tanabutler

Well, they aren't listed at LocalHarvest.org, but maybe they just don't know about it. Are they CSA, or just middlemen? Like Marie-Louise, I'd support the farms directly, especially since organic laws are changing to support big business.

You gotta be careful with Russian Caravan. I recommend G. H. Ford as a reliable source. I bought some RC from Teavana (I think) and it was just awful. Way too musty, no subtlety, nothing you'd ever want to ingest. A good Darjeeling is considered to be a fine, fine thing. I think I read Republic of Tea labelling it "the Rolls Royce of tea." And speaking of Republic of Tea, why not try their Mango Ceylon or Ginger Peach, to kick things up? The Mango Ceylon is our Sunday tea. It's wondrously floral and aromatic.

Well, now, am I the only one who'll admit to surprise at the discrepancy between your avatar(s) and your actual selfness, Ben? Great, absolutely great photo albums. Thank you so much for the vicarious pleasure. It looks like you had the honeymoon of a lifetime.

Were I to go to Vancouver, the first place I'd want to go is West. Last night I did a cooking class with David Kinch, chef-owner of Manresa, who had worked with David Hawksworth (chef at West) at a gig at Villa Montalvo last month. They have tentative plans to work together. Anyone David Kinch endorses as a guest chef is someone I'd care to know. They must be onto something.

Bill Klapp immortalized himself in my eyes with this thread: When The Moon Hits My Eye, I Make Big Pizza Pies. Read it and weep. And, if they were all conglomerated in a single thread, Florida Jim would have the empire of adulation he deserves. I think a thread merge, like French Laundry got, is in order. Otherwise, his posts float to the bottom of the eGullet ocean and are buried in the silt of time.

Hands down favorite reading: Q & A with Fergus Henderson. Even more than Fanta Shokata, I enjoyed Balmagowry's gift to us all: Earliest Mention of eGullet Ever! I think Jinmyo is, like, the total Iron Chef of Bayeux Tapestries. Then there was the wonderful Competition Round Ten: The Name Game, when I finally felt like an eGulleteer. I also really enjoyed (and miss) the Amma thread.

Russian saying, "Never trust a man who salts his bacon before he tastes it." (And reviving a great thread, a thread for the ages.)

How are plans coming along, Marie-Louise?

Try substituting cardamom for cloves, if cloves are in the recipe. It's sublime.

Don't forget the earplugs. Lobsters scream. Or so someone (natti) says in Lobster 101.

Hey, I posted about Rancho Gordo's beans in the very first post of the Ferry Plaza thread I started. I bought some beans-- Rio Zapé beans -- the beans that inspired the legend that is Rancho Gordo! Here's the display at Ferry Plaza, in front of Village Market. I'll take a photo of the beans when I cook them.

Hey, I want in on that pig-pile! Ingrid, what a fabulously written piece. I loved every word, and will link to it over at the CASCC website forums, so we can chat it up here in Santa Cruz county. (Lots of HOCAS focus here in my crowd of chefs and cooks!) My HOCAS, no, POCAS, is second-hand but worth sharing here. I have an online friend at my other digs (Readerville.com) whose mother was an Empress in New Orleans. Not literally, obviously, but Dorothy was one of those women everyone wanted to know. She was a martinet in the best sense: impeccable taste, impeccable manners, impeccable graciousness. She lived broadly and fully. When I sent some of my favorite condiments that she couldn't get in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana, that is: not Nadir of Loathsome Areas), Dorothy reciprocated with a boxful of fixings (including Zatarain's--everything but the fresh meat and veg), and a personal recipe. I still have her handwritten note: Well, in late 2001, Dorothy was diagnosed with lung cancer, and she lasted only a few months. The HOCAS I want to post here was when her daughter posted this: Pretty damn classy, if you ask me. My own award for HOCAS would go to the Stanhope Hotel in NYC in 1997. Alas, I will not link to the website, as it's been taken over by Hyatt and it's ghoulishly corporate. My daughter and I stayed there for several days; at age seven, she was still a Picky Eater. ("I can't eat it! It has 'things' in it!") We ate at the restaurant on our first evening there. Nothing on the menu suited her tastes, and I asked if the chef could just make a simple pasta dish. He sent out a perfect dish, sort of a customized mac and cheese, with a few tomatoes and herbs thrown in, much as I would have made at home. Then he came out to meet my girlina, and was completely charming. Every evening, he'd make her whatever she wanted, and come to the table to see how she liked it. What a wonderful, sweet man. (Chef Jean Bayley, I think his name was. I wish I remembered.) When it was time to leave, we ordered a box lunch to go, to have something good for the airplane. I just asked him to surprise us. When we opened the bag, we found not only the most wonderful sandwiches and salads and desserts, but white linen napkins and the fancy forks they used in the dining room. I still have those forks: they're bigger than any I own, but I cherish them and the memory of the staff at the Stanhope. HOCAS to the nth.

From the Chronicle article: Yeah, what is it about that? $25 for dinner for two, cooking at home, seems terribly expensive to me. And they missed a real bargain: a dozen Sweetwater oysters from Hog Island for $8.50. That's cheaper than I can get them here in Santa Cruz. Shucks!

Ditto on the rec for Joe's.

Make sure the second syllable gets the emphasis, and that it's all drawn out. Now you're drawlin', sugah!

Wow, I've never even heard of it, but it's beautiful. Nitpick about their logo: it's physically impossible to have a star so close to the moon (so close as to be inside the darkened circle of the moon, that is). What a pretty place. They're very smart to offer those much-larger photographs. The tiny ones don't let you see yourself in the rooms. (That is my pet peeve on websites for accommodations: cheesy photos.)

FYI, Kate Christensen is visiting (as in "answering questions") at my other best online community, Readerville.com. She's incredibly articulate. Great stuff. Kate Christensen Readerville Visit: May 10-14 I, too, love Patty Volk's Stuffed, and gave it for Christmas presents one year, to the delight of my sisters.

Jim, I am thrilled and delighted that you're getting this recognition. I love your work, and I think it's just awesome that you have a Room of Your Own, so to speak. My most heartfelt congratulations to you, sir. Signed, Your biggest flan

I've always thought that Il Fornaio (pronounced "Ill for now") is a terrible name. A funny Santa Cruz story. A friend, chef David Jackman, owned a place called "So Say We," which he eventually sold and opened another spot downtown, called "Chocolate." Soon thereafter, some people opened a place called "Soif" (pronounced "swahf," it's French for "thirst"). A friend of David's said, "Hey, I saw your new restaurant. So If! What a funny name!" So. If.

This is a national tragedy. Forty years of good BBQ is a miracle. Damn.

Hog Island sells its oysters for only $8.50 a dozen when you get them to go (which, of course, means you'd have to shuck them). And a really good deal is the dozen Sweetwater oysters with a glass of very nice French muscadet (I think) for $24. Since the oysters are $22/dozen, that's just $2 for a glass of wine. Highly recommended, as is the mixed green salad with Point Reyes blue cheese and vinaigrette. Big enough to split. You could also (seriously) come down to the farmer's market at Cabrillo College on Saturday morning, where Bill the Oysterman's oysters are $1/each, shucked and dressed (as you wish). He sells them for $10/dozen, and they're huge. He's also got clams and mussels, but c'mon, with Miyagis as big as a dog's tongue, who wants those?

I'm glad it worked out. I'm still jealous.

I got all happy when I saw Suvir's name on the board here. I didn't know this was two years old.

Welcome, Keifel! I hope you are enjoying the creative process. Thank you for your additions to this thread.

Lovely post, Bruce, thanks for taking the time. Now I'm hungry and I want Ron Siegle to come to my house for a "Doorknock Dinner."