badthings

I agree, I think Rick Bayless is great. Well. I think he looks and sounds dorky on TV. I was just trying to use him as an example of someone whose awesomeness transcends his personality. Which is what I feel the point of food TV should be. You are so right. This is why you feel close to the people whose food you are learning, or watching. And why that perception of closeness is probably more "real" than the run of the mill celebrity-identification false consciousness. I was just getting cranky thinking about Food Network's increasingly unbearable content, which is clearly celebrity-driven, not food-driven. As long as I'm complaining, can I just mention Joanne Weir (?) who does some show called wine country living or something, and seems like a horrible person both because of her food and her personality (i.e., the simulacrum as presented on TV).

There is considerable debate on this, but RR soybean yield does seem to be lower than conventional soybeans. See this article (Nature Biotechnology 2001 -- not sure if you can read it without a subscription) for background. Currently available GM crops are not engineered to affect yield, but instead to resist Roundup or to express bioinsecticidal proteins derived from soil bacteria. In the absence of chemical pesticides (such as in developing countries), the latter variety would have greater yields, but not as a quality intrinsic to the engineering. Of course, genetic engineering does have the potential to increase yields: e.g., the latest Nature Biotechnology reports on genetically engineered dwarf rice (dwarfism increases the efficiency of the plant, and is the trait Borlaug used to start the "Green Revolution"). The question is, who will develop these higher-yielding varieties, and how will the farmers who need them most pay for them? After all, they could dramatically increase their yields right now if they could afford the massive (and unsustainable) inputs required by existing green revolution varieties. It is not going to happen. And there are very real questions about the long-term viability of current GM techniques, both in terms of genomic stability, and biodiversity. The issue is not cut-and-dry either way, and it is intellectually dishonest (or naive) to claim that it is. It is a technology that we can not afford to ignore, or to ingore the repercussions of. Addendum: there is in fact evidence from European historical demography to show that peasant societies adjust their birthrate in response to economic conditions. Perhaps not so useful in the face of such overwhelming food insecurity that as many children as possible seem necessary, but still food for thought. I will have to look up the references tonight.

ooh baby:

Yeah, but is anyone dumb enough to buy a $17 South African and think they're getting a good deal on a Côte Brune? If they are, then they're not in a position to damage the "brand". The INAO is being as lame as the EU telling the Friulians they can't say Tocai Friuliano because someone might confuse it with Tokaji. Uh, no, that's just not going to happen. As opposed to calling something from Wisconsin a Camembert, which will confuse people to the detriment of the brand.

Some people here in Oakland do suckling pig. That's pretty special. You'd need a big rig with a rotisserie. Short of that, can you really beat brats?

Yeah, I mean, the waitress was obviously harried because she was serving the special prix fixe menu, which had to be sync-ed to the wine menu, on top of the regular a la carte menu -- but shouldn't they have figured that out before they got started? For that money, I say so. I've also had terrible service at another place in your 'hood: Citron. But that was years ago. Glad someone knows what I'm talking about.

Now I'm jealous.

I went to the special Edmonds St. John tasting on Friday, in a terrible mood because I couldn't taste the wines because of some fleeting malignant cold/sinus thing (see the wine thread). The typically terrible service didn't help things either. We had to wait for 20 minutes, had our prix fixe courses brought out of order, with the wrong wines, and were subjected to numerous other minor annoyances. The whole thing took 3 hours. These may sound minor, but when you charge prices significantly higher than your competitors for food that is not noticeably better, I expect good service at least. Every time I go I get the same half-assed vibe. That said, the 5-course prix fixe was a relatively good deal at $55. As noted, my palate was in pretty pathetic shape, but for the sake of completeness: Duck Prosciutto with Summer melon proscuitto not as good as usual (off-tasting, over-preserved?), melon was spectacular -- and did NOT go with the Viognier -- even my diminished palette rebelled. Needed a prosecco. Grilled Spiedino of Mediterranean mussels, fennel, and Italian bacon Holy shit, this was good. This is why Bertolli's famous. Spelt pasta with Roast Pigeon Yum. Really good pasta. Pigeon was a little gamy, I thought, but my slightly squeamish girlfriend had no reservations at all. Braised Shortrib, carrots superb. Is it possible to make bad braised shortribs? American and Italian Artisan cheeses Kind of a weak pecorino toscano, a very good robiola, and an eye-opening Blu del Moncenisio -- probably the first thing, aside from that melon, that I could really taste all night. Obviously, my impressions were altered unfavorably by the harried waitress and my inability to taste the wines, but they were confirmed by my earlier experiences there. Is it just me? Or is this place a little too big for its britches? I mean laurels.

You just hit on the reason some of the programming is what it is. The audience here is NOT like the rest of the world.... It still doesn't explain all of those inane "unwrapped" shows, though. Doesn't the whole celebrity-centric approach just miss the point? I mean, if you care about the food, who gives a shit who's making it? Bayless is a perfect example -- the man's a genius, but he talks like a dork. Who cares? I think the reason people's food gets wrapped up with their personalities in this facile way is that certain people (Bayless, David, Child, Steingarten) become, if not Gods, at least apostles. Elizabeth David personally brought the south wind to our kitchen -- so she must be an incredible, emulatable person. Sorry. She's just a good cook. And a good writer. Her personality is no more relevant than J.Lo's, unless you hang out with her. Edit: That said, Emeril's schtick is particularly grating. More to the point, the food looks terrible, as everyone's other favorite person, Amanda Hesser pointed out recently.

Then don't give her one. Buy a cheaper steak for her. save for well done.

I was so excited at the chance to taste the wines of Edmonds St. John that I got a reservation for a special tasting dinner at my not-most-favorite restaurant. Imagine the desperation and rage that washed over me when I got the first glass, a '96 viognier that I could never afford, even if it were available to buy, and realized that I had absolutely no palate. Some kind of infernal sinus infection had totally destroyed my sense of smell. All I could detect about the wines were acid/sugar, and mouthfeel. The mouthfeel of that viognier, by the way, was spectacular. Small consolation. Then there was the typically sluggish service, which prevented me from making the best of a bad situation, but that's another story, for the California board. It was horrible. You can see what you -- and I -- missed here.

Man... It's been a long time, but I really used to love that stuff too. + My dad often compares Montrachet to... "purple barrels" or whatever you guys used to drop back in the day. I suspect he's exaggerating, but I haven't had a chance to compare, since he blew his whole trust fund on said Montrachet and purple barrels before I was born.

NY Post/Reuters My local wine merchants -- several of whom sell French wine almost exclusively -- haven't reported a downturn at all.

Chicago Trib. article on screwtops.

Great topic. I second the LAN Rioja. And the Ca' del solo. Also, several Monastrells from Jumilla (names forgotten) have been great. Some other great deals I've just had are: Primosic (sp?) Sauvignon Blanc, Collio: Awesome steely, clean, citrus-y sauvignon for $8 or $9. I'm going back for a case. or 2. Dão (Portugese) red -- don't remember if it had a name, it was a blend of Touriga nacional and jaen varietals. Actually, I find pretty much any vinho verde, even at the 5-6 dollar range, drinkable (certainly preferable to the lindemans chard., but I'm pretty anti-chard). Cristalino brut rose cava, ~$7: I've yet to have an undrinkable cheap cava, but this is the best so far. Summer in a bottle. Cline California Syrah and Pinot Blanc/Chard. blend, both $8 at Trader Joe's. I know the blend sounds crazy, but it's a great refreshing summer wine. 2-buck chuck is drinkable, but barely. But for $2, it's tough to beat. Hope you can find some of these.

"Como importar comida a EE.UU." from the camera de comercio españa-estados unidos also in english. Also see this USDA brochure. The rules do not look encouraging for small businesses, I'm afraid.

OT: Randall and Bonny Doon get plenty of props from me, just not money. I think he's great, he frequently makes me laugh out loud, but the qpr is typically californian -- that is to say, outlandish. For example, I recently saw someone selling a Carneros Albariño for $25. That is absurd when there is so much superb Rias Biaxas available under $20. What is the point? I would put the Cigare Volant in the same category: thanks, but I'll have a real Chateauneuf instead. Or maybe 3 good CdRs. Just my opinion as someone who doesn't work in the industry (and therefore has to pay for what he drinks on an unpleasantly modest salary). (Notable qpr exception: vin gris de cigare.)

That is the recipe I use. Rye is very low gluten (maybe none). After reading Steingarten's article on pizza bianca, I got obsessive about crusts. Ordered 3 different flours from King Arthur, and forced all my friends to taste test many variations. The consensus was that the rye/all-purpose had the best flavor. Texture was more a matter of taste, but the rye/AP was very similar to pure 00, which is to say thin and cracker-y. I never did make a satisfactory "NY-style" crust, but I may try again using some of these excellent suggestions. It's tough without a Kitchen Aid.

Welcome, Crash. The Bonny Doon website has lots of demented Stelvin propaganda (also see this). In a recent newsletter, Grahm noted that the plastic corks he used for the Cigare Volant several years ago are starting to behave unacceptably -- I think they are starting to oxidize? This is my only reservation with the screwcap -- until the Aussies or someone can produce some data, there is no guarantee that it will be any better than a cork over the long term. People's thresholds for TCA vary greatly: [Found at the interesting site corkwatch.com]; according to Wine Spectator some people are even more sensitive: This was brought home to me when a sommelier at a restaurant outside Boston claimed to us that something like 1 in 8 bottles he sold was corked, then brought out an example (a few years ago, so forgive me if I only remember it was an italian white). Tasted fine to me.

You're reading McGee, straight through? Good for you. Seriously. I did it in a week, in Mexico. I am an obsessive reader though. I did Fast Food Nation in one SFO-BOS flight. That was a bummer. On my last vacation, I read Curiosities of Food, a weird encyclopedic Victorian book about weird things people eat, unearthed and edited by Alan Davison. Really interesting, though after a while it became more catalog than descriptive. Non-food I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo, 1000+ pages of pure juicy revenge-driven plot. Great summer book. Could we have some kind of comparative analysis of food science books, by people who have read more than one? I'd like to read more, but I don't want to slog through the same thing over and over.

I just got a postcard inviting me to subscribe to Carafe. I nearly threw it out, but then I remembered how I threw out the Saveur charter offer thinking "great, another crappy food magazine." (It has flaws, but I love it). So, does anyone have an opinion on this newsletter?

Not to drone on and on about the manifold varieties of FH, but the CalReds and O'Henrys I got last Sat., when they were crunchy and a little vegetal, came into their own yesterday. Which 1) suggests that the complaint about how bruised they are depends on the variety and firmness at harvest; 2) confirms that some kind of "ripening" indeed takes place after they're picked; and 3) raises the question of how they can pick 'em rock hard but with sufficient sugar when supermarkets can't. Also, in this batch, I preferred the CalReds. Tana, please give us a report of the dinner.

Whoops. Guess I should stop trying to interpret other people's sarcasm. Dude, you need to get out more. Come get some real Mexican in Oaktown. I can see how SF might seem bland, but as a happy suburbanite, I think you need to consider the Bay Area as a whole. Compared to Boston? That is a joke. Though I do wish we could get some Cuban sandwiches...

It thought it was clearly sarcstic in context: i.e., it is really amazing, considering the overwhelming plethora of superb asian and mexican ("ethnic") foods here that any bbq would be number one. And he didn't even realize the additional irony that it is a truly shameful simularcum of bbq. This is what led me to my uncharitable assesment of Zagat voters, which I am very grateful no one seems to have been offended by.

Looks great! I had forgotten about this place (I don't go to Piedmont Ave much these days). I had a mediocre, not horrible, experience at Downtown -- saw no need to return. It seems like we have an abundance of good "French Country" restaurants in the 510 -- Rouge, Liason, La Note, Nizza La Bella... probably forgetting something here. There also this place called La Theatre (?) that just opened in "downtown" Berkeley -- haven't tried it yet. Personally, Rouge is my favorite.