Raynickben

This is a Weekly column? Hilarious! Yes, Food Man...I'll be looking forward to your weekly posts of Whine and Dine. (Although some of those whines look like egullet posts!)

Yes, I think everyone hates the egg. And quite often it's "forgotten." Because it's not in the haggadah! I'm not sure at what stage in history the hard boiled egg was added to the ritual, but it really isn't part of the "set" haggadah. Some haggadot will add a sentence like, "at this stage, hard boiled eggs dipped in salt water can be eaten" or whatever. And it's true that the more you add to the story, the more praiseworthy it is, but you can do something other than hard boiled eggs. It's sort of a strange paradox but the seder, as much as it is "set" and "ordered," really does invite innovation. Happy Pesach to all. My brother-in-law put little yellow post-it notes in each haggadah that says "eat your egg". It's always a surprise and it's quite funny when all 20 of us are eating our egg at different times.

The Dallas Morning News: Texas Taste Cathy Barber and Karen Elizabeth Watts offer 20 tips for a better buffet. Paul Simon offers 50 Ways to Leave your Lover. I hope my mother-in-law reads this one: Kosher Wines Improve by Jeffrey Weiss. Sharon Hudgins' profile of Flavors From Afar, a new specialty food store opening up in Snider Plaza. Here's their Website.

Much like realtors who bake chocolate chip cookies when selling a house I caramelize onions for the lovely smell that permeates the kitchen and beyond.

List is here. I, of course, have to add my favorite sandwich on to the list and that is Corner Bakery's Ham on Pretzel. Aside from the cool name it is simply ham, caraway havarti cheese, tomato, red onion, and dijon mayo on a pretzel roll. In fact I'd like to take credit for this sandwich being on the menu at Corner Bakery. A few years back they stopped making the sandwich. I ordered this sandwich at least once a week so I wrote to the company and bothered the bakery manager a few times and viola' it is back where it belongs. It is also the last thing I ate before moving to Portland and the first thing I ate after moving back. Can you tell how much I love this sandwich?!!!

D Magazine Again with the superlatives, The Best Sandwiches in Dallas

Nana

Phil Hartman's "Anal-Retentive Chef"

Plano Star Courier Profile of the North Texas chapter of Slow Food USA by Shawn Floyd: click

The Dallas Morning News: Business section Kent Rathburn of Abacus and Jasper's is organizing a culinary "Dream Team" to attract visitors and conventioneers to Dallas. Article by Cheryl Hall Stone Street Gardens in downtown Dallas is primed for success v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. Article by Karen Robinson-Jacobs.

I love egg bagels. I can't find them anymore though. Are you behind that?

can you talk a bit more about MORE I tend to think of "coffee table books" as books that are visually appealing but not necessarily a book one would read cover to cover. "A Return to Cooking" is gorgeous with it's artwork by Valentino Cortazar and the photography of the chef and his cuisine. But it's also captivating to read the recipes, how they were conceived and developed and there are countless anecdotes from Ripert's life in the kitchen. It's really the perfect book!

Ripert's "A Return to Cooking" (though it's MORE than a coffee table book)

The Ft./Worth Star Telegram Amy Culbertson visits the Alamosa Wine Cellars located in the Hill Country: Texas in a bottle Barry Shlachter details on how to tour and attend tastings at other Texas Wineries Do I hear road trip?? The Dallas Morning News Funeral Food by Waltrina Stovall.

Just yesterday I was eating lunch at a Thai restaurant and they were playing loud French disco. It was wierd. And uncomfortable. I couldn't focus on my book or my lunch and I had this overwhelming desire to start dancing. Which would have been wierd. And uncomfortable.

Mr. Pibb was the Coca Cola Company's answer to Dr. Pepper. I remember when it was first marketed (I lived in the test market). Dr Pepper held a serious amount of volume in some pockets of what Coke considered to be prime territory and this was their response to the market. I did not taste like Dr. Pepper, although it was similar. Less body and not quite as sweet (at that point I believe that all Dr Pepper was still being made with Cane Sugar-now only the stuff from the plant in Waco is the only D.P made with c.s.). Jinx, buy me a coke (I mean Mr. Pibb).

Mr. Pibb was developed by the Coca Cola company to compete with Dr. Pepper. The History of Mr. Pibb It's really one of the better sodas in my opinion.

That's pretty funny. But I never knew Domino's had a cream cheese pizza. For real? That's nasty.

I used to stop by a Burger King drive-thru once a week with my kids when time was of the essence. One time I ordered my usual plain cheeseburger and small onion rings only to get home to find no onion rings (the best part!). I called to let them know I didn't receive my full order and that I would be in the next day to get my money back. They refused to give me my money. They pretty much called me a liar for trying to get the $1.25. So now I am livid. I called and sent a letter to the management company that owned that location. No response. Alright, now a letter to corporate in Florida (this is all on principle, not because I need a dollar). Corporate responded with a nice letter and free coupons that showed they came from the corporate office. When I submitted these coupons to the restaurant the manager wanted to know how I got those coupons. So I told him and showed him the letter. It was greatness I tell you! He felt like an idiot I'm sure. But I haven't been to a Burger King in at least two years. They have become the filthiest places. Truly disgusting.

The Dallas Morning News just had an article on roasting a pig that I posted in the Texas Media Forum. The link is here.

The Dallas Morning News Well, it's about time. Really, it's about TIME. Some of the big chain restaurants are now offering "call ahead" seating to eliminate those hour-plus waits we've all be subject to. Now instead of stressing out about how to entertain my kids while we wait for our name to be called I can stress out about timing the drive from my house to the restaurant so we don't lose our table. Article by Karen Robinson-Jacobs is here. *** Why didn't someone tell me one of People magazine's Sexiest Men of 2003 was in Ft. Worth? Tyler Florence and his Food 911 crew were in town to teach Dorothy Randoll how to roast a pig. Behind-the-scene accounts and tips on how you can get Mr. Florence to hang out with you are in Going Whole Hog! Dorothy Randoll tells you how to get a roasting box here. *** Oh, Shiitake! The second most popular mushroom with one too many vowels is the subject of Susan Taylor's A taste of Asia from the N. Texas prairie. *** Last month the 2004 Gault Millau restaurant guide was published. Joe Ray gets some inside info from the editorial chief Marc Esquerre' and his secret inspectors.

Two people died and it was at one of the Half Shells or Rockfish locations (I believe they are owned or were owned by the same people). Anyway, the point of the article was more about the dangers of eating raw oysters ANYWHERE rather than something the restaurant did specifically wrong or dangerous.

Escape from NY is the place I was thinking of. Never had the chance to try it! But we're suppossed to be talking about pizza in Dallas right? I have friends from Chicago who swear by Chicago St. as well. There's a Chicago-style place in Irving, I'll have to track down the name, that is also highly regarded.

Hi Extra MSG, I had a lot of great California style pizza there in Portland. Pizzacato, Bugatti's, and Pizza Bella all had interesting and tasty combinations. Pizza Bella (in Lake Oswego) has a pizza with roasted new potatoes, carmalized onions and raclette cheese that is so damn good. In fact their plain NY style cheese pizza is quite good as well. And Bugatti's in West Linn has a pizza with roasted red peppers, garlic, feta, and kalamata olives that I must recreate in my own kitchen, maybe tonight now that I'm thinking of it. I am not a fan of Pizza Shmizza! I know there is a place downtown that I heard had great NY style pizza but I can't remember the name and I never patronized the place. Dallas does have outlets for all of the pizza types you described. I usually just prefer the NY style.

The Ft. Worth Star Telegram If you aren't satisfied reading about the lowly radish, here's some info on rutabegas, parsnips, turnips, i.e. Veggie Nerds You're going to want a turnip after reading Amy Culbertson's interesting article.