megc

I am a huge fan of Peets. Their coffee is amazing and oh so delicious. They are based in Berkeley, but I think their beans are available at Gourmet Garage in the city, along with via mail order (that's what I do). I love their French Roast, both regular and decaf. They make the best decaf coffee I've ever had (I drink primarily regular, though). They have plenty of single country and blend varieties, from mild to strong, plus their tea is also very good. I have a tin of Scottish Breakfast Tea, which is smoky and wonderful during these cold months. [edited for clarity]

As far as chess goes, they may still be playing at Wall Berlin, in Berkeley on the southside of campus on Durant near the post office. For a long time that was a center of speed chess playing. It's got decent coffee. Other places I've enjoyed are Strada on Bancroft at Hopkins/Monterey and Cafe Milano on Bancroft. Some people like Mediterreano on Telegraph, but I always thought their coffee was awful. Interesting people come and go through there, though. I miss the cafe culture now that I'm here in NY (I lived in Berkeley for 9 years). NYers seem to like bars over cafes here.

Is "Pie and Burger" in Pasadena still there? I have fond memories of going to look at the Rose Parade floats Jan 2 and then eating at P&B.

Was Cha-Am on this list? I hope not. Every time I went to the Berkeley location at least, the food was overly sweet. I never understood why people loved that place so much. For tapas, I think Cesar in Berkeley is quite nice.

This looks great! Thanks for all the info, jscarbor. I'll let you know what my friend thinks.

Hello! This is my first post to the Texas etc forum. My friend recently moved to Houston to study bass with a teacher at Rice, and as a student she is fairly poor right now. I think she lives relatively near Rice. Anyway, do you have any suggestions for good, cheap, and interesting eats in Houston? She's still getting acclimated to the south as well, so info on purveyors of regional tastiness would be appreciated. Many thanks!

You lucky girl!

Roasted winter squash is wonderful. Even though I don't particularly care for fall and winter here in the east (I'm a warm weather spring/summer person), it does mean winter squash season is here, which is good. I have found that I really like delicata squash, which is smaller and kind of torpedo shaped. The nice thing about it is that you can eat the peel, so you don't have to remove it. That being said, I still like to dispose of the peel, as it's easily removed with a vegetable peeler. I remove the seeds and then cut the squash into small (1/2 inch) cubes, and combine it with peeled and halved garlic cloves, a bit of diced red onion, thyme (fresh or dried), extra virgin olive oil, and salt. I put it in a covered casserole dish, and bake it for about 1h20 at 400 degrees. The squash carmelizes along with the garlic and onions, especially evident in those pieces that happen to lie against the side of the dish. The squash just about melts in your mouth. I've made this for a number of die-hard anti-winter-squash people, and they love it. It is so delicious!

Thanks for the Chez Panisse reports, guys - great food and nice pix! CP is one of my favorite places to eat in Berkeley, my hometown that I miss often (I'm living on evil Long Island right now). I have many fond memories of my meals there at CP, as well as time spent in the surrounding neighborhood. Looks like I need to visit soon!

I don't read Gourmet too often (I'm more of a Cook's Illustrated and Food and Wine kind of gal), but did check out this last issue (It's so thick! And what an unusual cover). Has Gourmet always resembled a fashion magazine inside? All those ads for clothes and jewelry, and such. I was unprepared for so many non food-related ads.

I don't read Gourmet too often (I'm more of a Cook's Illustrated and Food and Wine kind of gal), but did check out this last issue (It's so thick! And what an unusual cover). Has Gourmet always resembled a fashion magazine inside? All those ads for clothes and jewelry, and such. I was unprepared for so many non food-related ads.

As far as the chicken itself, do you think there's a better chance of getting an uncontaminated chicken from an organic producer in comparison to a mega-producer like Zacky Farms? I was at my local whole foods store and had a number of chickens to choose from, mostly organic. Like 4 different organic brands! Can anyone talk a little about the quality of the raw bird itself and what to look for? What's your experience?

Oh wow, so many great comments! In this thread and the one referred to by Dave the Cook. I have been an ex-vegetarian for a number of years, now, but haven't really done much cooking of meat/poultry (animals, basically). I'm not feeling squeamish about touching the bird, so roasting it whole is my plan. I want to also use the carcas afterwards to make stock, and I'll probably fry up some of the innards for my cat or those guests who want to eat the liver, heart, etc. I'll avoid the bacon, though. While it sounds intriguing, I'll most likely be cooking this as part of a meal for friends, and some of them don't eat bacon/pork. I can tell that I'll have enough info and tips to make an incredibly delicious roast chicken.

Thank you so much! You all are great. Looks like I have a bunch of reading to do...

Minami at 20th and Clement makes tasty and cheap sushi (like $2.25 a roll sushi). It's a tiny place and they are very nice people there. Mom is Cooking in the Excelsior is also fun for Mexican food (I think it's on Geneva). Get the boquitos if you go. I like Pancho Villa, too. Oh and Ti Couz on Valencia at 17th is great! Breton crepes etc. AND, I think Green's for Sunday Brunch is quite a good deal. How I miss San Francisco.

So, I've decided that I want to roast a whole chicken - nothing fancy, just in the oven with maybe some herbs and such. I've never done it before, and in general don't have a whole lot of experience cooking poultry (I was a vegetarian for a long time). Do any of you have any tips for my maiden chicken roasting voyage? I especially want to avoid drying out the bird. I looked in RecipeGullet and did some searches in the conferences but didn't come up with anything. If it's been discussed and I just missed it, feel free to post the link to the appropriate previous thread. Many thanks!

And at which location did you ingest that Top Dog? I always liked the south of Campus location (on Durant I think?), the walls of which carried numerous anarchist writings. God I miss Berkeley.

When I worked at UC Berkeley, I had a boss that absoutely loved the See's lollipops. She would often offer one to me in the afternoons, and take one for herself. How cool is that? I'm also a Bordeaux fan! Plus I always enjoyed the dark chocolate caramels and the dark chocolate coconut bon bons.

Oh man! Now I want one! I loved the original vanilla but liked the mint from time to time. Even though I'd love to have one right now, it's sort of nice to know that there still exists the regional treat that isn't duplicated elsewhere. Missing CA dreadfully these days, Meg in NY

Peeled and sliced peaches or nectarines are also very tasty frozen. On the candy front, Heath Bars, Uno Bars (both mentioned), and Peppermint Patties are also good frozen. I cast another vote for Thin Mints, definitely. Oh, and peanut butter cookies!

I used to think the mayo-french fry thing was an unappealing combination until I went to Amsterdam and tried it there. The combination was delicious! However, the mayonnaise there is somewhat different from what I had been exposed to here, the Best Foods/Hellman's type, which I'm not that fond of as a topping for frites. American mayo seems to be more gelatinous or something. Plus the BeneLuxe folk have a myriad of flavors of mayonnaise, which astounded me. I'd never considered curry mayonnaise as a possiblity. I love salsa on scrambled eggs. I lament the lack of salsa on the tables at breakfast joints here in the east. And so speaks the Californian of Dutch ancestry.

Tabasco makes a chipotle sauce? Oh god, yum. Tell me more...

Thanks a lot, malachi - now I have to wipe off all the drool on my keyboard after reading your post. God that lunch sounds stupendous...

At Christmas time, I bought some unbelievably delicious Frog Hollow Meyer Lemon Marmalade. It was fantastic on scones. I recently discovered Swanton Berry Farm low sugar strawberry jam, which is divine. Other condiments: balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, garlic, EVOO, cholula, sriracha, and pulverized chipotles in adobo sauce. I put it on so many things, from quesadillas to eggs to grilled cheese. Oh yeah, and I'm with Elyse - lots of ketchup with a burger and fries (would you like some fries with your ketchup?).

Yep, that does sound like heaven. Our tomatoes are probaly going to be ready in August. One of my missions this summer is to convince my housemate that homegrown tomatoes are one of the most delicious things on this earth - apparently she dislikes fresh tomatoes (she eats them cooked in sauce, though). I'm actually not sure if she's even had a homegrown tomato in her life. I love 'em.