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I will be loading up tomorrow on ribs, and assorted goodies. One last "pig out" no pun intened. They will be missed. David

Have tried many links , than you. Still no Pol Roger '96 vintage. Any help?? David

Case is ok or six packs if thats how they come. D

Hi can anyone help me find the '96 pol roger brut, bdb, sir winston. They are not available on the west coast. David

Hi all, I am going to be in London for one day in a couple of weeks. I was hoping to find a good wine shop with affordable prices. I know about the Berry Bros. type places already, was looking to find more of a large volume discount type shop. There are several '96 vintage champagnes not available here in US ( yet) that I hope to find. TIA David

There is also Chambersberg ( burg?) NJ. Near Trenton with the best "little Italy" in NJ. Anyplace is good. All small family run places. Or was back in the 70's. PJ's was great then too. David

So whos got the good BBQ ?? Anyone have any info beyond the aforementioned three? D

Sounds like a roadtrip may be in my future. Nice reporting. D

Romantic ,Excellent food, Hidden Jewel. Bingo on all three. Bistro 21 on La Cienaga. Seats about 25 or so beautiful understated art, decor. Food is A+. We just had our wedding aniv dinner there. Amuse of house cured mackeral ( sweet, smokey dense &moist) Fois always done well, Scallops, Japanese Black Cod, Pork two ways ( some special pork dont remeber name) asssorted sorbet pallate cleansers. dessert . Under $150 for 2. Chef Ko is really on top of the kitchen and his wife is in front of house. D How could anyone not love Mori ?? Except for the price. Mori is all about subtlties. It is more like a fine ballet that a symphony. IMHO

Leo's will be closing on May 15th after 40 years of fine BBQ. I luckilly had the urge for ribs today and was shocked when I saw there sign. So I will go once more this week and say alas to great tender ribs / smokey chicken and vinegary spicy sauce and great family service. Their Sweet Potato Pie is legendary ( I dont eat the stuff) . I have been partial to Leo's for 10 years or so now. Phillips is a my second favorite and Woodys a distant third. I hear the Valley has some decent bbq. Dont know any though. D Phillips has bought the location and will open yet one more Phillips BBQ.

Angeli Cafe on Thursday family dinner. $25, several courses with seconds and thirds if you wish. Usually some type of ethnic other than Italian which is the regular menu . Always excellent. D

Now on the corner of Wilshire Blvd. and 5th street in Santa Monica there sit two closed empty restaurants. Pollys and Zackys. Neither a big lose to the finer culinary world however Pollys had decent Cinnimon rolls for late night munchies, and both are sitting on prime locations. Zackys has been empty for ?? 10 years or so? Even PF Chang passed on the Zacky locale. Landlords must be insane. Or rich, or both. D

Try Caprice on Pico accross from Trader Joes in Santa Monica. Jean Louis is a great pastry chef. Sweet Lady Jane's is hard to beat for quality and taste. Congrats and Mazel Tov D edit to add content

Customers like yourselves who are dedicated to the market and the people who work hard to bring you the "fruit" of that labor are the best part of the markets. Watching people grow over the years is a wonderful thing that some of us who stand on the otherside of the table really enjoy. It is a strange relationship were names are not often exchanged certainly not beyond first names. These are no less relationships. However the CEO, chef,priest,mom,dad,nanny,etc., all have the same exact needs when at the market, and all have equal access. It is very democratic. Anyway what I wanted to say is your market people appreciate you too. I have worked at the markets ( not in bay area sorry) for 10 plus years and the people are the best part.

When 5 Dudley closed it was billed as a temp. closure due to reopen in the Spring. So I guess we will know soon. D

An excellent choice. i havent been there in about 10 years, but it was and probably still is the least built-up area. Has great beer, food, wine and nature. As to Calistoga mud baths all I can say is, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. If you like to get clean , mellow and relaxed from the inside out treat yourselves to an hour or two. We used to go to what was then the only co-ed baths I think called 7th street baths? Others will have better info or google it. Most food in Calistoga is so-so or it was last time I was there about 3 or 4 years ago. First trip was '79 and Calistoga was ,and still is a tiny town. However back then it was a mix of hip / wine types and very rustic country types. Was nice. However up the road towords Alexander Valley there are endless food choices. Try to cruise out to the coast for a day, go to Rivers End for lunch then cruise down the coast to Hog island for Oysters then to Pt. Reyes for Cow Girl Creamery and Palace mkt. pies. Beautiful ride but could be foggy by later May. Is fogged in most of June. As Mark Twain said "The coldest winter of my life was a summer in S.F.". So bring sweaters for the coast also at night up there it gets cool ( 50ish) All this makes me want to get in the car and cruise up. If only I had the week off. D

Western Sonoma is unbelievably beautiful, however it is some what remote at the end of windy roads which can hamper trips out for things like diner and wine. Maybe do a 3 day near Sonoma and 3 out at Jenner. Here is a link Coastal to a guy that rents Houses in the area. We stayed in one ( ocean waves) outside Bodega and loved it . I can give you some ideas from our trip if you like or look here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=33663&st=0& But do not think you are going to cruise over to the plaza in Sonoma or to other points east that easily. It is a long drive. I visited friends in Petaluma from our place in Bodega and it was almost an hour without summer traffic. Enjoy, D

CORECTION We stay at the BW Sonoma on second street just of the square. Not the BW Sonoma Valley Inn. D

Napa is more built up and more touristy. Sonoma has everything from wineries to beaches. try to spend some time on the back roads, you wont be sorry. Sonoma and Marin both have lots of farms and beautiful pasture lands. We stay in Sonoma at the BW Sonoma valley for about $125 a night. large comfy rooms with fireplace or spa in room. Try this link for more choices http://www.sonomavalleyvisitors.com D

I am looking for things like excellent green Papaya salad, pancakes, pho, duck salad, etc... David Have tried all the westside has to offer. Not impressed. Would go down to OC fo rthe real food like I've enjoyed in SF

Broda? Any hints? Thanks D

We looked and looked and could not fing Green Papaya. Any other great reccomendations for Viet. Food? More than just pho. We will drive down again and try again. D

Thank you all for reply's. Talking about it makes me want it more. I bought some at a couple of diferent locations in Spain back in '00 when there, but the hands down winner was from Mallorca gourmet shop in Madrid. They told me a whole story about this pig and so on so forth then hand sliced ,from a new leg, about a pound of odd sized slices. His knife skills were less than excellent but I insisted that I wanted fresh sliced not pre-packed and would be fine with his job. I believe I paid about $50 for this slightly over a pound of ham. It was worth more. Each bite was heaven and I shared it with many friends many times and we all talk about it to this day. The amzingly sweet fat veins running through the beautiful mahagony colored meat. A true work of culinary art. D

Currants are diferent things to diferent cultures. In Europe particulary Northern Europe they tend to be berries. In new world like USA and partly UK they are grapes. Within that I believe the berry are two ( red and black) specifc variety . Many people say that the red Coastal variety of the California / Oregon Huckleberry is very much like the berries of Northern Europe. Very tart! With grapes there is some variation I think. Sometimes I think it is the name of the grape more than the species that varies. Zante, Champagne are two common names for the ( same) grapes used to dry into Currants or at least they are marketed as "fresh" currants. Sort of oxymoron because currants are never fresh always dried. Like saying a Thompson grape is a "fresh " raisin. As to raisins they are made from many, many varieties of grapes. My favorite is (was, thanks to low carb diet) dried Flames no sulfar. By the way it is sulfar or sulfites that affect the color in drying. Add it retains color and stays a little softer without it fruit turns dark and a little harder. Try to avoid things like Sun Maid raisins if you can. Raisins hold alot of residual everything, like pesticides. Try to find Organic even if you are not a big organic food type. Raisins are bad due to the drying. You remove water and concentrate evrything else. Like sugar, which is why we love them. D

Hi all I am in California and find it impossible to find Iberico ham in USA. I know it was even hard to find in Spain. Any help? Thanks D