Seconded. Avocados are pretty hard to come by in Asia, certainly. Can't we cook with ginger without implicating the whole continent?

Okay, I'm not a vegetarian (because I eat fish, but not other kinds of meat). I reach two conclusions here: 1. This recipe looks delicious 2. Time for a "Pescatarian" tag for recipes! Just think of the exciting possibilities....

I do agree that if making it vegetarian means substituting a by-no-means-common ingredient it probably should not be labeled as a vegetarian recipe. I was a vegetarian for fifteen years before I started eating fish, and lived in Asia, and I've never heard of "vegetarian fish sauce" before this.

I only bring up civil unions to suggest that perhaps the people advocating them aren't "anti-gay," whatever that means this week, but looking for a formula for giving equal rights for gay couples that does not require them giving up their faith. The fact that the automatic answer is "your religion is wrong" is baffling to me - who gets to decide that, really? Is the only solution that everyone in the world with a religion give it up, and if so, doesn't that violate *their* rights? I just don't think it's that easy of an issue, which is why it took until May of this year for our president to take a public stance on it. Calling everyone with religious reservations an anti-gay bigot doesn't advance a pro-marriage equality argument, it just makes the debate uglier.

I have no interest in continuing this discussion. I've never eaten at Chick-fil-a since I don't eat chicken, so nothing changes for me there, and I'm voting to uphold gay marriage this November in the MD referendum because whatever my own religious beliefs, I don't think the MD state law should force them on others who don't share them. I just wish there was a way to talk about this with the MILLIONS of religious people in the world that didn't start with "your religion is wrong; stop believing it."

By the way, I find all the pleas not to talk politics on the other thread disingenuous, given this paragraph in the original article:

"The difference is that while In-N-Out limits its proselytizing to inconspicuous bible verses referenced on the bottom of its cups, the higher-ups at Chick-Fil-A are a little more outspoken in their stance, actively speaking against equal marriage rights for homosexuals and donating millions of Chick-Fil-A dollars to organizations with strong anti-gay, anti-feminist, and anti-abortion histories."

I know Kenji must see this as irrefutable fact, but like it or not, it's a political statement. If the idea was to just talk chicken, why not say, "Chick-fil-a has been in the news lately - let's talk about how to make that sandwich at home!"

Be careful with the packaged fake meats, many of which contain dairy.

The food looks amazing, but "aging hippies and young hipsters" doesn't exactly sell me on the crowd. :-)

My favorite are the ones at the "Fresh French Fries" stand at the Minnesota State Fair. Just a glimpse of the red and yellow sign and I get excited (and hungry).

@Meister: Come to Baltimore and I'll buy you a cup of Fair Trade coffee at my totally local, non-chain coffee shop. I'll throw in an organic muffin. :-)

You said: "It's a misconception because Starbucks isn't the world's largest purchaser of Fair Trade coffee; Green Mountain is." Actually, if you scroll up, you'll see that I never said Starbucks was the world's largest, but ONE OF the world's largest. That, I do believe, is actually true. Not number one, but one of the top purchasers. So thinking it's among the largest isn't actually a misconception.

Your point on supply is actually what I was getting at in my original question about it being realistic for Starbucks to buy all fair trade - I agree, desirable is very complicated. Realistic might be less so, and the answer might just be no. I agree, though, you don't have to like it; I'm just not sure that Starbucks is actually doing anything wrong here. Not ideal, perhaps, but wrong?

Your note about whether coffee is ethical at all reminded me of a scene from the TV show Frasier (which I just started rewatching on netflix):

Waitress: Can I help you, sir?
Frasier: Yes, what are your specials today?
Waitress: Kenyan blend.
Frasier: No, no, no, no. Still poaching elephants over there.
Got something else?
Waitress: Dark roast Brazilian.
Frasier: Not until they do something about the loss of our
rainforests.
Waitress: Salvadoran?
Frasier: No, I've never forgiven them for their human rights
violations.
Waitress: Well, then we're down to the Hawaiian Kona blend. Or, have
they slaughtered too many macadamia nuts?
Frasier: [gives her a look, then] That'll be fine, thank you.

@Meister: I did not suggest that "It's just about everybody's understanding that the majority of the coffee Starbucks buys is Fair Trade." I said that I understood that Starbucks was one of the largest purchasers of fair trade coffee. There's a HUGE difference between the two statements - my guess is that Starbucks' fair trade purchases are a fraction of the total amount of coffee that they buy, and that this STILL makes them one of the biggest customers for the stuff in the world. (I wonder how realistic, or even desirable, it would be for them to buy all their coffee fair trade?) Given this, I do not fault them for pointing that out in their advertising, especially since they do not claim they only buy fair trade. And since fair trade markets have their own problems, it's not like that's the absolute solution to anything.

My "free trade" was just a typo, sorry.

@Meister - Yeah, but my understanding (I could be wrong) was that Starbucks was one of the largest free trade coffee purchasers in the world. That would make them important to the success of the whole endeavor, and in my mind, is more than enough to justify advertising their work. I've personally never seen a store claim everything they sell inside is fair trade, just that the company does purchase it.

When it comes down to it, though, I far prefer Caribou. Starbucks is for when you're traveling in Asia and desperate for something resembling coffee.

I can't think of any reason why they shouldn't use "fair trade" as an advertising tool. Sounds more like good business to me. And I don't blame companies for selling people things that might, if consumed too often, be bad for them. There's got to be personal responsibility in there somewhere, so let's stop blaming the "culture." I do hate the weird sizes, though.

Okay, I'm not from New York, so evidently this should be obvious but isn't - what's "smorgasburg"? Is this a farmer's market, or a restaurant, or an annual fair, or something else? Was there a thread on this I missed?

Actually, I think this is everyone's peanut butter noodles recipe. I've been using this recipe for years, and I have never heard of this blog!