While I love both, yes, wasabi just doesn't manhandle your sinuses like Atomic will.

Now I'm getting a craving for horseradish and beets, kasha and a fatty smoked sausage

It will put hair on your chest, that's for sure! I sampled the atomic out in Vegas 6 years ago at some of the steakhouses and was instantly addicted, I was thrilled to find it at Sprouts.

I'm surprised they didn't kick you out for asking for something without cheese. Kenny must have mellowed.

They carry it at the Soutlake sprouts, too. I bought some last month. It's really good stuff, reminds me of when my baba would grind fresh horseradish in the kitchen. You needed a gas mask to survive the burn, but the old battle axe never seemed to need one.

I was pleasantly surprised to find chopped liver at Central Market. You may want to give it a try and see how you like it.

It's been a while since I've been to John's. Are they still cash only? They've been there forever, I wonder if they own the building. When I walked to school back in the day I was greeted by the red neon "John's" sign next to PS 19.

For whom? The subset of city workers who don't contribute to their own healthcare costs? The majority of everyone else has private insurance towards which the city does not contribute. Poor citizens and the elderly are covered by Medicare and medicaid- both of which are federally funded programs. So you're saying that the fraction of city workers for whom the city must provide healthcare to are soo fat and sick that NYC is going bankrupt.. is that right?

Its equally amusing to see how many people put blind faith in the government's "health initiatives" at the expense of their personal autonomy, when they're the ones to blame for the pervasive use of corn syrup. If high fructise corn syrup is so bad for you, why are the feds subsidizing it?

You're welcome!! Enjoy the neighborhood, its a damn good one. And being on 15th street you get all the perks of living near 14th street without all the noise 24/7 from the bars, emergency vehicles, traffic and drunk locals :)

I tried to include some cheaper "every day" alternatives that I found myself going to when money was tight or I wanted a casual and quick meal.

I wouldn't wipe my behind with the NYT.

How does a ban not hinder/slow purcasing, or make the purchase less difficult, costly and accessable?

Considering that mankind has been eating sugar in various forms for hundreds of thousands of years, but we've only run into this obesity "epidemic" recently, sugar isn't the problem. If you want to make a case against high fructose corn syrup and processed food additives then that's fine but I don't see how it merits getting in the way of ones personal choice of what to eat. I will remind you that it is the feds (and the ag industry) that pushed the low-fat/high carbohydrate and corn syrup onto the populous in the first place. So the government is the last ones who I would trust since their public policy revolves around which lobby group is floating the most cash. The beverage industry only uses high fructose syrup because its cheap. Punishing them (and citizens) by attempts to limit their consumption because of the obese minority (who may or may not be obese due to sugary beverages) is nothing short of futile and pathetic not to mention overreaching. Just because my neighbor has a weight problem doesn't give any entity license to put the whole country/city/locale on a sugar free diet.

I'm certainly in no need of a government imposed diet. I eat and drink just about everything and my heath is better than my own doctors. So pass the bacon if you please, and tell bloomberg that he can kiss my skinny foodie ass...

Regulating to prevent/hinder/slow sale is the definition of an obstacle.

You know much less about diabetes type 2 and metabolic syndrome than I do. Don't even go there.

I didn't realize daisy was a Texas product. It's been my favorite sour cream for years.

I was looking forward to trying bluebell when I moved- so far the banana pudding flavor is my favorite but I haven't tried the homemade vanilla yet. I'll be sure to pick some up next time.

Love Mrs bairds too, great for making grilled cheese and tuna melts. We caught on to Mrs Bairds immediately relocating (Pb&J's are a staple when you haven't stocked your pantry yet).

I am really enjoying Texas and have zero regrets leaving my old hometown. Don't change a thing!

Mr alkonost loves a good Bourbon. I'll see if goody goodies carries it since they seemed to stock a lot of texas products

Thanks I will keep an eye out for it next time I'm at krogers :)

I take it that our friends from across the pond aren't into jalapenos. If I'm in Waco I'll check them out. Crybabies has a website I wonder if they'll make an exception and ship to the UK?

The ban was put place by the city government- so yes the governent was indeed the obsticle. You can rationalize it any way u want to in order to make yourself feel better about blessing government overreach.

I drink em and my heath is great!

Didn't say they were- just pointing out that the wrong tree was getting barked at.

Um sorry but the govt telling you what you can't or can eat is already *major* intrusion when it comes to the slippery slope.

Yes, but for the Southlake location I noticed the quality sometimes declines if they're insanely busy. I love their salmon salad, the fish was perfectly cooked, to be honest they could charge $25 for that meal in NYC and it would be a bargain. But on a Saturday when it was packed the cook screwed up and overcooked the fish. It happens, when the kitchen is swamped someone is bound to make a mistake. So when it's crowded I go for a sandwich, soup or burger and I save the fish dishes during less busy cafe times.

Their taco soup is great, and if they offer the green havarti burger on special I'd recommend that too. I also like the breakfast tacos with fresh salsa.

By the time I get sick of them the seasons change and there's something new coming in. It's a win/win situation :D

The agricultural lobby and the corn farming industry (flush with government subsidies) are the men behind the curtain. Gov't subsidies make corn cheap, and corn syrup cheaper than sugar- which is why beverage and food companies use it as their primary sweetener. High fructose corn syrup isn't a conspiracy of beverage companies hoping to make America fat. It's incidental of the low corn product prices, companies use what's cheap.

You're going to find that most of the good stuff is south of 14th street. Gramercy doesn't have as many good eateries or bars, but it's very hard for most neighborhoods to compete with the EV (the area on the east side south of 14th street) on those points. I lived right on 14th street for over 30 years and I almost never went to Gramercy to eat or drink.

Best chinese delivery for the area: Tasty King ($) and Grand Sichuan ($-$$). For chinese take out xian's is really good, but they don't deliver you have to go there to pick it up.

Casual Dominican diner: Gena's Grill ($)

Good, reasonable ramen that won't break the bank: Kambi ($-$$) House (great alternative to Ippudo$$). I'm also going to second Ippudo, but the lines can be long, the ramen a tad pricey (but worth it) and they don't take reservations. Village Yokocho ($-$$) is a good place for Yakitori, but there are other EV Izakayas which are said to be better but I've never been. Otafuku ($) for takoyaki and yakisoba.

BaoHaus ($) is so so but not a bad place for a snack.

Pomme Frites has got to be my favorite snack place of them all. Their fries and sauces are amazing and I've been gobbling them up since I was 12.

Veselka ($-$$) is probably the best diner in the EV, and it also has some excellent borscht and other Ukranian delights. For cheap Ukie eats I'd recommend checking out Streecha($)- very cheap but excellent varenyky and holubtsi (pierogies and stuffed cabbage) but it's low key, no frills and served in a basement (it's a church eatery run by a small army of Babas). You may also want to try Stage Restaurant ($-$$), an very old school small diner that also serves Ukranian food, and across the street is B&H Diary ($-$$). B&H leans towards vegetarian/pescatarian, they make a good whitefish salad sandwich that pairs well with their borscht.

Dieci ($$)for some interesting tapas/asian-fusion.

Ess-A-Bagel ($) on 21st and 1st- best bagels in the area.

Venieros ($) and blackhound bakery ($$) for sweets.

Russo's ($) next door to Veniero's for fresh pasta and mozz (small grocery store selling Italian goods).

Angelica's Kitchen ($-$$)and Beyond Sushi ($)for vegan and vegetarian food. Beyond sushi is a very affordable lunch spot: I recommend their "nutty buddy" summer roll and most of their sushi rolls.

For Sushi: Yuba ($$) and Kanoyama ($$$)- the latter is fancier when you want that kind of ambiance but I've found the sushi at the former to be more consistent. Since your daughter is on 15th street I will give an honorable mention to The Loop ($$), they have some good creative sushi rolls there, but it's nowhere near traditional sushi- that being said, it doesn't mean it's not good.

Pylos ($$$) for Greek, some of the best Greek food IMHO in the city.

Panya is an interesting place to stop by for lunch, it's an Asian bakery but they also serve hot food.

Podunk is a great little spot for tea and lunch. The owner has some rules (no cel phones or laptops), but it's because she's not running a Starbucks and wants everyone to know it.

If I think of anything else that hasn't been mentioned I'll let you know.

That was a clear case of Gov't overstepping it's authority, I'm elated that such BS got slapped down. If you want the government to have power over what you eat, what you say, what you think, what you wear, and how you make love then you're in the wrong place.

I picked up some "heirloom navel oranges" at Southlake CM- they're incredible (and cheap since they're in season). I guess I needed a change from the Texas red grapefruits I've been gorging on.

I went online to check on Sushiism's hours and discovered that it has closed :( Doh! Anyone know why the restaurant closed down?