Hest88

I knew we couldn't just stick to food. Personally, I know very few Americans who would be willing to make the kinds of sacrifices it would take to have a society closer to the European or wealthier Asian model. It only works in these societies because they are willing to give up a much larger percentage of their personal income in taxes and are more willing to tolerate government restrictions and follow more codified standards for behavior. Plus, there is a greater association with their class thus more of a willingness to fight for their class privileges---on every class level. It's partly because Americans believe they have a right to move fluidly between classes that they can't organize well enough to protect their own interests. Can we accept less mobility for greater security?

Bloviatrix, I haven't read this book, but I do remember the discussion around it when it was published. And, just looking around me, AND looking at myself and my own expectations compared to my parents, I agree with her conclusions 100%.

Just to throw something else into the mix: when did we start thinking about going out to eat as a right? When I was a kid, going to a restaurant was a big deal, special occasion thing. Most of our meals were homecooked. I think of extravagant dining along the same lines. It's just another tier of what, until recently, has been considered an event---getting dressed up and going out to eat. The average person is not supposed to be able to go out to eat every single night, which means that the average person isn't supposed to be able to afford to go to Per Se or Masa without a huge sacrifice, anymore than the average person is supposed to be able to afford that Hummer. I don't disagree that the gap between rich and poor has grown wider. However, I also think we've seemed to change our expectations so that now even the poorest member of society is supposed to be able to drive the car of their dreams and eat out a couple of times a week---or even eat out at an expensive restaurant if they want. Extravagent dining used to be accepted as purely a privilege of the rich.

LOL! Thanks Ben and Gary. I still don't recognize it. I guess it's not something my mom ever used!

The SF Chronicle recently did a taste test of 15 all-beef hot dogs; Schwarz 49ers came out on top. Chronicle article

Do the waiters really make that much an hour? Not that they don't deserve it, but that's certainly a far cry from the below minimum wage salary that most waiters get.

We're hoping to make our first trip to Copenhagen next year. I'd love to hear everyone's food (and non-food) suggestions.

When I was little all my older female relatives would get together to make them, but now they say it's too much trouble. Unfortunately, I never learned the skill either. My mother now buys them from one of my aunts, makes them and sells them to friends and relatives. I never liked the filling at all; I just liked the rice. My mother, knowing that I pick out the filling, will usually bring me the kind with just salty pork and mung beans--just enough filling to flavor the rice--so I get as much rice to filling ratio as possible!

I tried calling last week and gave up after 45 minutes. I don't remember it being quite so hard before. I think I'll wait a few months before trying again.

Oh you poor souls. That's okay; more fiddleheads for me! I just bought a bunch, boiled them a bit (in lieu of hand-washing), and then stir-fired them with butter and salt. Just before taking them off the heat I let them stand for a minute or so in order to get a slight charring effect. Mmmm... I don't think they taste like asparagus or grass. Come to think of it, they actually taste not unlike cooked *white* asparagus, only crunchy.

I always thought the fluffy consistancy was when mussels were overcooked, but I don't eat them enough to be sure.

No, I don't think this is the case. It's not just semantics. Or, to put it another way, the food item is what creates the semantics, not the other way around. It's really inconceivable to my mom, as I talked to her further, to think of won ton mein as soup even though it contains a broth. She was thinking of won ton mein as a dish and it's *always* noodles and won tons in a broth. That's like saying "hamburger" to someone and not assuming that they know it's ground beef in a bun. To her, won ton mein is always the same and it's never thought of as soup.

The Chinese have a word for soup. And lots of different kinds of things that are called soup. House soup, sweet dessert soups (as someone said), chicken soup, hot and sour soup, medicinal soups, vegetable soups, seaweed soup, shark's fin soup, fish maw soup, etc., etc. As I'm typing this I'm on the phone with my mom and I've officially confused her. (Granted, I do that a lot but...) I asked her if won ton mein was soup and she said, "That's noodles. Not soup. Why would you call noodles soup? Soup is soup, like house soup!" I'm thinking the difference is that ingredients in what's called a soup are meant to be eaten as a whole, with all the ingredients melding into one experience. With these Asian dishes we're talking about the broth is, though an integral part of the dish, NOT the main ingredient but designed to enhance the main ingredients and thus is also often left in the bowl. (I have this horrible feeling I'm going to get lots of replies saying that they *do* drink the broth AND they consider the broth to be a main ingredient...)

Interesting replies everyone. I wonder if it's a difference in cultures? When I think "won ton soup" or "won ton noodle soup" it immediately gets translated in my head to the Chinese---which doesn't have the word soup in it. I just did a quick poll of my friends and, to a one, all my Asian friends and colleagues didn't think of won ton or pho as soup--except for the guy who then started to muse semantically and then ended up unsure--while the non-Asians mostly thought of them as soup.

I was reading another thread and realized that I may have a completely different view of soup than other people. Does everyone think of pho as soup? Or won ton "soup" as soup? I think of these things as basically food (noodles or dumplings or whatever) in some sort of broth. A non-Asian equivalent in my mind would be bouillabaisse, I guess. All are different from soup in my mind. When I think of soup I think of, I dunno, clam chowder or lentil soup or white bean and chard or hot and sour soup or my mom's chicken feet and yucky Chinese herb soup. What's your definition of soup?

I've heard this argument before and remember reading that travesty of a stir-fry recipe in an old Cook's Illustrated and I just don't buy it. I have a round bottomed wok that I've used on a succession of old, cheapo gas stoves--just like what I grew up with. I don't use a wok ring (unless I'm steaming or deep-frying) and have no desire to get one of those flat bottomed woks. It's certainly not ideal, but it works well. I think it's just a matter of practice and not an inherent drawback of the equipment itself. My mother continues to make great food with an old wok and an inexpensive stove. Plus, I'm sure this isn't the case with you, but you don't *want* the entire wok to have uniform heat. You want the side of the wok to be cooler so you can push ingredients up the side to add items or control what what is getting more heat and what isn't.

Don't drop Kirin for dim sum! I know Sun Sui Wah has a reputation, but all my Chinese relatives in Vancouver have switched to Kirin. Kirin seems to be the current "in" place--unless another restaurant has taken its place in the last few months. (Sometimes I think the Chinese restaurant scene in Vancouver moves as fast as the one in Hong Kong!) I think En is a good replacement for Tojo's, although I guess Tojo's is the classic. Oh, leave room for food at the Granville Island market as well.

Nah. I had friends from Hong Kong who did that chopstick thing too. (No Chinese person worth his or her ethnicity shys away from the tomale.) Their explanation was that it cleared out the intestines. I guess like the reason people de-vein shrimp.

It's amusing how so many people feel they need to come to the defense of some big corporation.

You know, I know it's not blood per se, but I swear that I do get that distinct iron taste when I eat steak. And it's not just psychological, I swear!

I'm someone who likes my beef mediumish and actually rarely mind if it's a bit overcooked. However, I love raw beef in tartare or carpaccio. The thing that always bothered me about steak (which I've become more tolerant of the older I get) is the distinct taste of, uh, blood. Raw beef, however, never has that taste. Chicken I'm not that fond of, but being Chinese I expect a well-cooked Chinese chicken to be pink near the bone. Going back to the original question, I think that if your friends are reasonably well-versed in food, they will expect your beef to be close to medium-rare. To be safe, you can go for medium to medium-well, but well-done is just going to be inedible.

Yep, that's it. In such a restaurant I assume that the salad preparation is probably not up to Thomas Keller-like standards. By asking for dressing on the side I'm able to put as much or as little as I want. Also, as someone else said, I can (and often do) dip my leaves in the dressing instead of pouring the dressing on the salad. Oh, and those types of salads also often have ingredients I can't stand, so ordering it sans dressing means I can pick out the offending items more easily!

Personally, I'm hoping this means that people are finally tired of scrubbing that sickly sweet taste from their mouths and are re-discovering *real* doughnuts!

Heh. I'm actually of the school of thought that if you expose yourself to more germs you'll be less likely to suffer from normal bacteria. Of course, I grew up in around a Chinese kitchen, where meat was often at room temp, raw eggs were eaten regularly, and chicken was supposed to be pink at the bone! I'm most carefuly with mayo products, probably because their the most unfamiliar. I'm really lax with meat and poultry. Oh gee, I guess none of your would accept a dinner at my house, huh?

Well, there seems to be a consensus here. And quite a logical one, too. Restaurant critics needn't be good cooks, but damn well better have knowledgeable and refined palates, while recipes writers need to be good cooks. Quick note: from his writings, I'm actually under the impression that Jeffrey Steingarten is a pretty fine cook. At least I would trust his baguettes, French Fries, and roasted pork anyday! Also, from Ruth's Reichl's books, I suspect she's a pretty good home cook as well.