Maison Rustique

Ditto. I almost never follow a recipe. I read them for inspiration.

Dining room.

Thanks, Suzy!

OK, a friend of mine is looking for a Black & White Cookie recipe. She says that she's found some online, but they are too hard and dry. She wants a soft, moist cake-like cookie. I'm not a NYer so can't help with this--I'd never even heard of a black & white!

How could I forget! I also refer to chitlins as crumb-crunchers.

No kids, but names I call the cat: Dumplin' Sweetpea Sugarplum Chiclet Spunky Monkey In general I refer to children as chitlins.

Peeps!

When Mom was pregnant with me, they really needed the tax deduction. She didn't tell me until 40 years later, but apparently she took castor oil for 4 days to get me here on December 31. No wonder I've always felt rushed.

FWIW, we do have at least one French take-out place here in Orange County, CA.

I'll second that one!! Someone took me there the first time I was in Anaheim.

There are some outstanding places to eat in the Anaheim area. Unfortunately none of them within walking distance of the convention center and none of them quick.

This is interesting. I've been a member of eGullet for at least a year and a half. I only recently (within the past month or so) realized that cooking was discussed in the regional forums. I always thought they were just for discussing restuarants and get-togethers. Most of the cooking discussions seem to take place in (no surprise) the cooking forum. I'm a little puzzled about all this. If we discuss the various cuisines in the regional forums, what are we supposed to talk about in the cooking forum?

Ramos House Cafe

I haven't beeen to L'Hirondelle since the new owners took over. Prior to then, there was nothing "wrong" with it--it had just gotten a little tired for me. It did occur to me--if you'll be around for breakfast or lunch, you can't beat the Ramos House Cafe. I'll check for a website. Sadly they aren't open for dinner.

Guess they do. Cafe Mozart

I recommend either Cafe Mozart in SJC or Iva Lee's in San Clemente. Iva Lee's Don't believe Cafe Mozart has a website--not sure.

"There's no buffet like the Gold Buffet, well known from coast to coast the Gold Buffet!!" Edited to add: Forgot to say that my first "real" job was at the Forum Cafeteria in Antioch Center. I was 16.

bbqboy, thanks for that link! I just spent the last hour reading through it. What memories!!

I actually shopped at Houlihan's before it was a resto--I worked down the street and lived nearby for a while. But then I did eat there, once it became the restaurant. I haven't been to the Plaza area for probably 3 years (unbelievable for me!) but I think that no, there is no more Houlihan's Men's Shop, and no Houlihan's Old Place Restaurant. Is the Plaza still owned/managed by J.C. Nichols Co.? If so they must have a web site with a map that would show what is there and in which locations. When I first graduated from high school I worked for Caldwell's Shoes. I worked in the offices above what was then the Muelbach's (sp?) grocery store. They had 3 or 4 stores on the Plaza and numerous other stores in the mid-west. I'm burning dinner now or would go check on some of this. I can alwasy investigate next time I go back--Mom's harping at me...

Baconburner, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! It's called smart and planning ahead! There are 2 of us, but I do the same thing--there's always a couple of emergency "somethings" in the freezer.

WTF! Good grief. Thanks for posting this. I'm just a housewife that likes to cook and it pisses me off. I can't imagine what it must be like for you professionals! I just realized you said LA County. I'm in OC. Come on down here and get your goods!

Are there inlanders coming to this dinner? If so, we might want to make sure there is a nice ocean view?

Any particulars we should know about--cost, type of cuisine, etc.? When are you planning this? I've got my thinking cap on. Golden Truffle came to mind immediately, but it's very small and I'm not sure they could accomodate a party of 12 without quite a bit of advance notice. I'm still thinking, but please let me know how much time I have. Edited to add a link to their menu, but it changes all the time. And also, is a full bar necessary or is wine/beer OK?

Thanks, Lars! I've just sent you a PM about an event here in So. Calif. this Sunday.

Lars, your recipe sounds great! And thanks for bumping this up, as it spurred me to check to see if Rancho Gordo online ordering was up yet and it is!! Hurray!!