scottie

Sorry I've been incommunicado about this. All my online time has been taken up with a big job search. Anyway, you can consider us confirmed, myself and my husband. I doubt we're up for Magnolia Grill, however. I can do some kind of pasta with pumpkin and sage butter. Or I could do a veggie, maybe broccoli rabe, or a salad with bitter greens and gorgonzola. Or we could do clean-up. I guess someone has to!

Oops, sorry I missed that, Varm. Sounds like phlawless is on it. Anything else I can help out with? BTW, I know I've been pushing the farm thing, but if anyone's interested, Nu Horizons Farm will be having a cooking demo during the day on Feb. 7. They'll be fixing up country-style eats using their own organic meat products, with lots of free samples, I understand. They are located outside Pittsboro.

Hey, Varmint. I'm still interested in coming, though not committed yet. My schedule's wide open- still free from work at the moment. I'd be happy to contribute something in the way of salad or veggies, or clean-up. My two pasta machines still have not magically transformed me into a pasta master. If anyone's interested, I've come across a local (NC) source for water buffalo: www.nuhorizonsfarm.com More on them in another post. They haven't advertised it on their site yet, but it will be available in time for the feast. I'm assured it is similar to venison. I'd be happy to ask about their cheeks, but as they only have two animals, that would mean 4 cheeks, which I don't know whether that's enough or not nearly.

I would like to try La Rez, I keep driving past it and peering in. I'm thinking the Angus Barn looks more our style for this event, plus it's listed in the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's guide to farms, restaurants and markets which support sustainable agriculture. So eeeeven though the beef is from Kansas, and eeeven though it's not 100% organic, I suppose it meets enough of my politically correct dining criteria. Can you tell I'm a recovering vegetarian? Now I just need a job so I can enjoy all this...

Thanks! Happy to be here. Seafood would be great. I saw some salt cod at Cliff's in Carrboro that looked interesting. I've never had it, though. Does it go with pasta? Heck, what doesn't? Last summer, prepping for a trip to NYC that never materialized, I perused the Babbo menu. There was something in the Secondi menu called "guanciale," smoked hog jowls, I believe. Isn't that a regional specialty around here? Well, not the Eye-talian version, but the hillbilly version. Maybe that could be good fixed up with some pasta, Bubba-Babbo style. I missed your Pig Pickin', sadly, but was pleased to note the regional authenticity of the endeavor. Which leads me to inquire: How much regionality do you like to incorporate into your shindigs? I'm a big "terroir" person in that I believe locally produced is best. On the other hand, good food is good and it's fun to try exotic stuff. Squid, though.

Thanks! Any opinion on the Capital City Chop House? I know next to nothing about this area's offerings. I am looking forward to Enoteca Vin sometime. I think the hub wants something more traditional for his b-day, but I'd like something more local than Ruth's Chris, not that that wouldn't do just fine. anyhoo, thanks, I shall check them all out.

I recently moved to Chapel Hill and would like to take my husband out to a decent steakhouse for his birthday late in January. Any suggestions? Oh, but I'm picky- I want good, clean, grass-fed beef, as junk-free as possible. And a good fish option, too. That about cover it. Thanks, y'all.

Yeah, Cliff's. We got some good Australian lamb shoulder there for 3.99/lb. And I'm intrigued by all the Mexican goodies. But it looks like there used to be another room in use there. I just moved here so I don't know- are they expanding? Contracting? Probably the latter, as even Whole Foods mows down locally-owned food shops.

Hmm, I'm curious... My husband and I just moved to Chapel Hill from New Orleans. It would be nice to hook up with some egulleteers here, and have some great food, too. A Southern Season here in town sure has lots and lots of exotic meats. I think something pork would be yummy...

I have thankfully always known about the black-eyed peas. Only on moving to New Orleans did I learn about the greens- seems obvious, on reflection. My mother never put ham in the peas, she's a bit of a health-nut, so I never learned until recently that the traditional New Year's pork product round where I'm from is smoked hog jowls. My husband and I drove from North Carolina up to Blacksburg, VA for the holiday, along a really windy back-country road, which was lined with signs advertising B.E. Peas, Collards, and Hog Jowls. Am really kicking myself for insisting on fixing it myself and not stopping along the way...there's always next year, I guess!

[Another "disaster" we had was I put a gift we just received from friends under the tree just before we headed out the door to go on our little trip without checking what it was first. We had a sitter staying with the dog and cat while we were gone for the holiday. We returned to find the bag with the gift trashed. Our dog who has a penchant for that sort of thing had found it. I suspect that it was something to eat, but I don't know what. ] Dogs! I can't tell you how many times my parents' dogs have done something like this. One year, my mother had purchased some very fancy chocolates, Venus nipples, one for each of us. She put them on a nice plate, on the coffee table, and maybe 2 got eaten. Some time later, I heard my mom say, "Who ate all the chocolates?!" I looked around...and saw wrappers all over the dogs' bed. We were treated to the worst dog farts in all of history that day... But this year took the cake. As per instructions, I brought two free range, hormone and antibiotic free, tender, young, and extremely expensive geese for Christmas dinner. We enjoyed one and a small part of the other, then they were wrapped and put on the screened porch (the winter refrigerator) for the night. Do I need to tell you what happened? The next morning, one was on the floor of the porch, only slightly gnawed, but the other one, the one that had all the meat left on it, was discovered out in the yard, next to two piles of dog puke! You'd think we'd learn by now...

I grew up in southeastern Virginia, an area many folks from farther down South enjoy telling me is not truly Southern (I rather believe that it is much more Southern than is, say, Arlington). Your quote reminds me of the ham biscuits which are a staple at fancy luncheons in the region. For some reason, you just can't find good ham biscuits outside of that part of Virginia. You can't even find good ham, for that matter; I've been living in New Orleans for five years, an area which abounds in delicious pork products, yet I have to ask my mother to send me real Virginia ham for Easter. We grew up eating grits (from Mabry Mill) and non-sweetened cornbread, but not greens or biscuits or fried green tomatoes (certainly we ate fried red tomatoes). We ate store-bought fried apple pies. We ate a lot of green and other pole beans. I guess it was partially what was available in the farmer's market and partially a matter of personal taste, my daddy having grown up in Roanoke and definitely being familiar with all of these items. I think what really characterizes the region for me is the freshness and abundance of the local produce. And trout, fresh-caught rainbow or brook trout from Barber's Creek, mm-mm.

There are always a lot of locals at Frankie & Johnny's on Annunciation and Tchopitoulas (I think. It's at somewhere and Tchopitoulas). It's on Arabella, between Tchoups and Annunciation. The poboys and crawfish pies are good, but...they're even better at: Casamento's, best oysters in town, on Magazine and Napoleon, or: Uglesich's, really, really good bbq oysters, shrimp, softshells, poboys, etc. If I had to pick one, it would be Uglesich's. They're only open for lunch. Rene Bistrot, in the CBD, has been my favorite for a couple of years. Dante's Kitchen is alway's good, out by River Road, but if you're out that way, you might as well go to Jacque-Imo's. Bayona is great. I really like the Vietnamese food available here. Check out: Pho Tau Bay, on the West Bank, or the little Pho Tau Bay Express across from Charity Hospital. My husband and I eat there two or three times a week.

Last night didn't count: take-out sushi with green tea. Tonight: Tried-and-True African Tofu Peanut Stew Saute lots of ginger, garlic, and minced onions. Add a spice mix including turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, salt, some Ethiopian Berbere powder if you can find it. Add tofu chunks, fry for a bit. Add diced tomatoes, I like to add a large can. Add a large dollop or two of peanut butter, stir to mix. Add chopped collard greens. Cover and cook 'til greens are steamed through. Serve over rice, maybe with some plain yogurt on the side. This is cheap, easy, and surprisingly delicious. Even better with coconut milk. We will probably have beer or wine with this. Our meals will get more interesting as the month progresses and tightening finances force me to find edible preparations for the varied and ancient grains/legumes dumped on us by my mother.

"Re chip butties. Rarely (never ever seen or heard of it after more than 50 years) in pita. Usually in white squishy bread with much margarine and "brown sauce" (HP sauce). The horror. The horror. " This sounds an awful lot like a local treat here in New Orleans: French Fry PoBoys. Fries on a French roll with gravy. You can get it dressed with lettuce, tomatoes and mayo. It's great when you're snockered at 3 in the morning and really need something heavy to soak up the booze. I believe Bourdain ordered one on his New Orleans episode. I have seen fries on sandwiches elsewhere, as well: In Egypt, the tamayyeh (falafel) vendors offer a variety of toppings, including tomatoes, yummy oily eggplant, and greasy, salty little fries that they smush down on top of your tamayyeh, inside its little oblong bun. One of the best street foods ever!

Well, after part V, I said it was too bad J missed "the good part," by which I meant the gorgeous countryside, the hospitality, the closeness and camaraderie with the Kazakhs, the little boys riding horses, etc. All that stuff seems beautifully idyllic to me, probably because I've never had to eat fur stew. But I was wrong. The good part was the fight. Thanks for the stories and glad you made it out alive.

Yep. There is a difference between true American "peasant" cuisine and the manufactured crap that grew out of the Depression, World War II, and postwar modernization/ fascination with all things canned and boxed. Cornbread, black-eye peas, BBQ, greens, grits, scrapple and the like, these things are part of an authentic "peasant" cuisine as worthy as any other. Jello salad is not. Ritz crackers or, god forbid, potato chips, crumbled on top of casseroles is not. Marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes is not. And then there's the hallowed Thanksgiving treat of green-bean casserole - an authentic one must use Campbell's cream of mushroom soup and French's canned fried onion rings. Nothing else will do.

Marmite, man. What is up with that? Marmite is seriously bleah. Mayonnaise. Since marrying a Dutch guy, I have tried to appreciate mayo. At least it doesn't turn my stomach at first sight anymore, but I still get queasy watching my husband slather it on his burgers and fries, big gobs of white pus dripping from his mouth and fingers, oozing out the sides of the sandwich. Yecch. Some things I have heard about German cuisine, but haven't experienced: the giant dumpling, served plain or with gravy. Just one big lump of dough. My husband says it's good. I also hear they eat potatoes raw like apples, but I'm not sure that's true. Once, my little cousin was hungry, so his German nanny handed him a tub of cream cheese and a spoon. That I do not get. And now my two cents: Jello in itself is not a salad. Jello with bits of fruit and veggies, and even some Miracle Whip, is a salad, but I don't know why. Even though I saw it at many church potlucks as a kid, I never got it. Meat and soda pop: This, I think, is due to another marketing coup, this time from Coca Cola. However, there is a historical reason for cooking with Coke: back in WWII, baking soda was hard to come by, so folks used Coca Cola in their baking, because the soda helped to raise the cake or whatever. That is why you still find Coke Cake in Southern cuisine. BTW, you can get CocaCola Cake at Duke's Southern Cooking in Manhattan, but having had a family member employed there, I can assure you there is not one drop of soda pop in the cake. It is pure Duncan Hines. I recently came across a bizarre recipe for "Georgia Cracker salad," on foodnetwork.com, of all places. It was from Paula Deen. It was nothing but crushed saltines mixed with mayonnaise. Dude. Jinmyo, have you ever seen one of those community cookbooks put together by a church congregation, or school PTA, or similar, usually as a fundraising item? Those are goldmines of strange food combinations, which are popular in the South and Midwest USA. My dad's contracting company put one out a couple of years ago; my mom's and my recipes looked pretty hoity-toity next to such delicacies as "Dump Cake" and many, many recipes for all manner of Jello salads.

I once had dog meat, as an appetizer, in China, but have never experienced the Korean boshintang. It was a school trip, very regimented, wherein we never had a say in where or what we were going to eat. Generally, we ate at pretty nice restaurants, as this trip was funded by the Chinese government and was meant to show off the wonders of Chinese culture to American students. We quit asking exactly what it was we were eating after about the second day. Later in the trip, we had a meal which included a delicious cold meat appetizer; the meat looked like pork medallions, but much darker. It was quite rich and had the texture of pork. One of the chaperones later informed me it was dog; he told me not to tell anyone. I was in a phase of trying everything; there were kids on the trip who ate nothing but rice the whole time (they got terribly constipated). So I was pretty excited and felt that I was cool for having eaten something as taboo as dog. (I'm a girl, btw, not that gender has anything to do with it). It remains my opinion that meat is meat, and one should not eat meat unless one feels comfortable with the idea of slaughtering the animal in question oneself. This is why I do not eat beef. However, I eat fowl, rabbit, venison, ostrich, lamb, buffalo and pork. Why do I feel more comfortable with the idea of killing these animals than cattle? I dunno. Maybe I just don't like beef. I've been vegetarian off and on my whole life; lately I have been adding more animals to my meat repertoire. I would eat dog again if the opportunity presented itself. I agree that the suffering of the animal ought to be a consideration. I guess that's why I eat a lot of game, and try to stick to organically raised, "happy" animals. As far as dogs are concerned, I see no reason why humans should project some kind of anthropomorphic feelings onto them, then point to that as a reason against eating them. People eat horses in much of the world. How different is that? How different is it for people to eat pigs? Pigs are every bit as intelligent and trainable as dogs, if not more so. People eat them because they are delicious. BUT. I think there is some kind of line to be drawn, somewhere. Whales and dolphins should not be eaten, mostly because they are endangered and killing them in large numbers throws the ecosystem out of whack. "Bushmeat," particularly from apes, is very popular in parts of Africa. Something about that seems wrong to me, in part because of the same endangered animal/screwed-up ecosystem thing, but also because the apes are like us. Dogs are not like us, we only think they are after several millenia of living together. Neither are they in any danger of dying out. Killing dogs for food will not screw up any ecosystem more than the domestication of canines already has. Therefore, the only ethical concerns about eating dogmeat lie with the humane raising of all animals meant for food, canine or otherwise. In Bali, dogs are considered pests. The wandering curs are easy meat for poor families, who are probably doing those dogs a favor by putting them out of their misery. BTW, dogs are not carniverous. They are omnivores, scavengers. So are pigs. We feed pet dogs canned horsemeat, but dogs will eat just about anything. We feed pigs grain-based pig chow and kitchen scraps, but pigs will eat just about anything, including snakes and small mammals, as well as each other. Just so you know.

Well, I have spent all day reading this fascinating saga. I sure hope those folks eventually receive the photos. Do they have maling addresses? I suppose you could mail stuff to Aiyka in Olgii, and then the next time she or her husband are out that way, they could bring the photos. Could take months. What a completely different way of life, almost inconceivable to me. What do the teenagers do for fun? Do they dream of leaving a life they might find dreary, but is probably much better than life in Ulan Batuur? Do they listen to rock and roll? I guess they don't have radios. Did you hear any Mongolian music? How about throat-singing? I sure hope you brought back some of those gorgeous textiles. How in the world did you get the cheese through customs? Really fascinating. Too bad your friend missed the good part. The landscape in the west is spectacular. I want to go.

41 here. Several were borrowed over a year ago from a friend who cooks at Restaurant Indigo, here in New Orleans. Then, of course, there are the ones in storage at my parents' house, the crappy, ancient quasi-Chinese cookbooks I picked up at yard sales. I can't bear to part with any of them. I've probably only cooked from half of these books, or less, but they've all got some kind of nostalgic value for me. There are lots of historical cookbooks, which are interesting, but god forbid I should ever try to whip up some barley and fish pottage. Has anyone here ever cooked from Apicius? The one I use most is Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. She's got a recipe for everything in there, every kind of bean, grain, or strange vegetable. But lately I'm branching out, and I cook a lot from magazines. You should see my mother's cookbook collection. She must have at least 500 or 600. The whole collection speaks for the evolution of the American Housewife over the past 40 years. Joy of Cooking, Better Homes and Gardens, Betty Crocker (the old one and the new one form the 80's), Time-Life's Foods of the World, New York Times, Vegetarian Epicure, Tassajara, Moosewood, countless Junior League compendia, Debra Madison and all the latest from Mollie Katzen and the like. Okay, so that is more a reflection of my mother's personal evolution from good Midwestern girl to serious hippie. But it says something that she still has the 35-year-old, missing-its-covers and falling apart Betty Crocker- and she still consults it. Joy of Cooking still gets plenty of play, too. So, 41, not counting ten or so back home (I'm sorry, Mom, I left the vegan, sugar-free dessert book ). And I'm looking forward to inheriting at least 300 or so.

Thanks, tautog. Bistro M sounds interesting. My dad also told me about a new place in South Roanoke that sounds good. I'll add some posts to this thread as the summer goes along and I get increasingly desparate for decent eats.

Cafe Atchafalaya down here in New Orleans has great sides. I like the veggie plate with blackeye peas, smothered turnip greens, corn fritters and fried okra. The fried green tomatoes are the most boring in town, though. Voodoo BBQ over on St. Charles has good sides, too: blackeye peas, mac and cheese, awesome corn pudding. Ugly Dog Saloon has great Memphis-style BBQ that comes with two sides, the best are the loaded baked potato and the coleslaw that seems to be in some kind of peanut butter-molasses dressing. The au gratin potatoes are really good, too. Couldn't tell ya about the meat, as I don't really eat it. Don't worry, though- I am in the process of recovering from years of vegetarianism. Next stop- pork!

Help! I'm fixing to spend the summer in Roanoke, VA, where I'm originally from, but I'm spoiled by years of living in the Big Easy. I know of a couple of cute cafes my parents like (Wildflour, Angler's), but I wonder if anyone on this forum has any knowledge of or opinions about eating in the Noke. I'm especially looking for Vietnamese food- while I don't mind getting away from New Orleans during the hot summer, I don't know how long I can go without goi cuon!

We had the fam in town for Jazz Fest, so I actually got to go to some restaurants I could not otherwise afford: Deanie's Seafood: The original, out in Bucktown. Waited two hours for a table. Terrible, terrible service. Food was fine, but if you want good fried seafood, Casamento's or Uglesich's are the way to go. Restaurant Cuvee: Excellent. Everyone enjoyed it. Slight mix-up with the wine- I have noticed that restaurants around here will try to give you a more expensive wine from the same vintner you ordered. Hmm. But the food was great and the service was good. Galatoire's: This was the second time I've been here, and it was even worse than the first. The service was excruciatingly abysmal, this at a place where the only justification for the price is the service. The food was mediocre- incredibly overpriced, and the presentation- I just don't get it. A hunk of meat with no garnish or sides. Not charming at all. Santa Fe: In the Marigny. Good food, nothing spectacular. Everything came with nuts and raisins on top, for some reason. Great margaritas. Now here are my humble opinions about other places around town, some informed by my friendship with various folks in the industry: Commander's: If you're going to go to an old-line NOLA restaurant, this is the one. At least it's dependaple and the service is always good. Antoine's has great atmosphere, but...do you really want food from 1890? Clancy's: Always good. A little clubby- you have to be in the know. Lilette's: Fabulous, I love it! Great, superfresh and creative with local ingredients. Rene Bistrot: Also a favorite. The wine selection is outstanding. The cooking is straightforward and priced accordingly. Just high-quality ingredients prepared in the way to best bring out their flavors. What a concept. I love the skate wing. Dante's Kitchen: Haven't been there in a while, but it's dependable, good, fresh local food. La Crepe Nanou: The above post on the new Belgian restaurant reminded me of Crepe Nanou, always a great spot for a romantic dinner or to take the parents. Good, fresh food, excellent mussels, I love the Tropical Salad with hearts of palm and avocado. Great atmosphere and reasonably priced. Sugar Magnolia: No no no! I cannot understand why this place is so popular. The service sucks out loud and they still haven't figured out how to handle their volume. Plus, I know from a former cook that everything comes from Sysco. Two good, cheap places for breakfast and lunch are: Surrey's Juice Bar, several blocks downtown from Sugar Mag on Magazine; and Slim Goody's Diner, on Magazine near Louisiana St. Both have yummy, creative breakfasts and good prices. Far superior to Camellia or Bluebird. I totally believe that visitors need to get out of the French Quarter. There are plenty of good places to eat that don't cost a lot of money: Bennachin's, the African restaurant recently relocated to Royal st.; Pho Tau Bay, the Vietnamese restaurant on the West Bank. Jacques-Imo's, Casamento's, Uglesich's. Byblos and Mona's for Lebanese food. Cafe Negril on Frenchmen st. for Jamaican food. Don't waste your money on overpriced slop for the tourists! I'm done now.