KNorthrup

I agree 100% that the food and atmosphere at Pambiche are better than at Canita. However, unless it's changed lately, you cannot get a mojito at Pambiche. It is still beer and wine only. Canita has a full bar. Also less of a wait. So those are your trade-offs. Do not have the personal experience to help with Yam Yam's vs Clay's nor with Noble Rot vs Navarre.

That is very interesting. New to me, at least. Are vending machines in offices more common now than they were in the 1970s? And has the diet industry's encouragement of people to eat six small meals and/or regular snacks in order to eat less during regular mealtimes actually backfired?

1. Junk food is anything my mother wouldn't let me eat. 2. I find it very hard to believe anyone would really think that a McNugget is healthier than a burger because it's chicken rather than beef. Deep frying would seem to trump ingredients every time. 3. Along the lines of the game show analogy, I was at a grocery store once somewhere that I didn't speak the language (probably Austria) and one type of soda was facing back-out on the shelf and said -- in English -- something about 'flavoured with vegetable extracts.' I turned it around to see what kind of weird foreign notion of tasty this was and really the bright red of the can should have already tipped me off.

What's a chocodile?

Saw the article yesterday. Had the same thoughts as you --- no way, and this needs to be posted. Probably just as well you couldn't make out the maggots in the photo. At least I couldn't.

When my younger brother was in the Navy, he was stationed in Tokyo. He came here to visit once and about all I remember of it is driving him to every single comic and gaming shop in town to buy up their entire stock. They weren't commercially available in Japan apparently, and thus he made a killing back on base. 105 degree day and no a/c in the car. Oh and we took him to a bbq place for dinner since that's classically American type food and all and he orders teriyaki chicken. Haven't added any since my last count. Textbooks instead.

A local pan-asian restaurant does a rice pudding spring roll with bittersweet chocolate dipping sauce. Really really good. One of these days I won't burn myself. I see frozen cheesecake on a stick at the various street fairs but not deep-fried.

I received a salmon filet last week from a neighbor who was moving and it was very hot out and I didn't want to think too hard. Seeking inspiration at Trader Joe's, they have a cold japanese (not soba, paler) noodle salad with spinach (whole leaves that you shred yourself, oddly) and a little packet of crushed peanuts and a tublet of cilantro-lime-ginger dressing. I sauteed the filet (badly) and flaked it into the salad and it was ridiculously good. Will absolutely do again come payday.

I just bought the stuff when I had an apartment. Now that I have a mortgage, I recycle all catalogues unopened, stay off websites, and sulk a lot. A LOT.

It's not exclusively your mind.

Has anyone else noticed a recent (last week or so) surge in weight loss related spam? Subject lines at least. I'm suddenly getting more of those than I do for viagra.

Yum Brands Inc (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, A&W, Long John Silver) has just (press release today) appointed a Chief Scientific, Health & Regulatory Affairs Officer. So point person on obesity issues as well as animal welfare etc.

Heretic!

Oreo milkshakes. Mmmm.

My guess: Alex from A Clockwork Orange

ooohhh I get it! yeah there is THAT kind of tipping!

Compelled to point out - It's not invariably true that the customer is financially better off than the server.

Pretty sure I just read the other night that it takes over the entire yard. The editorial in the gardening magazine (one of those BH&G quarterly things) was talking about something he's been trying to eradicate for the last dozen years and I'm 80% sure lemon verbena was it.

Offbeat my a**. You'd say that anyday. But what happened to poor Hedy?

Would figs be closer? Or would they then be too close?

I have a friend who always tips 40% because he's dated many waitresses and their moods always depended heavily on how they'd been tipped that day. So he overtips on behalf of the unknown guy waiting at home.

Honey-maid as in the graham cracker??

Have you looked into having a tasting at a local bar? Trying shots rather than whole bottles.

I get the opposite impression. Why 'prove' the products are hazardous to health and then allow them to stay on the market?

See to me, oven-toasted does not taste better. I love KFC. What other fast food place serves mac & cheese? Those boneless honey bbq things. Yum. Too bad they're so greasy though. Bit disconcerting. Juicy... wait, no. The one I really really miss is Boston Market. They were all over Portland for a bit and then gone. Meatloaf, creamed spinach, ah.