Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Two amazing finds at the USQ Greenmarket over the last couple of days, although I'm sorry I cannot remember the names of the farms.

One stand has absolutely gorgeous organic leafy vegetables, including the most beautiful watercress I have ever seen. Though labeled watercress, it is actually uppercress. (I'm not that fussy, but the woman at the stand told me that was uppercress and I'm including that specification for the more uppity SE members.) It is extremely peppery. It will blow your mind. The stand also has mizuna, shiso, baby mesclun salad mix (nasturtium flowers included), baby kale, and many more lovely and inspiring leaves. This stand is in Union Square, on the west side of the park, on Wednesdays and Fridays.

The other treasure I found today was organic Thai basil. I was happy enough to find Thai basil, but organic just makes everything ten times more exciting! $2.50 a bunch is definitely a very fair price. The stand is a large tent with black nets around it (well-shielded veggies!), on the inner north-west corner of USQ, one stall in from the flowers.

Another vote for TAIPEI! Already mentioned as some of the favorites: stinky tofu and "blood pudding" on a stick. Also the plethora of condiments for shaved ice, most notably the fresh mango with sweetened condensed cream. And scallion pancakes... I'd take that 20 hour plane ride in a second for a Taipei street cart scallion pancake! Or the rice balls filled with shredded pork... or the soy milk soup with silken tofu and peanuts... For around-the- clock availability, and the sheer multitude of delicious food choices, Taipei, Taiwan wins hand's down (at least in my book).

@patrickamory, if you are at wit's end and must have sheep's milk butter ASAP, you can always try online: http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=409191

Outside of Manhattan, sheep's milk products run abound in Astoria (Queens), which has a large Greek population. Titan Foods gets high marks from Yelpers: http://www.yelp.com/biz/titan-foods-inc-astoria

I live in NYC and tip an amount that is double the tax (always rounding up to a whole dollar amount). Coins are tacky. Service jobs are hard, physical (and often emotional) work. I get genuinely nauseated when someone tips less than 15% for average to great service. At my favorite places, I have tipped 50%.

If you frequent a particular restaurant, tip well. It's worth every penny. Remember dining out is not just about feeding your face. It's an experience.

Don't try to justify your bad decorum. If you're too cheap to tip the recommended 18% pre-tax gratuity for decent service, for the love of gastronomy just go to supermarket and buy a frozen TV dinner.

You MUST try the squeaky cheese (aka Fromage en Grain) if you visit a Montreal outdoor market!! It squeaks quite loudly when you eat it! (And if you're a cheddar fan, you'll love the taste.)

The first time I had shaved ice was in Taiwan. Shaved ice, lots of fresh mango, all drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. In oppressive heat, it's much more refreshing than ice cream. These days, manual ice shavers can be found in many of the Asian/Chinese supermarkets that carry housewares. I was so happy and surprised the first time I found one. Then I began to notice that most of my local (NYC) Asian-centric supermarkets carried them, I just hadn't been looking for them. They're usually hiding amongst the rice cookers. The manual one requires a lot of arm power, but it should only be about $20.

You can find the sauce online at www.cooking.com under Gourmet Foods > Sauces & Marinades > Pasta Sauces.

Ugh pasta with tofu? This is a flavor combination that is neither compelling nor palatably inspiring. No matter how much vinegar or how many brine-based ingredients you throw into the mix. Also, pasta and tofu seems a bit of textural redundancy. The dish isn't even aesthetically pleasing!

I've been a huge fan of the addition of tofu to Chinese-style meatballs. It lightens the texture significantly and gives an overall cleaner taste to the dish. For a healthier version, instead of frying, you can also throw these same meatballs into a gently simmering (light) stock, broth or soup. However, I would suggest making them the size of golf-balls, or slightly smaller. Add a couple fistfuls of coarsely chopped Napa cabbage to the broth. You can sub out the pork for chicken, too.

Yum-- I think I know what I'm making for dinner tonight. Thanks Chichi!