bergerka

No, no clubs...someone has to organize a club and I'm too lazy to do it. But a dinner at Métisse sounds wonderful. This weekend and next are very bad for me...but how about the FOLLOWING weekend? The last weekend in February? K

I'd go with you. And I KNOW I could talk SarahD into going...and maybe slkinsey as well...Eric Malson? What do YOU think? By the way, Métisse has been there as long as I've lived in NYC, and I hit seven years this past October. K

And I say: mucilaginalicious! Yes. Andrew: YOU I like. Sam: Wait, he says "mucilaginalicious" and you like him better than me?! Aw, jeez... Only because he's right and you're wrong. I'm not sure I would apply "mucilaginalicious" to natto, though. At least you and bergerka agree. Have the ferrets ever tried okra? I'll be they'd look adorable holding it in their little paws, turning it around and trying to figure out what to do with it. Judging from the ferrets' taste, I'd think they'd look at us like we were crazy and then roll it around with their noses for a while and then dump it in the litter box. Ok, I'm sorry, I know de gustibus non disputandem est, but the idea of okra AND fish paste makes me want to hurl. Slimy PLUS fishy? K

I've had this nasty nasty cold this week too, yesterday was the worst. I suggest: Tea. with milk and/or honey. Lots. I like South African Rooiboos (sp?), which also isn't caffeinated. I second or third or fourth the chicken soup. Matzo balls, kreplach, noodles, vegetables, whatever you like. It also warms your house while you're making it. Slkinsey made a Thai green curry last night that sandblasted my sinuses clear...and they actually almost remained that way throughout the night. Give it a try! And feel better soon. This cold really blows. K Oh--I forgot to mention--eating the last of the ultimate malted milk balls helps too. Edited because I also forgot to mention that Advil Cold & Sinus is a fucking wonder drug.

Not just no, but NO, that's icky, are you out of your f***ing mind?????? *ahem* No. K

a big bowl of won ton soup and a diet coke. And those little crunchies with sweet dipping sauce that they put on the table at this place... K

oooh, the pancakes sound lovely. I had a mixed-greens salad with red and gold peppers, a hard-boiled egg, kidney beans, peas, mushrooms, a sprinkling of blue cheese, and balsamic vinegar. And a lovely sweet and crunchy golden delicious apple (I can't stand apples unless they're crunchy and sweet & juicy enough to get all over me). And a bottle of seltzer. K

My best friend asked me to add her story to this. She'd do it herself, but her new baby is keeping her too busy to websurf. She will never again bake chocolate chip cookies while sleep-deprived...because she read "one cup of baking soda" instead of "one teaspoon of baking soda." Ever seen a tray of cookies explode? Kind of like fireworks in your oven, apparently. K

I like Métisse, over on 105th just east of Broadway, but no one else seems to...*shrug* maybe it's just me. K

Dude...my mom says the same thing about sea cucumber. In fact, it's really amusing to just say "sea cucumber" when she's in the room...she turns the coolest shade of light green. K

Foods that taste fishy: now, some people find my definition of "fishy" kind of weird--mussels are delicious, as are oysters, they taste of the SEA. Salmon, on the other hand, has always tasted fishy to me, with the single exception of the just unbelievably delicious salmon carpaccio JoeB made last Saturday night (glad I still subscribe to "maybe I'll like it this time"). I have only once experienced an anchovy dish that did NOT taste fishy to me, a bagna cauda Slkinsey made for my birthday. My biggest problem with things that taste "fishy" are that they also tend to make the whole HOUSE smell fishy, which makes me want to yack up my dinner. Seaweed, like those wraps on sushi roll thingies, gets me in the gut too, because (like smoked salmon) it has a smoky fishiness that is just repulsive to me. Eggplant: Oh, BARF. Okra: DITTO. Talk about repulsive...the mere thought of okra sets off my gag reflex. Yes, I've had it deep-fried, didn't help. Slkinsey has gently (and not so gently) helped me realize that I actually like most of the foods I thought I hated when I moved to NYC. Can you believe I didn't like AVOCADOS????? What the hell was I thinking? K

As regards Ms. Burros' review, upon reflection I suppose I fall somewhere in the middle. I appreciate her telling the readers straight out what her particular food likes and dislikes are, because it seems to me they definitely affect her perception of this restaurant in particular (unless I am mistaken, a fair number of menu items contain offal. Or fried anchovies, which I'd try, but most likely wouldn't like, because I have only liked anchovies ONCE and that was in the context of a bagna cauda). I do wish, however, she had taken with her a knowledgeable friend who DOES like offal and could speak to the quality of the preparation and the taste with some degree of authority...but I don't really know what falls within the responsibilities of a food editor, and given that I don't presume to speak for what Ms. Burros should or shouldn't do. Ah, I see. So because you don't like it, you assumed that anyone who professes to enjoy it must just have something to prove, rather than assuming that different people have different tastes. Put the shoe on the other foot, and imagine I had just called a food you very much enjoy "garbage," if you would...would you be offended? Or would you simply assume I had a different point of view? Oh well, more offal for me, I suppose. K Edited because, er, I thought I probably ought to address the actual topic of the thread while off on my tangent.

Yes. One of each, please, including the plain slice, and that should just about do it for my tarte tatin...what are YOU having for dessert? K

1. I have never cleaned kidneys at home, nor do I ever intend to. That's what I have slkinsey for. 2. I'm neither a guy nor macho, but I do enjoy the offal I've eaten (my experience is actually relatively limited, to sweetbreads, the intimate parts of a male turkey, and haggis, which I like to call "all offal, all the time!"). I don't have anything to prove by eating it, I eat it because I like it. It tastes good. If it didn't taste good, I wouldn't eat it. Okra is slimy and doesn't taste good, therefore I don't eat it. I do subscribe (for the most part...every once in a while some particularly bizarre dish will set off my gag reflex and I won't even try a LITTLE) to the "if I haven't tried it, how do I know I don't like it?" school of thought, but I don't really think that counts as machismo or status-seeking in foodieland. Just out of curiosity, why was your automatic assumption that people who eat things like that feel the need to prove their "foodie" status, rather than that they actually might like the taste? I'm quite serious. K Edited to clarify my school of thought.

I would just like you all to know that it is threads like this that have caused me to gain six pounds (that I am now desperately trying to lose) since my arrival at egullet. Damn you. DAMN YOU AND YOUR DULCE DE LECHE. ...where can I get some? K

This is a put-on, right? I mean, I thought "project" was serious until I read the above quote. Dude, if you're trying to avoid foods that contribute to obesity, etc., um, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING IN A FAST FOOD ESTABLISHMENT???? This HAS to be a put-on. K

Joe - in the article from the NY Times that was right in front of me as we were sitting at the table, it mentioned that part of the reason Di Fara's sauce is so good is that Dom uses a mixture of fresh and canned tomatoes. We should probably confirm this with him, though, no? and btw, I am in (tentatively) for February 7. I'm waiting to hear about an audition that may be that afternoon, but if not, I'm all for 'za. K

I don't know what to add about the pizza that hasn't already been posted! Suffice it to say that it was absolutely delicious, all of it, to the extent that even though I became almost painfully full (yes, Joe, you're right, I should've just unbuttoned the damned jeans. Better yet, I shouldn't have chosen a pizza outing to break in a new pair of 'em! ), I found myself unable to stop nibbling. My favorites were the pepperoni (oh my GOD, that was such good pepperoni), and, upon reflection, the prosciutto/broccoli rabe calzone. At first I thought I preferred the porcini one, which WAS delicious, but the combination of the salty meat, tender, slightly bitter, flavorful rabe and the mix of ricotta and mozzarella with the super tasty crust has stayed with me all afternoon and I suspect it will be that taste I crave when I start feeling the need to return to DiFara's. Which, I expect, will be soon. Very soon. I'd say "now," but I seem to be unable to move from the comfy chair (NOT THE COMFY CHAIR!) and I keep nodding off in mid-type...ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz I can't believe no one has mentioned the ready availability of Aranciata, Limonata and Chinotto (two differnt brands of the latter!). I haven't had Aranciata in MONTHS, and it's such a beautiful thing...goes perfectly with pizza, too. The company complemented the pizza as spectacularly as did the Aranciata, and I can't wait to do this again. K, now off to plan the regular exercise program that will once again be a mandatory part of life if that much pizza is going to play a role in her waistline.

DITTO!

I have two. One is me, one is my mom. I will never again forget that one pound of honey does not equal two cups (16 oz, right?) of honey. Think about it for a minute. Them were some MOIST honey cakes. Actually, they were delicious, but I couldn't figure out why it took me almost all of TWO five-pound containers of honey to make FIVE honey cakes, each of which contains - or is supposed to contain - a pound of honey! And my mom will never again leave the turkey carcass simmering in water for stock, ask my sweet but very unconscious father to keep an eye on it and go to take a nap (this after being up all night). Dad sat down to read the paper and immediately forgot about the turkey for several hours...until mom came running out of the bedroom gasping and choking, grabbed the (on FIRE) pan and dashed outside with it. He hadn't even notice the cloud of black smoke filling the entire house. It was days before the place smelled right. K Edited for dumbass spelling error.

*perking up* you have two bottles of that stuff? What the heck is in it, anyway??? It's SO good! The eggnog latte is good too, in a sick and wrong kind of way. K

Dunkin Donuts, except for the Starbucks gingerbread latte, which is a new high in amazing tasting coffee-type drinks that are approximately as bad for you as an order of McDonald's fries (but they are SO GOOD). Also, I much prefer Dunkin Donuts' donuts to other brands, including Krispy Kreme, which I find way the hell too sweet. K

No Super Bowl party is complete without chile con queso (yes, WITH Velveeta, how the hell else are you supposed to get the right texture???). I'll be rooting for Carolina, myself (come on. I'm a Jets fan. I CAN'T root for the Pats, cute as Adam Vinatieri may be). K

I don't really have THAT much of an issue with the fake food she uses--I mean, come on, I have been known to make Oreo cookies into a damned fine cheesecake crust (and then eat the rest of the package). I'm just offended that she actually insists the monstrosities she "cooks" actually taste good. Nothing with Cool Whip tastes good. NOTHING. I'm still having nightmares about those "taquitos." K

Oh wait wait...I thought this was on the 25th, but if the next day is MLK day, that makes the potluck the 18th? That being the case, I can't make it...I have a performance that day at 4pm in New Jersey. I'm sorry. K Bummer. Send Sam. Well, you know, ideally, being my boyfriend and all, he'd come to the performance so there'd be ONE audience member there... but he'd probably rather have pie. K