Caralien's Profile
What is the Proper Way to Order in a Chinese restaurant to receive a spicy dish?
The local Mexican market has good jalapeños.
Fat Parisians?
Parisians also eat fast food. They just don't drive from home to the drive up window and back. Have you seen the lines at KFC, McDonalds, and Quick at lunchtime? It's not just fat Americans.
Top NJ Cheese Shops
From the website:
WARNING!
Google Maps frequently forgets that we moved to Milford, NJ in June 2010
If you are trying to find us on Google, it would be wide to enter our street address:
369 Stamets Rd, 08848
(our former location in Vernon is now closed)
What is the Proper Way to Order in a Chinese restaurant to receive a spicy dish?
A lot of servers are rude; for some it's cultural, others are asses.
I've noticed that many places will serve one set of food to the native speakers, another to everyone else. If the food is really good, I might overlook the attitude. That said, "spicy" here wouldn't have raised my daughter's eyebrow as a newborn. It's reasonable that many people don't actually like spicy food, so places stopped catering that style to the non-native speakers who regularly sent food back.
Honestly--I read glowing reviews of the blandest food in town on a regular basis; people here like bland (and rude, obnoxious staff; it's interesting).
So it is rude, but understandable.
Eating Local: Princeton
Bamboo Hollow is one of the gatherers of local honey--they have hives set up in Princeton. I've also seen hives at Terhune Orchard, Honeybrook CSA, and Howell Farm. Corner Copia in West Windsor sells local honey, and Bamboo Hollow is sold at Whole Earth in Princeton.
Apologies for the delay in responding--I have not frequented Chowhound since late 2009.
Top NJ Cheese Shops
Olsson's in Palmer Square, Princeton, moved from the Trenton Farmer's Market last year:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Olssons-Fine-Foods/146120038788196
Olsson's & Bon Appetit seem to satisfy my craving for Murray's in Manhattan
Fat Parisians?
Again--it's access to fresh food. I don't know of any areas in Paris where one can't get fresh produce on a shoestring budget.
In the US too, poor areas lack grocery stores with fresh produce. That is not the case in the poor areas of Paris. in the US & UK, eating highly processed, minimally nutritious food AND being overweight is more acceptable than in Paris--that's true--but even poor people in Paris have access to and can afford fresh food.
What is the Proper Way to Order in a Chinese restaurant to receive a spicy dish?
In the Chinese, Indian, Mexican, and Thai places, we explain that we aren't local (Princeton has a very bland palate) and actually want the food spicy, with some extra, raw chiles on the side. That generally works, though there are still plenty of arguments regarding how we wouldn't actually like it spicy.
Is it proper etiquette to call the chef "Chef"?
Veggo--I use sir for men, ladies for women. Girls, like garçon, is a bit demeaning. In mixed company, guys when it's friends.
I'd say "Chef", btw. Unless it was a friend or colleague, then their first name. This is true for any friends, even those with many "real" degrees.
Btw, there are enough charlatans out there who use MD even if it means "Managing Director". You can post legitimate titles, but seriously, don't be a wank about it and expect friends to follow suit.
Change in the site header
FYI: nearly 3 years ago, to the date, posts were made by users such as me regarding problems with the restaurant database:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/585833
Average posting lifespan of a Chowhound
Sam passed away? That is so sad. He was crazy, but peaceful, knowledgable, and hilarious.
Average posting lifespan of a Chowhound
Obviously, Chow was alienating posters "like me", not bending over backwards. As I stated, it was a reason I took a break. I wanted to stay on, but my interests were towards my health & that of Charlotte. No one would post a pregnancy-safe pate. I had to find out from other sources and research that honestly, most cheese sold in the US, including Mexican cheeses, were perfectly fine; major exceptions, anything that stated "raw", Roquefort, Maytag Blue. Chowhound did not have that information in 2009.
Obviously it is tedious to read the same crap regularly--that was tiring within 3 months. If you (or I) have a screaming brat, a drunk client, etc., let the newbies or others chime in.
Chowhound did not find me a maple custard filled doughnut--I was directed primarily to Dunkin Donuts. I still haven't had one since leaving SF in 2006. It's sad.
We are still searching for barbecue and taco trucks, though I'm not sure what else is in Reading, PA to justify a return.
The restaurant search on CH was painful to use when I left, so I gave up.
We each use sites for different reasons--advice is nice, when you can get it. The site has to function. When you aren't getting what you're looking for and relevant (to you) posts are deleted while your favourites are disappearing, it's no longer fun or useful. I did not want to get tired of the board, but it had ceased to be useful.
I am happy that posting from an iPhone is not difficult. Toddlers and keyboards don't mix.
Fat Parisians?
You are kidding, aren't you? Good, fresh food at any price point is so much easier to find in Paris than London. Shopping in London is best for those with deep pockets if you want wine, cheese, and decent, fresh bread. Even rent and the metro are cheaper in Paris than London.
Having been a poor student and shoestring budget traveller in both cities (and many others) I heartily disagree that Paris only has skinny people because they're rich. At least state something like a pint of beer at the pub has 3x the calories as a glass of wine, and the weather in Paris is more salubrious for those who walk--you're never more than 5 minutes from the metro, so you DO walk more.
What was your favourite childhood concoction, which you now think is disgusting?
Butter with enough sugar to make a crispy paste. Yum!
High Temp Turkey - I solved the smoke problem
Hello!
Btw: the 13lb turkey was perfect in 2 hours. We let it rest 20 minutes.
There was some smoke from burnt crud on the oven floor, so that evening we set the oven to self-clean.
Average posting lifespan of a Chowhound
Honestly, I seem to have a short attention span for boards--1-2 years. Allure magazine, 6 months, but I was getting married and the people annoyed me with their cliquishness. Chow was great when I moved to Princeton, but 15 months later we bought a house and started a baby, and there was little I could get regarding what I could/couldn't eat while pregnant on Chow. When I would post about beer and wine shipping issues and potential changes in NJ, my posts were deleted as not-relevant. So I moved to Babycenter, which is a fun train wreck. I lasted almost exactly one year--until my daughter was 3 months old and tasting real Scottish haggis for the first time. Care2 likely lasted the longest amount of time--3 years? At a certain point, I was sick of product pushers & rabid vegans.
A lot of my favourites have been banned since I left Chow in 2009. I'm not sure if this is again the right place for me, though I'm happy to announce that my 17 month old eats everything we eat (we are following Sam's direction and example)
"Restaurants" Database To Be Eliminated
Aside from the restaurant search function being rather useless, I'm glad I stuck with Yelp for restaurants.
A lot of posters gave me crap for using evil Yelp (why don't you just post twice? One on each site?). 1) that is a pain 2) I can't find even my own restaurant posts on Chow
I won't miss it
High Temp Turkey - I solved the smoke problem
The smoke problem is easily solved by adding 1-2C of water to the pan prior to roasting. The drippings just add flavour for making the gravy by deglazing with wine, adding more pepper and mushrooms.
Trying a somewhat upright 13lb turkey tonight at a high temp--550F for 20 min, 475 for 90 (will check in 60).
Easy Bison Roast in a Crock Pot
I had some leftover cider from the orchard and replaced the stock and wine with it--also delicious!
Can you identify these nuts?
Not when they first fall from the tree. We have walnut trees and the husk is smooth.
Please help resolve this difference of opinion- raw ground turkey (not frozen) left on counter for hours still ok if cooked?
Don't forget about steak tartare, which apparently has been around since the middle ages and not cured:
"According to legend, the Tartars sustained themselves on their raids by snacking on raw red meat that they shredded with their knives -- all while on horseback, mind you -- en route to invading some hapless Eastern European territory."
http://www.boston.com/ae/food/restaurants/articles/2005/10/06/the_raw_and_the_uncooked/
New Jersey
I created "Eating Local: Princeton" (Mid-Atlantic) because I couldn't find anything similar on CH:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/587343
There are random NJ posts (pizza, etc.), but it's difficult to find specifics here.
Please help resolve this difference of opinion- raw ground turkey (not frozen) left on counter for hours still ok if cooked?
I agree, but cured, smoked, and other sausages were popular prior to refrigeration and do start with raw, fresh, ground meat that is then spiced and salted.
Can you identify these nuts?
It's not a soapnut (those are sticky and look more like shriveled hazelnuts).
They kind of look like either chestnuts (first photo) or walnuts with their outer husk (second photo).
Please help resolve this difference of opinion- raw ground turkey (not frozen) left on counter for hours still ok if cooked?
While I too think that the poster's SO has questionable cooking habits, ground meat has been part of the diet prior to modern refrigeration--ie as cured sausage.
Would I eat it knowing that it has been sitting out all day/night or is 10 days expired? Probably not. Ruth Reichl's mother and the dumpster diving Freegans would probably disagree.
If you don't have a suppressed immune system, you will probably be fine. But, if it smells funky and then you try to cover up that funk with spices? Not good. It's probably okay if everything is cooked to well done, but I hate things that are well done and would rather not eat it at all.
"Cross contamination!" "Cross contamination!" "Cross contamination!" "ZOMG!!! Cross contamination!"
I still don't understand people who like overcooked food (ie boil the crap out of it, dump the water, put on plate and oversalt--wait, that's how much of the food in my area actually IS served in restaurants).
Cooked properly doesn't have to be dry, chewy, etc. If that's what people think they ought to eat for safety reasons, I would recommend becoming a fructarian. Wait, that might be bad too, just in case the fruit was touched by someone or something. Better serve a side of bleach with that apple.
If my friends didn't like the duck, I'd have more for me and something else for them. It's a shame to overcook duck.
Eating Local: Princeton
We stopped at the PA Dutch market to pick up a ham hock for our NYD Hoppin' John, and I just discovered that Smoker's Deli serves Leidy's Pork (http://www.leidys.com), which is both local AND certified by the American Humane Society with the Free Farmed Certification. Local, humane, antibiotic-free, and cheap (bacon: $3.99/lb). Yeah!
Edit:
It looks like the latest update from Chow has broken the links I have painstakingly added over the past year.
Here's the PA Dutch Market in Kingston: http://www.padutchfarmersmarket.com
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Pennsylvania Dutch Breakfast & Snack Bar
4437 Route 27, Princeton, NJ 08540
Why aren't there any pregnancy boards on Chowhound?
*I* drink wine, eat foie gras, pate, cured meats, raw milk cheeses, stinky cheeses, basil, smoked food, ceviche, unwashed grapes, herb teas, caffeine, sushi, oysters, honey, street food--I wouldn't feed these things to a baby and am avoiding them during pregnancy. Why? They taste good and I like them.
Best Non-Alcoholic Wine: Navarro's Gewurtztraminer
Navarro's Gewurtzraminer is the only non-alcoholic wine I've had that was worth buying--it actually tastes like a Gewurtztraminer, and not simply grape juice. Why non-alcoholic when there are so many great wines to choose from? I'm pregnant and supposed to avoid alcohol.
Unfortunately for me, Navarro costs $29/case to ship their grape juice to the east coast (which, incidentally, includes the midwest), and for alcoholic wines, $69/case because NJ has a special deal with distributors. Fortunately, I contacted the company, and through the end of 2009 (tomorrow), per case shipping is $.01.
$11/bottle, 10% off per case. I recall not loving either the verjus or pinot noir non-alcoholic wines, but ordered some of those too, just in case. It would be a shame not to have some variety.
http://www.navarrowine.com
Next: how to make a pregnancy-safe pate which might pair well with the Gewurtztraminer (suggestions welcomed)
