I received a big box of Abita beer...an assortment of some of their brews. I don't drink beer, so i have used all of the bottles for cooking. I'm down to the last bottle which is called Purple Haze and is described as a malt beverage with fresh raspberry puree added. I am not a creative cook at all, so does anyone know of something i could make using this beer? An entire recipe or even just a general idea would be appreciated. Thanks!

I second Andaman for the food and cozy atmosphere...then take a stroll on the square and head to Greenhouse for drinks.

It may be past lunch time by the time you get to the Monroe, Louisiana area...but if you make it that far before eating, try Restaurant Cotton...the food is really good and i love the atmosphere. http://www.restaurantcotton.com/

I eat boston baked beans one at a time...helps time go by more quickly for me.

I totally agree with this post.

I drink a lot of tea when dining out and would have love to have an entire pitcher to myself!

You could try a sweep the swamp pizza from Johnny's in Addison. It's a pizza i grew up with, so i am not sure if it is an acquired taste or not, but it is worth a try, lol. It is a Louisiana mini pizza chain (beware, the pizza there is definitely not like any authentic new york style or any other style of pizza that i know) that just opened here. During crawfish season, they always have sweep the swamp pizza with crawfish, shrimp and andouille sausage.

It's fine if you don't want to move, but why respond in an inflammatory manner? Isn't just politely declining to move enough? If the person overreacts to that, well, then that's totally their problem.

I would have moved and would not have been offended at all by the request...now if they had asked me to get up so that i actually had to go hunt for another place to sit that may or may not exist, i would not be so obliging about that. But as long as i had another spot i could quickly and easily move to, i would not have a problem.

I just tried Greek yogurt for the first time last week and it happened to be the Chobani...i abosultely love it. I'm 18 weeks pregnant now and it is a great way for me to get some extra protein and satisfy my sweet tooth. So far i've tried the honey, strawberry banana, pomegranate, and passion fruit flavors...any particular flavors that you recommend?

"Does that mean those of us that use the web never ask for personal dining recs from people we know and trust and never venture out try restaurants that don't have websites? Of course not...word of mouth is obviously a major power for restaurants that serve good food."

I never insisted that every ALL restaurants MUST have a website. Reread my post.

I definitely agree with you on the op's position...i don't think a restaurant absolutely has to have a website to thrive, but i also think a website can be beneficial. I guess i just don't agree with the either extreme on this topic and it seems some people are leaning really far in on direction.

I cannot believe there are people in this day and age that cannot accept that having a website can actually increase your business. There are many people that do not use the web on a regular basis but you are kidding yourself if you do not think that there is a large portion of the population that looks to the web for all sorts of information. I don't understand that condescending attiude many people have on here against people whose dining choices are sometimes swayed by checking out a menu online beforehand. I am late 20's and i can tell you that almost everyone i know uses the web and their iphone when making quick decisions about where to dine...or even when looking for very specific dining requirements for future dinners. Does that mean those of us that use the web never ask for personal dining recs from people we know and trust and never venture out try restaurants that don't have websites? Of course not...word of mouth is obviously a major power for restaurants that serve good food. But i don't understand how people can't accept the fact that having a website might increase your business with a certain demographic...it's not all black and white.

Why?

I really doubt the kids themselves are dying to be at this party either...i don't think she should have to accomodate them either, but since the kids probably aren't the ones insisting on coming to the party, i think it's nice of her to provide them a little something to eat.

Even though this show seems to run non-stop, i just recently watched my first few episodes. I found them pretty entertaining, but i will probably burn out quickly. Anyway, i was curious if anyone caught the episde (assuming rerun) with the really jittery pastry chef who was working for no pay vs uber cocky chef chef...I know many chefs are extremely confident and that's important, but this one chef really annoyed me. His name was maurice hurley, and he requested they call him Chef Mo. He's executive chef at a place in New York called Valbella...is this supposed to be some super great restaurant? The idea of the show is that it's going to be challenging working with unfamiliar and sometimes lowly ingredients and he just seemed to turn his nose up at everything...he would never eat this or cook that because it's peasant food. He was also really into name dropping all the celebrity chefs who knows...anyone else see this guy and find him just as annoying?

From Ravelin's facebook page: We have our Christmas menus out! We also have gingerbread, ginger snaps, and Christmas stollen out. Come by and see us. It is a great day for a yummy pastry and a warm cup of coffee! :) Happy Friday!

.Could you tell us what Christmas stollen is? I haven't the faintest idea LOL.

Ravelin Bakery : It is a dense bread with dried fruit that has been soaked in a dark rum with almonds, and covered in powdered sugar. :)

We always have a game of flag football after the meal...we've got some pretty good athletes and some pretty bad ones, but it is always a fun time. Then we go back inside for a second helping of my mom's chocolate pie after the game so any health benefits are negated.

You sound like my brother...when it is time to order dessert at a restaurant, he knows he's going to want to the whole thing, so he always tells his wife, i'm getting dessert...if you want a dessert, i am happy to order another one for you...she always declines citing fullness. It never fails that when dessert comes, she wants just a bite that turns into 4, 5, and 6 bites. it drives him crazy. I love my sister-in-law but i'm with you and my brother on this one...it is not as if he would complain about ordering another dessert or complain if she only ate half of hers...but he knows what he wants.

It seems quite a few restaurants have opened recently in Denton...some chains or small chains and lots of them near the square.

Out near the newest Kroger, there's Mi Taza, a latin cafe. I haven't eaten much latin food, but i tried the cachapa with shredded chicken and cheese and loved it. Anyone that knows more about the cuisine been? Is it a fair or poor representation? They've got some other general tex-mex items on the menu, but here's the link. http://mitazalatincafe.com/#/?section...

Some of the other openings include

Mellow Mushroom
Burguesa Burger (coming soon
)Loco Cafe
Seven Mile Cafe
Cartwright's Ranch House
Chuy's
Weinberger's
Love Shack
Denton Square Donuts

Any other new places, especially locally owned, that have opened lately? Does anyone know anything about Seven Mile Cafe? I haven't been to Cartwright's but it sounds very similar to a Babe's concept. Loco Cafe and Denton Square Donuts have already become part of my regular rotation.

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Chuy's
3408 N Central Expy, Plano, TX 75074

My BMI has always been toward the low end of healthy, but unfortunately, as i get older, i find it harder to eat what i want and not gain wain. I'm not even 30 yet and i can already tell a difference. To maintain my weight and still enjoy food, i try to watch what i eat during the week but i only eat what i absolutely love. Sometimes during the week i will get stuck on eating my favorite foods over and over again because if i don't love what i'm eating, i immediately want to eat something else no matter how full i feel. During the weekend, i like to eat out more, try new restaurants, and be more lenient on what i'm eating. I exercise almost every day...so no, i'm not one of those lucky people that seem to eat whatever they want with no consequences...i have to make an effort. Sometimes i wish i didn't care about my appearance at all, but i do :(

In the US, have you ever had a reservation and had to wait a while for your table to be ready because the previous reservation hadn't vacated yet...not because they hadn't been served in a timely manner but because they decided to linger a while. You're okay with that? Just wondering because i feel like some people that complain about having to wait for a reservation are the same ones that decide to camp out at a table. Can a person have it both ways?

I'm late twenties...most of my friends carry no cash and other than those with a mortgage payment and a couple with student loans, most of my friends have little to no debt. People younger than me are even less likely to carry cash. Things really are changing as far as cash goes.

I love Rick's and the Grand Hotel...strolling around the square would definitely be a great place for a date.

Maybe i'm the only one that feels this way but you're looking at your friends as if they were in poor taste; meanwhile, i was thinking as i was reading your post that i probably would not have gone to a free lunch buffet after i already ate lunch. Even if you only ate small bites.

I agree with you. Personally, i would never even think of returning something just because i didn't like it. I know when i am trying something new that there's a chance i might not like it. If i don't like it, i just won't buy it again...not the store's fault.

I must not be refined enough, either...i guess getting a table that is way too small would be frustrating, but wow, i continue to be amazed at how picky some people are. And it is true that different people like different tables, so unless you make some specific request, how do they know if you are going to think it is the "worst table in the restaurant."

I’ve been to Loco a few times now, but still haven’t ventured over to the juice bar, café register or whatever that is over in the corner. The biscuits were not what I was expecting…they were actually better. You aren’t kidding about ordering a dozen. They’re massive. I also wasn’t sure about the butter. I guess they gave me the flavor I asked for? I chose honey butter, and my biscuit definitely had butter on it, I just didn’t get a real honey butter taste. I wish I could have buttered my own biscuit because I probably would have used more.

The breakfast tacos are really good. They come on soft corn tortillas (the only kind I like). I had mine filled with egg, cheese, hashbrowns, salsa and avocado. I don’t usually like potatoes in my breakfast tacos, but these blended nicely. I’m addicted to the salsa now.

I don’t like the Johnny cakes or the syrup that comes with them. I’ve never had Johnny cakes, so I’ve got nothing to compare them to. They were way too heavy and dry for my taste. That might just be Johnny cakes in general…also, the syrup is maple flavored which has never been a favorite of mine, so these items may be really good to those that really like Johnny cakes and maple syrup…apparently, I don’t.

The coffee cakes are moist and delicious.

During the week, when I try to eat healthier, I think the avocado taco is a pretty good option. Because of the calories, I could probably only have one, but with the egg, avocado, cheese and salsa, it definitely has the fuel and flavor I’m looking for.

Is there a chowhound page on facebook...i could only find a chow.com

This isn't directly related to this old, original question and may be a question better suited for the home cooking board, but is there anything i can do with some peaches that i have that aren't very soft or ripe...is there any kind of simple dessert i can do with these hard peaches? Thanks!