pkeibel

I have made "shells" and "ravioli" by slicing cucumbers, beets and other veggies on my mandoline super thin and stuffing them accordingly

My wife and I just returned from Tuscany and now we are Pecorino lovers. However we just do not have access to the same quality of Pecorino as we had in Italy.

We ate there in May after the new Cirque du Soleil and it was fantastic as was the Cirque

I will be traveling to the southern Tuscan coast next month for a bicycle trip. We have several nights where meals are not pre-arranged. Currently I have no recommendations for our nights in Casciana Terme or Magliano. I had a recommendation when we were in Venturina, but Gambero Rosso is currently closed. Since we only have bicycles, distance to a restaurant is limited. Any recommendations would be most appreciated

and this was confirmed by a friend of mine who called the local tourist office and said it was closed for restoration and do not know when it will reopen

and I have been trying to fax in a reservation request for two weeks. Each time the phone is listed as busy or unable to connect.

I was just in Piemonte this past fall but we were west of Castello di Sinio. We went from Saluzzo to Lago Maggiore by bicycle. We did fly out of Milan and dined at Cracco for one of the best meals of our lives and highly recommend it. You can't go wrong with Grom gelato and there is one in Milan. Check their web site for other shops that may be in towns you are visiting. If you tell me other towns you will be visiting I can see if we hit similar places.

We were there this past September and it was one of my favorite italian restaurants. We didn't do the tasting menu but ordered a la carte based on dishes from his special menu. The seafood misto and cannoli in beer just blew us away as did the service.

The best deals seem to be at http://www.tagines.com/default.cfm

Wylie has always substituted non-meat dishes for our vegetarian friends and they were not disappointed. Just tell the waiter when you are ordering what dishes she would not like to eat

and you know there also had to be a Maple syrup museum here in Vermont http://www.maplemuseum.com/

I would add Cracco in Milan

We've been to Pio Pio ( 8413 Northern Blvd, Jackson Heights) in 2006. The meal was very good and claimed to be Peruvian but I have no base to judge

We use silicone spatulas, silpats and a mold for muffins, all work fine. I don't like the silicone mitt someone gave me and basically it is just a trivet. Burt no one mentioned silicone "rubber bands". We use these instead of butcher twine and find it much easier for roasted chickens and rollups.

Our trips are starting to center more around restaurants than other endeavors. We use to kayak in Maine and then go out to dinner. Now we seem to dine in Maine and kayak between dinners - hence the repeat trips to Arrows. I love these lists since it gives a thermometer reading of which restaurants are hot

I also envy docsconz's list but I am proud of mine since I must travel for all of these 1. Jean Georges, NYC - May 2. WD-50, NYC - May 3. Arrows, Ogunquit ME - July 4. Cyrus, Healdsburg CA - Oct 5. Annisa, NYC - Dec 6. Del Posto, NYC - August 7. Redd, Healdsburg, CA - Oct 8. Toque, Montreal - June 9. Clio, Boston - January 10. Room4Dessert, NYC May But I should also add the Alchemist in Waterbury VT a beer and food pairing where each course had a beer designed for that dish.

You can also try Ambassador Liquors (1020 2nd Avenue nr 54th St.); Sakagura (211 East 43rd Street); and Landmark (on 23rd, between 6th and 7th). I've tried the first and last and both had excellent staff that was helpful

My list may not be up to date but it is close Four Stars Daniel Jean Georges Le Bernardin Masa Per se Three Stars Alto Aquavit Babbo BLT Fish Bolo Bouley Country Cafe Boulud Chanterelle Craft Cru Danube Del Posto Esca Fiamma Osteria Gotham Bar & Grill Grammercy Tavern Honmura An Jo Jo L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon Nobu Nobu 57 Nobu Next Door Oceana Park Bistro Picholine Perry St. RM Spice Market Sushi Yasuda Town Union Square Cafe Veritas

I would also add to those, brews served only at the Vermont Pub & Brewery and Zero Gravity served at American Flatbread, both in Burlington or Bob Cat tavern in Bristol

The cheese maker is Larry Steckbauer of Sartori Foods in Plymouth Wisconsin and it won the blue ribbon

Gaggenau (http://www.gaggenau.com/us/) and you get to pick the hinge side

We ate last year at Hemmingway and had the tasting menu. I would not recommend it. For the price of the dinner the meal was not spectacular and the flow of the service left us waiting, at one time we waited 40 minutes between courses. I would second Simon Pearce and have heard but not verified that Three Clock Inn in Londonderry is good

Simon Pierce is in Queechee a good hour away. It would be worth it if there was no snow and no needed to spend some time a the glass blower or wander woodstock. The mountains got 5-6 feet on Wednesday so enjoy what we have. In Stowe there are good restaurants but nothing to rave about. Waitsfied is a good 40 minutes and there would be American Flatbread and the Pitcher Inn. Burlington also 40 minutes away has the Single Pebble (must have reservations or if your lucky two seats at the bar), L'Amante and American Flatbread. Also great places to try craft beer

Michaels is still good, but you can also get some good dinners in Burlington, I recommend L'Amante for modern Italian food, the roads should be cleared by the weekend

Le Bernardin (December) Arrows (August) our 3rd and best visit Cyrus (October) our 2nd and its gets better each time L'Impero (March) Bouchon Bakery - Yountville (October) Spago (October) Restaurant David - Prague (June) A Single Pebble - Burlington VT (January) Dinner at our house (May) - a six course raw meal it was fun