WHS

James Beard's recipe is good--Shad Roe with bacon. Cook some good bacon, set aside. Melt a stick or two of butter over low heat. Place the roe in the melted butter and poach it for a few minutes. Turn it over and do the other side. When it's just cooked, not dried out, serve it with lemon and the bacon on top. YUM.

I second Chase's in Winter Harbor--the best raspberry pie, hand-picked crab roll and non-floury clam chowder. (Or you can eat it in the reverse order.) Also our friends Kathy and Karl own a more upscale place right by the ferry. They've been going to Thailand in the winter, and have brought lemon grass to the Schoodic Peninsula.

The first week we were in Bangkok back in 1964 my parents took us to the "Kinareenava" Floating Restaurant in Lumpini Park, where we had roast baby pig. My brother and I sneaked into the kitchen after dinner--picture lots of bamboo cages with squealing baby pigs on one side, a big pile of dead baby pigs in the middle, and roaring ovens on the other side. Needless to say, we were traumatized, but I still love that crispy skin!

The thread is taking an interesting turn--Chinese food in Bangkok. I'm up for Peking duck--any other places you all like? Plus, where do you go for dim sum?

We'll be in Healdsburg overnight in June. What are your favorite wineries in the area?

Don't worry--Day 2 we're going to the stall where they sell fried water bugs!

I remember the eclairs at the Erawan bakery being very good too. I think the Regent/Four Seasons is built on the site of my classmate Janet Steenhuis's old house. It was a beautiful wooden Victorian villa, one of many that lined Rajadamri Rd. BTW, I'm going to Bangkok with a friend who has never been to Asia. What soothing place can I take him to that will be a good introduction to Thai food? I've heard good things about Celadon at the Sukhothai Hotel...

We also used to go to a place called Royal Kitchen up around Sukhumvit Soi 47. Fantastic baw bia tod and a chicken & rice dish served inside a pineapple. Is it still in existence?

Thanks HKDave and Pim. Yes, I've googled Bangkok and the little klong-lined town I remember has changed...see http://thomasriddle.net/index.html for some panoramic shots. The only thing I recognize is the RBSC and Lumpini Park. We lived on Wireless Rd, are all the flame trees gone? Pim, I visited your blog--some great insights, and HKDave, your Chowhound posting was helpful. One of my vivid memories of that time was having dinner with my parents in the old Erawan Hotel at La Rotisserie--the Swiss/French restaurant. They had a fireplace, kept the AC at full blast so the ladies could wear their fur stoles, and served fondue.

When I was a teenager in Bangkok back in the '70's, there was a restaurant that was famous for roast duck served hacked up with white rice. It was frequented by cabinet ministers and cab drivers... does anyone remember what I'm talking about, and is there someplace like this still around? I'm going back in December and already dreaming about the food...tell me where you eat!

Anyplace tastier in Healdsburg that you can recommend?

What's your itinerary between Portland and New Brunswick?

What's the address--I warming up the car!

Any comments on Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg? We have a reservation there in June...

Blue Room!

Classic Bershires story: New York lady shopping in Guido's overheard saying: "why don't the locals shop here during the week so we don't have to wait on line such a long time on Saturday?"

Just returned from our long Thanksgiving weekend in Prague. We stayed in Mala Strana so we ate most of our evening meals there. 1st night: U Modre Kachnicky was haute Mittel Europa--chandeliers, drapes, candles, paintings in a mad color scheme of baby blue, fern green, pumpkin orange, and gold. Venison ragout and game pate starters were delicious. My wild duck was a little dry, but the hare with cream sauce was tasty. Service was unctuous, and the pianist a little heavy on the American pop tunes (though everyone applauded when he played "the Moldau"). We had Sekt, a bottle of decent Czech cabernet, and a good local Muscat dessert wine with the palacinka. Be sure to look at your bill; we were charged for 2 bottles of wine--when we pointed it out, profuse apologies and pear brandies on the house. 2nd night: Vinarna U Maltezskych Rytiru is in a vaulted cellar lit by candles, the austerity a refreshing change from the previous night. The welcome by the owner/hostess was warm, the service youthful and earnest (not inept). Starters were salmon tarts with horseradish cream and pikeperch fillet gratin with prawn and parmesan--both savory. Our main dishes were a very good Georgian-style lamb shashlik and duck breast in cranberry sauce. The signature apple strudel lived up to the hype. Wine was a rulaske modre red that was heavy on the tobacco and a little thin. This place is a great value for the quality. 3rd night: U Patrona was badly damaged by the floods--it's right next to the Charles Bridge on the Mala Strana side. The subsequent redecoration is very chic--pale green striped silk wall coverings, Biedermeier chairs, framed lithos. The room has only 5 tables, and on a Monday night, we were the only patrons til around 10:30pm. Service was attentive after they got over the shock of having an actual customer. The food here is Czech food filtered through a French lens. Game consomme was fragrant, mushroom risotto was earthy, the pork joint stuffed with sauerkraut was peasant food elevated to another level, and the rare duck was classic. The wine was the best of the three evenings--a Czech St Laurent red at a pricy 950 crowns. Blueberry creme brulee and a dried pineapple and sorbet pyramid for dessert. 4th night: we were experiencing the usual "fine-dining" overkill at this point, so we went to Malostranske Pub on Karmelita. Your basic smoke-filled dive with 50 cent Pilsner and 75 cent vodka shots. Gulas and pork schnitzel hit the spot! For lunch we ate at Kolkovna, Olympia and U Suteru. All are a little more upscale than the typical Czech pub/cafe. Great soups, beer snacks, solid preparations of Czech classics like pork with potatoes and dumplings, pig shank, beef in cream sauce. You can also get Caesar salad and pastas. Prague is still a great food bargain--none of our fancy dinners cost more than $50-60 a person. Similar quality in Paris would be 4 times the price, though nothing beats French service.

You know you are in a bad restaurant when.... you walk into a restaurant in Prague, ask when the next table will be available, and the waiter shrugs and says "tomorrow". (this really happened)

When I first moved to New Hampshire I got invited to a co-worker's new trailer for dinner. We watched WWF before the meal, then sat down to a microwaved jar of Ragu sauce put through a strainer to remove the chunks, over spaghetti (not pasta). It was served with parmesan out of the green shaker can, along with a BIG glass of milk. Vanilla ice cream for dessert. That was it.

For modern American, try Radius or Excelsior, which is Lydia Shire's (ex-Biba) new place. $$$$ If you're don't venture out of Boston, go to Jasper White's Summer Shack in Cambridge. He used to have a very swank place in the North End, and now offers fish and shellfish at a cavernous place with huge lobster tanks and long communal tables. You can get everything from corn dogs, kumamoto oysters and his signature pan-roasted lobster (and lobster rolls). It's alot of fun. $$ Another great seafood place is the East Coast Grill--comprehensive oyster selection, and lots of seafood (and meat) done on the grill. Owned by Chris Schlesinger of "Thrill of the Grill" fame. $$$ 2 quirky places: Lala Rokh on Beacon Hill for Persian cusine--a beautiful room on one of the quaintest streets in Boston. Also St. Petersbourg in Brookline for chilled Youri Doulgaref vodka, blinis, a wacky pianist and occasional drunken dancing. $$ For food shopping, Boston has a Movenpick in the Pru Center, Chinatown for live, crawly things in straw baskets, and Savenour's at the end of Charles St. It's where Julia Child used to shop.

marktynernyc, thanks for all the great posts--we're going to Prague for a long Thanksgiving weekend--we got one of those $400 RT airfare plus 4 nights hotel deals through Nordic Travel. If you see this, what do you recommend for such a short visit--it's our first? FYI, we're looking for "echt" Czech...no Thai or pizza!

Sad to say the Miss Newport diner has closed. See link: http://www.boston.com:80/news/local/vermon...ner_heads_south

Last time we were in New Orleans (March 2003) we had dinner at Commander's Palace--the whole experience seemed canned--food was good but not great ($34 for ONE softshell crab), service was distracted, the champagne was not chilled. I bitched and got a free cookbook. The next night, our friends who live there took us to Cafe Sbisa--which would appear to be a tourist trap--and I had the best barbecue shrimp of my life. Go figure.

His restaurant in Tokyo is listed in the Relais & Chateaux guide featuring ""pigeonneau roti au miel, sauce vin rouge liee au foie", among other Japanese specialities.

Has anybody been to Lydia Shire's new place: Excelsior?