an eggplant fan either, which is a pain because it is often the only non-meat option at a lot of restaurants.

Thanks for the tips everyone! We're actually staying at the Atlantic Inn so we'll probably eat there at least once, and Mohegan and the take out place seem like good options too.

I'll be going to Block Island for a long weekend soon, and was hoping to find some tips on places to eat while there, mostly on the more casual and inexpensive side. I would be happy eating nothing but seafood, but my boyfriend is the type of vegetarian that lives on cheese sandwiches and pizza.