jschyun

Thanks melonpan! You rock!

hehe thanks melonpan. But how do you say it?

Yeah, melonpan is doing a great job of documenting all this stuff! So I guess I third the thanks. hehe However, I hate to admit this but despite the fact that I've had the homemade stuff, and from restaurants, I still like the canned variety. It is on the light, sweet side and doesn't have enough rice in it, but it's very convenient. Also, I find it sold in big bottles here and that can be pretty good. But those little cans are definitely a waste of metal when you can make better stuff yourself.

Hmm, I would think it would be the other way around, that omija tea was cheaper, but now that you mention it, it usually is a little more expensive than other teas, though sujonghwa and shikhye, being labor intensiveish, at least more than omijah where you just stick a bunch of the berries into your cup or whatever and then pour water over them, I would think would be more expensive than omija. Weird. The only other reason why omija would be that much more expensive is because they're from Cheju Island, that Mt Halla omija tea. I know about this because when we were on Cheju Island a couple of years back, I had to endure a sales pitch for the stuff during our tour. In L.A., you can get the dried omija berries for about $5 for a big bag at at least some Chinese apothecaries. Unfortunately, I don't know the Chinese name.

"Tomato concasse" is not a good analogy for "flexitarian". A tomato concasse is still a tomato, but just peeled and seeded. A flexitarian is no longer a vegetarian as viva mentioned.

CompassRose said: Amen. Wow, this is exactly what I would have said if I had better language skills.

FYI, Hangari Noodle House has pretty damn good neng kongguksu (noodles in cold soy milk). The soy milk is creamy and rich, with a rounded nuttiness that is better than what I've had elsewhere, except for home of course. In this dish noodles are an afterthought, and they are treated as such here. I should have taken a picture, the dish was very pretty today. I can't believe I never tried Hangari for noodles in cold soy milk. I know you guys might think you won't like it but I think you might like Hangari's version and it sure beats the heat.

I used to be a vegetarian, and I still don't eat much meat, but "flexitarian" is still stupid in my book.

This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

L'Orangerie, in Los Angeles, was in a class action lawsuit due to problems with the pooled tips. If you are subscribed to latimes.com, then you can see the actual article. I think you can find fake logons on the internet if you're interested but don't want to register. latimes article

LA Times Food Section -- September 8, 2004 To view the articles below, register a username with www.latimes.com. Registration is free. There is a separate Calendar section with more food articles, but you have to pay a fee for those. Guess what, the L.A. Times is now putting little pics in with their recipes. Very cute. Well, I saw 'em in the Russ Parsons melon article anyway. Sweet Mystery -- Russ Parsons This story is all about sweet, delicious melons. Recipes (with pics!) Meet the melon family -- Russ Parsons A companion piece to the one above, he shows you how to recognize the different families and what to look for. 'Round the world, a taste of home -- Beth Fortune Story about meatballs from Mexican albondigas to Chinese-style pork meatballs in broth to Swedish köttbullar and many more. Recipes Taste of a thousand lemons -- Charles Perry Story about limoncello, Sicily's signature liqueur. He shows you how to make it at home. eGullet mentioned. Katie Loeb's recipe for limoncello. The latest in tasteful eyewear -- David Shaw "A German company has created frames with detachable arms you can use as chopsticks. But why?" More importantly, does anyone want to put those glasses back on after eating? Cookstuff -- Donna Deane This year's model of the Oxo Good Grips I-series swivel peeler is pretty awesome she says. Great for making wide strips of lemon zest. $9.95 from Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma. Replacement blade cartridges are $4.99 at Cookin' Stuff. Wine of the Week -- S. Irene Virbila 2003 Domaine du Grand Arc La Tour Fabienne Corbières: (This wine) "is bone dry — and quite a mouthful. Though it's scented with rose petals and wild strawberries, it's sturdy enough to accompany little toasts spread with tapenade for an apéritif or a chicken roasted with herbs. Like all good rosés, it's lovely on its own but versatile enough to go with any summer meal." Pastéis: hot on the trail of a legend -- David Leite He tried to get the recipe for the famed pastéis de Belém, a sort of custard tart in a flaky crust. He failed. However, he found a close facsimile nearby. Recipe ------------ CalendarLive stories Birthplace of a trend -- S. Irene Virbila She gives .5* to Joachim Splichal's restaurant Nick & Stef's. Though he reinvented the steakhouse, now the food is inconsistent. She's not impressed with the steaks. Oysters and shrimp cocktail are good here. High markups on a lot of wines, corkage complimentary. The high cost of haute -- Corie Brown In the last two years, Gerard Ferry, owner of L'Orangerie has had his hands full with the onslaught of lawsuits from former employees, including a (dismissed) lawsuit from Ludovic Lefebvre, now Bastide's exec chef. A class action lawsuit involved the employee tip pool, which L'Orangerie routinely docked when servers made billing mistakes. Read the article for more.

Hmm... Places I want to hit: Urasawa (L.A.) The new Bastide (L.A.) (working on a final date, argh) Tartare (S.F.) Frisson (S.F.) Places I'd like to go back to soon: Quince (S.F.) Kiss Seafood (S.F.) Sea Harbour (dim sum L.A. San Gabriel Valley) Vancouver

Emily Green wrote a piece today in the L.A. Times about an annoying waiter habit. Thought it was semi related (unfortunately you have to register to see this one, but reg is free) Is everything all right?

LA Times Food Section -- September 1, 2004 To view the articles below, register a username with www.latimes.com. Registration is free. There is a separate Calendar section with more food articles, but you have to pay a fee for those. Romance of the rancho -- Barbara Hansen "Encarnación's Kitchen" (University of California Press; $24.95) features 19th century recipes from Old California cuisine in this historical cookbook Where chaos is the custom -- David Shaw Writes about his experiences with the odd and conflicting "rules" when you try to bring back food into the U.S. "Ultimately, it seems to me, it's mostly a matter of luck and timing — of the knowledge, judgment and even, it appears, the mood of individual inspectors. " Lazy, long weekend -- Regina Schrambling Recipes for brisket, sour cream potato salad and olive coleslaw in this piece about what to make for Labor Day weekend. The golden state of ale -- David Lansing "Craft breweries in California are turning out some of the best-tasting pale ales in the world." Back to old school cool -- S. Irene Virbila She gives 2* to La Dolce Vita. This venerable Old Hollywood joint was recently restored by new owners. She liked the baked clams oreganata, Scampi, roasted pepper with anchovies, among others. Desserts too sweet and gooey for her. Some good italian wines on list. There's a waiter in my soup -- Emily Green "They persist in interrupting us at table with that inevitable, annoying question. A diner bites back." Look here for a related egullet conversation going on right now. Summer fresh--call it a wrap -- Barbara Hansen Piece on where to get the best Vietnamese summer rolls. She mentions Buddha's Belly on Beverly, renowned Brodard in Garden Grove (OC), Au Lac vegetarian restaurant in Fountain Valley (OC), Grand Garden in Westminster (OC), Pho So 1 in Van Nuys. Wine of the Week -- S. Irene Virbila 2002 Radio-Coteau Timbervine Russian River Valley Syrah: "This wonderfully complex Syrah from winegrower Eric Sussman and Radio-Coteau channels the northern Rhône in every nuance. Deep ruby and wildly aromatic, it packs masses of vivid fruit — mostly blackberries and blueberries. The grapes come from a steep vineyard on the slopes of Black Mountain in the Russian River Valley. The cool climate there produces a wine with a long lingering finish of spice and smoke. " about $40 Culinary SOS -- Barbara Hansen recipe for a light, fruity blender drink from Legends Restaurant and the Spa Cafe in Carlsbad

jschyun, the actual name is even more generic: "U.S. Restaurant". It's not great, but some of their stuff is pretty good for the price. It's been run by the Cipollina family for 50 years, but as of September 1 has been sold to some corporation. Ah okay, that explains all the hugging and I thought I heard people congratulating or saying something congratulatory to the older woman. I think I just ordered the wrong dish. Everyone else seemed pretty happy. The regular also said the plain spaghetti and meatballs was pretty good. And the prices were very low. My gnocchi was like $11 or somewhere round there.

In the last three days: some not great place called U.S. Trattoria on Columbus I think (sort of a family run Italian American place) I had the gnocchi when I should have gotten the salmon according to a regular. Oh well. Salmon looked like normal steam table salmon, but he liked it. Gary Danko, I like that lobster with the mushrooms and corn, but I get the tasting menu just because I might find somehting else I like. Some korean place in Garden Grove where I had kimchee chigae that had fatty pork in it, with (black) wild rice. banchan was pretty good. family run. forget the name.

Well, I am a pretty big talker... I'm one of those people that can yak your ear off; it would be embarrassing if I didn't like doing it so much. Don't worry, I'll be back! I want to try some more varieties. Christmas Lima is on my list. Honestly it's going to be hard for me to cook with these. They're too pretty.

I think he was talking about me. Sorry to inflict me upon you Rancho. However, I did end up with your Good Mother Stallard beans so all is not lost.

Got a pic of rancho gordo's babies, I mean beans. I had a great time chitchatting and gossiping as per my usual crass self. I've seen a lot of bean varieties, but i had not heard of half of the ones he had in his stall! And these beans are truly beautiful.

wnissen: 2 pounds of any kind of bean eh? Okay, you asked for it. Squeat: how can you distrust someone with a sweet, innocent face like mine? I'm sure there'll be a couple of shards left after I get out of the market, never fear...

Yep I'll be there that morning. I have PM'd wnissen.

"Feeding a Yen", Calvin Trillin. Easy, short read, almost finished. Kind of sad because Alice disappears 2/3 into the book (she died)

hmm, I was actually excluding those. If you include those guys then yeah, there are lots of male waitstaff out there. Oh yeah, I had a male waiter at gohyangsanchun (translates to hometown or the place you were born, actually melonpan has a better,more thorough translation), which is that place melonpan wrote about in here. He poured my water, brought out my burner and cookpot with the deokbokki and cooked it for me. Not a woman in sight. I know I'll remember more if I think about it long enough. --added note

Hmm. I've never thought about this. I've seen male waiters, in fact, I was helped by a young man at Coffee Garden in Garden Grove, just the other day. He served me and took my money for an okay patbingsu. Also, my parents had a male waiter at a soft tofu house the other day. I think Shik Do Rak in GG has at least 1 male waiter, but I haven't been there in a while so I could be wrong. Maybe he just does the register. I'll try to remember to start asking around about this. Now that I think about it, we also had a lot of women waitresses in Korea the last time I was there. I can't remember a single male waiter.

Well, I wasn't there for opening day, so don't know. When I was there, there was nobody and that one other guy that I mentioned strolled in. So far, I don't think there is any other restaurant in OC that does this particular dish which is why I wrote about it. I could be wrong though. Things are opening all the time.