Stone

And in absolute terms vis-a-vis weight loss/gain, completely untrue. I thought about it, and I should have said that the source of calories matters. Actually, I think that the word Calorie -- a unit of heat to raise water one degree (or whatever), has little meaning in this debate. But if you intake 500 "calories" of bacon, compared with 500 "calories" of steamed broccoli, your body will process and store it differently. The bacon will have more of an "adverse" effect in terms of putting on weight. And I've also rethought the "people are stupid" explanation. Sure, people are stupid, but that's not what this is about. That suggests obesity is a problem of education. FG and I are both reasonably intelligent, well-educated adults. That doesn't explain why we're both fat.

It won't likely affect your weight, though. Of course it will. People who get a "healthy" intake of 2,000 calories will burn them faster than people who get an unhealthy intake of 2,000 calories. The designation "bad food" is conceptually nonsensical. It's a question of quantity. Bread is bad food if you eat too much of it. McDonald's french fries are entirely healthful if you only eat a few of them once in awhile. This is so wrong I don't know where to begin. You might as well say that a banana is not yellow because if you lower the lights it's more of a dark ochre color. If you drink too much water, you will die. (Some frat boy recently died of water poisoning.) But to suggest that this calls into question whether water is "healthy" is absurd. Foods are not equal. There may be a debate over what a healthy diet consists of, but that doesn't mean that the concept has no meaning. And what the fuck does "healthful" mean? A Double Whopper, which has, what, 2500 calories?, is unhealthy -- it has too much salt, and too much fat. It is unhealthy even if it is the only source of calories for the day. In fact, it is really unhealthy especially if it is the only source of calories for the day. It is not a question of quantity. Not if you're trying to find a cure. Why? Are there different treatments for "addiction" as opposed to "compulsion"? You could be right, but I've never heard that. That's usually what it comes down to. At least we agree on something.

FG -- I think it's wrong to say that "a calorie is a calorie." Getting your daily calorie intake from a proper balance of protein, carbs and fats will have a different effect on you than getting it from an improper balance. That is, the body deals with calories from fat different than with calories from proteins. Small meaningless point. I don't think anyone was suggesting that govts actually tax people for being overweight. The suggestion is that they tax "bad" food to discourage people from eating them. Oh, and it will bring more revenue into the government, always a good thing. Big difference. Whether it's compulsion or addiction is irrelevant isn't it? I think we can agree that losing weight as hard as quitting smoking. Not for everyone, but then I know a lot of people who smoked for years and had no problem quitting. We could just fall back on the "people are stupid" argument. It is universally applicable.

http://www.china46.com/mColdApp-DimSum.asp Duck tongues? Oh, those poor little ducks.

Why? Since our pocketbooks are often the most important factor in everything we do, why is using taxation as an inducement "invalid"? It may be poor policy, in that it's sloppy and gets sloppier by the moment, but why is it "wrong" or "improper"? (Apologies if this was already discussed at length, I haven't read the thread.) From what I've read, this is simply incorrect. I believe there is a direct relationship between the increase in taxes on cigarettes in a drop in the number of smokers (escpecially teens). I may be wrong, but I don't think so. And if you think that obese people need any "education", you're fooling yourself. Do you really think that guy suing McDonalds thought their food was healthy? Come on.

All the cow-pat I had in Thailand had little cherry tomatoes in them. I didn't like it. Too much sweet/tang/tart. And they retained more heat than the rest of the stuff and burned whenst bit into. But I do like a gentle dash of fish sauce.

According to a blurb in today's Chronicle, Thomas Keller announced that he will close "the Yountville location" from October 31, 2003 until March 1, 2004 in order to open his new restaurant in NY, which will be called "Chez Escrit Spencer". I assume the "Yountville location" is the one we know of as "The French Laundry." He will use this time off also to expand the FL restaurant and kitchen. Oh, and the FL celebrates it 9th Anniversary this week. Oh, Oh, I was kidding about he Chez Escrit Spencer. Oh, Oh, Oh, since I've teased the Chronicle's food section recently, I'd like to say that today's had a very good and informative article on Indian joints in the 'Loin and an interesting articles on soft shell crab, which seem to involve more than slicing thin and arranging on a plate.

Tell me you live in San Francisco. Please, tell me you live in San Francisco.

Mmmm, Korean BBQ:

I don't think it's part of the traditional recipe: http://www.thefoodmaven.com/radiorecipes/c...cobb_salad.html But so what? I like them. And subtle variation from cook to cook is part of what these salads are all about. I don't understand why putting together basic everyday ingredients in a bowl creates a new salad. Sure, a Cobb salad is good. But what's the big deal? Where is the mystery in placing those ingredients in a bowl? I can understand that the caesar salad deserves noteriety. That involved mixing ingredients in a way to create something new. But Cobb basically made a Chef Salad, but with other stuff he happened to have lying around. I mean, 100 monkies at a salad bar will probably make a cobb salad in about 30 minutes.

Pabst Blue Ribbon? Fuck that shit.

When I was at Danko last weekend, a couple wearing what could only be considered Hawaiian louau dress sat next to us. The woman ordered a "Mai Tai", the fellow ordered a "Bombay 'tini."

Does that include the Maryland fried chicken?

This month's Cooks Illustrated has an article about the new Lodge pans. Concludes that the pre-seasoned pans are better than a new self-seasoned one, but neither beat a 60 year old lovingly seasoned veteran.

Where does it say that? It doesn't say that. No one told me that. That's bullshit, man, bullshit. What am I gonna do with all this sulfuric acid?

La Caridad! "How much flan can a person eat?" I ate there a bunch of times and never saw what the big deal was.

A big glass of hot mayonaise?

Um, maybe when she's a little older and your wife's on vacation.

You may be right. I've always heard them called Belgian Browns -- but the English bunch are certainly more prominent. FYI -- Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale.

The sister place in midtown (48th and 8th) was very good.

As much as I love IPAs, I think the best beers are the Belgian Brown Ales. (I don't think "Trappist" Ale covers the same beers.) They have a crisp start and take a turn towards a lightly sweet, butterscotch finish. Much more and complex flavor than just about any other beer I've had. Corsendonk is my favorite, but the most popular and widely known is Chimay. But run if you see a bar selling Chimay "ice cold" -- these need to be served cool (not English warm) to really appreciate the flavors.

Open the bottle with the bottle opener, and put the cigarette in your mouth -- any man that walks by will offer to light the cigarette.

Do you have a death wish? Well, I did buy a motorcycle last year.

No, but she does look like Amanda Peete. I thought that too when I first met her.

Just had risotto with nettles at Gary Danko, sitting under a medallion of beef. Quite good.