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The Ten Most Recent Posts By eatnutmeg

From Talk

Looking for Affordable, Amazing Eats In NYC!

My partner and I will be in New York City from DC for the marathon in early November. We love great food and great beer and wine, but we'll be on a bit of a budget (hotels are so expensive there!) We'll be there Friday - Monday and are staying @ West 57th & 10th. Any suggestions on places to eat and drink?

The Ten Most Recent Comments By eatnutmeg

From Required Eating

How Do We Save Starbucks?

Starbucks needs no saving. They need to take their big box corporate identity and their coffee flavored water and bail bail on the whole idea. After that, all the local coffee shop owners that they've shamelessly put out of business could open their shops again. These local owners are people who live in and care about their communities. Many of them actually roast their own beans ON SITE, not thousands of miles away in a factory. Their food is made in the store, often with local ingredients, not trucked all over the US marinating in fossil fuels along the way. If you, like me want another option, check out this link that tells us about many privately owned, respectable coffee shops around the country: http://www.ihatestarbucks.com/other_choices.php

From Talk

Pimento cheese...what's your best recipe?

Mayo (homemade of course), grated, aged, quality sharp cheddar, salt, pepper, chopped pimientos, squeeze of lemon juice and grated onion. It's the best damn thing on a slice of pumpernickel toast that you'll ever eat!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: 'The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics'

Blueberry Pie. Soooo good!

From Required Eating

Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Two Peter Luger Steaks

From Required Eating

Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Garrison Confections' Garrison Big Box

Dark Dark Darkity Dark

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: 'Crescent City Cooking'

shrimp gumbo and spoon bread!

From Required Eating

Win Your Thanksgiving Turkey!

Brussels sprouts - sliced in half, sauteed in lots of butter until they're a bit browned, then finished with whole grain dijon and white wine. So delicious!!!

From Talk

Thanksgiving dessert, I'm serving pie and ______

My Thanksgiving table will be filled with 100% local ingredients this year. For dessert, I'm making an apple, goat cheese and honey tart. All the ingredients (even the flour) are Virginia Grown!!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: 'Beyond Nose to Tail' Contest

It's a toss up between fried chicken livers (my mother makes the best!) and the beef tongue served with fried mayoniase at WD-50. OMG, Yum!!

From Talk

What is your favorite book about baking bread?

I've been making recipes from Beard on Bread since I was a little girl. I have my mother's copy, a tattered little hardback that has been with me for 15 years. I'd love to try something even better if anyone has good ideas.

Responses to Comments by eatnutmeg

From Required Eating

How Do We Save Starbucks?

ChristineB Wrote:

4) You pay for internet at home. Why shouldn't you pay for it at a coffee shop?

-----

Because I don't pay $5 for a cup of coffee at home... that's why.

From Talk

Pimento cheese...what's your best recipe?

hmmm, I have to add this pretty close to my failures with potato salad. I've been spoiled with the most fabulous pimento cheese that I get when I go back to North Carolina to visit my family, jalapeƱo pimento cheese from a store called The Fresh Market. No matter how many times I try with various concoctions, I am unable to produce such culinary perfection as Fresh Market.

I hate them for it! *counts the number of days until I go back down to NC for my fix... *13 days, 13 very long days. :(

From Talk

Pimento cheese...what's your best recipe?

If you're looking for a "light" recipe, here's mine:

3/4 c of Hellmann's light mayonnaise
2 c of Kraft or Cracker Barrell's 2% Shredded Cheddar
1/4 jar of roasted red peppers, minced
1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper
Couple Grinds of Black Pepper
Pinch of Salt

Place all your ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.

From Required Eating

How Do We Save Starbucks?

The bottom line is, it's just not very good coffee. I take strong exception to the commenter above who stated that it wasn't burnt, it was just a dark roast. I love a strong, dark roast - the stronger, the better. Starbucks' blends have a bitter, burnt taste to them. The fact that "plenty of people like it" is far from a ringing endorsement. Plenty of people like lots of things - doesn't mean any of them are any good.

Start by getting back to something novel: offering decent coffee at a fair price. You're a coffee shop. Get out of the friggin' music business and focus on your core.

Offer simple pastries that are fresh. You certainly charge top dollar for pastries that are - at times - stale and dry.

Two words: customer service. Your baristas are often misanthropes who think they are too good to be making my beverage because they should be working on their novel or something. And they're slow.

Clean your stores up. I know they all see a high volume in the mornings, but they shouldn't look like a tornado just blew through.

Free Wi-Fi. Free Wi-Fi. Free Wi-Fi.

I agree with the commenter above - a SB employee - who said that there should be nightly entertainment. What a terrific idea. Our local coffee shops do that, and they bring in customers around the clock, while fostering a feeling of community.

For those of you rooting against Starbucks in favor of the local shops, check out the recent article on Slate discussing the ameliorative effects on the mom-and-pop places when Starbucks moves in. Many local operators - fearful of Starbucks moving in down the street - found that their business actually increased.

From Talk

I would like to win a life-time supply of _____

Cold, cooked, split lobster. Oh yeah. That and skirt steak are the only two food items I don't think I will ever tire of, and the lobster has the supreme benefit of zero actual work on my part. And I do so love it.

Great question JEP.

From Talk

I would like to win a life-time supply of _____

This is so tough. I am tempted to say simply Cannolli... but no no... my final say is...
a years supply of all of the above!

From Talk

I would like to win a life-time supply of _____

have to agree with Alm at 55$ a lb it would have to be Jamacian blue mountain coffee! But between the 2 of us we might denude the island ;)

From Talk

I would like to win a life-time supply of _____

Reservations at Peter Luger's

From Talk

I would like to win a life-time supply of _____

Golden Delicious Apples--perfectly ripe of course!

And Kashi products. Any kind, any time.

From Talk

I would like to win a life-time supply of _____

Mmm...I like CookiePie's idea...let's combine our winnings & celebrate!