KNorthrup

That would be Alaska. Everything I have ever read says that New England has the highest per capita ice cream consumption in the US. I've always heard Elyse's version.

Do you ever do the Wed/Thurs versions?

My mother taught me to keep my fork in my right hand and cut with the left even though it feels awkward. Most people I know do the switch back and forth thing. Then again, my mother is Canadian. And she had to admit several years back that I was actually born lefthanded and she kept moving things to my right hand 'because it just looked wrong' until the switch was permanent. By the time my brother came along, the pediatrician had persuaded her that that was really a bad idea and he turned out ambidextrous. There's either a historical anecdote or urban legend, not sure which but probably the latter, that American spies in Nazi Germany were warned time and again to use the European method when eating their steaks in the cabarets or they would instantly give themselves away and be arrested and shot and no many how many times this was told to them, most of them would forget and switch hands and be arrested and shot.

Two quick additions. There was actually an ad from a local natural foods chain in yesterday's paper saying that, contrary to popular belief, no chickens sold in the US contain hormones or .... shoot, something else. What they do contain is antibiotics. In related news, the FDA has said that they will not necessarily require food containing meat/dairy from cloned animals to be labeled.

Do you have Kroger's? The local equivalent, Fred Meyer, carries the Limonata and however you spell the orange version. No grapefruit or blood orange, sadly.

I just read about the spaghetti somewhere else recently and it wasn't a direct quote of the same. I know the Sterns have eaten barbecue salad.

Where did you get the recipe, Kris? It does sound good, but it sounds Thai to me. I don't remember much use of ripe mangos in cooked food in Malaysia. I know! Steven Raichlen's Barbeque Bible.

Okay, I'll admit it. I love traditional macaroni salad when it doesn't have that metallic aftertaste. But that seems to be pretty much never.

Near my university. charming roadhouse

There was actually a articlette on the origins of Thousand Island dressing in the May 2003 Gourmet. Gorgeous photo. Chef salad. 3-bean salad. In terms of what is famous. And is cole slaw international? In terms of what is truly great, what hjshorter said.

I usually go to Liner & Elsen too. Much knowledge. Pastaworks has a tendency to have unexpected odds and ends if one's handy too you. Until Jim Dixon chimes in with advice, his website may have something. Edit because pasta usually has a t.

The Portland parts of the article were more accurate than I expected. But they actually have been doing quite a bit of outright marketing here. No alternative radio spots, but plenty in the alternative press. (Not the WWeek quoted in the article but their competition.) Every bar in town got a new neon window sign a few years back. My barbershop (part of an uberhipster chain but they're two blocks away and cheap willing to cut my hair anyway) gives cans away while you wait. Several places (including a creperie) have special combo meals that include PBR and no substitutions allowed. The geek chic hipster crowd does seem to drink little else. I don't care for beer in general, so PBR is pretty bearable. No beer flavour. Although the person behind me in the grocery store checkout line the other day had PBR Light and I really wanted to (sincerely) ask how that was even possible but wasn't sure how do not offend him in the process.

Barbara Tropp's China Moon was very successful. No idea whether it was considered authentic.

There's the salad (I've seen Thai, Chinese, and Cambodian variations) where the cabbage is raw and thinly shredded and tossed with fresh basil and mint and green onions and minced green chiles and a fish sauce/lime juice dressing and peanuts and shredded grilled chicken.

Does anyone remember the Sprite ad where the Sunny Delight logo comes to life? They must have been threatened with a lawsuit or something because it didn't run for very long.

Some places make a marketing gimmick out of it. Try everything on the menu (or the entire beer selection) and get either a commemorative t-shirt or your photo on a wall of fame.

I guess this thread is old enough to get a new one, but it was educational. Latest news.

I know we have the Chinese-Cajun places in Portland mall food courts but haven't seen Chinese-Mexican. Then again, I never go to malls anymore. And we have a lot of real Mexicans running food carts. Someone told me once that the absolute worse combination they'd ever had -- and they'd had a lot -- was Chinese food in Germany, tailored accordingly.

source data Can anyone clarify what she's describing here? It seems so improbable. Since it's from last Dec I tried a search but nothing popped up.

At my last office, we had regular drug tests -- random and otherwise -- and people were sacked on the basis of failing one regardless of whether their performance was in any way impacted. It was also an industry where testing was federally mandated and that may make a difference. Separate from that, we had a situation where an employee was drinking on the job. And on the job in this case meant while visiting and performing on-site work for a client. Although there was no degradation of performance, we were entitled to (and did) release him on the basis of future liability risks. We did offer to pay for treatment instead and were declined. I don't think we could have released him without that step. Or at least not without risking legal retaliation.

Gourmet and Bon Appetit, yes. But when you have years and years and no indexes, the search feature is handy. And they do have recipes from additional sources, home magazines whose titles I'm forgetting. But the ratings do also add an extra bit of help. And if you're at work and trying to come up with dinner and a related shopping list for on the way home, it's nice to be able to pull it up.

It's hard to think of something summery. Most of the French food I do is stews. Ratatouille. With grilled lamb chops.

Sont? I have a simple (PM-able) recipe that involves stewing them with lamb bones and topping with yogurt-garlic sauce. Oddly (?) related to the pie idea.

How about a peanut butter and banana sandwich? No really, I love them. But I'm also a big fan of peanut butter with chocolate. In England, you can (could?) get both Mars bars and M&Ms with hazelnuts. The M&Ms were in a purple bag.