slkinsey

That's a bold statement. Which food group do you think is missing there? fruit, for one thing. but there's the problem of white bread, of probably-unhealthy fats, and in general, lack of vitamins. and then i think it can be argued that the amount of greens is hardly sufficient. not only will you be malnourished, you will probably get diabetes, too, as the only bread is white and the only thing to drink is soda pops. (oh, sure, you can drink tap water, but that can be a very nasty alternative in some places) Okralet, as has been pointed out extensively on this board and in the scientific literature, white bread (especially enriched white bread) is actually more nutritious than whole grain bread -- which is to say, the body is able to absorb more nutrients from white bread than from whole grain bread. As for the greens, I think an examination of the McDonald's menu amply demonstrates that there are plenty of greens available in the form of salads. And, of course, it is absolutely possible to avoid eating large amounts of "dangerous" fats if one chooses appropriate items from the menu. As for diabetes from the white bread and the soda... The idea that eating white bread causes the onset of diabetes is preposterous and completely unsupported. Certainly, eating white bread can't possibly be worse in that regard than eating a lot of fresh ripe fruit, which comtains a lot more sugar and in simpler form. You're not suggesting that eating fresh ripe fruit contributes to the onset of diabetes, are you? As for the beverages, one could always choose to drink diet soda and/or orange juice and/or Hi-C orange drink. The one place where McDonald's really falls short is in fresh fruit. That said, I am quite certain that the people who develop the menu and recipes for McDonald's have gone to great lengths to make sure it is possible to construct a daily meal plan from their offerings that satisfies all the USDA nutritional requirements. So I think we can definitively say that one would not be malnourished if eating all meals at McDonald's. But, really... who cares? No one is suggesting that it's a good idea to take all one's meals at the same restaurant. I'm sure it would be equally difficult to construct a healthy diet exclusively from the menu at Jean Georges.

I'm a big fan of amari of all kinds, and I also head straight for the Fernet Branca whenever I feel like I've had too much to eat. Nothing washes down a dinner at Churrascaria Plataforma like a bedtime sip of Fernet Branca. My current favorite amaro, and one that is sadly unavailable in the US, is Kàpriol -- a juniper-flavored liquor from the Distilleria dell'Alpe in Susegana in the Veneto. I always try to swing by Buccone in Rome to pick up some Kàpriol and whatever else I can't get in the US to bring back. Haven't tried Nonino yet, but will definitely be trying some now... Craig... where do you think things like Campari and Cynar (which I prefer to Campari) fall? Would you consider them amari? Or, if not, then what are they?

You're lucky that's all it took. I had to resort to Photoshop. Thank...you? Lucky to have been blessed with such pulchritude, I think...

Well... yes, the NYC law, I think, is a much better law than the NY State law, and did just that. What I mean by "running roughshod" is the fact that any law will run up aginst certain situations in which is it not entirely appropriate. Take, for instance, the law that says you cannot drive your car across an intersection when the traffic light is red. Take that law and apply it to a rural town at 4:00 AM when the driver can clearly see that no cars are approaching in either direction for miles. Here is a situation where the driver is forced to sit in his car and wait for the light to turn green because of a silly law, despite the fact that it really should be perfectly fine to go across the intersection. So, what are lawmakers to do? On the one hand, they can start creating all kinds of special exemptions and potential cases where the law doesn't apply, etc. This is a slippery slope, however, as the number of such potential situations will continue to increase and there will always be the possibility of lawbreakers arguing that the regular traffic law shouldn't have applied in their case, etc. And, of course, by the time they're done, the lawmakers will have taken a simple law that was easy for everyone to understand and enforce, and turned it into a very complicated law that no one really understands and is very difficult to enforce. Or, on the other hand, they can keep the law simple and "run roughshod" over the driver needlessly sitting in his car at that intersection. Pataki et al. clearly went with the "simpler is better" philosophy. Now, that said, and as I said before, I do think that the NYC law is also simple and easy to understand, and it makes a more reasonable accomodation for private clubs and "cigar bars." Perhaps, in the future, the state law can be modified to accomodate these situations a bit better -- who knows? But, even with the NYC law there are going to be plenty of "special cases" who don't feel as though they are recieving the proper accomodation... just the same way some people think it's wrong that they have to wait at a red light in the middle of the night on deserted streets. In re to co-op boards restricting smoking... that's just the nature of the beast. Co-ops can regulate pretty much whatever they please. If they can prevent people from owning pets in their own apartments (and it is pretty clear they can), then they can prevent people from smoking in their apartments. As an apartment dweller myself -- and one who lives on the same floor with several apartments of smokers -- I can tell you the hypothesis that cigarette smoke is completely contained in the apartment of the smoker is absolutely incorrect, as I can immediately tell when my neighbors are smoking. I don't know about that... I am and have been a member of a number of private clubs and organizations over the years, and I don't think it is reasonable to make a direct analogy with eating dinner at the same table with the busboys. After all, no one would be forcing the club members to play squash with the club's busboys, only to allow the busboys access to the courts. This, IMO, is more analogous to allowing the busboys to eat at one's favorite restaurant. And, personally, I certainly wouldn't have a problem with that as long as the busboys dressed and acted appropriately. I rather imagine that the author of the article shares my sentiment in this regard. Looks more enclosed than that to me.

I thought that was Alaska, of all places. I have always understood that the region with the highest per-capita consumption of icecream was New England. This was decently discussed in another thread where someone looked up the Federal statistics... and I believe Vermont edged Alaska in per capita consumption by state.

It's all about the lighting, dude.

Easy on the all caps there, Chief. And welcome to eGullet.

I actually don't use that one professionally, because "my people" said it made me seem unfriendly and kind of evil-looking. I've always liked it, though... primarily because I am kind of evil. Oh yea... and, by the way: bite me. That goes double for you too, Tommy.

For me, the acid test for long strand pasta is whether or not I can twirl it on my fork, take a bite and feel the "d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d" of my teeth cutting through each individual strand of pasta. Overcooked pasta does not allow one to sense the cut of each strand, and undercooked is crunchy.

Just to add another point of data: different brands of pasta vary widely as to the accuracy of the recommended cooking times. I find, for example, that De Cecco pasta is almost always perfect if I have it out of the water and into the sauce 3 minutes before the recommended cooking time, and off the heat 1 minute before the recommended cooking time. I Latini, on the other hand, has ridiculously short recommended cooking times and I find that I often have to almost double the recommended time.

Exactly my thought as well: "this is not a great gin for martinis, but a great one for other mixed drinks where you want the flavor of the gin to come through." Hendricks, on the other hand, really is a "martini gin" IMO. The flavor is fairly delicate and the things that make it interesting would probably be largely lost in a drink with more assertive flavorings.

Oh boy do you have some fun reading in store for you. A calorie is a calorie?

Hazel, but with a peculiar quality that can make them appear green, brown or blue depending on the lighting and what I am wearing.

Hendricks is actually one of my favorites... I float a paper-thin slice of cucumber in the martini instead of an olive or twist as the garnish. Serve it with a little dish of cucumber slices with coarse salt sprinkled over it. I recently tried Junipero myself... wasn't crazy about it for martinis. It was a little hot and the juniper flavor was a little too up front and harsh for my taste. Would be great in a G&T, though, where the stronger juniper flavor would cut through the tonic.

The ban, of course, has nothing to do with protecting customers or pedestrians. It is there to protect employees. Of course it will run roughshod over certain situations where a more gentle approach might be more appropriate, but that is the nature of this kind of law. It has to be fairly strict and inflexible to have any balls. Anyway, acording to this article it probably has to do with the fact that your club's terrace is enclosed. If it were open, I think smoking would be allowed there. From the article: I also found the following passage of interest: The emphasis is mine, of course. This is a common straw man example intended to make the smoking laws look like the beginning of totalitarianism, but in fact there is a big difference here. Number one, no one is forcing the employees at a steak house to eat the food that is served there. One could concievably be a complete vegetarian and still work at a steak house. Second, it is possible for employees at nightclubs to protect their hearing from the damage of long-term exposure to loud sounds very easily. It is not so easy for the employees of that same nightclub to protect themselves from secondhand smoke, short of wearing a hazmat suit.

Yes, it does seem reasonable to provide for things like dedicated ventilated smoking rooms in private clubs and also "cigar bars" that generate more than a certain amount of their revenue from tobacco sales. And, AFAIK, this is exactly what was allowed by Bloomberg and Co. whom you wrongfully malign in this case. It was, in fact, Pataki and Co. with their stricter state law that are to blame for your particular complaint. Mind you, it may be that the real reason your club doesn't allow smoking even in the private smoking room is that the Board didn't want to spend the money on the duct work, etc. in that room it would have taken to comply with the NYC law. As it turns out, in light of the state law, it was a pretty good financial decision.

Cecil Adams, the self-proclaimed "world's smartest human being" and writer of The Straight Dope column "fighting ignorance since 1973 (it's taking longer than we thought)" weighs in. I found the following pretty much says it like it is:

This one only calls for the petals from 5 red roses.

Oh, I've had it. Liked it, but it didn't blow me away. Great bottle, though. Cool. I'll have to try and find some.

Average is 5:1. (2.5 ounces of gin & 0.5 ounce of vermouth. Sometimes, I'll go wetter.) I go about 8:1 if I 'm using Vya, 6:1 if Noilly Pratt (the Vya has such a strong flavor, I find that I need to use less). Of course, this ratio changes somewhat depending on how strongly flavored a gin I am using. Of course! Their regular bitters is really good too (although perhaps not for a martini). I don't often use bitters in a martini, but it's absolutely necessary in a Manhattan, IMO.

Interesting. I've always considered Carpano an amaro rather than a vermouth, although obviously there is some overlap between these two beverages. I'm with you on the Lillet Blonde... the rouge is good too. What's the deal with Duckhorn's King Eider? Never seen it. How does it compare to Vya?

My eye. The guy who did my headshots uses a digital camera. I copied out the eye, downsampled to the right resolution and that did the trick.

Interesting. What's your ratio of gin to vermouth? I like the orange bitters idea. I don't do it often, but I do occasionally... just did it last time, in fact. I keep my glasses in the freezer too. Makes a small difference, although I sometimes wonder why they don't make martini glasses where the bottom of the bowl is quite thick before tapering to a thin rim (the idea being that the thicker glass at the bottom could hold more coldness).

Hah! I am a crusader for truth, justice and taking a realistic look at this thing.