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Is it absolutely necessary to use blanched, raw almonds? Given that toasted almonds taste better, wouldn't using toasted almonds also yield more flavourful milk?

I'm curious as to what kind of restaurant this is. "Contorni" suggests Italian, but "plancha" definitely doesn't...

Yeah, I can't say I'm getting much insight from this column, but I can't bring myself to give up on it, since it has so much potential. Please shift the focus to the actual behind-the-scenes decisions and dilemmas involved in running a grocery store.

In any case, I'm rarely into samples because they tend to be for uber-packaged products I'm not interested in to begin with.

Roasted eggplant, yes please. Oily sponge deep-fried eggplant, no thanks.

I don't believe in cleanses but I think we all have the urge to eat simpler, lighter foods after a stretch of rich and indulgent meals. For me, that means going back to lots of salads and soups, yogurt and tofu and whole grains. Which is how I eat normally.

I'd love to learn how to make Portuguese corn bread, pillowy challah and a crusty whole-grain walnut loaf.

I'm in the "two for women, three for men" camp. At the same time, I always get a bit more because somehow the amount of pizza your order is always the amount that gets eaten.

@Adam - Me too! My fave topping so far is Cheerios toasted in a dry skillet so it just browns and crisps a little. Stays crunchy longer and it's not sweet, so it works well with ice cream (or frozen yogurt, which I like even better).

I thought you meant making stuffing out of pizza...

I think the key is to know why a place is a tourist spot. Some are created with tourists in mind (generally bad news), some attract them because of connections to a show or movie (ie, Tom's Restaurant in NYC) and some just have really great food that suddenly puts them on everyone's radar.

I'd put Shake Shack in the latter category. And I'd argue that going to a place linked to a show or movie may not always lead to the best meal, but that doesn't mean it's not "worth it" -- at least if you're a huge fan. :)

Any chestnut recipes that aren't stuffing/dressing? And what's the best technique to cook them without a) charring the outside; b) leaving the inside raw; c) wrecking your hands peeling or d) all of the above?

I like to make several small grocery stops during the week. I hit up smaller stores depending on where I end up -- the Korean superstore when I'm down that way, the Portuguese bakery when I go to the library.

But most of the time, I stop at the grocery store at the end of my morning run. By the time I'm home, my stomach's started to rumble.