I use normal because I don't always see low-sodiium at the store, and I like things fairly salty anyway.

I don't know, but I wish I knew you so that you could come over and deal with some super-sulfuric onions I have at the moment.

Seriously, though, I think your fridge is helping keep away the tears. In my experience onions seems to vary a lot, even those that are the same type.

Sripraphai would work. Or other places in Woodside/Elmhurst. I like this Indo-Chinese joint called Tangra Masala, but haven't been for a while.

I don't know that there are any restaurant musts in Corona, but that's also a quick drive from LGA via taxi.

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SriPraPhai
64-13 39th Ave, Queens, NY 11377

Tangra Masala
87-09 Grand Ave, Queens, NY 11373

No, i haven't yet, but maybe I will this month. I walked by it a couple weeks ago and thought it looked really nice -- the beer list seemed a little fancier than other places in the area...

Oh cool. How long do you cook the brown rice under pressure? And I assume you use the same amount of water as if you were cooking it normally...

Yes, I was going to say that ramekins always imply custards, etc. to me.

I guess I should have said I don't notice a dif. when cooking/baking. When buttering bread or whatever, I prefer salted. But it's not something I'd defend to the death...

Just wanted to add my vote as someone who hardly ever buys unsalted butter. Salted seems to work fine for me, and I don't notice a difference in baked goods or any other use when I use one vs. the other. Your mileage may vary!

Amen to FOODIE!

I can't stand the word "preparation" when "dish" or "recipe" would work just as well. (I can't really justify this dislike -- I just feel it sounds a little pretentious. No accounting for taste, etc.)

I'm going to have to read that explanation about a pot's energy vs. temperature again (either I or it are muddled). But I would say that one good reason to cook at least some pasta shapes in a big pot is so that they don't all stick together in a hard-to-fix mass. The dangers of a big ball of gunky spaghetti is no myth!

Zagat has published a Disney World guide in the past....

I was wondering abou this too just now. After spending way too much time thinking about it, here are the things that confuse me.
1) It's basically the only photo of "mechanically separated chicken" on the internet. Try it for yourself: http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22mechanically+separated+chicken%22&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=648
2) Why is the goo being put into kind of small cardboard boxes and not into a big industrial vat?
3) According to the McDonald's website, white chicken is what's used for McNuggets.
(http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/itemDetailInfo.do?itemID=10077). But per the USDA, things using mechanically separated chicken have to state that they are using it.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Meat_&_Poultry_Labeling_Terms/index.asp. So it doesn't seem accurate to state that this is what goes into McNuggets.

Here's a related video, where the meat looks a lot more like what I'd imagine minced up meat would look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eAc5D...

Because I am such a gringo, and because I just finished reading the thread about it, I thought at first this dish was made with mayonnaise! Which sounded quite nice.

I haven't made it, but I imagine it would be fine-- probably just a bit less firm. And bake it uncovered.

Astor Wines has the biggest selection I've seen downtown.

Do the Hare Krishnas still serve dal or curry or whatever they serve at Tompkins Square? I promise to investigate if I see their big vat anytime soon.

And my free food involves the fact that my partner and I have sublet our apartment for three six-month stretches while living in India. The second stint some French guys sublet the place, and when they moved out they left duck confit, Champagne, and chocolate in the fridge. The potatoes we fried in the duck fat were arguably even better than the confit itself . . ..

I thought Southern Spice in Banjara Hills was awfully good. Was also pleasantly surprised by the biryani at A Touch of Class, a restaurant in the Central Court hotel. But I think Lucky Fatima is right, word of mouth and a location near the Char Minar is prob. where the best biryanis are.

Andhra food tends to be very hot, and many of the dishes are meat-based. At least the ones you tend to see featured in restaurants touting their Andhra-ness.

As for an expat hangout, I'm guessing that it's going to be a nightclub in one of the five-star hotels, probably a Taj. There's an expat group (http://www.hytea.org/) that you could check in with.

Navigation: I used a combo of auto-rickshaw (short trips) and call taxi. Distances can be far, and the addresses are sometimes almost useless, so a cell phone is another important navigation tool. Pass it from yourself to the taxi driver and back again until you get where you're going.

I can get you some decent/good ones in Bangalore . . .

Yes, I feel that this is mad. But that's not exactly the attitude that wins contests, is it? Could you cut up some apples and cook it with the pork sausage so that they meld together more, so that you're putting a kind of stuffing in the apple and not just sausage? What's the cereal like? Is it super-sweet? Could you use a very tart apple to balance this out? And maybe lemon juice/rind?

Oh god, I just looked and see that these are copycat Apple Jacks. So sweet!

http://www.malt-o-meal.com/pages/cc_A...

hmmm, i just took a big sniff of my urad dal, which are skinned and split. they also have a kind of strong smell.

Yours are probably normal.

In light of this incendiary topic, I thought it was hilarious to discover that the British advertising for cheese will soon be banned during kids' programs: cheese is "junk food," you know.

(Also note the hideous processed cheese package used to illustrate the story.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main....

I don't have any good ideas myself, but you might want to post in the Calcutta sections of the www.indiamike.com forum. Lots of clued-in people there, and they might know.

A recent late-night case of the munchies caused me to start eating gingersnaps along with a bottle of Brooklyn Pilsner. And it was wonderful -- the spices in the cookies played well with the beery goodness.

Any other not-obvious things I should start drinking beer with?

I haven't eaten there in years, but Jade Mountain is a place in the East Village that serves very old-school Chinese-American food. I might just have to check it out again soon.

Agree about the roast pork at Cafe Celle. Casa Adela on Avenue C also has good pork. I haven't had it there, but I think that Margon, also on 46th st, is equally famed for the pork.

The Strand also has a good selection of cookbooks. And just about everything else.

Maybe they were too old? Beans (and I'm guessing peas) get old, and then they won't ever get super-tender.

I second the mustard rec -- or also a little cider vinegar (or any vinegar) will help.