Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

For centuries, the only breads available were sourdough breads. Commercial yeast is a rather new invention in relation to the history of bread. Why anyone would bad mouth sourdoughs,shows that they have no knowledge or respect for the art and science of bread baking.

The only thing I'd add to this is that the Chinese themselves are not percieved as hip, at least not in the "aspirational lifestyle" variety. Americans want to pretend, at least for an evening, that they are bistro-going Parisians or Romans at their local trattoria, as these cultures have romantic associations. As China becomes more promenant culturally and economically I think this might change; Americans will see the Chinese lifestyle as aspirational and will become more interested in authentic Chinese cuisine.

I agree with chevans, above, about restaurant decor as a factor in Chinese cuisine's lack of hipness. Many of the good, authentic restaurants in NYC's Chinatown have all the charm of a high school cafeteria. I like eating at these restaurants, but if I want nice ambiance I'll look elsewhere.

chaevans: Americans may have the most diverse set of restaurants to choose from, but how much of what is offered is actually un-Americanized fare from the original cuisine? You may have restaurants representing 500 different cuisines from around the world in one place. But if they all use ketchup and cheese to make their offerings approachable to the American palate, then how much diversity is there truly? As an example, how many Chinese restaurants have you gone to in America that serve whole, steamed fish? The Chinese revere fresh fish, simply steamed as one of the greatest expressions of culinary finesse. But the average American diner would run out the door if he had to deal with a fish head gaping at him. Ditto a suckling pig head.

"American's adventurous eaters?"

That's an elitist attitude. People said the same thing when sushi started making its presence in the 80s and now look at that. I've lived in many countries in my life and Americans by far have the most diverse set of restaurants to choose from.

The downscale aspect of Chinese restaurants is due to the restaurants not the ingrained beliefs of the eaters. If a transplant from China could get funding and open a high end Chinese restaurant in the Time Warner building and actually made some high quality food it would do unbelievably well. I personally have given up on Chinese food in this city (along with Mexican).

Here's a direct quote from the FDA website about mercury levels in fish, and mentions canned tuna levels specifically:

"Nearly all fish contain trace amounts of methyl mercury, some more than others. In areas where there is industrial mercury pollution, the levels in the fish can be quite elevated. In general, however, methyl mercury levels for most fish range from less than 0.01 ppm to 0.5 ppm. It's only in a few species of fish that methyl mercury levels reach FDA limit for human consumption of 1 ppm. This most frequently occurs in some large predator fish, such as shark and swordfish. Certain species of very large tuna, typically sold as fresh steaks or sushi, can have levels over 1 ppm. (Canned tuna, composed of smaller species of tuna such as skipjack and albacore, has much lower levels of methyl mercury, averaging only about 0.17 ppm.)

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/reprints/mercury.html

Heh. It's not that hard to do actually. The boys in the Butcher Block had "Stairway to Heaven" scrolling on the scales you see how much the meat weighs on for awhile. Instead of the "Thank you for shopping...blah blah blah."

hahaha! I go to that grocery store every single day--literally. It's a block down from my work and I spend more time there than in my cubicle. I recognized the packaging and font in the photo before I read the blurb, and I'm not at all surprised that the guys who run that cheese department would have thrown down some Van Halen lyrics.

This is by far the most random thing I've ever seen and I'm so happy to have seen it!

I live in Darwin, Australia, and work in a bakery and I've got to say, sourdough is my favourite type of bread that we make there. Actually it is my favourite type of anything we make there. You know a bread is good when a seventeen year old girl chooses it over a brownie or a cream bun!

I used to like trying to identify disguised packaging on TV sitcoms. The family sitting around the table eating C p runch cereal or yer's Ice Cream. They don't fool anyone to begin with. Anyone here remember the "panel" game shows of the early 60s where name of the sponsors product was plastered over the desks, on the front of the desks and behind the host? I kind of liked that.

She's like a monkfish stuffed with durian. Horrible on both the inside and the outside. Next time I have dinner at Per Se or Citronelle, I'll raise a glass to toast being so poor I can't afford to eat at her stupid restaurant, and instead have to cash in my poor, blooger food stamps at other establishments. What a stupid bitch.

someone her age? it says she's only 27...is that old? or am i missing something

i'm looking forward to seeing Richard or Stephanie win, they're both nice and quiet, similar to previous winners like Harold, Ilan and Hung to a lesser degree - but none of them were ever annoyingly harsh (well maybe Ilan towards Marcel)

To make her less painful to watch next week, I hope Lisa wears clothes that actually fit, and no tank top please!

While I agree that what she said was illogical and untrue "people who can't even afford to eat in my restaurant, let alone know how to cook have to say about me". She probably hasn't been shown or edited in the best light. A lot of anonymous commenters feel justified at taking personal swipes at her appearance and her sexual orientation (which should have no bearing). It's unfortunate that she will miss the most important thing that this opportunity may have afforded her...the opportunity to learn from her mistakes and grow as a chef and a person. If she spends any of her time retaliating to awful below-the-apron comments I think she will just continue on in life with arms crossed and lips pursed like she did at judges' table.That leaves a bitter aftertaste.