> The ignorant asshole who tried
>
> to claim I was "surprised" (by what?) can bite me.
>
>


If a person says:

" In any case, I seriously doubt Bouchon would buy premade fries from Sysco although I would not be surprised if the potatoes were delivered whole by them. If In N Out can cut their own fries and cook them, Bouchon certainly can too. "

And then finds out that they do buy them from sysco, if "surprised" is not the right word, then what word is it?

And what misinformation have I given?

Davis is near san francisco, sacramento, napa, sonoma, vacaville, berkeley, lake tahoe and even yosemite in my book... Most notable regarding food for foodies berkeley. Christine Dabney took me for a tour there once upon a time. So yeah it is near berkeley.

Do you not believe the articles I was told about and later did research to find and confirm that it is a growing trend to use these generic products? It is fine that we disagree if it is a good, neutral or bad thing.

>
> What angry people here? This is a cooking group. Not a dining out group..
>
> And I don't see anyone who is angry except for you.

Why do you think Im angry? Im not the one calling people pieces of shit and angrily waving the pitchforks, telling me that what Ive been told and read is a lie and I am a liar for repeating it (even if it was a lie, people could in a friendly tone tell me that the articles are not true).


> Americans are not surprised. Perhaps sf was surprised. She does not speak
>
> for all Americans. I am not surprised. Not at all.
>

With "americans" I mean "people who are americans", not "All americans". There wouldnt be these articles about the frozen fries at keller, if the reporters did not expect that to be a surprising news to a lot of people...

> With "americans" I mean "people who are americans", not "All americans". There wouldnt be these articles about the frozen fries at keller, if the reporters did not expect that to be a surprising news to a lot of people...

A nice summary:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/03/y...with-that.html

On Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:59:45 -0700 (PDT), Michael Nielsen
> wrote:

>
> > The ignorant asshole who tried
> >
> > to claim I was "surprised" (by what?) can bite me.
> >
> >
>
>
> If a person says:
>
> " In any case, I seriously doubt Bouchon would buy premade fries from Sysco although I would not be surprised if the potatoes were delivered whole by them. If In N Out can cut their own fries and cook them, Bouchon certainly can too. "
>
> And then finds out that they do buy them from sysco, if "surprised" is not the right word, then what word is it?
>
> And what misinformation have I given?
>
> Davis is near san francisco, sacramento, napa, sonoma, vacaville, berkeley, lake tahoe and even yosemite in my book... Most notable regarding food for foodies berkeley. Christine Dabney took me for a tour there once upon a time. So yeah it is near berkeley.
>
> Do you not believe the articles I was told about and later did research to find and confirm that it is a growing trend to use these generic products? It is fine that we disagree if it is a good, neutral or bad thing.
>

Do you not understand the word "not"? I've had enough of your
trolling and you're going into the bin.

--
I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

On Friday, July 25, 2014 8:02:18 PM UTC-10, Michael Nielsen wrote:
> I heard that many restaurants/eateries serve Sysco food, whole or partially made dishes to assemble and reheat, and sometimes even the menu is given by Sysco.
>
> I think I had one of those Sysco foods when I had a salad with chicken and it was just horrible. the chicken was rubber, and I left pieces, which is saying a lot - vikings needs their meat!
>
>
>
> Often you think that you are at a qulaity restaurant with a chef who makes his own menu and food, and gets the ingredients around the place, making deals with local farmers. But then it turns out it is Sysco food with raw materials from e.g. china.
>
>
>
> Even upscale places you can risk getting Sysco food, for example, French Laundry while having a recipe for homemade fries in his book, serves sysco fries, and gets some meat from them as well. So it is really hard to know.
>
>
>
> Anyone here knows how to predict it?

My guess is that you should eat more Asian food. That might help a lot. Just don't ever look inside of a kitchen at a Chinese restaurant. Stay away from baked goods unless the owner of the restaurant is a pastry chef.

> My guess is that you should eat more Asian food. That might help a lot. Just don't ever look inside of a kitchen at a Chinese restaurant. Stay away from baked goods unless the owner of the restaurant is a pastry chef.

Hmm, is that a fact? Where is that at?

When I was in China it was impressive that even at the food wagon of a night train they made their own wanton wraps by hand. But in Denmark a lot of asian food comes on frozen bags to be poured right into the fryer.

>
> you are currently located) trying to stir up a hornet's nest, claiming
>
> "it's not done this way in Denmark" and


I actually said it happens in DK but there I can sense the vibe of the place if it is that type. While the whole issue I posted with was how to convert that sense to american ground, where I dont know the names and attributions of the places, and the vibe of it as being a slowfood restaurant or being highly overpriced is not a reliable indicator, as the practice seem to be growing and pushing family owned "homemade" restaurants out of existence.

On 2014-07-30 4:24 PM, Michael Nielsen wrote:
>
>>
>> you are currently located) trying to stir up a hornet's nest,
>> claiming
>>
>> "it's not done this way in Denmark" and
>
>
> I actually said it happens in DK but there I can sense the vibe of
> the place if it is that type. While the whole issue I posted with was
> how to convert that sense to american ground, where I dont know the
> names and attributions of the places, and the vibe of it as being a
> slowfood restaurant or being highly overpriced is not a reliable
> indicator, as the practice seem to be growing and pushing family
> owned "homemade" restaurants out of existence.


If you are having trouble figure those things out it must be even more
difficult to understand how some people can have their favourite
restaurants and favourite dishes in them and not realize that it all
came from the same producer.

On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 10:07:56 AM UTC-10, Michael Nielsen wrote:
> > My guess is that you should eat more Asian food. That might help a lot. Just don't ever look inside of a kitchen at a Chinese restaurant. Stay away from baked goods unless the owner of the restaurant is a pastry chef.
>
>
>
> Hmm, is that a fact? Where is that at?
>

The Chinese restaurant down our street is owned by an ex-pastry chef of a Waikiki restaurant. It's the only Chinese joint I know that has a great selection of desserts, and you still can't get a dang cup of coffee to go with that. :-)




>
>
> When I was in China it was impressive that even at the food wagon of a night train they made their own wanton wraps by hand. But in Denmark a lot of asian food comes on frozen bags to be poured right into the fryer.

I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman would be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling, stuffing won ton wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big baking sheet. Doing a job like that would drive me nuts right off the bat. We probably take Chinese food more seriously here. Dumping frozen stuff in a fryer won't go over well.

>
> I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman would be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling, stuffing won ton wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big baking sheet. Doing a job like that would drive me nuts right off the bat.

That sounds like a great place.

On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 10:54:44 AM UTC-10, Michael Nielsen wrote:
> >
>
> > I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman would be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling, stuffing won ton wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big baking sheet. Doing a job like that would drive me nuts right off the bat.
>
>
>
> That sounds like a great place.

I have seen this happen at different restaurants. Evidently, it's a job you don't want to do in the kitchen. It's a lot nicer sitting in an air conditioned dining room. Sometimes they make won tons, sometimes they make pork hash. Boy, I sure could go for some pork hash right now. Oddly enough, we can get that stuff at a 7-11 - strange but true! :-)

> I have seen this happen at different restaurants. Evidently, it's a job you don't want to do in the kitchen. It's a lot nicer sitting in an air conditioned dining room. Sometimes they make won tons, sometimes they make pork hash. Boy, I sure could go for some pork hash right now. Oddly enough, we can get that stuff at a 7-11 - strange but true! :-)

Yes, in the chinese train they were 4 guys sitting comfortably in the seating arrangements amongst diners and wrapping the pork up. One of those " I wish I had my camera" moments.

On 7/30/2014 3:42 PM, dsi1 wrote:

>> When I was in China it was impressive that even at the food wagon
>> of a night train they made their own wanton wraps by hand. But in
>> Denmark a lot of asian food comes on frozen bags to be poured right
>> into the fryer.
>
> I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman
> would be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling,
> stuffing won ton wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big
> baking sheet. Doing a job like that would drive me nuts right off the
> bat. We probably take Chinese food more seriously here. Dumping
> frozen stuff in a fryer won't go over well.

We had a Chinese restaurant next door to our office and sometimes we
would go in around 3:00 for a snack. That is when the kitchen help and
everyone else would eat at a large table, family style. We would eat
whatever they were having. Anyway, the people who fill our wontons and
make our dumplings and eggrolls are Hispanic. They also make our sushi
and they do a fine job.

Becca

On 2014-07-30 4:42 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>
>
> The Chinese restaurant down our street is owned by an ex-pastry chef
> of a Waikiki restaurant. It's the only Chinese joint I know that has
> a great selection of desserts, and you still can't get a dang cup of
> coffee to go with that. :-)


I have never had a decent dessert at a Chinese restaurant. The best
they usually do is a really crappy apple pie. Italian restaurants tend
to be just as bad.





>
>
>
>>
>>
>> When I was in China it was impressive that even at the food wagon
>> of a night train they made their own wanton wraps by hand. But in
>> Denmark a lot of asian food comes on frozen bags to be poured right
>> into the fryer.
>
> I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman
> would be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling,
> stuffing won ton wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big
> baking sheet. Doing a job like that would drive me nuts right off the
> bat. We probably take Chinese food more seriously here. Dumping
> frozen stuff in a fryer won't go over well.
>

On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 11:26:10 AM UTC-10, Michael Nielsen wrote:
> > I have seen this happen at different restaurants. Evidently, it's a job you don't want to do in the kitchen. It's a lot nicer sitting in an air conditioned dining room. Sometimes they make won tons, sometimes they make pork hash. Boy, I sure could go for some pork hash right now. Oddly enough, we can get that stuff at a 7-11 - strange but true! :-)
>
>
>
> Yes, in the chinese train they were 4 guys sitting comfortably in the seating arrangements amongst diners and wrapping the pork up. One of those " I wish I had my camera" moments.

That would be a very cool picture.

On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 11:52:35 AM UTC-10, Ema Nymton wrote:
> On 7/30/2014 3:42 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>
>
>
> >> When I was in China it was impressive that even at the food wagon
>
> >> of a night train they made their own wanton wraps by hand. But in
>
> >> Denmark a lot of asian food comes on frozen bags to be poured right
>
> >> into the fryer.
>
> >
>
> > I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman
>
> > would be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling,
>
> > stuffing won ton wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big
>
> > baking sheet. Doing a job like that would drive me nuts right off the
>
> > bat. We probably take Chinese food more seriously here. Dumping
>
> > frozen stuff in a fryer won't go over well.
>
>
>
> We had a Chinese restaurant next door to our office and sometimes we
>
> would go in around 3:00 for a snack. That is when the kitchen help and
>
> everyone else would eat at a large table, family style. We would eat
>
> whatever they were having. Anyway, the people who fill our wontons and
>
> make our dumplings and eggrolls are Hispanic. They also make our sushi
>
> and they do a fine job.
>
>
>
> Becca

I have heard of this happening on the mainland. We don't have that many Hispanics here to be doing that. I think there was one latino cooking for a local style restaurant on the big island. My understanding is that it's a great place. There was a Mexican restaurant that got raided by the migras in Kailua. I thought that was great. You know the Mexican food is authentic when the joint get visited by the INS. That's probably no big deal for you guys - you probably see that every day.

On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 12:19:11 PM UTC-10, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2014-07-30 4:42 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > The Chinese restaurant down our street is owned by an ex-pastry chef
>
> > of a Waikiki restaurant. It's the only Chinese joint I know that has
>
> > a great selection of desserts, and you still can't get a dang cup of
>
> > coffee to go with that. :-)
>
>
>
>
>
> I have never had a decent dessert at a Chinese restaurant. The best
>
> they usually do is a really crappy apple pie. Italian restaurants tend
>
> to be just as bad.
>

It's not crappy apple pie, it's just Chinese. They have their own way of this American fare and it ain't like ours. It's Chinatown apple pie.

The Chinese don't have a history of eating something sweet after dinner so you're pretty much out of luck in that department. The restaurant down the street is different. The guy serves a deconstructed ice cream cone that's a hoot. My favorite dessert is soy milk custard which doesn't look or taste like soy milk or custard. It's simply amazing stuff.

>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >>
>
> >>
>
> >> When I was in China it was impressive that even at the food wagon
>
> >> of a night train they made their own wanton wraps by hand. But in
>
> >> Denmark a lot of asian food comes on frozen bags to be poured right
>
> >> into the fryer.
>
> >
>
> > I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman
>
> > would be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling,
>
> > stuffing won ton wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big
>
> > baking sheet. Doing a job like that would drive me nuts right off the
>
> > bat. We probably take Chinese food more seriously here. Dumping
>
> > frozen stuff in a fryer won't go over well.
>
> >

On 7/30/2014 5:19 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2014-07-30 4:42 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>
>>
>> The Chinese restaurant down our street is owned by an ex-pastry chef
>> of a Waikiki restaurant. It's the only Chinese joint I know that has
>> a great selection of desserts, and you still can't get a dang cup of
>> coffee to go with that. :-)
>
>
> I have never had a decent dessert at a Chinese restaurant. The best
> they usually do is a really crappy apple pie. Italian restaurants tend
> to be just as bad.

Go to a dim sum place. The Chinese desserts are awesome there. You
won't find them in regular restaurants.


--
From somewhere very deep in the heart of Texas

In article om>,
Janet Wilder > wrote:

> On 7/30/2014 5:19 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
> >
> > I have never had a decent dessert at a Chinese restaurant. The best
> > they usually do is a really crappy apple pie.
>
Really! 8-)

> Go to a dim sum place. The Chinese desserts are awesome there. You
> won't find them in regular restaurants.

I often wonder about dim sum, which is usually characterized as "Chinese
dessert" since the dim sum restaurants I've been to don't appear to
serve any entrees. How can you have dessert without an entree?

But I agree, Janet. dim sum is awesome. I could live off of it. I've
eaten it often in Chicago's "chinatown," a few times in Kansas City,
once in Nashville, and (this winter) in San Francisco (oh my!). Such a
variety of dishes ... somewhat like, but more varied than, Spanish
tapas. Closest dim sum to me is a few hundred miles away. 8-(

Dave W.
In the Ozarks

"sf" > wrote in message
news
> On Wed, 30 Jul 2014 00:36:01 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>> Perhaps another solution would be to have a pepper mill. Central Market
>> keeps one on their salad bar. Sure somebody could steal that too but if
>> you
>> get a big one and keep it in an obvious place, that would be hard to do.
>
> Are you kidding? If they can steal televisions from grocery stores,
> they can certainly steal pepper mills.

Of course they could steal anything. But he said it was a cafeteria. I
suppose it might slow things down a bit but he could have the cashier man
the mill for people.

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/30/2014 11:45 AM, sf wrote:
>> On Wed, 30 Jul 2014 00:36:01 -0700, "Julie Bove"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Perhaps another solution would be to have a pepper mill. Central Market
>>> keeps one on their salad bar. Sure somebody could steal that too but if
>>> you
>>> get a big one and keep it in an obvious place, that would be hard to do.
>>
>> Are you kidding? If they can steal televisions from grocery stores,
>> they can certainly steal pepper mills.
>>
> I'm pretty sure that's why, in better restaurants servers will ask if you
> want freshly ground pepper. They bring the peppermill to the table and
> grind it over the plate. They don't just leave them sitting on every
> table so someone can walk off with them. The same thing sometimes applies
> to freshly grated Parmesan. I'm not talking about places that have a
> shaker of some dried cheese stuff sitting on the table.

And they could have the cashier man the grinder. Or place it right by the
register so that they are being watched as they use it.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 30 Jul 2014 12:05:52 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> On 7/30/2014 11:45 AM, sf wrote:
>> > On Wed, 30 Jul 2014 00:36:01 -0700, "Julie Bove"
>> > > wrote:
>> >
>> >>
>> >> Perhaps another solution would be to have a pepper mill. Central
>> >> Market
>> >> keeps one on their salad bar. Sure somebody could steal that too but
>> >> if you
>> >> get a big one and keep it in an obvious place, that would be hard to
>> >> do.
>> >
>> > Are you kidding? If they can steal televisions from grocery stores,
>> > they can certainly steal pepper mills.
>> >
>> I'm pretty sure that's why, in better restaurants servers will ask if
>> you want freshly ground pepper. They bring the peppermill to the table
>> and grind it over the plate. They don't just leave them sitting on
>> every table so someone can walk off with them. The same thing sometimes
>> applies to freshly grated Parmesan. I'm not talking about places that
>> have a shaker of some dried cheese stuff sitting on the table.
>>
> I consider that harkening back to the olden daze and hate it. I don't
> want to have to call the waiter over if I want a little more pepper,
> so better restaurants put grinders of both salt and pepper on the
> table now so you can do it yourself.

I have never seen a grinder of any kind on a table.

"Michael Nielsen" > wrote in message
...

> The ignorant asshole who tried
>
> to claim I was "surprised" (by what?) can bite me.
>
>


If a person says:

" In any case, I seriously doubt Bouchon would buy premade fries from
Sysco although I would not be surprised if the potatoes were delivered whole
by them. If In N Out can cut their own fries and cook them, Bouchon
certainly can too. "

And then finds out that they do buy them from sysco, if "surprised" is not
the right word, then what word is it?

And what misinformation have I given?

Davis is near san francisco, sacramento, napa, sonoma, vacaville, berkeley,
lake tahoe and even yosemite in my book... Most notable regarding food for
foodies berkeley. Christine Dabney took me for a tour there once upon a
time. So yeah it is near berkeley.

---

Well, I used to live in Alameda and that would be close to Oakland and San
Francisco. I would not say that any of those other places were close. To
me, close is a place you can get to in 20 minutes to half an hour.

Probably the reason that nobody cares about the restaurant you mention is
that we don't eat there.

Do you not believe the articles I was told about and later did research to
find and confirm that it is a growing trend to use these generic products?
It is fine that we disagree if it is a good, neutral or bad thing.

"Michael Nielsen" > wrote in message
...

>
> What angry people here? This is a cooking group. Not a dining out group.
>
> And I don't see anyone who is angry except for you.

Why do you think Im angry? Im not the one calling people pieces of shit and
angrily waving the pitchforks, telling me that what Ive been told and read
is a lie and I am a liar for repeating it (even if it was a lie, people
could in a friendly tone tell me that the articles are not true).


> Americans are not surprised. Perhaps sf was surprised. She does not
> speak
>
> for all Americans. I am not surprised. Not at all.
>

With "americans" I mean "people who are americans", not "All americans".
There wouldnt be these articles about the frozen fries at keller, if the
reporters did not expect that to be a surprising news to a lot of people...

---

Obviously the person who wrote the article was surprised. But you can't go
any further than that. Now if there were replies of other outraged people,
you could say that they were surprised. I'm an American. I'm not surprised
and I really don't care.

"Michael Nielsen" > wrote in message
...
>
>> With "americans" I mean "people who are americans", not "All americans".
>> There wouldnt be these articles about the frozen fries at keller, if the
>> reporters did not expect that to be a surprising news to a lot of
>> people...
>
> A nice summary:
>
> http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/03/y...with-that.html

This is getting beyond ridiculous. Your link is from 2007. It proves
nothing. It says that he uses frozen fries that may come from Sysco.
Doesn't even prove that they do. And the clerk that they called there was
clueless.

Maybe he does use frozen fries. So what? Maybe he hand cuts them and
freezes them. Did that ever occur to you?

I really don't care. I looked up the restaurant and their menu. In my book
it's waaaay overpriced and not a place I would ever dine.

If you really have issues with this, perhaps you should take it up with the
chef himself because I don't think you'll find any takers here.

"dsi1" > wrote in message
...

> When I was in China it was impressive that even at the food wagon of a
> night train they made their own wanton wraps by hand. But in Denmark a lot
> of asian food comes on frozen bags to be poured right into the fryer.

I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman would
be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling, stuffing won ton
wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big baking sheet. Doing a job
like that would drive me nuts right off the bat. We probably take Chinese
food more seriously here. Dumping frozen stuff in a fryer won't go over
well.

---

I made my own pot stickers from scratch. Once and only once. I lived alone
then and I made a ton. So I froze them. Just because something is frozen
doesn't mean that it wasn't made from scratch.

"Dave W" > wrote in message
...
> In article om>,
> Janet Wilder > wrote:
>
>> On 7/30/2014 5:19 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
>> >
>> > I have never had a decent dessert at a Chinese restaurant. The best
>> > they usually do is a really crappy apple pie.
>>
> Really! 8-)
>
>> Go to a dim sum place. The Chinese desserts are awesome there. You
>> won't find them in regular restaurants.
>
> I often wonder about dim sum, which is usually characterized as "Chinese
> dessert" since the dim sum restaurants I've been to don't appear to
> serve any entrees. How can you have dessert without an entree?

What? Dim Sum means little bites or small portions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sum

It may include dessert but it certainly doesn't have to. The best Dim Sum
restaurant that we had here, The King's Cafe is no longer there. The appeal
there is that if you sat upstairs where the Dim Sum was served, they just
brought around dishes and asked if you wanted it. They wouldn't tell you
what it was. That part was a tad annoying. However they did have a menu
and you could also order off the menu if you wanted to. If you sat
downstairs, you could only order from the menu. All of the plates were
different shapes, sizes and colors. For the Dim Sum, you were charged by
the plate.
>
> But I agree, Janet. dim sum is awesome. I could live off of it. I've
> eaten it often in Chicago's "chinatown," a few times in Kansas City,
> once in Nashville, and (this winter) in San Francisco (oh my!). Such a
> variety of dishes ... somewhat like, but more varied than, Spanish
> tapas. Closest dim sum to me is a few hundred miles away. 8-(
>
> Dave W.
> In the Ozarks

"Michael Nielsen" > wrote in message
...

>
> you are currently located) trying to stir up a hornet's nest, claiming
>
> "it's not done this way in Denmark" and


I actually said it happens in DK but there I can sense the vibe of the place
if it is that type. While the whole issue I posted with was how to convert
that sense to american ground, where I dont know the names and attributions
of the places, and the vibe of it as being a slowfood restaurant or being
highly overpriced is not a reliable indicator, as the practice seem to be
growing and pushing family owned "homemade" restaurants out of existence.

---
If you're talking about the US, there is a vast array of variations as to
what you'll find, depending on what part of the country you are in. And
even whether you are in the city, a suburb or a rural area.

You are more likely to find a reasonably priced family type place in a rural
area. They may or may not make homemade foods but they likely would still
serve frozen fries. And pre-made ice cream.

Some of these places may still exsist in the suburbs but by and large, the
chain places are taking over. And if you are traveling along a highway or
freeway, then you'll mainly see chain places and fast food. Go to any area
where there is a shopping mall and you'll pretty much only see chain places.

I can't speak for the South as I haven't been there since I was a kid.

But on Cape Cod, the predominate food is pub fare. These places often are
not open year round. They close for the winter. You'll get things like
burgers, nachos (not properly made), chicken wings, fish and chips. Lots of
fried food. Maybe some sandwiches and pizza. You'll also find some raw
bars that sell raw oysters. Lots of seafood places. You will find some
Italian, Mexican and other ethnic places. You will find some taverns that
might serve from scratch food. One that I know of used to be good but I
hear that it isn't now. You'll also find some tea rooms and fine dining
places.

On Staten Island, you'll find mostly Italian food and diners. New Jersey
also has a lot of diners. They're usually owned by Greeks so you will see
some Greek food on the menu and the menu will read like a book. The food
may or may not be good and it may or may not be from scratch.

Here in Washington the trend at some places is seasonal, organic and smaller
portions. But only at some places. I am in the suburbs and more and more
we are being flooded with mediocore chain places and Indian and Thai food.
We also have some Chinese places that mostly sell Americanized stuff and a
lot of Mexican places and taquerias which may or may not be authentic or
even good. Seems more and more at least in this area, people are more than
willing to happily accept mediocore food. There is a wonderful Greek place
that cooks from scratch. They are reasonable for lunch but IMO far too high
priced for dinner. Also a Tappas bar that is said to have good food but is
also too high priced for me to want to go there. Of course we have some
seafood and steak places which may or may not be chains. And lots of small
places that may have just one location or several. There is even a place in
Woodinville that serves only turkey. Reviews are wildly mixed on that one.
And places that serve only breakfast and lunch.

But in the bigger cities? That is where you'll find the fancy places. They
may be overpriced. They may have no choice on that because they are likely
paying high rent. They may or may not have good food. They may be a hole
in the wall. They may be in a hotel. But in general that is where the
fancy places will be.

Used to be a place in Mukeltio called the Waltine Diner. It was a very fancy
place. You had to dress up to go there and you had to make reservations.
There were two small dining rooms and they were set in a house of
mansion-like proportions. It was all very elegant. The woman who owned it
cooked a family style dinner for you. There may have been other options but
that is what my family got. I presume that my dad chose the food ahead of
time. I don't think there was a set in stone menu. I think she would make
whatever you wanted but in our case, we all ate the same things. Her son
played the piano while we ate and at the end of our meal, he made us an
Origami swan. It was an experience I will never forget. Although my cat
found my little hot pink swan and I no longer have it.

I would imagine there aren't many places like that around any more. We do
have the Herbfarm in Woodinville. This sounds like it would be right up
your alley although expensive.

http://www.theherbfarm.com/

I haven't eaten there because likely whatever they are serving is not what I
would/could eat and I can't drink wine. But otherwise I would certainly
like to go there because it sounds like a wonderful experience.

On 7/30/2014 11:30 PM, Dave W wrote:
> In article om>,
> Janet Wilder > wrote:

>> Go to a dim sum place. The Chinese desserts are awesome there. You
>> won't find them in regular restaurants.
>
> I often wonder about dim sum, which is usually characterized as "Chinese
> dessert" since the dim sum restaurants I've been to don't appear to
> serve any entrees. How can you have dessert without an entree?

It's more like a brunch with many, many small servings of different
foods. Lots of dumplings, little meat pies, stuffed buns, big leaves
wrapped around delicious sticky rice, flavored chicken parts. In a true
dim sum parlor, waitstaff comes around with trolleys of different foods
and you select what you want. They add the number of things to a piece
of paper and then tally you at the end. I've been to a few where they
carry a giant food sheer and will cut up one offering into several
pieces for the table to share.

One of my favorite desserts are the sesame covered sweet rice balls with
the red bean paste in the middle. If I was in anyone's Chinatown, I'd
find a Chinese bakery. There was a Chinese buffet locally who would
make me some if I called ahead. Unfortunately,they are no longer in
business.

>
> But I agree, Janet. dim sum is awesome. I could live off of it. I've
> eaten it often in Chicago's "chinatown," a few times in Kansas City,
> once in Nashville, and (this winter) in San Francisco (oh my!). Such a
> variety of dishes ... somewhat like, but more varied than, Spanish
> tapas. Closest dim sum to me is a few hundred miles away. 8-(


Awesome dim sum in San Francisco. Little dim sum shops in Chinatown
where you just point to stuff in the glass counter and no one speaks the
other one's language. Great tourist fun.

I've had great dim sum in Vancouver, BC and in Sydney Australia (where
there was also a language barrier, but great selection) Portland has
some pretty good dim sum, too. One day I hope to travel to Hong Kong,
where dim sum was born, and sample the wares. When I'm up north for my
reunion I might go into The City and head to Chinatown to scout some,
but I would want a buddy to go with me.

I have no idea if there is a dim sum restaurant (there should be) in
Houston and that's the closest major city to me about 350 miles away.
I'm about 250 miles from San Antonio, but I don't think there's dim sum
there.

--
From somewhere very deep in the heart of Texas

On 7/31/2014 11:00 AM, Janet Wilder wrote:

> I've had great dim sum in Vancouver, BC and in Sydney Australia (where
> there was also a language barrier, but great selection) Portland has
> some pretty good dim sum, too. One day I hope to travel to Hong Kong,
> where dim sum was born, and sample the wares. When I'm up north for my
> reunion I might go into The City and head to Chinatown to scout some,
> but I would want a buddy to go with me.
>
Sounds like fun!
I'd offer to go with you, but I won't be in the area until late on the
17th, (my reunion is on the 18th).

On 7/31/2014 10:57 AM, S Viemeister wrote:
> On 7/31/2014 11:00 AM, Janet Wilder wrote:
>
>> I've had great dim sum in Vancouver, BC and in Sydney Australia (where
>> there was also a language barrier, but great selection) Portland has
>> some pretty good dim sum, too. One day I hope to travel to Hong Kong,
>> where dim sum was born, and sample the wares. When I'm up north for my
>> reunion I might go into The City and head to Chinatown to scout some,
>> but I would want a buddy to go with me.
>>
> Sounds like fun!
> I'd offer to go with you, but I won't be in the area until late on the
> 17th, (my reunion is on the 18th).

Sorry I'll miss you. I'll be back home by then

--
From somewhere very deep in the heart of Texas

On 7/31/2014 2:01 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>


>>>
>> I consider that harkening back to the olden daze and hate it. I don't
>> want to have to call the waiter over if I want a little more pepper,
>> so better restaurants put grinders of both salt and pepper on the
>> table now so you can do it yourself.
>
> I have never seen a grinder of any kind on a table.

The 99 Restaurant chain has both salt and pepper grinders on the table.
We had dinner at River Tavern in Chester, CT last night, they had a
pepper grinder and a salt cellar with grey salt in it.

On 7/30/2014 5:52 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 11:52:35 AM UTC-10, Ema Nymton wrote:

>> We had a Chinese restaurant next door to our office and sometimes
>> we would go in around 3:00 for a snack. That is when the kitchen help
>> and everyone else would eat at a large table, family style. We would
>> eat whatever they were having. Anyway, the people who fill our wontons
>> and make our dumplings and eggrolls are Hispanic. They also make our
>> sushi and they do a fine job.
>>
>> Becca
>
> I have heard of this happening on the mainland. We don't have that
> many Hispanics here to be doing that. I think there was one latino
> cooking for a local style restaurant on the big island. My
> understanding is that it's a great place. There was a Mexican
> restaurant that got raided by the migras in Kailua. I thought that
> was great. You know the Mexican food is authentic when the joint get
> visited by the INS. That's probably no big deal for you guys - you
> probably see that every day.

We do not have many INS raids, AFAIK, and when half of your population
is Hispanic, I am not sue how they can tell, I guess they have their
ways, though.

Here in Texas, we like our illegals, but you will hear a few elderly
people complain about them. Most of these people have green cards, but
they are still referred to as "illegals" by those who do not like
Mexicans being here.

Becca

On 7/30/2014 8:19 PM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
> "dsi1" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> When I was in China it was impressive that even at the food wagon of a
>> night train they made their own wanton wraps by hand. But in Denmark a
>> lot of asian food comes on frozen bags to be poured right into the fryer.
>
> I've seen that in Chinese restaurants during off-peak hours. A woman
> would be sitting at the table with a giant bowl of pork filling,
> stuffing won ton wrappers. Then she'd line them up neatly on a big
> baking sheet. Doing a job like that would drive me nuts right off the
> bat. We probably take Chinese food more seriously here. Dumping frozen
> stuff in a fryer won't go over well.
>
> ---
>
> I made my own pot stickers from scratch. Once and only once. I lived
> alone then and I made a ton. So I froze them. Just because something
> is frozen doesn't mean that it wasn't made from scratch.

My guess is that the Chinese aren't big on freezing food.

On 7/31/2014 12:45 PM, Janet Wilder wrote:
> On 7/31/2014 10:57 AM, S Viemeister wrote:
>> On 7/31/2014 11:00 AM, Janet Wilder wrote:
>>
>>> I've had great dim sum in Vancouver, BC and in Sydney Australia (where
>>> there was also a language barrier, but great selection) Portland has
>>> some pretty good dim sum, too. One day I hope to travel to Hong Kong,
>>> where dim sum was born, and sample the wares. When I'm up north for my
>>> reunion I might go into The City and head to Chinatown to scout some,
>>> but I would want a buddy to go with me.
>>>
>> Sounds like fun!
>> I'd offer to go with you, but I won't be in the area until late on the
>> 17th, (my reunion is on the 18th).
>
> Sorry I'll miss you. I'll be back home by then
>
A tour of Chinatown with an old classmate or two could be fun - take
pictures!

Julie Bove wrote:
>
> "Doris Night" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Tue, 29 Jul 2014 03:48:31 -0700, "Julia Bove"
> > > wrote:
> >
> >>I've been told that Applebee's makes nothing from scratch. It all
> >>comes frozen. I avoid.
> >
> > I'm pretty sure the salad I had there didn't come frozen.
>
> No. But the shrimp likely did.

There's nothing wrong with frozen shrimp.
You of all people should know that there is nothing wrong with frozen
meat. You and your family eat it all the time.

G.

On 7/31/2014 5:00 AM, Janet Wilder wrote:
> On 7/30/2014 11:30 PM, Dave W wrote:
>> In article om>,
>> Janet Wilder > wrote:
>
>>> Go to a dim sum place. The Chinese desserts are awesome there. You
>>> won't find them in regular restaurants.
>>
>> I often wonder about dim sum, which is usually characterized as "Chinese
>> dessert" since the dim sum restaurants I've been to don't appear to
>> serve any entrees. How can you have dessert without an entree?
>
> It's more like a brunch with many, many small servings of different
> foods. Lots of dumplings, little meat pies, stuffed buns, big leaves
> wrapped around delicious sticky rice, flavored chicken parts. In a true
> dim sum parlor, waitstaff comes around with trolleys of different foods
> and you select what you want. They add the number of things to a piece
> of paper and then tally you at the end. I've been to a few where they
> carry a giant food sheer and will cut up one offering into several
> pieces for the table to share.
>
> One of my favorite desserts are the sesame covered sweet rice balls with
> the red bean paste in the middle. If I was in anyone's Chinatown, I'd
> find a Chinese bakery. There was a Chinese buffet locally who would
> make me some if I called ahead. Unfortunately,they are no longer in
> business.

The sesame balls are Jin Dui. They are great. My favorite is the ones
filled with coconut.

>
>>
>> But I agree, Janet. dim sum is awesome. I could live off of it. I've
>> eaten it often in Chicago's "chinatown," a few times in Kansas City,
>> once in Nashville, and (this winter) in San Francisco (oh my!). Such a
>> variety of dishes ... somewhat like, but more varied than, Spanish
>> tapas. Closest dim sum to me is a few hundred miles away. 8-(
>
>
> Awesome dim sum in San Francisco. Little dim sum shops in Chinatown
> where you just point to stuff in the glass counter and no one speaks the
> other one's language. Great tourist fun.
>
> I've had great dim sum in Vancouver, BC and in Sydney Australia (where
> there was also a language barrier, but great selection) Portland has
> some pretty good dim sum, too. One day I hope to travel to Hong Kong,
> where dim sum was born, and sample the wares. When I'm up north for my
> reunion I might go into The City and head to Chinatown to scout some,
> but I would want a buddy to go with me.
>
> I have no idea if there is a dim sum restaurant (there should be) in
> Houston and that's the closest major city to me about 350 miles away.
> I'm about 250 miles from San Antonio, but I don't think there's dim sum
> there.
>

On 7/31/2014 9:45 AM, Ema Nymton wrote:
> On 7/30/2014 5:52 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>> On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 11:52:35 AM UTC-10, Ema Nymton wrote:
>
>>> We had a Chinese restaurant next door to our office and sometimes
>>> we would go in around 3:00 for a snack. That is when the kitchen help
>>> and everyone else would eat at a large table, family style. We would
>>> eat whatever they were having. Anyway, the people who fill our wontons
>>> and make our dumplings and eggrolls are Hispanic. They also make our
>>> sushi and they do a fine job.
>>>
>>> Becca
>>
>> I have heard of this happening on the mainland. We don't have that
>> many Hispanics here to be doing that. I think there was one latino
>> cooking for a local style restaurant on the big island. My
>> understanding is that it's a great place. There was a Mexican
>> restaurant that got raided by the migras in Kailua. I thought that
>> was great. You know the Mexican food is authentic when the joint get
>> visited by the INS. That's probably no big deal for you guys - you
>> probably see that every day.
>
> We do not have many INS raids, AFAIK, and when half of your population
> is Hispanic, I am not sue how they can tell, I guess they have their
> ways, though.
>
> Here in Texas, we like our illegals, but you will hear a few elderly
> people complain about them. Most of these people have green cards, but
> they are still referred to as "illegals" by those who do not like
> Mexicans being here.
>
> Becca
>
>

I don't have any problem with people traveling where they want to. A lot
of the time they're imported here by rich cats that need cheap labor. I
don't like how these guys get exploited but what are you gonna do?

On 7/31/2014 3:06 PM, S Viemeister wrote:
> On 7/31/2014 12:45 PM, Janet Wilder wrote:
>> On 7/31/2014 10:57 AM, S Viemeister wrote:
>>> On 7/31/2014 11:00 AM, Janet Wilder wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've had great dim sum in Vancouver, BC and in Sydney Australia (where
>>>> there was also a language barrier, but great selection) Portland has
>>>> some pretty good dim sum, too. One day I hope to travel to Hong Kong,
>>>> where dim sum was born, and sample the wares. When I'm up north for my
>>>> reunion I might go into The City and head to Chinatown to scout some,
>>>> but I would want a buddy to go with me.
>>>>
>>> Sounds like fun!
>>> I'd offer to go with you, but I won't be in the area until late on the
>>> 17th, (my reunion is on the 18th).
>>
>> Sorry I'll miss you. I'll be back home by then
>>
> A tour of Chinatown with an old classmate or two could be fun - take
> pictures!

I might schlep a friend with me.

--
From somewhere very deep in the heart of Texas

"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/31/2014 2:01 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>
>
>>>>
>>> I consider that harkening back to the olden daze and hate it. I don't
>>> want to have to call the waiter over if I want a little more pepper,
>>> so better restaurants put grinders of both salt and pepper on the
>>> table now so you can do it yourself.
>>
>> I have never seen a grinder of any kind on a table.
>
> The 99 Restaurant chain has both salt and pepper grinders on the table. We
> had dinner at River Tavern in Chester, CT last night, they had a pepper
> grinder and a salt cellar with grey salt in it.

That could be. Just have never seen them myself.