Olallieberry's Profile
Supertaster skepticism: is the any real scientific evidence that Supertasters actually exist?
I have no answers for you but I, too, have wondered about the scientific validity of the supertaster phenomenon.
Is this the same thing as the cilantro enzyme? Because I question that too - only because some people I know who hated cilantro in the past have come around to it. If it was really a biologically determined thing, that shouldn't happen too often, right?
College dorm cafeteria food -- which ones are the best?
I graduated the same year and I agree, it may not have been restaurant-quality but for dorm food, I thought it was pretty great. I honestly didn't see much distinction between any of the dorms, they mostly served the same stuff with a little variation (Covel had more pasta as I recall? And Hedrick had sushi on certain days). The desserts were pretty lacking, but as far as the other options went, well, let's just say I would kill to be able to have easy access to any of those cafeterias now.
I remember visiting UC Santa Barbara and it was absolute dreck. I was actually astonished that their food could be so much worse than ours. I literally only ate ice cream for like three days.
What Food Thing Are You Currently Craving--Like Right Now!
Oh no! Thought the power outages were all farther north. At least you had a very tasty sounding meal on the other side of it.
What Food Thing Are You Currently Craving--Like Right Now!
There's a legit snowstorm happening in DC right now and I am craving a warm bowl of homemade split pea soup with some good crusty bread!
I don't cook but I thought about attempting to make some today until I realized it would mean trekking several blocks to the store and back in the snow. Maybe tomorrow if it's not still snowing I'll make a big pot and freeze some...
BEST BURGER NYC?...
I second Eatingbeets's recommendation of the Commodore! I dream about this burger...in fact it's the burger that turned me back on to burgers, after repeatedly being disappointed when I ordered them other places. The rest of their food is fantastic too, at amazing prices.
Dumont Burger in Williamsburg is good, too, if you're already there, though probably not worth the trip on its own.
Shake Shack is also very good and the line is part of the experience. I like the original location. There are certainly worse things to do (as long as its nice out) then hang around in Madison Square Park people watching for awhile.
Unlike most, I did not enjoy the burger at the Spotted Pig - it may have just been bad luck, but my burger was almost inedibly salty. In that neighborhood, much prefer Corner Bistro.
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Corner Bistro
331 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014
Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014
What is your favorite healthy snack?
I made that very salad tonight! Am waiting for the flavors to meld a little before I attack it.
What is your favorite healthy snack?
Mustard on an apple, really? How did you come to try that? I'm now tentatively curious.
Restaurant Week Le Cirque Opinions
Hmm, I guess I'll be the dissenting opinion. I can't remember exactly which RW I went but it was in the last couple of years.
Service was fine, but I just wasn't impressed with the RW menu choices nor was I very impressed with what I did end up ordering. Even the famous creme brulee was a bit of a disappointment to me.
Far better enjoyed Bond St., the bar room at the Modern, and even Butter.
Most Overrated Dishes
For me it's pad thai. I always thought of it as the standard choice for people who weren't familiar with Thai food, but then realized even my most adventurous friends in dining often order it and love it. So I am starting to think it's just me.
I'll second the macaroni and cheese nomination and also throw in prosciutto and melon (together).
Best Ice Cream Brand
My absolute favorite is Ronnybrook ice cream, but only when I purchase it from the greenmarket because the few times I've bought it in a store it tends to be too frozen and crystally - something about the composition of it maybe. I think the coconut and pistachio are my consistent faves but I have a featured flavor blueberry pint right now and it is hitting the spot in this near-100 degree heat.
Ben N Jerry's is a close second, both for nostalgic memories of recklessly gorging on it in high school and college and because it's always surprisingly delicious. The new Key Lime Pie and Marzipan flavors are amazing.
For sorbet, Ciao Bella is the best I've tried, but I'm not as discerning when it comes to sorbet.
Your latest 'addiction'?
Tortilla chips and fresh salsa. I could eat them every day for dinner and be happy doing it.
My more surprising addiction, though, is Jiffy Pop popcorn with just a touch of butter and salt. After working at a movie theater for years in high school and college, I swore I'd never go back to stovepop popcorn, but now that it's been several years and I've lost the taste for the oily stuff, I can finally start eating it again.
What food find still haunts you - that you had once and haven't found since?
The first thing that popped to mind, oddly enough, was a sandwich I had at a food court in a Fairfax County, Virginia mall about fifteen years ago. It was right around the time that pita bread was just becoming widespread, and this one place (don't remember if it was Middle Eastern or just 'healthy eating' themed or what), had pita sandwiches with very lightly cooked vegetables and some kind of creamy sauce that bound it all together.
Try as I might to combine lightly cooked vegetables, creamy sauce and pitas in myriad combinations since, I just have not been able to.
What food find still haunts you - that you had once and haven't found since?
It wasn't beets, was it?
It's a texture thing...
Apricots. I'm ok with the taste (though they're a bit bland for my liking), but it's that super-softness and the way they kind of fall off the pit in your mouth that I don't like. I keep expecting to like them because everybody else seems to, but I just can't.
Dried figs kind of weird me out too, with all the little seeds, but I like the overall chewiness enough.
I can think of one food in particular that has the opposite problem: Turkish Delight. LOVE the texture, wish it tasted better.
last dinner...what would it be?
A steamed artichoke with aioli or maybe just plain mayonnaise to dip, with a glass of milk. Followed by some sort of creamy, ridiculously sauce on gnocchi or pasta with tons of cheese. And for dessert, a box of premium assorted chocolates.
Do you crave what you need?
Yep, that is exactly what I was thinking as I read through the answers. I do think it's maybe possible to crave healthy foods when you're severely lacking certain nutrients, but it seems like it has more of a psychological component (I know oranges have Vitamin C, I think I need Vitamin C, therefore oranges sound good) than the more deeply entrenched proclivity to cravings for carbs and fat.
favourite summer foods from childhood
Juicy peaches
Blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream and fresh-picked blackberries
Grilled portobella mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash
Cherry tomatoes of all colors, right off the vine, oooooh man I can almost taste them
Otter pops
Ice cold, real, tart lemonade
Food that Most People Love and You Don't...
I'm the same with water. What helps for me is if its reeaallly cold.
Food that Most People Love and You Don't...
Okay, leaving off things that I don't like, because I've named those before many times- these are all things that I do like or at least will eat, but don't LOVE with the passion that other people seem to:
oysters
apricots, plums, nectarines (though I LOVE peaches)
strawberries
carrots
feta
beets
balsamic viniagrette
eggs
Like I said, I enjoy all of the above, but don't understand when people go into that rapturous kind of trance when thinking about them.
Equally sweet and savory
Eating my ginger creme brulee ice cream this morning (yes, it's breakfast...what of it?) it struck me that the last time I tasted something so strongly gingery was when eating sushi. Ginger seems to be one of those ingredients that goes equally well in sweet and savory dishes. Lemon and lime are another example.
What else do you use in both sweet and savory? Anything that works unexpectedly well in one or the other?
What brand foods can you not live without?
Annie's Woodstock dressing
Whole Foods 365 brand pita chips
Safeway Select cookies
Mother's brand pink and white animal-cracker cookies (not for much longer!)
diet Sprite- no generic brand will do
Pillsbury crescent rolls and buttermilk biscuits...I just love them....
What's The One Thing You Can't Eat, even for money.
Wow, okay, I didn't think I'd think of anything reading this that I wouldn't eat for more than a couple of dollars, but you win. It would take a looooot for this one.
The Next Comfort Food Trend?
Casseroles. I would love to see great chefs' takes on tuna casserole, chicken tetrazzini, chicken and rice casseroles, Mexican casserole...
I think warm specialty cocktails will follow on the heels of their cold counterparts and become trendy this winter. Hmm, actually, with this economy maybe not...
Agree with cookies replacing cupcakes as the baked good du jour.
I always enjoy _____, no matter how bad it is.
Bagels. Living in New York I have developed a true appreciation for the real thing, but I could still eat a Lender's frozen bagel and like it.
Can't decide whether I agree with pizza or not. On the one hand, yes, I would (and do) eat crappy pizza...on the other hand, good pizza is so $#*$ing good.
I have to say, I'd eat any quality tacos, as well.
What is your newly-discovered food that has been around for ages?
Iv'e found another one: Asian pears. Don't know if they've really 'been around forever' but I've been buying tons of them in the Union Square greenmarket. So juicy and crispy, like the perfect pear-apple hybrid.
You don't like that?!
Funny, I don't like mandarin oranges or non-Asian noodle soup very much either, and sunflower seeds don't do anything for me except as a crunch additive in salad. Love shrimp though.
What is your newly-discovered food that has been around for ages?
Thanks, MMRuth, will do!
What is your newly-discovered food that has been around for ages?
Brown rice. So much better than bland white! And still good at sopping up yummy sauces.
I also recently tried good sushi for the first time--previously had only had grocery store sushi. Wow! What a difference. I now crave the stuff almost daily.
Better Together
anything, eh? that reminds me of the afternoon I spent with a friend trying to think of anything that wouldn't taste good fried.
