neighborhood with easy access to everything. The rooms at the B&B were cozy, the surroundings beautiful, and the owners extremely kind and accommodating. In the mornings, they had a breakfast with an array of fresh fruit and...

After spending three very happy chow-years in Boston, I just moved to Berkeley to start graduate school. Need to find reliable food places in my new neighborhood (southside of campus, and can walk/take bus/BART to any point)...

Spent the 9th through the 13th in the Bay Area, staying with family out in Sebastopol. We saw all the usual sights and toured the neighborhoods, but this trip was about food and started with our reservation at French Laundry....

Yeah, I was planning to send more ready-to-eat sorts of things than stuff that needs to be fooled with. I mean, nobody asked me to send this. There’s no indication of a "cooking club" on the island seeking “bright new...

Buy a spatter screen — while I hesitated at first (“why should I spend the money?”) once one was given to me I couldn’t live without it.

such as Valentines, Mothers Day, etc... We also always strive to be very generous and accomodating clients to any restaurant that we do patronize (20%+ tips, flexible with staff, not bringing too much, if any, of our own wines,...

the time it was closed for renovations after the fire. If I remember correctly (early onset of Alzheimer’s?), Peristyle sent out a letter to former local clientele requesting a significant sum of money to "buy a table" or...

, nutty flavor. I was also tempted to try the Lotus moon cakes (the ones without egg yolk), which I read about in the Joy Luck Club, but decided to leave it for another day. Being “growing teenagers” (really just an...

Our club makes the BEST crab cakes (I’m in Virginia). Pure lump crab with virtually no filler, browned nicely and served on top of shaved country ham (after all, it is Virginia ). Perfection and so simple.

We had a Shellfish Christmas. First course was Salmon, Pea and Scallop Terrine. Easy to make, delicious, and served with an Acme Italian Batard. I had to buy the bread on Sunday, but took advice from Cook’s Illustrated and...

with us to instruct us on not overfilling our soy dishes, telling us when not to use soy, etc. We also feel comfortable interacting with other regular Japanese customers, buying them drinks on special occasions, etc., which not...

I don’t really think the comments are about the food...it’s more the hype. I went, and while a nice neighborhood joint, certainly something I can’t imagine reserving for weeks, or even days, in advance. I think...

a bit and to go to downtown Asheville during the day is like going back in time to the sixties. I take a number of classes (on weekends under the sustainable ag program, we even buy our piglets from them) at Warren Wilson College...

in the neighborhood) the next day, at which point he hastily left a message on my machine, apologizing. (My machine gives the time of each message left.) To my face then, he apologized and offered to “take care of my next...

paternal Grandma (age 88) still cooks, nothing exotic, but very tasty middle American cuisine. And Christmas cookies, hundreds of dozens. Our neighborhood daycare lady was French and the woman could cook. I can still picture her...