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@Adam: Found it! Thank you so much.

Is there a way to make my own curry powder for this, rather than relying on those blocks?

Good article, Adam, but if you were a girl you would have figured all this out by the time you were ten.

as a proctologist, I loved your article!

I think Holly is eating a donut. I like donuts.

Besides that, having lived in France for the last four years, I would say that the French paradox is not a paradox whatsoever. The lifestyle of most of the French is geared towards enjoying food, though this is not played out in quantity but quality. That's the key difference. While North Americans suffer guilt about any ounce of fat, they forget that a little fat won't hurt you, it'll make you happy, and make you happy enough not to obsess about food. Plus, the produce is just BETTER. Less prepared food, more time set aside for eating properly, a lifestyle that isn't geared to moving around on four wheels, and the focus on eating for pleasure have created a culture that doesn't gorge itself for guilt. I'm not sure if Americans eat for beauty so much as they eat for inadequacy.

holly golightly may not eat a bacon, egg tomato sandwich, but she does eat some type of pastry in that opening scene, thereby associating baked goods with glamour; or should we take it a step further and say what is appealing about that scene of her with a white bakery bag in front of tiffany's is that she is a collection of oddities - evening gown in the morning, sunglasses in fog and pastry in remarkably thin body - that aggregate of oddities is what's alluring. it's just like how michael pollan warns against extracting any nutrient from its food, nutrient: food as pastry: scene of contrariness, SAT what!

I can't remember where I read it today, but I agree with the point of view that says "What difference does it make what time you eat? It supposed to be all about the food isn't it (and a little ambiance doesn't hurt)? Why do people feel that they must be part of the herd at 8?

Both Prime Time Tables and Tough Tables offend my sense of egalitarianism and is a blow to people like me that practice relationship building with restaurant owners/chefs/front of house staff/etc.

Selling reservations made with phony names is just plain low class. I hope the Danny Meyer's of the dining world learn how to defeat it.

I was surprised that 'Top Chef' showed up on Bruni's radar to this degree. I mean, it is reality TV after all, and you can never get past the feeling that the conclusions you're drawing about the contestants and the judges are in fact calculated feedings by the show's producers. That said, I've liked the show in the recent past (from 7 contestants to the present) because these cooks actually seem to know what they're doing haute food-wise. My absolute favorite part of Bruni's piece (and the show in general) concerned Padma, when he described what her speech sounds like.

Any thoughts about the Bruni Gordon Ramsay review? Sounds like the food's very, very good, if a bit stuffy and staid. The majority of Bruni's criticism seems to be restaurant reviewer-type stuff, like the room's boring (read: compared to all the other places I go to) and that certain dishes are overused (me: but if I can only afford to go to such a place say once, I'm only going to have that dish once, and if it tastes good...).

I remember the best tasting major brands just a few years ago had pork lard AND beef lard in the ingredients. And yes, MSG, like almost everything good does. But now I can't find any Japanese or Korean brand curry with lard in it. I wonder why? It really does miss a certain richness without it, and doesn't taste like the curry I grew up with.

The scary calories are not in the beef (although why use ground beef? YUCK! All the Japanese curry I've had or seen is made with slices or little chunks of beef).

The serious calories are in the curry block! It's called curry ROUX for a reason, it's mostly fat.

As for all your "MSG is Evil people" ... So you think you don't eat MSG? Think again...

Some of the names MSG goes under

monopotassium glutamate
glutavene
glutacyl
glutamic acid
autolyzed yeast extract
calcium caseinate
sodium caseinate
E621 (E620-625 are all glutamates)
Ajinomoto, Ac'cent
Gourmet Powder

The following may also contain MSG natural flavours or seasonings
natural beef or chicken flavouring
hydrolyzed milk or plant protein
textured protein
seasonings
soy sauce
bouillon
broth
spices

Free glutamate content of foods (mg per 100g)
roquefort cheese 1280
parmesan cheese 1200
soy sauce 1090
walnuts 658
fresh tomato juice 260
grape juice 258
peas 200
mushrooms 180
broccoli 176
tomatoes 140
mushrooms 140
oysters 137
corn 130
potatoes 102
chicken 44
mackerel 36
beef 33
eggs 23
human milk 22

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,,1522368,00.html

In addition, a block of your favorite chocoate enhances the curry to another level. Either the homemade ones or the boxed variety. But still watch out for the MSG!

Adam, this is brilliantly written!

@Pauper: I've used chicken and pork before, too. Sometimes I do tofu. I did a sort of week-long taste test of all the boxed curries. There are differences. Some are just wretched, others are bland as air. The boil-in-bag stuff is horrible. Metallic aftertaste similar to boil-in-bag rices or what not.

@JBeach: I've never tackled curry from scratch. The S&B box mixes are about as close as I've gotten.