Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

The fear of having your food tainted is somewhat high among most people I know. I've only heard of it happening from one or two cooks I know as most people don't feel like it's worth risking both their jobs and the restaurant's reputation just to "get back at" a bad customer.

If you have a legitimate concern with your meal or are unhappy and it's something that can be fixed, you should bring it up with the staff in a polite and constructive manner. Then, if they aren't receptive just chalk it up to experience and don't give them your business anymore.

I had some pre-ground stuff from before I had much kitchen equipment and it sucked. Not only did it lack in flavour, the grind was less fine than sand so it was like constantly picking bits of nutmeg out of anything I put it in. I let it ruin some pumpkin muffins and egg nog before I found a new home for it. Maybe I got some really terrible pre-ground nutmeg or something but now that I have a microplane, I always use fresh.

The article isn't super clear as to why the cafes don't want laptop users and leaves me to assume it's a time vs purchases problem. This also assumes that they are perceiving a lose of sales due to a lack of seat space. Personally, I think that having bans or turning off wifi during peak hours when you have "Free Wifi!" signs up would be really off putting and just discourage me from going there. But I also usually feel if I've been on my laptop for more than 2 hours after my first drink, I should get something else especially if it's busy.

It really depends how big of a problem it really is other than the owner being annoyed to see people sitting there using their space for something other than drinking or eating. I'd like to hear some more arguments as to why the laptop users are so terrible they don't want their business.

I've lived in Vancouver for some odd 7 years now and I've never gotten the hype on Sophie's. There's always a line, the food is okay but nothing all that great and they give giant portions. It just feels like you pay for this giant portion instead of paying for really tasty food. I've given it a handful of tries so it's not a one off thing, there's just much better brunch options in this city and some are even down the street (Eat at Joe's!).

I dunno why, but the constant recommendation of this place irks me more than I feel it should. I think I just get annoyed when importance is placed on giant portions of okay food instead of more modest portions of really delicious food.

Anchovies! They're delicious when used right (especially in a good tapenade) but most people wince at the thought even though they've never tried them.

Offal in general has a bad rap in North America. People are amazed when I even say I really like tongue let alone having enjoyed some great beef lungs, tripe and other such organ meats. Use every part of the animal! Why throw it away when it can be tasty vittles!

Make at home pasta eh? I know my girlfriend's is primavera, she's always asking me to throw one together (great refrigerator Velcro).

My favourite though is a good marinara over vermicelli or spaghettini. Taking the time to make a really good marinara from scratch always pays off, add a couple homemade mini meatballs or a good sausage. One of my favourite things to eat.

I'd have to say the anticipation of getting anything I wanted for breakfast which quickly turned into my birthday tradition of Eggs Benedict. I think after I had my first benedict when I was around 5, I kept asking for it every year to the point where my mom would just make it on my birthday without asking. This is a tradition I still keep alive even if I have to make my own benedict.