jschyun

Anaheim is pretty close to Santa Ana, which is the epicenter of Mexican stuff in OC. You can get a mocajete for about $6-7 at practically any Mexican market here. One you can try is Northgate Gonzalez Market (if you search on Google you might try searching on "Northgate Santa Ana") It's on Harbor and I think First (1st?). My parents like Superior Market, but I forget what the street is.

I'm afraid I don't have any good secret places. There are others who may chime in with their gems. I would have to say that in the SF Bay Area Acme is my favorite so far. I like the store in Berkeley, but then you have to cross water.

Russ Parson's article last week brought in more than 50 letters from readers. Here are a few.

LA Times Food Section -- August 25, 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. Exotic, redefined -- Russ Parsons "As Laotian immigrants replicate the tastes of home, they're bringing once-unusual Asian produce into the marketplace." Including their own special rice and vegetable seeds so unique they had to take it to UC Davis for genotyping Thrill of the chill -- Donna Deane She shows you how to make "tea ices" using various teas and an ice cream maker. Recipes The grind that makes the cup -- Sarah Grausz You know blade grinders for coffee, right? She checks out 6 burr grinders, which make better coffee. Their favorite was the Pasquini K2 ($425), which made the best espresso but with less crema than the $365 Mazzer Mini. They thought that Capresso #551 ($125) was a good entry level machine, definitely better coffee than a blade grinder. The scene's the thing -- S. Irene Virbila She gives 1.5* to Cobras & Matadors. She likes the scene (just like Spain, she notes several times) and the tapas and sangria. Fun and affordable on the Eastside. A label of his own -- David Shaw Ed Sbragia, chief winemaker at Beringer Vineyards is starting up his own label, Sbragia Family Vineyards, which next spring will release 7 wines, and will continue to work at Beringer as well. "The Family Vineyards Cabernet will be a lot like the Beringer Private Reserve, a real intense, in-your-face Cab, and the Chardonnay — well, I want to make white wines that are like a Bâtard-Montrachet. I love that big, butterscotch, crème brûlée character." Grab that pastry -- Regina Schrambling "Low-carb stores are struggling. Atkins dieters are mocked in ads. Has the protein craze run its course?" Sales of low carb stuff, like the Coke C2 and Pepsi Edge are not doing well, while places like Panera Bread are doing great. Wine of the Week -- S. Irene Virbila 2003 Tommasi Vigneto Le Volpare Soave Classico: "Ripe and concentrated, it has a zingy crispness that makes it perfect summer drinking. It's 100% Garganega and a bargain at the price. It's tremendously food friendly, too, great with raw or steamed shellfish, with grilled fish, and any kind of fish stew. Introduce a bottle to anything Asian or fusion. It could be a love match." about $10 Cookstuff -- S. Irene Virbila Lamu market baskets ($20 large, $14 medium, $10 small) from Flora Bella Farm stand in Santa Monica Farmer's Market. They are "two-handled plaited palm baskets from Lamu Island off Kenya. Made by a farmers collective, they're a traditional shape and weave and have a fresh, green smell. Farmer James Birch donates a portion of the sales of each to the Farmers Kitchen, a project partially funded by the USDA. " Letters from Readers Russ Parsons' article last week on Julia Child brought in more than 50 letters Letters from Readers S. Irene Virbila's 1* review of Sushi Nozawa last week garnered some letters as well.

Haha, this is exactly what I was thinking about the Mission "vibe" but you put it better. I sort of wonder if the sneer was their version of "Hey, how may I help you?" Marlena, if you are ever in the city, maybe I can accompany you to Tartine. I am a nerd, not very fashionable, always say the wrong thing, and definitely not cool, so I would be interested in seeing what our double-whammy presence produces. --to be honest, Tartine is not my favorite bakery in the city though.

Thank you! I may have already been there, but it's been a while since I've looked at cookbooks so it's a good reminder.

I thought Modern Art of Chinese Cooking had what I thought was a good, clear recipe for "silver thread" bread. I made a bunch of stuff from that book long ago when I still had a kitchen. I think the clams in black bean sauce (doing this from memory) was very easy and clear, though it's an easy recipe. Also, some of the stories and explanations were interesting to a non-Chinese like me. For some reason I never took to China Moon, as I did her other book. You can sometimes find the Florence Lin dumplings, noodles book in the library. Just check it out, go to Kinko's and copy what you want. I love all Wei-Chuan books, but esp the chinese snacks one and dim sum. I like to ogle it more than cook from it. However, for non-Chinese, it's maybe not the best first book. I think for non-Chinese, I would tell them to go with Eileen Yin Fen Lo's books, or maybe the Modern Art one, maybe supplemented with some of the interesting ones coming out today like that "Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch" by Ellen Leong Blonder. I haven't tried the Blonder book, but it looks good for a first timer. Like I said in my earlier post, I have tried a few recipes in the Time Life series China book. Has anyone else tried it? I thought the recipes would be worthless, so I was surprised when they came out well. I've only tried a few though. Of all these books, I think I would nominate Modern Art and Wei-Chuan (Chinese Snacks) to go with me to the crapper.

This is a very good point. With all due respect to tanabutler,pim, et al, Kinch was ready and raring for their visits and pulled out the stops for them. bong's visit was much more useful to me, because it showed what happens to the hoi polloi at this restaurant. also, his/her report was pretty detailed, which was very helpful. Actually, if you get enough people posting about their first time visits, I feel that can be useful. If enough people have a good/bad first time visit at a place, that may mean something. Or not. But I'd rather they post something about it, than remain mute until the 3rd (5th?) visit, which may never even happen. --grammar

Maybe those Italian guys know a thing or two. They may be looking for the pole bean variety, whereas the bush version is more commonly grown here, at least to my knowledge. Pole beans are said to have better taste, though I can't personally corroborate that, because so far, I have stuck with bush beans. From what I understand, Italians grow the pole variety due to the better taste and higher, sustained yield. Also, their growing climate, soil, etc might have something to do with taste, as it does with the famed San Marzano tomatoes. As for the Zuni Cafe recipe admonition, I'm clueless. --I read some recipe for long cooked romanos. I think they may need to be treated differently than regular green beans, but someone else should chime in here with a recipe or two shortly.

This just opened this month and so I went to check it out. Their specialty is all sorts of noodles (gakjong guksuryu), but especially busut maeuntang kalguksu (spicy soup with mushrooms and handcut wheat noodles). The picture on the window shows a cool pic of this dish. The owner told me to get this, so I did. By the way, Pung Ro, for our intents and purposes, means "burner" (Chinese derivation). Banchan: was very homemade tasting,as in the home of a normal home cook, not some cookbook author or famous chef. There was kkakdugi (cubed Chinese radish kimchi) and mak kimchi in a big tub with tongs to ladle out as much as you wanted onto a cute little plate. Bindaedduk (red with kimchi juice), cucumber pickles, and some tofu with spicy soy sauce were all presented on various little flowered plates, the kind that you see gracing the pages of popular Korean women's magazines, like Sa Vie. My busut maeuntang came out on a gas burner, as advertised. I must admit that I've never seen anyone else put little checkered cozies on the soup tureen handles, not to mention the shiny plastic ladle she put by my side that had Peter Rabbit running down its handle. She lit the burner and when she turned her back, I sneaked a taste. There were button mushrooms, straw mushrooms, some beef, hot pepper powder, and prob some vegetables in there like large green onions, but I forget exactly. She chitchatted with another guy who came in, who apparently was a friend trying to support the restaurant. He asked what I was having and she told him that it was really good, and so he got it too. After about 10 minutes, she bustled to the back and stayed there for a couple of minutes. Then she came out with a bowl full of just cooked knife cut noodles (kal guksu). She dumped them in the maeuntang and told me that they would be ready in just a bit. She asked me lots of questions like where I lived and other bio info, and joked around as if I had known her forever. Another lady came out and gave me a pink apron to put over my clothes, so they wouldn't get ruined, even though I was just wearing a ratty t-shirt. I noticed they didn't give the other (guy) customer a pink apron. I finally started eating the maeuntang and for the next 15 minutes forgot everything else. I have to say, for a non seafood maeuntang, I really liked this dish. The fact that the noodles were pre-cooked in the back meant that they didn't gum up the soup and turn it into a slurry. The mushrooms and beef mellowed each other. yum. The owner came back after I was halfway finished and told me that I should leave a little soup in the pot. I had a hard time finishing the contents of the tureen and she nagged me about leaving so much food, and wondered aloud if I thought it tasted bad. I was dangerously close to full! But, I laid on the charm and told her how great the mushrooms were in this dish, and how I loved the noodles and how it all worked together, and how I was sooo full. Anyway, she beamed and started her banter again, as she started shoving everyting except a little broth out of the tureen into my bowl, so that she could make the second dish. In a separate bowl she had put rice, tiny mince of carrot, I think seaweed, I think green onion, sesame oil, and an egg. She put this all in the tureen and put the heat a little higher and left it to cook and form a nice little crust. Well, I didn't let it wait long enough because mine didn't form a good crust. However, it did turn out into a decent little rice dish to finish off the meal. 2 dishes for the price of one, just like some other restaurants you might have read about. $11.99, not to mention the side order of personality! Dunno if they speak English, but I suspect not. However, they're really friendly and outgoing here, so I'm sure they'll pick it up fast if you come by. Pung Ro Noodle Restaurant 9972 Garden Grove Blvd #f Garden Grove, CA 92844 714-636-0800

I guess it's true, because I saw the listing of their locations printed on the lemonade to-go cup that they handed me. It is not a franchise (yet) and their banh mi is better, and cheaper than Lee's Sandwiches. The crust is not as rock hard as at Lee's, or at least at the Lee's I've been to. I was at Pho Bac recently, also on Brookhurst and I had some pretty decent pho, but it was really empty, which makes me uneasy. Also, they close early. Pho Thanh Long sucked the last time I went which was about a month ago. water brew.

This place recently (I think a couple months ago) changed hands to the people who own the Che Cali stores (they have good banh mi). Right now is the grand opening and a handful of things are 50% off. This place was packed last night, which means this location is no longer cursed, I guess. Was looking at a cup with the addresses and apparently there are 8 locations. most are in Westminster, but there were also locations in Garden Grove, Rosemead and Toronto.

savvysearch, I can't be the only one noticing how many OC people are getting gold medals right now. I just heard about Amanda Beard. I guess it is jealousy.

Are you proposing we have our pie potluck in your new jail facility?

I don't recall them ever screaming out the order at any of the L.A. locations I've been to. I'm guessing that's a Jersey thing. The original one on La Cienega in L.A. is now a flower shop. Very sad. I had my first Fatburger there. I'm not a big burger person, but anyone who can eat a Kingburger in less than 10 minutes has my respect. It's the size of a baby's head.

Hest, have you tried the peaches at Berkeley Bowl? Specifically the mountain grown yellow peaches. I thought they were sweet, juicy and delicious, when I bought them the other week.

LA Times Food Section -- August 18, 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. What Julia really taught us -- Russ Parsons "Since her death last Friday, everyone has been talking about how Julia Child taught America to cook. But that was not the greatest of her gifts. For those who had the privilege of knowing Julia, her life was a grand lesson in how to live. " There's never too much -- Regina Schrambling She argues that there can never be such a thing as too much zucchini if you know what to do with it. There's a recipe for zucchini madeleines among others (hmm). Recipes Cookbook Watch -- Laurie Winer 2 books on Greek food/manners. "The Olive and the Caper" by Susanna Hoffman (Workman Publishing, $19.95) tries to convey something about Greek culture and manners. Simple, tasty, Greek recipes. "The Philosopher's Kitchen" (Random House, $35) goes into ancient Greek cuisine, simple but excellent recipes. When the Greeks toss the demitasse -- Daniel Young The frappé was invented in Greece 47 years ago. Simply instant coffee, sugar and cold water or milk shaken together, it's a cafe mainstay there. Nikos Dimou, the author of "The Misery of Being Greek" thinks "frappé has been the main marketing theme of Nescafé in Greece for decades. All that brainwashing definitely has changed the cafe culture in Greece." In Mendocino, a new voice from the east -- Jordan Mackay A group of winemakers in Mendocino are trying to emphasize region over grape, unlike everyone else in CA. "By using primarily grapes that have long, pre-Prohibition histories in Mendocino, the hope is that the Coro wines will express the soul and terroir of Mendocino County, becoming as emblematic of place as the blends of Châteauneuf-du-Pape are of the southern Rhône and as Chianti is of Tuscany. " Cookbook Hot List How to Grill by Steven Raichlen (Workman, $19.95) is #1 Wine of the Week -- S. Irene Virbila 2003 Domaine J.P. et J.F. Quénard Chignin Vin de Savoie: "Pale gold with a glint of green, it tastes like a juicy Granny Smith. This refreshing summery wine, something exotic, comes in at about $10. Not bad for a lovely little wine that's made it all the way here from the Savoie, where most of it is usually drunk up by hikers and skiers." Culinary SOS -- Barbara Hansen Recipe for Luna Park's Mediterranean tuna salad sandwich Sit. Eat. Pay. -- S. Irene Virbila She gives 1* to the (in)famous Sushi Nozawa. She considers it one of the most overrated restaurants in SoCal. "Curt and ungracious" service, not particularly interesting Tokyo style sushi, and always the attitude from Sushi Nazi himself. Correction "In a July 28 article about San Francisco restaurants, the tapas restaurant Iluna Basque was misidentified as Lluna Basque."

You're talking about Bette's Oceanview Diner. I like the place, but the wait can be insane. The original Cody's books is on Telegraph. --actually the original was on Euclid on Northside, but that's a quibble.

Actually, I have a co-worker who loves the kimchi ramen in the bowl and I used to get the big box of 24 and trade him for a spicy sour thai soup noodle bowl. Also, there's a spicy ramen in the bowl that he likes but I forget what the actual name of it is and he doesn't remember either.

I've never tried this brand, but I've had instant chiachiang from a ramen-like packet before. I forget the brand name. Actually, it's not bad (esp for the desperate). I think it's worth it for $.89 (I think that's what it costs). Yeah, chapchae is so labor intensive. I rarely if ever make it, but when I do make it, it's gone fast. More normally, I sneak down to the market and buy some from the deli section.

okay, so the buggers have started sprouting--have no idea which are basil and which thyme. i'd tossed in millions of seeds--presumably only some will survive into viable seedlings. at what point do i need to worry about thinning them out? i've read that in an outdoor garden mature basil plants need 12 inches of separation from each other. does this mean i will eventually have to cull whatever grows in my pot down to one plant? and when will this eventuality occur? Basil: The first two leaves (cotyledons) are kind of fat, about I'm guessing 1/4" in length and maybe width, and kind of look like two halves of a circle. I tried to find pics, but can't find any. Thyme: I forget how the cotyledons look, but they are going to be very small leaves, much smaller than the basil. I will bet that all of them at this point are just basil. if I were in your situation, I would consider just planting a bunch all over the place, and as they matured and started to crowd each other, I would start (carefully) pulling out or cutting off too close plants, until you have about 1 plant every 9-12 inches. I kind of crowd my plants anyway, because I like the leggy stems, as they are easy to make into a bouquet and give to my friends. As the weather grows hot, the plants will start to flower. As long as you pinch or cut off the starting-to-flower parts, your basil will keep giving you lots of basil leaves. In fact, you will end up regretting planting so many. Savor it while it lasts, because they'll shrivel, die and turn black with the first cold spell.

My, aren't we persnickety. Do you suppose this thread has lasted several years and twenty-five pages from unanswered questions? And perhaps mrbigjas is looking for friendly, over-the-bandwidth advice, mahvelous Carolyn Googlesit notwithstanding. I didn't mean to offend anyone, by my statement, but I figured, the faster it's diagnosed the better. I figured if anyone could answer a question about tomato disease, it would be Male. She answers posts pretty quick too, unless she's sick or something.

You would be better served posting your question on this board: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/tompests/ Your question will likely be answered by Carolyn Male. If you don't know who she is, just do a quick Google search.

There's a lot of history at "Top of the Mark". Mentioned in movie (Vertigo) and I saw a documentary about how soldiers going off to war in WWII would dance the night away here with gals who were ready to work for the war effort (uh, don't quote me, I'm doing this from memory). Famous actors used to frequent this place. here's one site about some of the history behind Mark Hopkins Hotel Hey, what's wrong with being a tourist, once in a while? --grammar edit

You guys are making this really easy! Thank you!!!! Just a note, if you are going to Chez Panisse by BART, it is way too long of a walk from either the Downtown or North Berkeley Stations (the closest stations). If I were you, I'd catch a cab from BART to Chez Panisse, esp since you'll prob be wearing nice duds. You could also drive it and catch a bunch of other places along the way. --it's probably easier and less scary to get a cab at the Downtown station.