sacre_bleu

I don't think I'd tip. At a buffet restaurant where I filled my own plate, and then couldn't eat more than a couple mouthfuls because it was so wretched? Please. I would drop the loaded plate in the bus bin myself, though, to relieve the busser of the burden. If I did put food on a plate, I would pay the buffet charge. If I wised up before food hit plate, I would wave on my way to the door.

That's a lot more ambitious than the average "Mexican" place in Buffalo. Thanks.

Also, has anyone been to the Ethiopian places in Rochester? Care to share a report? Here's one entry on another site. http://rocwiki.org/Abyssinia#

Can you supply addresses, possibly? Would this be good for a family driving by on the Thruway? How far off the highway are they? Do they have any unusual Mexican stuff or just the usual? Thanks for the info.

For reliable Chinese in WNY I think you have to go to Amherst, where there are a sizeable number of Chinese, mostly around UB. Gin Gin, hidden in the northeast corner plaza at Sheridan and Bailey, has a huge menu including congee, chicken feet, beef tripe, etc. It's uneven but delivers tons of dishes that Cookie-cutter Chinese places don't have. (I like their roast pork and tofu, and their "spare ribs in wine sauce.") Great cold noodle with a dose of fish sauce. No table service. Chang's Garden, on Maple just east of North Forest, does the best sitdown Chinese in the area that I know of. That's where I see tables of a dozen Chinese people for special banquets. Ja jiang mien ("saucy noodles") and other "Northern Chinese specialties" are on a seperate menu that they don't hand the "lo fan" unless you ask for it. Do get the cold sliced duck breast appetizer (hacked bone-in) with amazing sauce. One thing WNY does have is a great-for-outside-Koreatown Korean resto (barbecue grills right in the table) at Korea House, in Amherst on Evans near Sheridan. One order of bulgoki, one of dwaeji bulgoki (spicy pork) and my wife and I are set. One last can't miss: really solid blue-collar Vietnamese at 99, 3396 Bailey Ave., Buffalo (just south of UB Main St campus). Pho and grilled pork are top notch.

You'd think the Lexington Co-op would have a handle on those. Has everyone been to the Somali takeout joint on Grant St.? (Somali Star, 195 Grant St.) 100 percent takeout but tasty goat curry (more tender at dinnertime), wonderful fragrant rice pilaf and super beef-stuffed pastries with hot but delicious fresh hot sauce.

This is utter BS. That chef must have been at the end of a very bad day. They don't have a leg to stand on. A posted no-photograzphs zone would give them a figleaf of legal argument, but the assertion is ridiculous on its face and would be laughed out of any court it was filed in. Are birthday/wedding/anniversary dinner photos banned too? Crazy. Chef meltdowns are never pretty.

And that sauce would be what exactly?

You need to mop, my friend. PS. Regarding brining spare ribs: Certainly it wouldn't hurt if you have the time and the energy. But I smoke about 250 lbs of spares a year for various things and never brined one yet. There's enough moisture in my ribs at the end of the 6-hour cook that you can: 1. tug gently on a bone and it will come out clean 2. wrap in foil and reheat and the meat will fall off the bone (not my thing, but some people like it) To be sure, YMMV.

So, phaelon56, which Syracuse Thai resto are you thinking of?

I had to turn it off, even though I'm interested in resto kitchens and Gordon Ramsey. Too much abuse, too little content. And those kids were set up to fail. It would be more fun watching a Great White Hunter use a 10-gauge shotgun loaded with elephant slugs on tethered gazelles.

Another Weber fan here. If you're interested in an entry-level "smoker," for barbecue and the like, the Weber Smoky Mountain Cooker is all the rig you need, for about $500 less than the BGE and company. If you want something that'll do blowtorch temperatures, OK, the Weber isn't it. (Although a good pile of lump hardwood charcoal in a regular Weber grill will get you to seriously searing temperatures). That BGE sure does look good, though.

I was surprised to find LAURA CHENEL GOAT CHEESE in the cheese cooler at Sam's Club. $5.85 a pound. No WAY. Bought some. Took it home, tasted it. Yup, goat cheese, not distinguished at all, but goat cheese. Started looking at the label more closely. Aha. It was LAURA CHENEL "SELECT," which I'm guessing means they sold the NAME to be slapped on production goat cheese. Made in Canada, the fine print said. Mystery solved.

We prefer to have people over, so we don't count on reciprocation. Most regulars at my table know that if I want them to bring something, I'll ask. Wine, cheeses, drinks, particular vegetables or ingredients, a nice green salad all arrive that way. No problem. Of course, more wine and such is always appreciated. You gotta train your guests, and give them a push. Don't be shy and expect people to read your mind. Usually all it takes to get help with the dishes is for me to stand up after we're done eating and start washing them.

Blue-collar New England diner food at its finest: The Wayside, in Berlin on the Barre-Montpelier Road (Rt 302). I haven't been in VT in a couple years, but I used to live in Concord NH and I would detour an hour out of my way just for the Wayside's banana cream pie. Hit some of those other places when you're feeling fancy, but when the wallet's thin and you need something soul-warming, head for the Wayside.