KNorthrup

It shouldn't have and yes. Several times over. The veal chop/polenta mention raises another problem. With so many people on Atkins, when pizza is ordered for the office (and not only mine, I've discovered), some people will take three or four slices right off the bat, scrape off the toppings, and toss the crusts. Leaving one slice per at best for the rest of us. And blithely say 'well I need to eat a larger proportion because I'm not filling up on crust like you guys.'

Yes dear, you're a muff magnet. Or at least your puppy is.

Sausages - lamb, red bell pepper, feta Grill pan No side dishes Re Foodman's particularly tasty thread -- I saw a recipe recently for a BLT made with fried green tomatoes. And there was a bit of cayenne in the mayo. Great idea.

[wiping eyes] Serious request - Maybe the back could include a line-up of Varmint's avatars?

Why don't people make jokes about Jonestown? The punchline's too long.

Sorry to be vague. Cuisine-wise, they like Italian, Mexican (the kind people who grow up in the agricultural parts of CA eat), and seafood. I sent them a few reviews of Zuni Cafe and they said they want less expensive than that. Probably $10-$15 per entree range. By which locals, I guess the type who go out for beer after work rather than wine or cocktails. The type whose prized possession/hobby is a modest sailboat and who gets a kick out of Vegas and New Orleans.

My parents are going to San Francisco next week and will include a day trip (rental car) to Santa Cruz. My stepfather hasn't been to the boardwalk in twenty-odd years and wants to see how it has changed. My mother has never been. Any recommendations for dinner? They prefer laid back and neighborhood-y. Replete with neither children nor hipsters. Mexican, Italian, and seafood are best. Also they'll be returning to San F (straight to the airport) the next day via Hwy 1 and anywhere to stop en route for lunch would be appreciated as well. (I'm checking old threads for moderately priced meals in SF itself but if you want to throw in an opinion there too fitting the above criteria... They're staying at the Francis Drake on Union Square and are going to try to find places where locals eat and 'the food isn't architecturally stacked on the plates.') Thanks much.

Suddenly I can't find either recipe (moved 6 months ago and still disorganized) but in the winter I do a stew of thighs (with both skin and bone left on) with white beans, bacon, and tomato. It's so thick it should probably be called a casserole but that was probably marketing.

Sorry, ignorant question -- Is that for laundry? How is it so high?

Wow. Haven't picked up a foil in nearly 15 years but my left shoulder and right thigh instantly ached at the mention.

Much more sensible than doing it at about 4 in the afternoon. Two of my friends busted up over the crates of 'pompelmousse' and I was accused of being a total killjoy for explaining it was just a translation of grapefruit, not some very exotic new item. This particular chain has a bear for a mascot and it was a grand opening so there happened to be one in costume wandering about. You can imagine.

I was thinking that Diana Kennedy was the consultant on the old Time-Life Foods of the World volume (sign of how things change -- Mexico got only part of a book, Latin American Cooking) but it was Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz. I tend to mix them up because I don't actually have books by either. I've always heard Ortiz mentioned in the past in various magazines and such as a reference but then she doesn't come up here. Any particular reason?

Longanisa (philippine pineapple sausage) Savoy cabbage with chile-garlic sauce Tap water Last night was mystery meal. One of those packages from the Asian market where the only thing translated is the ingredients and you have to improvise via the illustrations. Japanese, in this case. Some sort of creamy crab sauce. Mixed it with steamed asparagus atop sticky rice.

I think that would actually have to be four meals. You sober, chef high. Both sober. Both high. You high, chef sober.

How about a Jared lookalike who gains all the weight back with fries and shakes and says he's happier that way?

I've never tried their fries because I always (probably about once a year) get the deep fried zucchini. Because I always forget how crumb-y and greasy and otherwise disappointing it is.

Um, I'm not sure ex-Fat Guy has the same ring to it.

Yep. In Alaska (although "city" is something of an overstatement). It was named by those insolent folks that lived in the area as a response to the better-known and more nobly-designated Alaska town called "Eagle." Or depending on whom you ask, because no one knew how to spell ptarmigan.

Slaw is a great choice in my opinion. Pork and cabbage are incredibly compatible. It's not very exciting or gourmet, but something I've noticed is that the first thing to disappear at parties is deviled eggs. No matter how many you make. And there are actually some great variations out there -- curry, truffle oil, wasabi and ginger.

The deli near my place sells them between the cheese and olive counters, but dry. I mean they're a little on the greasy side (in a good way) but certainly not in olive oil. Does that make them more or less snackable? Besides the mess, would that mean eating fewer of them before hitting saturation? Or is it like sardines and various other things in oil in a can?

Also (intruiging to me at least) what do chefs think of managers who didn't start in the kitchen? Plus, minus, or some of each?

Portland also has a Whole Foods, so large cheese section there. No dedicated cheese shops that I know of, but a few gourmet delis with good selections - Elephant's, Pastaworks (2 locations).

That's how I ended up in Portland. Was supposed to be moving to London after college (long story) and came down here to visit a high school friend over Memorial Day weekend and just fell in love. I do consistently hear that Portland is uncommonly low on minorities. One of the weekly alternative papers called it Honkytown USA in a cover story a few years back. But again, I came from Alaska so for me it's diverse. And I must point out that only in Portland do you find this tonight. If only tonight. But still. recent thread

I've never lived in Seattle. I've been in Portland ten years and all AK before that. What I don't understand (and this isn't a criticism, just a puzzlement) is why so many people keep moving here these days while the unemployment is so incredibly high. A couple in my condo complex came up from San Francisco about nine months ago and finally gave up and sold and continued on to Seattle last month because neither could find work. That said, I just second what everyone else has already outlined. Inventolux -- did you know Couvron has closed? They've moved to NYC. Or will by the end of the summer.

I get a grocery industry newsletter every morning. The lead story today is that Tesco is bidding for the C-Two Network chain, 78 stores, mostly Tokyo. There have also been recent stories about Wal-Mart beginning to significantly expand their existing Japanese presence (they're part-owner of Seiyu), as are Carrefour (French) and Costco (US). Unpopular? Popular? No one cares?