Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Why don't you stir a little into something like mayonnaise and taste it?

Indeed, a good round-up. However, one fine point needs to be covered: Why, please, does the old-fashioned split like that and the other cake doughnuts don't? And in your experience, isn't the dough different from other cake doughnuts, richer and more tender?

And then there was the time at a (grace-free) dinner party when the woman next to me brightly asked me, "Do you have a church home?" I was quite taken aback. "What did you say?" I asked her, with a tone that didn't sound like the noise level in the room interfered with my hearing. She repeated herself equally brightly. I finally said that my husband was culturally Jewish, although not religious, and did not follow a formal religion. "I just thought I'd ask," she said, "because I've begun going to XYZ Church, and they are just the nicest people, and I---"

At this point, the hostess (equally unchurched) interrupted to ask me to come in the kitchen and help her with something.

Yes, being thankful is always a good thing. But beyond that....

A little farther south is Jones Wood Foundry, with a great brunch and a lovely interior.

The JITB taco is a secret addiction of more foodies than many of us like to admit, and many more realize.

Totally lost its oomph for me a long time ago; now it's too dependent on personalities rather than cooking. It's come a long way from what Sue Huffman gave us, and a long way from what I like.

Makes no diff if it's not to their taste, or, as someone said, "not good". I think "not good" is totally in the beholder. I've known folks who liked a wine that was clearly corked. Not fancy, maybe, or not unusual, or not a part of the world that is in fashion or of interest. But that's like saying food's not good. Unless it's literally spoiled, it's just a matter of personal preference.

I'm generally an ABC kid, Anything But Chardonnay. But I've had a few white burgundies that were fabulous. And those, uh, are made with, er, chardonnay grapes.

I hope your grill guys have mastered the ratatatat of the Big Smash; it's the background noise of anticipation. And you know, of course, that the Shake Shack burgers are based on Danny's memories of SnS?

Slingers are an old St. Louis standard. There's a guy here in town who blogs about them (among some other things); NAYY, but you can find it here if you're interested:

http://the13blog.wordpress.com/

A little more work to find after a night of drinking than driving through White Castle, but I can see on a cold winter night how it could appeal more.

Nicht.

This does not contain fresh tomatoes, but I don't know why you couldn't use them peeled and seeded instead of the canned ones and just cook it longer. I assume you're somewhere far from us; the idea of 20 lbs of fresh tomatoes leaves this Midwestern US resident salivating!

At any rate, I blogged about this, and all credit for the recipe, as I note, goes to Margaret Fox and the Cafe Beaujolais.

http://stlouiseats.typepad.com/st_louis_eats_and_drinks_/2008/01/a-month-of-so-1.html

Had something very similar years ago late night at one of the restaurants across the street from LIncoln Center. Utilized a grapefruit granita instead of sorbet, which meant it kept texture a little longer. But it's (obviously) a memorable drink, dramatic and tasty.