Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

When I worked at IHOP in college, we would add a pinch of salt to the carafes to those who complained the coffee was stale and told them it was fresh!

What I want to know is what suddenly made you cite an article that's 8 months old.

August is a slow news month, we know. But did you really sit on this story for 8 months?

Salted iced coffee is one of the best selling drinks at 85C, a huge Taiwanese bakery cafe chain (there's on 2 in southern California). It's surprisingly good - the creamy foam with sweet hot coffee, everything melds together to an odd deliciousness.

My mother who made the "world's worst" of any culinary attempt always added salt to her coffee percolator basket. It was bad, bad, bad!

I was there, and the class was really enjoyable. I learned a lot of great techniques and enjoyed some amazing food paired with some terrific wines.

(and I actually got the honor of helping Chef Ryan stir the boudin noir mix while he added the pigs blood...)

@conundrum
My apologies: I did not intend to spread rumors, if they are. I have felt badly about leaving that comment since I saw your response yesterday.

Cancer Update from Johns-Hopkins
Bottled water in your car is very dangerous.
The heat reacts with the chemicals in the plastic of the bottle which releases dioxin into the water. Dioxin is a toxin increasingly found in breast cancer tissue.
This information is also being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
No plastic containers in microwave.
No water bottles in freezer
No plastic wrap in microwave.
A dioxin chemical causes cancer, especially breast cancer.
Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard..
He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.
He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers...
This especially applies to foods that contain fat.
He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastic releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body...
Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food.. You get the same results, only without the dioxin.
So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and
soups, etc.,should be removed from the container and heated in something else.
Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper.
It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.
He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons...
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran wrap, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Food-grade plastic is food-grade plastic. The more flexible the plastic the more it "leaches" when heated - but since leftovers are generally put warm or hot into the plastic containers, hot water used in washing isn't likely to do much more damage. There's no reason not to reuse takeout containers if you're eating out out plastic in the first place.

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LetThemEatQueso
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I don't think I've ever had authenitic SA food, but that could change.

My favorite is Pollo Barracho (Argentina). garrettsambo@aol.com

I love arepas, morcilla & empanadas.

another vote for empanadas!