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Hest88

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by Hest88

  1. You know, my family and I have never made reservations at any Chinese restaurant unless it's for a large party on a special occasion.
  2. Koi Palace in Daly City. You can go from or on your way back to the airport.
  3. Another Bordeaux fan, but now the California Brittle is sounding mighty good. I also love getting that extra free piece of candy. Back in college I had a friend whose landlady worked at See's. One time he came by with a huge box of Almond Squares which, at the time, were one of my favorites. It must have been at least 5 pounds of the stuff, if not more. After going through 2/3 of the box, I lost my taste for them and have never been able to Almond Squares again.
  4. Nice to find this thread. I've always had to sheepishly admit I liked milk chocolate over dark. In many circles around here it smacks of an unsophisticated palate--akin to liking well done meat over med-rare. I like dark chocolate when it's part of something else to offset the bitterness, so I like it as part of truffles, or cookies, etc. With chocolate bars, though, it's got to be milk. I do find, however, that the older I get the less I can tolerate really sweet milk chocolate, such as in Hershey's bars, so for all I know I may be eating dark chocolate bars in ten years!
  5. Garlic powder. My Chinese mother made us a number of "American" dishes, and one of them was steak. She never could stand steak with just salt and pepper, though, so started putting garlic powder on them as well. To this day, I season my steak with garlic powder as well, so I keep a jar in the cupboard--even though I use fresh garlic for everything else.
  6. That sounds heavenly. I don't eat non-fried skin and find it rather yucky, but when it's fried...bring it on! I recently discovered fried chicken skin among the other crackling offerings in the Fillipino section of an Asian supermarket. Not like the fresh kind, but not bad for a snack.
  7. What was your family food culture when you were growing up? Well, I grew up in a Cantonese family, so although sometimes my mom would make "American" dishes such as steak or the occasional meatloaf, most of it was some variation of Chinese. Was meal time important? Yes, very. My mom worked out of the home, so she made us breakfast and usually had dinner ready by the time our dad got home. Was cooking important? Very much so. It was the only way we could get decent Chinese food, after all, without a longish drive! What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? None. My parents weren't all that aware of American table manners. There were *other* etiquette issues that we were taught, but they were Chinese. Who cooked in the family? My mom usually cooked on weekdays, but on weekends my dad often cooked as well. They always shared prep tasks and each had their speciality dishes. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Special occasions. Unless my mom got lazy one night, which was not all that infrequent. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over?? Nope. We were expected to behave at the table, but she'd often let us leave the table early. When did you get that first sip of wine? No idea. Alcohol wasn't something we often had in the house, though my parents liked beer with crab. I probably had my first taste of alcohol at a family wedding. Was there a pre-meal prayer? No. There were certain advantages to growing up in a Taoist/Buddhist household. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? Nope. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Very little, but mainly because we don't have children. If we did have kids, we would probably adopt most of it, mixing in some of my husband's childhood practices. (Such as prayer.)
  8. Hm. I'm with Ondine on veggies. Perhaps it's the Cantonese influence, but I like nearly all veggies just cooked through and still crunchy, and I like fish just barely cooked as well. As for meat: I don't like chicken at all, usually, so I can't comment on it, but I know all my relatives consider the best chicken the kind that's pink at the bone. As for braised meat, hm. I'm actually not all that fond of braised meat because most I've eaten is cooked with red wine. It no longer tastes like the orginal meat to me. BBQ, though, I love, and expect it to be falling off the bone. It still tastes like pork or beef. Things such as Korean BBQ I'm love as well, even though it's well-done; the marinade makes it wonderful.
  9. Oh gosh, I made a lot of won tons in college. My roommate and I invariable modified the innards to suit our mood and level of laziness. Our simpliest won ton recipe consisted of seasoned ground beef and mushrooms, though when we were more ambitious we actually added shrimp as well. No matter how lazy we got, though, I always insisted on folding them the "proper" way to form, as Cwyc put it, rosebuds or, as I thought of them, nurse's hats. I dislike rice noodles with won tons (though flat rice noodles are my noodle of choice under any other circumstance) because I find that the wrapper and the noodles just taste too much alike. I've never heard of anyone doing that, but it's sounds good! I'll have to try it next time.
  10. Wonderful to hear! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. At our wedding banquet, we had a guest who didn't eat a thing. He just had an empty plate the entire time and didn't even try to taste anything. I know he isn't a vegetarian, but he does have odd food issues. Everyone at his table reported to me that they were quite put out and an elderly woman was quite insulted with his behavior. Needless to say he didn't give anyone a good impression. I felt slightly bad that we had invited someone who couldn't eat any of the food, but he certainly didn't try to be a good guest either!
  11. Fascinating what this thread has become since I last visited. I just want to bring it back to this point, which I think is the most relevant: What needs to be addressed is not the quantity of food, but how to get it to starving populations given the economic, social, and political problems in impoverished countries.
  12. Hest88

    Oliveto

    We had a horrible experience at Oliveto a few years ago that almost made us vow never to return. (Actually, I vowed never to return, but the Whole Pig festival lured us back, plus the fact that my husband convinced me to give our first date restaurant one more chance.) We'd ordered a bottle of my favorite Navarro grape juice, but the waitress brought a glass instead. I was puzzled, but thought that maybe she didn't want to carry my husband's drink and the bottle and the same time. In hind sight I probably shouldn't have started sipping, but "bottle" and "glass" sound so different that it didn't occur to me that she could have made a mistake. We flagged her down and explained we had asked for a bottle. Sure enough, when the bill arrived, we were charged for a bottle and a glass. We politely protested, but the waitress got very defensive immediately and insisted that since we had had both a bottle and a glass we should pay for it. We asked to speak to the maitre d'. When he came over, he was very condescending and rude. (Okay, *I* may look like I'm twelve sometimes, but my husband doesn't and we were both dressed well for our anniversary.) We explained, again, that since we felt it was the waiter's mistake, we didn't feel we should be charged for it. After a lot of back and forth, he finally agreed to take the glass off the bill, but gave us a very rude look when we left. Now, I understand we drank the glass, but for a restaurant with a national reputation I really expect better customer service. I've been to plenty of less renowned restaurants who will give a customer a glass of wine if they've had to wait too long or if a mistake as been made (Cafe Kati is my fondest example). This was hardly a $100 bottle of wine; this was a bottle of grape juice. They felt they had to be belligerent and belittling over a $6 glass of grape juice on a $100 tab, instead of offering a goodwill gesture. Funny thing was, as we were paying the bill, a group of Texans came up to us and said, "Were you complaining to the maitre d'? Good for you! We've never had such horrible service in our lives!" (One of the women also asked me if I was Japanese because her "daugher-in-law--the sweetest thing--is Japanese." ;)) Last year, they did redeem themselves at the Whole Hog Festival. We watched as a waiter called Citron for a table on behalf of a party that hadn't realized it was all-pork night. My husband and I kept wondering where that waiter was the night we had our encounter. I don't think it's the same maitre d' either.
  13. There's also the point that's been made earlier that our tastes have been changed by our highly processed society. Corn-fed beef, lean pork, un-gamy poultry are all examples of unnatural meat that we've grown so accustomed to that the "real thing" tastes inferior to us. In the article, they also commented that Julia didn't like crispy vegetables, which is also, I know, the classic French standard. As someone who grew up eating Cantonese meals most nights, it's really hard for me to enjoy veggies that are cooked so long that they *don't* crunch. Anyway, before I ramble further, my point is that choosing more natural and/or humane methods doesn't necessarily equal compromising taste; it could just mean opening ourselves up to different tastes than we've been used to in the last 50 years.
  14. I read the article this weekend and just made allowances for her advanced age and the era she lived in. I don't think she's very media-savvy and suspect that if she were exposed to the barrage of info all of us read regularly she might change some of her opinions. For instance, the genetically-modified foods *sound* good in theory, but would any of us be surprised if it turns out to have long-term negative ramifications or, at best, be useless?
  15. $78 CDN pp for the food alone is incredible! Next time I'm up in Vancouver...
  16. Yes, talk to someone in the wedding party who has influence over the banquet. They may end up paying extra to accomodate you with special dishes, but you've also left them with little time to do so. Call someone immediately and see what can be done. I suspect that otherwise there won't be one dish you could eat. Good luck.
  17. Great review. Do you mind telling us how much it ended up costing?
  18. True. I agree that those of us who are working should try to support our favorite restaurants as best we can. There have been many restaurant closings but, like you, I've noticed that my favorites are still bustling. Good food, good service, and good value for the dollar prevails. I also, though, think she's missing another point. Those of us with jobs are still gun-shy. The economy hasn't picked up and most people realize that there is no such thing as job security. We look around us and are really conscious that even though we are working today, we might not be working tomorrow. There is a greater imperative to save as much money as we can.
  19. Sad, but this infuriated me. Uh, gee thanks. For one the tragedy that was 9/11 was not about an entire economy tanking. I know so many unemployed tech workers right now who think of a burrito as opposed to ramen as an extravagence. How dare she blame her customers for not being able to afford to eat out.
  20. Okay, bet none of you have been stupid enough to do this: Never remove a hot wok ring from the stove by spearing one of the holes with a single chopstick and thinking you can balance it on the end until you get to the sink. What *really* happens is that the wok ring slides down the chopstick, burning your forearm as tumbles down to your elbow. The annoying thing about such incidences is that there's always a rational voice at the back of my mind, telling me that laziness never pays off and that I'll end up hurting myself. Too bad I still haven't learned to listen.
  21. My mother taught us that it was rude to reach over to the far side of the dish, but I don't think I've ever seen that mental sectioning in practice.
  22. Curdnerd, thanks for the interesting and cogent post. Fascinating to read about the nitty-gritty that goes into sustaining a cheesemaking business. I admire Alice Waters for her unswerving commitment, and wish we lived in a world where everyone could adhere to her vision and be profitable. She, and I, are also lucky enough to live in an area where everyone around us spouts the same sentiment--whether they practice it in real life or not--so I think it makes it easier for her to remain idealistic. I just hope that underneath her much-needed zealotry she also takes into consideration real pressures and real obstacles.
  23. It's an interesting topic, but I don't think Alice Waters is all that wrong on an economic basis either. Thing is, there are two ways to really make it as a niche business. One is to be first out of the gate, snatch all the name recognition you can, and grow big and healthy because you've had such a head start on the competition. I think of Neiman Ranch as such an example. The other way is to stay small and expensive, making consumers believe that they are purchasing something exclusive--that none of the Jones can easily find or afford--and that reveals the consumer's superior tastes. If you grow too big, you lose your market by losing that illusion of exclusivity, plus you can no longer control the quality that in part made you so exclusive in the first place. The risk is to be stuck in the middle. Too big to seem artisanal anymore--losing the exclusivity and your quality control--and yet too small to be profitable.
  24. No, there are no taboos similar to eating Middle Eastern food with your left hand. Most people use chopsticks with their right hand because most people are righthanded. I'm sure in more rural areas of China they still "convert" lefthanded children, but that's probably not the case in cities. Either way, the stigma had nothing to do with eating per se.
  25. Fuyu persimmons, chestnuts, pomegranates. (Yes, I love autumn.) And fiddlehead ferns.
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