I'm traveling with three friends to Colombia for a week at Thanksgiving and can't think of a better place to start doing food research than right here at SE, especially given Kenji's recent pieces. We'll be flying into Bogota and likely spending three days there and three days in Cartagena. We're food adventurers for sure and willing to trek out of the normal tourist/business districts for a good meal.

I'd love to know not only places we should go but dishes for which we should keep our eyes peeled.

Just wrote a post for a WV Day (our 146th Birthday) project a friend of mine put together to have bloggers in the state identify a problem and suggest solutions to create A Better West Virginia. I went off on local/organic and the need to create local agricultural economies, foster their development, and provide support to link them in a Statewide network.

So I'm doing some post-post research and want to ask you all to talk about examples of institutional community support for local agriculture economies.

What do your local farmers' markets do to connect farmers and consumer beyond the physical market? What kinds of non-profits are connecting food from your community to tables in your homes, schools, restaurants, and hospitals?

Can a national organization connect the efforts in different states as well as State organizations can connect efforts in local communities?

So I wrote a post today about one of our beloved regional fast food chains here in WV and wanted to find out what other regional fast food is out there.

What makes you avoid the national chains even when you only have 3.26 minutes to get the kids from school to practice AND fed?

What's that spot you stop at on the way back to State U for the required fast food fix on the way to The Game?

Is there a secret menu?

A few parameters...fast food kinda means many if not all locations have a drive-thru. Fast food can include meals served on plates with silverware if the food really is ready for you at the counter.

Regional is a relatively large definition.

All you In-n-Out burger fanatics? You count, talk to me, but please let the other, not as world famous regional chain fans have a moment too.

Dunkin' Donuts sorta counts, but that's stretching it since they've run national TV ad campaigns, etc.

Anyway...what's in your neck of the woods?

That's right, my fridge has been bare for sooooo long. Unemployment, partial employment, and digging out after finally becoming employed again have sent me into a spiral a occasionally cooking at a party or other shindig, but mostly draining my very well-stocked pantry and eating out at the restaurants at which I've tended bar.

That's going to change tonight. I'm going shopping for my fridge, and I'm going to use the food I buy on my stove in my apartment.

Now I need your help.

What should it be. A food blogger returning to the kitchen after that long a time away. Do I make something fresh and simple like a pasta primavera? Do I grab some lemongrass and red curry paste and get Thai on my groceries? Do I go retro-steak house and pan-roast a T-Bone with some fresh asparagus and a classic baked potato with butter, sour cream, and chives?

Help a brother out.

I get in to LaGuardia at about 9:30am tomorrow for my first trip to NYC since 1995 (and only second ever). I'm staying midtown at the Sheraton.

First question - where do I get breakfast on my way to the hotel (I'm assuming that I'll be doing the M60 bus/N Train combo that Google Map tells me to take).

Next Question - where to I get a sandwich that screams NYC after i've checked in to the hotel.

Final questions - Places to go that you literally can't find anywhere else. Not just a restaurant of a particular type, but a block of restaurants from which to choose (or sample).

I'll be in NYC for the first time since a long weekend in the fall of 1995. That was long before my foodie days. I'll have early morning and late evening/late night time to hit food spots around my conference.

If I'm staying at: Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, 811 Seventh Avenue; what's nearby in terms of late night diners, noodles and crispy pork, cafes with amazing bistro food, the ultimate NYC thin-crust, or anything of their ilk?

Subway rides are, of course, acceptable. Large cab fares are not in my budget.

HELP!

Is it as simple as increasing the AP or Bread Flour and reducing the rye flour? Would increasing the yeast help?

Recipe I used was one packet active dry yeast and 1 1/2 cups bread flour for the sponge and another 3 1/2 bread and 2 1/2 rye flour for a monster loaf.

so i'm baking my first loaf of white bread (using a Southern Living recipe), and the dough has doubled in size after only about 30 minutes.

is the doubling is size the key, or the letting the dough rise for an hour?

WV to Anaheim, CA and back in three days. Disney restaurants aside, where can I eat good restaurant meals in and around Anaheim, CA? Is there a little Diner tucked between a couple Interstates somewhere? Where's the best seafood shack with fried goodness?

I know there will be Disney-related restaurants I can find, but I'm looking for other spots.