"It's spoiled me for..."

[sparrowgrass]

I never buy sweet corn or asparagus or strawberries. If I don't go out and pick them myself, I don't eat them.

[Mabelline]

Huckleberries. Homemade tamales and green pork. Either chile or Thai. Homemade coconut milk, even with our pitiful coconuts.My own seasoning mixes, and heated spices.

[marthapook]

I never buy sweet corn or asparagus or strawberries.  If I don't go out and pick them myself, I don't eat them.

Born and raised in Queens, NY - I don't think I've EVER had fresh picked sweet corn or asparagus - I'm so envious.

(strawberries I do remeber picking as a child in our back yard)

[jsolomon]

Born and raised in Queens, NY - I don't think I've EVER had fresh picked sweet corn or asparagus - I'm so envious.

(strawberries I do remeber picking as a child in our back yard)

[sHOCK!] I have been so spoiled by good sweet corn that I only eat it for 1 week a year... when the stuff is ripe. Then, we take a day and put up a bunch of sweet corn as a family. You definitely need to take a vacation somewhere to where there is real sweet corn that you can eat 10 minutes from the plant.

[Busboy]

Mrs. Busboy spoiled me for anything else.

Also, Olivers Meats in Denver. I haven't had Wagyu, but I've never had a better home -cooked steak than the stuff I used to buy out there. Whenever my my wife travels there for business, she picks up a hundred dollars of strips and rib-yes for travel back to DC. In between we mostly use flanks and onglets to feee our beef jones, because all the other steaks just don't taste right.

[marthapook]

You definitely need to take a vacation somewhere to where there is real sweet corn that you can eat 10 minutes from the plant.

problem is - in general - i reaaallly need to take a vacation.

and please, stop rubbing it in - i can almost taste that corn - doesn't even need butter - right?

[marie-louise]

I'm pretty much spoiled rotten about just about everything. In no particular order, I am grateful for the Bay Area's many riches, including:

Seasonal fruits and vegetables from the CSA and/or the many Farmer's Markets in the area and/or every grocery store in a 100-mile radius. Even Safeway brags about their produce being less than 24 hours from farm to display.

Acme, Semi Freddi's, Grace, etc. bread-also in every grocery store in a 100-mile radius. I cannot imagine living in a city without all this great bread everywhere.

Hog Island oysters that aren't more than a few hours out of the Bay. (I had them just yesterday, they are incredible.)

Peet's coffee. Everywhere, even at the office.

Fresh fish, Nimon Ranch and Harris Ranch meat, organic free-range chickens (now in packaged parts for quick shopping.) Dungeness crab.

Scharffenberger chocolate bar displays at every cash register.

All of our wonderful and diverse ethnic foods-dim sum, burritos, sushi, Thai, Vietnamese, et. al. You name it, we got it, I love it.

The sheer number of choices we have to get all these foods. It's not just in one specialty store-it's everywhere.

[jsolomon]

You definitely need to take a vacation somewhere to where there is real sweet corn that you can eat 10 minutes from the plant.

problem is - in general - i reaaallly need to take a vacation.

and please, stop rubbing it in - i can almost taste that corn - doesn't even need butter - right?

Weeellllllllll, that depends on the quality of the butter. However, for people who have never experienced, I think I can pass an open invite to small groups. Provided they want to travel to central Nebraska. I can very nearly guarantee you the best sweet corn, tomatoes, beef, and pork you've had in your life when you visit. But, the presentation might not be 3-star level. We are farmers....

central Nebraska

And for a photo tour... Clickety

Edit to add: Current Weather

Edited January 4, 2004 by jsolomon (log)

[marthapook]

However, for people who have never experienced, I think I can pass an open invite to small groups.  Provided they want to travel to central Nebraska.  I can very nearly guarantee you the best sweet corn, tomatoes, beef, and pork you've had in your life when you visit.  But, the presentation might not be 3-star level.  We are farmers....

I took a look - are you trying to kill me?

Do you know what it's like here today - cold and raining and cramped and crowded and i don't even know what air is supposed to smell like......

I'll be there in 15.

And besides - those three star guys - most of them wish they lived in your neighborhood - their fancy plates would taste much better.

Oh, btw, happy new year

[Mayhaw Man]

We are farmers....

And for a photo tour... Clickety

You might want to think of changing the name of "The Dismal River" to something that is a little more inviting to travelers and would be tourists. Perhaps "Beautiful River" would be a nice change

[Wendy DeBord]

As a suburban "farmer" I'd agree that sweet corn from your own garden is amazing. But the deer and racoons always beat us to it.......we're lucky to get their left-overs, the only way to beat them is to eat it underripe.

But no matter how fresh the veggies are, I think the best tastes, come from the best varieties. I've tried different breeds, but I always come back to the big name varieties.........and honestly some items are just as good at the grocery store.

[hillvalley]

You definitely need to take a vacation somewhere to where there is real sweet corn that you can eat 10 minutes from the plant.

There was a MASH episode where Colonel Potter talks about taking a pot of boiling water out to the field and eating corn that hasn't been picked yet. I've always wanted to try it.

For me it is proscuitto and parmasean. If it's not from Italy, I won't bother.

Eggs that were laid a few days ago (I live in the city so that is as fresh as I can get them) are a close second.

Edited January 4, 2004 by hillvalley (log)

[AzRaeL]

Peaches and Cream Corn on the Cob.

Corn so fresh that i'm standing there in the field, plucking the corn right off the stalk, shucking off the silk and eating it on the spot. Delicious!

[Susan in FL]

Peaches and Cream Corn on the Cob.

Corn so fresh that i'm standing there in the field, plucking the corn right off the stalk, shucking off the silk and eating it on the spot. Delicious!

Isn't that so good?!

It brought back memories of when we lived in Delaware. A farmer had a corn field in back of our back yard, and we did the same thing.

[Susan in FL]

I'm pretty much spoiled rotten about just about everything.

That's the way I feel...

All the local fish, seafood, and produce. Especially fresh shrimp. What a difference from what we were used to, only shrimp that had been frozen... we don't buy that anymore.

I've also been spoiled by quality foods/ ingredients I've discovered over the years, and am grateful for the availability of them to order via internet when they can't be found locally.

Some other ideas that came to mind... good butter and cream; Parma Prosciutto; Stravecchio Parmigiano-Reggiano; Carnaroli rice; sea salt, and freshly ground pepper; fine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and shoyu; I could go on and on.

Edited to ask this question again: Does anybody know where the best buy is online to order Wagyu?

Edited January 5, 2004 by Susan in FL (log)

[Rhea_S]

Both of these have been mentioned, but I had both last night and remembered why I rarely eat store-bought bread and regular grocery store butter: freshly baked, homemade baguettes with Beurre D'Isigny. I am so impressed that I can now find excellent butter in my own town. Chocolate is another area where it's hard to swallow Hershey's after you've tasted real chocolate. I think my first experience with good chocolate was with Callebaut over 15 years ago.

[Callipygos]

Fresh clams, obtained only a day before eating from the beaches on Buzzard's Bay. (I'd even go so far as to say that, much like there is a "Lender's Line" around the New York City area, past which you are supposedly unable to get a good bagel, there is a "landlock line" around Cape Cod, past which you are unable to get good seafood.)

Forget roasting your own coffee -- I'm just pleased to have discovered anything above Maxwell House and Folger's.

Loose-leaf tea.

Fresh cranberries. I have an "in" on cranberries -- my family owns a big bog, and they're suppliers for Ocean Spray, and the family isn't always above helping themselves to a sampling of the VERY best of the crop. Heh.

Edited January 6, 2004 by Callipygos (log)

[PoorLawyer]

Charcoil flame grilled PORK hot dogs with tons of hot sauce from Ted's in Buffalo, NY....those beef things floating in a vat of dirty water on a street corner don't do it for me.

[denise_jer]

Really Good Bacon, like this, will ruin you for any low quality grocery store brand in the world. The stuff is great. Lean, thick, and smoky.

I have to agree! Once we started buying fabulous, locally produced bacon, it's been hard to look at Oscar Meyer in the same way.

Also, Hamburgers after reading the Drive-In Cooking eGCI class. That's the only way we make them now!

[bergerka]

The freshly killed Kung Pao chicken at Grand Sichuan International. I dream about the taste, actually (yes, really).

Real hot chocolate and newly-roasted coffee are big with me too.

[wnissen]

A very interesting topic. Honestly, I can still savor Hershey's, and frozen shrimp, and two-week old eggs. But the stuff that I just go without is a pretty small set. Real tomatoes. In CA that isn't usually a problem because there are greenhouse tomatoes that don't totally suck, but when those aren't there, I eat something else. Real cheese. Anything with "product" or "processed product" on the label isn't worth eating. Butter. I can tolerate the Brummel and Brown stuff, but margarine is right out. Fresh ground black pepper and fresh rosemary. The jarred, dried versions of these two are just so far from the originals in flavor, it isn't worth it. When my pepper grinder gave out while I was making chili last month, I used a knife to chop the pepper rather than use the box of pre-ground. Non-draft American Lagers. On tap, these aren't so bad, usually at worst tasteless, but in a bottle or can they're actively bad. I'm sure there's a few more, but those are the main ones.

Walt

[Squeat Mungry]

I'm pretty much spoiled rotten about just about everything. In no particular order, I am grateful for the Bay Area's many riches, including:

<snip>

Peet's coffee. Everywhere, even at the office.

I completely agree about feeling spoiled for everything in San Francisco, but marie-louise have you had coffee from Graffeo roastery in North Beach? I don't think you'll go back to Peet's. "Simply the World's Finest Coffee"!

Even though I live in the City, I'm lucky enough to have a friend/coworker who lives in El Cerrito and has four laying hens. She keeps me supplied with fresh eggs. I don't know what I'll do for eggs when I get a better job.

One thing I pretty much avoid unless they're straight from the garden are peas. Even the flash frozen just don't cut it, much less those that have been sitting around at the grocer's. Likewise corn: in-season from the farmer's market is fine, otherwise it has to be fresh from the field. I also agree with those who've mentioned good-quality butter. Supermarket brands simply won't do anymore.

Cheers,

Squeat

Edited to get the quote right. Sheesh.

Edited January 6, 2004 by Squeat Mungry (log)

[marie-louise]

I completely agree about feeling spoiled for everything in San Francisco, but marie-louise have you had coffee from Graffeo roastery in North Beach? I don't think you'll go back to Peet's. "Simply the World's Finest Coffee"!

Yes, it is great. There are another one or two that are also great, but I'm brain dead and can't remember their names. One is in Marin, I think. How blessed we are that we can be having a conversation about coffee BETTER than that ordinary ol' Peet's!

I forgot to mention all our local cheeses. And Clover organic milk. And Strauss butter...

Edited January 7, 2004 by marie-louise (log)

[browniebaker]

From an early age, my mother's hot and sour soup spoiled me for any other version of it offered in any Chinese restaurant. The rest is intolerable brown glop. Once in a while. I think I'll have some in a restaurant, and I am always sorry.

[KatieLoeb]

Wow - lots of good answers here. First off, I have to agree with the good butter, fresh tomatoes, herbs from the garden, fresh ground horseradish, super fresh sweet corn, real hot cocoa and good roast coffee. Life itself would cease to exist without good coffee. At least it would for me in the early AM.

My mother's Cuban black beans have spoiled me for any other. My aunt's pickles too. I'm also fond of the gelato at Capogiro, here in Philadelphia. Yes - of course I'd rather be eating it in Florence, but given the circumstances, this is a pretty mean stand in. The Pizza at Tacconelli's (see photos from Pizza Club thread in PA forum Scroll Down HERE) has utterly spoiled me for anything less. And although we're making a valiant attempt to find the best pizzas through Pizza Club, until we make those road trips to New York and New Haven, I'm pretty well satisfied with what we've got around here. Philadelphia has also spoiled me for good, reasonably priced BYOB restaurants. We have a wealth of them that I don't believe any city can compete with!

And the North Star Farms varieties of Asian Pears. I can't get enough of these locally grown beauties every autumn and stock up on them twice a week at the local farmer's markets. The most delicious fruit I think I've ever tasted.